Disney Day 6: Animal Kingdom

We decided to try to get to Animal Kingdom for opening because it's the only Disney park that closes early. B was in a cheerful mood and things went pretty smoothly. We had to wait about 15 minutes outside the park gates before opening, and that's when B spilled her drink all over my lap. Oh well, it was going to rain, so my pants were going to get washed out anyway!

The first thing we did was meet some characters. We saw Lilo and Stitch, Terk, Pocahontas, Chip & Dale and Kenai (bear from Brother Bear). Then we had breakfast at one of their restaurants. While eating breakfast, Terk (the gorilla from Tarzan) called Bridget over to play musical chairs. Bridget had a great time prancing around the chairs, though she had no idea what she was doing. She just followed everyone else's lead. 

After breakfast, we went on the safari ride. We saw a LOT of animals. Then came the rain. We hung out in gift shops when it really poured. In between downpours, we made our way to It's Tough To Be A Bug. Bridget got scared when the spiders attacked our feet. That's my favorite show, though.

Bridget decided the stroller needed to be detailed, and proceeded to wipe down every inch of the wet stroller before she sat back in it. When we finally got her back in, we strolled her over to the big sandbox where she dug for dinosaur bones. She played in the tunnels and slides for awhile too. Next we rode the dinosaur ride. 

The Nemo Musical was next. This thing was pretty neat! The actors carried around these puppets and relayed the whole Finding Nemo story in musical fashion. It was really impressive! This quickly replaced It's Tough To Be A Bug as my favorite thing to do at AK. 

After that, we headed to the hotel. B chilled out and watched the Disney Channel, I took a nap, and Shawn surfed the net. At dinnertime, we journeyed to Downtown Disney. B fell asleep clutching my arm on our 10 minute bus ride to DD. 

Shawn and I took turns carrying her as we searched for a place to have dinner. We ended up at the Rainforest Cafe. You know how loud it is there, right?! Well, B slept right through it all. It wasn't until after dinner, while cruising the shops that B woke up. We all did a little shopping, got B a hot dog for dinner, then headed back to the hotel, thus ending our Disney vacation.

Disney Day 5: Disney's Hollywood Studios

We let Bridget sleep in today, she was exhausted from yesterday! We opted to skip breakfast at the hotel (because it was after 10 am anyway) and decided we'd get lunch as soon as we got to Hollywood Studios. 

We wandered into Hollywood Studios sometime after 11 am. Rented a stroller for 2 days, took photos, and decided Bridget would most like to eat at Pizza Planet (from the Toy Story movies). As soon as she saw the restaurant, she knew it was Pizza Planet. She was SO excited! She and dad played a video game after lunch, then we headed out to conquer the park.

We ran into McQueen and Mater (from Cars) and took photos. Then we watched the Muppet 3D show. Bridget thought that was pretty funny. Next we ran into Annie and Leo, two of the Little Einsteins. (I didn't know their names until after I read B's autograph book.) Then we went to meet Buzz and Woody. That was a lot of fun. They had their own storefront, and inside the building there were plenty of photo opportunities. The best, of course, was being on Andy's bed with Woody and Buzz!

Next up, we went in this building, I think it was the Art of Disney building. That's where they hide all the characters. We met the Incredibles, Carl and his dog (from Up), Sorcerer Mickey, and Frozone from the Incredibles. That was a lot of fun and took up a good chunk of time. There was only one other character stop in the park, so we headed for it. There we met Sully from Monsters Inc. Bridget was jumping for joy when it was her turn to meet Sully because she had been reading that book quite a bit before our trip. She had also watched the movie twice before we left!

Next we rode the Great Movie Ride. Then we saw the Beauty and the Beast musical. That was nice. The whole story chopped down to about a 30 minute show. Nice costumes, decent actors, plenty of available seats. It was a nice break from all the walking. 

However, after the show, the rain came in and it was miserable! It was really pouring. Both Bridget and I had brought our windbreakers, so it wasn't too bad for us, but Shawn was pretty soaked with just his t-shirt on. We hung out for awhile at an outdoor (but covered) eatery. Bridget played with the Beauty and the Beast play set that she purchased with her own money. 

