He is always going to be my baby. Ya know? I just can hold him still, and he lets me hold him, like really lets me hold him. I know I don't have much time with this, as at any given point it will stop..but nights like tonight, I just really cherish. And it isn't just me. He doesn't let me do it for me, he needs it too.
We watched Home Alone last night, and did the 2nd one tonight. I was cold tonight, and asked if I could hold him to warm up, and he said yes. Well that ended up being the best snuggle I have had in a long time. I just love his smell, his soft voice asking me things about the movie, and having what he would consider adult conversation with him. I answer him honestly about things, but carefully too. I love that I can talk with him on a different level about things, but I also love that he still needs me to caress him, to just give him that affection that a mom knows how. I am not clingy by any means, and I am careful to ask him each time if I can just sit with him, and share things, and he is always so eager to just have that special quiet time.
I feel so many times that I failed in the beginning. I know I had PPD when he was born. I struggled a lot with feelings that I wasn't good enough, and I guess I still do at times. I was so caught up in feeling overwhelmed and feeling like I just need to get through the motions, and this too shall pass, but I was missing so many fucking things that I should have been enjoying. I got caught up on a message board, and caught up in so much stupid drama that I was anxious at times to get him on a routine, and get him in bed so I could feel like I belonged to something, but shoot. I belonged with him, and missed out.
I know I can't dwell on the past. I realized that a long time ago. But I think I keep getting 2nd chances all over again, and I think I am super lucky that he is always here, so willing to please, and he is just the most amazing boy you would ever meet. I can't tell him enough how proud I am to be his mother. I mean he just takes on so many things, and is the very best helper, and wants to please, and it isn't because I think he is missing something in his life. I tell him time and time again that I don't know how I got so lucky to be his mother. I was blessed time and time again, and I just wish he knew how lucky I feel. I won the lottery, and I continue to get my lucky numbers called daily seeing him grow, and mature, and he is so intelligent. He just has so much to offer the world. I am rambling and babbling now..lol..
But it's nights like tonight. He tells me how much he loves me, and I am in awe at how in touch he is with his feelings, and I think that is pretty good that he can express himself. He also fights for what is right, and he and his dad can really argue, and at times when I see him not backing down for what he feels is right, it is in those moments I am most proud of him. Not that I am proud that he and dad are fighting or arguing about a mess that needs cleaned up..or because of something breaking, and him not wanting to be blamed for it..but that he has found a strong voice that he won't allow himself to be walked on by peers, or at least make a good point in what he feels is right. He is a good kid. And, he can only get better, and better.
Matthew. One day you will read this when I am gone, and you have this bound into a hard cover book. You will hear me tell you a thousand more times, but for tonight let me just say:
"You are everything to me. You are everything I could ever imagined you would become, and so much more. You will be an amazing father, an amazing partner to whomever you fall in love with. I love you to the moon and back again, and again."
Love,
Mommy.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Wrapping up the trip!
Ok..last day, I promise!
Saturday. We had just conquered Disney for a whole 5 days, and now it was time to visit Knott's Berry Farms.
Mike and I had gone for our honeymoon, 13 years ago, so it was nice to be able to see what had all changed since we were last there.
I think they do a good job keeping it country themed, and I can see how they take the time to keep that aspect in the park. I appreciate that about these family owned parks.
I am not going to lie..seeing the Supreme Scream drop from the freeway was a little shaky for me. I had let Mike talk me into going on it when we were there last, and I swore I would never, ever do it again. That thing is pretty scary, so I think it speaks for itself. You slowly climb these towers with your legs dangling, all of the way up..I think it is 300 something feet high. You get to the very top, and it acts like it is going to drop you by doing a fake out drop..and just when you get your barings, you FALL. So, I can see how Matthew would love it, being that he loved Tower of Terror so much. It was right up his alley. He had no qualms going on that ride, and he didn't even say goodbye to me! HA! He was back in my arms in an instant though.
Erm,....
If I could plan this trip again, and we were going back to Knott's again, we would go mid-week, and during the same week we were doing Disney. We chose to have this be the last part of our trip, and I think it made it such a comparison place for me. We just weren't in our Disney Bubble any longer. I don't want to dog on it because it does have thrill rides, and Disney is themed rides, but if I am being fair here...Knott's has gone downhill. There. I said it. I just couldn't get over how grungy everything felt. I am not being a snob. I am being a protective parent. It just had a sleezy vibe to it at some parts..like walking through their carnival game area, I wouldn't want my daughter to go through wearing cut off shorts..(but then, I wouldn't allow her to, anyways!)
I loved their strollers they had. They were big, and smooth, and they were a breeze to stear around. They were also so cheap to rent! Loved that!
In regards to rides, Kate got the short end of the stick, and was always 2 inches too short to ride anything. Their version of the rapid ride, they wanted her to be 4 inches taller, and it was MELLOW. It was not even a ride you got wet on, and there at Disney, it was CRAZINESS. But, I dig it. I digged their safety factor.
The bathrooms were un-air conditioned. They hire a woman to stand in them, mopping the water off the floors from the sinks splashing. She goes up and down the stalls all day long, till shift change, sweating her ass off, and with it being as HOT as it is there, and not having air conditioning, it was gross. I felt terrible for her, and the other women that had bathroom mopping duty in each of the bathrooms--it was like walking into a HOT port-a-potty each time you wanted to go--enough said. I wanted to go and wet some paper towels, and fold them and rest them on my neck, but they don't stock paper towels there. Just the air dryers, and toilet seat liners that disintegrate at the site of water. I kept thinking with the ladies mopping the floors so obsessively, if it was due to a lawsuit that had happened in the past, and they have strict orders to keep any given drop of water off the floors? I was confused. And hot. lol
Most of the thrill rides were broken down, so we went to TGIFridays for lunch. Had never been to one before, and I like a good chain themed place to eat, and it was a good distraction of the hot day. Mike and I downed some ciders, and the kids napped happily in their booth. It was great to see them lay together so sweetly. After we had lunch, we went back and saw they had a Johnny Rockets there. I was bummed to have missed that place. We ate there once in Hawaii, and had such fond memories of eating there, drinking happy hour mai tais.
When we went back inside the park, more rides were broken down, so Mike went and talked to the manager of the park. I think he felt embarrassed that he wanted to take us there so badly, and here was this defunct park--kinda like driving all of the way to Wally World, and having it be closed. He came out of the managers office with a pamphlet of some sorts. Basically what they did was gave him VIP status to walk on all of the major coasters, and we wouldn't have to wait in line. He was happy that he was able to make it happen. I wasn't really too interested at that point, and I was more interested in seeing the white ginormous strob light that followed the sky--the light that comes from California Adventure that I could see all of the way at Knott's. I was depressed I think.
I just felt this pit in my gut, like--man..I felt like I had to watch my back the whole time at Knott's. It didn't have that safety feeling like you get when you are at the other parks. We never ever worried about our things in the strollers. I mean, of course you worry. Of course you are smart, and carry your cash in your zipped pockets..but at Disney, you can walk off, leave your stroller for hours with your backpack inside, and come back, see it moved a little bit from the cast members, and have everything still be there. Lessoned learned. :)
I mis-heard Mike say he wanted to ride one more ride, and I was thrilled. We were there late..it was about 930 at this point, and Kate wanted to ride the frog hopper over and over. I took her over, and was having fun with her, and then Mike said he was ready to try the other side of the park, and I was like, huh? Thought we were leaving? lol We stayed and finished a few more rides, and I got to tell you, I was watching the clock, knowing when that World of Disney store was closing..and as soon as we got on the freeway, I glanced at Mike, and he was like, "I know. Disney, huh?"
