Disneyland 2013 Day 3: California Adventure

The final day of our trip was spent at California Adventure. When we first started planning the trip, we initially thought we’d only be going to Disneyland itself. Then we decided to do the Princess Breakfast (more below), which, of course, only takes place at Ariel’s Grotto in California Adventure. Well played Disney, well played. Nelson and I were at the parks in 2005 and I didn’t remember a lot of activities for young kids in CA Adventure, but, of course, we were 2 adults without kids, so we didn’t really pay attention. As I researched more about the park, I realized there were a lot of fun things to do for them (I should have known Disney wouldn’t disappoint) and decided to go after all.

I should back track. Before going on this trip, Kalaya had no idea whatsoever Disneyland actually was. It came up last fall when we saw a stage production of The Little Mermaid at my high school, after which Kalaya got to meet Ariel. Every time we drove by the school after that Kalaya would say, “That’s where Ariel lives on the stage!!” and I had to explain that, no, in fact Ariel had left and gone back home. We started to say she lived in the ocean (of course) but then we started getting asked about Cinderella and the other princesses and eventually started talking about this magical place called Disneyland where all the princesses live, as well as Mickey and his friends and every other character from Disney movies. (it took awhile to convince her that not EVERYONE on TV lived there. “Will we see Thomas Mommy? And Elmo?” For several months as the trip was being planned, ALL she talked about was going to see Cinderella’s castle and see Mickey’s house and Ariel and Cinderella.

Oh, by the way Kalaya, Disneyland has RIDES!!!

This didn’t even come up until a few weeks before the trip. And, she had no idea what we really meant. Our family has never ridden rides at the fair and we’ve never been to another amusement park. The only thing she’s ever done is the zoo train and a couple of Merry Go Rounds. So, naturally, she had it all planned out that she would ride the Merry Go Round and Jakiah would ride the choo choo as soon as we got to Disneyland.

Day 1 at Disneyland, big sign outside the entrance listing the rides closed for the day, including King Arthur’s Carousel.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Have I mentioned my child does not handle disappointment well? Especially when we had been planning and talking about that exact ride for WEEKS?!

I seriously debated turning around and walking back to the hotel.

(and, YES, I am an informed, smart Disney mama. I had checked the website and learned which rides were going to be closed while we were there. Only the teacups and Big Thunder Moutain were listed. NOT THE MERRY GO ROUND!! DISNEY FAIL)

THANK GOODNESS we had planned on CA Adventure, because they do have a merry go round, though with sea creatures instead of horses. So, every time she got sad about the horses, we reminded her that on FRIDAY, we would ride the fish merry go round as many times as she wanted.

You would think the 50 other rides we went on would comfort the child.

It’s a rough life.

(she’s only a little spoiled, I SWEAR. Someone with a 4 year old will understand)

SO, Friday morning, off to California Adventure we went, this time with 3 adults other, all friends from college. Which meant Nelson and I got time with friends, got time without kids, got to ride thrill rides and even got to ride a ride BY OURSELVES! It was so fun and the kids seeing Auntie Beth, Uncle Nan and Mr Curt.

Of course, the very first ride we rode was the Merry Go Round. Twice. Then The Little Mermaid ride, which I think ended up being one of Kalaya’s favorite rides of the whole trip. (No, that is not a creeper. Or my husband. But, don't we make a nice family with our friend Curt??)

Then, it was time for breakfast with the princesses!!!

I will just tell you, incase you happen to look online after reading this, Ariel’s Grotto is too expensive. I’m just being honest. It was great and the food was delicious, but when you see the price and judge (I know I would), you are correct, it was ridiculous.

But, that’s Disney. Take it or leave it. If you don’t want to pay their prices, don’t do it.

 And, frankly, I really don’t want to hear about it.

It was really fun! We got to meet 5 princesses, including Ariel, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, and Snow White. The whole experience was so well done and the food really was good.

I almost died when Kalaya’s meal came out. She chose a chocolate chip waffle, which apparently wasn’t enough sugar, so they made it into a boat with a bacon sail and put it on a bed of blue frosting AND included a huge cup of syrup, which she dumped over everything before we realized it. Oh, and coco krispies on the side. WOW. At one point she was swirling syrup and frosting together and eating it with a spoon.

ONLY AT DISNEYLAND PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!

(I should mention that the beautiful princess dresses were never exposed to the stickiness. They came out before the food was served. Smart.)

Needless to say, she had plenty of energy at this point and off we went to Cars Land. On the way we FINALLY met Donald Duck, which Jakiah had been waiting for the whole time. You can’t tell in the pics how excited he was, because he was eating crackers at the same time, so his mouth was full. But, he LOVES Donald and can actually say, “Donald Duck” VERY distinctly and clearly.