When our Fast Pass tickets became available, we went over to the Toy Story Mania ride and made our way to the front of the line. Bridget chose to ride with Mom, so I gave Bridget the 30 second tutorial on how to work her gun, and we were off. The ride was really cool. It was 3D, and you basically play a bunch of carnival games by shooting things with your gun. B didn't quite get that you had to aim your gun, but she had fun nonetheless. 

We originally wanted to see Fantasmic, but with the rain, it wasn't guaranteed to even show, so Shawn and I decided it would be best to just go back to the hotel.

After a quick tour of the gift shops, we headed out. Unfortunately, we had to wait FOREVER for our bus to show up. It was really pouring too. Shawn was a cold, wet, mess. Bridget was enjoying splashing in the puddles, and Shawn joined in. I shivered under a light post while lightning flashed off in the distance. Then I decided it probably wasn't best to stand against the light post! After maybe 20 minutes, our bus showed up and we made it safely back to the hotel. 

When we got in the room, we all took turns taking hot showers and changing into our jammies. Then it was off to dreamland once again!

Day 4: The Magic Kindom

Today we had to wake Bridget up early because we had a Breakfast reservation at the Crystal Palace at 9:30 am in the Magic Kingdom. Needless to say, she was not Susie Sunshine upon waking up. In fact, she was quite sassy. 

It was funny, though, when I asked her to get dressed, she picked up the Winnie the Pooh shirt and said, "It's a Pooh shirt, cuz I'm going to Pooh!"

We were at the Magic Kingdom before they opened the gate and got to watch the characters do their song and dance about how all of our dreams were going to come true. It was nice. 

Breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and friends was nice. Bridget's mood changed for the better once she saw the characters. It was really cute when Bridget gave Tigger a big kiss on the nose! After breakfast we rode the Jungle Cruise and Alladin's Magic Carpet Ride. 

Next we had to make our way to Downtown Disney to meet up with my friend Tara. Tara and I met at UNC Charlotte. We were both exchange students. We became fast friends, and even worked together at Dunkin' Donuts. (Bet you didn't know that I worked there!) Tara and I were also partners in crime: I started many a donut fight after hours at the store,  she encouraged me to joy ride in a "borrowed" UNCC mail cart. It must have been a sight to see us tooling around in a golf cart down Interstate 49 at midnight. Ah...memories!

So we had lunch at the T-Rex restaurant. Kinda like The Rainforest Cafe, but with a dinosaur theme. Tara brought her two kids: Colin and Aurora. Bridget and Colin hit it off immediately. Poor Colin, though, at one point Bridget was dragging him by the arm, "Let's go see THIS dinosaur..."

But lunch was over much too soon, and I had to say goodbye to my dear friend. The three of us headed back to the Magic Kingdom. We rode the monorail, and Bridget and Shawn got to ride in the front with the pilot. Bridget earned her "co-pilot's license". Was very cute, and I think Shawn had more fun than Bridget did. 

Back at the park, we immediately went to see Storytime with Belle. Bridget was on top of the world! She LOVES stories and she LOVES Beauty and the Beast. While B and I watched the show, Shawn went off to get fast passes for Peter Pan's Flight. After Storytime, B met Belle yet again. 

Next up: It's A Small World, Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean rides. Bridget was a little scared waiting in the lobby of the Haunted Mansion because it's so dark and scary, but she wasn't at all scared during the ride. She was a little scared in Pirates when the pirates begin shooting, but other than that, she'll tell you she liked the rides.

Then something amazing happened: We were sitting down having a hot dog and drink, and either Shawn or I asked Bridget what it said on our cups. She said, "Disney Parks" and that is exactly what it said. I was speechless. She never heard us use that phrase! Then we asked, "What does it say below that?" and she pointed to the words and said, "Where dreams come true." and that's exactly what it said. I was flabbergasted! I know we never said that phrase! It was then that I decided it was time to really make an effort to teach Bridget to read. (More about that in a later post.)