He dropped me off at the entrance to Downtown Disney, and I felt like I was back HOME! LOL! The party atmosphere was in full swing, and it just felt right! Walking amongst everyone, I felt safe, protected, just back in that bubble.
So, I had one mission. To get Mickey gloves, and knowing how far away that store was inside, I was fretting a little bit. I walked, and walked, and walked..and oh man did I walk!! But I saw the store, and it was open, and I may have even shed a tear..knowing I had made it in, and didn't have to worry about going before the flight the next day, I was ever so happy.
Not only did I get the gloves, they had Mickey ears for the furbabies, a couple of cool shirts, and some little things I had seen along the way..I got it all, and felt on top of the world. The kids were asleep in the car by the time I made it back..Poor Mike had to drive round and round Disney so that he didnt' have to have valet, and since they were setting up for the marathon, extra security was in full swing. I think my legs were like Jell-O at this point, but I made it back, and I was so happy. :)
We drove to the hotel, and as I was steering a very tired, head bobbing Matthew through the hotel parking lot, he asked me if I got his gloves. Poor kid must have been so worried still. I said, "Of course I did!"
We got up to the room, and he was so anxious to try them on, and once he did, he smiled. I did it!
Saturday. We had just conquered Disney for a whole 5 days, and now it was time to visit Knott's Berry Farms.
Mike and I had gone for our honeymoon, 13 years ago, so it was nice to be able to see what had all changed since we were last there.
I think they do a good job keeping it country themed, and I can see how they take the time to keep that aspect in the park. I appreciate that about these family owned parks.
I am not going to lie..seeing the Supreme Scream drop from the freeway was a little shaky for me. I had let Mike talk me into going on it when we were there last, and I swore I would never, ever do it again. That thing is pretty scary, so I think it speaks for itself. You slowly climb these towers with your legs dangling, all of the way up..I think it is 300 something feet high. You get to the very top, and it acts like it is going to drop you by doing a fake out drop..and just when you get your barings, you FALL. So, I can see how Matthew would love it, being that he loved Tower of Terror so much. It was right up his alley. He had no qualms going on that ride, and he didn't even say goodbye to me! HA! He was back in my arms in an instant though.
Erm,....
If I could plan this trip again, and we were going back to Knott's again, we would go mid-week, and during the same week we were doing Disney. We chose to have this be the last part of our trip, and I think it made it such a comparison place for me. We just weren't in our Disney Bubble any longer. I don't want to dog on it because it does have thrill rides, and Disney is themed rides, but if I am being fair here...Knott's has gone downhill. There. I said it. I just couldn't get over how grungy everything felt. I am not being a snob. I am being a protective parent. It just had a sleezy vibe to it at some parts..like walking through their carnival game area, I wouldn't want my daughter to go through wearing cut off shorts..(but then, I wouldn't allow her to, anyways!)
I loved their strollers they had. They were big, and smooth, and they were a breeze to stear around. They were also so cheap to rent! Loved that!
In regards to rides, Kate got the short end of the stick, and was always 2 inches too short to ride anything. Their version of the rapid ride, they wanted her to be 4 inches taller, and it was MELLOW. It was not even a ride you got wet on, and there at Disney, it was CRAZINESS. But, I dig it. I digged their safety factor.
The bathrooms were un-air conditioned. They hire a woman to stand in them, mopping the water off the floors from the sinks splashing. She goes up and down the stalls all day long, till shift change, sweating her ass off, and with it being as HOT as it is there, and not having air conditioning, it was gross. I felt terrible for her, and the other women that had bathroom mopping duty in each of the bathrooms--it was like walking into a HOT port-a-potty each time you wanted to go--enough said. I wanted to go and wet some paper towels, and fold them and rest them on my neck, but they don't stock paper towels there. Just the air dryers, and toilet seat liners that disintegrate at the site of water. I kept thinking with the ladies mopping the floors so obsessively, if it was due to a lawsuit that had happened in the past, and they have strict orders to keep any given drop of water off the floors? I was confused. And hot. lol
Most of the thrill rides were broken down, so we went to TGIFridays for lunch. Had never been to one before, and I like a good chain themed place to eat, and it was a good distraction of the hot day. Mike and I downed some ciders, and the kids napped happily in their booth. It was great to see them lay together so sweetly. After we had lunch, we went back and saw they had a Johnny Rockets there. I was bummed to have missed that place. We ate there once in Hawaii, and had such fond memories of eating there, drinking happy hour mai tais.
When we went back inside the park, more rides were broken down, so Mike went and talked to the manager of the park. I think he felt embarrassed that he wanted to take us there so badly, and here was this defunct park--kinda like driving all of the way to Wally World, and having it be closed. He came out of the managers office with a pamphlet of some sorts. Basically what they did was gave him VIP status to walk on all of the major coasters, and we wouldn't have to wait in line. He was happy that he was able to make it happen. I wasn't really too interested at that point, and I was more interested in seeing the white ginormous strob light that followed the sky--the light that comes from California Adventure that I could see all of the way at Knott's. I was depressed I think.
I just felt this pit in my gut, like--man..I felt like I had to watch my back the whole time at Knott's. It didn't have that safety feeling like you get when you are at the other parks. We never ever worried about our things in the strollers. I mean, of course you worry. Of course you are smart, and carry your cash in your zipped pockets..but at Disney, you can walk off, leave your stroller for hours with your backpack inside, and come back, see it moved a little bit from the cast members, and have everything still be there. Lessoned learned. :)
I mis-heard Mike say he wanted to ride one more ride, and I was thrilled. We were there late..it was about 930 at this point, and Kate wanted to ride the frog hopper over and over. I took her over, and was having fun with her, and then Mike said he was ready to try the other side of the park, and I was like, huh? Thought we were leaving? lol We stayed and finished a few more rides, and I got to tell you, I was watching the clock, knowing when that World of Disney store was closing..and as soon as we got on the freeway, I glanced at Mike, and he was like, "I know. Disney, huh?"
He dropped me off at the entrance to Downtown Disney, and I felt like I was back HOME! LOL! The party atmosphere was in full swing, and it just felt right! Walking amongst everyone, I felt safe, protected, just back in that bubble.
So, I had one mission. To get Mickey gloves, and knowing how far away that store was inside, I was fretting a little bit. I walked, and walked, and walked..and oh man did I walk!! But I saw the store, and it was open, and I may have even shed a tear..knowing I had made it in, and didn't have to worry about going before the flight the next day, I was ever so happy.
Not only did I get the gloves, they had Mickey ears for the furbabies, a couple of cool shirts, and some little things I had seen along the way..I got it all, and felt on top of the world. The kids were asleep in the car by the time I made it back..Poor Mike had to drive round and round Disney so that he didnt' have to have valet, and since they were setting up for the marathon, extra security was in full swing. I think my legs were like Jell-O at this point, but I made it back, and I was so happy. :)
We drove to the hotel, and as I was steering a very tired, head bobbing Matthew through the hotel parking lot, he asked me if I got his gloves. Poor kid must have been so worried still. I said, "Of course I did!"
We got up to the room, and he was so anxious to try them on, and once he did, he smiled. I did it!
The next day was Sunday, and it meant--time to go home. Sleeping in, packing and weighing suitcases, and repacking them again since they weighed too much, and then weighing again, and repacking them again. Good thing I had thought ahead, and paid for 2 extra carry ons to accompany us on the way home..but the liquids kept messing with me. Wet clothes kept messing with me. It was chaotic, but I know it is that way with everyone.