Cars Land is SO COOL. It is just like you are walking down town in Radiator Springs! All of us adults were in awe. And, the kids loved it, especially when Lightning McQueen himself drove by AND we got to meet him!! He really is super cool. Jakiah cried for 3 reasons. 1) it was nap time 2) he wanted to actually get in and ride inside Lightning (sorry dude) and 3) he had to leave Lightning and let someone else have a turn. But, still VERY COOL!

The rest of the day included thrill rides for the adults, including California Screamin’, Tower of Terror, Grizzly Mountain, Soarin’ Over California (which Kalaya was tall enough for and loved!) and we visited Bug’s Land which had lots of simple, small rides that the kids loved. We also caught the Pixar parade.

We also went to the Disney Junior stage show, which honestly was one of the highlights of the whole trip. It was just SO perfect for our kids ages! I will talk more in another blog about how we prepped the kids for everything Disney, but this show was one thing I had heard about. It was SO CUTE!! Every time a new show was introduced, it was like a celebrity had entered the room. Even Jakiah was saying, “Oh TOOOOODLES!!!” (if you don’t get it, you don’t have young kids) It was so sweet! It was super interactive and full of preschoolers and toddlers who were so into it singing and clapping and squealing at everything, adorable!

We finished off the day with a last ride on Ariel and the Merry Go Round. We didn’t stay for the World of Color show because 1) we were all exhausted and 2) the park got CRAZY crowded, because Disneyland had closed early for Mickey’s Halloween Party and a lot of the crowd found their way over. We finished with ice cream cones for everyone, which may have been the best part for Jakaih, since it was his first one ever!

The trip was an amazing blessing and I’m so happy we went. I can’t look back at pics, videos and even reading these blog enteries without getting choked up. It was that wonderful and magical and I will never ever EVER forget it.

See you real soon!

Disneyland 2013 Day 2

Day two was just as fun as the first day! I’m really glad we gave ourselves 2 days at Disneyland for multiple reasons; it let us take our time, we didn’t feel pressured to do too much, if we weren’t able to do something the first day, we got to the second day, etc.

Day 2 was different because we added another adult to the mix! Our good friend from college, Nan, joined us. It was great to see him, but it also added some awesome parts to our Disney experience. (1) Using Kalaya’s ticket, we were able to get 4 Fast Passes at a time (Me, Nan, Nelson, Kalaya). Since Kalaya and Jakiah are too young, we were able to ride the thrill rides and never alone, it was perfect! Nan got to do everything twice. This included Star Tours, Indiana Jones and Splash Mountain, as well as the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. (not Fast Pass rides, but our kids were too young for both) (2) Nan and his wife Beth are annual pass holders, which meant we got to take advantage of their 10% discount in the stores and restaurants. Basically, just the sales tax, but every little bit helped!! (3) Another person to keep track of kiddos and give Nelson some ‘guy time’.

We started off the morning with ‘Magic Morning’, because we bought 3 day (non hopper) passes. Which means we got to enter the park and hour before it opened, meaning 8 o’clock. Fantasyland and Tomorrowland were the 2 lands open to us. We headed straight for Peter Pan’s Flight, because, seriously, that line is ALWAYS CRAZY LONG. I don’t really get it. I mean, it’s a nice ride, but it’s really short and nothing fancy. And, Disney hasn’t figured out how to make that go faster. Come on Imagineers! Anyway, even with early admission, it was one of the longer lines we waited in, but still less than 30 minutes and it went quickly. We also rode the Buzz Lightyear ride and then it was time to meet Nan up at the front of the park, while hoping to meet characters we had missed the day before. We managed to be at the front of the line for both Daisy (Kalaya’s #1 request besides Cinderella) and Goofy, but missed Donald again, much to Jakiah’s disappointment. Nan and I immediately went to ride Star Tours while Nelson took the kids to meet Merida. (Disney’s latest princess from the movie Brave, which our kids are too young for, but we highly recommend!!)

We had scheduled a character breakfast Breakfast with Minnie at the Plaza Inn, which included an all you can eat breakfast buffet. I purposefully scheduled it close to lunch time (about the last reservation available time wise) so that we could call it lunch instead. The food was good and Nelson was very happy to EAT! There were so many characters that came through, including; the Fairy Godmother, Minnie, Suzy (one of Cinderella’s mice friends), Max (Goofy’s son), Tigger, Eeyore, Pooh, Pinocchio, Chip and Dale. Poor Dale managed to knock Jakiah completely over, he plowed RIGHT into him, Jakiah is just so tiny! He was fine though and Nelson and Nan thought it was hilarious, we’re waiting for the Dale nightmares to begin… Only downside was that the characters made the kids not interested in the food whatsoever, but I had anticipated that and it was worth it anyway. Plus, Jakiah was free!

