Blog | Wine Girl Mommy’s World | Just a wine loving girl, living a mommy’s world

- A toddler in Hollywood (Studios)
  
  Posted at 11:30 am by CS, on November 14, 2019
  
  Most people, when they think of Disney think that’s its only just for kids. And while a good bit of that is true, there are plenty for adults to do. Case in point, Hollywood Studios park seems to be the least kid friendly Disney park in Orlando. When you look at what is offered as far as rides and attractions and shows, there seems to be more aimed towards older kids and adults, with the thrill rides, Galaxy edge and toy story land.
  
  So what do you do when you want to go to Hollywood studios but have a toddler in tow? The short answer would be to just suck it up and wait for another time when you may be kiddo free for a quick trip, but in some cases, when you’re on a family vacation, and there is no other option, you make the best of a park that may not have a lot to offer a younger kid.
  
  Here are my must do’s when you have a toddler tagging along. And these are my must do’s because this is what we did on a recent trip to Hollywood studios.
  
  Disney Junior Dance Party– if your child remotely enjoys any part of Disney juniors and the shows they show on the channel, this is a must stop and do. Two DJ’s, favorite characters, and lot of fun music, what more would or could your child ask for? Cameron loved dancing and laughing along to all the songs. Bright colors, lights, and bubbles/confetti/streamers also bring in the fun too.
  
  Disney Junior character meets– just outside the dance party, you and your child can meet a few of their favorite characters. Now these characters could change based on time of year and popularity but the ones that were there when we went were: Doc McStuffins, Pluto, Vampirina, and Fancy Nancy. We only met Doc and Vampirina and Cameron wasn’t having either of them. Normally she’s pretty into character meets, but she just didn’t seem super excited that day. It was still fun to see the different characters and their bright sets.
  
  Frozen sing-a-long: Frozen is still going strong since 2013, and with the release of the second coming this I don’t see the hype going down any. Cameron is a big Elsa and frozen fan so I knew we should try this out. Especially with there not being a whole lot at the park for her to do. Boy we were not disappointed. She loved it because of the songs, I loved it because the story tellers were actually quite hilarious, and I’ll admit the songs are pretty catchy. We were lucky enough to catch the holiday show so they also sang a few songs from their Christmas/holiday short that came out a while ago. All in all, would definitely go see it again.
  
  Honorable mentions: these are things I think she would like, but that we didn’t get to do.
  
  Voyage of the little mermaid show.
  
  Toy story mania and walking around Toy Story land.
  
  Other character meets, especially citizens of Hollywood.
  
  While this park may continue to not be geared toward the smaller crowd, I think there is definitely things that they can do and see to be entertained.
  
  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged dance party, Disney, Disney Junior, doc mcstuffins, fancy Nancy, frozen, Hollywood studios, Mickey, park, vampirina
- “Rash” Decisions
  
  Posted at 11:27 am by CS, on November 11, 2019
  
  A few posts ago I discussed the stinky situation that as a parent you find yourself really talking more about than you ever thought possible. Today I’m going to discuss a not fun situation that can accompany that stinky situation.
  
  For us that’s diaper rash. I’m pretty sure at one point or another all babies/toddlers get a form of diaper rash. It can probably range from mild to severe. We unfortunately seem to be playing the game of revolving diaper rash. Yes, we have discussed it with doctors, yes we are trying to figure out a solution for it, but for now this is how we handle this unfortunate situation.
  
  I started noticing that we were in a weird pattern with diaper rash when Cameron would get backed up for a couple days, we would then figure out how to get the flow going, but when we did it was like opening up gates and we were stuck with changing 7-8 poop diapers a day because they would be small but often which of course you never want to leave the baby sitting in that for very long.
  
  Well she would be straining to poop, and all the straining and the constant changing would then proceed to cause her to develop a rash. She would then have the rash which would cause her pain, so when we would try to wipe, she would fight up and wiggle, and kick, and cry, and make it hard to get in there to clean her out so it didn’t become infected. It was not a fun time for anyone, she was in pain, we felt bad for thinking we were hurting her more, it was just miserable. Then a few days later she would clear up, get stopped up, we would intervene, and the cycle would start over again.
  
