Combination for Christmas

This entire month, it seems like everything has just been a little off. If I think it is Tuesday, it is Thursday. If I think its Thursday, well, it is only Wednesday, dear. Its like I'm an old time safe cracker with my ear up to the wall of the safe, listening desperately to hear a tumbler fall in to place. Lots of tumblers did not fall in to place.
Christmas cards sent- nope.
Christmas in a box created and sent to close family members- nope.
Mele Kalikimakas made and sent- nope.
Mele Kalikimakas made for the store and family- nope.

Alas, with tomorrow being New Year's Eve, it is almost over. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a horrible holiday season. We had a fantastic Christmas, as defined by Hoot having a fantastic day, complete with a hippopotamus from Santa. But, when we get this close to a new year, I get impatient for it.

A new year is like a blank piece of paper. A cosmic do over. Oh, the plans and goals and the planning of the goals. In fact, I have my first goal as planning the year and putting up a goal board before January 15th. I gave myself a little extra time because I banged my bum ankle again the other day. While I have three days off in a row (can I get an amen!) this week, I really need to stay off my feet and keep the ankle elevated.

I also intend to spend some really decent Hoot time. Today, we played cars on my bed for two hours, built blocks in his floor for another two hours, and watched Herbie Rides Again. Hoot is really turning into a Herbie fan. He only discovered old 53 when I left the TV on one morning about a week before Christmas. Herbie Fully Loaded had just come on and Hoot had gone into the living room in search of a Hot Wheels car. When he didn't come back, I went to investigate. I fell in love with my son falling in love with Herbie. Yesterday, we watched The Love Bug. Oh, how I wish I had the other Herbie movies. And, you know the best thing about it? Hoot has no idea that in the top 10 things to buy when I win the lotto is an exactly restored Herbie. Yep. Apple, tree.

Christmas at the bookstore:
Hi, my girlfriend sent me in to the get the new vampire book.
Do you know which vampire book?
No, I just know it's the newest one, only in hardcover.
Is it Eclipse or Breaking Dawn?
I don't know.
Okay, let's try this: when your vampires walk out into the sun, do they sparkle or burn?
Burn.
Are they Black Dagger Warrior vampires?
Don't think so.
Are they Southern Vampires?
YES!
Here you go.

Some Christmas Book thoughts... Part Two with interruptions!

I've been trying really hard to get back and post the other half of my Christmas gift thoughts from the book selling trenches. Really. I promise. I just haven't had a day off in a while, and well, it's December. Thursday and Friday of this week will make up two of the three days off I have between now and Christmas. If pity helps at all...

Seriously, I do have a few more recommends.

For your mystery/thriller lover- Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell. Yeah, I know, but hear me out, you know I'll be honest. First of all, I don't really read Patricia Cornwell. I've done a few of her books on audio, and it was entertaining. But, my booksellers are RAVING about Scarpetta. Yeah, they are Cornwell fans and they read everything she writes, but they have been a little disillusioned with the last few books. However, all of them agree that this is the book they have been waiting years for her to write. If you've never tried her, or if you have strayed away from the series, give this one a try. My booksellers are guaranteeing that you will not be disappointed!

Movie trailer sales push- I don't know anyone who has been far enough under a rock to have missed Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, but the movie trailer seems to be finding them. You can watch it here. You know I always want to sell books, but seriously, who doesn't already own, or know someone who already owns this book?

For NEW international and historical trills, Katherine Neville's follow up to The Eight is in stores now! It's called The Fire and I have a dedicated, signed first edition just calling my name. (Yes, somebody loves me!) But, here's a little secret: I almost hate to start it. I've waited so long for this book. It's like a very beautiful cake. You know it's gonna be so good your eyes will roll back into your head, but once you cut it and take that first bite... well, you are on the big fat road to OVER. I'm saving this game for after the holidays.

There are tons of others, and when Christmas is over, there will be a wave of self improvement books just in time for New Years. I promise to do a post on what I call the Fat, Broke, and Disorganized season. There are several good looking titles headed this way.

And now for something completely different.

On the home front:

IT SNOWED! Yes, real snow. From the sky and everything! The boy was beside himself. At first, we got a dusting overnight. Hoot woke me up going on and on about it. He wanted to sled. He wanted to build a snowman. He wanted to make snowballs. When I pointed out that there was not enough snow to do any of these things, he said, "It looks bigger on TV."

Then, this afternoon, it really began to snow. Ab Fab, baby! Sadly, I was at work. But, I called and woke Dad up from his nap and made him take the boy outside. They got a few pics, but this is my favorite.

And this little snowman of love, left on my car outside of the bookstore, really made my night. I was so worried he'd fall off before I could get home to my camera, but he made it! The little guy just latched right on to my sunroof and hung on for dear life!

Since I have the camera out, here's one of Hoot and Luna that we took right after Thanksgiving. (Hoots chin is not dirty, it is a bruise left over from getting tangled up in dog leashes and falling on my mom's coffee table.)
Overheard at the bookstore:
19 or 20 year old girl on her cell phone: But Mom, its snowing. How am I going to get home?

Some Christmas book thoughts.... Part One

In the last two days, I've managed a rough draft of a December budget and a potential last minute December budget buster. Here's the score:

1 suddenly continual running kitchen faucet
+1 four year old boy
+1 eleven month old dog
+3 mismatched wrenches
+1 dead flashlight
+1 semi working duct taped flashlight
+2 aching shoulders
+1 trip to Lowes
+6 hours of continual interruptions
+4 rounds of "how can that still be dripping!"
= day of plans shot to heck


Yet, VICTORY IS MINE! Honestly, I had to win. It is December, Christmas cometh, and I've already paid the plumber enough money this year. Yeah, that whole gas line thing. So, I may have stopped to help wipe the boys bottom, walk the dog, and track down tools that disappeared miraculously into the trunk of a Cozy Coupe, but I did get it done!

Then, tonight, I was going to blog about my budget, but I decided to reward my victory with writing about that which I love... books. So, I've made myself a heaping big mug of cocoa, and waited patiently for all of the rest of Team Stone to commence snoring.

My favorite new Christmas book this year seemed to take me by surprise. I plucked it off the cart in receiving in late September or early October and fell in love with it. It is a picture book by Carol Heyer entitled Humphrey's First Christmas. The link is to the author's website and it will give you a peek at the incredible illustrations. The story is as endearing and beautiful as the art. Who is Humphrey? Well, lets just say the wise men didn't walk... and it gets cold at night when you don't have a blanket.

My favorite book to give to book lovers would have to be The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I did a blog about it months ago. You can read it here. I still hand sell it every chance I get.

