Who's the leader of the club?

This weekend my hubby went off with the guys to the Florida football game- that means a whole 3 days with just me and the kids...he should have known better than to leave me during beautiful weather! Sunday morning I woke up and decided I would take the kids to Disney World! So of course the first thing I did was call and wake Jamie up to see if she wanted to come along (I know you think we are crazy...we work together everyday and hang out on the weekends- but it is always nice to have someone around who knows I'm not perfect but still tells people I am) and of course she was game for the day trip.
So around 9:30 am we were headed to Orlando. We got there around 11:15 and had to have a very serious talk with Bella. I had to convince her she was magically 2 today and not 3. (If you work for Disney and are reading this blog...please stop reading now!) You see, if she was in fact 3 then we would have had to pay an extra $56...stop rolling your eyes, I know that is absolutely horrible to teach my kids to lie about their age to get in free but at the same time- I am taking them t Disney World, I think they will find it in their hearts to forgive me later.
It took some convincing but we did convince her and we tested her many times just in case the ticket lady thought to ask her how old she was. Preston needed more explanation because he is too smart to fall for this and he was trying to remind Bella that she just had a birthday party to celebrate turning 3, so we just kept him far from the ticket lady in case she thought to ask him how old his sister was. It worked, we made it into the gates with no incidents and only paid for 2 adults and one child. As soon as we were through the turn stall, we told Bella she was magically 3 again... and she said OK.
The weather was perfect and it was a little more crowded than we thought it was going to be but I think the longest we waited in a line was 15 min. Bella is still not sure about a lot of the rides, any time a ride got dark, she got scared and had to be talked through it, except on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, she has seen the movie so many times because of Preston that she knew all of the scenes already.
Heaven help any kid who goes on that Snow White ride...it was even a little scary for me, much less a kid...I think they need to update that one a little bit. The tea cups are a classic, Bella did not like the spinning! I do love this picture of she and Jamie! I got really dizzy and felt like a parent when I got off. Preston was having a blast spinning us and I was thinking, "please don't throw up in front of everyone."
Overall we had a great time, the kids fell asleep on the way home, Mike was home cleaning up (I knew there was something I was supposed to be doing instead of going to Disney...) and there was no school this morning so I got to sleep in- what could be better?

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Rita- one of my best friends since the 7th grade! I miss you and hope you have a great day!

What's Orange and Black with frosting all over it?

It's been a busy week...Bella turned 3 last Monday! We had a small get together for her on Sunday at my parents pool/clubhouse. She loved the water and spent the entire time in the pool. After everyone left we went back to my parents house so she could open her gifts, a practice I am now in complete favor of. When you go to a kids birthday party where they are opening the gifts in front of everyone there are a couple of things you are so worried about you just can't enjoy yourself 1)if my child who is opening the gift will openly say she doesn't like the gift 2) if the birthday girl or boy will toss aside carelessly each gift so they can hurry up and open the one their favorite Aunt has wrapped spectacularly for them (completely hypothetical) 3) if the parents of each guest will be screaming to the top of their lungs for their kid to stop trying to open the gifts for the birthday girl or boy 4) if the parents of each guest will not pay attention to their kid opening my kids birthday presents. So from now on, my kids will open their presents after the party when everyone has left!This is a picture of Bella and her mermaid BlaBla doll and piece of art Jamie had made for her ( the mermaid looks just like Bella). OK- other news. It is October and Jamie and had our swap yesterday, this month was an Orange and Black theme. Jamie bought me this amazing glitter party hat to add to my holloween decorations (most decorated season in my house- and my most favorite holiday). Of course, both of my kids wanted to take turns wearing it last night so after they went to bed I placed it high upon my mantel as a halloween shrine for all to see. I love all things glitter! Wendy Addison is a hero to me. Usually only Christmas decorations get all of the glitter so I was overwhelmed with joy when I got this. It is really weird how Jamie knows the perfect thing every time! She also got me a pumpkin decorating kit that has wooden eyes and other faces that you just pop right into the pumpkin to have a Martha Stewart looking pumpkin with no mess- kind of like a Mr. Potato head set for pumpkins! I got Jamie a basket full of little orange and black things, a magazine, orange flavored hot chocolate, mints, soap, tissues, stickers, an hand towel with Walkers embroidered on it, another shadow box with a picture of my kids trick or treating at her house last year and my favorite...candy corn flavored soda. This probably won't taste very good but when I saw it I just had to get it for her. Well I am already thinking about next month...the colors are yellow and brown! I have one thing in mind but not sure yet... Wednesday is Jamie's b-day- the big 30! I am excited about my gift to her, I will show you some pics after she opens it...don't want to ruin the surprise.