The rest of the day was spent riding thrill rides and rides we had missed the previous day, or riding rides for the second, or third time. Some new rides included Storybook Land, the Enchanted Tiki Room and Finding Nemo (used to be the submarine ride), as well as getting our Mickey ears and picking our their special souvineers. We told them they could each pick one thing at the parks, but not until at least the second day (so they could look around). Jakiah picked a stuffed Tigger and Kalaya picked a Minnie Mouse purse. Jakiah got basic red Mickey ears and Kalaya, of course, picked the girlyest, princessiest ears in the park which included a tiara and veil.

We called it a night early that night, the kids were wiped and we wanted a good night’s sleep before California Adventures. I believe we left the park around 7pm, after arriving at 8am. Another great day!

Disneyland 2013 Day 1

I will post a separate blog or 2 about ALL of my planning, preparation and money saving ideas for our Disney trip soon. It was over a year of planning and researching and it was all so fun and totally, totally worth it!!

If you know me, at all, you will know that Disney is one of my very favorite things in the whole. wide. world. Like, serious obsession level. It is so a part of who I am and my childhood. I had a Disney wedding. (Not AT Disneyland, but lots of Disney incorporated in the ceremony and reception.) Nelson had to go to Disneyland before we could get married. (seriously.) I love it, I love it all! Needless to say, I have waited my whole life to have kids and take them to Disneyland. I had incredibly high expectations and I was beyond excited. For real, I did not sleep for 3 nights before we left. I was SO EXCITED.

We decided to take our first family trip this year, while Kalaya is 4 and Jakiah is 20 months. I knew that everything, EVERYTHING would be 100% real for Kalaya. The princesses, the characters, the magic. She may only remember parts of it (though, her memory never ceases to blow my mind), but I will and we will. It was pure magic and imagination and watching it through her eyes is something I will never. ever. forget. Many people didn’t understand why we took Jakiah at such a young age, telling me he won’t remember it. Duh. But, he was FREE! The park, the airplane, the hotel and even several meals. So, who cares??? Plus, I will remember it. I’ll remember how he held his little pen and autograph book out to each character, how he looked with adoration up at Mickey, how Chip picked him up and rocked him and how when Tinker Bell told him, “Don’t fly away!” and he replied “OKAY!” Every moment was wonderful.

October was a fabulous time to go. We chose to spend 3 days in the parks, 2 in Disneyland and 1 in California Adventures. It was the perfect amount of time. 2 days let us not have to rush to try to do everything in 1 day at Disney and 1 at CA Adventures was enough, because our kids are 2 young for the thrill rides. I cannot say enough about how awesome this time of year was for the trip. Sunny California, but not too hot and the lines were so awesome! Seriously, we didn’t wait more than 20 minutes for most rides (and most of them were even less!) and even less than that for most of the characters. And we met a LOT of the characters! Both of the kids’ autograph books are completely full!!

Day one was spent in Disneyland. The main focus of that day was meeting characters, but we rode a lot of rides too, because the wait was so short for everything! They did awesome at waiting in line (and yes, it was just Nelson and I watching them both) and were very patient. We managed to meet Minnie, Chip, Alice, the Mad Hatter, and Pluto in the first hour, it was awesome! We went straight to the castle, which you can now walk through again to see the story of Sleeping Beauty, which was in Kalaya’s top favorite activities of the whole trip. And, no line, so we could do it again though out the trip! We spent most of that morning in Fantasy Land riding rides and meeting Rapunzel. Then, during lunch, we told Kalaya she was going to get her hair, nails and make up done at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, which she had seen pictures of online already, but had no idea we were going to take her there. Her expression was PRICELESS (and, no, we don’t have a picture on purpose. That memory is just for us J) She was giggling and clapping and jumping up and down.

The Boutique was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. I am SO happy a friend recommended it to us. Yes, it was expensive, but it was SO wonderful and worth every penny. She love, love, LOVED it and has not stopped talking about it. And, it’s been 5 days and the hairdo is still there! Basically, she got to be made over into a princess. And, the cast members through out the park called her princess the rest of the trip, which was super cute. She was adorable and so sweet and excited about every part of it. It was such a great start to the Disney magic and experience!

And, of course, the boutique is located right next to the princesses, so off we went! #1 priority was meeting Cinderella, who has been an obsession of Kalaya for over a year. It was….magical. Seriously, it was just so perfect. Kalaya was enraptured and Cinderella made it so special, teaching her to twirl, curtsy and princess wave. The look on her face was so priceless!!

\

Jakiah was fantastic with the characters as well. We weren’t sure how he’d react, because so many people were pretty discouraging, saying that their kid had freaked out or that they didn’t really get it or didn’t know how it worked or who the characters were.

Not this kid.

He LOVED the characters!! He was SO CUTE, he would toddle up and say, “Hi ______!” (we have been watching many episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in preparation and in line, I would have him practice saying their names) and hold up his little autograph book and pen, it was the cutest thing!!! People were just gushing over him. He was totally in love with hugging and kissing them and giving hi fives. So sweet!

