Our Disney Kick. . .

We bought annual passes for Typhoon Lagoon yesterday. The kids had a blast. AJ and I hung out in the Lazy River for hours. :) Guess where we plan to go weekly???

Disney Mosaic

Disney Mosaic

Originally uploaded by staciplonsky

Ah, Disney. ..

How I missed you. It was so nice to visit you today and remember being a kid, going with my own family. We saw you so much, in fact, that there came a time when I whined, "Disney again? We just went last week! Can't I just stay home?" No offense, dear Disney World. But when one lives in Orlando and when one's parents bought annual Disney passes, even a wonderful place like you can wear one out with excessive cheeriness.

There WAS the Christmas Day when I was about 14. I had no money, but after my dad bought hot chocolate for the family and I went back for napkins, I struck up a conversation with a cute boy selling the hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies. I walked away with a free chocolate chip cookie! And a warm glow in my heart for the pleasant conversation regarding the chilly weather. It was innocent. And sweet. AND it impressed Mom and Dad.

But I digress. It occurred to me today how completely fabricated you are, dearest Magic Kingdom. The ground to the walls to the lights to the shows to the Cinderella with dark eyebrows and the permagrin on her face. . . it's all so fake. NOTHING is Waldorf-like about you. And yet, my children soaked up every minute we were in your presence with wide eyes, gasps of delight, open jaws and wonder. It was worth every bit of time and money spent to introduce them to you.There was an older lady in a wheelchair next to us at the parade. She was very nice, offering to share her umbrella's shade with my children, who politely declined. When the characters walked by to give high fives and shake hands and hug children, this lady was the first one to grab them and hug them and wave at them. It was so cute to watch this. She wasn't mentally incapacitated, just excited to be at Disney World.

Grace saw the parade for the first time in her memory and spotted Snow White. Awe filled her face.








We went on "The Jungle Cruise" and that provided nice respite from the sun. AJ, especially, needed the ride.



Terry and AJ and Grace insisted on pretending to be Captain Hook, following Pirates of the Carribbean. Hey, he's a pirate, too!!! BTW, Magic Kingdom, nice job on updating the ride to include Jack Sparrow.




Terry and I got a kick out of standing line for pictures with the Princesses. We waited in line for 35 minutes, which was nothing, really, compared to the 2 hour wait earlier in the day. We saw little girls get shy, or squeal with delight. The princesses asked the girls for a hug. We watched an entire Indian family, complete with the grandma wearing the traditional sari, take a picture with not only Sleeping Beauty, but also Cinderella and Belle. We watched two single men get their pictures with each princess. We noted the princess did NOT ask THEM for a hug. Then it was Grace's turn. She became shy and forgot where she lived. The princesses were very kind and conversed with her for a few minutues. AJ hugged each princess, also. And walked away with lipstick on his cheek from Sleeping Beauty. The rest of the evening, he kept telling me, "I want to hug the princesses again!"


After hugging Aurora, he had to explain to Belle why there was lipstick on his cheek. Busted!




He's never going to wash his face again.


I offered to take Terry's picture with the princess of his choice, but he declined. Apparently I am the only princess he needs. :)


Oh-I almost forgot! When we picked up our tickets in the morning, the cast member took about 10 minutes to process our certificate in the back office. She came out with an apology for taking so long, our tickets, and 3 fast passes to use on any "FastPass" ride of our choice. We zipped through the lines for "Jungle Cruise" and "Winnie the Pooh." We thought Peter Pan might be too much for my height-phobic daughter.

I must confess, dear Disney. When my husband expressed his desire to visit you, I hesitated. I told him, "You know this is Memorial Day weekend. The park will be very crowded."

But he knew that. I thought, "The man works full time and goes to school full time. Who am I to deny him his wish to visit Disney World on his one week free from school?"

So we bought ponchos, expecting rain. We dressed for hot, humid weather and enjoyed the day. It was busy, but we still went on several rides and saw many shows. AJ laughed very hard at the "Monsters, Inc." comedy show. The parades were great for our children. I have a great picture of Grace watching the parade with wide eyes, lit up at the sight of Cinderella. Even the food was almost reasonably priced and palatable. We donned our ponchos when it began to pour in the late afternoon, and continued our jaunt. AJ splashed in every puddle he could find. So did Terry.

