Friday, April 30, 2010

Big Night Tonight

Tonight is opening night for my daughter's school play. The play is Alice in Wonderland. She is playing the Black Knight and she is very excited about it. They have had practice every day this week after school and it's been crazy.

They had up to this point only had play practice once a week and I would always bake her and her friends cookies or brownies. They loved it. It's hard to go right to work after school. They really started to look forward to it and they were so cute that I didn't mind doing it. Well this week I had to bake 4 times. It was really a little too much, but I figured I'm able to do this for my daughter so why not. The only problem was that some kids that are not her friends got a little crazy and started to grab at the food and made my daughter a little nuts. She was happy to share with anyone who asked, but I guess they got kind of rude about it and my daughter got in trouble. I felt so bad here I was trying to do something nice for her and some other kids had to go an ruin it. Well live and learn I guess. It's irritating that my daughter was the one in trouble instead of the obnoxious kids that were causing the trouble.

Anyway I hope she does a great job and has a great time doing it. I'll be going to tommorrow nights show because that's when my parents can go. There are 3 total performances. The final one will end with a party for the cast. It's going to be a very busy weekend. The poor thing has been loaded up with homework this weekend as well. So unfair, but not everyone is in the play. She's going to be tired, but I think it's such a great experience for her. I'm so proud.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Great Message in Glee Last Night!

Well Tuesday night is Glee night and that means me and my 13 year old chill on the couch and watch. We look forward to it all week and when it finally comes on there is no distractions. No texting and no calls aloud till after. She is very serious about it.

Last nights episode had a very important message. It focused on Mercedes and Kurt more than any of the other Glee kids. Mercedes is now on the Cheerios and evil Sue Sylverster wants her to loose weight ASAP or she is off the team. This causes Mercedes to go to extremes and eventually faints from lack of food. She is then befriended by Quinn who is very kind and gets her to see that starving yourself to make someone else happy or to be a part of a group is wrong. You need to love yourself for who you are. Mercedes appears at the pep rally even though she is off the team and speaks to the crowd asking anyone who feels the way she does to come down and join her. She sings Beautiful which was just that beautiful. You need to be happy with who you are. Though it's important to be healthy. You should never go to extremes to get there.

As for Kurt we see him trying to get his father and Finn's mother together so he can be with Finn. This obviously blows up in his face when his father starts to bond with Finn. Poor Kurt feels totally left out. I felt bad for him. Though I think he needs to get a clue that Finn doesn't fly that way.

Anyway great episode and I look forward to next week.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Another Mountain Over Come

By Mountain I mean Thunder Mountain found in Magic Kingdom. My 9 year old is not a ride girl. She would much rather just walk around and look at everything. Rides don't interest her so that means mommy hangs out with her and waits while my husband and 13 year old ride the rides. I don't mind though as I'm not a huge ride girl myself. I have no interest in the roller coasters that flip you upside down and I hate the big dips. My stomach always ends up somewhere else.

This trip my daughter had gotten herself all psyched up to go on the Thunder Mountain. She promised she would do this ride. She was ready. As roller coasters go this is pretty mild. It just goes around the mountain granted a little fast, but there are no scary dips or crazy twists. I was confident she would be fine and like the ride.

Well she was loosing her nerve as we waited to get on. We had fastpasses so the wait wasn't long, but she kept saying she wasn't sure anymore and didn't think she would like it. I was considering pulling her out of line when I just said the heck with it. She would be fine.

She was fine and I found the ride to be very fun. I hadn't been on in awhile. She however declared that she didn't like it. It was much to fast. She seemed fine on the ride itself. I think she was just being contrary. Never the less she tried another new thing and I was proud of her and told her so. You never really know if you'll like something until you try it. I don't want her to be afraid to try. Later I asked her again about the ride and she said she would probably go on again. It wasn't scary. Kids are so funny.

Monday, April 26, 2010

My Daughter and the Super Scary Water Slide.

