Disney World: Fun family vacation, or cash-guzzling torture?

In December, Disney was offering some great vacation packages. Since we've never taken the kids on a purely fun vacation (cuz we're boring and cheap, I guess?), we decided to take advantage of it. This was a trip nine months in the making. Oh, we had some grand plans! Character greetings, fabulous meals, adult night life, adventure... Grand.

We invited Grandma to come along, not as a built-in babysitter, but to spend some quality time with 2 of her 8 grandkids, and for me to have my mom to myself for a week.

My kids are six and three, 4' and 3'3". According to http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/, the big booger could ride almost everything, and the shorter one still had a lot she could do. So we settled on five days, four nights, the dining plan, and seeing every park.

Boy, did we! We combed every inch of all four parks! We rode nearly everything, saw nearly every show, several parades. We ate well, and still had about six quick-serve meals remaining when we left.

We have some truly priceless memories, some wonderful pictures, and fun souvenirs. We encountered friendly people, fantastic employees, and great sites. And, as exhausted as we were at the end of each day, I wouldn't trade it.

So, why am I writing this? Just to brag about our awesome trip? To whine about how tired and out of shape I am? To bemoan the cash machine that is Disney? Nope, even though some may apply. This wonderful missive is merely the prelude, the intro if you will, to an upcoming yet humorous list of family vacation dos and dont's.

Stay tuned to laugh at my expense!

Product Review: Moon Dough

Moon Dough. When this arrived, and I saw the box, I cringed. The logo looked remarkably similar to the logo for Moon Sand. You know, the sand that never dries out and doesn't make a mess, but is easy to mold? If only their product was as good as their tag line...

So when I saw the box, I was afraid. If it was from the makers of Moon Sand, I was in trouble. First, because I knew my kids would scream and clamor for it (which they did as soon as they saw it), and second, because I was afraid of the mess. As a mom of small children who is employed full time, I don't have tons of time for cleaning. But, my kids love all forms of art, especially if it involves them making a mess, and Mom cleaning it up. *sigh*

I decided, shushing that pessimistic voice in my head, to let them give it a try. We received the barnyard set, and opened up everything in the living room. Because I enjoy complicating my life. The "dough" in the bags wasn't really doughy, it was crumbly. Extremely crumbly. So much so that many months later, I am still finding pieces that are one with the carpet. Which is a color improvement.

The "dough" does indeed smush relatively easily into the animal shapes provided in the barn mold. They hold their shape surprisingly well. But they also crumble at the touch of a finger. Which my daughter delights in doing. And then an exasperated sigh scatters the now-crumbled "dough".

If your kids love art, love to play with things they can smoosh in their hands, I would highly recommend several products before I can reliably recommend Moon Dough for young children: modeling clay, of the bakeable or air-dryable variety; finger paints; mud; a pile of leaves. I'm sure Moon Dough (or Moon Sand) might be a good buy for older kids; for mine, and my poor abused carpet, not so much.

Christmas in the bag, it's Sesame Street FTW

My daughter, all 23 pounds and 27 inches of her, loves Elmo. Not like most little kids love a character. She obsesses over Elmo, can spot the tiniest Elmo image from across the store, sings the Elmo song, begs for an Elmo show after school, wears Elmo clothes, and on and on. Did I mention she's not quite two?

Her older brother, on the other hand, is four going on 16, loves anything battle related or superhero related, loves to enact battle scenes, and only puts up with his sister's Elmo obsession because, well, he loves his sister. And, let's face it, they are awfully sweet when they play nice together.

If you're a mom like me, you'd give anything to let your toddler test out toys before you shell out the cash to keep them. Luckily, I had just the opportunity. While doing some pre-Christmas scouting in the store the other day, I spied some cool new building blocks, and of course they're Sesame Street-themed, which is why they caught my eye to begin with. But I took them off my mental list after seeing the recommended age of 2-5 years. Imagine my delight when I received a reviewable kit of Sesame Street K'NEX in the mail from Team Mom!

Sadie was overjoyed at seeing her favorite friend, Elmo, and his trusty pal Cookie Monster, in cute, lovable, changeable block form! But the biggest surprise was seeing Jacob chomping at the bit to have a go! We put the 1-2-3 Brownstone together, and she laughed at Bert in an upstairs window. She danced Elmo around the building, singing Elmo's song. She took his head off and learned how to put it back on. Then Jacob took it apart and made an Elmo robot to prowl around. The best part? Jacob has been playing with the set, rebuilding, playing Elmo and Cookie Monster hide and seek, the better part of the day.

