Disney World!

It would be a shame not to write a blog post about our trip to Disney World in November. Or multiple posts. One for each day.

To put it mildly, we had a blast. Funny thing is, as much fun as I had, I'm pretty sure I'm not even in the running for who had the most fun. That award would go to Adele, Henry...or David. :)

David grew up going to Disneyland multiple times with his family. He knows every Disney movie ever made. He loves to see our kids get to know Disney characters and movies.

I've been to Disneyland twice...both times with David. As adults. With no kids. In fact, the first Hille family vacation I ever went on was while we were still dating, and all of us adults met up in California to go to Disneyland - David and myself, his parents, his older sister and husband, and his younger sister. I didn't exactly know the draw of the park, but it sounded fun and I was up for a California vacation.

A few years ago, my dad turned 60 and retired pretty much at the same time. He had the idea to treat his family to a big family vacation. There was lots of brainstorming and dreaming, and finally the decision was made to take that trip this past year, to celebrate my parents' 40th wedding anniversary.

And Disney World it was.

So after many months of planning (seriously - we had to make reservations at a number of restaurants 6 months in advance, and choose our fastpasses a couple months in advance), we all embarked on the trip over to Florida to spend Thanksgiving Week at Disney World.

And what an adventure it was! I can't stress enough how grateful I am to have these memories with my whole family. A trip of a lifetime.

We had a 4-day pass, and the first 3 days we all stayed together - visiting Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios respectively. The 4th day we went back to Magic Kingdom along with my older sister Emily and her family (we both have young kids, and it made the most sense), while the rest of my family went to Epcot.

It's hard to pick the highlights. But in order to avoid devoting many blog posts to every wonderful moment that happened, here were some of my favorite things about the week:

*Warning: LOTS of adorable pictures to follow...*

- My kids' attitudes. We were waking them up early, going strong all day every day, and getting back to our hotel room late only to start out early again the next day. And they did awesome. There was very minimal fussing or tears and they embraced pretty much every aspect of Disney World that you can imagine.

- How much FUN we all had. Everyone. Not just the kids, but adults too. In fact, we may be talking about it for years. I loved sharing the experience with everyone in my family and loved that we all embraced it together and had so much FUN. So while most of these highlights are about my kids, it's important to note that Disney brought out the "kid" in ALL of us!

- Meeting the characters. This very well might have been the high of the week. Both Henry and Adele were so excited to meet their favorite Disney characters! I had made each of them an autograph book beforehand and they wanted to meet as many characters as possible and get them to "sign up" on their personalized page. I loved how each character truly stayed in character and made it so much fun for the kids (and let's be honest - I had a blast with it too). Some of the characters that couldn't talk still had big wonderful personalities - Mr. Incredible and Frozone (showing off their muscles and fist-bumping with the kids), and Phineas and Ferb (who tried to get in the stroller with the kids when we left). And then the "villains" like Gaston (who was mad he didn't have his own page in the autograph book and disgusted that the Beast shared a page with "his girl"), or Cinderella's wicked stepsisters and stepmother (the stepmother told Adele "I don't do hugs" and shrugged her off). And both kids were completely enthralled by the princesses. Ariel gave Henry a kiss on the cheek with bright red lipstick, Tinkerbell chattered nonstop, and Adele was totally starstruck by Elsa and Anna.

- Adele going on roller coasters! I had no idea how she would be with some of the "bigger" rides, and they ended up being some of her favorites. She loved the drops on Splash Mountain, and still talks about the Seven Dwarfs Mine roller coaster.

- Character meals. We planned a couple of brunch meals that had characters roam the restaurants while we chowed down. The kids got to dance with Sofia the First and Doc McStuffins, and everyone loved our visits from Mickey, Goofy, Daisy, and Donald.

- Be Our Guest restaurant. There was nothing super special about the food at this restaurant, but there was something very special about walking up to the Beast's castle and having dinner.

- The magic that comes alive. This was truly the case in Magic Kingdom. There is something about Disney World that completely brings to life the movies because of the attention to detail in each setting. Walking past Rapunzel's tower, or looking at the Beast's castle, or standing in front of Cinderella's castle, or heading to Pixie Hollow to meet Tink - the detail was incredible.

