End of summer not-so-shining moment

I very well could be one of the only people that is never disappointed to see the summer season go.

For the past couple weeks the majority of my "friends" Facebook status' have been updated to reflect the sadness over the summer season drawing to a close, but me...while I haven't actually updated my status it would probably read something like this:

Type A Mom is thrilled to have her life back in order - yea September!

Now don't jump to conclusions and assume that I am one of those mothers that is thrilled to get her kids out of the house and back to school. I am far from that.

I am a Mom that works, and I work in an industry that is unfortunately is busiest during the summer months. It's construction in New Hampshire...if you've ever been to New Hampshire between November and April you are probably well aware that we have loooooong winters. So we work when we can, and summer is the ideal time for this.

Now before you get out your violin for me, yes I worked -- a lot this summer...but remember this when I'm taking a vacation in September, and again in January, and again in April. I often appear "spoiled" because we vacation so often, but we can't vacation in the summer when the rest of the world can and does.

I am also a Mom that put a concise effort into letting the little things go this summer and having fun whenever possible. Typically I am one that would make sure that life is in order before allowing myself to join in the family fun. I simply let it go this summer.

It felt good, the world did not implode....and although my house is far from clean, and the laundry is still in piles...we had a great summer and I truly enjoyed the time I spent with my kids. They are growing so fast, their personalities so unique it was just fun to be with them.

Now I need to be sure that I document that we had a great summer, because although we spent many a day at the lake, boat rides, playgrounds, mini-golf, campfires, trips to Nana's, swimming in the pool, playing in the ocean....I have this sinking feeling that when asked to write about their summer vacation, they will write: Mommy broke the door.

Ugh. Yes, Mommy broke the door.

It certainly was not my shining moment of the summer, but since it happened just last Friday I am sure that it will be fresh in their mind when they recall all they did this summer. Now I would like to think of myself as a reasonable parent. I don't do a lot of yelling, but there are times when I am at the end of my rope that I raise my voice. I don't hit, I don't throw things...but sometimes I yell. I am not proud of it. So it was Friday afternoon, the kids have been bickering most of the afternoon. I reached the end of my rope as they were fighting on the back porch over who was closest to the popcorn bowl. Seriously? They were about to come to blows over the fact that the popcorn bowl was closer to one child than the other. So what did I do? I burst out of the screen door, grabbed the bowl and moved it to the center of the table, giving clear instructions that no one is to touch the bowl. Well what do you know, my "bursting" through the screen door must have either bent the aluminum frame or hinge, because the door no longer closes properly. Nice. Now I fully admit that I was wrong, but this door has had issues from day one. It is not at all a quality door, it never closed gently...but always with a slam. Nonetheless It would be closing fully still had I not "burst" out it.

I said it wasn't my shining moment.

I beat myself up over it, and once I cooled off the kids and I actually laughed about it. It was the joke of the evening around our campfire, and I'm convinced that my admission and acceptance of my wrongdoing and overreaction has turned a bad situation into a positive lesson. Still, I fully expect the first picture to come home in the backpack to be of a broken door and mom yelling.

We had a great summer. Honestly.

Alas, I am looking forward to September. Our summer was great, but I am truly looking forward to the organization and routine that the school year brings. It is my time to get life back in order, and put my best foot forward.

Bear in our big backyard

Well actually it was the front yard...but it just sounded better that way.
These were taken last night after dinner. They were adorable! I am guessing they are about a year old, and Mama bear was no where to be seen.

The in the photo below the bear is actually standing in our apple tree, while it's brother/sister feeds on the dropped apples.

The conclusion of my unexpectedly long recap

I will never, ever, EVER do that again.

These are words that I have voiced several times since the most harrowing excursion of my life back in the early 90's. My ever-so-brave-thrill-seeking-teenage-self jumped at the chance to try explore the skies over Aruba supported by a beautiful parasail, tethered only to a little motor boat.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

It wasn't.

