December 28, 2016

Freshly Picked Year End Sale

Just when you thought the best sale ever was done and gone just like the holiday season...Freshly Picked is at it again! For the final time this year, Freshly Picked is having a BIGG sale that you won't want to miss.



Starting TODAY at 10 am MST (12 PM EST), all seasonal items will be 25% off. Umm, yes please! Not to mention that some moccs will be going on sale for the first time ever, AND there will be 5 wholesale exclusives that have never been available on the website before. This is perfect for those of you who missed out on Black Tuesday, or those who need another excuse to buy another pair of moccs.



We LOVEE our Freshly Picked moccs, no other leather baby shoe compares really. Easy to slip on, easy to clean (no really, my toddler spilled CRANBERRY JUICE on my younger sons moccs, and it wiped clean!), durable enough to cruise around in and keep that natural foot shape, and so so stylish.

What are you waiting for?! Click here and shop shop shop!

Freshly Picked GIVEAWAY


Have you ever noticed that Cade is barefoot in all of his photos? Sometimes he'll be sporting socks, but never a pair of shoes. I'm a firm believer that babies feet need the freedom to move about naturally as they continue to grow and develop, and putting hard soles on them too early is not the best option. I purchased Dax's first pair of shoes at about 10-11 months when he really started standing and cruising around because I wanted his feet protected. I had looked into a ton of different baby shoes and ultimately went with soft soles. Now that Cade isn't too far behind at just 8.5 months, he too got his first pair of soft sole shoes. He got a pair of Weathered Brown Freshly Picked moccasins, as mentioned in my last post.



I know many, if not most, of my mama friends have heard of the moccasin shop Freshly Picked. If you aren't familiar with the company started by Susan Peterson, Freshly Picked makes genuine leather soft and hard sole moccasins in a variety of sizes and colors. They are durable, completely functional, and the great part about Freshly Picked is that your babe can start wearing them right away, and continuing to grow your collection through the walking years.

This is the first pair of moccs we've ever had the pleasure to try and while I had to exchange sizes, we haven't been able to try them out completely, but I love the look and feel of them! They are incredibly simple to slip onto wiggly baby feet, but in the right size they will not slip off. The leather is incredibly soft and pliable, so they are perfect for little developing feet as they are able to wiggle their toes and the leather will form to their feet--not the other way around.



I'm really looking forward to all of the adventures and places these new moccs will go, and most of all, I can't wait to see the tiny little footprints left behind on the soles after he grows into a bigger size!

Want to win a pair of your own Freshly Picked moccs? Head on over to my instgram (@thelittlestadventures) and follow the instructions there. I'm so excited to be able to share the love of Freshly Picked with you!




December 6, 2016

Baby Puree: Butternut Squash


As adults, we usually watch what we eat and try to stray away from foods with unnecessary additives, so why would we treat our babies any differently?

I started making my own baby food when Dax first began eating solids. He actually helped in the decision making when I once tried to feed him jarred bananas and he gagged, but he absolutely loved fresh bananas. My main reason for homemade baby food was health driven, but the savings from not purchasing jarred baby food was great too.

Naturally, I continued to make my own baby food with Cade. He was opposite of his brother who hated any kind of lumpy texture and always wanted a soupy consistency to his food. Cade never really cared for spoons or completely pureed food, so his was always thicker and able to be eaten with his own hands. Messy, yes...but he enjoyed it.

Making homemade baby food is so simple, here are the directions to one of Cade's favorites:


Homemade Butternut Squash Puree

Step 1: preheat oven to 400° and wash your squash.

Step 2: cut the squash in half lengthwise.

Step 3: scoop out all of the seeds and clean out the squash. This step is similar to cleaning out a pumpkin.
**sometimes I'll wash the seeds and bake those as a snack for me, they are pretty delicious!





Step 4: place the squash open side (flesh side) down in a pan of water, about 1 to 2 inches of water.




Step 5: place into preheated oven and cook for about 40 minutes...until the skin appears bubbly and a little brown.


Notice the toasted and bubbly appearance?


Step 6: Remove from water and scoop out the flesh.



Step 7: Depending on what stage food your baby is in will, this step can differ.
  • Smooth consistency: blend in food processor or blender with water (or breastmilk if you prefer) until the puree reaches the smoothness you want.
  • Thick consistency: don't add water, simply stir the squash as is with a spoon or fork. [This is the method we chose since our babe is a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to eating. 

Step 8: Spoon out desired amount into small bowl and serve as is, or sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon.




Storing Homemade Baby Food

Step 1: Using parchment paper to prevent sticking, spoon [insert your own amount] puree onto freezer safe pan/plate as show. Freeze.



Step 2: Once frozen, remove from pan and place into freezer bags and place into freezer.





Ready to Eat?

To defrost, take out 1 or 2 frozen pieces and place into fridge to defrost overnight or even place in an individual bag to thaw in warm water. Heat as desired and feed to baby.

Yum!

November 22, 2016

Freshly Picked Black Tuesday SALE

Last week, Cade received some happy mail in the form of his first pair of shoes, Freshly Picked soft sole moccasins! These moccs are absolutely adorable, I fell in love as soon as I took them out of the box, and based on reviews that I have read (stay tuned for our own review coming once we try these babies out!), will hold up to the every day wear and tear that is baby life.


