A Milestone I Hadn't Anticipated

I am truly sad over this.. The shoe you see above, The Ked's T-Strap Daphne shoe was the first shoe I ever bought Emma.  It has been my standard for almost 7 years.  It's the all around multi-purpose little girl shoe.  It can be worn with jeans and little dresses.  It matches everything.  It's leather and washable.  One of those must haves for a little girl.   So Emma came to me the other day with her Keds and showed me that the velcro had torn off one of them.

So since today was a half day, we headed out to buy our little dependable standard.. And we came home shoeless. Because they no longer make them in her size.  And when I looked them up to make sure, I realized it is called a "toddler" shoe.  When did she stop being a toddler?  And how much damage have I done to her by dressing her in a toddlers shoe until she's almost 7?  Really I'm lucky that she has a tiny foot.  Most people met this milestone long before this age.  I seriously don't know where to go from here.  I need a shoe that isn't a tennis shoe but can be worn to play in...  Forget Hannah Montana!  I blame Keds for making my little girl grow up too fast!   I will be pulling the baby book out now to look at over a huge tub of icecream.. Oh how my heart hurts!

Shoe suggestions would be much appreciated

Blessings,

Dana

Working Moms VS Stay at Home Moms -- Panadora's Box officially opened..

I've wanted to to tackle this topic for a while now. If you're a regular here on my blog, you've probably picked up on my distain for the whole judgement, competition, pressure thing in the mommy arena.. If you read my post HERE, you undoubtably know that it is a soapbox topic  for me.


However, until now, I couldn't think of a way to approach the working mom/ stay at home mom debate in a way  that I felt would be unbiased.  After all, I am a stay at home mom.  But,  my sister-in-law, who is a working mom, wrote a post about this very subject.. So I immediately contacted her and asked permission to hijack her post..  I really think that the failings and lack of support in this area (on both sides) stem from a profound inability to put ourselves in someone elses shoes and also, a vicious cycle of unloving, unhelpful comments that leave mothers, all across the board, feeling insecure and defensive..  Because the truth is, I've talked to her on the phone while she's on her way to work and while her heart is breaking because she longs to be with her child every moment and has just left her child with someone else.  I'm the daughter of a mother who worked and who in my mind could never be topped.  And, I'm also a stay at home mom that at the end of the day, wishes I had more time to focus completely on my children.   And truth be known, a lot of working moms would give anything to be able to wear shoes like mine and yours.  But life has brought them some circumstances that prevents that right now.. And, if you think about it, it wouldn't be impossible for life to bring us the same kind of circumstances that could land us in the exact same position.   There are also other areas where this little judgemental monster rears his head.  But, before I go into the things that put me on the defensive,  I thought there could be nothing better than to  hear someone elses version of the story... So, pull up a chair and open your heart and please, if I may ask, try on someone elses shoes for a moment.  Perhaps it will help us to react with a heart of thankfulness instead of an aire of elitism... Meet, Jan..

Working Moms


So since Dana linked me in a post I feel pressured to update my blog.


Ok, this is not one of those working moms vs. stay at home mom posts. I am a working mom. I love my job. It is more than a job... it is a work. However, I work out of necessity. It is a work that I believe if done correctly could have eternal siginifigance. So if I have to work... I want to work where I do. But of course... who wouldn't want to see this face all day everyday of course I do... but I can't.

(no... it isn't always this sweet!)

I would love to be a stay at home mom, but unfortunately that is not the hand I was dealt. It isn't because of decisions Clint or I made. It isn't anyone's business as to why I have to work. Trust me, if we were able for me to stay home, that is where I would be... but we aren't. Don't judge me for information that you don't have about the situation. (Sorry to be harsh here, but it happens and isn't fair.) Not that it is anyone's business, but Wynn wasn't a "planned child." I am so grateful for her, and wouldn't change the way that God gave her to us or when he gave her to us for anything in the world. His wisdom is far greater than mine! (And yours for that matter.) I am greatful my child! She is a blessing. I am grateful for the fact that since I have to work, I am afforded the wonderful opportunity to work at Alabama Christian Academy.

