Disney World 2009 part 2 - RAIN

No excuse for me not posting sooner except that I am so far behind it has overwhelmed me and therefore I have been avoiding it. So much has happened since then, but I am going to be better!

One partially sunny day we took the girls back to Magic Kingdom because both were in desperate need of a haircut. We did not have to wait too long and the Dapper Dans came in and entertained us!

The girls were at least relatively amused, but they were equally entertained in climbing in the vacant tall chair in the corner. Oh well. Both girls did phenomenally during their haircuts, and the bubbles were a big hit. This was Leahs first real haircut and we just said it was Hannah's too :)

Stickers are interesting

In the Mickey ears. It says "first haircut" on the back

Bubbles!

After the haircuts we thought it would be a good idea to head to the other side of the park to toon town and let the girls run a little. We left te stroller at the main Street train station (with ponchos in it- hey it was sunny!) and hopped on the train. The girls had fun at the playground there...

And thats when the rains came. We made a run for it and had lunch while we waited for the rain to cease. HA. It let up long enough for us to get about halfway back to the train and it started pouring. We ran to the cover of the station at which point they shut down the train. We were stuck underneath a metal roof with one of the biggest downpours I have ever seen all around us.

The kicked us out from under the metal and we had to run a pretty good ways to the nearest store where everyone else had also taken residence. We were soaked.


We waited quite a long time. It never let up. So when we thought it could not get any worse we tried to make a run for it (TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PARK). Oh my gosh it was terrible. The skies let us know they were not done raining and it came down in sheets. Lightning was hitting everywhere, seemingly just a few steps away and the thunder was ridiculous. And the girls were each at one point asleep on a shoulder while we ran through this. Sorry no pictures. We were trying to hide underneath the people mover in tomorrow land. We took a break here and let the girls jump through the huge puddles.

When we finally made it back to get the stroller and go to the car, it had let up a little. Of course we had to get on the open tram at which point it started pouring again just to spite and got worse still when we got off the tram and made our way to the other end of the parking lot where we were lucky enough to get the space as far away from the tram stop as possible.

This was the worst of the rain from our trip but this just paints a little picture of what most days were like to an extent. Rain...

But we were at least all laughing though we were freezing, and tried to make the best of it!!!

Disney World 2009 part 1

I am a little late in this posting but better late than never!

A few weeks ago Matts parents, Matt, and I and the girls all ventured down to Orlando to see Mickey. I have to admit I was not thrilled with the idea of the 11 hour car ride but we packed plenty of snacks and DVDs and made about 5 stops and the girls did very well. We got to our room around 1AM and had a hard time getting the girls to sleep since they were over tired, but other than that it was smooth sailing.

The first full day we were there we were involved with changing rooms and settling in, so we did not do too much more. Little did we know that this day was going to be one of only 2 sunny days we were going to have.

We were in constant rain the entire time, but we did not let that stop us! Well, we did a little but that was only because the parks basically shut down. Because of all this rain, the pictures arent exactly plentiful. We did what we could....

Magic Kingdom day was a long one. It started out with a character breakfast. The girls love all the characters... from afar. When Goofy approached Leah it was all over. When he touched her, I literally thought she had jumped out of her skin. I have never seen either of them so afraid. Minnie got the closest to Hannah but she still was not welcome. I do not even think the girls ate that day. Once they were across the room, both girls happily told them Bye Bye and waved.


(Goofy just touched her)


This was about as good as we could get

After breakfast we went to the park and seeing Disney through the eyes of my 19 month olds was wonderful. I honestly had more fun this time and did not ride very much at all than I ever have before. Leah was constantly asking what everything was, and then said bye bye to said item as we passed that. (Whas dat? (a rock) Wock? (yes) Bye bye wock) To everything. And she found any Mickey shape that was in the viscinity. "Hiiiiii Minnie!"

Leah also was severely attached to Gammy. I did not ride many things with her as she was perfectly content to stay with Gammy the entire time. So Hannah was my assigned child for the entire trip, which always makes Hannah happy.

Both girls were great little riders and were not afraid of much. Leah did not like for things to blow on her, but Hannah just watched everything around her and took it all in.

And in true Disney fashion, when they were tired, they fell asleep whereever they were.

In line at the Small World Ride

She also missed the winnie the pooh ride.

We all had a great day in Magic Kingdom and we all crashed that night.

Then the rain came...