Weathered Brown

Looking to purchase your first pair or expand your collection? Run, don't walk to the Black Tuesday sale over at Freshly Picked--the biggest SALE of the year!

The entire site will be 25% off! This. Is. Huge!! The 24 hour sale starts at 10 AM mst, 12 PM est.

Want to speed up the process? Have an idea of which prints you really want and make sure you know what size you are shopping for to make adding to your cart simple and quick. Be sure to create an account ahead of time or log in early to be ready to shop when that clock strikes sale time.

Some of their most sought after styles will be returning such as Pin the Petal, Cactus Day & Cactus Night, Anchors Aweigh, Just a Slice, Are You Kitten Me, Timber, Lemonade, and soo much more.

Be sure to subscribe to my blog and follow me on instagram- @thelittlestadventures, for more Freshly Picked excitement coming soon. 😉

Let me know what you hope to score today! Happy shopping!


November 16, 2016

Teething Favorites

Chew, chew, chew

I know I don't have to tell you all that teething sucks. It is draining, it is exhausting, it is awful. Though of course, I do have those few friends who swear they never knew when their babe was getting teeth because it didn't bother them. You're joking right? Is pain free teething a real thing? Send me all of your teethers now pretty please!

Dax had 4 teeth by the time he was 9 months old, with each one popping through on its own time. One little baby tooth at a time. I could always tell when he was teething because he would chew on everything, and we would have maybe a week or two of crappy sleep, followed by 2 nights of no sleep--but in the morning there would be a tooth. He never had fevers due to teething.

Cade is completely opposite. At almost 9 months, he is still rocking that huge gummy smile that melts the hearts of all who he scrunches his nose at (no really, it is seriously the most adorable thing, ever). Starting around the time of our vacation at the beginning of October, his 8-9 hour stretches at night turned to waking up 8-9 times per night. At first I thought maybe it was because he was in a new place and not in his own bed, then after arriving home and it continued I just assumed it was teeth. During this time, he was always running an above normal temperature somewhere around the 99.5 range, which is why I wasn't too concerned.

Fast forward to this weekend--- he started running low grade fevers, yanking on his ear, and waking up crying like he was in pain. I still suspected teeth, but I was also worried that it could be an ear infection starting up so we took a trip to the pediatrician. Luckily his ears looked great, and my suspicion was confirmed as the pediatrician showed me Caden's  gums. He is getting about 6 teeth at one time. HOLY CRAP. No wonder this poor baby hasn't slept in over a month, his mouth feels like it is being ripped apart!

Because he is teething so terribly, I thought this post would be appropriate. Let's go over some of Caden's teething favorites.


1. Infantino Squeeze & Teethe Cow - Cade LOVES this Sophie alternative. I keep this one in the car for him to enjoy while driving and he almost never lets go of it. It does squeak, which thank goodness he hasn't learned how to do yet, but it is easy to hold and has plenty of good areas for chewing!

2. Orajel (Munchkin)- This particular teether is great for getting molars, but he still enjoys chewing on it. I stick it in the freezer to get it cold, though it does not freeze. Each little area has a different texture. I foresee a ton of use for this one in the future.

3. Munchkin Foot/Hand Teether- I like to put these 2 teethers in the fridge rather than the freezer. I find that they get a little too hard when frozen and are too cold for Cade to handle. When I do put them in the freezer though, it is for a short time just to get them cold enough to feel good on the gums. They are easy to hold as well.

4. Munchkin Heart Teether- This one is probably Cade's second favorite to the cow. I think maybe because it is so easy for his little hands to hold. Just like the hand and foot, it can be frozen or put in the fridge depending on your child.

5. Boon Silicone Feeder- Although mostly used for feeding, I love putting frozen fruit or even just crushed ice in the silicone feeder to help with teething. It can be messy, but so worth it to see some relief in my babe.

6. Sassy Teething Butterfly- We like this teether because it has different textures. The top wings can be frozen or cold, while the bottom orange wings are bumpy and massage the gums. It is also very easy for little hands to handle!

When we go out, I wear a silicone teething necklace and he chews on it the entire time I am wearing him. It gets gross and drool covered, but it helps him feel better so I'll take it!

Chewing on a teething necklace (not around my neck for picture purposes ðŸ˜œ)

Cade is sleeping terrible at night, but seems to be ok during the day. He does chew on something almost constantly and I have even given him a cold washcloth to chew on. At times I will also use Orajel Naturals, the kind without any numbing ingredients or a dose of Motrin if his pain seems to be that unbearable, though I think his pain is a little too much for either one to make much of a difference right now. 6 teeth is a lot to get at one time, and for the sake of all of our sanity around here--I hope they come in quick!!


November 15, 2016

Thanksgiving & Family

Thanksgiving is the beginning to a very busy holiday season. My entire family lives nearby and Devin's immediate family as well so planning where to go and when is always a challenge. For Thanksgiving, we usually do an every other year thing to avoid going from house to house, one year we'll do Thanksgiving with his family, the next year with mine. Since we usually see our families throughout the year, it works out fine.

The differences in how both of our families do Thanksgiving can be seen as soon as you walk through the door. Most of Devin's extended family live in other states, so at Thanksgiving there are maybe only about 8-10 of us in the house, not including children. But walk into my families house and there is probably 20 of us.

