My First Mickey Mouse Tears

Being a Mom means I get to experience a lot of “Firsts”. First words, first steps, first tooth; you get the picture. And recently, I got to experience another first with my two kids, our “First Vacation”.

Last year, we put in to works, the plans to take our now 15 month old daughter and our 3 year old son to Disney World. We weighed the pro's and con's of attempting a trip like this with our kids being so young, and wondered exactly how much of it they would actually remember and/or enjoy. But we came to the conclusion that the memories we would be creating, all the way around, would be memorable (not to mention the pictures and videos we would take to show the kids as they got older would help them remember too) to them AND us. We weren't traveling alone, we planned this trip with my husband's parents and his brother and his wife too. So we knew we would have ample help keeping an eye on the kids and making sure everyone got as much as possible out of the trip.

The kids were great on the plane, and the anticipation of getting to “Mickey's House” was insurmountable for our son. I just knew that he “got it” and that he knew what was happening. It was awesome.

Now, I am not generally a big softie. It takes a lot for a mushy movie to make me cry or for a sweet card to bring me to tears. I am able to hold on to my tough exterior most of the time. BUT....when it comes to just about anything with my kids, particularly those magical “firsts”, I am an emotional wreck. A lot. All of the time. Some find it comical, but most find it sweet.

I cried the first time my son saw Barney. I almost smacked MYSELF for being such a dorky Mom.

But seeing Mickey Mouse, THE Mickey Mouse that we have been talking about for months and months and months; THE Mickey Mouse that can be found on many items that decorate my son's big boy bedroom; yeah, I cried. Right there in front of Cinderella's Castle during the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party. There we were, dancing a mere 5 feet from THE Mickey Mouse. And that moment that my son saw him for the first time, was a moment that is now embedded in my heart for the rest of my life. His jaw dropped, his eyes widened, and shortly there after, he began to dance to the music. It sounds cliché, but it was simply magical. It wasn't the 'first' time I cried at a moment like this during this very vacation, but it was the first time my heart sparkled and shined, and it kept on sparkling and shining the rest of the trip. There is something about moments like those, when your child is so completely and utterly vulnerable to be able to experience a moment with such joy, and the fact that as a mother, there is nothing more amazing than being able to experience it right along with them, that makes it (you guessed it) magical.

We will visit Disney World again some day, and the kids will be older, and the impressions they will receive on THAT trip will vary quite vastly from the impressions they received on this trip. THE Mickey Mouse most likely will not fascinate them like he does now. Rides like “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” and “It's a Small World” may make them feel tortured instead of tender-hearted. So this “First” was a very special “First”. And it is a “First” of many “Firsts” that made me shed happy tears. Magical, Mickey Mouse tears.

Originally posted to the Chicago Moms Blog on May 31, 2010.

Walt Disney World ~ Part Two : Magic Kingdom with Toddlers

Before we left for Florida, I had made up a tentative itinerary as to what parks we should go to on what days. I had scoured the Walt Disney World website for detailed info on all of the attractions at each park, and made a list (surprise surprise) of which attractions were a MUST, and which were OFF-LIMITS (one's not appropriate for toddler's). Since there is SO MUCH to talk about when it comes to Magic Kingdom, I am devoting THIS post solely to that park. Tomorrow's post will wrap up the other 3 parks we also visited; Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios.

MUST'S of Magic Kingdom (in no particular order)

~Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party! : SO much fun, and if you happen to be right at the front of the circle, you will get a chance to be a mere 5 feet from Mickey Mouse. Not to mention, the dancers are super awesome and make sure the little kids get to be up in the front to dance with them. Both kids had a ball!

~It's a Small World : We had been selling Jonah on this ride for months. It is the one ride at Disney World that I can remember SO vividly and something I was so excited to share with the kids. They both loved it. The colors. The music. The dancing. The kicking of their foots (as Jonah called it). He even now calls it the "Kicks Their Foots" ride.

~The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh : This was a great ride for both kids as well. It was interactive and colorful and super cute. It lasts only a few minutes, so it kept the kids attention from beginning to end. Even Grandma and Papa went on the ride!

