Week O' Disney - The Miracle

So this is my final post on our Disney adventure.  I've recapped the madness, highlighted the mechanics, but want to end with my miracle moment. 

While we awaited our first character encounter at Chef Mickey's Thursday night, we started making kids plates at the buffet and generally trying to manage the chaos.  As we tucked into our dinner, both Donald Duck and Pluto arrived.  The hilarity began and the kids hardly touched their food as they hugged characters and posed for pictures. 

After Pluto and Donald headed into the next room, there were a few minutes before our next encounters.  The couple at the table next to us approached us and asked if we could take their picture with the next character so that they could be in the shot together.  They were visiting Disneyworld for their 20th wedding anniversary.  The wife started sharing with me that they were thoroughly enjoying watching our kids wide-eyed and in wonder.  She said they had tried for years to have children, but never were able to conceive.  They had fostered some but had no children of their own.  They enjoyed coming to Disney because of the children. 

It was all I could do to keep from bursting into tears.  I know that struggle.  I felt her heartache.  Our outcome was just different. 

We took their picture with Mickey, and they took ours.  When their anniversary cupcake came, the wife invited the little lady over to blow the candles out with them.  Toward the end of the evening she came over to the table and gave me a pack of "fairy dust" (Mickey confetti) that she was given in the gift store but told us the children would enjoy it so much more. 

We all wished them happy anniversary as we left and I shared their story with Bray. 

I had spent so much time being exasperated over the madness and mechanics, I had forgotten the miracle.  The three miracles to be exact.  We could have been that couple in a few years.  We could have felt the aching absences as we spent time with children that weren't ours.  We could have, and did for a time, experience heart break watching families run around knowing it would always just be the two of us. 

It was, and is, a miracle that we were at Disney with two sons and a daughter.  Not even ONE child, but three children.  Kids that we could love on and kiss goodnight and send off to their first day of school and raise into a family that loves God and loves each other.  I had missed the miracle. 

Friday was not without chaos.  Friday at Disney was still hard as triplets melted down and stubbornly argued with us.  But Friday was also filled with gratitude.  A heart full knowing that God, beyond reason or deserving, had blessed us with three healthy, funny, active, loving babies, toddlers, children.  Friday celebrating our family of five. 

Wordless Wednesday (almost)

(Note:  There will be many Disney Wordless Wednesdays to come.  But since today was the trio's actual first day of Pre-K2, I had to do first day of school photos!)

Week O' Disney - The Mechanics

So, as you read yesterday, we survived Disneyworld with three two year olds.  I had a number of people ask me about things that worked and what didn't worked when traveling to Disneyworld with young children and/or multiples, so today's post is on the mechanics of our trip.  Here are the highs and the lows and everything in between. 

What worked:

1.  Staying on property.  A range of price points are available for Disney hotels on site, and while it would have been nice to stay super close to Magic Kingdom on the monorail (like the Contemporary or Grand Polynesian), I could not justify the expense for toddlers AND the Art of Animation was perfect for us.  We NEVER packed a car seat which is huge when there are three car seats for triplets.  We flew without one, which I was comfortable with since the kids are almost three, and then the huge Disney bus took us back and forth from the airport (the Magical Express, wouldn't you know), plus buses took us back and forth from our resort, Art of Animation, to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom.  Most of the time we caught one right away, and only a couple of times did we have to wait 15 minutes.  PLUS...Art of Animation rocks.  Of the four themed suites, we were in Finding Nemo, plus our family suite looked out on the Splash Pad/pool area.  We utilized that outdoor space several times, mostly in the evening when we were fried from the parks.  There was a pool bar with food and drinks (though see note #1 below) and music played underwater.  Fabulous space for young ones and the largest resort pool on Disney property. 

2.  Picking portions.  There was no point to try and tackle Epcot and Hollywood Studios, even if we would have enjoyed it, with three two year olds.  Even Animal Kingdom didn't have much in the way of rides for little ones, so we only spent one day there.  We segmented Magic Kingdom and did a couple of lands Wednesday, a couple of lands Thursday, and our favorites on Friday.  Favorites for the under five set are Winnie the Pooh, Tea Cups, Dumbo, It's a Small World, Peter Pan's Flying Carpet (all in Fantasyland), and Jungle Cruise and Aladdin's Carpet in Adventureland.  We rode Pirates of the Caribbean but it freaked one of ours out.  The rockets, race cars and train also worked in Tomorrowland.  The steamboat was slow and boring in Liberty Square.  I don't know how anyone could do it in one day. 

