First Day at DisneyLand

Well, it was not really our first "day" but we went after eating some dinner and stayed for the fireworks. I just had to capture the JOY!!!!

So, we decided not to tell the girls when we were leaving for Disney this time. First of all, when we went in March of 2009 we learned that by telling them they only focus on that and do not sleep as the date approaches. Secondly, it really is fun to totally surprise your kids! I had told them all day Friday that if they gave me time Friday to clean and they helped clean we could play ALL weekend….little did they know what play meant!

They woke around 7 AM on Saturday (9/11) and we had all 3 sit at the table for breakfast. Daddy had bought Mickey Mouse earrings for all three of his little girls (and even a pair for his big girl!!) and handed them their gift. Right away they knew who it was and Chiara said she wanted to wear them to Disneyland…hee hee hee….so he says, “let’s do today!” It took a few seconds for it to sink in and then came the smiles and joy….ahhhh, you just can’t beat that! Kid joy…you just would do anything to be around that!!!!

David and I had packed the car the night before so we only had a few other things to take care of. Even though we did not get on the road until 8:20 AM we made great time. Of course we could not have a trip to Disneyland with Nanny and Grampy. I love how the girls check in with us every hour to make sure we can see their car. We arrived at our wonderful hotel around 3:15pm. We made GREAT time, especially since we stopped a few times. David let me drive part of the way….I get so bored sitting passenger the entire way. We bought 5 day hopper passes for the price of a 3 day so we got settled in our suite, ate dinner, and headed off to the park. No real plan.

Just walking in to DisneyLand invokes excitement beyond words. Even Miss Leah was yelling “Mickey Mouse” (in Leahese of course). Awesome. As soon as we entered the park there was a parade starting on Main Street….lots of music and characters. David and Grampy headed over with Leah while Nanny and I took the 2 big girls into City Hall to get Mayah her birthday pin since we are here to celebrate her turning 4! Well, she got her pin, we ALL got “celebration” pins and Miss Mayah got a phone call from Goofy wishing her a happy birthday. Cool. We joined the parade and enjoyed it at the next stop too. The girls were excited.

The first ride of the trip was Dumbo! Nanny rode with Mayah, Chiara with Grampy, and I took Leah on her first official ride (she had gone with us when she was a baby, but obviously this was the real first for her). She had no idea what was to come and I was SO excited to be the one to take her. Waiting in line with an almost 2 year old is an experience, but I just told myself the payoff would be worth it. We picked the yellow Dumbo, because Leah loves to say that color. We strapped in and waited. I asked her if she wanted to hold my hand, but she said no….until we went UP! She leaned in to me and held my hand. I love every second of the 120 second flight. David took some video that I will cherish. And to make the ride even cooler….Dumbo wished Mayah a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Of course Leah did not want to get off the ride so I asked if she would like to go on a boat- we were right next to It’s a Small World. YES! So off we all went. The big girls love that ride too….but really we all do it for Nanny since it is her FAVORITE ride! David said that Chiara “belted out” the song the entire time. Love it. I sat with Leah again and loved watching her face. She was completely mesmerized. And again, did not want to get off the ride. Train??? YES!

We walked over to the train and noticed that it was a little over an hour until the fireworks. So, after speaking with one of the staff we decided to ride the train 2 stops to main street, get off, and find a spot to watch the fireworks in front of the castle. Our goal of course was to get in a good place so they could see Tinkerbelle (and Dumbo) fly. We are told that we can stand right in the street….so we do. I just love all the staff….everyone is kind and helpful. We start talking with on of the guys-he notices our Red Sox attire. Of course he finds that David is NOT a sox fan, but from NY and the bond begins! LOL! He saw Mayah’s pin, wished her a happy birthday (she has been counting how many she gets), Chiara told him she was 5, and Leah made a mess of the $4 popcorn! About 15 minutes before the show was to start he came back and asked us all to come with him. Ummmm, ok. He brought us to the reserved seating section!!! Benches to sit and PRIME seating! I was in tears! I could not stop praising God for blessing us all. The show was amazing! Tink was out there for a long time!!!! Leah was even into it (poor girl was TIRED!!!). Great fireworks, great music, best seats! By the time we got back to the hotel it was 10:20pm and we were all done. Good night…..ready for day 2!

The Adentures of a Mommy and a Missing Bear Bear

I am seriously singing that cheesy song....reunited and it feels so good.....Bear-Bear has returned. Well, I am calling it Bear Bear Part 2. Here's the story:

