Disney 2009 – The Food

We’re back from another glorious Disney World vacation and it’s time to recap what worked and didn’t this go around.  Each trip we learn a bit more about how we can make things go well and I like to record it all while it’s fresh in my mind.

Food

Take Out is My Best Friend

We discovered a long time ago that eating in the parks just wasn’t going to work for us.  The food really isn’t all that great, it’s expensive and our autistic son just didn’t do well in the noisy, crowded restaurants.

Staying at the Ft. Wilderness cabins we’ve got a full kitchen—microwave, full oven/stove, dishwasher, full size fridge, pantry and table for 6.  But just because I could cook doesn’t mean I want to do that on vacation! 

For me, a major part of vacation is getting away from the cooking and cleaning and having the opportunity to try new foods.  Take out gives us that.

To make this work, I’ve found you really need to take the time to acquire the menus before or at the beginning of your trip.   We make a go around all the shopping centers in the area when we first arrive to pick up take out menus from any place that looks interesting. Yes, this takes a few minutes to do, but you’ll save a ton of time and energy later when tummies are rumbling and food is just a phone call away.  I keep the menus together in a book in our rental car so we can call and order the food on our way out of the parks.

Big chains are great because they usually have their act together and often offer options everyone in the family will go for.  Restaurants like Flippers Pizzaria, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chevy’s and Joe’s Crab Shack usually offer big takeout boxes packed neatly in a shopping bag.  They include all the condiments and even plastic utensils.  Even if you don’t have a kitchen in your hotel room, these would all work.

But I love getting to have things to eat that I don’t normally get at home.  In those shopping plazas you’ll also find little mom and pop shops offering everything from Mexican to Greek, from Cuban to Indian and everything in between.  Some of the best value and tastiest food we’ve found has been with these small family businesses.  It’s been a great way to introduce our kids to new tastes as well.

Grocery Shopping

I know, I know.  It’s vacation!  The last thing you want to do is go to a grocery store!  But trust me, a half an hour of time out of your weeks vacation can do wonders.  It’s worth it! 

We head to the grocery store from the airport.  Getting this trip out of the way helps me relax and sets us up for the whole week.  I find it very helpful to have a printed grocery list ready to go ahead of your trip.  That way you can be quick and efficient at the store.  Go ahead and get that Winn Dixie discount card if you know you’ll be making another trip to Disney in the future. 

Want to get your family excited about a trip to the grocery store?  Break all the rules!  At home cereal must be low in sugar but on vacation they delight in picking up cookies in a box or chocolate covered everything.  Everyone gets a say in choosing some frozen treats as well.  Yohoo is a big hit in my house and vacation is the only time they can have it morning, noon and night. 

While they’re all picking out cereals, frozen treats and sugary drinks I’m picking up basics for breakfasts, snacks and picky eaters.  A package of ready to bake cinnamon rolls works if you’ve got access to an oven and baking dish.   Individual packs of snacks work well to take to the park.  And simple meals like cheese sandwich or hotdog are great to have on hand to satisfy picky eaters who’ve decided they don’t like Cuban food.

Don’t forget to add some napkins, paper plates and plastic cups to your list.  Also consider getting small packages of condiments your family can’t do without.   Lastly, you’ll most likely want drinks to take to the parks to avoid breaking the bank.

While it may take a bit of time and effort, take out and a local grocery store can make eating on vacation a much more pleasant experience.  There’s really nothing more relaxing than enjoying good food in the quiet and comfort of your hotel room.

Disney 2009 – Packing

We’re back from another glorious Disney World vacation and it’s time to recap what worked and didn’t this go around.  Each trip we learn a bit more about how we can make things go well and I like to record it all while it’s fresh in my mind.

Packing

It had been 2 years since our last trip so when I went to print off the packing list I’ve been using for the last 7 or so… I discovered it needed a major overhaul.  No more babies, diapers, bottles, blankies…  What a relief! 

Clothing was pretty easy to do.  The best part about going to Florida from NY this time of year is that I can start to pack away the summer clothing ahead of time since the weather here is cooler.  I use the opportunity to make sure everyone has enough basics like socks and underwear as well—packing the new stuff away in it’s original packaging. 

Packing the clothing bundled in outfits makes it easy for even the youngest  kids to grab their own clothes to get dressed while ensuring that tops and bottoms will not clash.  The larger sized plastic baggies they sell these days are great for keeping everyone’s clothing separate and easy to find.  They also keep everything tidy and dry should inspectors or rain try to make their way into the depths of your luggage en route.

