February 25, 2009 Disney Day's 1 & 2

I'm sitting at the Meadows trading post, in a rocking chair facing the sun. My new laptop quite effortlessly picked up the wireless signal and whallah, blogging I am.




We had a terrific trip yesterday. Mike dropped us off at the airport, we checked bags, went though security, and made our way to the gate with only a half hour to kill before boarding. Dan and I went down to a little side market and picked up a couple of tuna sandwiches, bags of chips and a container of fruit and joined Emily who was keeping watch over the bags. We boarded the plane, and Dan sat between Em and I, Em chose the window. The flight was uneventful, Dan spent most of the time building and playing with a star wars lego set we'd saved just for the trip. Our flight arrived early, and we quickly deboarded, claimed our luggage and we're on the Disney Magic shuttle. Just an hour and a half later we were safely and happily at Fort Wilderness where Mom and Mo were waiting.


We settled in for a bit, then asked Dan what he wanted to do first. With Lego land as his answer we quickly made our way over to Downtown Disney. Mom and I ate some dinner, while Dan played. We bought a tub of legos for $7.99 quite a deal considering Dan probably chose 100 very small pieces. I knew they'd be worth their weight in gold during the trip.


Em, Dan and I climbed into the tent at about 9pm. Em didn't feel well and grumbled about the early hour but it didn't take long before we were all asleep. Dan woke us up at 3:30 needing to pee, out the door he went and since his airmattress had deflated during the night brought him onto the big air mattress with Em and I where we pretty much slept until 6am when the birds started chirping. Dan and I grabbed our stuff and made for the showers, dressed and were returned to a hot cup of coffee, thanks Mo! Mom arose shortly after and after a short discussion decided that Dan and I would take the boat over to magic kingdom and Mom would meet us there later. Em decided to take a bike ride and Mo did some grocery shopping, again...thanks Mo. Grocery shopping was the last thing I wanted to do. Dan and I arrived in Magic Kingdom right on time, quickly went through security, and slid our passes through the machines just as the 9am clock rang. The attendants eagerly covered us in mickey shaped confetti.

Dan and I made a bee line for Great thunder mountain but were side tracked by goofy at Splash mountain. Dan decided he wanted to try that first so on we went. I think it was a little more excitement then Dan anticipated but agreed to then go on Great Thunder mountain. By the end he was getting the general idea that Disney might have some surprises in store for him. Next we went to over to the Jungle cruise which Dan liked but was still a little hesitant about. Just as we were considering our next move, probably the Magic Carpets which I was less then thrilled to ride on, Mom called saying she was in the park and on her way. We decided to meet her at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, Dan was thrilled she'd come and gleefully took her hand. He really liked the ride and after Mom treated him to a sword fight in the store that Disney every so cleverly dumps you into after their big rides. Little did we know that right outside, THE captain Jack Sparrow was enlisting a new crew, and Danny was chosen as one of the four. He was pretty excited. Dan, much to my excitement, decided he'd rather have Mom join him on the magic carpets. We explored the Swiss Family Robinson tree house next, then decided that since it was already 11am that eating before the mad lunch rush might be a good idea. Mom and Dan shared mini corn dogs, a hot dog, and some french fries, and I went next door to the bakery and took out a fruit salad, a mozzarella, pesto, and tomato sandwich. Mom found a nice outside dining area and we enjoyed our lunch while watching a parade pass by down Main Street before heading over to adventureland to Buzz Light year.