We then rode Peter Pan's flight and let Bridget run around Ariel's Grotto. The grotto is a small play area with water fountains. B had a blast, but was a bit put off by a bully 2 year old in diapers that was running around pushing other children over. She pushed B twice and Shawn and I finally said, "If she pushes you again, push her back!" Karma was on our side because as little bully girl was running towards B, and B was tensing up ready to push back, little bully girl tripped and fell flat on her face! Bully mom was sitting across the grotto, on her cell phone, oblivious to the havoc that bully girl was causing. 

After drying B off and changing into dry clothes, we went to Toon Town and saw Mickey Mouse again, and met the Fairies. Now, we waited about 45 minutes to meet Fawn, Tinkerbell and Iridessa. That was the longest we waited to do anything this entire trip! Of course, B loved meeting the fairies. She truly believed she was "shrunk" down to the size of a fairy. (Disney mistake: we were never "unshrunk" upon leaving the fairies building.)

Finally we rode the Buzz Lightyear ride. I rested my feet while Shawn and Bridget rode the Rockets. Bridget asked to be carried after the Rockets, so Shawn carried her. By the time we got to the gift shop, she was asleep on his shoulder! He sat on a bench while I looked at the gift shops. She slept through our only voyage on the boats that take you back to the transportation center. 

We decided that tomorrow we'll get B a stroller. She's just too pooped out from all the walking!

BAPTISM DATE IS SCHEDULED

Holly Lynn,

William John and 

Megan Delia

request the honor of your presence 

as they are baptized

at 2:00 pm

on Sunday, August 2, 2009

at St. Mary Immaculate Parish in

Plainfield, Illinois

A party will follow the ceremony. I haven't arranged all of that yet.  I will keep you posted though. Mark your calendars and hope for good weather. Anyone have a girl and a boy baptism outfit that we can borrow? I have Bridget's gorgeous gown ready for Holly to wear. Hmm...I hope it fits. It should, since they're still only wearing 0-3 month clothes. Hope they don't grow TOO fast over the next few months.

And, yes, I do plan on mailing out invitations! This is just a heads-up, save the date announcement. I'll probably have to work some of my magic to get nice invitations printed up. There's only one "stock" triplet baptism announcement on the market, and it's pretty cheesy. 

Wish me luck on the party arrangements. I have no idea what we're going to do other than I don't want it at our house and it'd be nice to have it around Plainfield/Joliet. 

Suggestions welcome...leave a comment. 

Day 3: Epcot

Bridget slept until she woke up on her own. We had breakfast at the hotel and went to Epcot. 

The first thing we did was wait in line to meet the fab 5: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy. It was about a half hour wait, but they played short cartoons, so B was entertained while we waited. 

After that, we headed to The Seas. We rode the Nemo ride, looked around all the aquariums, found Nemo, then went to Turtle Talk with Crush. That was really cute. The kids sat in the front of the theater and the adults sat in the back of the theater. When the show was over, all the kids scurried around the theater and it was a bit chaotic. Bridget started to freak out because she couldn't find us. She screamed for us, and began crying. At least she stayed put. Since we arrived at WDW, I've been telling her if she gets lost, she should stay calm, try to find a police officer, employee (someone wearing purple pants!) or nice adult and tell them you're lost. She was scared and cried, but at least she didn't go running around.  Oh well, I guess we'll work on that. Shawn did teach her what hotel we were staying at and she knew we had to take the A bus to get there and she knew our room number!

After the Seas, we headed to the World Showcase for lunch with the princesses in Norway. That was pretty neat. When we arrived, Bridget took her photo with Belle. We sat down, ate lunch, and just before dessert, the princesses began making their rounds in our area. B was very patient waiting at our table for each princess. First Aurora, then Cinderella, Snow White and Ariel.I don't remember what B said to each princess except Snow White. She asked Snow White who her favorite dwarf was and she said, "Well, I just love them all so much, I don't have a favorite one!"  When Ariel left, B began screaming (and you all know how LOUD she is) because she wanted more princesses to come by. Basically, a mini tantrum. I was about to take her out of the restaurant when she calmed down. 