All of the sets are designed to work stand-alone, or together, which means I can buy as few or as many as I want. Plus, the pieces are big enough for Sadie's tiny hands, big enough not to get lost in the carpet like other blocks, yet not so big that Jacob would call them "baby blocks". Even better, the sets are what I consider to be reasonably priced! Which is great, since this is going to be an Elmo Christmas, followed a month later by an Elmo birthday...

Below you'll find info on a great video contest sponsored by K'NEX. I won't be entering, but after watching mu Elmo-girl and my big tough boy play with these all morning, I think I know what Santa's bringing us!

Want to get in on the fun, and have a shot at winning $1,000? Create a 30-second to 3-minute video of your child playing with any K'NEX 400 pc tub or K'NEX Sesame Street set. Do not include last name, city, street, or other personally identifiable info on the video itself, beyond state and first name of your child. Post the video on your blog or website, and send the link to knexvideocontest@knex.com. Don't have a blog or website? Send the video to Make a K'NEX Video Contest, K'NEX Brand, L.P., P.O.Box 700, Hatfield, PA 19440. You'll need to include an official entry form (which I will gladly email upon request) so that you get credit, and can get notified if you win. Entries must be received by K'NEX by 7 December. 10 finalists will be posted on knex.com and the K'NEX Facebook fan page, where fans can vote for their favorite. Must be a US resident, not a resident of Florida and over 18 to enter. Complete official rules can be found on www.knex.com. Good luck!

The contents of this product review are strictly the work of the author, and do not reflect the opinions or any policies of the product in question, or the review's sponsor. Author has received no monetary compensation in exchange for this review, beyond a product sample that is author's to keep or distribute as she pleases.

No one gets me

Seriously, no one gets me. Sometimes I feel so cut off from the rest of humanity. Not like Bella, who chose it. OK? So we're clear? I'm not some whiny emo teenager here, ok?

Wow, so that sounded a tad defensive. See, here's the thing. I'm wife, and mother, to attention-deficit. And I have no idea how to deal with it. Up until I met my husband, seriously, I'd never met anyone with ADD. I thought it was a myth concocted by shrinks to explain bad behavior, get press, and make oodles doping kids up on ritalin.

Turns out, it's more serious than that. But what kills me is that even though I've learned that it's a real disease, apparently no one else in the educated world has.

Now, I know not everyone has time, energy, or inclination to read my blogs. We'll shame them later. BUT if they did, maybe they'd have a clue into my life, and how hard and lonely it really is, instead of dismissing my gripes. "He's all boy, isn't he?" they say about my son, or, "Wow, he's wide-open, huh?" Um, sure. I guess those apply, but it's so much more than that.

And my family doesn't get it, either. I try not to throw my hubby & kid in with my brothers and father too much, just makes for really tense times. Because they don't get it.

And when I go out, my friends don't get it, either. They tell me I'm really quiet, and then I feel boring. But it's hard to be awesome and the life of the party when I'm so fucking tired. I haven't slept in four years because of this. Sleeping in, for me, is getting uninterrupted sleep until 6AM. Sad, huh? And when I try to explain my kid, well, you saw what they say.

Inside, my 24-year-old self is screaming at me to let her out. To be fun, crazy, and let loose. But it's hard when I have 3 other people depending on me for everything. And it's always on my mind, crowding out all the fun.

Sometimes, I wish I could become a vampire, super-strong, no need of sleep, able to clean the entire house in under a minute. But I'm just me, with an apple-shaped body and gray hair and sunken eyes, and a to-do list that never gets finished.

One of my Facebook friends wrote, "You are only as strong as those who support you." I guess that means I have the strength of 1, then... is it enough? Do you get me?

Top 10 Reasons....

Why you shouldn't let your scary-smart, ADHD preschooler have ANY time unsupervised:

10 - Shout, while an effective stain-remover, is not an effective wall cleaner.

9 - Discovering, and eating, my chocolate stash.

8 - Scaling the front of the entertainment center to get his piggy bank.

7 - Getting his 18-month-old sister out of her booster chair.

6 - How the hell did he figure out the buckle? Even I have trouble with it!

5 - Food coloring experiments in the sink

4 - and on his hands

3 - and on the floor.

2 - How the hell did he get the food coloring down from above the stove??

1 - Silver Metallic Spray Paint was not meant for built-in wooden cutting boards!

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Fun trip with kids? It IS possible...

