Day 1: June 6, 2007 - On Our Way To Orlando!

Bret and I woke up earlier than planned at 6:30am and got ourselves ready before getting the kids up at 7am. The kids rushed into the living room to find that Tinkerbell had left them a surprise for their first trip to Disney World.

Tinkerbell had brought the kids each Disney t-shirts to wear today and some activity books and snacks for their very first plane ride.

We sent the kids to their rooms to get dressed and Ryan came running out excited because he had realized that he had lost his tooth while he had been sleeping. We found it on the floor and carefully packed it into one of our carry on bags so that the Tooth Fairy would find her way to Disney World tonight.

It was still early, but we headed out anyway at 7:30am, dropping the dog off at a neighbor’s house and stopping at McDonald’s for a quick breakfast. We arrived at the airport in Bloomington, IL at 9am. Our flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until 11:26am, but the time went by fast as we check our bags and went through security. Ryan thought they were crazy for wanting us to take off our shoes and asked the security guy a million questions. He was so worried that they weren't going to let us get on the plane.

We made our way down to our gate and the kids passed the time watching planes land and take off.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as we boarded the plane since this was the first time flying for the kids, but they were so excited about it that they never once got scared. The view from the plane was absolutely beautiful!


We arrived in Atlanta on time and only had a 42 minute lay over so we rushed to the other side of the airport to our departing gate and made it just as they were making the final boarding call. Whew!

Once reaching Orlando, our plane was put into a holding pattern due to a storm that had just reached the area, so we had to circle Orlando for 30 minutes before being given clearance to land. We landed at 5pm and looked around for the Disney cast members with the big white Mickey gloves that we had heard about, but they were no where to be found so we asked someone for directions to the Magic Express Transportation (ME) counter and headed that way, taking pictures on the way.


The line at the ME counter moved quickly. (Only one person from each party is allowed to go through the line.) We got in line for the bus and were on our way to the resort a little over an hour after our plane landed. With three stops at other resorts, we pulled up at Pop Century, but were pretty bummed because it was still pouring outside with no sign of letting up.

These are some of the pictures of the resort from our last night there, but I figured they would work better here.


Check in only took a few minutes and then we were on our way up to our room in one of the 60’s buildings to drop off some of our carry on stuff and wait for our friends who had gotten there earlier in the day and were on their way back from Magic Kingdom to meet us at the resort for dinner.

Once meeting up together, we buried ourselves under our rain ponchos (thank goodness we had them) we headed down to Everything Pop for dinner.

Waiting for the elevator – we were on the 4th floor in building 5. Teri had turned in for the night since they had gotten up at 3am to catch their flight out and Bret took the picture.

I’m not sure what I had been expecting in terms of counter service food, but the food is really good there. I had the Chicken Penne Alfredo, Bret got chicken strips and fries, Ashley got a cheese pizza and Ryan got the kid’s Mac n Cheese with grapes and a chocolate chip cookie. He’s a really hard kid to feed because he doesn’t seem to like anything. He didn’t like the Mac n Cheese because it wasn’t Kraft, but we thought it tasted fine. Instead he filled up on his grapes, cookie and Bret’s fries. They really do give you a lot of food.

With full tummy’s we decided to hop on a bus for Downtown Disney. We had originally planned to start out at Magic Kingdom, but with the rain still pouring down from the sky in buckets we decided to let the kids build their light sabers at Once Upon A Toy instead. Plus, I know Bret and Scott were pretty excited about making their own, too. Maybe more so that the kids.

Ryan and Quentin were the first to build their light sabers. They spent the time waiting once they were done dueling with them and knocking over innocent passerby’s while they were at it. (Ok, not really. But it sounded good, didn’t it?)

Ashley works on hers.



Bret and Scott were the most excited about building their double light sabers. I’m still not sure who this trip is for – them or the kids.



We would have loved to see more of DTD, but the rain wasn’t letting up and we were ready to turn in for the night in hopes of getting to Magic Kingdom in time for EMH in the morning.

We're back...

Our trip to Disney World was so much fun. As soon as I can catch up on unpacking and getting all of our pictures in order, I'll post more about our vacation.