Bridget and I went to the restroom before leaving the restaurant. I don't know how it even happened, but she managed to pee all over the place while sitting on the potty! Pee was pooled up in her underpants! Ugh! She rarely has accidents anymore, so WHY now!?!? So I text Shawn from the restroom asking him to bring her change of clothes over. (At least I was prepared for such an occasion!) No reply. I call his cell, no reply. Now I'm steaming. I've gotta clean up the restroom, clean up Bridget, and she's naked from the waist down in this tiny restroom. Do I leave B in the restroom alone, while I run to our table and get her extra clothes? It's only about 50 feet away? I'd be gone a minute or two. Do I bring Bridget out of the restroom with her naked butt? Do I put her wet clothes back on, grab her clothes and clean and change her again?Do I ask another mom to watch B while I grab the clothes?  I called Shawn's cell again. No answer. Grumbled. Bridget's dancing around the restroom. Another mom was hanging out at the sink with her daughter. She asked if she could watch B while I got the clothes. I thanked her profusely, said I'd be back in a flash, sprinted to our table, yelled at Shawn about not having his cell handy, and got back to change B. 

Seriously! Shawn can't even eat dinner with us without playing around on his phone, and when I really need him to answer his phone...grr! 

Ok, so that's over. Now we walk through the World Showcase checking out all the countries. Each country has a kid's corner where you can color a mask and add a paper charm to it. B LOVED this! It was good too, because she only had to walk a bit before she got to rest and color. 

It took the rest of the day to make it around the World. We stopped for photos with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore. We had dinner in Norway. We watched the Illuminations fireworks before leaving for the night. 

Day 2: The Magic Kingdom

I've begun uploading photos to My Mobile Me Gallery. Click the link at the right.

We let Bridget sleep until she woke up on her own today because she was so tired last night. I think she woke up at about 9 am. We all got ourselves ready, ate breakfast at the hotel, and headed to The Magic Kingdom. 

Once at the transportation center outside the Magic Kingdom, Bridget had the choice: boat or monorail to the park. Daddy was a bit disappointed that she chose the monorail. As we disembarked from the monorail outside the park, I asked Bridget, "Where are we, Bridget?!" she said, "But I don't know where we're at at Disney World. Let's go look at the water." Love it! We take her to the happiest place on earth, and she just wants to see the water!

Once inside the park, I think B was a bit overwhelmed by all the people rushing around and all the things to look at. We went to City Hall and got Bridget her "first trip to Disney World" button. She thought that was pretty cool. Then we walked around the corner and she got her first glimpse at Cinderella's Castle. She wasn't as excited as I thought she would be! We found a photographer that shot a few photos of Bridget and all three of us. Then a parade rolled by. Now B was getting more and more excited! The photographer snapped some pretty cute photos of her on Shawn's shoulders watching the parade. It made me so happy to see her so happy.

We made our way closer to the castle, and as luck would have it, the Castle Party show was just about to start. So we ended up watching that. Bridget loved seeing Mickey and Minnie and had her first look at Cinderella, Aurora and Snow White. She was loving it! Once the show was over, she was a bit upset. I think she wanted it to go on forever. So she whined a bit and complained about the heat and said she wanted water. So off we went to get water. As we're walking around the corner from the castle, there's Belle! She was having a meet and greet at her Storybook Garden. My oh my, Bridget was bouncing up and down! She'll tell you that Cinderella is her favorite, but I think Belle is really her favorite princess.  Meanwhile, Shawn found some water, and grabbed a spot in front of Belle to record the event. The line was short, but about half way through, Bridget saw that the little girl behind us had a Tinkerbell autograph book, and she had the blue Mickey Mouse autograph book. She threw herself quite the tantrum because she wanted THAT book and not HER book! I had Shawn take her out of line right then and there, because I wasn't going to deal with her tantrums all week over all the things she can't have. Fortunately she calmed down quickly, and she returned to line with me. 

She gave Belle a big hug and talked with her for a bit. She asked Belle what her favorite book was, and Belle told her that Sleeping Beauty was her favorite. She said the Beast's favorite book was Romeo and Juliet. Very cute!

  

After that, we rode the tea cups &  Dumbo, then we saw the 3D Movie Mickey's Philharmagic. Bridget really liked that show. Then we rode Snow White and the Winnie the Pooh rides. She was a bit afraid of Snow White, but she did just fine. 