~ Dumbo : This was the only ride we WAITED a long time for (see below for tips on how we avoided long waits in line). And long for me was about 30 minutes. Jonah was all about it, but did grow weary by the time we got to the front of the line. Luckily, not too weary, because he still enjoyed this special alone time with mommy, not to mention, he got to drive the elephant!

~ Minnie's Country House : Was cute, fast to get in to and was a nice respite from the stifling sun. Everything in Minnie's house was larger than life, colorful and hands-on. Even a couch to sit on, which I did, for a few minutes.

~ Mickey's Country House : Another cute place to visit, even more Mickey related stuff. You can't actually sit on the furniture in Mickey's house, but EVERYTHING was Mickey shaped and made Jonah feel really special for getting a chance to visit. (Tip: The entrance to the Judge's Tent is through the EXIT of Mickey's House. The Judge's Tent is where you get to meet Mickey and take a picture with him. If the wait is less than an hour and you can manage a little kid in line that long, DO IT. Because we NEVER saw Mickey anywhere else where he was accessible. We didn't wait in line either, thinking we'd come back another time, but didn't get a chance to.)

~Donald's Boat : This was great on the hot day we had, although about 1/2 of the water spouts weren't working and there was a 6 or 7 year old girl running around in her underwear (and it clearly states you can't do that). Yes, it was hot...super hot, but that wasn't really appropriate. Not to mention, the rubber matting is really hot on bare feet, so hot it kinda made it not worth it.

Everything listed below were things I WANTED to take the kids to, but we didn't get a chance to visit.

~ Country Bear Jamboree

~Judge's Tent (you get to meet Mickey!)

~Swiss Family TreeHouse

~The Hall of President's

OFF LIMIT'S of Magic Kingdom

(either too scary, not big enough, or not interesting enough)

now I know some other parent's (even my husband) would disagree with

my choice to not take the kid's to some of the attractions listed below

~Peter Pan's Flight ~ Captain Hook is scary

~ The Haunted Mansion

~ Space Mountain

~Splash Mountain

~ Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

~ Pirates of the Caribbean ~ pirates are scary

~Snow White's Scary Adventure ~ the witch is scary and who ever thought that having something called "SCARY" at Disney World, THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH, makes any sense?!?!

~Wishes Night Time Spectacular ~ We were unsure how Lily would react to fireworks, but we were positive that would make Jonah FREAK OUT. We avoided fireworks at all costs.

My advice ~

1. Prioritize the attractions you don't want to miss and hit those at times when the kids are well-rested and energetic. Taking a screaming, tired toddler on any ride, or particularly on any ride that requires a wait in line, is certainly not advised!

2. Keep diaper bags well stocked and bring AMPLE amounts of hydration for the kids (and yourself). Drinks, Food, and Toys are over-priced at Disney, so bringing a few extra bottles of water and storing them in the stroller basket is a good idea.

3. We brought TWO separate strollers for each kid instead of our big bulky double stroller. This was a phenomenal idea of my Mother-in-Law's. Two toddlers, weighing about 30 pounds each (yup, mu 1yo and my 3yo weigh almost the same!) would be quite a load to push around by one person. This way we were able to divide up the weight and the manpower required to push the kids. I also DO NOT advise renting the Disney strollers. They are expensive and clunky and don't look very comfortable (hard plastic, no reclining, and VERY small baskets to store things). We were able to get the kids to sleep in their strollers, lean them back comfortably, and keep them shaded by the canopies. Also, we had TWO storage baskets to put stuff.

4. Being a babywearer occasionally, I also brought my Ergo carrier. Lily will pretty much fall asleep in that thing 90% of the time if she is tired and cranky. And sometimes, she just likes to be close to me. It worked, but I will say, it was HOT and SWEATY having her right on me. Not to mention, it is black. But I WAS able to get her to sleep on me, and then transfer her to the fully reclined stroller. She actually napped 2 times while we were at the parks, and Jonah napped once (which is huge).

