Home Sweet Home

We're home!  Disney was wonderful and EJ and Olivia were the perfect age for their first trip.  Old enough to be relatively well behaved (out of the throw yourself on the ground temper tantrum phase, anyway) and young enough to still believe that the characters they were meeting were the real deal. 

The first night there we had dinner at the Akershus Dining Hall with all of the princesses.  What I didn't realize about "character dining" is that all of the characters will make their way to all of the tables for pictures and autographs.  I had just assumed that it was a hit or miss kind of thing and maybe you'd get to meet them and maybe you wouldn't.  It is wonderful that they have it set up this way.  Olivia was just beside herself meeting the princesses.  I think it was as much fun for me to watch her as it was for her.  We had four character dining meals during the week so the kids had the opportunity to meet a lot of the characters.  It was great. 

We tried to keep the trip as low key as possible.  Lets face it,  park vacations are exhausting.  The parks are crowded.  The lines can be long.  The sun is hot.  The kids get tired.  We were with my in-laws, too, so there was constant coordinating of plans.  We tried to spend the mornings at the parks and would often head back to the hotel in the early afternoon.  This allowed for some pool time and much needed nap/rest time for the kids (and us).   Our dinner reservations were always later in the evening and then there were late firework shows and parades so we were often heading to bed around 11 pm or later.  There is no way the kids could have done a full day like that without a nap.  So, this schedule worked so well for us. 

We stayed at a resort in the park that I can't imagine doing it any other way now.  Disney takes care of picking up your bags from the airport and delivering them to your room when you arrive.  And, they handle all transportation to and from the parks and the other resorts.  You could take the bus, monorail, or boat and would rarely wait more than 10 minutes for your ride.  Definitely the way to go.

It was great spending a week with just the twins.  As much as I missed my baby girl and couldn't wait to get home to her, this week gave me the opportunity to reconnect with my older two a bit.  I didn't realize how much I was missing because of the distractions of a new baby.  I actually got to have conversations and snuggle time without being pulled away because of a crying baby, diaper change or nursing.

Speaking of nursing, thankfully Piper and I are back on track.  We hit a few bumps when I got home but she's happily nursing again.  I am happy to report that my supply stayed intact as well.  Pumping was a huge pain in the arse and I tried to do at least four sessions a day, but it was worth the work to be able to continue nursing her.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip.  In the eyes of a five year old, I don't think there's much that can top celebrating your birthday with Mickey and friends.  I'll be back later with more photos!

 

two days...

til Disney.  I can't believe it's here.  I still have a lot of packing to do but am feeling pretty organized at the moment, at least.  This trip is bittersweet as I'm so excited to be taking the twins to Disney for the first time but am leaving my sweet baby girl behind with her grandparents.

I know it's for the best.  I know that Piper would be miserable being strapped into a stroller, in the heat, for hours on end everyday. I know that the twins will love and appreciate some undivided attention from me.  They've lost a lot of "Mommy time" since Piper arrived in August.  I know that Piper will be completely spoiled by my parents over those six days.  Still, it hurts my heart to leave her.

And then, there's the irrational worrying.  I worry that something will happen to us on our trip.  Plane crash?  Shuttle/Monorail/boat accident?  We all die and leave her behind.  Granted, I wouldn't want her to die right along with us but she'd be left without her family.  Terrible thought. Then, there's the irrational worrying about her.  Will she choke on something?  Fall out of her highchair?  Be in a car accident with my parents?  Become deathly ill and I'm not there to care for her.  All of these thoughts plague me in the wee hours of the morning.  Crazy, I know.  I fully admit it.

And then, to add more stress to the situation, I'm still nursing her.  Now, she takes a bottle with no problem so I'm not worried about that part.  I also have been stockpiling milk and have 200 ounces (give or take) in the freezer at the moment.  This will be more than enough for her while we're away.   But, I worry about whether she'll latch again when I return or will want nothing to do with nursing.  Also, I have to take my pump with me, obviously, and will need to find the time to pump throughout the day.  Then, there's the issue of getting all of that pumped milk home. Ugh.  It makes my head spin.

I figure it will all work itself out.  We'll have a wonderful week with the twins celebrating their 5th birthdays and their final months before they start school.  Piper will have a wonderful week with her grandparents and they will enjoy spending that time with her as well. Hopefully I'll find the time to pump regularly so that it won't affect my supply much and we can resume nursing without a hitch when I return home.

My perfect scenario.  Crossing my fingers it plays out that way.

my little ones sporting their Easter attire.  Happy Easter!

an everyday conversation

between me and ej about babies.

me: "so ej, do you think mommy should have another baby or should i be done having babies?"
ej: "um, i think you should be done, mama. it would take like a whole week for another baby to pop out. and, that's just too long."

a "whole week" to "pop out" another baby. oh how i wished it worked that way. :)

countdown...

DISNEYWORLD, originally uploaded by ernest.borg9.

...has begun. packing has commenced. excitement at our house is at an all time high.

headed to disney world next week for ej and olivia's fifth birthdays.

say hello...

...to my latest craigslist find.  a set of fulton sign & chart marker stamps. so excited about this one and i can't wait to put it to use!  so many project ideas and so little time.  story of my life.  but, still happy just to call it mine. 

i heart spring.