The working/stay at home battle is not one I am going to get into. I am pretty sure most people do the very best they can for their own child. If you are convicted that being a stay at home mom is best for your child... great... stay at home with them. I know some working moms give SAHM's a hard time, and that is just a bunch of junk... you are just as valuable as someone who works outside the home. The whole SAHM have a lack of ambition is a bunch of junk. If you want to do that but can't... you aren't scarring them for life... you are still doing the best you can for them. (This is the group I feel I fit into... and probably empathize most with) If you are a working mom, you are no less fit of a mother. Whether you choose to work or have to work it is fine. As long as you do what is best for YOUR family it is YOUR choice. (And you have all available information about your family... there is often stuff others don't know!) I am so tired of moms feeling like they have to justify themselves and put others down to defend their own choice. As long as you love your kid and do what you really feel is best for them... I have no issues with you.



Anyway... that being said... this last week has been really tough from a working mom standpoint. Not only am I a working mom, but I am a working mom who is also a coaches wife (sorta the same deal as a preacher, youth minister, or anyother really demanding family involvement job). During football season and baseball season... if Wynn is sick, it is up me to take care of it... Clint just can't get off. Anyway, here is how this week has gone...




Sunday afternoon we took Wynn to the playground. We are trying hard to be intentional about family time. So we walked to the park and played and played. Wynn is a huge fan of slides so we spent a long time there...

After we walked back from the playground, I went to the grocery store and Clint took Wynn inside. In the hour it took me to go buy groceries and get home Wynn developed a high fever. From Sunday around 5ish to Wednesday morning her fever stayed between 102-104... This week I think i have had about 20 hours of sleep total (Sunday night through Thursday night.) We had lots of spongebaths... motrin... doctor visits... long week. Monday I stayed home with Wynn. However, due to the fact that she has had H1N1, stomach virus, fever virus, ear infection, and other fun stuff this year... I am low on time off. (Although ACA has a very generous sick leave policy). So after a long visit to the doctor and a lot of blood work... he told me it was a virus... to treat the fever... and wait it out. So, Tuesday, I couldn't take her to her normal hangout lest she infect Juliet with whatever plague was upon her... so I called my wonderful aunt Kathy. It killed me to take my very sick child to someone else to watch. I am pretty sure I called every hour or two. I have one sick day left (I think). I had to go to work. She was very well taken care of... honestly she slept most of the day. Only to be woken for motrin or something to drink. Aunt Kathy has 2 daughters, is a retired kindergarten teacher, and grandmother to 4... she is well qualified to watch my sick child. It isn't that I didn't want to... I cried because I had to. She was still ok. Aunt Kathy has watched her everyday this week since Tuesday. We did finally figure out what was wrong with her due to the rash she broke out with last night.

She has roseola. It is a normal most kids get it at some point. It is characterized by a really high fever followed by a rash. She is fine now... just still a little fussy due to the rash. The fever is now gone. Yes Wynn has been sick a lot this year. No, she is not in daycare. (Not that I am judging those of you who put your kids in daycare... this is another instance where there is info you may not know.) She is with my great friend Hilary and her one year old Juliet during the day. I don't know why she has been sick so much... I don't know if it could have been more if she were in daycare... home with me... never went to sunday school or what. My best guess is that it is because Clint and I both teach at different schools... who knows... We eat lots of super foods (blueberry, strawberry... all that jazz)...


Anway... I don't know how to end this other than to say... I hate the judging of other regardless of situation... as long as you love your kids and make the best decisions you can for YOUR family... and don't judge things you don't know about.


I've seen these sort of judgements and diggs in my life as well.. On being a SAHM, there have often been suggestions that I'm not driven or successful  because I stay at home with my children.. That one doesn't actually bother me much.. The fact is that I succeeded in doing exactly what I had intended to do  and that was to stay at home with my children.  It's really not my problem if someone else has different dreams.  I think that's fine.. But that was my dream.. I'm also not concerned with what the world defines as successful.