36 Hours And Counting, If You Want To Be Specific!

We're almost there - at the final stretch! I'm not excited or anything.

I've packed, repacked and repacked some more. We just have way too much stuff and I've tried to downsize, but I swear we need it all. Every one of us has our own suitcase and I'm not sure if the kids will even be able to pull their own through the airport. We could go with less clothes and do some laundry at the resort, but really - this is suppose to be a vacation, isn't it? We already have 4 suitcases and two carry-ons. I'm fighting the urge to add a 5th suitcase. Bret thought we would be able to fit it all into one suitcase. Is he serious?

I've decided that I won't be bringing the laptop with us after all. Internet connection is an extra $10.95 a night at the resort and honestly I don't think I'll have time to do much with it anyway. So instead of trying to fit a laptop in with our carry-on stuff, I'm just going to go buy a teeny tiny memory card for the digital camera that will take up so much less space. Then we'll be sure to not run out of memory and I'll have hundreds and hundreds of pictures to share with you all when we get back - unless the humdity is unforgiving to my hair, of course. (Ha)

Oh, and we won't be talking about the ugly Crocs I just bought for myself and Ashley that I said I would NEVER buy. But after hearing about how many people wear them to Disney, I have to admit they sure are the most comfy shoes ever. Ok, (sigh) they're growing on me.

I'm sure I'll be running around tomorrow as if I've lost my head or something, so until I get back - see you next week!

Happy Birthday, Blog

A little late, but it's hard to believe it's been a year since I started this blog last year on June 1. Below I put together some highlights from the past year. (Click on lines below to view that post.)

We leave on Wednesday morning for Florida and I have no idea if I'll have internet access while we're there. If so, I'll try to post some pictures. Have a good week!

* * * * *

Ryan gets his hearing aids.

"Is that what you do all day?"

I knew they'd do it eventually!

Ryan goes to kindergarten.

Ashley first Cubs game.

Ashley learns about her heritage.

The biggest snow fall in a long time.

Two new babies!

Ryan's Star Wars fixation develops.

When someone says something really nice about you.

Because you've booked a vacation.

Yet again, because you've booked a vacation.

A Spider Tried To Kill Me!

On the way home from Ashley's softball game tonight, the kids and I were terrorized by a big furry black spider that some how found it's way into my van. It started out on the passenger seat and made it's way closer to me as I was driving. I don't think I've ever been as freaked out in my life before as I was tonight. While driving, I attempted to kill it with Ryan's flip flop (did you really think I was going to use my own?) but it just kept curling up into a ball and running away. As we pulled into the neighborhood I swung into the first driveway and jumped out. Larry and Joan were outside doing some work on their house and probably thought I had lost my mind. Larry tried his hardest to find the thing, but it's God knows where, hiding and just waiting for me to get back inside before it tries to attack again. I managed to get home (yes, I sped just a teeny tiny bit) and got myself and the kids out of the van. I looked all over again and still couldn't find the nasty thing. I left my van on the driveway, because I am NOT getting back into it until Bret gets home from his softball game and exterminates it. If he can't find it we'll just have to have the van towed and buy a new one!

I think it looked a little something like this.

Okay, maybe it was more like this. But really! It's just as bad and it's still in there!

Together Again

Tonight at Ashley's first softball game, Ryan was reunited with his little friend Hannah again. It was like no time had passed at all.

The picture's quality is not so great because it's from my camera phone and the sun came out at that exact moment that she was looking up at him.

The game itself did not go as well, though. The other team demolished us and the sad thing is that their runs were only scored by stealing bases. I don't think they ever had a single hit. The game was over after 3 innings.

One Dirty Boy Coming Up

Ryan's new favorite pastime - getting filthy dirty. He had to be carried into the house and straight into the bathtub.

Dunlap Dynamites

This year's softball team...

(click on picture to enlarge)

Bret and Ashley are in the top row all the way on the left.

Weekend Update

I am officially garage saled out! It's amazing how many people will try to talk you down a mere 50 cents and then walk away when you say no. Or when you have 8 pairs of medical scrubs and someone asks if you'll take a dollar off each one and you say no, thinking that surely someone else will buy them - and then two weekends later they are still in your possesion. Everything is back in rubbermaid tubs and ready to be put away for the next neighborhood sale. If I ever recover from these last two weekends by then.

