Day 2: Animal Kingdom

Today, Eli and I were on our own. Lowell was attending his conference and we were not meeting up with anyone. I decided to take Eli to Animal Kingdom thinking he would like the park. To me, Animal Kingdom was a glorified zoo. Yes, there are some attractions- the safari is neat and now they have a dino world with a few things but for the price of a one day ticket - $75 for non Florida residents, Animal Kingdom is not worth it.

Eli did enjoy looking at the animals but besides the safari and Dino ride (like Dumbo), I can’t think of any other rides we went on. I really wanted to see the Lion King and Nemo shows but one was 30 min long and the other 45 min long and I thought that was too long for Eli.

Luckily, today, a friend got me in the park so admission was free. Normally to park hop, you spend an additional $50! (rip off!) Eli and I took the bus to Hollywood Studies and went on the Great Movie Ride. I really wanted to go on the new Buzz Lightyear ride but the line was an hour long and it was close to naptime. So, Eli and I headed back to the hotel and I put him down for a nap.

I met some great friends who I have not seen in years for dinner and that was nice.

Day 1: The Magic Kingdom

Our first full day in Orlando, we went to the Magic Kingdom. We were hanging out with my brother and his girlfriend for the day and also met up with another couple we knew for part of the day. They also had a little boy just a little younger than Eli and I was excited to meet their son for the first time and they were meeting Eli for the first time.

I was not sure what rides he would enjoy or be afraid of but he loved them all. I think his favorite ride was the Dumbo ride. "Up" and "Whee" were his favorite things to say on this ride.

I was not sure how Eli would do in the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean ride but he enjoyed them both. Because we were between hotels, we had no where to go back for Eli’s nap so Eli had another day without a nap!

Eli became really cranky by 4pm and I knew we had to leave soon. We left the park around 5:15pm. We drove to the new hotel and checked in and settled into our room. I had to call 5 times for them to deliver the crib but the crib finally made it. Eli was so overtired that he did not want to sleep but he finally settled down at 8pm.

First Evening in Orlando

So, our experience at the airport was not very good but luckily Eli did great on the flight even though it was his normal nap time. After we arrived, we drove to our hotel. We were staying at a Best Western for one night and then transferring over to a Hilton for the remaining two nights.

We arrive at the hotel and relax. My brother, Josh, and his girlfriend, Elsa, were in Orlando this weekend and I was looking forward to spending time with them. Coincidentally, they were staying at the same hotel. We picked them up and went to dinner with them and also were meeting a few friends.

A couple of my friends joining us were meeting Eli for the first time. I knew he would be crabby so I felt bad that this would be their meeting of him. Sure enough, my no nap kid was cranky. He did not want to sit in his high chair. He did not want to eat. I had to hold him in my lap to keep him semi-happy. He was tired.

We got through dinner though. It was so nice to see everyone. One of my friends even drove in from Tampa to see us. It meant a lot to me. We got back to the hotel and crashed. We had to get up early in the morning for a fun filled day at Disney!

Atlanta Airport Experience

Editor's note: This post was written a week ago. Due to lack of Internet at our hotel and catching up on work when I arrived back, it is getting posted now!

I was so excited about our trip to Orlando. Lowell had a conference to attend and I was taking advantage of that by taking a couple days off work and taking Eli to Walt Disney Word for the first time.

Traveling is always a stressful experience in our household. Lowell likes to get to the airport when the plane is boarding and I prefer to be there 2 hours before. Each experience of driving to the airport usually lends itself to a disagreement.

Well, we arrive at the Atlanta Airport and the stress continues. The one nice thing about this airport is that there is a separate stroller line and in busy times you can cut 1 hour worth of security. Lowell and I proceed through that lane and go to the special assistance section of security. Because Delta now charges to check in even the first bag, we only had carry on. Each of us had one suitcase and one computer bag. Then we also had the stroller and the car seat- a lot of stuff! We had about half our stuff on the belt when a guy puts his stuff in front of mine. "Hey", I say, "we were in line first." He yells back- you are taking too long. I begin to move his tray back behind my stuff and he elbows me in the neck and pushes me. First of all, I was shocked then angry. I yell out to TSA- this guy just pushed me. Finally, Lowell who was occupied with Eli realizes what was going on and yells “this guy just pushed me wife, can we get some help here?” Finally, TSA yells for security as the guy goes through. Security did nothing. Finally Lowell and I go through security and yell for a cop.

