Mother knows best

Ruffians, thugs
Poison ivy, quicksand
Cannibals and snakes
The plague

Your trip is 10 days away. Or at least mine is. It's January. Rates are low. Deals are good. Weather in South Florida is nice. The problem is, it's also sick season. Children are coming back from their Christmas break. They've collected germs from all over the tri-state area, and held on to them. Now that the BCS has finally named their champion, everyone is back at work and school. A little snot and a low grade fever is not nearly enough for keep parents from sending their children back to school. Back where your kids are. The ones who are going to Disney in 10 more sleeps. 10. Diez dias.

What to do?

We still have to go to church, and we still have to go to school. One thing I am doing, minnie-mizing (do you like how I did that?) germ opportunities.

This isn't rocket science.
• We try not to touch as much. Walls, stair rails, door knobs. You get it. It's always good practice to keep our little fingers to ourselves, but inside 2 weeks of WDW, it's mission critical.
• OJ. LaHots of it. I make sure the kids drink all of their juice in the mornings, and drink a lot of anything but sugary things.
• We are staying home more, intentionally. We love play dates at the local quick service spots in town (I did it again, see?). But those are often a breeding spot for the most vicious germs. So we are cutting back on our outings like this, and eating at home. Saves a little cash. Protects from a few germs.

Little things that may or may not be really helping my family stay healthier, but in my mind, they are, and it feels like we are already getting ready for our trip.

We're going to Disney!

We've kept the secret from our kids for months now. Tonight we finally told them. We are going to Disney, but not only that, we are going with two other families that we are close to, and a few grandparents.

It was great.

We told the kids that our friends were coming over. We explained New Year's Eve, and that we were sort of having a party. It's Disney, so you have to have a theme. I asked the right questions, enough to let my daughter think it was her idea that we have a Disney World theme. That way, I could decorate without any questions.

The decorations.
I am proud to say that I didn't have to buy one thing to decorate for this little shindig. We have the props for a Disney party.

But apparently I didn't take a picture of them all...

The food.
I read through a list of all of the animated movies looking for food ideas from the movies. The best I menu I could come up with was spaghetti, poison apples and hunny. Not so tasty, so in my first act of flexibility concerning this trip, I changed the plan. I give you...

Mickey Pot Pies

This pic was from before I baked them. The ears didn't stay on. I had to put them back on with a toothpick. The kids didn't really pay attention, but I was happy to have my little ears on though. Chef Mickey, call me if you want my recipe.

More themed food.
The army man cupcake toppers I had left over from Handsome Jr.'s 3 year old party. The one we had to cancel because he got sick. And we had to put something in a frying pan, because I just really amused myself with how cute that would be.

The rest was normal potluck: green bean casserole, roasted potatoes, marshmallow fruit salad, and those hip-dwelling cupcakes.

The crew.

We will have 9 children all together. Age 8 months to 7 years. Here are most of them, enjoying their ADR in our living room, on a makeshift table. (Thank you Lord for a more friends than I can fit in my house comfortably, or at least neatly.)

The reveal.

We bought the Hedbanz game, and played our own version of it. We let each child have a turn with a character card on their headband, and ask questions to figure out who it was. This didn't work perfectly, but it was still fun.

For the second round of the game, we gave all of the kids special cards all at once, and told them that they couldn't turn around and look at the others until we said so. Only a few of them can read, so it took a while for them to catch on. But finally, they got it.

Here's what happened.

That's me that gets tackled in the end. So excited!

I love the mouse.

I posted a comment to a friend's blog, and she laughed at me, saying that my comment was longer than her post.

Got me wishing I had done more with my own blog.

Here's her original blog post.


And this is my response:
that sound you just heard was the straightening of my arms and the crack of my fingers...

I totally get your concern about what your girls watch, and wanting to steer clear of any kind of dark forces. Us too.

