A New Normal

For most of my adult life, my holidays have been filled with some sort of crazy family drama.  Before remarrying, I was basically adopted into my ex's family.  It's an odd sort of dynamic to see, when I would be the one hanging out with his sisters and brothers and such when he wouldn't even go near them.  But for my son, and his love for being around his cousins, I didn't mind.  They were a great support system for me, oddly enough, and it was nice to have something.

They are a large family, 6 siblings in all, so of course with a large family comes the family type things you expect for the holidays.  Sometime around 2007, the oldest of the sisters stopped talking to me.  Like legit wouldn't even say hi to me.  No one knows why.  She would even exclude me from gift giving and such.  For years, YEARS I ignored it.  I would even make sure my son had a gift to give his aunt, despite her blatant hatred of me. 

This is not to say I'm perfect and everyone should love me and all that jazz, I have my quirks.  I annoy myself sometimes.  But I also always felt on the outs.  I have a deep love for my home-state and am not shy about it.  Apparently this also rubs people the wrong way when you joke about it.  I also have a dry sense of humor.

Anyway, fast forward tome getting engaged.  And not like they never met him or anything like that.  He had been with me at all family functions, played with the kids just like every other uncle, participated in everything, sometimes more than core family members and all that.  Anyway, so we get engaged.  And most of the family is congratulatory.  They know I had a super rough time with my divorce.  That it wasn't something I banked on.  But for one, the congratulations went to "wait, you're leaving" in 2.5 seconds.  Which then went to another sister not speaking to me.  Well, sort of speaking to me, but mostly giving me the cold shoulder.  Thus upping the awkward family meter.

Jumping ahead once more to now, 4 holiday seasons later.  As we are now states away, and I am not a fan of living in snow, we have carved out our own family traditions.  They are much smaller now and much lighter.  My planning and shopping seem to be much less stressful and actually enjoyable, which is super nice.  I know many people living the military life find the moving and being away from family during the holidays hard.  They miss the gathering and being around everyone.  I think it's okay to be the opposite of that though.  It's okay to enjoy just being together, especially when your spouse is able to get the days off. So while we may not have a house filled with 25 or more people, our family of 4 is still having a very happy holiday season.

Fluff and Stuff

It's obviously no secret at all that I enjoy purchasing custom made items for the little one, or myself.  Top of the list of my favorite vendor to purchase from is Wild Pigeon Clothing.  So much so that I signed up to be a brand representative.  I know that blogs are riddled with sponsored posts these days, as is YouTube with sponsored videos and really I'm not totally into those. I would also be totally selfish if I didn't share when items from this vendor are on sale.  It's holiday shopping time and these would make amazing gifts for anyone.  And as luck would have it, during this weekend there isn't one but three different opportunities to buy!

 

12/15/17 2pm Eastern

The first sale is today, 12/15 at 2pm Eastern direct from Wild Pigeon Clothing.  This is just a peek of what is up for grabs.  I know those wipes are calling to me.  Not only are they some of my favorite prints (Nightmare and Misfits!) but they are suuuuper soft to boot.

Imagination Creation Congo 12/15 9pm Eastern

Second is just a few hours later at 9pm Eastern at the Imagination Creation Congo.  What's a Congo?  It's sort of like an online marketplace where you have multiple vendors selling various items.  Sometimes to theme, sometimes offering customs of specific fabrics, and sometimes just whatever they have recently created.  This is legit how I found the vendors that I purchase from and have not been disappointed.

Geek Chic Fleet Congo 12/17 3pm Eastern

Lastly, for the Harry Potter lover, the Geek Chic Fleet Congo will be opening on Sunday at 3pm Eastern with a full Harry Potter theme. The items in this you do not want to miss.  These are some of my favorite prints and you cannot go wrong with any of it.  Only way you can go wrong is if you miss it!  The pants are grow with me, meaning you can enjoy it on your little for a long while  Also one of my favorite styles so that I can behold the cuteness for more than just the 6 months these kids are in sizes for!

