They Lived Happily Every After...or, detoxing from residency

[Flynn]

Bye bye summer! The high here has been about 68 lately. This weekend it's supposed to get up to 75 but I'll believe it when I see it. I didn't realize summer ended here so abruptly! I love the cool breeze but I could do with a few more 70 degree days before it's all over and we're looking for mittens! All in all the weather was great. There was about three weeks of 90 degree heat plus humidity (YUCK) but other than that the humidity has been minimal. I see why people from the cities drive here to get away from the humidity. We don't seem to have nearly as much extreme summer weather as they do. (Yeah!)

Our first summer in a new location has gone well. We've explored the area a bit, had tons of bbqs and summer cookouts, entertained a bunch of overnight guests, had lots of QT together and just had a very healthy summer.

DH had last week off. We were going to get away for a few days but then decided that we could use the week to play and get a few things done while also giving eachother some alone time in the mix. I was able to go school shopping with DD and another mom and her daughter which was fun. DS stayed at home with Dad and they did some "yardwork." I also was able to get my hair done (WAY overdue), lightly shop and do some solo errands during the week. DH was able to play two rounds of golf. It worked out well. Lots of time together...some needed time apart.

As of Septeber 3rd the kids and I have been here a year. I'm much more settled since we moved into the house. I could invite many families over and really get to know people after we had our own space. Socially the house has been fantastic. In October, some friends and I will spend a weekend in the city shopping for two nights! I'm excited. It will be some fun girl time PLUS I can get some shopping done for the holidays. The choices here are so minimal. The shopping trip will be the third annual for for these ladies and this year they changed the weekend so I could come. I'm thrilled.

I still have mixed feelings about moving. When I see pictures of home I react. My gut jolts a bit and the memories rush back.

My parents (back in the PNW) were entertaining a couple from Minnesota recently. This couple really enjoys the outdoors and all its physical beauty. After a weekend with my parents they make the comment "the physical beauty here is EVERYWHERE....how are (Flynn) and (DH) doing with the move? They moved to a beautiful place for the midwest...but now that we are seeing what they saw on a daily basis....(big pause).....we can see how they might be MISSING the PNW more than someone from another area of the country." It was a thoughtful comment. This couple is from Minnesota and really wants us to like it -- and we do -- but I still wish for home a few times a month.

DH and I are constantly pointing out to eachother though that we COULD not duplicate the life we have here, back home. It doesn't exist. There would be significant sacrifices necessary to move back. We get this. But it's not a secret why we have only gone back once....it's still hard not to live there. (For me especially)

On a different note, school starts next week. DD will go to her same pre-school with a dynamite teacher we love. She will do the morning four days a week (2.5 hours) class designed for the pre-K group. The school has also tweaked the program and added a 3s class. DS will be three in October and cried last spring when we dropped DD off saying "I WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL!" The thing is he HAS to be potty trained and that's going slowly. UG. DD was pretty easy. DS is either "on board" for the day as far as going potty in the toilet or completely uninterested. I'll do a bootcamp of sorts this weekend and see what happens. IF DS goes, he'll do twice a week in the afternoon for two and a half hours. It will be just right. We'll see what happens in the potty training area this weekend.

If I keep going, I'll be late for a playdate so I'll sign off for now.
If the second year post training is as good as the first was...I'll consider myself very lucky. Post training life rocks.

[Flynn]

Re: They Lived Happily Every After...or, detoxing from residency

The kids are home sick today -- both with colds -- so we'll have a lazy day and hopefully I'll get lots of laundry done! After a BUSY summer with LOTS of guests, fall has been pretty tame so far.

The 2007 school year has BOTH kids in pre-school! DD is in the pre-K morning class M - Th. 8:3 - 11 and DS is in the Tues/Thurs afternoon class (same school) for the 3s from 12 to 2:30. As a result, Tuesdays and Thursdays are pretty nuts, but I get QT with both kids alone and that's been really fun for me.