Made it to LAX in record time, thanks to the handy GPS, and when we got there, the rental car return couldn't have gone smoother. We found out flight was delayed 2 hours. Bummer. Got in the gate, and it changed to 4 hours. Kids didn't care. Kids sat there, plugged in, and sat on their butts and played their DS's, and did NOT complain once. Occasionally, Matthew would ask me what time it was now, but they were happy to be planted in a chair, and loved it. Best kids in an airport, ever.
It ended up not being that delayed. Got seated. Looked across the row, and who is sitting across from me? My PCP. LOL! He moved to the end of the row so that we could chat.
Awesome, awkward..amazing, and funny.
Mike asked me if I wanted a beer. Nope! I wasn't about to drink in front of him. Nope. No way. He is also Mike's doctor, btw..Mike didn't hear what I was throwing down. He just thought I was making amazing conversation with a nice man since Mike and I weren't sitting together. He was behind me with Kate. It was a great trip looking back and reflecting. We had a such a great time, even if I dissed on the other park for a few minutes. I truly mean it. Awesome times. Awesome.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Disney, Day FIVE!
Oh I hate to write about this day, because it means it was the end of our "Disney Bubble"..it was the end of the end, and there was no saying, "Tomorrow, we are going to go on..."
So it starts. We woke knowing we were going to close the park, and closing the park meant midnight since it was Friday.
Admittedly, we took our time in the am. We wanted to make sure we would have everything we needed to finish off the day. Everyone put on their best Mickey attire, and grabbed our Mickey ears, and off we went!
It was an odd day to start because for some reason, we couldn't get into the Disney parking garage. It was closed down. We could see cars getting into it, but all of the freeway entrances we tried were blocked. They were diverting traffic to the out-lots, lots surrounding the Disney hotels, and I think it was because they were expecting a lot of traffic. But, that also meant a lot of unnecessary walking on our parts before we even made it inside the park. The kids were complaining of the heat on the black top before we even made it inside Downtown Disney. Once inside, DD, I carried Kate most of the way there. Poor punks. It was a lot of steps for a little munchkin. This is the #1 reason that when we go back, we will pay the extra 150.00 a night to stay on property. We loved, LOVED our hotel, and how great they treated us, and spoiled us, (I haven't even blogged about how great the service was at The Embassy, it was DEVINE!) but when you are spending 1 hour each way, dealing with parking, and getting into the parks, you learn quickly how much time is money, and money is time.
Finally we get into the park, drenched with sweat, and we knew the only place we wanted to go was Splash Mountain. Some might say, "Really? How many times can you ride that, and have it be so much fun every time?" Easy. There are so many personal family jokes that were made on that ride. For instance, when Brer Fox is angry with Brer Bear for getting his feet caught up in the rope, and he is dangling upside down, Brer Fox says, "We 'aint got time for this! We gots to get out of here! Get yerself down from there!!" Every single time, Mike nudges me because of our first trip to Disney together, we laughed and laughed at that part. What fun. <3 p="">
Kate loves the "How do you do?? I really must get along, I really must be gone--song" I know those probably aren't the right words, but she could sing, and sing that song all day. Her knowing that is my favorite ride, and pointing at all of my favorite animatronics, makes me smile, thinking back at it all.
So this day, we rode this a record 6 times in a row before the lines caught up with us. We spent a lot of time getting those last minute rides in..I don't remember now if I blogged about Kate overcoming her fear with Space Mountain, but she met a little girl on the rapid ride that got a new pin on her lanyard every time she overcame her fear of a ride, and so I told Kate I would buy her Pascal the chameleon off Tangled if she overcame her fears of Space Mountain, and she rode it, and mission accomplished. Mom bought her the stuffie, and also the Tangled wig. She was excited. So much, she rode Space Mtn 3 more times, loving every moment of it. I don't know if she is cured, per say..but she was happy, and felt at ease, and felt powerful that she accomplished it.
Matthew really wanted the Mickey gloves, and settled on a Goofy hat during the day because he didn't want to get the gloves dirty. I was happy knowing all I had left was the gloves to buy. We did so great with souvenirs! We ate really expensive spaghetti this day, and it was terrible. Awful, really. LOL! But, what can you say? They sell spaghetti at the end of Space Mtn, in a spacey themed restaurant, and that is what the kids wanted, and well, 50.00 later, we had fast food spaghetti. The kids licked their plates, while the parents popped Tums. :)
We were finishing up Toad's Great Adventure, and Alice, and the teacups, and I couldn't stop talking about how much I loved Toad's Great Adventure. I hope it isn't a stereotype to my fellow Brits, I just loved all of the England themed scenes. I wanted to ride it again and again, and for some reason, I have always missed this ride. I had never rode it before, in all of our other trips, so it was cool to have this last chance at it.
So the theme of this trip was how hot it was. It was so dang hot. We live in the mildest part of the country and we are just spoiled with our mild weather. It became the time of day where we seeked water, and we found the water park at California Adventure. It is a spray park where all of the kids can get soaked, and the parents too. Next time we go, I am allowing us to change into swim suits, at least the kids..and let them run amuck. It is such an awesome attraction, and with how hot it gets, you dry fast.
I treated myself and Matthew to new T-shirts, Tower Of Terror themed, and we found a beer stand! Mike and I kept seeing people walking around CA with beers in their hands, but couldn't figure out where they were getting them. We stopped for dessert, and I finally looked up at the menu and found you could buy beer, anywhere! Well, you didn't have to tell me twice. Mike and I clinked yellow neon cups, and went on our way! WOW! This day was already fun, but it became instantly silliness from this point. We were clinking yellow plastic cups all day long. "Skumps!! Skumps!!" Man, how fun the rides became. It was hot, but we were silly faced. I think everyone should be entitled to have 3 beers to get through a Friday evening at Disney with all of the families there, and all of the strollers. 'Nuff said.
CA closes the California Screamin' coaster early to get ready for World of Color, so Mike and I decided it was do or die. Matthew wanted to ride Tower of Terror one last time in the real dark night so he could see all of Disney at night, up high, and Kate wanted to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. Well, we had kids wanting to be at 2 different parks, so we said our goodbyes, and Kate and I ran off into the sunset to do all of our "One last rides.." at Disney. She has my heart, and my love of good 'ol fashioned Disneyland, and we rode Pirates 2 times in a row, Splash 2 more times, and then we saw that the Matterhorn was OPEN! YAY! They had been refurbishing it all week long, so her and I jumped in line, and called the boys. We said, "Hurry Hurry! You are going to miss Matterhorn!" They came over as soon as they could..panting and out of breath, and just like that, we all got on the ride together. It was magical.
Matthew kept reminding me that I needed to buy his Mickey gloves, and I kept telling him yes..yes..I will, promise! So we just kept going from attraction to attraction. Boy when that last one stopped letting people on, it was a deflation all around. We all let our shoulders hang, and we walked towards the entrance. We cried, listening to the music that plays as you are leaving Main St Plaza, knowing we won't be back for however long..and it was such a sad, sad feeling. You go knowing you have 5 days there, and after day one, and day two, you are like, I still have 4 days here! Then, poof! Day 5 comes, and it is so short. SOOO short.
Well, so we are walking by all of the shops, and I am thinking..don't sweat it, the World Of Disney is open, I will get the gloves there. We get closer to Downtown Disney, and what!! It looks like it isn't open! I run to the door, begging to let me in for the gloves, and they say they can't..they closed a half and hour ago. I turned to look at Matthew, and he was bawling. How could I forget, and be so dumb? Oh, I felt like a jerk. I knew I was going to have to make it right..so it was either get there in the AM, or go before our flight on Sunday. I hated leaving our amazing day there, knowing Matthew was so upset with me for not getting his gloves, he had been so amazingly great the whole time, and I knew that was the one thing he really wanted..and I just felt terrible.
