ADVENTURES IN PARENTHOOD

Where Has the Time Gone?

2012-01-26T15:10:00.000-08:00

Okay, I admit it, I am WAY behind on my blog posts. But you know, sometimes life gets in the way. Being a full time working mom means my free time (wait, what's that?) is often spent catching up on household chores or spending some precious minutes with my son. So the blog suffers. But that's okay.

One day, I'd love to have a full on professional blog, probably Disney-centric, yes, but still, something other than this. This has been a great place for me to sort of capture all those little moments and memories throughout the year. So yes, it's a little selfish, but this year, I plan to focus on more fun posts that just aren't about using a blog as a personal scrapbook.

So I remain behind. Time to catch up.

But where has the time gone? The holidays, our annual Disney trip in October and a super busy time at work sucked it all away. I'll get it back, so stay tuned for a ton of updates, although they might be a little late, I figure better later than never.

Wednesday Williamisms

2012-01-25T08:41:00.000-08:00

After looking at the little boo-boo on his hand that he received at a bounce house birthday party...."Mommy, I have a rum burn." I think he meant rug burn.

We had awful rain last night. While putting him to bed, he asked about the rain. I told him how it was good and we need it to help the grass and plants grow and fill up the lakes. So he says, "So does the thunder help our house grow?" Hmmmm, I don't think so kid.

"Mommy, check my butt, check my butt!" We are still working on him wiping himself well. So he insists on me "checking" the area for him after he is done. This often occurs after I have already put him to bed and he suddenly gets back up at 10pm to use the bathroom. Oh the joys of motherhood.

Wednesday Williamisms

2012-01-19T16:00:00.000-08:00

William has really gotten into his imaginative play. Heard this evening while playing with his Batman "castle"..... "Come up here Robin. I can't see you. Just take the elevator!"

"I am going down the beanstalk, I have to take my brother to the hospital." (another make believe play time story)

Anytime you ask him a question lately, he usually starts his answer with "Let's see.......hmmmm."

"I tooted."

"Mommy, I don't have to have any shots until I am 10?"

Wednesday Williamisms

2012-01-11T14:08:00.001-08:00

How does the apple juice get in my pee pee. Maybe a door opens up and goes in my pee pee

Mommy, I can't close my eyes because I keep hearing scary baby noises.

Mommy, if I am getting presents from everyone, then Santa doesn't need to bring me any.

ICE!

2011-12-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

We finally ventured out to see the ICE display at the Gaylord Texan this year. We went right after Thanksgiving to beat all the crazy crowds that form closer to Christmas. We joined Mama (Grandma) and Papa, plus my sisters and their kiddos.

The snow hill wasn't open yet, so we just enjoyed exploring the resort and also checking out the ICE display, this year themed to "Shrek the Halls."

William loved all of the train displays.

2011-12-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

Santa Pinnochio

2011-12-24T07:48:00.000-08:00

We started our Elf on the Shelf tradition last year, however, William was still too little to really get it. This year, however, he got really into it. We brought our elf out this year right after Thanksgiving and let Will name him. The chosen name? Santa Pinocchio. I guess he sort of does look like a Pinocchio.

So Santa Pinocchio it is. William woke up each morning and hurried around to try and find Santa Pinocchio. It was so cute, he was so into it. Our elf was pretty good, he was too busy flying back and forth to the North Pole to actually get into any trouble, but he definitely hid in some crazy places. We also have read the story about our Elf over and over again. We will read it one last time tonight and say good bye.

Enjoy a few pics of Santa Pinocchio's adventure with us this year. He flies off tonight to be with Santa the rest of the year.

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-12-14T06:42:00.000-08:00

As we are reading a story last night about Piglet yawning, he stops me and says "Mommy, stop reading for a few minutes, now I need to yawn." He's so funny, he even makes me pause movies or tv shows so he can go to the bathroom.

Because he likes to stay up late in his bed reading each night, he is always tired in the morning when I wake him for preschool. He says, "Mommy, help wake me up." That's code word for splash cold water on my face!

"...and around and around and zoom zoom zoom."

Best of all, we are supporting a needy family this year by providing gifts, clothes and household items. We will be delivering the gifts directly to the single mom and her three children on Sunday (joint effort with my family and some other friends). As the presents piled up on the dining room table in preparation to give to them, William says, "Mommy, I want to help give those presents to those kids who don't have much. I want to share." Even at four, so proud he gets it.

"Can I eat the gingerbread house Mommy?"

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-12-07T08:54:00.000-08:00

William likes to stay up in his bed "reading" after I put him down. I walk up, see him sitting on the edge of his bed, with the closet light on for reading, looking through a book. "I'm sorry Mommy, I' done reading now." So sweet. Not sure how to scold a kid for wanting to read (well a four year old's version of reading). He knows just what to say. Next was "I like going to sleep Mommy."

"I got fart shoes." Yes, we saw the Muppets this past weekend.

"Is warm the same as hot?"

"But Mommy, I didn't tell Santa what I wanted from that aisle."

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

Wishing You and Yours a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I am thankful for so many things....
My health and my family's health
My son, William- the light and joy of my life
A hubby I can always count on
Sisters who are like my best friends
Devoted, considerate parents that are such a big part of my life
A happy, warm home
A stable job and income
Friends that make me laugh
Technology that lets me share photos and life

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

2011-11-12T05:00:00.000-08:00

Our room during our recent stay at the Disneyland Hotel back in August was just so cute, it deserves its own post.

As Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members (Disney's idea of a timeshare), we were able to use our points to stay here, so it didn't cost us anything out of pocket. We just had a regular room with two queen beds, but we loved all the special details and magic that Disney is known for.

Of course the lights in the bathrooms featured Mickey hands. Even the handles on the faucet were Mickey hands.

There was a huge wooden headboard behind both beds that went the length of the room. It was huge and had a beautifully carved piece of Sleeping Beauty castle. The pillows on the bed each said "A Dream is a WISH Your Heart Makes"
"When You're Fast Asleep"

And the big winner of our stay was discovered on accident....the head board lights up and plays music. William was playing with the buttons for the light on the nightstand just like most curious toddlers do. He flipped a switch and suddenly we hear the "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes...." song! Then all of the stars over the castle light up. It was so amazing. We went to sleep that night sleeping with the stars on over our heads. William thought it was just the coolest thing. Okay, and so did Alan and I. No one does the magic touches like Disney.

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-11-10T21:20:00.000-08:00

"Mommy, my butt was on fire."

"Mama, do you like the scary hotel? You know it goes up and down really fast and there is a thunderstorm on 12." .....describing the Tower of Terror ride at Disney World to his Grandma which he rode twice in October and really liked.

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-11-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

"That's ri-doc-ul-lous."

"What's the big idea?"

"Mommy, you're pretty."

"This is how Peter Pan stands."

Tricks, Treats and Toddler

2011-11-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

Our family loves Halloween. Fortunately, we returned from our Disney trip just in time to celebrate. It was a busy Halloween weekend.

Friday night William's school closed down early for their annual Fall Festival. William was so excited for "Halloween at school." He dressed as Peter Pan. This was his third time wearing the costume, since he wore it twice while at Disney, including for the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) during our trip.

He loved bouncing in the bounce houses and playing games inside. He got a balloon animal and a tattoo. He would barely wash that hand after getting the tattoo. I assured him we could get a new tattoo if it washed off. We enjoyed some food, cotton candy and fun. He spent a lot of time on the playground. Yes, the same playground he plays on every single day.

On Saturday, October 29th, after a big morning celebrating his birthday party at Pump It Up, we headed to my parent's house for their first annual Halloween party! Usually I would help them plan and set up, but we were so busy returning to life after vacation and celebrating William's birthday that I didn't have time. They had created a small haunted house in one of their garages out back. We all had a great time at the party with family and friends. Almost everyone was in costume too. We even had a Donald Duck, one of William's favorites.

The kids had a ball in the haunted house and we can't wait to help my parents create an even better one next year. William loved bobbing for apples and chasing around all of his friends upstairs.

Finally, we went trick or treating on Halloween night. William certainly has gotten use out of his Peter Pan costume, as this was the 5th time in two weeks for him to wear it. We headed out just as one of our neighbors and his classmate, Tinsley stopped by to trick or treat. He was so excited to see her. She was cute as ever dressed as Dorothy. William and I made the rounds through our neighborhood. It is one way in and out, so usually not heavy traffic- just 50 homes in our HOA. But we did have a lot of outside traffic, families driving around that were not from our neighborhood. Maybe from some of the nearby apartments? We hit all the houses in the neighborhood with lights on, which was only about a third of them. We said hi to many of our friendly neighbors.

William said "trick or treat" each time, followed by a "thank you." I couldn't have been prouder. As we rounded towards the front of the neighborhood, we stopped at Tinsley's house, they had just returned for the night. She was so excited to give him some candy and wanted to walk him home. She is too cute. William started to complain his legs were hurting. He had four immunizations that morning for his 4 year old checkup, so he was tired and sore. We headed home to Alan running the fog machine on the porch. He had scared quite a few kids with his spooky fog.

William scored a lot of candy that he will never eat. He isn't a big sweets eater, thankfully. Unlike his mommy.

And so another fun year of tricks and treats was had by all. We look forward to an even better Halloween next year! BOO!

The Birthday That Wouldn't End

2011-11-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

My little guy just celebrated his 4th birthday on October 30th. He was born just after 6pm on the day before Halloween. I remember it so vividly and how happy we were. That happiness hasn't left our hearts as we watch William grow and explore every day.

His birthday celebration this year seemed to go on and on. First, we celebrated during our trip to Disney. He wore a birthday button most days and received special desserts (cupcakes) at meals and many "Happy Birthdays" from friendly cast members. One cast member at the Haunted Mansion even had everyone waiting in line sing to him. Not really sure how you top a birthday at Disney!

Upon our return home, he got to celebrate with his choice of birthday parties...a Phineas and Ferb themed party at Pump It Up this past Saturday. He had family, friends from school, neighbors and more in attendance to celebrate. He loved jumping and sliding and turning into a sweaty mess. We enjoyed cake, pizza and fun with friends. He received some great gifts too, I think his favorite is the monorail from Disney (courtesy of a gift a card from my parents), some workbooks and the Phineas and Ferb roller coaster. He is still playing with all of his new toys! Thank you to all friends and family for celebrating with us.

On Sunday, October 30th, his ACTUAL birthday, we took him McDonald's to play for breakfast, followed by shopping for books and workbooks per his request. Then onto lunch. Chicken nuggets and fries at his request. He wanted to get back home and play with all of his new toys the rest of the day. I kept telling him that this day was his actual birthday and I think he almost expected another party!

William also had a birthday celebration at school yesterday, on Halloween. We brought in cupcakes for his class and goodie bags for everyone to take home. He said he had a lot of fun and that his class all sang Happy Birthday.

And so now with three behind us, we move forward to discover what this next year will hold for him! I can only imagine! Happy birthday William!

Freaking Out Friday

2011-10-28T06:27:00.000-07:00

Today is freaking out Friday. I've termed it as such (lovingly of course), because I have been anxiously awaiting news from the big cheese himself. No, not my boss, DH or the big cheese in the sky, but the one that runs that Magic Kingdom in Orlando. Mickey Mouse.

Back in September I began yet another journey with the Disney Moms Panel. I've applied every year since its inception in 2008. With up to 20,000 applying, I've never made the cut to round two. But this year, the one year I didn't actually devote much time or energy to my application, I made it. Imagine my surprise when I got my congratulations email. Maybe I've been over thinking it all these years and not spending as much time on it allowed my real personality and passion to come through? Who knows. There I go over thinking that!

So after receiving my congratulatory email, I had to submit answers to a handful of questions, again, limiting my answers to 100 words each. If you know me, you know that isn't easy. First off, I am long-winded. Second, limiting my answer about something I love so dearly to 100 words, well is almost impossible, but I did it. We also had to produce a minute long video sharing our favorite Walt Disney World memory. My sister kindly helped me film using my iphone and then I edited the clips into a cohesive piece. I didn't do 100 takes, only four.

I think my video was pretty unique, at least the topic. I tried to stay away from what I thought most might share as a favorite memory, like meeting Cinderella. It's definitely a special memory for a lot of folks and I wanted mine to be different. Thankfully, one of my favorites is when Will met PUSH the talking trash can at the Magic Kingdom on the first day of our vacation last December. You see, he's obsessed with trash cans. Heck, I even wrote a post about it. So meeting a walking, talking trash can was amazing for him. PUSH even singled him out and sang Happy Birthday after seeing Will's birthday button. We even dressed William as a trash can for last Halloween!

William was wearing a Pooh bear t-shirt since we had breakfast plans at Crystal Palace that morning. PUSH told him, "You have some Pooh on your shirt." Hilarious PUSH!

So while filming my video, I surrounded myself with some of Will's favorite trash cans from his collection, just to give my video a unique background. Plus, I do get a little nervous, so having props helps.

I submitted my finished video and answers on October 14th, the day before we left for eight fabulous nights in the world. So for those next eight days, I didn't even think about it. I was too busy creating new memories at my favorite place. But as I returned to real life this past Monday and started visiting the forum threads, Facebook groups, watching tweets etc., I started to panic. The emails announcing who will advance to round three are supposed to be delivered this week. At first we all thought it might happen on Tuesday. Then we all held our collective breath on Wednesday. Nothing. Yesterday (Thursday), still nothing. By this point, I think some of my round two friends and I just might break the Internet with our constant posting, attempts to distract each other and burning up our email accounts. Open email, close eyes, hold breath, open eyes, heart drops, realize the Disney email is from Disney Movie Rewards.....not Disney Moms. I think this is the only time I am frustrated at the amount of Disney related email traffic I get. Disney shopping, Disney Interactive, Disney Movie Rewards, disboards, AllEars etc. Each time I hold my breath thinking it is THE email. Alas, it's not.

Not yet.

And so we wait. And wait. And wait some more.

So is today the day? We can't be sure, but we can hope.

The round two email stated that if selected to move on as a finalist, we would be contacted by email to schedule a phone interview the first week of November. Well next week is the first week of November. So here's hoping we hear today or tomorrow.

In the meantime I am trying to stay busy. I have a lot to keep busy with, William's day care party is today, his birthday party is tomorrow morning and my mom's Halloween party is tomorrow night. But I can't help myself from checking my email every five seconds, hoping I've been blessed enough to make it to the next step- phone interviews and continue on my journey to obtain the coveted pink Moms Panel jacket.

So why is being on this panel so important to me? The pink jacket? Sure. The training trip in early December? Definitely. But most of all, sharing my passion and love for planning the perfect Disney trip. I already do it for friends and family all of the time. Being able to do it almost daily for strangers? Fabulous! Doing it with the official support of the big cheese himself? Well, that would be totally awesome.

So here's hoping I don't develop a callus on my mouse clicking finger as I continue to constantly check email today. Sending pixie dust to all of my other friends awaiting news!

