We're Back!!

This may be the first of a few posts to explain our trip to Florida. First off, I was pleased to discover how little I could pack for the three of us for a week long trip. Although our friends brought a few things for us since they were driving there and we were flying there. They picked up diapers for us and brought a bunch of dried goods and laundry soap, etc, which made things much easier. Mr. Sloth spent extra money so that we had decent flight times and no connecting flights, and I have to say it was well worth the price. Our flight down there left at 3pm on Sunday. That gave us plenty of time to go to Mass and finish any packing we had left. We even had an hour to spare, very rare in the Sloth traveling world.

I had spent much time planning and packing a special bag for Demand just in case flying was not her cup of tea. Murphy's Law was on our side and we still have "surprises" left from the trip that she hasn't seen yet. I left her with her new backpack for two minutes before we left and I noticed things were quiet. (parent alert sounded) Sure enough she had found the one pocket that I didn't tie shut and found suckers. She didn't know why they were there but she was happy to find them. So the sugar rush started a little earlier than I had hoped but I couldn't really complain. Demand was so excited to fly even though you could see in her eyes that she had no idea what to expect. Before we even got to the terminal she rode on an escalator and a train. How much more exciting can this trip be???

A few people have asked us if she was scared at takeoff and the answer is no. I don't think she understands the concept of what the plane was really doing. For all she knows it was a movie playing outside of the window. The excitement of having a big girl seat, new backpack full of goodies and Mommy letting her drink ginger ale, who has time to be scared??? Since we were on vacation I laxed the sugar-in-take rules a bit. It was her first time having a sucker and first time getting her own pop. She's had a few sips of clear pop at a restaurant but that's it. She also got Dora gummy snacks for the first time which I otherwise would not have bought. I was happy to find a well priced deli in the terminal to fill up on good food "pre-flight". While Demand and I split a banana, yogurt, ham, crackers, and cheese she stared in awe at the airplane awaiting her.

I wrapped a few gifts in her backpack to make things even more exciting. Her first gift was three Winnie the Pooh action figures I found at the Dollar Tree. She loved them and played with them for twenty minutes or so. Then she handed them to me and said, "New present?" Oh, boy!!

She actually lasted a while before we resorted to the DVD player, and we had a new Leapfrog Video as one of her presents. (also hidden now)

We arrived at our condo around 8:30pm-9pm at night (around 8pm our time) so Demand wasn't too exhausted. Our friends had dinner ready for us which is always nice after a long trip and Demand took a bath in the giant tub. Again, how much more exciting could a day get for a two year old???

Demand had a bedroom to herself and since a full bed was a bit big for her we took the other full mattress in the room and propped it between the end table and the bed so she couldn't fall out. It worked beautifully!

So that was our first day. I promise the rest of the trip is a shorter story but not less exciting.

Click the picture below to see all of our pictures from the trip.

2008-09-27 Orlando 2008

Zoom!!

Sunday night I decided to make Demand a paper chain to countdown to our trip to Orlando. I wasn't sure if she'd get the concept but I thought she might like the chain anyway. Well this morning she surprised me. When I brought out the paper chain she went on a breathless spiel about Sunday and planes, and "zoom" (complete with hand motions).

Guess she gets more than we realized. Then again, after breakfast when Mr. Sloth asked her where she was going on Sunday she refused to answer the question and walked out of the room.

Tonight I have to run to Target to pick up a few more things for the trip and then we're good to go. I have yet to pack of course, but gathering all the stuff is half the battle.

I told Mr. Sloth this afternoon that after getting Demand a backpack and filling it with cheap new toys and snacks I just know she's going to sleep the entire flight and not need any entertainment. I guess that's not a bad situation to be in though. Either way it should be an interesting experience all around.

This morning was busy for us. Demand had gymnastics this morning then we both went to the Gym so I could swim. She loves the play area there. Then we came home for lunch and she got to play with her bag of balls that I won at a silent auction this weekend. I put all 150 balls in her pop up tent. If the tent wants to be seriously fun we need two more bags of balls, but I suppose I should control myself and not buy two more bags of balls.

Poor girl is exhausted and hopefully will sleep during nap time today. Either way I'm taking a nap.

