We're Back!

I know you've all been sitting on pins and needles wondering why there haven't been any recent posts on the blog. Well, we just returned from a 5 day trip to Disneyworld with B, the kids, and my sisters and parents. We had a great time, but we're exhausted...which means all the posts about the trip will come eventually....slowly...one by one.

We knew we wanted to go during the "off season" and before the arrival of the new baby. I was wary because I've already been tired keeping up with the kids with this big belly, but everyone kept telling me to just bite the bullet since I'm not going to ever ever ever be any less tired once the new baby comes. KT kept telling me I should take advantage of this time since one child is still in my belly. Plus, our adult to child ratio was really good, so I figured we would be ok.

With all our busy schedules, the only week we could go was November 19-25. It wasn't my ideal time because it was so close to Thanksgiving, but we decided to give it a go. I had always dreamed about going in the "off season" because I didn't want to have to really make any plans. I wanted the parks to be dead and for us to be able to walk right onto the popular rides. You're probably wondering why I keep putting the words "off season" in quotes. It's because November is supposed to be the "off season," but after doing more research I found out that the week leading up to Thanksgiving was actually pretty busy. I didn't realize that nowadays, a lot of school districts give kids the entire week of Thanksgiving off. Can you believe that?? So that totally messed up our "off season" time. It was a real bummer.

Of course, because of this new information, I had to do an intense amount of research and reading. Apparently, there are crazy Disney people out there who create touring plans for the parks in order to hit the rides that they want to hit. A touring plan is a schedule you create for a park based on the popularity of rides. There was an obscene amount of information to go through. People analyze what days are best to visit which parks based on park schedules, extended park hours, school vacations, and a whole bunch of other factors.

Luckily, one of J's co-workers is a Disneyworld fanatic and was kind enough to help me make my touring plan and answer all my questions. She was a wonderful help to me because she really knows the ins and outs of Disney. I also read through some books, forums, and websites. I told B that I was giving myself an ulcer the shape of Mickey's head. I was having dreams and nightmares about Disney...it was terrible.

But in the end, all of that information really helped me maneuver around Disneyworld. For the most part, much of our trip was a success...meaning we got to see most of what we had planned on seeing and we managed to avoid some of the crowds.

On this trip we also opted to rent a villa a few miles away from Disneyworld rather than to stay in a hotel. We remembered our Bahamas sleeping situation, so we knew this time we wanted the kids to have their own separate sleeping spots this time...especially because we were going to the parks 5 days in a row. It was nice to have our own 4 bedroom house because there was more space, a full kitchen, and it was cheaper than getting 2 separate hotel rooms. But on the other hand, it's not as luxurious as staying at an on-site hotel. We had to take out our own trash and our rooms weren't cleaned every day, but I guess that's the price you have to pay if you want access to a fridge and a microwave. There are pros and cons to both and I'm still torn as to what I would choose next time.

Anyway, that's the intro to our Disney trip. Get ready for lots of posts and pictures about each of the parks. It was a long, exhausting trip, but totally worth it because the kids had a blast. Although I have to admit that by the end even they were ready to leave. On the last day we asked Elina, "Do you want to go home or go back to Disney?" She enthusiastically said, "Home!!" And the lack of sleep really got to Eli. He has turned into a bi-polar baby who cries and whines a lot. He is no longer our happy, mellow baby...now he cries and screams for me and throws a complete fit if I'm not there. It's scary! I want my other baby back! But he's been slowly improving. The day after we got back Eli slept a full 13 hours (never heard of before) and ate enough for 2 babies in the morning. The more he's been sleeping, the less frequent his fits have become. So hopefully he's recovering and getting his old personality back.

We're glad to be back, and we have lots of stories and pictures to share! Be prepared!