christmas 2008

the word of the day....peace.
truly.
yes, there was arguing between siblings, and yes we had to raise our voices when they wouldn't listen, but i was with my family. i was with the ones i love. my kids were cute. xander was in awe. my favorite comment all day "that was on my list! that was in my letter to santa!" cassidy totally got the whole opening present thing. and loved the candy, everywhere she turned there was more candy for her to eat. we took a nap all cuddled together, and then they let me sleep even after they woke up. i spoke with most of my family, and thought of christmases past. i completely enjoyed the day. i loved watching the kids. i loved surprising todd with an ipod (at least he says i managed to pull off the surprise.) i loved christmas this year.
now is one of those times that i wish i was more eloquent...
but really it was a great day. relaxing at home, playing with toys and puzzles, and taking lots of pictures. (my present was a new camera...300+ pictures on christmas morning!)

(it took the four of us 2 hours to open all the gifts...not bad)

twas the night before christmas

christmas eve

on to brighter things...
today is christmas eve. i'm kind of wishing we had more traditions for the day of christmas eve, cause keeping my children entertained while i try to finish baking and wrapping (and evidentally, blogging) is proving to be difficult. that and i'm trying to make the house presentable and i'm cleaning up the wrekage left by two little tornados.
but they are so excited and it is fun to watch them as their eyes light up at the presents already under the tree. X trying to read the names written on the packages. pointing out to C the ones that are for her. they are excited about the gifts they picked out for their aunts and uncles and can't wait until they open them tonight.
we've been trying to be good to earn straw to fill a manger for a baby jesus doll, and we are placing him in the manger tonight. we have reindeer food to put on the lawn tonight, and we are baking cookies for santa, we have carrots and milk all ready. just have to write a note.
and speaking of notes, it is a really good thing we went to the mall yesterday. we hadn't mailed our letters to santa, but he was still at the mall and he had a mailbox! yup, a mailbox that we were able to put our letters in. just in the nick of time! (however, we did get to see santa claus on november 1st and although they wouldn't sit on his lap they told him what they wanted, so they are feeling pretty confident)
but for now we are doing lots of last minute stuff around the house before we head over to todd's parents house for the christmas eve festivities.
to anyone reading this today....merry christmas. we miss our family and friends that are far away and hope that your day is wonderful!
(p.s. my christmas cards are turning into new year's cards...but they are coming!)

hurting

so why is it that even though i'm supposed to be wiser and more mature i still care about what others think of me? this last week i had an "incident" that has caused me to do some serious self-assessments...who am i? what do others see when the look at me? when they get to know me? how are my relationships viewed? oh this isn't coming out right. i won't post on here what the situation was, but a longtime friendship may have been severed and saying that i have been hurt by it would be an understatement. and yet, i really do care how these people think of me. cause i am not what they said i am, and i want them to know it. i want to defend myself and scream and shout. i want to yell until i'm heard. but responding back will just add fuel to the flames. i'm a mom, a teacher, a wife...i have a life that is very far away from the profanity and vulgar comments that were hurled at me this week. and yet, it is not far from my thoughts. it is very much at the forefront of everything i've been thinking about. so maybe if i write it out here it will alleviate some of the tension that is inside of me. maybe.... but the hurt is still there, and maybe for a long time.

turkey day 2008

thanksgiving was a lazy holiday this year....

we stayed in our pj's til noon
we missed todd in the morning while he was at work
we watched the parade on tv and saw santa claus...twice
we...i mean i was shopping online
we ate at george & pam's with sheri, whitney, erin and rachel.
we raced remote control cars in the cul-de-sac
we all cooked a dish or two and i didn't over eat (SURPRISE! but now i'm thinking, why didn't i eat more? it was really good!)
we ate pie -rachel's pies were amazing
we didn't watch any football - crazy us
we took some really great pictures of our family
we were all extremely thankful for our wonderful family, our many blessings, and our caring friends

doing my part

black friday.
i have never participated before.
shied away from the thought of fighting crowds.
never had a need.
but this year, we did it. todd and i woke up on friday morning at 5:00 and left the house by 5:45.
we didn't have big items on our list, but a few things we need would be on sale.
we hit three stores before 9:00.
after returning home i started to feel some strange adrenaline rush to keep going.
so i left todd with the kids and i went back out. heading to toys r us and the mall.
and in one day i managed to get 98% of shopping done for my kids.
i did my part to help out the economy.
i might have to do it again next year!
(thank you stephanie for going out with me and it's already on my calendar for next thanksgiving.)

she says...