All of DD's friends from pre-school last year are in kindergarten so this year her class has all new kids. There are five boys and four girls this year and as usual, she really likes school. She especially likes when it's her "snack day" and she gets to bring the class snack and be the leader in line. She enjoys learning and having the same teacher from last year, Miss Sue who is a FANTASTIC teacher. DD is still very much into fairies, princesses, and mermaids and the more pink sparkles -- THE BETTER! She wears a 6X pant size which is too long for her but the 5Ts look like she's waiting for a flood. We have to buy those adjustable waist pants and cinch them tight! She's about 43 inches tall right now and a string bean. She and DS often play Peter Pan which consists of "flying" all over the house trying to get away from an imaginary Captain Hook. Sometimes she's Tink and sometimes she's Wendy. When she's Wendy she even tries out the British accent yelling "PEE-TAH, PEE-TAH!" It's hilarious. She's a great big sister to DS 98% of the time. They have a lot of fun together.

Funny story about DD -- I was at a function for women at my neighbors down the block this weekend. I met some new people and as usual we talked about the community, what it's like to live in here and NOT have 6 layers of extended family, living in the PNW, and kids. One women struck up a conversation with me who has a boy in kindergarten at the same school. I was saying to her when I drop my kids off, the kindergarteners looks so grown up to me! She was laughing at how her boy was just saying the other day that "pretty girls make him nervous" which he's never commented on before. The mom probed a bit and eventually found out that her son thought "Tyler's friend in pre-school is the prettiest girl I've ever seen." After a bit more conversation with this woman, I realized that DD was the girl this boy was talking about. This was a first for me as a mom!!!! I'm STILL not sure how I feel about it!


DS continues to be an absolute character. We've mastered potty training enough to be in pre-school but we're definitely not fully potty trained. He loves school and unlike DD, he barely said goodbye to me on the first day. He's the youngest in his class but is doing well according to the teacher. His class only has four students so it's ideal for his first school experience. Sue did comment that DD has trouble cleaning up his station and gives her his big winning grin when prompted and says something like, "Miss Sue I'm a little busy right now. How about YOU clean up after me instead? Isn't that a good solution?" Needless to say we're working on cleaning up after ourselves at home. DS is very into pirates right now. Everything about them is fascinating. He often jumps out from behind a wall and yells "HAR HAR ME HEARTY" at the top of his lungs to me. The first couple of times he did this I just about jumped out of my skin!!

DD and DS turn 5 and 3 next month, our "wonderlab" is now 8, AND we celebrated one year in our new location! Crazy. The house continues to be an amazing treat for us. Space is good. We like space! Since we now have a yard and fence, our Wonderlab has a great area, huge by big city standards, to run around and get his wiggles out. We own the tree line behind our fence so when I pick up after our canine I can dump the offending piles in the trees INSTEAD of putting a bunch of stinky bags in the garbage in our garage. It's a nice perk to living in a suburb that borders the woods.

I'm still enjoying our mom's night out once a month and inviting my buddies over for ladies movie night. We have one planned for the end of September. We're lucky to have play-dates with many different families. In October I will take off with some of the friends I've made here for the weekend. We're going to the cities to SHOP!!! Oh HAPPY day!!!

DH's job continues to evolve slowly but all in all it's a good fit. He's on a local commercial and has about 6 billboards around town advertising the heart program. There are magazine and newspaper adds too, in addition to a a radio spot -- a bit odd to hear DH's voice on the radio when I'm picking up one of the kids from school. One of my friends jokes that DH has "conquered all forms of media in here." We both think it's bizarre, but if it brings more business to the hospital -- it's a good thing.

Life is good.

[Flynn]

Re: They Lived Happily Every After...or, detoxing from residency

Last night I had my second movie night with some friends.

Nine women came, wedding albums in hand, to talk, much, sip wine and get to know eachother. We all looked at eachother's albums and then most watched "The Notebook" in the media room while a group having so much fun talking, just kept talking outside the room! The conversations were fun, interesting, and enthusiastic! It was really interesting to see dress styles and types of weddings based on age, budget, geographic location, and personal taste. A good time was had by all.

I will definitely keep throwing these. They are easy, inexpensive, and it seems people look forward to them!

Our next movie night will be a screening of "Romeo and Juliet" the Leonardo, Claire Danes version -- yet another favorite within the group. We will bring a high school picture (or pictures) and talk about our first love.

[Flynn]

Re: They Lived Happily Every After...or, detoxing from residency

So my babies are now 5 and 3 years old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY COW!!!!!!

