Sunday, April 27, 2014

Strollin' through Mickey's House

As we were planning our Disney trip we kept going back and forth over the idea of bringing our own stroller vs renting one. 
It seemed a little silly to pay to rent one when we own one
BUT
we would be lugging it around the airport,
it could potentially get damaged on the way,
we don't have a rain cover,
it's just an umbrella stroller.
and plain and simple, it's not as fun!

So I did some research and found, Kingdom Strollers
We could rent a spacious BOB jogging stroller (which is borderline luxury and kind of a big deal in the normal "we only own a Chicco umbrella stroller" world), it would be delivered right us and it comes with a rain cover and a lunch box for no additional cost.  

Winner winner chicken dinner. 

The website was easy to follow, I reserved the stroller (and insurance for $25 extra- worth it!), told them where we were staying, selected a drop off time and we were good to go! 

You pack a million and one things when traveling with a toddler and it was so nice not having to worry about her stroller as we traveled to Disney!

We arrived at Fort Wilderness and our stroller was waiting for us outside the front desk. 
It doesn't get any easier than that! 
It was clean and came with the lunchbox and rain cover just as we requested. 
And it even came with a parent console too!

Someone climbed right in and was was excited about her new stroller for the week!
Actually, we all were and Mr. B and I fought over who was going to push it. 
You know you're a parent when...

We were so thankful for these simple instructions attached to the stroller! 
Shortly after we picked it up we needed to get on the bus to go back to our campsite. 
Not being familiar with a BOB we had no idea how to fold it and it was so nice to have that so we could hop right on!

The stroller was so easy to maneuver through the parks. 
These things are like pushing air. 
Seriously.

I loved having the lunch box that attached to the stroller for easy access and it made for extra room in the basket for sweatshirts, souvenirs, camera etc. 
Every.thing in Disney is expensive- including the food!
It was so nice to have the lunchbox to pack some snacks and drinks for us throughout the day. 

And Adalyn loved her special spot for her snacks and drink too.

Although the stroller did come with a large orange name tag on the break and the handle that were easy to spot,
I made our own at home and I was thankful that I did!
{thank you, Pinterest!}
Apparently we aren't the only ones who think it's a good idea to have a stroller in Disney. 

We loved the huge canopy and the reclining seat for her daily naps.
Disney is tiring when you're little. 
And when you're old….
 but unfortunately we didn't get the luxury of a comfy shady stroller to lounge in.

For the most part we had good weather, but of course, a trip to Florida wouldn't be complete without a 15 minute downpour.  
This is when I was thankful for the rain cover! 
We were still able to walk around to make our lunch reservation. 
And at least one of stayed dry!

At the end of our trip we were sad to say goodbye to not only our family and Mickey's house, but the awesome stroller too! 

Adalyn even snuck in one last nap on our way to drop it off. 
{PS. The stroller does come with a 5 point harness, but she's old enough, and the seats were deep enough, that we rarely used it.}

We dropped the stroller off right where we picked it up.
And that was it!
We loved our experience with Kingdom Strollers and will definitely be using them again! 

I was given this rental in exchange for a review, but these are 100% my honest opinions! 
We love Kingdom Strollers!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Happiest Place On Earth.

First of all, it's been two months since I last posted.
Ugh.
Second of all, it's been over a month since our trip to the happiest place on earth!
How can such a big event go unpublished?!
It's a big deal and I plan on sharing within the next five years our pictures, tips and magical moments.

Third of all, I think calling it "the happiest place on earth" is a bit of a stretch, but when you're home,  caught up on sleep, over the complete exhaustion and reflect on your trip then it feels like it's the happiest place on earth. It's funny how the brain works like that, isn't it?

 I'm still catching up on pictures from the trip (what's new!), but we had a fun trip and made some great memories!

Friday, February 21, 2014

4 Year Blogiversary!

This little ol' blog reached the 4 year mark a couple weeks ago. 
Unfortunately, my posts get less and less every year.
And it kills me. 
But obviously not enough to actually post more, so "kills me" may be a bit of an exaggeration. 

We've reached quite a few milestones over the past 4 years and I thought it would be fun to do a quick recap. 

This was my very first post in 2010.
 I started blogging when we were about 6 months into marriage and living in Florida while Mr. B was finishing up school. 
 I was a nanny/stay home wife and had way too much glorious time on my hands while living in the sunshine state.

So here's a quick recap of the past 4 years as well as a few of the most popular posts:

We were in newly-wedded bliss.

He graduated.

We moved back home. 

We bought a puppy.

The puppy grew.


