What You Never Wanted to Know

This post is inspired by my friend, Elizabeth at The Wonderful Happens who does a Whatnot Wednesday post every week. It's one of my favorite posts to read each week and while I could never keep to that kind of schedule, I did have lots of random thoughts running through my head on this particular Wednesday so I'm going to steal her idea just this one time.

*I really enjoy watching the show "Off the Map" but I'm pretty sure this is only b/c they wear shorts, cargo pants, t-shirts and TOMS to work every day. For this reason, I have no idea if it legitimately is a good show or not. Can someone fill me in?

* In other television news, I'm over American Idol. I was so excited during auditions and Hollywood week and I loved the new judges but now I can barely stand to watch. Yep, over it. Am I the only one?

* I am shocked that there are allegations that Auburn payed football players. Honestly, who could have ever seen that coming?? *dripping with sarcasm*

* In other sports news, I have recently determined that my love for Alabama does encompass more than just football. Turns out, being good at a sport makes it much more exciting to watch. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Alabama play basketball this year. First, I thought it was just b/c I have a super crush on our new coach (he's dreamy - just google Anthony Grant), but now I realize I really do care if they win or not. This is great b/c just what I needed is another sport to obsess over!!

* Speaking of men I am super crushing on, my husband works away from home for three weeks at a time and I can't call him at his job. He calls me once (or twice) a day. He's also a little cranky when he wakes up (he doesn't have anything on me but still, a little cranky). He called me today when he woke up and I was right in the middle of something at work. I told him that when I answered and he just hung up. Yep, just hung up the phone - that was it. Hands off now ladies - he's all mine! :)

* Jack is still fascinated by commercials. The Mucinex ones with the green mucus guys are a personal favorite. He was a little congested a few weeks ago and he came and told me he needed some Mucinex to kill those mean mucus running up and down his throat. I told him they were trying to have a party in his belly. He thought that was the greatest thing ever!! We were riding down the road the other day and I heard him say, "Mucus, you better stop that party down there!!" Thank you, Cosby Show, for that great parenting tip!

* Speaking of Jack, I think the school feels that I don't get as "upset" as I should when Jack has to go to timeout or whatever. It probably has a lot of do with my job - I see kids that are completely out of control, so Jack having to sit in timeout for whatever reason doesn't really bother me too much. (I know, I know - that's awful, but true). At any rate, the really unfortunate part is that it doesn't bother Jack very much either. Several months ago, he had been going to timeout for several days in a row. His teacher had told me about it and so we had a "talk" - you know, the TALK (that does no good because it's like five hours AFTER the misbehavior but I digress). Anyway, the next day I picked him up from school and said, "Did you go to timeout today?" Jack said, "Yes and I'm going to go tomorrow too. When she (the teacher) rings the clean up bell, I'm going to yell "No" and then sit in timeout while the other kids clean up the toys." Something happened at work to make me think of that today and I gotta say, I was a little impressed all over again.

* I'm amazed by the things people post on facebook - literally, amazed by the things you can see on there. On facebook I have seen: husbands and wives fight with each other; people talk about their "intimate" life; someone talk about their family members (and not in a good way); people tell the minute by minute details of their day (I'm going for a walk, home from the walk, going to wash dishes, finished washing dishes, etc.); people trash their jobs and their bosses; people declare their undying love for someone; and all sorts of other fascinating things. I have finally figured it out - facebook is like people watching. It's literally very similar to sitting in a mall or airport all day and just watching people. I think that's why I love it so much. I could people watch for days and now I can do it from the comfort of my very own home without having all the people actually in my home - wonderful fun!

* The US Parcel Service sent me an email yesterday saying they had a package sent to my house that will be here in three days. I have no idea what it is or what it could be but I am literally beside myself waiting to see what it is!! Seriously, can't stop thinking about it.... This is what passes for excitement in my life these days, but it's a life I love. There's no two people I'd rather share it with than my "hanging up on me" husband and "timeout loving" kid!!

