Naptime Blog

Juliana was my only child until she was six years old.  For so long she was my one and only.  Juliana is the best big sister, and she is so good with her brothers, but I know she also enjoys her time alone with me.  So I was thrilled to receive a pair of reviewer’s tickets to see Pinkalicious, the Musical.  (I received 2 tickets to see Pinkalicious compliments of the show to review the show).  The tickets were for a Sunday afternoon, and I couldn’t wait to take my little girl.

When I told Juliana about the show, she was excited.  I showed her the website, http://pinkaliciousthemusical.com/ , and thought the music and the video clip would get her even more excited.  Instead, my daughter got upset that I would want to take her to a “baby show” and that “only babies see that stupid show”.  I was crushed (and ticked off with her, which I made quite clear).  But after a few days, Juliana said she would love to have a Mommy’s Day Out with me.  So a few Sundays ago, we saw Pinkalicious.

Juliana is STILL singing the tunes from the show!  She LOVED it!  And honestly, so did I.  I must say, I had gotten a little worried myself that my daughter was going to be too old for the show, but after seeing it, I truly feel that she was the PERFECT age for the show, and the moral of the story is the lesson I try to teach my daughter all the time!  Despite Pinkalicious Pinkerton’s parents warning her to stop eating so many pink cupcakes, Pinkalicious does not listen and she turns pink.  The way to treat her condition “pinkititis” is to eat lots of green foods.

My daughter is almost 8 years old, but we still have these battles daily.  Juliana may not eat countless pink cupcakes, but she often thinks she is old enough to disregard our rules and directives to make her own choices.  And I enjoyed seeing part of myself in Pink’s mom.  She’s sitting at the kitchen table, working on the laptop with one hand, mopping the floor with the other, disciplining Pink and her brother all at the same time.  Juliana and I could relate to the show in many ways, and it was nice to see how this mother/daughter battle is not just a battle in our house!  My daughter needs as many reminders as possible to understand that my husband and I DO know what we are talking about!

The show was entertaining for me as a grown up, for my eight year old daughter, and for the MANY smaller children in the audience.  I think we can all relate as parents, and the kids can see similarities between the Pinkerton family and their own family.  Great show, great story, kept both of us interested, and I would recommend it to all!

Jennifer
Wife to Paul, Mom to Juliana (7), Anthony and Louis (1) and Joseph (4 months)
www.nevaland.com

The “Happiest Place on Earth” may be the happiest place on earth, and it may be the most family friendly place you will ever visit, but what if you have multiple babies?  Is it still family friendly?  And are you as a parent “happy” in the Happiest Place on Earth?

My husband and I decided to be spontaneous, something we cannot often do with our children, especially with three children under two years old.  I needed a vacation, and so we decided at the end of January that we would spend my daughter’s winter break in Florida.  We booked rooms with our timeshare in Orlando, and I was thrilled that we were going to get away from the snow and cold for a few days and spend a little time with Mickey Mouse.  We weren’t planning on visiting all the parks, and would play it by ear, but I figured we’d spend two or three days in Walt Disney World and introduce our little ones to this most wonderful family vacationing spot.  The boys adore Mickey Mouse and friends, and my daughter, although this would be her third trip to Disneyworld, was very excited.  As for Paul and I?  No matter how old I get, I still love to go to Disneyworld.  It is my favorite place to be.  So I was totally unprepared for anything less than an amazing vacation.

The only negative with planning something spur of the moment is that we didn’t get the chance to seriously research doing Disney with three babies.  I automatically assumed that we’d have no problems in Disneyworld, as it caters to young families.  This may be true, however, if you are a family like ours, Disney might not be the place to go…  believe it or not!

