Disney magic

I keep starting this post then walking away from it.  I am not sure why...sooo many fun things, so many people, sooooo many manys, yet I can't think of what to say or where to begin. Weird!  I guess I will just start rambling and hope a post falls out.  HA!


Let me go way waaaaayyyy back in time here to really emphasize my love of everything Disney.  I have always been a Disney fan.  I was that adorkable teenager who LOVED (still do) disney movies.  Seriously, my boyfriend in high school bought me Cinderella for one of our anniversaries....yes, I was that cool.  After high school my dad (without my knowledge) signed me up to "audition" for a co-op job in Disney World through the college I was attending.  I got an interview, then a call back, then to my utter amazement I got a job as a lifeguard at Blizzard Beach.  I was there for 4.5 glorious months of "find myself while meeting new people" kind of fun.  NOTHING has ever compared to the friends I made there and the lessons I learned.  It was truly magical.  I could start a blog just dedicated to this so I will stop here and add a few pics to prove I was there emphasize the fun.
On stand at the end of the day.


Gotta throw in a Mickey pic ;)  This was at a character dinner.  WOOT! Note: this was me and one of my roomates Tara.  She lives in Canada but just happened to be in Disney vacationing with her family when we were there.  In case that isn't amazing enough, she was staying at the same resort as us....fate anyone?


Fast forward to now.  The NDSC National convention is a HUGE convention for families and educators of people with Down syndrome.  It is AMAZING!  They hold it once a year, always in a different part of the country.  This year?  FREAKING ORLANDO!!!!  Not just Orlando...noooo...it was at Coronado Springs Resort.  Y'know...the Disney resort?  YES Sir! Sign me up!  We decided to do the conference which was the weekend then extend our stay until Thursday and make it a family vacation also. It rocked my face off!  (little shout out to Tiff there haha) I was giddy to head back down to the land of the mouse and take my mini's with me.  We skipped the parks due to money, the raging heat and for the shear fact that I have done Disney with toddlers and strollers before (as a sitter) and wasn't really that into doing it with my own kids.  We drove down with Jamie and her family and stayed at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort.  I couldn't have asked for a better place to park us for 6 days.



View from our room


The "food court" for lack of a better term


Mini water park at our resort.

Like I said, we didn't do the parks but we did find the magic in other ways.  See that mini waterpark thingamajig in the photo above?  My big girl swam for the first time with only one life preserver...ALL BY HERSELF!  Her proud smile and sparkling eyes as she found independence in the water made the trip worth it all in itself.  The end.


NOT! ha! little 90's throwback there....moving on.


We made magical family moments and memories this trip.  This was the first trip since our honeymoon where we vacationed without any family.  It was just us and it was awesome.  We lived at our own pace, did what we wanted to without anyone else's agenda to think about.  We ate when we wanted, we slept when we could, we shopped and we just....aahhhh'ed.  We tried to give the girls the magical Disney vacation even though we didn't do the parks this trip.  We did Downtown Disney which I LOVE, the boardwalk, ice cream for dinner, loved on all of the stuffed animals that were ever made and we just enjoyed each other.




Running to dinner ;)


It's just not vacation without jumping on the beds.  I cannot tell you how the sound of them laughing while doing this just made me sit back and grin.....seriously, it is magical there.


Ice cream.....I mean, what more could a person need on a sweltering day in Orlando?  This might have been their favorite part. Notice A's death grip on the cup....makes me so proud. HAHAHA!




I can't say it enough.  Disney really is a magical place.  It is giggles and stickers and chocolate dripped down your dress kind of fun.


It is shopping when you just know that mommy and daddy will actually get you something you pick up.



It is hope that the next day could be even better than today even though you cannot possibly imagine how that could happen.  It is imagination meets reality.  It is sparkles and open mouthed gaping.  It is the smell of pop corn and the feel of sticky fingers on your neck giving you hugs at the end of the day.  It is family...



...and some small part of me will always call it home.

7 years and not even a little itch...

7 years....7 YEARS!!!  What?  How did that happen?  

I was so sure I was destined to be that crazy lady at the end of the block with 50 cats sitting on my front porch yelling at the neighborhood kids to get off my lawn while waving my broom at them.  I had kind of given up on finding MY perfect guy and had started making plans to move forward on my own after college.  Career---CHECK!,  Apartment----CHECK!...life was all right.  Then it happened:

I went to a party and walked out with a future. I feel like Cliff and I have been together for our whole lives yet I can remember what he had on the night I met him.  I remember the way his smile literally stopped my heart (still does, stop gagging at my mushiness), I remember how I told my best friend that I was going "to marry that man" the same night we met.  I remember that weird feeling like I could see my children in his eyes and how I just knew, knew without a doubt that he would never hurt me.  He went from stranger to safe place in a matter of minutes.  I love that <3  



I look back at where we started, at the dreams we had and the feelings we shared so early on in our relationship.  I feel like the luckiest person ever to look at where we are now, just a short 7 years later and how he has already given me all that I ever wanted.  We are by no means perfect but we both seem to just get "it".  We have been places together that will forever hold us together like glue.  We have had to hold each other up when we were sure we would fall and that does magical things to a marriage.  I can't WAIT to see where we go from here.  Happy anniversary to us! 










....Ok, enough with the mush. Stay tuned for all things funny in the house of toddlers. I just had to take a timeout to acknowledge the reason it all started in the first place. 

