Lies and Glorious Saturday Mornings.

Alright, here are the two truths and a lie. 

1. True. I just need to push myself those first couple days and then it becomes routine the rest of the week. When I’m dripping sweat at 7am it may not be joyous and wonderful but once I walk out the gym doors I feel great. It’s a daily mental battle to go but once I’m there I know I’ve made the right choice. My next hurdle will be controlling myself on the weekends and making sure I stay active. 

2. Lie. Last week I mentioned how mentally/ emotional messed up I was feeling and after going to the gym the last thing I wanted to do was clean. The laundry this weekend was out of control but thankfully the main house is “picked up” enough for me to stay sane. Tonight it’s folding and putting away (I could fold for hours but actually putting the clothes in their place seems 

impossible…am I the only one?) all the clean clothes and tackling the back bedrooms. 

3. True. Shocking, I know…trust me, my mouth was hanging open the whole time. I used to feed him pureed veggies as a baby but his toddler years have been a battle getting in those daily greens. We always make him eat 1 or 2 bites (because we’re those evil parents) but actually requesting broccoli was a game changer. He was literally stuffing them into him mouth holding his hand out for more! I will be sure to make more this week in hopes this wasn’t a onetime thing.

I normally don’t do a weekend wrap up but since it was so glorious I have to share a snapshot of our Saturday. I woke up happily at 8:30am (which is sleeping in at our house) to find the boys already awake. Actually they had been awake since 6am and were getting dressed to go on a walk. Davy decided to make an 8 cup pot of coffee then drink the entire thing by himself; he informed me he updated every application on his computer and made two Facebook albums before I woke up (I don’t know if he has ever posted an album in his life)! He was practically jumping off the walls and the boys insisted we take an “adventure” walk to my mom’s house….4.3 miles away! So…we did! The walk is mostly a one big road with lots of hills but we took our time and enjoyed the beautiful fall weather; it was just what I needed to cure my mental blockage. We talked about stupid news topics (like the pros and cons of legalizing Mary Jane) and more serious topics like our future as a family and what our next big life adventure will be. We made a pit stop at a bagel shop for breakfast (at the outside tables, of course) to consume every calorie we may have burned during the walk! After resting our feet and showing off our skills on the trampoline at my mom’s we went to the best pizza place in town for lunch outside. Pizza was following by ice cream and then followed by Moses’ nap and gearing up for our evening. It was one of those days that I treasured every hour and wore a constant smile; life is a beautiful thing.

Two truths and a lie.

Two truths and a lie; you decide. 

1. I’ve worked out 5 times this week!  1^st cardio session was after our trip Sunday when I felt as big as a house eating all those sweets. Two mornings I was at the gym before work doing cardio and two nights were my favorite sweat dripping insane cardio class. I feel great!  

2. My house is incredibly clean! I was sick of all the mess so each night I’ve been working on one room making it perfect. Sweeping, dusting, putting things were they belong and not in another junk pile. I’ve even made boxes for trash and donations so I can get rid of all the extra crap for good!

3. Last night I was heating up my dinner plate when Moses came over and asked for a piece of broccoli…as in actually wanted vegetables. I gave him one and he munched down and asked for more. After that he proceeded to eat half the broccoli off my plate literally piling it into his mouth. I would go hungry every night if it meant my baby was begging for greens! 

take me away in your hot air balloon

I don’t know how a 48 hours mini-cation could turn my head so far upside down but I have been a mental and emotional mess since coming home. I don’t know what’s wrong with me but these feelings are strangely familiar. I am still so in love with my husband and love my son to the moon and back but besides that I’m sitting stagnant. So many why’s and what if’s and why not’s are flying through my head 24x7 that it’s hard to face reality. I want more, I need more. One of the many thoughts that won’t leave my head is travel. I’m a “realist” so these are merely thoughts and dreams but I really would love to accomplish a few of these adventures before I’m too old to enjoy them. I’m also a realist when it comes to finances so you will notice not many are extreme or unrealistic because dreaming about flying in a private jet to Australia is just downright silly. 