Next we had lunch at Cosmic Rays on Val's recommendation. Lunch was good and Bridget loved the animatronic alien that played the piano as we ate. 

After lunch we headed to Tomorrowland where we saw the Monster's Inc. show. Shawn's joke was used during the show, but he forgot to send his name along with the joke, so he didn't get credit for the joke. As we came out of the show, we ran into Buzz Lightyear and Stitch, so B met them and had her photo taken with the characters. 

 

The weather was getting gloomy as we headed towards Mickey and Minnie's houses. Shawn ran to see about fast passes for Peter Pan or the Haunted Mansion while B and I looked through Minnie's house. While we were in her house, it started to POUR! Shawn came back all drenched!  We hung out for a pretty long time in the gift shop while it rained like crazy outside. As we were leaving the gift shop with our $24 worth of cheap Disney rain ponchos (our coats were back at the hotel) we ran into the McNulty's. I used to work with Angela at Mother McAuley. That was really cool!  So we all talked a bit before heading off our separate ways. 

Next we went to see Mickey Mouse and the McNulty's were headed there too, so we all talked while we waited to see Mickey. Surprisingly the line went really fast. We found out why when it was our turn to see Mickey. Cover your eyes kids....there were 4 or 5 rooms with Mickeys & Minnies and about 15 people were admitted to each room. Ah, the magic of Disney!

After meeting Mickey and Minnie, Bridget rode the Goofy rollercoaster 4 times. She loved it! That's our girl! After that, it was time to grab seats for the SpectroMagic parade (Main Street Electrical Parade). We got great seats in Frontierland. Again, B really enjoyed the parade, especially seeing the princesses again. Right after that we walked a bit, stopped for some ice cream, and found seats for the Wishes firework display. That was kind of lame. 

That's it...we headed back to the hotel, and B was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She did well on her first day. We had her up until almost midnight, she walked the entire time, no potty accidents, and she behaved herself!

Day 1: Downtown Disney

I've begun uploading photos to My Mobile Me Gallery. Click the link at the right.

I know there's a few fans out there who have been waiting patiently for my blog about our vacation. I have some time here before we leave for the airport, so hopefully I can get you caught up a bit. 

Our flight out of O'Hare was delayed about an hour. Shawn and I feared that we were going to miss our connection at Dulles. If we missed our connection, we would be hanging out at the airport for 4 hours. Ugh! Thankfully, we hopped off our first flight, and ran right to the next gate and were the absolute LAST people to board our connecting flight---only for it to be delayed about an hour at the gate! Bridget did very well on the flights with all the sitting around. She listened to music, colored and watched a short cartoon. 

We got to the hotel around 6:30 pm and headed to Downtown Disney at 7 pm. We ate dinner at the Earl of Sandwich and it was very good. Even the peanut butter and jelly sandwich was great.

Walked around and shopped. Bridget liked the Lego store. Bridget got her autograph book and some lollypops. I got a Mickey Mouse pancake ring. I also ran into a former PHS student.  We all got some popcorn and waited for our bus to take us back to the hotel.

Bridget was a bit crabby and tried the whole “I’m not tired” thing.  We had a suite, so she was in her own little room. She got out of bed a few times to tell us she wasn’t tired or her foot hurt or that she was hungry and almost threw a tantrum but I was able to get her to stop and she fell asleep within a few minutes of that episode.

Shawn and I watched the LOST finale over the Slingbox. Tina must have been watching it on our DVR at the same time, because we were both fighting for control of the dvr. (Fast forwarding, reversing) From her end, she probably thought our tv was possessed, because we would fast forward the show, and she would reverse it. Twice she reversed it to the beginning. That’s how we figured out two people were trying to control the dvr.  So we let her take control, and everything was fine. I, however, fell asleep about half way through. I have still yet to finish watching the entire episode!

Really Cheap Cereal

I'm on a roll today with all these short posts. Let me tell you about my cereal conquest!

Last week, Kmart was doubling coupons up to and including $2. They had some Kellogg's cereals on sale for 4 for $11. Well, I had $1 off coupons for all the cereals, and since they were doubled, I got 4 boxes of cereal for $3, or $0.75 per box! Crazy! So I got 4 boxes of Frosted Mini Wheats and 4 boxes of Frosted Flakes.

