Vacation Day 3

Sorry I didn't blog sooner. I'm having computer issues, but I'll save that for another post...

Day 3 of our vacation was fun. We woke early and took the hotel shuttle to the Metro station (that's D.C.'s subway system) and rode the Metro into the city. We disembarked at the "Mall" which isn't a shopping center, but rather the area in Washington, DC near the monuments, museum and Capitol Building. Here are the boys at the Metro station awaiting our ride.

Our first stop was the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. We spent a lot of time in the dinosaur exhibit and the marine life exhibit.

This was all very nice, but my favorite part was the Gems & Minerals, home of the Hope Diamond, among other famous, fabulous jewels. Here are Son #1 and Son#2 next to my birthstone, amethyst.

Vacation Days 1 & 2

We recently drove from Louisiana to Washington, DC to visit my mother for Thanksgiving. I'm lumping Day 1 & 2 together since we were on the road both days (Louisiana to Knoxville, TN on Day 1, Knoxville to Alexandria, VA - just outside D.C. - on Day 2).

Zack and I were sick for a bit of the trip - strep & upper respiratory ick. If you have to feel yucky, it might as well be when you're snuggled in the car for two days. It sort of forces you to relax since there isn't anything else to do. Sons #1 and #2 passed much of the time playing video games (on long car rides, I relax the time limit they can play). Here's how Son #3 passed much of his time on Day 1:

The hotel in Knoxville was nice. The indoor pool was open 24 hours, plus there was a really neat game room - video games, pool table, racquet ball courts... We dined at Ruby Tuesdays, and turned in early.

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Day 2 - woke in time to attend church, before hitting the road. A nice uneventful drive through the mountains. It apparently snowed a couple of days prior at the Tennessee/Virginia state line so we stopped at the Virginia Welcome Center so the kids could play a bit.

Later that evening, we checked into our hotel, the Hilton in Alexandria, Va. Our room was on the 25th floor - great view, fast elevator. Kids were impressed. We met my mother for dinner. Then returned to the hotel for prepare for a busy Day Three.

"Evacu-cation*" - Day 1 (cont'd)

My previous post detailed the start of our journey from Louisiana to Knoxville, TN (to avoid Hurricane Gustav) on Sunday, Aug. 31. The kids and pets were very well behaved for the 9-hour car ride. Below are shots of some of the scenery. My part of Louisiana is flat, so I've always been fascinated by anything higher than an anthill.

I could get used to this view. We arrived at our hotel just in time to check in at 3:00 p.m. We booked a room at the Holiday Inn at Papermill (Kirby Rd.) in Knoxville. Kids eat free and pets are welcome. According to the Holiday Inn website, this was the nearest hotel that met both criteria that had vacancies when I called several days prior.

I called hotel's front desk to get specific directions from the interstate and spoke with Tiffany on the phone - very nice. Her directions were spot-on. The hotel is tucked among a couple of office buildings and a residential area, so it was off the beaten bath - but only a couple of miles from the main highway.

We checked in at the front desk, where we met Tiffany and Jason (I think Jason may have been a manager). Both were very nice, very welcoming, very cool about the dogs and guinea pig. I've heard that some 'pet-friendly' places are only friendly if your dog is as silent as a goldfish. Fortunately, this wasn't one of those places.

Our first room was on the bottom floor (room #189) - a "pet room" at the end of the hallway. It came equipped with a large dog crate (we had packed both dogs' crates, but this way we only had to reassemble Scout's). It also had a sliding glass door leading to a small fenced patio. The dogs weren't as impressed as I was. No neighbors at our end of the hall.

After unloading the car, we went back to the fr0nt desk to ask for directions to the restaurant/shopping area. I met another evacuee, Monica, who was just checking in. Jason explained to Monica and me that Holiday Inn just authorized a lower emergency rate because of the storm. (Cutting our nightly rate nearly in half.) I thought this was very generous of them, and a very pleasant surprise.

We splurged a bit on dinner that evening at Olive Garden. It turns out our waitress is originally from my sister's hometown in Michigan. After dinner, we stopped at a store to buy a small carrier for Kramer, our guinea pig. His cage is simply too big to bring with us so he was transported in a soft-sided pet carrier (pictured in yesterday's post). We wanted something sturdier that he couldn't eat his way out of while we slept.