But, just when I think that maybe I've outgrown this whole worrying about what other people think issue, a low blow comes along from someone that I respect and admire.. And I'm right there, finding myself being defensive and there is no productivity in that at all..  And again, people are making assumptions when they don't have all the information.  You see, sometimes life gets crazy.  And the truth is, I have no family near to help and no babysitter on call to help with everything that life demands.  So, unless it just happens to demand it when family is visiting, I do it with my kids in tow.. And usually, I have my part pretty well handled. But often, something additional gets tossed in my lap and I can't deny that I'm human or that become stressed at times like those... And because life somtimes requires me to pick up some plates that aren't mine, I sometimes drop one of my own and I end up in some places with my children, not fully prepared (as I usually am) with what they need to keep them in a good frame of mind while we were there..  A situation I regret, yes.  However, I've made no such claims to be a superhero.. And if you came here to make those sort of claims, I suggest now that you take your exit.. I can save you a lot of time and say, "we won't be friends".  Moving on... At the end of a day such as  this, my children and I are tired, anxious and hungry..  And while I often look to others that have been down this path that I'm going down for examples and inspiration, the fact is, quite often, I'm left with with conflicting views.  Sometimes between different people and sometimes with the same person (in a do what I say, not what I do kind of situation).   And when you sum it all up, I really just have to have faith that the prayers that I pray for God to help me the mother that HE wants me to be are answered.   But still, I can openly entertain most ideas that people hold about parenting.. But, when those ideas are accompanied by a suggestion that I am in some way being unjust to my children  or, that me disciplining my children means that I think my children are bad and my motivation isn't to do what I think is best for them,  it makes me think that you haven't taken the time to get to know me well enough to have the information you need to give me good advice because I'm quite sure anyone that really knows me would never make those assumptions.  And when we boil it all down, nothing but harm has been done.  Because for my children, you've given them a defensive mother that has even more to stress about.. For me, you've done a nice job of given me an emotional beating.. And for yourself, well, you've proven to have made yourself much less admirable than you once were and certainly not very appealing as a person to go to for parenting advice.  To put it simple, it's just down right hurtful. 


So really, I think that the best point that can be made here is this:  If you see something that you feel a need to criticize, then be prepared to be a part of the solution to the problem if choose to make that criticism known... Because most of us, are doing the very best we can do with what that day has dealt us and many of us that are so frequently judged,  would gladly alter our situations a bit should someone who truly cared about the well being of our children and family care to give us the means to do that. 


Blessings,

Dana

Once again, a request for prayers..

I come to you once again, while my cousin Tony lays in an operating room along with all of our hearts... Back in July I told you of his insiprational story.. You can read the full details in a much better thought out post that was made on a much better foundation of sleep  HERE  but in an effort to get this out ASAP.. I'm going to skip the flowery language and sum it up quickly so that we can get those prayers going up..

Back  in July, my cousin Tony recieved a double lung transplant after many, many years of battling Cystic Fibrosis... For the first time in his memory, he was able to breath, and eat without being in pain.. He was able to enjoy life with his wife and son like he has always dreamed of doing.. Around Thanksgiving, Tony was infected with some sort of bug and somewhere through all of that, one of his lungs became infected.. Since Thanksgiving, he has been in excrutiating pain and running a pretty consistant high fever as his doctors have worked desperately to find a cure for the infection.. After trying every avenue that could be thought of, they have decided that the best and safest course of action is to remove the part of the lung that is infected, the lower lobe of the right lung... From what I understand, removing a part of an organ such as a lung is not that uncommon of a procedure. Tony has asked that we pray specifically that "as the doctors are doing the surgery that they will be able to get in and remove the lower lobe of the right lung and that the airway of the lower lung will seal closed and that the infection will not spread into the upper part of the lung while they are working on it".

I'm so very thankful for the people in my life that have such a heart of compassion that they have followed so closely along with this and so faithfully in prayer.  I will post updates as quickly as I hear them.

Blessings,

Dana

Thoughts from the One Changing the Diapers

In no particular order...

-- I spent some time this week with my friend Christine. She's from Canada. She fascinates me. I know, be careful right? If I spend time with people from other places, I might learn to think outside the box..

--Busy weekend ahead-- *Science day at Emma's school tomorrow. *Kenny Payne, long friend and missionary from Ukraine will be coming tomorrow and spending the weekend with us and speaking about the work that he's doing at the orphanage in Ukraine at church on Sunday. *Meal and service at the local mission on Sat. evening. * Service activity with the kids at church on Sunday morning..

-- I do not pride myself in being busy. It just happens often, that a lot of good, busy things fall at the same time and there is nothing that can be moved.

-- Boundries-- I do often find myself busy with things I shouldn't be. I don't understand why I feel like I'm responsible for making other's dreams come true. I think deep down my need to do that is a fear that God won't do what I think He should. I'm pretty sure that God responds to that by saying, "you were made in my image. I was not made in yours".


-- I fear that my children will inherit the above trait from me. I want much better for them.

-- My sister-in-law, Jan, recently recommended the book, Boundries: by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. I ordered it.. She's right. I need it.

-- I Love God, so passionately much.. Love and trust are not synonyms. I long to fully trust Him.

--there is a difference in bi-partisanship and compromise..
Bi-partisanship, sets opinions aside to do what's best for the whole.. Compromise tries, but fails, to meet everyone's desires and succeeds at meeting nothing.

