Disney Deets - Day #2

Day #2 - Rocked.

We got up early and made it to the Magic Kingdom before the gates opened. We took some shots (good ones) and had someone take family shots (bad ones). Good grief my belly is getting large.

Keeping up with my itinerary (get used to hearing that), we headed straight to Fantasyland in the back of the park and rode rides until we pooped out. We didn't have to wait in any lines, which meant we rode Dumbo multiple times and went from ride to ride without stopping.

We literally rode every, single ride in Fantasyland. Our favorite attraction was Mickey's PhilharMagic. It was a super crazy 3-D show. We were literally reaching out trying to grab items that looked like they were right in front of us. It was awesome.

We loved Snow White Scary Adventure and Winnie the Pooh, but Dave and Hallie LOVED the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. I was about to puke just watching them. Sometimes it is very handy to be pregnant...

The Winnie the Pooh ride ended in a gift shop (of course) and Hallie had-to-have a small Piglet. Good grief she loves that thing. It helped that she became obsessed with Winnie the Pooh about a week before we left for Disney, thanks to a two foot garden statue that she took into her posession (thanks, father-in-law).

(more on the Piglet later and the miracle of Disney)

We ate lunch at Cosmic Rays (yummy, quick lunch) and rode almost every ride in Tomorrowland. Dave even rode Space Mountain while Hallie and I waited in line to meet some serious princesses. Hallie finally met her beloved Belle. And Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. She was in heaven. I thought I was going to cry watch her talk to these princesses. She just hugged and hugged Belle and didn't want to let go. Like, it was almost uncomfortable how long their hug lasted. She loves Belle. A lot.

After Tomorrowland caught the three o'clock Celebrate Your Dreams (so we did). Disney can certainly rock a parade. I mean, they go ALL OUT. Tons of characters, gorgeous floats, great sound quality (says Dave).

And then we headed back to do some swimming, relax and nap.

And thank goodness we did. We had late (8:15pm!) dinner reservations at the Crystal Palace.

And then it poured on us.

And Hallie's stomach hurt because we ate so late.

Thank goodness for the characters, because Dave and I may or may not have gotten into a giant fight at that point in time.

  





We eventually got over it. Like the next morning.

Disney - The Deets.

Pre-Day #1:

Pre-Disney was in the car the day before. Which far exceeded my expectations of what a good little traveler Hallie Mason truly is. She rocked the roadtrip. She was calm, quiet (most of the time), not whiny at all and only asked "when are we there?" 18 million times. I would much rather that than any whining or crying!

We picked Dave up in Kentucky and arrived about 11pm in Atlanta. It was so good to see Megan! We were pretty sleepy after the 10 hour car ride, so we didn't chat too long, but she woke up bright and early (and made coffee!) for our early send off the next morning. I love that girl.

So Day #1 - Disney aka the Day of Chaos aka the Day My Plans Fell Apart.

We checked into our resort and got packed up to head to Hollywood Studios. On the itinerary, it said to catch our lunch reservations at the 50's Prime Time Diner, but I ended up cancelling because I wasn't sure we would get there in time. Good thing....because we didn't.

We did, however, catch the 3pm Pixar Pals parade, which rocked Hallie's socks off. It was a great way to welcome ourselves to Disney.

We then caught the next show time for Beauty and the Beast...which again, rocked our socks off. Dave was enthralled with the lighting and sound equipment (nerd). Hallie was obsessed with the songs and the costumes and how the heck that rose blanket made the beast change back into the prince (!). I was in love with watching both of their reactions. I wasn't sure how either of them would react. It was priceless.

And then after the show things sort of fell apart. We weren't sure what to do next. Do we do the Muppet 3-D? Voyage of the Little Mermaid? Walk around? I couldn't get myself acclimated to this park and it was packed. Since Fantasmic was that evening, the crowd levels were out of control.

So Hallie made the executive decision to go back to the resort and go swimming. A very wise decision. We hit up the pool and took naps afterwards.

We ended up eating at the resort and then decided to head back to Hollywood Studios to catch the Fantasmic Show. It's a lights/lasers/fireworks/water show thing. It sounded cool - people raved about it. We might as well see it, right?

IT WAS AMAZING.

Totally worth me standing in line for 30 minutes while Dave and Hallie wheeled around in the stroller. Totally worth the f-bombs Dave was throwing out over the phone when he got lost trying to get back to me when the line was moving really fast. It was totally worth the giant crowds of people. Totally.

It was incredible. One of the COOLEST things I have ever seen. And it is impossible to see how cool it was from the pictures.

After the show we headed back to the resort and passed out. Big time.

