I just discovered a GREAT new website. Mommy Docs was started by two mom doctors who have more in common than their medical degree. I can tell from their website they’re all about informing and helping moms raise healthy kids. They have a great Q & A page, and a page where you can ask them specific questions. (I’m still waiting to hear from my OWN doctor about a rash I had over Memorial Day!) They have podcasts, a blog, and links to other medical sites!

Jamie A. Freishtat, M.D.

Rachel L. Schreiber, M.D., FAAAAI

And they want to get the word out about Summer safety. Check them out and let me know what you think!

• Have a Sun Protection Strategy: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends sunscreen with a minimum Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 15. Look for products that provide “broad spectrum” coverage to protect against both UVA and UVB rays. Use this sunscreen routine with your child–daily application 30 minutes before going outside and reapplication every 2 hours (or sooner if swimming, toweling off, or sweating). Creating a routine will establish good habits for the future. In addition, don’t forget a wide brim hat, sunglasses with 99-100% UVA/UVB protection, and sun protective clothing.
• Keep Pests off Your Little One: In the summer, many insects can bite or sting your child. For pesky mosquitoes and ticks, consider a DEET containing insect repellant. Apply sparingly to exposed skin (avoid backs of hands and around the eyes and mouth) and/or to clothing once a day. As the percentage of DEET goes up, the duration of action increases. To prevent unnecessary exposure, always use the lowest percentage that will last for the planned length of time spent outdoors. Never go above 30% or use on children under 2 months old.

• Keep the Pool Cool and Clean: Small yard pools provide a great way for kids to have fun and cool down when the temperature rises, but they can also harbor germs, such as bacteria. To keep the pool free from unwanted “swimmers,” after each use disinfect it with bleach by cleaning with a solution of ¾ cup regular bleach to one gallon of water, then rinse well and dry thoroughly. Safety must: Always supervise children regardless of age when they are around any water; whether it’s a bucket, a small backyard plastic pool, or the local community pool.
• High Heat Means Hydrate: Excessive heat exposure may cause your child to experience a heat-related illness such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion, or even heat stroke. How to prevent this: take breaks in the shade, avoid playing outside during peak sun exposure hours, and drink, drink, drink! Make sure your child is taking in plenty of fluids before he become thirsty.
• Rid Rashes and Relieve Itchies: Running through the yard in bare feet, taking a nature walk on a trail, and picnicing in the park are some of the joys of warmer weather. But all of this outdoor activity can expose your child to a host of plants including those which cause poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac. If an allergic reaction occurs, ask the pediatrician about an oral antihistamine and/or a topical skin care product such as a steroid cream or calamine. If the rash is extensive, looks infected, or is not getting better, call your doctor right away.

All safety tips can also be found on MommyDocs.com.

Share This

When Grace was little, strangers used to come up to me in the store and remark at how much she looked like an Olsen Twin. What do you think?

Share This

Leave it to Tricia Goyer to come up with a fun and unique way to do a book blog tour! Her latest novel, Whispers of Freedom,

I’m playing. How about you?

1. List three things you would do with a chest full of gold (assuming you got to keep it!)

1) Find out how much it’s worth

2) See if there’s anyway I could invest it.

3) Buy a new home and take a trip around the world!

2. List three charities/missions/organizations you support (and why).

Compassion International: We started supporting Samuel when he was about six. A little over ten years later he’s graduated from the program. It’s been very rewarding to know we have helped to change this young man’s life and give him hope for a future with very little sacrifice to us!

Missionary friends in Niger.

Local outreach to the homeless

3. List three ways you have volunteered your time/services.

Helping at my children’s school with various projects. It’s one of the reasons I’ve been interrupted in my writing.

Subbing at my children’s school.

Hey, everything I do IS volunteer work!!!

4. List three things you keep “hidden” when company comes over.

Company? It’s been so long… My bedroom

Stakes of papers

My kids rooms

5. List the last three things you’ve lost.

I’m really stumped on this one!

