wordless wednesday, disney style

... and we're back.  i've stayed away from the blog since our disneyworld trip because a) i couldn't find the digital camera to transfer the gazillion pictures we took; b) there's so much to share that i hardly know where to begin; and c) OHMYGOODNESS do i have a ton of work to do from being gone for 8 days.

but i'm here to report that a) i gave up looking for the digital camera for now (does this give you an idea of how poorly we packed the car on our last night there?) and decided to post the few pictures i took on my iphone; b) i figure if i just start with a few photos and captions i can maybe ease back into it; and c) OHMYGOODNESS the work and laundry and all things productive can wait.  who says i can't prioritize?!

suffice it to say, for now, that we had the most wonderful family trip (notice how i did not use the term "vacation") and i know that we'll all have memories of our disney adventure for decades to come.  it really is a magical place.

now if tinkerbell had only come home with us, she could help us find our elusive camera.  where's that pixie dust when you need it?

title: "three beauties and the beast" "one middle-aged momma, two beauties, and the beast"

while us girls were schmoozing with belle, the boys were jamming with the band.  there's truly something for everyone at mickey's house

do you ever wonder what the person inside these costumes is actually doing?  i mean, they could  be rolling their eyes or grimacing every time they're pulled into another photo.  or are they just so happy to be walking around in a heavy unwieldy costume in 80 degrees that they're beaming as much as donald is?  the world will never know ...

susanna insisted on wearing her princess dress all over magic kingdom.  cute on the carousel.  not so cute getting her in and out of that thing (it has an attached inner leotard) every time we visited a public restroom

we followed the "dumbo or die" tour from one of our guidebooks, which mapped out a plan of attack on the magic kingdom to ensure that we rode the dumbo ride with as minimal of a waiting time as possible. naturally i had to capture this moment ... what i did not consider is that from my vantage point, the star of the photo is a giant elephant butt

and that seems a rather fitting way to end this post.

when you care enough to send the very best

i could regale you with fun facts of the past week: three of us down for the count with a stomach virus ... at least a dozen loads of laundry filled with duvets, quilts, top sheets, fitted sheets, mattress pads, pillowcases, stuffed animals, pajamas, towels ... scrubbing carpets bleary-eyed and half-asleep at 5 a.m. ... a little blond head over the trashcan moaning, "i don't think i'll EVER get better" ... but i'll spare you the gory details.

instead, i'll share a picture of the "get well soon" card susanna made for her big brother.  play close attention to what liam is doing in her drawing, because that pretty much sums up the past few days in the mann house.

(but, on the bright side, we are thankful we knocked it out before we leave for disneyworld tomorrow. i shudder to think how our vacation might've turned out if all of this had reared its ugly head a week later.)

wordless wednesday

he shoots, he scores!  (and also double dribbles, which is fortunately permitted in the 5-6 year old league.)  keep your eye on #1 in the royal blue ...

euphemisms

call me crazy, but i just don’t seem to find bodily functions as titillating as the elementary school-and-under set. so years ago, we introduced the word “toot” as an acceptable term for, um, passing gas. (ugh.  i hate even typing that phrase.) it’s served our family well, i guess, since we have plenty of opportunities to employ this euphemism with a boxer in our midst.  (i must hear, "ewwwww -- super tooted!" five times a day.)

but i recently realized that we might have been better off going in a different direction. one morning as we waited for our neighbor to pick up liam for school, i told him that that evening i was going to be working with a high school math student who needed some extra help. i thought nothing of it until the topic came up again over our afternoon snacks. susanna had asked me why my big algebra I teacher’s edition was out on the kitchen counter, so i told her i was leaving after supper to go tutor.

“what’s ‘tutor’ mean?” she asked.

liam jumped in, always eager to educate his sister. “oh, that’s when mommy goes to help out a high school student,” liam explained. “she teaches him how to toot.”

there was a pause … and then we all three erupted into laughter, and i was loudest of all. the kids just found the topic hilarious, but i just couldn’t get the image out of my head. that's what liam has thought i've been doing all these years?! oh.  my.  gosh.

so, yeah.  scratch what i said earlier.  i guess there will always be something inherently funny about bodily functions -- no matter how old you are.

wordless wednesday

aside from a trip to the orthopedist on monday and back again on tuesday for an MRI, i don't think i've left the house in four days.  as if i have time for this nonsense.  tomorrow i have no choice but to wake up with a miraculous new back since i have a tea party with susanna and her american girl doll at our neighbors' house, my follow-up MRI appointment, and a two-hour pre-algebra workshop.  wish me luck.  i'm thinking that my percocet tablets might be coming in handy.

in the meantime, i've been meaning to share pictures of the kids' portraits ever since they arrived a few weeks ago.  there must be a better way to photograph oil paintings because these photos in no way do them justice -- the flash makes them blurry or less vibrant or something.  trust me, they're just perfect.  a friend once told me that if her house were burning to the ground and she could go back inside to grab one object, it would be her child's portrait.  i couldn't agree more.  these will be with me until the day i die.

which might be soon if my back has a say-so in the matter.

anyway ... enough of a pity-party for me.  especially when i have these sweet things to make me smile!