Disney

I'm so behind in getting pictures up, but even without the pictures I'll never forget how it felt to walk along Main Street with TT and the kids, Cinderella's castle in view and It's A Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean and The Swiss Family Robinson Tree House waiting for us.  The crowds were tremendous, and we had a scary moment early on when Sam got lost (and showed a shop manager the phone number I'd written on the top of his leg in sharpie), but with so much magic and wonder and excitement all around, it would be hard not to love a day at Disney with my kids.  When we sat down on the It's A Small World boat for our first ride and Sam snuggled in under TT's arm and the little children's voices starting singing, I got tears in my eyes.  THIS was the moment I had wanted, TT and her grandchildren and the ride that started it all for our family back nearly four decades ago.  We spent a lot more money than I expected (when it's hot and crowded and you just want a break from the noise, kids can easily convince you that a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar or a $6 hot dog would be way better options than the snacks you've been lugging around in your backpack) and we stayed way beyond the time I thought we would, but we rode over 10 rides, ending with a dark and spooky Pirates of The Caribbean that the kids didn't quite understand (why are they acting silly?  what is rum?).  And when we returned to the park entrance at close to 9pm, Sam decided the one toy he wanted to purchase was the Mickey Mouse Wizard Hat he had picked out when we first walked in that morning.

 Sam's Wizard Hat

 It's a Small World

  It's a Small World

  It's a Small World

 Rope Bridge

 Fantasyland Carousel

 Flying Magic Carpet Ride

 Jungle Cruise

 Selfie on Madhatter's Tea Party Ride

 Riverboat Cruise

 Riverboat Cruise

 Riverboat Cruise

 Sam studies the water lifting operation in the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House

 Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse

One last look at Cinderella's Castle as we leave the Magic Kingdom

Beachin' It

It is not possible to contain everything about our Florida trip in to one post, so we're going to have to do this in stages... starting with the day we headed to Nokomis Beach.  Before Sam and Eva entered my life beaches used to mean hot sun and cool drinks and laying on a clean, sand-free towel for long stretches of time that were broken up with a quick dip in the water to cool off.  Now beach trips are filled with running and shell collecting and lots and lots of sand.  Sarah came along and helped with kid watching and kid burying, and TT walked the sand to look for shark's teeth and interesting shells while the kids ran circles in and out of the water.  Eva is a master shark tooth hunter already, and sam still loves to run as far away from me as he can, and all three of us love the space and the wind in our hair and the time spent with family.  We oohed and ahhed over shells and coral and feathers, and we all laughed when Eva insisted that her sand mermaid have boobies and a long tail, and we only finally trekked back to the car when we started to get hungry.  Beach time has changed for sure, but it's never been so fun and magical, and as I told TT when the kids were ready to leave, I could spend all day there. 

 

19 Kids Rockin' with Chuck

When Sam told me he wanted to have his birthday party at Chuck E Cheese this year, I grimaced and tried to tempt him with Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin Dells.  After all, I had managed to avoid having to attend any parties at Chuck E. Cheese, and all of my friends' statements about overly sweet pizza sauce and the smell of urine and out-of-control noise didn't really ever make me think I was missing out.  I had dropped Sam and Eva there a couple of times but the dinging of the arcade games and the long lines to pick up the prizes with all the tickets they earned had left me sure that I would never actually have my own child's party there.

"You don't want to bring some friends to Great Wolf Lodge?" I spoke to the rearview mirror.  "Remember how much fun that was?  I thought you wanted to bring just a few friends and have birthday weekend like last year?"

"But I have too many friends," he said.  "And I can't pick.  How many people can I invite if I have a party at Chuck E. Cheese?"

Not knowing how the whole thing worked I told him 10 or 15 depending on what it costs, and he set about making his list.  His best best best friends from St. Mary's that he misses all the time because they now go to St. Stan's and he's in public school.  His new buddies from The Y after school program.  All the new friends he's making in first grade.  Kids from the neighborhood.  How could he narrow it down to just 3 for a weekend at a water park?

He made his list.  We sent invites to all 11 boys in his first grade classroom and I emailed all the moms from St. Stan's, the moms who have been our community since the kids all went to preschool together.  A few invites by text or facebook to moms I don't know well, and we ended up with 19 yesses.  Add a 4-year-old sister and a couple of friends to keep her company, and you've got yourself a big party.

