Andrea's Mommy Tales

Today was the day we were headed toward Vancouver. The one thing that I struggled with when planning this whole trip was transportation to Vancouver from Seattle. It was almost twice as much to fly into Vancouver, so that is why we opted for Seattle. I was excited to check out Western Canada. Living near Windsor, ON Canada I have seen of middle of the country. Unfortunately I didn’t do much research on Vancouver before we went, I will get to that later. I didn’t know much about the area, just that HGTV shows were taped there.

We woke up early in Seattle and tried to find a place close to the hotel where they were serving breakfast. We found a cafe/bakery about a block away. They didn’t have much to choose from, but I got some quiche while Brian had a breakfast sandwich. After breakfast we stopped at Starbucks, where we we would have had a better breakfast. I got my iced tea and then we headed back to the hotel to finish packing up and called a cab to take us to where the bus will be picking us up.

Once we got on the bus, it was a long day. We are hoping to do this trip again, but I think next time we will take the train. The bus ride was extremely boring. I am glad there was WiFi, but there was only so much I could do on my phone. I did get to enjoy some of the Washington state scenery, but I just couldn’t get comfortable on the bus. Once we finally got through customs we had to make a couple stops before we were supposed to get to our hotel. But the bus never dropped us off at our hotel. Instead he dropped us off by the waterfront, and gave us the wrong directions to the Radisson we were staying at.

We finally got to our hotel, checked in, and started our search for a place to eat. We walked around and couldn’t decide what to try. We found a restaurant on the second floor of a building. We both got a drink and a sandwich. I can’t remember the name of the place we ate at, but the food was good and they bar was neat.

After lunch I needed a nap. So we went back to the hotel and fell asleep for a couple of hours. After our naps we went to the waterfront to check out the sites. We probably could have done an activity, but didn’t know what to do because of the lack of my planning. We just enjoyed looking around the Port of Vancouver, watching water planes take off and land, and ate dinner at a great place called Steamworks Brewing Company.

This is a shorter blog since we really didn’t do much this day. Vancouver was just okay, not my favorite place to visit. Maybe if we had more time I would have enjoyed it more, but I wasn’t impressed.

Up next: Getting on the ship and enjoying our cruise…

It has been a while since I have blogged. Life gets in the way some time. My oldest started Kindergarten, I have been busy at work, and there is just too much going on this time of year. My hubby gave me a wonderful present, a new (refurbished) laptop. This is my first “new” laptop in over seven years. I have been writing my past blogs on my work computer, but I have decided that I no longer wanted to use that computer to express my creativity. There is time for work and time for me.

Well, I wanted to start my blogging off with a trip report. This one started in October 2015. While on our 10 year anniversary Western Caribbean cruise I decided to put down a deposit on a cruise for my 40^th birthday. My theory is that now that I am “old” that I need to go on an Alaskan cruise. Of course this would be a Disney cruise, no surprise to those who know me. We decided to fly into Seattle even though the cruise deports out of Vancouver, British Columbia. I have never been to Seattle, but my husband has been in the past. I thought since the cruise took off on August 7^th and my birthday is the 5^th, let’s enjoy a day in Seattle before making the trek up to Canada. So the plan was fly into Seattle August 5^th, take a bus up to Vancouver the next day, then enjoy some time in Vancouver before leaving on the 7^th on the ship.

To get most of our trip, we got up super early and took the first flight out of Detroit to Seattle on Alaskan Airlines, which was cheaper than Delta. Just a side note, this is not a cheap trip. Between, the three different hotel stays, the transportation, and the actual cruise (which I saved for weekly for over two years), it adds up. After dealing with a Saturday morning flight out of the other terminal (what I call the non-Delta terminal in Detroit) I am going to get TSA approved for my next flight. I am not going to tell you how bad the security line is. I don’t know if was the time of day or what, but the line was literally out of the door. By the time we went through the Alaska Airlines line to check the luggage, went through the security check, then picking up something for breakfast, it was time to get on the plane. So off we go an our adventure!

We landed in Seattle on time and we were so excited to finally do some exploring.

After our car picked us up we dropped off our luggage at the hotel and did some walking. Fist stop was to find Pike’s Place.

