Disneyland Mom..

Well I wrote the last post with the intention of writing this one immediately following. Obviously that did not happen. Another busy week. The last week of April, I got to be Disneyland Mom. Yup, we took the girls to the big "D". When I say we, I am of course referring to R&D. They planned the trip. We had actually tentatively planned this trip for last year, but time time got away from us and we never made it. D approached me with the idea around Christmas, and I decided to throw my hat over the fence and say yes. I knew that it would give the girls something big and exciting to look forward to. (think leverage) They have been looking forward to it for months. C helped them make a paper chain to help them mark the time. We all flew down on Tuesday and stayed through Sunday. 5 glorious fun filled days with two 6 year olds and a 3.5 year old. There was relatively little drama, and they all were very brave and tried new things. H even went on Space Mountain and Indiana Jones! She thought both were a little fast, and was not interested in repeating them. Her favorite was the Haunted House, which she thought was really cool. E did not want to go on anything that even looked like it might possibly be scary. We tried Peter Pan and after that she would not go on any of the other rides that she could not see from outside. She did however LOVE It's a Small World. We also spent some time at the California Adventure. We got to see all the 3D shows, It's a Bugs Life, The Muppets in 3D, and a couple of others. We also got to see the Aladdin show, and the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live Show. We got to see the parades and the fireworks, have lunch with the princesses. The highlight of their week was the princess makeover. There is a little place at the base of the Cinderella Castle that is called the Bippiti Boppiti Boo Boutique. Each girl was assigned her own "fairy godmother" who took them through the boutique to pick out their own dress, shoes and crown. Then D and I took them into a dressing room and changed them into their new finery. The fairy godmothers came to collect them and take them to the salon, where they were given princess hairdoos, painted nails and sheer princess makeup. The fairy godmother then waved a glitter dusting wand over their heads. The curtains behind their chairs drew back, and a mirror was uncovered, the girls getting to see themselves for the first time. They watched as Tinkerbell magic flew around the mirror, and roses suddenly bloomed at the base of them. It was truly a little girl's fantasy. Then a "royal footman" came and curtsied to them calling them Princess, and led them to a room with Cinderellas coach. They got to have their pictures taken in the coach. The whole time D and I were giggling to ourselves as the girls just became engrossed in the whole experience. They even taught them the proper "Princess Wave" which H proceeded to give to her subjects while riding the carousel horses. It was a magical experience for them. We missed him. The girls both mentioned it on more than one occasion. But it did not define their trip. They had a great time and are still talking about it. R&D did an unbelievable job keeping us all moving. We had three adults to three children and it worked wonderfully. We were even fortunate enough to have A&M come up one evening to have dinner with us. It was a good trip, even a great trip. It was so good to be able to step away from our routine and be able to do something fun with the girls. In the scope of their lives, the ultimate fun experience. I got to be Disneyland Mom. I did not manage that feat alone. R&D, and everyone else who helped make that possible. You know who you are. It was a terrific gift to give the girls, to give all of us. Thank you. This was something they will remember for their entire lives. E is so proud of her Minnie Mouse ears that she still is wearing them around. They are still telling everyone about the trip. Sharing in both classes last week was all about the trip. Of course we started planning the trip months ago. Before we knew what would happen with him. Before we knew when he would be moved. It was a little stressful for me to be away with his move so recent. It all went fine. He was fine. He is fine. Still holding his own. This time he stayed home. He rested up, spent some time alone, sleeping, and relaxing. I took the kids on their adventure. We switched roles. Those are big shoes to fill. I think we managed to do him proud......