What I did on my Christmas Vacation (extended version)

So I don't really get a vacation. Afterall, my job is to be home taking care of the kid and until I can find someone else to step in and do that for a few days, I don't get a vacation. But we did get away for Christmas, at least for a few days, so Jason got a vacation.

Where did we go? Why didn't I say anything about it before? We flew to CT on Christmas. To surprise my parents. And it worked. They were surprised. We had a great time. We're never doing it again. That might not be totally true, but we don't plan to do it again. This year was easy because Michaela was too young to know that Santa came to our house a day early, but we might not be able to swing that again in the future. We sort of decided spur-of-the-moment to go (I think 3 weeks before counts as spur-of-the-moment when you're talking Christmas travel) and it was absolutely worth all the craziness of the whole thing!

The first bit of craziness was Christmas on Christmas Eve. This is what our tree looked like after Santa came:

This is all that came from Santa:

The rest was from family and friends. We feel very loved and very blessed.

It took three hours to open presents. With only one child (if you don't count Jason). That might not have happened had it not been for this:

That was from Mimi and Papa. They graciously got the one with the red accents so it would match my living room decor. I've resigned myself to the fact that children's toys have officially taken over my living room. But I'm crazy enough to want them to match. Michaela really likes it, too, which made it very difficult to get her to come back to the pile of presents to open anything else.

You'll notice the Powerwheels car in the picture above. Guess how many times she's actually ridden in it. Go ahead, guess.

Thank goodness I got a picture. This was it. It hasn't happened again. Before we moved it to the garage so the kids who came to our brunch yesterday wouldn't run into the furniture, she spent a lot of time standing by it saying, "I drive." But then as soon as we'd try to coax her into it and try to get her to actually drive it, she'd run away saying, "noooo." Good thing Santa brought her that!

I guess this guy is a little more her speed.

And monkey bread. Monkey bread was definitely a hit. We have monkey bread two times a year - Christmas and Easter. We couldn't let Christmas on Christmas Eve stop the tradition. I think Michaela is all for the tradition.

After all the craziness of Christmas Eve Christmas, we got to the business of actual Christmas Eve, which means church for us. On the way to church, the second bit of craziness hit us - our flights the next day were cancelled. Delta cancelled something like 300 flights through Atlanta due to the predicted bad weather. I'm not sure how bad it actually got, but at least they rebooked us through Charlotte on USAir. We were very pleasantly shocked about that. The only bad part of the whole thing was that our 9:15am flight was now a 6am flight. That meant getting up at 3am ourselves to get things going, and then waking the baby up at 4am. Thank goodness for a flight out of Mobile (the airport is literally less than 5 minutes from our house) and not Pensacola (which would've been an hour+ drive). And thank goodness for the USO in Charlotte. We had a long layover there and spent the bulk of it in the USO lounge relaxing and letting Michaela play in a gated-off area. And it was a quiet spot to call Mom and Dad so they wouldn't get suspicious!

Of course the next craziness was just trying to get to the front door at Mom and Dad's without them seeing us. It didn't work since Mom walked by the door right as I was running up to it. I heard "Oh my gosh! No way! No way!" from outside as she ran to the door. Definitely a successful surprise! Ryan was in on it, so he snapped a couple pictures. Not great ones, but better than nothing.

Then it got less busy and crazy for a few days. We got snowed on (not sure I liked that), but made it out just as easily as we made it in. All was going well on the return trip until the last bit of craziness. The kid puked. On final into Atlanta. All over herself. On her carseat. On her dad (thankfully I wasn't sitting next to her - he was!). So we used up a chunk of our short layover getting her cleaned up and changed (prepared mommy that I am, I packed extra clothes for her). We hoofed it to a different terminal for our flight to Mobile, with me carrying Michaela in the Beco carrier, and then took advantage of the early boarding for people with children. And then we were the last people on the plane anyway because she puked. Again. In the jetway. On me. Because she was attached to me and there was no way around it. Something made me leave her sweatshirt off when we changed her, so she only puked on her t-shirt and then rode shirtless to Mobile because we needed to make sure she had something to wear home. I guess with all the traveling we've done with her in her short life we're lucky this is the first time we've had this happen. I REALLY hope it's the last time. And for the record, she was totally fine by the next morning.