--I think I'm a member of a bi-partisanship church.. for these purposes, see my definition above, not any other you may have heard.. I think our government could learn a lot from them.

-- My church is the closest thing I've ever seen to what I think God wants the church to be.. In one way, I hope they see that about themselves. In another way, I hope they never do.

--I'm glad we don't call ourselves a "bi-partisan church" the word is becoming tainted.. I'm sure it won't be long before it makes me nauseated to hear it.

--Our neighbor lost her mother unexpectedly this week. My heart aches for her and I can't get her off of my mind. I don't even know her that well but from the little interaction we've had, her family has come up a lot.. I can tell she loves them deeply. Please pray for her.

-- I haven't talked to my mother very much this week. Maybe I'm trying to lure her to visit.. When I did talk to her I rambled on about how I was born in a generational gap and that's why I have such a hard time figuring myself out..

-- Figuring myself out--- self-reflection is good... Too much self-reflection is actually self-centeredness. I feel like I've been teetoring on that edge lately.

--I want everyone to like me. I also want to not want everyone to like me.

--God couldn't have picked a better mate for me.. We compliment each other well.. It did not start out that way. Time and endurance has made that possible.

--My children are no where near perfect.. I thank God for that.. But I do think they are a perfect mix of Adam and me.. I would not change them if I could.

--I had a serious conversation this week with a kid that was in our youth group at one time. Kid isn't a good description because she's actually a beautiful adult. But still, I feel an indescribable closeless to those kids. I think it's because I witnessed a very raw part of their lives. It blesses me when they share it with me still today. I hope that continues to happen for the rest of my life.

--I think potty training Chloe will be hard.. I'm not really sure because I haven't really given it an honest try.. She'll soon be old enough to change her own diapers. I think it's part of my anti-mommy pressure stance. That and I don't want to have to think of a new name for my blog.

Blessings,

Dana

When Heaven Touches Earth

It's not that I haven't had anything to write lately.. But that I've had too much to write.. In the past week, I've developed a marketing plan for K-mart to become a real competitor of Walmart, for Sixflags to rebound in it's industry (neither of these things did anyone ask me for or is paying me for but I'm sure I'd give it free to anyone that was willing to listen to me). I've tossed around ideas about heaven and contemplated if I'm focusing my life in a direction in which Heaven will feel like home to me. I've dreamed up different paths our church should take and wondered which path would be God's favorite and I'm working on a new mom blog with one of my favorite people, and I'll be sharing that with you soon. But as you can see, none of these things go together so every time I sit down to write about them, I find myself typing, deleting, typing deleting.. Not knowing where to start..

But, there was a moment tonight that I would like to freeze in my mind forever.. The girls beg to sleep with each other all week. We only allow them to do that on Friday night because they giggle or fight,depending on the Friday night, and they keep each other awake. This works out nicely on a night when we can sleep in the next day so on Friday nights, we throw them in there together and let them keep each other awake. Before I came to bed tonight (currently laying in bed, got to love a laptop)I went to check on them and saw this..


It's funny to me that sometimes we go through life making it so much more complicated than it has to be and waiting for that one huge moment. Yet, it's moments like these that I look at my children and it takes my breath away and I know that I've caught a glimpse of Heaven.

Blessings,

Dana

Disney Planning Post-- Part Two--- Things I'm glad I took

I'm definitely not one to think that stuff can make you happy but I do think there were a few things that made this trip go smoother and so I thought I'd throw out a few suggestions.

I realize that this shows how anal I can be. But keep in mind that the last trip we made to DW, I took our 18 month old straight from the hospital where she had been under 18 hours of observation with fluids for a stomach virus which the doctor assured me would "make her as good as new" and totally ready for DW. HE LIED!! But anyway, it was so rushed that I forgot her shoes and had to stop and buy shoes on the way there. And not that taking a stomach virus along to DW with you isn't stressful enough, it was even more stressful because I was in no way prepared for that trip. But more on that later. For the record, no one is paying me to advertise these items. I just really like them. But, where I could find it, I included a link to Amazon.



Our electric cooler



The rooms at the Value resorts do not include refrigerators. You can have one brought to your room to use for $10 a day. Or, you can buy one of these for around $100 and it'll pay for itself in just a couple of trips. Adam's mom got us this for a gift several years ago. It made many youth ministry trips and has served to stock drinks in our spare bedroom when we've had guests. It has been used A LOT and is still working as well as it did when we got it. Plus, it also has an adapter that plugs in in the car so you can go ahead and stock it and keep stuff cold on your way there.