Well, that's it - pretty much everything in my mind right now. And now I have shared it all with each of you. Sincerely, my apologies... :)

You Are What You Eat

Since Jack was diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Diagnosis almost a year ago now (wow, it's been that long??), I really have felt like we've tried to be very proactive. We started ABA almost immediately; we started occupational and physical therapy; we got an IEP; we had meetings with teachers, doctors, therapists, other parents with ASD kids; I've been to autism trainings. You get it?? I was ABOUT it. I really felt like we hit the ground running. I really wanted (and still want) to cram as much "help" as we can into the two years we had before he starts school. And even though he's very high functioning, I just felt like the more, the better. And I was so hungry for knowledge and we were willing to try anything that might help. Well.... almost anything.

If you have any contact with someone dealing with an ASD or have just studied up on it or have ever listened to Jenny McCarthy talk in the last 5 or 6 years, then you've probably heard the word gluten-free. Other than ABA therapy, the one thing you hear over and over when people are talking about helps for ASDs is a gluten-free diet. And I heard it and heard it and heard it and I completely ignored it.

I'm a really picky eater (like very picky). I have LOTS of food issues (texture, color, smell, etc). I now realize I probably have a lot of sensory issues myself. Through this process with Jack's diagnosis, I've come to be a pretty big believer in genetics playing a large part in autism and autism-related disorders. With that realization came another: Jack got Ben's appearance genes (the kid looks just like him) but the sensory stuff - yeah, that's all me:) In any case, because of my own food issues, the word "diet" in any form FREAKS ME OUT!! So, I just ignored it - until about a month ago.

A co-worker of mine was trying to put her child on a gluten and casien-free diet (for other issues). A couple of weeks earlier, I had attended an autism training and they had preached diet and my mother had just finished reading a book by a 13 year old with asperger's who preached diet and now this... So, I had to at least acknowledge that it was out there. This diet has helped people - I don't think there's any doubt about that. There are just too many testimonials to deny it. After all that, I honestly started feeling like a crappy mom if I didn't at least get the information and see what it would mean for Jack - for our family. So, I started researching.

Just for your information, gluten is a composite of the proteins gliadin and glutenin. These exist, conjoined with starch, in the endosperms of some grass-related grains, notably wheat, rye, and barley. Casein is the predominant phosphoprotein that accounts for nearly 80% of proteins in cow milk and cheese. In other words, the diet that people say helps is basically no wheat and no dairy. WOW! Yes, WOW! That's everything but meat, vegtables and fruit. But wait, if it's canned or processed, a lot of these foods have gluten as well - in the thickening agent. Oh my... to say I was overwhelmed by the idea of this is a vast understatement.

But people do it... they do. Most of what I read said that if you could completely remove these two elements from your diet for an extended period of time (6 months to a year), then you could gradually add some of it back in moderately and not have the symptoms return. I should also point out that most people tend to use this diet to help with the gastrointestinal problems that often accompany ASDs. Many children with autism have horrific gastro-problems throughout life and are often in pain much of the time due to this. Thankfully, this has never been an issue for Jack. We did have the multiple ear infections (also common), but not the stomach issues. For that reason, we don't need the diet as much as other children may, but it also apparantly helps with behaviors in many cases. These children's bodies just cannot handle the gluten and casien well, in addition to the mercury in vaccines (but that's a debate for another day and really, for people much more informed than I am).

Because I was so overwhelmed by this idea, I thought, let's take it one meal at a time and see what happens, right? I started looking at cookbooks and recipes but y'all, it's in EVERYTHING - EVERYTHING!! Or it seemed it was. I had been told that Publix has a whole isle dedicated to this diet so the next time I was in a town with a Publix, I took a look:

And they did have an isle, well, a section of an isle. Talk about expensive!! I was impressed by all the choices and foods available, but my predominant thought while I was looking at these foods was, "How do people do it?" By that I mean, I have a very highly functioning ASD child. But what if he had severe autism?? Was non-verbal?? Needed 30 hours of ABA a week and this diet?? How would we do it? How would we pay for it? I think about that all the time... because there are so many families in that situation. And that was my foremost thought, but then I moved on cause ya know, I was in the grocery store and those are pretty heavy thoughts for the grocery store.

Anyway, I got some stuff: pancake mix, chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, macaroni and cheese, pasta, crackers, frozen pizza - all gluten and casien free and things that I could make quickly without having to add ingredients that might have these components in them. I just wasn't ready for gluten-free recipes. I wasn't ready for rice flour and goat milk - I just wasn't. So, I started with ready made foods. That night when I got home, I made gluten-free Mickey Mouse pancakes (we were headed to Disney, remember?) with sugar free syrup. YUM - right?