The first morning we awoke in Orlando, I was more excited than the kids were!  I couldn’t wait to see Mickey Mouse, I could not wait to see that castle in The Magic Kingdom, and I was so looking forward to the mid afternoon parade with all the characters, music and dancing.  We were unlucky enough to arrive in Orlando during the coolest week of the year, but I was determined to enjoy the week in the cooler weather.  After all, we had just left 26 degrees and a foot of snow in NYC.  Fifty-five degrees in Orlando was better than that!  Plus, I had only done the Disney parks in 95 degrees in the past, and waiting on lines in the heat and humidity, walking with the kids would be difficult.  Perfect.  As the park was open until 1 am that day, we decided to wait until 11 am to arrive, to give the sun some time to warm up Orlando.
We had to get through the crowds with my seven year old, a double stroller and a single stroller.  We thought it easier to take the two strollers than our triple.  We walked around a little bit, just letting the kids take it all in, and decided that the first ride we took them on was “It’s a Small World”.  The wait was only 30 minutes, so we went on.  I asked the attendant if I could wait on the line with the kids in the strollers until I got to the ropes, and she said we had to park our strollers.  Of course, having rules the way they are, I understood why they needed us to park our strollers.  I asked if there was any alternative, as we were only two adults with three babies (my seven year old cannot hold a baby in a crowd), and she said no.  I was a bit taken back, but again, rules are rules.  We parked the strollers, took the kids out, and got on the line.
As we expected, due to my boys getting bored and antsy (what toddler doesn’t?), it was a nightmare on the line.  Paul held the twins, and I held Joseph.  The twins wanted to get down, so Paul put them down.  I would hold one of their hands and Paul would hold the other’s hand.  Louis is into diving on the floor yelling “safe” (as in baseball sliding), and Anthony is the neat police, picking up every bit of food or paper that falls on the floor.  And wouldn’t you know it, both of the twins did exactly those two things while waiting in line.  So as one twin was throwing himself on the floor and the other was picking up every bit of Disney litter, Mommy and Daddy were in a sweat.  I need to remind you that we also had our 5 month old Joseph on this line, as we alternated which of us would hold Joseph and which of us would fight with twin toddlers.

We were still determined to enjoy our trip to The Magic Kingdom.  After all, we spent enough money to get in the park!  Tickets were almost $80 for each of us to get in and almost $70 for Juliana to get in.  For $240, we were CERTAINLY determined to get SOME fun in the day.  Don’t let anyone fool you.  You only save a significant amount of money if you go to the parks for multiple days.  And I don’t mean 2 or 3, I mean 7 or 10.  Well, if you buy the four day passes you save about $20 for a day.  But if you are like my family, who can’t possibly do all of these multiple days in the same trip, you have to add on the “no expiration” option, which adds a lot more to your ticket bill.  I often wonder if Walt Disney had those prices in his plan when he designed this amazing world. 
Well, those Disney people are not stupid after all, because the look on the boys’ faces when our boat went through “It’s a Small World” was priceless.  They loved every minute of it, as did Juliana.  And no matter how many times Paul and I sit through it ourselves, it is still amazing.  So off we went to continue on our park journey.

I asked the attendants on the Pooh ride if my husband could wait on the line with one of the little guys, and I would wait with the others in their strollers until he made it to the front of the line, to save us from fighting our kids on the long lines (as the lines were getting thicker at this point).  Once again I was told no.  Another attendant evidently felt sorry for me, and as obviously the senior of the two, he asked what he could do to help us.  I explained our dilemma that we could not possibly wait on one more line with three babies and our daughter with only two adults.  I told him that I was not trying to cut any lines, and that one of us was quite willing to wait on the long line with everyone else.  If they could allow us to do this, it would be very helpful, and I would meet him at the front of the line with the remaining children.  He said that even though it was busy today, he could help us out.  So he asked his colleague to assist me to the front of the line as my husband got up the ramp and was almost ready to board. 
Paul called my cell as he approached the ramp, as surprisingly, the line was moving quickly.  I took the twins out of their carriages, and the attendant helped me get to Paul.  I was thrilled.  And then, the line stood still.  Evidently, the “fast pass” line backed up, so they needed to take them first, having the rest of us wait.  And so once again, Paul and I were on the line for another twenty minutes with Juliana and three babies.  And once again, we were in a sweat, losing our patience and energy, and not very happy in the “happiest place on earth”.

We spent the next day at our resort, debating on whether to try another park or not.  We met other vacationers and resort workers, and asked for tips and pointers, should we decide to try the parks again.  A few people suggested lying, either renting a wheelchair and beating all the lines all together, or going to customer service and telling them one of my children had special needs to get a pass to avoid the lines, and honestly, this was NOT an option.  We were blessed with healthy children, and I won’t take advantage of special accommodations for those families who really need it due to disabilities or illnesses.  Although I do think my family could use special accommodations, we were not eligible for any without lying, so we decided that our first Disneyworld trip as a family of six would be an abridged version, and we didn’t visit any more parks.