We spent quite a bit of time watching the Weather Channel before turning in for the night.

* NOTE: "Evacu-cation" is a term coined by my 13-yr old Son #1. He explains that it's an evacution, but when you find out your house and neighbors are okay, it sort of turns into a little vacation.

Safe & Sound

Thankfully, Hurricane Gustav decreased in intensity and reached landfall as a Category 2 hurricane, rather than the Category 4 as originally forecast. As of late Saturday night, August 30, Gustav had not yet made the westwardly shift that was predicted, which put the southeast Louisiana area in a precarious position. For that reason, we decided to evacuate to Knoxville, TN. I had booked a room at the Holiday Inn at Papermill (Kirby Rd) a few days earlier, just in case. Pets welcome, Kids Eat Free.

We loaded up the minivan and hit the road at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 31st. We wanted to avoid the interstate "contraflow" that would start at 4:00 a.m. We took the back way through some small towns in southeast La. and Mississippi before connecting with the interstate in Hattiesburg, MS. It was a good strategy. We avoided most of the traffic snarls, except one hour of bumper-to-bumper traffic in Meridian, MS (we think it was an accident that tied things up.)

We stopped at the Alabama Welcome Center for breakfast (Pop Tarts brought from home). Here's a photo of Sons #1 and #2 with Kramer, our guinea pig.

Here's Dear Hubby with Scout (beagle) and Max (our almost 6 month old lab/mastiff puppy). They're stretching their legs.

On the road again. Say what you want about video games. I love/hate them. But they sure made for a peaceful 9 hour car ride. Below are Son #2, Son #3 and Son #1.

I'll post more about our adventures soon.

Home Sweet Home

As I mentioned in my last post, I spent several days in Virginia visiting my mother - a long Girl's Weekend, if you will. Shopping, dining out, catching up with friends. I had a great time.

I guess there's no way to ease back into 'the real world,' though. When I stepped off the airplane on Sunday afternoon, I was greeted by two bickering kids, one sick kid, and of course Dear Hubby who had Single Dad duty since Wednesday. But yes, it's good to be home.

Son #2 (the sick one) stayed home from school yesterday, but was feeling fine today. Son #1 is receiving an award at his school this evening (honor roll is my guess) and Son #3 is usual high maintenance, but lovable self.

I hope my fellow mom bloggers had a great Mother's Day!

I'm Back!

I had a great trip to the Washington, DC area to visit my mother – a long “girls’ weekend” filled with shopping, cocktails and dining out. I was surprised to learn at Weight Watchers that the price I paid for indulging for 5 days was a gain of only .4 lbs. Notice the decimal. Point four pounds. WOO HOO! Actually I’m sure I gained considerably more, but I really hunkered down and got serious about my diet – oops, I mean lifestyle change – as soon as I stepped off the plan on Tuesday afternoon.

Because I lived the DC-area for most of the 1990’s, we don’t do the tourist-y stuff (although I highly recommend it if you’ve never been there). We mainly meet up with friends at our old hangouts, or at the new hangouts that replaced the old ones. And shopping. A LOT of shopping.

I generally try to avoid checking baggage so I’ve learned to pack lightly and bring a single carry-on bag. When that plane lands in D.C., I want my vacation to start that very minute, rather than hanging out at baggage claim. For that reason, it’s become a tradition that on my second to last day there, my mother and I go to the post office or the package shipping place and send boxes containing my purchases (and occasionally my dirty laundry) plus all the stuff my mom bought the kids and just hadn’t gotten around to shipping. Never mind that the “bargains” aren’t really bargains if we pay $50+ to ship them. I was impressed though. We shipped 3 boxes from the post office on Monday, I returned home on Tuesday, and the boxes arrived on Wednesday. Some of my goodies do come home in the carry-on.

Since returning home, I’ve settled back into my usual non-routine. I’ve been reading Son #1’s new Harry Potter book. He’s much further through it than I am, but I’m quickly catching up. We hope to see the latest Harry Potter movie soon before school starts on August 10th! I can’t believe it’s almost that time already.