3.  Hit Every Parade. These parades really are tremendous.  The music is awesome.  My favorite was the afternoon parade at Animal Kingdom because of all the character interaction and great music.  That parade was long and the floats were fun - plus, since little bit danced so intensely, we got a lot of one-on-one attention from the characters as they came by because they couldn't help but notice her rockin' out.  There's a cool street parade in the mornings at Magic Kingdom where the kids can actually dance in the streets with the characters around the palace after they come down Main Street.  Little bit once again rocked it with the dancers and Woody. 

4.  Dine with Disney.  We had a few really fun character interactions at the parks, note the lines to meet the characters are a LOT more reasonable at Animal Kingdom than Magic Kingdom, even in off peak (thank heavens I don't have a princess girl or we would have waited forever).  But the best was breakfast at the Crystal Palace with Pooh and crew and dinner at Chef Mickey's with Mickey and pals.  Plus the food there was so much better than at the parks.  Every single character came over and hugged the kids and posed for pictures and there was even a little parade they did through the restaurant with the Disney dudes and dudettes. 

5.  Go Off Peak.  We were there in the slowest month of the year.  It was a little hot, maybe go later in September, but I could have NEVER navigated the park with toddlers or young ones in high peak seasons - the park said it had about 30,000 one day we were there versus the 70,000 a day they have in the summer and spring break.  Ugh.  I could not go when it's more crowded.  And really, they can miss a couple of days of school young. 

What didn't work:

1.  The Food.  There is no good fix for this.  The food is not good.  Apparently it is perfectly acceptable at high end resorts and Epcot.  We did not experience this.  Odds are, with young kids or multiples, you won't either.  Plus, the food is expensive.  We did not buy a dining plan because it doesn't cover kids younger than three, but we probably should have.  We packed a ton of snacks in our suitcases, so we didn't ever have to buy a snack, but we did have to buy a lot of water (though we did start refilling our water bottles from the water fountains) and we had to buy meals.  The food is mediocre and EVERYTHING is self-serve.  If you have young kids, that is impossible.  One parent is trying to keep the grumpy hungry kids seated at the table while the other parent is ordering food and waiting on it.  Then you get it to the table and try to remember extra plates and cups and cut everything up and parcel everything out.  I'm sure when they're 10 and can just grab a hot dog it will be easier, but the food will still be sub-par and expensive.  Good luck. 

2.  The Strollers.  There is no good fix for this. You have to bring strollers when your kids are pre-K and younger because they get exhausted and need them.  HOWEVER, folding them up and down to get on and off buses, parking them around all the rides, fighting with your kids when they insist on pushing them instead of riding in them, it's all a hassle.  We took a double umbrella and a single umbrella stroller, but most of the time the kids were fighting with us because THEY wanted to push them.  As you might imagine, since I can barely even navigate the stroller, the kids were terrible at it, and when you finally gave in, they just ran people over with the strollers and got them stuck in flower beds.  Ugh.  Maybe you don't have willful kids, if that's the case, congratulations.

3.  The Schedule.  There is no good fix for this. Your family may not be much of a schedule family.  Since I have three two year olds, we are a schedule family.  Less so than a year ago, but still roughly on a schedule.  They wake up around 7 am, eat lunch at noon followed by a nap, eat dinner around six pm and go to bed (not to sleep) around 8 pm.  Of course there's no schedule at a park, and it's catch as catch can.  We tried on Wednesday to bring the kids back to nap at the hotel in hopes for happier children in the evening but, while they slept on the 15 minute bus ride, they would NOT sleep in the hotel.  That means the parents got no rest either.  No. Rest.  As we were saying non-toddler approved words under our breath after two hours of attempted napping when we boarded the bus back to the park, they promptly fell asleep. Lovely. 

All in all, it really was exciting and magical.  But if I had to do it all over again, I probably would have waited another year.  This time next year they'd be nearly four and have less bathroom issues and stroller complications.  I might also schedule some time to go to Downtown Disney where apparently you can get a decent meal and some table service.  We will certainly go back, though not nearly as soon as my kids want, but I would imagine it will be several years before we venture back, and then we'll probably hit the parks in October when it's a bit cooler - September is still hot in the afternoon.  I'd love to hear your tips, and I'll incorporate them in my travel planning for next time around!