While at Disney World we stayed at the Boardwalk Hotel. I love this place I honestly can not express how much I love it. It's in a great location with regards to the parks. It is very close to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. This is a big plus to me as those are my favorite two parks.

The Hotel also has a fabulous pool. This pool has a water slide that they make look like a roller coaster that would be found on the old boardwalks. The reality is it's a fun slide, but not all that huge. It is a lot of fun though. My 9 year old is scared of anything she hasn't tried before. When she saw the slide the first thing she said was that looks like fun. Then we walked over to it and she got a good look and watched the people come down and she said she wasn't doing it too scary. She wanted to go to one of the other pool at the hotel that didn't have a slide. Well we didn't do it that day and we complied with her wishes mostly because it was close to dinner. However, the next day her father and sister gave the slide a whirl and they loved it. She watched them come down a few times and then finally decided to give it a try. She was nervous, but her dad went up with her. She came down with the biggest smile on her face. She loved it. She climbed out of the pool and went back up again and again until we basically had to pry her off it. I loved watching her have so much fun. Her father and I were like we told you and we really want her to remember how much she liked it. It's so hard to get her to try new things. We want her to be less afraid of trying anything new especially new food as she is also a very picky eater. By the way we did get her to try 3 new kinds of food on the trip as well. Big strides were made. Big strides.

Now that we're home she told me how much she misses the slide. She wants to stay at the same hotel next time we go and I hope we'll be able to.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Our Time in Hollywood Studios

We decided to go to Hollywood Studios on Monday. Now I still call it MGM. The name change just totally confuses me. Anyway it was still a bit questionable with the rain so we packed up the ponchos and away we went. Since we were staying in the Boardwalk hotel there is only about a 15 minute walk to the park. We arrived a little after 9 and it was a mad dash to Toy Story Mania. The Disney employees actually block one of the ways to the ride because stairs are involved. It is literally a stampede to get to this ride. My husband even made cow noises. He's a very funny guy. Well we made it to the ride and it actually appeared to be shorter to wait in the line to go on the ride rather than grab a fast pass for later so that's what we did. It was awesome. We all love this ride. You basically sit in this little car and wear 3D glasses and play a sort of midway games. You aim and shoot at targets. Sooo much fun we love it. After the ride we grabbed a fast pass for later. We ended up doing the ride 3 times that day.

Next we headed under the hat to await the High School Musical show. This is always a big hit. My husband and I even sing along. They really do a great job with this. My youngest loved it and we were in the front row. After the show we headed to one of my personal favorites, Star Tours. I am a true Star Wars geek and honestly can not get enough.

Finally we headed to the American Idol Experience. This was awesome. The girls were amazed. The stage looks exactly the same as it does on TV. They really get you all excited and the host and judges are great. The girl we voted for won that round so the girls were so excited. We decided to return for the finale show at the end of the day.

We headed to The Stunt Show which is always awesome and then had dinner at the Scifi Dinner. This is one of our favorite places to eat at Hollywood Studios. If you are ever looking for a place to eat there give this a try. It's set up like a drive in. You eat in old fashioned cars and some of the waiters are on roller skates. Also the food is yummy.

Our final activity of the day was the finale show for American Idol. It was awesome there were some really amazing people. Of course only one could win the day and get the golden ticket to go to the head of the line at a real American Idol audition. There was a 14 year old boy and he was amazing. We all voted for him and he won. He sang I Can Go the Distance from Hercules. He was also adorable and my daughters were a little smitten. The sad thing is he's to young for the real American Idol, but I have a feeling Disney may snatch him up. He could be the next big tween thing.

When the show was over we headed for the door only to hear it was pouring out. Of course it was. I pulled out the ponchos and off we went back to the hotel. Luckily it wasn't that bad and seemed to lighten up as we went. It was another great day. More to come tomorrow.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Great Vacation!