Definitely set some alarms and get some soft, fluffy, one of a kind goodness.  Links to all sales are just below the pics for them, so hurry and join before you miss out!

Sweet and Feisty

Two countries.  Two cross country moves.  Two children and two marriages.  My cats have seen a lot with me over the last 17 years.  They weren't always the sweetest things, as most cats aren't.  But they were well loved.  About two years a part, Cosmo and Shibby have been the best cats I've had.

Cosmo, being the oldest of the two, is definitely my alpha cat.  Except where Stitch is involved, but that's besides the point.  She rules it all and it's her domain.  As long as there's no barking at her.  She's a feiry silver and white cat, pushing 19 years old.

My sweet little cat/dog who loved to cuddle was her little sister.  Sort of.  They never really did cuddle up together, but as they grew older they tolerated each other much more than when they were little. Shibby, while not the dominant in the cat domain, gave zero fucks and didn't let any dogs tell her what to do.  There are many pictures of her sleeping in the dog's bed, showing him who's boss.  She's always been my fat little Shibby cat, the baby bobcat.

Today we said goodbye to that feisty little bobcat.  Her kidneys were done and she was unable to hold herself up any longer.  Rather than put her through a battering ram of medicine that would only prolong the inevitable and mask the pain she was in, we let her go peacefully.  And while it's never easy saying goodbye to a loved one, it's even worse to watch them suffer. 

Sleep well, my sweet little cat.

Wonders

Outfit by Wild Pigeon Clothing

A couple weeks ago we headed down to Disney for the weekend.  I know, total shocker.  I can't even tell you the last time we went, it's been so long.  And yes, I crack myself up.  Anyway, we headed down to Disney so the older child could spend a little time with one of his friends from IL.  If I'm able to afford him the ability to meet up with some of his old friends, it feels nice to be able to get that for him.  I know when he visits his dad, he may or may not get to see them, even though he's finally in the same state and only a short drive away.

So we ventured down so they could meet up at the Magic Kingdom, but not before we took a stroll through Hollywood Studios on Saturday.  We haven't been at Hollywood Studios since our first trip down for race weekend, so it was a fun change of pace.  We weren't looking to do much, just kind of stroll around, especially since it was raining, but we did get some fun things in.  Pixar live was amazing.  And surprisingly the little one did really well through it.  He danced to the music and was excited when the characters came out.  We even stopped down and got to speak with the conductor.  In case anyone is wondering, he arranged the entire thing, and no there's no place to obtain that arrangement, even if you just wanted one part.  We were wondering if they had the violin piece anywhere so the kid could play it.

We als dipped in to see some characters in the Launch Bay.  The Jawas ere out and about, which were fun.  Side note: I'm totally short enough to be a Jawa.  The Little Mermaid stage show was cute.  We didn't hav the greatest of seats, and it was kind of low key compared to seeing the Nemo at Animal Kingdom, but it was still cute nonetheless.

On a whim we ventured down towards Midway Mania and thanks to the amazingness of a cast member that we just happened to talk to, we got fast passes for.  The little one LOVED it and we even got the high score in the car.  Rounding out the day, we stopped in to see Starlord and as an added bonus, baby Groot.  The character actor they had playing Starlord was great.  Totaly in characer and hilarious.  Complete interaction with every group and not the same recycled stuff either.

Outfit by Wild Pigeon Clothing

On Sunday we went into Magic Kingdom to meet with friends and the kids had a blast.  It's so odd when they're old enough to venture off on their own.  Not to mention when they grow a foot taller than you!  So we took the little one on the People Mover, Small World and to see some characters.  It's so fun to see him react to the different things.  He definitely likes people characters more than suited ones. 

All in all, while it was a short jaunt, it was a nice weekend.  Rain and all.  Due to schedules we're not sure when we'll get to go down again, but I'm sure it won't be long.

Misery Loves Company

Once upon a time I used to join message boards to network with people and get support from people in similar life situations as me.  What I noticed then was that on boards of thousands of people, you find the select few that you can actually talk with.  I have made a handful of friends this way who I have talked to over the years, and some I have had the pleasure of meeting.  In some cases these people are easier to talk to than people who I see in my day to day life.  In some cases, I feel like I need to explain myself less to them as I'm not as afraid to say things or explain things.  Worst case, I turn off my computer and never hear from them again.

