My brother in law recently asked for an update on "the purge". Ask and you shall receive.
I've started, although I've made little progress, packing up boxes to store at Obscure's home. I've started with the toys since there are so many of them and they were going to be more at Christmas. I have about 7 boxes packed and ready to go right now. I didn't want to pack anymore until our house was in a more livable condition. It's taken a while but I think we're almost there.
Another part of the purge is just getting rid of stuff. We found out that our county accepts many items for free (Cough. Paid for by taxes.) Mr. Sloth loaded up an old TV and will be heading back soon with old computers, a vacuum, and a floor lamp. Plus a friend of my offered to take anything I didn't want and sell it on Craigslist (I won't do Craigslist) so I said, it's yours! And obscure took an old scanner that has been sitting around. It feels so good to get rid of stuff!!
I just ordered Motivated Moms for this year. Mr. Sloth said that if I posted a list of things to do around the house he could help out when/where he could so I thought it was worth a shot. It's actually been my favorite home organizing method I've tried. Very simple and doable.
Anyway, that's how the purge is going. Pretty boring, huh?
The Sloths
Lazywife, Mr. Sloth, Demand, Prophet, Rooster, and King
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Take Two
About a month ago Happy's godfather was in town for a visit. One day during his visit I had a homeschooling field trip and Mr. Sloth was heading to work that day so I asked (made) said godfather come with me. We were heading to the orchestra for a 45 minute show. It was geared towards children and the theme was "Sleighride". How bad could it be, right?
The second we grabbed a 'first come first serve' seat Pax had a blowout. So Godfather sat with Happy and Demand while I went to change the diaper. When I came back I found they'd been booted from their seats for no good reason and the infuriating usher was seating an entire school in between us and my homeschool group. After giving the clueless usher a piece of my mind we finally took our seats but now I was seated next to teachers and students not homeschool families. Happy was content for all of three minutes before he wanted to sit on my lap, which was taken by Pax who was nursing. A fit then ensued. Of course by this time I'm getting looks like, "Why would you bring babies to the orchestra?" Twice, Godfather, took Happy out of the theater before the show ended and we made a very quick dash for the exit.
The experience intimidated me. How can I do this alone? I could barely do it with help, and I wouldn't consider that a success. I can't physically hold Happy and Pax and I definitely can't chase Happy while nursing Pax...or can I??
I let some homeschool friends convince me it was possible. When my friend who has three boys the same ages our our children (four, two, and four months) told me that The Children's Theater is different, I believed her. Last Saturday some free tickets became available so I decided to give it a go. Sunday night I found out we were supposed to get a snowstorm right as we were to be driving and it was in the city where I rarely drive. When Mr. Sloth asked that I not go I thought "Great! A good excuse for not going." Then the weather changed and it wasn't supposed to be so bad. (Grrrr.)
We had to be there, in the lobby at 9:45am. Let me tell you something, the Sloth family cannot be anywhere before 9:30am (We are usually a part of the procession for 10am Sunday Mass) As most parents know, if you want your child to sleep in, make plans. To get there on time I had to leave the house at 9am. Happy slept until 8:30am and usually takes his sweet time eating breakfast . Demand is the slowest human being on the face of the earth and the more you rush her the slower she gets, and Pax of course wanted to nurse at 8:55am.
Deep breath.
Thankfully, God provides, and Mr. Sloth didn't go into work until we were loaded into the van. He corralled "Thing 1& Thing 2" while I nursed Pax. Then it was off to the show. It was actually an easy drive. It's one of the few places I've driven to before so I wasn't nervous and we were there in plenty of time. I was surprised to find that I seemed to be one of the few families without a father present. You gotta love homeschool families. Most dads were off for Christmas I guess and with us just getting back from vacation (big mistake in December) Mr. Sloth had to work that day. I found a friend who didn't have babies and had her husband with her and asked....ahem...told her that we were sitting next to her. Before I could finish my sentence she said, "So you can ditch?"
God Bless you!
This particular friend of mine shares the same maiden name as me. We tend to understand each other.
So we had to meet at 9:45am but the show didn't start until 10:30am. We were seated first of course and Happy wasn't happy about it. Now Demand is scared to begin with. That one thing you must remember or nothing else that follows will seem wondrous. (Sorry, that was a movie reference.) Demand is in a phase where she is afraid of everything. So when the show started by turning the house lights off and I was up the stairs chasing Happy, Demand started crying. So there we were Act 1, scene 1. One child crying and three on my lap.