We left and went back to the hotel.....walking the whole way back, and Mike carried Kate. He deserved a metal for the distance he walked with her, slumped on his shoulder.
So it starts. We woke knowing we were going to close the park, and closing the park meant midnight since it was Friday.
Admittedly, we took our time in the am. We wanted to make sure we would have everything we needed to finish off the day. Everyone put on their best Mickey attire, and grabbed our Mickey ears, and off we went!
It was an odd day to start because for some reason, we couldn't get into the Disney parking garage. It was closed down. We could see cars getting into it, but all of the freeway entrances we tried were blocked. They were diverting traffic to the out-lots, lots surrounding the Disney hotels, and I think it was because they were expecting a lot of traffic. But, that also meant a lot of unnecessary walking on our parts before we even made it inside the park. The kids were complaining of the heat on the black top before we even made it inside Downtown Disney. Once inside, DD, I carried Kate most of the way there. Poor punks. It was a lot of steps for a little munchkin. This is the #1 reason that when we go back, we will pay the extra 150.00 a night to stay on property. We loved, LOVED our hotel, and how great they treated us, and spoiled us, (I haven't even blogged about how great the service was at The Embassy, it was DEVINE!) but when you are spending 1 hour each way, dealing with parking, and getting into the parks, you learn quickly how much time is money, and money is time.
Finally we get into the park, drenched with sweat, and we knew the only place we wanted to go was Splash Mountain. Some might say, "Really? How many times can you ride that, and have it be so much fun every time?" Easy. There are so many personal family jokes that were made on that ride. For instance, when Brer Fox is angry with Brer Bear for getting his feet caught up in the rope, and he is dangling upside down, Brer Fox says, "We 'aint got time for this! We gots to get out of here! Get yerself down from there!!" Every single time, Mike nudges me because of our first trip to Disney together, we laughed and laughed at that part. What fun. <3 p="">
Kate loves the "How do you do?? I really must get along, I really must be gone--song" I know those probably aren't the right words, but she could sing, and sing that song all day. Her knowing that is my favorite ride, and pointing at all of my favorite animatronics, makes me smile, thinking back at it all.
So this day, we rode this a record 6 times in a row before the lines caught up with us. We spent a lot of time getting those last minute rides in..I don't remember now if I blogged about Kate overcoming her fear with Space Mountain, but she met a little girl on the rapid ride that got a new pin on her lanyard every time she overcame her fear of a ride, and so I told Kate I would buy her Pascal the chameleon off Tangled if she overcame her fears of Space Mountain, and she rode it, and mission accomplished. Mom bought her the stuffie, and also the Tangled wig. She was excited. So much, she rode Space Mtn 3 more times, loving every moment of it. I don't know if she is cured, per say..but she was happy, and felt at ease, and felt powerful that she accomplished it.
Matthew really wanted the Mickey gloves, and settled on a Goofy hat during the day because he didn't want to get the gloves dirty. I was happy knowing all I had left was the gloves to buy. We did so great with souvenirs! We ate really expensive spaghetti this day, and it was terrible. Awful, really. LOL! But, what can you say? They sell spaghetti at the end of Space Mtn, in a spacey themed restaurant, and that is what the kids wanted, and well, 50.00 later, we had fast food spaghetti. The kids licked their plates, while the parents popped Tums. :)
We were finishing up Toad's Great Adventure, and Alice, and the teacups, and I couldn't stop talking about how much I loved Toad's Great Adventure. I hope it isn't a stereotype to my fellow Brits, I just loved all of the England themed scenes. I wanted to ride it again and again, and for some reason, I have always missed this ride. I had never rode it before, in all of our other trips, so it was cool to have this last chance at it.
So the theme of this trip was how hot it was. It was so dang hot. We live in the mildest part of the country and we are just spoiled with our mild weather. It became the time of day where we seeked water, and we found the water park at California Adventure. It is a spray park where all of the kids can get soaked, and the parents too. Next time we go, I am allowing us to change into swim suits, at least the kids..and let them run amuck. It is such an awesome attraction, and with how hot it gets, you dry fast.
I treated myself and Matthew to new T-shirts, Tower Of Terror themed, and we found a beer stand! Mike and I kept seeing people walking around CA with beers in their hands, but couldn't figure out where they were getting them. We stopped for dessert, and I finally looked up at the menu and found you could buy beer, anywhere! Well, you didn't have to tell me twice. Mike and I clinked yellow neon cups, and went on our way! WOW! This day was already fun, but it became instantly silliness from this point. We were clinking yellow plastic cups all day long. "Skumps!! Skumps!!" Man, how fun the rides became. It was hot, but we were silly faced. I think everyone should be entitled to have 3 beers to get through a Friday evening at Disney with all of the families there, and all of the strollers. 'Nuff said.
CA closes the California Screamin' coaster early to get ready for World of Color, so Mike and I decided it was do or die. Matthew wanted to ride Tower of Terror one last time in the real dark night so he could see all of Disney at night, up high, and Kate wanted to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. Well, we had kids wanting to be at 2 different parks, so we said our goodbyes, and Kate and I ran off into the sunset to do all of our "One last rides.." at Disney. She has my heart, and my love of good 'ol fashioned Disneyland, and we rode Pirates 2 times in a row, Splash 2 more times, and then we saw that the Matterhorn was OPEN! YAY! They had been refurbishing it all week long, so her and I jumped in line, and called the boys. We said, "Hurry Hurry! You are going to miss Matterhorn!" They came over as soon as they could..panting and out of breath, and just like that, we all got on the ride together. It was magical.
Matthew kept reminding me that I needed to buy his Mickey gloves, and I kept telling him yes..yes..I will, promise! So we just kept going from attraction to attraction. Boy when that last one stopped letting people on, it was a deflation all around. We all let our shoulders hang, and we walked towards the entrance. We cried, listening to the music that plays as you are leaving Main St Plaza, knowing we won't be back for however long..and it was such a sad, sad feeling. You go knowing you have 5 days there, and after day one, and day two, you are like, I still have 4 days here! Then, poof! Day 5 comes, and it is so short. SOOO short.
Well, so we are walking by all of the shops, and I am thinking..don't sweat it, the World Of Disney is open, I will get the gloves there. We get closer to Downtown Disney, and what!! It looks like it isn't open! I run to the door, begging to let me in for the gloves, and they say they can't..they closed a half and hour ago. I turned to look at Matthew, and he was bawling. How could I forget, and be so dumb? Oh, I felt like a jerk. I knew I was going to have to make it right..so it was either get there in the AM, or go before our flight on Sunday. I hated leaving our amazing day there, knowing Matthew was so upset with me for not getting his gloves, he had been so amazingly great the whole time, and I knew that was the one thing he really wanted..and I just felt terrible.
We left and went back to the hotel.....walking the whole way back, and Mike carried Kate. He deserved a metal for the distance he walked with her, slumped on his shoulder.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Disney, Day 4
WOW! I dropped off the planet for a couple of weeks..but don't you worry! I have it all still fresh in my noggin!
Ok, Day 4 started off with a BANG! I was up, I was ready, and I wanted to have a total do over from being sick.
I had us up and out of there so fast, it wasn't even funny. We decided to have Thursday be our early day at Disney. As usual, Disney passes allow you one early entry day, so we were on it! We were ready to roll by 730, and we were on the tram!