It was a very fun (and mucho stressful) way to start our Disney stay. Whew. More to come.

We're Baaaack!

(Hallie after fantasmic...and about how I feel right now!)
 

Disney details to come, tomorrow. Maybe.

I'm super tired this morning, but have lots 'o work to do at...work.

I have a loverly stress fracture on my foot that hurts like the dickens, but was totally worth the walking.

I came back with over a hundred dollars from the cash I had allocated for extras - what the heck? How does that even happen? I think I should have bought more jelly beans.

It was the best, most memorable, exhausting trip of my life.

Next spring break I am getting a house on a beach and doing nothing for a week. Period.

On Tap For Today.

1. Fast food coupons
2. Addresses/maps to Kentucky, Atlanta and Disney
3. Customized maps printed off of Disney
4. Wal-mart shopping list for Saturday
5. Target shopping list for Saturday
6. Print my final itineraries
7. Finalized packing list
8. Start panicking a little bit about shopping, packing and loading the car without Dave.

Check.

A Failure? I Think Not.

Er, well, I sort of let this whole list thing slide. I say getting pregnant, going to Disney and finishing the basement can trump everything below. The only thing that will happen for sure this month is the car loan.

My 30 Before 30

1. Successfully grow a garden

2. Purchase new drinking glasses (white polka dot from Target - love)

3. Sew a quilt - NOT going to happen

4. Print all past pictures since Hallie was born (making progress!) - NOT going to happen.

5. Put #4 into albums. - NOT going to happen.

6. Take Hallie camping.- NOT going to happen.

7. Re-size my super-cute moo-moo-Not going to happen.

8. Get (and stay) pregnant (no pressure, right?).

9. Get my ears pierced!

10. Take a tour of Woodlawn Farm.- Not going to happen!

11. Give up soda.(I am actually making progress with this.)

12. Visit Kurt in Colorado.

13. Find and buy black and white striped cushions for porch swing/rockers. I changed my mind.

14. Eat hibatchi with Dave.

15. Go on a job with Dave. In the semi.

16. Lose 5 pounds. (changed from 10 to 5...let's be realistic)

17. Organize under the kitchen sink.

18. Take a trip with Hallie and Dave. (St. Louis - to the City Museum, Brewery and Neil!)


19. Hang up plate wall in dining room -Nope.

20. Make cinnamon rolls from scratch.

21. Buy nightstands for the master bedroom - Nope.

22. Buy lamps for the master bedroom - Uh uh.

23. Make a headboard for the master bedroom-I wish, but no.

24. Have new windows installed in the house. Blah.

25. Host an outdoor movie night.

26. Host a bonfire - nope, but possible for the future.

27. Sew curtains for the laundry room.

28. Pay off sound loan.

29. Pay off my car loan - YES! I don't know if the check will be sent actually before I turn 30, but I'm counting it.

30. Host a fish fry.

Oh Crap, I Am Busy.

Work is crazy, but good crazy. I am checking things off of my to-do list and also trying to get orgnanized for my maternity leave in three months!

Crazy!

I am also planning for Disney, but I'm almost done with the bulk of the work. I still have to cut out fasst-food coupons for the car trip, finalize my packing list, uh, PACK and figure out whether or not to bring my own coffee maker to Disney since they do not offer them in the rooms??!! I can't decide - inconvenience myself by bringing it, or shell out money for coffee every morning? Inconvenience wins.

I am also pregnant allll over. My poor face is puffy and my booty is large and in charge. I fully embrace being pregnant all over, but it is hard to get used to. Hopefully the millions of miles walking around Disney will tone the booty. The face is just a lost cause until after the baby is born.

I will be 27 weeks pregnant on Friday. This is going fast.

I will be 30 years old next Thursday.

It's as if I just blinked and said goodbye to my 20's. I'm cool with it though. No tears from this aging lady. I've got lots to look forward to for this upcoming year.

By the way - my 30 Before 30 List...yeah, I need to get on that. I'm afraid it's much too late.

Over 25 Weeks Pregnant.

I got a text from Dave last night (he was working in Springfield). It said :

"Got a fortune cookie for supper and it said three months from today there will be something big happening in your life."

Wow - a pretty accurate fortune cookie! A mere 3 and a half months and we will have a newborn in the house again. I can't wait, even though my memories of zero sleep and lots of crying are starting to come back. It's amazing how quickly you forget.

15 weeks to go.

PS - I can make my belly button pop out on command now. I will not show you if you ask, but please believe me that it is highly entertaining.

Will You Split? NO.

This post goes out to Kate - you know who you are.

Dave and I went to a fundraiser Friday night. It was really fun - a reverse raffle. If they call your name that means you are a big loser - no $1,000 prize for you!

