According to Brian, we need to be committed. Actually, he said I needed to be committed. He's probably right (but don't tell him I said that).
Anyway, I didn't want to post to argue about who's going to be institutionalized! Nope, I just wanted to make the announcement that it's now official that we HAVE to go to Disney World! Up until now, I've made a thousand plans, purchased and read two Disney books (one of which I found for 99 cents! WhooHoo!), reserved two hotel rooms, reserved a rental van, made my packing list (three pages long), printed off a memory booklet for Ann Catherine to work on every day we're on vacation, and have done lots of online research on finding great deals and insider tips for visiting Disney with kids. However, up until now, we haven't actually committed any money yet (with the exception of my two travel books). Yesterday, we made it official - we bought our tickets. They are on their way to my house. I told Brian NOT to call me until he had finalized the purchased - my heart fluttered every time I thought about how much money we were spending just for DISNEY tickets!!! I could almost make a mortgage payment with that! How do people do this annually or even a couple times a year?!?!
So, anyway, enough with the buyer's remorse. Yesterday it scared me to death. Today, it just makes me even more excited and ready to go! Today, while listening to my kids list the Disney characters they most wanted to see and hearing Ann Catherine proclaim that she was definitely going to be brave enough to hug Minnie Mouse and talk to Mickey Mouse, I am reminded that it's not about the money I'm spending. It's about the memories I am helping my children create. I've done all this planning to help ensure that my children are going to go to the happiest place on earth and enjoy their childhoods. They're going to play and ride rides to their hearts' content. I refuse to let the heat and frustrations from standing in line and having to entertain a 2 year old get the better of my vacation. Even more so, I refuse to let my money concerns engulf me at all on this trip. I have carried enough money concerns for the past ten years to carry me through a lifetime. I absolutely refuse to take any of those concerns with me. From the moment I leave my house to the moment I return, I am going to let go of any fears and concerns and frustrations and will ONLY focus on enjoying my children and the rest of my family, enjoying the excitement and magic of Disney, and enjoying watching my children enjoy their childhood and making beautiful memories filled with a million Disney characters and rides.
I am so ready to go! Now if only I could figure out what else I can do to plan/prepare/keep myself busy and occupied until the time finally gets here!!!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Correction
OK - Ann Catherine has read our blog and became very upset that I put in there that she was holding hands with a boy. She strongly proclaims (with tears and lots of drama) that she WAS NOT holding hands with him and that I have to trust her! So, I trust her and she made me promise to write a retraction to my blog earlier and proclaim for all to hear that she WAS NOT holding hands with that boy. So, sweetie, here you go! For everyone out there, I apologize and apparently she was NOT holding hands with a boy. I must have been seeing things.
I just love it that my daughter is out on summer break and checking up on my blog posts!
I just love it that my daughter is out on summer break and checking up on my blog posts!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Ann Catherine Chopped Off Her Hair!
Ann Catherine decided she wanted a shorter haircut for the summer. To celebrate the end of the school year, Nanny took her to see Ms. Penny and get her new hair style. Here is the result!
One comment - she still has all her curls and the haircut is even more adorable when you can see them! BRIAN is the one who blew-dry all the curls out. I'll try to remember to post an updated photo when her hair is curly again.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Summer's Here!
Oh my - has it seriously been a month since I last posted? I'm so sorry. Of course, pretty much only my family reads this so I'm sure you understand.
This month has been nuts with all of the end-of-the-school-year craziness! We've had end-of-the-year Girl Scout parties. We've had end-of-the-year Children's Choir and GA parties. We've had end-of-the-year Children's Choir concerts. (And Ann Catherine even got to play a musical instrument on one song!) We've had numerous end-of-the-year school parties, including a Family Day picnic, PJ & Movie party, Game Day, etc. It's been nuts. On top of it all, we've had illnesses so we've missed a lot of work and have had to crazily try to cram all the make-up work into our normal work. Needless to say, we're tired.
