Monday, February 25, 2013

In case you wanted to know...

Just wanted to let ya know that I posted something new on my Disney page.  You can see it by clicking on the Disney World tab at the top of this page. 

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Disney 2013-a

We just got back from another trip to WDW. So who wants to see the 300+ pictures I took??!! Just kiddin'. I won't do that to you. But I will tell you a little bit about it.

It was a lot of fun but too short. We were only in the parks for 2 days. I knew it was going to be short, but it was way short. We (I) felt rushed. And then exhausted from all the rushing. Tip #11; If you have the time, stay at least 4 days. If you don't have the time, maybe wait until you do (that'll give you more time to save too.) It was still good though. Since our kids are still young and we've been going to Disney as a family since they were even younger (this was my 10 year olds 5th time, 7 year olds 4th time and 5 year olds 3rd time) every time we go, there is something new they want to do. For us, that is mostly due to the fact that we don't have many thrill seekers in the family and the fact that our girls have historically been scaredy cats. That's fine with me though. My hus and I both don't care for roller coasters or thrill rides. I will never ride Tower of Terror or the Rockin' Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios. I will never ride Mt. Everest at Animal Kingdom. I will never (again) even ride Space Mountain. (I do like Big Thunder Mountain though).

This year, we added Test Track and Soarin' at Epcot. We haven't ridden these before mostly because of the lines. This time, we got fast passes and walked right on. (Yeah for fast passes! If you are unfamiliar with these, become familiar before you go). They loved Soarin'. My 7 year old almost threw up on Test Track. Proof that she may join the ranks of the non thrill ride club with her mom and dad. My 5 year old yells out in the middle of the ride that if it doesn't stop soon, she was going to pee in her pants. I couldn't tell if she was just trying to be funny or not, but she didn't pee. Thank goodness. So the 7 year old and I had to sit down for a bit after the ride and let her tummy catch up with the rest of her. She did not throw up.

We got to see the new Fantasy Land at Magic Kingdom. It was a bit too crowded to get to explore it the way I would have wanted too, but it was neat. Despite the crowds, we got to do almost everything we wanted to. I think Peter Pan was the only ride we didn't get to do. It'll be another couple years before we go back to the parks and spend any significant time. Next time, I'd like to go for a good bit longer than just 2 days. We will be back down in Florida this summer to visit my parents. While there, I'm sure we'll make it over to Disney and do the non park things. We do that almost every time we go to FL. That'll have to hold us over until we can "do" Disney again.
Sigh. I do love Disney.

A family picture with the Mouse himself.


The best picture of the 300+ I took (though a little blurry. iphone.) My 5 year old kept covering her eyes (and ears) while my 7 year old drove on the Tomorrowland Speedway, all the while, the 7 year old had mad concentration. The 5 year old kept thinking she was going to crash us.
Epcot is my favorite park. Tip #12; Contrary to popular belief, Epcot is great for little kids too. We told our kids that with only 2 days, they had to choose 2 parks to visit. Of the 4, of course MK was #1 but #2, they chose Epcot.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Pinterest Success

I love Pinterest, though I am far from an addict.  I have gotten several good ideas from Pinterest though, some of which have even come to fruition.  And by fruition, I mean it looks like what it does on Pinterest.  Many a time have I gotten an idea of some sort of craft or project to make and many a time have I chucked it in the trash because it did not turn out right. 

I wanted to share with you 2 recent successes. 

The first is a Christmas countdown calendar.  I know, who wants to talk about Christmas right after Valentines and so close to Easter.  But it was a Pinterest success so I wanted to share. 


I made the backing out of felt (which can be bought in yards from Hancock Fabric).  The pockets are library card pockets I got from Lakeshore Learning.  I used Christmas paper (from Michaels) to cover the pockets and then the kids helped add embellishments like buttons, ribbons and stickers.  I printed the numbers out of word on the computer.  The idea then is to put a card in each pocket that has a Christmas activity on it.  So each day, you have an activity to do.  I will probably make some changes next year to some of the activities.  Some were too involved or took too long to do.  Most need to be quick, easy things.  The exceptions are making Christmas cookies, watching a Christmas movie and going to see Christmas lights.  Those things obviously take planning and time. 