Buffet style with a looong list of choices is how my family does any event. Set food out on the tables, and we will come. There is just too many of us to do an actual sit down, pass the bowl around meal like we do with Devin's family. They also have a lot less food as there aren't as many people to please.

We really don't have any Thanksgiving traditions aside from beginning to decorate for Christmas and visiting family, but some of my Thanksgiving favorites are ham, green beans, dressing, and my grandmom's homemade pound cake with strawberries and homemade whipped cream. 😋

Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions or favorites that you can't do without??

November 8, 2016

Hiking with Littles

Our 3rd day in the mountains was our first hike of the trip. We had planned to head out early in the morning to Cades Cove to hike Gregory Bald, but the gravel road we wanted to take back from the trail to cut down travel time was closed, so we picked a different trail. We decided to head up to Clingman's Dome and hike part of the Appalachian Trail out to Silers Bald, not be confused with Siler Bald.

This trail is considered a ridge hike as it travels across the ridges of the mountains, so there are a lot of "up downs"--the trail isn't just up, it's constantly gaining and losing elevation, with most of it being lost going out to the bald. Within one section of the trail we lost 1,100 feet in elevation in only 1.5 miles. This part of the trail was constructed out of giant man made stone steps, and going down was one thing, but coming back up was extremely tiring and painful. I won't bore non hikers with too much more information about the trail because that kind of stuff can be googled, but I will tell you about our experience hiking with an almost 3 year old and a 7 month old. Funny fact, we later we found out that it's one of the 2 toughest trails in the Smoky Mountains section of the AT.

Visual to show how steep, you start at the AT junction and end at Silers Bald.


My husband just upgraded our Kelty Kids carrier to an Osprey, and he definitely thought the trade up was worth it. The pack has zip up storage underneath the child seat which we didn't have on our Kelty and since we were both carrying kids, we needed that space to pack things such as lunch and snacks. A few of the conveniences that it has are built in rain gear, tons of pockets, a spot for a water bladder, and a removable sunshade and stirrups for kids. I was sold on the pack when I saw that it had stirrups. When going on a long hike, you don't want your toddlers legs dangling uncomfortably for 9 miles, it's not good for circulation and starts to hurt after awhile. The stirrups allowed him to sit in a more natural position, distributing his weight a little better and he had no complaints during either one of our 9+ mile hikes on this trip.
Daddy and Dax hiking with Osprey Pack.


I  wore our 7 month old in an Ergo Performance in the front carry position and my Camelbak on my back. When I first started up the paved Clingmans Dome Trail up to the trail head, I thought I was going to fall over. I was in such pain. My shoulders were burning like I've never felt and my back wasn't far behind, I was almost in tears. When we reached the trail head, I took off the baby and my pack and put them on again, this time with my Camelbak on first, and then the Ergo. What a difference it made! Note to self: put baby on LAST to avoid excruciating, unnecessary pain. After making this change, I was confident about the hike and fairly comfortable. To add to my comfort level, I also wore Lululemon leggings, and they were awesome! They kept me warm and cool at the same time, and allowed me to lift my legs easily over fallen trees and terrible, horrible, man made steps. I usually hike in jeans because I don't like plants rubbing on my legs on the trails, so these leggings made for a nice change.

In my Camelbak, I had my water bladder, flashlight, chap stick, knife, bandaids, tissues, and all of my baby essentials--diapers, wipes, burp cloth, changing pad (because rocks!), and a light muslin blanket. As mentioned before, my husbands pack had our lunches and snacks. I also have a paci clipped onto the strap to avoid losing it and to keep baby calm if needed and I wore a teething necklace which kept him pretty entertained when we were all feeling a little delirious on our last few miles back to the parking lot.

Hiking with my babe.

On trips where we go hiking, I am always so glad that I breastfeed. No extra weight of bottles or a pump. Both of my babies are seasoned "mountain nursers". I totally made that up by the way. It is so easy to stop for a quick break to feed the babe and then continue on our way.

Snack break. It was so cold!
One thing about hiking in the mountains is that there are no bathrooms, so going in the woods is a must unless you want to go home with a bladder infection. My husband and I are used to this, but weren't sure how Dax would do, as he is very particular about EVERYTHING. Well, the time came when the boy needed to pee, so we pulled over onto a fairly flat area and told him that he had to go outside. I am pretty sure he thought we were insane and all of sudden didn't have to pee anymore. We knew he really needed to go so my husband took him behind the tress and made it into a game of aiming to hit a little tree, and luckily that worked. He was pretty proud of his accomplishment and earned himself an ice cream later. (He was really reluctant about the whole thing, almost in tears so he really did earn that ice cream.)

My husband and I both use trekking poles and find that they are incredibly helpful on most trails. I just upgraded his to Black Diamond poles and he really enjoyed them. We could not have finished this trail without them, we both used them to hold our weight, pulling our tired bodies up the last few trail miles.

LOVE the vistas that offer such beautiful mountain views.

You never know how many people you are going to run into, so we always bring a mini tripod to capture a family picture. Believe it or not, the below picture is at Silers Bald. The park does not maintain the bald anymore so it is overgrown, but you can walk through the trees to see the remnants of the bald and it is a fairly big, flat space. We didn't break for too long as the sun was beginning to set and we knew "freezing" temperatures awaited us if we ended up hiking in the dark as it was already about 50 degrees at this point.