Since we got home last Wednesday, we just spent a lot of time getting the house ready for company. We hosted a New Year's Day brunch yesterday, so we had to get everything prepped (ie clean the house) for that and then enjoy some more craziness of having 15 adults and 8 kids ranging from 17 months (ours) to 9 years old in the house. It was definitely fun!

But it wore us out so we didn't get the Christmas decorations down like we planned. That worked out for the best, though, since I didn't have a single picture of Michaela in front of the tree this year and was able to get one of her in her cute church dress this morning before we took it all down.

So the dress isn't Christmas-y, but it's cute. And she's cute. And the tree is in the background.

Now the craziness is all over. Jason goes back to normal schedule at work tomorrow after being in a holiday status for the last two weeks (only working once every 3 days), and I'm back to the fun of entertaining the energizer bunny by myself!

Oh, and if you look over there to the right, you'll see a link to a new blog. I'm doing the 365 project if I can stay with it (Thanks for the idea, Melissa), so I started up a new blog tonight. I already started a day late, but I'm really going to try to stick with that one for the whole year!

So that's what I did on my Christmas vacation!

Thanksgiving to Christmas

I think the best way to talk about what we've been up to is just to post a bunch of pictures. So that's what I'm going to do!

So first up are our visitors for Thanksgiving and the first part of December. Jim and Maryanne (aka Papa and Mimi) were here for Thanksgiving. Not only was it an awesome visit, but they flew in/out of Pensacola, so we got to get our Dunkin' fix when we brought them to the airport! YAY! Ok, there was more to it than that.... including a trip to the base to show off Jason's new work-place and pose for a few pictures. Here are Mimi and Papa with Michaela!

And, of course, I couldn't just take pictures of people. So this is a look at the side of the helo, looking up toward the rotorhead.

While Jim and Maryanne were here (and again with Mom and Heather), we went to Bellingrath Gardens to see the Christmas in Lights display. I had to get this shot of the flamingoes just for my lovely friends Christina and Brad! We think about you guys whenever we see flamingoes!!

Besides the flamigoes, I just LOVED these trees! These were just made out of strings of lights, in a huge open field. And the picture does them no justice!

Here are my two favorite people, taking in the view!! Look at the smile on that cute little toddler's face! If I remember right, a melt-down came shortly after that!

And since I never put any pictures of me on here, and I was happy to finally get a good one of me and Heather together, here's another one from our second visit to Bellingrath.

Michaela was eating up all the grandparent time! She and Grandma had some cuddles in the morning before Mom and Heather flew out after their short stay.

Once all the visitors were gone, it was back to the business of getting ready for Christmas. Shopping got done, cookies have been baked (and even given away to almost all the intended recipients) and we went to a few Christmas parties. First up was the kid's party held at the park next to the base. This picture absolutely screams "Christmas Party!" right? Yeah, I don't think so either, but those tights she's wearing sure are cute. And this kid seriously loves a swing, especially these particular swings because they have long chains so she can get some good air. Little Daredevil!

After another kid event - the Christmas night at Chick-Fil-A (complete with Santa Cow) - Michaela enjoyed a diaper change while checking out her new book. This is what happens when Daddy changes her - he teaches her all his ways. Of course, my first instinct was to go grab the camera. She's such a lady!

Finally, this was shortly after all the family/friend gifts were wrapped up, but before they were packaged for shipping! For reference, the tops of the windows are 9 feet from the floor - that's a tall tree! But with 11 foot ceilings, ya gotta go big! Sadly, we learned that "good" Christmas trees don't grow around here, so we'll be forced to get our tree off a lot for the next 4 years, rather than getting to cut our own, but we'll survive. It's not the same as heading into the hills to cut one down from the "wild" in Kodiak, but it's a beautiful tree anyway!

That's what we've been up to around here! Next up - Christmas itself! We'll have pictures to share after that. We've actually been letting Michaela open a gift every couple of days since there are so many and it will take her all day to open them if we don't start now. It's so fun, though, because she understands what happens when she opens a package and she gets excited about it! So Christmas should definitely be fun!!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and the quick update! Merry Christmas to everyone!!

