Reunited!!

Farewell, Freds

So Tough Fred and Soft Fred have vanished. Lost somewhere on our Disney journey I suppose.

What? No idea what I'm talking about?





See the bunny? That is Soft Fred. Tough Fred was exactly the same, except dirtier. Yes the soft one was clean and the dirty one was tough. That was how Valerie told them apart.

Before Valerie was born, somebody gave me Tough Fred (as he came to be known much later) as a baby shower gift. Valerie was about 5 months old when we introduced her to him, and she latched on to the bunny blanket immediately. It was oh so soft and cuddly!! She became SO attached to it, I purchased a second to have a back up. That plan backfired once Val figured out there were two of them. She wanted both.

Two years ago while visiting Santa at the mall, one of the Fred's was lost. I scrambled on eBay to find a replacement and even had Val's name put on it. Santa had cleaned him up and put her name on it we told her on Christmas morning. Thus, Soft Fred was born as he was shiny and new, and oh so cuddly.

So for nearly five years Valerie has carted those bunnies around. They have many miles on them and were much loved. The attachment had lessened, but there are still times when she cuddles her bunnies. Until now....

A few days ago, Valerie asked for them. We have looked and looked. I have searched the house and they are no where to be found. I am positive they were in the car when we left the hotel. I made sure of it as Veronica has a yellow set (Butters and Other Butters, as she calls them.) The two Freds are gone. Somehow between the hotel and the 5 hour drive home, they vanished. I just can't imagine where or how.

Thankfully, Valerie has only asked for them that once. She is old enough that she doesn't need them anymore. But still.... it makes me so sad to think I will never see her carrying those floppy bunnies around. Her beloved bunnies. Her most favorite toys -- gone. I haven't told Val yet. We just said we'd find them later. Part of me is still holding out hope that they will turn up. It doesn't look likely though.


*** UPDATE***
On a whim, I called the hotel in Pensacola. The bunnies have been found!! The lady I spoke to knew all about them (the bunnies.) They had actually tried to call ME to tell me they had been turned in. Amazing. I don't know how we managed to leave them, but we did. Hopefully by tomorrow they will be on their way home to us!!! Whew.

Holidays

I went to the dollar store today and saw that all of the Christmas things are out. It actually made me kind of happy and excited to see it. I love the lights, the decorations, and the rows of gift sets. I always have. Even though much of it is useless stuff, it always feels magical and even more so now with the kids. I really hope that means this year will be easier for me. Last year was hard. So very hard.

I won't lie ~ I cried on Halloween. Silly Halloween. It had been a long time since I had broken down, but all the memories of years past got to me. Seeing my girls so excited about trick-or-treating reminded me of how exciting it was when I was little. My Mom usually took me trick-or-treating and my Dad stayed home to give out candy. My Mom made costumes for me many times. For the life of me I can't recall anything other than a witch's dress. I just know there were others. I wish she were here to make my girls a costume too.

Seeing the Christmas stuff made me smile inside though, so I hope that is a sign of happier times to come. I have already started Christmas shopping, and hope to be finished around Thanksgiving. I like to window shop though just to look at all the pretty things. My Mom and I used to spend hours walking around malls and never bought a thing. I suppose my girls and I will do the same when they are older!! I know there are tough moments ahead, but over all I am looking forward to the holidays with my girls. Thanksgiving... Valerie's birthday... Christmas... all happy times to create happy memories!!

Happy Halloween!!

Disney Recap!

Friday, October 16. Up early, finished loading the car, and off we went!! We drove to Tallahassee, FL. Surprisingly the kids did amazing on the very long car ride.

Saturday, October 17. Drove the remainder of the way to Orlando, FL. Found our condo, but it was too early to check in. Did some shopping at Target for groceries and such. Exactly at 4pm we were punching in the key code to our home away from home. It was everything I'd hoped and more!! I highly recommend Windsor Hills to anyone going to Disney. $117/night for a gorgeous 3 bedroom/2 bath condo beats a hotel room any day in my book. Oh yeah, 12 minutes to the MK parking lot, 8 minutes to Epcot.

Sunday, October 18. Kids were super excited. Headed to Magic Kingdom for the day. I think they were amazed by all there was to see and do!! It was crowded, but the wait times were short. We let the kids ride what they wanted and we took advantage of some character photo ops.

Monday, October 19. Back to the MK. Freezing cold!! Glad I brought jeans and jackets for the kids. We stood in lines for the princesses and the fairies. I think the fairy line was the longest wait of the entire trip. I managed to score last minute reservations at The Crystal Palace for lunch. Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eyeore visited our table. Food was pretty good too!! At the end of the day, we did a little window shopping on Main Street. As we were leaving, Veronica went up to a mannequin dressed in a Cinderella gown and hugged it. (aw) Val followed. The cast member asked them if they wanted to help dress her for the ball.... and so they did! It was so sweet ~ a special moment just for them. They each got a Fair Godmother in Training button and a bag of confetti (fairy dust.) Perfect ending to our day.