5. Talking about strollers. Strollers are not allowed in ANY line we came across, meaning we were exceptionally limited to what we could go on. Jonah was okay and didn't mind standing in line for the most part, but Lily is a mover and shaker and one that will not be tied down to waiting in ANY line. We took advantage of MANY Fast Passes (see below for more info on Fast Passes) and had to skip out on stuff where the wait was too long.

6. If you are going in the HOT months, but one of the spray bottle fans BEFORE you get there. Walgreens sells them, but at the Disney Parks, are like three times as much. The kids loved playing with them (the blades are super soft and don't hurt to the touch), and were even life saver's for us adult's suffering from the deadly heat.

7. Sunscreen. Those of you that know me know that I try to avoid sunscreen if I can. I hate the stuff and I hate putting that garbage on the kids skin (particularly Jonah). But that Florida sun is HOT and if it is between the hours on 10am-2pm especially, slather those kids up. They can get their Vitamin D and good stuffs from the sun at other times of the day.

8. Fast Passes. These things make life a little easier at the Disney Parks with impatient little ones. I advise doing the rounds at the start of your day, picking up Fast Passes for those rides that offer them. They give you a 2 hour time frame for a little later in the day, when you can come back and pretty much jump to the head of the line. SO SO SO worth it. Check them out.

Be sure to stop back each day this week for more tips and info on traveling to Walt Disney World with Toddlers.

Walt Disney World ~ Part One : Traveling with Toddlers

When we decided that our annual family trip would be a little different in 2010 (like to a major theme park that is many states away compared to a small town in central Indiana) I immediately began to hyperventilate over the act of flying....in an airplane....with our 1 year old and 3 year old. And being the Worrier that I am, I began my list of "What If's...."

~What if they scream the entire time we are on the plane?

~What if they catch some gosh awful sickness? Because airplane air is like, super gross."

~How on earth are we going to maneuver around an airport with two toddlers? With car seats? And diaper bags? And everything else?

~(Or my husband's biggest worry)What if they get an ear infection RIGHT before we are supposed to leave? And then we can't fly? And then what will we do?

Well, let me ease the anticipation. Because our 3 year old DID get an ear infection the week before we left. And our 1 year old developed fluid in the ear the DAY before we left. And we all still made it on the plane and no major medical catastrophes occurred. We survived.

But when I was asked to give some tips on traveling with toddlers, I knew my key point here would be to mention how i strategically planned EVERYTHING. And I made TONS of lists! And lists OF lists. Lists to remind me of where another list was. And as terrified as I was that we would forget something (and I did), I felt relief when I saw that Walgreens right down the street from where we were staying.

But back to the "travel" part of the trip.

And forgive me for not having too many pictures, because airports and toddlers and timelines and boarding passes and those moving sidewalk things, are truly NOT conducive to snapping photographs. I am not that talented. I was just lucky I didn't lose a kid in the Chicago Midway Airport.

But my main points were this:

1. I made a separate (diaper) bag for each kid, and made sure it was a backpack type bag, so it would be easy to carry. My husband and 3 year old son were in one row in the airplane and my 1 year old daughter and myself in another. By having the separate bags it made it easy to know that things were in reach for both of us at all times. Of course, Lily's bag had HER toys and HER diapers and HER snacks and Jonah's had HIS toys and HIS diapers and HIS snacks. Made for no confusion. Also, in each bag, I put the ziploc baggie that has a few liquids or medications right in the front pocket so it would be easy to reach at the security check point. I also made sure the kids has easy on/off shoes (or in lily's case, I kept her shoes in the bag to eliminate the hassle and just put them on after we got to the gate.

