#mcdanfamloveswdw: Day 1

Posted on May 23, 2015May 23, 2015 by mommyinthemidwest

I have another post sitting in drafts titled “random thoughts” about our recent trip to Disney World. There’s so much swirling around in my mind surrounding the planning and execution of our vacation. I’m a processor. I like to hash it all out and get my thoughts collected in some sort of organized way. The post was turning into a big rambly mess that I know no one would care to follow so it will sit in drafts until I figure out what else to do with it.

Click HERE to see the photos we shared on Instagram from our trip. (or search #mcdanfamloveswdw). On to the fun.

Day 1: Wednesday, May 6th. After having been in the hospital with Dexter less than 1 week earlier, Ryan and I were apprehensive about what could go wrong while we were 1000 miles from home. The 2 things we worried would put a damper on our trip (bad weather and sickness) were non-issues! We’ve had our fair share of illness since then but I am thrilled to say we were all in good health in Florida. My father-in-law dropped us off at the airport. We had a 10:30am flight and got there in plenty of time to let our anticipation build as the boys watched planes land and take off. The beginning of any vacation is such an exciting time.

I hoped the boys would nap on the plane but they were too excited. By the time we boarded Disney’s Magical Express, they couldn’t hold their eyes open. They wanted to sit together on the bus. They are definitely growing up. It was strange for Ryan and I to be able to sit together in a situation like this. Theo and Dexter are buddies.

We arrived at our resort mid-afternoon with plans to be at the Magic Kingdom by 4 but things didn’t go as smoothly as we’d hoped. I’d ordered several items from Amazon and it took time to get those to our room. When we got up to our room, our Magic Bands did not work to open the door. Ryan and the boys went back to the check-in lobby while I stood here as time ticked away. I started feeling very frustrated and anxious because I didn’t want to waste a park ticket going to Magic Kingdom for just a couple of hours. The boys were tired – we all were – from traveling all day. We hadn’t eaten lunch. After Ryan returned, I had to go and have my Magic Band reprogrammed, which took up more precious time. We did end up getting to the Magic Kingdom by 5 and as soon as we walked through the gates, all of my stress vanished.

Theo using his Magic Band to get into the park.

Our first ride, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, was new since our last visit in October 2013. Notorious for long wait times, I made a FastPass+ selection for this prior to our trip. The ride was smooth, fun, and perfectly themed. It was a wonderful start to our adventure.

Another top priority on my list was to try Lefou’s Brew -frozen apple juice with a hint of toasted marshmallow, topped with passion-fruit mango whipped cream, from Gaston’s Tavern in New Fantasyland. It was everything I dreamed of and more. YUM.

Moment of truth! The majority of rides with height restrictions at Disney World require guests to be 40″ tall. Part of the reason I planned our trip for this time (rather than February 2015) was that I wanted Dexter to have plenty of time to grow. I knew that him being 40″ would make a substantial difference in the number of attractions we’d be able to experience as a family. I had Dexter measured at the doctor’s office with shoes on prior to our vacation and the nurse said he was 40.5″ but I was still nervous. I didn’t know how precise she was or how precise the measuring at Disney would be. There was no doubt, no reason to double-check, tell him to stand up straight. He was over 40″ and he was thrilled! We all were. Throughout our entire trip, I never tired of watching him confidently stand there when cast members asked to check his height. He was proud to be big. As we all stood in line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad on that first night, I felt like my heart could burst. Here we were, just the 4 of us, at Walt Disney World. It felt like a dream. And now we were riding big rides together. I wanted this but at the same time, how did we get to this point so fast? My kids are riding roller coasters? What? Granted, we’re talking about Disney roller coasters, but you get my point.

Sad to say, this is my only picture with the boys in front of Cinderella Castle. We kept meaning to get that traditional, obligatory photo on Main Street but the time was never right. We were only ever on Main Street when people were pouring in or out of the park and I was hoping to get a photo without so many strangers’ butts, faces, shoulders, strollers, and elbows intruding into our special shot. I kept saying “next time,” and then eventually there wasn’t a next time. This will have to do.

We hadn’t specified a time we would try to leave but we were all wearing down by 9:30 or 10. It was so hard to leave when wait times for most rides were 5-15 minutes. We ended up staying until after 11pm and rode 13 rides in 5 hours! We stopped to enjoy the parade on our way out.

The boys couldn’t stay awake for it. What a big day!Okay, now I’ve rambled more here than I planned so I think I’ll stop at Day 1 and pick up Day 2 (my birthday at EPCOT) next time.

xo,

~C~

Catch the Moment: Wk. 20

Posted on May 21, 2015May 21, 2015 by mommyinthemidwest

Shew, it’s been hard adjusting to LAD. You know, Life After Disney. We were back less than 2 days when Theo got sick and gave us a little scare. I have never seen him like that – he laid in bed for 2 days straight, barely eating or drinking. He got pretty dehydrated (according to the doctor) and the threat of going to the hospital to get an IV was all he needed to start chugging liquids and gradually recovering. Both boys felt fantastic in Florida and now that we’re home, they are both coughing a junky, gross sounding cough. Dang allergies. Seems like a sign to me – back to Florida we shall go!

134/365: Thursday, May 14th. This is the day that the Disney blues reeeally start setting in. The last day of vacation is so bittersweet. You don’t want to waste it away, but it’s hard to stop thinking about how it’s almost over. After a lot of debate, we decided to go back to Hollywood Studios for our last day.

135/365: Friday, May 15th. Airport blues. Just Ryan and I…the boys were more than ready to get home, see their toys, their cats, and sleep in their own beds.