Keys?

Pair of pants (we’re in my son’s closet!)

6. List the last three things you’ve found.

Just as stumped!

Keys?

Pants

Three brave “players” will be selected at random to win their own lost gold (Gourmet chocolate coins and all three books in the Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War series). To enter all you have to do is answer the MEME on your blog and then leave a comment on Tricia’s blog tour post here http://triciagoyer.blogspot.com/2008/03/whisper-of-freedom-meme-sticky-post.html. that you’ve posted your MEME. Easy.

Now for the tag…

Bev

Kathleen

Tonya

Share This

Well, actually my kids were the other night at dinner. Joke after joke they baraged their friend, even Gracie got in on the fun telling her trademark joke:

Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide.

Then she starts another one:

There were three fairies. One with pink hair. One with blue hair. One with green hair. A man goes up to the pink one and says “you got a big beauty mark on your face.” He goes up to the blue one and says “you got a bigger beauty mark on your face.” He goes up to the green one and says, “you got the biggest beauty mark on your face.”

I then asked her if there was a punch line. She said, the pink one went up to the man and said, “You got a big booty!”

I asked her if she made it up herself. She did, THEN we all started laughing. Guess you had to be there!

Share This

This was my third attempt! I think I type faster when it’s my own words!

60 words

Touch Typing

Share This

Whether it’s Christmas morning and they’re hunting for their gifts like the Magi searching for baby Jesus or whether they create their own treasure hunt for grandma, my children love treasure hunts. They love making them, but more so they love going on a treasure hunt.

So when I heard about Giftventure.com and how their purpose is creating fun treasure hunts for parents to give to their children, I knew I had to try it out and they were generous to let my family test their product! They have several hunts to choose from including an Easter hunt (so stay tuned for how you can get 10% off during the month of March.) Signing up is relatively painless and after you choose your character ( a pirate, fairy, unicorn or dragon) and the location of where you will hide the treasure, you are then your first letter to start the journey.

Because of time restraints, I choose to have the letters sent directly to me all at once, but you can opt to have them come in the mail several days apart. Each letter is from one of the characters above and depending on the age of your child, it contains age appropriate clues, puzzles and codes that lead your child closer to the treasure which has been previously purchased by you. Our treasure was a single candy bar, (Stay tuned to hear about how THAT went over) but the treasure can be used as a birthday gift or Easter hunt. I can definitely see this becoming a pre-birthday tradition!

When the first letter arrived I got the expected questions: “Who’s Gunther?” I chose the send to be a dragon. “Mom, is this for real?” But the excitement was unanimous and my 10, 7, and 5 year old enthusiastically dug into the puzzle. They each did their part and figured out a number equaled a symbol. It wasn’t until my 13 year old saw the symbol and said, “That’s an ‘A’!” Duh! Why couldn’t we see it?

I slipped the next letter in the mail box the next day and asked one of the kids to get it. They were very excited and tore open the envelope and figured out the maze and another code. Then a day passed and no letters from Gunther. My five year old still wasn’t sure if it was for real or not, but her brothers told her it was for fun!

The last letter came today and everyone was excited. They read the letter, figured out the code which led them to the location of the surprise. UNDER MOM’S BED. They each went to a corner, but my five year old found the candy bar. My seven year old got really upset. He threw up his hands and started to tear up. “That’s it? A candy bar?” He’s my real sensitive one and though he had fun figuring out the clues he was expecting MORE. Everyone else loved it and had a piece of candy. I felt bad for Timmy (7) so we hid another prize under the bed, but there was no consoling him.

I guess one good thing out of Timmy getting upset is that I think I figured out his love language. GIFTS! Next time I’ll make sure the gift is a bigger deal!

Now is a great time for your kids to go on their own Giftventure.com because they’re offering 10% off to MY READERS who make a purchase during the month of March! Just use the promo code: MOMCENTRAL. Please note, the Easter Giftventure has a deadline to sign up by March 14 (necessary to arrive in time for March 23 Easter).
for reduced shipping cost.