- Customer service. One would expect with so many people with such long lines that it would be natural to come across grumpy folks. Not the case, and I believe a lot of it has to do with the Disney Employees (and obviously simply being at the happiest place on Earth). Our last day in the parks, we found ourselves with a stroller with a flat tire, even after trying to pump it up. We took it to the tire service at Magic Kingdom, where they checked it out and had a tire brought in to replace for us. It wasn't a tire size they kept in their stock, so while they were waiting to replace it (FOR FREE), they gave us one of their strollers to use (FOR FREE). We couldn't believe the kindness and generosity!

- Christmas at Disney World! It was most definitely a highlight seeing Cinderella's castle being "frozen" over and lit up in the evening. And the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights in Hollywood Studios was completely and utterly amazing. We got to see Santa Goofy light up a huge Christmas tree, and then all of the lights on all the buildings and streets around us were all lit up and flashing, as they were set to music. Beautiful.

- The iconic symbols of each park. I loved seeing the Tree of Life, Cinderella's Castle, and Mickey's Sorcerer Hat up close and personal. They are way more impressive and stunning in real life than I could have imagined.

- The Festival of Fantasy parade! Our first day in Magic Kingdom, the parades were rained out. So our second day we made sure to catch it - and we had spots at the beginning of the parade, right in front! Adele quickly found out that her favorite princesses could easily pick her out when she was sitting up on David's shoulders and waving to them. She would blow kisses, and many pointed at her and blew kisses back! This parade was definitely a highlight, seeing so many favorite characters all together and acknowledging Adele.

- Breakfast at Tusker House. I already mentioned the character breakfasts, but the first was the best with Henry because it was the first time he saw any characters, and they happened to be his favorite. When we first walked in and he saw Mickey, Goofy, Daisy, and Donald walking around, he just about lost his mind with excitement. The characters would walk around from table to table, so while we were waiting we filled up our plates. Henry stuffed his face SO fast and quit eating completely when they got close to our table. He didn't hesitate at all to run up and give them hugs!

- Art of Animation resort. We stayed in the Little Mermaid wing, but loved walking around and seeing the other areas of Cars, Lion King, and Finding Nemo as well. So great to stay in a Disney resort and see Disney come to life right around us. The detail in the pools, the bigger-than-life characters on display, and the decor in each room was so fun.

- The Lion King show. Besides meeting the characters, there is no way I could pick my favorite overall experience. But as far as shows go, this was hands down my favorite. Beautiful, colorful, acrobatic, and great music obviously.

- Seeing even a different side of my husband. I've been to Disneyland twice with David, but even this was a different experience. Maybe it was because we have kids now, and experiencing Disney World with them provides unbelievable memories and emotions than to be expected. But ever since getting back from Disney World, we have spent many conversations re-living our time there, dreaming about going back, planning future trips...and the phrase "I wish we were at Disney World" is used way too often. David even admits to going through a bit of mourning after the trip was over. He grew up going on trips to Disneyland and I never truly understood the magic he felt about all things Disney...and I get it a little bit (according to David, I still don't totally understand!). Disney came alive this trip, and having our kids with us completely enhanced that experience.

Basically, I can't wait to go back.

Pretend Play

I have such a love-hate relationship with pretend play.

I absolutely LOVE it because my kids have been doing such a good job playing together. For long periods of time.

Adele and Henry play hairstylists and turn the living room into a barber shop.

They play dress-up, and take turns going through all of the princess dresses (yes, even Henry) and act out movies. Frozen is an obvious favorite.

They "camp out" and turn their room into the forest and set up beds and roast s'mores.

They play "store" where Adele runs a store from their room and pulls out all sorts of things she wants us to come in and buy (secretly I think this is her way of making money, as she requires actual pocket change for her stuff).

They play pirates and take turns who gets to be Jake, or Peter Pan, or Wendy...I usually get asked to fill in as Captain Hook. :)

Pretend play is great.

And yet, I absolutely do NOT love it because there is no way ever, ever, EVER to keep a clean house.

"Cleaning with kids in the house is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos."

Ahh, these are the good ol' days.