I went to the doctor to have my ankle checked out again yesterday and he told me, "Congratulations. You've managed to tear all three tendons in your one ankle." Ouch. Luckily, he said that if I go back to icing it every 2 hours again, it should heal up pretty well for our vacation to Disney World in 11 DAYS! We're almost to single digits, people! I may have to wear the air cast he gave me while I'm there, but it should be okay. I just may end up with some pretty horrible tan lines around my ankle by the time we get home.

Well, I'm off to finish icing my ankle and then I'm going to go take back control of my house. It's been neglected for way too long!

Day Three

It's day three of this whole sprained ankle business. Still swollen. Still hurts. Still sitting on the couch with my foot raised higher than my head. I am so over this! Anyone want to come clean my house and do my laundry? It's out of control over here.

The Art Of Delegating

I think it's safe to say that my family is ready for me to be able to walk again. I'm under strict orders to stay off my foot and keep it elevated and iced. If I try to cheat it swells and throbs really bad and makes my toes look twice their normal size.

After a busy day outside (trying) to help run our garage sale, I am now on the couch with my ice bag again. (We ran out of frozen green beans). We did really well today and hopefully tomorrow will go well, too.

My daughter is (unenthusiastically) learning all about doing laundry. She's officially been instructed through a load and there's plenty more piling up where that came from. Bret surprised me when I got up this morning with a clean house that had been picked up the night before. Ryan (smartly) has disappeared downstairs to the world of Star Wars Play Station so I haven't been able to assign him anything yet. I might just have to milk this for a few extra days. Ha! Everyone that knows me can tell you that I can't handle this for long. Eventually I'll have to find a way to clean the house, catch the laundry up and organize something or I will go insane.

Vacation Curse Hits Again!

Guess it was my turn to make a visit to the emergency room. After a day of setting up garage sale stuff, Emily and I drove around putting up signs to increase our traffic flow. After watching her jump on the signs while trying to get them into the dry ground and laughing my butt off at her, I decided to give her a hand.

While carrying a sign, I was so busy watching for oncoming cars that I didn't pay enough attention to the big ditch between the parking lot and the road and down I went. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. My first thought on my way down to the ground was, NO! Disney World! I felt my ankle give out. I heard it crack. I saw it swell up to the size of a tennis ball immediately and then I felt the agonizing pain. I was sure that is was broken. Em immediately drove me (while I sobbed) home while I tried to call someone to meet me there to take me to the ER. No one answered. Bret was in the dentist's chair. His mom was in her doctor's office. No one else was answering their phones. So I called my sister in law at work and begged her to come get me - thankfully she did and quickly, too.

After a hour and a half of enduring painful positioned xrays and long boring bouts of waiting, I learned that it was only sprained. Not broken! I can still go to Disney World! What a relief, because I was going to go anyways - even if Bret was going to have to push me around in a wheel chair!

Let me tell you - it's great to have friends that are so dependable. One's that you can drop off a baby to with no warning. And one's that will be there for your kids when they get off the bus. And especially the ones that will carry your sad and clutzy self through the door and even pull your pants up multiple times when they start to fall down from hobbling aournd. Because when these things happen, everything gets so chaotic that it's reassuring to know that the people that mean the most to you will always be there for you. Thanks, guys!

Ryan's New School Picture

Ryan brought his new picture home today. Wow, he's really grown up this year!

My Little Helper

Cecelia has been so cute while I've been working. She's sat perfectly still in the middle of the pool table while I've sorted, bagged and priced. Thankfully, the Little People stuff is almost done. Or at least it was almost done...

Caught in the act.

Totally busted - and she knows it!

Please note that no babies were allowed to play with dangerous plastic bags today. They were only allowed to dump them - then they were taken away. I know you were thinking it! LoL

Little People Overload

I am officially drowning in my son's Fisher Price Little People! I thought for sure I could get these sorted and priced while the babies take their morning naps. Yea, right! I now have millions (no exageration here) of Little People toys scattered all over my basement and my hair is sticking up all over the place from pulling it out in frustration.