We had a blast. Sorry I haven't Blogged. Just way too much fun going on. I have to say this is the best time I have had in Disney World. I have no idea why. Though if I had to guess I would say that it's because we have been there so many times and at this point we just do what we want. We go into a park and we don't even need a map. It's great. We just zoom around the other people who are lost and confused. We always offer to help. Disney can be very overwhelming if you've never been there.

Let me try to catch you up on what we did. On Sunday we headed to Magic Kingdom. It was a little rainy so Thunder Mountain was closed and Splash Mountain didn't seem all that appealing. That was disappointing to my oldest, but she got to ride Space Mountain 3 times. We also went to the Laugh In with the characters from Monsters Inc. This is always very funny. We rode the race cars which is not my favorite and I'm pretty sure my daughter was trying to kill me. Oh well we survived. My youngest finally went on the Goofy Roller coaster. This is a big step for her. The Goofy Roller coaster is an easy ride. She liked it so that was good.

Then the downpour came. We were so not prepared. We ran for It's a Small World hoping it would be over when we came out. No that was not the case. We headed for the Carousel. Then it was obvious it was not going to stop. Someone in heaven was clearly dropping buckets of water on us. I spotted the nearest store and we made a run for it. Disney knows marketing. They were selling piles and piles of rain ponchos. We bought 4 and we were back at it.

Truth be told we would have headed back to the hotel, but we had dinner reservations at Tony's. Tony's is suppose to be the restaurant that Lady and the Tramp ate at. It's one of our favorite places. After taking a vote we decided to stay. My youngest still loves the Disney Fairies so I took her to wait to meet them. It was a 70 minute wait, but we all agreed we might as well wait it out because of the rain and it was still a little while till dinner. She loved it. She met Tink, Iredessa and Terence. I think she loved Terence the most because he danced with her and sprinkled pixie dust in her hair. It was adorable and she was glowing. If you have little girls who love the Disney Fairies and you visit Disney World don't miss meeting the them. One of my daughters favorite things. They really make it special. Yes, you have to wait and longer than you want I'm sure, but I honestly think it's a special moment. My daughter can't stop talking about them. There really is nothing like visiting Pixie Hollow.

Well then it was off to Dinner. It was wonderful and well worth sticking out the rain. Tony's rocks as my daughter says. Though when we finally did return to the hotel we were all dieing for a hot bath or shower. When we were all warm it was time to dry the sneakers. We used a hair dryer and stuck paper towels in overnight. Yuck. All in all it was a wonderful day in the Magic Kingdom.

Tomorrow I'll talk about our time in Hollywood Studios. We are home now and pretty exhausted. It's good we have the weekend to unwind and recover.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

First Few Days in Disney

Haven't been posting sorry, but it's only because we are having such a great time. We arrived in Orlando around 12:30 am on Friday. We were totally exhausted and crashed in our hotel. We are staying at the Boardwalk and it's fabulous.

The first day we slept in and then hung around EPCOT just walking around. Though we did do the Kim Possible attraction and saved the world. The girls both loved that. I do have to admit I heard the communicator beeps in my sleep. We had a nice dinner at the Rose and Crown and listened to the British Invasion. I love the Beatles. We also had an afternoon swim. It was a great day.

Today we headed into Animal Kingdom. We made a B line right to the Safari and saw lots of animals including a baby giraffe, very cute. We sat in front of some college kids unfortunately and my girls heard some colorful language. Not much I could do about that. My girls no better than to repeat it at least. We saw the Lion King show which I love and so do the girls. We all sing along. My youngest really wanted to see the tigers so we headed on down the trail where they were and she saw lots of tigers. They were pretty impressive. Basically it was a great day in the park. We headed back to our hotel after eating dinner and had another swim. It felt so refreshing. Now we are exhausted and just chilling out on the couch. I love Disney World.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

It's My Birthday!


