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Friday, December 26, 2008

Christmas 2008




It's hard to believe that my little girl is "all grown up" and celebrated her 4th Christmas! At this time next year, we'll have another little rascal running around!! Christmas was great this year and I really looked forward to the big day more than I have in a very long time. We are now drowning in princess and Barbie goodies. Brookey is as happy as a clam. However, my "nesting" and need to get organized is so intense right now that the first thing we did this morning is go out and buy a storage unit for all of Brookey's new toys. Scott is putting it together as we speak. :-)

Here are some pics from Christmas 2008...Brookey actually wore a frilly, "girly" dress WILLINGLY for about 4 hours!! It was too cute!! Thanks, Grandma Taylor!









Happiest Place on Earth


We spent two wonderful days at Disneyland
December 21st & 22nd.
The first day we had terrific weather--sunshine at mid-60's. We hit some of the "kiddie" rides and some rides we thought were kiddie rides--turned out to be nightmarish for Brookey! Snow White's Scary Adventure really was SCARY and the Pinocchio ride freaked Scott and I out!! Small World and the Jungle Cruise were a hit, along with the tea cups and the train ride. I think Brookey got more out of the entertainment than anything else. Although it rained the morning of the 22nd (who said it never rains in Southern California??!), we waited diligently for 1/2 and hour for Brookey's chance to meet the princesses. And if you know my kid, she's not one to go up and greet strangers, but as soon as she saw Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, she went right up to them and gave them big hugs!! It was really a dream come true for her! She also went to princess storytime and princess craft time where she made a crown. The highlight of the whole trip was the Disney Christmas Fantasy Parade--we got seats right on Main Street and it was truly magical!! So good that we went both nights. We also went to a Disney "live" show at California Adventure which Brookey loved--slightly overstimulating for me but it was precious to see her face and watch her dance with her favorite characters. We'll definitely go back in about 3 years or so...maybe when she can enjoy more of the rides. And we'll probably hit Disney WORLD in Florida instead and make a bigger vacation out of it. But for the time being, Brookey got her princess fix and we all had a great time!!


Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Barbie and the Pain-in-the-Butt Diamond Castle: Scenes from Rooney Parenting

So I never thought that I would be "that parent" that waits outside the
toy store and runs people over to get the "latest and greatest" Tickle Me Elmo or whatever toy happens to be "hot" this year. Most of you who know me, know I don't know an iPhone from a Wii and I am definitely not the most trendy, savvy person on earth (No, I STILL don't own an iPod!) I am proud to report that I am STILL not "that parent." HOWEVER, last night I am beginning to feel I was making pretty good strides towards it.

It all started with Brookey's Barbie and the Diamond Castle craze. She loves the movie, the dolls, the music ("Protected" by Katherine McPhee is her favorite song: http://barbie.everythinggirl.com/diamond-castle/). So for the past few months, she's had her eye on the "Diamond Castle" dollhouse. Every time we go to Target, we look at it and I promised I'd tell Santa. Every time we have gone to Target in the past few months, it's been there--retailing for $59.99. So last night, I escape to go pick it up for her and low and behold Target is sold out--it's no where to be found on the shelves. Darn it. Oh, well-i decided to just go home and order it online. Well, it just so happens that this "Diamond Castle" thing happens to be the most sought after toy this year. There were NOOOO Diamond Castles to be found from Eureka to Visalia (if you know CA geography, that is roughly a 500 mile span!). Not at Target, Toys R Us, Amazon, Sears, Wal-Mart...everywhere SOLD OUT. Oh, except eBay where people are selling it from $189-$325!!!!! I am not in that psycho parent category to pay that much for a dollhouse and I hope I never, ever will be!!!!

Scott and I collectively called all of these stores and it was no where to be found. Some store employees laughed at us right away and some were nice enough to check the shelves only to report "no luck." The store in Novoto, CA (about 30 miles from our house) said they were too busy and would "call us back." Yeah, sure. So we went to bed and decided we'd just get her the Leap Frog Reading System something-or-other.

At about 10:00pm our phone rings. It's the Target in Novoto. They seem to have located ONE last Diamond Castle in the depths of their warehouse. They could hold it for us for 24 hours. Working 5 days a week doesn't exactly lend itself to driving an hour on a two-lane road to pick up a toy at any time of the day. But my dear husband, being the dedicated dad he is, sacrificed himself at 7am this morning to make the drive to pick up the Castle for his little girl. Of course, he got to the store and they acted like they had no idea what he was talking about ("We would never hold anything over night!! Who said we would??") Typical Target customer service. But finally, after much haggling (begging??), the Diamond Castle is in our possession.

Leave it to Brookey to decide she likes the most popular toy of the season. My only question now is...how much can we get for it on eBay??!

Monday, December 15, 2008

Countdown to Disney: 6 days!!!


I haven't had a vacation to look forward to in awhile and I have to say I am looking forward to this "vacation" more than anything in a long time!! It's like my Christmas present to ME! :) Not because I am necessarily excited to ride Dumbo The Flying Elephant, shake hands with Sleeping Beauty, eat a lollipop the size of my head or take a picture with Mickey Mouse ears....it's because our little rascal has been waking up every morning for the past few days asking, "Are we going to Disneyland today, Mommy??? Today?? When??" The look on her face when she walks through the gates of the Magic Kingdom will be a present more than I ever hoped or dreamed for.! If anyone knows me well, they know I am and have been a bit of a scrooge around Christmas (the holiday stresses me out, man!!). But this year, I have to say I have never looked so forward to the holiday season. Is it that Planned Parenthood commercial that says, "Having a baby changes everything." So true.

Quick and Easy Meal Prep for Breakfast + Lunch + Snacks!

Ready for a SUPER quick and easy meal prep?! No joke, it took me longer to find all the lids to these containers than it did it prep my b...