I was young and foolish, and eager to try something new...so when my mom offered my brother and I the chance to parasail while on a vacation to Aruba, we took her up on it. If you've ever been to Aruba you may have noticed that they have significant winds all the time. I never even considered this factor until I was being whipped around mercilessly hundreds of feet above the ocean, convinced that the line would break at any moment and I would be found somewhere in Venezuela. The experience was a bit traumatic, they had difficulties reeling me in due to the high winds. I simply remember being bounced side to side, hanging on for dear life, seeing the boat in full throttle trying to keep from drifting. I was never so happy to be back on a boat, forget land...I just didn't want to be airborne. Once was enough, never, ever, EVER, again.

I lied.

I truly never thought that I would want to do something this foolish again, but a little bit of the thrill-seeker in me was allowed to creep back out in my 30-something motherhood loving life. One of the beauties of being a part of the Walt Disney World Moms Panel is that you all of the sudden have these new friends, all with different, amazing stories of the fun things they have experienced while vacationing at Walt Disney World. Parasailing was one that intrigued me. Kelsey had reallllllly wanted to parasail when we cruised together a few years back, but for some reason it just never panned out. So when I made the decision to take her, I knew this would be something that I would consider, and should my research provide me with confidence that my experience would be nothing like my last...I'd do it.

Well the research was easy, I could find NOTHING to tell me that this was a dangerous, ill-fated activity, not to be attempted by the weak. Actually, I found rave reviews about how peaceful, wonderful, safe and beautiful this experience is.

Since this was my "new and different" vacation, I went back on my words from the late 90's...and reserved two tandem flights of parasailing.

Friday. Today is the day.

We started the day with a trip to Epcot, enjoyed a few attractions, saved a few countries with the Kim Possible Adventure, and stocked up on some Fastpasses before heading to the Contemporary Resort for lunch and my much anticipated do-over on parasailing.

Now I suppose only Kelsey can attest as to whether or not I was good at hiding how darn nervous I was. All I had was my terrible first experience to go by, and now I was going to strap my innocent child in with me as I cruised high above Bay Lake. I had to be brave, face my fear...if not for myself, I did it for my kids. We boarded the boat, and there was one other couple joining us. This young man flew first, and I was a bit horrified as to how quick it actually all happened. It appeared as though he wasn't prepared or expecting the sudden lift off. As he was in-flight, the crew was preparing Kelsey and Maya for their journey. My stomach was in knots. Am I a terrible mother allowing my barely six-year old daughter do this? And my sister...am I being a terrible irresponsible role model by allowing her to do this?

At this point, I simply want it done and over. The crew probably sensed my anxiety and was sure to talk up how safe this is...how they've had no accidents...how heavy the tow line is so you won't fly to Daytona should it break....it all helped, a little. I kept my eye to the skies, which appeared to be growing darker and darker. Then they had to mention that they never have this kind of wind in June.

Eeek. Can I change my mind?

They call in to the office to get a weather update, and determine that we will be okay to go. Before I knew it, I was watching my brave little girl, and her trusty Aunt be clamped and secured to the contraption at the back of the boat.

And with that, they were gone...up, up and away. I was extremely relieved to see that they weren't violently swinging side to side as I did in my prior experience. It looked somewhat calm, I was wishing I felt calm. Honestly, having them up there was harder than being up there myself. I felt so out of control and helpless. A few easy drops with slack in the line, but apparently nothing I should worry about. Their trip went of flawlessly, and after the absolute LONGEST ten minutes of my life...my baby and my baby sister were back on board the boat.
This is my poker-face, not-one-to-show-emotion Maya, she will plainly admit that she loved it, but will still play coy about it....although I can tell by the sly smile that she loved it.

So now that Kelsey can text her mother to let her know she survived and I will not be stripped of my responsible-adult badge for letting something terrible happen....it's my turn.

Good lord.

Now Maya is my thrill-seeker...Macy is my careful and cautious child. It is funny because in this respect, I think Maya is just like I was as a child and Macy is just like me as an adult. It's funny how they both have parts of "me" in them...just different stages of "me" in my life. Anyhow, Macy and I take our place on the back of the boat, only to have the crew member struggle against the winds to steady the chute. Ugh. I hear him call to the captain that he can't hang on...and then it happened, the chute went into the water. Apparently this is not good. He dove in after it, and the captain cut the engines. We were directed to head back to the seats, as it will take awhile for them to properly reset the chute and lines.