Yeah, it's my birthday, but it doesn't hold the excitement it did when I was younger. I still smile when I get up, but now I'm just getting older and that's a drag. Not to mention that my birthday falls on tax day and the day the Titanic sunk. My daughter loves reminding me of this as she is obsessed with the Titanic. Though I have nothing to complain about today. I'm spending the day getting ready to head to Disney World with the family for the girls April vacation. They have been several times before as we are Vacation Club members, but that doesn't stop them from being super excited. I can't blame them. I'm excited too. Disney World is the most magical place on Earth. I love it there.

My oldest one even woke up before be today and that never happens. She had to go into school early today to take a test that she'll miss tomorrow because we leave for the airport right after school today. She didn't even care. There was no grumbling. She was bouncing around and humming. Yes, I kid you not she was humming. It was all very amusing. I didn't even have to yell to have her hurry up. Again this has never happened. I want this day marked down in history because I'm pretty sure it will never happen again.

Anyway we are heading out and I will try to blog everyday with photos if possible. Though I will not be doing my entrecard drops as I really won't have the extra time. I'll be back at it after vacation. Hope everyone has a great week.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Glee Returns Tonight!


I think the title says it all. Glee is finally back. Oh how my daughter and I have missed this show. We can't get enough. This show is her favorite show period. There hasn't been a new episode since November and it has been a painful wait. Though we did have the DVD to hold us over.

Tonight we look forward to great songs, silly moments and just plain fun. Not to mention what will happen next. Will Mr. Schuester divorce his wife? What will Sue Sylvester do to the Glee club now? What about Quinn and her baby? Oh and what about Finn and Rachel? Tune in and find out. My favorite part of the show is always the music. There is just such a talented cast on this show. I want my Glee!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Wackie Cake

One of my daughter's friends is allergic to eggs and all milk products so when we were at a birthday party this week I felt so bad that she couldn't have one of the yummy cup cakes that was there. It dawned on me that my mom has always made this cake from scratch called a wackie cake. I have no idea where the recipe came from, but she has been making it forever. This cake has no eggs or milk products in it so it's perfect for a child who suffers from this type of allergy.

I thought I would share it since it is such a delicious cake and can be enjoyed by anyone. My mom usually puts a butter cream frosting on it. I mentioned this to the mom and she said she would simply add some powdered sugar or sprinkles. I hope her daughter likes it.

Wackie Cake

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup Hershey's cocoa
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 cups water

Blend ingredients then cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until done. Don not grease pan line pan with aluminum foil.

Enjoy!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Ice Skating Party

I thought it was going to be ugly. My daughter has never been on ice skates and has never wanted to go on them. Then the invitation came in the mail for a birthday party. I didn't know what to do so I left it up to my daughter. She went back and forth with it, but the bottom line is the girl is a good friend of hers and she should go whether she skates or not. She agreed.

I thought everything was fine and then she came down stairs this morning with tears in her eyes declaring she was not going to skate. I was frustrated because I knew that if she just tried she would like it. Well I was taking her no matter what as we had said we were going and I refuse to hurt any one's feelings.

We got to the rink and a girl asked for her skate size and she said she wasn't skating. The mom was great and said don't worry no pressure. Well some of her friends told her it was fun and to give it a try. She agreed. They have plastic crates stacked on top of each other to make it easier for newer skaters. I got her one and she skated around that rink with the biggest smile on her face she had a great time. I'm convinced my children just like to drive me crazy. Well I'm just glad she had a good experience and will skate again. It's a lot of fun especially when you have friends who do it. I told her on the way home see what happens when you give something new a try. You may discover you like it. I just hope she remembers what a great time she had when the next new thing pops up.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Aggravating Morning

Thirteen year olds can be a royal pain in the butt. This morning my husband and I got up early because my oldest needed to go in and finish a math test she didn't finish the day before. This happens occasionally and we never have any problem with getting her in early.

The problem I have with this morning is right before my daughter was about to head out the door. She asked me a math question about percents. I had no idea what she was talking about. Math is not my thing. I told her to ask her father when he came down. Then I started asking her why she was asking the question now when she had all night to ask. Not to mention this was a test she started taking yesterday. I started to get really aggravated. Last night she was busy watching TV. She should have asked her question then instead of making us crazy at the last minute. My husband wasn't thrilled either. His comment was I'm pretty sure I was here all last night. My thought was she's going to flunk the test and there was no need. She's very good at math, but lately she's been getting a little lax with stuff. I don't know if it's spring fever or just the beginnings of the teenage years.

