At the risk of sounding judgmental (which I don't want to be) and prudish (which I really don't think I am) I have to vent about a girl I saw in our local grocery store today. She was a teen probably 16 or so. She was wearing VERY short denim shorts, high heel shoes/sandals and a halter top that didn't cover very much at all...including her belly button ring. I watched men (adults) staring and her and checking her out in the produce department! The thing that just blows my mind is that her mother was with her! It is beyond my comprehension how a parent can let their child exploit themselves like that.
I have a daughter and I certainly wouldn't let her out of the house wearing that little no matter how old she was! I wouldn't want strangers ogling her like I witnessed today.
I just wish more parents today would set some higher standards for their children and teach them to respect themselves.
Life is like an amusement park... exciting, exhausting, and never ever boring!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Disney World Deals
Here are my money saving tips for Disney World. Hope they will be helpful to someone else. I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask!
Shop Before You Go:
Check out http://www.disneyshopping.com/. I went to this website and bought us all character T Shirts for $5 each. I then packed them without telling anyone I had them so when we got there everyone had a Disney shirt to wear. I also picked up some clearance princess items and took them along for my 6 yr. old daughter. I got a princess stationary set which was great since we drove and had LOTS of time in the car! I also bought a small journal with blank pages for $2 at Big Lots before we went. This was my daughter's autograph book. If you want a Disney one try stopping at a nearby store in Orlando. I saw cute ones at a Walgreens not too far from Disney world for $3 or $4. I think they are $10 at the park.
Sign up at the Disney Website:
I found out about the buy 4 get 3 free deal through an email from Disney before I ever saw any commercials for it on TV. I also found out about the kids cruise free offer for the 3 night cruise we took from a Disney email.
Free Souvenirs:
We came home with a few free things from Disney World that my kids really enjoyed.
First of all, if you are celebrating anything tell them! You will get a button that says "I'm Celebrating". We got these at our resort. If you are not staying on Disney property or didn't get one when you checked in go to guest services at one of the parks. There are specific buttons for birthdays, anniversaries, just engaged, etc. We also got 1st visit button because it was our 1st time to visit disney world. (We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter and they also gave us Mardi Gras beads upon check in.)
In Epcot there are the innovention buildings. Inside one of them (I can't remember if its the east or west one) there is a velcro exhibit. They have velcro frogs that you can dress up with velcro clothes and accessories like mickey ears or sunglasses. My daughter loved this! She spent quite a while in there. Then, we found out you actually get to take the frogs home with you after you "dress" them.
In Hollywood Studios they have the block party bash. This is a really fun spin on the tradional parade. At the end they throw out little foam bouncy balls to the crowd. Each of my kids got one. They have Block Party Bash stamped on them. A cute, free souvenir!
Stickers! They gave us Mickey Stickers upon Check in. I also noticed rolls at the cash registers of some of the shops so I think you get some if you make a purchase. The Disney Vacation Club is set up everywhere and they were handing out Disney Stickers as well.
Pinocchio is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year and coming out on DVD. We met Pinocchio near guest services in the Magic Kingdom. When we met him the kids were given a page of Pinocchio tattoos.
Another free souvenir is the park maps. My kids love collecting these! They are at all the parks and the resorts as well.
Some of our free souvenirs
We buy postcards as souvenirs when we travel. The kids like to pick them out and they are not very expensive. We send a few while we are gone and take the rest home for memories. When we were at Disneyland we got the characters to sign the postcards instead of buying autograph books. This only works if you only want a few signatures though. This trip my daughter wanted everyone's signature so we took an autograph book.
There is also a store in Downtown Disney that has nothing over $10. It was mainly small stuff, but if a child has a couple of bucks and wants to buy something that might be a good place.
Our Disney shirts I bought ahead of time.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
St. Patrick's Prayer
I came across this little prayer yesterday and I really liked it. Since it was attributed to St. Patrick I thought I'd post it today.
