We met Mickey! Mouse that is...

Welcome to Disney!

As many of you know, we surprised our children last week with a trip to Disney. I have only been once when I was young and the rest of the family has never been. So it was a HUGE surprise! We left early on Tuesday morning so we could make it in time to hit Epcot and left on Saturday morning to come home. Three and 1/4 fun filled days of Disney and here's what I learned...

1. The best money I have ever spent? Renting nice strollers. 

I rented two single City Select strollers from Kingdom Strollers. I was a little concerned the kids would think they were "babies" but they only hesitated and then hopped right in. The strollers were delivered to our hotel's bell hop and we dropped them off there when we were finished on Saturday. I opted for two singles so we could navigate the crowds better and if we needed to, could split (which due to an epic meltdown one day, we did split for a short bit). I also made sure it was a single handed collapse so it was easy to take on and off the buses. 

 I promise my kids had fun. Those are tired faces you see. Plus they were tired of mommy taking pictures. 


2. My kids love, I mean L. O. V. E., a buffet. 

We were on the dining plan (a must in my opinion) and chose to have 2 character meals, both of which were buffets. Charlie essentially ate rice and any and all seafood on the buffet. Cole added some salad and fruit to his. It was 100% their jam. To be able to walk through line and choose their own meal without mommy or daddy telling them they had to eat something...well let's just say they wish I served a buffet every night. Sorry, boys. This momma is not a short order cook. 

An additional bonus: we got to meet Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Mickey, Minnie, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. 

3. My kids like being scared, going upside down and are apparently have a genetically predisposition to be thrill seekers. 

I thought we might start out slow on the roller coasters and see what they liked. I thought they might like them but I wasn't sure to what degree. So we started with some mid-scary, mid-size, less intimidating coasters. They loved them. 

Since those were a hit we amped it up. This is them in front of the Twilight Zone of Terror (below). It's a drop zone in a spooky hotel. They could NOT wait to get on it and after it was over I got "that's it? Can't we go longer?!?" Cole's pointing at it because he thought it was so fun. 

Perhaps their favorite was Aerosmith Rockin' Rollercoaster in Magic Kingdom because "it's the first time we have ever gone upside down!"  Space Mountain (a roller coaster in the dark) was a close second. This should show you how excited they were to get on. Bless Cole and his closed eyes in so many pictures.

4. Fanny packs are back in fashion but cute shoes should not be worn at Disney. 

A certain friend made fun of me because I ordered a small black "fanny pack" from Amazon just to hold my phone and lip gloss. I knew that would be all I wanted to access easily and the rest could go in our backpack. See? You can totally still wear one!

Shoes. I brought 2 pairs of Sketchers that were slip-on and comfortable. Daniel told me they were hideous. But honestly, they were the only comfortable shoes I had that didn't make my ankle hurt. And since the people watching at Disney is much like that of Walmart, my shoes were the least of the disasters (58 year olds in tube tops and no bra anyone?).

5. Our family likes one full day at each park. 

We weren't sure if we needed one or two days at Magic Kingdom. I had mixed opinions from other families so we chose two days. Having done so, for our next trip, we'll opt to do a partial day at Epcot, then one day at Magic Kingdom, one day at Hollywood Studios and one day at Animal Kingdom. 

6. Late summer is still HOT. 

It was 91-92 degrees when we went, which is normal for even where we live in SC so we knew what to expect...but that doesn't mean we are immune to the heat. We learned many tricks to escaping the heat. Shows, waiting in lines inside buildings, indoor rides...all great ways to escape the heat and cool off. We also bought the kids little fans with a water bottle attached to cool them off. And we drank lots of water. This is us on the People Mover so we could get a breeze, rest and get out of the sun for a bit. 

Waiting for a 4-D show while we cooled off.

7. I loved spending time with my family. 

Perhaps one of the greatest joys in life is seeing your kids happy and having fun. While we still had tears and meltdowns (tired + overstimulation is no joke), there were more happy smiles, laughter and hugs. I wouldn't trade those for the world. 