"all o em" - she wants all of them, whatever it is (but she usually doesn't get it)
"urs" - yours
"me funny" - am i funny?
"backayians" - backyardigans

a mom at a pre-k thanksgiving feast

on friday i got to be a mom at school.
typically i tell x & c that at school i have to be the teacher, and although i'm always their mom, at school i have to let there teachers take care of them.
well, friday was x's thanksgiving feast. ms. christine had them prepare two indian themed songs to sing, so i brought my video camera and the digital camera and i was a mom watching her baby boy.

i'll see if i can link the video (but we already are aware of me and technology!....)

in the kitchen

i'm blogging from the kitchen. i was thinking today i'd like to have a computer in the kitchen, or at least the living room, so that i could watch
the kids a little better, or dinner a little better (hate it when it burns!)so, while my sister is out i brought her laptop to the kitchen and i'm watching cassidy, and watching dinner and typing all at the same time. i'm liking this. too bad there isn't room in my kitchen for the addition of a desk or another counter just for a comptuer. the next house, right?

oh yeah, and i wanted to mention...about that technology thing...it applies to tv's, vcr's and dvd's too. i swear i push the same buttons every time, but i never get the same results - much my dismay and the disappointment of my kids waiting to watch "backyardigans movies"!

me & technology don't mix

i know todd gets frustrated with me when i say this, but it is the truth. any time i sit down at the computer to do anything other than browse the internet or type an email things get screwy. even trying to type a word document doesn't always work out for me, because inevitably something goes wrong when i hit the print button. so the other day i wanted to put some pictures on a disk so i could take them to be printed, nope drama. doesn't work. even todd has to figure a way around the usual way because the usual way, for some strange reason (that strange reason being me!), isn't working. and now, i have a few minutes, i thought i'd sit down and try to upload pictures to my blog, because i have many, many blog drafts that are just waiting for pictures to be complete, and even some blog posts that i went ahead and put on my blog with the promise of pictures later when i could access todd's computer where all the pictures are stored. but guess what...the pictures i was looking for are not there. i go to the folder where they should be, but the folder is only showing pictures taken through mid-july. and i wanted august through now!!! grrr arrrgh! you know, i could go sit at todd's desk and use his computer to find the pictures. i'm sure they will be right there....but who knows what'll happen if i start pushing buttons. i'm likely to make his computer have a melt-down right before my very eyes. me and technology - oil and water....same thing.

political or not so political ramblings

today could be a momentous day. i think every time there is a presidential election there is the possibility of things changing. the finanical crisis is upon us. the stock market could go under, houses are not selling, taxes going up....but really, how does this affect me? my little family? my little house? (pun intended)

i waited too long to post this and now i know the outcome - president obama.
i'm not too sure how i feel about all that is going on. i wish i was more politically minded, i know i should spend more time trying to understand, but that just seems like time i don't have. does that make me ignorant? a sheep, just following what my husband, in-laws and parents think and have opinions on? i try to think on my own, but i look back over my life's choices, political decisions, my opinions on various issues and ideas and wonder...how much of this is my own?

xander's last fall ball game

xander's last baseball game was scheduled for saturday, october 25th @ 8am!
well, it rained most of the day on friday, so by friday evening the powers that be had cancelled all of the following morning games and most of the afternoon ones as well. an email went out advising that there would be notifications soon of rescheduled games. the email came in later that night...xander's last game was now scheduled for SUNDAY @ 3:00. i cried. i was so sad for him. and then i spent most of the night trying to justify, to find a way to let him play in the last game of his first season. not only was the last game now scheduled for sunday, but his team party had been scheduled for the following sunday, and he wouldn't be able to attend that either. but in the end, the way i was raised (and todd as well) won out. we had already told xander before he went to bed that his game in the morning was cancelled. so the next morning we told him that it had been rescheduled for "tomorrow". his comment "i can't play tomorrow. tomorrow is sunday." i cried again. and then i realized it and he started to cry. i hated it for him. but he was stronger than i thought he would be, as he usually is, and stronger than me. cause when we was done crying he was over it. we talked about the game a few more times that weekend, wondering if they won and still bummed that he hadn't been able to play. but he accepted it, and knew that what we had decided was right - the lord has asked us to keep the sabbath day holy, and xander did.