And you really are going to hear me saying this:  Chuck E. Cheese was an awesome choice.  The fact that they have security up front and kids can't get out without the adult that let them in was a godsend.  It allowed me to let the kids go and run and play and just be kids without me freaking out about having them in control and accounted for.  And we had a party coordinator who handled the timing and the pizza and the drinks and the buckets of coins and the ticket blaster machine.  ("Come on Sam.  You can do it.  We believe in you," the boys were saying as he put on the goggles and crawled in the booth to try to catch as many tickets as he could.)  And I got to briefly meet parents that I didn't already know and quickly touch base with friends I've known for years.  And the kids had fun!  All 19 of them.

 

A few kids didn't want anything to do with Chuck E so they hung back with the Moms, but here are all the crazy ones who rocked out with Chuck.

Pokémon Cake

Eva's Favorite

Sam's Best Girl Friend

Ticket Blaster

Seven!

 

Seven years ago today when I first met this guy, I could not have imagined the yellow-belt-wearing, pokemon-card-loving, chapter-book-reading, song-and-story-writing, Minecraft-and-Sims-addicted little Renaissance man that he would become at age 7.  I am so proud to be his mother and I cherish this age when he still wants me to crawl under a blanket and snuggle him on the couch or sit at the dining room table and play endless rounds of Old Maid with him or listen from the front seat as he tells me about the Lego robot he built or the spelling test he aced today in school.  He surprises me every day, but the thing that surprises me more than anything is that I could love another human this much.  Happy Birthday Sam!  I love you beyond space!

 

A look back:

 

December 2013

 

December 2012

 December 2011

Dec 17, 2010

Dec 17, 2009

Dec 17, 2008
 

Shrinky Dinks and Icicles

A surprise mid-week visit from TT meant Grandma got to be here when we decorated our tree.

Aunt Judy's Jeans and a Reindeer Shirt

As we race across the black asphalt to the school doors, Eva turns around and looks up at me.  "I'm so excited, Mommy," she says.  "You're coming to my show today."  In the car she told me that some kids would be wearing stars but she'd be wearing a hat and Harmony would have bells.  Eva's little purple shoes slide on the ice and she makes a happy "Whoooooooaaaa" sound as she catches her balance and then begins skipping.  Bubbly and excited and full of energy.  Climbing the stairs towards her classroom she doesn't seem to notice that every girl in the hallway is decked out in some bright red taffeta skirt and white tights and patent leather shoes.  A threesome I don't recognize twirls for each other in front of the office door, but Eva just skips past them in her red reindeer shirt that is probably already a size too small and the jeans she got from Aunt Judy over Thanksgiving.  Earlier I tried to talk her in to dressier black pants with white polka dots, but she insisted that she loved these pants from Aunt Judy the best.  What Eva wears when we leave the house is not one of the battles I've decided to tackle. 

At Mrs. Norton's classroom we are greeted by Stella and "the dad."  Most mornings we guess who will be there with Stella, "the mom or the dad," and even though Becky and Ryan are our friends, at pre-school drop off we call them "the mom" and "the dad."  Eva turns for her "kiss-and-a-hug" and then I walk away as she says hi to Mrs. Murray.  In the halls are more girls in frilly silvery holiday dresses, and I pass Harmony on her way up the stairs. 

"I'm in so much trouble," I say to Jamie.  "Every girl here is in a frilly dress.  I didn't know."  Harmony's very proud of her full dark red skirt with black lace.  Her big sister dressed up for a choir concert a few nights ago and Harmony could not wait to be girly too. 

"I might have one at home if you need something," Jamie says, and I tell her I think Eva will be fine.  I'll think about it.

But as I get in the car I start to cry, and I'm not sure why.  Is it because even at 4 my little girl is already going to start getting the message that looks are important, that what she wears will be studied and scrutinized and compared?  Is it because my little girl is growing up and entering the world where other mean girls might hurt her?  Is it because I feel like an epic failure of a mother because I didn't think that a pre-school singalong warranted purchasing an ensemble that included patent leather shoes that will never be worn anywhere else?

At the office I do the thing I do now when I'm troubled and torn... reach out to my community of facebookers, friends who will give it to me straight and tell me what I should do, whether or not I will actually listen to them.  Most people seem to say Eva will be fine.  She's strong and independent and she has a mind of her own.  But put a dress in your bag just in case when you go back for the singalong.

So I have the dress (minus the patent leather shoes) in my bag and my camera in my hand as the show starts.  But the dress is not needed.  My brilliant little angel with a white hat that is supposed to turn her into a dove walks in to the church and points her reindeer-covered belly at me and smiles while she sings from the front row.  And when we go to the basement for cookie decorating, she slurps up frosting and Mike & Ikes and runs circles around me as she seeks out all her friends.  And only then do I notice how many other little girls are in leggings and long-sleeved t-shirts and how many other mothers look exhausted but happy to spend a little extra time with their little girls who will be growing up way too fast.