Disney My Way!

There is so much information out there on how to do Disney, it's totally overwhelming to a "fly by the seat of your pants", unorganized, scatterbrained girl like myself. In fact, my sweet hubby had been urging me to book us a trip to Disney for a few months before I got up the courage to take the bull by the horns. Every time I would sit down to try to book, there would just be SO many decisions to make that I was paralyzed and ended up walking away afraid to make the wrong choices. This post is an attempt to capture, for the other "anally retentive challenged" folks of the world, the bare bones, "just do it" approach to Disney. I have a few friends who have upcoming trips planned and I took notes JUST FOR THEM! :) If you are not planning a trip to Disney, this post will bore your socks off so don't bother reading! :)

Things I wish I had packed:

1. 2 pairs of shoes. I know this seems evident, but I took one pair of tennis shoes and wished SO badly that I had my crocs. A pair of Merrells, Tevas, Keens, etc. would have been the perfect alternate to the Crocs days. Tennis shoes were fine, but I would have preferred a little more room for my SWOLLEN toes'ies to spread out.
2. Hand Gel... now, for some of you germ-o-phobes out there, I know this goes everywhere with you, but I do not typically carry this stuff. I really wished I had had it at Disney because it wasn't always handy to wash our hands before a meal. Plus, I'll show you on Monday the little gross incident that we had with the "World's dirtiest Lego." Ewwww, wish I'd had the hand gel.
3. Take a brightly colored (I'm talking NEON) ribbon or some other easily removable "tag" to put on your rented stroller. Seriously, there are about 10,000 of them floating around the parks each day and even though you have a name tag on them, it would have been alot easier to go straight for the correct stroller if I'd had some type of identifying marker to tie to the handle.
4. Band-Aids - My pinky toes could have used a break about day 3.
5. Lotion... I ran out of lotion about two days in and my skin was cursing me for it.
6. Tylenol and Advil for kids AND adults. I brought BC powders for myself, which was great for the achy feet at the end of the day, however, Liam got a headache one day and we had to head to Disney First Aid for some pain relief. I know, I know, how long have I been parenting? I should have traveled with all the essentials, but as I mentioned before, I'm very organizationally challenged. I'm very typically unprepared!
7. Sunscreen... we really didn't need it, but if you have fair children, it would be a must.
8. Hats, the sun can be brutal at times and the shade of the hat was great.
9. More snacks than you would EVER eat in a week at home. Seriously... my kids ate their weight in gummy snacks, fruit roll-ups, peanut butter crackers, and the like. I would pull these out just about the time someone was starting to have a melt-down and it was really instant revival. They were like bottles for babies.
10. 18-55 Lens for my SLR. (see below)

Things I am glad I brought:

1. The "Unofficial Guide to Disney". This book was great once we were there. We would read the section for the particular park we were planning for the next day. We structured our days somewhat around the suggestions in the book. My thoughts are, IF you are as overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information as I was, my suggestion would be to ONLY read the introductory part of the book prior to visiting Disney. It will just give you some basic information (like maybe don't make the Magic Kingdom your first park, etc.) Then, read the individual park sections on the night prior to your visit to that park. That way, you'll have a good game plan for the day, but not have TOO much information to process at once.
2. Snacks were brilliant on my part (seriously, this is SO unlike me to have had those with me) but I did not have enough. See number 9 above.
3. Two cameras (my SLR and my pocket camera.) There were days when I didn't want to fool with the large camera and I was glad to throw my pocket camera in my... ugh... pocket. :) But... I do wish I had brought the small lens for the SLR. If you have the 18-55, it would be plenty of lens for every day except the Animal Kingdom day and the 25-300 is way too big to lug around all the time. My kids kept bumping their heads on the lens.

The Parks Info:

1. Personally, my kids could have totally skipped the World Showcase at Epcot and not missed a thing. I enjoyed the beer in Germany and Brian and I had alot of fun walking "around the world", but honestly, the kids could have totally cared less. And we did Epcot on our first day based on the recommendation in the "Unofficial Guide", which was perfect, really. If I were doing it again, I would go to Epcot, do the Nemo's Undersea Adventure, the Test Track (which even young children can do) and Soarin', then we'd spend our extra time from that day at another park. (Of course, on the other hand, how can you go to Disney and not see SOME of the World Showcase?) However, you have to arrive EARLY to get a Fast Pass for Soarin' or else stand in line for hours. We didn't ride it because of this (we arrived late in the day and all the FastPasses were gone.) Nemo's undersea adventure was so great we rode it twice. The fireworks show at Epcot is really great, but I think it started at 9 on Sunday night so it was a little late if you've been going all day. But it is really good!
2. At the Magic Kingdom if you want to ride Peter Pan's Flight, go early and get your fast pass immediately. We went to MK two days and both times they were out of FastPass by mid-morning. The Haunted Mansion ride is a little bit spooky for the kids, but Pirates of the Caribbean is great! Even young children can do it with no problem. The one thing that I would actually plan my visit around is the Spectro Magic parade. Liam and I caught this one totally by accident and we lucked into excellent spots for viewing... it's a nighttime parade and all the characters are lit up. We saw three parades and this one out shined the rest by 10 miles. It only runs two days though, so you have to plan around it. The fireworks are the best at Magic Kingdom.
3. Animal Kingdom is a half-day park for most families, probably. Get your fast pass for Kilimanjaro Safari AND Everest if you hope to ride them both. The safari is a must do and the main attraction. I would NOT let my kids ride Dinosaur unless they are super brave. Liam rode Everest, Space Mountain, and Tower of Terror. He still thought the Dinosaur ride was fun, but he ranked it as scary. It's VERY loud and dark.
4. Hollywood Studios was possibly our favorite park, but we love movies. Have one adult arrive at the park by opening and go IMMEDIATELY to Toy Story Mania for a FastPass. We arrived at 9:15 (park opened at 9) and the line for the FastPasses was already about 200 people deep. We thought we would be able to ride later in the day so we didn't bother, but by 10:30 the FastPasses were all gone for the day and the line never got under 110 minutes the whole day. I did hear that if you go during one of the Fantasmic showings that the line is short, but I wouldn't know because we were actually IN the Fantasmic show, which is a MUST do! It's fabulous. Hollywood is a good park to do on your third or fourth day because it's alot of sitting in shows, etc. and the kids are so pooped they don't mind sitting around. The Lights, Motors, Action stunt show was my VERY favorite thing I did the whole week. I was AMAZED in the first 10 seconds... it's great.
5. I wouldn't bother standing in line for Prince Caspian unless your kids are major Narnia fans. It was just okay.

