We had a Wicked time...

For my birthday Dave gave me a trip to go see Wicked in Birmingham. My parents came and watched my kids overnight (!) so we could go down and enjoy ourselves for the night. And it was so incredibly good. I love love LOVED it. Dave had apologized for not getting me many "things" for my birthday, but as I told him, this experience brought me way more joy than any "thing" that he could have given me. There's actually studies that show that money does buy happiness (in a way), but only if you spend it on experiences instead of things. I'm a believer. I also told him that this is all I need to be excited and life-high all the time. Just take me to an incredible Broadway musical, say, every other week. I'll be the best wife ever. So what if we have to sell the car???

Anyway, if you haven't gone yet, and have the chance to, go see Wicked. The lead (Elphaba) was the best female performer I've ever seen outside of Broadway. Glinda was pretty good too.

The only damper on my whole evening came in the second act when some girl behind us brought her popcorn back. I thought that was against the rules? Anyway, we put up with it (and it was only distracting a couple of times) until she finished her popcorn. Then she started shaking her bag into her mouth and chewing up the unpopped kernels. That was a bit too much. Dave gave her The Look. She stopped then, and I got to enjoy the rest of the musical popcornmunchingless.

It was Just. So. Good.

The Happiest place on earth. Really.

IMPORTANT NOTE: So we've been home a while. But that doesn't make my trip any less fun and exciting, so here's what you're going to do. You're going to sit there, you're going to read my Disney post, and you're going to be thrilled and excited with me as though I just got home yesterday. Thank you.

IMPORTANT NOTE NUMBER 2: This is long. Sorry.

Most of you know how incredibly excited I was to go to Disney World. Well, on the drive down my excitement held steady. But when we arrived at Epcot the first day and I saw the little "Welcome to Disney World" arches, that did it. I couldn't contain myself anymore. I was literally bouncing up and down in my seat. I think I was the most excited one in the car, and that's saying something.

At Epcot. Chris had his first taste of high-speed thrills. We rode test track--even though the line was an hour long, and the only long line we waited on all week. The rest were 20 minutes or less with the exception of the Thunder mountain fastpass line, which was inexplicably a half hour long. The first time he (and Conner--who wanted go on the "really fast cars" the first time...) rode, he thought it was great.

We got off, and he said "I've never been on a real race car before!" And he danced around, all excited. Conner, on the other hand, got scared and cried. This was pretty much a theme for the rest of the thrill rides we would try. Thunder mountain: Before the ride: "Are you sure you want to go on the roller coaster train, Conner?" "I do!" After the ride: Chris: Woohoo! (general dancing around) Conner: "I'm so sad!" (General crying). Splash mountain Conner decided against. Tower of Terror we didn't give him a choice, because we are not stupid.

We did, however, run into two different sets of parents who tricked their kids into going on that ride. One told their four year old son that at the top of the elevator was a candy store. I wish I were kidding. I can see the conversation in a few years. We told you drugs were bad! Why are you doing drugs! Well, you also told me that the top of the tower of terror was a candy store, so...

Conner's favorite ride of the day by far was "living with the land." Yep, the one where they grow the food. He said, " I like this!"(As in, I think, "wait, rides are scary! This isn't scary! This is fun!") when we were first on it. He danced around to the music. He and Chris also loved the little jumping-water fountain that is outside Imagination. Here is his little joyful face.

So the next day we went to the Magic Kingdom with my parents. We went on the Astro Orbiter, and everyone hated it. Never go on that ride for any reason. We rode the carousel, which was another favorite of Conner, so we were interspersing the happy rides with the scary ones at this point I guess.

Then we headed over to Frontierland, to try out Thunder Mountain. Perhaps we should have learned our lesson at that point, but we did not. Plus, Conner wanted to go, even after he saw how fast it went. So we took him. And he cried. Chris loved it. When we were going to go on Splash mountain, Conner saw it, and I guess somewhere in his head it clicked that fast other people+Conner going on that ride= fast and scared Conner, because he decided not to try that one. Chris loved it. My son, he is. We took the regular train, and Conner got happy again. He danced. He bounced. He saw a railroad crossing (which in Conner world is pretty much heaven).