We have two young children, 4 (going on 20), and 18 months (going on 20). Taking trips with them is almost never relaxing, and only fun in spots. However, this last trip we took, I think we played everything right, and the entire five-day trip was a blast! Here's what we did, and if anyone else has some great tips for traveling with kids, feel free to leave it in your comment!

First, book a good hotel. Not a Motel 6 or Super 8. Bite the bullet and pay for a good hotel. I'm talking, the kind with a free hot breakfast, free wifi, and a courteous staff. Why? Sure, you think, we're only sleeping there, why spend more than $50 a night? Well, if you have young kids, you're not just sleeping there. You're trapped in the hotel room every night after they go to sleep. So splurge a little, get a room with really comfy beds, a hotel that spends money on insulation between rooms and a heat lamp in the bathroom. And having a fridge and microwave in the room is a godsend! Don't stay with relatives if that will stress you out. Anyway, the hotel is a must.

Next, and I know everyone says this, but have a truly relaxed schedule. Don't plan out a detailed itinerary, scheduling every minute, because kids' naptimes and mealtimes will just throw a wrench in and stress you out. Instead, say you're going to the zoo on X day, and plan all day for it, that way you're not rushing to get to something else. Plan a waterpark day for Y day. And don't have a set day for visiting with friends and relatives. Instead, do a short little visit each day. That way, you don't spend all day in a non-child-proof home with curious kids and nothing for them to do but get into stuff. Small visits, that's the ticket.

Third, food. For young kids, hit a grocery store as soon as you arrive, get some juice boxes, small bags of chips, and something like Uncrustables. Keep them in the fridge in your good hotel room. Perfect for snacks, on-the-go meals, or to keep them busy.

Last, either rent a car, or borrow a dedicated car from a relative, one just for your use while you're there. Having your own wheels means you can go get food when you guys need it, you can leave an activity when your kids are melting down, you can go do something your kids want even if no one else wants to.

Here's some other points to consider, the good and the ugly:

• $500 for all three tickets was great; 6am flight out, and 9pm flight home, were not.
  
• We had our own hotel room, so our kids weren't disturbed when sleeping, and we were able to keep to our own schedule. Awesome.
• We hung around a relative's house most of Friday (arrived at 8, check-in wasn't until 3), kids bored and curious. Not fun.
• Hotel had an indoor pool, awesome.
• Saturday, after a free hot breakfast, we sort of tooled around, visited a sick relative, and generally tried to keep the kids busy.
  
• Sunday, we planned all day for the zoo, and left when our kids were done. That was great.
• Park birthday party on Monday was awesome, plenty of room for kids to run and get dirty and be kids, with minimal interference from us. Gave us time to visit with friends instead of being overbearing parents. Then played in the park's water park until closing, which was awesome.
• Tuesday, after checking out, went to a petting zoo with tons of baby animals, which the kids really loved.
  
• Tuesday night, 8PM flight (bad idea) turned into a 9PM takeoff, which had us landing at 11 and actually driving away from the airport by midnight. Bad, just bad. Got home around 3AM. So yeah, hubby and I didn't go to work today...

So, there's my thoughts. Your turn!

My Kingdom for a Break!

I really detest weekends now. There's not much going on that we can take Jacob to, other than shopping. We can't take him to Chuck E Cheese, because that's where all the working parents go on the weekends, with their big kids, and god forbid they pay attention to the smaller kids getting run over or pushed out of the way.

There's no library story time; no story time at the bookstore. The kids section of the art museum is overrun with big kids shoving, parents no where in sight. The skating rink is only open for regular skate. And I am so sick of taking him out for fast food just so he has somewhere to play.

The kids are sick, I think they both have RSV. We'll know tomorrow or Tuesday, whichever day the doctor's office wants to see us. They're both miserable, horribly stuffy, snot running down their faces, too sick to really eat, too sick to play, up all night and moany all day. But they're not running fevers, and their coughs are minimal. I just want to spend all day holding them, if they'd let me!

Sadie took her first steps! I can't say she's walking, but if you stand her up a couple of feet from you and hold out your hands, she'll happily totter to you, then fall into your arms with wild giggles, flailing her arms in excitement. She's so proud of herself!

All of this adds up to one tired momma. There's at least 2 loads of dishes in the sink, and one in the dishwasher (I need to run that...). There's a load of clean clothes in the washer, and both kids' hampers are overflowing. But damnit all, I need some frigging sleep...wine just adds to my headaches. And thank you, Mother Nature, for not giving my any warning that you were about to ruin my new leopard print undies from Victoria's Secret...seriously, give a gal a break!