We just walked around and enjoyed the views. But we were getting hungry. It was lunch time at home, but just the end of breakfast time on the West coast. We decided to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe since I had a free meal for my birthday. So we finally found the location and it was time to eat! It was awesome to see some guitars from the greats that I listened to my teen/college years (which most of them are now gone). We just enjoyed our burgers and the sights before we headed back to the hotel.

I was getting really tired from only sleeping one hour the night before and I needed to recharge. We both enjoyed a three hour nap before we headed back out to check out the other side of the city, near the Space Needle. After freshening up we walked over to the Space Needle, bought our tickets, then walked around. I also wanted to visit the Chihuly Museum, but there was an event there that evening so we opted to check out the scenery. After an iced tea from Starbucks and a mini cheesecake from a stand nearby we got to wait in line for our trip up.

Because of fires in the area we were unable to see Mt. Rainier, but we still got to enjoy the views.

It was getting late, so we went to dinner at a pizza place called Zeeks Pizza. We happened to walk past it on the way to the Space Needle. The pizza was amazing. I can’t remember which pizza we ordered, but we got a salad as well and it was really yummy. After dinner it was time to get some rest. It was midnight back home and I was running out of fuel.

Up next, Vancouver!

Going back to our October 2016 Walt Disney World vacation, today I am going to focus on Lilly’s first Disney haircut. I say it is her first Disney haircut because when she was 1 we had to cut her hair to even it out. I had every intention of having her first haircut on Main Street U.S.A. at the Magic Kingdom. So we had to wait another full year before we would be able to get her hair cut again, and it needed it.

We had Logan’s haircut for the first time at the barber shop on Main Street, so we wanted Lilly to have the same experience. Unlike Logan’s first haircut, we got in the same day for Lilly’s first cut.

Logan first haircut:

After our breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table we headed back to the front of the park to see what the availability was for a 1^st haircut. We were surprised that the wait was only 45 minutes. Which was great, it gave us time to take the train around the Magic Kingdom once around.

After our train ride we checked back in and were still a little early. We decided to wait outside since the barber shop I quite small. A PhotoPass photographer happened to be on her way inside of the shop. On her way in she saw our kids playing and took some photos.

Once Lilly’s name was called we got her seated. Well, missy wasn’t having it. She threw the toy they gave her as a distraction and started crying. It was the fastest haircut ever! We got some pictures again because that PhotoPass photographer was in the building (which wasn’t the case when Logan got his haircut).

If you have a young one and are interested in doing the haircut you can either try doing a walk-up or contact (407)939-7529 for a reservation. You get a certificate of first haircut, the hair placed in a little baggy and Mickey ears that say “First Haircut”. The price is a reasonable $25. I cannot suggest this enough. I mean, how many people can say my first haircut was on Main Street at Walt Disney World?

Today I am continuing my dining reviews with Cinderella’s Royal Table (CRT) with a little insight into our first morning at the parks.

I have pretty much eaten at every establishment at the Magic Kingdom, but never at CRT. So I got up early 180 days before our trip was to start to book my dining. The first restaurant that I wanted to Cinderella’s Royal Table. Of course breakfast is the cheapest meal of the day, so I made sure to book that meal.

We got the kids up early on Sunday, October 16^th for our 9:00 reservation for breakfast at CTR! I was excited for two reasons, this was our first trip to WDW as a family of 4 (and Lilly’s first trip) and we were going to make it to rope drop. We have never done this before because we can’t get up that early. We took the monorail from The Polynesian to the Magic Kingdom. The line to get through security was nuts. We just sat in line watching the welcome show. Logan got excited when he saw the train coming into the station with the characters on it.

We finally made our way through security and decided we had a little bit of time to take our first family photo in the Magic Kingdom. I love the autumn decorations on Main Street. So we stopped by the scarecrows in the hub near the entrance where I spotted a PhotoPass photographer. We tried to get the kids to smile, but they were not having it.

We were running a couple minutes late for our reservation, and I couldn’t find the entrance to this place. We should have went through the left side of the castle, but we ended up going on the right side of the castle which seemed to take forever. After checking in we waited to take our pictures with Cinderella herself! Lilly was unsure of everything, but Logan was getting all of the attention from the princess.