Well I'll never know I guess, but she better get a B or better on this test or she's going to loose that ipod touch she loves so much for a little while. I've got to get her back on track. I've never had to do anything like that before. She's always been so good about doing her work. This just took me by complete surprise. Of course when I dropped my 9 year old at school I saw her and she smiled and I asked how it went and she said fine. My husband was able to help her in the car. Seriously the child is driving me crazy. Thank God it's Friday.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Ladybug Infestation

You may think the word infestation is a little much, but I tell you I have ladybugs all over my house. They have woken from their hibernation and they are everywhere. I knew there were a few here and there, but I just had no idea they would try to over take us.

I walked into my downstairs bathroom yesterday and I was dive bombed by 3. It was crazy. I would never kill a ladybug because I hear it's bad luck, but I think it may be time to round them up and get them back outside. This morning my daughter came down and said she wasn't brushing her teeth. There were 2 ladybugs hanging out on her toothbrush. She loves ladybugs, but that was going too far. They crossed a line when they threatened her oral hygiene. I promised to boil the toothbrush and get the little guys out of the bathroom. It's not like I have anything else to do today right?

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Really Long Day

It has been one of those days that I'm so glad is ending. My husband had to go to work early so I took the kids to school. This in it self is no big deal. I never mind taking the girls to school. Then I attended the funeral of my daughter's friend's mom. This was extremely upsetting and sad. Most of the kids in her grade attended. My daughter was very happy to see me arrive and so were her friends. I sat with them. They all got very upset when they saw their friend so sad. My daughter's friend is Korean so the mass was said in Korean. This was a surprise for me though I should have realized. The kids were warned ahead of time and I have to say I was very impressed with this group of kids. None of them miss behaved and they all were very focused on everything even though they had no idea what was being said. I was also very impressed with the teachers. They understood how upsetting this whole experience can be and they were right on top of everything. One girl got very upset behind me and the teacher responded to comfort her very quickly. I'm glad my girls go to such a loving school.

When the mass was over I rushed home to grab some lunch and then returned to the school for art class with my younger daughter. Of course I was already emotionally drained by this point, but I kept chugging because that's what moms do. Anyway the my name was being called in all directions and I did my best to help all who asked.

When class was over I went to the bank then returned to the class to pick the girls up and take the youngest and one of her friends to dance class. It has been a very busy and emotionally draining day. I'm very glad it's over and I hope tomorrow is easier.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Dealing With Loss

On Easter Sunday we found out that a friend of my 13 year old daughter's mother died. She was suffering from stomach cancer and had been hospitalized since before Christmas. They knew it was terminal, but there is always hope. She has two children ages 11 and 13. She fought very hard to live and to be with them, but on Sunday she lost her fight. My daughter was very upset and worried about her friend.

Today we attended the wake and my daughter clung very close to me. She was nervous and didn't really know what to do. She has been to wakes before, but she has always known the people there. Here we didn't except of course her sweet friend. I was surprised to hear that her friend attended school today. Everyone rallied around her and kept her spirits high. I guess sometimes it's better just to get back into things and kids this age need their friends around them. I had told my daughter that if she did show up at school to give her a big hug and that's what she did. From my own personal experience I hated it when people kept asking me if I was okay. Of course she's not okay. She's 13 years old and just lost her mother. How could she be okay? It takes time and she will always feel an emptiness, but things will get easier. It helps to know that you have people who care, but you should never overwhelm them.