But, on a happy note. I've got one very happy little baby (Chloe) who has free reign of the downstairs playroom. She's in Little People heaven. Yes, I'm saving a few sets for the babies to play with here. (Clears throat - um - and you know, just in case Ryan feels a bit nostalgic and wants to play with them, too.)

I'll admit, it was an addiction for a few years.

That's right. You guessed it - there are tubs and tubs and tubs and drawers more of it!

Will someone please save me?

3 WEEKS!!!!

3 weeks from today I'm going to be screaming my head off on awesome rides and soaking up the sun's rays at this pool! It's calling my name - I can hear it. Really.

Go Diego Go!

Last night, Bret and Ryan went with a friend and his son to see Go Diego Go down at the Civic Center. They all had a great time and Ryan was totally wiped out when he got home. I got to stay behind and start getting my stuff together for this weekend's neighborhood garage sale over at my sister in law's house. Yes, we have to start setting up on Thursday and I'm just beginning to get my stuff together on Tuesday. Makes sense, right?

Ashley's New School Picture

Ashley got her new school pictures back today. Aren't they cute? Not sure what happened to Ryan's.

Update: You'll get your pictures whenever I get them printed. (All I ordered was the disc.)

This Can't Be Good!

This can't be a good thing. All of these red spots on this map of Florida? Wildfires! And the air quality right now in Orlando? Very smoky and hazy. Ugh! Pray for rain!!!

The Payoff

There are days when the babies have gone home and my own kids are in bed and the house is quiet for the night and I look forward to enjoying some quiet time by myself or just sitting on the couch watching something from on the DVR with my husband (who patiently pauses whatever we're watching everytime I think of something I want to tell him).

Then there are days like yesterday afternoon when one of the babies snuggle with me on the couch for a half an hour all sweet and content. Or there's this morning when the other baby lays her head on my chest as I rock her for a minute as she falls asleep in my arms and I contemplate whether I should lay her down or hold her for a few more minutes, inhaling her sweet baby smell.

There are also times when my daughter will give me a hug for no other reason than just being glad to see me or sad to see me go even if it's just to go out with the girls from the neighborhood for a couple of hours. Or when my son will tell me I'm the best mom in the world and actually give up one of his rare hugs and kisses because I've done something that has made him truely happy.

These times are so rare that you just never want to let go of that euphoric feeling that it leaves you with. It's times like those that give you the biggest payoff possible - the payoff of knowing that you're doing something right and are truely loved and appreciated.

Too Loud

I am so ready for my kids to go to bed. So very ready. It has been such a long day. Too long of a day to form any kind of sentence that makes sense. Do you think it would have been too much to ask that a volume control have been included when they were born?

Creepiness Factor

Just when I thought I had the world figured out, I'm now questioning what's really out there. Tonight after Ashley's volleyball tournament, we (Ash, my mom and myself) headed over to Applebee's for dinner and the creepiness factor was off the charts. While waiting for our food to be served, a man was seated by himself at the table across from us. We didn't think anything of it until he started talking to himself. At first we thought maybe he was talking into a blue tooth phone through the ear that was facing away from us, but once he turned his head we uneasily threw that explanation right out the window when we saw nothing there.

Soon, his "conversations" went from short "Yes.", "I know." and "That's right." phrases as if he were answering someone, straight to alarming things like, "God will save us.", "Only he knows what really happened to you.", "Satan will come." and then a lot of unintelligible words strung together.

Creepy, right? While this was going on, we exchanged uneasy glances with those dining around us. Everyone was hearing all of this. All of the waitresses and waiters were huddled around down at the end of the aisle whispering and stealing glances at this man. No one knew what to think. Was he just plain loosing it and talking to himself? Did he think someone was there with him? Was someone or something really there with him? What? I really want to know - I think.

When we were done eating, we figured it was best to just leave before it got even more creepier - if that were even possible. Ashley was with us and I didn't really want her to witness anything that might keep her up with nightmares tonight - or worse - get her started asking questions that I didn't have the answers to, so we quickly paid our bill and left. It's just that with all of the recent nightmare headlines in the news lately, how can you really be sure someone like that isn't dangerous or unstable? So we left. Probably nothing else happened after that, but still it was creepy all the same.