We made our way upstairs to eat our breakfast. At this point Lilly was already ready for a nap. She was getting very grumpy. We made it to our table and we placed our drink and breakfast order. Side note – you prepay for this meal, I had this paid back in April when I made the reservation. Brian got the Baked Quiche (goat cheese, spinach and mushroom quiche). Logan got the Royal Children’s Breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon and a waffle). I got the Traditional Breakfast (scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon and potatoes). Lilly did not get a breakfast since was 2 years old, which is considered an age where you don’t have to pay for your children’s meas. But since we didn’t pay for her, she had to eat our food. But don’t worry, this breakfast also came with a Pastry Plate.

My Traditional Breakfast:

Pastry Plate (sorry started eating before the pictures):

Logan’s breakfast:

Our first princess was Snow White, which Logan loves that movie. As a souvenir Logan got a kiss from her.

Next we met Aurora (okay this picture makes her look scary):

Then Jasmine came around:

And finally Ariel!

Overall, it was a nice breakfast. The food was good, but nothing special. I found the food to be the same offerings you can get at other breakfasts. The kids got little plastic stars that say, “   .” Logan got a sword, and even got an extra one to give to his cousin, and Lilly got a wand. It was nice to finally eat in the castle. My rating is a 3 out of 5 stars.

Coming up is Lilly’s first haircut!

Sorry that it has been a while since my last post. Work has been crazy when we got back from Disney.

Today I will be doing my review of my initial reaction to Disney Springs, our meal at Chef Art Smith’s Homecoming and Sprinkles.

Brian and I went to Disney Springs in October of last year. At that time things were still under construction and a few new restaurants and bars just opened. After we arrived at Disney World for this trip, we quickly unpacked and caught a bus to Disney Springs. First, I was surprised that the busing system changed at Disney Springs. Now you are dropped off in one location and then you need to go to another location to get picked back up. By the way, they didn’t tell us where to go, but it was easy enough to find the bus stop. My initial reaction is that Disney Springs look like a swanky outdoor mall that you would see in Beverly Hills or Miami. It is absolutely beautiful and most of the stores I have never heard of. Getting around is a little difficult. I didn’t find any signs nearby directing where to go, but there was a Disney Guest Services near where the buses dropped off the guests.

We finally found Art Smith’s restaurant. We were early to arrive, but they were still able to get us in. Even though it was warm outside we opted to sit outside on the back patio. We decided to get an appetizer because we were going to share an entrée. We went with the Bunch of Puppies, house-made hushpuppies that came with pimento cheese and red jalapeno jelly. I am not a fan of spicy food, so I did not try the jelly or the cheese. The hushpuppies had a little bit of a kick, but nothing I couldn’t handle. They had a great flavor and had to be hands down the best hushpuppies I ever had.

I also got a craft cocktail called The Local. It was RumHaven coconut water rum, lime, simple syrup and fresh pineapple. I don’t drink often, so I didn’t want anything that was strong. This was a tasty cocktail and would definitely recommend it!

We got Lilly the chicken tenders with fries and mac & cheese, while Logan got the hamburger with chips and mac & cheese. Both didn’t each much of their meals. The mac & cheese was good, but missing seasoning. It could have used some salt, and I don’t like to add salt to my food. Logan’s burger was really big for a children’s size, and it tasted good.

Brian and I shared a side of the mac & cheese and Art’s Fabulous Fried Chicken. The chicken came with mashed potatoes and a cheddar drop biscuit. The fried chicken, again, was missing some seasoning. Just some salt and pepper could have done wonders. The mashed potatoes were delicious. The biscuit was nothing to write home about. The thing that got me the most was there were pickles on the plate. Nowhere on the menu description did it mention that. I hate pickles, so if you are not a fan either, be sure to let your server know.

There were some lovely sounding desserts available, but we opted out. Overall, it was nice to try a well-known chef’s restaurant but I guess I expected more. I give our meal/experience I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

After dinner we walked around a little bit before it started to get crowded. The kids got a kick out of the cars that turned into boats at The Boathouse. We sat there for a good half hour watching people in their car boats.

