Halloween week!!

Halloween week is upon us and an extra busy week it has been!!! We went to Disney last weekend for a long three day weekend after a busy work week, we got Grandma safely to the airport to go back home and get some much needed respite after a week here filling in as our nanny while Ann was off for a medical procedure, and this week we've made treats for our upcoming Halloween party at our house, we've made treat baskets for teachers and our nanny Ann, and for mommy's employees, and we made treat bags for all of our classmates!! In the midst of that we organize and sponsored a luncheon for Jackson's class, teachers, and classmates parents following his First Reconciliation today at his school. Tomorrow brings more fun as we have school, work, Halloween parties at school, and a soccer game to top off the week (omg) tomorrow night as the soccer fields are being used for a tournament Saturday...the one shining light in that is we get to SLEEP IN on Saturday morning, or at least we don't have to all run out the door before 8 am!!! These kids don't really sleep in but they are getting better about just getting up and turning on the tv and letting Jon and I rest a bit on the rare weekends where we can sleep in here or there (and I mean sleeping past 7 people)...not really sleeping in lol, I cannot even do that anymore!!! Our Trip to Disney for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween was great, we found a new hotel we really like, The Contemporary. The location is beyond convenient but i will say as it was built back in the day, you have to remember where the elevators are with a stroller...we rarely use our stroller anymore but for Disney we still but out the double stroller we bought a few years ago, the Sit and Stand...although after this trip we need like a double version of the stand versus sit!! Sarabeth would fight with Jackson to sit in the back seat (the big kid seat) for easy access in and out and off and on the stroller vs. the "baby seat" as she deemed the front seat. Jackson was a good sport however and despite his long legs, was often happy to sit in the front "baby seat" and tolerate her particularly snarky behavior re. the stroller. He is a great big brother and overall very kind, protective, and extremely tolerant of "sissy" who is a bit particular about just about everything these days. The hotel room we got was amazing, we did not stay in the main building which is the one that has Chef Mickey downstairs and the monorail zipping through it, the rooms were extremely expensive this weekend and the rooms in the main tower were even more so we took the side garden wing and I would choose this again! it was quiet, peaceful, close to the pool, not a bad walk to the main building and monorail access and restaurants and shops, and best of all, by luck we got on the top floor and our room faced Bay Lake. I will let the pictures tell the story but the first morning we woke up, it literally felt like we were at our lake house seeing the sunrise, unbelievable! We went to Magic Kingdom all three days and never got in our car one time all weekend. We either took the quick walking path from Contemporary to Magic Kingdom (note from contemporary magic kindgom is like a 20 min monorail ride but 10 min walk as it goes around the other way from this hotel...but on the way BACK from the parK, Contemporary is the FIRST STOP off the monorail) so we often walked to the park on the path in the am and took the monorail back to the hotel)...useful knowledge!!! We went to Epcot one afternoon and evening as we had dinner reservations at the Coral Reef restaurant which is like dining inside an aquarium. Sarabeth was a bit cranky by this point having missed her nap now two days in a row but Jackson really loved it. Sunday we packed up the room and then hit Magic Kingdom for a few more rides and Disney Magical moments before it was time to take the monorail back one more time and get in the car to ride home. Sarabeth is REALLY in her Disney prime now at 4, everything there she is into. She even surprised us this time and participated in the afternoon resort pool games both days, she is a bit shy but she loved it and was so sweet to win us all a bracelet (one for each of us) when she won one of the games. Who could resist a bunch of adults dressed in terrible Disney park uniforms, dancing around a pool with a bucket of toys and bubbles and playing Mickey Mouse Clubhouse music, Doc McStuffins games, and of course, the famed Sophia the First??!! SB was not missing a minute of it. She was tall enough this time too to ride most rides and all 4 of us rode Splash Mountain....SB and I were terrified, but she did it! Jackson and Jon rode in the first row, we rode behind them, however afterwards she told me I'm not riding that Splash Mountain again...I much prefer the carousel....ha! I agree. Poor baby was so tired she slept most of the way home after crying when she realized we were leaving. I remember Jackson doing the same thing when he was this same age. They enjoy it so much and then it is all over, it overwhelms them!! After a weekend at Disney we dove into a busy week with Halloween and Jackson's First Reconciliation. He was pretty nervous but did great today, we are so proud for him to have celebrated his first Catholic Sacrament and it is days like today when I know we made the right choice putting him in our little local Catholic school. A lot in the world has changed but when I go to events like this at his school, it really does not feel any different than when I was that age and that is a good thing in this world. Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Pumpkin patch fun and fancy dinner to celebrate the end of the first quarter of school!!!

This weekend the kids said they wanted to go to a "fancy restaurant" so in honor of a great fist quarter of school coming to a close, we took them to an iconic restaurant where we live, and a place Jackson has asked to go many times...The Ocean Grill! This place is a landmark in Vero Beach and extra cool just ahead of Halloween as they dec the place out with lights and all sorts of crazy Halloween decorations. The kid's loved it and per Sarabeth's request after reading many "Fancy Nancy" books, we got all "fancy" and dressed up for a night out as a family! Saturday morning came early where we had an early soccer game and picture day, eeek Daddy and Jackson had to be to the soccer field by 7:30 am.....IT WAS WORSE THAN A SCHOOL morning and SB and I hung back at home. His team played well amazingly after that early start and won their game and when he got back home, I took them to a local pumpkin patch to snap our annual pumpkin patch pics. This place is near our house and low key and EASY. Other than that we have had a pretty quiet weekend relaxing at home, getting school projects completed, and preparing for grandma's arrival. Our nanny Ann has a medical procedure scheduled for this coming week so Grandma came to the rescue and will be here with us all week to help keep things moving on the home front. Jackson has a teacher work day tomorrow so no school so they will get an extended weekend. Friday this coming week we will take Grandma back to the airport to head back home and then we are going to Disney to celebrate Halloween Mickey Style and attend the annual Mickey's NOt So Scary Halloween Party, a favorite event that Disney holds. The kids enjoy trick or treating all over the magic kingdom. This time we are staying at the contemporary, we've never stayed there before but with this event staying at a "monorail hotel" is a must as it is a late night and being close to the Magic Kingdom counts for this!!! Last year we tried the Grand Floridian so this year we will see what the Contemporary has to offer. They practically kill you on the hotel rates this time of year on the weekends of the Halloween events so I hope we have a nice room and nice weather!!!