Good things to know:

1. I could go either way on bringing your own stroller vs. renting one. The pro of renting the strollers there is that you don't have the hassle of folding up the stroller and carting it back and forth to the hotel, especially if you are using Disney transportation. I would rent the double, regardless of whether you have two kids to use it or not, it's nice to have an extra spot to stash stuff. The strollers are great, you can leave your stuff on the stroller and there are designated stroller parking areas everywhere. No one bothers them so you can just leave your big stuff on the stroller when you are in a ride.
2. The Port Orleans resorts are fine in terms of a hotel room, however, they are really no big deal. There is nothing particularly "Disney" about them. I heard they have the best pools, but if that is the best Disney has to offer then I could help them with a few ideas. The pools do have slides, etc., but they are really not anything special. It's okay for what you pay and probably fine considering how much time we DID NOT spend in the room (we literally came there to sleep and that was it.) I have nothing to compare it to, but I would say if the budget is tight, the All Star resorts would be just as good (and probably more "themed" for kids.) And I am sure the Wilderness Lodge and the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which are both also moderately priced, are better in terms of the "Disney experience." However, one thing to consider is how many are in your party. We had to sleep six to a room so our choices were limited.
3. The Disney Dining Plan turned out to be a very good thing for our family. I think we saved a bit of money in the end, but the main thing was the convenience. We did the two counter service meals and two snacks per person per day option. Meg was counted as an infant so we didn't have a meal plan for her but this was no problem because all of the portions were very generous and we usually had too much food at each meal. We loved being able to grab a snack whenever we wanted one without having the hassle of trying to be frugal with our money. Also, you can snack and eat from almost anywhere in the park. Based on which package you choose (counter service which is where you order your food from the counter and then sit or table service where you sit down and have a waiter.) We did not wish that we had table service options because we didn't want to take that much time out of our schedule, but if you are going for certain restaurants and wanting certain experiences in dining, then I would recommend the table service option. The thing I don't like about this is that it doesn't have many snacks on the plan and truthfully, we used the snacks a TON because you can get drinks, popcorn, pretzels, candied nuts from cart vendors, virtually anything Disney has can be used as a snack. The "refillable mugs" are not worth the hassle. You have to refill them in your hotel, which we did on the second day. But then we had to fool with the five mugs all day and it just wasn't worth it.
4. I did not once wish we had a car. The Disney transportation is very convenient and the buses run so regularly we never waited more than five minutes for a bus. We even switched one day from monorail to bus for the downtown Disney transfer and it was no big deal. I could see how staying on the monorail would have been fun, but honestly, it probably wouldn't be worth the extra money in the end.
5. We did Downtown Disney on Thursday morning before going to the airport. It was a great time to be there because it was not crowded. We went straight into T-Rex, were seated right away, and were allowed to even choose which section we wanted to sit in. If you have a kiddo who is into dinosaurs, then T-Rex is worth the money it costs to eat there. We sat in the ice cave and from there you could see the meteor shower that occurs every 20 minutes in the main dining area. Downtown Disney is optional in my opinion. I know alot of people love it and the Lego store is amazing, but for little kids there's not all that much that's ultra-interesting.

I am not into all the "stand here by x time and send someone for ice cream at x place while others hold your spot" kind of stuff. So for our family, it was a very good choice to go in February because we never waited more than 40 minutes in any line (that was for Lights, Motors, Action.) The majority of rides were at around the 15-20 minutes time frame, which in Disney terms is the same as no wait. We walked right onto most rides that we had FastPass for. As far as traffic goes, we were there at a very "uncrowded" time, and even so, it seemed packed to me. With very little preparation we were able to have a wonderful experience and felt so happy with all the stuff we were able to do. I think that each time you visit Disney you could have a totally different experience because there is SO much to do and for us, just happening upon things was some of the fun. We didn't have a list of "must sees" other than Fantasmic and were just excited to discover what was next without the stress of a major plan. I am sure there are others out there who would say, "I can't believe you missed x, x, and x." but it's sort of like choosing a wedding dress... all the other folks seeing you didn't see all the choices you had so the one you come down the aisle in looks perfect. Same with Disney. I am sure there are things we didn't do that we would have LOVED and that are awesome, but the things we did do were awesome to us and we didn't know it if we were missing something better so what we did was fabulous. And as opposed to being overwhelmed and stressed, I think for OUR FAMILY, the way we did it worked well. There's not that much that I would change, but I would stay in a different hotel next time.

From a sign I saw in a store:

"My prince already came... His name is Jesus!"

Dreamy

This photo needs no words... I waited a lifetime for this.

And while I'm here, I can't help but post a giant THANK YOU! to my dear friend, Sonja, who is SOOOOO sweet that she brought by a little pre-Disney goody for the boys tonight. She had a disposable camera for each one of them and she is going to have them developed for them when we get home. Now how thoughtful is that? (Anyone want to take the over under on whether or not there is actually ONE exposure left by the time we get to Disney? I am betting we have three cameras full of airplane shots :). Thanks girly! Love ya!

Favorite Photo Friday

There's nothing better than the end of a GIANT sucker... if you don't believe me, believe the amount of dirt that sticks to a boys chin in the process.

This is Liam on his way to school this morning. He looked so cute all bundled up, I just want to freeze him right there forever. Poor guy has a massive fever blister this week... ugh!

This will probably be my last post for a week or so. We are off to Disney on Sunday and I don't anticipate blogging from there... despite all you other bloggies I follow who somehow manage to post when you are on a trip, I'm dedicating the week to my kids and they could care less about blogging (for some unknown reason.) I'm not even checking my e-mail... gasp! Well, maybe just once. Anyway, the point is, I'll miss you. Carry on as best you can in my absence and I am sure I will have TONS of stories of all the chaos fun when I return. And if y'all could just pray that I don't lose any of my kids that would be swell. Oh yeah and that no one gets sick (which would make this probably the first vacation in 8 years where no one got ill, had a fever or went to the emergency room!)

