The Collar of Shame (sorry, it's still not back to the Disney Memories)

When we got home we also had a little French Bulldog that had a hot spot on the back of his head. Of course hot spots are itchy and hurt and he would not leave it alone for anything. We went ahead and shaved it which helped a lot, but in the end, he still has to wear the, "collar of shame." If you get that, I know you are a Disney fan!

Our poor little guy, he HATES it... but I really can't blame him! It is kinda funny though!

****I am grateful for
1) collars of shame
2) antibiotics for kids and doggies
3) almost the weekend and I LOVE me some weekends
4) chance of rain soon, please God, let it rain!
5) swimming pools, it is HOT out there!

Please excuse the Disney Memories interruption.

Not only did we come home with lots of wonderful memories and pictures from our Disney trip, we also came home with a VERY nasty virus. Well, Emery and I did. Long story short, the day before we came home Emery started having some mega nasty diapers. I'm talking the kind you need to wear a gas mask just to take their pants off before changing the actual diaper. And not just one a day, more like 6, 7, 10 of these diapers a day. We knew it was a virus because 1) you just know and 2) I caught it the following day. Fortunately she was only miserable when she was tired or it was time to change the diaper because she quickly got a rash despite our best efforts. That meant that for the most part she was still our happy little princess.

On Sunday she began with the green snot which made us worry that perhaps it was a virus and an infection. Monday I took her to the doctor where they confirmed there was something going around everywhere, it was viral, it caused a green snotty nose/possible spots on her belly, and yes, she had it. We were told to give it another week (which would have been yesterday) and to bring her back if there were still issues and they would put her on an antibiotic.

So to recap, Wednesday Emery comes down with virus, Thursday I come down with virus/we fly home, Sunday add in green/snotty nose, and Monday doctor confirms. So we go all last week with the two of us fighting this virus. Thursday she starts developing green goop in her eyes and I start thinking she probably has a sinus infection too at this point. I consult Dr. Google who says a little is normal with fighting a virus, so I decide to wait it out until Monday. On Friday evening we notice blood/puss draining from her ear and I know that we aren't going to make it to Monday.

Fortunately our pedi always has one of the satellite clinics open on Saturday mornings, so we called the answering service to find which one it was and I was there 10 minutes after they opened Saturday morning. Dr. confirmed that she does have a sinus infection and while her left ear looked great, her right ear was draining like crazy. One round of antibiotics ordered and ear drops. Have I mentioned she is not the awesome medicine taker that her brother is?

You'll probably think I'm making this next part up, but Saturday evening Chase started complaining that his ear hurt. He's not really a complainer so I figured we'd better play it safe and run by Urgent Care. Double Ear Infection. Blech! Apparently a pretty bad one at that. That kid has got one high pain tolerance!

Anyway, 13 days after Emery came down with the virus it looks like she is finally kicking it. I too am on the mend. :o) Chase said he was feeling better within hours of his first dose of meds, so I'm thinking maybe our house is on it's way to be healthy again?!?!??!

As for the Disney pictures, I'll get back to posting those tomorrow (or the next day, we all know I'm a slacker).

****I am grateful for
1) Saturday hours with the pedi
2) summer vacation
3) extra time with my kiddos
4) being on the mend
5) Sonic ice (if you have a Sonic near you, you know what I mean)

Disney World Day 2 - Dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table in the Castle

Despite this being our third trip to Disney World since having children and having character meals every single time, we had yet to eat at Cinderella's Royal Table at The Castle. We changed that this trip! Before we had left we had picked the girls up princess dresses. Chase had come across the bone pirate costume and wanted that exact one. Being the awesome mom I am, I totally put off finding it and then when I tried, I couldn't. Talk about a sad little guy. However, Disney came to the rescue and lo and behold we found it in the park. I'm sure glad we did because I absolutely adore this picture!

Of course, the girls looked pretty cute too!

Emery was awestruck at the site of Cinderella.

We don't have a scanner so this is a picture of a picture, but trust me, the real picture is awesome!
There were also four other princesses at the castle.

Snow White

Belle (not sure why she's in her regular dress and not her fancy princess dress)
Aurora (a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty) Mental Note: Take all spinning wheels out of the house when Emery is turning 16... ha! That was her tip to us.

Hmmm, I thought Ariel was there too, but don't have her picture on the computer. Perhaps it's just on the camera which is still upstairs. Guess I'll look into that later. ;o)

A great evening to end a great day!

****I am grateful for
1) Hump Day, even like it in the summer
2) technology
3) Duchess will be home next week
4) DVR, without it we'd never get to watch what we want to
5) one-on-one time

Disney World Day 2 - Animal Kingdom and a song fit for a Princess

We got up not so bright and early (ha!) on Wednesday, grabbed some breakfast and headed on over to Animal Kingdom. We had originally planned on going to Magic Kingdom (hence our pirate shirts) but if you're going to be flexible anywhere, it needs to be at Disney!

I was trying to get all three in their matching shirts, but Emery was not in a picture mood. Chase and Madison were more than happy to oblige though. Can you believe that Mads is only one week shy of being three months older than Chase. She is going to be TALL!

Finally Emery agreed to a picture if they big kids would sit beside her.
When I booked this trip months and months ago they big kids said they would walk this time so we didn't have to get a stroller. I should have gotten it on video because within minutes of getting there, we had a stroller. We attempted to have Emery sit in the stroller and then let the big kids rotate. In the end the big kids took over the stroller and Emery sat on top. I think I have a picture of that later. Hey, it worked!