I got the Kellogg's coupons from www.coupons.com. They're still available, and you can print out 3 or 4 coupons for each item on each computer you have in your house. I ended up with 40 cereal coupons!

Also, Jewel has Kellogg's cereal on sale for $1.79. They don't double the coupons, so I got 13 boxes of cereal for $0.79 each! I think I got 5 boxes of Corn Pops, 4 boxes of Fruit Loops and 4 boxes of Apple Jacks. I could have gotten Frosted Flakes too, but it was cheaper at Kmart, and the Kmart boxes were larger. I believe the Jewel sale goes until tomorrow, so get out there and get some cheap cereal. You should see our garage. What used to be the diaper shelf is now the cereal shelf. 

Ok, dinner time...gotta go!

Hallmark Totally Free Card

Click the link below to see how to get a TOTALLY FREE CARD from Hallmark. Really, they pay shipping and the stamp to mail it! They ran a promo for a free Mother's Day card, so I sent free cards to both of my Moms...they turned out really cute. You can even add photos. You don't have to be a computer whiz to create a nice card either. Everything is very simple to use. You also don't have to "log into" the site to get the free card. So check it out. If you make a card, let us all know what event you made the card for! I know there's lots of upcoming birthdays, graduations, and anniversaries...so get creating!

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2009/05/hallmarkcom-another-totally-free-personalized-card.html

I already know who I'm sending my free card to...but I'm not saying until after the event is over! I'll keep you all guessing who the lucky recipient will be!?!

Two days till Disney

Sorry I haven't posted very frequently lately. It's crazy around here. Trying to get things done while watching BHLM. It's exhausting. I'm finding that I'm up till midnight, 1 am or 2 am daily just trying to get laundry done, or cleaning up, etc.

Bridget, Shawn and I leave on Wednesday for Walt Disney World and we're all very excited. Well, Bridget SAYS she's excited, but she has no idea what's in store. She's excited if you tell her we're having pasta and broccoli for dinner, so I can only imagine how she's going to react once we're there. 

So I've been really busy trying to get the house cleaned up for our babysitters, making sure the triplets have everything they need for the week and trying to pack up Bridget and myself. I feel like I'm losing my mind! No break for Mother's day either. Besides being soaked, LITERALLY soaked with a huge puke by Liam, I spent most of my day doing laundry and other housework. Shawn and Colin got Kathie and I a day in Galena and an hour spa treatment, so I'm looking forward to that. See I'm losing my mind. Jumping from one topic to the next.

Ok, so anyway, I'm really looking forward to taking Bridget to Disney World. Every parent dreams of taking their children to Disney World, and my dream is a mere two days away. Can't wait to tell you all about it. Until then, I'll be cleaning up spit-up, laundry, carrot stained high chairs, and dishes!

It's Free Redbox Rental Monday

Code for today: 6A43JK

This is the last of the free weekly Redbox rentals. They will be giving away a free code each month, starting in June. It will be the first Monday of each month. Darn!

Here's a few more free codes to hold you over until the next one comes out:

REDBOX works if you're a new customer

DVDONME

BREAKROOM

DVDATWAG  not sure if it will work at all redboxes, but should work outside of Walgreens

WALGREENS again, should work at a redbox outside of Walgreens

CONTROL

and check out this site for some more that I haven't heard about http://freeredboxcodes.com/free-redbox-promo-codes/

I'm pretty sure these codes still work. If they don't post a comment to let everyone know.

It's Free Redbox Rental Monday!!

My favorite day of the week!

Hurry now to your local Redbox for a free rental, today only. Use the code BT73H9. Don't forget to post a comment and let me know what movie you rented. Enjoy the show!

And the Godparents are...

Ok, all of the godparents have finally been notified. Here's the lucky winners!

Liam's godparents are Ryan and Aunt Karen

Holly's godparents are Nolan and Aunt Joann

Megan's godparents are Aunt Tina and Aunt Sandy

When we get back from Disney my first objective is to contact the church and reserve our date. I'm thinking late July/early August. Definitely sometime before Nolan goes off to college and Sandy has her baby!