It's A Boy! Maybe.

So, I might have the opportunity to add a newborn baby boy to my daytime bunch next October. I'm seriously considering it. Am I crazy? One of Ashley's teachers is due in August and is looking for a sitter. You can't beat a teacher's schedule. But three kids under the age of 1? Hmmm...got to think about this.

$3.19

Are you kidding me? It cost me $70 to fill up today!

This one has it right.

Let Me Out!

Nine months old and already begging to go outside and play.

36 Days To Go And One Nifty Homemade Countdown Calendar!

Because it's not me who's excited or anything...

She's Back...

Ashley's back with all of her stories about White Pines, including one about a girl from a different troop that got bucked off of her horse yesterday after screaming at a rabbit that jumped out of the woods on their trail ride. I am so glad she's back in one piece.

Best Buds

It has definately been a busy day today with the boys. Ryan has been loving being the "big brother" for a change and Mitchell has said over and over again today that Ryan is his buddy. I think he's really loving the fact that he's got Ryan all to himself. They're gotten along extremely well today and have both been so well behaved.

.

After lunch, Bret and I took the boys to the park down the street.

We really wore Mitchell out on our walk through the woods surrounding the park area. He was walking pretty slow by the time we were back in sight of the parking lot.

It's been Ryan's mission to turn Mitchell into a fellow Jedi. Must also be Bret's intention since he went out and bought Mitchell his own light sabre while he was napping.

After dinner we took a walk around the neighborhood and found that our neightbors were having a bon fire in their backyard. It seems there were backyard parties everywhere throughout the neighborhood tonight - a definate sign that the weather has gotten nice again. The boys had a blast having light sabre fights in the dark and sitting around the camp fire. The funny thing is that Mitchell is with us because his parents and sister went camping for the weekend, and here we are kind of doing the same thing.



Ashley comes home tomorrow afternoon and can you believe that she hasn't called home once yet? It must be a sign that she's having a blast and hasn't missed us. I can't wait to hear all about her trip. I'll have to post some of the pictures from her disposable camera after I get them developed.
.
Tomorrow we're going to take the boys to the zoo. If they're as good as they were today we won't have to leave them behind with the monkeys.

Not Sure What I'm In For

Ashley is off and on her way to her horseback riding trip and Ryan will soon be over at Grandma & Grandpa's house. Bret and I are going to see The Bob & Tom Show down at the Civic Center with some friends and I'm not really sure what to expect. I've heard some of their stuff when Bret's alarm clock goes off in the morning, but still couldn't tell you anything about it. I have been warned that I will probably pee my pants from laughing so hard, so we'll see. It should be a good time, especially since we're meeting for drinks before hand.

Weekend Preview

The big weekend is finally here. Ashley leaves tonight for her weekend horse back riding trip with her Girl Scout troop. She's excited, but her mother is a nervous wreck. I've packed her bag this morning and I think it's heavier than she is - and all that's in there is everything on her packing list. And maybe (shhh) my forbidden cell phone tucked away discreetly in her bag in case she wants to call us at bedtime. (Shhh, don't tell.) This will be her first trip away from home without us. Sure, she's been to day camp and overnights before, but this is 2 1/2 hours away for three days! And we're not even going to talk about the vacation curse, so don't even think about it!

So, out with one kid and in with a new one. In Ashley's place, Mitchell will be staying with us over the weekend while his family goes camping in Iowa. Bret and Ryan are saying that they're going to turn him into a Star Wars buff so that we can have two little Jedi's in the family...lol. If Mitchell's mommy and daddy are reading this: This is your last chance to change your mind...lol.

Things That Have Kept Me From Blogging

• My first ear infection that I can remember. I now know why babies scream when they have one.
• Ryan's injured toe being stepped on by a classmate at school. Thankfully, he's fine.
• A sick baby. I have to admit it's nice when they cling to you and want to be cuddled, even if that means nothing else gets done.
• My calendar. It seems there's more than one thing on it each day.
• Did I mention my ear infection? Ouch.