1. Europe, specifically France and Italy. Not too long ago I actually broke down the amount of days and places I would travel on my 2 ½ week adventure. Of course Paris is a given because when in France you cannot pass up the Eiffel Tower however the South of France is a big dream of mine. And then once you’re in the South of France might as well take the hop skip and jump over to Italy and down to Tuscany. I love the French culture, their language, their food; I think it would be too hard to leave family but Europe is a place I would love to live for a year with Davy & Moses to immerse ourselves in the culture. 

 2. Jackson Hole Wyoming in the winter. I’ve written an entire post about it but it’s the only place I dream of being snowed in at. I want the nice log lodge with a fireplace in our room and hot chocolate before bed. 

 3. Vermont in Autumn. Their tress transitioning from greens to reds, oranges, and yellows are legendary and I heard they have the kindest people in the world. I would like to take lots of bike rides, stay in a bed&breakfast, and of course eat lots of Ben & Jerry’s  

 4.  California top to bottom. I have lots of family there and I think it would be amazing to take off 1 month of life to spend quality time with all of them. Then take overnight trips to the touristy spots like San Francisco, San Diego Zoo, and the Redwoods. 

5.  All inclusive resort somewhere tropical. We’ve already spent a week traveling around the Caribbean but this time I want to fly somewhere then plant my feet in one area to relax. Read lots of books, get outdoor messages, let the salty air curl my hair, and breath.

Where is your dream vacation? How close are you to taking the plunge and just going for it?

Disney mini-cation

Meet me friend Ashley. We have shared many emails about her & her husband’s love for Disney and their adventures as Disney Vacation Club members. At the beginning of last week she sent me an email graciously offering us their extra DVC points that were about to expire; with Disney only 4 ½ hours away and our little family of 3 itching for adventure I knew we needed to take them. After a few emails and our first phone conversation we had 1 one bedroom villa booked at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort (side note: has anyone else connected with other blog moms well enough to talk on the phone? It felt like old friends when we started talking and was oddly comfortable. Obviously there are a lot of not nice people out there but who would have thought blogging would bring friends from a few states away?). 

I wanted to surprise the boys so I waited a few days before even telling Davy about our little adventure but kept most of the plans a secret; it was fun unfolding the details of the next 48 hours as the day went on. We were on the road by 9am Sunday morning and 5 hours later slashing around in one of the resort pools (note to self: Moses is not ready to go down the big water slide by himself! Picture toddler + life jacket + all limbs fully extended + terrified face flying down the slide looking up at me like WHY OH WHY are you trying to ruin my joy for life?) . This was our first time visiting Disney as adults and definitely our first time staying at such an incredible resort. Holy moly our room was incredible, our view faced the river overlooking Downtown Disney, and everything about our stay was magical. 

Sleepy face checking out Disney

This was the mini slide he LOVE! (note the big one I scared him on)

Later in the afternoon we headed to Downtown Disney for sightseeing and a special dinner. Going into this mini-cation we knew three things 1) we had an incredible place to stay 2) we don’t have a lot of extra money and 3) we were going to relax and soak up every bit of this blessing. I loved that we took it easy browsing store after store and letting Moses spend time exploring. At 6:30pm we strolled over to the Rainforest Café where I had made us dinner reservations; good call because the boys loved it. Dinner was followed with Moses joining a hulu-hoop contest, me eating sweets until I was sick, and getting lost on boat ferry rides for all the right reasons. 

The animals move around and Moses swore it was watching him the whole time!

Yes, that's a caramel bowl for dunking!

He may look annoyed but he is actually faking this! Good faker, eh?

The next day we signed up for a Disney Vacation Club preview and spent an hour drooling over the beautiful rooms, the resorts, and the dream of one day buying into the club. For a thank you we got $45 in Disney gift cards which were such a blessing because we were able to buy the souvenirs we eyed the day before.

Thanks DVC for the ice cream parlor treat before 11am

His 2nd huge treat before lunch! Greatest place on Earth, remember?

This is why I worked out 5 times last week, right?

After leaving Saratoga we headed over the much raved about Animal Kingdom lodge to visit exotic animals in the Savannah. A resort with zebras and giraffes walking around the property right outside your balcony? Really Disney, you’re incredible.

I’m still recovering from our 48 whirlwind but oh my gosh we had the best time! Thank you thank you thank to Ashley and Josh for giving us our first mini family vacation and being awesome blog friends. Driving home from Orlando we both shared how much we loved our family vacation and how this will be first of many, many more.