French braiding

When I was in 5th grade I taught myself how to french braid. I remember thinking about braiding in my head, and then figuring out how to add hair to each strand as the braid continued down the head. Not bad for a 5th grader who didn't have internet. :)

I then began to practice, and found that it was really fun to come up with new creations or designs. I often would braid many of my teammates' hair on the bus ride to our sporting event and loved it when one of them would come up with something new to try.

When I found out I was pregnant with Adele, knew the day would come that I would be able to braid her hair as well. She has the perfect hair to braid - slightly curly, not very fine. And of course, she's adorable.

I've never been very good at doing hair that didn't involve braids. Ponytails and pigtails are pretty much my limit - no curling irons for me!

Now that Adele is in school every day, I've had to pay more attention to how her hair is done as she walks out the door. Often she wants to leave it down or put it back in a headband, but sometimes she loves to sit and let me braid her hair. I choose braids around the fact that I have about 25 minutes to get it finished (the length of one morning tv show, the bribe I use in exchange for her sitting still for me!).

I know she won't let me braid her hair forever, so I'm taking advantage of the moments I can sit and braid my beautiful daughter's hair.

Here are some of my favorites!

   

Cheers to 10 years

Way back in August, David and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. And it may be hard to believe, but we have never spent a night together away from the kids. So, this year our anniversary fell during our time out in Spokane, and David's parents graciously agreed to keep the kids for a night while David and I spent the day/night over at the Coeur D'Alene resort in Idaho. We had an absolute blast, and I'm thankful for the time we had just the two of us.

Anyway, I never wrote a blog about celebrating 10 years, but have always thought I'd want to bring it up at some point. In a world where it is common practice to be on the constant lookout for the next best thing, or the need/desire for change in our lives, this sort of mentality infiltrates into a marriage quite easily it seems (both in Christian and non-Christian marriages alike) as the "forever" concept in marriage doesn't seem to have the same definition as in the past.

After 10 years of marriage, I'm proud of the relationship David and I share. Not because it's perfect, but because it's real. And good. Once we got engaged I used the phrase "doing life together" often - a phrase that appears to be more common today - and in the last 10 years, we've done just that. No matter what happens, we're in this thing called "life" together.

And while we have our weaknesses, today I'm choosing to celebrate our 10 years with 10 of our strengths in our marriage.

1. We communicate well. We talk all the time, share tiny insignificant details about our daily lives, converse about big topics in the news, and spill out our emotions to each other. We don't always agree (though mostly we do, it seems), but we listen and share opinions and talk it out. We sometimes get moody and frustrated (obviously me - I am a girl), while the other shows a lot of patience and grace (duh, it's David).

2. We laugh a lot together. Sure, there are funny things that happen in life that we can laugh at together. Or our kids are super funny and make us laugh often. But, I'm happy to say that whether it's playfulness, sarcasm, or wit, both David and I can make each other outright laugh.

3. We have common hobbies/interests. We both enjoy being outdoors, we watch similar tv shows and movies together, we enjoy similar foods, we enjoy playing similar games, and we enjoy talking about similar subjects. We strive to be healthy (which could be a whole different category, but I'm choosing to place it under here) - we enjoy leading active lifestyles and eating healthier foods and learning about essential oils to treat issues naturally. Clearly we are different people, but as we have grown in our marriage, many of our interests and hobbies have grown together as well.

4. We encourage the necessary time away. As we are different people, we obviously don't do everything together. If I need a break from people (kids) and want to go sit at a coffee shop, David encourages me to take that time. If David gets invited out with a buddy or two, I encourage that. When activities arise that are meant for just one of us, we are both very encouraging of taking advantage of it, understanding each others' needs. I'm not usually the best choice for David to go birdwatching with, and he's not the best choice for me to quilt with.

5. We have similar views on life. When it comes to politics, religion, or raising kids, we are almost always on the same page. We have healthy discussions, and approach life in a very similar way.

6. We trust each other completely. There is no one else in the world that I trust more than David. He eternally has my back, and I know without a doubt I can trust him with absolutely anything.

