Disneyland, Part Two

This is part two (find part one here).

The night before our first "official" day in Disneyland, Mike stayed in the hotel room with the kids while I spent a couple hours in the park with my sister Shaunda. I redeemed my free one-day pass from the Give-a-day,get-a-day volunteer promotion. The nice lady at the ticket window thought I was crazy to redeem it at 9pm, but it was so worth it! We saw Fantasmic! and fireworks, rode some roller coasters, and ate a yummy treat. Thanks Mike (and Dave) for letting us do that!


The rest of the week we spent in the parks. We probably would have just spent 3 days in the parks, but there was a promotion where you get 5 days for the price of 3 and we took advantage of it!

The first day, we wore our new tie dye shirts (I think they turned out better than the ones I made in 2007). We washed them in our hotel sink and wore them again on our last day there.

We ate a yummy lunch in New Orleans Square, and we told Lydia the restaurant was just like "Tiana's" on Princess and the Frog. Hey, whatever gets her to try a bite of gumbo!

We bought an autograph book and it turned out to be very fun getting signatures from characters. Lydia and Elise were good about trading off whose turn it was to hold the book.

We spent most of that day in Disneyland, and that evening we saw the new World of Color show. It was amazing! We took Shaunda's suggestion and ordered picnic dinners that came with World of Color fastpasses (tickets for a viewing location) without having to wait in line for them. The food was overpriced (big surprise...), but worth it to avoid the hassle. We had a "pixie dust" moment when we picked up the box lunches. Elise and Lydia's came with flashing light-up bracelets, but we didn't order a meal for Tyler because he didn't need a fastpass. I asked if I could possibly buy an additional bracelet for him, to avoid fighting, and the extremely nice cast member let him have one for free. Isn't that sweet?

Our second day we spent mostly at Disney's California Adventure.

The third day, we had a reservation for a Princess lunch at Ariel's Grotto, so the kids dressed up in their princess and knight costumes.


The lunch was yummy (but again, overpriced!), and we got to meet Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, Aurora, and Snow White.






We saw Billy Hill and the Hillbillies twice (Thursday and Friday), and it was so funny and enjoyable. The second time, we had reserved seats at the very front tables because my mom has a cousin with connections! We ordered a giant slice of chocolate cake to share, and Tyler really enjoyed himself.


Elise's favorite rides were all the roller coasters. She is tall enough to ride everything except Indiana Jones.

Lydia was just barely tall enough for the Matterhorn. She was willing to ride it a few times, but it wasn't really her idea of fun. Her favorite rides were Dumbo, and It's a Small World.

Tyler liked everything, except maybe the teacups. He was such a good sport. My dad helped me make a really cute harness to keep Tyler from wandering off, but we didn't even have to use it. He fell asleep in the stroller a couple times, but for the most part he did fine without naps. I had expected more meltdowns, but he was pretty easygoing.


Overall, I'm so glad we decided to take this trip. It is a sweet memory. I think our kids' favorite part of all was the togetherness; almost every minute of the trip they were within arm's reach of one or both parents. I am grateful for the ages they are at right now, because in a few years, who knows if they'll appreciate the togetherness quite so much. Lydia thinks it would be great to all live in one hotel room across from Disneyland permanently. The only drawback, she points out, is that it would take a REALLY long time to drive to see our grandparents, cousins, and friends.

Disneyland, Part One

We had such a fun time in Disneyland in September. We planned our trip to coincide with my siblings' trips, and it was the perfect kind of extended family vacation because we each planned our own itineraries, but we could get together with cousins and grandparents spontaneously without worrying about a schedule.

The kids were very easygoing about the road trip. They seriously didn't whine except for about 20 minutes, on the way home, after 10 hours straight in the car. I was whiny myself by that point!

Awesome distractions for the road:

• Portable DVD players with Disney movies, and our own home videos.
• Bendaroos
• AquaDoodle Travel'n'Doodle mats (Thanks for the suggestion, Trish!)

On the way down, we spent a night in Las Vegas. We thought it would be fun to take the kids to the strip to see the sights, and find a cheap prime rib dinner. We walked our feet off! All the way from the Bellagio water show (my favorite) to the M&M World store (where we made a custom mix with everyone's color choice), and ended up at the Excalibur buffet (not recommended!)



I'm glad my kids were little enough to be naive about some of the advertisements and things we saw. We kept having to say, "If you see anything that's not modest, look away." If I could rewind and do it again, we would have watched the water show, grabbed some fast food, and gone swimming in the hotel pool. I think that's what Mike suggested in the first place. I should have listened!
We found a church meeting the next morning, and hit the road again.

When we arrived in Anaheim, we checked into the Desert Inn and Suites (awesome location right by Disneyland) and went to Huntington beach.


The girls weren't so sure about the cold water and the waves, but they did their best to be brave about it. Tyler thought the ocean was great, as long as he was being held.


The seashells and sand castles were more fun.

Part 2 (Disneyland!) coming up...

Happy Birthday Elise - Rapunzel Party

Elise decided on a Rapunzel birthday party. The internet, usually a wealth of party ideas, was mostly void of anything Rapunzel themed. But Elise did have one clever idea for a game. It would be like a fishing game at a carnival, except that instead of a fishing line, the guests let down their "hair" from somewhere up high, and pull it up to find a prize.

