a quick update and a giveaway

Wow, you know how everyone tells you once you have kids time seems to literally fly by? Well they werent kidding. I cant believe it is already half way through September. Alots been going on around our neck of the world. Lots of projects at work, lots of random house projects (including building a swingset!), baby shower for my sis-in-law, and now she is actually at the hospital as of last night getting induced due to a liver condition they found in her. All is well so far, and I cant wait to meet my new lil nephew hopefully later today! <insert baby fever here>

But along with all that good news for me and my family, I have some good news for you, my bloggy friends, too! I have the opportunity to give one of my lucky readers The Little Mermaid Diamond Edition 2-Disc Blu-ray+DVD Combo Pack with Digital Copy!

I was so beyond excited to be able to host this giveaway! We all know we love Disney around here, and The Little Mermaid just so happens to be one of my all time favorite Disney classics. Funny, I was just talking to hubby about how when I was growing up, i would have definitely considered myself a Disney kid (opposed to Nickelodeon). I think i had every classic Disney movie on VHS (omg, showing my age now with the VHS reference), but the few that stayed in my normal rotation were The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and Sleeping Beauty.

And honestly, it kind of makes me sad that all my old VHS's will go to waste, and my kid(s) wont have those for their viewing pleasure since we dont own a VHS player anymore. But luckily, The Little Mermaid is coming out of the Disney Vault for the first time on Blu-ray Combo Pack and HD Digital on October 1st!

If you want you chance at winning a free copy for your kiddos (or yourself, if youre a fanatic like me lol) then just simply enter below through the rafflecopter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Oh and you can also check out is the movie's website, which includes clips, games and activities by going here.

Good luck!

I received a copy of the movie in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.

first family vaca: disney part one

Back in October we took our first official vacation as a family of three. If it had been just the two of us again, we would have most likely opted for our annual cruise. But since Matthew is still too young to go on a cruise (yes were missing our annual Thanksgiving cruise with my family this year, boo!) we decided to go to the next best place we could think of: DISNEY!!!

Luckily we only live about a 3 hour hour drive away, so we thought it would be a great first go at the whole "traveling with a baby thing." We decided it would probably be easiest to go during a time that Matthew would normally be sleeping. So we waited until both of us got off work on a Thursday night, fed Matthew, and hopped in the car. He cried for about 2 mins and then as soon as we hit the highway, he was out! (because you know, my child only enjoys being in his carseat if the car is moving. Hit a red light? be prepared. lol) Things seemed to be going pretty smoothly. Unfortunately, even though we remembered to feed Matthew, we completely forgot about dinner for ourselves. So we stopped off at a fast food place before we got on the FL turnpike in Ft. Pierce. We were hoping that Matthew would just stay asleep, but we werent so lucky. I let Matt eat while I changed and held Matthew, figuring I could eat in the car as Matt drove.

We finally got to our hotel, Disney All-Star Sports, at around 11pm. My sister, nephew, and niece were already at the hotel and had an adjoining room to ours. We setup the pack and play, fed Matthew again, and went to sleep. We knew we had quite a long day ahead of us the following day, as we were going to try and tackle 2 parks with 1 sick baby and 2 children. Oh did I forget to mention that my child was sick? Yes, the day before we left, I opted to take him into the drs office because he hadnt been feeling so great. Turns out he had bronchitis, and a normal babys blood count should be at 13, his was a 29. Meaning pretty close to pneumonia. My dr knew we were leaving for Orlando and told me to make sure he was kept cool, hydrated, and that he got all of his meds and he should be fine. He gave him a antibiotic shot to speed up the recovering process and ordered us to do breathing treatments at least 3 times a day. Before we left I also made sure to grab a stroller fan (lifesaver!).

The next morning we woke up bright and early, no more sleeping in on vacations now that we have a lil one :( and started the day off with some breakfast in the hotel cafeteria, some playtime for the kids in the themed resort areas, and a quick morning nap for Matthew. I love that all the Disney budget hotels are themed. We've stayed at movies, music, and pop century before, but this was our first time at sports. Although Matthew couldnt really enjoy the themed part this year, Im sure if hes anything like his father, or cousin for that matter, hes going to love the sports resort the most as he gets older. There were giant football helmets, basketball quart, surfboard, etc throughout the property. Even my niece enjoyed the sports theme!