The line for Buzz was long so we got ourselves some fast passes and killed time in Stitch's escape, which has probably been Dan's least favorite ride so far since Stitch spit at him and the people mover which he thought was pretty cool. Finally it was time for Buzz and Dan loved it, the shooting was right up his alley and there was nothing scary. We decided to call it a morning and went back to the campsite to change into bathing suits. On the way back Danny found a little girl his size, sat down beside her and before you knew it they were best friends. They were going to the pool to and as we seperated promised to see them later. Mom and Em decided to go to the Wilderness Lodge Villa pool, but Dan found it a little dull and was drawn to the slide at the other, so off we went. He found his friend Aubry, and learned how to do the limbo, and play musical bear claws. He had a great time, but was clearly peetering out. Home for a nap, then a bus ride to Wilderness Lodge to walk the exercise path back to the Settlement in search of deer and armadillo. We saw a few deer in the distance but Em and Dan really got excited about the armadillo. We saw 4 or 5 of them, and you can actuallly get pretty close to them. Em named one Demetre and Dan named one fireball, the same name as the pelican he saw earlier at the boats going to Magic Kingdom. We ordered a cheese and pepperoni pizza from the Trails End restaurant ate it outside on the porch then walked down to the beach to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks. The end to a perfect day. The kids and I went to bed around 10am and slept straight through until about 6am when I awoke to the first of the bird calls. Em slept in while I showered and we had to wake Danny up at 7:30 to get him up, fed and out the door in time for our adventure into the MGM Hollywood Studios.

February 24, 2009 Our bags are packed, we're ready to go!

Just a quick note this morning. Everything is packed, the suitcases sit waiting to be loaded and all we have to do now is wait. It's 7:30, we estimate that we need to leave at 8:30 and we're all ready to go. I was up at 3:30, Emily who has a cold anyway was up and down all night and Dan greeted us at about 5:30. To say we're excited is a bit of an understatement. Dan and Mike are killing time playing Mario galaxy and me, well...of course, on the new laptop. Hopefully I'll be able to hook up to Disney WiFi and be able to blog and post pictures during our trip. We'll have to see what happens!

February 22, 2009 Valentines, Birthdays, Disney

Things have been slow and steady here. We've made it half way through winter, and are now enjoying the days getting longer. The boys did try to go out ice skating on the pond one particularly warm day but there was a layer of slush on top that made it nearly impossible. Took the token picture as proof of their efforts. I'm lucky in that my birthday is just three

days after Valentines day so for me, it's almost like having a birthday week. Since I had to work Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights Mike gave me my Valentines day roses and dark chocolate bar on Friday...one whole day early, thus extending the usual birthday week celebrations.

A card came on Saturday along with a little something from a store called Secrets in Wareham, and my Birthday present. I'd asked for an MP3 player for the gym and after consulting with the guys from work Mike ordered a Sansa from Amazon, which conveniently arrived on Saturday as well. Surprisingly enough he said I could have it early , he usually likes to torture me, and happily went off to the gym on Sunday morning with my tunes playing. Very happy, but too much Mama Mia, had to tweak it just a bit later on.

I'm still doing well at the gym, have sort of gotten into a routine and have gone just about every day since joining. I spend 20 minutes doing a glute elliptical workout. about 2 miles and 200 calories, then climb on the StairMaster for a 15 minute fat burner workout which involves 68 flights of stairs at varying speeds. I started at level 7 and am at level 9 now. About 150 calories and 1.5 miles. From there I go on to the nautilus machines and alternate upper and lower body. If I'm really feeling brave I do some squats at the captive bar...I always feel those the next day. Dan loves going to the babysitting room because there are always new friends to play with, he's so very social.

On Sunday (February 15Th) Marie and I took a trip to Newport. Had a nice salad at Coddington, tackled Hanging rock, toured the Breakers, dined at Brick Alley for dinner and finished the night with the movie, He's just not that into you. It was a good long day, and we were exhausted but had lots of fun.* Unfortunately I forgot the camera, the view from Hanging rock was amazing, and the Breakers beautiful, it's always fun taking someone who's never been.

