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« Previous EntriesA Whoopee Cushion Parenting Moment
Friday, May 18th, 2012Alright everyone, it’s time to fess up on something. Do you often cringe when your child has the opportunity to pick something from a prize box? It may be a prize after having a shot at the doctor, doing something well at school, or trading tickets in at an arcade. Let’s be real here – none of the prizes are usually meant to last forever and can often be annoying to those around them after they come home.
Case in point: This is a prize that my son picked our after an appointment the other day.
No, I am not kidding you. This came home with us and I cringed. I did not want to be THAT parent that said no, so I allowed it. Soon after we arrived at home, the fart jokes, loud blasts, and laughing began. It was cute at first, but then it got old quickly. This lead to me sending out a Tweet. The Tweet was replied to by Janice Person. As I was Tweeting, the boys were trying to figure out how to make a bigger, louder, and more impressive fart noise from said Whoopee Cushion.
Almost immediately after I sent that last Tweet out, I heard a giant BOOM from where the two boys were playing. I knew it was not a good sign, well not for the Whoopee Cushion at least. Tears, screams, and more Tweets followed.
After the kids calmed down, and I gathered my composure back up I eventually took this photographic proof:
So my question to you this week:
What is the most annoying prize that that your child has ever won or received and why?
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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
Aloha #203
Disney Junior Swashbuckler Soiree
Thursday, May 17th, 2012From the minute we received the more detailed schedule for events of Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, something caught the attention of my children. Yes, NHL and JSL immediately noted the Swashbucker Soiree, especially after I read them this:
Ahoy matey! Aye – now this is a family dinner you won’t want to miss! Brought to you by Disney Junior, join us for a buccaneer-themed evening along the beach with live music, a treasure hunt and plenty of fun for everyone.
The boys literally jumped up and down. They guessed that Jake from Jake and the Never Land Pirates would be there and possibly others. The boys, well, they are good at guessing.
After the Cocktail Reception – Passport to the World welcome, we went out to the beach by the Beach Club Resort to meet up with our families. With one quick look, you could see we were in for an amazing pirate party!
Disney Junior handed out pirate bandanas and pirates greeted us as we walked onto the beach where a pirate band was playing music for all of us to enjoy. Then, it was time not to walk the plank because there was an amazing buffet of pirate inspired goodies for all to devour.
While the boys and Nana and Papa were eating, TechyDad and I were able to chat with some of our friends on the beach. We also caught up with head GEM (Good Enough Mother) Rene Syler and stopped for a photo. TechyDad helped the kids eat while we gabbed and gabbed with Rene and every other person I bumped into.
Of course, my little mateys had a hard time staying by their seats soon after this. You see, once they saw someone enter the area, they did not want to stay at the table. Check out who joined the party below.
Yes, that is Jake from Disney Junior’s Jake and the Never Land Pirates. When Jake came out onto the Swashbuckler Soiree scene, many of the kids (including mine) were off to participate in the fun and games. Once NHL and JSL had their photo taken with Jake and the pirate slide behind them…
They had to beware of other pirates. This colorful crew of pirate misfits were teaching the kids how to perfect their pirate pose for the camera.
Looking back on it, I wonder if they were really just trying to help and protect the kids. Soon after this, two scallywags that you may recognize showed up to join the party.
Of course, when you party like a pirate, it is important to stop to enjoy a cool ice cream treat.
This break also means that it is the perfect time for the Pirate mother to send out an Instagram or two to share photos from the fun. And for those that finish their Mickey Ice Cream sandwich early, it’s always interesting to hide your feet in the sand!
Of course, little pirates that have been up since the wee hours of the morning get tired when the sun sets. We knew that we had many more adventures ahead on Friday and beyond. While others remained to dance in the dark, we went back to our room in the Yacht Club Resort to settle the boys in for some sweet pirate dreams.
More to share and lessons learned from our time at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration coming soon.
Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, we were given an incredible deal from Disney. Also note that Disney never asked us to blog about this event. As a long time Disney fan, it is my pleasure to share my experiences from the event.
Brave Mother’s Day Wishes
Sunday, May 13th, 2012Five years ago today, I was very pregnant with my second son. JSL had not gotten the memo that he had been given eviction orders. He decided that it was not in my best interest to come Mother’s Day weekend when my favorite doctor was on call. Instead, I spent Mother’s Day 2007 hot, uncomfortable, and wishing I was holding my baby boy.
Of course, the joke was on me when I realized that I had been in labor all during Mother’s Day and just blocked out a lot with sleeping in front of the AC unit.
Now, I am the mother of two beautiful and amazing boys. NHL and JSL keep me on my toes, make me laugh, and treat me like the princess in our house ….most of the time. It only seemed fitting to jump into a photo with Cinderella and my two little princes.
Now, I will leave you with a special Mother’s Day message from Disney Pixar and the characters from Brave.