We rode a LOT of rides the first day, some of them even twice!! The lines were that short! One bummer was that the carousel was closed, which Kalaya had really, really been looking forward to. Luckily, we were able to tell her we’d be riding one on Friday at California Adventures. Some highlights included; Snow White, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, It’s a Small World, Autopia, visiting Toon Town, Casey Jr train, Jungle Cruise, and Winnie the Pooh. Characters from that day included Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Alice, the Mad Hatter, Chip, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Aurora, and Tinker Bell. Not bad!

We wrapped up the day with dinner at the Jolly Holiday Bakery and watching the parade, which included the princesses, Mary Poppins, the classic characters, Peter Pan and Hook, Tiana, The Lion King and Aladdin. We were at the park for 12 hours, but the kids did GREAT! Jakiah napped in the stroller with no problem and everyone had gotten a great night’s sleep the night before.

Oct 7, 2013

So, it's been, um, awhile to say the least. Here's a rundown of where we are in life:

*Kalaya is almost 4 1/2. She is in her second year of pre school at a new school. It's a 5 day a week, afternoon Pre K and she is loving it! It's less than 5 min from our house, which is super convenient. In fact, I found a used bike trailer on Craig's List and when it's not pouring or nap time doesn't go too long, I've been riding to and from her school with the kids inside. They love it! We celebrated her fourth birthday in May with Super Why/super hero themed birthday party. She is a wonderful big sister and it's a joy to watch them becoming friends and playing together. Her favorite things these days include playing pretend and dress up, jumping on her trampoline, drawing, cooking, baking, reading stories, jumping in puddles, princesses, and Doc McStuffins. She can write all her letters, upper and lowercase and is reading!

*Jakiah is now 20 months old and busy busy busy. He is extremely active and loves to run, climb, dance, and explore. He talks so much and picks up words very quickly. I lost count around 100 words and that was several months ago!! He knows all of his uppercase letters and is quickly picking up the lowercase and numbers as well. He loves airplanes, trains, cars, trucks, balls, Thomas the Tank Engine and following Kalaya everywhere. We celebrated his 1st birthday in January with a Very Hungry Caterpillar birthday party. We are still very active in our church play group and have been on lots of fun trips this year.

*In June, Nelson took our youth group in a mission trip to San Francisco. This also ended our five year run as youth ministers. It was a great experience, but we were ready to move on. The kiss and I rode down with the group part of the way and stopped in Chico, which was where I grew up. It was very surreal to take my kids to places I went as a kid and to hang out with childhood friends and THEIR kids! It was an awesome trip.

*The kids and I had an amazing opportunity to go on a cross country trip this summer. We flew to Washington DC to visit my brother and niece. We then drove to Georgia to visit our cousins and to Alabama to visit my grandparents. We were gone for 2 weeks, which was a looong time away from Daddy, but it went so well. We met up with my mom and the kids did amazing in the trip! It was definitely stressful flying with 2 kids by myself, but they really did do phenomenally! I was about as prepared for everything as I could have been.

*While I am still home with the kids during the day, I have been working part time as a swim teacher/lifeguard since January. It has been going really well and it's nice to have something for myself and a way to contribute financially to the family. I'm still trying to find a balance between providing the income we need/want and not getting overwhelmed by hours and taking away from the family. This session I'm working both weekend days and I don't think I'm going to do it again any time soon. It's difficult to do anything as a family on weekends, since it takes a bout half of my day. I also work Tues and Thurs evenings. I may try more week days instead of weekends this winter.

*The most exciting thing in our house right now is that we are heading to Disneyland next week!! I can't wait to share our experience, I am so excited!!

The Famous Crawl

I love his little crawl, it gets giggles everwhere it goes! And yes, we have a walker!!

Holiday Season 2012

Well, another holiday season has come and gone. AGAIN. I have to stop saying how fast time is going. With two kids. So, ignore that.

Christmas was busy and very fun this year! Three and a half is so aware of everything to do with Christmas, it was so magical! Kalaya loved everything about the holiday season; the lights, the treats, making and wrapping presents, GETTING presents, visits from friends and family, seeing decorations and lights everywhere, counting down the days, baking treats, especially baby Jesus’ birthday cake, and especially, Santa.

Holy cow, does 3 years old get Santa!!!

I love it. I adore it. I encourage it and Nelson feels the same way. Santa is such a magical joy and I am so, so, SO glad that I married some one who gets this. (Not married? Make sure you talk about that before getting engaged. Seems silly, but people have crazy opinions on the jolly guy in red these days and your and your partner/spouse should be on the same page long before children!! There is a seriously Boy Meets World episode about holiday traditions…..)