The good news is that SUMMER'S OFFICIALLY HERE!! All the church stuff is done so our Wednesday nights are free. Today's the last day of school so I won't have to hightail it down to Spring Hill every day to pick up Ann Catherine. I am definitely going to enjoy my little extra moments of downtime now that I don't have to worry about homework. We even had fun last night! Brian worked a little late, Will got to spend a couple hours with Nanny & Pappy and Ann Catherine and I had Girl's Night. Actually, we were supposed to have a Girl's Night. We got our dinner ready, picked out our movie, turned the movie on and ate a couple of bites of our food and someone knocked at the door! And that someone was a BOY!! And he wanted Ann Catherine to come out and play!!! She was all grins as she ditched me and walked off with this little boy who lives down the street from us and is in her class at school. I was so shaken that I even forgot to find out where they were going and to tell her what time to come home!! We had to walk up and down our street to figure out which house he lived in (Brian found her by hearing her giggles and watching her hair fly in the air behind a fenced in yard where she was bouncing on a trampoline!). We even caught them HOLDING HANDS as they walked back home last night! Of course, Brian was a nervous wreck the whole time she was gone so he decided it was a good night to go on a walk with Will and then to do some yardwork while he made me walk around with Will! He can't stand to have her out of eyesight and playing outside with her friends. He's convinced someone will run off with her. So, anyway, we had fun working out in the yard while we waited for her to return home.
Something tells me that I've lost my little girl's free nights to backyard romps through the neighborhood and playing on tramploines and swingsets of her friends. And, even though I get twinges of nervousness too and give her long lists of safety reminders before she leaves, I'm so happy and excited for her. What a fun stage of life to be in!
Now if I can just hold on to my little boy a little bit longer...
This month has been nuts with all of the end-of-the-school-year craziness! We've had end-of-the-year Girl Scout parties. We've had end-of-the-year Children's Choir and GA parties. We've had end-of-the-year Children's Choir concerts. (And Ann Catherine even got to play a musical instrument on one song!) We've had numerous end-of-the-year school parties, including a Family Day picnic, PJ & Movie party, Game Day, etc. It's been nuts. On top of it all, we've had illnesses so we've missed a lot of work and have had to crazily try to cram all the make-up work into our normal work. Needless to say, we're tired.
The good news is that SUMMER'S OFFICIALLY HERE!! All the church stuff is done so our Wednesday nights are free. Today's the last day of school so I won't have to hightail it down to Spring Hill every day to pick up Ann Catherine. I am definitely going to enjoy my little extra moments of downtime now that I don't have to worry about homework. We even had fun last night! Brian worked a little late, Will got to spend a couple hours with Nanny & Pappy and Ann Catherine and I had Girl's Night. Actually, we were supposed to have a Girl's Night. We got our dinner ready, picked out our movie, turned the movie on and ate a couple of bites of our food and someone knocked at the door! And that someone was a BOY!! And he wanted Ann Catherine to come out and play!!! She was all grins as she ditched me and walked off with this little boy who lives down the street from us and is in her class at school. I was so shaken that I even forgot to find out where they were going and to tell her what time to come home!! We had to walk up and down our street to figure out which house he lived in (Brian found her by hearing her giggles and watching her hair fly in the air behind a fenced in yard where she was bouncing on a trampoline!). We even caught them HOLDING HANDS as they walked back home last night! Of course, Brian was a nervous wreck the whole time she was gone so he decided it was a good night to go on a walk with Will and then to do some yardwork while he made me walk around with Will! He can't stand to have her out of eyesight and playing outside with her friends. He's convinced someone will run off with her. So, anyway, we had fun working out in the yard while we waited for her to return home.
Something tells me that I've lost my little girl's free nights to backyard romps through the neighborhood and playing on tramploines and swingsets of her friends. And, even though I get twinges of nervousness too and give her long lists of safety reminders before she leaves, I'm so happy and excited for her. What a fun stage of life to be in!
Now if I can just hold on to my little boy a little bit longer...
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Disney Mania!!
OK - I think my family has officially lost it. We are now so sick with Disney Fever that I think that Disney Mania has hit my house!!
We watch the Travel Channel now when we see that they have an episode of some show featuring Disney World. We study all the rides and tell the kids which ones we're going on. Ann Catherine saw a feature on Test Track (at Epcot) and is determined to ride on it. We're not convinced she won't chicken out at the last minute since it'd be her first sort-of roller coaster but I think she'll have a ball if she allows herself to enjoy it!