Most of our hikes are peak hikes where the whole way up, we are going up and then we pretty much run down the mountain to get back. Unfortunately, this hike was opposite and we had to mainly go uphill to get back, which was exhausting. Hiking back up those steps I mentioned earlier was awful. I felt like someone had ripped out my lungs and started stomping on them. My legs were jello and wanted to collapse. My husband, who had on a 40+lb pack was in pretty bad shape--and he runs 5 miles every morning. It. Was. Rough. We were cold, we were hungry, we were tired. We were grateful when we finally heard cars, and then voices, letting us know that we were ALMOST THERE.

We made it back to the car just as the sun was going behind the mountains and had someone snap this photo for us. Don't we just look wonderful after a 9.3 mile strenuous hike? ;-)


October 28, 2016

Smoky Mountain Getaway


View from Shuckstack Mountain Fire Tower
As mentioned before, we love getting out and visiting the National Parks, so a few weeks ago we had the pleasure of taking a 6 day/7 night family vacation up in the beautiful Smoky Mountains. When we take vacations where a lot of driving is required, we attempt to leave as early in the morning as we can. We usually shoot for 5 AM, but end up leaving closer to 6 because I am the mom and lets be real--5 AM just isn't always going to happen when we have an almost 3 year old and a 7 month old! This trip though we were all amazingly in the car by 5:10--car packed, baby fed, toddler ready to continue sleeping, husband impressed. He goes to start the car and we were on our way that dreadful 'click click click' of a dead battery had us looking at each other like we were being Punk'd. Yeah, not a sound you want to hear at 5 in the morning as you are about to leave for vacation! No worries though right? We have another car, we can just give it a jump and assess the problem later. WRONG. The jumper cable was in the dead SUV, under the floor boards, UNDER THE LUGGAGE. Did you know that you can't lift a power tail gate when the battery is dead? Luckily I have an awesome dad, and he came to the rescue that morning giving us the jump we needed to get on the road.

During the drive, we keep our toddler entertained with books, games on the Kindle Fire, and movies. He is really into The Music Man right now, so he pretty much watched that movie for the entire drive. We purchased these SoundBot for Kids headphones earlier this year for another road trip, and we love them. They are blue tooth so you can sync them to any device, and they are specifically made for children so there is a volume cap which doesn't allow the headphones to get too loud. They allow him to watch his movie, the baby to the sleep, and for us to keep our sanity by listening to the music we choose. We also try to keep stops minimal and only stop for quick meals or coffee breaks. Since I am breastfeeding, I try to pump while the baby is sleeping so I can give him a bottle when he gets hungry rather than stopping and wasting 15-20 minutes every 2 hours or so. I will nurse him as usual though whenever we do stop, because the bottle doesn't always do the trick. The trip up took us about 11 hours, and aside from getting gas, we only stopped twice.

(Side note: Comotomo is a great bottle to use with a breastfed baby. It is the ONLY bottle my first son would take after trying at least 7 other types, so with Cade there was no question or trial and error when it came to choosing a bottle. He took it for the first time without a protest, mom win!)
We love our Comotomo!





























When we go up to the mountains, we are all about the cabin life so we rented a GREAT place with an AMAZING view for this trip. For us, a view is always a must, and this cabin did not disappoint. We stayed in Robinsonville roughly 20 minutes from Fontana Dam, and our cabin overlooked the Tennessee River--which feeds into Fontana Lake, as well as the National Park-my husband was pretty stoked about this factor. This place was pretty much in the middle of nowhere on a gravel road where cell phones don't work and GPS tells you to use caution---it was perfect! It wasn't a huge cabin, but there was just enough room. It had 3 bedrooms--2 upstairs where we and the kids stayed, and the master downstairs where my in-laws slept when they came a few days later. There was a pool table/ping pong table inside which doubled as a dining room table, rockers on the back porch, and a hot tub and fire pit out on the lawn area for enjoying the view.


Day 1 in a nutshell was spent crying over a dead car battery, driving, grocery shopping (for my husband) and unpacking so we weren't living out of our suitcases for the duration of the trip. We tried having the boys sleep in the same room that first night, but the baby woke up numerous times so we ended up moving him into our room for the remainder of the trip. The first night was really windy, with gusts up to 40 mph, as Hurricane Matthew was sitting on the other coast, so we weren't able to enjoy the hot tub or fire pit that evening. "Early" to bed was the plan!

Day 2 -
On the trail heading back from the dock.
We knew we wouldn't want to get out and do too much on this day after driving the day before, so we really just hung around the cabin, enjoying the outdoors and cool [freezing] weather. The cabin owners do have a trail down to the river with a dock and have a boat, jet skis, and kayaks for the renters to be able to enjoy on the river and lake. We only rented the kayaks-which we ended up not using, but we did make our way down to the dock on this day. In the Fall/Winter months, they lower Lake Fontana by 50 feet, so it was a really neat sight to see the lake that low and just how steep the edges are, but for this reason we weren't able to enjoy sitting out on the dock since it was dry and very steep. We took a drive over to the dam as we had a hike planned later that week that crosses it. I haven't been to a dam in probably 15 years so it was really neat to see and learn about. The "holes" freaked out our toddler, and he kept saying for the duration of the trip that he didn't want to go in them. Why he would think he would go in them is beyond me!

