July 4th

One day, we will have a lake house:

But until then, it is incredibly wonderful to have friends who have a lake house; especially when those welcoming friends invite you over for an all-day July 4^th party.

Lynne (one of our hosts) in the pool some of the kids.

And party we did!

So much so that I hardly took a single picture all day.  We swam (a LOT!), the kids went on the boat, Will took a spin on the inner tube behind the boat (and apparently had a complete wipeout, which sadly I missed), and I tried my best to keep everyone coated in sunscreen.  Considering we were in the sun for about 6 hours and we are all very, very pale people, I consider the fact that we are sunburn-free to be a huge victory.

One big happy pale family!

Happy Independence Day from all of us at the Conte Café.

And a happy Friday – enjoy your weekend!

Summer gymnastics

For the most part, our summer has been a free-for-all activity-wise.  I thought the kids needed some unscheduled time after a busy school year and this summer may be our last truly relaxing one (Frances has already talked about wanting to swim on our local team and I thought I’d give it one more year before taking her up on that offer).

But I’d heard from several people independent of each other about a great gymnastics program close to us and after learning that they had once-a-week afternoon classes for 3 and 5-year-olds at the same time and on the same day, I jumped on it.

We’ve been to two classes so far and the verdict is pretty predictable—while both kids are insanely athletic and coordinated, Frances loves it and George has zero interest in removing himself from my leg once we enter the building.  I’ve been remiss in taking pictures of the kids in action, primarily because the other mothers waiting for their children are super-nice and I selfishly use that precious 45 minutes to have a little adult time.  But I did manage to take a few shots yesterday.

Frances trying her best to ease a crying George into his class.

George's sweet coach, Robin, comforting him (still crying.  Even Frances couldn't stop that!)

They are in different classes, but were right next to each other during warm-ups.

 

The "after" picture.  He really did have fun.

Robin gave each student a Mickey stamp on their feet.  As if he weren't already in love with her!

The saving grace for George this week was that another 3-year-old boy (yay!) joined his group.  The first week, George was the only boy in the class and I think he felt out of place.  But once those two males found each other, they strutted their stuff around the balance beam, parallel bars, and trampoline area liked they owned the place.  Arms out, chest inflated, legs bowed—I failed to get a picture, but I’m sure you get the idea.

Fingers crossed his newfound gymnastics bud is there next week.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Taking back my peace

This was where Frances, George and I were earlier today:

The local McDonald's indoor playground, probably one of the most germ-ridden, stinkiest, and loudest places on earth.  After a failed attempt to go to the indoor pool (apparently the sound of distant thunder is cause to evacuate even the pool that is inside.  I am all for safety, but *sheesh!*), I was desperate for the kids to get some runaround time other than within the four walls of our house.  It is never a good sign when you are desperate by 10:30am on a Monday morning.

Today is just one of those days for me.  The kind when you feel like a failure as a parent because you are far too impatient with your kids; the kind when you wish (in that very moment) that you could be a little more go-with-the-flow and you are instead as inflexible as they come; the kind where as soon as you put the kids down for their naps the skies clear and it is sunny and beautiful outside (even you, Mother Nature??).  I'm annoyed, I'm sad, I'm frustrated, and I have let the circumstances of the day get the better of me.

There is a wonderful sentiment I have heard several times in my yoga classes--"Don't let anyone or anything steal your peace."  Isn't that great?  And yet even after a weekend of yoga and an early class this morning, I did just that--I let the morning steal my peace.

And so, I will attempt to take back my peace this afternoon.  I may not be perfectly patient, easy-going, and always rational, but I know I'll be better than I was this morning.  And I won't let my imperfect parenting steal my peace.  Not this time.

Happy Monday, everyone!  Namaste : )

Disney World 2013

I’ve been dying to comb through our 200+ pictures and sort out the wonderful (and some not-so-wonderful) adventures we took on our Disney trip so I could  post them up for you all to see in one comprehensive, lucid blog post.  The reality?  The Homiller house is in summer survival mode—barely able to keep up with the laundry (seriously?  How much laundry can two tiny people create??), the organizing (ha!), the cleaning (ha!ha!) and maybe able to hold on to a thread of sanity while I’m at it.  That  being said, I am going to start this post without a clue as to whether I will actually finish writing it before the kids' “nap time” is over and my second shift begins.

My first picture of the trip – waiting at the airport gate for our plane to begin boarding.  And now is the time to tell you that the tall, thin, and devilishly handsome man checking email on his iPhone is the entire reason our Disney trip was so successful.  Will researched all-things Disney for months before we left; he had memorized the park’s layout; and, in what would turn out to be his best decision perhaps of his life (I exaggerate, but only a little), he booked our trip through AAA.  This was key because Disney contacted AAA looking for individuals traveling to their park during the exact dates we would be there willing to test out their pilot program:

The Disney magic bands!