Tuesday quickly arrived and so did 39. Emily surprised me with the Mama Mia DVD, which is right now safely packed in my suitcase...Thanks Em...that was nice! Thanks also to the many who e-mailed, sent cards, virtual or real, called or texted. You really made the day special. Mike and I had made tentative plans to go to Wimpy's http://www.wimpysseafoodcafe.com/ for dinner. Emily agreed to watch Dan providing she get to have Buffalo chicken wings and Margarita pizza for dinner. With the deal sealed, Dan and I headed off to the store. Dan decided since it was my birthday he was going to do the shopping. He ordered from the deli, "a quarter pound of bologna please" he picked out some birthday flowers for me, and even unloaded the grocery onto the conveyor belt. What a nice boy! The tulips he picked were beautiful and I was pleased with the gesture. Mike arrived home just in time to change and head out for our 8pm reservation. As I got into my seat he handed me a fairly large box, told me to hold it on my lap. I could open it at the restaurant. I had absolutely no idea what could be inside, but sure I'd already received my big present was intrigued. We sat down, ordered coconut shrimp, a couple of Irish coffees...we talked about our day. The box sat, patiently and waited. Finally I asked for it, started opening it and was absolutely astonished at what was inside. Right now I am typing on my brand new laptop, in my bedroom on my nice warm bed. No more sitting at the cold desk for me! No more blogs that freeze just as I'm getting ready to save. I was so excited, and immediately texted Em who I knew would be green with envy. She was...and still is. Have I ever said I have the greatest husband ever??? Well....I do. Thanks Honey! We enjoyed a great meal. Mike had the end piece of Prime Rib, I had Cioppino which for being in a red sauce was excellent. Way too much food, but we took the rest home. I couldn't wait to try out the new laptop....haven't put it down since, and still haven't let the kids touch it, much to Emily's dismay. I had a great birthday.

The rest of the week and weekend we spent preparing for the upcoming trip, trying to stay busy and make the time go by faster.

As of today, I think everything is done. Mike has enough human and dog food, clean clothes, cream and coffee to last him well into our vacation. The kids and I are mostly packed. A few loose ends to tie up, but we're ready. Dan and I went to Walmart this morning and while there remembered I had wanted to have a bracelet with his name and my cell phone number made up just in case he got lost. With no time to order one, I spied the dog tag maker and called Mom for the campsite address. He now proudly wears around his neck a rainbow dog bone shaped tag with his name, mine and Em's cell numbers and the address of our campsite. It's Disney, I'm less worried about him being abducted and more worried about him just getting caught up in the crowd....he's just one of those kids...he likes to wander. Now I won't worry quite so much, and he loves it!

On an up note. Mike our neighbor is doing a demo job on an old church and asked us if we wanted the old stove and dishwasher. I've dreaded parting with my stove, but this

0ne is old too, and the same kind so since the price was right

(free) I accepted both. Free isn't always free because Mike

has probably 10 hours invested in fixing the oven. But now it works and although it's brown I don't care! The

dishwasher will take a little work to get it going, plumbing, electricity etc, but I'm in no hurry,

we've been this long without one!

The pond has steadily melted and as of today there is only an ice flow left in the middle of the pond that stubbornly refuses to melt. Hoping to see it gone before Mike takes the kids and I to the airport on Tuesday.

February 4, 2009 Gold's gym, Star wars, and Disney

It's Wednesday, the sun is shining and although it only early February I can already feel winters hold starting to lift. The days are getting longer, the sun warmer. I removed the covers from the sky lights in our bedroom this week. It's just about this time of year that the sun is positioned just right that in the early afternoon the sun will stream in onto the bed and warm it nicely. I love to lay there when the opportunity arises.

I've faithfully gone to the gym every day and except for the day after working out with Pam have felt no pain. I think that means I'm not pushing myself hard enough. Emmy printed out a pass as well and has been joining me. It's nice to have her there, and Danny loves to go their childrens room. It's even more satisfying when everybody is happy!

We had an eight inch snow fall yesterday. It was a classic north easter so Dan and I went out early. Went to the gym, then headed over to the KC Coombs school to sign him up for kindergarten in the fall. We came home and thanks to Matt, who borrowed from his friend Paul all the the Star Wars DVD's, watched the first 4. It was a nice quiet day, curled up on the couch, in front of the stove while the wind and snow blew outside. I strategically planned a roast chicken for dinner, there's nothing better on a cold yucky winters day then the smell of roast chicken in the house.

With Disney just 20 days away I decided to retrieve the paperwork from the safe and familiarize myself with the times and dates that were set forever ago. We're all getting very excited. I feel sorry for Mike who will remain here in the hum drum while the kids and I have a fun adventure in the warmth for two whole weeks!