In years past, we had enough room in the cabin to put the kids clothing in the drawers available in our Ft. Wilderness cabin.  This year only the youngest child’s clothes fit.  So the labeled baggies became an important way of keeping everything neat and easy to find for the older kids who had to keep their clothing in the suitcase.

After many disasters with leaking liquids, especially the sunblock, I’ve found that baby wipe boxes and sturdy shoeboxes are the best place to hide away things that could suffer from getting squished.  They worked well for the fragile spraybottle fans and cart decorations too. 

Since we make a run to the grocery store upon arrival anyhow, I’ve found it works better to simply buy some of the toiletries rather than try to bring them.  While there we went through an entire ‘normal’ size bottle of shampoo and conditioner and a full 4 pack of bar soap. 

I’m a little weird about toothbrushes.  The thought of packing a used toothbrush just doesn’t sit well with me.  Nor do I like leaving them on the counter in the hotel.  Instead I pack new toothbrushes for everyone, either cheap ones I buy or freebies from the dentist, and we toss them instead of bringing them home.  This year I finally solved the problem of having toothbrushes laying around (and the unpleasant thought of having the maid touching them all up every time she cleans) by bring along a foam koozie I bought at the craft store for a buck.

Another thing I’ve added to the new packing list this year are the foam earplugs.  I bought these originally for my youngest who is a bit sensitive to the sound.  But when the girls complained about having to share a bedroom with snoring big brother, they turned out to be a best buy indeed.

The 5 large LL Bean rolling duffles were perfect this time around.  Enough room for everything without making the bags overstuffed or too heavy for the kids to roll. 

We got away with only 2 carry-ons this trip but they were a bit heavy.  Not sure that can be avoided as I refuse to pack any electronic equipment in the checked bags.  The trip to Florida we nested the kids activities bag inside another one.  The idea was to remove it to make room for the wheelchair arms and legs.  But on the way home we had so many souvenirs that I ended up leaving the arms and legs on and instead used the extra bag to carry those. 

 It all worked out pretty well.

Changes

Last week was a busy one for us. 

Tuesday was the big day – the girls both started their 30 month orthodontic treatments.  They’re still getting used to having metal in their mouths a week later.

Thursday was the day of a routine eye exam.  It’s been 2 years since they’ve had an exam but they had no problems last time around so I expected the same this time as well.  Instead, we discovered that both girls need glasses full time.

Braces.  Glasses.  With two huge changes in the same week I decided we should simply complete the makeover…. I took them both to get their hair cut. 

They look great! 

More Christmas

It’s that time of year again!  We love Christmas time around here.

As we jump into the season the thought occured to me that this is yet another perk of the homeschooling lifestyle.  For music today we broke out the Guitar Hero and the girls sang and played along to Christmas carols.  We’ve got a few Christmas art projects planned already and as part of our studies the girls are learning about how to put on a Christmas play.

Now I’m sure that they’d do similar stuff if they were in school.  But because they’re here with me I get to do it all with them.  It’s not just music time or art time or drama class or creative writing practice.  It’s all family time.  And that’s really the best part of Christmas.

Sure we could try to squeeze some of this in even if the kids were in school….  But this way, there’s more of it.  More Christmas.  More time to enjoy the season together as a family.

Amazing

I sit here with my afternoon cup of hot chocolate in peace and quiet.  No.  I’m not alone.  There are 5 children in this house.  Yes, five – I’ve borrowed a few from a friend for the afternoon.  And yes, I’m the only adult around.

So I was sitting here sipping my cocoa and reading blogs when I think to myself…

Wow.  You’re good!  Five kids here and you’ve got time for blogs and a relaxing cup of cocoa.  You’re just amazing!

But then I look around.  Yes, it’s quiet and peaceful.  But that’s because the two older girls are busy working on their Germany reports – in separate rooms.  And of the three boys who are playing downstairs, two of them aren’t mine – thus the calming influence on Zee. 

So in the end, I must admit the truth to myself and instead think….

Wow.  They’re good.  Five kids here today.  The girls are working so hard on their reports.  I’m so glad Zee has such good examples to follow in the other boys.  They’re all just amazing! 

Vacation Week

We all enjoy the flexibility of homeschooling.  Since we school year round, we can take days off here and there as we wish.  We’ve done a lot of that this summer.  The girls have taken whole days off to run errands with Grandma or go on field trips.  They’ve take a few half days so we can all play games together or help take Dad to the oral surgeon.  They’ve also occasionally volunteered to do double work one day so they could have the next day off.