Well, Jack loved them. Yep, loved them. He acted like they were the same pancakes he always ate and I thought... YAY!!! This is great progress. For the next few days, we ate some more "diet food" and tried to have peanut butter snacks (the one snack food you can eat) and lots of fruit (which Jack loves) and it was going okay. Jack never turned down any of the food, but he also asked for lots of food (that he normally ate) that wasn't on the diet list. And the thinking required of this diet just about did me in the first couple of days. Y'all, some days we barely function at school and work without diet worries. The Foremans are "home" people - we thrive at home and at home, the diet was pretty easy, but I never once got to the point where I could do it at Jack's school or eating out. It was exhausting!

And then we went to Disney World... There was no way I was worrying about the diet there. Jack ate whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. And we had NO meltdowns. We had NO issues. We had NO problems. Now, I think I've said before that this could have had a lot to do with the rides. Children with sensory issues can sometimes have good sensory stimulation and it can positively affect their ability to function. Like, jumping on a trampoline or doing pushups can help them use more positive behaviors throughout the day. It's crazy, I know and I'm not smart enough to explain why it works, but it does. I think the rides did that for Jack - they threw his body around and stimulated his senses in a positive way and it helped him function in a positive way.

But, sadly, we had to leave Disney World. So, on the way home, Ben and I started talking about the diet again and I literally felt like crying. It exhausted me to even think about starting it up again. The thinking, planning, money and time that goes into it - not to mention, having to explain to Jack why he couldn't have foods he has always eaten. We talked about it and whined about it (the whining was mostly me) and marveled at the parents that can do it!! And then we realized we're not those parents - at least not right now. Not when Jack is doing so well and progressing so well without it. Maybe down the road, if we think we need it, we'll try again. But right now, we're just going to throw him around and flip him upside down in rapid succession a few times before we leave the house. I mean, it worked at Disney World...

The Last Day

Yes, this is my last Disney post. I'm sure you're all thrilled about that! We didn't actually leave on this day, but it was our last day in the parks. We went to Hollywood Studios and while I've noted that my favorite park is by far Magic Kingdom, I felt that this was the most picture friendly park. And if you have a child like mine who loves Pixar (think Cars, Toy Story and Wall-E), then Hollywood Studios is a must-do.

Tip: Hollywood Studios has the best Disney ride, Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster (which Jack was too short for - boo!) but it doesn't have a lot of rides so the lines for the few they have are LOOONG. Also, the fast passes run out quickly (like by noon). Try to get a fast pass to Buzz Lightyear first (b/c it runs out the quickest) and then the roller coaster. Tower of Terror tends to have fast passes longer than the other two. And that's about it for rides at Hollywood Studios. If you have a child that enjoys meeting the characters and shows more than rides, this is a great park for them!

This post is really picture heavy, but they are pretty self-explanatory.

We started with another character breakfast. We ate with Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso and the Little Einsteins (There were two of them but I don't know their names. Who even watches that show?? Jack was not impressed to meet them, but Manny's always a hit!)

Tip: The characters are very open to family photos as well. We got some of them but I just liked the pictures of Jack better so that's what I posted but don't miss out on getting some family photos with your favorites as well. Tara got a picture of Timmy with Handy Manny to put on his desk at work for all his coworkers to enjoy:)

We didn't get to the parade in time for good seats but Piper and Jack found some pretty good seats anyway!

A real highlight was meeting Mater and Lightening McQueen and I'm so excited that our next trip to Disney is planned after Cars 2 comes out!! I'm sure they will have all kinds of neat stuff to go along with that!

The Buzz Lightyear ride at Hollywood Studios is WAY better than the Buzz ride at Magic Kingdom. It's in 3-D and so much fun! Ben was very intent on getting a high score if you can tell. FYI: You NEED a fast pass - the wait was over 2 hours for this ride the day we were there! Get the fast pass early too - they were all gone by 11:00 am.

Toy Story Mania:

Jack thought it was so cool that he was AT Sunnyside Daycare, and in Sid's Room and Andy's room. We even ate lunch at Pizza Planet that day. Honestly, I thought it was pretty cool too.