 

 

 

Once the time came to head to the parks, I realized it wasnt going to be as easy as I thought. We were prepared, maybe even a little bit too prepared. You see, the number one reason I like to stay on Disney property is because you dont have to worry about transportation to and from the parks. They have free shuttles that go all day long to all the parks and hotels. So I packed up everything I thought we would need for the day; the stroller, the baby bjorn, the diaper bag (packed with all the essentials) and the camera. I figured since we had the stroller it wouldnt be a big deal because we could just put everything in the bottom basket and strap the diaper bag to the handlebar. So yeah, that plan went well until we were standing in line for the shuttle and someone informed us that you have to fold the strollers up in order to get on the bus. :/

So now we have to figure out a way to bring everything, plus hold the stroller, plus hold the baby. All I have to say is thank god there were multiple hands available with my sis and her kids being there! Somehow we figured it all out, and it really wasnt that bad. People were even nice enough each time we got on the bus, to get up from their seat and allow for me to sit with the baby, opposed to standing and holding on to the rails. And i knew it would all be worth it, especially when we finally made it to Magic Kingdom. It was an absolutely gorgeous day outside, although hot, but thats to be expected in Florida. Since it was only about a week before Halloween, the parks were all decorated with pumpkins and everything else fall. (this is when I got the idea to do my mickey pumpkin by the way)

Since Matthew was only 4.5 months I knew I wouldnt be taking him on many rides, if at all. But my sister isnt really into all the rides anyways, so I figured I could at least take my niece and nephew on a few rides. The first place we stopped was at the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. Am I showing my age here? I used to love Swiss Family Robinson, and yet my niece and nephew had no clue who they even were. lol.

 

 

Also, something I definitely recommend for anyone going to Disney with an infant, and something I am so happy i brought with us, bring the baby carrier. It was actually the first time we had Matthew in it facing out. We tried with him facing in like we normally do, but he was just too fusy. So when my sis suggested having him face out, we figured why not. Now I personally didnt like it because I couldnt see what he was doing (smiling, spitting up, sleeping, etc) but he seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. And thank god we have the Synergy version of the Baby Bjorn because 1) its made our of mesh so its breathable, a definite must in the heat (i mean look at my face in the pics, im beat red lol) and 2) it has additional back support, which is also a definite must because umm hello my child was 4 months but weighing in at an average size 6 month old, and carrying him around the park for that long def put some strain on my back.

 

 

Well,  I think I overloaded this post with enough pics. Ill leave the rest for another post. Until then, i hope you all have a great weekend!

fridays letters + giveaway winner announced

dear hubby, have I told you lately that I love and appreciate you more than anything? last night when I woke you up in the middle of the night crying hysterically from the unbearable pain of an earache, you calmed me down, and rushed me to the ER. And even though I knew that the blood coming from my ear probably freaked you out even more than it did me, you played it cool, and reassured me Id be fine. On top of that, we both knew you wouldnt be getting much sleep and this morning wouldnt be fun. But you never once complained. I love you and thank you so much taking care of me (and matthew).

dear matthew, i love your chubby little legs youve started to form. That baby fat is absolutely adorable, and it means that youre getting plenty to eat and staying healthy!

dear ruptured eardrum, omg ive never felt pain like this before, i think id put you 1 notch below childbirth. i hope the 6 prescriptions the ER doc prescribed help fix everything, and get my hearing back to normal. ill tell you what, those percocets are at least helping ;) 

dear pinterest, you are genius in what you do! secret boards? great addition! now no one is going to be able to see the random home health remedies ive been too self conscious to pin all the presents I pin for christmas.  

dear instagram, you finally introduced web profiles, you are genius as well, not sure what took you so long, but Im glad you finally did it (go check mine out by requesting to follow me).  