primary program - "i am a child of god"

this was xander's second year in the primary program...but i'm a terrible mom and i can't remember what he said or how he did last year.
well this year was quite memorable. xander had the very first speaking part. we practiced at home and although the words didn't exactly match the script he knew what he was going to say. he stood up to start the program and said
"when i hear..." but then he stopped and then he hit his head with his left hand "...ugh". but he started again "when i hear..." and again he stopped, hit his head with his hand "....ugh, this is so hard." so, he tried a third time and he did it perfectly. "when i hear the words of the song i am a child of god i am remembered/reminded that heavenly father loves me."
so many people have commented to me and todd about his theatrics. they loved it, they adored it, they adore him.

"that's what we love to see when we watch the program, little personalities like that".
"that is so xander. any other child would have cried, but not xander. he just kept on going til he got it right".
"it was the perfect to start the primary program"
"only xander could do it"
"he voiced the way they felt when they get up to give a talk"
todd said "typcial xander, i knew he was frustrated, but oh so cute"

keep going xander. never give up. you've made us proud.

i dun-no

cassidy's answer for everything lately...

"cassie, what are you doing?"
"i dun-no"

"cassie, which cup do you want?"
"i dun-no"

"cassidy, how was your day? did you have a good day?"
"i dun-no"

"cassie, why are you crying?"
"i dun-no"
(it's too early for hormones!)

sounds so funny coming out of such a little person.

he's five!

today is xander's fifth! i can't believe it. i know, i know...every mother says that with every birthday. but it just doesn't seem possible? how did my cute cuddly mama's boy grow into a ball playing - tv watching - social butterfly?

his birthday fell on friday this year. we brought cupcakes to school and gave the kids in his class frosting and sprinkles to decorate them. i love these pictures i got of him blowing out his candle.

after school we packed up and headed downtown to turner field for a braves game. (too bad they lost again). at first xander was totally bummed out, cause his team had a game that night too. "i don't want to miss my game. forget the braves! i want to play!" - or something like that came out of his mouth. but as usual he had a good time watching "the bigs".

because we had the game planned for the night of his birthday we celebrated at home on thursday night. todd made an incredible cake, as usual. xander's request was a transformers cake. so, todd created his favorite one - bumblebee.

at school the pre-k classes participated in a trike-a-thon the day before x's birthday. all the students brought in their bikes, trikes, scooters, big wheels, etc. to ride around the school parking lot - while raising money for St. Jude's hospital. i knew that xander would not want to bring in the bike we had for him. it is a hand-me-down from one of our friends, but it is purple with flowers. he never did notice until about two weeks ago. last year grandma & grandpa d sent him money for a scooter. he's gotten pretty good at it lately, so he decided that he would use that for the trike-a-thon. BUT i knew that for his birthday i wanted to get him a new bike. i'd been thinking about it since last year. so i talked todd into giving him a present a day early. todd showed up at school, bringing the bike and a very large balloon (at my last minute request). we called xander out of class to give it to him...yes, he was pretty excited and very surprised. and when it came time to ride that bike in the trike-a-thon he looked like a pro. you never would have known it was his first time on it.

overall, xander's birthday(s)- two thumbs up!

xander's practices

can you believe that the scrapbooking mom FORGOT her camera! so there are no pictures of xander's fist practice. AND THEN...i brought the camera to the second practice and the batteries were dead! yup. so two practices and no pictures!
what a terrible scrapbooking mom i am!
to make it up, i have volunteered myself to make a mini-scrapbook for each player - if the parents will send me their pictures. naw, i'm not being selfish, begging for pictures so i can have them...truly, i am doing this out of the kindness of my heart.
(suzi, i'm gonna need your expertise!)