So what are you waiting for. A Giftventure awaits for you and your child!

Share This

Friday night I locked myself in a local hotel to edit the last 100 pages of my WIP.

I started by rereading and doing edits on the last couple of chapters.

I worked nonstop, staying on the computer past midnight, with only an hour break on Saturday afternoon to watch an archaeology excavation on the Discovery Channel. And another short break for dinner.

Now it’s Sunday morning and though I haven’t left my computer except for coffee and the necessary elimination of coffee breaks, why is it that I still have 100 pages to edit?

If you think you know the answer, leave a comment!

Share This

In keeping with the theme of this blog, today is family reflections day and it’s all about Grace. My Grace!

Grace is a character! Here are just some of the funny things she’s said this year!

Dad when’s the world going to pop because I don’t want to go to
Heaven.

——————-

Watching Troy (the movie with Brad Pitt, she was just passing by…), that’s okay I can watch, I already know the body parts. I know all the organs…

——————-

Grace: I have nickles. (Grace lifts up her shirt)

Timmy: If they were nickles you’d give them away. They’re nipples.

Grace: No, they’re nickles. I’ll show you what a nickle is. (empties her piggy bank and shows me a quarter.)

Mom: So which are nickles?

Grace: Nickles? Your boobies.

Mom: I thought nickles were in your piggy bank.

Grace: They are.

Mom: How can nickles be both?

Grace: I don’t know.

——————————–

Can we eat smarshlellows! (marshmallos)

——————————-

I need a rooster chair! (asking for a booster chair at a restuarant)

——————————-

What are the name of the chicklits? (triplets, or is she already starting to read Kristin Billerbeck!)

——————————-

I’d love to hear some of your favorited kid expressions!

Share This

Check out this video! I’m clueless as how to put a You Tube video on my blog. Anyone care to explain???

I tried pasting the embedded code and it didn’t work.

Share This

I must be a little loopy after so much synopsis rewriting. I think I could probably rewrite it forever. But during a break that old song “5o ways to Leave your Lover” came floating back into my head, except with different lyrics. So indulge me while I let loose before I dive back in to my real work!

There’s gotta be 50 ways to edit your WIP

“The problem is all inside your WIP”, my editor told me
“The answer is easy if you want to write for me
I’d like to help you in your struggle to be free
There must be fifty ways to edit your WIP.”

See, it’s really my editor’s habit to intrude
Furthermore, with dozens of pages of edits his meaning can’t be misconstrued
So I’ll repeat his words at the risk of being rude
“There must be fifty ways to edit your WIP
Fifty ways to edit your WIP.”

“Just hit the delete, Pete
Get a new plot, Scott
You don’t need the backstory
Just get your WIP free

“Shore up the mid, Sid
Clean up the end, Ken
You don’t need to rewrite much
Just kill off the man, Stan
And set your WIP free

“Ooo hit the delete, Pete
Get a new plot, Scott
You don’t need the backstory
Just listen to me

“Shore up the mid, Sid
Clean up the end, Ken
You don’t need to rewrite much
Just kill off the man, Stan
And set your WIP free”

He said, “it grieves me so to see you in such pain
I wish there was something I could do, but your WIP is just lame.”
I said, “I appreciate that, but would you please explain
About the fifty ways to edit my WIP.”

He said, “why don’t we both just go our own way
I’ll just rip up your contract, and I won’t have to pay
And then he sent me to spam, and I cried all through the night
Remembering… fifty ways to edit my WIP
Fifty ways to edit my WIP

So I’ll hit the delete, Pete
Get a new plot, Scott
I’ll cut out the backstory
and set my WIP free…
Okay, I’m done!

Share This

Noboysallowedww.com

That’s what Grace told me to write on a sign she’s putting on her door because she said her brother’s said “NO Girls Allowed.”