2 Corinthians 5:7
"For we walk by faith and not by sight."

Beatitudes of a Bonding Mother

I wrote these a long time ago, when we were newly home with our second son from Russia. He was struggling to attach to us and I was struggling to juggle two kids and a job I loved and was afraid to give up. I ran across them today while I was looking for something else and the wind was sucked out of me remembering what a difficult time that was. And then when I read the last one, I realized how God was really holding me all that time and even in the darkest days I knew that He had a plan, He was in control, and I wanted to get where He was going with our family. Notice the signature at the bottom... so many promises fulfilled since then.

I post these here now for other mothers, who might be in the midst of their own dark transition time, or to remind those on the other side how much these women need our support.

The Beattitudes of a Bonding Mother

Blessed are you when your child cries, screams, or shows anger because you know that you have the unique opportunity to model moderation, control and love to this little one who has known deep rejection in his short life.

Blessed are you when you have the opportunity to spend time one on one with the little offender because you know that every moment you sacrifice yourself against your will, God is multiplying your efforts in you and using it for His glory.

Blessed are you to parent Jesus by parenting one who is unknown, unclothed, hungry, thirsty, sick, and imprisoned by his own fear of being rejected again, by another mother.

Blessed are you when you get to parent a child to whom the rules do not apply. The only rules are those of personal safety because he doesn’t care how much you know until he knows how much you care, never again will you be given the opportunity to look the other way for a while knowing that love is all that matters in these crucial months.

Blessed are you when God calls you to growth through defeat by a one year old. Nothing is more humbling and creates more need for Christ than knowing you are so weak you cannot even outsmart a one year old, but God can. Oh what blessing to rely on Him in such a humbling way.

Blessed are you when you pull your child out of Mother’s Day Out, even though he is the one child you’d like to get away from. Because you know that time with this little angry screamer is all that is going to heal him. And healing him is the only way to heal your family.

Blessed are you when you trudge on every day, putting one foot in front of the other, or maybe waiting for Christ to peel you off the floor, because you know that God blesses our efforts, not our perfection. We fake it ‘til we make it!

Blessed are you when your other children see your frustration and see you turning to Jesus, even in the grocery store, because they will model your actions and not your words and you will lead them to Christ.

Blessed are you when you turn anger and ire toward Christ and not direct it at your little hurt one, for God can take it and your child cannot.

Blessed are you when you have friends who have walked your road, because they can steer you away from the pitfalls if you allow them. And they alone understand your peril and they alone can truly advise you. They alone can cry out to our Lord in a voice of empathy and urgency that you need!

Blessed are you years later when you can reach the other side of that dark chasm and see what the Lord could see all along, but you could not; that the view from the other side was so much more pleasing, more rewarding, more fulfilling, and more Godly than anything you could have imagined.


Ondrea Harrison
Blessed mother of three boys, holding to God’s hope for a girl!

Not Me Monday

It's NOT Monday again... I advise you not to head over to MckMama's blog to see what all the other mommies out there are NOT doing. And I dare you NOT to participate yourself... it's not therapeutic at all and it certainly doesn't make you look at the things you did not do with a little more levity... now get goin' on my list and then "git your booty to MckMama's."

I did not survive and entire sick day last week by giving myself permission to eat as many Oreos as I wanted. That would set a terrible example for my children and I am SO above that.

I did not post the most boring "Not Me Monday" last week in the history of "Not Me Monday". And the fact that it was not boring had nothing to do with the fact that I had not had any sleep and tried to write my post before my coffee kicked in. I know that my brain does not function until I have had at least 8 ounces of caffeine, why would I display my Not Me for the world to see before I had the good sense to make it interesting?

I did not forget about a half pan of chicken enchiladas and leave them in my oven for two days this week. When I did remember them and pull them out, my dog did not sniff them and walk away, not even recognizing them as any form of human food. Not to mention anything of the fact that I did not recognize they were in there because I was not using my oven for two days... but no need to elaborate on that one, right? K!

I did not make these Valentine's cupcakes for the teachers at school. That would make me seem like I was trying to be Martha Stewart or something, which everyone knows by now that I certainly am NOT! Plus, they did not turn out nearly as cute as they looked in the magazine... I should have known better. "Stick with what you know," I should have told myself.

I did not entertain my kids while icing said cupcakes by letting them do this.... Why, yes, that is their very own bowl of cupcake mix they're eating, why do you ask?

While putting on some chapstick, Meg appeared very happy in the nice sunshine outside our door (it's been in the 60's here this week... sorry all you frozen tundra friends... it's pretty nice here right now, but I'm certainly NOT going to post the photos of my toes in the grass that I took because I certainly did not get to go barefoot this week. Have I mentioned how much I love to be barefoot?) When I decided she had enough GLOBBED on her lips, I did NOT grab my camera and capture the moment instead of trying to distract her. I mean, I'm so over much more compassionate about her two year old whims than to tick her off even more by trying to photograph the moment. I know none of you ever do that either!

I have not been doing the photography lessons on MckMama's blog. I have not loved getting my camera out of program mode and into some manual settings... I have not been totally renewed in my commitment to photograph every stinkin' day of the year all our big and small moments.

And last, but certainly NOT least, I did NOT get to meet alot of blogland friends and their cute kiddos yesterday. We did not have Valentine's dinner with Becky and Keith and their amazing sons. We did not go swimming together afterward at their indoor pool and Becky did NOT only teach me a couple of things about my camera that I didn't know, she also didn't make me want a fixed focal length lens, which does not cost about $200. Ugh, I hate when I have to save up money for something new! :)

And half the blog world of Nashville was not at BounceU yesterday for a fun little bloggy meet up. The Littlest Tsarina was there. So was the adorable Owen. Carey was there with her sweet kiddos, but her blog is private so I can NOT share her link with you. And Michael and Carrie were there with sweet little Silas... but when I changed my blog over, I lost their link and she never sent it to me... hint hint Carrie. But I'll leave you with a photo of all the amazing kids anyway, a good little portion of them were born in Russia... now see what I mean when I say that you are missing out if you haven't experienced adoption! :)

Paka!

