How To Enjoy A Trip To Florida When You Are 2 1/2...

1) Fly out of an extremely peaceful, uncrowded airport, such as Bishop in Flint. You'll breeze through parking, security, and finding your gate without so much as a sip of juice.2) Be excited to earn your wings...3) Be an angel on the plane. Well, an angel who "had a few moments." Once getting ready to de-plane in Atlanta for a short layover, tell the people sitting behind you, when they compliment you on how good you were, "I had a few moments." This will cause everyone on the plane within the sound of your voice to break out into peals of laughter.

4) Rent a house with it's own pool in a beautiful subdivision only 15 minutes from Disney. Mom and Dad will be glad to have their own master bed and bath, washer and dryer, and full kitchen, and you can enjoy the club house park as well as your own personal pool. Everyone will save money, be comfortable, and have their own space.

5) Spend the day at the zoo (where Mom and Dad get 1/2 off since they belong to a reciprocal zoo) and monkey and, er, elephant around.
6) Go to beautiful Cocoa Beach and run in the sand and the waves. Take deep breaths of the ocean air. Scoot around a lot on your bottom making sand castles and end up with sand in undisclosed locations...it's all part of the experience!7) Even though Mom and Dad weren't planning on taking you to Disney World since you are small and won'tevenremember the experience, if they come to realize that Sea World is only ten dollars cheaper, and the entire trip has been a gift, and you ARE right there in Orlando after all, you can probably talk them into one day at the Magic Kingdom...
*Have Mom find ears on clearance for $4.99 (otherwise 11.99 and up) so you can talk her into a pair for you and your baby brother-to-be...

*Wait SO PATIENTLY for all the rides (Dumbo was awesome, Winnie the Pooh is surprisingly scary, Buzz Lightyear was a little intense, and "It's A Small World" was precious...)

*MEET DAISY DUCK when Mom and Dad stumble upon her on the way out of the park for lunch break. Since all the other characters had 60 minute plus lines to meet them, you'll easily talk your parents into stopping for a quick hug and photo. Then proudly proclaim during lunch that, upon returning to Disney World in the afternoon, Daisy is planning on personally taking you into the Castle to meet Mickey and Minnie. Remain convinced of this fact for the remainder of the day. Become a life-long Daisy fan and talk Mom and Dad into buying you a plush rendering of her when they see that all plush toys are 25% off.

*End your day so tuckered out that you fall asleep in your stroller leaving the park and stay asleep all the way home. Do so after having your one-and-only meltdown of the day, when you insist that YES, YOU WANT YOUR NEW DAISY DUCK IN THE BAG, IN THE BAG, YOU WANT A BAG after Mom tells the cashier you don't need one since you'll just want to hold her. Marvel that Mom can't understand that you want to hold her, yes, but IN THE BAG.

8) On your last night in Florida, have Mom and Dad take you to Downtown Disney, a free outside area that has a lego-world (and store) and many other attractions. Have Daddy hold you up so you can "pet the dinosaur." Sport the Minnie Mouse sweatshirt your Nana bought you. Get a nice employee to give you free stickers.
Overall, have an amazing vacation and state loudly and sadly on your last day that you don't want to go home but would rather "stay in Florida." Have Daddy put a movie on his iPod and watch it with headphones, quietly, silently, the entire plane ride back to MI, providing Mom and Dad with ample relaxation and wonder at how parents traveled before technology. Love every minute. Be glad to be home.

We're Leaving On a Jet Plane...

...don't know when I'll be back again...

Well, actually I do, but I am SO EXCITED to get away for a little while! We are all under the weather with colds and feel like all this COLD WEATHER has wreaked havoc on us this winter! From cracking skin on our hands to dry, staic-ey hair, we are more than ready to get out from under all this snow and sub-zero temperatures. As we try to make some big decisions and search out the ultimate best for our future, we are looking forward to some time to rest, talk, and pray.

I promise some sunshiney pictures and Madalyn stories when I return! It's the little peanut's first time flying, so I'm SURE it will be an adventure for us all :)

Signing off for now,

L.

Coughs, Couches, and Goldfishies...

"Mama! MAMA!" came the cries at 5 am this morning. I opened one bleary eye from my makeshift bed on the living room couch. I had chosen this resting place not due to any marital disputes (neither of us have ever camped out on the couch for that reason!), but as a result of a husband who apparently moves compulsively *every 10 seconds* in his sleep after taking Benadryl before bed. Between the constant rustling in the bed and Madalyn's all-night coughs coming from the bedroom across the hall...it had been a long night!

So I hear the early morning cries, and I stumble into M's room. She's crying, so it takes me a minute to figure out what she is saying. Eventually the words come clear..."Goldfishy, Mommy, I want Goldfishy in my bed". My mind is spinning...M often refers to our beta fish, Bubbles, as "Goldfishy", so I ask, "You want Bubbles in your bed, M? Bubbles can't come in your bed, sweetie. He has to stay in his bowl." "NO Mommy! GOLDFISHIES!"

Ahhh. My precious one is referring to the familiar, cheddar, fish-shaped snacks.

So here it is, fellow Moms and Moms-to-be (and Dads too!),...what do you do? For those of you that answer that you calmly explain to your child that snacks do not go in their beds, particularly at five in the morning, and especially when they have been sick for nearly a week straight, I commend you.

For those of you who would go in the kitchen, get a bag (albeit small) full of the said fishies and bring them back into bed just so you can get a little peace and a few more minutes of sleep when you have been up all night with a tossing husband and coughing child...

I'm among you!

I've been a little absent from the blog-world lately as real life has kept me very busy. I will try to be more faithful!