View from dock--pontoon boat and boathouse on the right.
Enjoying the weather and planning our first hike.

Rocking on the front porch, keeping warm.

Walking across Fontana Dam.

Big "holes" my toddler worried about, it was impossible to see to the bottom.


Day 3 was our first big hiking day, but I will share that story as well as the remainder of our trip in the next post.

October 6, 2016

Brica By-My-Side Safety Harness Backpack



One of our goals is to visit as many National Parks as we can over our lifetime, so every year we try to make it a point to visit one and do some sightseeing and/or mountain hiking. As a couple, we have been visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for years and have recently started branching out to others. Last year we visited Acadia National Park in Maine, and the year before we spent time in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The last two National Park visits included our first son who spent most of his time in carriers on dads back. Since our son is getting older at just shy of 3 years old, we really enjoy watching him explore new places on his own, so when planning our trip this year, we though that some of the easier hikes would be great for him to be on foot and for dad to get a break.

Being a mother, I of course only imagine my child flying off the side of a mountain--even on flat ground. I told my husband that I wanted to find a backpack that would allow us to keep track of him and close by with some sort of strap. Bring in the Brica By-My-Side Safety Harness Backpack. The backpack comes in two color choices, pink & grey or green & blue. We chose the green & blue for our son, and the price was only $9.89 on amazon, the pink runs about $1 more. The parent strap is optional and attaches to the bottom of the backpack with a swivel clip. This seemed like a great option for us as the trails we plan to let him explore on will not be very difficult, but we can still keep him close by if he were to trip or fall.



This backpack is the perfect size for our 2.5 year old son and the straps still have a little give left. It goes on like a normal backpack, but it has a buckle that goes across the child's chest to keep the pack from slipping off. When we first got the pack in the mail, my son put it on and wouldn't take it off, he loved having his own backpack that was his size.



We tried out the backpack last weekend when we took a day trip to Disney just to see how it would go. I would say it went about as expected with letting a 2.5 year old "loose" at Disney! As the amazon reviews state, it will take some learning and getting used to. Right now he is in that stage where he completely does not pay attention to where he is walking and is constantly turning around or looking elsewhere. With the harness though, we can at least pull him in and keep him from meeting the legs (or crotches) of too many strangers. He liked to test the boundaries with us to see just how much we'd put up with so that was fun.



On the trails, he will be able to carry his own water and snacks which will give him a sense of independence...what toddler doesn't want to be independent?! My only reserve about the bag is the placement of the hook for the parent strap. Being that it is located at the bottom of the bag, the bag slides on his back if pulled so it isn't very taut like we would like, with time though I think we will both become accustomed to it.

We're definitely looking forward to trying it out on our trip, and I will be sure to include a short review of its use once we do. :-)

Adventures at Disney - PART 2

Adventures at Disney - Part 2 - Baby swap, Dining, Parades & Fireworks




We fell in love with Walt Disney World long before we had our kids, but bringing our little ones to Disney is now the best part of our experience. Dax has been going since he was about 6 months old, and each trip has brought something new for him to enjoy. Through most major milestone ages from 6 month - 2 1/2 years, we've been able to look forward to him experiencing a new ride or have something spark his interest that he didn't notice previously. Dax currently LOVES Pirates of the Caribbean and is a must do anytime we visit. He also loves Dumbo, Tomorrowland Speedway, and the Mad Tea Party at the Magic Kingdom, and Grand Fiesta Tour at Epcot, just to name a few! Most attractions are friendly for all ages. In fact, even our 7 month old enjoys riding along with us. He has been on quite a few rides starting from just 3 months old, including Pirates--which has a drop! 

Of course not all attractions are kid friendly, and due to the fact that our kids our very young (and short), they couldn't tag along on some of the bigger attractions that have height restrictions. On a normal visit, we skip over those rides and stick to the ones that our kids can join us on, but since we had my in-laws along for the trip, we were able to try out  the "baby swap" system. We had Fast Passes (FP) for Soarin' Over the World, but it was a ride our kids could not accompany us on, so when we told the cast member at that FP stand, she handed my in-laws a pass that would allow my husband and I to go on after they did, and literally swap the kids. We kept the kids busy while they rode, and then my in-laws entertained them while we rode. It was a neat way to extend our FP time as well, since by the time we got in line, our return time was well over. We also used this system for Test Track. Keep this in mind if you're running a little late as the "Baby Swap Pass" can be used anytime that day.

Even though we did take advantage of the FP, there were unusually light crowds this weekend, even for the "slow season," which made it very easy for us to experience a lot of attractions during our 4 days. I think our longest stand-by wait time we experience was 40 minutes, and that was for the newly opened Frozen ride at the Norway Pavilion in Epcot--that we were able to ride TWICE. The lines weren't usually as long as they seemed, and we even realized that the app was not always giving us accurate wait times. We could usually tell just by looking at a line if it was going to be a quick wait or not. Even with opening weekend of the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot, the food lines were so short that we didn't really have to wait at all to order and get our food sampling--at lunch time! Believe it or not, there are slower times to visit Disney World still, including late August, early to mid September, early December, and most of February. (By the way, the Spanakopita from Greece and Cheddar Cheese Soup from Canada are to die for and I think I ate the Spanakopita before she even handed it to me, here's your hand back ma'am!)

