From Here To There And Back Again...PART 1

Disney World Trip '09! We did it and have lived to tell the tale! What a trip full of twists and turns and truths! We arrived in Orlando mid afternoon on Christmas day, and the flight was fine: the kids behaved, the flight crew humored us, and Jas survived flying without being drugged. (He has since said he's not flying for another 20 years- bless his heart.)

I think this is the moment that Morgan Jane realized that we were at Disney World!

Can I please just tell you how AMAZING our hotel was???

We stayed at the Animal Kingdom's Jambo House and Oh. My. Gosh. Gorg-eous! Seriously. Everywhere you looked there was something beautiful to see. Every door knob, every tile... it was so perfect and authentic. Because I am a loser, and watched an entire special on our hotel, I found out this fun fact to know and tell: It contains the largest African art collection in North America.

View from the 5th floor down into the lobby

Fire pit in the lobby...

Oh, how I wished I could have curled up with a glass of wine and a good book over here...

Fun, huge ostrich egg lamps!

Out back, looking from the outside in...

Everything was decked out in christmas decor with an African twist. This tree had to be at least 40 feet tall and was covered with animal print ball ornaments, huge woven baskets and african folk art. It was so pretty!

From above...

Tree view from the floor...

The thing that amazed me was how different the lobby looked throughout the day. We arrived at dusk, so it was dark and moody and then when we came down the next morning I was amazed at all of the details I missed the night before!

Lobby light fixtures....

Here is my fancy-spancy image stitched panoramic view of the lobby...

When we arrived in our room, we were greeted by this:

and this:

and this!:

We had zebras, giraffes and ankole cattle (these guys:)

...outside our room everyday. Morgan loved watching them from the balcony and would cry and cry when we made her come in. Our room was so fun and festive: everything from mosquito nets over the beds to African land wallpaper in the bathroom!

Please take a moment to notice the carved wooden bed platforms. They will play a big roll in the Disney story later on...

We got settled, grabbed a bite to eat and then geared up for our next day: Hollywood Studios!

Recouping...

Got home last night. Still in my jammies... Needing a day to recoup and then I'll tell you EVERYTHING about our Disney trip! Here's some out-takes to tide you over... :0)

Jas during take-off without having a Xanex. Poor guy. He's trying not to puke on Morgan Jane...

View from our room. Seriously...

ER visit attempt # 182: Morgan Jane jumping out of the light fixtures in the lobby...

Everyone's excited to be here... sort of...

Jas was really into the Playhouse Disney show...

ER visit attempt #324: Jumping from rock to rock while waiting to ride the StarWars ride...

Holding up the GIGANTIC play-doh...

O and B having so much fun at the hotel playground...

 I love this: Luke sat down and started to pretend sewing at Minnie's house...

More tomorrow. I promise.

Santa Love And Some Cheese

We saw Santa today!!!!!!! The kids were troopers getting ready and getting out the door so we could get there nice and early to score an early place in line!  Once we got there, we had about 20 minutes before Santa was going to arrive. Check out Luke's impatience after being in line for about 2 minutes:

So Jas took the kids to the play area and Mimi and I held our spot. It seriously cut down on the stress of keeping them occupied, but I was sad that they missed the Big Guy's big entrance!

Once the line started moving, I texted Jas and they came right back and we began our little journey through the Polar Express train. Before we begin the fun, can you please take a moment and notice this new face of Luke's:

 

(What is up with this?)

Okay: On with the fun! This mall has really cute snowglobes filled with scenes from the Polar Express, not to mention really beautiful trees and decorations. It really helps that the kids have things to do and look at while they waited...

Really? Again with the face?!?!

Trying to get a cute shot by the bea-u-ti-ful tree:

Morgan Jane checking out the "snow"...

She just kept laughing and pointing at it! This is her new thing- the pointing and making the "Hey! Get a load of this!"-face. So cute.

Inside the train...

Almost there...LUKE! Ugh! That face!

Luke asking if he can throw the snow- such a boy!

Luke begging to throw the snow...

So then it was our turn! I love that this group comes and writes down your kids' names on your photo order form way before you get up there, which you then hand to the photo guy once its your turn, who excitedly welcomes your kids by name, therefore telling Santa their names. Genius. I'm telling you: these people are the Porches of Santa photo-takers.

Sweet Morgan Jane walked right up to Santa and started clapping, saying, "Tanta! Tanta!"- we had no idea she knew who he was! She practically climbed in his lap on her own- which was a nice suprise considering the kids that went before us were a crying mess. Miss O took her rightful place next to him and they started chatting. But, poor, poor Bubs. He has been having some stress about the "Naughty" list, and wouldn't sit next to  Santa until we got confirmation from the Big Guy that yes, indeed, he had made the "Nice" list.  By this time, Morgan Jane was sitting on Santa's knee and kept pointing up at him and then looking at Jas and I with her mouth open, like she was saying, "Ha! Do you see this guy!?!" And of course, there was more clapping.