I was eventually able to peel Demand off of me and Happy was very entertained for the first 20 minutes, then he remembered he was a two year old boy and started making exit attempts. Demand was getting increasingly frightened as cowboy's with guns (a specific fear of hers) and scary dream sequences unfolded onstage. One of the homeschooling mom's behind us caught on and had her 9/10 year old daughter, who was sitting next to Demand, offer to hold her hand. Demand leaped out of her chair and sat on this girls lap.
One down, two to go.
Since I needed both hands to chase Happy, I handed Pax over to another mom. After chasing/repremanding Happy I came back. Soon Pax started fussing so I traded babies with my fellow mom-friend. She handed me Pax and took Happy. Pax needed a diaper change. Out I went for the fourth time. When I came back Happy just HAD to sit with me, but Pax wanted to nurse. So as it turns out, I can chase a toddler while nursing thanks to my extra-long muslin swaddle blankets I just bought. At this time, carrying two babies I managed to find my way to the cry room. Turns out, it's pretty nice in there. You are still in the theatre, just behind glass. (The other theater there just plays a video of the live performance in the lobby.) Finally, intermission. I made my way back to the seats to collect Demand and my diaper bag as now Happy seemed to have filled his pants. Being intermission I had to weave my way though 20+ girls waiting to use the restroom with Pax in the carrier, Happy on my hip, and Demand trailing behind very....very slowly. I wrangled Happy only to find that he had not pooped but was in fact just gassy.
After collecting ourselves and heading to the lobby for the rest of the intermission I asked Demand if she wanted to stay or go. She wanted to stay but stay with me. Fine. However as Act 2 started Demand who was playing with her friends was no where in sight. Another mom found her sitting with her friends so I headed to the cry room without her, but she thought I was in the theatre. Just as the show started I saw her new friend walking her back to find me. So I had to drag Happy and Pax back out into the lobby to meet her and then head back to the cry room.
The second act went surprisingly well. Demand and Happy stood on chairs to watch the show through the sound proof glass while I stood there hand feeding them whatever snacks I had and Pax slept in the carrier. I don't think I mentioned this before but just as we were seated we found out that the show was 2+ hours long. Whoa there Tiger! I was assuming this would be 45 minutes, 1 hour TOPS. Two hours???? So we blew through snack time AND lunch. As soon as the show ended we were heading for the door and I would have stopped somewhere close for lunch (it being an hour and half past their lunchtime) but it was a heavy snowfall remember and I wanted to get as close to home as possible.
Finally a little after 1pm we pull into our garage. Demand is starving, Pax too is hungry and has been screaming for fifteen minutes, and Happy is asleep and I am forced to wake him. The good news is that starving your children through snacktime and well past lunchtime does seem to make them eat more. Too bad it was Burger King.
That my friends was my second attempt at an outing with the kiddos and yet I press on! Tomorrow I am 'planning' on trying to take them to morning Mass. If you've ever seen us at Sunday Mass you would now laugh and say "IMPOSSIBLE!" and I wouldn't doubt you, but I have to try sometime and there is no time like the present. Now the real trick is getting out the door in time. Mass starts at 8am and we are rarely out the door before 9:30am...9am earliest. So if we are up, fed,dressed, and in the van by 8:45am it will be a Christmas Miracle, but this girl likes a challenge.
The second we grabbed a 'first come first serve' seat Pax had a blowout. So Godfather sat with Happy and Demand while I went to change the diaper. When I came back I found they'd been booted from their seats for no good reason and the infuriating usher was seating an entire school in between us and my homeschool group. After giving the clueless usher a piece of my mind we finally took our seats but now I was seated next to teachers and students not homeschool families. Happy was content for all of three minutes before he wanted to sit on my lap, which was taken by Pax who was nursing. A fit then ensued. Of course by this time I'm getting looks like, "Why would you bring babies to the orchestra?" Twice, Godfather, took Happy out of the theater before the show ended and we made a very quick dash for the exit.
The experience intimidated me. How can I do this alone? I could barely do it with help, and I wouldn't consider that a success. I can't physically hold Happy and Pax and I definitely can't chase Happy while nursing Pax...or can I??
I let some homeschool friends convince me it was possible. When my friend who has three boys the same ages our our children (four, two, and four months) told me that The Children's Theater is different, I believed her. Last Saturday some free tickets became available so I decided to give it a go. Sunday night I found out we were supposed to get a snowstorm right as we were to be driving and it was in the city where I rarely drive. When Mr. Sloth asked that I not go I thought "Great! A good excuse for not going." Then the weather changed and it wasn't supposed to be so bad. (Grrrr.)