February 1, 2009 Gold's Gym

Pam and London go to Gold's gym so last Monday I decided to check it out. I walked in for a free trial and felt right at home! Climbed onto an elliptical machine and didn't look back. I've been every day since. Usually do 20 minutes on Glute elliptical, then 15 minutes on the stair master. On Friday Jason trained me on the nautilus machines. On Saturday morning Janni joined me and we convinced Pam to meet us there as well.
We all did our own cardio the met at the nautilus equiptment and started doing rotations. Pam is fairly fit and I definitely had to work to keep up with her. We're going with London today, and since most of my muscles are already sore I'm worried what he's going to do to me!!! I'm sure it'll be fine, it's definitely been great for beating the winter blahs!!!

January 30, 2009 Bacon Explosion

I was surfing the web on Thursday afternooon when the picture on Yahoo struck me, and with nothing planned for men's night dinner, I thought aha! They want meat...I'll give them meat. Little did I know that in giving them what I thought they wanted, I'd be accused of trying to kill the neighborhood... The pictures below are of Bacon Explosion, the recipe which is causing sparks in internet lines everywhere. One site alone was said to have had over 400,000 hits last week alone, with superbowl coming up it's no wonder....I had to try it.
I used...
2 lbs thickly sliced bacon
1.5 lbs sweet italian sausage minus the casings
2 tbs dry BBQ seasoning
3/4 cup BBQ sauce

Take one pound of bacon, and laying it on aluminum foil start a basket weave pattern, until you have a square similar to the one below. Sprinkle some BBQ seasoning on top. Take your italian sausage meat and carefully lay it over your bacon. Fry up remaining bacon until crispy, break into pieces and sprinkly over the italian sausage. Generously drizzle some BBQ over the entire sheet. Without lifting the bottom bacon layer carefully roll the sausage toward you until you reach the bottom. Gently knead to remove air pockets and seal the ends closed. Working backwards roll the bacon along with the sausage roll in the opposite direction until the seam is on the bottom of the roll. Sprinkle with BBQ seasoning and bake in the over at 350 degrees until internal temp reaches 165 degrees. Generally 1 hour for each inch of thickness. Glaze with remaining BBQ sauce, slice and serve as is or as a sandwich filler.

January 24, 2009 Cold and playdates

Emily arrived home from Virginia uneventfully. We took Dan to play in the children's room until only minutes before Em's flight was due. By the time we got down to her gate my cell was buzzing. It was her asking where I was! She was down stairs in baggage claim. Mike went to get the van, Dan and I went to get Em. 10 minutes later we had her and were on our way. Stopped at Chili's on the way home and she talked endlessly. Called Vavo to let him know she'd arrived safely and to ask him if he'd kept her gagged the entire trip, she was just verbally vomitting. He said she barely talked the entire time she was there! Always strikes me when someone says my children are quiet.....because No, really...they're not!

Saturday morning started off as usual. My friend Marie has been encouraging me to join USA Fitness for women down the street but it's really expensive, like $200 for 3 months plus paying for childcare. I told her I'd check it out but wasn't opptimstic. I'm pretty happy with my weight loss and seem to be holding steady despite not exercising on a regular basis, however I don't expect that will continue for very long and I can't feel my diet starting to slip back into familiar patterns....warning, warning!!! I did go shopping this week one morning while Dan was in school and found a dress I really liked. I'm not sure where I will ever where it but it felt really good on! I bought it and saved the reciept so I can return it if I change my mind.

My neighbor Pam found my on Facebook this morning, befriended me and before we knew it we were scheduling play dates with her son Justin and Danny. Dan's been dying to play at Justins house but he's in Kindergarten and is not home much during the week. Pam and I decided to let them play at their house and see how it went. They did great, Dan and Justin played fairly well together considering they have similar temperments...ie..both like to be the boss. The play date went so well, and since Pam was sick we decided to ask Justin over to our house to play on Sunday. It was a lousy cold day, but between playdough, legos, the smart cycle and wii we kept them both entertained. Emily had a play date too, her friend Ben came over and showed her some notes on the new electric guitar Mike brought home and sold Emmy and amp for it. It was a fun weekend.

The weather continues to be cold and I can't remember such a long stretch. The pond has been frozen for weeks, still I haven't taken my overactive preschooler ice skating despite him having skates and a new snowsuit...Derek our neighbor did volunteer to take him out one day, I don't think they made it to the pond but since the whole world is pretty much covered in ice these days, the neighbors yard worked just as well.