*A Backpack for me-- Disney World is one of the few amusment parks that will allow you to bring food into the park. They will even allow you to bring in a soft sided cooler (I didn't go through that trouble since there are plenty of places that the meal plan can be used inside the park). However, I took a backpack with things we might need in it, including: water bottles, camera, some high protein snacks in it, a first aid kit, pull ups and wipes, hand sanitizer, a dollar umbrella from the Dollar tree for each of us and etc.


These handy Eddie Bauer backpacks that I found at Target for 13.99








I know what you're thinking.. I too once turned my nose up at the the thought of these things and remarked that I would never put my children on a leesh like an animal. But that was before I actually had children and knew that they could actually act like animals. And as a man said to me as he walked by and saw my children enjoying their freedom and me, enjoying their security, "Those things are totally kosher now"! Plus, these have the added bonus of the marker board and markers so, on the car rides and the rides on the trolley, they had a built in activity. I filled these with Disney coloring books and crayons and sticker books along with their own personal booklight and tied them on the car seats in front of them for the ride there and it kept them entertained for several hours of the trip. I even got a very impressed exclamation from Emma, "Mom, you're are so totally prepared"! And, it kept our van all tidy and neat which makes for a much better trip for me!



And speaking of crayons.. I searched high and low for this thing... I knew that someone had to have had the idea before me and I finally found the 8 in 1 crayon made by Alex at Learning Express.




Thank you Learning Express for saving me the headache of searching the car for crayons. Definitely a worth while investment at $2.99 a piece.



These neat water bottles with filters by New Wave Enviromental







I got six of these, and wrote our names on them. This way, we didn't have to haul a bunch of bottled water and, we could carry the bottles empty until we needed a drink. Then we would fill them up anywhere we wanted. Plus, they are made out of corn and are biodegradable.



I also went to the Dollar Tree and stocked up on glow sticks and necklaces and cotton candy. That way, when they asked for those things in the park, I could pull them out of my backpack and save myself about ten bucks. I also took our own princess dresses and equipment to do do fancy hairstyles because the Bippidi Boppidi Boutique is expensive and takes a lot of time.



Since we're already talking about the things that I took on the trip that were helpful, I'll go ahead and include the things that I was wishing I had with me but didn't.  Really, there are only a couple but if I ever go again, I will be investing in these two items:

The Combi Flare Stroller



I took our sit and stand stroller.  And while it was nice to have a place for both of them to sit, I don't think they both ended up in it at the same time more than twice.  I think a big stroller would be necessary if you have more than one child that isn't walking but, I think it would have been a lot less work for us to have a single, compact, lightweight stroller.  Because, though I love my sit n' stand and it fits just fine in my van, it was pretty big to be getting on and off Disney World's transportation.  And we were waiting for the trolly one night and I saw a guy walk up with this stroller, take a baby out of it, hold the baby in one arm, fold the stroller in the other and then throw the strap over his shoulder in all of about three seconds.. I don't think I've ever been so envious in my life..  If I had known that this thing existed, it would have been my travel system with the girls.  The stroller weighs 11.5 lbs.  But will hold up to 55 lbs.  It has a longer handle than you normally find on a compact stroller.   It folds super small and has a strap to hang it on your shoulder.  And even with being so compact, it still works with an infant carrier. 

And last but not least:
The Stroll'r Swivel'r






Our friends Susan and Tony and their two kids live in Lakeland Florida. They met us for a day in the Magic Kingdom. Susan had this handy little hook on her stroller and it held their backpack totally keeping it out of the way but making it very accessible when she needed it. I was a little aggrevated at myself on this one because it seemed like something so easy and inexpensive that I totally missed. I will definitely be investing in one of these soon.

I have one more planning post to make about a couple of things I would do differently. Please e-mail me with any questions that I might be able to help with. I love this stuff and would totally get a job planning these trips if I could figure out how to do that from home.

Blessings,
Dana

Disney World Tips-- Part 1 things I'm glad we did

I must admit, that when it comes to spending a fairly large amount of money on a trip, I am pretty particular about the planning. And after our disastrous trip to Disney World last year, I was on a mission to get two trips worth of fun out of one trip. So, I read everything that I could get my hands on to make our trip just a little bit more magical. And though there were a couple of glitches along the way, it was nothing compared to the trip last year. But, I will spare you and save the vomit stories for later. And instead, I will share the info that I learned in planning our trip so that maybe, I might spare someone a bit of work in research.


