Days of Rest

Greetings faithful readers!

First let us be clear we went on a trip, not a vacation. Vacations are relaxing, this trip was exhausting.


We decided to surprise Demand with a trip to Disney. It was mostly a surprise because we didn't want to deal with the "are we going TODAY?" questions for a week, or even a day. So Sunday, the 5th, we woke up as usual. However, when she asked for breakfast I told her that Daddy was picking up breakfast today. (There was no way we were making a mess in the kitchen that morning. ) After breakfast we all dressed then we told Demand to get in the van. The girl of many questions of course asked, "Where are we going? Are we going on a trip? I think we should go on a trip. We should go to Disney world. Ha. Ha. That would be funny." Then we pointed out that if we were going on a trip we'd need bags and did she see any bags?

In the van we went with Sidekick along with us (to drive the van back home) Now Demand doesn't miss a thing, she has the wherewithall to be a London cab driver so it wasn't long when she realized that we were going to the airport. When she got out of the van and saw the bags already packed she was excited but didn't know where we were going.

Ok, let's talk about flying. Yes, the Sloths were brave enough to fly to Europe with a three year old and a seven month old but that was three adults vs two children (one who's more manageable while traveling) This trip however was two adults vs. three children, one of whom is an almost two year old boy. Let the challenge begin.

For whatever reason we didn't bring a stroller, (My uncle can get us free stroller rental at Disney) so this meant Mr. Sloth and I had two carry-ons, one diaper bag, one computer bag, one four year old and two 'babies' to carry.

Who's exhausted already??

I'm not going to lie. It was miserable. And let's not forget security. You basically have to unpack to get through security. Four pairs of shoes, computer out of case, DVD player out of case, camera out , video camera out, phones out belts off, and any liquids out which for us included gas medicine, children's tylenol, sippy cups, and hand sanitizer. This was all while chasing Happy or holding Pax.

I'm exhausted reliving it.

The good news is we had ideal seating for the two flights to Orlando. We had the very last row to our selves. We were right next to the bathrooms (Which were well used by the Sloth family.) and I could stand in the galley with Pax if I needed to. Our first flight brought us to Atlanta where we met up with some friends. The last time we saw them was a few weeks before both of our weddings. Between the two families six children have been born but we've never met each others children. Well two hours is just not enough time to catch up but it was great seeing them just the same!

By the time we landed in Orlando, got our rental van, made three trips back for car seats, and drove to my Aunt and Uncles house it was 10:15pm. After visiting for about forty-five minutes we went to bed. I'm sorry. Pax and I went to bed. Happy screamed at Mr. Sloth for a good hour while Demand wondered around waiting for them to go to sleep so she could sleep.

If you think that sounds exhausting try this....Being completely exhausted from a day of traveling we decided to do a half day of Disney (Remember Demand still doesn't know where she's going) We let the kids sleep in and took our time getting ready. If there's one tip we've learned with all of our travels it's that you can't push kids. There is no pay off for pushing young children. In order for us to get free admission for the parks we have to meet my Uncle at the park where he works and get in with him. So instead of heading to Magic Kingdom first, everyday we had to park, get everyone out of the van walk ten minutes to the park, get in, and then go back to the van and to whatever park we wanted. Well we were in the parking lot for Animal Kingdom when, Demand, who knows ALL About Disney World noticed "Mt. Everest" and said, "Hey, we're in Disney World." And that was that. She was very calm and collected. Then she started telling us her agenda. "I want to go on the Toy Story ride first!" I want to do this ride, I don't want to do this one because it's scary.... the girl knows what she wants. By the way, before I go on, if you are picturing us in shorts and tank tops (please don't picture Mr. Sloth in a tank top) just know that it was in the 40s-50s and windy the entire trip. We were FREEZING.

So we get to Hollywood Studios where the Toy Story ride is to find that it's a 120 minute wait and they are out of fast passes for the day. What could we do? We promised this girl she could go on this ride and the line is not going to get shorter, and remember she's the best traveler in the world. She never complained ONCE during the entire trip. Not a "I'm tired", "I don't want to", "I want this"....nothing. She just goes with the flow. So when she has her heart set on something it's hard to say no.

So we waited. For two hours. In line. Carrying Happy and Pax. Happy screamed the first half an hour until he finally fell asleep on Mr. Sloth. Don't get me wrong the ride was awesome and Demand loved it but we were exhausted. All I could think was, I cannot do this for a week. I cannot hold Pax perpetually for one week. It's rare that I TELL Mr. Sloth I'm doing something especially when it comes to making a purchase but I TOLD him, "We're buying a stroller tomorrow so I have a place to put Demand and possibly restrain Happy."

Best decision ever. Disney has an awesome stroller in it's park stores and before you think "expensive", my uncle gets 50% off. So for $25 dollars we got the best umbrella stroller ever (and I know travel strollers) It reclines, or sits up, Has a drink holder, an adjustable canopy, storage bag, great wheels, and best of all tall handles. I'm in love with this stroller.

From there the trip got much easier. Don't get me wrong we were all in bed by 8pm everyday but it was fun just the same. We spent most of our time at Magic Kingdom. 80% of the rides there are geared for Demands age and even Pax could go on them. We let Demand pick most of the rides we went on, here's what we rode for the week.

"It's a small world" 3x
"Goofy's Barnstormer" 3x (in a row while her brother's slept)
"Mickey's Philharmagic" 2x (a 4D show)
"Mad Tea Party"3x (even Happy did this)
Dumbo 1x (crazy wait for that one)
Pooh Bear ride 2x
Snow White's Scary Adventure 1x
Pirates of the Carribean 1x
Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride 1x
Toy Story Mania 2x
Buzz's Alien Spin 1x
Muppet's 3D show 1x
Peter Pan's Flight 1x
Little Mermaid's Adventure 1x

....that's all I can remember right now. Now before you think "Ugh. It's a small world, three times" Just know that it was always around 2pm in the afternoon so it was a welcomed 10 minute break. Happy sat perfectly still the entire time and Pax usually nursed to sleep...as he did on most rides.

We got home from out trip at 5pm on Friday. Saturday morning Mr. Sloth and Demand headed out in the blizzard to get us a most beautiful Christmas tree which we promptly decorated, it being Gaudete Sunday and all. Sunday morning Mr. Sloth woke up with the flu. The house was an absolute disaster having just gotten home from a trip and the children were way out of sorts. Happy was just not himself and Pax, having been held the entire trip and nursing in bed every night didn't want the party to stop. Oh, and remember the blizzard? We woke up to snow up to our waists. Mr. Sloth's mother called and asked if we were going to 10am Mass. I just had to laugh. With Mr. Sloth sick and three little ones to take care of there was no way I was getting out of my garage by noon let alone to Mass. I spent all of Sunday either taking care of the children, shoveling snow, or doing laundry. I know Mr. Sloth was sick and all, but at one point he jokingly told me to "have fun" shoveling the snow and all I could think was, "There is 20+ inches of snow here. It will be late May before they find your body."

Later, I ended up hitching a ride with Sidekick and Demand for 5pm Mass and when I arrived home I found out that Demand too had the flu.

Lovely.

So that set the stage for the week. A messy, messy home that just seems to be getting smaller, two sick people, two high-needs people, and Christmas one week away.

And with that I bid you farewell until I can get at least a bit of my act together.