After we went to Sprinkles. We were not planning on eating any dessert, but we happened to walk past and decided to try it out. Sprinkles is a Beverly Hills-based cupcake bakery I have known about for years. Their mixes used to be available at Williams-Sonoma when I worked there (years ago). Now, I tried one of these mixes when they first came out and I thought the cupcakes came out dry and lacked in taste. There were quite a few cupcakes to purchase, we bought a chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles, and a seasonal spice apple cupcake. We took them back to our room to eat. Overall, they were okay. I found their cake to be really dry. Even with the apple in the spice cake one, it was dry and not very flavorful. The frosting was tasty, although it melted off of our apple one before we got back to our room. I give these cupcakes a 2 our 5 stars. If I were you, pass them up. They are not anything special. Later on I will be highlighting another bakery we tried at Disney Springs, which was much better than Sprinkles.

Coming up… Look forward to reviews on Cinderella’s Royal Table, our room at the Polynesian and my write-ups on our drive down and Lilly’s first haircut.

With only 30 days until we are in one of my favorite places on Earth, I want to talk dining. One of my favorite things about Disney World are the different types of restaurants that you are able to try in one visit. I also use our vacations as an excuse to try new places. There are so many different dining options that with my 7 trips in the last 11 years there are a TON of restaurants we have never been to! And PS, I am that crazy lady who takes pictures of their Disney food. I am hoping to do many dining reviews once we get back from our trip.

Day 1: I have been talking to Brian about what possible time we will be arriving in Florida on our first day. We agree that we want to try to get there by 4:00pm that first day. Sooooo, I decided to make a reservation at one of the many new eateries at Disney Springs. So the first new restaurant we are going to try is Chef Art Smith’s Homecoming Dinner. This restaurant has recently opened and was not an option when we visited Disney Springs nearly a year ago. I have heard mixed reviews about Art Smith’s new place, but I am eager to at least try the fried chicken and one of his desserts.

Day 2: I am dead set on eating at the last two restaurants that I have never eaten at the Magic Kingdom. So on this trip I have made reservations at both. We are going to eat at the Fairytale Dining Breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table. This is a pricey meal and I had to prepay for this when I made the reservation. Lilly isn’t too much into the princesses and Logan loves Snow White, so I am hoping this will be a good introduction to the characters. I am looking forward to finally eating in the castle and testing out how the kids will be with the characters.

We don’t have any other reservations for this day. I just know that I want to try the pot roast mac & cheese at the Magic Kingdom and we plan on strolling around The World Showcase at Epcot for the Food & Wine Festival.

Day 3: Another new one for us is Donald’s Dining Safari Breakfast at Tusker House (Disney’s Animal Kingdom). Again, I have heard not great things about this experience, but I still want to try it out for myself. I am also excited to meet the characters in their safari garb. For the rest of the day we have no plans set in stone. We might end up coming back to Animal Kingdom at night or Epcot. Who knows!

Day 4: Today is our “day off”. Well there is really no day off at Disney World! We are doing Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) this evening, so no regular park day. But this is also the day where I have three reservations, so we will not be hungry today! We are going to head off to breakfast at ‘Ohana’s for our family style breakfast. We LOVE this place. This will be our third breakfast there and the best party of it is that this restaurant is in our hotel. For lunch we are going to Frontera Cocina which is Chef Rick Bayless’ new restaurant in Disney Springs. I have been a fan of his since we saw him on Iron Chef many years ago, but we have never tried any of his food. So we decided to fit in a little lunch, where we might just get a couple of things to try. We are going to get MNSSHP around 4, one of our first stops is the Skipper Canteen for dinner. This establishment opened up in December. From what I have been hearing on multiple podcasts is that no one is eating there. This is also the last sit-down restaurant that I have to visit at the Magic Kingdom.

Day 5: We are eating twice at the same restaurant. And I did not have the best experience there the last time we ate there in 2007. We are having both breakfast and dinner at Hollywood & Vine at Hollywood Studios. The breakfast is for the kids. Since they are 2 and 4, and the only television station they watch is Disney Junior, so we are eating with the Disney Junior characters. The Walt Disney World website said we will be meeting Jake (Logan’s favorite), Doc, Handy Manny and Sofia. This is a buffet-style restaurant and I am hoping the food will be better than what I had last time. Dinner has a different theme. It is Minnie and her friends. And the best part of this experience is that they will be all dressed up for Halloween! I have taken a sneak peek on some Facebook posts of other Disney fans and I am really excited for what I saw!