Things I'm glad we did:

Stayed on Disney Property:
We stayed at the All Star Music Resort. This time of year, the rooms are at a low rate of $69 dollars a night. I was a little concerned with my sheet snobbiness that I would be disappointed with the sleeping accommodations but I was pleasantly surprised to see that we had Sealy Posterpedic beds and the sheets weren't luxury but, sufficient. I did take my own sheets just in case but didn't end up using them. Staying on site also entitled us to the Extra Magic Hours. The parks rotate opening one hour early and staying open three hours late for only resort guests. I planned our days in the parks according the extra magic hours at night. We cleared out of the park during the middle of the day when the park was the busiest and went back to the hotel for naps so that we were well rested for the night time fun. And, flashing my card to show I had access to be in the park made me feel like a VIP :). Staying on property also entitles you to Disney's bus service that runs at least every 30 minutes and drops you right off at the park's gate. So much better than trying to find our own way around, wasting our gas and time trying to find a parking space.



Requested a connecting room to my parent's room:
This was so helpful because the girls could run back and forth to their hearts content. Much better than having to go outside to run back and forth. IMPORTANT! THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ADJOINING ROOMS AND CONNECTING ROOMS. ADJOINING JUST MEANS THAT THEY ARE SIDE BY SIDE. CONNECTING MEANS THAT THERE IS A DOOR BETWEEN THEM ON THE INSIDE. If you want that feature, I would recommend calling and talking to someone on the phone and making sure they know you want to be able to go back and forth without going outside. I also requested rooms far away from the lobby. This gave us quite a walk to catch the bus but the closer buildings are also closer to the pool where there is a lot of noise and I wanted to insure the ability to get a good nap.


Used the Disney Meal plan:
I'll say up front that I think if you worked really hard at it and did some of your own food, you could come out cheaper. But for us, the meal plan was the way to go. We ate like royalty and for me, one of the most stressful things about vacation is feeling like things are adding up as we go along. The meal plan is 39.99 per night per person a day and it includes 1. Table Service meal 1. Quick Service meal and 1. Snack per day. Our meal at Cinderella's Royal Table was 253 dollars for five adults and one child (chloe was free). I would have had a heart attack if I hadn't known it was already taken care of. A quick service meal for four adults one night was $84 (the kids shared). Since the character meals were such a big part of our experience, I wouldn't change the decision to go with the meal plan. Though we paid more up front, we spent less than $150 on the whole trip, gas and meals on the way included. If you count the energy we saved not being at home, that will come in under budget for the week. And, I wasn't scared to look at my checking account total when we got back home. If you are really interested in the bottom line figures, here is a great post on the Breakdown of the Disney World Dining Plan

Took advantage of the fast passes:
For further information, read about the Disney World Fast Passes. The site I just linked you to explains it real well so why do it double time.  So let me summarize by saying, you'll want them, you'll use them, you won't regret it. 

Scheduling of the Royal Table Dinner:
This happened completely by accident but the only reservation left for Cinderella's Royal Table was a very late one at 7:45 p.m. Since, the ending ceremony and fireworks were at 8:00 p.m., this gave us window seats to the fireworks as well as the dinner show with the fairy godmother and the mice. NOTE: Cinderella's Royal Table dinner includes a photo session with Cinderella and a show with the fairy god mother. It does not include dinner with all the princesses as the breakfast and lunch does. You will also read about this in my hindsight's twenty twenty section.





Made reservations for the character meals:
This is a great way to get to see the characters without having to wait in line. This time, we ate at Cinderella's Royal Table, Hollywood and Vine and Chef Mickey's. I had been told that Chef Mickey's was the best character experience and it didn't disappoint. All of the classic characters were there except for Daisy Duck. These dinners book out quick so make your reservations early. To make sure you don't miss the opportunity to see your family's favorites, I'm linking you up to a listing that tells where each character can be frequently found. Disney Character Appearances



Made friends with the Disney World employees:
Chloe's favorite princess is Snow White. Since Snow White wasn't on the schedule of character greetings, I was on a mission to find Snow White after a show or parade or something so Chloe could have her picture made with her and Emma could get her to sign her autograph book. We asked an employee where we could find Snow White. He sent us to the City Hall at the front of the park. When we got in the City Hall, they made a phone call. A few minutes later, Snow White met us in the flower garden next to City Hall for our own little meet and greet.




Making friends with the Disney World employees also earned us a spot as the "First Family In" in the "Play House Disney" show. Certificate and front row seats to boot. It's also the thing that covered my ignorance on the connecting/adjoining room issue. The guy at the desk nicely switched things around for me without a problem. In Short, the Disney staff is awesome and it can't hurt to ask.