The Royal Treatment- Disney World 2011

2011-10-27T07:46:00.000-07:00

We're back!!! We just returned from a magical eight nights at our favorite place on earth, Walt Disney World! It's been a whirlwind since we returned late Saturday night, catching up on work and life.

So I'll share some of the highlights of our special trip over a few posts. Our trip began on Friday, October 14th as we boarded an Air Tran flight to Atlanta, with a final stop in Orlando at 6:30pm that night. Our flight was delayed and we didn't make it in until almost 8pm. William was a complete angel on both flights. One woman behind us even commented on how he was the best behaved kid she had ever seen on a plane. Wow! She must not have seen him on our last two trips.

We rented a car and made the short 20 minute drive to our home for the next eight nights, Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort, our Disney Vacation Club (DVC) home. We used online check in and were in our room quickly.

We were starving, so we headed to the Contempo Cafe for a late dinner. Had our groceries delivered and received a special box from a special online disboard friend who sent us her leftover juice, water and more from her stay the week prior. Thanks Kimberly in NY!!

We settled in for a good night's sleep. Saturday, October 15th began our actual fun! We were greeted with a beautiful sunrise from our balcony!

We were up early to hit Disney's Hollywood Studios for extra magic hour (EMH) at 8am. We ran a little late, but managed to get a fastpass for the ever popular Toy Story Mania and then William experienced his first ride on Tower of Terror. This kid is so brave! He was scared once it started dropping, but we had prepped him by watching a youtube video, so he knew what to expect. On the ride, he was scared and had us both in a death grip, but once we got off, he said it was the "funnest elevator ever."

We then got in line to meet some of his favorite characters, Phineas and Ferb! We also took a ride on the new Star Wars ride and then we visited Pooh and some other friends. William loved the Disney Jr. show featuring Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Jake and the Neverland Pirates- two of his all time favorite shows. He watches episodes online often with his daddy at home on the computer.

We visited the Muppets store and I found this adorable kermit hat that I had been searching for on previous trips. They also had animal and beeker! William loves this hat and wore it even when it was warm out. He got so many compliments on it from guests and cast members alike. I mean, who doesn't like Kermit?

We enjoyed a great lunch on the patio at Toy Story Pizza Planet and then headed back to Bay Lake Tower (BLT) for a break and nap.

That night, we ventured out for a special royal meal. I was able to book the hard to get Cinderella's Royal Table meal in the castle. William dressed up in his knight costume to meet his princess. We had a great dinner in the castle and managed to see Ariel, Belle, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. The food was actually much better than I anticipated too. William was quite shy once the princesses actually visited our table. Cinderella asked him how many dragons he had slayed. He was given a special sword and participate in the wishing ceremony with his wishing star.

After our brush with royalty, we hit a few rides in the Magic Kingdom. But given it was a Saturday night and the park was closing early (7pm) many nights during the week for the Halloween party, it was packed. Folks were taking advantage of the late night hours offered on Saturday. We only hit a few rides before bailing due to the crazy crowds. We had a whole week ahead of us, including less crowded weekdays. We did hit the Haunted Mansion on the way out- William's absolute favorite ride. While in line, one of the cast members had everyone sing him happy birthday! He was wearing his birthday button, so he got special treatment all week long and this was just the beginning. If you are celebrating anything while at the world, be sure and ask for a button! Here is William checking out the new cemetery at Haunted Mansion.

We ended our great night hearing the Electrical Water Pageant (now celebrating 40 years!) going on right outside our window. We sat on the balcony and enjoyed this classic light parade on the water.

And we're off

2011-10-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow am, we are heading back to my happy place! 8 nights, 9 days at our Disney Vacation Club home, Bay Lake Tower. Cannot wait to get back to this! We are celebrating William's 4th birthday while there. We have a lot of special things planned for him, including getting turned into a pirate at the Pirate League, eating with Cinderella in the castle, breakfast with Mickey, breakfast with Pooh, a special Pirates cruise to see fireworks and meet his favorites- Hook, Peter Pan and Mr. Smee. Plus the famous Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party.

So off we go tomorrow, see you in a week! I'll tell Mickey you said hi!

Just Keep Swimming

2011-10-12T17:59:00.000-07:00

They say never give up and for once, it paid off for me. After applying for the Disney Moms Panel for four years (since its inception), I finally made it to round two!

The Disney Moms Panel is a collection of moms (and dads, aunts, etc.) who share their passion for Disney by answering questions online for guests planning a trip. While the position is unpaid, there are lots of perks, free trip(s), goodies and just sharing your love for Disney.

Close to 20,000 applicants are allowed, not sure how many there were actually and I have no idea how many make it to round two. It could be 200, 500, who knows.

But tonight, I work on my four essay questions of 100 words or less. Anyone who knows me, knows I am not short with my words. I also have to submit a 60 second video about my favorite memory at the parks. My sister is helping me film that tonight.

All submissions are due on Friday, which also happens to be the day we leave for Walt Disney World! Talk about good timing. So wish me luck! I am hopeful, but also realistic. We aren't sure how many panelists they are taking, since some from last year will probably stay on another year and others selected might be part time, serving only certain months of the year.

Whoever is selected is to proceed to the final round (phone interview) will be contacted probably in less than two weeks. So send some pixie dust my way as I attempt to get a gig spreading some myself!

Whirlwind Day at Disneyland

2011-09-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

SoCal/Disneyland trip continued...

We finally arrived at our destination, Disneyland Hotel and got checked in on Friday night. Tons of construction going on, but we loved it. Our room was just beautiful and had a special little bit of Disney magic I'll share in a separate post. After getting settled in, we attempted to take William to the awesome swimming pool, but it was closed due to "sanitation issues"...yuck! This would be a recurring nightmare for us. They had a really cool new monorail themed water slide and we would never get to ride it.

So we headed off to Downtown Disney to shop. William got some fun new legos and we got a few souvenirs for family. Then off to dinner with Goofy! We met Chip, Dale, Goofy, Minnie and Aladdin. William had a ball. He's pretty spoiled already having been to WDW twice now, but this was the first time he really seemed to totally get into the characters and even wanted their autographs. The buffet was actually fabulous. I don't have high expectations for buffets, but we were pleasantly surprised.

After dinner, we tried to swim again, but the slide had closed earlier apparently than the rest of the pool, so we skipped it. After a good night's rest, we tackled Disneyland in a Day on Saturday! We arrived at 7am, since on site guests could get in an hour early. We were able to ride all of Fantasyland within the first hour, including a second ride on Peter Pan and Dumbo per William's request. We had a great day!

We had lunch reservations at the famous Blue Bayou restaurant in New Orleans square. It sits overlooking the Pirates of the Carribean ride and boats come past the dining area, which looks like you are sitting outside in the dark. We enjoyed a great meal here- monte cristo for me and Salmon for William and Alan. Alan also got a free birthday dessert, as I told him it was his 40th!

We took a break after lunch back at the hotel and once again attempted to swim. This was our third stike. We got there, climbed up the stairs, in line for the slide, when suddenly we see them closing the pool down yet again. Yep, someone pooped in the pool AGAIN! Come on people! So we had to leave the pool and decided after three attempts, we were done. Nap time instead.

We returned in the afternoon and tackled the rest of the park, including a request to ride the Haunted Mansion twice! By the time the fireworks were about to start, we could tell William was fading fast, so we left. As we walked through Downtown Disney back to the hotel, we could hear and see the fireworks.

We had a great day at Disneyland and rode almost every single ride we wanted to, many twice. It was very hot and crowded by the afternoon though. Apparently Anaheim was having a heat wave that was not typical for their weather. So we all crashed that night, ready for rest.

Sunday morning, we had a quick bite to eat at the hotel and then loaded the car by 10am to head back to San Diego. The plan today was to hit Coronado Island.

Of course, being a Disney nut, I know the Grand Floridian Hotel at WDW is designed in the style of the Coronado. So it was fun to see the real thing. We didn't actually go on property, but could see it from the beach. It took a while to find a parking space once we arrived.

We enjoyed a couple of hours at the beach near the hotel, playing in the water, letting Will run from the waves and building a sandcastle. We spotted tons of live sand dollars in the water and even two dolphins came very close to shore. William absolutely loved the waves. He thought it was so fun to just stand there and let them almost knock him down.

After a few hours in the sun, we decided to grab some lunch, but it was so packed with cars and people on the island, we couldn't find a place to stop or park. So we just drove back across the bridge. We ended up driving around a bit and finally just went to the airport early and ate there.

It was a great little weekend trip and we made some great memories. We definitely want to go back sometime to SoCal and spend more than a few days there.

So This is Why Everyone Wants to Live Here

2011-09-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

My little family and I were lucky enough to take a quick weekend away in Southern California thanks to a work commitment I had in San Diego for a day. I had a full day workshop to manage on a Thursday, so I flew in the day before.

I had two American Airlines tickets that had been burning a hole in my pocket ever since I won them at a company raffle. Unfortunately every time I tried to use them, the dates or location I wanted was blacked out. Note to self: don't enter raffle for tickets again!

I was finally able to use them and fly William and Alan out to San Diego to join me for a long weekend. They came in that Wednesday night. We stayed at the Westin San Diego downtown for 2 nights.
While I had my workshop all day Thursday, the boys headed off the famous San Diego Zoo for the day. Their trip was ended early afternoon when one tired toddler fell asleep on dad's lap on the bus ride around the park and proceeded to have an accident. Both dad and kiddo were soaked.
After my workshop was over, we headed out in search of dinner and ended up at the Seaport Village area where we wandered through some shops and finally found a seafood restaurant on the water to eat at. It was not all that great, but William did enjoy his fish and chips.

Friday, the plan was to possibly do a harbor cruise and the USS Midway tour. After a quick bite at McDonald's, we realized we had missed the first harbor tour and might try it later. We headed to the Midway, arriving right when they opened at 10am. We spent a few hours here doing the tour and enjoying all the history. William, however was not all that interested. Maybe someday he'll understand the history!

By the time we wrapped up, we decided it was too late for a harbor tour if we wanted to beat rush hour (Friday) traffic out of San Diego north to Anaheim. We were booked for two nights at the Disneyland Hotel using our Disney Vacation Club points. Yeah! See, I knew DVC would be a good "investment."

So we loaded in the car and started the 90 minute drive. We stopped for some lunch along the way- Del Taco. Then also stopped at the beach in San Clemente. It was so crowded, but beautiful. So this is why folks live here- awesome weather, beaches, did I mention the awesome weather? It was still triple digits back in Dallas. We let William chase the waves a bit and we all got a little wet.

Part 2- to be continued!

No Flash Pictures Please

2011-09-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

Welcome foolish mortals to the Haunted Mansion. I am your host, your ghost host.

So those of you familiar with my Disney insanity might recognize that as part of the script from the ever popular Haunted Mansion attraction at Disney parks.

As we prepare for our upcoming Walt Disney World (WDW) trip (in just 21 days by the way), William is getting more and more excited. We recently did the quick one day trip to Disneyland where he rode the Haunted Mansion. It wasn't his first ride, probably more like his 4th or so, since he rode it a number of times on two prior trips to WDW.

However, I think this was the first time he really got it all and loved it. You might think a three year old would be afraid of the dark and ghosts, but not this kid. He loved the fake thunderstorm as we walked in, adored all of the ghosts and didn't blink an eye at the dark (not that I could see in the dark anyways).

So after loving his ride on the Haunted Mansion, he referred to it simply as "ghosts" and then asked to ride again. Since our day at Disneyland, he has asked to listen to the soundtrack of the ride. Yes, crazy old Disney lady here has the spiel/song of course. I think I have almost all of the ride soundtracks on my phone (thanks to the good old days of free downloading). He almost has the entire spiel memorized.

Imagine our laughter when he comes in the room and tells us, in an ever so slow and dark voice, "No flash pictures please." Just like on the ride. Too funny.

So as our countdown continues, William puts a sticker up each morning so he has a toddler's view of how much longer until our trip. He is so excited to see his ghost friends and is even going to try out another ghost venture...the Hollywood Tower of Terror. While he has been tall enough to ride this for a while, I just wasn't sure it was a good idea to put a two year old on a ride that drops you repeatedly over and over again down 13 stories. But after showing him a YouTube video, he is on board. Why? Well because there are ghosts and lightning involved. That won him over. We will see how this almost four year old does, but given he is pretty good with thrills and not easily scared, he might just love it. We'll keep you posted on how he does, until then, our little ghost host can't wait!

The Perfect Job?

2011-09-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

Those that know me, know of my passion for all things Disney, especially anything Disney Parks related. I've helped countless friends and family plan their vacations to Walt Disney World and other Disney destinations. I am crazy enough to even have a running spreadsheet and word document of tips that I can send to a friend or coworker on the fly if they tell me they are taking a trip.

So in that effort, I usually get folks telling me how I should do that for a living-- plan Disney trips! How I would love to do that, but it isn't as easy as it seems to make a living doing that. But there is one way in which I could put all of my passion and knowledge to good use- the 2012 Disney World Moms Panel. While the panel is no longer just aimed at "moms", it is a panel of everyday people like me, who just happen to share a passion for Disney parks.

I've applied the last three years now, never making it to round two. But, in the same vain as Nemo, I just keep swimming. Who knows why I wasn't chosen in past years, so I'll keep applying each and every year.

The Disney World MOMs Panel has changed over the years and they now accept Dads, Aunts, Grandmas and more. They are also segmenting the panel into areas of expertise, including Disney Cruise Line (DCL), Disney Vacation Club (DVC), RunDisney and more. Panelists answer questions on the Disney Moms Panel website and also undergo extensive training in early December at WDW, courtesy of Disney. So there are definitely perks, but the real perk for me would be having an outlet to share my passion and know I am helping others make their trips more magical!

So today was the big day to submit your application, which included a number of questions. There was at least one basic question to test your knowledge of Disney parks, then the rest were open ended questions with a 100 word limit. Who knew expressing yourself in 100 words or less could be so difficult? Well, I did. I am the queen of being long-winded!

So now the application is in and confirmed. Now we wait. Typically they send out notices by e-mail to the second round participants by mid October. Perfect timing- just when I am going to be on my trip at WDW! Last year, round two participants had to submit a 60 second video and a sample planning sheet.

So whether I make it to round two (finally) or not, it is fun to try and participate. So here is some pixie dust and best wishes to all of my fellow Disney "freaks" that applied today!

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-09-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

"Mommy, I saw Pooh Bear in Peter Pan's bathroom. He was in there because he hit Goofy."

"Put your hands in the air so they don't go anywhere."

"Boys, you stop jumping!"....as he tattles on two strangers that are goofing off. He loves to tattle on other people, even strangers that might be misbehaving. When I told him he couldn't tattle all the time, he told me he was their teacher. He is very into playing school at home lately, so everyone is his student.