As I arise today, may the strength of God pilot me,
the power of God uphold me,
the wisdom of God guide me.
May the eye of God look before me,
the ear of God hear me,
the word of God speak for me.
May the hand of God protect me,
the way of God lie before me,
the shield of God defend me,
the host of God save me.
May Christ shield me today...
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit,
Christ when I stand,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
As I arise today, may the strength of God pilot me,
the power of God uphold me,
the wisdom of God guide me.
May the eye of God look before me,
the ear of God hear me,
the word of God speak for me.
May the hand of God protect me,
the way of God lie before me,
the shield of God defend me,
the host of God save me.
May Christ shield me today...
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit,
Christ when I stand,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Miracles and tuxedos
Claire (age 6) is always saying funny things. Today at lunch we were eating at a Mexican food restaurant that is decorated like a mexican market. She said I wonder if we can see any miracles in here. (We had just come from church so we were like, what?) She said "miracles, you know pictures painted on the wall." MURALS!
A few minutes later she was coloring her menu and asked me if I wanted to help her color the tuxedo. I looked at the picture and there was a cactus, a donkey and a boy in a sombrero. I said, "What tuxedo?" She said "this one" and pointed to the sombrero!
Needless to say we were quite entertained by her at lunch today. Now, Nathan keeps making comments about miracles and tuxedos!
A few minutes later she was coloring her menu and asked me if I wanted to help her color the tuxedo. I looked at the picture and there was a cactus, a donkey and a boy in a sombrero. I said, "What tuxedo?" She said "this one" and pointed to the sombrero!
Needless to say we were quite entertained by her at lunch today. Now, Nathan keeps making comments about miracles and tuxedos!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Pancakes!
Every day at the end of school we have a little storytime and I read Claire a book. Usually, I pick a theme for the week like oceans, dinosaurs, etc. This week I let her pick. She picked food. On Tuesday we read a book about pancakes so I let her make pancakes. She had so much fun! She really loves to cook and is getting pretty good at it. I even let her flip the pancakes. She was nervous at first, but once she did it she didn't want to stop! We made a lot of pancakes that day! I can't believe how fast she's growing up!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Our Disney Vacation
We just got back from a 2 week Disney world & cruise vacation. Wow! What fun! We spent 7days in the parks and then took the 3 night Disney Cruise. We had perfect weather in Florida. We rode everything we wanted to...some of them more than once! We all really enjoyed the Test Track Ride in Epcot! We went on that 3 times! We stayed at the Disney Port Orleans French Quarter resort. It was very nice. I'd stay there again. If anyone is going to Disney World anytime soon let me know. I have lots of tips! I'll think I'll do another post of all the free/inexpensive souvenirs you can get from there. With everything being so expensive its nice to know of a few little free things to keep the kids happy!
The cruise is fantastic! Unfortunatly, Claire got sick (a cough and fever) the second night. She felt better the next day so we actually got to do some stuff then. Three nights just isn't long enough! there's so much to do. I highly recommend this as a vacation for anyone, but especially if you have kids. My 11 yr. old son had the time of his life!
We drove from Texas to Florida. Long drive. Took 2 days to get there! Next time, I think I'll fly. I'm just not much of a car trip person! And it made us really tired when we got back.
I'll post some pics of the trip, but I can't figure out how to get them on this post. Guess they changed something while I was gone!
The cruise is fantastic! Unfortunatly, Claire got sick (a cough and fever) the second night. She felt better the next day so we actually got to do some stuff then. Three nights just isn't long enough! there's so much to do. I highly recommend this as a vacation for anyone, but especially if you have kids. My 11 yr. old son had the time of his life!
We drove from Texas to Florida. Long drive. Took 2 days to get there! Next time, I think I'll fly. I'm just not much of a car trip person! And it made us really tired when we got back.
I'll post some pics of the trip, but I can't figure out how to get them on this post. Guess they changed something while I was gone!
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