  First thing we did was try to figure out if any sort of food was possibly causing it. So we started monitoring the food she ate when she would go on these short, small, sticky poop episodes to see if we could find a trigger. One major factor we noticed, was acidic and sugar did seem to play big parts. So we cut out as much as we could of food that contained those ingredients to see if that helped. And it did, but with a picky toddler you need to pick your battles when it comes to what they will decide to eat and what they push away. So we still monitor what we are giving her in hopes that as long as we minimize the acidic and sugary foods we can keep the rashes to a minimum.
  
  When she gets these rashes, and refuses to let you near her bottom, you gotta think of fast things to do to clean her up. We’ve used any and all wipes that I have researched. Sensitive, mostly water, etc and etc. We have used moist paper towels, hand clothes, wash clothes, and thrown her right in the tub, but when her butt is that sore nothing really seems to make her want to have us anywhere near there. So we try to make the changes as quick as possible and try to be as fast as we can with whatever method we chose to clean her up with.
  
  Then of course, the medicine aka diaper rash creams. You name it, we have probably tried it. We have done desitin in multiple varieties, buttpaste in multiple varieties, a cream from Germany, some natural type cream my father in law recommended, and mostly recently Balmex. They all did seem to work pretty well, but right now the current favorite is the Balmex because it seemed to be the most fast acting this latest round.
  
  You can find most of these on amazon or in your local CVS, Walgreens, target, Walmart, or super market.
  
  It pains me when she hurts, and we will continue to have discussions with her doctors as to why it seems to occur for her more often than is probably normal. I’m just glad we seem to be finding things that work quicker and quicker each time we have to deal with this.
  
  Has your child ever had a bad diaper rash? What did you do to ease the pain?
  
  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged Balmex, buttpaste, cream, desitin, diaper rash, rash
- Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort-kid friendly review
  
  Posted at 11:06 am by CS, on November 7, 2019
  
  I want to preface this with I’m not being paid or sponsored to make this post. Although I would love to be sponsored by Disney because I mean who wouldn’t. All opinions are my own.
  
  For Cameron’s second birthday, we had lots of different celebrations because family was in and out of town and we wanted to celebrate with everyone. One such celebration was that we treated myself, my mom, and Cameron to a weekend stay at a Disney resort when some out of town family was coming to visit Disney for the Columbus Day weekend.
  
  Now due to pricing and timing, we knew deluxe resorts were way out of the question. A few moderate resorts were reasonably priced, but knowing we wouldn’t be spending a lot of time in the room we weren’t completely sold on them. Then a Florida resident/annual pass holder offer popped up for our dates and a value resort opened up and I knew that was probably the best route to take. Granted the resort was still close to 200 a night, with it being a holiday weekend and all, we still made it out pretty well for a 3 night stay on property. We ended up staying at all-star movies, in a preferred room in the 101 Dalmatians section. Here are some pros and cons and findings from our stay.
  
  Let’s start with the room. Now as a value resort we knew the room wasn’t going to be huge or super fancy. But I was delightfully surprised that ever since they refurbished the value resorts the rooms were nicer than expected. Laminate floors, better lighting, and a Murphy bed to get more space within the room were really nice. It helped in the morning when we were trying to get ready. I also enjoyed the space of the room as a whole because we brought Cameron’s pack n play and we had plenty of room to set it up and have space to walk around. The beds were comfy, pillows great, AC worked wonderfully, so all in all a good room to be in. My two biggest issues with the room were the coffee maker and the bathtub. The coffee maker was a small single cup maker which just for me being spoiled with a full pot grinding beans coffee maker didn’t exactly cut it. The coffee just wasn’t as strong as I would have hoped. But we made due, and just grabbed more coffee inside the parks. The bathtub situation wasn’t completely horrible either. It’s just that it had a sliding door instead of a shower curtain. And while it looks nicer, probably easier to clean, and sleeker it just was harder to bathe Cameron because the door only stops halfway so you’re either stuck between the toilet and the bathtub or you’re far away from the faucet. But once again we made due for our short stay.
  