What's your favorite ride at Disneyland? "Ghosts"

As we drive up to the ATM, "Mommy, is that a big piggy bank?"

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-08-17T23:30:00.000-07:00

"Mommy, can we go to the moo-seum."

Bedtime stall tactics "Mommy, the fire alarm needs batteries."

"I'll never get to play with that toy A-GAIN." The drama has started, now this comment is said with just about everything....."I'll never get to INSERT WHATEVER A-GAIN." The word again is said with the most woeful, sad tone you've ever heard.

"You're a bad mommy!!!!!!" The kid has a temper and when he doesn't get his way, this has started coming out. However, about 30 minutes later, he comes over and hugs me and says "I love you mommy."

Ferb, I Know What We Are Going to Do Today!

2011-08-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

If any of you are fans of Phineas and Ferb on the Disney Channel, then you've heard the saying many times before. This cute cartoon follows the adventures of two brothers as they set out to have the best day ever during their summer break.

Well this summer, William and his cousins had a great time, thanks to their Mama and Papa (grandma and grandpa) and the help of Nene (my sister).

My parents took the kids somewhere almost every week, usually with Nene's help. From the Lego Activity Center to the waterpark to the aqaurium, the kids had a ball. In fact William has already asked to go back to the museum.

Here are the kids at the waterpark having a ball!And the Children's Museum downtown near Fair Park. Papa helping William make bubbles!

And the new Lego Activity Center at Grapevine Mills. Lego overload!

The Dallas World Aquarium- fish and fun!

I know lugging around 3 kids, plus a baby can be a lot of work, especially when the two boys get together (usually loud and trouble). So thanks to my parents for creating some special memories with all the kids this summer. I know William had a blast and was always excited when Papa came into day care to pick him up early for another adventure!

Shake Your Groove Thing

2011-08-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

Well you might have noticed my posting became well...non-existent for the last month or so. The reason-- our big annual user conference at work. It consumed my life a bit. It is finally over though and was a huge success.

I spent six nights in Las Vegas at the ARIA Resort & Casino where our conference was held. The resort is beautiful. I had a great view of the pool, which was almost torture. I'd look down each day, watching folks catching rays, enjoying a frozen beverage while I headed down to work. Torture, I tell you!

My view also included looking towards Mandalay Bay, the hotel Alan and I got married at over 10 years ago.
I was working so hard, I didn't have much time to play or gamble. We did enjoy a little fun at night. We also had a big party on Monday evening and it had a 70s theme with a live band. Everyone dressed up and we also participated in a flash mob that you can view on youtube.

One night we did catch the Bellagio fountain show next door, which was nice considering the slight breeze off the water on a hot night!

I also headed to my favorite place in Vegas, downtown. Most folks don't care for downtown or get it, but I love the old school vibe and I can actually afford to gamble here where the minimums aren't $25. I did get to play a little craps at the Horseshoe at least. We also checked at the amazing new pool at the Golden Nugget, complete with water slide through an aquarium.

I had a good time, but six nights in Vegas is a little much, even for me. Plus, when you are there for work, well it isn't the same as vacation. I was so ready to see my little guy when I got home. He ran to the door at day care to hug me really tight when he saw me after I got back. I did talk to him each night on the phone and I could tell he lost more and more interest each day. The first day he talked for a good 5-8 minutes or so. By the last night, he said a few words and was handing off the phone to Alan again. Alan and Will had a great time together while I was gone- a little boys only time.

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-07-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's not Wednesday, a few days late, but here it is, live from Las Vegas!

Gotta love this one......"Mommy, come wipe my butt."

Lately, Will is into saying "Never!" Of course he says it with a certain flair.

"Mommy, I've got a hangnail!"......as he tries to stall when going to bed. This was after he had been in bed almost an hour and suddenly peers over the railing upstairs to tell me about his hangnail.

As I am telling him how much I will miss him when I go out of town for work this week, he says, "Don't worry mommy, I will call you and then you will be happy again and not sad." So sweet!

We have a nightly routine of saying various I love yous etc. I always kiss him and my hair falls onto his face as I do so, so now each night, he asks me to "put my hair in his face". So i do. I told him Daddy would have to tuck him in while I am out of town. He said, "but Daddy has short hair"....knowing he wouldn't be able to do that part of our nightly routine. lol

While reading his I'll Love You Forever book, a little boy gets in trouble for saying bad words. William says, "Just like daddy? He says bad words.". Yes, yes, he does son.

25lb Apple Pie Anyone?

2011-07-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

Day 7- Friday, June 17

This was our last full day in the Smokey Mountains. Wendy and her family left shortly after 5am this morning to start he drive home in the mini van. My parents, Mandy and her family and of course Alan, William and I were all still ready to enjoy our last full day.

Mama enjoyed some baby Brynley time! Love those rolls!

On the schedule? Dollywood. My parents passed and decided to go shopping instead, but they dropped us off at Dollywood. We arrived at 10am, thinking we were going to be there at opening, but we made a rookie mistake and didn't check the park hours. I can tell you park hours for Disney anytime, but Dollywood, not so much. The park had opened at 9am so we walked into huge crowds. Jeff and Mandy wanted to see the bubble show, but as we walked in, there was already a huge line for the 10:45 show (and this was at 10am). So we passed.

We headed over to the Mystery Mine ride. I love thrill rides and this one looked cool, so we switched off- one couple rode while the other watched Brynley and William. The ride was very cool- you went straight up vertically into the sky on a track and back down and they mixed in some special effects too. Probably the most fun (and intense) coaster I've done. We then headed around the park, stopping to play here and there.

It was pretty hot and overly crowded with tourist groups, church groups and more. We did the merry go round again and I took Will to drive a car again. He loved it.

By 1pm, we were done. On our way out of the park, we stopped at the bakery to have a look. Alan eyed the 25lb apple pie as featured on the travel channel. He decided to dish out the $10 for a 5lb slice to take home! That thing was gigantic. The rest of us got some yummy treats and headed out to the van.

Back the cabin for lunch and then we headed out again, this time to find a creek for William to throw some rocks in. My dad had found a great handicap accessible park area where the creek runs through so my mom could get down there easily to enjoy it. He had taken her earlier that day, so we went back for William to enjoy.
Next we headed out to do some exploring and shopping. We found some arts and craft shops near Gatlinburg, off the beaten path and did some shopping. We found a really cute old fashioned soda shop where we all got some ice cream, shakes or floats. Just what we need, more sweet treats. One of the stores we went in, the store owner had a baby raccoon that he was nursing back to health. Racoons were Wendy's favorite animal as a kid (don't ask me why), so it was sad she missed seeing a real baby one. After wrapping up our shopping, it was back to the cabin to finish packing and then we headed out to dinner. We found a restaurant called the Alamo Cafe across from the pizza place and owned by the same group. The food was fantastic, one of the best (and biggest) burgers (kobe beef, I think), that I have ever had. We enjoyed a fabulous last meal together and Papa kept William entertained.
The next morning, we were up by 5am to start the long drive back home. We only stopped like 6 times that day, so we made good time. We did the full drive in 15 hours and didn't stop overnight like on the way there. Brynley was so good the entire time. We finally got home that night, unloaded and headed home. I think we were back home after 9pm or so that night.

All in all, we had a wonderful vacation, made new memories with the family and explored some beautiful scenery!

Carry Me Daddy!

2011-07-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Vacation- Day 6, Thursday, June 16

Today once again started with a visit to a local pancake establishment. Try one of the 50 different ones in a 2 mile radius? Nah, we just went back to the same one. I guess when you like something, you like it. After pancakes, it was back into the mountains today.

We had decided to head up and see Clingman's Dome. The drive wasn't quite as long as Cades Cove.

We took the two vans back out again, winding our way up the mountain. It was so beautiful and peaceful. We finally reach the top and park. Of course there was like nowhere to park, the place was packed. My parents and sister found a handicap spot for them, but no luck for us. We finally went to the end of a row near where the road starts again and "made our own spot". The park ranger wasn't happy about that when we left and he drove by.

We checked out the amazing views into North Carolina.

There was a little gift shop and also a half mile or more walk up a steep incline (paved) to the dome viewing tower. We headed up and man was it tough. Alan had to carry William for the majority of the hike too. We tried to get him to walk some, but he kept saying "Carry me daddy!" and so Daddy did. It was hard enough carrying myself, not sure I could have lugged a 40lb toddler in my arms. We finally make it up and enjoy amazing views. My dad had really wanted to come here as he remembered visiting here with his parents as a kid.

After making the hike back down, we checked out the gift shop where my parents bought all the kids a little backpack with toys (toy binoculars, whistle etc.). The boys really loved those fake binoculars and pretended to be chasing bears around the cabin later that night with them.

So we made the drive back down the mountain, trying to find a spot near the creek to let hte kids out to play, but we weren't having good luck finding a spot with parking and an easy way down. Most of the areas were too difficult to crawl down too. We did pass by some folks jumping off cliffs into the creek and playing in the rapids (ignoring the "drownings occur here often" sign). LOLWe finally made it back home to the cabin and ate some lunch and then headed back to Dolly's Water Country waterpark since we had promised the kids. This time everyone came along and we spent about 3 hours there having a great time! That night, we found a local oven fired pizza place for dinner out. Unfortunately, my sister and her family were leaving early the next morning, so it was time for everyone to get to bed early. The rest of us still had one more full day to enjoy!

Who Needs Dollywood When You've Got Lightning and Buses?

2011-07-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Day 5- Wednesday, June 15

I know, I'm a slacker, almost a month later, I am finally posting about the rest of our vacation. Well unfortunately, that's what the busiest month at work will do to you. Work's been crazy as we prepare for our big annual User Conference in Las Vegas later this month. Six nights in Vegas for me- oh joy!

So now back to the mountains. On Wednesday, we decided to start the day by hitting the Forbidden Caverns. We wanted to get there early to avoid crowds and we managed to arrive at about 9:30 am or so, after following Mike through the "scenic route". Not sure what was so Forbidden here, maybe the corny jokes or horribly thick TN accent of our tour guide, but either way, we had fun.

The tour lasted about an hour and we saw some pretty cool stuff. After our tour, we headed back to the cabin to rest up a bit, eat some lunch and then hit the waterpark that afternoon.

But just our luck, we arrived to Dolly's Water Country around 2pm or so and by about 3 or 3:30, it was shut down due to lightning in the area. The kids were so disappointed and now everytime we have to leave the waterpark at home (just becuase we are tired or overheated), William asks "is there lightning mommy?"

I have to say, the waterpark was pretty fabulous- very clean, nice variety of rides, great shade and trees all around. It had a fabulous lazy river and even better, three, yes, count them, three separate kids areas. They had one big kids area like you find at most local Hawiian Falls etc., but then a second area further away geared to toddlers. Plus a third area that was fit for all ages under 10 or so. The kids had a ball for the short time we were there. We promised to come back.

So back to the cabin we went where we enjoyed some great family time just sitting on the porch and watching the storm roll in, literally. The clouds were passing right through us. We really loved just taking it easy and enjoying the little show mother nature put on.

We did have a little excitement that night. We heard a lot of commotion coming from outside and discovered the church group across the street had bottomed out their bus and gotten stuck, in the rain no less. After watching them try for almost an hour to get it loose, they must have called a tow service. An hour later, the huge industrial sized tow truck shows up and after another hour, they are finally loose. It made some funny entertainment watching. We did feel bad for all the folks driving up the hill that were completely blocked by the bus and couldn't go up to their cabin.

Tonight's dinner was tacos cooked in. All in all a good day, capped by the fun thunderstorm with a front row seat!

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-07-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

"Mommy, that bunny rabbit outside woke me up." Me- "Well what did it sound like?" Him- "It sounded like a bird."

"Mommy, I will go to my office where there is a green and black trash can." When asked what he would do/be when he grows up. He visited his dad's office many times where he loved the trash cans. "Dora will go to school while I go to work." .....apparently now he is married to Dora now too.

I caught him singing "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for mama."

After pretending to mop the floor (using an upside down stick horse), he told mama- "Mama, be careful because the floor is wet."

and the most popular phrase lately is "....but Mommy", he interrupts with that the minute I say something he doesn't agree with or like (like time for bed!).

Turkey, Deer, Pancakes and Bears, Oh My!

2011-06-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

Day 4
Tuesday, June 14
Today was our first day to really experience what we came for, the beauty of the Smoky Mountains! We enjoyed a great sit down breakfast at one of the many pancake houses in Pigeon Forge. Seriously, what is with pancakes and this town? There was a pancake place every other building it seemed. We had a great breakfast and headed out in the two vans to the entrance of the national park.

The plan was to enjoy the drive and head into Cades Cove and drive that loop. It features old cemeteries, churches and other buildings.

On the drive in, we stopped at a few places to just enjoy the creek. William had a ball throwing rocks and loved it when Alan threw a HUGE boulder in the water.

We also spotted a little spot where 4-5 gorgeous butterflies were hiding out!
We continued on the drive to Cades Cove, where we spotted wild turkey and a deer. My parents got a pic with all of the grandkids.
Then we finally made it to the little village and explored the mill and old buildings. The mill was operational and we were able to purchase some ground cornmeal from it!

On the way out, my parents and sister and her family spotted a black bear and its cubs, but we couldn't find a place to park since we were driving the larger van, so we missed it. We stopped for ice cream at the campground area on the way out.
We also spotted a few waterfalls on the drive back. I would have loved to have hiked over to it, but with all the kids and the baby, it just wasn't going to happen. Maybe another trip.
We also saw many spots where kids and adults were swimming and jumping off cliffs. We stopped to have a look.

We made the drive back and stopped in Gatlinburg for a bit to shop. Oh the cheesiness was oozing from every crevice. Cheesy souvie shops, Ripley's Believe or Not Museums, candy store after candy store etc. The streets were pretty crowded with foot traffic too, so we didn't shop for long. We did find a little alcove that had some decent real stores. Note mini golf in the background (again, they were every 100 ft or so it seemed!).

That night, we had dinner at the Old Mill in Pigeon Forge. The food was delicious, all home cooking! All in all, a great day, taking in the beauty of nature!

Vacation Day 3- Dollywood or Dollyworld?

2011-06-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

Vacation Day 3

Monday, June 13

It really is Dollywood, but it was fun hearing Jeff keep calling it Dollyworld. I can't blame him, since Disney World is a pretty popular word in our household.

Monday, our first full day of enjoying vacation was spent at the popular Dollywood, which as it turns out, was literally right down the street from our cabin. It took only a few minutes to get there. We arrived right at opening and rode the tram into the park. We all bought the 3 day pass, which allowed us access to either Dollywood or Dolly's Splash Country for 3 days within the next 7 days. It was pricey at $90 per adult, but the best deal since we planned to do the waterpark.

We laughed at some of the strange characters that were out for pictures with kids. I couldn't even tell who or what they were, some strange round furry thing. We headed to the new Barnstormer ride which was pretty fun and swung you almost upside down. My dad tried on the barnstormer hat and he gave the ride a thumbs up!