---And the most important thing we did----

Took two extra set on of hands:
It's Disney World.. Lot's of miles + not a lot of sleep + plus live action cartoon characters = Crazy Children. Plain and simple. Man on man defense is not good enough. But, a 2:1 ratio worked quite nicely. Thank you mom and dad for tagging along and going along with my anal plans that included all the kiddy activities without a single complaint. I totally had my cake and ate it too.


Since this post has gotten quite lengthy and I'm severely lacking in sleep, I will come back with a Part 2-- Things I'm glad we took soon.

And may your night be magical and may your prince always kiss you goodnight.

Blessings,

Dana

Sad, sad, sad... How did I get here?

I had to take a break from the Disney World posts to share a sad, sad realization that I have come to.

Here recently I have found it has become increasing difficult to deny the fact that I'm an adult. For so long, I found myself in situations when I was buying or selling a house, making a decision about a preschool, purchasing life insurance, spending the night in the hospital with my child, wearing the vomit that put my child in the hospital, and etc, there has been this overwhelming feeling: "I really don't feel like I'm old enough to be handling this, shouldn't my mom and dad be at least watching over my shoulder to make sure I'm doing it right"? More recently, those thoughts have shifted to, "how did I get to this place". Very recently, a conversation that I had with Emma drove the point home and I declared it official. I AM OLD. There is no someone that is 70 being older than me. No Freshman or Senior status. We all have to feed our kids, pay the bills and be concerned with what's going on with our government. WE-ALL-ARE-JUST-OLD. Deal with it and move on. In a way it's a liberating realization as I no longer have to fear getting old. But, this conversation deemed it official and that there is no turning back.

I'm pretty certain that I should be in therapy over the fact that I find it liberating to be self-deprecating the way I do but there is something so freeing, to me, to know that I've set low expectations of myself. Like I said, "in need of therapy". But, none the less, I shall share one of those stories that I really should keep to myself. But hey, life is nothing if you can't laugh at yourself right?

Emma was supposed to dress up for career day at school the other day. Now, even though I would never choose another path for myself, I put up a strong resistence to Emma simply wanting to go as a mother. Now don't get me wrong, I think the job I'm doing is the most important job I'll ever do. But I found myself tossed around in the throws of wanting so much more for my child than what I am. This really isn't the sad part. It actually was very sweet. So after offering up every career that I could think of, every costume in our dress up box: doctor, dancer, teacher, pirate... She was set on being a mommy. So we decided that this would be the one exception that she would be able to take a baby doll to school. And then came the decision of what to wear. And this is how that conversation went.

Me: Now, we must figure out what you will wear. We could grease your hair up, put on a pair of yoga pants that you really shouldn't be wearing and send you barefooted.
Emma: [Looks at me in her typical, come on mom look] Hey, can I wear one of your fancy dresses that I use to dress up in?
Me: NO
Emma: Why not?
Me: because they are not dresses, they're night gowns (IE lingerie)
Emma: Oh, well then why don't you ever wear them?

GRREAT... I'm that mom.

And, to add insult to injury, she wouldn't even wear an apron saying, "why would a mom wear an apron? That's what a cook wears".

She settled on a simple shirt with a feux camisole underneath, a pair of blue jeans and tennis shoes and a non-greasy ponytail. Which I must agree was so uninterestingly me. I guess I've managed to pull it off well enough to make her want that life. I have a sneaky suspicion that she has no plans of wearing an apron either but, is quite certain that she'll wear tons of fancy night gowns. I was too, when I was six.

Blessings,

Dana

Home Sweet Home

Though Emma wants to live in the castle.. of course.

We're home from a wonderful trip to Disney. Lot's of catching up to do. I hope to get a full post done soon . But, as of now, I'm finding it quite difficult to write this post with Chloe in my lap as she started with a runny nose and fever just a soon as we got home and wants nothing but for me to hold her. I am thankful that God honored my request that He keep Emma and Chloe well for the trip though next time I'll put in a request for Adam too since he discovered the nearest Quick Care for his case of tonsilitis. Either way, it was a much better trip than what we had last year.. More on that later...

Here are a few pics for the time being. I'm still trying to shuffle through the 500 pictures that I took to see which ones make the blog cut. Some fun stories too.. I took my old camera and the kit lens (which in my opinion is pretty much the equivalent of poo poo) because I didn't want the stress of carrying around expensive camera equipment. Next on my list of camera equipment that I want is a nice telephoto lens but since that would cost more than the whole trip to Disney, that will have to wait until I win the lottery.