Great. More time to think about my irresponsibleness and impending doom. With dark clouds in the distance, the clock was ticking.

Had I just blurted out "Let's not go" Macy would have probably sighed a BIG sigh of relief. I think we both were crazy worried, but neither of us would admit it. I was trying to be brave for her...and I think she was trying to be brave for me.

Before we knew it, we were being given orders to move, and move quickly...no time to think, just act. We jumped up, snapped on and were off.

Wow.

It's hard to explain how the trip actually felt. It certainly wasn't thrashing like it had been before...it wasn't quite as gentle as I had hoped....but it was exhilarating. We talked the entire time, I think in an effort to reassure one another. We were the nervous nellys of the bunch, so our small talk to each other was a bit over-dramatic but very assuring.

We spent the time pointing out landmarks (although I don't think we actually pointed as we were both deathly afraid to let go). A few gentle dips with slack in the line, but overall it was very smooth. It was serene. It was quiet. It was wonderful.

I won't lie and said that I wanted to stay up there forever, the ten minutes was plenty of time for me to feel redeemed in my parasailing fear. I was excited to return to the boat, to share the giggles with Maya and Kelsey and to be able to say, WE DID IT!

There isn't really much that can top that adventure. We left the dock recharged, invigorated and ready for more fun. With my fears laid to rest we tackled the world in full force. First to Hollywood Studios to ride Tower of Terror, then on to Epcot to experience Soarin and Test Track. We arrived back at our resort and took the last "nightime dip" in the pool for this vacation.

We visit Disney frequently, so we are never disappointed to miss something, and don't hesitate to change plans because we know we'll be back soon enough. Well for Kelsey it's not quite that simple, so we needed to make sure that she hit the highlights on this trip. We dragged ourselves out of bed early on that last morning so we could get her to Animal Kingdom to experience Kilimanjaro Safari and Expedition Everest. That was all we had time for, but I'm so glad we at least got her there.

Now I say we didn't have time....we could have had time had eating and shopping not been our priorities before heading home. We checked out of our resort, said good by to the palm trees and tiki-torches that were our true symbols of vacation, and headed off to the Boardwalk for one more quick reunion with Moms Panel Margaret over lunch.

Normally I am bummed to head home from vacation, and this trip would have been no exception had it not been for the fact that I missed my husband and little Noley terrible. Nolan and I had talked several times while we were gone, and it wasn't until he cried and asked me to come home tomorrow that I really felt homesick. As much as I love our vacations to Walt Disney World, there truly is no place like home.

Continuing the not-so-brief recap

Apparently one of the things I've been plagued by as a 30-something mother of three is mild memory lapses.

Normally on our vacations I bring a little notebook, and at the end of each day I like to jot down the fun, interesting, weird, odd, fantastic things that happened to our family each day. I do it with the great intention of crafting great trip reports for my children to reflect on someday...but in reality I believe that they will be left with my little notebook of chicken scratch, and probably the the task of trying to decode my garble.

This vacation I forgot to bring it. Not that I couldn't have mustered up a few scraps of paper somewhere, but I really just blanked on even keeping the notes. Maybe (at least I'm telling myself this) this is why I am actually taking a few bits of my time to write a trip report. It was a "new and different" trip, so I would hate for the details to clouded over time....unfortunately my 30-something mother of three year old brain has a shorter memory span than anticipated.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I had to consult for at least an hour last night with Kelsey, we re-hashed the trip, outlined and detailed every movement of our days...all for the sake of this report. I had pretty good memory on most everything...but it was Thursday and Friday that were garbled together in my mind, so thank you Kelsey for helping to keep the record straight.

Thursday. Well it was hot, but that was expected. After all of the fun and punchiness with Buddy-Boy and David at the Magic Kingdom the night before, we decided to take it easy on this morning. The original plan had been to tackle the Animal Kingdom, however we had been presented the opportunity to get a sneak peak at The Pirates League at the Magic Kingdom and I didn't think it was something we should pass up. So it was an easy decision to readjust our schedule and spend the morning at the volcano pool.