We were so stoked to get there that early, but man..it seemed like it was also everyone else's early day too. It didn't bother us. We did all of the rides that took 5 minutes or less. We rode Pirates 2x in a row, and then went and met Princess Tiana in New Orleans Square. Boy, she was beautiful! I was in awe, Matthew was in awe..it was a great day. After meeting Tiana, we strolled over to Splash Mountain. There was NO lines. It was 930 by this time, and it was HOT. HOT at 930? Yeah, I think it was already 90 degrees. We rode Splash Mountain 5 times in the row. No joke. The fun of the morning was all of the pictures you get taken of you at the drop. Matthew said, "Let's make the scariest faces we can each time!" The series of photos that we got that day cracked me up so hard. OMG. I will never forget it.
Matthew really shined this day. I will never forget how excited he was. It was like he was finally comfortable with himself, the trip, and Disneyland as a whole. He wanted to have fun, he was carefree, and he was just H.A.P.P.Y. I have a facial expression burned in my brain of him standing in front of me in line for a ride, and he threw back his head in laughter, made a joke (something sarcastic of course) and raised his one eyebrow at me, and laughed his behind off even more. I fell in love with him even more that day. sigh. OMG. It was such a great day.
After walking back through New Orleans, I went over to the Dole Whip stand, and happily handed over my 10.00 for a nice, frosty, delicious Dole Whip. It was so worth it. OMG.
After that cold, frosty treat, we went and watched the Tangled show. It was a 15 minute version of the movie, done Masterpiece Theater style, and the kids got to sit on rugs, and we had a blast watching them from afar. Kate got to meet Flynn Rider this day, and that was great.
We then headed over to C.A. We did a ton of day rides there. We were on roller coasters and I had my video camera recording, and Matthew was scolding me the entire time. "Mommy! I don't want you to lose your camera!" It was so funny.
Later, after lunch, and many pit stops to the fountains to get drenched, we rode the Grizzly Rapid ride again. And a funny thing about that ride was that every time we rode it, they made us ride with 4 other people to fill the ride. Well, once we were seated, Kate would look at the complete strangers, and tell them about all of the princesses she had met, and she would ask them if this was their first time on this ride, wait for their response, and then say, "I've probably rode this ride 10x (the amount climbed each time) and it isn't even scary." And then she would break out the fake scared screams, and cries, and she really would put on a show for these strangers. We had people from foreign countries getting the biggest kick out of her. She wasn't obnoxious by any means, she was fun..and outgoing, and well..nothing like her mother. I am so shy. I don't know where she gets this from.
We decided to ride the Mickey Wheel, and we renamed it the Mickey Wheel of death. It was the SCARIEST ride I have EVER been on, and I have been to 6 Flags where you fall to your death on coasters. Nope. Never going to ride this ferris wheel again. I have since been on the Disney FB fan page, and I am not alone. Have you seen this thing? It is a cute, large looking ferris wheel with cars that SWING along bars going all of the way around the wheel. I almost puked. I was so done with that ride. The kids were laughing at my self torture. OMG.
This night we ate at New Orleans Square. I wanted to eat under the twinkling lights, and it was such a nice dinner. We ate, and then I think we rode splash mountain in the dark, finished up a few rides here and there, and closed the park. We all went home as happy campers. We slept like babies.
Ok, Day 4 started off with a BANG! I was up, I was ready, and I wanted to have a total do over from being sick.
I had us up and out of there so fast, it wasn't even funny. We decided to have Thursday be our early day at Disney. As usual, Disney passes allow you one early entry day, so we were on it! We were ready to roll by 730, and we were on the tram!
We were so stoked to get there that early, but man..it seemed like it was also everyone else's early day too. It didn't bother us. We did all of the rides that took 5 minutes or less. We rode Pirates 2x in a row, and then went and met Princess Tiana in New Orleans Square. Boy, she was beautiful! I was in awe, Matthew was in awe..it was a great day. After meeting Tiana, we strolled over to Splash Mountain. There was NO lines. It was 930 by this time, and it was HOT. HOT at 930? Yeah, I think it was already 90 degrees. We rode Splash Mountain 5 times in the row. No joke. The fun of the morning was all of the pictures you get taken of you at the drop. Matthew said, "Let's make the scariest faces we can each time!" The series of photos that we got that day cracked me up so hard. OMG. I will never forget it.
Matthew really shined this day. I will never forget how excited he was. It was like he was finally comfortable with himself, the trip, and Disneyland as a whole. He wanted to have fun, he was carefree, and he was just H.A.P.P.Y. I have a facial expression burned in my brain of him standing in front of me in line for a ride, and he threw back his head in laughter, made a joke (something sarcastic of course) and raised his one eyebrow at me, and laughed his behind off even more. I fell in love with him even more that day. sigh. OMG. It was such a great day.
After walking back through New Orleans, I went over to the Dole Whip stand, and happily handed over my 10.00 for a nice, frosty, delicious Dole Whip. It was so worth it. OMG.
After that cold, frosty treat, we went and watched the Tangled show. It was a 15 minute version of the movie, done Masterpiece Theater style, and the kids got to sit on rugs, and we had a blast watching them from afar. Kate got to meet Flynn Rider this day, and that was great.
We then headed over to C.A. We did a ton of day rides there. We were on roller coasters and I had my video camera recording, and Matthew was scolding me the entire time. "Mommy! I don't want you to lose your camera!" It was so funny.
Later, after lunch, and many pit stops to the fountains to get drenched, we rode the Grizzly Rapid ride again. And a funny thing about that ride was that every time we rode it, they made us ride with 4 other people to fill the ride. Well, once we were seated, Kate would look at the complete strangers, and tell them about all of the princesses she had met, and she would ask them if this was their first time on this ride, wait for their response, and then say, "I've probably rode this ride 10x (the amount climbed each time) and it isn't even scary." And then she would break out the fake scared screams, and cries, and she really would put on a show for these strangers. We had people from foreign countries getting the biggest kick out of her. She wasn't obnoxious by any means, she was fun..and outgoing, and well..nothing like her mother. I am so shy. I don't know where she gets this from.
We decided to ride the Mickey Wheel, and we renamed it the Mickey Wheel of death. It was the SCARIEST ride I have EVER been on, and I have been to 6 Flags where you fall to your death on coasters. Nope. Never going to ride this ferris wheel again. I have since been on the Disney FB fan page, and I am not alone. Have you seen this thing? It is a cute, large looking ferris wheel with cars that SWING along bars going all of the way around the wheel. I almost puked. I was so done with that ride. The kids were laughing at my self torture. OMG.
This night we ate at New Orleans Square. I wanted to eat under the twinkling lights, and it was such a nice dinner. We ate, and then I think we rode splash mountain in the dark, finished up a few rides here and there, and closed the park. We all went home as happy campers. We slept like babies.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Day 3, Disney.
Day 3 was interesting. I went to bed the night before with strange feeling eyes, and I kept needing to clear my throat to talk. It was pretty odd, but ya know, we had been walking around in the dead heat, and were super tired. I thought nothing of it going to bed.
I woke up to Disney, day 3 with a fever. I was like NO! This can't be happening now. What in the world? I had brought my trusty scaled down medicine kit, and luckily had the insight to pack the thermometer, and it was telling me I was 100.2. Okay, not so bad, just a low temp. Shoot. I felt terrible. Awful, and miserable. Mike kept asking me what I wanted to do, and inside I was like, shoot. I want to stay here, and sleep this off! But c'mon! Who stays home at the hotel when you are at such an amazing place? It's not like I could make up for it later. Not like we were going back next month, ya know? Mike went down to the gift shop in search of some Dayquil, I popped some ibuprofen, and a pain killer too, and we were off to the parks.