We asked him if there was ANY way he could come a little early on the 24th since we won't have time to open our presents on Christmas morning. He asked me why and I told him that we would be leaving for Disney World, to which he replied, "Well, how horrible for you!" and winked. Ha! He said that his only concern was that the kids had to be sleeping for him to come, so we struck a deal that we would be out of the house- which works perfect since we are having dinner at my parents' so one of my sweet siblings can sneak out and play elf sometime before we actually eat! WHOO-HOO! Mission accomplished.

Then the issue of the Zhu Zhus came up. Olivia asked him for some- telling him that we had told her that they were no more in the stores. Now here comes Awesome Santa Moment #158: He looked at me while saying to her, "You know there aren't very many left..." (Then I winked at him) and he quickly said, "but if I can muster up anymore, they are going straight to you because you have been such a great girl this year." LOVE. HIM.  Bubs asked in for a "Fix-It Thomas" which, after we dropped the kids off with Mimi and went searching for, we found out retails for over $100. Yea. Never going to happen- especially since he doesn't even play with toys. So we found him a FANTASTIC Black and Decker plastic tool set, to go in his new toolbox thanks to the fabulous Cokers. We'll just tell him that Santa must of thought he had said, "fix-it toools..." He's 3. He'll buy it.

We all left in a fabulous Christmas mood- and Jas and I finished up all of our shopping! Yea! All I have to do now is finish wrapping all of our gifts, make our stockings, get the Christmas cards in the mail, wash every stitch of clothing we own.... Oh, and maybe clean the house, And make preparations for the dog. And check on our flights. And....

Mario Time

It had to be done. We had to cut Luke off. He has moved his Mario Kart addiction to the new Super Mario Bros.... and it was getting out of hand. We told him the Wii needed a nap for a few day to charge its batteries, and luckily he bought it.

So what is a little boys, jonesing for a little Mario action to do? He convinces his sister to play with him, and they create their own Mario world. It was so cute. I was so proud of their creativity. It kept them busy for hours- making up different stories, changing the course to make it a new world (sometimes involving poor Mo), making me, their poor mother, be Bowser and battle them so they could get their (Polly Pocket) Princess back. It was so fun!

Morgan Jane had some Baby Godzilla moments...

Hey Luke...Who's better: Mario or Luigi??

Duh! Silly question!

But!: Mario is always the 1st player... "Eetsa go!"

Luigi's turn....

Oh, no! Don't fall!

Lost a life...

Our Moey- such a trooper!

Two Player Mode:

He cleared the course and jumped on the flag pole! "Ogh ya! Mario time!"

Luigi is doing a Victory Dance...

And while all this fun was going on ... guess who played with -gasp!- cars???

She had the best time, too...

Theme Trees

When I was up at the school helping Olivia's class do a project during their Holiday party, I had a moment there I saw "What Could Have Been". The kids were filling the inside of glass ball ornaments with acrylic paints and rolling them or shaking them to make pretty marbled designs. They were allowed to choose two colors, but when I made the rounds a little girl in her class insisted on only using white. I asked her a couple time if she was sure she didn't want to add another color, and she insisted that she only. wanted. white. Okay. Who am I to mess with someone's artistic vision, right? So once the ornaments were complete, I went around with some glitter paint pens and wrote each child's name on their beautiful keepsakes. When I got around to this little girl, I asked her if she would like red, gold or silver paint for her name. Without blinking, she said, "silver." I asked if she was sure, because silver on white might not show up every well, and wouldn't she prefer one of the other colors. She told me no, that she HAD to have silver. "What do you mean you have to have silver?", I asked her and she turned to me and said, "My mom only allows white or silver ornaments on our tree. If I want to hang it up it has to be white and silver." Oh. My. Gosh. It broke my heart. I had a moment where I wondered how many ornaments and things had she brought home that didn't make the cut? Was 2nd grade the year when she wasn't going to let it happen again? And the thing was: there was serious potential that that could have been my kid.

When I was in my early 20, and before I had children, I had great visions of what my own personal Christmas trees would look like. When I lived with Alyshia, we did "A Few Of My Favorite Things" tree, compelte with hot chocolate packet and concert ticket ornaments. The next year, my girlfriends and I did an "Everything Shiny" tree with tons of Mexican tin ornaments (it helped that they were about $1 a piece at the fabulous folk art store down the street) and anything else we could find that fit our college kids budget. We made ornaments out of our favorite pictures of us and with our neighbors, who we shared the holiday with. The decor was always really reflective of where I was in my life, and what I loved...