136/365: Saturday, May 16th. Happy to be home, back in their routine. Coloring & writing for days.

137/365: Sunday, May 17th. First time drinking coffee out of my cute new Hollywood Studios mug!

138/365: Monday, May 18th. Dexter’s 4 year check up after school. Everything went okay – we talked about his skin issues and didn’t come up with any solutions other than to keep the follow up appointment with his dermatologist next week and see what she thinks we should do from here.

139/365: Tuesday, May 19th. Lame mom award goes to…..me. Yeah. Pinsecurity (see what I did there) consumed me as Dexter and I picked out mini cupcakes at Target for his birthday celebration at school the next day. Sorry, this lady ran out of time and energy to whip up something magical between dealing with a sick kid and working late every night.

140/365: Wednesday, May 20th. As if it wasn’t bad enough that I failed to make a homemade treat, I also completely forgot that I was supposed to bring a picture from each year of Dexter’s life to his celebration at school. Not like I meant to do it and it slipped my mind – more like it never even occurred to me, although I did this for both of Theo’s birthday celebration. He may or may not know the difference but the mom-guilt I’m trudging through is pretty deep. Bad, bad mom.I love Dexter’s little expression here on day 140 at his school celebration. He was so serious! He’s like me, not a fan of being the center of attention but appreciated that it was a special day for him. Which picture is your favorite this week?

Linking up with Mindi, Stephanie, and Carrie for week 20 of Catch the Moment.

This week has not gone as I had expected so far, but I will begin my Disney trip recaps soon! Time just keeps slipping out of my hands.

xo,

~C~

Catch the Moment: Week 19 (Disney Style)

Posted on May 18, 2015May 18, 2015 by mommyinthemidwest

I haven’t forgotten about this project and I haven’t lost any steam – we’ve been on a 9 day vacation to Walt Disney World. So get ready to be inundated with pictures from that magical place this week and part of next. My last post was only 6 pictures so this one will be 8 to make up for it, then back on track with 7 each week. I can’t believe our trip, that we’d been looking forward to for so long, has already come and gone. I plan to write a series of posts regarding our trip while it’s all fresh on my mind, but for now – just a glimpse. In other words, stay away from here if you are anti-mouse. Just sayin’…

Linking up with Mindi at Stavish Stills Photography, Carrie at My Life, Our Journey, and Stephanie at Behind the Camera and Dreaming.

126/365: Wednesday, May 6th. We arrived in the afternoon and made a beeline for the Magic Kingdom. The best part of the night for me was walking up to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, nervously anticipating the cast member measuring Dexter’s height, and seeing that he was indeed tall enough to ride everything that I’d hoped he’d be able to (so that WE’D be able to, as a family). I do have a picture of him getting measured (with a big grin on his face) but I decided to save that one for a separate post once I start my vacation recaps.

127/365: Thursday, May 7th. My birthday! It’s no coincidence that our vacation was scheduled the week that spanned my birthday, Mother’s Day, and Dexter’s 4th birthday. What better place to celebrate? We went to EPCOT. We’ve gotten a picture with Donald in the World Showcase 2 trips in a row so maybe it will become a tradition.

128/365: Friday, May 8th. Back to the Magic Kingdom for a full day of fun and wonder.

129/365: Saturday, May 9th. We arrived at Animal Kingdom 90 minutes before park opening for our character breakfast dining reservations – which put us way in the back of the park before park opening. Ryan and I each rode Expedition Everest with no wait times before I realized that Theo was tall enough to ride as well. When we discovered this, he and I couldn’t wait for Ryan to get back so we could share this news with him. He rode it with me and he LOVED it. I love him. It was a big moment for me as a mom and for him as a kid. How did we get here in 5 short years? On one hand, it’s really exciting, but on the other hand, it’s kind of sad. My baby is truly not a baby anymore. He’s a thrill-seeker!

130/365: Sunday, May 10th. Mother’s Day. We were definitely ready for a break from the parks after hitting them 4 days in a row. On Mother’s Day, we swam in the resort pool and then spent the evening at Downtown Disney picking out some souvenirs. (Despite our sun-screening efforts, Dexter did get a tiny sunburn at the pool that was gone the next morning… but it’s not as bad as it looks in this photo, I promise).

131/365: Monday, May 11th. We spent the day at my favorite park (and former employer), Hollywood Studios. Meeting Baymax and Hiro from Big Hero 6 was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for Theo and Dexter. One of the biggest highlights for me was watching them spontaneously hold hands and excitedly talk about the experience as they ran ahead of us when we left the Magic of Animation building. They were on Cloud Nine. Melted my heart and made the 80 minute wait (our longest wait the entire trip) 100% worthwhile.

132/365: Tuesday, May 12th. We took another break day from the parks and played mini golf, grabbed lunch at a different resort, then swam the rest of the afternoon and evening. Dexter got Ellie (yes, he named him and yes Ellie is a boy) at Epcot and carried him around the entire trip. This was the last time my little sweet boy fell asleep as a 3 year old.

133/365: Wednesday, May 13th. Dexter’s 4th birthday! We enjoyed breakfast at ‘Ohana inside Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort with Lilo, Stitch, Pluto, and Mickey. It was adorable and delicious. The boys get so excited when they come face to face with these larger than life characters from the movies. We spent the day at Magic Kingdom afterwards.So now I’m all caught up on Catch the Moment – time to start wading through my recap posts in the upcoming week or so.

I hope the mamas out there had a good Mother’s day and have a special place in my heart for anyone who was hurting on or because of Mother’s day for some reason. I feel incredibly lucky to be the mommy of these two little boys and that we were able to spend 3 special occasions together. More to come!

xo,

~C~