I am so in love with both of them I can hardly stand it. I'm also happy to say that I've never found being a SAHM more fun and satisfying. Infants are fine -- little people are more my speed!!!!!! We are having a blast together. I'm so lucky.

My parents were here from the 5th to the 13th. The kids ADORE them and it's mutual. They are the BEST grandparents. They could literally entertain the kids for hours in the house with no redirection. One afternoon my dad says to me, "Why don't you go read or take a bath or something you rarely get to do at 3:00? We've got dinner covered and we'll play with the kids while we throw dinner together (which was delicious by the way)." Um OKAY! SOUNDS GREAT!!! They always buy the kids a mixture of educational and fun stuff. The books they pick out are fantastic. No wonder my kids like stories. Every birthday my parents research kids books for hours and pick out two or three for each. They hit the mark every time.

DS was three on the 8th so we had his family party then and DD turned 5 on the 12th. The first year being the mother of two was such a wacky time for me! I look back and am so proud of where we are now.

DS is really into pirates, sea creatures and scuba divers. As he opened a really cool diver playset he asked me "Mom, is this a manatee or a Dugong?" He's a riot and has all sorts of neat facts about the ocean in his head.

DD is still very into mermaids, princesses and fairies but to my delight, she's beginning to love horses too. She used some birthday money to buy her first "Breyer" horse at the local toy store. Horses were my first love BEFORE sports so I was having a great time "shopping" with her. When I was 7 my dad gave me a stable for all my horses. He made it and it came complete with a tack room, three stalls, and a place to secure your horse while you groomed him! I think that might show up here for this Christmas!

My parents left on Saturday morning (goodbyes are still tough) and Sunday we had our "kid" party at the local bowling alley. We do a double party for both of the kids so it's crazy but we only do it once a year! All the kids (16 kids, 12 parents) came around 3 and receivd 28 tokens to play in the arcade area of the place (bowling is too painful at this age with this many children IMO). They had 45 minutes of crazy game playing, then a personal pizza, then singing and cake...then off to the "store" to cash in their tickets....then HOME! The whole thing took a little over an hour and a half!!! We decided things were going so well we didn't want to jinx it by opening presents -- it would have taken too long anyway. So we piled the presents into the car and went home for some football and MORE presents!

It was a blast and I think even the parents thought it was fun.

So that's the short version of my week.
Now I need to get back to reality and the laundry is CALLING me and of course everyone is going to get a personal thank you note from me WITHIN the week!

Until next time...

[Flynn]

Re: They Lived Happily Every After...or, detoxing from residency

...just got back from a girls weekend of shopping. It was perfect timing. DH and I have had some big bumps lately but we have a plan now for getting back on track and we were in a good place when I left Friday afternoon. He had all the dads over for a dinner playdate while we were gone and I was really proud of him!!! (none of the other dads were brave enough to do this!)

My weekend was a little like a "Sex in the City" episode (thanks for the idea Kris!).

Saturday we spent all day shopping.....we were light headed and TIRED when we went back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. We hired a taxi to get us to "The Cue" at the new Gutherie theatre. YUMMY food and a cool environment. I had Alaskan Halibut and was in heaven. They had A to Z Pinot Noir!!!! YUMMY!

We then went off to a bar/restaurant with the reputation of being for "young professionals" instead of college kids. It was the Saturday before Halloween so the streets were FULL of people in costumes. It was a riot! One of the women I was with went to school with the bartender's sister....he had a crush on her in high school and everything was free.

We had a blast at the bar (I forgot the name) and one of my friends got to talking with a guy who offered to take us to another bar with good dancing. He boasted about getting us VIP wrist bands, and no cover. It sounded too good to be true but we gave it a whirl and it ended up being a surreal adventure. On the way a young guy grabbed me and we did a little gig on the corner --- swing style. It was completely spur of the moment and we must have not looked too stupid because people clapped when our 10 second gig stopped. He then went down on one knee and asked me to marry him. He couldn't have been a day over 23 ....all harmless, silly fun.!!!!!!!

When we reached the third location for the evening I think the oldest people there were 27.... . When "Party Like a Rock star" came on we tossed caution to the wind and just GOT DOWN. There were girls in cheetah costumes dancing in areas above the dance floor and my girlfriend and I were grabbed by them to boogie down with a new view. Hilarous. My butt still hurts....