My funny Valentine

Gone are the days of romance and roses. These are the days of cotton pajamas given a few days prior to "the big day" because, well, I just really needed them.

But I traded in all the cliches and sugary sweetness something far better. A life so full of love and precious moments that my heart can hardly contain it. Truly, when I look at the enormity with which I love every single little (and big) soul that live in my home I just want to burst.

So this is what a real day of love looks like in my house.... I woke up sweaty, sandwiched between two kids (Connor and Liam) and one hot hubby. What woke me up? Glad you asked... Connor singing some really crazy version of "the itsy bitsy spider" (possibly made up on the fly) wherein the spider actually gets squished. Lunch at a local sub shop. A made-up game of spider on the trampoline where I am the spider and I try to catch my "bugs". Tying strands of my hair around a tiny rubber alien's head so that he can appear to be flying. My first Valentine will be spending his afternoon in one of his many roles, as den leader, working to uphold his reputation as Pinewood Derby king. (He and Liam are going to carve Liam's first ever pinewood derby car... Jack's car has won first place the past two years.) Such is the life of parents of four... no time to stop and gaze into each other's eyes. But if I could stop to gaze into the eyes of the best husband on the planet, I would tell him how much more I love him now than I did when I married him (much to the credit of the fact that I have enough life experience to fully appreciate what I have.) I would tell him how happy he makes me and how safe I feel under his able guidance of our family. I would tell him how lucky I am to be married to a guy that I love hanging out with and how easy marriage is with him. I would also tell him how happy I am that I, by some unbelievable stroke of good fortune and uncharacteristic display of good judgment on my part, ended up married to him, the best dad and husband I know. And how blessed I am that he was crazy enough and enough of a gambler to marry me (a sometimes hippy, sometimes preppy, always on the move searching kind of a girl.) It was a perfect storm of events that only converge about once a millenia that would land someone like me in a marriage to a guy like him. But I'm glad I was in the eye of that storm. But, alas, there's no time for eye gazing and professing our love for one another, so he'll just have to read it in a blog post. I love you honey... thanks for reading the blog (now that I am e-mailing them to you.) You are truly the best thing that ever happened to me!

1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. -And now these three remain, faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."

Favorite Photo Friday

Meg was so exhausted by her cold, she fell asleep on the couch yesterday. This is a first for her. I always love it when my kiddos have been home long enough to fall asleep somewhere besides their bed. It's another little milestone that reminds me of how far they've come. I couldn't resist the urge to photograph her sleeping there, snuggly under her brothers blankie (a.k.a. Fuggy.) And these pink high-tops are so irresistible. How will my heart just not stop in it's track when her feet are too big for these?



It was so warm here yesterday that I was actually outside playing with the kids in my bare feet. Never mind the un-pedicured toes (and just ignore that deformed left toe), bask in the fact that the grass is green! :)

This one is probably my favorite from yesterday. Connor came home with Valentine hearts from school. This one pretty much says it all, don't you think?

Have a great Valentine's Day!

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." Ephesians 1:18

Yay, new clothes

I'm very excited about this new outfit I made for Meg yesterday. I took a class to learn shirring and I'm pretty happy with the results of my first project. It even fits, which is a miracle. Kinda crazy fabric, but I love Anna Maria Horner and this is her stuff, it's so much fun. I wish I could get away with wearing something that fun!

About nothing and alot, really

I got my T-shirt from Gwen today. Did you get yours? If not, you're missing out... they are CUTE and did you realize they are long sleeved? They are... can't wait to wear mine tomorrow. When I picked up my shirt today, Gwen ran out to the car all excited about a book she is reading. I haven't read it... yet. But I have to get it. She has quoted it a couple times on her blog already, but today she said something to me that just stuck with me. She asked me, "What are you doing today that is causing you to live on faith?" Wow! That's a way to start every day, huh? And I really thought about that for a while because I have often said that I am never closer to God than when we are in the midst of an adoption. Never closer because I am so dependent on Him. I know there is no way on earth that a child from the other side of the globe would be placed in my arms but for the grace of the Almighty. That's easy... I can live on nothing but faith in those days because there's no other option. But what about when I am in my comfort zone? What about when I am driving around in my SUV for 8 with a DVD player and a tank full of glass, sipping my Starbucks? What then? Isn't it strange that those days are when it's "hard"... the faith part is harder then. The other thing Gwen quoted from the book was "How can you walk out of a mud hut (I'll say orphanage) and return to your 2,000 square foot house and never look back?" I am looking back. I just don't know what that looks like right now. I think it looks like supporting Katie while she's cooking rats... go read it for yourself. Or delivering band-aids and anti-biotic ointment to Matt today before he leaves for Liberia. At least for today that's how it looked. What did YOU do today to care for the fatherless?

James 1:27
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

Not Me Monday

Folks, check out MckMama's blog carnival, I promise it's worth the time:



This was NOT my night last night:
Bed at 11:40 (the thought actually ran through my head, "I better quit reading and go to sleep, what if someone wakes up sick." Bad omen?
1:20 Meg throws up all over her face????? and has to be bathed, hair washed, bed stripped, new jammies, etc. Then she had to come to bed with us because ALL her sheets were NOT dirty.
Meg does not sleep if she is not in her crib.... toss and turn until....
3:01 Connor gets in our bed with an earache. Connor's ear is excruciating, he cries and tosses and turns with it until 5 AM. Meg is also awake this entire time.
4:45 AM, I finally scold Meg to the point where she lays down and gets still and I don't know at what point she fell asleep but I don't hear from her again.
5AM Connor wants to get up. I turn on cartoons for him and go to sleep (finally)
7AM morning routine begins... total hours of sleep, 4. (2 from 11 to 1 and 2 from 5 to 7.)

I did NOT think at about 3:45 AM, "At least now I have my "Not Me Monday" post."

I did NOT consider just turning on the light and the TV and letting them watch toons all night while I finished Breaking Dawn.