facebook

yup i did it. i found my way to facebook. i had at least 12 friend requests when i got there. so i added them, and then i saw all the ways that you can find people and add people, and see them on other peopele's friend lists.
CRAZY! this phenomena is taking over the world. with google and blogs and facebook there isn't a way to stay hidden is there? if someone wants to find you they will. and i've been found by three "classmates" from high school that i NEVER dreamed i would talk to again.
OVERWHELMING! i'm supposed to be keeping this thing updated, but i join millions of others adding to the astronomical number of hits that facebook gets each day.
ah well. some good can come of it. i can accomplish one of my new year's goals - KEEP IN TOUCH WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
now, i don't have any excuses.

she's a big girl now

in one day cassidy grew up! the crib came down, a toddler bed went up and panties came on.

look out chipper jones

xander's got your jersey number!
that's right, xander starts baseball/t-ball this week.
first practice is on wednesday.
for the love of the game....
i hope he continues to enjoy it, to enjoy playing, to enjoy the fun of it.

she says...

"mom, know what?"
" *babbble* *babble* *babble* tinka bow *babble* "

he says...

(after finishing a dot-to-dot picture)

"mom, i'm really good at the polka dots."

he says...

catching up

i got back from chicago last sunday and wanted to sit and type up some blog entries i've been thinking about, recounting my trip to chicago and start uploading some pictures from boston. and then i realized that i still need to go back and finsih our disney trip. wow. i have a lot of typing ahead of me. but sometime during the week my computer crashed, got a virus, something went very wrong. so i'm still looking for more time to do all this typing i've been wanting to do. so over the next week or so, if you see a long post and want to skip over it, i won't be offended. i'm hoping to get a lot of information out of this head of mine and down where i can look back over it and remember all that i did the summer of 2008. you know this blog is more for me than anyone else! got to catch up so i don't forget anything.

cassidy at 2

i've been thinking about doing this post for a while, listing all things that has been cassidy the last 4-6 months. she has done so much changing, so much more talking, but her little personality emerged early and looks like it is here to stay.
* independent
* loves to sing - asks for "twinkle twinkle little star", sings along to hannah montana w/ xander
* dances to almost anything
* (as of 8/04) sings complete "abc's" song
* enjoys disney princesses and tinker bell, has a few plastic dolls she walks around with and puts to sleep by laying a wet wipe over them
* so far doesn't act prissy or girlie, but loves shoes
* can match shoes, find the mates in the closet
* throws temper tantrums, although we have never knowingly given into one, she still does it
* loves to read and be read to, babbles to read a story to herself
* asks to write and color - "colors, pwease"
* "s d s d" - when she says that she wants me to write for her. she'll say her name, todd's name, xander's name, and mommy and want me to write them for her. then she says "my turn" and take the crayon and "writes" herself.
* each time i write her name i spell it as i'm writing, msot times she copies me and says the letters as i do
* loves, loves, loves xander, but doesn't often let him cuddle with her
* likes playdough and will typically get the cookie sheet out by herself, that i let her work on and then get the playdough from the baskets in the hallway
* puts everything in her mouth and opens everything with her teeth
*adores her dad
*calls out for me at least once every night
if you ask her to smile she blinks her eyes. if you want her to smile you have to ask her to show you her teeth. she's got a great toothy grin.
*loves strollers and going for walks in strollers (she got a stroller for her dolls for her birthday)
* being outside calms her down
* counts " 1 2 1" and if she's standing on something (ie: coffee table, toy box, or edge of the pool) get ready to catch her, cause that is her clue that she's going to jump
*does not sit for movies or tv shows
* started potty training herself 4 months ago, and is just now starting out in pull-ups (we're not pushing it, just helping her along, but thrilled that she started by herself)
* loves my friends and when they are around she'll choose them over me (no hard feelings kami, joanna and melissa!)
* loves nursery at church, and having michelle as her teacher, and that is convenient cause she loves maggie, katie and elizabeth too!
* has a candy radar and asks at least 5 times a day if she can have candy. although if the pantry door is open she doesn't bother asking, she'll just help herself
* i may be biased by i think my daughter is incredibly smart. just like her brother she in extremely observant and has an incredible memory.
* she's my baby girl....