All in all the weekend was full of great conversation and tons of shopping. We all got our groove on and had some bonding girl time. It was fantastic.

[Flynn]

Re: They Lived Happily Every After...or, detoxing from residency

P.S.

For Ms. V -- Saturday evening was spent in 3" heels! My feet hated me by the end of the night but I didn't care!!!! (A twenty something saucy "nurse" came up to me and said my shoes were "SLAMMIN'!!!")

[Flynn]

Re: They Lived Happily Every After...or, detoxing from residency

So winter has come to the hinterlands -- aka where we live. It's currently a balmy 23 degrees outside. Good grief. I'm a jeans and a sweater kind of girl so at least I live in the right place for my favorite casual outfit. I need some new boots so I look more put together some days.

DH continues to be Mr. Wonderful. His "intellectual bully" act that he pulls when he's frustrated with things he cannot control is gone for now. The funny thing is he pulls this crappy act when it has absolutely NOTHING to do with me. Yes I can be a PITA sometimes and a bit emotional (ME? ) but he's good with me then, and we're a team. It's sad when he feels threatened in his job he comes after me. It's hurtful and really dumb actually. Why would I like medicine MORE if he's a big baby when it's not perfect? Grow up and stop being such a defense-mechanism FREAK please. Have I mentioned he has issues with his family he's NEVER dealth with???? I think it's time for him to take a look at "the sins of his father" and to a certain extent "the complete failure of his mother to provide more than food and a roof over his head." Emotional support from my MIL? On her terms and only her terms. I can't imagine living as a child in either of those environments.

We're having a Monday night football party next week. I've ordered all Washington wines, beer, and we'll have bite sized pies, cheesecakes and tortes (from a local bakery). YUM. I told DH if we had a football party, I wanted it to be in the evening so I could attend and the kids could go to bed...and it would be OUR style. No crock pot cheese or weenies on a toothpick allowed. (no offense intended) Now I'm sure the Seahawks with their pathetic selves will get KILLED -- but who cares. We invited 8 couples and so far 7 can come. It should be a good time.

Off to get breakfast started!!!
Until next time...

[Flynn]

Re: They Lived Happily Every After...or, detoxing from residency

So the football party was a hit. We had 8 couples including us. The kids watched a movie upstairs, came down to say good night, I tucked them in, and that was it. Of course I checked on them during the movie and they are old enough to come and get me if something goes wrong...but it all worked out. The kids were thrilled they were able to watch a movie in one of their rooms. That NEVER happens unless they have high fevers and they are rarely sick so you get my point.

The age range of the party was 30 - 41. It was a nice mix of people. Some were good friends of mine and their spouses. Some were people on our block I always thought were fun but we couldn't seem to schedule anything together. The Seahawks actually played well too which was a plus. We served Washington wine and PNW beer -- hard to find Washington beer out here but we found some Oregon beer so close enough.

DH seems to have found his stride when he's not that busy. And of course JUST when he was okay with the downtime, the cases have picked up significantly. He's done 9 hearts in two weeks. He's thrilled. I'm thrilled he was okay with not being busy the previous three weeks. That's major for us. He says he's got a "whole new take on his life" and he's glad I "scared the living s&%t out of him" recently telling him to shape up. Interesting. My mom said my life with DH would never be boring or predictable -- and she's right.

The truth of the matter is we're happy as a family when he's happy. I'm sure the reverse is true too but I don't really get bent out of shape over much these days like I used to during training. My life is pretty good and it seems selfish to even go there.

Lately we've been working as a team to pick a school for DD next year. It's been fun actually. On the really BIG issues we've always been on the same page (outside of DH's career of course). We built a house with one minor disagreement AND we both decided that THIS job was the best job the market offered us last year. I have to recognize we are a good team when DH isn't being a self-important piece of smelly stuff.

I'm sure a curve ball is coming....I'm waiting for it though and feel LOADS better about our situation than this time last month.

I think I can I think I can I think I can.....