::That winter we vacation and I although this is slightly embarrassing, one of my most popular posts over the years was written around this time: Bathing Suits and Butt Cracks
Always, keeping it classy around here!::

We struggled with fertility.

 We vacationed. 

We were excited

There was sickness. Lots of it. 
For 33 weeks. 

She was worth every minute.

We became mommy and daddy.

Our hearts exploded.

::Shortly after, I wrote another one of my most viewed posts:
Clearly, the heartfelt ones are the kickers::

We moved again.

We vacationed. {and I cut my hair}

We reached half a year. 

::Another most viewed post: Adalyn's Pantry. Again, the content is heavy, so please read slowly and take it all in. ::

We learned that time flies. F-L-I-E-S.

We reached a year. 

::Another popular post from this time {that I never finished}: 

We became homeowners.
{and moved again}

We vacationed some more. 

We reached a year and a half.

We soaked up the little things.

We captured sweet moments.

We snuck in kisses as much as we could.

We reached two years. 

We love where we've been and we love where we are.
And we look forward to where will be in the next couple years! 

And for the record, I'm back to the same hair dilemma...

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Weekend Rewind

I love long weekends.
How awesome would it be if they were always 3 days. 
Well, I'm sure then we'd wish for 4, but we can still dream about how amazing 3 days weekends would be….

Unfortunately we've been hit with a never ending cold.
Seriously, there's no light at the end of the tunnel.
Maybe a crevice of light.
Maybe.
So we had a low key weekend filled with medicine and tissues,
but we were together and we were lazy and it was just what we needed. 
And still need, because we're still sick…

So this weekend wasn't a very exciting one, but if I want to get back onto the blogging train I need to post about the every day weekends too!

Friday my sweet girl blessed this sick mama with sleeping in until a little past 10 and we followed that up with some snuggles in my bed. 

We stayed in our PJs, I had a fever and was pretty much glued to the couch all day.

During this time I realized we haven't been trying for Baby #2 as long as I had thought. 
In my head I had March, but that was because of when the due date would've been. 
So thanks to an old blog post, a friend and Mr. B, it was brought to my attention that it will be 9 months, not 11. 
Which doesn't make quite as bad as I thought. 
Which is sad, because it's still pretty bad, but it came with a little relief too.  
So that was good. 

The not so good…she was sick and oversensitive. 
Mix that with typical 2 year old mood swings and you get something like this because your baby won't sit. 
Cue nap time and hallelujah chorus. 

After nap we enjoyed more snuggles and sent Mr. B this pic 
as a warning that the house looks like a tornado went through it and a request to bring home dinner. 

Saturday was a surprise snow day and perfect for us to stay in a clean pair of {mismatched} PJs. 
We relaxed, watched tv, played, napped and made some cookies.
She took a tubby and changed into new {matching} Super Girl PJs from her Auntie, that she loves!

Sunday we skipped church to avoid being those people.
The kind the discretely sniff, snort, blow and gross everyone out. 
So instead we slept in and I had my super smoothie helper and strawberry stealer to assist with breakfast.
Then we …put on real clothes and brought our sniffs and germs to the great-grandparents' house.
We went out for a late lunch for Mimi's birthday.
{For the record, I don't suggest bringing an oversensitive, overtired, toddler with a cold to a restaurant during nap time. }
Then we went to the farm and hoped the Pats would make it to the Super Bowl.
And our hopes were crushed. 
She took a late nap from 4-7, we had dinner, played and watched the first half of the next game before heading home.

We gave her the last of her 5 day antibiotic 
and then cried because it didn't work.
It still could've prevented her ear infection, but it definitely didn't fight off anything else she has going on.
Which means it's viral.
Which means more days staying home.
More missed swim classes.
More missed play dates.
More missed My Gym classes.
Bottom line…. SOS.
But, in saying all of that, I'm always grateful {can't you tell ;) } that at the end of the day it is just a never-ending cold and nothing more. 

Monday we woke up and headed back to the farm for a little sled time. 

And by little, I mean little.

She probably lasted all of 5 minutes.
I think it's time to ditch the baby sled and show her the real deal. 

After that, she napped, I worked on some pictures and Mr. B went and played some racquet ball.
We hung around the farm for some chinese food
 {a perk to being at the farm- free good dinners!},
 came home, tubbied and took her final 24 month picture.
A day before she turned 26 months.
And she's tired, and it's not really her smile and it was with a flash.
But it's done.
I won't even go into the frustrations I have with myself for not getting it together for her last monthly pic.
But in the end she's still 2 so...it counts.

Then we went to bed and prayed for a miraculous healing and healthy week!