Newest book I've been waiting for, but haven't put my paws on yet: Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher. She has fictionalized parts of her life in to books before, but this is the first time she's calling it a memoir. It is based on her one woman show and I'm itching to get to it. OK, confession time, I just added the link from the Simon and Schuster website, and I couldn't help myself. I clicked the "read an excerpt" link. Been gone awhile. Went back to check my spelling of excerpt. Was gone another little bit. Sorry. Didn't mean to leave you hangin'!

I've pawed up quite a few others this season. I picked up Glenn Beck's The Christmas Sweater. I had read several reviews. I gave it a good try. Even though it is based on a true story, it was a little too Lifetime movie for my tastes. I'm kind of over Marley and Me by John Grogan. I guess it was all the movie hype. Sometimes I can stomach it, sometimes I can't. With this one, I can't. However, I am so excited to have a real blockbuster series, I've been calling it my Big Fat Teenage Vampire Christmas! Rock on Twilight!

Here's another bit of brutal honesty. I spent so much time reading parts of Wishful Drinking that I am now up way too late to finish my thoughts! So, I guess I'll make this part one!

The December without a plan

Since it just passed midnight here, I am wondering how it got to be December 3rd, and I still don't have a plan for Christmas. I have no budget worked out for December, no set date for my shopping trip with my mom, no hidden presents, and no idea what I'm getting anyone at all for the holidays, not even Hoot.

Crap.

Seriously, I'm in big trouble here. I do have a plan to get a plan. That's going to happen over the next 48 hours, while I'm off, but here's the big kicker. I have exactly five days off from work between now and Santa time. Yep. And the first one started ticking away about 45 minutes ago.

So, the first step is going to be to do the budget for the month, and meal plans for the month. I'll get with my mom to schedule our trip, and that will give me the leg I'm gonna need to stand on for the rest of the month. I didn't have a set budget or meal plan for November, and well, you see what that got me! Well, you didn't see, because you couldn't read the blog that wasn't there. Without the budget and the plan, I get pure chaos, and it has been running amok here for far too long.

The next step will be to utilize the budget to figure out what gifts I need to get and where I need to get them from. I'm lost with Hoot because all he wants is Mickey Motor Racing Speedway. Yep. Asks for it at least five times a day. Oh, and a hippopotamus. (Don't really know where he got this, I only introduced the song after he started asking....) The live hippo probably gets better reviews than the Mickey Motors, if I found a place that reviewed hippos. Poor Mickey, his race track is just overpriced junk.

I was considering a Leapster, or Leappad, or Leaping anything. But, again I am lost. I just don't really know the differences between the systems, but a learning game of some sort would make me most happy. I guess, again, it will all come down to budget. So for now, it's back to square one!

Overheard in the bookstore:
Have you ever heard of some book about a teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire?

Happy Thanksgiving!

What do Mike Huckabee, an ambulance ride, an animal shelter, Esquire magazine, and the birthday blues all have in common? Well, they've all been a part of why I haven't been blogging lately.

First, I was totally plagued by the low down, no good birthday blues. Sad, yeah, I know. They even started just before my birthday! Truth be told, I'm not so sure they've been completely shaken. Maybe I'm just too tired and busy to tell.

On the Wednesday after my birthday, in a feeble attempt to conquer the birthday blues, Hoot and I took a trip to the local animal shelter. You know, the dog pound. The canine clink. We took several dogs out into the yard, and then we met her. Luna. Oh, sweet baby bag of fur! It was love at first site. We paid our fee, loaded her up, and took her home. We went into the back yard, she found a hole in the fence (that was ridiculously tiny) and promptly ran away. Yep. Three times on the first day. Now, we go out on a leash, even in the backyard. But, it is still love and I will take pictures and blog later. I promise.

Exactly one week later, I managed to have a tiny accident. I nicked my ankle with a knife. I was busy. Washer going. Sink full of dishes. The end of breakfast still on the table. Morning number seven of an eight straight day work streak. I decided on a jammy day and parked Hoot in front of the Curious George movie so I could catch up. Knife slipped. No time. Slapped on a band aid and kept going. About an hour later, I sat down at the computer to pay bills online. Got up about 20 minutes later and found a giant pool of blood under the desk. I had nicked one of those lovely varicose veins I have left over from my pregnancy. When I pulled off the band aid, blood shot across the room with pulsing regularity. Hm, look like a fool and dial 911? Look like an idiot and bleed to death for not getting help? Wow. Hoot enjoyed his ambulance ride immensely. DH freaked out when he got home and saw the bloodbath. Seriously, slasher movies don't show this kind of carnage. Blood loss was the entire reason the EMTs and firemen talked me into the ER.

Low point of my month: standing outside the ER in my pajamas waiting for my mother, who said she was 5 minutes away.

Even lower point of the month: realizing she was about 20 minutes away.

Under the barrel, about two feet: finishing the crappy job DH did cleaning up the bloody footprints through out the entire house.

During the last few months, but especially this month, I have been preparing for the Mike Huckabee signing that happened yesterday at my store. Last week, as if we weren't already in a tizzy, we received a call from the home office. Esquire was coming to do the photo shoot of the book tour. He already did the interview, but they picked our store to feature for the pics. So, look for me in the February issue! (Honestly, I kind of hope I'm not there. Not exactly at my peak right now, you know!) Did this take an already crazy event and kick it up a notch? You bet your sweet ### it did! Did we pull it off flawlessly? You bet your sweet ### we did! I really enjoyed it. He was wonderful to work with, and his team is awesome. Ditto for the Esquire team. It was a ton of fun!

So, I'm tuckered out from it all and baking for Thanksgiving. I really wanted to not do anything big this year, but Tee's hubby, Bullet, is coming with her and I haven't seen him in forever. So, I did the Christmas Coconut Cake for him. Yes, it's a pain in the hiney. But, I had a little fiasco with my birthday cake, so it was good to make a great come back! Plus, Hoot and I got to take a hammer to a coconut on the back porch. Really, I needed the fun.

Tomorrow, after DH comes home from work, we're off to my parent's house. I hope every one has a great Thanksgiving. If you need me, I'll be at The Antler Inn in Cuero tomorrow night!

Yeah, I'm sure it's a four star kind of place...

Day Five: How many hills can there be at Animal Kingdom, or straw hat wearing fat lady pushes same in wheelchair!

After our delightful brunch, we headed over to Animal Kingdom. We love Animal Kingdom, but it is the largest park. Tee was doing well with her foot, but she would definitely need a scooter here. Alas, when we arrived at the rental counter, all of the scooters were gone. We put our cell number on a waiting list and hoped. In the mean time, we convinced her to hop into a wheelchair.


I must confess that I was a little apprehensive about pushing her. I had memories of Tee pushing my other sister in a wheelchair to the parking lot on our 1994 visit. They were not pretty memories. However, the chair moved easily and she wasn't tough to push at all. In fact, Hoot had developed a nasty little habit of putting his feet down to stop his stroller and she was much easier to push than him. Of course, as soon as we were off, I leaned down and whispered in her ear that if she put her feet down to jolt us to a stop like Hoot, I would pull her out of the chair and whip her *** right there in public. She laughed and demonstrated that she couldn't even touch the ground without leaning off the front of the chair.


