Disney Vacation Day 0: Travel & Magic Kingdom

Okay, I know it's been a while.  And so much has happened since I last wrote and I most definitely owe you some updates.  But before I get there (sometime next week), I am going to start fresh right now and tell you what's going on right this very minute because...

WE ARE IN DISNEY WORLD!!!!

That's right, the princess is back in her castle and I brought Alli & Ryan along with me.  Alli got to experience her first airplane ride.  I wish I could see the world through those eyes where everything is thrilling.  She couldn't stop talking about how awesome it was that the ground looked like a patchwork quilt and that we were sailing through clouds.

Oh, and Mikey got his wings.

So we arrived in Orlando around lunch time after dropping Riley off in Little Rock with my parents.  I miss that sweet baby girl desperately, but she is getting some grandparent time, and I am not having to lug her and all of her stuff across the Magic Kingdom to wait in line for two hours.  It's really working out best for everyone.

But I digress.  Have I mentioned how much I love this castle?  Despite the fact that one of the bigger letdowns of my life was walking through it to realize it was pretty much just a giftshop sixteen years ago, I still love it.

After a walk around and a quick lunch, we used a Fast Pass+ and hopped on Space Mountain.  It was all fun and games...

...until the ride broke down midway thorough, the lights came on, and Space Mountain was revealed to be not quite so pretty.  Needless to say - what a buzzkill that our first ride in Disney ended in a mechanical issue.

But we soldiered on and used the Fast Pass from Space Mountain to go on the Buzz Lightyear ride.  Essentially, you ride in a cart and shoot a lazer at targets to help Buzz Lightyear defeat the evil Emperor Zurg.

Alli and I didn't do half bad, but Ryan of course dominated all by himself.

After the Buzz Lightyear ride, we headed for Fantasyland to see Arial's ride called Under the Sea.  Then we met Ariel in her grotto and my little tomboy absolutely adored her.  Like got all shy and sweet and wanted to go back after we left.  And Ariel got to be the first signature in Alli's autograph book - so much fun.

 Ryan gave the ol' Sword in the Stone a try, and I am sorry to report he is not the king of England.

We did the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor which Alli thoroughly enjoyed, and then we waited in line for an hour for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  It was so much fun!  Disney is meticulous about every last detail, so even waiting in the queue line was enjoyable with spinning barrels of jewels and fountains that changed colors when you touched them.  Alli was so entertained that she only asked me "How much longer?" a dozen times.  Progress, people.  And Ryan made a buddy on his ride...

After the mine train, we decided it was time to head back to the resort for our dinner reservation at Chef Mickey's, which is in our hotel.  Alli was not keen on leaving, but we reminded her that we still have all day tomorrow set aside for Magic Kingdom, so she agreed.  She was glad she did, because dinner at Chef Mickey's means a ton of character autographs!  The restaurant is buffet-style dining, but the major Mickey characters all actually stop at your table individually to interact with you.

We'd been up since 4:30AM between flying, driving, and Disney, so we were worn out after dinner and decided to head up to the room for some rest.  But Disney wasn't done with us yet - we actually watched the Kiss Goodnight fireworks show from our balcony.

What an amazing way to end Day 0 in the Happiest Place on Earth!

Alli's Anecdotes

We spent a part of today out at the barn playing beauty shop - Jabbar got the full works with a bath, hoof polish, and some ShowSheen.  While he was drying, Alli and I even cleaned tack.  She had a fabulous time.

On the way home, staring out the window, out of the blue she said "I'm so glad God made horses, Mom.  Especially Jabbar."

Me too, Alli.  Me too.

Date Night

Don't be fooled by this title.  I am not referring to my own personal date night.  I haven't had one of those since my pre-Riley days, and even on that one I was 8.5 months pregnant so it's not like I really let loose or anything.  My back was killing me, I couldn't sip wine (because we all know I am a wine-sipper), and I needed to be home to get in bed by 8PM.

What I'm referring to is my social media "friends" who have date nights and how envious I am.  Ryan and I aren't big on leaving the kids with anyone besides family, and the one family member we have locally works two jobs - one in food service and one at a bar, so she might be able to give us "date early afternoon" but date night is pretty much out of the question.

Maybe my lack of date nightingness is my own fault, since I can't let go enough to let someone who doesn't spend Christmas morning with my kids watch them for a few hours, but that's a neurotic tic I've accepted about myself, kind of like the fact that I'm pretty sure if you took my blood pressure when there are dishes in the sink, I'd be having some kind of cardiac event.

Moreso than my parents friends who are date-nighting it up on the reg (power to you, know how lucky you are and how jealous I am), I would like to address my non-parent friends and point out to you that it's not date night for you.  