  Amenities, while the value resort may not have as many as some deluxe and moderate resorts, for our length of stay we had just what we needed. We never really ate in the food court, but they seemed to have some decent options. I did try mobile ordering for the first time at the food court, and my experience with that wasn’t terrible but I think it could have been better. I don’t know if they were overly busy, or if the person working mobile order wasn’t paying attention, but I feel like we waited a lot longer than we probably should have from the time I clicked the “I’m here” button on my app to when the food was actually ready for us to pick up. We weren’t in any rush as we were just going back to the room to eat, but it still was a bit of a let down to still have to wait around at the window. The only other amenity we really experienced was the kiddie pool/interactive splash pad area. Cameron had the best time playing there and meeting some other kiddos. Luckily we had no issues getting her away when it was time to go.
  
  It was so great to take Disney transportation while we were there. So nice to park the car at the resort and then not have to drive again until we left. The biggest con I found was that we had to share a bus with some of the other all-star resorts. This wasn’t every occasion, like early in the morning, or to certain parks, but in the middle of the day, or to places like Disney springs, we did find ourselves sharing a bus with the all-star music resort which made for busier busses in the middle of the day and more stops before being dropped off or picked up.
  
  All in all I think it was a great resort stay. Being a value resort I knew we wouldn’t be getting a super fancy stay, but having a kiddo and only being there for a few nights and mostly using it for sleeping it definitely did the job. I would definitely stay there again if it came to it!
  
  Posted in Thing I Love | 0 Comments | Tagged all star, Disney, hotel, Movies, resort, review
- Halloween 2019
  
  Posted at 11:53 am by CS, on November 4, 2019
  
  This year for Halloween was a little different in a few senses. First, because this was going to be the first year we attempted trick or treating with Cameron. Second, because I somehow managed to convince my husband to do a bit of a “matching costume.” And third, we are still in the middle of moving and aren’t quite settled so we had to figure out a plan of action since we are not really familiar with the area and all of that. Throw in a little bit of rainy weather and it makes for one fun Halloween.
  
  This is Cameron’s third official Halloween, even though my husband says her real first one doesn’t count because she was only 9 day old since she arrived 3 weeks early and we didn’t have much other than a first Halloween bib and a pumpkin to celebrate with. But you have to improvise when things like that happen and so yes, I consider that her first. Where we used to live in CA, had no kids in the neighborhood so Halloween wasn’t much of a big deal there anyway. In the 3 years we lived in our house we maybe had 2 trick or treaters. So being in a sort of limbo state at the moment, I’m trying to make all of her holidays until we move into our home as best as possible.
  
  First up we had to figure out costumes. Because Cameron is only 2, she is still in the age where I have more say over her costume. I’m sure by next year that will change entirely. So because she’s been very much into tinker-bell and all her movies I decided that’s what she would be. Then at the last minute I decided that my husband and I should sort of compliment her costume, but I didn’t feel like paying a lot of money since we were entirely sure what we were doing yet, so we went with pirate-esque looking shirts. Even though tinker-bell didn’t really hang out with Captain Hook it worked for us.
  
  As I’ve mentioned before, we are sort of in limbo with where we are living at the moment since we are in the process of finding our own home and are currently living with family in an area we don’t know much about. So we weren’t sure of the neighborhood and it’s likelihood of decent trick or treating. Not to mention, yes Cameron is 2 so I understand she was not going to need a ton of candy because she really can’t eat much if any of it anyway. I did some research to see if the city itself was doing anything and saw they were doing a trick or treating event in the main town square. Perfect, this is right up our alley. Then of course, the weather decided it wanted to try and rain on our parade and the forecast showed it was going to rain all day long on Halloween.
  
