Our Trek to Visit Mickey and Co...Part 1

Disclaimer:  This may be boring, but since this blog is basically my sad excuse for a journal, I am documenting what I remember...it will get better, I promise!

At the beginning of 2010, I heard about a special volunteer program that Disney was sponsoring this year.  If anyone over the age of 6 volunteered (for specially approved assignments), they would receive one day ticket to Disneyland or World.  This was until they had one million volunteers.  I was instantly intrigued.  For years, I have been dying to take our kids to visit "The Mouse", but it has always been too expensive.  I signed us up and we were given an assignment to pass out some fliers to some businesses in Franklin, TN.  This enabled us to get 5 tickets - one for each of us that would cost money to get into Disney World.

We were able to use the price that the tickets would have been to upgrade for a few more days in the parks - this was important, because with 5 children (a few with special needs) it would have been impossible to see much in just one day - especially considering when we were actually on the trip, two of our afternoons were spent at urgent care clinics in the area (we will get into that later).  Then, we rented a condo for a week - much more affordable than actually staying in a hotel, and we were so much more comfortable.  It was also a lot cheaper to be able to prepare our own meals.

Everyone told us we were nuts to go over the week of the 4th of July because of the humidity in Florida, the terrible heat, yadda, yadda, yadda....not much we could do about the fact that Clay's vacation was scheduled at the end of 2009, before we even planned the trip and the kids were off of school...so July it was!

After several months of getting tips and tricks from the internet, budgeting, couponing, hoarding anything I could find that was Disney related (to save tons of money on souvies), we set out for our trip at about 10 pm the Friday before the 4th of July.  The plan was to drive as far as possible - we made it past Atlanta, crashed at a hotel for a few hours - then get in the car and drive some more.  It was great - except my kids outlasted my co-pilot!  Poor Clay was so tired from working (he gets up at 2 am) that he slept the whole 5 hours that we drove the first night!  We crammed into a 2 double bed hotel room and slept at about 3 am.  Um...they also might have thought that we only had 3 kids...don't know where they got that idea???

Here are a few pics of us in our 4th of July finery at our condo...

We finally made it to Orlando about 5 pm on Saturday afternoon...Yes folks, we took our time!  Between potty stops and a lot of rain, it slowed us down a bit...We relaxed that evening and also on Sunday (4th of July).  The kids thought the condo was great - we were just happy they had their own rooms!

To be continued...

A Cinderella Birthday

Ever since we went to Disney World this summer, (Yes, I know that I haven't blogged about that yet - it is coming, I promise), Alyssa has been obsessed with Cinderella...actually, anything involving the princesses, fairies, castles...you get the picture. So, when we asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she replied, "A Cinderella Birthday". She also only answers to the name "Cinderella", so that really isn't a stretch of the imagination. We didn't make her birthday all about Cinderella - that would have been boring...for us...but she did get a pretty Cindy doll from her Aunt Kristen. I made her a flower shaped birthday cake (fun to do, but the dang thing fell apart very easily) with Tink and Co. perched on the top...looking quite pleased with themselves, might I add! She got a huge assortment of dress up items from Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Karen and Uncle Adam...who were only too happy to indulge her fantastic dress-up imagination! We decided that we don't have enough noisy toys that need batteries, so we found her a pink keyboard with a carrying handle that is just her size. She was pretty cute about the whole thing - when we gave her the piece of cake, she decided to put all the fairy dolls back on - there is a picture of her cake just covered in fairies! Alyssa is my headstrong child - she has a quick temper and a loud scream...but when you ask her for a kiss or hug, even when she is mad, she will melt and give you the sweetest loves. She loves anything girly, but also will romp and tumble with the boys outside...in her Sunday shoes... We love our Alyssa Claire (AKA Cinderella) very much and are really enjoying watching her grow into a little girl...