We headed back to Hirambe to pick up our fast passes for Kilimanjaro Safaris. We had a small wait, so DH took Hoot through the Pangani Exploration Trail. While they were gone, I wheeled Tee over next to Tusker House to sit in the shade while I found us some refreshments. While I was gone, Brian, Tee's hubby, called her and laughed because even though he was back home from Africa, the rest of his traveling party had arrived in the real Hirambe that morning. When I returned with our iced coffees, the drummers came out and we enjoyed a great show. They had several dancers that were coercing guests out to dance with them and we watched an old man really get down! It was a great show and in no time at all, the boys were back from seeing the animals.


Kilimanjaro Safaris is one of our favorites at WDW. The trucks have a real driver because the animals, or at least the safe ones, roam on their own around the Safari. Never before had I seen such a demonstration of this.


We were in the truck and moving along quite nicely enjoying the animals and the sights. We came around a corner and saw a herd of giraffes on the move. We were very excited because one of the babies was out and about with them. The truck in front of us had stopped to let the giraffes meander down the road. Then, the baby had a change of heart, stopped, and just stood in the road. We waited patiently for about five minutes, but still the baby stood there. At this point he was maybe fifty yards in front of us. After almost ten minutes, a green pickup came driving down the road and stopped near the baby. I think something was said to the giraffe by a handler, and the baby began to back up off of the road. Then, the pickup turned around and went off a ways in the distance to watch. As soon as the ride truck in front of us started to inch forward, the baby went back to his original spot in the road. This caused a lot of laughing among the guests.


Once again, the green pickup drove down and the driver appeared to speak to the animal. The giraffe backed away, the truck left, the ride truck began to inch forward, and the baby returned to the road! We all thought it was terribly delightful! The next time the green pickup returned, the driver positioned herself between the ride trucks and the baby giraffe. As we were passing by them, the baby was beginning to inch around the back side of the pickup. I suspect she was trying to get back into the road.


After our Safari, we moved on to Asia. DH had mentioned riding Expedition Everest, but he never got around to it. We also considered Kali River Rapids, but the line was about 45 minutes long. (Yes, I know that's not really that long, but we are off season people.) The boys went off in search of tigers and bats, while I parked Tee beneath an umbrella for a photo or two.



Ha! She couldn't even complain! After all, I had been pushing her all afternoon! However, one doesn't really know what she'll think about it being posted online! HA!

After Asia, we dined at the Flametree BBQ, where Hoot had fowl issues. He refused to stop feeding the ducks that were gathered around our dining area. Eating with ducks underfoot is even more annoying that eating with bad mannered dogs under foot. I still don't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure he fed chicken to the ducks! Did my son make these poor innocent ducks into cannibals?


Dinoland USA was our next destination, but we were feeling pretty tired. Hoot kept sneezing and was a little on the surly side. The boys took a few spins on Triceratops Spin (Dumbo, but from the Cretaceous Period) while Tee and I enjoyed poking around the delightfully cheesy shop there. Honestly, I love Dinoland. It throws you back to the wonderful world of roadside tourism in the fifties.


DH really wanted to take Hoot on his first ride of Dinosaur, but I was concerned that the storyline might be a little too much for him. Just because he is physically big enough to ride a specific ride, it doesn't mean he could emotionally handle the ride. We did decide against it, though. And, we decided to throw in the towel. Hoot was sneezing, we were bushed, and there was laundry waiting back at the Pop Century.


As we left Animal Kingdom, we detoured outside of the World to pick up some cold medicine for Hoot. No sense in a runny nose making him miserable on his birthday. So, we stopped at Walgreen's, where I spent way too much time trying to figure out the new guidelines for kid's cold medicines. I eventually settled on an allergy medicine and we gave him a dose as soon as we got back to the room.


Can I just say how much I like laundry at WDW? You get to leave the boys behind in the room. The laundry rooms are always very clean. Oh, the resorts all have bars! Sadly, it was too dark to read by the pool as I waited, so I just kind of zoned. It's a nice little midweek mom break.


When I got back to the room, I was a little upset to find Hoot still awake. We had plans to be at Magic Kingdom at 7:45 for morning extra magic hours so that we could have Fantasyland under our belts before the birthday lunch. I put him in bed and laid down with him a bit, but he wasn't falling asleep. The DH kept going on and on about how the medicine wasn't doing anything and how Hoot was going to be miserable on his birthday. (I was thinking "I'm miserable now with all that bitching!") But, Hoot was obviously still awake and leaking. Eventually, at around 11:30 pm, I got dressed and went down to the gift shop to find a different cold medicine. On my way down, I stopped and told Tee what was going on. I promised I'd let her know if she needed to drive me back to a drugstore.


I bought Hoot some Tylenol Cold, but the label did not state that it was safe for him. However, I knew that I had used it before and that at home, I had a half full bottle in the medicine cabinet. I made sure the ingredients wouldn't conflict (that is most of the problems with children's cold medicines) with the allergy medication we had given him hours before. On the way back to the room, I talked with Tee and we agreed that we would not be able to have an early morning. We would plan our arrival just before our early lunch reservations. Then, I tip toed back into our room.


And, you know what? Hoot was sound asleep!


Up Next: Day Six: The Birthday! Don't Feed the Bears!

Day Five: Ohana means trouble!

After our late night at MNSSHP, we planned a bit of a sleep in for Wednesday. Our park for the day was Animal Kingdom, and we had extra magic evening hours there, so we scored a great breakfast, er make that brunch, ressie's for Ohana at the Polynesian Resort. This was my first time to set foot at the Poly, having never gotten any closer than the monorail, so I was very excited. See, the Poly is my lotto resort. It's were we will stay when we win the lotto. Well, until we sign the Vacation Club papers, anyway!

We parked easily and strolled into the front doors around 11 am for our 11:20 ressies. The walkway was beautiful and plenty of people were stopping to take their pictures near the waterfall. We bypassed photos and headed upstairs to Ohana to check in at the restaurant's podium. They checked us in and gave us all pink and white leis. They were much prettier than the crappy plastic ones we wore the night before at the Halloween Party. Then, they took our pictures in front of tiki masks, and Hoot thought they were fantastic. Then, DH took Hoot and strolled into one of the gift shops while we waited for our table. In this shop, a small Etch-a-Sketch was purchased.