I love that the characters are always in their role. Of course everyone fell in love with Emery, how could they resist? I think she thought she was in her own personal episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!
We were going on the safari ride and had a few minutes to kill, so we let the kids get inked. Let me just say that this will be the only ink they are ever allowed to get! Emery LOVED her Minnie and was so sad when it had to come off.

Chase likes all things pirate right now.

One of the Disney Castmembers was walking around entertaining and making up songs. He made a personalized princess song for our little princess. Loved it! Sorry the footage is not so hard, it's hard to hold a princess and try to record a song. The song makes up for the view!



Next up: Disney World Day 2 - Dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table in The Castle

****I am grateful for
1) getting off my feet
2) central air, it is soooo hot in Texas already
3) technology
4) laughing until you cry
5) good hair days (not that I had one, just saying I'm grateful for when they do happen)

Disney World Day 1 - Magic Kingdom and Meeting the Mouse for the 1st time

If you look out the window, you can see how you know you are close to Disney World. This is the only one we've ever seen, but perhaps there are more somewhere. It's amazing all the "hidden" Mickeys you find in this area!

The Disney World gates, it's like entering into a new world.
When we arrived at our hotel, all the computers were down because they had brought on the new Hawaiian hotel the night before and it had caused some unexpected issues. Since computers were down, they had no way to give us our room keys or check us in. We hadn't planned on visiting the parks that day and did not have park tickets to use. So, they handed us six one day passes (my cousin was with us), told us to go enjoy the parks for a while on them, and then come
back later to check in. We did just that and headed straight to Magic Kingdom. Right from the start we knew we wanted to go meet Minnie and Mickey. They had a 30 minute wait, but to be honest, that is nothing at Disney World! The minute Emery spotted them she was in awww. This was the only time she was even the slightest bit hesitant, I think she just couldn't believe they were real! Sorry for the crummy quality, the camera card is upstairs and I'm too lazy to go get it (in my defense, the Princess and I both got a lovely virus at the end of the trip and I'm feeling icky) so these are from the phone. I'll post the good ones later!




When you leave Minnie and Mickey's meeting room you naturally find yourself right smack dab in the middle of a store. How convienent. Even though Chase already had three pairs of ears and the magician's hat with ears and Emery had a set of ears, we couldn't resist picking up another pair. Besides, Emery's first pair are the infant size, she liked the big girl ones! I would say if you are going to Disney and looking for good souveniers, these are worth the money. They are about 20ish and then only 3 more to get your name embroidered on them. Totally worth it.




Plus they literally have 100s of styles to choose from! Even Duchess was fair game with the ears (hope she doesn't kill me for posting this). She only borrowed Emery's long enough to amuse me and make Emery laugh!

Good times baby, good times! I don't think you can really tell, but the background of Duchess' picture is The Pirates of the Caribbean ride. I think it is one of Chase's favorites! It's also nice because the line moves fast and you are in the air conditioning as you wait! Two more pluses!

We went ahead a rode a few rides and then headed back to the hotel. Unfortunately we still has some issues with the hotel (one of the rooms wreaked of smoke, our porta-crib was not delivered until after Emery fell asleep, and it took another 48 hours to get our mini-fridge delivered), but eventually we managed to get all settled in for the night. Our Disney trip was under way!

Next up: Disney World Day 2 - Animal Kingdom

****I am grateful for
1) problems that work themselves out
2) the chance of rain this week, we so need it
3) my little cuddle bug and my big cuddle bug
4) a delicious dinner
5) fans at night, for the cool air and the noise

Happy Father's Day to the Best Daddy Ever!

When I married Jeff I knew I had just caught the best husband ever, but it turns out he's the best Daddy too! Happy Father's Day Daddy!!!!! Of course we want to say Happy Father's Day to PawPaw too, someone had to pass those awesome Daddy genes along to Jeff and we know exactly who it was! If you haven't seen this video, it is hilarious! They showed it at church this morning and even though we had seen it before, it was just as funny this time.



****I am grateful for
1) an awesome husband
2) a great daddy to my kiddos
3) a great father in law that is the dad I never had growing up
4) spending the day with MeMaw and Pawpaw, we missed them while we were gone
5) family time

We're baaaack!

We arrived home late Thursday evening and while we had a blast, it is sooo nice to be back in our own beds. I kid you not that both kids were asleep within three minutes of laying down in their own beds! I'll have to post in pieces since there are so many pictures (many of which I'm waiting for official Disney ones, but until the CD is ordered, I can't get them... don't worry, it'll be soon).

This was Emery's first plane ride and she did great! I think she enjoys it as much as her brother!


We actually flew in to Tampa and spent two nights there before heading to Disney. We had a lovely condo that was just across the street from the beach. The kids loved the sand and the shells. The shells were just beautiful. Seeing as how the Gulf is part of the biggest shipping line, our beaches are nothing like Florida's. It was just beautiful! We also went on a dolphin excursion and got to see lots of dolphins. They even played with the boats, swimming along beside us. Awesome!





After our excursion we had some delicious seafood. I love little hole in the wall places, they always turn out to be so good. We even snacked on some alligator, yum! All I could think about was Swamp People... ha!


I'll start posting Disney pictures in the next post, but here's a picture to wet your appetite (and probably one of my favorite pictures from the trip):

****I am grateful for
1) my bed
2) kids all snuggled in their beds
3) lots of time with family
4) a wonderful trip
5) our home

We're at Disney World, but we'll be back soon!!!