The only downer on our WHOLE trip was that we waited in line to meet Buzz and Woody and Buzz left to go on a mission right before we got in the see him. I didn't use Jack's diagnosis to get us a "cut in line" pass, but if I had gotten one, you can BET I totally would have used it at this moment. I know it's awful, but I would have!! Actually, Jack was fine about it - Ben and I were pretty upset though:)


Can you tell by this look that we've been here four days and I've been taking pictures the whole time??

Poor Piper! Boys can be so difficult:

Before we left, Jack did ride the Tower of Terror. It's for kids ages 7 and up, but he was tall enough and he BEGGED to ride it. He had been such a trooper with all the other rides that I let him. He was a little thrown off by the scary part of it, I think, but the free fall didn't phase him a bit!! He didn't want to ride it again (it is pretty scary), but he said he liked it so there you go...

My favorite part of the day was a total surprise AND another reason to be sure you use the magic hours. After the park closed, Disney Junior was open for Disney resort kids and they were having a dance party. We realized that different characters were coming in the dance with the kids. It was S.O. M.U.C.H. F.U.N.!!! Look at these moves Jack's got:

Tara and Piper also enjoyed cutting a rug:

My favorite dance picture is really a tie between the above one with Goofy and this one:

Seriously, SO MUCH FUN!! It was such a GREAT way to end our trip!!

We had another character breakfast with Lilo and Stitch scheduled for our actual last day before we left but we had met Stitch our first day at Epcot and honestly, I couldn't take any more Disney food. We decided to sleep in and stop for lunch at Longhorn on the way home. A really good idea!!

These are a few pictures we took at our resort right before we left. By the way, we stayed at Disney's Coronado Springs. It was nice, but Tara says that she liked Disney's Port Orleans (another moderate resort) better. Here is Jack outside our room:

So, that's it for Disney! Thank you for being so patient with me... I'm going to try to move on now and focus my attention on something else. It's not just me, though. Jack has said he's going back every day since we got home. We are actually already planning another trip in November. Yep, we're Disney people now, but I promise, the next post will NOT be a Disney one!! :)

Jack's Place

So, we're down to Day 3 of our Disney World trip - my favorite day!! You can read about our first day at Disney's Epcot here and our first day at Magic Kingdom here. This was the day when we did Disney til we dropped - literally.


Tip: I think I've already talked a little about Magic Hours, but if you stay in a Disney resort (and you should), you are eligible for magic hours. Each park stays open one night for three extra hours for Disney resort guests. You should plan your trip accordingly. For instance, we went to Epcot on their magic hours day - that's how we decided which park to go to on which day. And the crowds are SOOOO much smaller during magic hours b/c only Disney resort people can stay.


This was Magic Kingdom magic hours day. It normally closes at midnight so it was going to be open until 3:00 a.m. We never dreamed we would be there until then, but that was before we realized that Magic Kingdom was "Jack's place!" Yes, my child THRIVED there. The longer we were there, the better he did. I realize that this probably has a lot to do with Jack's sensory issues (for those new to my blog, Jack has Sensory Integration Disorder with autism characteristics - and very likely Asperger's). With SID children, the more good sensory stimulation they get, normally, the better able they are to cope with things that are normally difficult for them. For instance, for some SID kids, jumping on a trampoline or doing pushups on a wall or spinning in a chair can have a very calming effect on them and actually improve their behaviors and coping skills throughout the day. Well, apparantly the really fast rides had this effect on Jack and his behaviors. My child was nearly PERFECT on this trip. We just had so few issues - it was wonderful! So yes, I let him ride rides until Ben and I could barely hold ourselves up!!


Tip: If you have the $$$ (we didn't:) to stay at one of the upscale Disney resorts (Disney's Contemporary Resort; The Grand Floridian; Disney's Polynesian Resort; and there's one more name that is escaping me right now), you have the benefit of the monorail service which is much quicker and nicer than the buses that come to the moderate resorts. The buses are great too but this is just more convenient and faster. If you have the funds, it would be worth it to splurge - they are just extremely nice. We won't ever do this (especially since I want to go about 4 times a year now:), but there's the tip if you are in the position to take advantage of it.