The wake was so sad, as wakes always are. Her mom was so young and she's leaving behind her kids and her husband. My daughter's friend was crying and crying and all I could do was give her a big hug. My daughter did as well and we stayed for a few minutes. I couldn't help the tears that reached my own eyes. It all seems so unfair. Tomorrow we will attend the funeral. It's being held across from the school so most of my daughter's classmates will attend. All the teachers are planning on it as well. It's a very close knit school.

My thoughts and prayers go out to this girl and her family. I know my daughter will watch over her in school and be there if she needs her.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Easter Monday.

When I was in school I always remember having Easter Monday off. It was fabulous. We had a 4 day weekend to enjoy the wonderful holiday. Now however it's very rare for the kids to have this off. My girls don't have it off and they go to a catholic school. Now I did hear that many of the Catholic high schools in the area have the day off, but not my kids.

I know there's really no need for them to have it off, but I have to say we had a great day yesterday really enjoying the day with family. They played and ran and ate and just had the best day. Then we got home and my oldest daughter had to study for a big science test she had today. It really didn't seem fair. It was a holiday. I was a little irritated, but she wanted a good grade so she had to study and she did.

It just would have been nice for them to have the day off just to relax after the holiday. Maybe it's me, but I really wish there was no school today. I didn't want to get up and there was an aweful lot of grumbling for the girls and I grumbled with them. Oh well April vacation will be here soon.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Happy Easter!


Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter Sunday. My girls actually woke up pretty late. They used to wake up at the crack of dawn. Well I guess that's what happens when you get older.

Now they woke to find their Easter baskets filled with yummy stuff from the Easter Bunny and he hid eggs. They had to search for them around the house. It's always so much fun to watch them hunt their eggs. Doesn't matter how old they are it's always fun to search for hidden eggs.

Now I'm off to make whip cream for my chocolate cream pie and gather everything together and head out to my mother's house. Where we will have another Easter egg hunt and a delicious barbecue. We are taking advantage of the beautiful New England weather we're having.

It is also Red Sox opening day. So go Sox. Beat the Yankees. I just love my baseball team and I love baseball season. It really is spring now.

Friday, April 2, 2010

The Day I Have Dreaded Since I Had Girls

Yesterday, I picked my daughter up at school and she very calmly said to me. "I think I got my period." All I could think of was oh crap. Of course I didn't say that to her. I asked when it happened and she said in school. She didn't tell anyone. It was too embarrassing and she said she was fine. We got home and I gave her the necessary sanitary products that I use. She preceded to head to the bathroom for who knows how long. I assumed she was fine and I headed out to get my other daughter from dance.

Now when I returned I asked my husband where she was and he told me she never came downstairs. I went up to find the poor thing crying and angry. She was not going to wear those "things" I gave her. Well I went to the store as fast as I could and got some other options. She went back to the bathroom slamming the door in my face and no she didn't need any help. Yeah, right.

She came out and said it was better and came down and rejoined the world. She seemed fine until bedtime when she again broke down in tears. She felt uncomfortable and she hates it and she doesn't want to grow up. All I could say was I'm sorry and I understood. There's nothing else to say. I can't make it go away. She doesn't care that every other woman gets it. I wanted to cry myself because it does stink. There's nothing fun about your period. Nothing.

Let's just hope she wakes up in a better mood the poor thing. Thank goodness it's Good Friday and she doesn't have school. Keep your fingers crossed she doesn't bite my head off all day. I don't think I can take much more.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

April Fool's Day


Happy April Fool's Day. I hope everyone had a trick free day. Because it was April Fool's Day my girls were aloud to wear silly clothes. My oldest refused to partake in this however and wore her usual jeans and t-shirt on a no uniform day. My youngest was a bit more creative. She wore jeans that were too short and socks that clearly didn't match. One of them had hearts and the other had stripes. Some of the other kids in the class wore clothes backwards and inside out. They looked very silly. My daughter couldn't stop telling me about them.

All the teachers played tricks on each other as well and it made for a really fun day of school. The kids all came out smiling and laughing. Of course that could be because they have a three day weekend now and Easter is on Sunday. Who knows but I always like to see smiles on my girls faces.

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