I know the experts say that kids or no, married for forty years or two, you should always "date" your partner.  But I have to pause and wonder for a minute if these experts have witnessed the miracle of birth, held their wife's hair while she violently threw up (let's just call that a stomach bug), or seen what happens to the female body after it carries a child for nine months.  You can't date someone you've seen go to the bathroom.  You can't date someone you've seen ugly cry.  And you can't date someone who has made you blind with rage because they won't PUT AWAY THE CLOTHES YOU FOLDED FOR THEM.  So I contend that these relationship experts don't have kids, always close the door when they go pee, and are already on anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medication.  But I digress...

It's not date night for you.  You've never sat down for dinner at a restaurant, had the waiter bring you your plate, and had someone say "Mom, I need to go to the bathroom."  Really, right now?  We've been sitting here twenty minutes waiting for our food, and right now when the waiter brought me my nice hot plate, you have to go to the bathroom?

It's not date night for you.  You've never had your meal interrupted by bending down to pick up a sippy cup literally one thousand times.  You have intelligent, coherent, uninterrupted conversations about politics and travel (because you have plenty of time and money to invest in them), and your hobbies (which don't include 'going to youth soccer games' and 'Pokemon cards').  You can finish a thought without being interrupted by "MAMA!" and yourself saying "Don't crawl on the floor."

It's not date night for you.  Every night of the week you can go out to dinner with your significant other.  You don't have to plan it a month in advance and pray no one gets sick (because they always get sick at the worst times) and that you don't find yourself just too exhausted to go anywhere.  You can wear whatever you want without being afraid the baby will pull your earring through your ear, pull down your shirt, or someone will think "She's a mom, why is she dressed like that?"  Makeup and a nice dress aren't a break for you - you can wear them whenever you want because whenever you want you can go eat at places where they don't have crayons and paper menus and gross wooden high chairs.

Look, I get it.  You're "dating" your partner.  You're making it a special event so you don't get complacent in your relationship.  I support you.  And I wouldn't trade my rugrats for your child-free dinners (most of the time).  Post your pics because you look hot in your LBD and your heels.  Check in at Bordino's and make me jealous - don't have too many chocolate martinis.  But can we just agree that it's "Saturday night" for you?

Date night!!!!

Oh wait, no.  Just Saturday night!!!!!

Self-Esteem by Alli

Alli Bree is full of wisdom, she looks at things plainly, and she's brutally honest.  Case in point, this Friday night heading to our neighborhood pool:

Alli:  "Mom, why don't you ever wear this swimsuit with the fringe?"

Me:  "Oh, I don't know.  I'm saving it for the beach," thinking to myself that it's a little Spring Break 2002 for the neighborhood pool.  Plus I didn't consider how much Riley would like to pull on the fringe.

Alli:  "Well if you aren't going to wear it, can I?  I really like it!"  She puts it on.

Me:  "Oh, I don't know, Alli.  I don't think it fits you."  I'm trying to ignore her shimmying to make the fringe swing.

Alli:  "Oh it fits, Mom.  It fits perfectly.  Well the top fits perfect.  The bottoms are pretty big."

Alli's Third Grade Wrap-Up

Alli finished third grade on Friday and will embark on her last year of elementary school next in August.

Here we were on the first day of school:

And now here we are on the last day of third grade:

From the Botanical Gardens field trip and hiking Devils Den...

To the Fall Festival...

To being on Green Team, Honor Choir, and having awesome class parties....

From making new best friends...

To getting the teacher she wanted and loving her every second.

We had trials like math struggles and being challenged with a model of Neptune, and we had victories like being second in the school-wide spelling bee and making the Principal's Honor Roll.

We also endured TEN SNOW DAYS.

She performed alone in the talent show in front of parents and peers, and danced her heart out at every single school dance.  I am so so proud to be the mama of such a strong, happy girl who is confident in herself and knows what she likes, and loves her family above all.

Happy summer, Alli!!  You've earned it!

Riley's First Birthday!

Last week, our little Riley girl turned O-N-E!  We decided to have a party at the house with family and friends - I didn't even send out invitations!  I just texted everyone to let them know what time.  I teased with one of my friends that the theme of the party was "Shut Up Pinterest."  I didn't put together a big themed party with invites and decorations and so much expectation I couldn't live up to.  I hung a banner, bought some balloons, ordered a cake, and made some dips.  And I really couldn't be happier about how it all went.  I was relaxed, I enjoyed, and I think everyone else did too.  I'll delve into my feelings on mommy guilt and overdone birthdays in another post...on to the pictures!

Riley was a little unsure about the smash cake at first - she delicately put her finger into the icing after some prompting from her Nini.

Then she got the hang of it and realized how good Ricks cake is...

Then it was time for presents.  Our little lady racked up books, toys, pool stuff, her first baby doll, the Little People Klip Klop Princess Stable - oh and some shades.

We are so fortunate to have such wonderful friends and family who want to be a part of Riley's life.  Much love to you all, and happy first birthday to our sweet girl!