Inside I was regretting every minute of leaving the hotel, but I wasn't about to tell them that. We went to Toon Town at Disney, and something about Toon Town. It is always at least 5 degrees hotter there than the whole park. Every time we have gone to that section, no matter what time of year we have been there...hot. Hotter. Hottest. I blew my nose all day, and nursed my fever by staying close to fountains, and pouring water over my pant legs, and we became total tourists and pitched in for one of those water sprayer/myster things. It was awesome. We looked the part.
I don't remember a lot about this day, unfortunately. I remember being super hot. Super duper hot. I sat a lot of the day out. The kids rode the Tower of Terror like 2-3 times, and I sat on a curb and edited pics, and people watched. I had fun, don't get me wrong. I loved being able to take the time and edit photos, and I really enjoyed seeing the kids' faces coming off the rides and hearing how scary they were, and we sat and really enjoyed ourselves.
Mike surprised me by telling me we were going to leave the park at 8 pm that night. I felt such a huge sigh of relief. I think I even cried I was so happy. lol. He got me home, went and found some Nyquil, poured me a cup of it and put me to bed. I don't remember anything until about 2 am that night when I woke up in a deep sweat, and was wondering where the hell I was. lol. I changed clothes, got back in bed, woke at 630 with a BANG! I was like "I don't know who that alien was that invaded my body yesterday, but it is gone now!" I was seriously 100 % better. It wasn't even a comparison. Mike thinks I just willed whatever it was away, but I don't know. I was still Snotty-McSnottyton, but didn't care. I blew my nose all day again, but didn't have the fever or body ache. I conquered Disney with a vengeance, and it was only 9 am at this point.
Mike said I couldn't stop smiling, and it was so great to see since I had put on such a façade the day before. It was true. I didn't want to bring the family down, but wasn't sure where, or what was going to happen with feeling that way. I was just so relieved the worst was gone. I felt it was not going to come back, and it never did. I just got progressively better, all around.
Will finish the trip up tomorrow. Bed time.
I woke up to Disney, day 3 with a fever. I was like NO! This can't be happening now. What in the world? I had brought my trusty scaled down medicine kit, and luckily had the insight to pack the thermometer, and it was telling me I was 100.2. Okay, not so bad, just a low temp. Shoot. I felt terrible. Awful, and miserable. Mike kept asking me what I wanted to do, and inside I was like, shoot. I want to stay here, and sleep this off! But c'mon! Who stays home at the hotel when you are at such an amazing place? It's not like I could make up for it later. Not like we were going back next month, ya know? Mike went down to the gift shop in search of some Dayquil, I popped some ibuprofen, and a pain killer too, and we were off to the parks.
Inside I was regretting every minute of leaving the hotel, but I wasn't about to tell them that. We went to Toon Town at Disney, and something about Toon Town. It is always at least 5 degrees hotter there than the whole park. Every time we have gone to that section, no matter what time of year we have been there...hot. Hotter. Hottest. I blew my nose all day, and nursed my fever by staying close to fountains, and pouring water over my pant legs, and we became total tourists and pitched in for one of those water sprayer/myster things. It was awesome. We looked the part.
I don't remember a lot about this day, unfortunately. I remember being super hot. Super duper hot. I sat a lot of the day out. The kids rode the Tower of Terror like 2-3 times, and I sat on a curb and edited pics, and people watched. I had fun, don't get me wrong. I loved being able to take the time and edit photos, and I really enjoyed seeing the kids' faces coming off the rides and hearing how scary they were, and we sat and really enjoyed ourselves.
Mike surprised me by telling me we were going to leave the park at 8 pm that night. I felt such a huge sigh of relief. I think I even cried I was so happy. lol. He got me home, went and found some Nyquil, poured me a cup of it and put me to bed. I don't remember anything until about 2 am that night when I woke up in a deep sweat, and was wondering where the hell I was. lol. I changed clothes, got back in bed, woke at 630 with a BANG! I was like "I don't know who that alien was that invaded my body yesterday, but it is gone now!" I was seriously 100 % better. It wasn't even a comparison. Mike thinks I just willed whatever it was away, but I don't know. I was still Snotty-McSnottyton, but didn't care. I blew my nose all day again, but didn't have the fever or body ache. I conquered Disney with a vengeance, and it was only 9 am at this point.
Mike said I couldn't stop smiling, and it was so great to see since I had put on such a façade the day before. It was true. I didn't want to bring the family down, but wasn't sure where, or what was going to happen with feeling that way. I was just so relieved the worst was gone. I felt it was not going to come back, and it never did. I just got progressively better, all around.
Will finish the trip up tomorrow. Bed time.
Day 2, Disney.
Day 2 started off with our awesome breakfast again, but this time we started a little bit later in the morning. We were just so tired from the whole day before, but we didn't care. We knew we would be there until 10 pm, so we were going to have a full day there, regardless.
I want to say we started off at California Adventure again, and yes..we did! It was our 13th wedding anniversary. (see, it was a good point to have an event happening at the same time as the trip, as it helps with remembering where we were, and what we did that day)
We knew we wanted to start the day off with getting wet. It was the only way we could start the day off being cool, and then not be cranky. We went right over to Grizzly River Run and got completely soaked again. I think we rode it twice in a row since the lines were bearable. After that, we walked around "flight land"...it's what I call that area since it is next to Soarin', and they have it established to to resemble an air base from possibly the late 50's, or early 60's. It is hard to explain. We met up with Mickey again there, and he was wearing his old fashioned flight wear like the Wright Bros. would have worn. I hope I am making sense..it is designed to be the flight era when Amelia Earhart was gaining popularity, and it is just a cool part of town. They have old fashioned soda shops, candy shops, and everything is nostalgic there. Along with meeting Mickey again, we also met Pluto.
We spent most of the day at the Pier that day. We coined that day our screw around day. We took tons of sitting breaks on benches, and laughed, and laughed. We waited in line at the Pier for the Toy Story shooters game where you shoot at the screen to collect points, and it was SO MUCH FUN! Kate asked to be held a lot that day, and I can't tell you how many times I carried her. I had her on my hip most of the day, and she kept falling asleep if not on my shoulders, than on Mike's when he had taken her for me, and it never failed...once she really fell asleep, it was time to ride a ride. She did great about it though, and never whined. ---Who wouldn't love waking up to get in a ride car?
We took turns riding California Screamin' with Matthew while the other one did kiddie rides with Kate. This is the HUGE Mickey Mouse coaster that lines the pier, and goes super fast, and upside down. Hopefully she will be tall enough to ride when we go back. She would love how fast it goes, but I also appreciate her being her tiny size, and how innocent she still is. It's a win-win.
I wanted to go do DL, and close it down over there that night, but before we went over, I told Mike it was time to give in, and get her the stroller. He agreed. We couldn't keep carrying her. It was beginning to take a toll on us carrying her around. She is little, but still..it was a lot to carry her around such a huge place. Him and Matthew went and rented her the stroller, came back and saved the day. Awww. It felt so good to have my arms back.
We went back to Disneyland, and I think that is the night we did Indiana Jones. (Kate couldn't ride it, so we did the tree house, and other rides close by) and what else did we do? I can't remember! Oh yes! We went back to Space Mountain. Kate did need to be held for that ride line again since there was a wait, and you can't take the stroller past the entrance. She woke just in time to ride, and omgoodness! What a mistake! She freaked out, and screamed the whole time! I felt like such a jerk! She was screaming and crying. I felt terrible! After we calmed her down, and promised her she didn't have to ever ride it again, we were good to go.