We had to be there, in the lobby at 9:45am. Let me tell you something, the Sloth family cannot be anywhere before 9:30am (We are usually a part of the procession for 10am Sunday Mass) As most parents know, if you want your child to sleep in, make plans. To get there on time I had to leave the house at 9am. Happy slept until 8:30am and usually takes his sweet time eating breakfast . Demand is the slowest human being on the face of the earth and the more you rush her the slower she gets, and Pax of course wanted to nurse at 8:55am.
Deep breath.
Thankfully, God provides, and Mr. Sloth didn't go into work until we were loaded into the van. He corralled "Thing 1& Thing 2" while I nursed Pax. Then it was off to the show. It was actually an easy drive. It's one of the few places I've driven to before so I wasn't nervous and we were there in plenty of time. I was surprised to find that I seemed to be one of the few families without a father present. You gotta love homeschool families. Most dads were off for Christmas I guess and with us just getting back from vacation (big mistake in December) Mr. Sloth had to work that day. I found a friend who didn't have babies and had her husband with her and asked....ahem...told her that we were sitting next to her. Before I could finish my sentence she said, "So you can ditch?"
God Bless you!
This particular friend of mine shares the same maiden name as me. We tend to understand each other.
So we had to meet at 9:45am but the show didn't start until 10:30am. We were seated first of course and Happy wasn't happy about it. Now Demand is scared to begin with. That one thing you must remember or nothing else that follows will seem wondrous. (Sorry, that was a movie reference.) Demand is in a phase where she is afraid of everything. So when the show started by turning the house lights off and I was up the stairs chasing Happy, Demand started crying. So there we were Act 1, scene 1. One child crying and three on my lap.
I was eventually able to peel Demand off of me and Happy was very entertained for the first 20 minutes, then he remembered he was a two year old boy and started making exit attempts. Demand was getting increasingly frightened as cowboy's with guns (a specific fear of hers) and scary dream sequences unfolded onstage. One of the homeschooling mom's behind us caught on and had her 9/10 year old daughter, who was sitting next to Demand, offer to hold her hand. Demand leaped out of her chair and sat on this girls lap.
One down, two to go.
Since I needed both hands to chase Happy, I handed Pax over to another mom. After chasing/repremanding Happy I came back. Soon Pax started fussing so I traded babies with my fellow mom-friend. She handed me Pax and took Happy. Pax needed a diaper change. Out I went for the fourth time. When I came back Happy just HAD to sit with me, but Pax wanted to nurse. So as it turns out, I can chase a toddler while nursing thanks to my extra-long muslin swaddle blankets I just bought. At this time, carrying two babies I managed to find my way to the cry room. Turns out, it's pretty nice in there. You are still in the theatre, just behind glass. (The other theater there just plays a video of the live performance in the lobby.) Finally, intermission. I made my way back to the seats to collect Demand and my diaper bag as now Happy seemed to have filled his pants. Being intermission I had to weave my way though 20+ girls waiting to use the restroom with Pax in the carrier, Happy on my hip, and Demand trailing behind very....very slowly. I wrangled Happy only to find that he had not pooped but was in fact just gassy.
After collecting ourselves and heading to the lobby for the rest of the intermission I asked Demand if she wanted to stay or go. She wanted to stay but stay with me. Fine. However as Act 2 started Demand who was playing with her friends was no where in sight. Another mom found her sitting with her friends so I headed to the cry room without her, but she thought I was in the theatre. Just as the show started I saw her new friend walking her back to find me. So I had to drag Happy and Pax back out into the lobby to meet her and then head back to the cry room.
The second act went surprisingly well. Demand and Happy stood on chairs to watch the show through the sound proof glass while I stood there hand feeding them whatever snacks I had and Pax slept in the carrier. I don't think I mentioned this before but just as we were seated we found out that the show was 2+ hours long. Whoa there Tiger! I was assuming this would be 45 minutes, 1 hour TOPS. Two hours???? So we blew through snack time AND lunch. As soon as the show ended we were heading for the door and I would have stopped somewhere close for lunch (it being an hour and half past their lunchtime) but it was a heavy snowfall remember and I wanted to get as close to home as possible.
Finally a little after 1pm we pull into our garage. Demand is starving, Pax too is hungry and has been screaming for fifteen minutes, and Happy is asleep and I am forced to wake him. The good news is that starving your children through snacktime and well past lunchtime does seem to make them eat more. Too bad it was Burger King.