Against all of my normal Disney advice, rather than heading out of the Magic Kingdom in the early afternoon, we were headed in. We were on a mission. The first and only stop we would have time for was to the brand new, not yet open to the public, The Pirates League. Now we had done the Bibbidi Boppidi Boutique a few trips back, and I was THRILLED with the experience. It was fantastic, the girls loved it. However, I often wondered...and obviously so did a lot of other guests, why there was nothing like this for little boys to experience. Well now there was, and we were lucky enough to secure appointments. The experience was really, really great...better than I had expected. The cast members stayed in character so well, and really involved the kids in everything. The themed decor was incredible, and the story was fun. I was not at all surprised that all three of the girls choose the Empress Pirate over any of the other options...I've got a bunch of girly-girls on my hands.
The before shot. The options

Maya at the helm, spinning the dice to determine her pirate name.
The decor was really incredible, Disney attention to detail at it's finest.Maya is tag-teamed for her makeup and nails. Kelsey takes the pirate oath.Maya and a fantastic cast member....named David!The after photo, they are so cute!

Another fantastic cast member taught the girls some great swashbuckling moves!

Once we finished, we had no time to spare before we headed off on our next adventure. This was going to be one of the highlights of the trip for me...probably not-so-much for the rest of the bunch. We headed off to Downtown Disney to meet two of my incredible Moms Panel friends, Margaret and Tanya. We also had the pleasure of the company of one of my very favorite Disney cast members, Gary/Jerry. We dined at the Rainforest Cafe' for the benefit of my children. Menu certainly not my favorite, but the drinks are great and the atmosphere keeps my kiddos entertained. I would not have one mother of the year award at this meal, I basically ignored my children in favor of catching up with my friends...thank you guys for being so wonderful and patient when Mommy needs it most. The meal went all to quickly, and unfortunately my agenda didn't allow for overtime. Before I knew it we were bidding adieu and the girls and I were off to the Cirque!

I was super excited to take the kids to Cirque du Soleil. It is something that I have enjoyed several times before, but really wanted to wait until the kids were old enough to appreciate it before splurging on the tickets. Having Kelsey on this trip made the decision to go very easy, she is a fantastic dancer and I knew that she would just love the show.

The performance was as amazing as I had remembered, and unfortunately the "new and different" for me on this one was receiving a text message from my sister Kim relaying the news that Michael Jackson had died. So when I'm asked 20 years from now if I remember where I was when I heard MJ died...I'll clearly recall that I was enjoying Cirque and thankfully, in lieu of the bizarre news, was nonplussed by the information and continued to be mesmerized by the show.

Thanks to our lazy morning, we had a second wind and were ready for a little fun at the end of the performance. We headed over to Epcot, but spent very little time there before the skies darkened, the clouds lowered and the thunder began to rumble. As we quickly made our way to the parking lot the deluge began. Although we were a bit wet and drippy, we were safe in our car and on our way back to the resort.

Big things to come the next day...I go back on my word.

Not really reporting trip report

Now that my next Disney trip is closer than the last one I took, I suppose it's time to give a quick recap of our June vacation. I know, it's almost September, and I hate that I'm so behind but because I go so often (I know, poor me), that I feel like I'm a broken record. This trip was a little different in that it was just the girls, their Auntie Kelsey and myself...off on an adventure to Walt Disney World. So at the very least I need an abbreviated story about the fun we had and the highlights of our trip!As usual, we flew on Southwest Airlines...I know it's no frills, nothing spectacular but it is NON-STOP which ranks above frills any day in my book. Typically we fly out first thing in the morning, so our evening flight was the first "new and different" for me, and I liked it! The plane unfortunately was full, so Kelsey and I each took a kid and split up.


