DISNEYLAND

Monstrous lines, inflation, tantrums, airplane ride with children, public restrooms,…these are all things that come to mind when I think of taking a vacation to Disneyland. So, why am I always so excited to go? Well, I gotta tell you…I love Disneyland!!! The bright colors, characters, inspired settings, variety of rides, expensive souvenirs, well, I love it all! A $7 ice cream cone never tasted so delicious! Visiting Disneyland with my family is truly one of my favorite things to do. The excitement on the kids’ faces as we see a character come to life or the enthusiasm shown as we are about to climb onto a ride makes it worth the hassle.

We started off the vacation a little rough by almost missing our flight…yes, they actually called our names over the intercom and then lectured us as we were boarding our flight. Whoops! Disneyland was great, though…especially when we were able to utilize our early entry passes. We even got Jace to ride on something other than Small World and Dumbo. I coaxed Hallie into riding Space Mountain with me, and she loved it! So, then she decided she wanted to go on Tower of Terror and California Screamin’. I was a little nervous to take her on either, but she insisted. I don’t know if it was to show up her cowardly dad or an actual desire, but we went and both had a blast! I finally have a partner for Six Flags!!! Whoo hoo!

We also frequented Cheesecake Factory while we were there. As we were enjoying our dessert (Jace licking his ice cream straight from the dish and Hallie talking incessantly about nothing) Kevin looked at me and said, “Our kids are weird.” Before I could agree, Jace looked up and said, “I’m not a kid. I’m a puppy.” Lick, lick. Seriously...what more can I say?

Oh, and not that it matters much, but I totally met Mark from this season’s “The Biggest Loser.” Well, at least I thought it was cool. We really did have a wonderful time!

My cute family (minus Emerie, who was vacationing at home with Grandma Debbie)

Hallie and Jace couldn't get enough of this little water park. Jace even took a couple squirts right in the eye and kept on truckin'.

Hallie and I got quite a giggle out of Cruella-she told Hallie her shirt looked like bad wallpaper. She's great!

It's not a problem getting Hallie to let me take her picture...as you can see, the problem is getting her to stop posing.

Tender Moments

Mornings are few and far between when I actually get to cuddle with any of my children. I’m usually finding a way to drag myself out of bed to then rush and get us all ready to start another day of chaos. However, it is the first day of spring break today, so when Jace crawled in bed with me this morning I was happy to take a moment to cuddle with my little bag of bones. It became an even more precious moment when he leaned up and gave me a little kiss on the cheek. As I was stretching and thinking how I love little moments like these I was rewarded with......a wet willy—so much for my tender moment.

Happy Birthday!!!

It has finally happened...I am now married to a grown-up. Well, in the physical sense anyway. Psychologically, it might just be another story. Kevin turned 30 yesterday. He is a wonderful person, who continually makes me laugh and is not afraid to look like a moron in the process. What can I say? I just love him.

FAVORITES

So, I know in the hypothetical Parents 101 handbook one of the top rules is to not play favorites with your children, but sometimes kids make it really hard. On one hand, I have Emerie who is, seriously, the world’s best baby. This is not “just because I’m her mom” talk either for the reason that Hallie could possibly have been the world’s worst baby. It is just when Emerie is awake she plays quietly with whatever you give her, and she gives heart-tingling smiles when she catches your attention. Another thing that helps Emerie’s standing is she sleeps 19 hours a day still…she knows mommy NEEDS some quiet time. However, Jace and Hallie have completely missed this vital piece of information.

First, I have Mr. Attitude, who seems to never stop talking or pestering and then this week interrupted me while I was telling him to go pick up some toys by yelling, “No, I’m in charge!” I, apparently, didn’t get that memo.

Then I have Hallie, who the majority of the time is a very sweet little girl…that is, until six-year-old hormones kick in. I didn’t realize six-year-olds needed to worry about having too much arm hair or what hairstyle they were getting—I wish she would just focus her energy on actually brushing her teeth now and then.

Don’t get me wrong…I wouldn’t trade my kids for anything, except for maybe a banana shake now and then. Motherhood does have its wonderful moments amidst the chaos. I just didn’t realize the ratio of “wonderful” and “what was I thinking” would be so lopsided.

Here are some pictures to help show that I really do love being a mom...most of the time.

This is the greeting I get every time I get Emerie out of her crib--I love it!

She's not crawling quite yet...but look at that form.

Emerie is the first of my children to not have an automatic detestation for strangers. Whoo hoo!

Emerie is thinking..."I hope Jace can't find me under here."

Don't hate on the hottie!! She might be smuggling popcorn in those britches.

You've got to love blanket huts. I always felt like a genie--so fun. What you can't see is me in there running the show...just teasing.

All I can say is...poor, poor Emerie. Weird...Jace is in his spiderman outfit.

Here's Jace helping with the laundry...oh wait.

Oh, and HAPPY 8th ANNIVERSARY TO KEVIN & ME!!! Boy, do I love my man!