her day

today was cassidy's day. her birthday. she loved it! loved the cake todd made her (tinker bell). loved hearing "happy birthday" and asked for it over and over. loved the presents wrapped in princess wrapping paper. loved opening them and finding a stroller and coloring activities and a braves dress, and playdough. loved telling everyone that she was two....
it was a great day for this cute little girl.

p.s. she did not love the animal books with "touch me" textures, monkey slippers and birthday card with a kitty on the front from her grandparents. she said they scared her. she wouldn't even touch them. in fact she scooted herself back away from them and even let out a little scream at the mention of her looking at one of the books. it is a good thing that grandma and grandad have a good sense of humor and don't offend easily. they thought it was hysterical, as did i. she'll come around, and soon she'll be asking for those books as bedtime stories as she wears her fuzzy monkey slippers. silly girl. but i wish i had that camera on her or had caught it on video. but for those who know me and remember my story about a little black lamb i got a present when i was a year old....we can definitely say "like mother, like daughter".

he says...

"mom, i wish you were an octopus. and then you'd have eight hands. but they would be really long. and then people would be scared of you."

this coming after a weekend of "xander, i only have two hands. i can't do what you want, what cassidy wants and what i'm doing all at the same time".

i guess he found a solution, but watch out, cause i'm gonna be scary.

my baby girl is two

can you believe it? i sure can't. time has gone by so quickly. i vividly remembering discovering i was pregnant, and now here we are, two years and nine months later. it is the end of the day and i'm reluctant to let her go to sleep. i want to keep her up to see what she's going to come up with next. unfortunately it could turn ugly quickly, as the tiredness really sets in. but tomorrow is another day, and then she'll be two years old and one day.
happy birthday baby girl. as you blow out your candles i hope that all your wishes come true!

i'm off again...

heading to chicago this time. yes, i did just get back from boston. i told todd that we should have met at the airport, i would have handed him the kids and jumped on another flight. but this way i get to come home, re-pack the suitcase, sleep in my own bed for one night and then leave tomorrow.
i'll be gone for 4 days, staying at the chicago marriott suites o'hare. (just in case anyone needs to find me). i'll be working as a demonstrator for tombow at CHA. i'm pretty impressed with my idea, not that it is the trendiest or the cutest...but i managed to get 5 products in one 3" circle embellishment.
so, here i go. i'll get on with disney day 4 when i return.

back from boston

yup. i went home. well, actually, boston isn't home...but it is easier to say and have people understand.
so really i'm back from maynard.
the little town where i grew up. it felt like home. so familiar. and yet, i don't have a place there now. i've known that for years. something about marrying a southern boy and becoming a yankee in the south. i would love to move back there someday. unfortunately my taste seems to be the 1/2 to 1 million dollar homes, but i could go for less.
but the visit went well. the kids really enjoyed their grandma & grandpa d. i think they were a bit whiner and maybe a tad more impatient than usual, but they seemed sad to go. so i hope that indicates that they had a good time.
we did all the important "maynard & massachusetts" things - papa ginos pizza, erikson's ice cream, went to skaket beach on cape cod, collected hermit crabs, buried each other in the sand, went candlepin bowling, and even spent an afternoon in the city, ate seafood (i did, not the kids), and rode the T home. and we got to see some really good friends that are still there - all of it adding up to HOME.
thanks mom & dad for having us. thanks ben for being so good with the kids. they are still talking about how much fun it was to play with you and if you are coming to visit. and kami, it was great to see you, even though we had to travel a collective 4000 miles to be in the same place at the same time!
we'll be back.
(pictures to be posted as soon as i upload them!)

gone fishing at the aquarium

while in disney's epcot we went to the "living seas" exhibit/rides where we spent an hour looking at fish and sea creatures. they were mesmerized.

when we got home i talked joanna into going to the aquarium (it wasn't too hard to do) and we made plans to go that friday. two moms with six kids. people looked at us like we had lost our minds. joanna carried her baby in a carrier, we pushed cassidy and lorali in a double stroller and we had the three boys, xander, ethan and ___ hold hands as we made our ways through the crowds.
the excitement that my kids showed at disney was brought back to life by the huge tanks, bright colors and interactive/kid friendly attractions.

we had so much fun and didn't even get to see the whole thing - so i bought seasons passes. todd just shook his head at me, but i saw the look in the kids eyes. they won't have any problems going back again and again. definitely enough to get our monies worth.

