Lifeguard hut

Playing in the surf

Mall shopping during the holidays

Still need a Christmas present for the husband.

Heave a sigh.

Think.

Attempt to answer 2,083 questions from the preschooler.

While thinking.

Load the little people into the car.

Heave another sigh and drive to the nearest mall.

Have parking spot stolen by chick in a BMW.

Heave a brick at her head Bite back words because the children are probably listening.

Try to prevent aneurism.

Find a lesser parking spot and heft double stroller out of car trunk.

Move sleeping baby in car seat from the car to the stroller.

Move bag from the car to the stroller.

Move babywearing wrap from the car to the stroller.

Find preschooler has taken off shoes and decide to move him to stroller too rather than fight over putting his shoes back on.

He goes barefoot.

Move shoes from the car to the stroller.

Hear someone making a comment about my mothering abilities.

Realize it is a friend, also arriving at mall, making a joke.

Heave a sigh of relief.

Smile!

Answer 536 questions from preschooler about friend and where friend is going.

Discover pushing double stroller inside cramped stores is like driving an SUV through a supermarket.

Find nothing at first store.

Get to second store. Barefoot preschooler says he wants jacket. Barefoot preschooler denies that he is cold.

Think.

Must buy something!

Buy something.

Barefoot preschooler is still saying he wants a jacket.

But he's not cold.

Give in to 3,532 requests to let him play in mall play area.

Discover a preschool classmate.

Lose hearing in left ear from the joint screaming.

Say hi to preschool friend's mom and meet her husband.

Realize my milk has leaked through my shirt.

Nurse baby.

Chat with friend.

Leave play area to buy pretzel.

Leave mall, answering 724 questions from preschooler about friend.

Move baby in car seat from the stroller to the car.

Move bag from the stroller to the car.

Move babywearing wrap from the stroller to the car.

Find preschooler has taken off shoes again and move him from the stroller to the car.

Move shoes ... drop them ... pick them up and move them from the stroller to the car.

Move shopping bag from the stroller to the car.

Struggle to squeeze SUV stroller into car trunk.

Heave a sigh.

Hope husband really, really likes Christmas present.

Rocky beach

Disney magic

So, I'm back from celebrating my birthday in Disney World!

Been back for a (cough) week now. My life has been a blur. Or maybe that's just the tears in my eyes while potty-training the Man-cub. For the third time.

Anyway....

My husband and I grew up going to Disney World and have been there a dozen times or more. We started a tradition of visiting Disney World after Thanksgiving each year after the Man-cub turned one. It's a great time of year to visit because Disney's holiday decorations are up, but the resorts have reduced rates. The weather can be topsy-turvy, so we end up packing everything from swimsuits to winter coats, but we live in layers here in South Florida in the winter anyway. We also like Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, which takes place on certain nights in December.

The fact my birthday falls during this time is just a coincidence. Yeah....

Our family likes Disney World not so much because we're beholden to Mickey Mouse or any of the characters, although we enjoy meeting them.





It's not that we like going to Disney World because of the rides or attractions. Although there is a certain dad who has to go on the Jungle Cruise to catch all the corny jokes and puns. And there is a boy who wasn't supposed to be tall enough to do this:



who now asks if he can drive my car.

Thanks, honey.

Mostly, it's convenient. Disney World is a three-hour drive for us, so it's an easy getaway. As Florida residents, we get sweet Disney discounts on park passes. (I noticed lots of Florida license plates in the parking lots.) Because we have kids, we like knowing that Disney is a kid-friendly place to go. Even if we don't go into a theme park (we used only one day of our three-day pass), there is something for kids to do at the resort, at Downtown Disney or at the mini golf areas. Heck, two days we rode the monorail just for the Man-cub because he thinks it is a train! Disney has plenty of fun stuff for kids.

Like having a train! in the lobby of the resort we stayed in this time. A train! that the Man-cub never ceased ogling or talking about.



Or the carousel made entirely out of gingerbread, fostering Hansel and Gretel-type dreams.



Me, I get my kicks just seeing Main Street in the Magic Kingdom. I'm easy to please.



And of course seeing Cinderella's castle.



(I also have to get a pastry in France at Epcot every time we go. And truth be told, I also like not cleaning or cooking while on vacation.)

This was my little Junebug's first visit, of course, and he told me Disney World was OK but he didn't know what the fuss was all about. As long as he was glued to me, he didn't care what we did.





Next year, though, I bet he will be all over Pooh's Playful Spot.

We have our complaints about Disney -- the poor road signage once you enter resort property that makes it easy to get lost, the price of food, the wait time and lines for rides, the $10-per-day fee at the resorts for Internet access -- but overall it's a fun and easy trip for us to make, and Disney goes out of its way to make sure people have a good time.

And making sure the kids have a good time is what it's all about -- that, and maybe a few great photos to prove to them when they're older how much fun they had.

Disney Emergency: The Princess and the Frog giveaway

So I wanted to blog about my birthday and our trip to Disney World before now, but suddenly it's Thursday (how did that happen?!) and an emergency Disney topic has come up.

That's right. This is a Disney emergency!

(If you don't have princess-loving little people in your house, feel free to come back another time.)

Tomorrow, Disney's latest animated movie The Princess and the Frog comes out. It features Princess Tiana (the first princess to lead the parade the night we were in Disney's Magic Kingdom), known for being Disney's first African-American princess.

Here's the emergency: If you would like to go to a private 4:30 pm showing of this movie at South Beach Cinema 18, please send me a private e-mail at tropicofmom@gmail.com within the hour. All responses I get by 5:30 pm today will then be in a drawing to win admission for four people to see The Princess and the Frog at that time and place. Hurry, hurry!

The showing is courtesy of Walmart, which is working with Disney to provide a special outing for little girls in the local Boys & Girls Club. They are rolling out the pink carpets, and these little girls will be transformed into princesses for the event and participate in a number of activities, including games and a special viewing of the movie. Isn't that nice?

Walmart also sent me a really cute Princess Tiana-themed package of gifts ("everything your little girl needs to be a princess for under $25") to give away to Princess and Frog lovers out there, even if you're not close to South Beach for the movie showing tomorrow. Update: Random.org chose 1 as the winner, and the first commenter was Cheryl. Congrats!

There's a T-shirt (size 4/5):



And the movie soundtrack CD:



And a jewelry set with heart-shaped lip gloss pots on a ring, bracelet and necklace. It also comes with hair clips and little fake nails featuring Princess Tiana. Everything is courtesty of Walmart, which carries several fun Princess Tiana items. If you'd like to win these three items, please leave a comment on this post, and I'll draw a winner tomorrow.

So to sum up: E-mail me by 5:30 pm today if you want to win four passes to see The Princess and the Frog at South Beach Cinema 18 tomorrow at 4:30. Leave a comment to win The Princess and the Frog goodies from Walmart. Winners for each giveaway will be chosen randomly. Good luck!

Having Fun

Posted via email from tropicofmom's posterous

1969 was a very, very good year

Today is my birthday, and my family and I are in Disney World this week! Even though I'm an old lady now, I plan to go down water slides, eat a funnel cake, ride a roller coaster and ooh and aah at the fireworks. I will pick up my preschooler upside down and spin him around. I might laugh a little too loudly. I will tell my husband every day how much I miss our cats at home. And I might buy some silly Disney tchotchkes for the boys, just because. Heck, maybe I will go wild and buy one for myself.

I can either moan about my birthday and conceal my age as though I'm ashamed I've survived life this long.

Or, I can celebrate the life I have now and the life I've lived.

You've guessed by now....

Today, I am 40.

There, I said it.



Getting old can SUCK IT!