Dave and I made it all the way to the 11th spot - so almost the top 10. Pretty exciting! We did win $50, so that was pretty sweet.

Anyway, for the remaining tickets, they bring the 10 finalists up to the front of the room. They ask each finalist if they want to split the $1,000. If all 10 say yes, everyone gets $100 and goes home happy. But that never happens. There is always at least one person who refuses to split the pot.

They want the glory, the full monty, you know what I'm saying.

This year's main non-splitter was Kate. She was very firm about not splitting. She made it to the top two and still refused to split (each would have gotten $500...not bad!).

And she won.

And it was awesome.

And what made it more awesome was that she came over to me earlier in the night and told me she reads my blog.

So hi, Kate!

Enjoy your $1,000!

Favorite Valentine's - An Update.

It appears my memory has failed me (yet again). How could I possibly forget two of my other favorite Valentine's celebrations?

From Sarah:

"Remember when I woke up early and hung hearts from our ceiling as a surprise for valentine's day?"

Basically, I woke up and came out into our tiny living room where Sarah had cut out and strung hearts all over the ceiling. It was fabulous. I think we followed it up with some quiet time and it was an awesome v-day. And then we moved out of that apartment into a nasty house with five girls and ruined our friendship. Thank GOODNESS we got it back. Love you girl!

From Morgan:

"Was it really better than our white trash valentines day at 119 1/2? I need to dig up those pictures."

I really don't see how I forgot this date. It was a double date - Morgan and Seebass, Me and Dave. The boys wore wife-beater tanks. It was a very memorable night. Please find those pictures.

Low-Key Valentine's.

Probably my favorite Valentine's Day so far.

Super low key, good food (a new recipe!) and my favorite bachelor (bob-o). It was a great night.

New recipe:

Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Balsamic Vinegar Pan Sauce
Cooking Light, March 2004

*I doubled it*

1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 skinless (5-ounce) boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
Chopped parsley (optional)

Combine broth, vinegar, and honey, set aside. Melt butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over low heat.  While butter melts, sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in flour; shake off excess flour.  Increase heat to medium-high; heat 2 minutes or until the butter turns golden brown. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add shallots, and sauté 30 seconds. Add the broth mixture, scraping to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes). Serve sauce over chicken. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired. 4 servings

365 calories/serving
23% of calories from fat
13% of calories from carbs
63% of calories from protein

We followed up the meal with some chocolate turnovers (topped with powdered sugar - YUM) on a bed of strawberries.

Fast. Simple. Delish.

A very fabulous Valentine's Day.

Disney - Day 3

Yes, I'm still doing this. Yes, I know I'm insane, obsessed, etc. I'm pretty sure no one is surprised.

So Day #3 will be spent in the Animal Kingdom. We didn't upgrade our park tickets to park hopper, so we can only do one park per day. That also affects our food choices. I'm not too worried about it. It's Disney for Tightwads.

Animal Kingdom will consist of Safari rides, Camp Mickey performances, Lion King performances,

quick-service lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, Dinoland, Boneyard, TriceraTop Spin, Kali River Rapids, and any other rides on my master plan. Oh yes, I have a master plan.

We will catch the parade at 3:45 and our dinner reservations are at 6:30 for the RainForest Cafe.

Tomorrow - Day 4 - my birthday - the big 3-0 - and more Magic Kingdom.

Disney - Day 2 - Possibly

MAGIC KINGDOM!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot WAIT to go to the Magic Kingdom. This is what I've Hallie's been waiting for. We will be fast-passing when possible to make sure we hit up the biggies. I have a whole path mapped out (naturally), but also know where to rest, snack, etc. I don't want to run Dave and Hallie into the ground. Oh yeah, and I'm pregnant. But whatever. I can rest while they ride the rides that I can't!

For lunch we will eat in Frontierland, quick-service at Pecos Bill.

For supper we have reservations at the Crystal Palace (character dining!!!)

 and will catch the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular fireworks at 9pm. 

Check out Disney's description of the fireworks:

"Wishes Nighttime Spectacular is the biggest, brightest fireworks extravaganza in Magic Kingdom theme park history.

Jiminy Cricket is your host, guiding Pinocchio, Cinderella, Ariel, Peter Pan and other beloved Disney Characters through a fantastic tale told amongst the stars.

A magnificent musical score synchs with the fireworks for a stunning aural and visual experience, featuring unique pyrotechnics and special effects.

Discover that wishes do come true when you experience Wishes Nighttime Spectacular, a story so big only the sky can hold it!"

 I can't wait.

Spending Freeze Update.