8.  I still love holding my kids. 

They may be 52-55lbs and not so easy to pick up anymore but I still love holding them. You see, I recognize that pretty soon, they will be too big for me to hold or (insert teary eyes) won't want me to. So while I can, I'll hold them. 

9. Going with friends, especially if they know Disney, is a blessing. 

We went with close friends who have a daughter  and all knew ahead of time that we'd be going in different directions because we have boys and they have a girl. But the fun part? We always met back up for dinner and shared our day. Having adults to text and chat with during the trip was an added blessing. We also met up with a friend from high school and they know Disney really well too. Double bonus! (To said friend: you notice I didn't post your picture? You still remain anonymous. 😉 )

10. The parades are awesome. 

We were able to see the Death March (or whatever it's called) for Star Wars, part of a character parade and then the parade for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween. They really do an awesome job and are completely entertaining. The fireworks are pretty fantastic too. Oh, and I have apparently very limited knowledge of Star Wars characters but my kids know every  single characters, their genealogy and/or reporting structure. 

Star Wars show at Hollywood Studios

Headless Horseman starting the Halloween Parade

So there you have it. My download on our trip last week. I have finally recovered from the "Disney Hangover" and no longer feel like I've been beat to a pulp or run 5 marathons in 5 days. I'll leave you with a few more cute pictures of our trip. 

Have a magical day!

What I learned from my recent miscarriage

I debated rather to write about this publicly. Many of our close friends, coworkers, clients and family already know but it's always vulnerable to put it "in cyber space"...but I felt God prompting me to. 

Here's a bit about my history...my first child (from a previous marriage) was born at 26 weeks and lived for only 2 months. Most likely I had an incompetent cervix. I had to painstakingly make the decision to turn off the machines when his tiny 2lb body just couldn't thrive any longer. I held Jake in my arms as he took his last breath. I'll never ever forget it. I can pull up that night in my head in an instant and remember whispering "go with God, He'll take care of you now" as I rocked him. 

After Jake died, I got pregnant again (again, in my previous marriage) and as I was going through the pre-op for the cerclage (that's where they stitch your cervix so you can sustain a pregnancy), the doctor did an ultrasound. At 16 weeks I learned I had had a miscarriage. Devastating. 

Fast forward many, many years and two little boys later, it's January of this year and we learned, shockingly, that I was pregnant. I say shockingly because I already suffer from PCOS (poly cystic ovary syndrome) which means, among other lovely side affects, I don't ovulate regularly. In November the doctor tested me and said I wasn't likely ovulating since my cycles were 35 days apart (anything over 32 usually means you're not). True enough my hormone levels were too low to say I was ovulating. Daniel also has diagnosed fertility issues with his swimmers. Let's just say not all of them are mature enough to swim in the deep end. 

We had already tried for a year...or as Daniel liked to put it "we weren't preventing". He wasn't 100% on board with the third child idea but willing to let God work if that was what He wanted for our family. So with the test and the time "not preventing" we just assumed it wasn't in God's will for our lives. Despite feeling for a few years that our family wasn't complete, I accepted it wholeheartedly. I was already blessed with two fantastic little boys. So we sold or donated all of our baby gear. Neither of us felt that going to the fertility specialist again was necessary either. So we got rid of everything and I mentally shifted gears to being a four person family. 

Back to recent events...This pregnancy was normal as far as I could tell. We saw the heartbeat at 8 weeks and I had all the normal symptoms. Essentially I hibernated for 7 weeks because I was too nauseous and tired to do anything else. The nausea tapered off around 10.5 weeks but the rest of the symptoms remained. 

Imagine our surprise when we go to the 12 week appointment (which was later than normal due to spring break) and we hear "this isn't a normal pregnancy" as they are doing another ultrasound. In fact, it wasn't a pregnancy at all. The heartbeat was gone and nothing was even barely visible. 

I was devastated.

Deep down I had a constant nagging feeling that I needed to see the heartbeat again at 12 weeks to really feel excited. Maybe that was mother's intuition kicking in. 

We left the doctor's office and as soon as we were in the car we both wept. How could this happen? God gave us a pregnancy we thought was impossible. God changed Daniel's heart to be ecstatic and joyful when we learned I was pregnant. The boys were thrilled about being a big brother and having a baby  in mommy's tummy. Our house was settled and could accommodate a third child. I bought a minivan last fall for pete sake! 