But what they really want is a whole week off.  Last year I made a big deal out of the week long break between the end of one school year and the beginning of the other.  Turns out, that was a key thing to do.  Even though they had that same week off this year.  It seems that they didn’t ‘feel’ it so much.  We had visitors and things were busy.  I didn’t make a big announcement that there was no school and they didn’t wake everyday thinking, “No school!”  So in the end, they felt like they really didn’t get a vacation.

I could just give them another week off….but then I’d be throwing away perfectly good motivation! So we struck a deal.  They’d do next week’s work this week and earn a week of vacation next week.  So we’re doing all the boring stuff….a couple of language arts worksheets that target skills they needed some extra practice with, practice with doing basic arithmetic with mixed numbers and fractions and some spelling and vocabulary. 

For the most part, they’re eager to do it all looking forward to that vacation next week.  They’re working hard and long to finish it all before tomorrow.  It will work out for all of us nicely.  Dad will be gone next week so it’s the perfect time for all of us to kick back and relax and enjoy the last days of summer.

Yes, I guarantee they’ll enjoy their week of vacation…. so much so, that they won’t even notice it if I pop in a video on Egypt or suggest some Egyptian crafts or point them toward some cool websites that showcase Egyptian tourist attractions.  Chances are pretty good we’ll make significant progress on our Egypt unit study… all while they enjoy the vacation from ’school work.’ 

Savoring Summer

I can tell right now I’m going to have a hard time when September rolls back around.

We’ve been enjoying our summer here.  Grandma came to visit and stayed with the kids so that the hubby and I could do an overnight away.  It was our first night away alone in nearly a decade… and it was wonderful.  We drove a few hours, stayed at a fancy hotel, saw a concert, had dinner and room service and went swimming and just had the most wonderfully relaxing time.

But that was a week ago and I’m having a hard time getting out of lazy mode.  I’ve been relaxed about the school work and instead let the girls go hang out with Grandma.  I had the laundry all caught up before we left… but now everything we own is dirty.  The house could use a good cleaning, I’ve got paperwork that’s been sitting on my desk for weeks now, I’m way behind in my blogging and family webpage updates and though it seems impossible, I realize it’s been months since I’ve seen many of my friends. 

Still I sit here trying to figure out how I can justify putting it all off another day. 

The kids are playing happily in their jammies with Legos.  I should tell them to get dressed and take care of their chores and do the school work for today….

But then I’d have to get to work too.   And I’m busy savoring what’s left of summer.

VBS 2008

The kids went to a local VBS again this year.  They love all the fun and games… and the opportunity to socialize.  This was Zee’s first year in the program and he just loved it.  It was great to see him jump in and try new things, something he’s usually pretty shy about. 

With that done, next week we’ll be jumping right in to the 5th grade work.  Like I am, the girls are partly excited and partly bummed

Science Presentation Success

Last year the girls presented their science projects to my husband and I.  This year we had 9 family members coming to vist at once so I told the girls if they finished in time, they could present it to them.

I think Gee finished the report portion that night and spent the next couple of days putting on her finishing touches. She just loves public speaking.

So she gave her report on the nervous system to the whole family.  Last year I had them practice several times before they actually gave the official presentation.  With time constraints, Gee wasn’t able to do that this year.  Still, she did an excellent job.  I was very proud of her.

From Being Weary to Seeing Clearly

Adrian’s been out of control for about 3 weeks now.  It’s been a rough. We think hormones are partly to blame. It’s been severe enough that we made the appointment to speak with the doctor about options.  He’s very unhappy and his compulsive behaviors are preventing him from enjoying the things he usually finds calming and relaxing. 

I was feeling awful weary from it all this afternoon when I picked Adrian up from school.  Then, through the mirror, I watched as Zee and Adrian played.  They shared a few cookies, they laughed and giggled.  They played games where only the two of them understood the rules.  Adrian’s communication device lay lifeless on the seat next to me, defeated by the blow Adrian gave it when he threw it through the air earlier today. Just another in the long line of things he’s broken in the past few weeks.

But these two brothers didn’t need words.  They played and laughed and understood one another perfectly.  They put their foreheads together and giggled at one another. It was a sight to behold and brought tears to my eyes. 

See, despite the shattered window, broken baskets, cracked cabinets, the destroyed faucet and the constant slamming of doors and drawers… despite all the difficulties of the past few weeks, I was reminded that it’s really not all bad.  Adrian is part of our family and we love him.  The essence of Adrian is still in there, even when it’s hidden by a storm of rage and sadness.

Hopefully we can find a way to help him through this rough spot.  But regardless what lies ahead, I won’t soon forget the image of brotherly love or the reminder about how lucky we are to have him.