Wheelchair Incident

Yesterday morning, Emma had a cough and didn't want to go to school. Mean ol' Mom sent her anyway (we can't afford to lose any excused absences without a fever or vomit because she is sick so much). Anyway, I sent her and told her that if she was really sick, the school would call me and I would pick her up.

Fast forward to 9:15 am...

The phone rang. I look at the caller ID (because I always look) and see the school's phone number...Great...Guess I'd better get ready to go and get Emma...

"Mrs. Turner? This is the school nurse." I replied, "You must be calling about Emma."

"Well, no - actually, I am calling about Reagan. You see, he was run over by a wheelchair in his classroom this morning."

"What? Is he okay?"

She said, "Yes, he is walking on it and not complaining - I don't think it is broken, just red. The teacher just wanted you to know."

By far, probably one of the weirdest phone calls from the school (and there have been a few weird ones, believe me)...

Last night, I made up a song to send back to Reagan's teacher. For your viewing pleasure...

"Reagan's Song"
To the tune of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"

Reagan got run over by a wheelchair.
It was just too fast for him, you see.
You may think it was no Manic Monday.
As for me and Mrs. Chesnutt, we believe.

It was just another morning.
Class was quiet, the pledge was done.
Then there was a flash of lightning,
And our poor little Reagan couldn't run.

Reagan got run over by a wheelchair.
It was just too fast for him, you see.
You may think it was no Manic Monday.
As for me and Mrs. Chesnutt, we believe.

He went down to see the school nurse.
Shoe was off and ice applied.
He got on the school computer.
Pain was all forgotten, tears were dried.

Reagan got run over by a wheelchair.
It was just too fast for him, you see.
You may think it was no Manic Monday.
As for me and Mrs. Chesnutt, we believe.

Now, if you have this tune stuck in your head all day - you have me to thank for your early Christmas spirit!

1st Day of School...AKA Independence Day!

The kiddos started school yesterday. The summer has actually gone by pretty quickly, but they (and we) were ready for them to return. Is it just me, or don't they look cute all ready to go on the first day? There is an extra bit of excitement in the air that disappears after the first week or so.

I had my day all planned out - 4 days in advance.

I worked out at the YMCA first thing in the morning. Then, I took Ashleigh to her follow up ear appt. The annual "celebratory lunch" (this year at Chuy's) followed. After that, I ran a few errands, leisurely (yeah, right - still had 2 little ones with me - but still better than five!).

All in all, it was a good day - they raced in the door and clamored to tell us all about their days.

It feels like it is going to be a good year!

Sir, Yes Sir!

Soooo....what happens when your mom (now known as the drill sergeant) is cutting your hair the night before school starts and you cover your eyes with your hands and shake your head back and forth while the clippers are very close to your scalp???

Do you know???

You end up with a number 2 on the top, a number 1 on the sides and instead of 1st grade, you will now be starting boot camp in the morning....Yup. That is what happens.

Anyone want to venture a guess as to how I know this information???

Oh well...it's only hair - it'll grow back, right?

Sergeant Mom, Over and Out.

Little Miss Ashleigh Turns One...

July 15th was our sweet Ashleigh's first birthday...we went light on it this year - in anticipation of a big family party (to be shared with a few cousins in a few weeks)...

We went blueberry picking on the morning of her birthday - it was very hot and humid...but we managed to have a great time and pick 5 lbs in less than an hour. Pizza and brownies made the night festive, even if it was a Thursday!

Ashleigh has absolutely no teeth - and not one in sight either, but she downed that pizza! And was totally in heaven with her brownie...

A fisher price farm finished her birthday off with a bang!

Today (July 21st) Ashleigh had her biggest birthday present from the ENT...a brand new set of tubes. This is a good thing for many reasons -- no more co-pays and prescriptions for neverending ear infections...she will not shake her head all the time because of the fluid in her ears...she will hear better and hopefully be talking like crazy soon!

Ashleigh is the sweetest baby ever - and I am so excited to hear what she has to say in a few months! We love her very much and cannot believe that a whole year has passed since she was born.