The Bravest Little Boy Ever

What a day it's been! Bret and I had to go separate ways with a kid each this morning. I took Ashley to volleyball while he took Ryan to swim lessons. When entering the locker room this morning, the door slammed into Ryan's big toe, causing the nail to fall most of the way off and blood to come pouring out from his toe. I met Bret at the emergency room where Ryan made us so proud, being such a brave kid. They had to numb his toe, which made him scream loud enough for most of the hospital to hear, so they could clean it and drill a hole through it, in hopes of saving the nail.

Now, don't judge me for taking pictures in an emergency room, but I happened to already have the camera in my purse from having been at volleyball, so I thought, why not?

Ryan got his own personal TV, which helped him take his mind off of the pain. The staff in the ER were so great to him. They explained everything in advance directly to him to ease his fear. The doctor was amazing with him - just the kind of person you want helping your child in the event of an emergency. In fact, I think she was the same ER doctor that treated Ryan when he was a baby and cut his finger on a formula can.

Bret got to play with the TV, too.

Over in the xray department we learned that his toe was not broken. Thank God for some things!

Guess what came in the mail today with perfect timing? His new GameBoy and Star Wars games. Could that not have worked out any better? He was so excited about it that he hasn't once complained about his toe.

Hopefully nothing else happens before we go to Disney in June - remember that vacation curse? Poor kid was sick last week with another throat infection and now this. Looks like he's going to be getting his tonsils out this summer, too. Does it ever end?

Update: Ryan says he's going to punch that locker room door the next time he goes to swim lessons. Take that, you terrible door!

Do You Dare To Outbid Me?

I never thought my kids would need or be interested in video games. Boy, was I wrong. This year Ashley discovered the iPod and the Nintendo DS, which means Ryan has now discovered it, too - and wants his own. Sigh.

We've been looking into the whole handheld video game thing for Ryan and have decided on the Gameboy Advance since it's a bit more simple than the DS. He did pretty well with it when we had borrowed Skyler's.

So, today I found an awesome deal on Ebay. It was for the cobalt blue Gameboy Advance, carrying case, home and car chargers and 4 games for what you would pay for 2 brand new games. I probably would have kept on looking, except that two of the games were Star Wars I and Star Wars II. Duh! (We all know how addicted Bret and Ryan have been to the Star Wars games on the PlayStation downstairs.) I spent 4 hours keeping tabs on the bidding until it ended late this afternoon. I watched and then swooped it up in the last minute of bidding out from under everyone's noses.

Oh, you didn't think we were going to wait for his birthday in August, did you? Nope, we're going to give it to him before we go to Disney World so that we'll have a peaceful flight there and back. Little man is going to freak out when he sees it - but not as much as he will when he sees this and this - the two things he's most excited about this Disney World vacation for.

Just Send Your Daughter Into The Pack Of Wolves, Why Don't You?

I had to buy my daughter a pair of sliding shorts and a sliding leg shield for her softball practice tonight. They're expected to slide into home plate every time they run home. Every time. They're 11 years old. Fifth graders. Shall we guess how many girls are going to be out for the first game due to injuries after tonight? I'm just a wee bit nervous.

Bump, Set, Spike!

A few pictures from Ashley's Volleyball Tournament today. They kicked butt.

* * * *

Ashley waits for the serve.

A quick smile while she waits to be rotated back into the game.

Ashley's turn to serve.

A view of the whole game. (Ashley is circled in yellow. Click on picture to enlarge.)

She really wanted that one.

Probably Not What He Had In Mind

Today was the last official day of Spring Break for the kids. I wish I could say it was as much fun as last year, but in all reality it was kind of a disappointment. Last year we spent the whole week outside from sunup to sundown, enjoying warm and sunny days. This year it rained. It snowed. It was cold and we were pretty much stuck inside all week, getting over not so much fun colds. The kids are getting stir crazy and we all need to get out of the house, hence meaning that it's time to go back to school. The days have felt really long and it always seems like it should be bedtime when it's only 7pm.

It's never hard to get Ryan to go to bed at night because when he's tired, he'll let you know that he's ready. He has this ritual at night, though, and can't go to sleep without it. Usually it's Bret that goes through the motions with him while I'm picking up the house or falling into bed myself. However, tonight Bret is out with his friends seeing some comedian downtown at the Civic Center and it's me who put the kids to bed.