My second success is a precursor to a couple more blog posts.  It was done in preparation for our recent trip to Disney World.



 
 
 
Aren't these just the cutest things you've ever seen!? 
I got mini oreos for the ears and large ones for the body.  I used double stuff because it's double the stuff, but next time, I'll probably use the regular ones.  I got the red candy chocolate from Michaels.  You were supposed to use bigger white dots for the buttons but I already had these tiny ones, so I just used them.  Next time I will probably also use the dark chocolate to "glue" the ears on so it'll blend in better. 
 
 
I'll let you know if I have anymore Pinterest successes.  I'm pretty proud of these 2.  

Monday, February 11, 2013

Ending in Success

So despite our clothing issues, once they got out the door, the Father Daughter Dance turned out to be a big success.  Everyone came back, busting through the door, excited to tell me all about it.  I'm so glad they can, and look forward to, this special time with their dad.

We were a little rushed this year with the timing, so I didn't get the kind of pictures I wanted to, but I thought these turned out pretty good. 






Friday, February 8, 2013

Anyone who thinks little girls are fun to dress up doesn't have one

I hate shopping with my girls.  It is not fun.  For me or for them.  People think that if you have little girls, they are so much fun to dress up and make look pretty.  Not my kids.  About the time they learned to talk, they started having an opinion about what they will and won't wear.  Out went the bows and frills and most things cute. 

They complain that I don't like anything they like.  I complain they don't like anything I like.  I remind them that my mother let me go out of the house on numerous occasions looking like a doofus (sorry mom) and that I refuse to let them go out of the house looking like a doofus.  Sometimes I even show them proof pictures of me looking like a doofus.  They laugh, as I'm sure many people did who saw me then.  I also complain that the dress options for my size 7-16 girls stinks.  Most of them are just ugly.  My 10 year old tried on a dress that literally looked like something I have actually seen my grandmother in.  Modesty is not a problem for us right now.  Thank goodness.  Our fight is over taste.  I have it, they don't.  haha.  That was kinda a joke. 

I digress.  My 5 year old will still mostly let me have a say over what she wears and will usually go for the frills.  In fact, for her, the frillier the better. 

For the most part, I let them choose their clothing. I get the final say, usually based upon whether or not it's appropriate for what's going on that day.  But for special occasions, I like to have more of an input. I want to be able to help them look nice without squashing their own sense of style. 

 I will admit that part of the problem this year was that the dance (the event we were buying dresses for) is Friday and we didn't start looking till Wednesday after school.  We were under the gun.  Not a lot of time. 

It's the Father Daughter dance again.  Last year they had a great time.  I'm sure it'll be lots of fun this year.  Next year, I am going to institute some pre dance changes. 

My 5 year old is wearing a dress she already had, her flower girl dress from my brother in law's wedding.  My 7 year old ended up getting a dress that we both could agree on that she is very excited about.  My 10 year old's dress is still up in the air.  We'll see what I can come up with today.  The dance it tonight.  It's now or never! 



 

Monday, February 4, 2013

Fight! Fight! Fight!

So, did everyone enjoy the sex bowl...I mean the super bowl last night? 

My goodness!  Between the PG-13 commercials and all the gyrating during the half time show, we had to put something else on for the kids.  And the way women were BLATANTLY objectified makes it difficult to raise 3 young girls with a healthy self image and to teach them that they do not have to behave that way to get anyone's attention or to be liked. 

My good friend, Alison, has made it her business (literally) to fight the media's idea of how girls should behave and what they should look like.  She helps girls to know how to be comfortable in their own skin and to understand that the media's idea of beautiful is so very distorted.  We are all children of God, made in His image.  We are all beautiful.  Not so, according to TV or magazines. 

If you are interested in finding out more about my friends business, called Body, Beauty, Bravery, check out her Facebook page,  or check out her website; The Body, Beauty and Bravery Project.

Fight!  Fight!  Fight! 


My 3 beauties.