Is this thing on?? (Again... because I just realized I used that title a few months ago...)

In the last two days we've heard from three different people about the lack of activity around here.

All I can say is that I've been busy. First, there were preparations for Maryanne and Jim coming for Thanksgiving. Then they left and we had to re-prepare for Mom and Heather three days later. And then they left and I remembered that Christmas was only three weeks away from the day they flew out. And it was like they moved it this year or something because I had absolutely NOTHING done to get ready for it. At all.

I know... excuses, excuses. After all, I don't even work outside the house anymore, right? Can I just say that I really had a lot more time to myself when I worked full time and took care of the kid. First of all, Jason had duty days, so he would do things like clean and keep the house in order when I was at work and the kid was in daycare. And then there was daycare... those ladies did an amazing job of taking care of my girl during the day! They'd tire her right out and she was easy-peasy to work with for the few hours before bedtime at home!

Now it's MY job to do the tiring out and I SWEAR this kid is running on some sort of radioactive go-go juice because I simply can't keep up. I mean it. Naptime rolls around and I have this big plan - everyday - to do STUFF. (Not laundry - her bedroom is too close to the laundry room, but STUFF.) And then I sit down to eat my lunch - at 1:30 pm - and watch "The Talk" (my addiction to it has solidified my stay-at-home-mom status), and maybe just check facebook or a couple other sites real quick.... And the next thing you know, it's like my toosh is glued to the couch and I can't get up, even when I want to. Then two hours go by and I finally rush around trying to do things like lunch dishes and what-not so Jason thinks I was busy all day (shhhh... don't tell him!) and I can feel like I accomplished SOMEthing during naptime. Imagine how hard up I'd be if she only slept for a couple hours and not the 3+ we've been getting lately!!

So, my apologies for my absence (I think I say that a lot on here) and I really will try to do better. Maybe when I finally get to that "chore" schedule I've been meaning to do, I'll add blogging onto it. Not that blogging is a chore, but it's definitely something I don't leave enough time for. Like a lot of other things these days. Why do people ever have more than one child when one is so much WORK??

Oh yeah....

Ms. Personality

In her defense, I'll say that I got the tutu down for her the day before I took these pictures. I put her in the duck onesie she wore for her 1st Birthday Party, so I thought maybe she'd want to wear the tutu as well. BUT, I left it out in the living room and she definitely asked to put it on the next day. (As much as someone with a limited vocabulary can "ask" for anything. But getting it off the chair and bringing it to me while stepping into it definitely passes as "asked" in my book.)

So this is Ms. Personality. Oh, and tonight she tried to say "seriously" after I said it. Good grief we're going to have our hands full with this one.

Halloween 2010

Just a quick post to share a few pictures from tonight's festivities. Thanks to an invitation from our friends Dave and Hilary to join them (and their boys) for Trick or Treating, we didn't feel funny bringing a 15-month-old out to get the goods!

We only hit a few houses since bedtime creeps up fast when you're a toddler (and go to bed at 7pm), and she wanted nothing to do with the stroller and got WAY too heavy to carry around, but it was fun while it lasted! She quickly figured out what her little bucket was for, and was hanging onto it for dear life - even pitching a fit when I tried to help her carry it!

So here are the pics.... Michaela the ladybug!

She was totally fascinated by Dave and Hilary's jack o' lantern... probably because we didn't get around to carving our pumpkins so it was the only one she got to see up close. It was too cute to watch her bend down to get a better look!

Happy Halloween!!

The last of Disney

... I promise. This is the last of Disney. At least until next year. Yeah, we'll probably go back... they're offering a military deal for cheap tickets and it goes through the first week of the Food and Wine Festival. So we'll see where that goes. I'm a glutton for punishment.

Anyway, this will be the last time I mention Disney 2010 - well, at least this will be the last time it's the focus of a post. I might have flashbacks later, so I can't make any promises that I won't mention it at all!