Well, I’m off to check out your blogs. More later.

Have a Great Week - Check Back Next Thursday!

Went to my Weight Watcher meeting this morning. I didn't lose any weight since last week, nor did I gain, so I'll consider that progress. I did get my 16-week "clapping hand" charm for my keyring that I received when I lost 10% of my body weight. Yipee. It's supposed to be a motivational tool - a visual reminder - but I prefer my regular key chain so the WW one just sits in my drawer.

Tomorrow I'm flying to Washington, DC to spend a few days with my mother. A nice long girls' weekend - dining out, shopping, etc. I return Tuesday evening, but I'm sure I'll be spending Wednesday (at least) tidying up the house. Dear Hubby will spend some quality time with the kids, ages 12, 10 and 5. Four guys, four days. What could possibly happen? (Don't answer.)

Please check back with me next week. Adios!

Good-Bye, Disney! - Saturday, Feb. 24

At last, it's time to say goodbye to Mickey and Company. We woke early, packed our suitcases, loaded the minivan and drove from the building where our room was all the way around to the hotel lobby. It was on that half-mile drive that Son #3 became car sick. Lovely. Never a good thing, but we were getting ready to embark on a ten-hour road trip.

I went into the hotel's gift shop and requested three empty plastic bags (those Disney bags are pretty thick). Each boy had their "Bag of Fun" (toys, books, etc.) and their "Bag of Not Fun" (just in case...).

Those of us that were able, ate breakfast at the hotel. Son #3 was very tired (as his oldest brother was a couple of days earlier) so he just napped.

The drive home, fortunately, was uneventful. After a few hours it was clear that Son #3 was feeling better when he started asking for donuts and rootbeer (um, that's enough to make me sick and I don't have the bug!)

Approximately, one hour before we arrived home, Son #2 started feeling nauseated. The serious stuff didn't start until after we got home, though (thankfully). He slept most of the following day (Sunday, Feb. 25).


Today....
I registered Son #3 for T-ball today. We had been debating about it. I'm not sure he's - shall we say - compliant enough. Heck, he barely listens to Dear Hubby and me, so what makes us think he'll listen to a coach? Still, I thought it might be a nice opportunity for him to interact with kids his own age, before actually starting school in August. Son #3 is looking forward to playing ball, like his brother (Son #2). Games start next month.

Disney - Friday, Feb. 23 (Day 6)

Don't worry folks - not too much more Disney talk! Just bear with me for another day or so. (Besides, it beat the heck out of what's happening these days: norovirus. Ick. No need to elaborate.)

I was up late the previous night with Son #3, who had, uh, stomach issues. Can someone explain to me why there were *FIVE* people in the hotel room, but I was the only one who hear Son #3 say, "Mommy, I have to poo - NOW!" Everyone else slept through the ordeal. I'll let the other kids slide, but Dear Hubby paid. I woke him early, handed him a plastic bag, a few one dollar bills and informed him that he'll be having breakfast (a cereal bar) in the hotel's laundry room (thank goodness there *was* a laundry room. whew!). Enough said.

By the time the laundry was finished, the kids fed and dressed, and we ascertained that everyone was feeling great, we decided to go back to Animal Kingdom since we didn't stay long the day prior. (We blamed the previous night's incident on the change in Son #3's diet - that turned out to be wrong, but we wouldn't realize it for another day or two).

Anyhoo...we had a great time at Animal Kingdom. We arrived around 10:30 and checked out the message board that gives an idea of how long of wait time you'll have in line at certain attractions and what time the Fast Pass is issuing tickets for. Dear Hubby and Son #1 really wanted to ride the Expedition Everest rollercoaster, but the earliest the Fast Passes were being distributed were for 2:30 in the afternoon. Somedays it just pays to get their earlier!

The standby time for Expedition Everest (if you wanted to wait in the regular line) was 60 minutes, but past experience has taught us that is usually an over-estimation. Son #1 and Dear Hubby decided to wait in line. Sons #2&3 and I had a snack, then decided to the Maharajeh Trek, where you can view exotic animals, such as giant bats (the size of my cat!), a komodo dragon, tigers, wild birds etc.

