i can't do pull-ups.

the hubs and i started P90x this morning....at 5:30 am.

and all i've wanted to do all day since then is crawl back into my bed and eat cookies.

it's hard. reeeeaaaalllllly hard.
ever tried it? any success stories to share? i need some baddddly to boost my low, can-hardly-do-one-single-pull-up moral. who am i kidding? i can hardly pick Ellie up today either.

i better be sexy in 90 days or i'm gonna be ticked.

p.s. i have to celebrate some because today is the last day of January. hallelujah! we made it.  i think the only people who like January are the people who have birthdays in it. because heck, it's a pretty bleak month otherwise.

xoxo

holidays at Disneyland

yes, i still have holiday posts to catch up on. (welcome to slackerville).

and yes, we braved the crowds at Disneyland over the holidays.
a wonderfully memorable experience, as Disneyland always is. 

surprisingly, i learned a few new things about Disneyland this time.
let me share:

Disneyland can reach maximum capacity.
this means that they can sell out.
even by 10:30 am.
on a Tuesday.
if you happen to arrive at Disneyland after that 10:30 sell-out mark, you may be able to purchase a California Adventure ticket....with the possibility of being able to go to Disneyland sometime after 6:30 pm.
if you are around when the head-haunchos are giving this news to everybody, be prepared to see some very sad children. and very stressed-out parents.
if, however, you get in to Disneyland before that sell-out mark, be prepared for a very jam-packed day. and by that i mean, body-to-body day. people everywhere. longest lines i've ever seen on some of the rides. and food places. and bathrooms. ok, everywhere.

but don't be sad. be prepared for a surprisingly wonderful fun-filled day. because even though it's crowded, you're at Disneyland! it's still the happiest place on earth.

now, if you're there on a crowded day, you need smartie pants like my dad, brother and hubby present.
because they'll suggest things like getting our name in our restaurant right away, and waiting in our very favorite ride-lines first so that we could be sure to enjoy 'em...and waiting in line FOR us, so that we could whisk the impatient kiddies some place else and avoid meltdowns from waiting in line.
smart, i tell you, smart.

now, if you're going during the Holidays, i suggest going on It's A Small World.

i know, i know.
the music is annoying.
and it will undoubtedly be stuck in your head all day long.
but! the kiddos love it. and they even change it up for Christmas time, and it is oh-so-cute. with Christmas Decorations from all over the world spread throughout the ride.

and they even add in Jingle Bells to the It's a Small World song...an equally annoying round, but still, it's fun.
now,  if you are decide to go on It's A Small World, i learned that you should definitely head there first. because the line will be at least an hour long. seriously. can you imagine waiting an hour for It's A Small World? i can't either. so M waited for us.

 

lucky for us, it's Ellie's favorite ride. (yippee...and no, that's not a sarcastic "yippee" at all...)

other fun facts i learned about Disneyland at Christmas:

they have the most beautiful Christmas Decorations, including the loveliest Christmas tree.

bringing two little toddler girls dressed as Minnie Mouse...will give you lots of attention. because dang, they looked cute.

oh, and a baby in Minnie Mouse ears is pretty irresistible, too.

eating at Cafe Orleans is a MUST. not only is the food fantastic, but it's awesome to have a few minutes to just sit down and take a breather from the lines, the walking, and the crowds.

order the garlic fries and the Monte Cristo sandwich. it will not disappoint. and you will undoubtedly crave both things for the next 5 years. (but be sure to have some minty-fresh gum handy. because you'll be able to taste that garlic for the next 5 years, too).

and if you're lucky, while you're at Cafe Orleans, you may even get to see Princess Tiana. because she walks by there and sings there every day.

and then your toddler will stand there, amazed, waiting for her to walk by again. sadly, Tiana won't come back. but your hopeful toddler will still look pretty cute.

bring your baby bjorn. because then your baby will just zonk out for 1/2 the day. like this:

but don't be too worried. because the baby will still have some fun, too. and be dang cute at having fun while she's at it.

 

buying one of those autograph books is a great souvenier for a toddler. 

she'll spend half the day scribbling circles all over the thing...making long waits and lines somewhat bearable.

who said that autograph books had to be used solely or autographs?