Next day was Disney's Hollywood studios which I have a hard time not calling MGM still because it's been so very long since I've been there. That was what I would call the perfect day. The kids were great, and we all just had so much fun. Chris was introduced to the Tower of Terror. At first we were a little nervous. I was too, and I'm not sure if it's just because I haven't been on there in a long time or because I was feeling his nervousness, but regardless, we were both a bit anxious. Then the ride started, with us holding hands tightly. When the elevator moved forward on the track, Chris said, "Awesome! I never saw an elevator that moved before!" And then, all too soon, came the crucial moment. The elevator dropped us, rebounded, defying gravity for a moment, and plunged us over and over into darkness. When it first showed signs of stopping the first thing I heard from my terrified Chris was "AWESOME!!!!!" He absolutely loved it, and rode it a total of at least 6 times on the trip.

Another favorite of everyone except Conner was the new Lights, Motor, Action! stunt show. Holy sweet. If you're ever in Disney World, you have to go to it. I'm not sure which I enjoyed more, though, the stunt show itself, or Chris's incredibly excited reaction to it:

Conner was scared of the fire and explosions (and everything that had fire the whole trip):

But I think he liked the show better than he let on, because later, at home, I caught him playing with his hot wheels making screeching noises and spinning them around. When I asked what he was doing, he said, "I'm playing lights motors action."

Chris was also super sweet about the one ride he wasn't tall enough to go on. We told him that he needed to wait while we went on the ride, and he said, "well it's fun that you get to go on it." After we came back he asked if it was fun and he said that he was glad that we had fun on it. How cute and sweet is that? He didn't complain even a bit. He just was happy for us that we got to go on another fun ride.

We saw the Muppet show, which thankfully did not freak Conner out, and rode Star Tours, which did, but of course Chris loved it.

Chris and Conner also watched the Jedi Training Academy show. Darth Vader would keep pointing at kids in the audience (one of them almost started crying she was so scared) and every time he did, Conner would smile and point at Darth Vader. I'm pretty sure he wanted to make friends with the Dark Sith Lord. We went back on Friday, and this time Chris got to be in the show! Here he is, learning to be a Jedi, getting ready to fight Darth Vader. You know, Conner's friend.

Conner's and my favorite ride to ride together, though, was Toy Story Mania. It's a 3D ride that you pull this little ball and shoot various 3d things to hit various 3d targets. And it's pretty much the best freaking ride ever. It goes kind of fast, and sometimes when you hit targets a little gust of air puffs at you and something flies at you in 3D, so I didn't know if Conner would be scared. But he loved it! When it took us from game to game, He said "whee!" and then he kept trying to shoot at stuff. He asked right away to go on it again, but it was late in the day and the line was (and always is) incredibly long. So the next time we went there we took him back, and I asked him "what are we gonna do?" and he said, "we're gonna go on this ride!!!" "Why?" "Because it's FUN!!!!" Here he is enjoying himself:

The highlight of the next day, believe it or not, was dinner. We had dinner at the Garden Grill (the rotating restaurant in the Land), and it was so very worth the incredibly inflated price we paid for it. The kids had a grand time with Mickey, and even AJ got to join in the fun. The characters liked to play with him. He tried to eat Pluto's nose. Conner liked it the best, I think, just eating dinner and having Mickey and Chip and Dale and Pluto come visit.

Chris liked it too, though, because as we were going to the parking lot on the last day, he saw the names of the parking lots and said, " Look, mom! Look what that one is called!!!" And it was called Chip and Dale. But I think Chris's favorite part was the dessert, make-your-own cupcake. He got very excited about that, and then he noticed that the sprinkles were Mickey Mouse Sprinkles. He said, "oh look, cool!" But even though my kids thought it was pretty cool to have vegetables that grew downstairs in the Land ride, alas, that did not help them to eat them any better.

So the next day, we went to Animal Kingdom. This was the first time for all of us. Chris here discovered Expedition Everest (and by this time we didn't doubt that he would love it and not be scared) and he, predictably, loved it. Through a clever combination of Fastpasses and Baby Swaps, he was able to ride this 6 times that day with almost no wait. And I have to say, I rather enjoyed this one as well. I bought the picture at the end because it so very embodied what Chris was about this vacation, and how much he loved these kind of rides. I bought it even though it was a spectacularly bad picture of me. So here's just Chris.