We hadn't gone far on the trek, when Dear Hubby called my cell phone to tell me that they had finished their ride and loved it. (I strongly recommend bringing cell phones to Disney, especially if your family is like mine: small kid pluse older, more adventurous kids. This way we didn't waste a lot of time just hanging around waiting to meet up with the rest of our family.)

Here's Son #1 by a prayer tree. Certain cultures in India would hang little bells or bottles on the tree to represent prayers. The ribbons and scarves represent prayers answered. It sounded more interesting the way the guide explained it.

Below is a photo of all of my guys by the Tree of Life. Can you see the animals carved in the wood?

We walked to another section of the park (Asia, I think) and took a train ride to the Africa section. We visited some conservation exhibits - my kids want to build a bat house in our back yard, thanks, Walt Disney! - and the Affection Section petting zoo, which was a little disappointing (our local zoo has a better petting area).

For some reason, we didn't go on the safari ride that I wanted to go on. I think we were getting tired and hungry - once fed, we forgot about it. After lunch, we had a snack. Check out the size of these pretzels. It looked like it snowed around the bench where we sat eating these, because we kept flicking the salt off.

Friday evening, we returned to Downtown Disney to eat at Cap'n Jack's restaurant. I had the two lobster tail dinner (it was on our meal plan!), Dear Hubby and Son #1 (who at age 11 is considered an 'adult') had the option of adding one lobster tail to their meal at no additional charge. Thanks to Son #1, I had 2 and three-quarters lobster tails. All was going on well until Son #3 became ill. It's a small consolation that he was discreet about it (on the plate, we put the napkin on top). But still....we got dessert "to go."

Back to the hotel and to bed for all.

Today....

We had a nice weekend. We celebrated my birthday and my brother-in-law's with Dear Hubby's family. Lunch, followed by cake, ice cream and gifts at my father-in-law's house. It's a tradition. Yesterday was relaxing. Today, Son #3 is back at it (tummy trouble again). He's feeling okay though, but has a poor appetite. As for me, still hanging in there.

Disney - Thursday, Feb. 22 (Day 5)

Uh oh! Son #1 woke up sick this morning. After some time in the bathroom (ahem, I'm trying to avoid giving too much info), he said he felt much better so against my better judgment we took the bus to the Animal Kingdom theme park. Sons #2&3 and I went to "It's Tough To Be A Bug" - a 3D movie, while Son #1 and Dear Hubby waited on a bench. The fact that Son #1 - who normally operates at warp speed - was settling in for a nap on the bench told us it was time to go back to the hotel.

But that's okay. Our plans were flexible because we had built in a free day to shop, re-visit a favorite attraction, etc. We simply made Thursday our free day, and re-scheduled Animal Kingdom for Friday.

We went back to the hotel so Son #1 could rest. Quite a bit later, when he really was feeling better, we took the water taxi to Downtown Disney to do our shopping. I wanted to buy something for the folks who were looking after our pets while we were on vacation (a cute blue and white Mickey Mouse tea set for one for Amy, and a Jack Skellington baseball cap for Adam). Dear Hubby bought a baseball cap for himself and a set of Mickey Mouse ears for Son #3 which his name embroidered on the back (see above photo). I wanted a pair when I was little but for some reason didn't get them. I love that I have a kid young enough to appreciate them (a week later, he's still wearing them). I thought Sons #1&2 were too old for mouse ears (they're 11 and 9, respectively), but they decided that they wanted a set too so I relented. I didn't spend as much on theirs since they're not personalized.

For myself, I picked out this little canvas messenger-type bag with the Mickey Mouse crest on it - I thought it would be perfect for chaperoning field trips, once compartment for the camera, another for a few necessities, but not too big.

Son #3 fell in love with some Star Wars toys at the MGM gift shop and I was happy to find the same stuff in a Downtown Disney shop. Sons #1&2 spent their money at the Lego Store. Son #2 bought a Bionicle that hasn't been released to the regular retail stores yet. He also bought a Star Wars Lego set. (A Downtown Disney employee told me that almost anything we'd see at the theme park gift shops can be found at Downtown Disney. Good info to know if any of you are planning a trip.)