Week O' Disney - The Madness

We are back.

From Disneyworld if you missed it. 

It would be ludicrous to call it a vacation.  It was work, people.  Hard work.  Three two year olds at Disney is the equivalent of six to ten people in any other setting.

We, of course, had fun.  There are many funny stories and memories.  The character encounters are probably my favorite moments.  The kids went nuts.  They LOVED meeting the characters.  Dinner with Mickey and his pals and breakfast with Pooh and his friends is a must if you have young children. 

The parades are also just utterly amazing.  We experienced the afternoon parade at Animal Kingdom, the street parade at Magic Kingdom (where the little lady got to DANCE in the street with the characters), the electric light parade at Magic Kingdom, and finally the afternoon Magic Kingdom celebrate parade.  Little lady danced like a fiend through the entire parade despite the heat.  Her little red face was undeterred as she lifted her hands and danced to the beat, causing most of the dancers and characters to stop and dance with her and give her a kiss or a compliment.  Precious! 

But no day, no morning, no afternoon, no evening was complete without a complete and utter meltdown by someone.  Luckily, none of them ever melted down at the same time except for the very last night in our hotel room when I told them to go to bed (that was hysterical though because it was private and they howled because they found out they did not get to MOVE to Disney permanently).  Bray looked at me during one of the individual public meltdown sessions and said, "I don't hear any kids crying this week but ours."  To which I replied, "there ARE other kids crying."  He retorted, "I haven't heard them," and all I could come back with was "maybe our kids are immune to the 'magic'."  Truth is, there were other kids crying, but you somehow only hear yours and yours are somehow always the loudest. 

I loved our vacation.  I did.  I love that I have a family to take a vacation with, I love that we have the resources to travel, I love that we got to enjoy the magic of Disney together, I love that we stayed in a really fun Disney hotel (the Art of Animation - this is an awesome hotel for those of you with little kids, everything is Finding Nemo, Cars, Little Mermaid, and Lion King with a killer pool just outside your room if you're in the Nemo suites).  This was the first week I have taken off from work (full week) since my honeymoon in May 2006.  Vacations, family vacations, are going to be a staple of our life now - Bray and I have already discussed ideas for next fall's outing.  The kids will have fun memories.  And we will too.  However, this year presented challenges inevitable with THREE two year olds that are still mastering their potty skills and in need of strollers.  Disney five years from now will be cake, and that is probably how long it will be before we head back. 

There will be a few other funny recaps this week, but here are the lines I remember as the most frequently uttered by our little people:
The eldest:  I can do it by myself! (most often said when determinedly pushing the stroller he refused to sit in)
The lady:  Can I take my shoes off?  (said everywhere from walking around Disney to riding buses, I did at one point say, "your feet are going to fall off" which Bray taunted me with for the remainder of the week)
The baby:  I love it!  (this was paired with everything from our hotel room to the ice cream sundae he devoured on Main Street)

Fishin' Forty Linkup/Flashback Friday

I will definitely post about Disneyworld madness tomorrow but today I am doing my DELAYED Flashback Friday as a part of my friend Kelly's link up on adult birthday parties.  I loved this post.  It was called Surprise and it was posted last July after the hugely successful surprise 40th birthday party I planned for Bray.  If you missed it, here it is: 

So finally, after six months of planning, I can write about it - Saturday night, I (along with many others) pulled off what I didn't believe was possible in a day and age of e-mails/texts/cell phones - a SURPRISE birthday party. And not just any surprise party, but my husband's big blow out 40th Surprise Birthday Party! And if you doubt whether or not it was actually a surprise, you should have heard what came out of his mouth as we pulled up to our dear friend's house and there were over 50 people in the street to welcome him with a big "surprise!" I can assure you, my husband who does not like surprises or being the center of attention was not initially all that happily surprised. But I think about 10 minutes into it, when he saw his favorite friends and all of his family, he started warming to the idea. He didn't have to stand in a circle while people roasted him or open presents in front of a crowd, he just got to spent the evening hanging out with some of his favorite people.