  If we knew the area and knew of other neighborhoods to venture to, or if she was a bit older and this wasn’t her first try and trick or treating the weather probably wouldn’t haven’t bothered me as much. But I wanted to try and make this first outing for her as best as I could so that when we look back on it, it reminds us of a good time. So I decided, unless the city canceled the event we would go rain or shine. Luckily the city had my same thought because they said they would host the event no matter the weather.
  
  The event started about 5pm, which was also perfect for us because we could get everything done and still get her home in time for bed. Most of the businesses in town seemed to participate. Cameron did seem a little unsure at first, but then she was happily taking the candy and shoving it into her basket. Sometimes she would hold it in her hand, or try to put it on the next table, but everyone thought that was adorable. We got there shortly after 5 and left about 40 minutes later and that was perfect. She got just enough candy that it made it worth while, but not to much that we will have leftovers until thanksgiving. So it was nice that she got out and got to see what trick or treating was about. Everyone thought she was adorable and when we explained it was her first time out they thought that that was precious too.
  
  All in all I think an event like this is perfect for younger kids because everything is in one general location and to me it felt a bit safer. Next year I think we may try a trunk or treat event, as well as normal trick or treating since we should be completely settled into our home.
  
  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged candy, fairy, Halloween, pirate, Tinkerbell, trick or treat
- Fun new drinks in October 2019
  
  Posted at 11:22 am by CS, on October 31, 2019
  
  My favorite monthly post is once upon us again. I think about what new and fun drinks I tried throughout the month. This month saw more trips to Epcot’s Food and Wine festival, which never disappoints with new varieties of drink options to try.
  
  First, I got the blood orange margarita from inside the Mexico pavilion. You can get it from La Cava de Tequila. So while not exactly part of the food and wine festival, they make amazing margaritas. Now I will admit I have tried this margarita before, but it was 5 years ago and so I’m pretending it’s brand new to me. Now this margarita is made with Tequila, orange liqueur, earthy sweet-tart mix of blood orange juice, wild berry foam. On the rocks with a Tajín chili powder on the rim. I’m not one for stuff on the rim of my margaritas, but this wasn’t so bad. Now they are a little pricy, but that’s Disney for you. I think these are worth the 13-15 price tag though because it is a full sized drink. Make sure if you are wanting one from here to get their early before a big line forms.
  
  Schöfferhofer Hefeweizen Pomegranate Beer from the Brewer’s collection booth. This beer had a nice and fruity taste, without being to sweet or fruity. It was a good choice, after a not so great margarita from the Mexico booth. (It was just not my flavor, not that it was horrible all around) it’s time like this I wish I could get full size beers and not just sample sizes at the booths. I think Disney should allow for that, of course for an up charge.
  
  Mimosa flight from the shimmering sips mimosa bar booth. This is the one booth I was so excited for since they introduced it in previous years that I couldn’t make it to the festival. Luckily it did not disappoint. I chose the mimosa flight because I couldn’t decide which one I wanted to try. The flight came with a key lime mimosa, tropical mimosa, and a blood orange mimosa. It’s hard to pick a favorite out of the three because they were all good. I think if I had to choose it would go key lime, tropical, blood orange. But it’s all super close in my vote. This is something I could see myself ordering again once more before the festival ends.
  
  Super excited to see what new things I can try in November. The holidays are my favorite time of year, so hoping some holiday drinks will make my list the next few months.
  
  Posted in Thing I Love | 0 Comments | Tagged drinks, fab orites, margarita, mimosa, October, pomegranate beer
- Working from home with kiddos
  
  Posted at 1:48 pm by CS, on October 28, 2019
  
  So I’ve worked from home for about 5 years now, and 2 of those years have been as a mom. Now with the company I work for, it is against policy to have someone you watch at home with you during work hours as it keeps you from being productive. As I completely understand that, there has been times in the last 2 years that it was out of our control and Cameron had to stay home with me and I had to attempt to balance work and be a mom at the same time. Now because of the way sick time and PTO work with my job it wasn’t just as simple as taking the day off when things like this happened. Plus I tend to be one of those people who hate taking off work when I feel like I may be letting people down. Which the more I think about it, is not good for health reasons since the job could replace you in a day.
  