Yes, Disneyworld has the “baby swap”, but that doesn’t help our family because we still have to wait on the lines with three babies and only two adults.  Yes, Disney has “fast pass”, but if you utilize this feature and your ticket says to return 3-4 hours later, if you are walking with multiple toddlers, do you really think it is conducive to return to that area of the park later on, when it takes so much effort to get around as it is?  Yes, The Magic Kingdom (and I believe all the other parks as well) has a baby care center, but only one in the park, so if you are on another end of the park and need to feed three babies or change three diapers, you need to use the bathroom (and wait on the baby changing table line) or use your strollers.  And a lot of the other “perks” Disney claims to offer for young families is ONLY an option if you are staying at a Disney resort.  As we utilized our time share, that didn’t help us.  But I DID visit the vacation desk at our resort, which was manned by a Disneyworld employee, and she could offer no other help for us.

Although I feel every child should experience Walt Disneyworld at the various stages in their lives: as toddlers, as preschoolers, as school aged children and as teens, I would certainly re-evaluate taking your toddlers if you have more than one toddler at a time, for Disneyworld is not very family friendly for families with multiple toddlers/babies.

Jennifer
Wife to Paul, Mom to Juliana (7), Anthony and Louis (1) and Joseph (4 months)www.nevaland.com

Since we were up North for Christmas, we celebrated with my family down here afterwards. My mom asked what Shaughn wanted for Christmas and of course, I don’t know what to say. I suggested anything educational that would teach him, until I spotted a $20 drum set for toddlers. I am not forcing music upon my child but he certainly seems interested in anything that makes noise. He has this really nice KidiJamz keyboard that he plays alot, and his Leap Frog Learn & Groove Drum and Maracas keep him very entertained. He likes beating the lids of my pots and pans with spatulas so I figured this would be a gift he would surely enjoy. My mom got it for him and he definitely loves it. My husband set it up for him while still at my parents house and he immediately started banging away with his drum sticks. It’s as if it came naturally to him, I swear. At least one time a day he crawls over to his drums and plays for a few minutes all by himself. When he’s done with that, he gets out of his chair and goes about to the next activity which is usually another musical toy. He’s starting up his own band! So far it’s a band of us three and we had needed a vocalist until today, when Shaughn grabbed the microphone connected to the keyboard and sang into it WHILE pressing the keyboard keys. We have to schedule a tour soon lol!

 

-Krystle

This is one of the coolest websites ever. You can create all types of greeting cards and announcements. It’s a free site with some awesome graphics. It’s really user friendly also. I bumped into this website when I was trying to create an evite. Unfortunately the evite website kept freezing up and locking me out. I became pretty frustrated with that and decided to google search other FREE online programs with some of the same and even BETTER features.

I am almost obsessed with it; I create cards and greetings for no apparent reason. I am going to attempt to insert some of the things I’ve create so you can take a peak. You can even make cute little videos with themed music, it’s so much fun.

Enjoy…

http://smilebox.com/playBlog/4d5451324e5459324d54413d0d0a&blogview=true

http://smilebox.com/playBlog/4d5451324e5459324d7a493d0d0a&blogview=true

~Shanta

I know my first born son loves trains. His Thomas the Tank never leaves his side (and if it does, I am summoned to immediately fetch it with pleas of, “Tuss, Tuss, Tuss!”). He sits in his chair, in his bed, on the floor, in his car seat and wherever else he is, running his trains over his limbs and head. He spends much time at his beloved train table (if you read my personal blog, you might remember this post, this one that started his love for trains and this one of him admiring the trains). A huge smile pastes itself on his little face when he sees his Thomas book. When I go get him from nap or in the morning, he frantically searches for his Thomas and Percy before he’ll leave his room. He and trains (also known as the aforementioned “Tuss” or “Choochoos”) are BFFs.

So, I shouldn’t have been surprised when hubby found this in the living room recently…

It’s a remote, it’ s a book, it’s a car, it’s a binky…. these are my first thoughts when seeing these items strewn around on the floor. Leave it to a toddler’s imagination to turn them into exactly what HE wants them to be.

“Nooooo, it’s a TRAIN, Mom! Isn’t it obvious?” Well, now it is!

And, I do have to take notice that my youngest son’s binky is bringing up the end of this train as the caboose. Maybe Finley is hauling it off to the dump?