 

the sparkly, glittering castle will take your breath away.

if you get bored while waiting in lines, just rip your dad's nose off. he didn't need it anyway.

it's always best to enjoy Disneyland with your favorite people. if you're lucky, your favorite people would include everyone in your entire family. hubby, kiddos, gammy, pops, brother, sister, sister in law, cousins- the works. 

now don't wait in line for the characters on a day like this. that's just crazy.
but if you must, go over to the Splash Mountain ride. and while half of your group uses their fast pass, the other half of you can take the kiddies on the Winnie the Pooh ride, 5 times in a row, because there will be no line. seriously. it's like Disneyland's best kept secret. and then when the other half comes back and it's your turn to go on Splash Mountain, they can take the kiddies to meet and hug Winnie the Pooh and Tigger and Eyeore...

{interjection: make sure you go on Splash Mountain with your parents.

you'll all laugh pretty dang hard at how wet you get. and even though you're soaked, you'll be so glad you did it.}

now back to Tigger and Pooh and Eyore... hardly anyone knows those characters are there. so if you run,  you may even have time to come and give them a hug too...after you're all DRENCHED from the Splash Mountain Ride.

but don't be too surprised when your toddler starts to melt-down at some point during the day. over-stimulation + lots of crowds + playing through nap-time = possible teary moments. but you're all having fun, remember?

all you need to do is get her on the carousel a few times to make her a little dizzy and distract her from her exhaustion. (and yours too).

{nice creepy eyes, M}

{whoa, nice creepy eyes, self}

and if you're lucky, you'll have a Gammy there who will buy the cutest Minnie Mouse to cheer that little Mini-Minnie right up.
(spoiled. cough.)

now there is lots more that you can do that that.
but the night time will come before you know it.
and everyone will be wiped out.
so in between rubbing your eyes, make sure to take a picture or two on your way out...

 

and realize that though it was ca-razy,

you had a magical day.

because no matter what day or how crowded,

Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth.

xoxo

ellie knows the right way to eat a donut.

eat the top-frosted-sprinkley part until there is none left. if you get some of the cake parts in your bites, so be it. it's a necessary sacrifice you make in order to consume every bit of frosting and sprinkles.

and if you follow this process, just look at the joy you'll feel. it's priceless.

nothing beats a saturday morning in the local donut shop. how i love me some fresh powdered sugar donuts and chocolate bars.

xoxo

what is with the weird fish at the dr's office?

yesterday, Ellie did a jump, hop, kick move like she always does.
and then she giggled. and she said, "whoa, my ear is being silly."
so i said, "your ear is being silly? what is it doing?"
and then she did a twirl and a half and said, "it's going like that."
and then she wiggled her little finger in her ear and gave me a panicked look.
"it's being tricky now mama."

10 minutes later we were packed up in the car, headed to the doc...for the second time this week.
i had gone on Monday for them to tell me, "oh it's nothing...probably just some viral thing."
in my brain i was thinking, "listen buddy, my 2-year-old does NOT tell me she wants to go to sleep at 6:30 pm the night before....when it is just something viral. nor does she have a 101 degree fever when it is just something viral. and green stuff does not ooze out like that when it is just something viral."
but i'm a respectful sort of human being. and so i didn't say that. i just packed up our circus and went home.

this week has been a whiny week.
lots of tears.
but we've tried our best to stay happy and find stuff to keep us busy.
McDonald's playplace with friends, the park, movies, visits by Grandma and Grandpa, the park again, and even walks.
still, Ellie has had her fair share of meltdowns. ugh the meltdowns. how am i going to survive these meltdowns!?
i was sharing my concern about these meltdowns with a friend and she shared this little gem with me that she does with her little girl- i'll call it the Princess/Queen theory.

the Princess/Queen theory: both the Princess Snow White and the Queen are very beautiful. but the Queen, she is beautiful and she is mean. now the Princess Snow White, she is beautiful and she is so nice. who do you want to be like? the beautiful, MEAN QUEEN? or the beautiful, nice Princess? (good theory huh?)

so of course i explained this Princess/Queen theory to Ellie 10 seconds after hearing it. and now, when Ellie is starting to freak out or be mean, i remind her, "make a good choice, Ellie. be a nice Princess, not a mean Queen."
i think i've said that phrase at least a couple dozen times this week.

it seems to have helped some.
but really, as much i thought it was helping, this stupid runny-nose-fever-cough thing that was supposedly viral just would not take a hike.
so we rushed through the door at the doc yesterday...
last appointment of the day.
i paid that stupid copay...again.
we watched the fish....again.
Ellie's favorite part of going to the doctor is looking at those weird deformed fish. why are they so weirdly deformed? grosses me out.
and a million minutes later, the doc finally strolls in, takes a look at her ear and says, "wow, that's a nasty ear infection you have there Miss Ellie."
duh.