even mommies make mistakes

i know i make mistakes. probably more than i even realize. but this time i had to admit it to xander. the older kids at school were having a water day. i was one of those parents that doesn't read the sign completely, so as i left school on tuesday i scanned the sign, saw "water day - thursday 7/3" and made a mental note to pack up bathing suits and towels for my kids to bring.

so we get to school that morning, after talking about it for two days with xander, only to read the signs again and realize that it was for the schoolage kids and not for the 4 years olds.

i admitted my mistake to xander. he was a little down, but then asked if we could have our own water day at home.

so saturday we got out some water guns and water balloons and got a little wet in the backyard. because there is still a water ban in effect due to drought conditions i couldn't turn on the sprinkler or fill up the kiddie pool. but i "watered the grass" for five minutes and let the kids run through it. i think it was a first for cassidy. so we wasted a little more water than was necessary. so i'll take one less shower this week.

short hair

i had enough to donate to pantene's beautiful lengths, so i did it. i'm not totally loving it yet. need to get used to it and figure out how to style it. but right now i'm just proud of myself for doing it and not chickening out!
(i cut it monday, 6/23)

happy 4th

yes, i know! it is the 6th now, but i didn't get a chance to sit down on the 4th, or the 3rd for that matter to write anything.

our little town of sugar hill has a celebration the night before, on the 3rd. they hold it at the town park, with food vendors, blow-up jumping slides, a live band, fireworks (a must!) followed by a movie.

rachel went ahead of us to get a spot (thanks rach!). when i got off work we picked up food and headed over. we ate, jumped and slid on the slides (okay, only xander did that. although cassidy was charging to get in there and try it for herself!) threw the frisbee and the football. we saw lots of friends from churchand even convinced some of them to sit with us for a few mintues.

the fireworks were great. a large variety, lots of color, some new ones i'd never seen before. they were able to last for a whole 30 minutes. not bad for a little town. and all the while patriotic music played in the background. of course, they had lee greenwood's "proud to be an american". that one is a must and i may have protested if it wasn't included in their play list.

the highlight of the night was xander. todd brought him "brave sprite" (as this was the place that "brave sprite" came to be last year). before they even started the fireworks xander has his fingers in his ears. todd convinced him that he was holding him, they weren't that loud and that he was okay taking his fingers out. slowly he put his hands in his lap and before i knew it i was hearing him laugh and yell "bang" as each one went off. when they were over he came to me and said "i don't have to call it brave sprite anymore. i can just call it regular sprite".

cassidy stayed awake the whole time and watched most of the fireworks while sitting on my lap or various postitions as she wiggled and crawled all over me. her comments as she watched, "aww cute" and "wow".

todd had to work on the 4th, so rachel and i headed to the pancake breakfast with the kids. bringing along xander's scooter decorated fo the parade. i had wanted to decorate and bring the wagon for cassidy, but it wouldn't fit in rachel's car. thankfully, my dear friend michelle noticed cassidy was sitting with me at the start of the parade and quickly put her in a wagon with her daughter. they didn't look very excited at being pulled around in a circle, that is until they got "pop pops" at the end. michelle's husband pulled them around the park for another 15 mintues and they were perfectly content to be chauffeured around.
after the breakfast we took some much needed downtime (as i don't think we had stopped since sometime two days earlier what with a busy day off wednesday, spending the night at grandma & grandad's, putting in a full day at school, "sparks in the park" celebration and then pancake breakfast) -

so after resting a bit we went to the pool(s). first we hit the pool in george and pam's neighborhood. (the in-laws) rachel and a friend of hers came with us (or technically i went with rachel since she was the one with the car) and we swam there. xander got to play with a new friend and enjoyed being thrown into the pool (by an adult, not by the new friend). then we pool hopped and went to my friend melissa's parent's pool. well okay, her parents are my friends too, but melissa invited us. we were there for several hours. we got to hang with some of our good friends, the galts, bowmans, coopers and cheeks, and xander got to spend hours in the pool playing "divers" with makayla. cassidy loved the swing hung under the porch and spent a good bit of time in there, yelling for me whenever she slowed down and needed another push.
we ended the night back at george & pam's for dinner and a movie. george had set up an outdoor theatre, but at the threat of a thunder storm we moved it inside. settling into a dark room on comfy couches is dangerous when you are tired. needless to say we all slept pretty well that night.