We went back and rode the rapid ride again, and again, and ended up just sitting there on the concrete watching the fireworks that night. It was the perfect way to end the night.
I want to say we started off at California Adventure again, and yes..we did! It was our 13th wedding anniversary. (see, it was a good point to have an event happening at the same time as the trip, as it helps with remembering where we were, and what we did that day)
We knew we wanted to start the day off with getting wet. It was the only way we could start the day off being cool, and then not be cranky. We went right over to Grizzly River Run and got completely soaked again. I think we rode it twice in a row since the lines were bearable. After that, we walked around "flight land"...it's what I call that area since it is next to Soarin', and they have it established to to resemble an air base from possibly the late 50's, or early 60's. It is hard to explain. We met up with Mickey again there, and he was wearing his old fashioned flight wear like the Wright Bros. would have worn. I hope I am making sense..it is designed to be the flight era when Amelia Earhart was gaining popularity, and it is just a cool part of town. They have old fashioned soda shops, candy shops, and everything is nostalgic there. Along with meeting Mickey again, we also met Pluto.
We spent most of the day at the Pier that day. We coined that day our screw around day. We took tons of sitting breaks on benches, and laughed, and laughed. We waited in line at the Pier for the Toy Story shooters game where you shoot at the screen to collect points, and it was SO MUCH FUN! Kate asked to be held a lot that day, and I can't tell you how many times I carried her. I had her on my hip most of the day, and she kept falling asleep if not on my shoulders, than on Mike's when he had taken her for me, and it never failed...once she really fell asleep, it was time to ride a ride. She did great about it though, and never whined. ---Who wouldn't love waking up to get in a ride car?
We took turns riding California Screamin' with Matthew while the other one did kiddie rides with Kate. This is the HUGE Mickey Mouse coaster that lines the pier, and goes super fast, and upside down. Hopefully she will be tall enough to ride when we go back. She would love how fast it goes, but I also appreciate her being her tiny size, and how innocent she still is. It's a win-win.
I wanted to go do DL, and close it down over there that night, but before we went over, I told Mike it was time to give in, and get her the stroller. He agreed. We couldn't keep carrying her. It was beginning to take a toll on us carrying her around. She is little, but still..it was a lot to carry her around such a huge place. Him and Matthew went and rented her the stroller, came back and saved the day. Awww. It felt so good to have my arms back.
We went back to Disneyland, and I think that is the night we did Indiana Jones. (Kate couldn't ride it, so we did the tree house, and other rides close by) and what else did we do? I can't remember! Oh yes! We went back to Space Mountain. Kate did need to be held for that ride line again since there was a wait, and you can't take the stroller past the entrance. She woke just in time to ride, and omgoodness! What a mistake! She freaked out, and screamed the whole time! I felt like such a jerk! She was screaming and crying. I felt terrible! After we calmed her down, and promised her she didn't have to ever ride it again, we were good to go.
We went back and rode the rapid ride again, and again, and ended up just sitting there on the concrete watching the fireworks that night. It was the perfect way to end the night.
Vacation, continued.
After we saw Rapunzel, the world was ours for the taking! I was on a high knowing we had that marked off our list! Whooo hoo!
We went and rode several rides..I think we headed over to Auto-pia (is it still called that?) and Matthew was irritated we were going there when there was all of Disney to see and do! We got through that line, and that was the line I decided it was too hot for the Disney dress any longer, and took it off her. I had dressed her in shorts and a light t-shirt underneath so I could peel the dress off if it got too hot. Well, hot it did! It quickly climbed up to 95 degrees that day. We had checked the weather prior to leaving for the trip and were excited for the high 80's, but then a heat wave came through, and we soon realized that first day at Disney was going to be the coolest day we had there at 95 degrees.
I soon became too hot, a little cranky, and miserable, but hey! We were at Disney! We waited in line next for Space Mountain, not knowing how Kate would do with it, but we were optimistic about it. Matthew loved it so much when he was younger than her, so we just assumed she would love it too.
She pretty much hated the ride from beginning to end. She was scared, and was threatening to cry. No bueno. We decided we would need to wait to ride that one again.
Off to California Adventure! The kids were still doing so well without needing a stroller. They were getting a little tired of walking, but not complaining one bit, so we just rolled with it. We went to C.A, and just did all of the rides in the front of the park. We did Soarin', then the Hollywood Tower of Terror, (which made me nervous since Kate hated Space Mtn, but hey---we gave it a shot, and she LOVED it!) We had been telling her it was just a big version of a frog hopper. She thought it was awesome. Weird kid.
We found the Grizzly River Run, (rapid river ride) and got soaked! It was just what we needed. :) It was starting to get a little late, and we wanted to walk around and enjoy the lights around the park.
We hit up several rides around the Pier, and then it was time to watch the fireworks from inside, so we just laid on the ground and got cozy and I got tired, and then we watched them. They were fantastic as usual, and as expected. They have Mickey face fireworks, hearts with bows and arrows, and all different shaped ones. It is all choreographed to music, and it's just amazing.
Time to ride the tram back to the parking structure, and so we did.. We each had a sleeping kiddo leaning against our arms. It was a great first day at Disney. :)
We went and rode several rides..I think we headed over to Auto-pia (is it still called that?) and Matthew was irritated we were going there when there was all of Disney to see and do! We got through that line, and that was the line I decided it was too hot for the Disney dress any longer, and took it off her. I had dressed her in shorts and a light t-shirt underneath so I could peel the dress off if it got too hot. Well, hot it did! It quickly climbed up to 95 degrees that day. We had checked the weather prior to leaving for the trip and were excited for the high 80's, but then a heat wave came through, and we soon realized that first day at Disney was going to be the coolest day we had there at 95 degrees.
I soon became too hot, a little cranky, and miserable, but hey! We were at Disney! We waited in line next for Space Mountain, not knowing how Kate would do with it, but we were optimistic about it. Matthew loved it so much when he was younger than her, so we just assumed she would love it too.
She pretty much hated the ride from beginning to end. She was scared, and was threatening to cry. No bueno. We decided we would need to wait to ride that one again.
Off to California Adventure! The kids were still doing so well without needing a stroller. They were getting a little tired of walking, but not complaining one bit, so we just rolled with it. We went to C.A, and just did all of the rides in the front of the park. We did Soarin', then the Hollywood Tower of Terror, (which made me nervous since Kate hated Space Mtn, but hey---we gave it a shot, and she LOVED it!) We had been telling her it was just a big version of a frog hopper. She thought it was awesome. Weird kid.
We found the Grizzly River Run, (rapid river ride) and got soaked! It was just what we needed. :) It was starting to get a little late, and we wanted to walk around and enjoy the lights around the park.
We hit up several rides around the Pier, and then it was time to watch the fireworks from inside, so we just laid on the ground and got cozy and I got tired, and then we watched them. They were fantastic as usual, and as expected. They have Mickey face fireworks, hearts with bows and arrows, and all different shaped ones. It is all choreographed to music, and it's just amazing.
Time to ride the tram back to the parking structure, and so we did.. We each had a sleeping kiddo leaning against our arms. It was a great first day at Disney. :)
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Back from vacation, part 1.
So, we went to Disney. And we are back. Most of you know that though. I didn't post on when we were leaving here, or when we were going to be back. Not on purpose though. The last month got super hectic at work, prior to getting ready to go on the trip, and before I knew it, it was here, and it was time to go!