Check out the T-Rex made completely of Lego building bricks, and thankfully glued together:

Son #1 opted to spend his money on some custom Lego items. There was one station where you could build three Lego people (one head, one torso which includes arms, one set of legs, and one accessory - either hair, hat, tool, weapon). When you're finished, you put your three people on a little Lego strip and tuck them in a plastic pouch hanging on a lanyard. It was a little expensive, but Son #1 made a Boy Scout version on himself (the face even had glasses).

Next up was the custom Lego set. You choose a cup (approx. $6.95 for small, $12.95 for large) and fill it with as many pieces as you can fit, selecting from bins on the wall. The selection was great, and it afforded Son #1 the opportunity to get some harder-to-find pieces that he might not have gotten with his numerous collections.

Here's a photo of Son #2 with a statue of Buzz Lightyear. We have an expression in our house. When we saying someone is "pushing our buttons," it means they are annoying us. Here he's demonstrating that he, indeed, knows how to push buttons (mostly Son #3's).

After we finished shopping, we returned to the hotel, ate dinner, and called it a day.

Today...

Dear Hubby was feeling better so he went to work today. Son #3 and I went to the recreation district park to register Son #2 for baseball, and discovered that Son #3 is old enough to play T-ball this year. Registration deadline is Tuesday so we have time to decide. Next, we stopped at Baskin Robbins for an ice cream cone, then Lowe's to buy a gift card for my brother-in-law's birthday, picked up lunch, then home to tidy up the house.

So far - knock wood - I've avoided the cooties that have otherwise invaded the household. I've been feeling just a tad less than my usual self, but that's it. This weekend we'll celebrate my birthday and

Disney - Wednesday, Feb. 21 (Day 4)

This is how our day started. I'm not kidding. We woked to find Son #2 like this - sound asleep. How goofy is that?? Fortunately he doesn't do this at home: he sleeps in the top bunk.



We all got ready and then took the bus to....


Epcot! It was pretty nice, but the least favorite of the theme parks we visited all week. I was a little disappointed because I expected to enjoy it more than I did. It was fine, worth seeing, but just not as much fun as the others (in my opinion).

Dear Hubby and the older two boys rode Mission Space while Son #3 and I visited The Seas with Nemo & Friends (part ride/part movie). Below is a photo of Son #1, Son #2 and Son #3 in front of Nemo and Friends ("Finding Nemo" is a favorite movie in our house). Son #2 is holding an astronaut Mickey. Sons #1 and #3 selected Jedi Mickey from the MGM park on Monday.

Just beyond the area in the above photo is the Nemo attraction (part ride/part movie), a fish themed gift shop and a 5 million+ gallon two-story aquarium. There was also this shark learning center. Below is a photo of the boys with Bruce (also from "Finding Nemo") Repeat after me, Bruce, kids are friends, not food!

We ate lunch at the Coral Reef restaurant, which was really neat because every table had a great view of the aquarium I mentioned above. Fish, a squid, a giant sea turtle, sting rays, sharks would swim past while you were enjoying your meal. I hope they didn't recognize me eating Uncle Bob (it was Ash Wednesday and, as Catholic,s we avoid meat that day as well as on Fridays during Lent). Occasionally a scuba diver would swim by and wave. This was our favorite restaurant that we visited, both in terms of food and ambience.

After lunch, we visited ImageWorks, sponsored by Kodak. There's a booth there where you can take your photo, add special effects if you choose, and email it to someone. Here's Son #1 after morphing his photo with that of a chimpanzee :

We used our Fast Passes to get advanced tickets to Soarin'. While in line, we chatted with a nice family from upstate New York, who happened own vacation homes in Vermont and Clearwater, Florida - must be nice! Soarin' was interesting. You're seated in three rows in front of this giant movie screen. Just before the start of the movie, each row of seats rises. We were in the front row, which mean we rose to the top. The second row became the middle row and the third row became the lowest row. (I don't remember whether there was a 4th row.) All I know is that I'm strapped into this seat with my feet dangling I'd guess at least 2 to 3 stories high. Did I mention that I hate heights? The movie projected on to the giant screen was cool - all heights as the title implied (first you're ballooning over Napa, then hang gliding, then flying over a golf course, then skiing in the mountains, etc.). I was okay with all that. What I had problems with was the feeling that I was dangling way up there and the seat belt didn't feel very tight. Dear Hubby and the kids loved it. Me, not so, but I didn't admit that.