I was rushing around Wednesday because we are taking the family to Disneyland and David and I thought it would be fun to surprise the girls this time.....seriously, they have NO idea! Well, I had to run to the grocery store to pick up things to bring since we have a full kitchen at the place we are staying. I know better than to let Leah take her bear in the store, but when I know we are going to be in there for a while I would rather her have her lovey. Mistake number one. Ugh. I grabbed the bear when I was getting her out and instead of putting it in my purse I just held it. All four of us went into the store. I put Leah in a cart and put Bear Bear on top of my purse....my purse was zipped closed and I thought it would just lay there. In the rush of things I just kept going.......we went straight to the deli. We only got 2 items and by the time we had our ham and cheese we realized the bear was gone. We retraced our steps, had a clerk help us look.....gone. I think Bear Bear was snatched up by someone else who really needed a lovey. I am hoping that it is helping another sweet little one out there who needs comfort at bedtime.
Needless to say I was in a panic and feeling GUILT...the good old Catholic kind!!!! Ugh! I knew she would be fine.....until bedtime. It was awful. Tears. Whimpering. She could not settle in. We tried many other items to fill the place of Bear Bear, but she threw them all out. She wept for it. I cried. Bear Bear was not an intentional lovey...just sort of made it's way into her crib and never left. I took action. I searched and searched online, but I did not know the manufacturer. On the phone with my Mom we searched the depths of the internet. I saw a bear that had similar stitching on Ebay....a Carter's Bear!!! Great! No luck finding Bear Bear though. Until......I found it!!! It was Bear Bear! Clean! Online! For only....$45!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you kidding me? Seriously? Why? The stay at home mom who was selling this wonderful look-alike had a make an offer feature. I offered $10 and asked the Lord to soften her heart as I wrote to her why I was wanting to purchase this item. Leah slept all night and Thursday we went out searching again for Carter's Bears....I even took her to our ghetto Walmart to see if she saw anything that would do....nothing. I called 3 Kohl's, 2 Carter's Stores, Carter's Headquarters, and 3 Big Lots. Nothing. They only keep the bears on the shelves for about 6 months and then change them up. No wonder it was $45 on Ebay. Ugh. I checked Ebay off and on.....and there it was....she accepted the offer of $10!!!!!!!!!!! I was leaping! I had just had to listen to Leah cry herself to sleep at nap time when I saw this great news. I wrote to her immediately to thank her and see if she could overnight it....I would pay the extra. Not only did we NEED Bear Bear to survive, but we are about to leave for this trip. The seller is in the San Diego area and said she would overnight it. Praise God! With the help of David it was done. No relief yet, as we still had to get through bedtime. Awful. Worse than before. Screaming. Crying. It was painful to hear. My heart was breaking. I prayed for the postman to be quick with deliveries. I spoke with Christ authority that the bear would arrive before nap time...mail does not get here until after 3pm some days. By 11:45am today (Friday) the package arrived. No relief yet. Bear Bear part 2 is BIGGER than Bear Bear. Oh no! Again, I prayed that she would accept this new bear-I got many warnings that she may not. I spoke it. I believed what I spoke.
Watching her walk over to the package and look inside was PRICELESS (ok, actually it cost $27.50, but I don't care!!). She peeked inside (I am pretty sure her sisters were holding their breath) and let out a "Baby!!" (aka bear bear). Tears...not from Leah, but from her Mama and Chiara. Relief. She was so happy. She walked away from me and I heard her say, "He's Home." Yes, yes he is.

Sweet Mayah Rae

My little My-My is changing so much. I am really loving this season with her. She is showing more independence and I can really see her desire to learn growing. So cool. I was not expecting her to join Chiara and I during school, but she has been there every day! She wants to learn. I joke that she is the kid I am going to have to duct tape to the chair, but I am starting to notice that may not be the case. Of course she is still our most active daughter, but during school she gets focused. Praise God!

Last week I took this picture of her with a 63 piece puzzle that she did ALL by herself! It was the first time she had done a puzzle this size alone. She was proud of herself and I was certainly impressed! I value puzzles because of the concetration it takes, along with problem solving, dedication, patterns, etc. Such a great and fun learning tool.

New Blog???

Someone suggested I start a "what we eat/recipe review" blog. I am thinking about it.....yeah, like I have time! It would be fun. I am no foodie, but I like the idea of sharing recipe ideas.

Any thoughts????

Establishing a love for learning....

I can honestly say that I love being a home school family. I love the freedom to teach my children when and how I want. I can also teach to the specific needs (and desires) of each individual child. One on one instruction.....awesome. We are 3 weeks in to this school year and even though most of our material has been review of last year we are all enjoying it. I could have just skipped over the first 20 or so lessons in math, reading, and phonics, but I like establishing routine....especially with Miss Leah.

Science and Heritage (Social) Studies has been fun. Chiara has already learned the 5 senses (last year) and about maps (this summer). Mayah is joining us most days for these subjects and has lots of fun too. I took some pictures of them experimenting with the 4 tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter). Chiara discovered she could taste things better in the middle of her tongue opposed to the front. Mayah liked the sour (lemon water) and salty tastes....interesting. No one liked the bitter (coffee water). I loved their faces.

One of the struggles I am having is what to do with/about Miss Leah during school. Last year she was still napping 2 times during the day and school was shorter so it was a non issue. I am trying to balance instructing Chiara, guiding Mayah in an activity, and managing Leah. Since she is not yet 2 I do not expect her to entertain herself for long periods of time. Thankfully, she stays out of 'trouble' (Mayah would entertain herself at this age by literally climbing the walls!!), but she has lost her two playmates and is bored, upset, needing attention, etc. Ugh. I keep trying some new ideas and I have talked to a couple moms who also home school. I realize that in about 6 months she will have changed a lot and this issue may has resolved itself. For now I utilize educational videos, music, blues clues, and taking down different bins of toys.

Of course after school ends I find her doing the exact thing I wanted during school!!! HA! Of course!!! She has a great love for books (yay!!!). She would be content if I just sat and read/picture walked through every book we own. Wouldn't that be great?!?!?! For now, it is what it is.....and then it will change.