I am not drinking 2X my normal amount of coffee this morning in the hopes that I will not fall asleep on the 45 minute drive to our pediatrician's office.

My kids are not having popsicles for breakfast (not the school aged ones, just the pre-schoolers.)

I will not be napping this afternoon and possibly ordering pizza for dinner.... again!

I am not sitting here at 8 AM with my Not Me post ready while I watch more toons with two sick kids and continually hitting the refresh button on MckMama's blog. Even though I'm ready early this week, I'll probably still be about 200th on the list.... woe is me!

I was not partially worried about what all the sheet changes would do to my perfectly under control laundry. :(

And now that I am coming out of my fog, I do not have the sweetest sick child on the planet. She did not smile and laugh through her puked on state, even as she was crying.

And this is not the first time our little angel has run a fever.　Seven months home and not so much as a cold, that's got to be some sort of record, even for children of germ-a-phobes, which, by the way, I am not!

100 posts in 100 words

A look at the past 99 posts in about 100 words:

Knees bent, head bowed, heart poured out, filled to overflowing, renewed. A new love. A renewed love. Commitment to purpose. Awed! Inspired! Humbled, helpless, dependent.

I was not myself for a long while, yet those who loved me through it defined their love by their love. Single mindedness. Heart torn open by desire, mended in the act of mending. Stripped bare. Lifted up. Loved beyond what I deserved. Now truly in love with my Redeemer. Enlightened. My Savior enchanted with me!?!?! Protected. Provided for, lavished!

Indebted to you for holding me accountable and continuing to love me and pray with me through all of the above... and below!

"Be confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day we see Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6

I am laundry goddess...hear me roar!

Seriously, there is not one dirty stitch of clothing in this house... except what my kids took off today. How, you may ask, did I accomplish this phenomenon of nature, this perfect storm of motherhood? Well, I'm not one to lay blame at anyone's feet, and I don't want to mention any names here, but if you are paying attention, there has not been a blog post since Saturday. Blogger has not been too happy about my little break; he's called every single day, tempting me with all sorts of promises and teasers. And it's not like I'm breaking up with him or anything, to the contrary, I love Blogger. I'm "in love" with him. It's just that Blogger is so possesive with my time and when I let him in the house, he just consumes me. He leads me to all sorts of exciting places, takes me to visit my friends, shows me photos of adorable children who are just crying out to be commented on, and even introduces me to new friends. Some of those new friends, who are mutual friends of Blogger, even teach me how to do things that I never even knew I wanted to do until I met them and discovered that my life was completely devoid of whatever crafty idea they were proudly showing me. Which, of course, would end up taking more time. And then of course there are all the ones Blogger asks me to pray for... my heart is often wrecked by those stories he shares with me so then I have to spend time processing and praying over all those. Anyway, Blogger and I had a talk earlier this week and I had to give him some ground rules. There would be absolutely no late night partying this week (that time is reserved for Edward Cullen.... sigh.... I'm about 1/4 of the way through the 4th book.) I would allow him to relay messages from my old friends, but absolutely no introducing me to new people until the weekend. It's been hard on us both, but we've committed to make this work. And lo and behold, voila, tonight I clocked out at 8:52. 　People, I can't tell you the last time I "left the office" before 9:00. So, to uphold my end of the relationship, I am giving my darling Blogger this extra hour of my time. :) (Okay, sorry, but one of Bloggers more celeb friends showed me how to use the tres chic strike through thingy and I have been busting to use it... I couldn't help myself.)

Please head over to my friend Gwen's blog. She has a heart so close to mine (or what I aspire to be anyway) for the orphans of the world. And now she's made some rockin' cool t-shirts to help raise money for her next adoption. They are great and I already bought mine. But they are going fast, so you better get over there if you want to be wearing what all the cool folks with a heart for orphans are wearing! :)

Now, some random ramblings... hey, I've had alot of time to think of random things and nowhere to write them down:

Did you know that the individual, unpaired socks of six people will fill two COMPLETE laundry baskets?

Do you know any sound louder than a mother's "sssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" when she has seriously had it with all the after-light's-out discussion? Really, it can be heard from a whole other floor in our house.

The signal at my house that says Connor is finally giving it up for the day is the sound of his milk cup hitting the floor of his bedroom. You can count on him to be snoring within about three seconds.

My nine year old has been getting himself up and dressed for school most of this year. He dresses himself before he comes into my room (usually to wake me up.) This morning he actually woke me up and then by the time I got downstairs to get my coffee, he had already fixed himself breakfast. Ｉthink he might be ready for his own apartment. Ｉwonder if he would let me come live with him? Now if I could just teach him to make the coffee..... hmmmmm?

Does anyone know if there is something important going on tomorrow that I am unaware of? Ｉkeep feeling like there is something I am supposed to do and can't figure out what it is. I hate that feeling. Anyway, if I'm supposed to meet with you and I don't show up, just please come on over to the house, I'll be sitting here trying to remember where I'm supposed to be.

"LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us."
Isaiah 26:12

Ever felt pecked to death by your blessings?

Well, I have.


And today when I was explaining to Connor for the 20,000th time that I do not speak "Whinese" and I would either require him to find a translator or speak plain English to his mama, I wondered if God would just like to put His hand on his hip and stare at me. Do you ever stop mid-sentence with your kids and think, "Wow, I bet God is trying to drive home a point here!" I did tonight... I was fussing and stewing because it seems like the only time anyone says my name or even wants to interact with me at all around here is when I can do something for them. They don't really have much interest in just spending time with me on my terms. They don't want to just let me love on them and bless them with all the wonderful things I could tell them about how I feel for them and love them beyond anything they can comprehend. They don't usually just take my advice on something, they want to know why and they always think they know better than me or that just this once my life experience is irrelevant. And it occurred to me that as frustrated and flustered as I am by all this, and as exhausted and spent as I am at the end of the day by all the needs that my little blessings have of me, it's really nothing different from the way I interact with God. I approach the throne of the King of the Universe with petty problems. I rarely go sit with Him just so He can impart some wisdom (or patience, or comfort), but rather, when I do approach the throne, it's generally to ask the King for something that I can't get on my own. It's always on my terms. And I'm trying, really trying, to learn what He wants me to know and let Him make me His and not the world's. I am so ashamed that I can't be better at this. I am so humbled by the fact that I am no better with my Father than my kids are with me... it's all about what He can do for me and very little about what I can do for Him.