I admit, I was bitter. I was angry. I was confused. In a matter of three months I went from being completely at  peace being a family of four to the shock of being pregnant (along with all the symptoms) and then excited my dream was coming true to feeling empty. 

On Friday I was numb. On Saturday I had a complete meltdown. I essentially was a grown-up toddler mad, frustrated and angry that this happened. I asked myself: What was the point? I was perfectly content with our two beautiful boys if that was God's will. Why would I get pregnant and get my hopes up only to take them away? 

I knew Sunday would be hard. I knew going to church on Sunday would be hard. Ironically it was three days after learning we lost the pregnancy. I was supposed to be joyful celebrating that Jesus has risen. My family was in town and we had an Easter lunch at our house along with the kid's joy in getting their Easter baskets. I was dreading it. I walked in to the sanctuary and instantly teared up. I walked to get tissues and ran in to friends who were kind and understanding. I cried more. I wasn't OK. 

During the service I tried to stay numb. But then we stood up to sing "In Christ Alone" one of my favorite hymns. I remember muttering "oh great, of course it's this song", still feeling angry. And then I started to sing. It was then that I had a choice. I could stay bitter and angry at God or I could trust His character and rest in Him. 

So I raised my hand in praise and sang, as best I could through tears, "In Christ alone, my cornerstone...here in the blood of Christ I stand". It was there that I let go of the bitterness and anger. I chose to praise Him in this storm. 

"In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul."   ~Psalm 138:3

I may never understand why we had a miscarriage this time. But I can always trust in Jesus, His character and His love for me. And that's enough. 

Do It Yourself Growth Chart

I'm not the most gushiest of people. I sometimes seem hard on the outside and soft on the inside. Like a tootsie pop. Or an onion with many layers to peel back. But I do like sentimental things like family photos, things that remind me of my kids or our wedding (I still wear the dress I got married in 8 years later. Don't worry it isn't a white wedding dress.). Pretty much anything that reminds me of family I'm sentimental over. I love that we still use my great-grandmothers drinking glasses and dessert cups.  

So as the boys have been growing, I was getting sad I hadn't been tracking their height on anything. I love looking at my grandmother's house and seeing the markings of my mom and my uncles as they grew up. But I also wanted something transportable so as I moved, I could take it with us. 

And a Growth Chart was born (thanks to some Pinterest ideas). 

Now that  you've seen the finished product, let's go back to the beginning and show you how it came to it's new look. 

I started with basic stain grade 6 ft boards (one for me, one for Anna M...because you know we can't do a project without each other apparently) Albeit more expensive, I chose stain grade because it was better quality. If you plan to paint your board then you can simply get the paint grade but be sure to cover the knots in the wood with shellac so they don't bleed through. 

I decided to try pre-stain for the first time to see what I thought. I heard it was supposed to help the stain set in and be more even. All you had to do is wipe in on before staining. 

The verdict? Not worth it. I thought it took extra coats of stain compared to no pre-stain. Epic fail. 

I chose a dark gloss stain for the boards so I wouldn't have to put a shiny coat of shellac or other clear coat on top. I ended up with three coats (thanks to the wood conditioner) and sanded in between each coat. 

Can you see the forced smile? I was a little irritated by the pre-stain. I had complete plans to put this together in one weekend and it took me waaaay longer since I had to wait for coats to dry longer. You can see what only one coat looked like here: 

And a second coat here. 

I wanted a really dark wood color so it was obvious that three coats were required. In between drying time I also had to figure out why I heard no children and only saw this: 

There are children supposed to be in this picture. Four boys to be exact. It's like a "Where's Waldo" gone bad. 

Low and behold...this is what we found. 

So a slight delay here and there for clean-up on aisle six...err should I say aisle four for four little boys...and for snacks. 

I have no idea what Christopher M. is doing in this picture. Some sort of toddler gang sign?