Must...edit...

...must...not...subject...you...to...every...detail...of my...trip...

The last day we went on Pirates (again, and among other things), and we ran into Jack Sparrow himself. Here we are with him.

If I didn't know that Johnny Depp would not likely take time out of his busy life to stroll around Disney World in pirate garb, I would have sworn this was the real thing. What do you think?

So instead of the rest of my play by play, let's sum up with this:

Favorite Conner Rides (according to Conner):
The regular train

The splash mountain of yo ho yo ho a pirates life for me ride
The ladder to the slide (Honey I shrunk the kids playground)
It's a small world after all boat (Why do kids like that ride? What is it about the same song blaring over and over with lots of dolls dancing in various cultural ways that makes kids so happy?)

The slow boat ride (either Mexico or living with the land, I'm not sure.)
The slow car ride (Tomorrowland speedway)

And from my own observations:

The carousel

Winnie the Pooh
Toy Story Midway Mania
Kilamanjaro safaris
Jungle cruise

Top ten Chris Rides (But he insists he doesn't have a favorite because ALL the rides are his favorite)
(This is the order he told them to me)
Expedition Everest
Splash Mountain

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Tower of Terror
Toy Story Midway Mania
Toy Story Buzz Lightyear
Test Track ("oh! I forgot about Test Track!")
Kali River Rapids

Mission:Space
Peter Pan ("because you really are flying") (That's why I used to like it, too, for the part where everything gets smaller when you fly over it. Isn't that fun?)
Tom Sawyer's Island

So one of my favorite things that Chris said about the trip was actually after the trip was over. Some kid came over and Chris was talking to her. I heard him from the other room say, "You've NEVER been to Disney World?!? You HAVE to go! It's SO fun!" Then Conner and Chris started talking at the same time about all of the DW things. It was a great trip, and my only regret is that I can't go about once a week.

And just to let you know that AJ was in fact there:

Adam Lambert rocks my world (in an I'm married and he's gay kind of way...)

OK, so I LOVE Adam Lambert. He is sensational. He is not only probably the best that Idol has ever seen, but he's one of the best singers/performers that I have ever heard, period. Idol or no idol, the boy is phenomenal. I have had a special Idol-place for him in my heart from the moment I first heard him sing. It's just gotten better since then. Unlike my last Idol fangirl moment, this has nothing to do with me thinking he's a great guy or nice or anything. He just can SING. If he doesn't win, I will dye my hair the color of Allison's. And don't think I won't do it.

But I won't have to, of course. Because he WILL WIN. You heard it here first.

The post you've all been waiting for!

Yes, that's right, I have FINALLY gotten around to posting about the topic you've been waiting to hear about: baby shampoo! I love it. And not just for babies. What happened is this: I ran out of my facial cleanser, and I was allergic to the new one. So I looked around my shower and tried to figure out what I could use instead. And I decided to try baby shampoo. I kid you not my friends, my face has never felt more soft and smooth or blemish-free! And I've used some pretty high-end cleansers, too. So what you need to do is this:

1. Go buy some baby shampoo, even if you don't have a baby. Generic is OK.
2. Wash your face with it.
3. Delight in the softness and smoothness of your face.
4. Thank me later.

So there you have it.

What, were you expecting me to post about something else?

On perspective...

I had a rough week last week. Or at least that's what I thought.

I got a nasty cold, I had very long hard days, I injured my leg one day, had to teach dance that night (and did a very poor job of it, which doesn't usually happen, if I do say so myself), and two days later I injured my back really, really bad. I was in the mall with my 3 kids. I had to lay down on a bench because I could barely move, and call Dave to come help me get home. Everything was going wrong, and all I'd wanted to do for like a year was to go to Disney World this week. But, see, I couldn't do that with a back that hurt so bad I couldn't walk. Why, I asked myself, was the universe converging to ruin my trip? Why can't I have this one thing? And then I got so sad (not just about that) and asked God to help me feel better. He didn't. I felt so alone.

Oh me of little faith.