sometimes i think i should have been a doctor.

so today we stayed in our pajamas.
all day long.
do you ever do that?
i hope so.
because it's pretty fun.
we took out of different colors of nail polish to paint our nails.
i decided on red.
so Ellie decided on red too.

i like how she chooses the same things as me.
and we chose pink for these little chubby feet:

and then we ate peanut butter + honey sandwiches and drank juice boxes (a special treat in our house) while watching movies so we could let our nails dry.
but we still we smudged them everywhere because we both stink at staying still.

and then when we were sitting there together snuggling lil miss Alice, Ellie looked at me and said,
"are you happy mama?"
"yes Ellie, i'm happy."
"are you happy because i make good choices? are you happy because i'm a nice princess?"

can you tell we've been talking a lot about making good choices this week?
such a little sweetheart.
she melts me into a big pile of goo.

and this one does too- just by looking at me with those big pretty eyes.

but i can't lie, i'm so ready for the weekend.
i'm ready to eat donuts or waffles or french toast...or something equally saturday-ish (dieting is so overrated).
i'm ready to have my spiritual canteen refilled yet again.
i'm ready to have my hubby back. and hug him real tight. and when the whining inevitably starts up again to say, "it's your turn, buddy."
tgif, baby.

xoxo

i don't like syrup on my pancakes.

i never realized what a big moment it would be when Ellie peddled on her tricycle for the first time.
no no, i'm not talking about learning how to ride a two-wheeler bike.
i'm just talking about peddling...on her little squatty trike.
peddling is hard work.
who knew?
so today, Ellie peddled all by herself.
5, maybe 6 times around. and then she got to a little hill. and it got too hard again.
but still, she did it!
she squealed out of such pure excitement and joy.
and my back squealed out of pure excitement and joy...because leaning over to push her on that thing for extended amounts of time hurts my back. my poor, poor back.

you'd think on such a monumental day of her life that we would have started with some sort of Wheaties Breakfast for Champions or something.
but no. we didn't.
we just had pancakes.
the bisquick kind...no krusteaz around here. igghhhick to krusteaz. i love the salty bisquick pancakes. and i'm slowly convincing M that the bisquick ones are the best. but he's still pretty loyal to the easy peezyness of krusteaz.

back to breakfast:

of course, Ellie loves her pancakes drenched in syrup.
in fact, she asks me several times during her pancake consumptions "more syrup, please?"
and so i obey, like a good mother would do, and drizzle another cup of syrup over her 3 remaining bites of pancakes.

well, i don't like syrup on my pancakes. (gasp!)
and i don't like to eat my pancakes with a fork. (double gasp!)
i like mine hot off the griddle...and i like to break it apart in my hands...kind of like a pilgrim eating those hard-tack biscuits or something.
and you want to know something totally weird?
a couple of months ago when my mama was here for a visit, we were making pancakes on a morning like today...and i went to grab one off the griddle...and there she was, hovered over that skillet, eating hers in a pilgrim-hard-tack-biscuit sorta way. i swear i'd never noticed that before. we both liked pancakes without syrup? was it genetic to eat pancakes this way? like mother like daughter, i suppose.

so Ellie happened to observe me eating my pancakes this way today.
she was angry.
"where is your syrup, mama?"
"i don't like mine with syrup, Ellie."
"yes you do, mama."
"no, i don't, Ellie."
(now Ellie was yelling) "that's weird, Mama! YES YOU DO! HAVE SYRUP!"
and then i started laughing.
and then Ellie continues her angry yells,
"STOP LAUGHING MAMA!!"

{insert inconsolable, inexplicable sobs here}

why is she so stinking stubborn?
why can't she let me eat my hard-tack-biscuit-bisquick-pancakes in peace?

and then i had these visions rush into my brain a million-miles-an-hour...
visions where i shrunk into a little Ellie-sized body...
where i was screaming at my dad for eating a bite of potatoes off of my plate.
and then when he was laughing, i remember yelling at him,
"IT'S NOT FUNNY!"

{insert inconsolable, inexplicable sobs here}

and then after my parents were undoubtedly concerned i was overheating, and going to simultaneously combust, i was whisked away to a cold shower where all i remember saying was, "i...have...my...clothes...on!" over and over and over again.
and then i came back to this morning where Ellie was screaming at me.
and i thought,
why couldn't she just like pancakes without syrup?

xoxo