William enjoyed the kids playground area there and then discovered the "beach". They had two large sand tables set up with sand and toys. He loved it and later asked to go back to the "beach". Alan figured out what he was talking about....the sand. Oh the mind of a toddler.

We spent the rest of the day exploring Dollywood, which exceeded my expectations. It was very clean (much better than Six Flags in that aspect) and I loved the woodsy feel with all the shade and trees and creeks running through it.I have high expectations when it comes to theme parks after my time as a cast member at the theme park all others attemp to mimic, Walt Disney World. But Dollywood wasn't half bad. At least there wasn't 2000 pieces of gum stuck to a tree, trash everywhere or rude employees a la Six Flags.

Of course, as is our luck, it turned out to be a really hot day. We split off from the rest of the family to take William to do some kid-friendly stuff. We rode the Dollywood steam train which was fun and then we hit the ferris wheel and a kiddie coaster that William demanded we ride twice. The kid is scared of blow dryers and bugs, but he'll take on any roller coaster or thrill ride. He's already done Test Track, Soarin and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disney before he turned 3!

He had a good time and we enjoyed some of the famous Dollywood food. By about 4pm, most of us had had it. We met back up with my parents and Mandy/Jeff for a bit and decided to call it a day. It was hot and crowded and we knew we could come back later in the week. So we headed back to the cabin.

We got back to the cabin and got William down for a nap and same for Brynley. As you know, a cabin doesn't really have any insulation, so we could hear every single footstep, someone grabbing a drink from a cooler upstairs etc. Wasn't great for getting the kids to nap, but what can you do?

We had bought a ton of food at the store of course. If you've ever eaten with the Easler clan, you know we always have way too much food. We decided to grill out tonight- chicken, hot dogs and burgers. Jeff is our king griller. But we all joked that it was taking him like 3 hours to grill. Turns out we didn't have enough charcoal, but we got it all grilled eventually and it was delicious. We ate sort of late, around 8pm or so. We enjoyed a nice relaxing afternoon and a great home-cooked dinner. Everyone enjoyed an adult beverage and hanging out on the deck again. Loved the rocking chairs out there. Time for night-night and resting up for another big day tomorrow!

Tonight we decided to cook and eat in. Jeff took over the grill and grilled up some hot dogs, chicken breasts and burgers. We all joke that it took him like 3 hours to grill it all. But the food was divine and worth the wait.

Log Cabin Living

2011-06-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

Vacation- Day 2

Sunday, June 12

We finally locate the right cabin and the code works. Thankfully no one was home in the other cabni we had been trying to get into. We would have felt really stupid. Our cabin is a nice spacious cabin with two stories. Master bedroom, bath (with jacuzzi tub), living area, dining and kitchen plus a huge balcony. Downstairs are three bedrooms, 2 baths, a den and pool table, plus a lower balcony. The one thing missing? Insulation. Oh yeah, log cabins don't have that. Poor Mandy took the room under the stairs, not realizing she would hear every single footstep on the stairs as the baby tried to sleep. We could hear anyone getting a drink out of the ice chest in the dining room or opening the balcony door upstairs above our room. It sort of became a joke after a while.

We were starving after getting settled in and headed to the main strip in Pigeon Forge for a late lunch. We found a McAlister's which sounded good since we wanted something light. It was after 2pm already. Next was time for groceries. It became a game on our last big family trip to the beach two years ago to see how many times we could stop at the local IGA. Fortunately we only made two grocery stops or so this time. The grocery store had beer, but did not sell wine. So strange. Only Gatlinburg sold wine and liquor. I just thought it was odd to sell beer, but not wine?

Half of us loaded into the smaller mini van for the trip to Kroger. The others took all the kiddos back to the cabin for a while to burn off some energy. We ended up buying groceries to make dinner twice and enough for lunches and quick breakfasts. And beer, don't forget the beer. Lots of beer. Oh, and ice. To keep the beer cold.

We also checked out some of the views further up the cabin area- some really amazing ones!

That night, we had to find a sports bar for dinner. Why, might you ask? Our precious Mavericks were in game 6 that Sunday for the NBA championship! We asked around at the store, management office etc. for a good suggestion. Someone mentioned a new Buffalo Wild Wings that had just opened down the road. We tried finding it online and no luck, no phone number, nothing. Finally we just risked it and drove over that direction and ended up finding it. We got seat, had a nice dinner and watched the game until half time. But watching a full game at a sports bar isn't conducive to kiddos or a baby much less. So most of us left at halftime. My brother in law, Mike and my parents stayed to watch until the end. My mom is a HUGE Mavs fan as is Mike. The rest of us watched it back at the cabin where we could lay the baby on the floor without risk of her being trampled by a drunk guy.

As you know, we got our happy ending and the Mavs won! After a long day of travelling and basketball, it was time to call it a night.

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-06-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Vacation Williamisms

We heard several new funny "Williamisms" this past week on our vacation. He kept asking "Mommy, why?" about every thing (you know that fun stage). So we finally came up with "because I said so" or "because I'm on vacation" or "because it is fun" and he started just answering himself with one of those.

"Mommy, let's go back to the cabinet (cabin)."

"Mommy, I want to go back to the beach." Me- huh?...........turns out he was referring to a little sand box area at Dollywood to play in the sand. Sand = beach, I mean, duh! Doesn't matter that we are in the mountains and not near a beach.

"Mommy, Ally is hiding." ....as he woke up on our last day, realizing Ally, who had fallen asleep in the same bed as him, was now gone (she left early that morning to head home with her family). He thought she was hiding and didn't realize she had left.

William also had a thing suddenly about bugs, especially in bathrooms. If he saw a fly in the bathroom, he freaked. If the bathroom was dirty, he wouldn't go in it either. At one stop, after viewing a pretty dirty stall in the bathroom, he says "Mama, you can go in that one (the dirty one)." Poor Mama (my mom)! Next thing I would hear, "Mommy, there's a bug, there's a bug!". As he quickly runs out of the stall with his pants still around his ankles.

Best of all, on the way home and this week, William has already been asking to go back. "Mommy, can we leave on vacation again?". So sweet. Little does he know we are heading to San Diego for a quick weekend getaway in late August and then Disney World in October!

Vacation- The Journey. Two Vans, Two Blowouts and a Mountain

2011-06-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to spend the last week among family, enjoying the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains in TN. Our trip started with an early wake up call on Saturday, to meet my parents, my sister Wendy, her hubby and two kids, plus my baby sister, her hubby and 6 month old baby. So it was 8 adults, 3 kids and one baby.

So what's with the title? Well, we decided to take two vans. My sister, her hubby and two kids took my parents mini van, while the rest of us rented a 12 passenger van for the trip. For those of you with a baby, you know how much "crap" you have to take with you, so we needed the extra room. Mike was ready to go with his Captain's hat on!

Blowouts? Well not a tire, thankfully, but the other kind isn't much better. Poor Brynley baby had a big diaper blowout a few hours into the trip. She was suddenly fussy and Mandy realized she had one of those, you know, the kind of messy diaper where you just give up and throw the whole onsie/outfit away rather than deal with even trying to wash it later. Poor kiddo. We also discovered hardly any of the bathrooms on the way, especially in AR had diaper changing tables. So what did we do? We "white-trashed" it (yep, I just made up that word). She changed Brynley on the playgorund outside. Hey, it's better than doing it inside on a table, right? And this was a blowout of massive proportions that could not be accomplished on the seat of the van.

We stopped at a great little barbeque place for a nice sit down lunch and stopped just outside Nashville for the night. After checking in, we headed across the street to Cracker Barrell, a favorite of road trippers nationwide.

After a good meal, we settled down for the night, except, not really. William would ask me what every single noise we heard was. "Mommy, what's that noise out the window?". Me- "That's cars driving down the street outside." Him- "Oh.". Then we hear some annoying kids trying to stick their card key into our door about 10x before they moved on. Next up, a screaming baby (and no, not Brynley). Finally I got William to drift to sleep after he had asked me about every single sound within 100 feet of us.

We were up early again, ready to head out on the road again I think by 7ish after partaking in the free breakfast (if you call it that). We only had about 3-4 hours to go to get to our cabin outside of Pigeon Forge, in Sevierville. After missing a turn, then missing a second turn after that, we finally get straightened up and find out way to the cabin, off a little road behind Dollywood theme park. We get checked in and head up to our cabin.

There are probably 20-30 cabins up there, all different sizes. We find the one we think is ours. Ours is called "Smoky Mountain Retreat". We head to try the keycode for the door. Not working. We realize we are at the "Mountain Retreat". Oops. Right next door is "Smoky Mountain Retreat". Really, you give two cabins right next to each other almost identical names? We actually did find a second "Smoky Mountain Retreat" further up the hill too. Crazy. And this wasn't an isolated incident. Don't get me started on "The Pancake House" that had locations within a mile of each other. Same exact restaurant, within a mile. Seriously- how am I supposed to know which one to check in on on foursquare?

The Trash Man Cometh!

2011-06-02T07:03:00.000-07:00

So you might not be aware, but my son has a little obsession with something strange. Not hot wheels or legos. He loves trash and trash cans. Mainly trash cans. He just can't get enough of them. We have a full collection of different sized ones, varied colors etc. He loves playing with them upstairs in his playroom. I don't give him trash bags, for fear of him putting them over his head or something, but he found a way to make his own. He took the netted bag out of his clothes hamped and pretended it was a trash bag and put it inside his trash can. He likes to throw his fake food in the trash cans and then pretend to take the trash out.

He actually does like helping with the real trash too. He helps us bag and carry the trash outside, plus you better not even consider putting a new bag in. That's William's job. I simply get a bag out, lay it on the empty can and he puts the new bag in. He'll throw a fit if you don't let him help out. And believe me, he can hear it. If you are fluffing open a new bag, he'll be there in 2 seconds, telling you that is his job! While I love the help with the chores, he has taken it to a completely different level.
When we go to the grocery store or Target, he has to stop on the trash can aisle to check out all the new trash cans. If we are driving through an alley, he is pointing all of them out. If there is a trash can on TV, he points it out. And what does he remember from Granny's house? That she keeps a small trash can under the sink and then big ones out in the garage.

What did we do at Disney World? We found (and touched) every single trash can we came across. And just for you non-disney folk, Disney does a great job with maintenance of their parks, so most trash cans are extremely clean and well kept by the custodial crew. Plus, there is a trash can almost every 30 feet. Walt wanted to make sure folks had access to throw their trash away and hence keep the park cleaner. Well William was in heaven with the abundance of trash cans. Some were themed, some were normal and of course, there was even PUSH, the talking animatronic trash can. We lucked out and found him the first day and he sang Happy Birthday to William. I don't think I have seen the kid happier- having a conversation with a trash can that talked back.
So everywhere we go, the trash can obsession continues. At the mall, if the trash is full, he points it out, runs over and promptly tells me "someone needs to take this trash out, it's full."

My poor dad is even under fire now. Everytime we visit their house, William immediately heads to the kitchen where they have a really nice high end stainless steel trash can with the slow shutting lid. If that trash can is even near full, William demands that his Papa take it out. So now my dad always takes the trash out prior to Will coming over, knowing he will get in trouble!

William loves Papa's expensive trash can, but given it is over $100, we won't be getting one anytime soon. We promised if he is good, maybe Santa Claus will bring the family one this year. And yes, William asked Santa for a hefty brand black trash can last year and got it. He strolls down the stairs Christmas morning and what is the first toy he goes to? Not the cool new McDonald's kitchen/drive through. Not the new games or trains. The trash can.

At Target, we have to stop on the way out each time, since they have 4 different trash cans- there is a green for bottles, one for electronics (red), one for regular trash and one for plastic bags. He loves it.

As many of you know, we even decided to play on his love for trash cans and I made him a trash can costume for Halloween this past year. He loved it and we got lots of comments on what a unique costume it was. He had a lot of fun in it, although it wasn't very practical for wearing long.

So when will this obsession end? Who can say. Since our trip to Disney, it has diminished a bit and he isn't as crazy about pointing out every single one, but we still have to go down the trash aisle at the store. I figure it is harmless and hey, if it means I get someone to help take out the trash, then I am a happy gal.

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-06-01T06:24:00.000-07:00

"Mommy those birds wake me up being loud. And that's not good."

After his Granny brought over his cousins for a visit..."Mommy, Granny's kids played with my toys." Um, no honey, those aren't Granny's kids, I am sure she doesn't want anymore at this point in her life.

"Mommy, I want Brynley to reach out and touch me."

Arrggghhh Mateys!

2011-05-26T06:49:00.000-07:00

Argghh mateys! So mom held a fun "Pirate Party" this weekend to celebrate the new Pirates of the Carribean movie. Of course we didn't end up watching much of the movie, only bits and pieces because we were too busy eating, doing a treasure hunt and watching the Mavs game! LOL

We had a pirate themed menu, including cannon balls (meatballs), pirate ship pizzas and even some cupcakes, which Will woofed down and asked for a second!
Here's our swashbuckling crew enjoying their dinner! We had a great treasure hunt, one for the adults and the kiddos. We split into two teams for the adults and had to search for clues all over the house that mom hid. What you might not know is how competitive we can get. There was some slight pushing and shoving, but in the end, I was on the losing team, but we got a great consolation prize!
William also made fun baby Brynley got in on the action with her own pirate hook and ready her a book.

The kids had a hunt too and had to work together as a team to find the clues. They did a great job and were rewarded with some treasure, including some old coins from my Grandpa's old coin collection he left my dad when he passed away. Those coins will definitely be put away and treasured!

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-05-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

"I don't want to take a nap while I hear the iren (siren)." during the tornado warning

"Pooh bear needs some stickers for being my helper." (playing school with his stuffed animals)

"Mommy, you come wipe my butt." (well, you get the picture here.......)

"Mommy, I took Darth Vader's eyes out so he can't watch tv."

A Gift Not Taken for Granted

2011-05-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

Mother's day is a special holiday to me. I love it. But it wasn't always that way. Mother's day used to be a horrible holiday for me. I would spend it in tears, wondering, wishing and praying for the day I could be a mother. But for sometime, it wasn't meant to be.

Mother's day is a time I remember that not everyone gets to be a mom. I count my blessings everyday that we were able to have our precious William even after almost 2 years of trying and a year of fertility treatments.
These are the lovely drugs that I so hated then, but appreciate now. Months and months of clomid, an oral pill that is known to provide a lovely horrible 'clomid headache' side effect. Then I moved on to have minor surgery to remove endometriosis. Then more tests, needle sticks, countless hours missed at work., painful side effects, both physicial and emotional. The well-meaning words of friends and family...
"Just relax, it will happen for you."
"Take a vacation, then you will get pregnant."
"My friend adopted then immediately got pregnant, you should try that too."
"I just know you will be a mom one day."

