Back from vacation...back to the daily grind...

Going on vacation is a great thing...getting back in the daily grind is not. Although coming back to the nice cool fall temperatures and spectacularly colored leaves was really nice compared to the heat and humidity of Florida (the next time we decide to go down to Disney, it will definitely be in the middle of January!) But despite the heat, the sore, tired feet, and the hour wait for some of the bigger rides, we all had a great time. We pretty much spent a day at each of the parks - Animal Kingdom, MGM Studios, Magic Kingdom and we went to Epcot for dinner at a different country each night. Which then meant that we were right in the area to watch the fireworks over the lagoon after dinner.

We stayed at the Polynesian which is absolutely gorgeous. Our building was called Tahiti and the view we had out of our room really made you think that you were in Tahiti! And yes, time was spent in that hammock!

We also had a character breakfast at the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom and Brendan had a blast getting his picture taken with Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore. Who wouldn't like eating breakfast with these guys walking around? Even just being in Magic Kingdom makes you feel like a kid again!

Brendan wasn't scared of the characters, but he didn't really want to go on too many of the rides. I think the monorail was his favorite "ride"! And on our last day there, we got to sit up in front with the conductor. He really enjoyed that. He did go on the Tea Cup ride with me and grandma, and the Indy Speedcar ride with daddy and grandpa, but a lot of the other rides scared him. Especially if any of it had to do with the dark.

We had planned our dinner for each evening and made reservations several months ago to different restaurants around Epcot - The Coral Reef in The Seas, the German Biergarten, inside the Aztec pyramid in Mexico and the English Pub in the UK. In all - the food was spectacular. I have yet to have a bad meal anywhere in Disney. And the view of the fireworks from the patio of the English Pub was even better!

By the time we arrived back home Monday night, I was amazed to see how much the leaves had changed color and how much has already fallen. Things were still pretty green when we left last week. And it's so much cooler up here. Hard to think Halloween is next week already!

Our first howdown, a family birthday party and vacation is coming!

It was yet another busy weekend in this two black cat household. We (Brendan and I) attended our first howdown this past Saturday in honor of the famous FunnyGal KAT who will soon be tying the knot with her PH (Pretend Husband as she likes to refer to him. KAT - you're going to have to change that title in a few weeks!) KAT shares a blog with my long-time friend sj over at FunnyGals. And sj, in her usual party-planning greatness, organized a great jack-and-jill with a good ol' country theme for the bride and groom. As soon as she mentioned the fact that there would be Greer's fried chicken there, I was sold! So the next thing I knew, I ordered 2 cowboy hats from an online store and we were ready to go. Hubby unfortunately couln't attend since he worked to organize a bachelor party for one of his good friends that same afternoon/evening.

Sunday turned out to be a nice day and we invited the family to come over for some pizza, cake and pie for hubby's mom's birthday. I think everyone had a good time. And Brendan got to spend some time sharing his new swing set with his cousin for the first time. They were having so much fun, I don't think they realized how chilly it was outside. Quite the contrast to the 90° heat we'll be experiencing at Disney later this week!

Way too early to be dealing w/colds...infections...ugh...

Well it isn't even winter yet but B had his first upper respiratory tract infection this past weekend. I have no idea where he got the bug (although I'm suspecting school since that's where he is during the week and he is now exposed to more kids than he ever has been even at daycare), but Sunday night the fever began and it lasted until Tuesday evening. He had a minor cold the weekend before, but that seemed to come and go. Then on Monday morning the cough started and that's how we knew that his cold must have migrated south into his chest. By Tuesday the fever still hadn't broken yet (although it was a low-grade fever ~101) so we decided to take him to the doctor's and get checked out. Two days and 3 doses of antibiotics later, he's pretty much back to his usual self. Let's hope he stays healthy for a while now!

I flew a plane!!