After some time, my life changed, the boards shut down, and now the world uses Facebook groups.  They're not nearly as intuitive for a group chat setting as message boards were.  You lose posts, you miss posts, and people seem to be more vindictive and more open to sharing what you post.  I have also noticed the level of snarkiness has raised in these settings.  Not to say that I don't love some good snark, but it feels like it's Mean Girls and there's no safe place in the quad to go.  These groups are meant for support.  To lean on someone who has a similar situation to yours, or is going through something you have come out of.  Unfortunately, they seem to be more for places for people to commiserate about how bad they think they have it and just want to play the "woe is me" game. 

Don't get me wrong.  I have had my days where I just want to vent.  I need to get everything out of my system and be able to move on with it.  The problem may be with the layout of the Facebook groups.  Miserable posts get lots of responses.  Which in turn pushes them to the top of the pile.  So you see these posts so much more often than the ones who just want to know if someone has a good book reccomendation. 

It's unfortunate that so many people just want to wallow.  I try my best to always have a positive response ready for someone who is having a down time.  Not that it's trite and not that I'm trying to make light of a situation, but trying to help give another perspective on what they have going on.  I like to help my friends, and if someone wants nothing more than for me to tell them the world is terrible and will continue to be that way so they should just give up.. not gonna happen. 

I'm not sure where I was going with all of this.  There's been a lot going on in my life recently and I've been hoping for a way to change my perspective.  I'm working on a "fake it till you make it" course of action right now, where I keep listing the good things of the situation, even if I'm not one hundred percent sure that's what will come of it.  At the end of the day I have my health, my friends, my family, a place to sleep and food to eat.  I guess what I'm aiming at is, if more people tried to have a more positive outlook, maybe so many wouldn't be so surly all the time? 

When you realize how old you are

 

Every now and again it hits me exactly how different things are for kids now than they were for me.  Some days I totally feel in my 30s, while other days I still feel like I'm 16.  Each year in the middle of summe I wind up with this huge wave of nostalgia, wishing I could just be at summer camp again.  This year is no different in those regards.

I follow the camp ground that I used to go to on Facebook.  I found their page this winter through another friend who worked at the camp when I did and was happy to see they posted pictures of the site.  The grounds were always so serene for me and while I can't physically be there now, being able to look at the pictures help to bring me back there.

This is where the here and now remind me how different times are.  The camps running now are posting updates for parents on their page.  A day by day update of pictures, as well as live streams of some of their activities.  While I would love to be at camp every day, I am so glad that my childhood antics are not able to be documented in this way.  I have piles of old pictures, taken with physical film and printed at Walgreens.  What winds up online is what I choose to scan and upload, if I choose to at all.  I made some amazing friends, amazing memories, and had some amazing times.  Lucky for me, those are mine, and not all of cyber world.

Don't get me wrong, as a parent I can totally appreciate having a way to glimpse that my child is having fun at summe camp.  But even for week long camps, writing a letter and receiving mail as the only way to keep in touch with home was fun, and gave you that illusion that you were a million miles away from civilization.  There's something nice and centering about being away from it all.  One day I'll visit again.

First Haircuts

 

 



Outfit by Wild Pigeon Clothing

Last week, the little one got his first haircut at the Magic Kingdom.  Things we did not know before moving here, they have an actual working barber shop on Main Street with legit comotologists. The first hair cut package is also decently prices, so it's totally a great deal and a fun memory.

We weren't 100% sure how he would react to having his haircut, but he did surprisingly well.  The cast member who cut his hair did great with him as well.   She started out with having him pick out a toy.  One of those light up spinner toys where he has to pull the trigger to light up.  I thought for sure he would be happy playing with Lightening McQueen, but he just wanted to hand it back and not really have anything to do with it.  I tried a couple of times to light it up for him and make it look like it was driving, but that wasn't working very well.  He did sit well even though he wasn't having the toys, which is good.