As kind as they thought they were being, these words only stung more and just annoyed me. I mean, how could they promise me I would be a mom- they couldn't possibly know my fate. And a vacation? Please. All I would think about it wanting to get pregnant. Not stress? Are you kidding- when all you want is a baby, it is impossible to NOT think about it. Now I can laugh at some of these well-meaning words. And I advise you, if you know someone struggling with infertility, don't say these things. The best thing you can do is listen, hug them and tell them you are hoping, praying and wishing for it to work out. Keep it simple.

Then came the IUI's- intrauterine insemination, or better known as artificial insemination. Four cycles (four months) of that, two with oral drugs, two with shots. Then came the next step, the LAST resort for us to have a biological child of our own...in-vitro fertilization. Almost a two month process, it involves minor surgeries, tons of drugs, shots and of course. the money. The finanical, physical and emotional stress simply can't be put into words for anyone that hasn't personally gone through it.

But it worked. All the pain, misery, worry, stress and bruising were worth it. Our first cycle of IVF worked. We were one of the lucky ones, it worked the first time. There are those that go through this painful process two, three, seven times always getting the dreaded negative pregnancy test. My heart aches for them, because I wasn't sure I would ever see that positive. I count my blessings everyday that I did and I pray for those that haven't.

For those of you that haven't given infertility a second thought, do. Take a second to think of friends, family or strangers that have a hole in their heart because they can't have children of their own. And take a second to be thankful for yours. Even during those awful temper tantraums in the middle of the grocery store, when you are ready to pull your hair out, be thankful. Someone else out there would give the world to be in your shoes.

Finally, I had a belly to show off and enjoy, even with all the morning sickness, it was so worth it!The day I had waited for, dreamed of, for so long. Little William Reed Peters, 8.6, 21 inches. My gift, NOT taken for granted.

And one of those moments I cherish- just he and I, cuddled together, thankful to have each other.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the moms, moms-t0-be, want-to-be-moms, and those that are like mothers to us!

Red Slide, Green Slide, Blue Slide!

2011-05-08T12:37:00.001-07:00

William loves slides, especially the big ones at bounce house type places. He will just climb up over and over again. Last weekend we went to a birthday party and William got to go wild! His favorite, Oscar the Grouch! You know anything with trash cans is a hit with William!

Quality time with Daddy in the bounce house!

My Knight in Shining Armor

2011-05-04T19:43:00.000-07:00

We headed out to Scarborough Faire this past Saturday. Will had a great time last year at this local Renaissance Festival. Alan said we should dress William up and we just happened to have a little tunic and cloth knight's helmet from our friend (passed down to us). We paired it with some boot covers and belt/knife from his Peter Pan costume and a large fake sword he has and suddenly, he was a knight!

It was pretty hot out that day, so we had to stop for some Italian ice. Poor guy was so hot, but refused to take off his hat. He loved that thing, sweat and all.

William a daredevil, so we had to ride all the rides, which of course were all "human-powered" and made of wood, but still pretty thrilling considering. We rode a spinning ride that he loved.

Then off to the Pirate ship. Yo Ho! I would hate to be the guy pushing that thing all day long!

Somehow William ended up in the stockade! Bad William.

Posing with another knight by the life-size chess match.

On the way out, someone stopped to fight with him. William was pretty good with his sword.

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-05-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

"Mommy, I have to brush my teeth or else they will fall over."

"My ice cream broke the tv!"

"Mommy, I dabbed it, but didn't blow it up!"

"Look at that water mountain." (fountain)

After he woke up at 3am to go potty, half asleep, "Mommy, why did Michael call?". Michael is his cousin. Not sure why he thought Michael (4yo) was calling at 3am. LOL

On the Hunt

2011-05-02T19:29:00.000-07:00

William was on the hunt for Easter Eggs! But first, we had to color some. He wasn't as interested in coloring as hunting and eating! Saturday, our neighborhood held an egg hunt. I helped hide the eggs up and down our entire street. The older kids on one side, the younger on the other. Of course, we had to fuel up with some donuts first. William ate 1.5 donuts! Talk about a piggy!

Then it was time to hunt. Some of these kids held nothing back, they were off to the races, running and grabbing. William took his time. I helped him and he ended up with about 25 eggs. At least that was better than the neighbor kid that preferred to find them, look at them and leave them. He didn't want them and if you tried to put one in his basket, he freaked out, lol.

Then it was time for the Easter bunny to visit. William was so good this year, he got two baskets! One was mainly Dora themed, since he loves Dora. I know, it's not Disney, but I'll make an exception. The other basket was mainly Disney and included a new movie featuring old school Disney cartoons, which William loves. He got lots of great stuff he can use to entertain himself on the long drive we have coming up to the Smokey Mountains.

He enjoyed eating one of his treats, a cookie for breakfast!

Then it was time to head to Mama and Papa's house for an egg hunt and lunch with the entire family. William had fun hunting eggs with his cousins, although he seemed more interested in following his cousin Michael around than anything else.

Then my mom broke out the confetti eggs. This was a tradition for us growing up. We got together with some other families and made the eggs ourselves and then had a big picnic at the park and went crazy having an egg fight! William wasn't quite sure what to do. He was perfectly content just crumbling the eggs in his lap while the rest of us were cracking them on each other's heads.

Good Friday GattiTown!

2011-05-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

So last Friday we decided to meet the entire family up at GattiTown in Frisco. It was a first visit for all of us and we had a ball.......bowling balls that is!

My parents, sisters and their kiddos all met us for a quick pizza dinner. We enjoyed the movie room playing of course, a Disney movie, Tangled!

My niece Ally and I enjoying Tangled and goofing off!

Then it was time to play some games. Will really loved bowling, although he tends to throw the ball instead of rolling, so we had to make sure everyone was staying clear! We tried out all the games and won the kids some prizes which they loved. Will's favorite part was the pirate ship ride. This kid loves anything that goes fast or high, so he wanted to ride it again and again. A great time was had by all and William now asks almost daily to go back to GattiTown!

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-04-21T18:47:00.001-07:00

William- "Don't give me that look!"

William- "Mommy, don't tell those dogs to leave, they are my friends."

William- "Mommy that tomato is coming and is going to knock our house down."

Me- "It's tornado honey, not tomato."

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-04-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

William- "Mommy, there's someone swimming in my applesauce."
Me- "Well who is it."
William- "Granny"
Me- "So granny is floating in your applesauce?"
William- "Yes."

Who knew?

We had to deliver a dozen candy filled Easter eggs to his school for their big hunt next week. We delivered them yesterday morning. When i went to pick him up at school, he asked "Mommy, where are my eggs?" And then proceeded to cry, not understanding we had to leave them to contribute for the hunt. Poor guy!

At the park this sunday afternoon- William was having a ball, running around, going up and down the slides and the entire time he kept yelling over and over again "Mommy, this is so fun! I am having a great time!". So darn cute!

An Icy Good Time!

2011-04-07T07:28:00.001-07:00

We were fortunate enough, thanks to my mom's generosity to see Toy Story 3 on Ice on the FRONT ROW! It was incredible to experience so close to the action! Here we are getting ready for the show. William has on his Buzz Lightyear 'hat' that came with his cotton candy (don't ask how much the cotton candy was, ridiculous!). My mom came, Wendy and her two kids (Ally/Michael), plus Ally's best friend Haley. Mandy brought along baby Brynley for her first ice show experience. I think she enjoyed it too!

William was thrilled to get to watch it with his cousin Michael! They both had spinning light up toys that he spun the entire show.

We were so close that Ham came right up to us!
Our favorite part was Barbie and Ken- it was hilarious and she was a pretty fabulous skater too.

All in all, a great time was had by everyone! Thanks Mother for a wonderful day!

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-04-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Stall tactics for bedtime: "Mommy I need to go potty." 5 minutes later. "Mommy, my shirt is wet." (from washing his hands/playing in the water) 2 minutes later. "Mommy, I bit my tongue." "Kiss it." and so it continues. "Mommy, why aren't the trees moving. The wind isn't blowing. Maybe the batteries ran out of the wind?" And his favorite words this week "Mommy, cuz why?"

Zoo to You!

2011-03-31T08:28:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we hit up the Fort Worth Zoo with Alissa and Jennifer and some other friends! We had a great time, nice weather and the crowds weren't too bad.
William really got up close and personal with the white bengal tiger. He was so active and beautiful (the tiger, not William......well okay, William too!).

His 'cheese' face while sitting on the alligator. William loved seeing the elephants most of all. Of course he was also intrigued by the outdoor fans in that area......as if we don't have ceiling fans at home.

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-03-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

Every night, i say "I love you. I love you more. I love you most. I love you more than the whole wide world." William has started answering back, "I love you more than Disney World." Then he continues on "I love Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Pooh Bear". I guess you could say the Disney brainwashing has been a success! LOL When I asked him if he wants a brother or sister, he always says sister. I asked him what her name would be, he said, "Alice." "Alice in Wonderland."

"No Thank You!" is his big saying this week. Also "Thanks." At least the kid has good manners, right?

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-03-23T08:00:00.001-07:00

"Mommy, what's wrong with my pee pee." oh no, here we go.

After trying on his Peter Pan costume to possibly wear at Halloween (just because he wanted to play dress up)...."Mommy, Brynley is going to be Captain Hook for Halloween.". Me- "Why?". William, "Because she's bad."

"Good night mommy, i love you more. I love mickey mouse, donald and pluto too."

"Daddy, my head still hurts, you need to take me to doctor."----after falling out of his chair at dinner the night before because he was more focused on the tv than eating.

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-03-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

"Mommy, Captain Hook is happy today."

"No school tomorrow?" Me "That's right, no school tomorrow." William "YEAH!"

"Mommy, that trash can is bleeding." ?????

Fireside Chats

2011-03-14T08:40:00.000-07:00

We had a busy weekend, including a fun night at my parent's house for a cookout. The weather was gorgeous, so we took advantage. The kids flew a kite, and played croquet. Okay, they attempted to play croquet. It was more like the two boys walked around banging the mallets on the fence, floor, whatever they could find. Thankfully the mallets were light plastic and nothing they could do any major destruction with. Boys!
I got to hold Baby Brynley and put her to sleep!
We enjoyed some steaks and chicken on the grill with all the trimmings. Then it was time for s'mores by the fire. Why is it the adults ended up having more fun with this than the kids. Jeff even had special s'mores recipes involving bananas and peanut butter!
The house across the alley was having a party. Apparently they came over earlier in the evenign to let my folks know, in case it got loud. Well since my parents yard looks right over into theirs, we could hear some music- they had speakers on the patio. But it ended up that we were actually louder than them. At one point, it sounded like they were having karaoke and Mandy yelled at them to turn it up! lol

We had a great time. Last night, while reading Will his nighttime story, we got to a page where Tigger and Pooh are camping out and build a fire. Tigger roasts marshmallows by the fire. Will immediately said "hey, we did that last night and i want to do it again!".

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-03-11T06:27:00.000-08:00

Will's rendition of Baa Baa Black sheep suddenly includes a bad word........
"baa baa black sheep, have you any wool, yes sir, yes sir, three bags full, one for the master, one for the damn it, one for the little boy........"

As we pass by a local church that has a beautiful steeple- "Mommy, it's the castle".......yep, as in Cinderella's castle at Disney world!

So the kid that never wanted to watch tv or movies, suddenly has an appetite for it now. This just started in January. Previously, he wouldn't sit still more than 10 minutes for a show. Now we have a hard time peeling him away. So this morning after breakfast, he plops in a chair in front of the tv and says "I want to watch TV all DAY!".........he was quickly saddened to learn it was in fact, a school day and a Monday, no less.

William told Alan on the way to school- "Daddy, I want to go to Nene's house (my sister) and take Cinderella to watch it with baby Brynley and then read her a book"............what a sweet boy!

Wednesday Williamims

2011-03-07T12:11:00.000-08:00

When getting William up one morning, he said "Mommy, you need to tell Daddy to cut down that stupid tree. It is rubbing my window and being loud and making me wake up."

"I not tired, you tired."

Apparently, William and his cousin Michael (a year older) decided to compare pee-pees while he was over there for a sleepover and going potty. silly boys.

"More cookies!"

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-03-02T12:26:00.000-08:00

For some reason, William has started singing "Taco Bell, Taco Bell, Taco all the way" to the tune of Jingle Bells. We don't even eat Taco Bell that often, maybe once a month?

On Monday night, he woke up at 2am, came downstairs and said he was 'cold'. It was 75 upstairs on thermostat, but i gave him a blanket anyways. 5 minutes later, I hear 'mommy' again. This time it was the potty. He went. This morning, Alan asks him if he woke up to go potty in the middle of the night and he replied "Daddy, I think I drank too much water last night".

While William was sick on Wednesday still, his daddy had a client in town and I stayed home with him all day. That night, we were home alone since Alan had dinner plans with said client. Suddenly, bout 7:15pm, the power goes out. William is upstairs playing and freaks, yelling 'mommy!'. It is pitch black upstairs, I find my phone as a light and grab him. We spent the next hour playing on the computer and phone by candlelight. William said "Daddy will go get us some new lights and a new fan from Home Depot". He watched Alan install our ceiling fans and some lights and so he figured we could just get new ones if they weren't going to work!

Sick and Tired, but not of Pooh

2011-03-01T12:23:00.001-08:00

Poor William was fighting a virus last week and started running a fever late Sunday evening. He was upstairs watching a movie quietly and resting in his playroom. We have a futon up there. It suddenly got very quiet, so I yelled up there (it is a loft overlooking our living room) and no response. So up the stairs I go and find this. Poor baby passed out on Pooh bear's butt.

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-02-21T11:40:00.001-08:00

So this week, Will's silly sayings included:

After running to the potty at El Fenix, i forgot to hold the stall door open and it almost shut on him, i grabbed it quickly and said sorry, he says "No problem, mommy".

He likes Alan to do 'this little piggie' before putting on his socks and shoes in the am. Except he likes to say "This little piggie went to Wal-mart" instead of the market.

While watching tv, there was something said on there about 'their favorite girl' and William said "Audrey" (his little girlfriend at day care)

Oh Coconuts (from his new favorite cartoon)

"Mommy, i farted in the potty."

Wednesday Williamisms

2011-02-16T12:26:00.000-08:00

Every Wednesday, I'll try and feature the funny things Will has said each week.

Coming downstairs at 7am in the morning on Saturday and standing by my bed......."Mommy, I'm naked!"........I had taken off his flannel pajama shirt after he fell asleep since he was sweating up a storm in it. He was half asleep when I did it. I guess he woke up shirtless and was confused!

After hearing his day care teacher call out a little girl's name as Michelle in his class (must have just moved into the class), I told William that is my name too. He said "No Mommy, your name is not Michelle, your name is Mommy!". How true.