Day 6: We only have a couple more reservations to highlight. Today we are having dinner at The Garden Grill at Epcot. This restaurant is in The Land Pavilion and it is also a rotating restaurant. I chose this place because it is character dining with Mickey, Pluto, and Chip & Dale in farm themed clothing. My goal is to see as many characters as we can at character dining because they are always dressed in different costumes than what you see in the parks. Most of the day we will be at Epcot, so I am sure breakfast will be at our hotel and lunch will be at the park.

Last Day (7): This our day and we don’t have much planned. So we decided to take the kids to the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show at Disney’s Polynesian Resort. Brian and I had one of our many anniversary dinners there last year, and it was amazing. The food was beyond my expectations and the entertainment was top notch. This is another prepaid meal and we also chose to have the closer seats (which cost a little bit more).

I am hoping to do many dining reviews after we return from our trip. Comment and let me know which one you are more interested in the most!

I am excited to announce that we are going to Disney World! This is our first trip to the World in over 3 years and we are going during the best time of the year! This will be Logan’s second trip and Lillian’s first trip. I have been planning this event since last year. My next couple of posts will be about our trip. Today I am highlighting what I am looking forward to the most and what I am dreading….

What I am looking forward to the most:

1. Seeing the kid’s faces: I can’t wait to see the joy and excitement that will be plastered on their faces. I just remember how Logan loved the characters when he got to the meet them at his last visit. I am a little worried that Lilly might be scared of them, but hopefully when she sees how excited Logan is she will relax. I am sure we will be coming home with thousands of pictures.

2. Staying a deluxe resort: We have never stayed at a deluxe resort and we can’t wait to start enjoying our DVC (Disney Vacation Club) home. We are staying at the Polynesian and we LOVE this resort. We have been visiting the Poly for years. We have eaten breakfast at ‘Ohana’s a couple of times and we did the Spirit of Aloha dinner show during our overnight visit last year. I am excited to try out the pool and being able to walk to the Grand Floridian and even the Magic Kingdom. Plus, Trader Sam’s has a great drink with Dole Whip in it!

3. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party: This will be our fourth party and the kid’s first party. I wanted them to experience this party since Logan will be in big boy school soon and we won’t be able to experience many trips during the school year in the future. I am looking forward to the parade and fireworks, but also the dance parties for the first time. I am not too concerned about doing rides. I just want to experience the trick or treating and taking some pictures with characters. Plus there is a Hocus Pocus Villain show that I can’t wait to see!

4. Food & Wine Festival: We plan on doing some “dinners” in Epcot by walking around World Showcase and trying some new things. Our kids are pretty easy-going with trying new foods and I think they will get a kick out of it. Hopefully the kids won’t be bored by just walking around and eating, but it will be nice just to spend some time together as a family.

5. Going on new rides: Since it has been some years since we have been to WDW there are a few rides we can’t wait to try. The new Frozen ride opened up recently and I am hoping the kids will love it. The one that Logan is really excited to try is the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. He loves trains and he has seen the commercials with this ride featured and wants to try it out.

What I am not looking forward to:

1. Driving to Orlando: When we lived in Virginia we were able to get to Orlando in 12 hours, well now that we have relocated back to Michigan it will take us 2 days. It has been of  since we have been on a long road trip and I don’t know how the kids will do. We do have a DVD player and Kindles to keep the kids entertained. I am going to also prep snack and drinks for the trip so that we don’t have any melt downs.

2. The crowds: In years past when we went to WDW in October it was always extremely crowded. This year we decided to go about a week later than we usually do to hopefully experience lower crowds. The rumor is that crowds are lower this year, but they will not be how they were in 2005 when we went for our honeymoon (they seemed like nothing compared to when we went in 2010).

3. Not being able to go on some rides: Because the kids are so little there are a lot of favorite rides we will have to skip. I love Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain and Everest. I know there is a ride swap, but I really don’t want to go on these rides without Brian and the Kids. Hopefully in a couple of years we will be able to go on these rides.