The cop comes over, asked what happened and did nothing! Absolutely nothing. I was shocked and appalled. I should have pretended to fall and then maybe something would have happened.

The guy who pushed me had two girls with him, one looked to be a young teenager and the other a toddler. I feel very sorry for them. Their father could use some anger management and TSA in Atlanta needs to learn to do there jobs!

Words

Eli is now 21 months old and I can’t believe the progress he has made in talking. The pediatrician said between 20 and 24 months that his words would explode but I did not believe it until I saw it.

I taught Eli baby signs when he was younger. It helped us communicate since he was not talking. He learned please, thank you, milk, more, eat etc. Eli still uses those signs but has started to incorporate the words with them. He now says more and milk.

Some of Eli’s other words include: mama, dada, Wallace (the dog), Bruce (the other dog), juice (one of his favorites), ball, pootball (football), ball ball (basketball), puck, nana (banana), apple, duck, up.

And his new word yesterday was ketchup! Eli is also learning the different sounds animals make. His favorite is the sound a horse makes!

I am so proud of my little man.

Horray for Chili's

Tonight, Lowell, Eli and I went to dinner at Chili’s. Lowell and I are trying to eat out less to save on some funds but I had a great coupon to Chili’s. I am a Buzz Agent (I share “buzz” with other people on different products) and I received a coupon to try a Guiltless Platter. We were pleasantly surprised by the menu and selection.

We found that Chili’s offers a good selection on their kid’s menu. I am very strict with Eli’s diet. Obesity is so common in kids these days that I have to be. Eli rarely eats chicken nuggets and even less frequently has french fries. I could probably count on one hand as many times as he has had each. Chili’s had grilled chicken on their menu which always gets a star in my book and they had a selection of sides including vegetables and milk is offered as a drink without an extra charge. Two thumbs up for their kid’s meal.

As for my meal, the Guiltless Platter selection was wonderful. I knew that Chili's offered a Guiltless Chicken platter but did not know that they offered a salmon and steak platter.

I ordered the Guiltless Salmon Platter. It was excellent. The salmon was very flavorful and I would order this dish again.

It was nice to have an enjoyable experience eating out where I feel we ate healthy!

There's No Place Like Home, Click 3 Times

When I think of tornadoes, I think of the Wizard of Oz. I am a Floridan, there is no worry about tornadoes. Well, that ended a couple of years ago when my husband and I moved to Georgia.

I remember moving here and my dad who works in Atlanta on occasion said, there are tornadoes in GA. Of course, I think I will never need to worry about that and casually say- don’t worry, we have a basement to hide in.

Last week, I was upstairs playing with my son. I had just finished working for the day. I thought I heard a fire truck. Not a big deal but the odd thing was that the sirens did not stop. I wondered if the vehicle was in our neighborhood. Five minutes later, my husband yells out- the tornado sirens are on.

I scoped up Eli and brought him down to the basement and turned on the news in the one room in the basement which is finished- our gym. I turned on the space heater and waited for my husband to come downstairs. A couple minutes later I ran back upstairs to find Lowell on a work call. I thought it was pretty silly for him to be on the phone when the tornado sirens were blaring.

The news said there was potential for tornadoes in the area and the warning was for the next 30 minutes. Fifteen minutes later, Lowell comes down to join us in the basement. (sirens are still going) Finally, fifteen minutes later, the sirens stop and tornado warning is lifted and luckily everything was fine.

Being from Florida, I am not afraid of hurricanes. You get enough warning to evacuate and keep yourself safe but there is limited (30 min) warning with tornadoes. I find this scarier in nature but very happy we bought a house with a basement. It is at least a little safer.