We also recently had a hard time figuring out a song William was singing. It sounded like spanish, but I couldn't make out the words until recently. It was to the tune of "Oh My Darling, Oh My Darling". We finally figured it out- I knew he was saying Sabado in the end (although his language skills are not the best/clearest yet). Turns out, it was a Seven Days of the Week song and he knows it in spanish and english! "Siete Dia".......Sad when your toddler knows more spanish than you!

Toffee Anyone?

2011-02-16T12:20:00.000-08:00

After a horrible week of ice and snow, the first week of February, we finally ventured out to the mall for fear of cabin fever.

Will had a great time, getting a cookie as a sweet treat, lunch at the food court and a toy at the Disney Store. Out of all the toys there, he narrows it down to two toys, a lightning mcqueen race car or a princess tea set. So what does he choose? The princess tea set. Yep, my little guy loves playing with fake dishes! It came in a pretty giant pink tea pot and has a setting of four cups, plates and everything else for tea.

We also visited Build a Bear for the first time and let him make a stuffed animal friend. He picked a stuffed dog. He had a lot of fun bringing him to life.
And then giving him a 'bath'. Then we picked out clothes. The dog got some joe boxer underwear, pants and a button up shirt. I asked William what he wanted to name him and he has a hard time coming up with original names, usually he says a kid's name from his class or a family member, like Brynley. So we worked through some names and came up with Toffee. Now Toffee sleeps with William every single night!

Despite the chilly outside, we had a great little outing at the mall.

High Expectations?

2011-02-14T11:51:00.000-08:00

We're in trouble now! Will is going to have such skewed expectations when it comes to life. We took him to his first Dallas STARS hockey game on Sunday, courtesy of some nice friends who had a suite and are long time season ticket holders. I guess they get a suite a few times a year and invited us along. Of course we typically would not be in a suite, but the cheap seats. We've been extremely lucky to have opportunities through family, friends or work for the good seats from time to time at sporting events.

Our friends have three young kids, including a 3yo daughter that is just Will's age, so it was perfect.

So as we sat in the comfy suite, chowing down on yummy food (Will ate a huge hot dog and a lot more!), I started to think how I hope he doesn't expect this as the norm! I guess he is also spoiled when it comes to vacations/Disney too. He has already been to the beach once and to Disney World twice and he is only three. So as I sat there munching my popcorn and watching the game, I counted my blessings and thought how lucky we are. As an only child, (for the time being), he gets spoiled a lot, but we are definitely trying to instill that nothing in life is free and appreciate what you have! But until he is old enough to really understand that lesson, I'll guess he'll just enjoy the view!By the way, Will and Savannah had a great time at the game, he read to her, they shared race cars and gave each other hugs. So darn cute!

Cake and Cheese

2011-02-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

William loves snacking on weight watcher lemon cakes and cheese sticks.....i keep them in the fridge where he can reach them. He loves to come in and ask for 'cake and cheese'. Great combo, right?

Only in Texas...........

2011-02-05T10:00:00.000-08:00

Only in Texas can we go from a beautiful weekend of mid 70 temperatures to record breaking freezing and snow. Last weekend (Jan 29th), we enjoyed some fun both outside and in.......the weather was gorgeous and we spent some time outside, going for walks in his wagon and working in the yard. William helped me rake leaves and sweep the sidewalk- we both worked so hard, we got blisters!

We also visited the playground, one of his favorite things to do- so warm, no jacket needed!We also spent some mommy and me time at the movies. This was only his second time at the movies and he did okay. We saw Tangled and he loved having popcorn and a drink. He kept trying to repeat outloud everything said in the movie though. And as mentioned..........only in Texas........we got from a lovely warm weekend to crazy amounts of sleet and snow. February greeted us on Tuesday with a shower of freezing rain starting in the very early morning hours. I had an important meeting to attend, so I had to brave the cold and bad roads, luckily Alan drove me. I was able to leave a bit early and all schools had closed for the day. Wednesday was no better and again schools were cancelled. I worked from home part of the day. Thursday, more of the same, however I managed to make it into work with the truck and my sister watched William for me, since schools were canceled for a third day in a row- which is unheard of here! And finally today, Friday......again, schools canceled............unbelievable! The roads are 2 inches of ice now covered by about 6 inches of snow that just fell this morning. It is beautiful, but treacherous and just in time for the Superbowl.

So yep, don't like the weather in Texas? Just wait a minute, it will change!

I'm a BIG Boy Mommy

2011-02-04T19:43:00.000-08:00

Well it is that time.............our baby is growing up and moving on to a big boy bed. We've been pretty fortunate that William has always been a good sleeper (well after the first two months).

He started sleeping in his crib upstairs (almost through the night) at 2 months old and has been a good sleeper ever since. Since he is so tall, he was quickly outgrowing his day bed (basically his crib with the front taken off to make a day bed). He was just getting too long for it. So mama and papa kindly bought him a new big boy bedroom set.
We spotted a nice full size bedroom set at Ashley and got it. We found some cute navy/orange/gray bedding at Target- something that can grow with him. We got a full size bed so that it can grow with him too and last him until he is off to college. He loves his next bedroom set. We also moved him into another bedroom. We have two bedrooms upstairs, plus a loft/playroom and a full bath. Will's nursery was at the top of the stairs. Alan used the other, larger bedroom as our 'office'.

But we decided to move William into the bigger bedroom now that he is a big boy (and well has so many toys!). So now he has a bit more room and his bedroom is right above our master bedroom, so we can hear every movement. His first night in his big boy bed was great- he hasn't fallen out of the bed yet. Of course that first night, my baby video monitor decided to break and finally die after 3 years. So I wasn't able to set up the camera and keep an eye on him, which meant I made at least 3 trips upstairs to check on him and make sure he was asleep and had not fallen out of the bed!

Now I can often hear him reading his books by the light of his nightlights (or a flashlight) before he drifts off. He really likes being a 'big boy' although that hasn't stopped him from inviting me to sleep with him more than once. But he always has slept on his own (we didn't want to start that habit!) and is doing so great as a BIG BOY!!!

Naughty or Nice?

2011-02-04T19:29:00.001-08:00

Well we are a bit behind...........okay, a LOT behind, but I am finally posting Christmas Day! William had a wonderful Christmas and it was the first one that he really 'got it'. Alan and I loved it since threats of Santa actually worked this year!

So Santa did visit! NICE it is. I heard William slowly coming down the stairs on his own about 7:30am Christmas morning. He had asked for a few random things- puzzles, books, kitchen stuff, trash can........yep, trash can. He loves trash cans and really wanted a black trash can he saw at Wal-Mart.

The first thing he saw and checked out was the black trash can. Who knew a trash can could be so fun? Just ask William, he thinks they are a ball.

William's other big gift was a McDonald's play set. One of our family traditions is to go to McDonald's for breakfast every other weekend (sometimes every weekend) to let him play on the playground and enjoy a quick breakfast together. So he loves McDonald's and really was digging this play set. Plus, it had a little trash bin!

He also got a ton of games, puzzles, leapfrog reading system, rock em sock em robots, fake food and more.

All in all, William had a fabulous Christmas and spent the whole morning just enjoying all his fun new toys. Alan even put together his brand new train table my parents got him (which took forever!!!!). Talk about spoiled!

So in 2010, William made the NICE list. Let's see what 2011 holds. He is already eyeing a stainless steel/aluminum trash can, but it might be a little out of Santa's price range for a trash can- we will just have to see how good he is!

Welcome Baby Brynley!

2011-01-19T13:26:00.001-08:00

So please to welcome the newest member of our clan, my niece, baby Brynley Paige Reeves, born on December 17th! She is simply precious and such a little blessing. Mandy ended up having to have a c-section after laboring all day- what a trooper she was! We finally got to go in and see the baby near midnight.

Ugly Sweater Christmas Party

2011-01-19T13:20:00.001-08:00

So this year, our friends Lyn and Rob hosted an "Ugly Sweater" Christmas Party! Alan provided the prizes for best ugly sweater and a runner up for least effort as well. Carrie (pictured on the far right below) won top prize with her 'goose' sweater!

Matt custom made a Hanukkah sweat and was a close second!

Family, Friends and the Holidays!

2011-01-19T12:51:00.000-08:00

Okay, I am way behind on my blogging, I know, bad Michelle. Forgive me. That's what I get for doing a week at Disney in December, welcoming a niece to the world and all the other craziness that goes along with Christmas.

So yes, we had a fabulous Christmas! We spent our usual Christmas Eve at my mom's house, as is our tradition. We always get together, eat, drink and are merry. We always have mexican food, consisting of chips, dips, tacos, enchiladas and all the fixins!

Then everyone's favorite, present time! Alissa and Chris kindly got Alan a snuggie! The gift that keeps you warm all year long!

Will got a talking trash can that he loves. He also got his train table from mama and papa! He got a cash register too and fake money. He really loved all his great gifts!

We also enjoyed our tree this year- all decorated in almost exclusively disney! William was very good about not touching or messing with it- okay, most of the time anyhow! He loved to turn on the lights every night.

All in all, another wonderful and memorable Christmas eve with family and friends. We enjoyed it at my parent's new house too, tons of room to play and enjoy!

Let It Snow!

2011-01-12T14:06:00.001-08:00

We didn't see any snow in December, but it arrived in January! On Sunday, we got probably 2 inches of snow at our house. NE of us they got up to 6.5 inches! It was beautiful watching the heavy flakes fall all day long from inside the warmth of the house.

Even the dogs cozied up next to the heater to stay warm!
William didn't last long outside, he wasn't sure what to make of it and there wasn't quite enough to make a snow man.

These Boots Are Made for Walking

2011-01-05T10:32:00.001-08:00

Wordless Wednesday! Just had to try on mommy's boots!

I want to go back to Disney World tomorrow!

2010-12-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

So says our little William. Apparently he had a great time! We just are stepping back into the real world of work, holidays and family after spending 7 wonderful nights in sunny (but cold) Florida with Mickey. We enjoyed spending time with Alan's mom and our niece, Lindsey too.

We got to experience our first stay at Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members- Disney's version of a timeshare......our room was fabulous with 2 bathrooms, kitchen, full laundry (came in handy!). If only it was warm enough to enjoy the pool, but it wasn't meant to be.re are a few highlights of our great time! William can't wait to go back next October- just the three of us for some trick or treating with Mickey and friends.

On our first full day, we had the long awaited breakfast with Pooh Bear---Will LOVED the characters and gave Pooh a big hug and then got a free cupcake for his birthday too!

We found PUSH, the talking trash can too- PUSH moves around and talks to the kids. He even sang happy birthday to William after seeing his birthday button. As a trash can lover and expert, Will thought this was the coolest!We also participated in the Pick a Pearl at Japan in Epcot. Alan's mom, Lindsey and I all selected a clam which they opened amid great traditional drum beats and ceremony. I had the biggest pearl so far that day at 8.25. We had a great time doing this all together.
We got to catch the 'snow' again while enjoying the beautiful Osborne lights at the Hollywood Studios- another of Will's favorites!
We had a great last breakfast with Mickey and friends. Will had a blast seeing Donald, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Goofy!
Other highlights included Lindsey getting third place in the hula hoop contest at the DVC member merry mixer! Catching amazing fireworks at Epcot from our table at dinner with a great view from the window (in the nice warm inside, instead of freezing outside!). We had a great time at the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, rode a ton of rides and saw the Christmas parade with Santa! We also saw my old college program roommate perform in her new entertainment act at Epcot. She is a "ziti sister" in the Italy pavilion with multiple shows throughout the day. She was so much fun and Lindsey and Alan even got to participate in the show.

We also enjoyed the Candlelight Processional at Epcot and listening to Jodi Benson (the voice of the Little Mermaid) narrate the story of Christmas with a huge choir. Another big milestone, Will measured at 40", tall enough to ride some of the big rides, including Test Track, Soarin, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain- which he participated in all and loved them. My boy has no fear!

In the end, a great time was had by all, depsite the freezing cold, record-breaking temperatures while we were there. So now we countdown until next year, when we visit Mickey again in October 2011!

Home Sweet Home- with the Mouse!

2010-12-01T13:50:00.000-08:00

We are so excited to have only 2 more 'sleeps' until we meet up with our favorite mouse! We leave for Disney World on Saturday, 12/4 at the bright and early (okay, not so bright, but early!) at 4am. We will spend 7 lovely nights enjoying the magic at our new Disney Vacation Club (DVC) home- Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort!

We have a lakeview room, but hoping to get on the edge where we can see the lake and the Magic Kingdom!! It is a one bedroom with two baths and we can't wait to check out our new 'home'. We are taking along my mother in law and my 10yo niece, as well as of course William and Alan. So 3 adults, 2 kids. Should be fun!

We have some fun activities planned, including Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, a visit to the Bibbidi Bobbodi Boutique for my niece, the Candlelight Processional with Jodi Benson (of the Little Mermaid fame) and some fabulous meals, including one with Pooh and Mickey (per Will's request).

With William potty trained now (3 days at day care dry in big boy underwear!!!), we are going to know where every single bathroom in Disney is!! I am packing my patience for sure. Newly potty trained and on vacation. Should be interesting, but i know he can do it!

so here is my list of must do's for this trip, all new things for me- let's see post trip, how many we actually accomplish!

Pick a Pearl in Japan (i purchased the cutest Cinderella carriage necklaces to hold the pearls)
Try a fabulous cupcake at Starring Rolls bakery
Meet up with some www.disboards.com MOMs friends at the MVMCP!
See the 'taffy lady' in Japan
Find my old WDW College Program roomie, Heather, working her new entertainment gig in Italy!
Find PUSH, the talking trash can (remember Will is obsessed with trash!)
Try the new La Hacienda restaurant in Mexico (reservations our first night)
Try the new Via Napoli restaurant in Italy (our last night)
Get character autographs and pics in Camp Minnie Mickey (we always skip this for some reason).

So those are a few must dos that are new for me, which is saying alot- although at disney, it is pertty easy to find new things to do- there is so much! So wish us luck and pixie dust for a fabulous time!

Potty Success!

2010-11-22T07:49:00.001-08:00

So on Saturday, we really worked on the potty. After a 'bribe' of a little kitchen toy he really wanted, William finally peed on the potty! We've been practicing for months now- just sitting there, but he would never go. It just didn't 'click' for him until this weekend. I left the room for a minute and hear him saying ' i did it!' and i go in and there are two little drops of pee! So i ask him to pee some more for me and then we can get his present. So he did! yeah big boy!

All day long he wore underwear at home and continued to pee in the potty at least 8 more times- sometimes just a little, other times a lot. He seemed to get the hang of it completely! We are still working on the other part.....but at least we have pee pee down for now. We had to wear pull ups while running errands and probably will until after our disney trip. But then we will work on moving to big boy underwear only! Very proud of my big guy!

On Saturday night, my nephew Michael also came over and stayed the night for a sleepover! The boys had a lot of fun together, and stayed up pretty late! On sunday morning, i wake up and they are not in bed. they are both in the bathroom and Will had already gone potty all by himself!