At Epcot, we didn't want to eat at a quick service restaurant with all of the great options currently available at the Food and Wine Festival, but finding something our toddler would enjoy that wasn't chicken fingers wasn't the easiest. Toddlers love mac n cheese right? WRONG. Well maybe just not the loaded mac n cheese from the Farm Fresh stand which I regretfully ended up having to eat both his and my husbands. It did have a little spice to it as well which most likely wasn't appealing to the toddler taste buds. He was hungry so we flipped through our Passport and ultimately strolled our way over to Germany as they had a potato au gratin meal with ham and cheese, and to our luck it was toddler approved! Most of our trip was spent in Epcot and there are so many great options that visiting multiple times is the only way you could taste everything without overdoing it and feeling guilty.

This go around, we only made one dining reservation (which you can do 180 days out from your visit if you're staying on Disney Property, or 90 days out if you're not) at the Polynesian Resort for The Spirit of Aloha dinner show. The family style Hawaiian food was pretty good, with endless portions of pulled pork, roasted chicken, ribs, veggies, and jasmine rice and all you could drink beer, wine and Sangria, but we weren't too impressed with the show. It was interesting to see the traditional dances of Hawaii, but mixed with a cheesy Disney-like storyline and filler dance numbers, some parts came off pretty boring if I am being honest. The fire dancer at the very end made the experience worthwhile at $65/person (kids ate free!). Our toddler didn't move his eyes from this man until he was finished. Glad we experienced the show, probably won't be back. Next time we'll opt for the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue over at Fort Wilderness.

Fire Dancer at The Spirit of Aloha


Our other meals in the parks were eaten at the quick service restaurants. As many times as we have visited the parks, you would think we would have learned to check menus before walking all the way across Magic Kingdom in the rain only to remember that Pecos Bill's Wild West Café in Frontierland now served Mexican cuisine instead of chicken and burgers like we were in the mood for. We then bee-lined it over to Tortuga Tavern in Adventureland only to find it not serving dinner that night (note to self: if serving times are missing when looking up an eatery on the My Disney Experience App, it probably means the restaurant currently isn't open!). We ended up at one of our favorites, Casey's Corner on Main Street. Between my husband, Dax, and I, we shared 2 Corn Dog Nugget Meals, it would be more than enough for all of us. Keep this in mind so you don't end up wasting food or money! Casey's doesn't quite have enough seating to accommodate the lunch and dinner crowds, but it's very convenient to the recently installed green-space around the center hub. Save the time and aggravation of trying to find a table and just spread out on the Astroturf lawn instead! Depending on the time you're eating, you might end up scoring an awesome spot for a parade or fireworks as well! We have learned that fireworks are best viewed from Main Street about halfway between the Casey's and the center hub. If you're too close to the castle, you miss the big picture of the show. The green-space was great because we were able to sit for the duration of the firework show and didn't have to worry about others squeezing in to and blocking our view.

The Main Street Electrical Parade is leaving Disney World (again), so we wanted to make sure our son got to see it (and us too of course). Normally we would stake out a parade spot at least 45 minutes ahead of time, but we got lucky and found an open spot just minutes before it began. I don't know which was better, watching my son in all of his amazement, waving at the characters and dancing, or my husband watching our son enjoy one of his favorite parades with the most genuine of happy smiles. I think I was experience first-hand one of those magical Disney moments that you see on their TV commercials.
Pointing to his favorite characters in the parade.

We left right after the parade with the rest of the world and found the monorail line to be backed up to the park's exit gates so we decided to take the ferry back to the parking lot. Best. Decision. Ever. The Ferries can fit more people more efficiently than the monorail can. They were running 3 ferry boats and both loading docks, so we boarded promptly, even being 3 ferries deep in the crowd. I imagine we would have waiting at least a half hour before being able to board a monorail. While celebrating our minor victory, our crying, leg shaking toddler reminded us, that we never took him potty between the fireworks and parade. There just wasn't anything for us to do as we said across the middle of Seven Seas Lagoon, about 5 minutes from our destination. Lesson learned--always take the kid potty when they ask, and always, ALWAYS, bring a change of clothes. Ugh, I am feeling awful about this again.

We saw a lot, and did a lot during our 4-day trip, but we also feel that we missed a lot on this trip too. Maybe because it was hotter than normal for the end of September, or maybe it was because it was our first multi-day trip with 2 little ones in tow. Or maybe there really is just so much to do and see that it is hard to cram it all in, especially when you're trying to keep a good pace that allows the kids to have a great time without over-doing it! 2 out of our 4 days we made our way back to the resort to let our kiddos get a good nap in, this allowed us to stay out a little later in the parks and avoid having grumpy kids. We also learned that if there is a 50/50 chance that our son will have an epic hour-long meltdown if we wake him up from his nap early...DON'T wake him up early from his nap!
Donald was telling us to go and he would keep the kid. We considered letting him!
Taking a Disney trip with 2 kids is TONS of work, and truthfully it was probably more work than it was relaxing for us, but we seriously had so much fun. The wonderment in our sons eyes is enough to keep us going again and again. Kids don't see the long lines for food, and the long waits for rides, the hoards of people that aren't watching where they're going. They see a HUGE castle, their favorite characters, dragons everywhere, and are using their imaginations without even realizing it. We are taking a break from the parks for awhile, but we can't wait until we return and become children again ourselves, just by watching and learning through our 2 boys.

