I’m back, and dead tired. We had a great time, but the trip was a bit too fun-filled! I’m working on catching up my work so I don’t have time for details, but I’ll post more about our vacation throughout the day. In the meantime, you can click on my moblog to your left and see a quick picture summary of our trip.
Off we go tomorrow morning for my parents’ house. Then, it’s on to the Happiest Place on Earth. I’ll be a tad sad though since I’ll be all cut off from technology. I need a laptop so bad. It’s a good thing I have sibs who like to waste money.
My bro has a laptop I’ll be snagging on occasion. My sis just got a cool new camera phone—I’m suffering from serious tech-envy! I set myself up a handy-dandy text america account so I could stay semi-in-touch with the blogosphere. I’ll be moblogging my heart out on her phone so stay tuned for uber-cool vacation pics.
because I procrastinated it all away! We leave tomorrow for the big family trip. My little sister’s high school band is marching in the Disney World Light Parade. The family add-on packages were so “cheap” my mom couldn’t resist and decided we were taking our first ever family vacation (well, since the addition of my family, anyway). We’ve never all been able to go at the same time. Since she’s paying we all readily agreed to this one!
We leave at 11 tomorrow morning for the 3 hour drive to my parents’ house. My littlest sister will ride the bus with her band. The bus pulls out at 4, so we’ll go help my sister load up and see her off. Then it is back to the house to transfer our luggage to the parentals’ vehicles. I managed to convince them that my car was too little for a 13 hour drive (what I meant to say was too new!) From there we load into two cars (well, a car and a—gasp—SUV) with my mom, dad, brother, and sister. Stop for dinner—probably before we even leave town—then head out on our voyage.
My mother had the brilliant idea of driving straight through since there are 6 drivers. I’m thinking “bad idea” because the two non-drivers are 2 and 7 (well, almost). We’re stuck with it now because I’m too cheap to pay for airline tickets or a hotel room on my “free” vacation.
We’ll arrive Wednesday morning for a breakfast buffet. Then it’s off to Typhoon Lagoon (did someone forget to tell them it is November?) or Disney Quest. I’m voting for “none of the above” and plan to spend the day wandering Downtown Disney which should be all decorated for the holidays!
Thanksgiving Day will be spend at MGM where little one will get to see her very favorite character, JoJo, and her pet lion, Goliath. She’s excited, but I think only because Stacia trained her to cheer when we say “Florida.” We’ll have our feast at the hotel banquet hall with Mickey and friends.
The next day, I’ll get up in the wee hours of the morning to squeeze in at least a bit of Black Friday shopping before heading to Magic Kingdom. My sister is in the night-time parade so we have the day to ourselves. She has promised to walk in with us for the obligatory entrance photo. I also made her promise to meet up with us in Tomorrow Land for the Buzz Lightyear ride. It won’t be near as satisfying to kick my geek hubby’s ass at the video game (again) unless my whole family is there to witness the blessed event.
Saturday we’ll fit in all the little parks that are too lame for a whole day— Animal Kingdom, Epcot (we’d skip this entirely if not for something about Robotech), and maybe a few hours of Disney Quest. Then after the light show we’ll load up for our return trip. I’m sure by Sunday we’ll all be exhausted, but we will still have to leave my parents’ and come home. All in all, I’m excited—just completely unprepared!
Now I’m off to pack!
The girls and I were making cupcakes for this Friday’s Fall Festival (check me out not procrastinating!) They looked adorably sweet working so hard together to work the lumps out of the cake mix. I decided to take some pictures. As soon as that camera was in my hands, Stacia looks up with her “picture grin.” The following conversation ensued:
Mom: You don’t have to pose every time. I can take some action shots too.
Stacia (to me): I won’t look up this time. (looks down at cake mix with “picture grin” in place) Action shot me.
Stacia (to Brenia): Pretend to stir this cake mix again so Mom can action us.