The Hubs and I have discussed it many times, and these (and by that I mean his feelings that I am submitting to because, well, you've met me right?) are our thoughts: We want our children to see good vs. evil. We want them to see characters struggle to do the right thing, but ultimately do so. We want them to see the meanness and manipulation of a villain. And we want them to see the beat down the bad guys get when the good guys win. That's our measure. Anything we allow our kids to watch has to have clear defined good guys and bad guys. And though they may have dark times, and trouble of their own, the good guys win.

Disney does a lot within this model. Yes, they use fairy godmothers and witches with spells. It's pretend. My children know that. Because we talk about it. We watch it together, and they know that no one can turn a pumpkin into a carriage. But they do see a sweet, well-mannered young girl who has been mistreated, still be respectful to her authority.

While not likely their intention, Disney has made several movies with good characters who have good character. Again, watching it with our children allows us to point out what is make believe, and what is to be admired.

The Princess and the Frog- love it. Yes it includes voodoo. Full of Black Magic. Friends from the other side. Guess what? That stuff is real. Satan is all up in it, and I am sure Disney didn't mean to portray it that way, but it's an excellent way to help children even up to teens understand how Satan tries to entice us to his ways, and gain power.

Toward the end of the movie, The Shadow Man shows Tiana a version of her dream that he wants to offer her. Remembering the values she learned from her family, she rejects him, and ultimately breaks the spell and power he has on this Earth.

Then, as he is being dragged into a grave by his "friends from the other side," his last words are "How am I ever going to pay my debt?"

If I may speak like Mama Odie here- "Lawd, some Christian done slipped a line in this here stoe-ree!"

------------

Folks who admonish Harry Potter, but welcome The Lord of the Rings make me squint my eyes and turn my head sideways. Granted, our children haven't watched much HP, but that's because we don't get into them as much, and some of the creatures are so scary, they might cause bad dreams. While LOTR also has some scary images, they are easily forgotten in light of that elf with a bow and arrow.

So, if you take out all of the "magic," you are left with little else to engage your children in seeing Christ modeled in others. Really, you would have to take Veggie Tales off the table too.

Talk about magic.

After that, you are left with the KJV. that's nice. Knocketh thou self out.

Know that I love you Jenn, and I don't think you have to give up your Disney magic. Disney is something that you and your family enjoys together. I think Jesus likes that.

love you and miss your precious family!
December 29, 2011 8:14 PM

Stuff my 3-year-old says...

"Mommy- I had a assident, and I had to put on my polar bear unwears." His "polar bear" underwear are his solid white tighty-whiteys. Solid white- like a polar bear.

learning about adoption

Me: Abbie, we are going to Chick Fil A tonight for dinner. Mr. Brian and Ms. Leslie are adopting a baby from another country.

Abbie: Is it Guinea? Harry Belafonte said something about Guinea.

Me: I don't think it's Guinea. It's somewhere in Africa. (we watch a LOT of Muppets at our house. She really likes Harry Belafonte, and she wants a Linda Ronstat t-shirt.) It costs a lot of money to adopt a baby from another country, and Chick fil A is going to give part of the money that they make tonight to Mr. Brian and Ms. Leslie to pay for their adoption.

Abbie: Why does it cost so much money to adopt from another country? Is it because the kids there are so cool, because they can speak other languages not English? English is just regular.

Me: Well, it costs a lot of money because it's so far away. Mr. Brian and Ms. Leslie have to travel a long way to get their child. You know, it might not be a little baby. It might be a boy or girl about your age, or Drew's age, or it might be a little bitty baby.

Abbie: If it's a girl will you make her bows? And headbands? And flip flops? And will she wear long dresses like I like?

Me: Yes sweet girl, I bet she will.

Oh how I love my girl's heart!

Seen and Heard: In Shining Armor: In Defense of the Princess, part 2

Seen and Heard: In Shining Armor: In Defense of the Princess, part 2

Seen and Heard: In Defense of the Princess

Seen and Heard: In Defense of the Princess