In fact, chores are a great example of this broken way I deal with the Lord. When my kids are asked to do one of the few chores they are responsible for, they ALWAYS complain. They don't want to help out at all. And no matter how often they are asked to do it, they still complain every single time. They never get used to the fact that there are a few things around here that aren't about me being in their service. And boy, does that hit home! What? God wants me to give up something, serve someone, do without, postpone, sacrifice, give, love someone unlovable, stop talking, stop blogging, FORGIVE??? And it certainly puts my relationship with Him in a different light. Because no matter how many times I think to myself, "Could someone, for once, just find something on their own without saying 'Mama' first?", I still look at them 1,000 times a day and my heart wants to explode with loving them. I still listen to their little voices and want to put it in a bottle so that I can open it one day years from now when I am not blessed to be serving them every day in the easy ways. I still watch them sleeping at the end of the day and wonder where the time went and why I couldn't have told them one more time how much I love them. Why didn't I make time for one more hug? Why did I fuss or get frustrated over spills, tears, whines, messes, and little sibling rivalries? And if I, selfish and bruised as I am, can want to give more and love more in spite of all their neediness, then how much more must my Father want to wrap me in His mighty arms at the end of a long day and just hold me and love me a little more? And how must He feel when He looks down on this:




And there it is... When you look at your child sleeping, God has thrown back the curtains of heaven and given you a little glimpse inside!


The big boys had a sleepover tonight at the Science Museum with the Boy Scouts. Brian had a prior committment (AC/DC concert with his friends) so he couldn't go with them, even though he is the den leader for BOTH their dens! So, what other 27 year old uncle and 24 year old aunt would take their nephews on a sleepover with about 100 boys 1st through 4th grades? And not only take them, but do it joyfully and LOOK FORWARD to it (at least that's what they told me?) And not even I, as the mom, could have gone with any level of energy and excitement for spending the night with said number of boys and then getting the reward of a concrete floor for a bed (I did send them my blow up mattress.) But my brother and his precious wife can! And they do, and once again I am reminded of how much God knew that it would take a village to raise me and He generously provided me with the best little brother on the planet. Really, I don't know anyone else who has a brother and sister-in-law who are as thoughtful and great as mine!






So when they pulled out of the driveway, Connor ran inside sobbing because he wanted to play with Liam. How precious is that? They had played, literally, all day long already (from about 9 this morning until the boys left at 5 they were not apart for one minute.) I offered to play whatever he wanted to play, but Mama is no consolation prize when your big brother leaves without you. It broke my heart, really. So I did what any other self respecting mama would do... I bribed him! :) We went to eat at CiCi's pizza (his favorite, not mine) and we went to Target (so I could get Breaking Dawn) and I bought him a Super Mari0 toothbrush that plays music (again, like his big brothers.) Poor guy, we had a date with Prince Caspian on the pull out sofa (where he loves to sleep), but he just couldn't make it... and the sweet photo above is how I found him when I came back down from putting Meg to bed. Sleep tight my little warrior... tomorrow you'll have more villians to fight and castles to defend!

"When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit..." Genesis 49:15

Oh yeah, please take a moment to head over to Katie's Journey (button on the top right sidebar.) If you are an adoptive parent (or even if you're not) the story will just rip you to shreds, but what a might work He is accomplishing! To say more would be an injustice, just read it for yourself.

A Hidden Agenda...

Okay, really, it's actually Friday and I am actually participating in Favorite Foto Friday on a Friday and before 9 AM no less, but it's not really a photo... it's a video (I hope.) And I am trying to bury a final confession here... I didn't really wash the blueberries before I gave them back to the kids.

The Truth Revealed (every dirty bit of it)

My neighbor sent me an e-mail last night. She had accidentally found my blog from a Google search she did on our school district and I guess at some point I made mention of our school district in relation to the weather (another story.) But anyway, she called me this morning to say this, "Ondrea, I had no idea you were so talented. I told my husband to go and read your blog. I can't believe you can do all that you do with four kids. Where do you find the time? And I didn't know you were so spiritual. I had no idea! When I come back in another life, I want to be in your family. Your family looks like so much fun." Now, these are not her EXACT words, but they are something very similar to what she said. So, to that, I must respond. Because if my neighbor, who sees this craziness lived out first hand, thinks I have it all together, then what kind of impression have I left with all of you, who don't see me at school with my hair in a three day pony-tail and mismatched clothing?

First, let me say that the fact that Sharon had no idea I was "so spiritual" just goes to show what a miserable failure I am at the thing that matters the very most in this world, my walk with my Savior! I'm a pit-dweller, of grand proportion, which I have said numberous times. However, I'm obviously not living it out loud that my Lord rescued me from that pit and put me on solid ground. It's ground that still shakes from time to time of my own doing, but He's there holding it together for me. I do not have it all together, in fact, I can't find half of what I thought I had together and but for God I'd be curled up in the fetal position somewhere right now, probably not knowing my own name, much less getting four kids fed and loving my husband. Now, if Sharon does happen to read this post, she is the kind of sweet person who will feel bad that I felt bad about the comment that she obviously meant as a compliment to me. Sharon, stop it! You are an amazing friend and I took it every bit in the spirit in which you said it, but I also know that I left you with the wrong impression because I'm a big fat failure at serving my Redeemer with anything close to what would be appropriate and I want it to be known far and wide that I recognize that!

Second, she asked how I have time to write so much. Well, here's the ugly truth of that little secret:

Dirty
Clean

Enough said about the "laundry topic".

And as for my family being so much fun... well, I'll spare you my kids opinion on that, but I wonder how Liam would have replied to that question yesterday as I was shoving him out the door and yelling, "Run, you're going to miss the bus!"