The "somewhere up high" could have easily been the stairwell, or the deck, but due to some luck (and a little pettiness on my part), we happened to have a refrigerator box on hand, perfect for making a Rapunzel tower.


The story behind the box is a little funny, so I'm going to tell it. Recently we got a new oven, and the kids and I made an awesome playhouse out of the cardboard box. We kept it in the family room for a couple weeks, until Mike got sick of it and threw it away one evening while I was out. I was so mad that he didn't check with me first, so to spite him, I procured an even bigger box from a neighbor who had just ordered a new refrigerator!

I painted it with leftover latex paint, and decorated it with fake vines. The tower fit perfectly over our coffee table, which gave the kids something to stand on to reach the window. If you ever have a need to paint a cardboard castle this website is very helpful. Or you could just call and borrow my tower. It's still folded up in the basement, unless Mike has thrown it out. ;)


My other big project for the party was making hats for all of the guests. Elise insisted on inviting a few boys, so I came up with a generic Robin Hood type hat for them,

and the girl hats were a simple cone shape with a long yarn braid.

At the party, we started off coloring pictures of Rapunzel or her prince.

Then we played that silly baby/wedding shower game where you cut a piece of string (yarn hair) and have to introduce yourself for as long (or short) as it takes you to wind it around your finger.


The activity that everyone liked best was making a giant tangled web of yarn hair in the backyard. I stole that idea from my friend Stacy, and it was perfect for a Rapunzel party.


After making the web, the kids ran a few races through it. They really liked that part too, especially the boys. If I ever host a Spiderman party, I'll have to remember this.


After that we tried melting ice cubes with plastic rings inside. This turned into throwing ice cubes to break the ring out. :)

For the cake, I decided to make cupcakes in ice cream cones, because they look like little towers. They didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped, but Elise was still excited about them.


At the end of the party, we played "Let down your hair" to give out the favor bags. For the boys, we sent their prize down with the hair so they wouldn't have to wear a girly hat.

It was a fun day.


At 6 years old, Elise is so energetic and creative, and loves to have Lydia and Tyler follow her around and play along with her ideas. She is artistic and slightly competitive, has her own opinions, loves to be girly, and loves her friends and family. She writes the cutest little notes, and loves to surprise people. Elise is a wonderful daughter and a fun big sister.

Happy Birthday Lydia - Wizard of Oz Party

For Lydia's 4th birthday, she wanted to wear her Dorothy dress and have a Wizard of Oz party.


I had a hard time thinking of Oz party favors, beyond just rainbow-colored things, so I decided to make each girl a pair of "ruby slippers". As always, I was a little too ambitious and I ended up spending a late night turning this:


Into this:


At the party, the kids painted rainbows,


Played a freeze dance game,


And a "What's Missing" game,


Went on a hunt for the broomstick and melted the Wicked Witch of the West (drawn with watercolor markers on freezer paper),

Opened presents,

And had rainbow cupcake cake!


Lydia had a great day. She is such a loving and fun girl. She has quite a sense of humor for a 4 year old, and loves to make people laugh with her made-up jokes and good natured teasing. Lydia likes to give hugs, and kisses "on the wips" to any parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle who will let her. We love having Lydia in our family.

In Defense of a Messy Car

It's embarrassing how messy my car gets. I know I need to establish better habits, and I should probably just go clean it out right now, but I'm going to blog about it instead. Here's how it gets so bad:

At the end of shopping trips I tend to leave non-perishable groceries and other newly-purchased items in the car, because I've just been out shopping and I'm tired and I tell myself I'll bring them in later when I have more energy.

Or, we go on outings and I load the car up with things we'll need, but when it's time to unload them (and the other junk we've accumulated on such outings), well, we've been on an outing all day, for goodness sake, I'll do it later.

HOWEVER, you never know when it might come in handy to have a messy car.

Like when you're not at home and your kids are hungry, you just happen to still have, in the car, 5 boxes of cereal that you bought at Smith's two days ago (along with 2 bottles of ketchup and a case of soup cans).

Baby soiled his outfit (or discarded his socks) at the park? No worries, you're bound to find something he can wear. Probably the Sunday clothes you changed him out of at Grandma's last week.

Maybe you show up to your daughter's first soccer game, and realize her shin guards are sitting at home on the counter. Having a messy car means you can improvise using stuff you find in your cupholders and under the seats.

Improvised Homemade Shin Guard Tutorial

Materials:

• Scissors (from the last time you wrapped a present on the way to a party)
• 2 20-ounce soda cups (from your last trip to the Costco food court)
• 1 (unused) diaper - ours just happened to be a Little Mermaid swimming diaper that has been in the car since the last time we went to a pool (September?)

1. Cut the 2 cups in half, removing the bottom.

2. Cut out the padded middle of the diaper, and cut it in half to make 2 rectangles.

3. Sandwich the diaper padding between two soda cup halves.

4. Pull the soccer socks all the way up, place your "shin-guard" on the shin, and fold the top of the sock down to cover it. Tuck the edge of the sock under the bottom edge of the "shin-guard" to hold everything in place.