We ended our visit to you, dear Disney, watching the light parade upon our egress. We hopped on a Monorail, debarked at the Polynesian Resort, (the best place to park at Disney because it's free) and ate a late night snack at the Kona Cafe. We had the best California roll ever at their sushi bar--they use real lump crab instead of Alaskan Pollock imitation stuff. And pineapple was in the roll, too. And the kids had make your own icecream sundaes, Terry enjoyed white chocolate cheesecake, while I indulged in a coconut cream tart. The coffee (freshly brewed, by the way) helped Terry and I drive home without falling asleep.

We cannot wait to come back and visit you for Grace's birthday. We plan to dress her up and take her to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for princess hair and makeup on her special day. We just hope to get in to Cinderella's Castle for a meal this next time. Who knew that you filled up 90 days in advance?

Thanks for a great day.

lyrics



Lyrics | Peter Gabriel - Book Of Love lyrics

Scrubs

For JD's farewell, they did a mushy, tearjerker of an ending. Here's the song they used: Book of Love by Peter Gabriel. It's beautiful.

Knitting on Fraggle Rock

Just had to share the Doozers' knitting.

JubileeProjectcollage

JubileeProjectcollage

Originally uploaded by staciplonsky

Some projects I've recently accomplished.

Rainy Day

And my son is so cute. We had to make a supply run to Publix (and STILL managed to forget garbage bags!) and AJ and I had crocs on to brave the water. My joyful 3 year old managed to splash in EVERY puddle we could see from the van to grocery store. My legs and his were SOAKED. We both just giggled hysterically while Grace pretended that she was not acquainted with us at all!

Then we went for a rainy day walk in the neighborhood. The soccer ball went into what used to be a fun place to roll around in the grass and is now a pond. What an adventure fishing it out!

Hershey's Kisses Cherry Cordial

They taste like cough syrup. I do not recommend them. I'm wondering if I can use them to bake, however, in a chocolate cake or something. . . .Must research. That's what I get for taking my chances in the clearance bin.

More about Flaxseed

My friend Hannah suggested I use my coffee bean grinder to grind the whole flaxseed. She's a genius. Thanks to her suggestion, we enjoyed oatmeal with peaches and a few tablespoons of flaxseed sprinkled in.

It's rainy today, so oatmeal was good for the soul. We do have to run to the grocery store for feta cheese and blockbuster to rent a movie, but other than that, we're staying put at home! We painted a Princess crown ceramic "piggy" bank for grace, painted rock animals, watched AJ get paint everywhere EXCEPT on the rocks, and we're going to have Ratatouille for dinner thanks to our hardworking crock pot. (hence the feta cheese and movie rental--1 guess what we're renting!)

Terry has a week off inbetween classes, and I'm going to soak up as much time as I can with him!

Pictures and such

My friend Tracy posted much more details about our trip to hear Stephanie Pearl-McPHee. I'll give you the link to her post so you can see the pics and hear about our fantastic adventure!

Tracy's account

Yarn Harlot

The Yarn Harlot was sooooo funny! My friends and I road tripped down to Vero Beach early this morning to get good seats for hearing Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.

She's even funnier in person than she is in her books! She talked for an hour about how knitting is good for us and good for humanity and non-knitters just don't get it. Scientific studies even show that knitting is good for promoting the "theta" brain wave!

On our way home, our friend Hannah had to pull a MacGyver and fix her bumper, which was knocked partially loose, with some yarn. Tracy and I were sooo impressed.

And now AJ is stealing Terry's socks. I must rescue them both.

Yarn Harlot is coming to town!

So excited. I'm riding with a friend or two down to Vero Beach for the day tomorrow to meet The Yarn Harlot. Who, according to her blog, had a heck of a time at the airport catching a flight to FL.

Here's to knitting, autographed books and girl time!

My First Mosaic

My First Mosaic

Originally uploaded by staciplonsky

I just learned how to make this really cool mosaic from my friend Alisa Beth (AB's Blog in the link section on my page).