We’ve been switching rooms around all week, painting and sorting through enough toys to stock our own Salvation Army store. Grace (5) has been wanting a roommate for years, so she’s moving in with Timmy (7), and Joey’s is moving into to Grace’s old room.

He’s ready to have his own room, especially since he and Timmy have different sleeping habits, and most nights Timmy crawls up on the bunk in Chris’s (13) room.

Though I’m not sure the new sleeping arrangements are going to work out. Timmy is already fighting with Grace. His new car bed is not ready yet, so he’s been sleeping in Chris’s room. Plus, he’s noted that Grace’s stuff takes up more than half the room. I assured him that when he gets his car’s loft bed, he’ll have a cool club house underneath.

I took pictures in the middle of the process, should have started with the room in it’s before state. I’ll try and look for photos, but my computer seems to have eatten my photo files!

I’m am so ready to be able to walk through my halls again, though I think it might be another week or two before I can do that!

Share This

Our family is hanging out with friends for a High School Musical 2 party! We’ve been planning on watching this for months, but had to find a friend who would invite us over since we don’t have cable. We’ve stocked up on junk food and are planning for a night filled with music and fun!

I think I’m more psyched than my kids, and I’ve been trying to figure out why. Aside from the fact that I’m a sixteen year old in a thirty-eight-year-old body who totally loved the first movie and adores musicals, when I was a child my secret dream was to be on television or in the movies, singing and dancing like the kids in HSM2. So when I watch them, it’s like living out my childhood fantasy.

What were you childhood dreams and have anyone of them come true?

Share This

What little girl wouldn’t love this precious vanity set?

We bought Grace a Target Vanity and “Dress Up” closet a couple of years ago, knowing that she was indeed a girlie, girl, yet all rough and tumble underneath. We didn’t want to invest in something that she would most likely destroy by the time she was five.

But Koo Koo Bear’s Vanity might be in her near future. They have an adorable bedroom set to compliment this vanity.

Unfortunately for us she’ll be moving in with her older brother in the next couple of weeks, so Joey can have a room to mess up call his own. It’ll be a hodge-podge room of sorts with her wanting princesses and Timmy wanting a cars theme, but I’m hoping to only be in this house for another year or so and then maybe my little princess can have my her dream room.

Share This

I can remember the first time Chris went to sleep away camp. I was a nervous wreck! There was sooo much to worry about. That was about 4 years ago.

Chris and Joey left for camp earlier this week and while I had my initial motherly worries, there was no fear. Of course we’ve prayed over them a half a dozen times and when ever I think of them I send up a prayer, but there is no fear.

God has not given us a spirit of fear. And for once I am able to walk in that!

I can’t begin to explain how much easier it is taking care of two kids than four. There’s less food to cook, less dinners to clean up (though as Chris was leaving he made the comment “Now you’ll have to do all the dishes! Which is true the big boys are a big help, but they also add to the noise level, whinning and strife. I don’t miss those things.)

I’m really happy my boys are secure even to venture out on their own. Though we’ve always been protective, we’ve never sheltered them. They’re adventurous and love to experience life.

They should be getting their first care package today filled with all the goodies and junk I would never let them eat at home. Especially in one whole week.

I’m glad they’re having this week of fun because when they get back it will be (She does a double take at the calendar) TWO WEEKS until school starts.

Good thing I’m almost done shopping for school supplies and clothes. I hit an amazing sale on uniforms today. $2 for consigned shorts and shirts. I just hope they fit!

Share This

Thanks to Tricia Goyer, Dineen Miller and Lynette Sowell for nominating me for the Rockin’ Blogger Chick.

Now I get to nominate five, awesome rockin’ bloggers!!! I’m going for the not so obvious, but still way cool bloggers!

Christa Allen

Claudia Mair Burney

Meredith Efken

Jodi York

Staci Stallings

Share This

We’re finally back from our long trek across the US and are content to stay home for the next couple of years. It’s amazing how sore my body is and I haven’t worked out in weeks, just driven for over 48 hours in the car. Not all at once, but Saturday’s 15 hour drive seemed to have done me in.