After spending quite some time listening to Ryan tell me all of his thoughts and answering all of the questions that were rolling around in his head, he told me I had to lay with him for 5 minutes before I could leave. The only problem is that he tells you minute by minute just how many minutes are left - and his minutes are pretty long. The last one I remembered hearing is two. By zero he had to wake me up and tell me to leave. No wonder Bret seems to stay in there forever. He's probably out cold, too.

The Girl's Got The Moves!

You can't argue with talent. Especially her little "shaking of the head no" move.

Top Four Reasons Why My Husband Is Not In Charge Of Decorating Our Home

Over the past couple of days, Chloe has almost mastered the whole crawling thing. Out of fear and knowledge of what could happen, my husband and I moved Ryan's Lego table into Ryan's bedroom. Moving this table will also make room for Bret's Grandma's China Cabinet (or whatever the proper term for it is) that I've managed to talk Bret into getting.

.

Luckily for Chloe and Cecelia, they're cute so they'll be forgiven for whatever they get into.

Taking advantage of the temporarily free wall space, Bret tried his hand at decorating. He says he wanted more space in the livingroom.

.

So, let me give you:

The Top Four Reasons Why My Husband Is Not Allowed To Decorate Our Home:

.

Reason #1:

Reason #2:

Reason #3:

Reason #4:

Yes, I know. You never thought you'd see my house filled with baby toys again, but where did my hallway go?

Am I wrong to change it back and break his heart? LoL

Anyone Else Need A Travel Agent?

While signing us and Teri's family up for the Magic Express transportation and luggage service for our upcoming trip to Disney World in June, I came across a huge mistake. Some how I accidentally booked them on a flight leaving Bloomington at 6am in the morning, instead of the 11:27am flight that I had booked for our family. Oops. I swear that's not the flight I selected when I booked their trip for them, but that's what it says they've got now.

Turns out they prefer their earlier time (at least that's what they're telling me...ha ha) since they are now arriving in Orlando at 10:55am instead of 4:26pm like us. They'll be able to stay with a friend of theirs that lives in Bloomington the night before and will now have a more full day of going to the theme parks, but will probably already be passed out by the time our flight arrives. I'm sure they're looking forward to getting up at 4am in the morning to catch their flight, too. It would definately have been more fun to fly in with them, but we'll still meet up when we get there - fully rested. Ha.

I did try to call Orbitz to change our flight to the same one as theirs (even though that would have meant that we'd have to get up at 3am to get to Bloomington in time) but they wanted to charge me all kinds of fees to do it, so I left it alone. We'll still have a great time - I just wish it would get here sooner!

Happy Easter!

After spending the entire day with Bret at Teri & Scott's watching a Star Wars Movie Marathon yesterday, the kids were exhausted when they went to bed last night. Bret and I were pretty sure that our wake up call would be pretty early this morning, but were pleasantly surprised that we actually had to wake Ryan up at 9am this morning! Poor Ashley was up by 7am and had to wait for the rest of us lugs to get out of bed. (See, Ash? It's so much fun to grow up, isn't' it?)

The kids had fun hunting down their eggs and going through their Easter baskets. Both got $10 in Disney Dollars to spend at Disney World this June along with some other Disney paraphernalia. If they do their chores they'll earn some more before we leave. Ryan got lots of activity books to help him with learning how to read in school (who said the Easter Bunny wasn't very smart?) and Ash got her Nintendo DS bundle pack so that she can keep herself more organized and not loose any of her games. Did I mention that they got loads of candy? Ugh, it's going to be a long day!

* * * *

Ryan searches for his Easter Eggs.

Ashley is smarter than the Easter Bunny thinks.

"I found two, Mom!"


Happy Easter, Everyone!

Ready For MGM

Check out the t-shirt I got for Ryan on Ebay. He's totally ready to meet his favorite Star Wars characters at Disney World now. Is this not perfect?

