Saturday, April 2, 2011
Taking a Break
Have you ever taken a break from life? Have you ever taken a few moments or a few days to rejuvenate yourself? This world is full of so much negativity and stress that even the average person can get bogged down in all that is going on and reported about. So what can you do about it? Take a break!! By take a break I mean to take a few moments, a few days, or as long as you need to rejuvenate yourself and remind yourself why you are in this world. What is your purpose? Part of this rejuvenation should include a lot of prayer. Part of taking a break should also involve removing yourself from things like Facebook and not giving in to social pressures and social media. Completely remove yourself from the outside world and just think. I can't tell you what to think about. I can't tell you what results may come from you taking a break from life and from the world. All I can say is that you will emerge changed in some way or at least relaxed and ready for a new day. I encourage you to do this often in your life because you may come to some revelation that will hopefully make a difference. It may only make a difference to you, but sometimes that is enough.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Spring Break Chronicles 2011: Day 6
Day 6: Saturday
I consider Saturday part of spring break because kids don't actually return to school until Tuesday due to the Teacher Planning Day. Well Saturday started off with the alarm ringing at 6:30 am; which at first I didn't realize was ringing. After about 30 minutes to an hour after the alarm rang I got up to take my shower so I could wake up my tired husband and sleeping kids in order to get ready to hit the road. Around 8:00/8:30 we all finally were ready and in the car so we could leave my sister's house and depart for Orlando in order to take a surprise visit to Animal Kingdom (thank you Brother Sly & Melly B). While on the road my sister calls to say "Hey you know you forgot the stroller"; I was like d***. A stroller is definitely a must when you have a child that is only 16 months old. The first thought is that it would be cheaper to find a Wal-Mart and just buy another stroller. But after looking up the rental cost of a stroller in the park that was an incorrect assumption.
About 3-3 1/2 hours later we arrived at the Walt Disney World Resort, picked up our tickets, and entered Animal Kingdom. Of course before we entered the park I realized that we didn't have the baby wipes in the bag, but instead of going back to the car we decided to wing it. When we entered none of us had eaten so at first we were going to get something to eat and then start enjoying the rest of the park. Well as we were passing the Tree of Life we noticed that the show they have inside the tree, It's Tough to Be Bug, was getting ready to start. The decision was made to go ahead an see the show. It's a 3D show that is only about 8 minutes long, but really cute and fun. We sat down, put our glasses on, and got ready to enjoy the show. Well the show started, the kids were enjoying it, and everything was going great until it got to the part where Hopper the grasshopper appeared. I guess to some kids the show can be a little scary. Well my second oldest, who is 4years old, all of a sudden started crying and jumping up, and I had to hold onto him to keep him from running out away from me because he was ready to bolt out of the theatre. Well I took him outside, and sure enough he got scared during the part where Hopper appeared. Well he wasn't the only kid who got scared during the show. When we got outside there were some other kids out there and a few more came out while we were waiting for my husband and my other two kids to come out. When they finally came out my son had calmed down, but still a little shaken.
The next stop was to find something to eat. I was stuck on visiting the restaurant that had BBQ, chicken, and all sorts of other goodies. For some reason I thought it was in "Africa" but it wasn't. After almost 15-30 minutes of trying to find that one place we gave up and went to Pizzafari; which had something even the kids would love. After eating and getting ready to tour the rest of the park I decided to look at the map and descriptions of eateries and discovered the place I wanted to eat at. I guess if I would have done that in the first place we wouldn't have spent so long looking for it.
The rest of the day consisted of: playing the drums, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, Wildlife Express Train, Conservation Station, Affection Station, The Boneyard, and an attempt to see Finding Nemo-The Musical. I say an attempt because once again my 4-year old got a little scared. Only this time he was scared before the show even started. He has seen Nemo before so he knew there was a shark coming and didn't even want to see it. Well the show started and he once again wanted to bolt. We walked up the steps to go out and I was able to calm him down for a little bit. But when the show got to the part where Nemo got captured he started to run again so this time we went outside. This show was a little longer than It's Tough to be A Bug so we waited a minute for the rest of the family to come out. When they came out I pulled the turkey leg out of our bag we put in there before the show and my and the boys started to munch on it. After that, and because it had already been a long day, we decided against going to see Festival of the Lion King and head on home. We got to the parking lot, got in our car that was parked in the peacock section, and headed on home. The kids fell asleep in the car and the boys basically slept all the way home to Tallahassee.