The funniest part of our driving trip was Grace asking every so often… es grandma live in our Universe? Are we in Grandma’s Universe yet? It’s so adorable I didn’t dare correct her.

Speaking of Grace, she’s gotten into this habit of saying something and then asking what it means like…

“Oh, Jedi (our dog) , you’re so adorable! Mom, what does adorable mean?”

Then I explain it to her and she continues on until the next question. Who needs a vocabulary builder? Grace is learning all on her own!!

BTW, she’s got in a two day kindergarten next year. I’m thrilled. Just have to check out the school and pray for the right teacher.

Did I mention it’s good to be home???

Share This

 We were vacationing on Pensacola Beach when I opened this email! (Thank God for high speed internet hotels) Needless to say, we were all thrilled and surprised! Joey  next big goal is to audition for Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader! One thing I’ve learned with this son of mine, is that anything is possible!

Congratulations to the winners of Sylvan Dell Publishing’s 2007 Picture Book Writing Competition for Homeschooled Students 

• First place ($200): Joey Conroy and his Jumping Bugs.  Anthony’s manuscript will join other manuscripts received by Sylvan Dell Publishing that will be considered for publication in the upcoming seasons. 

Our editor Donna enjoyed reading all of the manuscripts. She was most surprised when she realized that the top three submissions were all in rhyme! She was very intrigued by this because a rhyme manuscript is generally the most difficult to make “work.” Some publishers don’t even consider rhyme submission.

Here’s a personal note from the publisher:

Dear Joey,

Congratulations! Sylvan Dell Publishing has chosen your manuscript Jumping Bugs as the winning submission of the 2007 Picture Book Writing Competition for Homeschooled Students. We received over 110 submissions in total. Our editor loved the creative way you introduced basic math skills in your manuscript.

Sylvan Dell Publishing receives about 30 manuscripts each day! Our editor carefully reads each submission and chooses the most promising manuscripts for a special “hold” folder. In this process, over 1,000 manuscripts are narrowed down to a group of less than 50 that will be considered for publication. Your Jumping Bugs will now join the other promising manuscripts in the hold folder to be seriously considered for publication. In addition, you have won the prize of $200.

We hope you are as excited as we are about the results. We are more than happy to answer any questions or address any concerns you or you parents may have. I look forward to hearing from you.

Congratulations, son! I hope to see your story in print!

Share This

If you’ve been following my blog this week you’ll know the family is all in Orlando, doing Disney and hanging with my relatives who have NO Internet access. But it’s the first time we’ve done Disney without having to sit through one of those Time Share Tours. Oh, how I remember the last time sooo well! It was actually a pleasant experience! There’s always a first time for everything!

Our original sales guy called that morning and said he couldn’t make it so we prayed for a good salesman who would see we really weren’t candidates for time share and move on quickly. God answers prayers!

We arrived on time for our time share appointment even though it was at 7:30am. We got our breakfast and sat down with a nice middle-aged lady. We couldn’t have gotten a better sales person because while doing our profile she realized we were great candidates…but not at this time. So she didn’t try and close the sale, and she didn’t even take us on one of the tours…we’ve already seen them all before. She just had to sign off with her manager…who tried to sell us some smaller package. We declined. We were grateful to get out of there so quickly and with relatively little pain. Thinking back on the whole time share thing…it would be a great place to stay if you had some down time. But to do Disney like we do, a hotel would have been fine. I’ll have to make a mental note of that for next time.

We headed out to MGM. It was a beautiful sunny day. Our first stop was at the Star Wars Tour. Dh and I did the baby swap thing and the boys got to ride it twice. It was a virtual reality ride where you don’t go any where, but it looks like you’re flying a space craft. We were hoping to see some Star Wars characters, but they weren’t there. We did get some great pictures though.

Then we headed to main street where we heard the Power Rangers were going to sign autographs. Timmy (5) was a little shy and I had to force Chris (10) and Joey (8) into the line. But we got good pictures and they seemed to enjoy it. Timmy ended up taking a picture with one of the rangers. We also saw Jessie from toy story and Buzz Lightyear.