We also have been digging out all of our Disney movies (which seem to be a huge mass of them thanks to my Disney-crazy husband) and making the kids watch all of them so they're familiar with all of the characters.
We've reserved our rental van and are working on hotel reservations now. I'm sure I'll make tons of reservations only to keep cancelling them because I find better deals. We're even considering joining AAA just so we can get better discounts (not to mention our vehicles are getting old and seem to enjoy breaking down so it might be a good idea).
Will is now sleeping with his stuffed Mickey and wants to take it everywhere with him.
I was given a Disney calendar for the next four months to make a countdown for the kids and Will went nuts when he saw Donald Duck on there. (Of course, he also went nuts over the lawnmowers, drills and nail guns he saw in the Home Depot flyer in the newspaper this morning and is convinced Pappy is going to buy him a power drill and a nail gun!! Off the subject - sorry.)
Brian wants to buy the tickets today since our tax money finally came in but I'm holding off to find the best deal.
And, of course, it doesn't help that my even crazier Disney-fanatical friend/coworker keeps feeding me websites to look at that cover Disney World and how to find good deals, how to plan your first visit, how to be a good mom and not kill your kids at Disney World, etc.
I started out determined not to get the Fever my family has been so sick with. I lost. I'm now starting to declare, every time I see another show on the Travel Channel, that we're now officially Disney people and we will spend at least a week at Disney every single summer!!! We're going to stay onsite at the resort hotels and eat Disney food for a week and just be lost in the magic every single summer. So, to my beloved family, I'm sorry. I think you've lost me. But you're welcome to join in and get the Fever with us as well!!
We watch the Travel Channel now when we see that they have an episode of some show featuring Disney World. We study all the rides and tell the kids which ones we're going on. Ann Catherine saw a feature on Test Track (at Epcot) and is determined to ride on it. We're not convinced she won't chicken out at the last minute since it'd be her first sort-of roller coaster but I think she'll have a ball if she allows herself to enjoy it!
We also have been digging out all of our Disney movies (which seem to be a huge mass of them thanks to my Disney-crazy husband) and making the kids watch all of them so they're familiar with all of the characters.
We've reserved our rental van and are working on hotel reservations now. I'm sure I'll make tons of reservations only to keep cancelling them because I find better deals. We're even considering joining AAA just so we can get better discounts (not to mention our vehicles are getting old and seem to enjoy breaking down so it might be a good idea).
Will is now sleeping with his stuffed Mickey and wants to take it everywhere with him.
I was given a Disney calendar for the next four months to make a countdown for the kids and Will went nuts when he saw Donald Duck on there. (Of course, he also went nuts over the lawnmowers, drills and nail guns he saw in the Home Depot flyer in the newspaper this morning and is convinced Pappy is going to buy him a power drill and a nail gun!! Off the subject - sorry.)
Brian wants to buy the tickets today since our tax money finally came in but I'm holding off to find the best deal.
And, of course, it doesn't help that my even crazier Disney-fanatical friend/coworker keeps feeding me websites to look at that cover Disney World and how to find good deals, how to plan your first visit, how to be a good mom and not kill your kids at Disney World, etc.
I started out determined not to get the Fever my family has been so sick with. I lost. I'm now starting to declare, every time I see another show on the Travel Channel, that we're now officially Disney people and we will spend at least a week at Disney every single summer!!! We're going to stay onsite at the resort hotels and eat Disney food for a week and just be lost in the magic every single summer. So, to my beloved family, I'm sorry. I think you've lost me. But you're welcome to join in and get the Fever with us as well!!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Ann Catherine has a New Teacher!
Well, it's now official - Ann Catherine has a new teacher at school. Mrs. Klein's last day is today as she prepares for her new daughter to arrive from China and for the birth of her own baby. We're sad to see her go because Ann Catherine loved having her as a teacher, but I'm so excited for her as she takes on not only mothering a newly adopted little girl but giving birth to her first child as well. I couldn't imagine having two kids so quickly together but I know she's thrilled so we're excited for her.