Grand Opening of the New Disney Store!

2010-11-19T07:01:00.000-08:00

In just two weeks, Alan, William and I will be sharing the magic we love so much with my mother in law and niece Lindsey! We leave on December 4th for Walt Disney World for 7 nights of holiday fun!

Fortunately, October has been super busy, between Will's birthday, hosting bunco, 2 work trips (Seattle and San Francisco), more birthdays, halloween etc etc. So time has flown!!!! Now I can't believe we are only 2 weeks away!

So to pass the time, we checked out the opening of the new disney store located in Northpark Mall in Dallas. It was super crowded, folks lined up at least 100 deep waiting for a photo with Mickey Mouse..........of course, we didn't wait, since we will see him with much shorter lines very soon! But we did explore the new interactive store.

They were only letting a set amount of people in at a time, to control the crowds in the store, since there are interactive experiences to check out. There are amazing trees with video screens on them that change- one second there are leaves falling on them, then presents, then candy canes etc. Pretty fun.
They also gave out free mouse ears, lollipops and a keychain, Will was happy about that. They had a DJ doing trivia and handing out prizes too. It was fun, but the store was not as big as I had anticipated. Besides the video trees, there was also a movie viewing area and a castle area for the girls to wave a wand in the mirror and see a princess appear and talk to them!

There was a small section for the Ridemakerz for the boys to build a remote control car, but it was a pretty tiny section.

There was also this little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that Will liked crawling through and pressing buttons for noise and lights. Overall a fun day to check out the new store and get in the disney spirit, but at least we won't have to contend with such heavy crowds on our trip hopefully!

Smile! School Pictures

2010-11-19T06:51:00.000-08:00

So our little guy is well, not so little anymore! He is 38.75 inches tall according to the doc now, although we think he shot up even more in the last few weeks. We are hoping he is at 40 inches for our disney trip, guess we will see. He is still a ball of energy- loving to play. While he still loves school, he also asks to stay home sometimes and it breaks my heart i can't do that with him. But he does very well at school and just moved to the big boy class of 3 year olds! We are working on potty training, but still no success. He will sit on the potty, but has yet to actually go in it. He is starting to practice more on dressing himself, but it is taking some time. He is getting better at brushing his teeth too on his own and the kid loves washing his hands!
I don't know if it is the OCD or just the fact that he likes to play in the water!

He still loves books, puzzles and all his kitchen stuff. He is getting a big imagination and now I hear him talking upstairs in the playroom to all his stuffed animals as he serves them food or gives them a puzzle to play with, it's really cute. I also found him playing with the large Cinderella castle we have from WDW. He loves hos the little lights turn on in the bushes etc. He loves trains, but isn't into cars that much really. He is still in his toddler bed, but we've promised him a big boy, full size bed with new bedroom furniture and moving him to the bigger bedroom if he can be potty trained! We will see how long that takes.

He is into singing right now too- his favorites are twinkle twinkle, ABC and i also caught him trying to sing Baby Mine too- which I've sung to him since he was a baby - he calls it the baby song. The child still will not sit still long enough to watch a full 20 minutes of TV, much less a full disney movie- i can't wait until he does though, so i can share all my great disney DVDs! He is putting a sticker each day still on our WDW countdown calendar and loves doing it- so we will definitely do that for next year too!!

My little guy is growing up!

Scary Trashman!

2010-11-07T17:27:00.000-08:00

Well as you know, our little man is obsessed with trash cans. He has a whole collection upstairs in his playroom and he likes to pretend to throw away stuff (toys) and bag it up and move it to another trash can. So we figured, what better for halloween, than to make him a trash can! I found some costume ideas online and came up with this. now I don't sew, so this ended up being pretty easy! duck tape to the rescue! We already had an oscar the grouch t-shirt (again, since he loves trash cans!), and it worked out perfectly under the costume!

He got tons of comments on his costume at his day care fall festival! he also enjoyed trick or treating in it, although it was hard to walk far or fast in it!

and here is our spooky front porch for the big day with two fog machines!

William liked handing out candy more than he liked getting it I think. In fact, he tried to hand out some of his own candy to the kids. We didn't have a ton of trick or treaters this year, so lots of leftovers for the office! Will isn't a big sweets eater- he likes M&Ms and a few other things, but he just isn't a candy nut (unlike me!)

done trick or treating- until next year! Happy Halloween!

Countdown to DISNEY!

2010-10-21T08:19:00.000-07:00

Only 44 days until we leave for the Happiest Place on Earth- you got it- Disney World! We created this countdown calendar for William and he puts a sticker on each day to countdown until December 4th, when we leave! He loves it!

I also submitted some pictures of our disney memories to the disney web site for their new campaign- "Let the Memories Begin"........it features real guests photos and videos which are being used in commercials, online and will even be projected on the castle in the near future each night!!! I submitted 3 pictures and here is a link to at least one that is featured on the disney web site!
http://memories.disneyparks.disney.go.com/#/detail/2727

My little neat freak!

2010-10-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

Well William definitely takes after his mommy.........the kid loves to help clean. Really, if you give him a 'chore', he tends to behave better and not get into trouble. He is obsessed with trash cans and trash still- he loves to take it out and put in a 'new bag' as he says. He always has to look at the vacuums when we go to the store too. Don't ask me why- he even preferred to buy a mini trash can over a toy!

William also likes to help with the laundry- with his shades on of course!

Coming Soon.........Baby Brynley

2010-10-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

So our family is very excited to welcome a new family member on December 17th! My baby sister, Mandy is having a girl! My mom, my other sister Wendy and Mandy's best friend, Kristina and I all threw her a baby shower in September. It was a lot of fun! We decorated with just some of the cute clothes we have for her! This child won't be spoiled at all, huh? This is Jeff and Mandy's first and the 4th grandchild for my parents- now they will have two girls and two boys!

William calls her baby 'ben-ley'.

Crawl Through Fall

2010-10-21T08:00:00.001-07:00

Fall is always a busy time for us- filled with birthdays (including Will's), halloween parties, the State Fair etc. This year, throw in 2 work trips in October, a baby shower for my sister (that I helped host) and you can say it has been downright crazy. We are just barely crawling to the finish line. Come on November!
So i had to fly out to San Francisco in early October for a work meeting for 2 nights and then a week later, I flew out to SEattle for a tradeshow- again for just two nights. Those are LONG flights from DFW - about 3.5 hours. So talk about being exhausted and off schedule. At least I did get to see the famous public market!
We also attended our first halloween party of the season at my brother in law's on 10/16. Had a ball- i was half angel, half devil, can't make up my mind, ya know! Here is my gorgeous sister in law and I at the party!
And my mother in law and two of her boys!

We've also been busy decorating the house for the holiday too! Of course we have to sprinkle a little Mickey in the mix!

So October, we love you, but ready for November and some rest!

Fried Food Haven

2010-10-10T16:46:00.001-07:00

We had a great time at the Texas State Fair, home to the 'fried anything'. this year's popular choices were fried beer, fried margarita, fried s'mores and fried frito pie. Nothing like your favorite 'bad for you' treat, deep fried for double the artery clogging goodness.

We started the day in horrible traffic due to the Tech vs. Baylor game at the Cotton Bowl. We headed first to the petting zoo where Will fed a ton of animals and saw a baby giraffe!

Next up, some rides. the kid has zero fear and wanted to ride the roller coasters.

then time for some fuel- the fried frito pie. Pretty good, but it was so darn hot outside (90) that i just couldn't eat more than a few bites.

Roller coaster with Daddy

Playing a game- basically we pay $5 for him to pick a duck to get a guaranteed $3 little stuffed animal. carnies.

A visit to big TEX

Sharing a classic Fletcher's corny dog with Daddy!

All in all a great time had by all!

Whoops I did it again.

2010-09-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

I did it again- applied for the Walt Disney World Moms panel. Third time is a charm right? I've never made it to round 2, but considering the huge amounts of applicants they deal with (20,000), the odds aren't that good. But it is fun to apply and give it the old college try regardless. Wish me luck!

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

2010-08-25T06:46:00.001-07:00

A few weeks back, they had 'fairy tale' week at day care. I remember being a little appalled when he came home on that friday with his drawings from the week. There was one of little red riding hood and then just a page with two big scary, sharp wolf claws. No wolf, but just the actual hands/claws. And not friendly looking ones, scary looking ones. I, for the life of me couldn't figure out why they would give a 2yo a scary wolf claw picture to color? LOL..........well fairy tale week I guess was still fresh on his mind. Last night as I put him to bed, he says there is a baby in the closet. Then he says the big bad wolf is in the closet. I thought he might be scared. Then he said the big bad wolf was in his bedroom. Keep in mind, also, Will hasn't been the most verbal kid and slightly slow on developing his language, so this was actually the first time i heard him say 'closet' or 'bedroom', so i was happy! But then the whole big bad wolf thing? lol. He did ask to keep his bedroom door open, which we usually close, since his room is at the top of the stairs. I guess he was a little scared, but 5 minutes later he ended up saying he wanted the big bad wolf in his bed. And he did let me shut the door. This morning I asked if the big bad wolf slept in his bed and he said yes and smiled. Crazy kid.

Mustard or Ketchup?

2010-08-15T19:58:00.001-07:00

So while at the store the other day with my mom and sister, I needed something to occupy Will in the cart while we shopped. to the rescue..........a plastic ketchup and mustard bottle set for $3. He played with it the whole time. And now that we are home, he is having a ball with these simple bottles. They were a huge hit in the bath tub too- fill them up, empty them, pour them into each other and of course, SQUIRT!

The Croup Crept Up!

2010-08-15T19:51:00.000-07:00

After having gone almost 6 months or more without being sick, Will finally caught something. On tuesday, he wasn't feeling so well and by Wednesday, day care had called saying he was running 101 fever. Right as I pulled up to the gym, which is conveniently located right next door to his day care.......I get the call. So i ran over and picked him up. Poor guy was so lethargic. We went to the doctor and he had croup. We were given a steroid, but only one dose and by thursday, he wasn't feeling good still. Alan stayed home with him on Thursday (and took him to the office for a bit when he was feeling better in the am), but by Thursday pm, it was time to call Mama (grandma). he totally lost his voice and was whispering and was extra cuddly, which for William is a lot- the kid never sits still!

Here's our sick little guy at the doctor.

Mama came and stayed the night on thursday and watched him on Friday, but I took him back to the doc and they just said his case of croup was really bad. He got some more steroids and it is finally clearing up. But no swim lessons or water park for him this weekend.

.......and finally, when he is feeling better!

I DO IT MYSELF!

2010-08-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

So besides "No" or "I want this", the other famous words lately are "I want to do it myself!". William is so independent lately. From wanting to always turn on lights and fans himself, to wanting to help feed the dogs, he is all about doing it himself. He throws a major fit if you try and do something he wanted to do all by himself. Including, cutting his nails with clippers, which you can imagine, we didn't let him do. He still loves the trash and likes to take the trash out with me like this morning- and then replace the bag. At my sister's recent party, he saw the trash was full and went looking in her pantry for another bag!!! LOL- talk about obsessed with trash! We have given him a 'chore' of feeding the dogs, he does pretty well with it so far.

He also still likes to help clean, including sweeping!

He even likes to use the dust pan! Here's hoping my little clean freak stays clean and doesn't become a teenage slob one day like most are destined too!

Cereal, Trains and Cousins, oh MY!

2010-08-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a busy few weeks and haven't had much time to update lately. Work has been extremely crazy, preparing for our Annual User Conference- this year held July 25-27 at the Wynn Las Vegas. I'll have some great pics of it soon, including of our 80s party!

In the meantime, Will is just growing and growing. He is almost 39inches tall and we haven't weighed him lately. He is in size 5 diapers. We are sort of working on potty training, but not actively- he just isn't quite ready yet. He will sit on the potty, but has yet to actually go. He does like to flush though! lol. who doesn't?

He also recently discovered cereal- he loves banana nut cheerios with milk. He has always had cheerios, just not eaten them with milk and spoon. He asks for it all the time now and of course, drinks all the milk!

He also loves playing with his choo choo train we bought at disney world. It blows real smoke and boy is it loud!

This past weekend we visited my sister's new house for my niece's 7th bday- happy bday Ally! Will and his cousin Michael took a few pictures together. Michael is a year older and they are really starting to play together more!

Will still loves his day care and has made quite a few friends. In fact, the other day as he was leaving, a little girl came to the door and hugged him and kissed his cheek. So sweet! He is learning so much. He can count to 30 and to 10 in spanish. His language improves everyday and we can understand him more clearly. There are still sometimes when we have no clue what he is saying though. He still loves trash, turning off and on lights and playing all day long. Loves the water and being outside on his water table. He also really likes Dora right now. He can't quite dress himself yet, but can get his socks and shoes off and his crocs on himself. He can pulls his pants/shorts up and down, but hasn't figured out his shirt yet. He loves wearing hats. He also has enjoyed getting his haircut and asks to go 'get haircut'.

And every night before going to bed, he asks questions repeatedly over and over again:
"Can we go eat with Pooh bear?"
or
"i go see mama papa's new house"
or
"I go see Granny"
or
"I go to McDonald's"

Unfortunately with the high temps we have had (105 yesterday), we have had to stay inside more, but hopefully hitting the waterpark next weekend again!

Wordless Friday

2010-07-16T05:51:00.000-07:00

Just had to have the giant stuffed Tigger at the local disney outlet.

Summertime and the living is easy.....

2010-07-06T10:50:00.000-07:00

Well it's been super busy this summer so far. Work has been really crazy for me, so updates have been tough. Here's what we've been up to! so day care does fun activities every wednesday in the summer- here is when Mickey Mouse came to visit, although it looks a bit like Mighty Mouse! lol

William is 2.5 now and almost 40 inches tall! I can't wait until his third birthday doctor appt in October to weigh and measure him officially! He is speaking a lot more now, but many words are hard to understand. He can count to 10 in spanish and to 20 in english. Of course he says the ABCs and he can actually recognize the letters- in fact, he will spell out words on books that are in large type. He is all boy- starting to climb on the furniture more and just being 'rough'. He skinned up both knees a few weeks ago pretty badly. AS long as mommy or daddy kisses his boo boo, he is usually fine. He just got moved up to the next class at day care- the toddler 2B class, now back with many of his friends again and i hope it also excels his speech a bit too. He is still a good sleeper at night- he likes his big boy bed and will read books in the dark before going to sleep. He typically is in bed by 8:30pm and up at 7am or so. Although this past weekend, he slept from 9pm-9am one day- it was a hard day of lots of playing!

We also took William to see his first movie. Remember, this is the kid that won't watch more than 10 minutes of a cartoon at home. So i was nervous. But we got our popcorn and drink and he sat through it and did pretty well. We only had to get up and walk around the hallway twice. He would see something on screen and point it out to me and say it very loudly over and over. But he kept on the 3D glasses the whole time too and brought along his stuffed Woody! It was fun and i look forward to taking him to the movies again!