Tuesday, October 20. Up really early for breakfast at Chef Mickey's! Food was good. I thought that the characters seemed a bit rushed though. Minnie did come to our table twice though to dance with Valerie. After breakfast we headed to Disney Studios. My least favorite park of this visit. There just didn't seem to be much there to interest the kids. Right before 3:00 we lined up for the parade. Then the music started ~ OMG it was loud. Deafening LOUD. Ridiculous. Veronica started crying and holding her ears, Val too. I YELLED at the cast member right in front of us and asked if the music was this loud everywhere and I don't think he heard me. He responded if we needed to cross the street to do so before the parade got there. That kinda ruined our day.

Wednesday, October 21. Last day at Magic Kingdom!! We decided to let the kids re-ride what they wanted. We got there at rope drop and saw the opening ceremonies. Val was thrilled as she had talked about the Good Morning People all week! We went straight to Fantasyland and almost everything was walk on. In 3 hours, we rode Dumbo, Peter Pan, It's a Small World, Haunted Mansion x 2, Tea Cups, Carousel, did the Ariel M&G, and the Fairy Godmother M&G.

We left for a break, and went back a little before 7pm for Spectromagic. We walked in front of the train station - the street was empty, or so we thought. Clint was videoing the color changing castle when this woman tells us we had to move. She was holding that spot. WTF? She and another lady were trying to keep about 12 feet of space between them empty. Did I mention it was the prime parade spot right in front of the train station looking down Main Street? They were waiting for 8 more people so they didn't want anyone standing in that huge space. Ummm no, sorry it doesn't work that way. I could see holding a spot for your husband or whoever, but commandeering 12 feet? So I argued with them at how ridiculous that was and how we were there NOW and on and on... and finally they gave up and moved!! Hahaha!!! Parade was AWESOME! We headed back to the ticket center (fewer loud pops) for the fireworks which were also AWESOME.

Thursday, October 22. We slept in a bit to catch up on our rest. Went swimming at the pool. Then headed to downtown Disney to do a little shopping. Couldn't find what I was looking for so I eventually gave up! It was way crowded there also, which was annoying. I caved and we bought the girls a Cinderella Castle Playset for Christmas ~ shhh! We headed over to 1900 Park Fare for our Cinderella Dining experience. I have to say parking at The Grand Flordian is weird ~ ha. We had the first seating for dinner, so we didn't have to wait too long. Once again, I found the characters were rushed. They walked up, said hi, and snapped one or two photos and were gone. I don't think anyone stayed more than 2 minutes. Maybe they didn't interact much because my girls are so small. Food was good though and it was still worth it to see what it was like.

Friday, October 23. Last day!! Val woke up with a runny nose and a cough, but it got better after a while. We visited Epcot. Clint and I hit Soarin and Test Track first. Did a few things with the kids. Clint's cousin and son met us and we walked around the World Showcase. Hot Hot Hot!! This was the hottest day of our trip. By mid afternoon we were beat from the heat and were ready to go. Friday night, Val was up very, very sick. She was burning up and very pale. Saying she hurt all over and her head hurt really bad. Flu symptoms. I was really worried and thinking we would have to find a clinic before we left.

Saturday, October 24. Somehow, Val woke up her normal happy self. We packed up and hit the road for the trip home. Kids were a bit more restless than on the way up there. We stopped in Pensacola, FL for the night. By early evening, Val was starting to look bad again and was very sick again during the night. But, woke up just fine in the morning.

Sunday, October 25. Home sweet home!! We were back after lunch. Unloaded the car and unpacked.

All in all, it was a fab vacation. We had great weather and managable crowds. It was truly magical watching the kids' reactions to everything. Valerie loved it and was so excited to see everything. Even 2 year old Veronica was fascinated with it all. Standing in line, she'd announce "I ready to RIDE!" In the car at the end of the day, "Don't wanna go hotel! Wanna go PARK!" She refused to ride in the stroller and walked the parks with us.

So I guess now we must decide when we're going back!! Spring 2010 maybe?!

Icky

What a lovely way to come home from vacation!! It seems the kids brought back a souvenir of their own.

The Flu.

All that hand sanitizer and Lysol wipes didn't do a darn thing.

Valerie has a nasty sounding cough, but the worst of it happened our last day at Disney. Veronica was very sick and lethargic yesterday. The doc gave her the swab test yesterday and Tamiflu.

Guess I'll be next.

Home sweet home!

It's nice to get away, but it's also nice to return home! We got back yesterday afternoon. Hopefully I will soon get around to a full trip recap with pictures and maybe even video.

To sum it up, we had a GREAT time. The girls LOVED it. Every day when we were going back to the condo, Roni would say in the grumpiest tone, "Don't wanna go hotel. Wanna go PARK!" And that kid stood in the (short) lines chanting "I wanna ride!" Funny for a two year old.

We had great weather most days. NO rain, cool temps. The only really hot day was the last. Crowds were there, but wait times were minimal.

The kids even surprised us by tolerating the 12+ hours in the car rather well.

Unfortunately, they both came home sick!! We're off to the doctor once again this afternoon.

I have nearly 500 posts to catch up on in my reader. Heh, it may take a while....