Check back soon. I will have more details on our trip.

It has been over a year since I last blogged. When it was time to renew this site I did some soul searching to see if I wanted to continue to pay for something that I was not actively participating in. After talking with my husband, I have decided to continue and this year write more. As the kids are getting older, and so am I, this is a great way to keep the memories of my family. It is like another type of scrapbook for me. If you ever see my house, it is all about memories. I have a ton of pictures of family all over the place. Also, as I near 40, I am trying to go back to what I wanted to do when I was younger. I once wanted to be a writer. I am so out of practice that this is another outlet for me to improve and work on my words.

The last year has been a busy one. Our oldest (Logan) is now four and our youngest (Lilly) is now two. We are settled in our house and we are doing small improvements as we can afford them. I can’t believe summer is nearly over with and kids will be going back to school. We decided to send Logan to a different preschool. He seems to love it so far. We decided to wait to send Lilly to preschool until January. She will be two and half at that time. She is really smart though, she already knows her colors and is well under way on learning the alphabet.

My husband has been working 7 days a week for the past month, so the family activities have slowed down. We are hoping to finish our summer up strong during Labor Day weekend by doing some family activities. I also turned 39 this past week. I want to use this blog as a way to document my last year in my 30’s. This next year should be an amazing one as the kids get older and are learning more, we are taking a trip to Disney World, and the holidays will be here before we know it!

I have also started my own side business. I am an Independent Consultant for Usborne Books and More. I am brand spanking new at this and I am scared. I have tried direct sales before and have failed. And so far the feedback I have received has been mixed. I really want to succeed at something! Plus we could use some extra money to fix up the house.

If you are interested here is the site:

http://p5732.myubam.com

So stop by once and a while. The goal is to blog at least a minimum once a week. Let’s hope I can do it!

As I mentioned last week, I am working on my year-end goals. This week I am starting the 21-Day Fix. Lord help me on this one. I am already signed up for a Zumba class one day a week and I have my 10k training. With the 10k training I have to do a training run 2 additional days a week in addition to the group run on Thursdays.

This morning I got up before 5:30 to start my 21-Day Fix. There is a workout every day to do. There are days I will not be doing the workout since I already have something planned. Man, I am tired. Not only did I do the 30 minute video I still need to do my run tonight! I am already falling asleep at my desk! On top of it I am going to do a clean eating program for 21 days. Let’s just see how the next 21 days go, and hopefully I lose about 10 pounds.

Wish me luck!

Can you believe that half of 2015 is already over with? Before you know it will be time to go to the cider mill, pick apples and pumpkins, enjoy Thanksgiving and celebrate Christmas. Then I realized, did I accomplish any goals this year? The answer was “NO”. So I decided to do a revision of my year.

Here are my goals for the rest of the year:

1. Meditate 5 days a week

2. Run a 10k (which I have signed up for one)

3. Run a mile without stopping (never did)

4. Finish the kid’s scrapbooks (they each have 3)

5. Finish my 2011 cruise scrapbook (haven’t touched in a year, since before we moved)

6. Finish my wedding album

7. Read 6 books

8. Workout 5 days a week

9. Finish my 5 year anniversary trip scrapbook

10. Start becoming a yogi (already bought 10 yoga classes)

There is a lot on my plate to begin with the babies, working full time and getting the new house in order. But I am up to the challenge.

I even created some goals for July:

1. Do the 21 day meditation (if you are interested it is FREE https://chopracentermeditation.com/home/?acode=hakott01)

2. Set-up and follow a workout schedule (doing a 21 day challenge and hoping that I can survive!)

3. Start yoga (I might start with a “gentle yoga” class, but gotta start somewhere)

4. Finish my 2011 cruise scrapbook

5. Read 1 book

6. Run 2 days a week (my 10k program starts this week!)

7. Do the Trish Blackwell “Emerge” (let me know if you are interested)

8. Blog 1 time a week (this makes up for last week)

9. See 4 movies (I need a babysitter)

The house is coming along nicely and I am starting to focus on getting back into the groove of doing things for me. Time to get those hobbies back into place. Hopefully there will be some progress made this week and I will share with you all!