Brenia: hey-yah (that’s okay for those of you who don’t speak toddler)
I found out the other day that my beloved Colts get the Thanksgiving Day game this year! I was very, very excited. Until I remembered that I will be in Florida that day for dinner with Mickey and a high school dance (don’t ask). My brother will be heading to the nearest sports bar to watch the game. Naturally, my dad and hubby will go with. I was all excited about the idea since I rarely get to go out, and when I go out with my dad he tends to pay the bar tab. Then it hit me—I’m a girl!
That means I’ll be stuck at the hotel playing woman. Why is it just assumed that because I’m a girl I don’t watch sports? I love my Pacers and I finally understand football enough to truly love my Colts too. It’s okay expected for a guy to watch all the basketball and football he can find. I’m supposed to sit by the pool in the hotel doing my nails while the men go out for beer. Not that I like beer—give me a screwdriver any day!
I just don’t make a very good girl. I can’t even tell you the last time I did my nails, I’m completely fashion-illiterate, and I’ll yell more obscenities at the tv than most guys I know. Though, if I were a dude, I’d just have to deal with the civil rights nightmare of being gay because, seriously, I ♥ men!
Everything hits at once here at casa de Sokol. Little one’s birthday is in 20 days. But first comes the wonderfully fabulous (read:free) family trip to Florida for Thanksgiving. Somehow I have to find out how to get to Best Buy and Bath & Body Works on Black Friday for the super duper sales. Then comes Christmas with all it’s travel-to-7-houses-in-3-days glory. 12 days later, another birthday.
For the next week or so, I’ll be super busy packing and shopping. I like to be done by December, but it doesn’t look like that will happen this year. One because I’m just so busy packing (and by that I mean I’ve had a suitcase in my room for 2 weeks). Two, because I’ll be out of town on my absolute favorite shopping day of the year. Do you think the happiest place on earth will have Black Friday sales? And, finally, because no one will do the freaking name draw thing so I don’t know who I’m buying gifts for, much less what they want.
I love the holidays. Truly, I do.
I loved Lauren’s game (if you knew me in real life, what do you think you would know?), but since I have something like two readers I didn’t quite think I could pull it off. Instead, I decide to play True Confession a la genuine:
- I actually love the days when I don’t get anything done because little one insists on being held all day.
- If you ask me to bring snacks, I will never say no.
- I take a nap at least twice a week.
- If you say 69—in any context—I will giggle uncontrollably.
- If you think I don’t like you, you’re probably right.
- I didn’t forget what you asked me to buy; it just wasn’t on sale.
- We have enough food in this house to last at least 2 months; I will go shopping anyway.
- I am fashion illiterate.
- Sometimes, when I call “not it” as hubby gets home, I really did know she was dirty before he walked in the door.
- I do, in fact, think my kid is smarter than your kid.
Erma Bombeck? I don’t think so, but it does sound like something she would say.
My struggle this week—as if you couldn’t tell— is gaining some control over my house. I’m not a good housekeeper by any means, but I try to at least keep it manageable. Flylady helps me keep some sanity. I’m also working on Taming the Paper Tiger. I’m definitely a long way from where I started. It’s just that I had gotten into a pretty good routine and then—bam—everything changes.
When school started things just got nutty here. I got my new calendar which I dearly love. Then I had to go and start writing in it. What a mess of ink—and stickers, of course. There is hardly a free day to be found. Now suddenly I’ve lost control, I’m pulled in 10 different directions, and I can’t seem to do any of it well.
On my calendar for the next couple months is a smattering of:
- school meetings
- Girl Scout meetings
- soccer practices and games
- weddings (okay—one wedding, but it’s in Tennessee and the reception is back home on a totally different weekend)
- Church Group meetings
- doctor/vet/dentist appointments
Well, that doesn’t look like as much when it’s all crammed together. On my calendar it looks like 10 times as much! Plus, one night 3 of those things are at the same time. I’ll be missing 2, since that whole cloning thing isn’t yet legal.
Whatever happened to stay-at-home mom?!