The kids did so very well. I can't complain. I seriously have really nothing to complain about. It was the first trip we have gone on in a long time where something bad didn't happen, or plans didn't fall through, or something was messed up.
Oh sure we were delayed on the flight there and back. Who doesn't that happen to? I think that is pretty normal. Flight there was delayed just under an hour, on the way home, it was delayed 3 hours. It was cool. The kids went with the flow both times, as if that was the norm. I have good kids!
From the moment we arrived in LA, it went so smoothly. We got on the shuttle immediately off the flight to the rental car service, got our car, and then we were off in search of our hotel. Smooth.
Checked in, got a great view of the fireworks at Disney. We stayed at the hotel for 7 nights, however, we only actually needed the room with the view for 2 nights since the other 5 were spent at the park closing it down each night. The first night we enjoyed swimming, the managers reception, then we got all gussied up, and went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. The kids were in heaven. They had never eaten there, so it was a nice way to begin the night. Matthew got to be the one to pick the dessert with 4 forks, so we all enjoyed that!
Back to the hotel, and in bed asap as it was the first morning of Disney the next day!
The next morning, after our amazing hot breakfast in the hotel, I got Kate all ready to meet Rapunzel. She looked stunning. Absolutely stunning. Let me just say, I have been to Disney before, and I had to look everywhere--in every nook and cranny for the characters. We roll up to the turn styles, and there are 3 right in the front. Immediately she got to meet Ariel, Cinderella and Aurora. What! Get out! We got inside, and there was Snow White, Mickey, and Goofy! She was on cloud 9 getting her book signed that fast. Matthew was like WHAT! lol
We found out what time Rapunzel was going to be at her tower, so we rode all of the close rides..Dumbo, the boat, Pinocchio, Snow White's Adventure, and Peter Pan. Matt and Mike went and did Mad Hatter, and Alice. By that time, it was time to line up! We were about 5th in line, and once it was our turn, I had more jitters than she did. I loved seeing the reaction on Kate's face. It was worth every minute, every second spent on planning Disney. All I can say in that moment was wow. Wow.
It also felt so good to have that part done, and done before lunch on the first day. I couldn't imagine what would have happened if we had to spend the rest of the week tracking her down. There are 2 girls that play Rapunzel, I had researched it a bit on Youtube prior to going, and I was happy to have her meet the one that I really liked from watching the videos. We went a different day and watched a 15 minute Masterpiece Theater version of Tangled, and the other gal was Rapunzel that day, and don't get me wrong, she is pretty, and cute too, but I loved how spunky the other one was. <3 p="">
More tomorrow! xo
The kids did so very well. I can't complain. I seriously have really nothing to complain about. It was the first trip we have gone on in a long time where something bad didn't happen, or plans didn't fall through, or something was messed up.
Oh sure we were delayed on the flight there and back. Who doesn't that happen to? I think that is pretty normal. Flight there was delayed just under an hour, on the way home, it was delayed 3 hours. It was cool. The kids went with the flow both times, as if that was the norm. I have good kids!
From the moment we arrived in LA, it went so smoothly. We got on the shuttle immediately off the flight to the rental car service, got our car, and then we were off in search of our hotel. Smooth.
Checked in, got a great view of the fireworks at Disney. We stayed at the hotel for 7 nights, however, we only actually needed the room with the view for 2 nights since the other 5 were spent at the park closing it down each night. The first night we enjoyed swimming, the managers reception, then we got all gussied up, and went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. The kids were in heaven. They had never eaten there, so it was a nice way to begin the night. Matthew got to be the one to pick the dessert with 4 forks, so we all enjoyed that!
Back to the hotel, and in bed asap as it was the first morning of Disney the next day!
The next morning, after our amazing hot breakfast in the hotel, I got Kate all ready to meet Rapunzel. She looked stunning. Absolutely stunning. Let me just say, I have been to Disney before, and I had to look everywhere--in every nook and cranny for the characters. We roll up to the turn styles, and there are 3 right in the front. Immediately she got to meet Ariel, Cinderella and Aurora. What! Get out! We got inside, and there was Snow White, Mickey, and Goofy! She was on cloud 9 getting her book signed that fast. Matthew was like WHAT! lol
We found out what time Rapunzel was going to be at her tower, so we rode all of the close rides..Dumbo, the boat, Pinocchio, Snow White's Adventure, and Peter Pan. Matt and Mike went and did Mad Hatter, and Alice. By that time, it was time to line up! We were about 5th in line, and once it was our turn, I had more jitters than she did. I loved seeing the reaction on Kate's face. It was worth every minute, every second spent on planning Disney. All I can say in that moment was wow. Wow.
It also felt so good to have that part done, and done before lunch on the first day. I couldn't imagine what would have happened if we had to spend the rest of the week tracking her down. There are 2 girls that play Rapunzel, I had researched it a bit on Youtube prior to going, and I was happy to have her meet the one that I really liked from watching the videos. We went a different day and watched a 15 minute Masterpiece Theater version of Tangled, and the other gal was Rapunzel that day, and don't get me wrong, she is pretty, and cute too, but I loved how spunky the other one was. <3 p="">
More tomorrow! xo
Friday, July 26, 2013
Verdict is in!
Otitis Media with Effusion. (or more commonly called: Glue Ear)
Could take weeks, or months to rid my middle ear of this glue like substance. Starting on a heavy course of mucinex to try to thin it out. He thinks that this "might" work, but not to be surprised if I am still dealing with it when we leave on our trip next month. I have to take 2400 mg of guaifenesin for 30x to see if it works its way out. He did the hearing tests and all, and it all points to "Glue Ear"..
Damn. I mentioned to him in all of my many ear infections (to which he has dx'd) why I am just getting this now, and never before? It's all in the mucous, and the type that it is..I just don't know how much longer I can deal with this tinnitus, the dizziness, and the robotic voices I hear coming from the tv. Sheesh.
Could take weeks, or months to rid my middle ear of this glue like substance. Starting on a heavy course of mucinex to try to thin it out. He thinks that this "might" work, but not to be surprised if I am still dealing with it when we leave on our trip next month. I have to take 2400 mg of guaifenesin for 30x to see if it works its way out. He did the hearing tests and all, and it all points to "Glue Ear"..
Damn. I mentioned to him in all of my many ear infections (to which he has dx'd) why I am just getting this now, and never before? It's all in the mucous, and the type that it is..I just don't know how much longer I can deal with this tinnitus, the dizziness, and the robotic voices I hear coming from the tv. Sheesh.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Having a trying time in life.
But it will pass. I know it will. Just have to be patient, and I keep telling myself that.
Girl wants to run. Girl started to love running. Ear makes Girl dizzy. Girl can't run.
I am going to my PCP tomorrow, and dammit if he doesn't have a fix for me, I don't know what to do.
I have exactly ONE month from today to be at a certain goal that I have been working so hard to get to, and I am now nervous since I haven't ran again for one weeks straight that I have lost my mojo.
Please let my PCP have some answers for me. I can't go on like this anymore. Going on my 3rd weekend not feeling well.
Sad story.
Girl wants to run. Girl started to love running. Ear makes Girl dizzy. Girl can't run.
I am going to my PCP tomorrow, and dammit if he doesn't have a fix for me, I don't know what to do.
I have exactly ONE month from today to be at a certain goal that I have been working so hard to get to, and I am now nervous since I haven't ran again for one weeks straight that I have lost my mojo.
Please let my PCP have some answers for me. I can't go on like this anymore. Going on my 3rd weekend not feeling well.
Sad story.
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