When we got home just before midnight we thought the kids would stay asleep, but when we got them inside they of course woke up and wanted to stay up. We also thought that the both of us would be tired and wanted to hit the sack right away, but amazingly enough once we got inside we were up for a little bit also. My husband jumped on the computer while everyone else watched some TV. As I was searching for something to watch I came across a series of Superhero cartoons on DisneyXD. So my husband decided he was going to stay up all night until 4am to watch them all. I ended up eventually going to bed around 2am with my daughter and my 4-year old. I don't know what time my husband went to sleep, but it was after me. All in all it was a fantastic day (slideshow to come later) and I hope that I have many more GREAT family days to come.
I consider Saturday part of spring break because kids don't actually return to school until Tuesday due to the Teacher Planning Day. Well Saturday started off with the alarm ringing at 6:30 am; which at first I didn't realize was ringing. After about 30 minutes to an hour after the alarm rang I got up to take my shower so I could wake up my tired husband and sleeping kids in order to get ready to hit the road. Around 8:00/8:30 we all finally were ready and in the car so we could leave my sister's house and depart for Orlando in order to take a surprise visit to Animal Kingdom (thank you Brother Sly & Melly B). While on the road my sister calls to say "Hey you know you forgot the stroller"; I was like d***. A stroller is definitely a must when you have a child that is only 16 months old. The first thought is that it would be cheaper to find a Wal-Mart and just buy another stroller. But after looking up the rental cost of a stroller in the park that was an incorrect assumption.
About 3-3 1/2 hours later we arrived at the Walt Disney World Resort, picked up our tickets, and entered Animal Kingdom. Of course before we entered the park I realized that we didn't have the baby wipes in the bag, but instead of going back to the car we decided to wing it. When we entered none of us had eaten so at first we were going to get something to eat and then start enjoying the rest of the park. Well as we were passing the Tree of Life we noticed that the show they have inside the tree, It's Tough to Be Bug, was getting ready to start. The decision was made to go ahead an see the show. It's a 3D show that is only about 8 minutes long, but really cute and fun. We sat down, put our glasses on, and got ready to enjoy the show. Well the show started, the kids were enjoying it, and everything was going great until it got to the part where Hopper the grasshopper appeared. I guess to some kids the show can be a little scary. Well my second oldest, who is 4years old, all of a sudden started crying and jumping up, and I had to hold onto him to keep him from running out away from me because he was ready to bolt out of the theatre. Well I took him outside, and sure enough he got scared during the part where Hopper appeared. Well he wasn't the only kid who got scared during the show. When we got outside there were some other kids out there and a few more came out while we were waiting for my husband and my other two kids to come out. When they finally came out my son had calmed down, but still a little shaken.
The next stop was to find something to eat. I was stuck on visiting the restaurant that had BBQ, chicken, and all sorts of other goodies. For some reason I thought it was in "Africa" but it wasn't. After almost 15-30 minutes of trying to find that one place we gave up and went to Pizzafari; which had something even the kids would love. After eating and getting ready to tour the rest of the park I decided to look at the map and descriptions of eateries and discovered the place I wanted to eat at. I guess if I would have done that in the first place we wouldn't have spent so long looking for it.
The rest of the day consisted of: playing the drums, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, Wildlife Express Train, Conservation Station, Affection Station, The Boneyard, and an attempt to see Finding Nemo-The Musical. I say an attempt because once again my 4-year old got a little scared. Only this time he was scared before the show even started. He has seen Nemo before so he knew there was a shark coming and didn't even want to see it. Well the show started and he once again wanted to bolt. We walked up the steps to go out and I was able to calm him down for a little bit. But when the show got to the part where Nemo got captured he started to run again so this time we went outside. This show was a little longer than It's Tough to be A Bug so we waited a minute for the rest of the family to come out. When they came out I pulled the turkey leg out of our bag we put in there before the show and my and the boys started to munch on it. After that, and because it had already been a long day, we decided against going to see Festival of the Lion King and head on home. We got to the parking lot, got in our car that was parked in the peacock section, and headed on home. The kids fell asleep in the car and the boys basically slept all the way home to Tallahassee.
When we got home just before midnight we thought the kids would stay asleep, but when we got them inside they of course woke up and wanted to stay up. We also thought that the both of us would be tired and wanted to hit the sack right away, but amazingly enough once we got inside we were up for a little bit also. My husband jumped on the computer while everyone else watched some TV. As I was searching for something to watch I came across a series of Superhero cartoons on DisneyXD. So my husband decided he was going to stay up all night until 4am to watch them all. I ended up eventually going to bed around 2am with my daughter and my 4-year old. I don't know what time my husband went to sleep, but it was after me. All in all it was a fantastic day (slideshow to come later) and I hope that I have many more GREAT family days to come.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Spring Break Chronicles 2011: Day 4 & 5
Last update on Spring Break my kids and I were at my sister's house. Day 4 (Thursday) began with breakfast and a little TV. Eventually the kids got dressed and went outside to play while I attempted to get a quick shower. The yard at my sister's place is fenced in, however, I still made my shower as quick as possible so that I could get out and monitor my three little angels. It was easier to get ready because now that it's a warmer I can do the curly hair by putting on a little mouse and some oil sheen and let it dry.