Next we went to the Indian Jones Stunt show, one of my favorite, but the noise was too loud and Grace (3) hates loud noises and started to cry. So I volunteered to leave. Oh well, at least I got the chance to see the spike’s shoot up out of the ground and the big boulder rolling after the guy. We left the arena, but she could still hear the noise. We made our way to where the characters were and we got in line to see Lilo and Stitch. Grace loves to watch the video, but she got real shy when it came time to take the photo. So I got someone to take a picture of me holding Grace who was crying.

We met up with the boys and did some layed back stuff like the Muppet 3D show and Honey I shrunk the Kids play ground. Then the boys went to a couple more stunt shows and back lot tours and I took Grace to see Beauty and the Beast.

Along the way we took pictures with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. We met for lunch at the Sci-Fi indoor dinner. It was set up like a drive in and we ate in cars. After a frustrating time getting the kids to be happy with their seat arrangements, we ate while watching clips from old movies. Not the greatest movie clips…return of the 80 foot woman and revenge of the mummy type stuff mixed in with cartoons. We sang happy birthday to Timmy and he got a yummy desert. We told the boys that they wouldn’t get big parties this year, but we’d celebrate their birthdays at Disney World. After we ate we rushed to the parade, but we were in the back row and couldn’t see well.

We couldn’t make it to all the shows we wanted to, but we did get to see the Incredibles…my boys loved that. When the boys were gone on a LOUD ride, I took Grace to the Great Movie Ride… the books said it was a must see. I prayed it wouldn’t be scary. We waited for over 30 minutes…the most we had waited all day and then we started the ride. The first scene we drove through was from a shoot it out movie…Grace got scared and cupped her hands over her ears. I told her to hide and she squatted down on the floor. She didn’t cry or anything, thank you God…we also came upon the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz and when we drove through the alien set…I huddled over her so she wouldn’t see the alien. There was no way off the ride, and we both made the best of it. She wasn’t scared…she was just hiding as she said…

Oh my gosh, I can’t remember what she said, and I guess I failed to write it down right after it happened. Talk about a cliff hanger. Let’s turn this into something fun, like finish that line. What do you think Grace said???

Later Grace and I met up with the big boys at the Rocking Rollercoaster. I volunteered to go on the ride which went from 0-60 in 3 seconds. Talk about leaving your heart at the boarding gate. For thrill seekers, that was a thrilling ride, but once was enough for me. I let DH take the boys again while I waited with Timmy and Grace and watched them dance and jump and run and love on each other while we waited. I was a proud mommy and we had a really fun day!

Share This

After the Jungle Cruise we then headed to Fantasy Land where we ran to get pictures with Ariel at her grotto. They said the line was a 45 min. wait, so I took the three youngest ones and we went to see if we could ride Dumbo. But the line was too long so we opted for the carosel. I communicated via walkie talkie’s, finding out when I needed to return to Ariel. Grace (3) was a little shy, but she posed for pictures with Ariel and the boys were great sports. Ariel was really great engaging Grace in conversation and the pictures turned out great.

We then rode on Peter Pan and It’s a Small World. All the kids were mesmerized in It’s a Small World. Timmy (5) especially enjoyed it since he just finished a recital where he sang the song. When we entered the White room with all the kids from all over the world, Joey (8) says, “Look, it’s heaven!” And he was right! It did look like heaven. You have to wonder if that’s what Walt was thinking of when he designed it. I glanced over at DH and noticed his eyes closed and he was propping up his head with his hand. Poor guy! He had to be exhausted from all the driving, or maybe it was just too much dramamine.

Before heading over to the Parade, we stopped by Snow Whites ride. Grace had been watching it for a while and didn’t get scared of the movie. If something scares her she says she , “closes her eyes.” Well, Timmy had to use the bathroom and we got in line, but he didn’t get back in time. I new there would probably be trouble and later on he did get sad, “You went without me.” But he got over it quickly, there was so much more fun things to help him forget.