2. Since we purchased seats on the plane for both kids, I wanted to make sure they were in airplane approved carseats. And since we needed their car seats for in the rental car in Orlando (and renting a car seat is like $25/a day!), it made sense to use them and keep them safe on the plane. Not to mention, we made it perfectly clear that kids weren't allowed out of their car seats on a plane. Worked perfectly at keeping (the 3 year old mainly) maintained. Now, I wish I would have taken a picture, but like I said this was not the time for photographs, but we discovered (from another twitter mom who I am blanking on her name right now) a way to convert the kids car seats in to strollers, per se. We purchased these compact and collapsible luggage dollies at Sam's Club for $15, and along with a long sturdy strap, we were able to attach each car seat to. Essentially, it is the cheaper and more economical version of THIS. It was super easy to maneuver and we didn't even have to remove them from the car seat at Chicago Midway, they were able to go right down the belt, through the x-ray machine at security (but for some reason, the belts are smaller in Orlando, so we did have to take them apart....but again a super quick issue when you think of how awesome they are). We did also bring our strollers, but checked them with the luggage, so we didn't have to worry about lugging those around either. Essentially, the hubs and I each had a kid to roll along in a car seat, a diaper bag backpack on our back, and an additional small carry-on (camera's, laptops, DVD players). We felt organized and confident in moving through the airport smoothly, and for the most part, we did.

3. Every parent worry's about their kiddo's going through some sort of ear pain on an airplane. So I thought it out, and what I did (and forgive me if it sounds cruel) was tried to avoid giving the kids anything to drink for about an hour before getting on the plane. Since my kids drink A LOT, I figured that once we started to ascend in the airplane, we'd give them something to drink and they'd drink, A LOT. And they did. We also spoiled them with suckers, licorice, and fruit snacks. To keep them eating and swallowing. Only on the descent on the way home was there any noticeable discomfort with the kids and their ears. But nothing too major, and nothing they couldn't handle. Truthfully, Lily slept 75% of BOTH flights. She fell asleep during the take-off both times. I could not have asked for a better experience on the plane with our kids. (Tip: If your kid(s) sleep better with some white noise, sit by the wings. It is a little louder there and it helps drown out any other noises in the cabin. I think that made all the difference for Lily.)

4. Some parents talk about giving their kids "a little something" to make them drowsy or sleepy for the plane. I can't say I would be comfortable giving my child Benadryl or anything like that, but then again, we do try to do things a little more naturally around our house. I DID give them both Hyland's Calms Forte for Kids before we took off. I can't vouch for if it did anything or if it is the reason Lily slept or not. But again, it is all natural and in no way could harm the kids, and it didn't. And if we were to fly again, I would definitely give it to them again. We use a huge variety of Hyland's products, so I trust them completely and feel comfortable giving them to my kids all the time.

5. Regarding the gross airplane air; being the naturalists when it comes to medications like we are, we made sure we gave the kids AMPLE amounts of Vitamin D weeks prior to the trip. Vitamin D is known to boost the immune system and nearly everyone on the planet doesn't get enough of it (PLEASE check out the doctor who is a genius when it comes to Vitamin D and Vaccine Choice & Education and just about everything...Dr Mayer Eisenstein with Homefirst).

Traveling with toddler's can be stressful, but like I said, what I found is that planning, planning, and more planning makes all the difference and is what made me feel comfortable and prepared when the time came to get on a plane with my kids.

But I can't stress enough (and wish I was better at taking my own advice), is to HAVE FUN and LET LOOSE. Because the trip is over before you know and then you are back home too soon wishing the vacation never ended. It went all too fast. And living in northwest Indiana means we won't be going back for awhile. I wish I would have treasured all of those amazing moments just a little bit more.

More on Mommy Instincts:

2. Tuesday (6/1) ~ Disney Parks with Toddler's

3. Wednesday (6/2) ~ Schedules with Toddler's

4. Thursday (6/3)~ Entertainment with Toddler's

5. Friday (6/4)~ Eating Out with Toddler's

Disney World Wrap-Up

Last week, we visited Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Many people have asked if I was going to give a wrap-up of our trip along with tips on traveling with little one's. I have come up with a week long schedule of write-up's regarding the trip starting next week. I am planning it as follows:

1. Monday ~ Traveling with Little One's

2. Tuesday ~ Disney Parks with Little One's

3. Wednesday ~ Schedules with Little One's

4. Thursday ~ Entertainment with Little One's

5. Friday ~ Eating Out with Little One's

So keep an eye out next week for tips and tricks that we found worked (and DIDN'T work) while on our trip. Maybe we can help keep you from making gosh awful mistakes or help you make the best of your Disney World trip with your own little one's!