7. Family is important to us. We live far away from our families. We have ever since we got married, actually. And yet, it's a priority for both of us to spend time with them. When we were first married and living out in Santa Cruz, California, we worked seasonal jobs and had 3 months off in the summer. So, we split our time and lived 6 weeks with each family. When we moved to Costa Rica, we scheduled a couple weeks with each family in the summer and usually 1-2 weeks with each family at Christmas. Now that we are back in the states, we again find ourselves far away from both families. Yet now that we have our own kids, we want them to be a part of their extended families (and we still miss our families as well), so we do all we can to spend time in Washington and Iowa throughout the year. I'm thankful that this is as important to David as it is to me.

8. We share a mutual respect for each other. This comes across in listening to each other, asking for advice or opinions, admiring the other person's talents, and speaking highly of each other in public.

9. We share responsibilities around the house. Since I am a stay-at-home mom, I do most of the cleaning and cooking. But when David is around, he is truly involved. He helps in the kitchen, gets projects done around the house, and is a very involved father. For being gone a large chunk of each day, David teaches and plays with and corrects the kids and does the bedtime routine almost just as much as me.

10. We travel well together. This is important, since we seem to travel a lot! We can go from a 30-hour car ride across the country to an all-day trip down to Latin America without hiccups. We help each other to be flexible, patient, and positive. And as a result, we love to travel together.

Here's to the next 10 years!

Christmas reflection

Christmas is a great time for reflection, isn't it?

Recently I was asked on a couple different occasions to envision myself as part of the nativity scene. I was asked to reflect upon the different characters and try to figure out which one I identified most with. Would it be the excitement of the angel, presenting the news about the birth of Jesus? Would it be the curiosity of a shepherd? A camel, who had a heavy load to carry?

And yet, I could never get past Mary. That may seem obvious, as a mother, to identify with the mother in the story. Some of the feelings seem very natural for me to identify with - the dread of the pain that childbirth would bring, the wonder and amazement of seeing my child enter the world, and the fear of being a good mother and bearing that responsibility to raise my child right.

I know the Christmas story quite well. I grew up doing advent calendars and hearing the Bible stories. But I recently read something that hit me a little differently than before. I read a verse I must have seen many times, and yet don't remember very much.

After Mary gave birth to Jesus, and after the shepherds had come to see the baby, Luke 2:19 says this: "Mary treasured up all these things, and pondered them in her heart."

What a beautiful picture of the Christmas story. A young mother, with her tiny newborn baby, feeling overwhelmed and scared and amazed and exhausted.

But what does Mary do? She treasured those moments, and pondered them in her heart.

And then I got it. This is the reason I identify most with Mary.

I am way too busy over the Christmas season. Too many projects, too many activities, too many errands to run. And yet, in the busyness of it all, I want to make sure to be like Mary.

My kids are young and adorable and bright-eyed and filled with wonder. They love Christmas songs, decorating the house, seeing Christmas lights, watching Christmas movies, and reading Christmas books. They eat Christmas goodies, get dressed up for Christmas parties, and sang beautifully and off-key for the Christmas production at church.

And I can't help but treasure up all these things and ponder them in my heart.

Halloween Candy

Live and learn, is that some sort of motto for parents? It should be.

That's the reality around here. Case in point: Halloween candy.

The last couple of years on Halloween, we went to a neighborhood close to the OU campus, where there was always lots of trick-or-treaters and plenty of decorated houses. This year we decided to stay closer to home and trick-or-treat around our neighborhood.

Adele as Princess Tiana and Henry as our little lion man

We went for dinner to a friend's house and the kids got to visit the homes within about a 2-block span. (Side note: Henry couldn't contain himself and led the pack, running from house to house yelling "Come on guys! This way!!") On the short walk back to our house, we stopped at just a few more houses - only the most decorated ones. Overall, it was definitely not overkill.

But somehow, we ended up with even more candy than the last couple years! People in our neighborhood were very generous, giving handfuls of candy or even already-prepared goody bags.

That night, we let the kids each pick a couple pieces of candy. Henry chose candy he already knew - smarties and a sucker. Adele laid out each piece and carefully picked a couple new ones that looked most intriguing to her.

The next day we did the same - two pieces of candy each.

Then we ended up talking to some people who said that it's actually better for their teeth (and to not develop a routine of candy every day) if they eat it all right away and then are totally finished with it.