Happy Mother’s Day to my mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, aunts, sister-in-laws, cousins, other family members, friends, and all women. May your day be filled with many wonderful memories.
Disclosure: Disney PR notified me of the Mother’s Day Brave featurette. I was not compensated for this and simply wanted to share since I adore all things Disney. You know we will be going to see Brave when it is released June 22, 2012.
Tuesday Tales – Meeting Ridley Pearson in Walt Disney World
Tuesday, May 8th, 2012It’s time to jump around on my timeline from events at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration to share something related to literacy, reading, and books. Nothing could fit in more perfectly than meeting NY Times Bestselling author Ridley Pearson. Since I signed up for his session on Saturday, I knew that Ellen and I would be front and center for his presentation. What I didn’t know is something magical would happen before that.
After the conference session on Friday, TechyDad and I met back up with my parents and the boys. Once back in the room, we debated what to do before the party in DinoLand at Animal Kingdom. We were told that we could head to the Animal Kingdom and exit the park to wait for the group while they finished setting up the area. This seemed like a good plan. On the way out of the Yacht Club to catch a bus to the Animal Kingdom, a person caught my eye. I shrugged it off until I got to the bus area and happened to bump into Ellen and her daughter. I told her that I was pretty sure I had just seen Ridley Pearson in the lobby, but was doubting myself.
After wandering around Animal Kingdom for a few hours, we waited outside the gates, for the rest of the families to arrive. I nudged Ellen and told her Ridley Pearson was walking in with everyone. This is when I mentioned something to my son and reminded him I was going to Mr. Pearson’s session in the morning. 
NHL was busy going on ride after ride before eating dinner. Thanks to this, I had to force him to stop to get at least a little something. NHL and I were at one of the then empty buffet lines when I noticed someone come over on my left. I peeked and noted that it was Ridley Pearson. I said hello and wanted to make sure he was Mr. Pearson. He said he was and then I mentioned I was going to his session the next day. Then, I turned things over to NHL. I mentioned that NHL was a fan of the Kingdom Keepers. Without missing a beat, Mr. Pearson started to talk to NHL. He asked him about his favorite part of the book. NHL explained that he loved the scene in Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark 
The next morning before the session began, I thanked Mr. Pearson. Thanks to this encounter, NHL wants to get back to reading the Kingdom Keeper series. He was excited to let his teacher know that he had met the author and kept chatting all night about the Small World Ride chat. Yes, once again, Ridley Pearson showed how a little magic from him could inspire a reluctant reader to jump back into reading. While others were asking for autographs, I knew that I had to get one for my son (little did I know my almost five year old would be jealous of this – ooops). I even took photos to share with NHL later.
More about the session and tour of Epcot with Ridley Pearson coming soon. Have you ever met an author? Please feel free to share your experience below. What have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.
Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, we were given an incredible deal from Disney. Also note that Disney never asked us to blog about this event. As a long time Disney fan, it is my pleasure to share my experiences from the event. Meeting Ridley Pearson was just another BIG perk from the festivities. One Amazon Affiliate link is included in this post for the book mentioned. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy any of the books through my links.
Destination Disney Social Media Moms Celebration 2012
Monday, May 7th, 2012Thursday, April 26th was a busy day in our house. We woke up before the sun was shining and packed the boys and suitcases into the car. By 7:30, this was the view from our Southwest Airline plane taking us away to Orlando, Florida for the 2012 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration.
At noon, the Magical Express taking us from the airport pulled up at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort. The excitement was in the air as we were Tweeting with a few other bloggers while on the bus. After we checked into our rooms and dropped things off, it was time to head down to find the Disney Social Media Moms check in for our park tickets and schedules. On the way down, I noticed some familiar faces. I saw Suzannah, Amanda, Jackie, and Leigh. I ran down to say hello, give hugs, and then went with TechyDad, the boys, and my parents to the convention center area.
NHL was so excited to see the sign and ran ahead to show us the way to get our items. We bumped into Mary and Amy from BSM Media and Maura from Disney. Then it was time to toss things back into our room, get park tickets, and head over to Epcot for lunch. Since you can walk to Epcot via the International Gateway, TechyDad and I suggested going to France for a quick lunch. On the walk over, we saw the beach getting set up for our Pirate Soiree that evening, watched the palm trees blowing in the breeze, and saw beautiful topiaries set up for the Epcot Flower and Garden Show.
Lunch was perfect to hold us over until later on and gave us some energy to tackle some more of Epcot. The boys asked to stop in Great Britain to play in the maze there after checking out the Winnie the Pooh topiary. Then we continued to walk around World Showcase and noticed that Duffy was outside for photos. We missed him on our last trip, so it was perfect timing with a short line.
Next, we decided to go to Mexico to do one ride before heading back to the Yacht Club. It was time to sing and ride in the boat while chasing Donald Duck around.