So now, I'm recuperating. Anyone who knows me knows I love to throw a good party. But never have I been more motivated to throw a perfect party than now, for my husband, who I adore, and who I have never had the chance to throw a party for before! I started planning at the beginning of the year. Secured my location and then began to research themes and invitations. Found this adorable place in Wisconsin to do a fishing themed surprise 40th invite which my mother and I then took up a notch with fishing lures & burlap.

They went out eight weeks in advance so those out-of-towners could plan to come in (which they did - thank you very much)! Then began the on-line ordering process for all the customized items which arrived in a trickle at my office from April to June - banners, cocktail napkins, party favors, etc. Oh how I wish I could do this for a living. There actually is a ton of fishing themed stuff out there and we were able to get everything from from water bottle labels (which we painstakingly applied to dozens and dozens of water bottles), to napkins with fishing boats/poles, to our custom cupcake picks!   We had a Mexican buffet catered and for dessert we served a variety of cupcake flavors, including his favorite (carrot cake!).  The cherry on top was the This is Your Life scrapbook for which 19 people contributed stories and pictures. I became so emotional reading all these wonderful memories of Bray and watching him as he grew. I spent hours at night at Walgreen's scanning old photos in when he was out of town and my mom stayed with the sleeping munchkins.  The first part of the book was the stories, each typed in a different font and formated with pictures of the author with Bray, and the second part of the album was all the photos from every single phase of his life.   

All of it culminated on July 23rd, 4 days before his birthday, when we went to our friends for a "fish fry" at HIS suggestion! Low and behold, the gang was all there. I am completely exhausted but never have I taken on a more worthy endeavor for a more worthy person. It was such a gift to see him register how much everyone loves him and how thrilled we all were to be able to be a part of his life. As a part of this week's blogging, I'll post my story entry for the scrapbook, and maybe even the kids, but the rest of the entries are for him to enjoy and appreciate alone (and one day for our kids to sit and read and see how loved their daddy is).

Wordless Wednesdays

39 Things: The Finale

So I am writing the finale of the 39 Things Challenge.  This is the end of the third week.  Week One was far and away the most successful and provided the most euphoric feelings.  Week Two created this sense of dissatisfaction about what I have been storing up in my life.  Week Three concluded in complete disbelief over how skewed my perspective had become. 

First up, the final report.  Yes, I did clear out more than 39 things this week.  My focus again was on drawers and shelves, with an emphasis on the kids bathroom and the kitchen.  Some give-aways, some trash, but once more we have more clear space.  I am DETERMINED not to fill it up.  On money, it was easy because this was a short week.  I only had Thursday through Monday since we are now in Florida.  I spent $6 on a lunch snack Thursday while running around town, just over $2 at Starbucks on Friday, and then I indulged in a breakfast out over the weekend while I had a sitter which totaled almost $11 - therefore I was most comfortably under the $21 for the week during this period than any other. 

But since this is the wrap up, I want to focus on how this has become so much more than how many things I gave away and how much money I was able to save.  This is more about WHY do I have so many things, worthless items, to give away to begin with.  This is more about HOW on Earth did my weekly budget grow to such excess. 

What are we doing?  As I spend today in the belly of the material beast, Disneyworld, I wrap up this challenge with a completely different perspective on where I am and what I am doing. When my two year olds are sitting in bed piling empty shoe boxes around them only to tell me they are ordering things, something has gone wrong. It's a funny story, but it is a sad story.

And those boxes folks, they ARE empty. They do not add one iota of value to our lives. Certainly we need clothes and food and a roof over our head, but the other stuff!?!?

Also, a specific word for us Christians, those of us who believe that Jesus Christ really should be running the show even if we do not always act like we believe it.  And this is a sermon more to myself than to anyone else reading.  REALLY what are we doing?  If our value and our worth and our provision truly comes from Christ, why on Earth are we piling up all this other stuff? I can understand how those with no faith might need to fill an emptiness or longing with material possessions in order to feel worthy or valuable or accepted. But I have no excuse. No. Excuse.

What are we doing?

I come away from this "challenge" personally challenged.  Life. Must. Change.  Value must be real not purchased.  Worth must be deeply rooted in my Creator and Redeemer not platinum status on a credit card.  Provision must be the Bread of Life not a five star restaurant. 

The line from the first day of the challenge rings truer to me today: We must teach our children today what to treasure tomorrow.

Philippians 3 - But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.

I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him,

not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.  I want to know Christ... Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.