Dave called my Dad for me to talk to him. I didn't really want to, but I talked to my Dad and (among other things) told him about my prayer. My Dad not only helped me smile again, but he also helped me out in some general-life things. Things I desperately needed, and that needed to come from my Dad. And you know what he said? He said, "It feels good to be an answer to a prayer." No, God didn't pierce through my sadness with the Spirit. He did better. He didn't give me what I wanted. He gave me what I needed. As for my back, I'm better now. Almost all better, and this was only 3 days ago. I'll be fine in time to go to Disney World. And you know what? I changed my perspective, and it changed everything. What if I hadn't hurt my back on Thursday? I have a generally bad back, and I don't always take the best care of it. What if I had been bending and lifting the Monkey in and out of the stroller all day at Disney? Could it be that I was injured now, not so that my trip would be ruined but so that it would be saved? So that I would know to be extra careful there and not be lying on my back for three days in Orlando instead of here? And that got me thinking...

What if it's always like this? I stepped back a little, saw a bigger picture and suddenly it changed from the universe out to get me to a loving God protecting my little trip that for some reason is so important to me. I stepped back a little further and it changed from God not answering my prayer to Him taking better care of me than I knew how to ask for. What if I keep going? What if I step back a little further? What is this black thread I am walking through today when I step back and look at the whole tapestry? Is it beautiful? Is it necessary? Would the picture be incomplete and ruined without it?

I believe, my friends. I believe that God IS there, and that he sees the tapestry of our lives as we cannot. I believe that it has lovely threads and ugly threads but that He's not looking at that. He sees the whole picture. He MAKES the whole picture.

And it is beautiful.

Life is beautiful. Even if today is not.

Can you resist the power of my persuasion?

So I started writing about my life and I bored myself. That's a bad sign. So I just saved that for my own records and I'm starting over. It seems like I write better, on the whole, about meaningless things. So let me attempt for a moment to convert you all to saving the environment. Wait, that's not what I meant. I meant "impersonal" things. Saving the environment is totally non-meaningless.

Of course I am speaking of reducing the possibility of ending up like WALL-e (which is a great movie that my kids absolutely love) by using reusable shopping bags. I love mine! Here's why:

1. It, um, saves the environment.
2. They have handles on them that you can fling over your shoulders thereby making only one trip from the car to the house. This is very important to me for some reason. I don't like taking two trips to bring in the groceries. It makes me feel like a failure. Like I just couldn't cut it. I have been known to have little red marks all over my wrists and arms because I stubbornly loaded myself up with groceries so that I could only take one trip. And then I can barely open the door. I sometimes can't. Sometimes I have to put the bags on the freezer to open the door. Which also makes me feel like a failure. I am not a complete success in my shopping endeavors unless I can fluidly take one trip from the trunk to the kitchen. Now I can! And I don't have little red marks on my arms and wrists anymore! Now they are on my shoulders.
3. When I go to the store and use my own bags I feel environmentally-trendy. It's cool to save the environment! Look at all the celebrities that pretend to do it!
4. I'm proud of myself every time I use them because I actually remembered to bring them into the store. It's the little victories you've got to celebrate. I like Kroger because it reminds me. I see their sign that says "Did you remember to BYOB (Bring your own bag)?" And I say to my self, "No! I didn't!" And then I go back and get my bags.
5. You don't have to have a space for all those plastic bags from the store that you think you're going to use and then don't. Now, don't get me wrong. I do use those bags. Just not nearly as many as I used to get from the store. And I forget to use my own bags often enough to still have plenty.
6.You don't have to use those little baskets if you're just getting a few things. You can just put it all in your reusable bag, then buy it, and put it back in. This also saves my arms, because every time I decide I'm not getting enough to use a cart, I invariably get more than I thought, and end up getting those little red marks again.

That's pretty much it. So, did I make my case?

By the way, in random American Idol news, one of my favorite moments in Idol history was last night when they did the Simon-evil-laugh thing. I don't know why.

How the Mom found Christmas (by yours truly)

So. Christmas Day started out great, then we had a bit of a meltdown, and then I figured stuff out and the day ended very nicely. After I wrote this poem. (IMPORTANT NOTE: I have taken a bit of artistic license here. I didn't actually add another present on Christmas Eve, for example. But that's not the point, right? Enjoy.)



