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A different kind of vacation

I'm a bit surprised we are going to Disney again in April.  Nobody is ever surprised when we say we are going.  We get the usual chorus of, "Again...really?" but it's not with the tone of surprise. 

There is an element of shock and amazement this year, however, as we announce we are going.  People are baffled by the fact that we are going to attempt the trip with infant twins.  So am I.

We debated not going this year.  We certainly could use the money in the bank vs in the hands of the Walt Disney Company.

Nobody ever really "needs" a vacation...even though everyone always says, "I need a vacation."  Myself included.

It certainly won't be easy.  We had gotten to a good point with my son where a trip to Disney meant the "Magical Express" and a small carryon.  There were no diapers, formula, car seats, lap babies, nap schedules, etc.  Just go-with-the-flow family fun.

There will be obstacles in traveling with a baby.  Multiply that baby times two and there are obstacles and A LOT of stuff.  Still, I'm determined to make it work and to make it a great experience.  Because, we sort of do "need" a vacation.

Well, maybe not need, and maybe not a full-out Disney vacation, but it will do us a world of good to get away from the everyday and just enjoy each other.  

The babies were born on 8/31.  And while it has gone as smoothly as it probably could go, there are obvious challenges.  My son rocks as a big brother.  He loves his sisters and is gentle and patient and kind and caring to them.  But, he's four.  And it can't possibly be easy to be four and have twin sisters in the house.  He was the center of our world and while we have made a very conscious effort to include him, schedule 1:1 time with him, etc. there is no getting around the fact that his life was turned upside down.  We're also busy.  So busy.  All. the. time.  It's a constant motion and routine to get things done and keep our heads above water.  Hubby and I both work full-time and while we love that we both have a commute under 5 minutes, it means that we go from crazy work mode to crazy home mode with no real transition or down-time.  We rarely all leave the house together, because there are very few places worth going that are worth the hassle of bundling up 3 kids to get to.

And so in some ways we do "need" a vacation.

We need to be out of out element.  We need to be away from feeling like there is always something to clean, laundry to do, work to be done.  We need to not worry about cooking.  We need to just enjoy being together.  We need to be outdoors and do tons of walking and breath fresh air.  We need to enjoy being a family of five and not simply go through the motions that have become the rhythm and routine of our days.

We need to capture the fleeting moments when our son wants nothing more than to be with his mommy and daddy and when he truly believes he is flying with Dumbo and when he is so so oblivious to the fact that there is a young girl in a mouse costume and not an actual mouse joining him at his breakfast table.

And so off we go.  On  another Disney adventure.  One with so so many new challenges and obstacles, but one that will truly be appreciated and savored like no other.  

Out with the Old...In With the New

I've started the very overwhelming process of sorting through and selling all of my son's outgrown clothing.  While I would love to just donate it, we need to get him new clothes and dress the twins (which I'm finding is no cheap task).

I've been slowly adding everything to a store I opened on ecrater.  Since it's school vacation week I'm hoping to list all of his clothes by the end of the week.  No small task since he is now in size 5s.

If you know anyone who is in the market for some well-cared for boy's clothes send them my way. We are a smoke-free, pet-free home.  There are lots of name brand and new with tags items available.

www.handmedowns.ecrater.com

It's Been Awhile

Wow! I can't believe it has been almost a year since I've updated this blog.  Time to dust the corners and get busy.  We've got another trip on the calendar.

This one falls in the category of, "You might be certifiably insane if..."

You see, we are no longer a "party of 3," but instead a big ole chaotic "party of 5."  

We'll be traveling south with our two new additions -identical twin girls who will be be a mere 7 months old on the trip.

Crazy yes...but, oh the photo ops that await!

ONE MONTH!!

We're just four weeks away from V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!!!  I'm not sure what I'm most excited for:

a. the break from school (which culminates a busy month of state testing, report cards and open house)

b. the warm weather

c. my son's excitement

d. the solid week of (finger' crossed) stress free, quality family time

e. the food

It has to be all of the above!

As excited as I am for the trip, I do really love this last month the most.  I'm a dork when it comes to planning.  I love to organize and make lists and the next four weeks shall feed right into that.  

Oooh...and I get to shop.  Mama needs a new pair of shoes, ummm make that  flip flops!

Pahk the Cah in Hahvard Yahd

I was excited to tell the hubby about the great idea I mentioned in my last post that will save us a good chunk of change on our tickets.  In doing so I couldn't get the words, "Park Hopper" to come out right. You see I am from the Boston area.  No matter how hard I tried I kept saying, "pAHk hoppas."  Overall, my accent is subtle, but man that sure posed a challenge.

It reminded me of the time I spent living in the Orlando area.  For two glorious post-college years of my life I had a Florida address.  I loved it.  I was young and life was fun.  I had moved down to get some teaching experience since jobs there were plentiful and jobs in the northeast were anything but.  The plan was to go down for two years, get the experience, move home and get a job.  The plan worked perfectly, except I now curse the moving back portion of the plan each and every winter.  Why the hell did I leave?  Anyhow, I digress.

As I was saying...I never thought my accent was strong (by comparison) since it's what I'm used to hearing.  When I moved to Florida I quickly adapted to the lingo of the south and made it my own.  The problem was I never shook the Boston accent.  

I would say things like, "Which bAH do y'all want to go to tonight?" of "I have a wicked fixin' for some chowdAH." I'm sure the parents were thrilled with the highly intelligent sounding teacher that the public schools had imported from the Northeast.

A decade later I'll still toss an occasional "y'all" into conversation without thinking, but the Boston accent is definitely getting worse.

My How Time Flies

That's a lie.  It's actually been a cold winter and the days until warmer weather feels like they are dragging.  However, it doesn't seem possible that it's been over a month since I've blogged.  Well here I am.  I do have a good excuse, but that's a whole different entry.

In exciting news, our trip is fast approaching.  I'm giddy with excitement over the thought of toasty temps and an excuse to by a few new clothes and get a pedicure.  I have to make final payment on our trip in a few days and I'm still not committed to the dining plan.  We have great ADRs and should we keep them all and arrive with a hearty appetite then the plan would be a good call.  However, it's hard to say how hungry I'll be and the idea of dessert with each mean doesn't appeal to me.  Yes, I realize I don't NEED to order/eat dessert, but I would.  

We took my parents to Disney a couple of years ago and purchased the meal plan for them.  My dad approached meal choices much like "The Price is Right."  He would open the menu.  His eyes would scroll up and down the menu and focus in on the highest price tag.  He wouldn't even look at the food column, just the price column.  It didn't matter what the meal was.  It didn't matter if he could pronounce it.  Luckily, the man has no known food allergies because that would not deter him.  He loved seeing the high tab on the receipt.  

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  While I'm not quite at that extreme, I do think I would feel obligated to order a drink instead of water and a dessert even if I'm full.

My plan is to pay the balance of the trip and think about the dining plan for a few more weeks.  I'm going to have hubby look at the menus and see what he might order and do some number crunching.  Rocket science is easier.