The next "new and different" Southwest is testing Wi-Fi on it's airplanes! Unfortunately, I didn't bring my laptop this time....but my iTouch worked great (as did Kelsey's) so we were able to text via vtext.com and Facebook which was fun. With the magic of wi-fi I was able to keep Kelsey updated regarding my row-mate, a crazy air-guitarist (he listened to ipod and played air guitar the entire flight), although I decided he probably isn't crazy...he was probably totally famous but since I'm out of touch with the rock guitarists these days I most likely offended him by not acknowledging who he was. Anyhow, one of the cool features of the in-flight wi-fi was the ability to see where the plane was on the map. The landing page of the web-access had your plane eating up dots like Pac-Man to show you how far you had to go. That certainly kept my kids amused.Who am I kidding? I said that this would be a brief recap, yet I rambled on about the AIRPLANE for a full paragraph. Sorry about that, but thanks for indulging me.


So we flew in on Sunday evening, and I had booked a room at the Hyatt at Orlando International Airport. My little tip for you: to get a better rate, I purchased one of their "stay certificates" off their website...same room, cheaper price (Hotwire deals are typically even better, but none were available). After a quick bite at Sbarro and a trip or two on the moving walkway we were tired enough to finally turn in for the night. We enjoyed the balcony and the view of the runways/pool for all of about 2 minutes...it was HOT in the city tonight!

The room was beautiful, clean and comfortable but unfortunately I didn't get to enjoy it for long. My night was spent comforting my miserable 6-year old who had come down with a terrible ear infection. How did I know that? Is that what you are wondering? One of the things that I have learned to never leave home without (on vacation at least) is my otoscope. I'd wasted prior vacation hours in a clinic only to find out my kid had swimmers ear...and from that day on I vowed never to do that again. So thankfully I was able to determine that she did indeed have a nasty ear infection - but since the clinics weren't open late on a Sunday night, she toughed it out on ibuprofen and snuggles from Mommy.

First thing Monday we snagged ourselves a great Dodge Charger off National Car Rental's "Emerald Aisle" and we were off to get Maya's ear infection treated. It was just a minor glitch in our plans, but worth dealing with A.S.A.P. because my little girl was in pain and we needed to get her taken care of so the fun could begin! Before we knew it we were enjoying the palm trees and warm sultry weather at Disney's Polynesian Resort.

It only took minutes before "warm and sultry" turned into hot and yuck so we got back on track and headed for Blizzard Beach. I hadn't been to Blizzard Beach since I was on the college program, so this was another "'new and different" in my book because it was something my children had never experienced. It was as fun as I remember, actually more fun....everything is more fun when you're watching your kids experience it! We stayed at the water park a lot later than I had originally anticipated we would. The initial plan was to head out and go see Spectromagic, but as the day went on the crowds diminished, the heat remained, and with a magnificent iced cold mocha latte (a real one, fresh pressed coffee and all) extending our stay was the ideal option for everyone.

Our Tuesday was to be spent at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and in true June fashion...it was HOT. We had our obligatory meal at Pizza Planet, and a ride on visit to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground. We baked in the bleachers for the Extreme Stunt Show and cooled off in the theater as we watched The American Idol Experience. Looking back I realized we packed quite a bit into the few hours we had there, we walked on to The Great Movie Ride, and had a short wait for the Backlot Tour. Thanks to the Fast Pass system we were able to enjoy Toy Story Mania before heading out for the day. Would you believe that I didn't take one picture this day? I think I was a little too hot and melty, and was saving my photo opportunities for that evening.

Our evening was spent at the Spirit of Aloha dinner show. This was a first for me, and although the menu didn't thrill me (I'm not a fan of eating meat off the bone) I really wanted to try this dining experience. We get a lot of questions on the Moms Panel about this show vs. the Hoop De Doo Revue so I wanted to be able to give an educated and honest opinion.

So...In my now educated and honest opinion, I would probably vote for the Hoop De Doo over the Luau in 9 out of 10 situations. I don't know if it was the rain during the Luau, or the kid (other than my own) hanging/swinging on my chair the entire time but it was not my favorite dining experience.

The sky cleared by the end of the show, and although we had fun...I think the highlight of the evening was the fantastic time we had roaming the resort grounds and watching Wishes from the beach afterwards.