We also had fun dog sitting Auntie Alissa's dog Baxter. he is such a good dog and William thought he was so cool, since we aren't used to big dogs! They made quick friends.

William still likes to help out around the house too!

We've also been back to Hawaiian FAlls for the third time since getting our season passes and he loves it. We usually only stay a few hours, but he rides the slides over and over again!

We also went to a pool party at a friends house where William had such fun, his fingers were raw from the water and side of the pool!He really loves his water table in the backyard too, he will play for hours out there if we let him!

and lastly, we caught some fireworks for the 4th- he enjoyed munching on cookies while watching!

Little Man on Video

2010-06-09T19:35:00.001-07:00

So Will is really loving an ABC book mama got him this past Christmas. it has different textiles inside to feel, peek a boo pages and the alphabet at the back. He loves to touch it all and make the cutest sounds! he loves the ABCs too although he gets a littl eahead of himself.

A weekend to remember

2010-05-31T15:59:00.000-07:00

So memorial day is about thanking and remembering our service men and women, past and present, but it also usually means lots of family time for most of us, enjoying that freedom so many others have selflessly secured for us. Thank you to all those that make it possible!!!!

We had a fabulous 3 days together this weekend. With starting a new job in January, it's been a while since i had any extra time off. Having just one extra day was heavenly!

Saturday was spent enjoying lots of family and old friends as we celebrated my grandpa's 90th birthday, yep, i said 90th! Although he is struggling through Alzheimer's, grandpa is still in fairly good health and I think he enjoyed his party.

On Sunday we headed to the Fort Worth zoo, rated as one of the top 5 in the country. We got there at opening and headed in, knowing it would be a hot day! William was very excited to see "raffes" and "zezas". We rode the choo choo train and checked out all the animals. All in all a good time, but very hot.

William really likes the turtles! They had a huge galapagos one that seemed to be trying to get out of its area!

We finished off the day with a stop for dinner and frozen yogurt, which William ate every single bit of, complete with gummi bears, fruity pebbles, pineapple and strawberries on top.

And finally on memorial day, we went to the water park- where we have bought season passes to enjoy all summer long. It is only about 10 minutes away and William spent a few weekends there last year and loved it. So once again, we arrived at opening and got a great spot by the kiddie area. William shows no fear and wanted to go down the bigger slides in the kid's area. We went down with him, but then he cried that he wanted to go down by himself, so he did, and of course fell backwards and hit his head. Eventually he found one that moved slow though (they didn't have the water flowing well enough i don't think), so he loved that one and must have gone down it about 25 times. He doesn't understand the concept of waiting in line for it though, so Alan and I had to take turns going up and down with him. He had a blast and didn't want to leave, 3 hours later. Nene came too and hung out with us for a while!

OCD much?

2010-05-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

Wow I have been such a slacker! So my son has definitely taken after me. He is full blown OCD!!! He likes to line up his puzzle pieces, animals and loves to clean. I even found all his books straightened up in a perfect stack on his bed one morning. He likes to push his little toy shovel around like a vacuum, even though he is afraid of the real vacuum. I would be concerned, but he is perfectly happy, verbal and social, so i think he just is OCD like me- he likes things organized! My poor child. I am sure it will disappear at some point- like the teen years when we all become slobs. Here he is lining up all his little characters:

We had a great weekend. Will is still in swim class and loves it! Here are a few pictures of him swimming. He can hold his breath for so long. He swims pretty well, but now that he is using his arms more, he tends to get more upright, instead of on his tummy, so that he is almost walking in the water or treading water. Too funny. It always makes me nervous, but he sits there on the side so well, never falling in or trying to get in when it isn't his turn (one kid fell in once and made me nervous!!!). The teacher takes turns with each of the four kids.

And then we had our annual neighborhood block party this weekend. William was so scared when the fire truck pulled up- not sure why. All the other kids loved seeing it. He jumped in the bounce house some, ate too many cookies and strawberries and had a good time. Unfortunately it was really hot, so we didn't last but an hour or so.

Sir William I

2010-05-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we took a trip out to the Scarborough Faire in Waxahachie, a popular (and HUGE!) renaissance festival. We only made it about 4 hours before Will was ready for a nap, but we had a good time!

We took the wagon and William only wanted to pull it around most of the time, it wasn't until the very end that he would actually ride in it. Next time- no wagon or stroller, it was more of a hassle to try and walk slow while he pulled it himself and MR Independent wasn't going to let you pull!

first up- pose with the big scary dungeon master looking guy! William just wanted to play with the cane! Maybe we should have bought him a walking stick (they had a ton for sale- and Wizard's staffs too! lol)

Then on for a quick stop for a beer for mommy and daddy! Then off to the fire whip show- Will loved this one- sure was loud, but very cool!

Then it was time for a turkey leg and sausage on a stick followed by viewing the parade!

Then off to watch the Jousting competition! I snuck Will off for a quick 'ride' though- of course all the rides are 'old world' with wood and rope. No space mountain here! He did enjoy it and had to go by himself due to the weight limit (let's not go there please!). he did just fine by himself!

Next, someone was getting tired so we had to hit up the petting zoo before heading out. He loved the goats, turtles and especially the rabbits. WE have so many rabbits at home in the yard, and he tries to see and catch them in the mornings. So he enjoyed getting to actually pet one. He then proceeded to spend about 10 minutes chasing the chickens around, which was pretty darn funny. We also got to pet llamas, puppies, pot bellied pigs, ducks and more!

After that, we did a little shopping around and walking around- played in some fountains and then it was time to head out. Started to get a little too warm and someone was really really getting tired and a little fussy. We know our limits! We had a good time and think he did too! We will definitely be back next year. The entertainment was great and the 'actors' were all so friendly and fun!

Trash cans, doors and canes, Oh My!

2010-04-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

So William is just really a Hoot lately. He is such the drama queen lately too.   He just turned 2.5!!!

So this week:

he's all about independence these days. He wants to open and shut doors himself.   He wants to climb into and out of his car seat now, which actually is saving mommy's back! He wants to get his own dishes out. And if you even think of doing it, he'll put it back and then get it back out himself.

He asked if he could see Mama and Papa (my parents) on the way home from day care, I said not tonight, but maybe later on. He immediately burst into tears. Keep in mind he had just seen 'mama' the night before after a visit at the hospital and refused to talk to her then.

I found him last night, in our shower stall, with the dirty clothes hamper, just giggling up a storm.   Maybe he thought he could 'shower' the dirty clothes?   He is just obsessed with anything with a door and trash cans (which our clothes hamper looks like one!).

When reading "One Fish, Two Fish" last night, he was holding his stuffed giraffe from the zoo. When we got to the page about the Yink Drink Pink Ink, he held the giraffe's face/mouth up to the picture of the cup on the book so the giraffe could have a drink too. He also has this book almost memorized. Before I could turn the page, he was already saying "Brush, brush, brush, brush, comb, comb, comb, comb".......I couldn't believe he really knew the next page. After reading this book over 100x (and it is rather long at 50pages), i still didn't know that was the next page, but he did before i even turned it!

We also had our share of bumps and bruises this week- the first of many. He fell and hit his nose on the coffee table, got a little scratch on the side that bled, but not bad, however, the side of his little nose is all bruised up. Then he fell running and got a strawberry and knot on his forehead too. BOYS! I'll knock on wood that we haven't had any bad falls or scrapes yet and no ER visits!!!!

He also started kissing girls! at least he got a good one!

Of course he is still asking when we are going to go 'eat with pooh bear'......patient kid, we have about 7 months to go!!!

Queen for a Day.........& my PSA- Brush up on those CPR skills!

2010-04-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

Well it's been one heck of a week.   What was a truly amazing 60th surprise birthday party for my mom, was followed by a tragic event in our family.   My sisters and I have been planning this 60th surprise party for my mom for a long time now. She's always wanted a surprise party, so we figured we would do it for her 60th and hold it about a month before he real birthday (May 11) so she would be caught off guard.

We planned a 'Queen for a Day' theme with hot pink and black colors.   The biggest surprise of all was that my Uncle Charles was coming in town from about 4 hours away to surprise her.   He's been fighting pancreatic cancer (for almost 2 years) and was not in good shape when we visited them in late January for my cousin's quincineira. In fact he ended up in the ER that night (as did we, to visit).    The experimental chemo he was on at the time was making him really sick.   He was so excited to come up to Dallas and see us when he is in great shape and feeling good. He stopped the chemo end of January and has been feeling good ever since!!!

So saturday was a crazy day, running around for the cake, balloons, catering etc. My Uncle and Aunt came in on that friday night and were staying with me. The party was at my house too.   So on Saturday night, mom walked in, completely surprised!   She was so happy to see Uncle Charles too, probably the best surprise of all!

We had an amazing party and a great night- with tons of family and friends- probably about 60 plus people there.   By 1:30am, all the guests had returned home.   We crawled into bed for the night and I awoke about 9am (very late for us to sleep in) to Uncle Charles getting sick.    I went in to offer water, help or anything I could, unsure of why he was sick.

My aunt (a NICU nurse) got him to the couch where he sat and we got him a cold rag, he was extremely hot and complaining of his arms aching and feeling shaky. She had already given him some nitro (he has a history of a bypass and stints in his heart), BP meds and aspirin.    He apparently had forgotten to take his meds the night before.   So he still wasn't doing well and my Aunt Patti said she would get him one more nitro, take a shower and then take him the ER if he wasn't better. That scared me. But the worst was yet to come.   She came back with the nitro, gave it to him and then he just went unconscious, slumped over, sitting up and stopped breathing.   it was awful.   She told me to call 911 and i did. I was barely able to choke out the info to the operator, me, the strong one that barely ever cries! She did a few rescue breaths to no avail. The operator instructed us to move him to the floor and flat, which wasn't easy, but Alan helped us do it.   Patti continued rescue breathing and Alan jumped in to do chest compressions- i remained on the phone with 911.  I'll never forget how purple he turned.   He finally started to breath at random, but very slow and struggling, but not conscious. The paramedics arrived in about 4 minutes i would estimate. We got out of there way.   The said he had no pulse.

They said he was in defib and had to shock him. They got him breathing and a pulse again before loading him into the ambulance.   All of Sunday was spent in the ER.   The got him somewhat stablizied and started a hyperthermic treatment to cool down his body to try and preserve brain function and prevent swelling.   The worry was whether he was deprived of oxygen too long or not.   The ER docs were not that hopeful.   The treatment to cool him took 24 hours.   Then 24 hours of warming before htey would attempt to wake him on Tuesday am to see if he had brain function.

Tuesday am- he was conscious, recognized us and responded to commands. Simply amazing- a miracle.   He is on a ventilator and has been since the incident. While his brain seems okay, they are concerned now that he aspirated and that his lungs have issues- potential for pneumonia too.   His heart looked okay, but now he has an irregular heart rate.    They might attempt to remove the vent today to see how he does, but we just aren't sure.

So what started as a wonderful weekend with family friends has turned into a really hectic and crazy week at the hospital. We are all amazed he has pulled through so far and I think even the doctors are surprised how well he has done to date.    He is a strong, strong man!   So please keep him and his family in your continued prayers. I know it is hard for them dealing with this, also being out of town.    My poor aunt Patti has been staying with us for a week now and I know it is really hard for her to handle all this on her shoulders and not be at home.

here is my mom and Uncle with the 'chocolate bunny' he gave her as a gag gift. She apparently used to steal his chocolate bunnies on easter because he would eat them too slow.

so my Public Service Announcement is to give your loved ones a big hug and to brush up on those CPR and first aid skills. Hopefully you never have to use them, but if you do, you want to be prepared. We were fortunate enough to have a trained nurse in my Aunt Patti, but the stress of the situation definitely made it hard for all involved.

So here's to Uncle Charles and a strong fight for the next few days to wake up and come off the vent!!!!!!! WE love you Uncle Charles!!!

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

2010-04-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

So it's time for a good William update.    He is growing like a weed, this boy is going to surely top 6 ft when he grows up!   He is still super tall for his age.   He is outgrowing many of his pants in length.

His favorite things right now are reading his two favorite books- "Goodnight Moon" and "One Fish, Two Fish".   Either Alan or I must read both books every single night before bed as is our routine. I've tried to get some other books into the mix, but no go.    He really laughs when we get to the part about 'oh dear, oh dear, i cannot hear, there's a bird in my ear'.    He also can almost recite the whole Goodnight Moon book, so cute!   He always says 'the end' when we are finished.      Usually Alan puts Will to bed each night, but lately, he wants mama, which is surprising since he's been so independent lately. He no longer cries when I leave to go to the gym or something. But the last few nights- he said "mama take me night night!".

We also converted the loft to a playroom for him and he loves it. He of course likes playing tea party- or even putting puzzles out in front of all his 'guests'.   He does like drawing on his easel too and of course, still playing with the trash.    He is also obsessed with doors lately- opening and closing them. When we leave day care each day, he has to actually shut the door behind him, or else he gets mad. He doesn't quite understand that you can't shut it when other people are trying to come out!

He really is becoming more independent- he wants to try and put on and take off his own jacket.   He wants to help if i am sweeping or Alan is raking.    He even knows to get his own spoons/forks out for dinner time and puts his dirty dishes in the sink.    He really knows where 'everything goes' in the house and is pretty good about cleaning up. He loves wearing my sunglasses in the car on sunny days.

He is still doing well at day care and loves his montesorri class. He excels at the montesorri activities they do, but he is still a little speech delayed when I see how well his classmates speak. But I know it will come in time. We just got him to stop answering our questions with a nod or 'uh' and instead say "yes". He has done a great job using 'yes' now this week and I've seen him actually talking a lot more this week. I guess he is so busy playing, he doesn't have time to talk usually.

No movement on potty training- he is perfectly content staying in his diaper for now, although he does like to say he has a 'stinky butt'. He will sit on the potty, but not for more than a minute and hasn't ever gone in it. Plus this kid drinks like he is in a desert, he drinks so much all the time, always thirsty, so we need to work on cutting back a bit too, especially before bedtime. He will still wet through an overnight diaper once a week.

His hair is pretty crazy and he has a huge cow lick in the back that is impossible to wet down. it is always sticking up! He is still afraid of lawn mowers and vacuum cleaners. He loves going to swim class and is excelling at that. He loves being outside too and bossing the dogs around- 'come on sassy'.

So our big guy is certainly growing up fast! But we cherish every single moment, good or bad.

Flower Power

2010-04-13T20:02:00.000-07:00

We headed to the Dallas Arboretum for a few hours this weekend since mom has a membership. It was very crowded since it was a gorgeous day. Will was most intersted in pulling his own wagon, which made it a little tough, since he kept almost hitting other people. But we did enjoy the beautiful flowers, and even a little bit of water near the frog fountains. He loves anything to do with water!