September 26, 2016

Adventures at Disney - Part 1



As a disclaimer, my husband and I  have been visiting Walt Disney World regularly for about 9 years now. Him and I have had a connection with those theme parks long before we started visiting with our own kids. It was one of our happy places, and pretty convenient at being only an hour away.

For just about the past 3 years we have been visiting Disney World with our boys. First with just Dax (2.5 years now) and now also with Cade (6 months).

Now we usually plan a long weekend visit in early December, usually 3 or 4 nights before the 17th, since you could see the parks in their Christmas glory but without the holiday crowds. (Conveniently, that was usually just before our Seasonal Passes, now Silver Pass, would black out, because who wants to visit when the Parks are jam packed with people anyway?!) This year, however, we decided to take our long trip in September. Our passes are expiring in early October and we've decided to take a short hiatus from Disney.

Now you're probably wondering why would two Disney World lovers like us would decide to forgo renewing our passes. I promise you this decision was not taken lightly, and it's been debated a few times, especially because of the recent decline in attendance that the Orlando theme parks have been seeing recently. There are two primary reasons for us deciding to not renew our passes this year:
  1. Dax is now at an age (and height) where it's going to be awhile before he can ride anything new. 
  2. Walt Disney World is in the process of building quite a few new attractions in late 2017 and throughout 2018, including Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land in Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Pandora (the World of Avatar) at Disney's Animal Kingdom. We figured that even though we LOVE riding Peter Pan's Flight and Pirate's of the Caribbean every time we visit, it might be nice to wait until there's something new before we drop another $1,000 on annual passes. 
For this trip, we stayed at the Wyndham Vacation Club, Bonnet Creek for 3 nights/4 days in a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom suite. For the first night it was just us and the boys. My In-Laws joined us for the rest of the trip, but the 1,200 sq feet suite gave us plenty of room to spread out. (Another disclaimer; until this year we have always stayed on Disney property. We liked the extra "Disney" feel you get from the theming of their resorts, the convenience of the WDW Transportation System, and as Passholders, we could usually get a decent rate. We transitioned this year to staying off-property because the WDW had priced us out of what we were willing to pay for a hotel room.) You might not get the "Disney Atmosphere" staying at the Wyndham, but it's still a beautiful resort, and Bonnet Creek is smack dab in the center of Walt Disney World. At $210/night for a 2 Bed/2 Bath Suite, and an equitable 2 BR Suite on Disney Property running us about $650/night, it really was a no brainer for us. I'll gladly trade off the Disney World Buses for having to jam 6 people and a Baby Jogger Stroller into our Ford Explorer every day for a $400/night savings!

Now, I've lived in Florida my whole life and still can't stand the Summer heat. But even as hot as it was that weekend, we still always walk to and from the park entrance instead of hitching a ride on the parking lot tram. With 2 kids, a double stroller, diaper bag, camera bag, and whatever other unnecessary items Dax makes us bring with us into the parks (this time the list included his compass, sword, pirate bandanna and hat, spyglass, and stuffed yellow Labrador Retriever from Toys R Us), breaking it all down and packing onto the tram for a 2 minute ride is impractical. We've realized that we can usually make it to the entrance before or at the same time as that tram would have, and with a couple hundred extra steps under our belt! We proved this when my husband's parents decided to ride while we walked it. I'm pretty sure they thought we were nuts, but we arrived at the same time. They didn't take the tram after that. Consider this tip when leaving the parks for the night as well. While it sounds fun to wait in a 5-tram deep line with 2 very grumpy lovely children at the end of a long day, to us it's much less stressful to walk the short distance and get to our car quickly.

Because it was so hot, we loaded our diaper bag full of water bottles each day, but we quickly learned that those weren't lasting very long with 4 adults and a toddler trying to stay hydrated. One great thing to keep in mind is that all of the Disney parks provide FREE cups of ice water at refreshment stands that serve fountain drinks. Disney and free in the same sentence?? Yep! My father-in-law was pretty amazed that we had found something that Disney was willing to give away for free. I'm pretty sure he asked for a free cup of water any time we passed by a location selling drinks!

With temperatures in the low 90s and head index in the lower 100s, Dax and Cade got pretty hot being in the stroller and baby carrier throughout the day. I also wore Cade in my Ergo quite a bit since I found it easier to wait in lines and ride attractions without having a squirmy wiggly baby flapping around in my arms. A portable clip-on fan is a must-have to help try to keep the little ones cool in such extreme temps (I'm sure Cade would thank me if he could). After testing out one of those small, foam blade fans and not being impressed as the lack of air flow, we ultimately purchased this one from Sky Genius on Amazon for $22.99. Simply put, it is AMAZING, and here's what I like about it: 
  1. It has a rechargeable lithium ion battery instead of running off of AA Batteries, meaning more power, longer battery life between charges, and a seemingly fast charge time
  2. It has sturdier blades for better air output 
  3. It has a turn wheel for varying speeds, allowing for anything between an ultra-strong gale force cooling winds to a still very decent, battery-saving lower speed
  4. While it doesn't have a flex arm as most others, the entire fan rotates 360 degrees on a focal point. You can point it in any direction you choose
We used this fan on a single charge almost constantly for 3 days before it finally died on the morning of day 4. I would even hold it up to the baby if I had been wearing him in the carrier for a long period of time, and I may have held it up to my own face a few times here and there. (BTW, a 5 minute charge in our car got us an extra 15 minutes out of it on our final day.) We got a few comments about how well our fan worked compared to others.
Happy and cool with his Sky Genius fan.