We started the day off with breakfast at Disney's Grand Floridian. We were meeting up with Tigger and Pooh (who we had already eaten with the day before) and Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter, and Mary Poppins. The Grand Floridian is one of the resorts that has the monorail service so we decided to drive to breakfast and then take the monorail to Magic Kingdom. We could have taken the bus to Magic Kingdom and then the monorail to and from the resort for breakfast, but we thought it might be hard to make our reservation having to catch the bus and the monorail, but there is a way to do it with no driving. Of course, another advantage to staying at these upscale resorts is that you can do character meals right in your own resort.


Jack LOVED the monorail and so did his parents. It was the first time Ben didn't have to fold our (oversized, too big for Disney) jogging stroller so it was a nice reprieve.

Tip: I recommend taking the larger umbrella strollers (with the bottom storage compartment and a cup holder). The straight up umbrella stroller is too small but the one just up from it would be a perfect size, especially for a toddler. For an infant, you might need a larger stroller, but another tip would be: Don't take an infant to Disney World - I can't imagine how that would be fun under any circumstance unless you have a grandparent with you to do nothing but stroll the baby around all day. If you don't want to pack a stroller, they have these perfect size ones for sale in every store there for $50.00. It would be cheaper to take your own, but if you don't, it would be totally worth the money once you get there.

Jack riding the monorail:


The characters (as always) were a big hit with the kids!



Jack just hugged Alice like this on his own. I'm still not sure why he reacted to her this way, but I gotta tell you, I think she was pretty blown away by how adorable it was too:)


Jack and The Mad Hatter:

I was glad Pooh ate with us again since the day before, I had gone to the buffet while he came to our table and it was just another lesson to never leave the husband in charge of capturing memories. Pooh's head was completely cut off in the picture he took the previous day.

Jack had no clue who Mary Poppins was, but he decided to get a picture with her anyway. We have the movie on our to do list now though!

After breakfast, we headed on to Magic Kingdom. We knew we had all day and night to explore and our plan was to see Tommorrow Land and Fantasy Land (having checked out Frontier Land and Adventure Land the day before). Since we had until 3:00 a.m. though, we made a quick trip to Frontier Land to ride Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain Railroad because we already knew they were Jack's favorites.

Tip: It is a good idea to figure out your favorite rides the first day and then on your second day in Magic Kingdom (and you SHOULD spend at LEAST two days there), hit your favorites first thing in the morning and then end with them during magic hours at night. Chances are, your favorites are most everyone's faves and the lines are not as long early and late.

So, after a quick detour in Frontier Land, we made it to Tomorrow Land. We loved Buzz Lightyear (though the ride at Magic Kingdom pales in comparison to the Buzz ride at Hollywood Studios) and Jack got a picture in jail with Evil Emperor Zurg (his favorite villian)!

In case you are wondering, the change of clothes came from getting SOAKED on Splash Mountain first thing in the morning!! Remember, you don't get to pick your seat and if you are in the front, you are going to get more than a little bit wet! This was the only day I took him a change of clothes too - I'm telling you, things just worked out for us at Disney!! :)

Tip: Take a change of clothes for your kids. You can probably tough out the wet and cold but they aren't going to want to. Also, if you go in the Fall or Winter, take a sweater. We had a blanket that we just left in our stroller. Later, we left our sweaters on there too. I never worried that they would get stolen, but you could always tie them around your waist if you were concerned about that. Also, all of your "stuff" should be able to fit in one bag - something that you can hang on your stroller when you're walking around and then just grab and put on your shoulder when you get in line at the rides. I saw a lot of people with backpacks and these would work well, but I'm more of a fan of an open bag you can just stick your hand right in to grab something with smaller zipper compartments for money, tickets, etc.

Jack on the Buzz Lightyear ride:

After we rode the Stitch ride, watchrf the interactive Monsters, Inc. show and checked out a few other things, we felt we had done Tomorrow Land. It didn't take long. Honestly, the best thing about it is Space Mountain and Jack wasn't quite tall enough for it yet (bummer!). We then headed over to Fantasy Land and we ended the day there (with the exception of heading back to Frontier Land for the Lights Parade - remember, they have the best parade seating!)