Flaxseed

I read that adding flaxseed to smoothies is a good way to up the nutritional content. I bought a bag today, unground. It turns out that you should grind it before putting it in smoothies, or so I hear. Ancient Greeks and Romans used to eat it raw, like a nut. And I see why--it is GOOOOD!!!

Plus it's healthy. It contains 4 grams of fiber in just two Tablespoons, compared with 1.5 cups of cooked oatmeal! It also contains high levels of lignans, a natural antioxidant. . . and compared 2 Tb of flaxseed, you'd need 30 cups of broccoli to get teh same amount. And, then, of course, it contains Alpha linolenic Acid (and Omega-3). One serving contains 2400mg of omega-3.

Let's see how fast we go through a bag of this! :)

Here are some suggested uses from webmd.com:
"The recommended daily amount of flaxseed is approximately 1-2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed, or 1 teaspoon of flax oil (which is best used cold, perhaps mixed in a vinaigrette salad dressing). Morris' favorite way to get her flaxseed is to mix a tablespoon of the ground seeds with 2 tablespoons of honey, and then spread the mixture on toast. "It has a nutty flavor," she says, "and is a great alternative to buttering your toast."

Texas nutritionist Natalie Elliott offers these additional suggestions for adding flax to your diet:

Sprinkle ground flax on cereal, yogurt, or salads.
Mix flax into meatloaf or meatballs.
Add ground flax to pancake, muffin, or cookie batter, or other baked goods such as pie crust.
Coat fish or homemade chicken nuggets in ground flaxseed and oven fry.
Toss salads with flax oil and vinegar.
Or try one of her favorites, "Nat's Flax Snacks":

1 cup Karo corn syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup ground flax
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 cups of Rice Krispies


Mix together the first five ingredients in a saucepot over low heat until melted and smooth. Add Rice Krispies to the pot and stir. Pour contents into a buttered 9"x13" pan. Press down to flatten. Stir, cool, and cut into 8 bars."

Reflections

Well, Grace and I have almost completed her first year homeschooling. It went really well, and we're looking  forward to continuing next year. I've selected her math curriculum, and am exploring other subjects for next year. She's been a joy to teach. I feel so blessed to stay home with my children and raise them the way I believe God has called our family to do.

AJ was in preschool from January on. He's matured so much and we're so proud of his development! He has a great belly laugh all of a sudden and gets so silly. 

We were on vacation last weekend in St Augustine and it was bliss. The kids were so well behaved. I was very proud of them. We explored history by morning and the beach and pools by afternoon and evening. Only when you homeschool can you take school on the road! :)

Anyhow, that's a quick update on us. I'm looking forward to seeing the Yarn Harlot (Stephenie Pearl-McPhee) when she visits Vero Beach next Saturday. I think, since it's Memorial Day Weekend, we might make another vacation out of it.  I suppose I should start looking at activities and places to stay. . .

Louis Armstrong

Grace is quite a fan. She saw a picture of him the other day and wanted to know who he was and why his picture was in the magazine. (It's actually a really cool ad for Americans for the Arts.. . here's a blinkie I found at their site!


Anyhow, I found some clips of Satchmo on YouTube. She's particularly fond of "What a Wonderful World." So here was our conversation:

GP: Mom, can I get Louis (pronounced Lew-Is) Armstrong's autograph?
SP: His name is "Lou-ie" Armstrong. And no, honey, he died.
GP: *Gasp* He did? . . . .(pause) When I die, and I go to heaven, can I get Louis Armstrong's autograph in heaven?
SP: That's a great idea, honey.
GP: And can I sing with him? Because I really love to sing.
SP: Sure, Grace. That would be really cool.
GP: Yes, because when I go to heaven, and Louis Armstrong is in heaven, we can sing together!

You know, I love homeschooling. Because I can take teachable moments and USE them. We danced to his music, we watched how he moved his whole body when he sang, Grace noted the piano in the song. We watched him play his trumpet in "When the Saints Go Marching In" and Grace asked about his dark skin. We talked about jazz and how music makes us feel deeper emotions.

With all the cuts going on regarding funding for schools, I would be a fool to place my daughter in the public education system. What will education be like without arts and music and physical education to supplement reading, writing and 'rithmetic? In my experience, the arts gave me a reason to read, write and count. They fill our spirits in ways that we cannot measure.