Anyway, visiting Santa, the Elf on the Shelf (At our house, she is simply a friend of Santa’s that we can tell our good deeds to. We don’t say that she’s going to report ‘bad’ behavior so Santa won’t bring gifts. No judgement on the parents who do, I’m just avoiding that. Mainly because I know I could NEVER follow through on no presents…), watching him feed the reindeer (which is AWESOME!), writing him a letter, waving to him at the mall, reading story after story (after story, after story….), watching movies about him, and talking about everything to do with him was so much fun!

I could get into a major discussion about believing in Santa. MAJOR. I respect families who don’t. That is their decision. But, for Nelson and I, we want to give our children magic in their lives, even if they don’t always believe the same way. The tooth fairy, the Easter bunny, princesses, Jedi, you name it! We don’t worry about these characters taking away from Christian holidays and if doubting the existence of Santa means doubting God as some faiths claim will happen? That’s okay. I don’t want my kids to believe anything blindly and we’ll talk about it each time something comes up. They can decide for themselves what to believe and pass on to their own children some day.

Anyway, Christmas morning was great fun and the kids had a blast opening all of their presents and playing with their new toys! Jakiah didn’t quite get what was going on, of course, but he caught the excitement from big sister!! They took turns with the ridiculous amount of new toys they are sharing and made huge mess of the living room and it was GREAT! We were blessed to have my brother and niece Allie with us this year (after missing him in Afghanistan last year) which made it extra special! Allie (who is 4 ½) and Kalaya get along SO WELL and had so much fun together!! Unfortunately, Christmas night (not Eve, thank goodness!) Kalaya woke up at 4am throwing up and was down for the count for 2 days, but recovered quickly. Poor Nelson got it a week later, YUCK! But, luckily, Jakaih and I seem to have avoided it!

I didn’t get quite as much time with family as I’d hoped, since I was taking my LIFEGUARDING CLASS!! Very exciting! Other than the fact that I was the oldest in the class, except for the instructors…..by 10-15 years…..that’s okay! I held my own and passed all the tests (on the first go round, others were not so lucky) and I can tell that my water polo career (even though it was 10 years ago….) is still some where in me and helped a lot!! I got hired a couple of days later and am happy working a couple of nights a week!

My aunt flew in a couple of days after Christmas to be part of Jakiah’s baptism. Both she and my brother were Godparents and the ceremony was beautiful. Jakiah did great! He loved having the water poured over him and looked like a little angel in his gown.

New Year’s was uneventful; I went to bed long before midnight, but woke up at 2 to find out Nelson had caught the stomach bug too. Happy New Year!!

The season finished off with our church's traditional Epiphany holiday pageant with 2 of our family members! Kalaya did fantastic, until the end when she cried and ran to Mommy because of the applause. (I had anticipated this and was in the front row!) Jakiah had done perfectly in rehearsals and at the last minute decided he wanted to nurse instead. Oh well!!

Dirt (Guest Blogger Daddy)

I slammed my daughter's face into the ground last weekend.

That probably sounds bad. But really, it's either not at all what you think, or it's exactly what you think.

On Saturday, Kalaya and I decided to go the park, even though it was freezing cold out and about 5:30 in the evening. It's important to note that "we decided" really means "she decided and daddy couldn't think of a reason other than he didn't want to go." So I got out the double stroller, grabbed a snack for each of us and a cup (with a lid) of water for her, and we started walking.

It's hilarious to me when we walk, just the two of us, and she rides in the double stroller. She had always chosen the wagon, but when Jakiah was born and we got the double stroller, she has insisted on taking it every time. I had thought it was because it was new and exciting; now I think she just likes the idea of using it without him being there. Never underestimate the power of not having to share.

Anyway, it's hilarious because she doesn't say a word. She doesn't point at things, or ask me what things are or why they exist, or do anything else that her normal, curious, three-year old self would do. She just observes everything, takes a sip of water every once in a while, and enjoys the ride. Sometimes I'll try to talk to her, or ask her a question about something, and half the time she'll just say "Don't talk, dad." I'm sure it's a glimpse of her teenage years, but it's also kind of refreshing that she would rather just enjoy the scenery than be a part of forced conversation. Of course, if any kind of animal appears, she won't shut up about it.

We rolled into the park with probably thirty minutes of daylight left, and nobody was there. Obviously that was due to the 29 degree temperature, but whenever we get to a park and no one else is there, I like to think the universe is giving us a moment where it's like we're the last people on earth, and we have to enjoy it as much as we can. Kalaya is probably just thrilled she doesn't have to take turns with anyone.

(Note: I'm switching to present-tense here, for no explainable reason other than I think it heightens the drama.)

The order in which we attack the park is very deliberate, even with nobody around. "Daddy, let's go to the swings first!" she yells, and runs in their direction. I always feel like I should run whenever she runs, lest she think I'm not as into whatever we're doing as she is and she feels invalidated somehow. I have been running a lot more than I used to when we were childless.