Once the board was stained, it was as simple as putting on the decals I ordered from Etsy. I believe my numbers are from this shop and then I ordered the name part from a different shop. Just search "ruler growth chart decal" in Etsy and all kinds of options pop up. I chose to put our last name and then est. 2006 (for when we got married and established our family) but there are all kinds of options. 

One important tip - be sure to measure your baseboards before you place the decals. I of course eye-balled it and was an inch off. Most Some may say to just adjust it when you measure kids but that was too complicated and not how I envisioned it so I had to cut off an inch from the board. 

Then the fun part begins! I chose to use a different color per person (except grandparents, they are all the same color). I also went back and added their birth height, 4 mos, 6 mos, 9 mos, 1 year to the board. I kept them in their baby books so it wasn't hard to find but if you haven't, just ask your pediatrician. They have a full record of it. 

I'm excited that we can keep this for years (and generations) to come. How fun will it be to record my grand kids one day?! 

If you have a growth chart, share! I'm sure we'd all like to see different versions. 

A Napkin For All Occassions

Good news! This project is toddler friendly! 

(Well unless you're the Other Anna where toddlers and paint make you nervous)

Back in May (admittedly this post is a little late...ok alot late) I was scouring my brain for what to get my mom for Mother's Day from the kids. I want it to be personal but also something the boys get to participate in picking out or putting together. Then I came across a post on this blog and it inspired me to make my mom napkins. 

You see, growing up, we always had a set table for dinner. That meant the right utensils, napkins folded and put in their rightful place and of course that meant we had to use proper manners. She learned it from her mom who almost always used cloth napkins on holidays and special occasions. I'm sure my grandmother learned it from her mom and so on and so forth. 

Anyway, it's probably where I learned to love cloth napkins. I mean I should use them every day as many as I have and as much as I love them. Hmmm...note to self: contemplate using cloth napkins daily. 

So off I went to the store for supplies. It was easy to find white cloth napkins but be sure you buy the ones that aren't super stain resistant because I'm not sure how the paint would adhere to them. Then it was a simple act of picking out paint fit for fabric (just read the label) and a few sponges. I bought the craft sponges that are circular and have a stick already attached. It's easier for toddlers. 

And off to the races we were...the boys absolutely loved this project. I gave them a plate of paint colors and a sponge for each color. All the had to do was dot the cloth. It was a hit. I'm talking Big. Huge. I have to go shopping now! ($1 for the person who can name that movie! - Jenny H. you don't count) 

I let them do two (we had 8 total) and I did the other six. I figured if mom had people over she could give the guests the less-toddler-ish napkins and they could eat from the ones the boys made. Although I have to say, their version was very cool and modern looking. I've thought about having them make me some from my old napkins. Nothing says "no there's no stains here" like a big blob of paint. 

There's turned out very cute I must admit and it took us very little time. 

I finished off the rest with a more precise smattering of polka dots. 

What I love about this project is that there are no limits. You really can tailor it to any occasion or color scheme.  Here are some variations you could try: 

• Stripes (vertical, horizontal, chevron) - free hand it or use painters tape
• Polka dots (like we did) for any season: orange, gold, black for Halloween; red and green for Christmas; garnet and black for USC football games (or any school colors) - how fun would they be for tailgating! 
• Use a favorite stencil and make a pattern either all over or just in one corner (a fleur de lis or a bumble bee would be cute and universal)
• Use a letter stencil and monogram it (like down in one corner would look super cute)
• Free Hand Toddler - well that's what I'd call giving kids a paint brush and paint and let them go at it! Give them one color at a time and you might be surprised at how cute it turns out. Sort've like an early Van Gogh look. 
• Play with color - I mentioned some in the polka dot idea but think even further like coordinating with your china or a baby shower theme or the colors in your house. 

Really the options are endless! And the best part, the kids can help. They were so proud to give them to Nana and she commented multiple times how much she loved them. 

It's a win in Schrallville! I think I may update some of my old napkins now. Nothing like writing a blog post to inspire you to do an art and craft with the kiddos. Daniel will be thrilled. Not. (he hates arts and crafts) 

And these are easy Christmas gifts too. 

Oh and the movie reference? Pretty Woman. C'mon people. Get with the program! It's a classic!