[Flynn]

Re: They Lived Happily Every After...or, detoxing from residency

I know I've been shameful about updating but I don't want to talk about being pregnant -- and I really feel I should so I've been avoiding this forum. SOOOOOO ---- after reading a few other blogs, Nellie has inspired my to post our new chairs in the Master Bedroom sitting area! I love having somewhere comfortable to sit other than an open space!!! Love it!!

Can you say avoidance? Denial?

Enjoy and happy Friday!

[Flynn]

Re: They Lived Happily Every After...or, detoxing from residency

Warning -- people sensitive to pregnancy and babies should avoid reading this post.



So I'm still having trouble turning the page from "we're done having children hoooraaahhhh" and peeing on a stick and looking like this: :banghead: :banghead: .

It's been interesting to say the least. DH has been great. Rock solid. After we first found out and I had two hysterical crying jags in the fetal position (yes I realize the irony) he immediately stepped up and is basically "there" for me.

Our friends have been funny about the whole thing. One couple we know well -- the husband wants to add a third child and the wife is against it. It's become an issue with them and pretty much everyone knows it. Well, this husband asks DH if "after the initial shock I've become all happy and gushy about the baby." (he looks at DH hopefully) DH's response -- "ah, no." So his wife looks at him (they all think I'm involved in another conversation at this point and not listening) and says --" It's not a female thing. They'll do great when baby comes. They are great parents and this child will have a great life. This does not diminish the sacrifice for the woman in the relationship-- and lets face it, the mom is on double duty when a baby is born no matter how helpful the husband is. This is a sacrifice that wasn't chosen. Frankly I think she's a little in mourning right now. She's mourning the life she THOUGHT she was going to have for the next three to four years. If I were her I'd need a rubber room and lots of drugs (looks pointedly at her DH)." :|

Fascinating.

Another couple who has lived here all their lives think it's great we're taking the plunge at "our age." Have I mentioned people from here start families on the early side??? They are 28 with two kids our kids' age. We are 36 adding a third child. They think we're courageous. They are great people and it doesn't offend me in the least -- just an interesting take on a "surprise pregnancy."

I've heard so many other women's stories lately -- that they just TELL me. Personal personal stuff. Two women at different times told me their surprise pregnancy (they both had one) ending in a miscarriage was a huge relief -- then they felt very guilty for thinking this way.

If I liked being pregnant I don't think this would be nearly as difficult. It's just 40 weeks -- I can suck it up for that long and never ever look back -- right?! :huh: This past year post training I've been happier, healthier, never more well rested, and fit. Frankly, I don't feel like me when I'm pregnant.

My best moments so far are looking at DD and DS and really feeling so overwhelmed with love for them.
Having another one of them gives me positive hopeful feelings when nothing else really does.

[Flynn]

Re: They Lived Happily Every After...or, detoxing from residency

SO it's frickin cold here. I've decided "cold" is about 20 degrees. "Really cold" is from the 0-19 range. "Frickin cold" is anything less than zero WITHOUT the windchill. Add the windchill in and you just really have to ask yourself WHY DO I LIVE HERE?

We've had a freezing rain storm for the past two days. How can it RAIN when the windchill is -31???? I don't get that. Schools everywhere were closed today. Apparently there were at least two inches of ICE on all the roads and it made driving very dangerous. We don't watch TV in our house before school so a friend called me to let me know all the schools were closed -- knowing I wouldn't know the scoop! Her husband is a teacher so she was thrilled to co-parent today!

We actually had a lot of fun today despite being indoors the whole time. We played, baked, had some quiet time, took a monster bath (them, not me), and dressed up a bit too. My brother had a minor surgery over Xmas so they didn't quite get the gifts out on time so VOILA -- the presents came today. What awesome timing. The kids got some new CDs (I'm so sick of the ones we have in the car right now!) and a few activity books! PERFECT!!!!!