We've heard of lots of ways to deal with Halloween candy. Choose a set amount of pieces and let the kids determine the speed in which they consume it, spread out the candy they get over days or weeks, have a "Halloween fairy" (or witch?) come and collect all the candy, donate the candy for money...etc.

When I was growing up, I remember having the option of keeping the candy, or trading it in and going to the toy store to pick out a new toy. Of course, we always chose a new toy.

Well, on Sunday we decided that since we didn't have much going on, we would let the kids devour their baskets of candy to their heart's content. They both ate a great lunch and then we shared with them the "good" news. I'm not sure what we expected to happen...though we had high hopes that they would eat a few pieces excitedly and then be finished for the day.

Ha! They proved us wrong and had just the best time eating a ton of candy all day long.

Along with the consuming of candy came true expressions of excitement. Things like "Best day ever!" or "There is so much candy I just can't decide what to have next!"

David and I simply stared wide-eyed as sugar took over our kids' brains and they began bouncing off the walls (almost literally). It might have been one of the most amusing days we've had watching our kids.

Finally, toward the end of the day, Henry would open a piece of candy, take a bite, and exclaim "It's yucky." And eventually..."I don't like candy." Hurrah!

I'm not sure what we'll do next year, but it will probably be different than this year. Live and learn, right?

And as for the rest of their candy from this year...they each have about a half a basket left. We are taking a break from the mass consumption of candy. And David and I are "helping" the candy disappear quicker than they realize...

To clean or not to clean

I've heard it said that it takes 21 days to form a habit.

There always seem to be things in my life that I would like to turn into a routine, and habits I would like to form as I seek to improve as a mother and housewife.

A while back I saw a "cleaning schedule" on Pinterest. I have never been a great cleaner. I've not been a bad cleaner, but it's been hard to stay motivated to keep up with the deep cleaning of the house. 

I'm not talking about simply doing dishes and picking up toys - because let's be honest, those things have to be done every-single-day-almost-every-hour in order to just have the appearance of a clean house. No, I'm talking about things like cleaning out the fridge. And washing windows. And polishing the wood furniture. And scrubbing the floors. 

It's exhausting keeping a clean house! And with 2 young kids in the house? One might argue that it's impossible. "Cleaning a house with young kids is like brushing your teeth while eating oreos" is more than just a funny saying - it's a reality. 

So I decided to take it upon myself to experiment a little bit with cleaning and figure out a routine that would keep me on top of the deep cleaning, while not stressing me out. I've tried various cleaning ideas - deep cleaning all in one day, all in one weekend, and splitting up tasks over different days - like dusting one day and cleaning all glass (windows/mirrors) another day. 

After seeing yet another cleaning schedule on Pinterest, I gave it a shot. And so far, I like it.

Monday - Thursday I deep clean clean an area of the house.
Mondays: Kitchen. Wipe down counters, clean out fridge, clean microwave wash windows, sweep/scrub floors.
Tuesdays: Living room. Put away everything - mail piles that collect, toys, etc, dust, wash windows, polish wood furniture.
Wednesdays: Bedrooms. Put away /, hang up/put away all laundry that's accumulated, wash windows, dust, polish furniture.
Thursday: Bathrooms. Clean countertops, mirrors, scrub toilets, sweep/wash floors, wash shower/bathtubs

*As a disclaimer, our house is small, so breaking the house up into 4 areas makes each day seem fairly easy.

**As another disclaimer, I have two little kids. Easy is not a very accurate depiction of keeping a house even remotely clean.

A few notes: vacuuming is not on the list. Henry is terrified of the vacuum cleaner, so it takes two of us to complete the task - one to vacuum and one to comfort him in the other room. Also, there are tasks I do not do every week (washing windows, polishing furniture). But if I stick to the weekly schedule, I still concentrate on that area on each given day. And if I miss a day, it's not overwhelming to pick it back up the next day.

I also make my own cleaners! To see recipes, check out this post on our other blog: http://familywellnessessentialoils.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/green-cleaning/

Dare I say it's becoming a habit? Not yet...but I'm working on it. With the excuse that because it's a weekly routine, I am giving myself 21 weeks to make it a habit. :)