Finally seated, our server brought us a basket of breakfast bread, which was kind of like a Cinnamon roll meets pineapple upside down cake, and some of their special juice blend containing mango and papaya and whatever. I think I was the only one who really liked the juice. He explained how everything was served family style and that it was all you can eat. Blissfully, he also brought us some coffee. Later, he brought out a giant skillet with scrambled eggs (they add half and half, and it is truly sinful) large sausages Hoot kept calling hot dogs, fried potatoes with caramelized onions and scallions, and the obligatory Mickey shaped waffles. It was all very good.

Hoot is not a stranger to character meals. He knows how it works and he kept one eye glued to Stitch as he made his way closer. When it got to be his turn, he was quivering with delight.


As Stitch came up to the table, Hoot held out his new toy to show him.

So, Stitch being Stitch, he immediately snatched it!

Which lead to a lovely, enchanting moment when Stitch, seeing our waiter approaching, decided to give it back to Hoot. After we explained to Stitch that Hoot was a troublemaker just like him, he showed us how to keep him under wraps!

Our next visitor to the table was Lilo. Hoot suddenly became very shy and quiet. He wouldn't get up to give her a hug, in fact, he wouldn't get close to her at all. He finally got brave enough to show her his new toy. She seemed quite taken by it. Right after Lilo left, there was a parade around the restaurant. They played Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride from the movie soundtrack and passed out morroccas to all the kids to shake as they marched. I took Hoot on this parade, and it was a lot of fun. However, shy Hoot was still there! Man, I gotta get this kid into some preschool!

Back at the table, Pluto came around to play. We offered him sausages, but our waiter had told us to make sure we didn't feed the dog any table scraps. Sorry Pluto!

Somehow, the idea of a "stinky dog" had gotten stuck in Hoot's head, so he said something to Pluto about it and Pluto went mad sniffing the boy over!
Mickey came by shortly after Pluto, and was a big hit as always. Instead of the new toy, Hoot showed Mickey one of his new toy buses, that are designed to look just like the buses used at WDW. They played around, and something, I still don't know for sure, just cracked them up!
After Mickey finished playing around with Hoot, he took an extra minute to pose with DH. It's a shame that fun loving attitude didn't last the entire trip. I've been a good DW and editing out the petty nasty stuff. However, you can always look back at the prior post of him giving off nasty vibes at my Granny's house!
We never did get to see the pictures that were taken when we came into the restaurant. We asked one of the photo people about them, and they muttered something about phoning in, told us they'd be right back, and then didn't. We eventually gave up and left. After all, we had a date with some wildlife over at Animal Kingdom!

Here's an observation that I made while basking at the Poly. They have two ply toilet paper in the lobby. Let me tell you, they don't have two ply over at the Pop! We kept laughing and ranking resorts. Someday, I wanna stay at a two ply!

Up Next: Day Five: How many hills can there be at Animal Kingdom, or Straw hat wearing fat lady pushes same in wheelchair!

Day Four: MNSSHP, a giant black horse, and a smoking crocodile!

Totally dazzled by fireworks, we continued through Fantasyland for a fitting trip through the Haunted Mansion. It's our second time through since the big rehab last year, and we do love it so! Doombuggies totally rock!

One of our biggest disappointments last year was that we missed the parade. This year, we made our way to the route early for the second parade. We were hanging out around the Liberty Tree Tavern and Christmas shop, when we spotted one of our favorite costumed groups of the evening. They had fantastical costumes from Peter Pan. The little girl, a toddler, was Tinkerbell, Grandma was Mr. Smee, Dad was Captain Hook, and Mom was Tic-Toc Crocodile. Now, when I say she was a crocodile, I mean it. A full out plush costume complete with long tail and a snout that stuck out almost two feet in front of her face. It was amazing. But, what made my night about their costumes was that when we passed them, they had stopped for a smoke break. It's just not every night you see a smoking crocodile. I did stop and ask them if I could take their picture, and they said yes, but sadly the flash didn't fire. We were in too big of a hurry to try and fix it, but I can assure you it was awesome. I think the crocodile was relieved. When she had said yes to having her picture taken, she had said "Only if this doesn't end up online." Of course I lied to her. If that shot had come out, I would've posted that baby in a heartbeat!

Tee was sitting in the roped off area for the handicapped guests. Now, she may have a tag in the car, but she wasn't on a scooter or in a wheelchair. So, the Cast Member had asked her to move if anyone else needed the area. We went ahead and moved to an extremely sweet spot near the Liberty Bell replica. We were right on the corner where the rope line makes a small row right at the bend in the street. We didn't have to wait long either.

At most WDW parades, the Cast Members try to keep you behind the ropes, but a little late maneuvering is usually allowed. Not at Mickey's Boo to You Parade. Nope. You stay put and there's a dang good reason. About 10 minutes before the parade begins, there is a huge surprise, even if you've waited years to see it, and you know it's coming, it's still a huge surprise. The Headless Horseman gallops down the street on one super huge black horse! You can see a picture of him here, about halfway down the page. It was amazing. The rider can't really see, so the horse is totally trained to run the route. He came barreling right at us, then he had to take that turn and we were literally closer than four feet from him. Honestly, if I didn't know what was going to happen, I probably would've peed myself. After he was gone, you could see the prints from his horseshoes on the pavement and they were way bigger than a dinner plate.

One of my favorite moments of the parade was during the Pinocchio segment. Honest John and Gideon were out and about walking around. (You may remember them from the story, Honest John, the fox, and Gideon, the cat, convince Pinocchio to ditch school.) Tee was watching the parade advance to her left, when Honest John came up behind her on her right and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and he offered her his hand. As she reached for it, he pulled it back. He managed to psych her out three times in a row. I was howling!

My other favorite moment was the dancing gravediggers from the Haunted Mansion. The danced along with their shovels, and would strike the ground in unison. The metal hitting the street would give off huge sparks. Then, they would drag the shovels and give off even more sparks. Oh, how I do love villains and spooks!

Of course, when Goofy came by at the end and they filled your trick or treat bag, that was pretty awesome too! We didn't do as much trick or treating as we could, but there's still a fair amount of candy in the bag on top of the fridge.

Before we knew it, we were all bushed and heading out of the park. It was a fantastic night and Hoot wasn't the only one whining that it was over! But, here is a list of the most memorable costume sightings from the evening:

• A poor little boy in a vinyl Buzz Lightyear costume. It was hot and I'm sure he was roasting in his own juices.
• The aforementioned party from Peter Pan.
• A super tall and skinny couple that pulled off Jack Skellington and Sally incredibly well.
• A woman in a Queen of Hearts outfit on her scooter which was made up like a throne.
• A herd of Dorothy's in identical, perfectly made dresses, complete with aprons, and when you got close to them you could tell that half of them were men.

For next year, I think I am going to make all of us Wal-Mart type vests with the Buy N Large logos from Wall-e. However, Tee did say that if I made her a Queen of Hearts dress, she would wear it... Hm, I may have to rethink that!

Up Next: Day Five: Ohana means trouble!