"I want to swing on my tummy. Then I want to swing on my bum," she informs me. I nod my head, and take my place next to her swinging on my tummy, and then my bum. "Push me please. Say '1...2...1, 2, 3!' when you push," I nod my head again, and say "1...2...1, 2, 3!" when I push her. "Now you swing on the other swing with me." I nod my head a third time and we swing together. We are Wesley and Buttercup, only with an unspoken "As you wish," and without the wispy mustache.

She thinks it's funny when we yell "WHEE!" on the swings, but only if we yell it in unison. If I yell it before or after her, it's like I'm telling a bad joke. "Let's look at the moon when we swing, dad," she says, which is her way of saying "Let's see how horizontal we can get on our swings without falling out." "Okay," I say, "but hold on tight so you don't fall." She looks at me like she's offended, as if she's some baby that would fall out of a big girl swing, but she readjusts her grip. We look at the moon for a while, and then I start to feel sick because while I can handle the craziest rollercoasters on the planet, going back and forth on the swings makes me feel like I'm going to throw up. "I'm done swinging," she announces, to my great relief. "Let's go on the slide now. Stop me please." I get off quickly, nod my head, and stop her. She runs to the slide, with me right behind her. Now we are Calvin and Hobbes, only...nope, there's no 'only' here because all four of us are awesome.

Kalaya doesn't like to slide alone (she's not as much of a daredevil as she pretends to be), so she climbs up the ladder to the slide and I follow her. We get to the top and look down. "Big slide!" she yells gleefully, and I agree. There's a reason we call this Big Slide Park instead of its proper name.

[Quick tangent: when she was smaller, we used to go down this slide together, only I'd let her ride on my shoulders. I feel like when I tell her this when she's an adult, it will confirm her suspicions that I was a terrible father. Really, I just thought she would like it better. Once, a couple who saw me doing this with her reacted like normal people would and called the Park Safety Patrol. They drove past us (I did not know the Park Safety Patrol existed, nor was I aware of their fleet of automobiles) really slowly, watching to see what we were doing. I probably should have just let her ride on my lap so we wouldn't get in trouble, but because I'm an idiot, and I was angry that someone thought I was intentionally putting my daughter in danger, I went down the slide with her on my shoulders while staring at the car. She squealed in delight (or fear), and the car eventually drove away.]

Back at the top of the slide, we arrange ourselves so she is on my lap. She's a little too big for me to feel safe with her on my shoulders at this point, although reading that sentence implies that I felt safer with her being smaller and more breakable. Maybe the Park Safety Patrol should have ticketed me, or done whatever it is a Park Safety Patrol does.

For a second, I think the slide might be a bad idea. It's cold and I am wearing sweatpants (partially because of the cold, partially because it's the weekend and I'm lazy), which could be the equation for a faster-than-normal slide. But then Kalaya yells "1, 2, 3, SLIDE!" and I forget I am the adult and just react to her instructions. We start going, but my boots kind of drag on the slide and it ends up being a little slow. We get to the bottom and both of us are mildly disenchanted. "Good thing we didn't pay for that," I say to her for some reason, and she just says, "Let's go on the monkey bars now."

We play on the monkey bars for a while, then she wants to swing again. After the swings we play around the little creek that runs through the park. It's probably dangerous because of the mud and temperature, but I tightly grip her hand and I have an unrealistic belief/expectation that I won't ever drop my kids in frigid water. Neither of us fall in, even when she insists I only hold her coat and not her hands because she found a stick somewhere and needs both hands to pretend to fish. If someone comes along and sees us, it will look like I am threatening to drown her.

It is pretty dark now, and colder than when we arrived, so I suggest we go home. "Mommy is probably done making dinner, and we don't want it to get cold." She is a seasoned veteran at this kind of game, so instead of agreeing she says, "What's she making for dinner? Maybe it's cold." Neither am I a rookie, so I say, "You're funny, but we're going home." She senses defeat, and says, "I want to slide again. Last time."

At the top of the slide again, I am hoping it will be faster than the first trip. I want to make sure she has a good time, after all, and a slow slide will not do. I will just keep my legs up a little bit to reduce the drag, and it'll be fun. "1, 2, 3, SLIDE!" she yells, and I let go of the bars holding us back. We slide.

And we go really, really, freaking fast.

It takes me a second to realize what's happening, although Kalaya seems to have picked up on it because she is not yelling "WHEE!" as much as she is leaning backward into my throat like she's trying to suffocate me with the top of her head. Before I can put my feet down or grab onto the sides of the slide to slow our progress, we hit the end of the slide, and my feet somewhat hit the ground, and the momentum propels me forward like I jumped out of a moving car.

For a second, I think "I got this; just one foot in front of the other." For a second, I am right. I get the "one foot" part correct, but "the other" does not stay on target.

It's defeating, to say the least, when you realize you're about to hurt your own child on a playground. As I'm watching my legs do the opposite of what my brain is telling them to do, I try to pause life so I can reassess what to do to cause the least amount of damage to my totally helpless daughter. I can't pause this moment, or any other moment, so I do the only thing I can think of: I try to absorb all the punishment she's about to take.