all in all a good fourth! (just wish xander hadn't decided that he'd had enough fireworks the night before cause i totally would have searched out another showing. i love fireworks!)

disney day 3

it is taking me too long to do this. i'm likely to forget something. shame on me!
well here goes, disney day 3....

we started off the morning with cereal in the room and headed back out to magic kingdom. the buses were still a thrill for the kids, so we anxiously awaited one to take us to see mickey! once in the park we headed to adventure land and frontier land.

we flew the magic carpets, rode the jungle cruise - where we almost got eaten by an alligator and taken captive by natives. we climbed through the swiss family robinson tree house and spotted captain hook, smeed and jack sparrow! (you know, for a child who claims to like pirates xander is very apprehensive about meeting them. he wanted nothing to do with any of "those kinds of characters" and demanded that we get away from them so he wouldn't have to see them. weird!)

pirates of the caribbean was closed for renovation, so even though todd had talked xander into going this time xander managed to escape the dreaded ride one more year. we shopped in the store next to the pirate ride where xander found his pirate telescope and pirate sword. he was thrilled! and so was i, because we had them sent back to the room at our hotel and we didn't have to carry them around all day. i bought an anklet that had a tiny mickey charm, to which i am going to add other charms that i have been collecting from our two visits so far.

while we were in the gift shop we spotted wendy and peter pan. so we head outside, there is no one waiting there so we get to talk with them for a minute. cassidy didn't really want to do a photo with them, but she couldn't take her eyes off of them. she stood close by eating from a bag of gold fish. peter pan's comment to her was "ariel won't be too happy that you're eating her friends." as she eats another one.

we also had the chance to see woody and jessie. we had a to wait a little while for them to come back from a break, but xander was determined. cassidy warmed up to them a little more and interacted with jessie as they signed our autograph book.

after visiting just two "lands" we started back towards the front of the park. the day before i had caught the end of the performance on the palace steps, so despite xander's grumpiness and the heat we parked ourselves in front of the castle on a bench to wait for the next show to begin. it turns out that xander's grumpy mood was turned around when he saw his favorite characters dancing and singing on stage. he even thanked me when it was over for making him stay to see it. yeah! score for mom! i loved it to. it was full of disney cheesiness and charm.

well, we didn't want to overdo it, so we hopped the bus back to the hotel. we took our naps and woke to find that it was storming. thick sheets of rain fell, so much that we could hardly see the river that ran behind the hotel. thunder, lightning and according to the news, chance of tornados. we stuck it out in the room by watching tv and playing with playdough that mickey & minnie had left as a gift for xander and cassidy.

when we were pretty sure the storm had passed we gathered our stuff and headed out to hollywood studios. we didn't have much time there, but we knew one thing we wanted to do - or xander wanted to do - eat dinner at pizza planet. many of the rides had lines that were too long to wait in, so we headed to pizza planet first. we ate and played a few games. a huge deal for xander. he loved it. leaving from there we caught the ariel show. as we walked in one of the employees approached xander and asked if he wanted to introduce the show. he waited anxiously and when it was his turn he announced " ". he was nervous, but spoke into the mic and got a round of applause. the show was very entertaining and cassidy enjoyed seeing live ariel.

we hadn't planned on what we were going to do that night, but since we were there we decided that seeing "fantasmic", the light show at hollywood studios, that night would end it off perfectly. the stadium seating was pretty full by the time we got into the theater area. we found some seats in front of a family sitting in the wheelchair section. they were very kind and let us squeeze in with them. before i knew it they were feeding cassidy and xander popcorn and cotton candy. todd ran to the vendors to buy a "brave sprite" to help xander be brave as he watched the fireworks, and returned only minutes before the show started, only to find the kids full from all the treats handed to them.

the show was great! i loved the beginning, as mickey "orchestrates" the fountains of water in time to the music. it isn't something that you can video or catch with a picture very well. but it leaves lasting memories. xander did very well, his brave sprite did the trick. we got back late that night, ready to fall into bed with visions of apprentice mickey dancing in our heads.