dear mr president, im not too happy about the results of this election, and im scared out of my mind about whats going to happen in the next 4 years, but that being said, you are MY president, and im lucky enough to live in a country where I have the right and privilege to vote, obviously the rest of the country didnt agree with my opinions, but i will support you as much as I can with despise for the next 4 years, im hoping and praying ill see what everyone else whats to believe, come true. its your chance to prove your "change."  

dear blogger friends, i didnt forget about you, theres just been alot on my mind this past week. we all know why youre really reading todays letters, its to find out who won my awesome giveaway! Well i wont make you wait any longer

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Congratulations Mandy! I know how badly you wanted to win this for you and your lil fam of 4 to watch together! Email me you address and Ill make sure the company sends to you asap.

dear hubby, because you and matthew always get two, im so happy you finally got your iPhone 5, even if you do continuously bug me on how to work the thing. you'll get used to it, its fairly easy, welcome to the apple family finally!!

dear matthew, with the holidays being right around the corner, i cant control myself on how exciting this year is going to be with you! i know you wont remember much, but I have so many things I want to do with you to start our own family traditions (hhhmmm maybe a holiday bucket list?)

hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, ill be taking it easy by letting the meds work their magic.

dont forget to link up with ashley

my first giveaway: BRAVE

so remember how I told you I had a surprise for you all? Well today is your lucky day! I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of this year's #1 animated movie - BRAVE and so will one of my lucky readers!

You dont event realize how happy I was when I got the email. I  really wanted to see it when it first came out in the theaters, but never got the chance. Now you may be asking yourself why would a grown woman want to go see an animated movie so badly? Well, lets just say I may have a slight obsession with Disney Pixar movies. Like I love all the Toy Story's, Monsters Inc, A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo, Cars, and Ratatouille.....just to name a few ;)

So you could imagine my excitement when I not only found out that I would finally be able to see it, but I would be receiving the Ultimate Collector's Edition 5-Disc Set, which includes Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray 3D, and DVD!

Now side note, when hubs and I bought a new TV as our anniversary gift to ourselves last year, we went all out. And what I mean by that is yes, we got a 55in 3D LED tv. A little over the top, yes. Did we actually want the 3D part, no. But it came with the awesome deal we got on Black Friday. And to tell you the truth, we havent even watched one movie or show in 3D. So you could imagine my excitement when I put two & two together and realized I was going to be watching BRAVE in 3D!

Now, I couldnt contain myself, and I had to share my happiness with someone. So who did I pick? My lovely 6 year old niece of course! She had actually already seen the movie in theaters and loved it, but was just as excited as me to be able to watch it in 3D. So the date was set, popcorn was popped, halloween candy was accessible, and 3D glasses were in place.

If you havent yet seen Brave, its about the heroic journey of very opinionated young princess and adventurer Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald).

via Disney

Determined to follow her own path in life, Merida confronts tradition and challenges destiny to change her own fate. Her actions, which includes turning to an eccentric witch for help, inadvertently unleashes chaos when she is granted an ill-fated wish.

She then has to use all her skills and resources, including her mischievous triplet brothers, to undo the evil curse.

via Disney

In the end this forces her to discover the true meaning of bravery.

The movie is a great addition to, and turn on, Disney's collection of princesses. It's a great movie to share with your little girl, to let her know princesses are more than just a pretty dress and crown. While also great to share with your younger boys, as they will get a kick out of the trouble-making lil brothers and bravery of Merida throughout.

Now, as I promised before, one of my lucky readers is going to be able to take home this awesome Brave - Ultimate Collector's Edition 5-Disc Set! Great if you're planning a family movie night sometime soon, or even just to get a jump start on some early Christmas shopping! I know a lil girl *ahem my niece* who would just love to find this wrapped up under the tree! All you have to do is follow the steps below and enter through the rafflecopter. The winner will be choosen on Friday morning and announced in Fridays Letters.
(note I will need the address of the winner by no later than the morning of Monday November 12, 2012, if I do not receive by then, I will need to choose another winner)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received a copy of this film to review. All opinions are my own.