Where Have We Been? Disney, of course!

To say we have been busy the last week would be an understatement. Why have we been busy? Well, for starters, these two crazy kids are here:

It's awesome having my folks in town and I've been able to take some time off to spend it with them. Last Saturday us ladies went to the afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian. None of us had been and I couldn't wait to make some memories. 

The tea was wonderful! They even brought out a small tea pot for Jillian. I hope to make this a tradition for us ladies. 

That night we went to Maggiano's to celebrate my new job. 

Aaron decided to have family style with us and ate until he almost burst. 

My parents checked in to their Disney hotel on Tuesday and my brother Kevin and his family joined them. We all met up on Thursday at EPCOT and had a beyond delicious lunch at Via Napoli. 

I promise my nephew smiles, just not in photos. I guess the same could be said about my Dad. Hmmm....

The next day we started our morning at Chef Mickey's. Now, let me tell you what happened and how much my life has changed in the 6 years since I have had these kiddos. I was walking back from the buffet, plate in hand, and the child in front of me blew chunks everywhere. I sidestepped the mess and my first thought was, "Oh crap, I didn't grab any eggs..."

Aside from that display, the breakfast was awesome and the kiddos were able to see all of the characters. 

We headed out to Animal Kingdom after breakfast and I was able to snag this photo on the way to the buses:

Animal Kingdom was fun...hot...but fun. We headed back before the storms hit and then headed out to dinner with my cousin Mike and his son. While we were waiting for them, my niece and nephew were hanging with Jill. My nephew was busy teaching Jill how to spit over the railing. Memories, people, memories. 

The next day we all headed out to Hollywood Studios. I'm not totally sure what my most favorite part of the day was, lunch at Sci Fi, riding Tower of Terror with my Mom and niece, riding Tower of Terror with my nephew, niece and cousin or the moment we found my Dad sitting on a bench at the front of the park because, you know, we would have to walk by at some point. 

The kiddos spent the night at the hotel with their grandparents and all I know is they stayed up later than Scott and I. 

We all met up for breakfast this morning at Kona Cafe and then spent the day poolside. We ended it on a pontoon cruising the lakes. 

The visit has been awesome and unfortunately, really fast! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to catch up on some sleep. 

Graduation Celebration

I really wanted to make a big deal out of the kiddos VPK graduation, so we all went to Maggiano's for lunch after the ceremony. 

The staff was so fantastic and made a huge deal out of the fact that the kiddos were graduates. There were a lot of graduates there that afternoon, but I didn't see any of them with ice cream that had sparklers. Thank you, Maggiano's, for making our afternoon special!

Goodbye 28, Hello 29!

Yesterday I was awoken around 5:30 by Jill poking me in the back and then she whispered, "Mommy! It's your birthday! No more bedtimes, it's your birthday! Happy Birthday!" I told her thank you and gave her a hug and then she said, "Can we watch cartoons?" Um, no. I told her Mommy doesn't get up before the sun, especially on her birthday, or birdday as Jill and Aaron say it.

After we all woke up Jill asked why Daddy wasn't home,"It's your birrday, Daddy should be home. You need a party." Seriously, Lord help the man that marries Jill.

We went out for dinner to one of my hometown favorites that just happens to be in Orlando, Maggiano's.  We were doing good, nobody spilled the beans on it being my birthday, so a spectacle would not be made. I'm not a fan of having "Happy Birthday" sung to me in a restaurant. It's so not my jam. Well, apparently it was someone else's 'birdday' and Jill saw the candles.  She couldn't even contain herself when the waiter came back to the table: "It's Mommy's BIRDDAY!!!!! Mommy's Birdday Mommy's Birrrrrrrdddddaaaaayyyyyy!". Thankfully, our waiter is not one to sing, so I simply had this yummy dessert:

I've also decided that this year I would do a 365 album, basically chronicling each day in my 29th year of life. I got the idea from a friend of mine, so I can't wait to see what the year brings. I'll add the album to my Facebook fan page so you can follow along!

Thank you to everyone that helped start year 29 off on a super great note!

The Blessing

Sunday Scott and I planned to be remarried in the church. When we were married 5 1/2 years ago we married at Disney, which the Catholic Church does not marry at. At the time it was not an issue for us, Scott wasn't Catholic and I was what you would consider a 'Chreaster' meaning I only went on Christmas and Easter. However, now it is really important for us to have our marriage recognized. Sunday we received a special blessing and plan to set up our marriage for after the first of the year.

It was nice having so many people close to us there. My parents, my in-laws, our friends the B6 and then many of our Knights and Columbiette's friends were there as well. I don't have any photos from mass, but I finally remembered to take photos at lunch after mass. We all went to Maggiano's and it was fantastic (as always). Jill even got to ride there with her friends, which she thought was just beyond awesome.

Yes, I failed to get a photo of Scott and I on this special day. Score one for me :(

Thank you to everyone that was there, it meant so much to us to have you there with us!

Thanksgiving Thursday

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It's been a fairly busy week this week, so naturally there is a ton to be thankful for! This week, I am thankful for...

• Scott and all that he does. Fingers crossed that he gets a call from someone he has sent a resume to!

• A great visit with Sandi, Michael and Kaitlyn!
  

• All the American Girl/Bitty Baby furniture that Kaitlyn gave to Jill. And when I say all, I mean open the catalog, point, and we probably have it now. :)
  

• Michael riding Manta with me, so I wouldn't chicken out when I got to the top :)

• Mimi and PawPaw treating us to all the awesome dinners over the past week and a half. Most especially last night at Maggiano's!
  

• Mimi and PawPaw letting us take the leftovers from Maggiano's :) Their food is awesome at the restaurant, but it always WAY better the next day!

• Jill's new Lion King CD. As Cat told me a few weeks ago, my children are apparently South African, so this CD should be a welcomed gift to them! Thanks Mimi!

• The new books the kiddos got from Busia and DziaDzio! I may have to install bookshelves into the walls to store all of the books they have, but that's always a good thing!

• Nilla wafers! You are a savior in public places! Most especially restaraunts that take their time bringing out the kiddos food.

• The rain this morning, it let us all sleep in a little. Well I got to sleep in a lot, but everyone else slept in too.

• Scott allowing me to sleep an extra hour this morning :)

• All of Lani's help while I've had family in town. You're the best!

• Kelly from GOMOTT finding all those awesome prizes for the raffle (some of which we won! Yahoo!).

• April and Melissa making me laugh during the board induction ceremony at Tuesday's meeting. I'm sure those photos of me laughing look awesome....uh huh... :)

• My new Seaworld pass (I may have mentioned this last week?). Thanks Mimi and PawPaw!

• Anything else I forgot to mention that happened this week. We are truly lucky to have what we have.
  

Be sure to play along with Nicole at What a Trip!

The Christening

The cake from Party Flavors

Aaron being baptized

Jill being baptized

Today was the kids baptism! We had it at St. Faustina's here in Clermont. It was a beautiful ceremony and everything was perfect. We had a reception immediately after at our home which was pretty good. We used Maggiano's as our caterer, and trust me, I have leftovers for the next month at least! We got our cake from Party Flavors and oh my goodness, it was amazing! They replicated both of the christening gowns onto the cake. It was amazing. The gowns were definitely the centerpiece of the day. Aaron wore Scott's gown and Jillian wore the one that everyone in my family has been christened in (it's over 100 years old). I am so glad everything went well and that everything was beautiful.

Sorry it's short, but I have to finish cleaning up! Hope all is well with all of you!