I really fear sounding like a Debbie Downer....and and more frighteningly a terrible Disney Moms Panelist, but considering my "job" is to give advice I feel that it was important for me to try things I've avoided for years...and determine if I was smart in doing so. Cinderella's Royal Table is tops on my "I know I've avoided this for a reason" list. This was our first stop of the morning, and being a self proclaimed morning person I was ready to be open, honest and fair with my judgements. The best parts of this experience, easy...they were:

1) Entering the park before it opens - all is quiet, peaceful and simply magical2) Dining INSIDE Cinderella Castle. Seriously, I think one of the biggest disappointments to any child visiting the Magic Kingdom for the first time is the Castle. You have this grand expectation of seeing a living room, a parlor, a kitchen, a bedroom....yet you see none of that. You technically don't even get to go "in"you walk through it (if there isn't a forecourt show in progress). So to be able to have the opportunity to go upstairs is a dream come true for any kid (or adult).3) The character interaction makes it all worth it. I may have told you before that I am not a fan of waiting in lines....well I'm especially not a fan of a waiting in lines to meet a character. That is why I LOVE character dining. To have the opportunity for my kids to see their favorite Princesses' not only in the same room, but to talk with them for a few moments on a personal basis is priceless.
Now I don't want to say "worst" because it certainly isn't the "worst" place to dine (I don't think WDW could possibly have a "worst"), but I preferred our experience at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. Not only did I prefer the family style dining (over the pre-plated), the cost is lower. The Princess experience was just as great, so for me my budget-concise inner self would recommend Akershus over Cinderella's any day.

Once our meal was finished, we enjoyed the entire day at the Magic Kingdom. The weather was still incredibly hot, so I took my own "Moms Panel Advice" and we headed back to the resort for a nice afternoon swim. Recharged and ready to go, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom for some night time fun. There is something truly special about nighttime touring of the parks with my girls. Just about every trip we have had the opportunity to venture out at night to explore and have a little fun, and I always find that some of the best memories are made at this time. I don't know why, but every ones moods are lighter, maybe we're a little punchy...maybe it's the fact that we're all out past our bedtime and eating ice cream and popcorn, I don't know. Whatever it is, these are some of my most cherished times in the parks...and this night was no exception.

I can't tell you why....or even explain how come it was soooooo funny but my little Pixie Maya Grace made the evening, if not the entire trip by assigning herself and her Aunt new names. Not sure why, maybe it was the extra trip on Big Thunder Mountain...but Maya proudly proclaimed to Auntie this evening that "I'll call you Buddy-Boy and you can call me David"

Buddy-Boy and David.

Hysterical.

Okay, maybe not to you...but if you know Maya you would know how out of character it would be for her to say something like this.

From that point on, they were Buddy-Boy and David and for some reason, I swear that after this the majority of the male cast members we encountered were named David. Coincidence?

Our evening of course wouldn't be complete without Spectromagic and Wishes!

My favorite spot for watching Wishes, do you recognize where we were?

So now that I haven't really reported the first half of my trip....I think I'll continue on and not really report on the rest of my trip. I'll hit just the highlights, okay?

Stay tuned!

I am one lucky woman

I certainly could find at least a dozen times each day where I could use this expression and it would fit perfectly....however this isn't something that I blurt out on a regular basis. Actually I don't know if I've ever actually said that exact phrase. I'm sure I've tiptoed around it...
I'm one lucky mom.
I'm one lucky girl.
But I don't know about "one lucky woman" For some reason using the word woman to describe myself seems way to old.

Anyhow, as we ventured down the highway last night I took the liberty of assisting Maya remove another tooth (yes, her second in a two weeks and yes, I was a passenger I was NOT driving). As the standard protocol dictates for losing a tooth in our family, there were cheers and high fives all around. Conversation quickly turned to the tooth fairy and how she will be busy tonight because mom's friend "Disney Mom Tanya"'s son lost a tooth today too.

As the excitement began to subside, may just sat back proudly in her seat and exclaimed:

"I am one lucky woman."

Daddy and I shared a quick glance to see if we both heard what we thought we heard...the smiles on both of our faces indicated that we did.

I think we will both agree, we are the lucky ones.