  So I had to be strategic with what and how I handled these situations. Luckily my husband also worked from home or had taken off some of these days so he was able to watch her. But what do you do when your child sees you and wants to play with only you. Or sit with you, or have you watch TV with her? You can’t just turn off being a mom. It doesn’t work that way. So I would have to take an early or late lunch, or take a break, or work later into the day to make sure I was covering all my hours and getting all my work done.
  
  I also try to set up activities for Cameron to do so that she has things to do while I’m trying to work. Yes it’s hard to be “absent” while being right there in the same room as your child. I am also guilty of sitting her in front of the TV and putting on a show or movie I know she loves so that I could get a little work done. Especially if I have a conference call in which she needed to be quiet, but also, she’s 2, and doesn’t fully understand being quiet when mommy is on the phone. But I have also explained to my co-workers and bosses that during this current time of transition because of all the moving we are doing that sometimes Cameron has to be home, but that I do promise it’s not adversely affecting my work. And my boss knows that I can get things done as I’ve proved time and time again.
  
  I’ve just learned you have to be flexible when it comes to working from home and being a mom. A lot of my mornings are spent getting her ready for the day, taking care of things, and then beginning my work day. Some other things I’ve learned by working from home is that it gets lonely. You have coworkers you never see and may go days without interacting with. You crave some adult conversation, I remember when my husband would be out of town and I would be on daycare duty, I would always end up staying longer at drop off or pick up because I just wanted someone to talk to. I also noticed that I stopped putting a lot of effort into my look because my office was my living room and I wouldn’t go outside some days so I lived in sweats since no one was going to see me. After a while I vowed that I needed to step back up again and put some effort into my appearance.
  
  Are you a work from home mom? How do you balance the work mom and the mom mom?
  
  Posted in If I had known, Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged job, mom, work from home
- Packing for Disney
  
  Posted at 11:26 am by CS, on October 24, 2019
  
  So you’ve planned your trip to Disney. You know when you’re going, for how long, where you are staying. You booked your dining reservations and your fast passes. Your magic band or tickets have come in the mail and you’re ready to go. Now it’s time to figure out what to pack.
  
  For us, the first time we went to Disney I was not 100% sure what I wanted to bring. I had watched a couple videos of what other packed for their kids to get an idea of what I wanted to bring for Cameron.
  
  Packing for adults is one thing, you bring a few outfits, some comfy shoes, toiletries and you pretty much call it a day. But packing for a child is definitely different. This is what we packed for Cameron for the first trip. I have found it a lot easier the subsequent trips we’ve taken because we learn each time.
  
  Outfits and changes of clothes. I planned out what we would wear each day, and yes I was that mom who matched with her daughter some of the days. So I made sure Cameron had an outfit every day of our trip, and then a backup or nighttime outfit for each day as well. This way if she spilled, or got dirty, or sweaty during the day she had another outfit ready and waiting. We also packed pajamas because of course she needed to wear something to bed.
  
  Swimsuit. I did pack a swim suit in the off chance we went to the pool. We never made it but it was nice to have.
  
  Diapers and other changing items. We made sure to pack plenty of diapers, wipes, lotions and anything else we needed for changing her throughout the day.
  
  Blankets, toys, nighttime items. We packed as much as we could for her to feel as comfortable as possible when it came to naps and bedtime. We brought her toys, sound machine, blankets so she felt like she was at home.
  
  Feeding items. Made sure to pack snacks, bottles, cups, plates, and anything else she used at home when eating. She was still mostly eating with her hands so a lot of stuff we didn’t use.
  
  Miscellaneous. I’ll admit I overpacked and anything I though we could use I brought. We got a fan and cover for her stroller. Books to read. Extra clothes on top of her other clothes. Also of course we packed her stroller and pack n play for the hotel room. You could rent these but we weren’t sure how she would do in rentals so we felt better bringing our own.
  
  She was the smallest in our group and had the biggest bag just because of everything I felt she needed. As first time parents taking a baby on vacation for the first time it was better to be over prepared than under prepared.
  