Tip: Because we had until 3:00 a.m., we did head back to the room for a couple of hours and nap during the day. If you don't have this long, I do not recommend napping in the room. On all the other days, Jack would go to sleep in his stroller and we would just find a cool place to sit and people watch or we would see a show where I could hold him and watch and he just napped in the parks. We actually didn't even head back to the room on this day until he fell asleep on his own. I have heard horror stories of trying to get your kids down for naps at Disney and it being a disaster. We just let Jack dictate this and when he fell asleep, he slept and if he didn't, he didn't. This worked well for us.

Tara and Piper riding Dumbo:

Jack playing in the Hundred Acre Wood while waiting to ride Winnie the Pooh:

Winnie the Pooh was by far the coolest kid ride in my opinion and even enjoyable for adults. Also, they have all kids of cool stuff for the kids to play with while you're waiting in line.

Piper and Jack playing on Dumbo:

Timmy, Tara and Piper called it a night about midnight, but Jack wasn't even close to being ready to go. About 12:30 a.m., we headed BACK to Frontier Land and rode Thunder Mountain some more. There wasn't a long line at all and he did SO love that roller coaster. As we were leaving the park at 2:15 a.m., Jack said, "Mom, can we ride the Storm Train just one more time??"

I'm telling you, Magic Kingdom is just Jack's Place and we cannot WAIT until we go back again!!

Tomorrow, it's Hollywood Studios...

Remembering "3"

I decided to take a break today from my Disney posts (I'll pick that back up tomorrow or sometime soon) to link up with Kelly's Korner and Show Us Your Life. The topic this week is birthday parties and I liked the idea of remembering Jack's party last year since we're not going to have one this year. Disney WAS the birthday party and really, Jack hasn't exactly enjoyed any of his parties so far anyway. I sure did enjoy planning them though! He's just not a party and social guy. Plus, last year he got a virus the night before so there were, let's say "issues" but overall, it was a fun party and my little guy toughed it out enough to enjoy it a little bit.

If you are new to my blog you should know that Jack was a Thomas the Train NUT for about a year so we had a Thomas party last year and it was a lot of fun for me to plan and really, the easiest party I've ever had to plan for him. Here are a few pictures from Jack's third birthday party.

Jack's Thomas cake made by his (very talented) great-grandmother, Gigi. You can see Dave the Giraffe (Jack's favorite "friend" - stuffed animal that goes everywhere with us) and Big Al (Alabama's elephant mascot) on the cake as well. Don't grandmothers just know how to make things extra special?? :)

We had a train and I was very concerned that Jack wasn't even going to feel like riding it. He came around though and the kids LOVED riding this train all over our back yard!

We had a table set up for the kids to decorate their own train cookies. Jack's other great-grandmother made the train sugar cookies and kids really enjoyed decorating them.

These cake pops (also made by Gigi) were a big hit! We sent a couple of these home with each child.

Jack's present corner - If you look closely, you can see the picture of him in his train conductor outfit from the previous Halloween.

You probably have to enlarge the picture to see all the food signs, but we had:

* Bill and Ben's Buffing and Bashing BBQ (compliments of my in-laws)

* Skarloey's Sweet Sodor Sauce and Molly's Mild Mudding Mix

* Percy's Prized Potato Chips

* Dodge's Delicious Diesel Dip

* Spencer's Strong and Fast Fruit Snacks

* Bertie's Branch Line Brew (Coke)

* Rosie's Really Useful Refreshment (Water)

* Toby's Tough and Fizzy Tram Fuel (Diet Coke)

* Cranky the Crane's Coolers (Juice)

And while the (sick) birthday boy stayed next door with my Mom for the first part of his party, he did eventually make it and got to enjoy opening his presents. He even felt like putting on his cute train shirt and birthday hat!

I hesitate to even post this picture. I look like I had been up with a sick three year old all night after I spent a week planning a birthday party (because I had) but ya know, it is what it is and even though things didn't go as smoothly as they could have, this party was a fun time and is a sweet memory for us!

For other birthday party memories, visit Kelly's Korner.

Where Dreams Come True

You can read about the first day of our trip at Disney's Epcot here.

I was so excited for our Disney trip, but I really thought that I might be the Mom that said "Never again!" after we got back home. I detest chaos!! I literally get a little shaky at the thought of more than four people going to a resturant together b/c it's just chaotic so I was a little concerned about how I would do at Disney World - especially Magic Kingdom. I went when I was 13 and it was in summer (SO hot), the lines were long, there were people everywhere and I just didn't like it. So, while I was really excited, I was also a little apprehensive.