I manage to rotate my body enough to land on my left arm, left shoulder, and head. This is great, until I realize that the right side of my body, where Kalaya is firmly held, is going to catch up (and probably faster) and hit the ground too (and probably harder). There's a moment where I think I see her terrified eyes, and then she hits the barkchips face-first. It looks like it HURTS.

I literally bounce back up (where the hell was this superhuman ability two seconds ago), pull her to a standing position, and kneel in front of her so that my face is millimeters from her face. "Are you okay?!" I practically yell. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? What hurts? I'm so sorry, my darling, that was my fault! Are you okay?"

Her eyes are shut tight, and her teeth are bared like she's going to rip my jugular out with them. I am waiting for her to start bawling, or swearing, or punching me in the face. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I wonder if the Park Safety Patrol is about to tackle me from behind.

Kalaya opens her right eye and looks at me. And she says:

"Dirt."

This word does not register to me. "What?"

"Dirt. I have dirt on my face."

"You have dirt on your face?" I repeat to her.

"I have dirt on my face," she says again.

"Yes. You do have dirt on your face." This is like a conversation you would find on a cassette teaching people English.

"We fell down," she says, pulling my hands up to wipe the dirt off her face.

"Yes we did," I say, cleaning her face enough so she can open both of her eyes.

"Let's go home," she says, and she puckers her lips. I pucker mine back to her, because evidently the blow to my head has turned me into a gorilla in the zoo that mimics people. But as soon as she sees me pucker my lips, she leans in and kisses me.

"Okay," I say, slightly taken aback, but nodding my head and picking her up. After I put her back in the stroller and hand her the snack we brought, she says, "Thanks for going to the park, dad."

"Thanks for coming to the park with me, Kalaya."

"You're welcome," she says, and doesn't say another word until we get home.

I know my daughter will be hurt as she grows up, probably more than I care to admit. Kelly and I will probably hurt her, her brother will probably hurt her, friends and strangers and life in general will probably hurt her. And I will want to protect her, and console her, and do everything I can possibly do to make sure she's okay. I will always want to be the one to fix whatever's broken, even if she just needs to clean the dirt off her face.

But she is a strong, beautiful, independent girl. And she will be a strong, beautiful, independent woman. And someday (the Someday which is approaching much faster than I'm anticipating), she won't need me to clean the dirt off her face because she'll be able to do it herself. I think, I THINK I can handle that.

As long as I get a kiss when she's done.  

12/13/12

So, here's a run down of the latest:
(we'll see how long it actually takes me to type this. One is sleeping, one is watching PBS. Hold your breath!!)

The holiday season is in FULL SWING at this house. 3 1/2 is completely magical when it comes to Christmas. I LOVE it!! She totally gets everything with Santa and the elves and all of the fun things that come along with it. We started the Elf on the Shelf and Kalaya loves to wake up in the morning and find where 'Sequoia' is hiding each day. We have a countdown to Christmas with a paper chain and it is very exciting to take of a link each day and count how many days are left until Christmas. She loved getting the tree, putting up decorations and seeing them every day. Jakiah is excited because big sister is excited and just along for the ride!!

Jakiah is so active at 10 1/2 (can you believe it??) months. He is into anything and everything! Especially things he's not supposed to have. But, I roll with it. It's so different this time around. I now know just how much I took Kalaya's cautious personality for granted. I cannot turn my back on this kid for a second, he is GONE. We have to do MAJOR baby proofing around this house, literally nothing is safe. He's not destructive (at this point....), he's just SO curious and excited and enthusiastic. This kid is a fantastic eater, but I cannot believe how MUCH he eats!! He is still a strong nurser, for which I'm grateful, but he seriously eats 3 good size meals every day and often a snack or 2 on TOP of nursing multiple times. It is so crazy! He crawls every where (though it's more like a crab than all fours) and pulls up on everything.

Kalaya is thriving in pre school, it really was a great decision to put her there! We are really happy with the school. She is learning a lot about herself and I love all of the songs and new ideas she's learning. She has some nice new friends and loves her teacher! Parent volunteering and being the 'class rep' is keeping me busy, as are field trips, play group at church, art projects, cooking together, and everything else she loves to do!

I'm actually fairly ready for Christmas this year, I don't know how that happened!! I know people think I'm crazy with Black Friday shopping, but it gets the kid shopping out of the way!! Those presents are wrapped, under the tree (with a giant baby gate around them....) and the rest are hidden away waiting to be delivered by Santa. We had pictures taken in November, made them into holiday cards and I sent them out this week. Plus, those pics double has family Christmas presents! I've started on the homemade holiday gift making, which is mainly edible gifts, and Kalaya loves helping me in the kitchen right now, so it's perfect!!