The only bummer was I have a horrible toothache. It started Sunday, and I go see a dentist tomorrow. Whatever it is, I hope they can fix it BEFORE Disney world on Sunday!!!! UG. Nice timing on my part to have a tooth issue. It serves me right though. I take care of everyone else and THEN me. I have pretty good teeth but I do have one crown. It's the crown that feels awful so I'm wondering if something nasty is under it now. :banghead: I can handle almost anything BUT a root canal. That just makes me have the willies. Plus, I'm pregnant so that makes the drugs a bit iffy. Hmmm. Should be interesting tomorrow. Of course this happens when DH's partner is out of town. So he's unavailable -- but I did find a babysitter thank goodness. Extra strength tylenol and IBprofin can only sustain me for so long here. :|

...DH just called. The Country Club is doing family style dinners every Tuesday BUT today is a lousy day to drive due to weather. So, they will pack up your four course meal TO GO. Fantastic. We get baked ham, steamed veggies, fresh bread, and rice pilof (I'm sure I spelled that wrong). Yum. Works for me. DH will pick it up on his way home. Perfect.

So I'm off to tell DS that NO he cannot have chocolate, cereal, candy, or ice cream for a snack. Yes, I know he's hungry but grapes, a banana, or apple will have to do ---- he's sobbing right now.

After dinner I'm planning on taking a bubble bath. I have had a hard time staying WARM today!!!

It's supposed to warm up to -18 tomorrow. Oh goodie.

[Flynn]

Re: They Lived Happily Every After...or, detoxing from residency

No school again today. I'm actually glad. We had a ball yesterday -- and I get to do some things to get ready for Disney World!!

The regular temp. right now is -21. The temp. with the windchill is supposed to get as low as -58 today. WTF? Thank God for in floor radiant heat AND an eco friendly house. We have NO drafting in this house. NONE. (Technically we have -.089 drafting according to the window and door guy but a normal house has a much higher number.)

Today I'm off to the dentist so hopefully we can get to the bottom of my discomfort under my one crown. I'm a little nervous but hopefully they can just clean it out and the problem will be solved. I can hope, right! :huh:

So before the babysitter comes we will have a lazy morning and then bake some cookies!
After that, I'm not sure. We kind of did a little of everything yesterday. Maybe I'll pull out the playdoh!

Until next time..

[Flynn]

Re: They Lived Happily Every After...or, detoxing from residency

Well I just had my first and ONLY root canal. The good news is I should feel normal by Sunday when we fly out of the frozen tundra to Florida! The other good news is my favorite babysitter was available so I could just float in my pain and not worry about the kids.

The bad news is one of my roots was still infected and not dead so she had to dose me twice with numbing crap and OUCH THAT FRICKIN HURT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The other roots were dead which apparently is preferable to infected (I can vouch for that now) when you get a root canal.

Now I'm fighting with my OB for pain meds. I'm trying to say "Look, give me whatever you have that is stronger than tylenol and NOT harmful to baby." OB is saying "Well how much pain are you in? Do you think you need more???"
I'm saying "I'm not trying to whore out for drugs but if I wake up after taking tylenol tonight IN PAIN and have nothing stronger (and safe) I am going to be pissed. Give me two adult doses if it makes you feel better and if that's all I need for two nights, so be it."

I have no idea if there is anything safe for a pregnant woman after a root canal OTHER than tylenol. I'm just saying if there IS something safe, I WANT IT NOW. I am scary with no sleep. I worship sleep. I need sleep.

Sleep is good.
Waiting for the call....

[Flynn]

Re: They Lived Happily Every After...or, detoxing from residency

I finally got something STRONGER than tylenol so I could sleep last night!! YIPPEEE! Last night was the first night in over a week I didn't wake up in pain and have to dose again. The night before was one long awful toothache. YUCK and Yawn. Yesterday I felt like I was walking in water...I was a bit foggy.

We leave on SATURDAY for FLORIDA!!!! WHOOO HOOO!!! The high here was -7 yesterday and that was WARM for the last week so I'm excited. Sun AND tons of activities.....sign me up! The house we're staying in has it's own pool, hot tub, a private playground AND a water park with three slides about 50 yards from the house it shares with the other houses in the gated community. We should get plenty of downtime and plenty of exhausting fun. I do need a pregnancy swimsuit so hopefully a short detour to the Mall of America tomorrow will be fruitful. I couldn't find anything online and of course the one I loved was given away.

My parents come for a week after we get back so I'm looking forward to that too. By then, we should know the gender of who I'm calling Miss Surprise (I think it's a girl but who knows.) and we can make some plans for the room. My parents are going to come out for a week before the birth and a little over two weeks after the birth. I've never gone into labor naturally -- induced twice -- so I'm pretty comfortable with them making plane reservations. They are both retired so if they have to change the dates it won't be that big of a deal.