Summer's a little more favorite

I used to dread summers in the south.  I am not talking dread like "oh I really don't want to eat those brussel sprouts ma" kind of dread.  Oh no, I am talking "I would rather chop off my arm rather than roast in this disgusting 100 degree weather all the while wedging my sexy mama self not into a hideous thing the sales woman called a bathing suit" kind of dread. Growing up in the North meant it was hot and humid but only in weather snaps.  Moving here was like summer shock to the system for me and I never really enjoyed the heat (see previous rant about bathing suits and sexiness) since I never felt like I could get and stay cooled off.  Then I had a newborn (who couldn't go in the sun yet) during the summer...fun.  Then I was pregnant through a summer...double fun.  Then this summer happened.  This summer is AWESOME!  It is KIDS.  No crawling babies to worry about on the scalding pavement (they wear shoes now, what a concept).  No kids who take fifty two naps a day to try and work around.  It means we have freedom to play this year.  There are:

Birthday parties


and playing in the pool/yard with friends




and dancing around the playroom in panties (the oppressive heat means no one ever gets cold....EVER)


It means drinking out of the hose because lets face it...it just tastes better.  Juice? Sippy cup?  Heck no mommy!  Gimme a swig of that refreshing water that has to travel through that nasty hose that sat in the yard unused all winter long....GAG! FUN for all ages.


It means backyard barbecues with good friends  


and it means getting to dress your kids up in fun, festive Fourth of July attire (even if it only stayed on for 30 minutes until they were traded in for swim suits)


 I used to dread summers in the south....but I think they are maybe, kinda startin to grow on me.

Terrific two's! That's right, I said it....

Don't get me wrong, two year old's are TOUGH.  They all of a sudden have an opinion about life and how, when and where everything should be.  There are tantrums and power struggles and horrifically dramatic events over where I put her toothbrush vs. where SHE wanted it....but there is also this wonderfully, refreshing thing that happens when a child turns two.  They become people.  Real live people!  No more diapers, no more baby toys, no more having to hold my hand in stores or in the yard because they know who they are when you call their name.  I can shop with A now and she shops!  Imagine that ;)  She picks out clothes that she likes and says things like "OOOOH, caaUte!"  (say it out loud, it works) She stays with me in stores and at people's houses.  She has friends and favorite stuffed animals (who have names) and she can be healed by my magical mommy kisses.  "aaw bedder" is the reward I get when I kiss a boo boo.  Oh how I want that power forever.  To be able to kiss away things that make those beautiful eyes tear up.  I know it won't last long, so for now I will treasure it.  For now I will snap pictures of my terrific two year old as she slowly becomes a real live person.  I will cherish every silly grin and goofy outfit that she concocts. (and there are many as you will soon find out) I will not forget to soak up the hugs and smiles and "yuv youuuu" 's. I will not forget......










This innocent photo is actually of A sitting in a decorative shell at the beach house my in laws rented this year.  She looks adorable doesn't she?  Yeaaaaah, she thought this was her own personal chair/potty.  I got to clean this bad boy out at least 4 times while we were there.  Awesome

Just like me....and a little bit of Down syndrome

I hear all the time that N looks just like me *beams* but she is also JUST. LIKE. ME...with a little something extra.  I instinctively want to blame anything annoying or tough about her on the fact that she has Down syndrome when in fact I have come to realize that it is just the "me" in her.   She is stubborn, silly, wonderful, artistic, opinionated and fiercely independent...no denying where that came from.  sigh  


Having a child just like yourself should not be allowed.  I know her too well, too deeply aware of why she is doing what she is doing on a level that no one else seems to understand, why she just had to throw the baggie of cookies into the potty right after earning them for finally pooping (because she could...that is the correct answer in case you were wondering).  I don't have to ponder where her weird ideas of fun come from or why it takes a miracle to get a hug or a cuddle b/c she. is. just. like. ME.  To play with her and giggle with her is pure bliss.  It is everything I ever wanted.  To fight with her or try to teach her something new is not, NOT I tell you!  It is everything I dread about raising her.  When she was born and we heard those scary words that no parent thinks they can handle "We think she has Down syndrome" I feared everything about raising her.  Her health, her happiness, educating her to her highest ability without failing her in some way.  Now that she is four I realize that what I fear about raising her has nothing to do with that cute little extra chromosome she gets to have and EVERYTHING to do with the fact that she is me.  I was there when I was a kid, I was in my head, I got to hear and live the annoyances (and fun) of being me.  "Cute and cuddly" is how I hear people describe children/people with DS......really?  Always?  Are you sure of that stereotype?  Would you like to come spend a day with mini and I? So the next time you  hear someone say "They are so lucky, children with ds are the most loving and cuddly children"......you will smile like we do, because you will know that they have no idea.  ;)

Life is messy

So I have been locked choosing to stay in the house this week with my two girls as I go down the road of potty training.  I find that when I feel trapped bored I tend to seek out ways to be creative.  I have always done it, the medium ever changing but still, the need to express myself and not get lost in this thing we call life has always been there.  SOOOO, I find during this week of potty h**l, that I am in desperate need of "getting out"...of my head, of my mind (HA!), of the underuse of my brain and all that comes with being a stay at home mom.  I sit here understimulated and stuck in this void of LOVING being with my girls all day yet being horrified by the lack of use my brain gets on a daily basis.  I used to teach for goodness sake...I taught children how to read and write and appreciate the world from different perspectives.  I held the gift of education in my hand everyday and now....now I clean up pee puddles and dance to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star five gajillion (yes, that is a technical term) times an hour a day.  My brain is slowly turning to mommy mush so I sat down today ...and out fell a blog.  Really?  Me?  I HATE writing...don't I?  I HATE anything that resembles homework so what do I do?  I START A BLOG!  Ta da....are you impressed?   *crickets chirping*...........yeah, me either.

Potty training: Day 4

This is how to store your inconsistent potty abilitied (notice this technical term also...mommy mush brain I tell you!) children....note that they each have their own storage shelf for maximum comfort and dryness.

Welcome to my world....It's just life ;)