The gas is back on!

$1910. That's just the plumber's bill. It doesn't count the fresh food I didn't get to cook, or the eating out bill, or the gas that pumped out of that line before the gas company shut it off. However, I did get my gas back on. Ack! I'll have to blog about it later, after I've figured out the true cost of the entire incident.

The plumber is here!

The plumber is here! The plumber is here! Cross everything you've got! Here's hoping for hot water, hot food, and warm dry clothes! Oh, and a little easier than thought on the checkbook would be great too!

Day Four: Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

We donned our Hawaiian shirts, put Hoot in his Stitch belly shirt and headed off to the Magic Kingdom early for our date at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP). Like silly theme park lemmings, when we got off the monorail, we proceeded to the nearest turnstiles for admission. Our tickets didn't work, and after a moments panic, a lovely Cast Member pointed to a large sign that pointed to the other side to use party tickets. We picked up our trick or treat bags and park maps and stopped for the obligatory potty break before heading down Main Street.

We found a Photopass photographer, and had a series of shots taken in front of the castle. Sadly, Tee's lei had already started to come unraveled, but we made her keep it for the photos. I liked this one after we added the real Stitch to our shot.

As we were headed to Tomorrowland for our first date with Buzz Lightyear and Evil Emporer Zurg, we saw another Photopass photographer set off to the side of the castle and stopped for another round. I love the "shy Hoot" photo the most.

Once we were done, it was off to ride Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. This is my favorite ride in the Magic Kingdom, so I'm awfully glad that Hoot has made it his favorite as well! We rode twice and had a blast. Then, we took the gamble, which paid off, to give Hoot his first experience with Stitch's Great Escape. We also posed for a picture with Pleakley and I got my favorite picture of Tee during the entire trip. I didn't realize how much our shirts' motif matches his here. I also didn't realize that Tee and Pleakley were the same height!

We had a quick bite to eat at Cosmic Ray's and some trick or treating in Tomorrowland, we headed off to Fantasyland. The boys took a spin on the Tea Cups, then we began to work our way systematically through all the attractions there. As we were getting into the queu line for Winnie the Pooh, Tee turned to me and said, "I wonder if we'll get to see Snow White out with all her boys this year?" And, wouldn't you know it, here they came! All seven of them, mostly in step and marching right behind Snow White herself. Their own little parade! We didn't get a good picture, but it was one of the big highlights for us. You never see them out like this, and we only saw them do it last year at the big soggy MNSSHP after the rain began to clear out.

When we got to Cinderella's Carousel, the horse between mine and Hoot's was very low to the ground and we were able to coax Tee into getting on board instead of sitting in the old people chairs. It was a blast, with all the horses racing neck and neck! Just as we were beginning to slow down, I jokingly told Tee she had better pray that her horse ended up low to the ground. Like a well timed curse, her horse ended up as high as it would go! I just laughed and laughed. DH tried to get her to let him help her down, but seriously, this horse was high! We told him we'd just take another spin around, but he didn't believe us and the boys got off! I couldn't believe it! He didn't let Hoot ride the carousel again! What a big meanie!

However, on that second, girls only ride, I learned a little Tee trivia. It seems that once, when she was about 7 or 8 years old, at Six Flags Over Texas, the ride operators had to stop the carousel and make her get off! Why, you may ask? Because she was standing on the saddle, holding on to the pole with one hand, and throwing kisses with the other! (Have I ever mentioned that she wanted to be Calamity Jane when we were kids?) I howled with laughter at this little tidbit! Sadly, or luckily, either way, our horses landed low to the ground after our second ride, and it was off to the second half of Fantasyland for us.

The time for Hallowishes, the fireworks extravaganza, was drawing near, and after a cruise that proclaimed that our globe was not quite as big as we had once thought, we found some seats with a great view of the back of the castle. There was much debate as to how good or bad our view would be among the others nearby, but we figured we had a clear view of the castle, we'd be alright.

Now, I have seen more than my share of fireworks over the years. I grew up with Tee working for Six Flags. I worked at Astroworld and Stone Mountain Park. I've been to Disney World ten times. I can honestly say I have never, ever seen a show quite like this one. I was dazzled.

We started out sitting, but the fireworks were also coming in from behind us. I snatched Hoot up and darted to the middle of Fantasyland, out to the side of Dumbo and the carousel. The entire show was happening right around us, and even right above us! I wouldn't have been surprised if my neck had hurt the next morning! It was truly amazing. When the finale was blasting right overhead, it was so bright Fantasyland was honestly lit up like broad daylight. Talk about some serious fireworks! I think this was my favorite part of the whole trip. Hoot and I totally immersed in fireworks!

Up Next: Day Four: MNSSHP, a giant black horse, and a smoking crocodile!

Hoot's Birthday Party

After sleeping in until about 8 am (hey, by our Disney standards, this is really sleeping in...) we got up and started getting ready for the trip out to Plant City to see my Granny. DH is surly. Hoot is grumpy. And there is "no white yogurt" to be had, only berry yogurt with the "wrong colors." Surprisingly, we managed to hit the road west right on schedule.



We pick up the cake that Tee ordered from Publix, toodle downtown, and snag a sweet parking spot right outside Granny's assisted living apartment building. Score. Hoot refuses to participate in hugging and kissing. He has met Granny before, but he was only 16 months old at the time. But, Granny's got his number. She had four boys of her own, and a big bunch of brothers. Really, she's not going to be phased.



We took Granny out for lunch to a place she likes called Buddy Freddys. We knew DH would love because he would be able to get good fried chicken. Hoot, well, we just crossed our fingers and hoped that he wouldn't go ape ****. After all, it's not like Granny wouldn't be watching. (Insert all kinds of family issues such as judgement and fear of failure.) Since it was early, the place was pretty empty, but the food was loaded on the buffet tables. After we order sweet tea all around, we load Hoot down a plate with a fried chicken leg, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese. You know, full tilt kid food. My mantra the entire time, "please be good, please be good, please be good..." I fix my own plate and have to uncross my fingers to make sure I don't drop anything on my way back to the table.



OK, I don't really know what happened there. Maybe it was skipping breakfast. Maybe it was getting a day of Disney under his belt. Maybe it was divine intervention. Hoot was so nice and pleasant throughout the entire meal. I was stunned, but attempted to act like this was just how he always is in restaurants. Home made fried chicken, rutabaga, sweet tea, and angel child! I was on cloud 9. As the rest of us were finishing lunch, Mr. Surly even took Hoot out to rock on the front porch!



Back at Granny's we commenced with cake and presents. There wasn't a lot to open, but Hoot didn't seem to care.

Oh, how did there ever get to be FOUR candles on his birthday cake?
Taking these candles off was a very serious job, indeed!