By this time JSL was really tired and we hoped to get him to rest before the party on the beach. NHL wanted to roam more of Epcot. I said that I would walk around with him to see Figment. We wandered to Journey into Imagination.
Since we still had more time, we walked by The Land and over to The Seas with Nemo & Friends.
We walked a lot in a short amount of time and decided to take the boat back to the Yacht Club. When I got back, TechyDad and I had about an hour to get ready to make it to the Cocktail Welcome.
So much more to share coming soon. Next up, the Welcome Cocktail party and Swashbucklers Soiree.
Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, we were given an incredible deal from Disney. Also note that Disney never asked us to blog about this event. As a long time Disney fan, it is my pleasure to share my experiences from the event.
Our Disney World Family Tradition
Saturday, May 5th, 2012Dear NHL and JSL,
Coming back home from a magical week at Disney World has been a tough transition for all of us. Now, we can sit down and look at all of the moments that we captured from this latest adventure to Orlando. There was the pirate party, dancing in DinoLand late at night, and checking out the Art of Animation Resort. Once the conference was over, we had some extra days to roam the four parks together.
Even a simple moment like the two of you sitting together on a Disney bus while going to a new destination melted my heart. Just three years ago, you were so little when we took you to Disney World for your first visit. Now, the two of you could lead us around the parks and tell us where you wanted to go.
What I loved was the two of you humored us to keep a tradition alive. On our last day at Disney World, we have always worn matching shirts. Both of you agreed to do this again. The best part was wearing them while two special friends before our trip was over:
Sure the heat may have gotten to all of us from time to time, but the amazing moments together is something we will always remember. For now, we will look back at these and hope to start planning another trip back one day soon.
Love,
Mommy
Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, we were given an incredible deal from Disney. Also note that Disney never asked us to blog about this event. As a long time Disney fan, it is my pleasure to share my experiences from the event.
Saying Goodbye to the Magic
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012Each trip to Walt Disney World is filled with moments we will never forget. This trip has been no different. We all saw
Fantasmic for the first time together. We stayed out late another night to see the Main Street Electric Parade.
Just hearing the music brought me back to my childhood. The smiles on the boys faces as the lights and characters went by was priceless.
My father and I took TechyDad and NHL on the Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster. This was their first time on a coaster that has a loop.
They skipped it a second time while Papa and I ran back on for another spin.
It really is hard to say goodbye to the magical memories at the end of a Disney vacation.
Thank goodness we have a lot of photos to remember all of the details. So much more to share soon.
Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, we were given an incredible deal from Disney. Also note that Disney never asked us to blog about this event. As a long time Disney fan, it is my pleasure to share my experiences from the event.
Star Wars Geeks in Training
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012
A Trip to Remember
Saturday, April 28th, 2012Dear NHL and JSL,
Watching the two of you at Walt Disney World has been amazing. On Thursday, I spent some time roaming Epcot with NHL alone and that was a first.
While Daddy and I were at the conference on Friday, you spent most of the day at Hollywood Studios. My heart skipped a beat from the joy when Papa sent me this photo:
I can only imagine how the rest of the photos from the day went. So many other things to share from our magical time, but those will be later. Now it is time to savor these moments together.
Love,
Mommy
Love for Doc McStuffins
Thursday, April 26th, 2012I fully admit that I allow my children to watch television and have since they were little. When NHL was little, we would sing and dance along with Bear in the Big Blue House, The Wiggles, Stanley, Jo-Jo’s Circus, and other shows on what was then called Playhouse Disney. By the time JSL was born, the shows had changed and things were morphing into Disney Junior. For JSL, we would sing and dance to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, and The Imagination Movers.
Of course, Disney Junior is no longer just a morning lineup for children on Disney Channel. Now, it is a dedicated cable station that runs 24/7 with kid and family friendly programs and movies. When the channel debuted, we got to meet Doc McStuffins. Doc is now a major favorite of my four year old son. He pretends to be a doctor and I will often hear him singing the songs when playing on his own.
If you are unfamiliar with Doc McStuffins, please watch this small segment.
As a parent, I love that Doc uses real terms for things (though some are made up), incorporates items to help ease kids fears of medical professionals, promotes women as professionals, and embraces stay at home fathers. There are also great online Doc items on the Disney Junior website.
While at Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I will be attending a break out session that will be with the executive producers of Doc McStuffins. It will be wonderful to hear how they select topics for the show and make them developmentally appropriate for our children. I know that thanks to their work my youngest is even more well versed in staying hydrated, getting rest, being compassionate, and other healthy living items.
Are you a Doc McStuffins fan? What is your family’s favorite character or part of the show and why?
Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, we were given an incredible deal from Disney. Also note that Disney never asked us to blog about this event. As a long time Disney fan, it is my pleasure to share my experiences from the event. Thank you to Disney Junior for the photo and more clips can be found on their YouTube channel.
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