Before I was married, (and my mom loves to remind me) I proudly proclaimed that one day, I would have a beautiful theme tree done up just how I wanted it. At that point my mom pointed out that one day I would be faced with a bunch of green painted popcicle-stick christmas trees and hand-print reindeer ornaments. What would I say then to my child hoping to hang their hand-made creations on my "theme" tree? she teased. My heart-less-child-less-at-the-time-response: "This tree has a theme and theme is not crap." Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh- what a mean non-Mommy I was!!! So of course, when Miss O brought home her first little tiny precious face in the middle of a finger-painted ceramic present ornament, I melted and couldn't hang it on the tree fast enough.

People always say, "Just wait til you have children!" and you can never really understand what they are telling you until you do. You would do anything for them: You will gag while you peel the cover off of those tiny Vienna sausages because that's all they will eat for two weeks straight- but they don't like the skin. You will sleep on the floor and hold their little hand for nights on end while they get used to sleeping in a Big Kid bed even though you can hardly stand up straight the next day. You'll let them breath their toxic germs on you when they have the stomach flu and the only way you can get them to sleep is in your bed next to you. You'll drive 30 minutes back to their preschool and bribe the janitor to let you in after you've just arrived home after a long days' work only to discover that you have left their favorite blanket there. You will drive to every store on the planet to buy a silly toy because it keeps a dream alive. And you will most certainly hang their ornaments on your tree.

A Yarbrough Tradition

I have never in my life been afraid to get up in front of people and talk, or dance, or talk and dance (which I'm not sure ever really came in handy...) So why is it that my children, my precious off-spring that do have some of my DNA refuse to perform in from of people???

We went to Luke's preschool Christmas program yesterday- so excited to see the precious little costumes and hear the adorable little songs. Well, we got there, got settled and in they came....

SO CUTE! He had told us he wa singing a song about candy- but I just thought he was being a toot. Turns out he was telling the truth. They were dressed up like Hershey kisses and peppermints- complete with little headbands! So he is all smiles, and then turns and looks out at the audience. And his eyes got huge. They start the show with all of the classses singing together.

We waved at him and blew him kisses, smiled and give him thumbs up- anything to break him out of his 100-people-looking-at-him-shock. No luck. Then its his class' turn to sing their special song. He turns and stares at his teacher- sending a silent SOS with his saucer-sized eyes. No luck. She just keeps smiling. The music starts, his class starts singing and he starts screaming crying. We are talking full on body-shaking, hands in the mouth, get me the hell outta here, crying. And his teacher keeps smiling and singing, hoping to snap him out of it. No luck.

(See that open spot- bottom row, left?? Yea.) So half-way through the song she walks him off the stage. He then proceeds to cry very loudly during the next classes' song. So at this point, as much as I hate to be "that mom", I go over to where he is sitting with his teacher. He looks in the the eye and between sobs says, "I. want. to. go. hooooooome!!!" Poor guy. He was totally traumatized. I was able to convince him to sit with us until the show was over. Look how sweet they all are! (Don't you just love that one kid that always yells the songs??)

Then we went to his classroom for cookies and juice, and he was instantly 10 kinds of bright and shiny: telling us he was so glad we came, asking us if we liked "his show", singing the songs he was supposed to have performed.

His sweet teacher just smiled and rolled her eyes, telling us, "See- he was really excited before he realize the whole world would be watching him!" Ahhhhh! At least we didn't ask any grandparents to fly 1,500 to watch this non-performance...

Teacher Gifts '09

Its Teacher Gift time! Having worked in a school for numerous Christmas-es, I know what NOT to give: Bath and Body Works. Ha!

I always try to make something... and then I usually end up wanting to keep it. Last year I made coffee baskets. And it took everything I had not to brew up a pot while I was pouring each specialty flavor coffee into their precious labeled tins... KILLER.

So this year, I needed something that didn't have to do with my serious addiction, why do that to myself two years in a row. So I went the crafty-route. And made tassels.

I luv Nester. And I loved the tassels she made. And I stocked every picture trying to figure out how she made the darn things. There had to be something in the middle- but what? Alyshia and I spent several hours discussing what we could use: old thread spools... wooden circles... Well. Last month sweet Nester sold her secret and I bought it. And wouldn't you know... She just rolls the dang fringe. Could it get any easier than that??? So I read her "How To" ebook, waited til ornaments went on sale at the Hob Lob and got my tassel on. (Ooo... that sounds kinda bad. Sorry.)

Normally, the brightly colored toppers would not be my first choice, but my children loved them, and since they are for their teachers, I got over it. I made one for each of their teachers. Then I made two identical ones of the glittery Santa on his bag for O's principal and and Bub's director. 'Know who I love so much I could eat him? The chocolate Santa. He's for my Nanna. YUM.

I hope they go over well, and people don't look at them like, "What the heck is this thing??" I have been prepping my kiddos on what to say, "Its decoration..." "You can hang it on your doorknob..." Ha! We'll see! Careful though... they were so fun and easy to make... it might be the gift everyone gets from me from now on...