So, even though my daughter is sad to see Mrs. Klein leave, she is a bundle of energy and excitement over her new teacher. And it's a MAN too!! She has known Mr. K. since Kindergarten. He was a teacher's assistant there and was always in the cafeteria at the same time as her. He'd often stand near her class and help out the kids and I know he always teased her about her name (he never could get the two names right) as he helped her open up her bag of chips, etc. So, needless to say, I was a little worried about the "cafeteria guy" becoming her new teacher!!! But I was much relieved when he introduced himself last night and explained that he had just finished up his masters degree in elementary education and was now a licensed teacher - having just finished up his student teaching and then graduating in December. Don't get the idea that this guy is young, though. He's from New Jersey (and has a HEAVY NJ accent!!) and has just moved down to TN from NJ after taking early retirement from working 20+ years as an air traffic controller at Logan Airport. When he retired, he said that his family was sick of snow and ice and decided to move to TN. Not sure how they made that jump but sounds good to me!! Anyway, he decided that he was bored not working and started volunteering at his daughter's school (Chapman's Retreat, where AC went last year). That's how she met him there. While he was working there, he decided to start substitute teaching and discovered that he was now working in a profession he fell in love with and realized that he missed his calling all these years! How cool is that? So he went to the nearest University and told them he wanted his masters degree and his teaching license and went to work. I love that story and I love that he is SO excited to be working with these kids! And, more importantly, I've never seen my child so excited about going to school! She's always loved school but now she's jumping out of bed (well - slowly. She is Julie's twin, after all.) and she's READY to go to school. I love that!
So, anyway, be in prayer for Mr. K. as he adjusts and takes on this new role, and for the kids as they have to adapt to his own personal teaching style (not to mention the accent!!).
So, even though my daughter is sad to see Mrs. Klein leave, she is a bundle of energy and excitement over her new teacher. And it's a MAN too!! She has known Mr. K. since Kindergarten. He was a teacher's assistant there and was always in the cafeteria at the same time as her. He'd often stand near her class and help out the kids and I know he always teased her about her name (he never could get the two names right) as he helped her open up her bag of chips, etc. So, needless to say, I was a little worried about the "cafeteria guy" becoming her new teacher!!! But I was much relieved when he introduced himself last night and explained that he had just finished up his masters degree in elementary education and was now a licensed teacher - having just finished up his student teaching and then graduating in December. Don't get the idea that this guy is young, though. He's from New Jersey (and has a HEAVY NJ accent!!) and has just moved down to TN from NJ after taking early retirement from working 20+ years as an air traffic controller at Logan Airport. When he retired, he said that his family was sick of snow and ice and decided to move to TN. Not sure how they made that jump but sounds good to me!! Anyway, he decided that he was bored not working and started volunteering at his daughter's school (Chapman's Retreat, where AC went last year). That's how she met him there. While he was working there, he decided to start substitute teaching and discovered that he was now working in a profession he fell in love with and realized that he missed his calling all these years! How cool is that? So he went to the nearest University and told them he wanted his masters degree and his teaching license and went to work. I love that story and I love that he is SO excited to be working with these kids! And, more importantly, I've never seen my child so excited about going to school! She's always loved school but now she's jumping out of bed (well - slowly. She is Julie's twin, after all.) and she's READY to go to school. I love that!
So, anyway, be in prayer for Mr. K. as he adjusts and takes on this new role, and for the kids as they have to adapt to his own personal teaching style (not to mention the accent!!).
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Small Update
This is just a short post but, of all the people I have been praying so desperately for recently, there is one I figured you might want to join in the many prayers now going on in the world for this family. My friend, Angie, was the one I mentioned who is pregnant with her fourth child but will soon lose the baby. I wanted to share her blog with you in case you want more info or to know how you could pray as well. It's http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/. I think the thing that strikes me most about this woman is her deep and powerful faith. Even in the midst of losing this precious child, she is still so strong in her faith. But, even more powerful to me, is the fact that she doesn't hide her humaness either. She grieves daily and cries out to God to give her a miracle and begs Him to change His mind. She is so human, but she is still so full of faith and love for her God. I can only hope that one day I am the woman of God that she has become in all of this. Anyway, make sure you have kleenex handy if you read her blog but please be in prayer for Angie and her family. Their little girl is going to be delivered on Monday and only He knows how long she will be alive for her family hold onto and love with all their might.
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