Hoot sat in Granny's lap to open his presents.
I even got a fairly good picture of the two of us at her house. Hoot loved crawling on Granny's walker. Anything with wheels....

Sadly, there was a madman, aka Mr. Surly, aka DH in the background of this one. I cropped the copy I'll send to Granny! We may have been taking a girls only picture, but Hoot was up to something. Granny's really keeping her eyes peeled, though.

Eventually, he did start to get a little on the wild side, but we had passed a couple of very good hours where he said please and thank you enough to make me proud. So, we wrapped up our round of family photos.

After walking us downstairs, we said our goodbyes and Hoot really made Granny's day. He gave her a big hug and lots of sugar! Oh, happy day! I feel like we scored an A on this one!

Up next: Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party! Ooh, I can't wait to write about it! What a blast we had!

At the home front: City won't give us a permit until the gas company fixes their meter. Gas company says their meter is fine. Plumber says to call when it is all worked out. Many, many cold showers in my future...

I just wanna wash my hair without freezing...

I guess I'm not going to be able to keep on track with my trip report. I love writing it because it helps keep my trip fresh in my mind. But, it has already been a long week, and it's just Tuesday night!

Hoot came down with a cough Sunday night. He didn't sleep very well that night, and well, if Hoot doesn't sleep well, no one sleeps well. By Monday, he was running a fever and miserable. Again, a long night, and even longer morning as a storm rolled into town.

Once up this morning, I was going to make him hot tea, but the stove wouldn't light. No gas. The gas company came out and found a huge leak in our line. Now, our gas line runs across a drainage creek that is maintained by the city. Or maybe I should say is supposed to be maintained by the city. So much debris, mostly tree branches and trash, caught up against our pipe, that with the force of the storm water, our pipe busted.

So, who pays for this? Me or the City? I still don't know. We finally found a plumber that came out late this afternoon, but he can't do anything about it until tomorrow. I hope it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I really do. Honestly, I think the city is responsible, but who knows how long it will all take. Time is not what I want to think about right now. I want to think about hot showers, dinners from the stove or oven, and laundry drying in the dryer. That's what I want. At least it isn't winter!

Overheard at the bookstore:
You have puzzles, right?
Sure, they are this way. Did you want a jigsaw puzzle?
That doesn't sound right, I want a puzzle.
(walking customer to the puzzles and games section) A jigsaw puzzle is the kind with the picture that you put together, but we have puzzle books like sudoku and crosswords as well.
No, I want a puzzle.
Okay, here you go: Jigsaws are here, but anything in a book will be there. (For what its worth, she chose a jigsaw puzzle... then she proceeded to try and pay for it at the Information desk.)

Day Three: A Potato Head, a tow truck, a race car, and Dad's Electric Lemonade... or Why Hoots and Liquor don't mix....

Back at Pixar Place, we saw that the wait time was listed as 50 minutes. Since it was less than an hour, and earlier we had gotten in a lot quicker that the 40 minute wait time listed then, we decided to go for it. As we approached the entrance, there was a large group standing off to one side. We walked in and joined the line. Soon, all kinds of people were behind us, and at least 10 people plowed right past us to join their parties. Yep. Rude, and it put us all in a mood. Seriously, if your party is going in and you want to ride with them, GO IN WITH THEM! The mood killer really bit it. I tried to lighten up, but we all let it feed off of each other.

But, once we were flinging pies, eggs, and such, we were all happier! I rode with Hoot, and it was a Super Blast! He giggled and fired and laughed and fired. He literally shook with delight. Our ride had to pause several times and after each scene, if we paused and were still in front of the midway games, we got to shoot with the full effects, but didn't score. We didn't care! We got to play longer. I would say we added almost another five minutes to the ride! What a treat!

Assured that we had one more ride on the Midway with our fast passes, we headed off to see a Frog about a Pig, or that's what we kept telling Hoot. But, on our way, Nathan decided to take Hoot to play on the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground. Tee and I sat outside on a bench and did the obligatory phone call to Meme. Eventually, the boys were spit back out of the giant blades of grass and climb nets and we went off to find this Frog and Pig. Unfortunately, we had an episode of Honey, I lost my sunglasses, so we stopped again at Youse Guys for a replacement pair. I swear that man always looses something at WDW... sunglasses this year, brand new hat last year.

Hoot was still a bit confused, but once he saw the Muppet fountain, he knew what was up. As we headed into the waiting area, I wanted to show Hoot where the Muppets keep the spare key, but the Cast Member hurried us along as they were starting to go in! Alas, instant gratification is an awesome thing. Here's Tee, Hoot, and some wet Muppets:

The next Must See Must Do on our list was the meet and photo opportunity with Mater and McQueen. We grabbed a Coke and ditched Tee at some shady benches and joined the small line that was already gathering. It was a miserably hot wait, with almost no shade, but you know what? That boy can wait a long time when it involves his favorite race car! When the two biggest stars from Radiator Springs came out, we had a grand time watching the crowd as we waited our turn. On the far side of the area, the meet and greet was separated out with a giant row of hedges. We had several good laughs as two little boys tried to claw their way through from the other side. They never made it all the way, but the little faces were fun to watch. I can only image the scratches they would have to endure later.

Sadly, the pictures weren't as good as last year. But, if you look at last year's picture just below, you can see just how much Hoot has grown compared with Lightning.

Now that we've gotten our Cars fix, we head off to one of my favorite places at WDW. The 50's Prime Time Cafe. I've been lusting after Dad's Electric Lemonade for quite some time, and I can't wait! We're about 15 minutes early when we checked in (as instructed) but we waited a little over 30 before we were able to be seated. We did get to spend some of that time on a couch in Dad's Lounge on a love seat. Nathan turned into a grumpy old man who just kept asking me how much longer it would be. Yeah, if I knew that, I'd focus on lotto numbers instead of dinner tables. I was ready to trade him in for a new model. Hoot started playing with a floor lamp, but I figured plenty of kids have jacked with this stuff, it was nailed down, and I didn't have the will or energy to tangle with it.

We were happily seated at a kitchen table (I have never sat at one before and they are like a counter dinette with a TV!) and our "sister" came over to take our order. Now, Nathan has never been here, so he didn't really know there was supposed to be some shtick with dinner. Our "sister" however, wasn't the best at the entertainment though. When she asked how we were doing, Tee & I told her our side of the table was good, but the other side was grumpy. She called Hoot Grumpy McGrumperson but he was blissfully coloring his menu. We ordered drinks and I asked for the magical concoction that would make it all better: Dad's Electric Lemonade. We were in, we had a kitchen table, my drink was coming, Hoot was occupied! Things were looking up!