  It’s nice that now we know a bit better and can pack a lot less. It also helps that we live a lot closer and don’t need to pack as much anyway.
  
  Was there anything you packed and regretted? Or didn’t pack and wish you had?
  
  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged baby, bedtime, blanket, clothes, Disney, food, luggage, packing, trip
- TWO sweet 2nd birthday
  
  Posted at 11:33 am by CS, on October 21, 2019
  
  This past weekend we celebrated my daughters 2nd birthday with family and friends. I’m pretty big on birthday puns so when trying to figure out what sort of party to throw I knew I wanted the saying to have “TWO” in it. And because this is probably my last year of being able to pick the party theme I wanted to make it a good one. So, I took to Pinterest and it soon became clear what I started gravitating towards was going to be a donut themed party with the tag line of “TWO Sweet.” I had also thought about a “Taco TWOsday” party or a rodeo themed party with the saying “This ain’t my first rodeo, it’s my second.” But after researching and trying to find decor and such the donut theme became the clear winner.
  
  Once the theme was chosen, we had to decide on a location, date, and time. When throwing a child’s party this young you really need to account for meal times and nap times so that you don’t have a cranky birthday child on your hand. Because we are sort of in between housing locations I had thought about hosting at a park, or an indoor play area, but then figured that wouldn’t give me as much freedom. So I decided and my mother graciously allowed us to have it at her house. I’m so glad I went this route too since it ended up pouring most of the party day thanks to tropical storm Nestor. So we had the location, now the date and time were next. Since Cameron’s birthday is pretty close to Halloween I like to try to have it early enough that it doesn’t interfere with Halloween activities, so we settled on the 19th. Timing wise, I knew if we started the party at 2 that would be after nap time and Cameron would be in a fairly good mood hopefully.
  
  All the logistics were set so we then move on to decor and food. We made the mistake of overbuying for her first birthday so I didn’t want the same issue to happen this time around. We had a sandwich platter, a veggie platter, chips and dip, and broccoli salad as mains/sides. Then for dessert we had donuts of course and then a cake that my mother made which turned out perfect!
  
  Decor wise, I also knew I didn’t want to go overboard, especially since it was at our house and there wasn’t a ton of people coming. We kept it pretty tight knit because of location. So I got a few banners, some balloons, and all the donut plates/napkins/cups I could find and called it a day. Amazon, party city, and Etsy were my lucky places to find everything I needed.
  
  Now it was party time! Cameron was the only child in attendance, just due to timing and us being in between houses and all that but I don’t think she minded a bit. All the guests showed up and we all sat around talking, and hanging with Cameron as she ran around getting all the birthday attention. She was in heaven.
  
  Then it was time for presents. And now I understand why most of the time people wait to have the kids open gifts after the party. Cameron could have cared less about the actual opening of gifts so I ended up doing most of that. She just wanted to look at and play with the stuff as it was opened. Typical 2 year old of course. She got some great stuff, and while she hasn’t played with everything the vtech picnic basket seems to be top spot at the moment.
  
  Lastly, it was time for cake. And donuts. We were a little scared that we would get a repeat of her first birthday where she was not ok with being sung to. Luckily, she enjoyed it a lot better this time around. Not a big fan of blowing out the candles though so maybe next year. She absolutely loved the icing though, what kid wouldn’t.
  
  All in all it was one fantastic party, and we are so grateful for all who came and celebrated with us!
  
  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged amazon, birthday, cake, donuts, Etsy, party, party city, presents, second birthday, two sweet
- Disney planning tips
  
  Posted at 11:25 am by CS, on October 17, 2019
  
  Obviously I am a lover of all things Disney. I think some of my recent blog posts have shown that. One topic I had some people tell me I should write about is planning tips for Disney with a family. Now I’m not a Disney travel agent. And while planning for a trip to Disney takes a lot and is different for everyone, I wanted to give some tips on what has worked for us in the past. Now there are plenty of great other sites, and lists, and tips out there I’m sure, but I figured one more blog post could certainly help because things are ever changing with how things can come together.
  