We browsed around the international section a bit, but were getting kind of tired, so we went back to the hotel. The weather had warmed enough to play in the pool. Here's a shot of Dear Hubby and Son #2.

And here's one of Son #3 playing in the kiddie pool. Don't let the leaves in the water fool you. They really keep things clean at Disney. However, there was this other kid, around 3 years old, that dumped a whole bunch of leaves in the kiddie pool.

We had a quick dinner at our hotel restaurant and called it a day.

Today...

Another one bites the dust. That's the song that's running through my mind as Dear Hubby is ill with the same stomach bug that's plagued every member of our family, except me (knock wood). He stayed home from work and looked after Son #3 while I went grocery shopping (ha! Given Dear Hubby's condition, I'm certain Son #3 had free reign). It's interesting how productive grocery shopping can be without a 5 year old. Son #3, by the way, seems to be feeling better today. Perhaps he's on the mend, although we had our share of false alarms there.

Disney - Tuesday., Feb. 20 (Day 3)

We didn't get to see all that we wanted to at Magic Kingdom last night, so we went again the following day. We took the bus from the resort to the theme park. Below are a bunch of photos. The first is of Main Street in Magic Kingdom - a lot of shops...

We visited Mickey's Country House before proceeding on to the Judges' Tent to personally meet Mickey Mouse - a highlight for Sons #1& eventually #3. See Mickey's cactus:

And here is Mickey's pumpkin....

I don't have a photo with us meeting Mickey. We were led into this room - a private meeting with our family and the Mouse himself. As soon as the door closed behind us, locking us in the room with his Royal Rodentness, Son #3 has second thoughts. He eventually warmed up though after seeing me give Mickey a big hug and telling him how much I've missed him. I met him in 1971 when Disney World first opened. Mickey didn't speak, but his hug was uh...I'm not sure completely innocent, y'know? Was I goosed by a mouse? Oh well, at this point, Son #3 was with the program and we posed with the official Disney photographers. I bought a few of their pictures and completely forgot about taking my own, which I would've been allowed to do. Oh well....

After meeting Mickey, we took the train back to Main Street, where Son #3 had a meltdown. So much excitement to process. He recovered pretty quickly, so we took the monorail to the Disney Contemporary Resort where we had lunch reservations. Whether it's because we were first in line, or whether it was because of the birthday buttons (mine and Son #3's), we were selected to ride in the front car of the monorail with the conductor. Actually only 4 of us were allowed. Sorry Dear Hubby! (By this point, he was probably happy to have a little quiet time away from the kids.) The view from up front of the monorail was spectacular. Here are my kids on the monorail...

After lunch we rode the monorail back to Magic Kingdom, with the 'regular folks' this time. Dear Hubby and the older two boys went off to ride a certain ride, so Son #3 and I had a little alone time. We rode the Tea Cups again (I love spinning rides!), then took some photos. Here's one where he looks good and I don't. I just aimed the camera at us and clicked.

I look better here than he does, so it evens out, I guess.

Before riding the Dumbo ride (which I rode in 1971, with my dad), we took a moment for Son #3 to pose for a picture. While in line for Dumbo, we met Nicholas who, like Son #3, was also celebrating his 5th birthday, plus a nice young Scottish couple who wished me a happy birthday.

After the Dumbo ride, we met up again with the other guys, had a snack, visited the Haunted Mansion and walked around a bit.


Hmmmm.....where can I get some of these for the house? Here are Son #1 and #2 in the stockades near Liberty Square (I think that's what it's called). Son #3 is in the background.

Now it's Son #3's turn. Seriously, how do I install these in the closet? Anyone?

Tom Sawyer's Island had closed for the day so Dear Hubby took the boys on Aladdin's Magic Carpet while I browsed in a shop. The Pirates of the Caribbean attraction was closed because of technical difficulties.

We returned to the hotel restaurant where we had dinner. Another great, tiring day!