Of course, it's not all hearts and rainbows. Jakiah is up to 6 teeth now and it's been a rough time getting there. His sleep has gotten slightly better, but definitely no signs of sleeping through the night at this point. We have good nights and bad and I just....roll with it. Because, what else can I do honestly? And, there is a bit of sibling rivalry these days. Don't get me wrong, my kids do really get along fantastically and Kalaya is more patient with Jakiah than I am, frankly. But, now that he's mobile, he wants to do whatever she's doing and play with all of her toys and destroy take a turn with whatever she's holding, her patience sometimes wears thin. I try to be sympathetic, but at the same time, honestly, this is a reason why we had another child. She needs to learn that it's not all about her, that she needs to share, compromise, etc. But, she is blessed to have her own room and when she wants to play by herself, I try to respect that. And, really, she prefers to be with him, I think she just wishes he'd do exactly what she tells him. Because MAN, she loves to boss that kid around. And, he doesn't usually mind, but I try to remind her to be nice, to ask, to give him other toys, etc, etc, etc. I tell her she's the dog's boss, so that way she is allowed to tell SOMEONE what to do, which is pretty hilarious actually.

As for me, some big changes are about to happen, actually! I have had this planned for awhile, but some how haven't blogged about it; I am heading back to work! CRAZY, RIGHT??? I am still going to be a stay at home mom full time. But, I racked my brain on how I could contribute financially to the family, but not have to pay for childcare and this is what I came up with:

I am taking a life guarding class.

This is actually not that out there, if you know me from way back when. I basically lived at the pool between water polo and swim team in high school and early college, so I'm very comfortable there. I regularly attended pregnancy fitness classes at the pool last year and got to know several staff members. Also, the pool is 2 minutes from our house.

So, I'm getting certified while Nelson has his winter break and am hoping to start working shifts in late January or early February. I have to start off with basic guarding, but hope to get trained quickly to teach lessons and eventually teach adult fitness classes. I am excited about this because:

(1) This is for me, out of the house, no kids.
(2) Extra income, which we really, really need. (and decent money, actually, fitness instructors can make $25 an hour!)
(3) (in theory) Motivation to look good in a swimsuit.
(4) I can work evening shifts and weekends when I want. No paying for childcare.
(5) Free pool access!

So, I hope this goes as I'm hoping. And, that it will be a blessing, not a bigger stress in my life. I really am excited about it!

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!

Mommy Guilt

Here's the thing. Clearly, this blog is not a priority for me any more. And, that makes me feel guilty on a regular basis. And like a failure. Because, honestly, it makes me feel like I'm failing as a mom. That sounds extreme, but I started this blog as a journal/baby book/record of Kalaya and now Jakiah's lives and I have missed so much of recording their lives lately that when I see this and think about how long it's been since I actually did update....mommy guilt.

Ug. Mommy guilt.

Every. Single. Day.

I need to clean the bathroom. I don't read to Jakiah enough. I need to spend more time just playing with Kalaya. Ug, I need to make some Christmas presents. Why haven't I planned out more meals ahead of time? I haven't touched my new sewing machine yet. UG, I haven't worked out in weeks. I need to take more pictures. I forgot to write down when tooth #2 came in! Ug, she's watched too much TV today. HOW DID THE BABY GET A PIECE OF CHOCOLATE?? This house is a mess. We need to get outside while the sun is shining. I need to just sit and color with her. Why doesn't he sleep longer, what am I doing wrong?? Crap, that wasn't organic. Which reminds me, it's 3pm and I haven't eaten all day. I need to schedule a dentist appointment. We're out of milk! What is that smell? I need to call her back. Did I pay that bill? Kalaya, stop playing in the toilet! How long has it been since I washed the sheets?? Savor every moment. SAVOR EVERY MOMENT!!! What is in the baby's mouth? The dog hasn't been walked in a year. Did I finish the Christmas shopping? I need to be thankful, think of those moms who don't have happy, healthy babies, I'm so lucky.... Why is he crying this time?? I need to mail my Christmas cards. Oops, gotta switch the laundry or it will start to smell. I just spent $100 at the grocery store, why isn't there anything to eat?? I need to order Jakiah's baptism gown. Savor the moment. I overreacted when she took his toy, I shouldn't have yelled like that. Jakiah's baby book only has 2 pages filled out! (that one resulted in Mommy melt down....) I should work out, but I'll blog instead....

....and this is all day, every day and within a span of about 2 minutes, no exaggeration. (and yes, all of those things have happened. In the last week.)

It's worth it though.

Right?

Of course. And, we need to give ourselves a break. But, we don't. And, we won't. And, some how, in the end it goes by so fast and the kids are awesome and we don't know how it all happens or gets done, but it does.

Did I mention savor every moment?

Screw that. Season 7 of How I Met Your Mother is on Netflix. Break into the Christmas goodies that were supposed to be presents for friends and family and savor THAT moment. ; )