I want you all to know that I often go days without washing my hair (thus, I keep it long so I can wear a pony-tail!) My laundry looks like this more often than not. My floors are never so clean you could eat off of them, in fact, sometimes I worry about the dog eating off them. We do not have a five second rule at our home, it's "If you get it before the dog does, you can have it." I did pick up spilled blueberries yesterday and put them back in the container before I realized I had scooped as much dog hair (love the Golden Retrievers) as I had blueberries so I was forced to actually wash them before letting my kids eat them. Though to be truthful, I'm sure they've eaten worse. If you come to my house it will most likely be dirty. And if it's not, that's because it's all shoved in the mud room. Don't ever look in there if you want to be invited back. My friends ALL KNOW that adults are NOT ALLOWED upstairs at my house. Seriously! And I warn folks, if you go up, you're on your own, I'm not sending a search party if you don't come back. I procrastinate everything until the very last minute, hoping my hubby might do it for me (like unload the dishwasher, call the insurace company, etc.) and I forget almost every birthday on my calendar. Because I also frequently forget to LOOK at my calendar! I have the attention span of a gnat and it's something I don't know how to fix because every effort at fixing it is quickly diverted into "Oh look, there goes a chicken..." Oh yeah, distraction!

Someone left this verse for me in my comments yesterday and I love it, plus it seems appropriate enough:

2 Samuel 22:29-30
"You are my lamp, O Lord! O my God, you brighten the darkness about me. For with your aid I run against an armed band, and by the help of my God I leap over a wall."

Not Me Monday

Is it Monday again already? Head over to MckMama's blog for some rockin' good confessions by moms just like you, who most certainly did NOT do any of the things that are being confessed from the trenches of motherhood.



I have not started and been diligent with my Project 365. And I have not implemented some of the photography lessons from MckMama and LOVED the results. I'll post them here later!

I was NOT up virtually all night with a sort of sick kiddo. That did not happen. Nope, I was not up from 3:30 AM and I did not look at the clock at 7:57 and wonder how in the heck I was going to make it through the day. This most certainly does NOT mean I will be drinking more coffee than I should, which will not have me jittering with a false level of alertness all day long. I know this will make me crash and need more coffee by 3, which will keep me up late again tonight, so why on earth would I do THAT?

I was not in such a foul mood when I was trying to get my two oldest kids out the door that I sent them out the door and immediately regretted how grumpy and evil I was. I did NOT yell at them. I did not get brush Liam's teeth too roughly because he was being so pokey and we were running late. I did not flag down the bus and have him RUN to catch it so I wouldn't have to get the other kids dressed to drive him to school. I am not now planning to have lunch with him (by surprise) to make up for the Mommy Dearest routine this morning.

I am not one of those people who feels guilt when I fail miserably at being the mother I want to be. Because, see, that would require me to first fail, which of course, I do not do. I always get it right and am always something akin to June Cleaver. NOT!

I do not wear the same jeans for days on end without washing them, but fuss at my kids for doing the same. That would be a double standard and of course, I always strive to teach by example.

You will not catch me blogging/e-mailing/reading while my kids are awake because they always get 100% of my undivided attention.

I am absolutely not struggling to get through the next hour, much less the day, on about five hours of sleep (not much of which occurred after 3:30 AM, and I am not feeling overwhelmed by the thought that it will be another nine hours before my husband comes home to offer any level of relief. I am not just trying to put on a happy face for Meg and Connor, even though all I really want to do is go crawl into my bed.

I certainly do not feel like a total whiner for complaining about this. I do not think I should be ashamed of myself because I can't pull this off with two kids on five hours of sleep when Katie is pulling it off with, what is it now, 18, on almost no sleep at all. I do not have it unbelievably easy compared to all the folks who are in the throes of transition, like my friend, Barb. I most certainly don't remember waking up and dreading the day, so I certainly am not now feeling guilty for being such a mamby pampy whining whimp over one foul night. Nope, not me, because I am so much tougher than that. I am such a better mommy and I am just not a part of the equation here!

I am sure there are several other things I did not mean to confess today, but in the fog of my not tired brain, I certainly can't think of any more!

**** Update **********

I also DID NOT end up bringing said offended kid home from school after said surprise lunch... I did not bring him home because there are not 50 (that's 5-0 folks) kids out with a virus from school today and the teacher did not tell me that he has felt bad all morning, further adding to the guilt I am in anguish over... because, you see, that this means that I was mean to my kid when he was SICK. That would certainly never happen... come on, I'm not THAT bad!

They are not predicting (maybe) snow and ice for the area in the next two days. Please God, no, we have only had one full week of school since Christmas break... are you TRYING to break me here?

I did NOT laugh at Lauren's first AND second comment on my blog about the Bible verse... I'm so glad I am not the only one out there who can't keep it all together. And I so did not need the laugh anyway. And then I also did not go look up Meredith's verse and thank God for blogs and people who I don't know who lift my spirits and keep my feet on the path. I love this verse, thanks Meredith, and I will be putting that one on the fridge poste haste!

Judges 16:16
"With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death."

Amazing!

You have just got to go check out Katie's blog (button on top right side bar.) You won't even recognize this precious CHILD of God. Her first posts back in Uganda have me ashamed of my lack of faith. In the midst of what seems to me to be Satan pressing in on us from every side, in the midst of sickness of precious innocent children, wide-spread advancement of the pro-death agenda, and uncertainty from every direction, Katie is a sparkling beacon reminding us that God is HERE... NOW! He IS among us. And sometimes we need to be just stripped completely bare to get that. When we have too many options, too many ways to help ourselves, we can't truly rely on Him. But in a place like Uganda, people are just dancing and basking in His love... not because they have so much, but because they have so little, they are able to realize how blessed they are. Please journey with me through Katie!

And also, you'll find one of the sick little children there in my side-bar too. Hope continues to need your prayers as Satan one would certainly like nothing more than to strip her and her precious family of life itself... he would love to rob God of his glory in her existence. I'm holding her up. I hope you are too. Please feel free to take the button and encourage others on her behalf!

A new T-shirt, what the heck? Moi?

There are so many blog posts in my head... so little time! But first things first, I want to ask if ANY of you sent me a T-shirt anonymously. I know it's a stretch, since my latest obsession I haven't even confessed on the blog yet, but I have exhausted all immediate possibilities, so I need to reach out to all of you. Okay, I guess in order to truly get the dirt on who sent me this shirt, I will have to go ahead and let the dirty little cat out of the ugly little bag he's been hiding in.