Today we have a playdate with 5 other moms at a mutual friend's house. She is having "movie morning" which we've all hosted during the winter. We all show up around 9/9:30 in the morning -- the kids get to stay in their pajamas. There is lots of breakfast food so we all eat, talk, then start up the movie so there is more adult time. When there are weeks of below zero temps. it's a fun way to socialize, the kids play after the movie, and everyone has a good time!

Off to start the day. I haven't asked for a hall pass but as of this evening, I'll be gone for a week. I don't think we're bringing our computer so we really can just get away from everything and enjoy each other.

Bye!

[Flynn]

Re: They Lived Happily Every After...or, detoxing from residency

I haven't updated in a while. It's been too long.

I haven't posted yet about Disney World. WOW. What an experience. I had a ball as a grown up and the kids were in awe so we had to ask some questions multiple times.

In a sentence, we had a blast. We rented a house with a pool, had a loose plan each day and just went with the flow. Big hits for DS at the Magic Kingdom (although the whole park is an event in itself) was the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Peter Pan, A Small World, Dumbo, and Pirates of the Carribean. DD loved Small World, Looking in the Princess Stores, Mickey's Philharmagic movie, and the Indy 500 race track. They both loved the Mike Wazowski (sp) show in Tomorrow land (Monster's Inc.). They were in awe at Cinderella's castle and loved how beautiful the park was -- so much to look at.

At the Animal Park the big hits were the Lion King show (amazing), the safari ride (fantastic), and the Pocahantas show....DS met Turk and Goofy, and Pocahantas (he was smitten). DD was too shy to get her picture taken but enjoyed watching her brave little brother.

Epcot was great for a couple of reasons. We tried Epcot out on our third day so we were warmed up to the whole park experience and we booked lunch with the Princesses which was fantastic. It was very well done, the food was healthy and YUMMY and there was a buffet for part of the meal so nobody was antsy or starving before the main course came. DD had her courage up and took some pictures with the princesses to her delight post vacation. It was fantastic. (The meal wasn't cheap but in my opinion TOTALLY worth not standing in line for single princesses.) We met Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Aurora, and Ariel -- everyone but Snow White and Mulan (who DD says is not a princess so she didn't expect her to be there ). We met Pochaantas at the animal park so that was off the list too. The second big hit of Epcot was the Nemo area (The Seas). It was part aquarium (we saw a manatee up close!), part show with Crush the Turtle (very funny), and part ride. It was all decorated, the kids loved it, and the adults were air conditioned the whole time.

We did Hollywood studios on the last day because DD really wanted to see the Belle show she had heard about from some friends. The Beauty and the Beast show was a big hit for her and DS thought it was good too. We also had breakfast with the Playhouse DIsney characters at this park and saw the mupppets (a short version) in 3D. Pretty cool.

All in all it was a memorable and amazing time. The kids will be talking about it for years. We went right in between low and medium season so the lines were pretty reasonable on most rides. A long wait for a ride with no fast pass was 40 minutes. We took advantage of the fast passes on our favorites when we could (DS went on the Buzz rides because we spent two days there about 8 times ) and this was a BIG help. For me, three is the youngest I would bring a child if I could help it. We saw tons of miserable toddlers and babies. It also was EXTREMELY expensive. I knew it would be, but DH added up the costs last night so we had a ballpark idea of what we spent on the week and it was not a trip I could sanction more than once every three years or so. The kids did great -- no meltdowns at all and the slept in the same room on bunk beds for a minimum of 10 hours a night with no interruptions. The biggest obstacle was the heat. We're just not used to it and we had a few days over 80 degree with humidity. We rented a stroller (double) on one day so they could rest between rides and took lots of breaks every day.

I've given only the minimal cliff note version here -- if anyone has specific questions please PM me. I was happy how our trip went 98% of the time but might have tweaked the last few days a bit. Having a strategy each day helped a great deal. Then, if something we tried for the first time was a huge hit, we attempted to do it again before we left the park that day.

I've written more than I thought I would so my time is up for now. Hopefully I can write more later in the weekend.

Until next time...