Blessings,
Dana

Finally, Christmas

Wow, has it really been a whole week since I was last here? Well, I have to admit that our holiday traveling kicked my tail and it has taken me forever to get our lives back in order. Now it's time to start working on our taxes and though they don't have to be done for a couple of months, I know that it will weigh on my mind until I get them done so I might as well get it over with. But I did want to make record of our Christmas before Easter gets here.

I thought I would start by telling you about the philosophying our oldest did about the season:
Emma has really started questioning the Santa thing. The Santa issue has always been something I haven't been completely comfortable with. I've heard stories about children that were furious with their parents when they found out "the truth about Santa". One of our friends son's told a friend, "Santa has to be real because my dad says he is and my dad would never lie to me". I've heard of other's making a connection with God about it. All those stories really make me uneasy. But, we also don't want our kids to be the kids that ruin it all for the other kids. So, our compromise has been to play along with the legend but not really put a lot of emphasis on it. I can't bring myself to out right lie to them so when Emma has asked questions, I always just sort of play it off and ask her what she thinks and let it be whatever she wants to make it. So, she asked the question, point blank, "mom, do you think Santa is real"? In response, I said, "well, what do you think"? She replied, "I think he's real but I don't think I buy the flying reindeer part". I chuckled a little and then we talked a little bit about how there really was a man named St. Nick that took presents to families who couldn't afford them and sometimes when stories get told over and over again, people make up their own versions but even if the story that we've always heard isn't exactly right that it's still okay to believe in the goodness of the story. So, I must admit that I was feeling pretty smooth and thinking that I was about to make it through 2009 still in the running for the Mother of the Year award. I hadn't totally robbed her of childhood fantasy but I didn't lie to her either. I even brought in a lesson about goodness and she was seeming to be putty in my hand. Points for mom! But then, we woke up Christmas morning, did their stockings and then their present and Emma looked at me and said, "I don't think Santa brought the gifts or the stocking". I looked at her and nervsously said, "you don't"? and she said, "no, I think he just came for the cookies"!! GREAT, now I've made Santa a selfish man that comes to take and be a glutten! Is this a product of me overthinking things? I would say so. Will my children need therapy for my tendency to over analyze things? Most likely, yes. Points deducted, trophy denied. Maybe next year.

And since I have the need to try to keeps things as even as possible between them so that one of them won't think that one is more important to me than the other (yes overanalyzing things again). I'm going to tell a not related to Christmas funny from Chloe. She went to Adam with a pack of fruit snacks and said, "Open these". to which Adam replied, "Excuse me? What's the magic word"? Chloe's response, of course was, "Abracadabra". Needless to say, she managed to get the fruit snacks opened without saying please.

I'm going to post my smugmug gallery. Most of the pictures have a description under them and that will save us all some time.

But here was the general plan:
We stayed here for Christmas and then travelled to Alabama on Sunday and were there for New Years. Chloe seems to be taking after me and doesn't do well out of her own bed. She had night terrors 4 out of 6 of the nights we were gone. It has only happened twice while we are at home and it seems to be on days when she doesn't have a good nap so making sure that kid doesn't get over exhausted is now a top priority! Other than the night terrors, it was an absolutely wonderful holiday season. I prepared our meals ahead of time and since Christmas was on Friday, we had three straight days of play. We had puppet shows and scavanger hunts, made a birthday cake for Jesus, made cookies, went and served food at the mission and handed out the cookies. We had a sleepover upstairs and just really soaked each other up. We had a wonderful time visiting our families. And somehow, even with my insistance that we wanted to cut the gift thing down, I'm still trying reorganize and find a home for all the presents we brought home. And, with all the money that we got from Christmas and was saved from birthdays throughout the year, we will be making a trip to Disney World next week and it only costed me $300 out of my pocket! Woo Hoo!

Disclosure: It is very difficult for me to play both the role of photographer and mommy while Christmas presents are being opened. My sister was taking the pictures at my moms and that is why there are a lot more there than there than when we were opening gifts at Adam's parents. Thanks Denise!
And now, our CHRISTMAS PHOTOS:



We also made a little detour on our way home and saw our friends George, and Jay and Sarah Jane and though I did somehow miss getting a picture of the kids, I never miss the opportunity to get a baby bump. You can see those pictures over at Jay's blog.

Blessings,
Dana