We interrupt this Disney programming to give you an update on the spending freeze.

I am rocking this spending freeze. Outside of purchasing a wedding shower gift and a charity raffle ticket (two things I had already committed to), I haven't spent a DIME on anything unncessary.

Yes, it's only been five days.

Bite me.

Disney - Day 1 - Revised.

Well that didn't take long!

But I just want to make sure to give ourselves time to chill out the day we get there. I've switched our dinner plans to lunch reservations at the 50's Prime Time Cafe, but made them late-ish so we can rest up, swim, etc and then head out.

They have the Pixar Pals parade at 3pm, hello ElasticGirl!! She is currently obsessed with The Incredibles. PERFECT.

We will hit up ToyStory Mania, catch a Play House Disney Live and Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We will eat counter-service somewhere and maybe get dessert at the Sci-Fi Diner.

I'm planning for us to see Fantasmic that night at 8:30pm, but if we are super tired then I'm not pushing anything. We will see the electricl parade and wishes fireworks over the next few days. So we are set.

Day 2 - coming tomorrow!! Magic Kingdom, baby!

Disney - Day #1 - Maybe

This is subject to change, of course.

March 7th - leave in the afternoon/evening. It's a 17 hour drive. Never before have we attempted to drive 17 hours with Hallie. We have been on a trip in the semi to Georgia, so add another 5+ hours, and no sweat. Right?!

Anyway, so we will drive overnight and arrive at Disney sometime in the morning or mid-morning. We will let Dave sleep, while we hit the pool and playground at the resort (Disney's All-Star Movie Resort), IF we are able to check in at that time.

After Dave is somewhat rested, we will hit Hollywood Studios. I figure this isn't the most kid-friendly park, so we might as well check it out since the other full days will be at the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, etc.

We will check out Toy Story Mania:

The Voyage of the Little Mermaid:

And then eat supper at this place (reservations already made):

50's Prime Time Cafe. Makes me think of the 63 Diner in Columbia, a place that I LOVE. And it looks super family friendly and a good first-day, non-character dining experience :)

We did purchase a full meal plan, so it's fun to plan our table service meals for each day.

After this day we will all crash back at the resort, have a fabulous night's rest and wake up ready to rock at the Magic Kingdom.

Spending Freeze.

Do you feel the chill in the air?

 It's my spending freeze. It's kind of like...a cleansing in preparation for something. I'm cleansing in preparation for Disney. We're spending enough to go! So, no spending (outside of food, necessities) period.

No more maternity clothes.

No more baby clothes.

No more baby stuff (plenty of time for that later).

No more vending machines - yikes!

No more eating out.

I am frozen. A snowman. For a month. Well, until February 5th. Because I will have to do Disney prep at some point - car snacks (yes, we're driving), car activities, etc.

But until then I am dedicated. Fully.

Holy Macaroni.

We are going to Disney.

As in, Walt Disney World Resorts in Orlando, Florida.

As in, freaking land of Cinderella's Castle.

As in, holy crap Magic Kingdom.

As in, Hallie's last hurrah as an only child.

As in, MY 30th BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

As in, I can't believe Dave is on board with this. For reals.

I am in major planning mode. Not sure if you followed along with the trip to Hawaii, but I was a planning fool. And it made for an awesome trip.

Organized = awesome.

Unorganized = you miss stuff.

I don't plan on missing anything. I have dreamt of going to Disney my whole life. I want it to be amazing for the whole family, especially Hallie. I am giddy....GIDDY over this. Giddy I can't even say how excited I am.

I have consulted with my Disney experts (thanks, betsy, tom and jill!) and they have given me great planning tips and things not to miss. I've already made reservations for some sweet character dining (more to come on that!) and have basically booked our our time there. I'm thinking of getting a book. I love books.

Anyway, I'm excited. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions for Disney I'd love to hear them!!!

Dear Dave: Snow Day Edition

Dear Dave,

While you are enjoying 76 degree weather in Florida (i hate you) we are having a snowy fun time here. So these pictures are a big boo-ya for not being here last night when the blizzard was raging and our power was flickering.

I do love you.

Snow Day Continued...in pictures.

Another Day of Snow.

It is 8:35am. I have already committed myself to a tea party and a game of Pretty Pretty Princess. More later.

Snow Day.

It is 9:15am.

I have already banned the TV - what was I thinking? We have played Pretty Pretty Princess twice and are going to have a tea party. She is antsy. I am un-motivated. A terrible combination. I'm dying to find out about my BFF Jenna and her new baby. Come on baby Curry!!!

I need to get my butt in gear. First up, a bra. And teeth brushing. Possibly deodorant.

 Ready,

Set,

Go!