  I think when you first start planning your trip, the first big decision is when you are going to go. Depending on your family this may be easy or hard. You’ll have to take into account school breaks and holidays, vacation time at work, family obligations, and time of year. Then you will want to take into account how crowded the parks will be and how you feel about that and if you could handle crowds. I personally love visiting during the holidays because of all the decorations but I understand it will be a bit busier than other times of the year. Granted it’s Disney and there seems to be more busy times than not busy times now with all the new lands and attractions and festivals and special events that happen all around the parks and throughout the year. Early in the year in January and February are good times to go, and late September and early October are also some good times as well.
  
  Once you decide when you’re going to go, it’s then time to decide how long you want to go for. Is it a long weekend, a week, two weeks? Is this a big once in a lifetime holiday, or is this just another trip that you and your family do all the time. For us we tend to take long weekends because we are able to go to Disney quite often.
  
  Next up will be the hotel and ticket options. Of course you’ll want to decide if you want to stay on or off property and weigh the pros and cons of both. You’ll also want to figure out what hotel will be best for you and your family. Do you want one with a great pool? One with lots of activities? One a little more quiet and made for adults? Do you want to splurge on the hotel or have something more value?
  
  There are also plenty of options when it comes to buying tickets. Do you want a single day ticket or a multi day. Do you want single park each day or upgrade to a park hopper so you can go more than one park a day. Or would it make more sense to buy an annual pass. If you’re a Florida resident you can get deals on tickets as well. Then you have to think about extra events, party tickets if you’re wanting to do other things while you’re on vacation.
  
  Once you decide when you want to go, for how long, where you’ll stay and what sort of tickets you’ll buy, you’ll also want to decide how to get to the parks and around the parks. Do you live close enough to Orlando to drive? Is it easier to fly and rent a car? Or fly and utilize the free Disney transportation if you’re staying on property?
  
  Then once all the big planning is out of the way, you have the miscellaneous things to think about. I’ve written a whole post on what to pack. You’ll also want to think about any dining reservations you may want to book, and fast passes you want to book as well.
  
  There is so much to think about and goes into planning a trip. It’s not like just jumping in the car and going for a quick trip. But I think having some sort of plans does make the trip better. Do you have any specific tips on best ways to plan?
  
  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged Disney, hotel, planning, tickets, travel, trip, vacation
- Keeping close, when family is so far
  
  Posted at 11:34 am by CS, on October 14, 2019
  
  So up until recently, we lived on one coast while our entire family for the most part lived on the other. Sadly with price of flights and vacation days visits were few and far between. Thankfully it has been made a lot easier now, not to say that it still won’t be challenging because you know, life and all.
  
  Growing up so close to most of my family I knew I wanted that for when I had kids. I wanted my children to know and be close to their aunts and uncles and all their grandparents. Luckily in this day and age you do have social media to share all the photos and videos, but you have to be cautious because there are a lot of shady and creepy people lurking on the internet. I do try and keep my profiles as private as possible, as well as trying not to overshare. But how else can you keep close when you’re so far away? Well for one, I try to Skype or FaceTime as much as possible although it’s a bit more difficult now since Cameron doesn’t really like to sit still. I still try and talk to my family via text or a phone call as much as possible.
  
  In my family we try and make plans for the future so that we always have some sort of visit planned. Now it is a lot easier because we are so much closer to everyone so traveling won’t take as long or cost as much. I can think of at least 3-4 trips we want to take in the future, some planned, some in the thought process. That’s just how I am, I always want to have something on the books, gives me something to always look forward to.
  
  As I said before, texting photos and videos, posting on Facebook and Instagram and printing photos are other ways we try and share with our family when we may have to go months in between seeing each other. One another reason I started this blog was to document things that happen in my life as a parent that I can share with friends and family to be able to continue to stay close.
  
  How do you stay close with your family if they don’t live near by? Or how do you stay close when you are close?
  
  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged calling, Facebook, family, sharing, Skype, texting
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