We waited in line for the parade and got a good spot right in front of Cinderella’s Castle. The heat was really intense by now and we got our traditional ice cream snack while we waited. I wanted to get a spray fan (we usually take our own from home, but forgot). I told myself I’d pay no more than $10 and when they said $17, I choose to endure the heat!!! Grace was enchanted by the characters in the parade, smiling and pointing as they passed by. She finally got to se “Cindalella”, but my camera died and I couldn’t get any pictures of her. I thought maybe the camera was over heated, but it turned out to be the batteries died.

After the parade, Grace, Timmy and I went to hear a story with Beauty while the big kids went to Tomorrow Land. After the story, we searched for them in Tomorrow Land. I called using the Walkie Talkie, but figured they were in a ride. While we were waiting for them, I found my disposable camera and snapped some pictures with Stitch and Buzz Lightyear. Grace, Timmy and I went on the Buzz Light Year ride. Timmy really loved shooting all the targets and we went on it again. We tried the boys again and finally found them.

I ran off with the big boys to Space Mountain, while DH took the little ones on Buzz again. Absolutely no lines at Space Mountain, even though we used a Fast Pass, we didn’t need to.

After Space Mountain, DH took the Grace on Buzz again and I went to the Stitch ride with the boys . It was an interesting ride, if that’s what you want to call it. It wasn’t a ride at all. You walk into a room and sit in a chair where a saftey harness comes down and rests on your shoulder. I got nervous when it came down on Timmy because he’s so little and I didn’t know if it was going to fit him right. Well, to sum it up. Stitch gets loose and spits water, belches a nasty smell in your ears and tickles your shoulders. Then he belches again. Once was really enough. A definite fun time for the boys.

When we got out of Stitch it started to down pour. Luckily we had our ponchoes. We decided to eat at the Alien place and after that DH took the boys on Buzz again, I braved the rain and ran to see Minnie Mouses House to take a picture with Mickey. It was a wet trek and I had to leave the stroller in the rain, but Grace was warm and dry under the poncho and there was no line to see Mickey. My camera had started working again, but when it was time to snap a picture it died. Luckily I had my video camera and before I knew a Disney employee came in and snapped a couple of pictures for me and handed me a card. Now how did they know my camera died. I guess it’s Disney Magic. Well, I knew the picture would be expensive, so if I could get another picture at MGM with Mickey I wouldn’t need to buy this one.

The rain let up and we went home exhausted. We didn’t stay to see the fireworks. We figured there wouldn’t be any because of the rain. Besides we had to wake up early the next day to do one of those Time share tours…

Share This

Day 3 Magic Kingdom Part 1

I woke up early and TRIED to get the kids ready, but we had some sleepy heads. Finally we made it out the door, got the tickets and rushed to the Magic Kingdom, arriving only a couple minutes late for our breakfast. We saw Tigger first thing. Chris (10) was too cool to care while Joey (8) and Timmy (5) willingly posed for pictures, Grace (3) was a little shy, but soon warmed up to the characters.

I bought dollar store small notebooks for the boys to use as autograph books. I knew they’d be way cheaper than the Disney ones and my boys wouldn’t really care either way. For Grace I bought a pink princess diary at Wal-Mart to use as an autograph book, but I left it at the hotel. The boys had a great time getting Eyeore, Tigger, Pooh and Piglet’s autograph, while Grace (3) was shy about taking pictures. But at least she didn’t cry and scream like some kids do. When Chris was 2 years old he was the most outgoing with the characters and ran up to them with big open arms, wanting hugs from everyone. The other two weren’t as animated in their enthusiasm, but weren’t afraid either.

Chris (10) was in breakfast buffet heaven, hardly noticing the characters as they came by. I had to pull him away from his food when Pooh and friends paraded around the dining room. Then Timmy (5) got into the fun and wanted to give Pooh a bowl of “Hunny” aka pancake syrup. I don’t know whose idea it was, but I encouraged him and tried to get a photo of him handing it to Pooh. Don’t think I snapped it in time.

