T.G.I.F. Pic Of The Week – Happy Birthday To The World’s Best Husband!

This week’s post is dedicated to my husband – yesterday he turned 33, and I can’t express just how lucky I am to have him in my life. He’s an amazing husband, worker, friend, dad – he does it all, and always with a big smile on his face!

As I think about celebrating his birthday, I remember some of the amazing times we have had, and one big thing that comes to mind is the trip to Disney World we took last fall – and even though he’s not a huge Disney lover, he managed to have a blast (even with a broken hand!)

He really is the best, and he is patient and kind to everyone – especially me! He supports my Disney Loving lifestyle, and really what more can one ask for in a husband?

Shoutout to all the dads out there who really show up for their families – who smile and make the best of it no matter what, and who deserve to be celebrated every single day (but especially on their birthdays!)

Happy Birthday Babe!

TGIF!

T.G.I.F. Pic Of The Week – Top Vacation Memories

I read an article recently that said family vacations have a long-lasting impact on kids’ happiness – and I couldn’t agree more. It can be a lot of planning and packing, and it’s not cheap to go away as a family – but it’s worth it in the long run. A chance to disconnect from work and the pressures of “adulting” is something we ALL need every now and then

For me, some of my best family memories are of the trips my parents and I took to Walt Disney World when I was a kid – those good times have stuck with me, and I hope my son can say the same when he grows up!

He talks about the trip still, and how much he loved the rides and characters – and how he can’t wait to go back:

Hopefully we can take him back soon – since I have science on my side, I think convincing my husband should be easy, right? Read more about the impact family vacations have on kids Here

TGIF!

T.G.I.F. Pic Of The Week – Oddball Favorites (Toddler Edition)

When preparing to take my 3 year old son to Walt Disney World for the first time, I had an idea of what he might like/dislike as far as rides, dining, and characters – and many of my instincts were spot on. But – there were some things I couldn’t have predicted that he would just love:

 

He was obsessed with the Huey/Dewey/Louie and Donald statues outside of our hotel room at the All Star Sports Resort – he insisted on visiting them every time we came or went

 

He really enjoyed watching the Star Wars show at Hollywood Studios – longest he has sat still in forever ha!

 

I was not prepared to ride Dumbo 4 times in a row – but it was a trip favorite for sure – he loved that he could “control” the up and down motion of the vehicle – and there was no line so it was easy to ride over and over!

 

Roasting marshmallows at the nightly hotel bonfire – I mean – ok, most kids love s’mores, but most aren’t patient enough to roast the marshmallows themselves, but he loved it, and of course enjoyed the end result, too!

A few things he did NOT love: “Real” characters – he was dying to meet Ariel, but when he went into the grotto and saw she was a real person (not a covered face like the rest) – he wanted NOTHING to do with her! Slinky Dog Dash, Mission – Space and Dinosaur were all rides he was definitely not on board with – although he said afterwards he liked it, but I could tell he was scared at the time!

It just goes to show – you gotta try everything, and you might just be surprised at what you like (that you maybe didn’t think you would!) Now only if I could use the same theory with my son on vegetables, hmm…

TGIF!

T.G.I.F. Pic Of The Week – “Incredibly” Ready For WDW!

I told myself I wasn’t going to do it. I vowed to myself that I would NOT force my family to wear matching shirts at Walt Disney World. You know the ones – with people’s names and pictures of their favorite characters etc on them – and – well – I sorta failed and broke that promise…

I saw a family wearing something similar to these online, and I just had to see if my mother in law was willing to make us some “Incredibles” themed shirts. Luckily, she was – and we will be wearing them proudly at Walt Disney World when we arrive in TWO DAYS! They say “Incredible Mom/Dad/Kid” on them, and I think they are pretty cute, and I while I may have broken my vow – I think it was worth it. PLUS – they will match mine and my son’s Superhero Leggings – so that’s a win!

….I also might have promised I wouldn’t buy any new Disney shirts before the trip as have plenty already….but I just could not resist this one from Target – it was on clearance and had an extra Cartwheel discount on top of that – so I basically HAD to get it, right?

Needless to say, our bags are (over)packed for our trip, and we are READY TO GO – I will probably not even sleep on Saturday night I will be too excited about leaving to head to Disney on Sunday! Wish us luck!

TGIF

T.G.I.F. Pic Of The Week – SO READY FOR DISNEY!

Our countdown is SO SHORTTTTT I can hardly stand it! Only 9 days until we head to Walt Disney World – and I have been BUSY BUSY – packing, and organizing, making lists, checking things off lists, etc – lots going on!

One thing I have been trying to do is to get my son as involved in the preparations as possible – he helped pick his outfits to pack, and has been asking more about Disney so I have shown him short videos of the Rides and Parks – nothing major, just little things to help him understand what is coming next weekend

The other day, I took a tip from my own Article on Pre-Trip Activities For Kids and had my son decorate his own Mister fan for Disney!

The Parks sell these mister fans, but they are EXPENSIVE – ordering a plain one on Amazon is less than half the cost, and we had plenty of Disney stickers sitting around for him to use on it. He really enjoyed decorating it, and I love these little things that help our trip feel even more real!

TGIF!

T.G.I.F Pic Of The Week – My Top Fastpass + Picks – Epcot

When I was a kid, I really did NOT care for Epcot. And back in the early 90’s – they certainly didn’t have as much to offer young ones as they do today! It bored me – the countries didn’t make any sense to me, and the whole “Future World” concept did NOT interest me at all. These days, I have grown to appreciate Epcot MUCH more – the futuristic theme is kitschy and fun, and the countries still aren’t my favorite – but their food (and drink!) options are much more appealing as an adult

As we prepare to take our first family trip to Walt Disney World, I try and imagine how my son will see Epcot – will he view it as boring like I did, or will he love it? I tend to think he will love it, as he kind of loves everything and is at that great age where he is in awe of everything new – but still, when it comes to picking Fastpasses for Epcot, I want to make sure I am choosing extra carefully, picking rides and attractions that will cultivate a love for Epcot at a young age. So – I spent a LOT of time thinking about these – my top Epcot Fastpass+ picks:

The Epcot Character Spot was a MUST HAVE on my Epcot Fastpass list – my son LOVES Mickey and pals – so the chance to meet them ALL in one spot is a necessity! When we were here years ago, it was the “fab five” – Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto – and I am not sure all 5 are still here regularly – but no matter to us – we will love whoever is there for hugs and photos and autographs!

Test Track – Now that the ride has been redesigned and you have the interactive queue where you design your car, I just know that this will be a home run with my son (plus, we love it too!)

Spaceship Earth – This is a ride that used to have little to no standby wait time, but has grown largely in popularity recently, and has experienced wait times of 45-60 minutes. And since I love it – I want to make sure it’s one we are able to do – so it rounds out our fastpass list for Epcot!

I am pumped to be getting closer to our WDW trip – we are under 3 months now on our countdown! And I have been working diligently on planning the trip – making lists for packing, purchasing things here and there for the trip, and of course making Fastpass+ lists – check out my ones for Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, and stay tuned next week for my Animal Kingdom picks!

TGIF!