Well ok - I didn't exactly "fly" it as in taking off or landing, but once we were in the sky, the flight instructor pretty much handed the controls over to me and boy was that fun! A few weeks ago hubby arranged for a demo flight for the two of us and a flight instructor for Saturday morning. Since he's been in a small plane before, he offered to sit in back so that meant I was able to sit in front as the PIC (pilot in command.) The plane was a small 4-seater Cessna Skyhawk. It had the latest in aviation technology (commonly referred to as a "glass cockpit"). Along with all the regular dials and gauges you see in older aircraft, this thing also had 2 LCD screens - one of which was a moving map display so you can see your aircraft on a map as we flew over major roads and landmarks. Pretty neat stuff. We even took part in the pre-flight checklist and the instructor walked me through which switches to turn on and which levers to press when. Now that was confusing and completely overwhelming, but it was still a lot of fun once you were up in the air. And I've got the video to prove it! This first one was taken as we were climbing after take-off. Those who are familiar with the location of this little airport might be able to recognize some landmarks. And yes, that is me in the driver's seat. It was quite hazy yesterday morning, so the visibility wasn't great, but it was still a really cool ride. On a clear day from our altitude, we should have been able to see all the way to the Sound.

The next video will also look pretty familiar to those who live in this area. Those 2 towers on the hill are a predominant landmark but they look so different from the air! Hubby also filmed one of the largest houses in the area. Owned by a popular rapper who bought it from a former boxer. I think it's up for sale again if you've got a few million to spare.

I also flew us over our own house. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find things from the air. You really need to know your landmarks! After turning us north and keeping an eye out for a very large reservoir, I was actually able to follow the roads and turned us right toward our neighborhood. And not long after that, I found our house. Or actually I found our back deck. The red stain is amazingly very visible from 2000 feet up! At that point the instructor took over and put the plane in a 45° bank. Now that was a bit freaky - look next to your shoulder and the wing of the plane is pretty much pointed straight down. But by doing that we were able circle it and the neighborhood a few times before heading back towards the airport. The landing was pretty smooth, but it looked really complicated. All-in-all it was definitely a fun ride. Now on to the more pressing question...would I want to learn how to do all of this myself?

Brendan's birthday present is almost done

It's been a pretty weekend so far and here's why -

The swingset is pretty much up and ready to be played on! The only thing missing are the rocks on the rock wall and the rope that helps you climb up. Then it will be totally be done and within a few weeks we'll probably have to start taking some stuff down for winter storage...go figure. At least he'll have a few more weeks to have fun with it before it really starts to get cold.

A Truly Commercial Mouse

And no I'm talking about Micky or Minnie or any of the other mice characters created by animation moguls like Disney or Warner Brothers. I'm talking about a real mouse...in a commercial establishment. The CVS at the center of our town to be precise.

After picking up B this afternoon from school, we headed over to CVS to pick up a few things. As we walked to the back of the store towards the pharmacy, B who was trailing behind me says "Look mommy!" Now's the time to flip a coin because that phrase usually means there's something really neat to look at or something really bad has caught his eye. Strangely enough, this one falls in the middle. The middle of the cold medicine aisle to be exact. There stood a cute little mouse. The first thing out of my mouth was "Aww...he must have caught wind that there's an oversupply of halloween candy here these days." Then the "screamer" walked by with her son. You know the type - those ultra prim and proper 50-year old women walking around in heels because they think they're 30 years younger than they are. The kind that you know would scream "Eeeek!!! A mouse!!!" at a decibel level that would make you think she was getting attacked by the damn thing. So thanks to that woman, the poor mouse went scurrying down the aisle as fast as it could.

By the time it stopped, I had a chance to grab a hand basket from the end of the aisle and managed to pin it down underneath the basket. Given the size of the holes though, I'm very surprised that mouse didn't try to escape as I'm sure he could have easily fit through. Luckily one of the pharmacists (who actually had a very strong resemblance to SJ's J - I literally had to do a double-take when I saw him) came by with a big container and was able to capture the poor mouse and put it outside. Then the "Eeek" woman came by and pretty much announced to the whole store that I was some sort of supermom and was so incredibly brave to get close enough to cover it with a basket. Umm..not really but if that's what you want to call it, ok! Little does she know, we deal with mice in our own home quite frequently especially in the fall and winter months. And considering the fact that we have 2 superb hunters in the family (the black beasts in the picture) and that I would rather not pick up mouse guts in the house if they managed to capture one, I have gotten pretty quick at the "cover and throw it outside" maneuver. But if that woman has her way, I think that pharmacist just might have earned himself the title of "Employee of the Month" today!

Popular mom phrases

I have no idea who this woman is, but her rattling off of nearly every phrase used by moms everywhere set to the William Tell Overture is hilarious!

Hilarious mom on Yahoo! video