She is a little short (who in our family isn't?) and weighs about 18 1/2 pounds right now...not big enough yet for a forward facing carseat - but that will happen soon, I'm sure! I am also pretty sure that she wishes she was forward facing - it gets boring looking at the back of the seat when your siblings are all watching a movie!

Happy Birthday Ashleigh Kate! You bring so much sunshine into our lives!!!

Sometimes Life is Like a Peanut Butter Sandwich...

Have you ever been really, really, hungry and made yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Then, you pour yourself a big glass of ice cold milk. You take the first bite, and you wonder why you don't have peanut butter sandwiches for lunch every day, it just tastes so good? Next, you might think about the simplicity of a peanut butter sandwich as opposed to say, a club sandwich or leftover lasagna...

Sometimes, my life is like a peanut butter sandwich.

There are days that (too many, I'm afraid) where I try to cram every possible thing into the day...Like a few weeks ago, when Reagan had a doctor's appointment at Vanderbilt. I didn't want to drive up there again, so I crammed another appointment in within an hour of the other one. While it did pay off, I was completely stressed out trying to get from home to Nashville by 8:30 and to the two different appointments...Was it worth it? Probably, in terms of gas mileage and time - but it was a crazy, busy day.

There are other days (like today) when I am forced to slow down my pace of life. It is my birthday today - as I told Emma (every time she asks how old I am) I am old. I had planned on cramming so many little tidbits into today, so that I didn't think about how old I am getting - how my pants will never fit the way I want them to, and how much it is going to cost to maintain my current hair color.

I hope I am not alone.

Anyway, I was planning on getting up - kids off to school by 7:30, leave straight for the YMCA to workout (still trying to get into the smaller pants), exercise for an hour, shower, get the two little girls from daycare, go to Hobby Lobby, go to JCPenney, go to Ross, go to lunch....

You get the picture.

This morning - Emma woke up and didn't look so good. She announced - "I feel like I have to throw up".

Then she did.

I was completely undone. What in the world was I going to do to salvage my birthday? Clay hasn't been around much lately, because he is working 13 hour days due to the flood in Nashville. I have been virtually a single parent this week. Was it too much to ask to be able to spend MY BIRTHDAY the way I had planned?

Then, I started thinking again. I put on my workout clothes and the baby in the playpen. Used my elliptical machine that has been gathering dust upstairs (for those who are wondering, it is very difficult for me to workout at home due to Alyssa's crazy escape artist antics, hence the YMCA membership - which also gives me a few hours to myself each day). The baby gurgled and waved at me happily from the playpen. She thought it was great watching me sweat!

Next, I did the dishes, cleaned the bathroom, and sent a few Mother's Day cards...all of this with no stress involved...no running around, no moving kids in and out of the car...they played happily (well, I will be honest, Alyssa did scream all morning - in between playing)...

The dog was happy that I stayed home and he was allowed to run around instead of stay in his laundry room den.

I took a shower in my own bathroom - well, Ashleigh did play on the floor outside the shower - but she was happy anyway, and I am used to peeping toms by this point of my parental career.

I painted my toenails - when was the last time I had the time to actually do that?

Then, I went to a nice birthday lunch with my mom and Kristen....and 5 kids. Yes, we were totally outnumbered, but the kids did quite well - and Emma even ate a little bit.

After this, my mom took Alyssa for a few hours and Clay took Emma home - and Ashleigh and I shopped alone leisurely. I actually enjoyed myself.

The day that I had today - even though there was no birthday dinner (they had corn dogs) and no cake (cause Clay was too tired to think about it) was simple....and it worked.

Tonight, I bit into my peanut butter and jelly sandwich that I ate at 8 o'clock (because of a feverish Emma, screaming Alyssa, work issues, etc.) and I thought to myself what a great thing that a simple peanut butter sandwich is...

I think I am ready for another bite tomorrow....Oh, who am I kidding? I will probably also have a piece of cake on the side...