Another good buy that has become a theme park staple for us was this continuous mister bottle from Arctic Cove, which my hubby bought on impulse for $12.99 at his favorite store, The Home Depot. It doesn't require any batteries to operate, just pump the handle a few times to build up pressure and with flip the switch for continuous cool mist. I like it better than those spray bottles they sell in the Parks for $25. It's very easy to control the mist and is great for a quick cool down and to distract a toddler if he starts getting cranky. 
Pump mister aka: life saver/toddler distractor


Now if you don't know, I am a breastfeeding mama, so I'm always looking for "cool", shady spots to nurse Cade. All of the Disney Parks have Baby Care Centers equipped with nursing and changing areas, microwaves, high chairs, etc., but they aren't always convenient to get to, especially when I have to hydrate and feed by baby every 2.5 minutes 2-3 hours. Some of my favorite spots include: 
  • MK: On the brick wall outside of the Mad Tea Party in Fantasyland
  • MK: On a rocking chair on the wooden boardwalk in Frontierland
  • Epcot: Picnic Tables in the World Showcase between The Outpost and Germany
  • DHS: Just outside of the exit of The Great Movie Ride
  • AK: Nowhere. This park has no shade. It's just deathly hot here.
Nursing outside is another time that the Sky Genius fan comes in handy. I use a nursing cover to nurse my baby 90% of the time, and since I'd really rather not suffocate him while trying to do what is comfortable for me. I would set my fan up on a chair or on the ground next to me, put the end of my cover over it, and BAM--instant cool down for my baby while he nurses. 

I don't just nurse outside though. On rides that I chose not to go on, I will wait in the exit area (usually a store, because...Disney...) and try to find a quite corner to nurse my baby. Usually I end up sitting on the floor, but who cares! I appreciate A/C when I can get it! There are benches in the exit area of Rockin' Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios, so I used the spot while waiting for my husband and his parents to get off of the ride.

I also don't always wait to be off of an attraction to nurse. Throughout my time of visiting Disney World while nursing 2 different babies, I found that some of the lengthy rides and shows make great, cool nursing spots. Just to name a few:
  • MK: PhilharMagic (3D show), "It's a Small World", Haunted Mansion, WEDway People Mover, Pirates of the Caribbean (AFTER the drop!)
  • Epcot: Spaceship Earth, Ellen's Energy Adventure, Living with the Land 
  • AK: Any of the live shows (Lion King, Nemo), It's Tough to be a Bug 
  • DHS: Great Movie Ride


When is your favorite time of year for visiting theme parks? Follow along for part 2 which will include our experience with "baby swap", dining, fireworks, and the parade!

July 26, 2016

Mom Life

After 4 years as an early childhood educator, I'm taking the plunge to be a stay at home mom.

I went on leave in March, so I've had quite a taste of this life and let me tell you, it's not easy! Teaching littles everyday can wear you down, but there's nothing like keeping up with a toddler and a baby at the same time. Trying to sync schedules, all while attempting to get a free minute is a daunting task. The toddler fights naps on the days the baby takes a nice long one, and the toddler takes wonderful naps on the days the baby wants to party. Going out with the 2 of them by myself takes preparation and planning, but it happens pretty successfully! Trying to add invitations to my inventory tough, but I'm making it work.

I know everything will fall into place in good time, but for now, I'll just keep running....and chasing...and don't eat that!!!

July 21, 2016

MIA, and the birth of another little

Well, I never was good at keeping up with journaling and my children's baby books are still wrapped in their original packaging. I wanted this blog to be something I could look back on to laugh and cry about my little boys first moments, and to share with them when they got older. Anyways...moving right along.

On March 3rd of this year, we welcomed our second baby boy into our already crazy lives. His arrival was NOTHING like his brothers. I ended up being induced after going in for contractions (they were gone by the time I got all hooked up to the monitors of course), and they noticed that his heart rate indicated possible low fluid levels. We stopped at chic fil a before heading into the hospital because chicken, and because we had no idea how long it would take being induced.

My OB broke my water and started me on a low dose of pitocin at about 1:00 in the afternoon. Contractions were strong, but not unbearable, though I had agreed to a low dose of epidural. Within seconds after the anesthesiologist came in to get me hooked up, my pain changed, I started shivering, I started crying...I freaked out my husband! The nurse in the room finally checked my progress, she hadn't yet because she was still inputting all of my information into their system, she flipped on the lights and ran out looking for my OB.

Basically, he came in, I pushed a few times, and baby #2 was here before the OB even had time to get fully suited up.

Total labor and delivery time from water breaking was 1 hour and 45 minutes. Record time! Also, the epidural had little time to work so the experience was unreal and so perfect. The little bear didn't even have a cone head.

The epidural though....it kicked in AFTER baby was out and we had to stay in the delivery room much longer than anticipated because I couldn't move my legs. The next time I tell my OB "no epidural!", he should just say ok!

He is almost 5 months now and growing so fast. He's a great sleeper, a great eater, and a seriously adorable little babe! We all love him to pieces.