These babies allowed us to skip every single line at the park.  We waltzed onto the most popular attractions ahead of everyone else (similar to “Fast Passes” for those of you who know Disney-speak; except the bands use “Fast Pass Plus.”  Thereby ends my knowledge of Fast Pass anything).  We had our picture taken many times by park officials because we were the first family to test out the program (keep your eye out for sweaty Homillers in future Disney literature : )).  In short, it was incredible.

And even with these magical bands, it was still a grueling, hot, exhausting and sometimes nauseating (George!) trip in the June Florida heat.  But it was completely and totally worth it.

My little sweatball

We stayed at the Contemporary Hotel (another brilliant decision by Will), allowing us to walk to the Magic Kingdom or take a quick monorail ride to our doorstep.  This was particularly helpful our last night when we stayed late to watch the fireworks show and could beat the crowd heading for the buses, boats and train and just walk right to the hotel.

The view from our room!  George still talks about the "Mickey pool."

I know, I know – enough about the boring logistics of the trip, right?  Let’s get on to the attractions!

[Warning: this part is very picture-heavy!]

We met some friends:

Our first big sighting - Princess Jasmine and Aladdin rode the Magic Carpet ride right in front of us.

Minnie!

Lightning McQueen and Mater (George was in shock)

One of the green army men from "Toy Story."  (Gotta love those shoes!)

Jake signing George's autograph book.

Handy Manny

The ant from "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids."

Mickey!!  We never did get to take a picture with him, but we still got pretty close.  And just so you know, even a thirty-six-year-old mother of two tears up when you see this guy - there's just something special about him.

Chip and Dale

Daisy!

Rode some rides:

Frances in 11 years.  Be afraid - she was a terrible driver!

Ready for Mickey's Philharmagic, an impressive 3D movie.

Frances and me on the Ariel ride.  It was amazing!

Daddy and George on the classic Dumbo ride.

The Jungle Cruise

George's latest fascination is maps, so he helped Will navigate the park (very well, I might add).

George and I had a private showing at the Tiki Room.

And this is what Will and Frances (back row) were doing while George and I were listening to the macaws sing.  This picture makes me laugh every time I look at it.
Disney World really does bring out the kid in all of us.

Snacked a bit:

And if there was any question, our princess met some other princesses:

Snow White.

Sleeping Beauty

The stunning and sweet Ariel, Frances's favorite (again, I definitely cried at this one!)

Jasmine

Belle in her beautiful gown.

We also met and took a picture with Cinderella, but I haven't yet scanned in that picture (it was taken by Disney).  

George was not as impressed.

Although he fell head-over-heels in love with Belle.  Smart, literate, a wee-bit older--I think he picked a good one!

It was a truly spectacular trip.  Disney doesn’t just do a good job; they do the best job—the rides are realistic, the special effects are breathtaking, the park employees are all (ALL) friendly, helpful, and called Frances “princess” at every turn.  Yeah, she didn’t like that at all.

Coloring books saved the day when we had to wait for the park to open.

We had a few temper tantrums (it was about 1,000 degrees in the shade) and George threw up after the teacup ride (can you blame him?).  It’s also never ideal to have four bodies in one hotel room.  But those few things aside, our trip could not have gone any better.

Thank you for the memories, Disney World!  See you soon.  But not too soon.

Meeska Mouska!

We're back!

The crown jewel - Minnie Mouse herself!

Disney World was everything and much more than I ever expected--magical, exhausting, exciting, hot as can be, and completely wonderful.  I can't wait to write more about it, but for now I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to fold the 5 loads of laundry waiting for me in the mudroom, get groceries, clean the house, feed everyone, and keep the kids mildly entertained (although I think they owe me a quiet day or two now, right?!).  All that being said, it may be a few days before I can get up my favorite pictures and some of our stories from the trip.  

Our last night - sniff!

I'm SO glad we took it; and I'm SO glad it will be a few years before we'll feel obligated to do it again.

Until I resurface from the clean clothes pile, happy Wednesday!

Movie night

Day 2 of summer vacation and we're already on "Movie Night."  But after two solid days of rain (and endless indoor exercise, including Monkey Joes and the indoor pool), I caved.  Will is working around the clock so we can leave on Thursday for Disney World (woohoo!), but rather than pack for our trip (or something equally productive) during the next 70 minutes of distracted-children time, I think I'll just talk about how much I have to do before we leave.

All that being said, I'll be MIA for some time while we are away.  But no doubt I will return with oodles of stories, pictures, and adventures to share.  Wish us luck as we venture to the "Happiest (Hottest?) Place on Earth" with our princess and monkey.  See you on the other side!