Today...
Last night I attended a church service with the group that I volunteer with. I returned home to find the Bowels of Hell have been unleashed. That's code for Son 3's stomach bug....He didn't even wake up the two times that I had to clean him off, change his clothes AND wash not one, but TWO sets of bedding. I was up doing laundry until 2:30 a.m. Then I just put him on the floor in his room (his throw rug has a rubber backing which means any messes were unlikely to soak through to the carpet), and I curled up on the floor with him. I heard his tummy rumbling around 4 a.m., and again, I knew it was trouble. For the third time, he didn't wake as I cleaned him up, changed his clothes and started another load of laundry. During the day today, he seemed to feel better, but he didn't have much of an appetite. Towards the end of the evening, he was getting sleepy, dozing off before dinner. Doc said rest is more important at this point, so I put a new set of bedding on his bed and tucked him in. It's 11:30 p.m. and so far, so good (knock wood).

I teach 4th grade religion class on Wednesday (since 3 weeks ago) and this was our best class yet. I'm finally getting a handle on the class. I had to set some ground rules because everyone is so talkative. #1. Don't raise your hand to volunteer to read until after I ask for volunteers. No kidding. Some kids will raise their hands the minute they get into class, before I'm even finished taking attendance. #2. If I ask a question, raise your hand and I'll call on 3 people to answer. #3. Do NOT raise your hand unless: I've asked a question you want to answer, or you need clarification on what was just read/discussed, or you need to use the rest room. Once we're finished covering the required assignment, we can delve into all the "what if's" and off the wall questions and anecdotes they want to share.

It's different with my 6th grade class on Sundays. No one raises their hand unless they really hacve something to share. The 4th graders will talk just for the sake of talking. I admire their enthusiasm, but I'm expected to cover a certain amount of material each class period and time management is important. This was the first class since I stepped up to volunteer to teach Son #2's class (his teacher moved suddenly) that I didn't leave with with a serious headache.

Disney - Monday, Feb. 19 (Day 2)

We woke around 7:00 a.m., ate breakfast in the hotel room (I packed cereal bars, fruit and pop tarts), dressed and took the bus to the MGM Studios Theme Park. Above is a photo of the boys near the park entrance. I actually liked it better than I thought I would. There weren’t a lot of traditional rides, but there were some cute movie-type attractions. Check out the picture below. Only a couple of the building facades on the sides are real. The rest is a backdrop painted to look like San Francisco. On the opposite end of the intersection was one painted to look like New York City.

We used the Fast Pass option to get advance tickets for the Star Wars ride. With Fast Pass, you put your Disney resort card in the slot and get a ticket that gives you a time frame in which to return to the special Fast Pass line. It’s a great option to standing in the regular stand-by line for 45 minutes or more. We got our Star Wars Fast Passes, then went saw Muppet Vision 3D and by the time that was over, we went back to Star Wars, bypassed the long line and went right in. We visited a few more attractions before spending some time at the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids play area. Below is a photo of the boys - notice the flower stem behind them?

After leaving, MGM, we took the bus back to the hotel, freshened up, then drove to the Fort Wilderness resort, parked there, took their bus to the restaurant area for our dinner reservation. Son #3 was overly tired, I think, and had a little melt-down. Dear Hubby took him outside for a while, Son #3 pulled himself together, and re-joined the family for dinner (a buffet of country-type cooking – my least favorite meal of the week). After dinner, we took the boat from Fort Wilderness to the Magic Kingdom Theme Park, arriving just in time for the 8:00 p.m. parade – beautiful lighted floats.

After the parade, we meandered through the crowd. Dear Hubby and the boys wanted to do on this Stitch Escapes attraction (from “Lilo & Stitch”) while I opted to watch the fireworks. Right before the fireworks started, a woman dressed as Tinkerbell rode a zip line from near the top of the Magic Kingdom castle to not far from the bridge I was standing. If you’ve never seen the castle in person, trust me, it’s very tall. Props to Tinkerbell – it looks like a fun job, and I say that even though I’m somewhat afraid of heights.