5. Assure your daughter that nobody will even notice that her shin-guards are Coca-Cola brand.

Okay, so my messy car sometimes has its merits, but here's my question. Do you have a set time for car cleaning? Are you good about unloading stuff after every outing (or shopping trip)? How do you keep your car clean, or clean enough? I really wanna know!

April Fool's Day Recap

All day long I heard (from both girls), "Mom, there's a real spider on your back... April Fools!"

I switched the label from a can of green beans to a can of pears, and vice versa, then asked Elise to help me open them for dinner. She didn't suspect it was me, but thought maybe the grocery store had played a trick on us... but how did they know we would open THESE cans on THIS day???

My brother Alan thought of a funny trick to play on my mom, and called to ask for my help. I made a fake email account, and sent her a (quite convincing) email "from" her favorite Facebook application. It said she had won a ridiculous amount of "favor points" by being their most loyal player. Unfortunately she was out most of the day and didn't see it until the next day, darnit!

Elise asked me to help her put a gummy worm in an apple for Lydia.

I drove Mike's car to the grocery store (to buy gummy worms). On the way home, I called and tried to convince him it ran out of gas and he needed to bring me a gas can. I am a bad liar, he saw right through it!

But my favorite of the day was this lovely little note from Elise:

Anyone want to help Elise with something?

Elise came home from school the other day saying she wished she had a HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS! I asked her why, and she started telling me excitedly about this assembly at school, and how she would get a little water bottle if she brought enough money (like probably a HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!). And she knew exactly what she would do with her little water bottle, put it on her bike and if she gets thirsty while riding her bike, she could just drink out of the bottle, and WOULDN'T THAT BE PERFECT?

Yes, Elise, that's very exciting, but what is the money for?

They give it to the people who have sick hearts, she says.

I checked her backpack and luckily the school sent home some information about this fund raiser. It's a good thing they don't rely on the 5-year-olds to pass on accurate information!

Anyway, they are having a Jump Rope for Heart event in a couple weeks, and the kids are raising money for the American Heart Association.

I helped her donate $5, which is enough to earn that little water bottle. But if she can raise a little more, she can earn a jumprope and maybe even a t-shirt. The deadline for fundraising is March 3rd.

If anyone out there feels like giving a little to a good cause, Elise would sure appreciate it.

You can donate online through Elise's Donation Page, or you can contact me if you want to send a check (made out to American Heart Association).

T-Shirt Princess Dress Tutorial

We love these t-shirt dress-ups.

They are fairly easy and cheap to make, modest, machine washable, durable, easy-on, and easy-off.

Today my sis-in-law Krista asked me to explain how I make them. It was really hard to put into words over the phone, so I decided to make one today and take pictures as I went.

First, you need to measure the little girl you're making one for. In this case the measurements (Krista's daughter's) were: shoulder (or collar) to waist=11", waist to floor=17".

Next, you need a T-shirt sized to fit your little princess. Cut off the bottom of the shirt about 1/2 inch below where you want the waist. I cut mine 11.5" down from the shoulder.

Now measure your t-shirt across the waist (mine was 12"). Double this number (24"). Divide by pi (3.14), which gave me 7.6". Don't round up! That is the radius of your waist hole.

Now, you need a rectangle of fabric big enough to make the skirt. Figure out how long you want your skirt, including the seam and hem (mine is 16"). Now add the radius of the waist hole to the skirt length (7.6+16). Round up (24") and that's the width of your rectangle. The length of the rectangle will be twice that (48"). So my rectangle in this example is 24"x48".

Here is the easiest way I discovered to cut that half-donut shape. Fold your rectangle in half to make a square. Now fold the square in half diagonally to make a triangle. Two edges of this triangle will have folds. Fold the triangle so the "fold" sides meet, making an even pointier triangle. Think about making a snowflake out of paper.

Now, you want to measure your radius from the point of this triangle, which will make the half-donut hole. I cut off 7.6" (my radius) from the point. Unfold the piece you cut off. If it is shaped like a half circle, hooray! You did it right!

Now, keep your "snowflake" folded. You're going to measure the length of your skirt (remember mine was 16"), from the edge you just cut. Measure (16") along each fold, make a mark. Cut a straight line connecting your 2 marks.

Unfold this piece. Hopefully it is the shape we were after!

Okay, so now you have a cut off t-shirt and a half-donut of skirt fabric.

You need to sew the center back seam of the skirt. I like to do a French seam so it won’t fray. Line up the 2 straight edges, WRONG sides together, and sew 1/4” from the edge. Turn the skirt inside out. Now with the RIGHT sides together, sew again 3/8” from the edge. Your 1/4” seam should be encased in the 3/8” seam.

Pin the waist of the shirt to the waist of the skirt, RIGHT sides together. I like to sew it with a straight stitch at 3/8”, and then go back and do a zigzag on the edge of my seam allowance


Finish your hem, add embellishments (like a ruffle on the sleeves and shiny rick-rack trim), and VOILA! A t-shirt dress fit for a princess.