Who knows, but you gotta love kids!

Shannon
Potamus Prefers
http://www.potamusprefers.com/

When I was my daughter’s age, there was no such thing as cell phones, Blackberries, I-Phones…  We used Encyclopedias to find out information on any given topic.  We had the telephone book to find a home or business phone number, all landline phones.   We did not own a computer until I was in my early teens, and the first time I used the internet was on dial-up (gasp!), but didn’t know it was so slow because I had nothing to compare it to.  My daughter is amazed that growing up there were no cell phones, no Wi-Fi and internet connections, no technologically advanced means of interacting.

After I finished my homework each day, I actually went outside, walked a few doors down and rang a friend’s doorbell to see if she was done with her homework yet so we could play.  We chatted for hours, but in person.  We played and made up games and had fun. 

Kids today have fun, but quite differently than we did.  Although I am not quite certain I am convinced it is as healthy as going out in the fresh air and “running bases” for three hours with your friends face to face (friends that my parents knew and their parents knew me), but we have to make the best of what we have, right?  My husband and I keep up with much of the latest in technology whenever we can (although I do not own anything Blue Ray yet!) and intend to keep my children up with the latest in technology as well.

I recently reviewed a copy of Read Between the Lines: A Humorous Guide to Texting with Simplicity and Style by Shawn Marie Edgington – www.rbtlguide.com .  Although I consider myself up on all the acronyms and shortcuts to text messaging, I was curious what I still had to learn.  The book is an adorable guide, geared for women, moms like me, who want to keep up with today’s technology and stay in contact with the world. 

For me personally, I have a Blackberry and BBM (use my Blackberry Instant Messenger) more than texting, but the same rules pretty much apply.  Actually, the BBM allows me to carry on a conversation by text with those in my BBM list.  The only drawback is that I can only chat with those who have a Blackberry.

Shawn Marie lists a whole dictionary of acronyms that are used in texting.  I will certainly be going back into the book in my “travels” with not only texting, but with using Twitter, Facebook, my BBM, and other social networking sites and tools.  This shorthand guide is very helpful.  Shawn Marie also talks about other ways in which texting is making its “debut”…  how parents can use it to their advantage with their teens (Generation Text) instead of it being the enemy… how high school and college teachers/professors can use texting to engage the students more in class and in doing homework/projects…  how businesses, politicians, corporations, doctors offices, the older population, just about EVERYONE can jump in the technology bandwagon and start texting.

For me, I am already using these social media tools, and enjoyed the book as it clarified some things and gave me a great little guide.  For anyone who wants to get themselves into all the current technological advances but are afraid to test the waters, this book is a great place to start.

I can’t even imagine what technology will offer by the time my daughter is MY age!

Jennifer
Wife to Paul, Mom to Juliana (7), Anthony and Louis (1) and Joseph (4 months)www.nevaland.com

We just got home a couple hours ago from a weekend out of town. It was a nice weekend spent visiting my parents, sister and her husband, and friends. The boys had a fun time and were totally spoiled by their family and friends and loved experiencing different scenery.

My oldest son (he’ll be three in late April) really loves the farm my sister lives on. He wanted to spend the entire day outside today. It has been raining a lot over the last few days and he had cabin fever. He kept leading me around, showing me different things. He would eventually end up at the big area where the dogs were outside playing. He would stand at the fence for the longest time, just watching the dogs. I had to stand there too. If I walked away to the nearby carport to sit down, he would turn around quickly and walk the 30 or so steps (actually he almost ran) to get me. Once he fetched me, he would take me back and put me in my place. It’s funny because he struggles so much with his walking, but if he REALLY wants something, he can do really well. I think he over thinks it sometimes (as we all do in life).

He would also take his little Thomas and Percy trains that he hauls everywhere and line them up at the fence, facing the dogs so they could “watch” his furry friends as well. Once, I picked his dear trains up to put them away and he got frustrated and put them back, carefully arranging them, faced towards the fence.

At one point, I tried to take a nap while my family was awake to watch the boys, but my sweet son woke from his nap and I was awakened with the ear piece of my eyeglasses poking me in the eye. He was trying to put my glasses on me while I slept. Once he got them on, he grabbed my finger and took me right back where I belonged… outside (and fully awake). At least he was thoughtful enough to get my glasses for me so I could fully enjoy the scenery. My youngest son was content watching football with daddy and rearranging his aunt’s house.