That my friends was my second attempt at an outing with the kiddos and yet I press on! Tomorrow I am 'planning' on trying to take them to morning Mass. If you've ever seen us at Sunday Mass you would now laugh and say "IMPOSSIBLE!" and I wouldn't doubt you, but I have to try sometime and there is no time like the present. Now the real trick is getting out the door in time. Mass starts at 8am and we are rarely out the door before 9:30am...9am earliest. So if we are up, fed,dressed, and in the van by 8:45am it will be a Christmas Miracle, but this girl likes a challenge.
Pictures from our Trip.
Pax enjoying the excitement.
Princess Demand and Prince Happy.
Lightening McQueen!!! (And Mater)
This was a pretty exciting event for our family. Happy's eyes lit up when he saw Lighting.
Demand posing in front of one of her favorite Characters.
Pax wondering, "Is this really Florida?"
Happy. Just where we want him....unconscious.
Sweet Demand in front of an anomatronic Mr. Potato Head while waiting in line for two hours.
Meeting up with friends in Georgia. Six children four an under makes for crazy airport fun.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
I'm posting only to let you know that I'll be posting something real soon. We surprised Demand with a trip to Disney World and after spending a week in "Sunny" Florida we have found the flu in our home. My time is spent keeping up with sick kids, being sick myself, dealing with the mess we left the house in, catching up with laundry from the trip and when I have time panicking that it's only 11 days until Christmas. Oh, and there was a blizzard.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Pictures
Over Thanksgiving my brother-in-law brought up the fact that I hadn't been blogging lately. Unfortunately while my life has been interesting enough to blog, it has been too interesting to give me time or energy to blog. How about some pictures from last month to tide you over?
My mother's birthday was 10-10-10 this year and she requested family pictures as a gift. Here are some of them. More interesting stories soon.
The Sloths
The Parents
Demand
Mr. Sloth & Happy
Happy & Demand
Me and my bros
Happy
Pax
Me and the Mr
My mother's birthday was 10-10-10 this year and she requested family pictures as a gift. Here are some of them. More interesting stories soon.
The Sloths
The Parents
Demand
Mr. Sloth & Happy
Happy & Demand
Me and my bros
Happy
Pax
Me and the Mr
Thursday, November 11, 2010
New Digs
Mr. Sloth finally nipped it in the bud and requested a change of roommate. Not with me, with Pax of course. The grunting, snorting, gagging was keeping us up more than necessary so I spent all of last Friday converting our packed closet into a bedroom and beginning a serious home-wide purge. I had decided, excitedly, a few months ago that Pax would never move into the closet. By seven months (the time he'd need a full size crib) Demand and Happy could have a bunk bed. Plans change though.
I'm sure you remember Happy living in the closet, and my mother still has panic attacks just thinking of living in a closet, but remember we have a very large closet and this time Pax has even more space. I moved the dresser/changing pad from the 'kids' room into the closet and gave Pax a night stand as well. He even has a make-shift mobile.
This addition of space unfortunately only gives Mr. Sloth and I 1/3 use of the closet which leads me to my next topic. The house-wide purge. I know you hear of my purging every few months but this one is different. I'm reading the book "It's all too much" and finding it very inspiring. I'm accepting that even if it's in good condition, functional, a gift, or if I once loved it, it's OK to get rid of it if I don't use or love it now. Getting rid of stuff is incredibly freeing and can make even the smallest space seem livable.
So Pax is loving his new "room". I even hung a toy from the closet shelf to it's within his reach on the changing pad and he thinks it's the bees-knees. Best of all we're all sleeping a bit better. It also helps that he's eight weeks old now and starting to get over his painful gas stage.
I'm sure you remember Happy living in the closet, and my mother still has panic attacks just thinking of living in a closet, but remember we have a very large closet and this time Pax has even more space. I moved the dresser/changing pad from the 'kids' room into the closet and gave Pax a night stand as well. He even has a make-shift mobile.
This addition of space unfortunately only gives Mr. Sloth and I 1/3 use of the closet which leads me to my next topic. The house-wide purge. I know you hear of my purging every few months but this one is different. I'm reading the book "It's all too much" and finding it very inspiring. I'm accepting that even if it's in good condition, functional, a gift, or if I once loved it, it's OK to get rid of it if I don't use or love it now. Getting rid of stuff is incredibly freeing and can make even the smallest space seem livable.
So Pax is loving his new "room". I even hung a toy from the closet shelf to it's within his reach on the changing pad and he thinks it's the bees-knees. Best of all we're all sleeping a bit better. It also helps that he's eight weeks old now and starting to get over his painful gas stage.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)