Outfit by Wild Pigeon Clothing

After that, she tried putting some stickers on him, which he found amusing for all of a minute and then didn't care that they were on him.  That's when the bubbles were pulled out.  He completely loves bubbles, so this was a great idea.  He was given the empty bottle while we blew some bubbles for him, which helped distract him.

About halfway through I realized I was supposed to call his brother and video him in.  Not because I forgot about him, but because we wound up getting him in earlier for his cut than we had originally planned.  Once I video'd him in, it was all smiles and funny faces from there.



Outfit by Wild Pigeon Clothing

Once he was finished, the stickers actually doubled as a sort of lint roller to get the extra hair off his clothes.  He was given a super cute pair of Mickey ears that say "First Haircut" on the back.  He had a blast checking himself out in the mirrors and seeing his new hair and ears.  On the plus side, he's a lot cooler in the Florida heat as well.


All in all it was a great experience and I would definitely recommend it.  They even do adult cuts as well.  It's not a full service salon by any means, but it's super cut for a quick cut and to have some memories.







Outfit by Wild Pigeon Clothing

Outfit by Wild Pigeon Clothing

 



Stumping Cast Members at Disney

Outfit by WildPigeon Clothing

For anyone who knows me, it's no surprise that we basically live and breathe Disney in this house.  We enjoy the movies and characters like any other person, but we also enjoy going to the parks often and learning little tidbits here and there.  We are annual pass holders at Walt Disney World, so we do little trips here and there, which is nice for not stressing out on a huge trip.  This last trip was filled with going to Epcot, hanging out a bit and trying a new restaurant, and then going to Magic Kingdom for Baby's First Haircut.  (yes, it's been that long since I've updated)


Epcot was nice, though a little warm.  But it's June. In Florida.  And it was only like 90, so I guess I can't complain too much.  Today took us to see Baymax, who we have seen before, but the little one is starting to interact more with characters so we decided to go again.  Also, he loves the music in Big Hero 6 and they play it in the meeting area.  He's still a little shy with the characters for meet and greets, but he loves to look at them.  He was all smiles and giggles until we got to Baymax then he clung to daddy like if he let go they were going to take him. 



After that we went in search of some pins, browsing to see what new ones came out and what cast members had for trades.  We started pin trading last year at Disneyland, so we wind up talking to a lot of cast members.  Some are quick interactions asking to view pins, but sme cast members are a little friendlier and are fun to chat with.  For this weekend trip out, we decided to play it lowkey and mostly browse around for pins.  We did get a few good ones, and we'll need a new pin board soon before we fill it up before we even purchase it.

We had an early dinner at the Rose and Crown in England.  Previously we had only really done our bigger meal at Le Cellier, which is delicious, but pricey.  So for something new, and to accomplish actually trying other things in Epcot, we tried Rose and Crown.  The husband tried out the Welsh Pub Burger which is all the rage, and I had bangers and mash.  He decided that they had the best chips he's had (or fries if you want to be American about it) and that we would totally go there again. 



Outfit by WildPigeon Clothing

We wrapped up the day with a few more stops for pins and dip into Guest Services to ask a couple questions.  Our firt question was regarding a mascot for the Canda pavillion merchandise kiosk.  They have a bear that wears a lanyard with some pins, so we stopped to take a look.  He also has a name, which is Ralph.  The cast members there couldn't tell us why, so that was our first question.  For anyone wondering, it's after Ralph Backstrom, a hockey player.  The other question we had was food related.  At a lot of the sit down places they put a flavored salt on the butter that they bring you with the bread.  We got curious wondering if there was a list somewhere or something we can look up telling us the different types of salts used through the parks.  Legit stumped Guest Services, who may or may not have looked at us like we were crazy.  Spoiler: there's no list.  So now we have a new mission, and that's to gather information from each of the places we eat at who does do the add onto the butter, and see if we can compile a list of the ones we like the best.  I know, that's the most random thing ever, but hey, when you like something....