The Plot Thickens

Remember how I went on about how busy our September was? Well we decided to throw a trip to Orlando into the mix.

In all honesty it's not like this trip came out no where, it was tentatively planned a few months ago, but apparently I blocked it out of my mind and pretended it wouldn't happen. At the time we didn't know if and when our next paycheck would come so we definitely weren't planning a fancy vacation. "Valentine's" (that's baby's nickname) godmother invited us to join them in the opportunity to stay at a spa resort time share with them.

Even after we finally got a paycheck and wanted to go we still needed a birth certificate for Demand so she could fly otherwise we'd have to drive, which I know is possible but with time constraints and price of gas and hotel, flying is the best option. I thought it took 4-6 weeks to get a birth certificate, but much to my surprise I was able to get her birth certificate in one day. After that we had no more excuses. Mr. Sloth bought plane tickets this afternoon so I guess we're a go.

I'll be spending the next week figuring out how to pack for a flight with a two year old. I already told Demand that we were going on a plane way up in the sky. She looked excited and confused at the same time. I could actually see her brain trying to figure out how we were going to get way up in the sky.

Among finding neat trinkets and snacks for the trip I also have to find a maternity swimsuit for myself. Fun, fun! Luckily most of my maternity clothes are for warmer weather so I'm actually better off in Orlando than I am right here.

So I guess our September just got more interesting.

Huh?

So yesterday I was on the phone with mom at around 4:15/4:30 and we were both talking about how hot and muggy it was outside. Well Mr. Sloth came home at 5:15pm an announced how cold it was outside. Huh?? If Mr. Sloth thinks it's cold, it's cold. Sure enough it was cold. What happened???

After sleeping with the windows open last night I actually felt compelled to turn the fireplace on when I got up. It's 52 outside. Brrrr. You know we were getting kind of antsy for fall but now I'm not so sure. I'm not ready for cold yet, and I most definitely don't have clothes for the cold weather yet.

Ok, I get it, it's September 3rd, but let us remember September 1st when it was super hot outside.

Summer please come back!

First Day of School

Where I grew up, Labor Day wasn't the defining last day of summer with school starting the next day but here (and apparently most places) it is the case.

Anyway, today is the first day of school around here and Demand got to participate in her own way with her first day of Toddler Gymnastics. Since she's two it's a parent/child class I'm with her and helping her the whole time and we do everything together. Bells, parachutes, bubbles, balls, so much fun. Our warm up involved running which Demand was more than obliged to do. The children are allowed to explore the gym at anytime so there were times when Demand didn't want to say,sing a song, but wanted to go on the "bridge" (her name for the low balance beam with two railings) and that's ok.

The trick for the day was hanging on a bar but our giant of toddler had to use the taller bar while the rest used the lower bar. Again I had many surprised looks when people learned her age. People just assumed she was three because of her height, hair length and speech. Since it was the first class a lot of children were still shy but Demand had no problem yelling out the alphabet or colors. Both of which she knows thoroughly. It was actually pretty rare for her to be so relaxed at something fairly new.

So that is just the tip of the iceberg. Things really pick up in September around here. Next week not only do we have gymnastics but we start Bible Study on Thursdays and Demand will be starting the children's program there. Plus, Mr. Sloth and I start teaching CCD again on Wednesday nights. Throw in two weekly Chiropractor appointments, and "Baby" doctor appointments and we're a busy family.

With life getting busier I thought I should get back on my schedule again. I had written a really nice one and we were doing very well with but the first 15 weeks of pregnancy did not agree with that schedule. Now I have energy so I revamped the schedule to fit our current needs.

Speaking of energy. Saturday was my morning off. Mr. Sloth took Demand to a park and then remembered his brother was in town so he headed to his mom and dads house. Meanwhile I shampooed the carpet, completely scrubbed down Demand's high chair, got some laundry done, cleaned the powder room and got some other general cleaning done. Afterwards, Mr. Sloth and I both had the same idea that we should do this every Saturday instead of switching mornings. Demand loves going to Grandma's and Mr. Sloth of course gets off easy there when Grandmas whisks her away on a walk or heads downstairs to play with toys. And I love the opportunity to clean without being interrupted.

I could go on but I'll save it for my next post.