We met up again and Dear Hubby took Sons#1&2 to ride the Indy Speedway. Since Son #3 didn’t meet the minimum height requirement, he and I rode the Space Orbiter. We stood in line for a while, took and elevator to the second level, boarded our spaceship, which Son #3 could raise and lower with a lever. (As I mentioned, I hate heights so I just started at the back of his jacket for the entire ride.) Since they enjoyed the Stitch ride, they insisted on taking me on that – it was kind of cute. It was getting pretty cool (upper 40’s) so we took the boat, then bus back to where the parked the van and drove back to our hotel. That was the only time all week that we used our own transportation.

Today....

Today was Son #3's check up - 5 years old. He was okay with the finger-prick blood test, but the chicken pox booster shot was a disaster. The nurse jabs the needle in my little guy's arm and says she can't get the vaccine in. She at first thought that it was because he was clenching his muscle (he was understandably upset). However, she removed the syringe from his arm, tried squeezing the plunger part - still nothing. Apparently it was clogged (yes, it was hermetically sealed and sterile). She said she had never seen anything like that before and left the room to get a 2nd syringe. This time, she tested it by squeezing out a tiny drop. But still.... two injections when there should've been only one. He's still recovering from the stomach bug, by the way. He's also in the 75th percentile for height, which is interesting since neither Dear Hubby nor I are tall.

~*~*~*~ VACATION ~*~*~*~

Well, I booked our family vacation yesterday. Guess where we're going next month? I'll give you a hint:

M - I - C (see you real soon)
K - E - Y (why? because we like you!)
M-O-U-S-E

Besides revealing my age, did you guess? We're going to Disney, baby! Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL to be precise. I went when I was little back when they first opened. No one else in the family has ever been. I don't know who's more excited - Dear Hubby (who's a big kid himself), me or the kids. Actually, scratch that. Dear Hubby and I are much more excited...because we haven't told the kids where we're going. All they know is that we'll be sleeping in a hotel somewhere in the continental U.S. for 6 nights and that no, we're not visiting Grammy in Washington, DC. I hope I can keep my big mouth shut.

When I was booking the trip the Disney agent told me to be sure that we visit guest services at every park we visit and tell them that we're celebrating Son #3's birthday (we'll arrive on his bday) and there may be a special treat for him. We love special treats!

More later...

I'm Back!

I had a very nice visit with my mother in the Washington, DC area. I flew up there on Wednesday afternoon, bringing a little suitcase and big purse. I don't like to check luggage, even on direct flights, because I want my vacation to begin the minute my feet hit the ground!

I picked up our rental car, then picked up my mom from work. We stopped at Starbucks, then a place called Noodles & Company (since they don't feed you on the plane anymore - the half a tablespoon of peanuts doesn't count). I picked up an order of Pad Thai to go then went back to Mom's apartment to unpack a bit. That evening we went to a little hangout where she and friends meet every Wednesday. Had a couple of cocktails.

Since I don't have cable at home (just haven't gotten around to ordering it), I like to catch up on all the stuff I normally don't get to see so I stayed up to 3:00 a.m. every morning watching movies (Walk the Line was very good, The Family Stone not so)or the true crime shoes on A&E.

The rest of my visit was pretty much a blur of dining out and shopping. Really, that's all we do. Especially nice was the fact that the only decisions I had to make was whether to buy this item or that one (or both!), and which menu item to order. I didn't have to make any of the little day to day decision that we stay-home moms make.

I did manage to have lunch with some former co-workers (now friends), and went to the post office to ship four boxes of stuff - things I bought, and stuff my mother has accumulated for me and the kids - to my house. They should arrived in a couple of days.

Dear Hubby took time off of work to spend with the kids and they had fun, too. They also cleaned the house - including the bathrooms! - while I was gone!

Today, I'm still in my pj's at 12:30. I slept late this morning (catching up on missed sleep - I only averaged 4-5 hours per night on my trip), and just finished catching up on my email. Now I'm off to catch up on other folks' blogs.

It's nice to be home.

Vacation!

Son #1 and Dear Hubby spent a week in June at Boy Scout Camp two states away. Son #2 spent a week at a sleep away camp also in June (different week, though). Now it's my turn. This seems to be the Summer of Separate Vacations.
I'm going to visit my mom just for a few days - shopping, cocktails, dining out (not in that order) and no picking up after anyone but myself!

I'll be back blogging by early next week. Check back then!

Cheers!