I'm keeping it simple... enjoy a movie! (My first attempt at using iMovie, putting clips together and actually adding music. Plus, like I said on Facebook for those who saw it there, I edited out Michaela's obnoxious parents trying to coax her into high-fiving and kissing Disney characters. So there's a bonus!)

What I learned about taking a 14-month-old to Disney World

Don't do it.

That is all.

Ok, not really, but even with a week at home since the trip, I guess the memories are still a little too fresh to look at the it through anything but reality-colored glasses. To say we had no fun at all would be a lie, but it definitely wasn't the fun we were hoping for!

First, let me start where I left off... with Michaela getting a bit sick the first night at the hotel in Orlando. Little did we know, she wasn't done with that before-bed occurrence. And, sadly, we're not getting any awards for "World's Best Parents" since we ignored her little cries all night (she does that a lot - we can't even get out of bed before she's asleep again), only to find her covered in vomit in the morning... poor baby!!!!

We should've known that things weren't going to be great when we started with that.

So, here's what I learned about taking a 14-month-old to Disney World (or, Orlando in general for vacation):

1) Do NOT plan a park visit the day you arrive, unless you get there first thing in the morning with a well-rested child.

2) Do NOT overschedule your week. We thought we were doing well with having a whole day with nothing planned, which is unusual for us. We're not the people who just take a couple days to hang out at the hotel pool. We'd rather see and do it all. That's great if it's just two of you and you can manage your own tired-ness level. That does NOT work with a 14-month-old who has been taken off her nap schedule.

3) If your 14-month-old is still taking two long-ish naps a day, don't take them to Disney World. You will feel a compulsion to spend as much time at the parks as possible - after all, you spent a lot of money on that ticket! - so you will try to adjust your child's nap schedule. This will result in a cranky, over-tired kid who no longer sleeps through the night, even though she's been doing that for MONTHS.

4) DO limit your time at a park during the day. This we did kind of right. We left when it seemed to be getting to be way too much for her. We also kept meaning to go back later in the day, and never made it back on any of the days we went to the Disney parks. We went back to Universal, and that was well worth it because Michaela LOVED the rides there, and we went back to SeaWorld.

5) About SeaWorld... don't bother with the Clyde and Seymour show (my favorite). A 14-month-old needs stimulation, not corny jokes and silly sea lions. Blue Horizons was a big hit, though. She "oooh'd" and "aaaah'd" at that one. Go to Shamu instead of Clyde and Seymour. And it's fun to listen to your kid say "sh, sh" over and over again.... every time she sees a fish.

6) On your day "off," don't spend the whole day shopping at the outlets and Downtown Disney (though she was sleeping there) and then spend only a little while at the pool before running off to meet friends for dinner. Take the day OFF.

7) Train your child to sleep in a stroller. Ours will not, as long as there are things to look at. EPCOT was the one major exception to this, but that was probably because it's boring to any child. However, she chose her stroller sleeping wisely, and erased some of the bad nights we had by sleeping in the stroller there and allowing us to enjoy the Food and Wine Festival for a couple hours without having to worry about a bored and tired kid!

8) Bring a grandma and use her mercilessly. Uh, I mean, invite a grandmother to come along with you and enjoy the experience of your precious child experiencing the wonder that is Disney World! Yeah, that.

9) Don't expect to actually get a full night's sleep without a child - who has been sleeping in her own crib since she was 7 days old - in your bed.

10) Don't take a 14-month-old to Disney World. Wait until the kid is a little bigger, sleeping a little less during the day, able to handle the heat a bit more, and able to go on more of the rides and play areas. 14-months old is an awkward stage - old enough to be interested in what's going on (unlike, say, a 6 month old), but not old enough to do enough.

Follow these tips, otherwise you'll end up like us... and people will look at you funny when they see this:

(Disclaimer... she did NOT drink the Diet Coke. It was Jason's. The empty bottle kept her happy.)

I'm sure, in time, I'll forget all the bad. But hopefully I'll remember to look back at my own advice in case a second child ever graces our family, and we'll wait longer to take that one!! It wasn't all bad - I'll post more of the good in the next couple days - but it was a challenge!!! We're still thinking about going back again next year - armed with this knowledge, and maybe a grandma or two!!