The weather was beautiful, perfect to be exact and there were no lines. I think we only used the Fast Pass a couple of times. After breakfast we turned left toward Adventure Land. Last time we went to WDW the Aladdin’s Flying Carpets weren’t running, this time they were and we all jumped on for a magic carpet ride while DH took pictures. He’s not a big fan of things that go round and round. Grace really enjoyed the ride. We went up and down and back and forth while trying to dodge “camel spit.”e’s He

Next, we headed for the Pirates of the Caribbean. Last time, Timmy was too scared so we tried to coax him into going. But the closer we got the more scared he got. I think it was the music. So while I took the big boys (last time DH got to go), DH stayed back with the little ones. The only really eerie part about the Pirates was the very beginning, so next time I’ll try to convince Timmy to go and close his eyes until the skeletons pass. He’s been on similar rides at other theme parks, and he loved it.

We got a Fast Pass for The Jungle Cruise and headed toward Splash Mountain, but Timmy didn’t want to get wet. We really tried to get him on that ride, but he was stubborn. I didn’t care for getting wet that earlier either so I stayed behind. One thing I’m glad we bought early on was the walkie talkies, it helped us locate each other after the ride was over. Then the boys and I headed to Thunder Mountain. Timmy (5) was reluctant to go on, but we assured him he wouldn’t get wet and it wasn’t scary. He was still a little scared as we walked up, but once the ride got going he said, “This is just like the video” and I think he really enjoyed the ride. I sat close to him and held him tight around every curve, screaming and having fun! When we got off the big boys wanted to go on again, but Timmy didn’t want to so I sent DH (he had taken his Dramamine by now) and I stayed with Timmy and Grace. They chased the ducks and I tried to keep Grace from going into the river.

Next we went on Tom Sawyer’s Island. Something I wanted to do really quickly because we had to get back to Jungle Cruise. To me, there was nothing exciting about the island we haven’t seen somewhere else, but Chris insisted so I obliged. He liked the fort and the guns. But I rushed them through it…and on to Jungle Cruise. We only waited a short time, maybe ten minutes the most, before we boarded the boat. I remember when I was six waiting in lines for hours and hours. One year I took the kids to Disney in August because DH had a company trip, but I will never do that again. The tickets are too expensive to waste your time waiting in line. My kids don’t know what it feels like to wait hours for just one ride and they even get to ride their favorite ones several times in a row.

The Jungle Cruise is always my favorite for little ones. There is so much to see and the one liners from the boat driver are entertaining, though stale over the years. We were the last ones in the boat, but got a good view near the doorway. The kids got to see everything, even the big water fall which I didn’t remember getting wet from last time. But with camera in had and sitting in the only spot without a covering over head, Chris and I got drenched. It caught me off guard and despite my camera (which suffered no damage) the soaking was quite refreshing. The Florida sun had intensified and I was needing to cool off.

After the Jungle Cruise, Chris got disciplined, probably for “doing his own thing” and walking ahead of us, or for parenting. So he didn’t get to ride the next ride. It was going to be the tree house which he had never climbed before and REALLY wanted to do, so I said let’s do the magic carpet ride once more and he missed that instead.

Grace and I waited while the boys climbed… another thing I think everyone should skip if pressed for time. Then we waited inline to see Jasmine, Genie and Aladdin. They were very fun and animated and Princess Jasmine knelt down to draw shy Grace close. She hugged her and whispered to her while Grace turned her head away, but listened and stayed. We also saw Rafiki and Timon as well as Pocahontas or “hocanana” as Grace calls her. Even though Grace didn’t know these characters she followed her brothers and stood in line for pictures. Hey, isn’t that one of the reason we parents love Disney…for the pictures.

Stay tuned for Magic Kingdom part 2 tomorrow!

Share This