Every Reynolds in Huntsville liked Christmas a lot,
But one year they acted just like they did not.
My kids screamed at Christmas! the whole Christmas season!
Now please don't ask why, no one quite knows the reason.

It could be they didn't get outside to play.
It could be they just didn't get their own way.
But I think the most likely reason to weep
May have been they were far too excited to sleep.

But whatever the reason, the sleep or the cold,
They stood there on Christmas Eve making me old.
Running round by the Creche, and then breaking the baby,
Talking back whether I say no, yes, sure, or maybe,

For they knew that with anything they'd get away,
So determined was I for a nice Christmas day.
For tomorrow I knew that my three little boys
Would wake bright and early! They'd rush for their toys!
And then, oh the noise, oh the noise, noise, noise, NOISE!
That's one thing I loved, oh the joyful glad noise!

Then they'd play, and they'd play, and they'd play play play PLAY!
And the more that I thought of this boy-Christmas-play,
The more that I thought "I MUST have a good day!"
Why for 24 days I've put up with it now!
I must stop the screaming from coming, but how?

"I know just what to do!" I then giggled with glee,
And I put one more present beneath my big tree.
And I chuckled and clucked, "What a great Mama trick!
With this last shiny gift, I will outdo St. Nick!"

And I then said, "To bed!" and the kids started on
Towards their rooms where they'd hopefully sleep until dawn.
It was quarter past 10, all the boys in their bed
All the kids with shut lids, I with with my aching head.
And I put out their presents! the ribbons! the wrappings! the tags! and the tinsel!
The trimmings! the trappings!

Three hours we were up, up til midnight or later.
We put out the legos, and Lightning and Mater.
At last we decided to bed we could creep,
And my husband and I got some much needed sleep.

At five I woke up! I knew just what they'd do!
Their mouths would hang open a second or two,
And then my two boys would both shout "Woo-hoo!"

That's a sound that I thought that I simply must hear!
So I paused and I smiled with a hand to my ear.
And I did hear a sound ringing out from below!
It started in low, then it started to grow.

Every Reynolds in Huntsville (well, only the small)
Was screaming! without any reason at all!
I hadn't stopped screaming from coming! It came!
Some how or other it came just the same!

Then I with my Mom-mood now lower than low
Stood puzzling and puzzling, "How could it be so?"
It came with the ribbons! it came with the tags!
It came with the packages, boxes, and bags!

And I whimpered for hours 'til my eyes were quite sore.
And I then thought of something that I knew before.
Maybe Christmas does not have to be to the letter.
Perhaps Christmas came so we all could get better.

And what happened then? Well in Huntsville they say,
That my Mama-perspective grew larger that day.
And as soon as I saw things as He does above.
I felt that I'd found a new kind of "tough love."

I've finally gotten it into my head
The day needn't be perfect, for He was instead.

You don't know the power of the dark side...

So, The other day I was going somewhere. I didn't have any eye makeup on, I decided to wear my glasses (mostly on a whim), and I wore a cute (but not often worn by me) slouchy hat. I looked like this:
OK, maybe that's a slightly-better, picture-that-I'm-willing-to-post-on-my-blog version of how I looked. But the main elements (no eye makeup, glasses, hat), are still there. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I was walking out the door, and I was surprised at how different I looked than normal. I giggled and said to myself (out loud, mind you), "It's like I'm in disguise!"

I wish I were making this up.

Anyway, I went out to the car, where the monkey was waiting for me dutifully, and HE started giggling. He said, "who are you?" (As in, "who are you trying to be?", or, "It's like you're in disguise!") I giggled again too, and said, "who am I?" He said, "Are you Darth Vader?"



What do you think? Is there a resemblance?:











Or perhaps he meant this one????:



In any case, I told him that I was not, in fact, trying to be Darth Vader. He said, "Are you princess Leia?" I liked that better, so I said, " Am I?" And he of course replied that I was, in fact, princess Leia. And then he wanted to know where my lightsaber was.


In completely unrelated news, AJ smiles a lot now. Want to see? (IMPORTANT NOTE: It doesn't really matter if you want to see or not. This is my blog and you're already here.)


He's a happy little guy. In this picture anyway. And at night. And when I am holding and/or feeding him. Otherwise, all bets are off.