Soon, our drinks were out and my blue glowing ice cube had caught Hoot's eye. When sis came back to take our order, I had been fishing out the cube for Hoot, and wiping off the alcohol. We ordered, she left, and dashed the crayon she had used to write our order back down on the table. Alas, when I set my drink back on its napkin, I didn't see the crayon and it spilt everywhere. Yes, everyone was grumpy, but Nathan had moved on to just plain nasty. I threw my napkin on the mess and went to the ladies room.

I won't go in to the next fifteen minutes or so.

I did return to the table.

I did have another drink waiting.

I did attempt to be social.

After dinner, we headed off to find Rocket. We never made it to Playhouse Disney (sorry Hoot!) but I knew we'd get some pictures with Rocket anyway. Oh, he was so happy!

As we finished with Rocket, I spotted a movie poster for Wall-e! So, we took another picture.

When we left Animation Courtyard, we went back to use our Toy Story fast passes. This time Hoot got to ride with Tee. DH & I rode together, but it was seriously frosty in that car. Sixteen years: You would think he would've let me win. Winning would've gone a long way towards my mood. It was good that we were headed back to the Pop!

Up Next: Day Four: Hoot's Birthday Party

Interlude for those who don't know how to rope a deer

This is from a forwarded email, so I'll just say the author is anonymous.

I had the idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill and eat it.

The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4' away), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home.

I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The deer were not having any of it.

After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up -- 3 of them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me.

I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would havea good hold. The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation.

I took a step towards it...it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope and then received an education. The first thing I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there and look at you funny while you rope it; they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope. That deer EXPLODED.

The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity. A deer-- no chance.

That thing ran, bucked, twisted, and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined.

The third thing I learned, the only upside, is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals. A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up.

It took me a few minutes to realize this, since the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head mostly blinded me. At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope. I figured that if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no love at all between that deer and me. At that moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual.

Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in, so I didn't want the deer to suffer a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder - a little trap I had set beforehand...kind of like a squeeze chute. I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could get my rope back.

The fourth thing I learned, did you know that deer bite? They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody, so I was very surprised when I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its head--almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts.

The proper thing to do when a deer bites you, I have now learned, is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. This method was ineffective.

It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds. I, being smarter than a deer, (though you may question that claim) tricked it while I kept it busy tearing the bejesus out of my right arm. I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose.

That was when I got my fifth lesson in deer behavior for the day. Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet, strike right about head, and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp. I learned a long time ago that, when an animal -- like a horse -- strikes at you with their hooves and you cannot get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggresive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape.

I immediately learned that a deer is NOT a horse. Such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run.

The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head.

Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and three times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.

Lesson six....Now when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head. I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away.

Day Three: Scream as loud as you want...

It was time for the dreaded trip to First Aid. I was pretty sure I knew the area First Aid is located at Hollywood Studios, but wanted to double check. As we headed through the Streets of America, I stopped a pair of Cast Members and inquired. They were all over us! What do we need? Are we okay? Can they help? Do they need to take us there or call someone? We convinced them we were okay and they let us go with just confirmation of our directions.

At First Aid, we were greeted warmly and asked to sign in. I explained that Hoot had a splinter in his heel and that we were looking for tweezers, a needle, and possibly a magnifying glass. Oh, and a place he could scream. We were shown into an exam room. The nurse laid out a pair of tweezers, a needle type instrument with a wide base to make holding it easier, and sprayed several pieces of gauze with sterilizing stuff.

Now, have any of you ever read the email about how to rope a deer? It's made several rounds on the Internet, and if I can dig it up, I post it after this report. Totally hilarious and totally a bad idea.

So, I turn around and Nathan has Hoot up on the exam table with the shoe and sock off the hurt foot. Tee has jockeyed around to the foot of the table and is near the lighted magnifier. I am stuck staring at the instruments, and all I can think is "I'm about to rope a deer!" I decided that quick is the tactic I am looking for and swab the boys foot with the gauze. I try to position the light and the boy decides he's just not gonna have it! The light won't quite stay in place, but I can see through the magnifier, and I start to work with the sharp instrument.

Holler is the word that comes to mind. A Hoot is a hollerin'! There was thrashing, there was yelling, there was scuffling, and there was a tiny bit of blood. Nathan pinned Hoot's body, Tee threw herself on Hoot's other leg while trying to hold the hurt foot still, and somehow, I managed to poke out the splinter with the sharp thingy. Great. Now, I really wanted a bit of a breather, but you know, time was of the essence, so I grabbed the tweezers and managed to get it all out. Oh, the tears. Oh, the hollering. Oh, that was me! Well, almost. It seemed like it took a year, but it was really all a blur and I think we were in and out of First Aid in under 10 minutes.

Since we are right next to Guest Relations, I pop inside to pick up the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets that we got from last year's rain check. It was super easy and I was helped by a lovely girl from Japan who was doing the college program. I wanted to chat, but wasn't sure if Hoot was still holding a grudge, so I quickly went back outside.

I found Hoot just kind of wondering around under the First Aid sign waiting on me, while Tee watched from a bench.

He may have hollered like a madman, and thrashed like a fish in the bottom of the boat, but he was already over it. Can I get an Amen?

We decided to head down to the Great Movie Ride and as we strolled down Hollywood Boulevard, we saw there was a bit of a "disturbance in the park." A "police officer" was trying to convince a woman who he had found sleeping in the park that she needed to leave. As we stopped to watch, she grew louder about becoming Hollywood's next big thing. She was going to be a star! When I got out the camera to snap her pictures, she told the cop that because I wanted her picture, it proved that she was really a star! So she did a few poses for me!

Isn't she fabulous! I totally loved her. She made me think of my mother, but don't tell my mother that! LOL!

After our journey through the Great Movie Ride (we had the cowgirl bank robber, not the mobster), we headed back to Pixar Place to see if we'd get lucky with another trip through Toy Story Mania.

Up next: A Potato Head, a tow truck, a race car, and Dad's Electric Lemonade... or Why Hoots and Liquor don't mix....

Day Three: What a ride!

After the long night, it was good that we slept in a bit. Hoot stayed curled up until we were almost ready to go. That allowed us to get packed back up and ready to transfer hotels. Soon, we were off and on our way to Pop Century!

We pulled in and parked outside of Classic Hall. The boys went off to find the restroom and explore while Tee & I checked us all in to the resort. We had a wonderful Cast Member and everything went quick and easy. We did get our connecting rooms and we were assigned into one of the 80's buildings. One of the rooms was already available, so we decided to go ahead and dump everything instead of coming back midday.

Tee & I got a kick out of all the pictures on the wall. I totally had that twirler's outfit. (Yes, now you know. I was a twirler). The walls of Classic Hall had so much trivia and memoribilia. It was a shame we didn't have enough time to truly enjoy and explore it all.

At the 80's section, but parked in the 70's because it was closer, we found our elevator behind the giant Sony Walkman Sport. But, our stairs were in the Rubik's Cube. I didn't get photos of them, but if you ever want to see what any Disney resort looks like, Deb Wills and her crew have the photos and answers at AllEars.net!

