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Laundry and packing galore

Posted on May 3, 2009 6:47 pm by TheAngelForever

This weekend we ran a lot of errands and managed to start packing. Not only did we make lists of items that we need to pack for each of us, but we also began a list of what we hope to see at each of the Disney World parks.

Today, I started the day off by tossing in three monster loads of laundry. It was time to get all of the t-shirts and shorts ready to go. JL helped me to open up our new luggage (early anniversary present from my parents) and I directly deposited items neatly in them. So far, I have almost all of the clothing for the boys in one, and the pile is quickly growing with JL and my items. I figure we will have one suitcase for the boys, one for us, one that will have swim gear/shoes/toiletries, and a last one with diapers/wipes/snacks.

Of course we will need a few carry-on bags. The boys will each a small backpack with their entertainment items like the Travel Aqua Doodles seen here with NHL:

Then we will need a diaper bag for JSL and one other bag with spare clothing and emergency items.

So many things to remember and one brain buzzing a mile a minute! On that note, I am off to work on more laundry and packing. We went out to get more comfy walking shoes and the laundry did not finish itself.

Categories:
Disney losing my mind nhl photos shopping travel weekend

Lovely lilies and tulip treasures

Posted on May 2, 2009 4:31 pm by TheAngelForever

On all of my visits to Walk Disney World, I have never seen the EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival in person. Our upcoming trip will be the first time that I will have the opportunity to see the amazing displays that only Disney could create. I have often sat and looked at photos that others have taken and marveled at the creations. Soon, it will be our turn to take photos to share with others.

Until that time I will have to be satisfied with our new flowers. Last week during the 80-90 degree freakish heat, our tulips finally opened and we planted some new lily plants. Of course the poor daffodils did not fair so well by mid week. So for now, I invite you into our little flower garden.

In the fall we hope to plant some tulip bulbs so we can have more for next spring. lilies

If you have any tips on planting tulip bulbs, we would greatly appreciate them.

Categories:
Disney flowers and plants house photos weather

Measuring my daily steps

Posted on May 1, 2009 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

It is confession time here at Chez Angel. When in elementary, middle and high school I was the student that could not stand PE class. I hated running, jumping, and climbing. The weeks that we did gymnastics I would cringe. Just the thought of getting sweaty and having to change made me physically ill.

Through the years I have always made excuses about not having time to work out. Several years ago I was lucky and lost a lot of weight with Weight Watchers and never did anything above and beyond that. This time around sticking to points did not cut it. I was older and my metabolism had changed after my second pregnancy. As I have previously mentioned on my blog, I finally found a workout that I really like. Leslie Sansone makes a Walk at Home DVD series. Sure walking sounds easy, but Sansone makes you move and use all of the muscles in your body. Over the last few weeks, I have grown to love these daily workouts and actually get upset if I skip a day.

As I was walking, kicking and sweating away, I was curious about how many steps I was doing. Everyone would always talk about the magic 10,000 daily steps that are key to your health. Was I getting these without my workout or did these 2-5 miles with Leslie Sansone push me over the edge? I started to investigate pedometers. I wanted something that was not going to break easily and that I could toss in my pocket. Below is what I finally found and decided to splurge on:

My new Omron HJ-112 pocket pedometer finally arrived on Tuesday. I quickly calibrated it and put it on. After a few hours I had 1,508 steps. Then it was time to do a 3 mile workout with Leslie Sanson. In 45 minutes I was able to do 39 minutes of Aerobic moving and 4,083 steps! So in the few hours that I wore the pedometer I had almost 6,000 steps.

Wednesday I wore the pedometer the entire day. In the morning, while I finished up my laundry and the little guy slept, I put The Biggest Loser on my DVR and watched it while power walking. I walked for 51 minutes (Aerobic according to the pedometer) and did 6,195 steps. Later in the day, the boys went outside to play. I stayed inside for part of it and did 3 of the Fat Burning Miles with Leslie Sansone. That was another 38 minutes of Aerobic exercise and 4,144 additional steps. For the day I had 13,394 steps.

I am hooked and love this handy dandy little gizmo. It motivates me to do more and lets me keep track of what I have done during the day. I can not wait to see how many steps and miles I log while at Disney World.

So my question for this week:

Have you ever had a pedometer or thought about buying one? If you have used one, do you find that you walk more when you use it?

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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 Mr. Linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #46

Categories:
Aloha Friday exercise me moments milestone photos

Pre-Disney travel stress

Posted on April 30, 2009 8:15 am by TheAngelForever

We head to Disney World very soon and there is a ton that need to get done. Lists need to be made and items need to be bought and packed. If I sat and really thought about it long enough I think my head would start to spin.

Can you tell a big family vacation is new to this mommy of almost 6 years?

Seriously, I know I just need to sit down with JL and we have to make a "game plan" of sorts. The lists of items to pack has to be done. From there, we will determine whether we have all of said items. Then I have to get my rear in gear and pack things. Thank goodness we are going on an airline that still allows two checked pieces of luggage per passenger. That means IF we wanted we could haul eight suitcases stuffed with things. Of course, that is not my plan. I would like to stay with 4 or under. Please realize that one of them will likely be filled with diapers, wipes and breakfast supplies/snacks. The great part of that is it will be ready to load up with items we take home from Disney.

I must admit that our Vice President, Joe Biden, did not help matters this morning when he went on the Today Show and basically said he would not advise his family to travel by plane anywhere these days. Thanks Joe!

*shaking head*

I can not wait to see the damage control that comes out of the White House on that one.

Seriously, Swine Flu is in the back of my mind since we are traveling to a place that packs in a ton of people, including many international visitors from Mexico. Of course, I worry more these days about JSL and another ear infection on our trip since it will be a little over a week after he is done with his antibiotic. I won’t even mention my fear of bedbugs at hotels since those are raging out of control all over the country.

So, for those of you that have traveled with kids a lot. . . how do you stay settled and make sure you pack everything that you need? Any words of wisdom and thoughts on items that are a must to take for the vacation, or to entertain the kids on the airplane, would be greatly appreciated.

Now I am off to think about the fun we will have exploring Disney World with the boys for the first time.

Categories:
Disney jl losing my mind photos real world news travel vacation

Almost two years

Posted on April 28, 2009 7:55 am by TheAngelForever

It is hard to believe that I have been a stay at home mother (SAHM) for almost two years now. Time sure does fly by when you are busy with two little boys.

I was lucky enough to stay home with NHL for his first year. After that, I went back to teaching for three years before JSL came along. JSL will be two years old in just over two weeks. He and I have been at home the entire time. Recently, I started to look for some things for us to do. Not only do I need to get out, more importantly the little guy needs to socialize with little people his own age. He certainly knows how to play with NHL, but kindergarten kids are not his true peers.

This morning, JSL and I are heading to look at a toddler program for two year olds. He would be able to start it in the fall. It is for 2, 3 or 5 days a week. I would be able to drop him off for 3 hours on those days and he would play and do other developmentally appropriate activities. They also offer the opportunity to entend the day IF you need this. Since the job market stinks, and schools locally are letting teachers go that will not likely be needed. So in a short while the two of us will head off on an adventure.

It will be hard for me to imagine leaving my little guy, but I know it will be good for him down the road.

So, we will see how this goes and if it is not for us, we have plenty of time to find something else. Then we have the entire summer to play and spend time with big brother before September is here. All I can say is they grow up WAY too quickly.