Update on the mixing of medicine and alcohol

This is Kelly, Cece's mommy, not Lynda. So, at about 5 pm, my husband and I decided to see if any neighbors wanted to come over to have a few adult beverages. The W********'s were out because a new Lego Star Wars video game was at their house. However, Scott called them over... all attended initally but Lynda. However, Bret called her a few hours later and Lynda, in a medicine "coma" showed up. From about 8:30 pm to 11:00 pm, Auntie Lynda, as we call her, had ONLY 3 drinks. In this time, she went from the normal, jovial Lynda to a woman who was laughing hysterically as she twirled back and forth on a bar stool! I love this lady... because she just shared a beer with me... I praised her long before this little glass of beer appeared before me though! For those who have never watched others' children... Lynda, as I am sure Chloe's mommy would agree, is an amazing woman who truly makes working moms feel blessed for the opportunity to ""have it all!" How one woman can be the matriach of a family of 4 and still find time to be the caretaker of 2 young infants is well beyond my scope of imagination. Thanks for all who read about my little treasure... and thanks to you, Lynda! You always make going to work a pleasure instead of a guilt trip!

DayQuil & Michelob - HTe Results

Not good.

Disney World Links

Here are the links for all that requested them:

Pop Century Disney Resort

This one has a virtual tour.

Resort Map. 3 Pools!!!!

I've also just read in a new guide book that I picked up that once you check your luggage at your home airport, you don't have to deal with it again. Disney delivers them right to your room. Then when you check out of your hotel, they check your bags right there and print your boarding pass, all before you even leave for the airport. Sweet!

My brother is in Tampa, FL right now visiting a friend and my aunt. He's already emailed pictures of the ocean. An ocean that I'm not going to get to see! Maybe my aunt will drive to Orlando to get me and take me to see the ocean. Sigh, like we're really going to have time for that.

Mickey Moolah

Guess what the Easter Bunny is going to stuff the kids' Easter baskets with this year? Disney Dollars. They will also have the chance to earn more by actually making their beds and getting their clothes into the hamper instead of on the floor right in front of the hamper. Then they can take their Disney dollars to Disney World with them and spend them where ever they want. (With in reason, of course. We don't need a 5 foot tall stuffed Mickey Mouse hanging around our house like a 3rd child.) It's possible that I might be just a teeny tiny bit more excited about this trip than anyone else in this family.

And, just out of curiosity, would any of you make fun of us if we all wear matching fanny packs (loaded with snacks and other can't leave behind items) around Disney World? Don't laugh, Teri! I'm buying you guys fanny packs, too! Do you think Scott would prefer pink or purple? Ha.

Unpredictable

Two days ago I was sitting outside in the sun with the kids, enjoying the mid 70 degree weather. My checks and chest were a bit red when I went inside for the day with the faint glow of an unmistakable sunburn approaching. Now, it's 40 degrees outside and snow flurries are blowing around like little annoying white flecks of nothing good to come in the next week. Will someone please bring spring back to me?

Disney Or Bust!

Well, it's all booked. It took us until 2am this morning, but it's decided. We're going to Disney World in June with Teri and her family. We'll be staying in one of the Disney resorts for 5 nights and 6 days. I think I might be the most excited out of any of us. I've never been to the state of Florida before. Never been to Disney, nor have I ever seen an ocean. I guess the ocean will have to wait, but at least I'll get to finally say that I've been to Florida. I only have one concern, though. What if a hurricane wipes out Disney World before we get there? Then what?!

Where Have You Been?!?!

I have been submerged in the endless digging of Disney World Family Vacation deals for a 5 night, 6 day vacation.

Why? Because of this awesome special event at MGM. Ryan will truly pass out from the excitement when he finds out. It will definately be a moment of awe for him when he sees the storm troopers marching down the street.

I'm not sure how our kids will do on their first airplane flight, but it will definately be an experience to remember. Teri and her family are considering going with us. Which means we'll all get a chance to go out at night without the kiddos if we're still able to function after putting full days in at the theme parks.

I'm pretty excited my self since it's only taken me 30 years to get to the state of Florida.

On a sadder note, I'm losing one of my babies. Kelly, Dan and Cecelia are moving to Ohio this summer. I've already told them that she can't go with them, but I don't think they'll go for that.