Mickey Mouse and other creatures

Well, we made it back safely from our Disneyland road trip and although there were some pitfalls along the way, we generally had a good time.










Highlights:

*being able to chat with Neil about our 5-year plan while listening to "Peter Pan" play on the DVD player 8 times in a row . . . "Mista Smee!!"
*getting to spend quality time with my kids
*hearing James yell "Wee-hah! This is fun!!" while careening around the corners on the Matterhorn
*watching James flirt with the Disney Princesses
*sneaking into the DoubleTree Hotel's pool, aptly named "The Oasis," for two glorious afternoons
*watching a fantastic conductor, Andre Thomas, work with the California all-state honor choir
*watching the Disneyland fireworks display from our campsite
*visiting with my Californian relatives and Grandpa T
*eating copious amounts of Yoplait Original Harvest Peach yogurt
*discovering large pink marshmallows
*seeing Hallie's joy at meeting the beautiful princesses she idolizes






















Lowlights:

*sitting down on the Port Angeles ferry early that first morning thinking smugly to myself how well this is going . . . followed by Hallie throwing-up all over me and continuing to be sick for the rest of the day
*discovering at the end of this very long and trying first day that Neil's driver's license had expired in November
*coming to grips with the fact that I would have to do the remainder of the driving on the trip
*waking up in the middle of the night to the sounds of heavy rainfall on our tent trailer
*sitting in a freezing cold air-conditioned conference center with my jacket wrapped tightly around me knowing that Neil and the kids were outside playing in the blazing hot sun
*arriving at Ariel's Grotto with smiles on our faces only to watch her disappear into her cave
*seeing Hallie's face and hearing her sobs at Ariel's disappearance
*standing in line for an hour and half while Neil and the kids went on rides just so that Hallie wouldn't miss the opportunity to meet Ariel in her grotty grotto
*leaving the happiest place on earth


Ah, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times!!

Complete and utter nonsense

I had forgotten that children at around age 3 often go through a stage of making up completely new words and using them in full sentences. Much to my amusement, the following are some of the delightful conversations and situations I have found myself in over the last few days. . .

1. As James is charging at me dressed up as a knight, and wielding a sword, he yells "You're a pleat in the roscious!" (Is that even how you spell roscious?)

2. When discussing the days of the week, a hot topic at preschool these days, he asks "What is after Saturday?" (I answer) "What is after Sunday?" (I answer again) "What is after Mansickus?" Pardon!? What are they teaching you at that preschool anyway??

3. As I am sitting at the computer writing emails, he approaches me with a very serious look on his face and says "When's the bunkabumpa?" I answer "The bunkabumpa?" "Nooooo!" says he with great indignation, "The backadenta!" Oh, right. My mistake.


I'm not worried, though, this does run in the family. Auntie K used to do this when she was small and, strangely enough, it turns out she is now a diction expert. Perhaps James will invent a new language or something.

Ready, aim, fire . . .

The James potty training saga continues. . .

So just as James is getting comfortable with his whole potty training regime (fully trained day and night for several weeks now - yay!), he starts to get performance anxiety. First he struggles to produce at preschool and then he has an accident while the babysitter is over. Something about wanting them to "do it" (ie. hold his whatsit down while he sits down to go) and them not knowing quite what to do. The preschool teachers inform me that it's time to teach him to do it himself, so I embark on the mission of training him to hold his own whatsit down. This is met with much resistance and takes some seriously clever Mommy manipulating to convince him that he will be such a big boy if he does it himself. The first result? A perfect arch from his little body into the radiator directly across the bathroom. The second result? Don't even ask.

Suffice it to say he is now standing to go and is thrilled to be able to "give it a shake" which he says with delight each time he does it.

Ah James, how dull our lives would be without you . . .

Never thought I'd be a blogger

Well, here it is. My first blog. You might all think I'm a little dim, but I really didn't think I'd be able to set this up on my own. Well, I did! And it's pink! Life doesn't get much better than this.

Why a blog? I decided that instead of sending out group emails to tell my loved ones about my family's latest achievements and bodily functions, I would post the information for all to see. Why should only a select few learn about poop on the floor and runny noses?

So, I've given in to the peer pressure and am ready to regularly share the most interesting and intimate details of my little life. Grab a kleenex box, folks, this is going to be a tear-jerker . . .