Turns out, there was no need to be. I LOVED it!! I mean, it was exhausting, but I would go back today and we've only been home two days:) There were people everywhere and I would never go in the summer (our weather was perfect the entire trip) b/c I couldn't handle all that in the heat, but it is a very organized chaos. I so appreciate their ability to organize and run that place. Sometimes I would just sit back and watch them work, but that probably says something about my personality that's more than a little on the weird side so I'll move on:) Regardless, our family enjoyed Magic Kingdom. We spent two days there so the first day we used to sort of figure everything out and get our bearings. Tomorrow's post is the one that's really full of fun (and we left the park at 2:00 a.m. if that tells you anything - yes, we were hard core!)


Tip: As you enter Magic Kingdom, there is a shop where you can get personalized Mickey ears. You child gets to pick the hat; the ears; everything. It's my favorite keepsake from our trip and I think we will get a different one each time we go. They have TONS of choices from Princess to Toy Story to the more original ears. We had so much fun with this - it was the first thing we did. Here are Jack's ears:

He also enjoyed trying all the other hats on too.


Tip: Make reservations to eat with the characters. The lines are always long to see the characters, but if you make reservations to eat with them, they come right to your table while you are eating. We did a different meal with characters each day. The kids loved it and the bonus was that the only ones we stood in line to see in the parks were Woody and Buzz. I would also make breakfast reservations. It's a fun way to start your day in the park and the breakfast buffets are MUCH better than lunch in my opinion.

Lunch at The Crystal Palace with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet:

We realized at Magic Kingdom that Jack was NOT going to be scared to ride anything. We went to Splash Mountain first and from that point on, the faster and higher, the better for him. He loved the kid rides too, but it was the roller coasters that he wanted to ride over and over and over again. Ben and I were THRILLED b/c those are the ones that we want to do over and over and over again too!

Aladdin's Magic Carpet:

Jack's favorite ride - Thunder Mountain Railroad (renamed Storm Train by Jack:):

Tip: If you are eligible for fast passes, decide the ride you most want to ride (they are normally the longest lines) and send "Dad" with everyone's tickets to that ride to get fast passes right when you get to the park. (We did this while we were waiting to be seated for our breakfast or while we were picking out our ears). You can only have one fast pass at a time, but they will let you get another one right before time to ride the ride. So, on our way to use our fast pass, we would get another one for a different ride. This technique worked very well and there was little time that we didn't have something to ride and we didn't have to wait in long lines. For the shorter lines, we didn't use a fast pass, but rode those during our filler time.

Because we were going to be at Magic Kingdom for two days and we could stay until 3:00 a.m. the following day, we left a little early on Saturday and took the kids to Downtown Disney for the night. They have really neat stores including the biggest Disney store you've ever seen. They also have shows and other attractions and some really great resturants. It was a fun night too!

Tip: There's no way to do Magic Kingdom in just one day. If we hadn't had the extra hours, we couldn't have done all we wanted in two days. I suggest at LEAST two days here and in my opinion, it's that much better than the other parks. It's worth it to miss one of the others (we skipped Animal Kingdom). I suggest taking two areas each day. The first day, we did Frontier Land and Adventure Land and saved Tommorrow Land and Fantasy Land for the following day. That way, you really get to explore and you're not going from one end of the park to the other.

Tip: The parades are GREAT and y'all know, I'm NOT a parade person! Frontier Land is the best place to find a spot to watch. We would get there 45 minutes to an hour before the parade time. We set our strollers up and the guys sat and took a break and Tara and I would take the kids to the Country Jamboree show or to get a snack while we waited. We had great seats for the parades and it was totally worth getting there a bit early. They came right by us and most of the characters would stop and wave to Jack and Piper. Such FUN!

We didn't get a LOT done on our first day because we were feeling everything out, but we were able to ride some of our favorite rides and make a plan for all the wanted to do the following day. We also figured out quickly that Magic Kingdom is a Foreman Family kind of place. All three of us were thrilled with it and SO happy that we were going back the following day! More Magic Kingdom tomorrow....