Before we knew it, we were on our way to Disney's Hollywood Studios. Now, this is probably my least favorite park at Disney World. Sure, there are things about it that I totally love, like Fantasmic and The Great Movie Ride. But, I picked it because it was an easy park for the first day. We had evening extra magic hours (when the park is only open to people staying on property) and we really were looking forward to Toy Story Midway Mania.

We made a beeline for Toy Story and snagged some Fast Passes for later. Then, we saw the wait was forty minutes and decided to go for it. I can't say enough about how enchanting the queu line for this ride is! The premise is that you have shrunk down to toy size and you are in Andy's room. There was so much to see:
I really loved the details such as the Viewmaster reels being from Disneyland. And then there were the great things to find such as the Card Shark behind Tee, Hoot and Nathan.

We had a lot of fun discovering it all and playing around. Tee yelled "Sorry" when she found this game piece.

At the front of the queu, Mr. Potato Head holds court telling jokes, singing songs, and making general mayhem. He's dressed like a midway barker and it is one of the coolest audioanimatronics I have ever seen. Sadly, the picture we took of him wasn't very good.

Before we knew it, we were picking up a pair of 3-D glasses and getting close to the ride. Nathan took Hoot for his first spin, while Tee and I rode behind them. It was so cool. You rode through and stopped at "games" and played them. The first was a pie throw so that you would understand how the game worked. Then we launched eggs, threw darts at balloons (some full of "water", so you got sprayed a little!), pitched baseballs, tossed rings, and shot targets. The entire ride is a full five minutes, but it goes so very quickly!

We couldn't wait to go back for another ride on Toy Story Mania, but alas, it was lunch time and Hoot was hungry. We ate at the Studio Catering Company and had a wonderful lunch. Tee & I tried the grilled chicken with black beans and rice. It was amazingly good. Nathan had the pulled pork sub and Hoot stuck with his kid's meal chicken leg.

Now that we had checked in to the resort, ridden Toy Story Mania, and had lunch, there was no more putting it off. Time to torture the boy with a trip to First Aid.

Coming Next: Day Three: Scream as loud as you want...

Day Two: In the battle of Boy vs Man, Momma wins!

We crossed under the Welcome sign, Tee's birthday CD full of Disney songs blaring, and I got that little Disney tickle in my throat. Oh, it was so very exciting. Even just a trip to the Downtown Disney Marketplace can do it for me. On most trips, this is what we do our first night, so the tradition is alive and well.

Food is the first order of business, so we head off to the Earl of Sandwich. The line moved quickly and we found a big table outside, near the fountain by Once Upon a Toy. DH had the Caribbean Jerk Sandwich, and it should have been called the Royal Jerk Sandwich. I had a fantastic Mediterranean Chicken Salad that is one of my favorite things to eat in the entire World. Hoot refused to eat a warmed PB&J, that when you tasted it, your eyes rolled back into your head. He had other things on his mind.

At first, he gulped down his milk and kept all eyes on Tee. As his attention began to wander, she brought out a Lightning McQueen kaleidoscope, which kept the savageness in check for a little longer. Then, he began to slip further and further away from the table. His eyes were on that fountain and all the kids playing in it. It's a popular play spot, with the jets shooting straight out of the ground, and kids screaming and running about getting soaked. I told him that if he would sit down and eat just a few bites, I would let him play in the fountain after we had shopped. Yeah, no deal.

Again, he attempted to bolt, but DH was right on him. He brought him back to the table and we waited painfully for Tee to finish eating. (This is nothing new, she eats ridiculously slow, she knows it, and nothing will change it.) As we headed towards the toy store, Hoot bolted again. This time he made it all the way to the fountain! Hooray! Um, or not. DH tore after him like a madman. Just as he reached the boy, the crocs DH was wearing betrayed him and he slid into home plate.

Now, in the flash of an eye, all manner of things popped through my brain. DH throwing his back out doing NOTHING at the Atlanta airport BEFORE we departed for our Christmas trip in 1999. The chaos even a twisted ankle would throw into our entire week's schedule and plans. The location of the nearest ER. Images of bloody, twisted limbs. Then, as DH hauled himself up, snagged Hoot and drug him away, ridiculously inappropriate Mom laughter. Lots of it. Oodles, if you will.

As a unit, we retreated to the nearest restroom and regrouped. The boys did their thing, Tee & I did ours, and we soon found ourselves outside the toy store on a bench. And, then, the Jerk sandwich really kicked in. DH did not want to reward "that kind of behavior" with anything. No train ride, no carousel, no toy store. Sadly, we went a few rounds before I realized we were that family, melting down and fighting at Disney. Poor Tee, she was a Southwest Airlines "wanna get away" commercial.

Yes, Hoot was behaving horribly. Yes, he had bolted. No, he wouldn't get to go play in the fountain. But, I still wanted him to have the train and carousel ride. I mean, come on. We spent how much to get here? We get here how often? I had planned this night for how long? And this little not quite four year old had endured a hurricane, a sleepless night in Dallas, a flight, and being shuffled along all day. Give me a break, and cut one for my little guy too!

In the end, I won. But, I didn't push for all of it. We did some shopping at Once Upon a Toy, where Tee bought and stashed away a bag of plastic robots that we would rely on time and time again. I bought the boy an Eve pin and a Wall-E cup. Then, we did a brief visit to the super big World of Disney shop before we called it a night. Looking back, I should have pushed harder. I missed going in Pooh's Corner, the Mickey Mart (everything under $10), and most of all, the Art of Disney store.

After a quick good night, we put Tee safely back into her room and tried to head to bed ourselves. DH was still showing signs of his sandwich, and refused to turn off the TV early. But, I curled up with the boy and tried to get him to relax. After all, we needed to be up super early so we could check in to Pop Century and get to the Hollywood Studios before rope drop.

As I was snuggling with Hoot, I ran a hand over his right foot and felt a bump. I pressed on it to see if it was tender, and he just about jumped out of the bed. We turned the big lights on and took a look. Poor thing had a splinter in the heel of his foot. I rummaged around in my bag, but couldn't find my tweezers. DH was being a freak about having to get it out right away. So, I dialed up Tee and asked to borrow hers.

Hoot struggled and endured while I tried to get it out. We eventually gave up when he began to scream bloody murder. Honestly, a visit from security or even the cops would've really capped off the day! So, I convinced DH to wait and we would stop at First Aid when we got to the Studios the next morning.

Then, seeing how late it was, we made our first change to our touring plans. We decided to sleep until 8 am, check out, go to Pop Century, check in, and get to the park whenever we could. It was a hard decision to make, but a very good one. I knew that Toy Story Mania would be crazy, but really, something had to give.

Up next: What a ride!