18 month appointment

I took the girls for their 18 month appointment yesterday (a month late actually). They are well ahead of the curve as far as their verbal and motor skills. Of course I already knew that since to their completely unbiased Mommy they are perfect :)

They only got one shot and Hannah didnt even act as if she noticed it. She was just happy about the Hannah Montana sticker (?) she picked out. Leah was ok until she saw the bandaid and realized it did in fact sting a little. She of course picked out an Elmo sticker.

Hannah weighs 27lbs, 9oz (95%) and is 33.5 inches long (95%)
Leah weighs 27bs, 6oz (95%) and is 32.5 inches long. (75%)

Dr. Bo said some interesting things. First, he suggested we move the girls to toddler beds because of their height. Hmmm. I do not think so. I cant imagine dealing with that right now. The have shown no interest in climbing out so I think I will respect the good docs advice but wait just a bit longer on that escapade.

We have started some vitamins for them because they are not big milk drinkers. He also asked what kinds of things we did to implement individuality. Interesting. I mean, if they were different ages, would that even be a question? Do I treat them as individuals? Im going to say I do as best I can. They are so different I do not have much of a choice in that matter!

We hopefully do not have to go back for another 5 months. When they are two years old... I cant even think about that.

My little beach bums

Matt and I got back from NY on Monday and me, Laura and the girls left for Sandestin the next Wednesday. Matt had to work so he could not come this time.

I was surprised that there were no naps in the car on the way to or from Destin, but they were very good little car riders (preparation for Disney in a few weeks?) But we did loop the Elmo DVD almost constantly.

When we got settled in at the house we took a little trip to the beach. I was interested to see how they would like it since last time they would not touch the sand. They loved it! They rolled all in it and chased the seagulls.

I figured it would be feasible to try the beach the next day. And I was really impressed. Overall, they stayed near us and stayed happy, even though they were little sand monsters.

They did follow the birds though, at which point I had to do some chasing. I let them go off at one point while I took some pictures of them and realized Leah was eating a stick. As I dealt with her Hannah ran up to a sleeping lady and her husband, sat down on her towel and started trying on her sparkly flip flops. Oops. What can I say, the child loves shoes.

We were able to stay at the beach from about 11-3 two days in a row. They ate their PB sandwich under the umbrella and happily played with their buckets. The ocean was too cold for them to want to go in that, though I tried. I had to get in the freezing water a few times. Sandy, sweaty, sunscreeny babies climbing all over me is not a good feeling.

They also were introduced to water wings. Once they realized what they did, the girls really liked these as well. They had no fear of the water and we all had so much fun playing in the jacuzzi.

Of course I got some really cute pictures of the beach trip :)


I think I need to send this to sports illustrated swimsuit edition...


sitting in the wagons the beach toys came in


chilling under the umbrella with her juice









more on flickr!

The Big Apple

Matt and I had a fabulous time in NY. We stayed with Lesley and Nathan in Brooklyn and it was awesome to see where they live and the Brooklyn area. I was very impressed with how well Nathan (our tour guide) knew the ENTIRE city of New York. There is no way I would remember how to get everywhere using the buses and subways but they have it down to a science.

Matt took almost 1000 pictures (its kind of his thing) and narrowed them down to 650. They are all on our flickr account (www.flickr.com/photos/matthewmccay). He captured every single thing. And we saw everything there was to see. We went to the Empire State Building, Union Square, Wall Street, Central Park, Museum of Natural History, Times Square, and Battery Park.

And we walked. Oh my gosh, we walked. I literally thought my feet were going to fall off! It was great because we got to leisurely see it all and Matt got to take all his pictures :)

We saw Chicago on Broadway and I cannot even express how awesome that was. We were in the first row and it was a smaller theatre so it was really like we were in the show! We got the tickets half price through a last minute ticket booth and were shocked to have such good seats. And we met the original Luke Duke from Dukes of Hazard. He played Billy Flynn. And the show made me remember that I really want my DVD back, Mrs Katy :)

We had such a good time and cannot wait to go back. I really missed the girls, who were staying with Grammy and Dandy but I think they had more fun with them than us! :)

Thank you Lesley and Nathan for letting us stay with you guys and for being such great tour guides!

Here are a few pictures

all of us at the top of the Empire State Building


Lesley and I by the really cool sundial at the Museum of Natural History


Matt and I at Rockerfeller Center


On the Brooklyn Bridge


Waiting for Chicago to start



There are too many pictures to post them here, but go to flickr!

Feeling... frisky?