As usual the kids are having fun playing in dirt and making up random games. Sometime while outside they discovered the stack of wood in the corner of my sister's yard and picked up some sticks they could play with. I happened to be in her kitchen when all of a sudden I heard my oldest start crying. Apparently his brother took a stick and threw it at his leg; which left a little knot on his leg. After getting an explanation from both sides there was an apology and then hugs and hand shakes (sometimes they do hugs & high fives).
The rest of the day was pretty routine with lunch and more play time. In the afternoon there was an attempt to take a brief walk when they started complaining about it being too hot so we eventually turned around. Shortly after returning back from our walk my sister's fiance arrived with their 2 kids. One is the same age as my oldest and has been wanting to play with my boys all day so when he arrived all of the kids went outside for a little bit while I began to start working on dinner. I figured cooking was the least I could do in exchange for such gracious hospitality.
Dinner was something I thought of on the fly. It was seasoned chicken strips baked in the oven over a layered casserole dish. The bottom layer was Pasta Roni (rice & vermicelli), next a veggie mix, and then a little bit of sausage all topped off with Campbell's cream of chicken soup. It turned out alright and now I have a new dish to cook, assuming I can remember what I did. The evening ended with everyone watching Despicable Me; which I fell asleep on.
Day 5 (Friday) started the same way as Day 4. The day consisted of playtime including chase the bubbles; which I participated in. Around lunchtime my sister called and asked what we were doing. I told her I was getting ready to fix lunch and she proceeded to tell me she was on the way to pick up her kids from daycare and come home. She stopped off and picked up McDonald's for everyone and when she got home we all had lunch; which included frostys (YEAH!!). When her fiance got home he took a minute to get himself together and went back out to pick up something for all the kids to play. He came back with a slip-n-slide that was three lanes long and set it up in the backyard. After set-up the kids proceeded to play. While playing my husband arrived (YEAH AGAIN!!). The kids continued to play for a little bit then they came inside.
The rest of the evening consisted of dinner, basketball, playtime, and finally relaxation and sleep. My family and I had to get some sleep because the next day we were leaving as early as we could muster the strength to get up and head to Otown for an adventure on Day 6. I had a great time visiting my sister and I hope she will come over to Tallahassee with her family soon so we can return the hospitality. After all that's what family is for.
As usual the kids are having fun playing in dirt and making up random games. Sometime while outside they discovered the stack of wood in the corner of my sister's yard and picked up some sticks they could play with. I happened to be in her kitchen when all of a sudden I heard my oldest start crying. Apparently his brother took a stick and threw it at his leg; which left a little knot on his leg. After getting an explanation from both sides there was an apology and then hugs and hand shakes (sometimes they do hugs & high fives).
The rest of the day was pretty routine with lunch and more play time. In the afternoon there was an attempt to take a brief walk when they started complaining about it being too hot so we eventually turned around. Shortly after returning back from our walk my sister's fiance arrived with their 2 kids. One is the same age as my oldest and has been wanting to play with my boys all day so when he arrived all of the kids went outside for a little bit while I began to start working on dinner. I figured cooking was the least I could do in exchange for such gracious hospitality.
Dinner was something I thought of on the fly. It was seasoned chicken strips baked in the oven over a layered casserole dish. The bottom layer was Pasta Roni (rice & vermicelli), next a veggie mix, and then a little bit of sausage all topped off with Campbell's cream of chicken soup. It turned out alright and now I have a new dish to cook, assuming I can remember what I did. The evening ended with everyone watching Despicable Me; which I fell asleep on.
Day 5 (Friday) started the same way as Day 4. The day consisted of playtime including chase the bubbles; which I participated in. Around lunchtime my sister called and asked what we were doing. I told her I was getting ready to fix lunch and she proceeded to tell me she was on the way to pick up her kids from daycare and come home. She stopped off and picked up McDonald's for everyone and when she got home we all had lunch; which included frostys (YEAH!!). When her fiance got home he took a minute to get himself together and went back out to pick up something for all the kids to play. He came back with a slip-n-slide that was three lanes long and set it up in the backyard. After set-up the kids proceeded to play. While playing my husband arrived (YEAH AGAIN!!). The kids continued to play for a little bit then they came inside.
The rest of the evening consisted of dinner, basketball, playtime, and finally relaxation and sleep. My family and I had to get some sleep because the next day we were leaving as early as we could muster the strength to get up and head to Otown for an adventure on Day 6. I had a great time visiting my sister and I hope she will come over to Tallahassee with her family soon so we can return the hospitality. After all that's what family is for.
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