I am reading the Twilight series. (stunned silence from the crowd)

Yes, yes, I know, it's "beneath me", I said the SAME thing! (So glad you agree!) But, as it turns out, I'm not actually as smart or as "above average" reader as I actually thought I was. True enough, I love a good Emerson or Dostoevsky as much as the next guy... but it turns out I also like the immortal and the damned. So, my confession is this... I'm not just READING the series, I'm hooked (like the crazy lady who carries her book everywhere kind of hooked) on them. Since January 3 I have read two of the four books. I'm enthralled by the leading man, never mind that he's an ice-cold vampire, about which I could not care less, who is "hard as granite." I am not an Anne Rice fan, I have never been particularly interested in high school level reading, even when I was in high school. And for this reason, I protested and pro-longed when my best friend begged me to read it (she's already finished all four.) Never one to resist peer pressure, when all the mom's starting gushing over it, I couldn't be left out, but I was determined that I was going to read the first one so that I could poo-poo all the trash reading moms who aren't "real readers." Ahem, guess who is a trash reading gutter dweller. Yep... I retract all the statements I made about the lack of seriousness of your reading choices, Amie. Next thing you know I'll be seen with a Danielle Steele book (not that there's anything wrong with Danielle Steele lest you all bombard me with pleas to read HER books and I have to be seen at the pool with a Romance novel! :) Ahem... ahem... I digress.


This brings me to the question of the day... who the HECK sent me a Twilight T-shirt from Cafe Press? I have hidden the fact that I was even reading it, sticking to dark alley's and the cover of my own bedroom after midnight, I haven't told anyone that I am reading these books, let alone that I LOVE these books. So... who among you knew and sent me this T-shirt just to taunt me? I've asked all the usual suspects.... now someone needs to make a confession of their own!


I wish I could leave you with some enlightening quote from the book... but I don't think there actually are any... just good old fashioned teenage girl obsession and one VERY hot (although he's ice cold) leading man! :)

Not Me Monday

This is so much fun, if you haven't done a Not Me Monday on your blog, then I highly encourage it. Confessing all the things you DID NOT do during the week is very freeing! So read mine and then head on over to MckMama's blog to take a gander at all the other participants and see what they have not been up to:



Since we were not out of school on Friday for cold weather (around 20 degrees, see Thursday's post), I did not have extra time on my hands with a house full of kiddos. I did not attempt to take them to see Hotel for Dogs and it was NOT sold out after I bundled five kids and drove them to the theatre with my contraband snacks tucked nicely in my diaper bag. I would, of course, never sneak snacks and drinks in, I think that's against the rules.

While at said movie, I did not reenact Linda Blair, causing a total scene right in front of all the perky parents who were happy to have an extra day with their kids. My head did not spin around twice and I did not scrawl "Help Me" on my stomach trying to escape the demon that possessed me. I did not feel guilty yelling at my kids for being selfish and whiney, all the while thinking of all the parents who are longing to hold their children. I did not think of Katie's kiddos while wondering why my kids are so selfish that they don't want to drink an illegal juice box in the movies, they expect Coke!

I did not pray all week for Hope Hollis and Harper and all the other little babies that are fighting for their lives this week. I did not pray for their parents and just ask God to hold them. And I am not praying for Katie as she heads back to Uganda today. And also praying for her parents because I know it's hard to let her go.

I am not already watching the clock because my kids are bored AGAIN and it's only 9:30 AM. I am not thinking to myself... "I have to do this all over again tomorrow." Maybe I'll make them put on their ski gear and go outside. Oh yeah, my kids did not go skiing for the first time this weekend and LOVE it. I will not be posting that video here later this week.

And finally, I did not get nominated for the Lemonade award last week by my pal Barb. And I have not put off posting it because Barb and I have alot of the same blog friends and therefore, I have to go back and double check the other blogs to see who has already recieved it because I had my list and half of them were already recipients... :) I guess in the Oscars you can win more than once, maybe I'll just renominate.

Okay, have fun reading all the other Not Me folks.

Simply Delicious Sunday????

Okay, I had an idea, let me know if you are interested. I am constantly trying to come up with new and interesting things to fix for dinner and I am especially on the hunt for EASY things to cook. I use my crock-pot alot, but my kids aren't huge soup eaters (well, actually two are and two aren't, but that's not the point.) So, I have figured about every possible way to prepare meat in the crock pot that you can imagine. But I had an idea that we could all tap into each other. Every Sunday, assuming there is enough interest, I will post a recipe for something easy and family friendly that I am making for the week. You put your recipe in the comment section. Then, anyone who logs on will have at least two or three (depending on participation) ideas for something different to make for dinner.

So, here goes. This week, I made a VERY yummy soup that I got from the "Family Fun" magazine. It's called Lasagna Soup and it's amazing! And easy!

1 1/2 pounds of Italian sausage
2 onions minced
4 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 can (28 oz.) diced Italian tomatoes
6 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
8 ounces fusilli pasta
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
8 ounces ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
2 cups shredded mozzarella

You brown the sausage for 5-7 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Then toss in the onion and the garlic and continue browning them all together until the onions are tender. Next, I mixed all the ingredients EXCEPT the pasta and the cheeses into the crock pot and set it to cook for 8 hours on low/medium. Right before I was ready to serve dinner, I boiled my pasta until al dente and then stirred it into the crock pot with the other ingredients. Now, this is the key to the yummy-ness of this soup... you put a dollup of ricotta, and the Parm. and Mozzarella cheese to taste in the bottom of your soup bowl, ladle the hot soup on top of the cheese mixture and stir it until the cheeses are melted into the soup. YUMMY!!!

Seriously folks, this soup tastes ALOT like homemade lasagna without all the dirty pots and multi-prep issues. I only used 1 skillet and one crock, easy peasy and simple clean-up. In fact, I doubled the bang because I made my sausage in the morning in the same skillet I had cooked the breakfast sausage in, so the sausage served for both breakfast AND dinner.

Now it's your turn... can you help a sistah (and bored family) out? :)