Two weeks ago Matt and I headed off to NY to see Lesley and Nathan. Lesley and I grew up together as elementary schoolmates and then college roommates, and it crushed me when they moved so far away. But, it gave us a reason to go to NYC! :)

As mentioned in my previous post, I realized on Tuesday that I did not have my drivers license. So I called the airport and asked if a temporary license would suffice. They assured me it would not be a problem. I got up early Wednesday and got a new license. Of course they cant print it out on plastic (why)?? Anyway, I did get my paper license just in time to meet matt and head to the Atlanta airport.

When we got there we went through the normal security measures. I handed the first security dude my temp license and boarding pass. MY boarding pass got marked all over, with a big VP and other letters that obviously meant I was a suspected terrorist. The next step was me being ushered to the big security glass room where another person scanned me and my bags.

Of course, Matt, who was concerned about me walked through the metal detector after me with his keys in his pocket and sunglasses on his head, setting off the alarm and drawing more attention to me, who was still in the booth. The security guard on my side started yelling to the one on the other side of the door "UNARMED FEMALE!" indicating they needed to open the door and let me through.

The next checkpoint they actually frisked me. They went through my bags and frisked me. All because I did not have a darn plastic license!

We finally made it through all the security measures and had a nice flight to NY. When we got to LaGuardia, I put on my jacket that had been in my carry on, and felt something in my pocket...

My license. The one I thought the girls relocated. I laughed pretty hard at that and was at least happy that I would not have the same special attention on the return trip.

Sorry Mr. Cop, my child ate my insurance card and took my drivers license

I thought minivans were supposed to be bypassed by cops? I mean, they are under the radar right? Nope... Not yesterday

I was driving home from work and went through the darn construction area on 65 at Valleydale (if you are from here you know what I am talking about). It was 5:00 traffic so I was just following the rest of the crowd and not paying a whole lot of attention to the speedometer. Apparently I was going 65mph in a 55 work zone (though I was way past this when he pulled me over.)

So here is the image. Me in my tan minivan, a black celica, and a red miata in a little row in front of the cop on the side of 65. Cue the Sesame Street song "which one of these things doesnt belong?" I honestly had no clue I was speeding since I did not feel like it was that fast to me! I was the last of the bunch.

So as I wait for the cop to come to my window I started looking for my license. My purse is in disarray because the girls dumped it earlier and I cannot find my license anywhere (still cant find it and I am getting on a plane to NY tomorrow, so I will be taking a little trip to the drivers bureau in the am). So when Mr. Cop shows up I have to nervously tell him "Im sorry, i cannot find my license, I think my children took it". But luckily I had my number. On top of that, I cant find my insurance card. Crap.

So he goes back to run my license number along with the other two sports car drivers who were undoubtedly the reason I was in this situation in the first place , drawing in the cops attention and all drivers information.

I am now frantically looking for my insurance card. I found the expired one finally and suddenly remembered where my new one was. Leah ate it. Yep, when it arrived in the mail I laid it on the sofa table to be put in the car and she got to it before we put it in there. Being the goat that she is, she ate the expiration right off of it. I meant to get another one but conveniently forgot until that exact moment.

So now copper comes back and I have to explain to him that not only did my children take my license but one of them has eaten my insurance card. I showed him the one that expired in February, and luckily he believed me and laughed it off. Also he was nice enough to pretend workers were not present at the time so I did not get a double fine.

I knew 100% i would get a ticket. I have been pulled over 5 previous times (never for anything huge which is why I am guessing I have not gotten a ticket) but I knew this time I was overdue. Im not proud of this, I just blame it all on being in the wrong place at the wrong time :) As in, the cop was sitting there at the moment I passed so it was not the right time for me to drive by. The whole situation yesterday was so ridiculous I wasnt even all that mad about it. I think, and so did Mr Cop, that I will be able to go to driving school and my insurance and pocket will be none the wiser but I will find out on my court date on June 3rd. Ugh.

OH and here is the kicker - the cop actually said "I know you all were just following traffic and everyone was going this fast, but I had to pull over some people!" Darn shiny sports cars...

So, a warning to you Bham dwelling people, it is a speed trap! (as my husband has told me about 100 times). We will not discuss his annoying reaction to this incident... he who has had way more tickets than me, I must say...

If I can get out of the fine and go to driving school instead - which I am sure will be a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning, I am going to say that I still have not had a ticket. After all, if insurance does not know about it, it is never official right?