I sure will miss these days when they’re all grown up.

Shannon
Potamus Prefers
http://www.potamusprefers.com/

I looked forward to my day at the spa for MONTHS! I went with some friends last April and ranted and raved over the whole experience. They have indoor pools and outdoor heated pools (swim in the winter!), saunas, Jacuzzis, massages, mani/pedis, ahhh… HEAVEN! My mother-in-law got me a gift certificate for a full body massage, but I wanted to wait until after the baby was born so I could truly enjoy it. I invited some friends, made my appointment for my massage, and off we went!

We checked in to the spa at 2:00 pm. After getting to our lockers and getting changed, we decided to have lunch first. After getting our food, we sat down to eat. We were just about to get up and go in the pool, when one of my friends, who was facing the window, jumped up and screamed… then the power went out. Outside, we could see wires on fire. The power went back on after about two minutes, but then we saw more sparks outside on the lines and the power went dead again. This happened one more time, and we really started to get nervous.
Someone had said that lightning struck the power lines, someone else said the telephone wire fell onto the power line and that caused the problem, but whatever the problem was, we were advised it would take a minimum of two hours for the power to come back on. Firefighters arrived, the power company arrived, and we went to the locker room and got dressed again in the dark. I cancelled my massage appointment and we got on the line to check out.

Everyone had flooded the desk to get refunds and demand money. People were yelling and screaming, pushing through those of us on line, demanding to be heard. I felt bad for myself, who truly deserved a day of relaxation at the spa, but also felt bad for these workers, as it was not their fault that they lost power. Luckily, after withstanding the line for about a half hour, I was able to get a free pass to return again and home I went.  I need to figure out another day where I have either a babysitter or my husband is available to watch the kids when we do not have any plans.  With four kids and a hectic work schedule, that will not be an easy task.  But trust me; I will make time for it.  I NEED my day at the spa!

Jennifer
Wife to Paul, Mom to Juliana (7), Anthony and Louis (1) and Joseph (4 months)

With the huge amount of “reality” shows on TV right now, I sometimes wonder how real they really are. I mean, if it were really reality, would it be that interesting?

I started wondering about a reality show about me and my life. I can guarantee you that I would bore people to tears and they’d get tired of seeing me in the same old pajama pants and t-shirt. Inevitably, they’d vote me off for not brushing my hair and for having spit up on me. lol I have no time for drama like most on reality television do. I am just too busy chasing two adorable toddlers.
I do think it would be kind of funny to have a REAL reality show where cameras just follow people around totally unscripted. It’s obvious that most of the shows are scripted. Each show has the participants doing something fun and exciting or at least interesting (going on weekend excursions, cool field trips and other things that many stay at home moms can’t afford).

In my reality show, they’d follow me as I wake up, make the kids breakfast, pour me a cup of coffee and check my email before the boys wake up. Once they are awake it would be hour upon hour of reading books, playing with trains, putting together puzzles, learning new things and watching Thomas the Train and Caillou. Naptime finds me blogging and catching up on things around the house. When the boys wake again it’s the same thing. Throw in my son’s ECI and occupational therapy sessions and a few trips to the doctor and grocery store and there you have it. It’s my life and I love it, but I am not sure it’s the reality TV people are looking for.

You’d watch it though, right?

Shannon
Potamus Prefers
http://www.potamusprefers.com/

It always goes so fast! I think many educators will agree that Christmas Break is one of those many, well deserved breaks. I love the Holiday’s and this year was extra special because it was Jayce’s 1st Christmas. He recently started walking, so it was extra fun watching him stumble around the house on Christmas day. Because we have 2 kids now, we don’t do much visiting on Christmas day. We like to be at home so our children can enjoy good food, family/friends & gifts. We cook a big meal, similar to a Thanksgiving meal, with all the fixings.  We often have family members stop by for good food and fellowship.

I try to relax as much as possible during my 2 week break from school. I work in a very difficult environment and some days are better than others. But it seems as if the last few days of my break always speeds by! It is very important to take time out for yourself to just relax and DO NOTHING. I know as mothers many of us find that to be a difficult task, but trust me: we have to do that! I feel like a better wife & mother when I take some me time out to treat myself. Make sure you find some time during your busy week to put yourself 1st; you will thank me for it…

~Shanta