Disney Days May 16

We awoke at 4 a.m.... Yep, you read it right. 4 a.m.! Ron and I got showers, woke Sam up and got ready to hit the road. Sam was a little disoriented, but cute and excited nonetheless.


On to the airport... I had explained several things to Sam about being on planes and their rules and going through security and having to take off our shoes and all that, but I had failed to mention one very important piece of information.... His blanket must go through the security thingie along with everything else. It took several minutes and several things going through the screener and coming out on the other end to convince him that he would, in fact, see his prized blanket once more.

He did great on the plane. I made sure he was chewing gum and put EarPlanes in just to ward off any potential ear pain. On the way to Charlotte he mostly talked and colored and talked and looked out the window and did I mention that he talked a lot? From Charlotte to Orlando, he watched Spongebob. All in all, both flights were successful.

Here are Ron and Sam waiting in the Charlotte airport for our flight to Orlando:


It's a shame I don't have video of Sam on the people movers in the Charlotte airport. He thought those were the coolest things since Spongebob Gogurt! He would have gone down every terminal if we would have let him!

And here is Sam on the plane coloring... You can see his ear plugs sticking out of his ears. LOL I told him he only needed them for take off and landing but he insisted on wearing them the entire time. :)


We got to the Orlando airport and it was like mass chaos in that place! Little to no signage on where to go or where to pick up transportation. But we made it to the Disney Magical Express area and waited in line... The first of many lines, but I guess you have to expect that.

We had a little bit of a wait for our bus, but it wasn't too bad. Then... the bus driver from hell. He was nice enough and courteous and informative enough but he said some things that reeeeeeaaaalllllyyyyy put a new spin on our vacation. He told the kids on the bus that Mickey Mouse had 3 rules for children at Disney World. He said that we were going to Mickey's place and had to follow Mickey's rules. Okaaaay...

Rule #1: Kids have no bedtime.
Ok, I can get with that one. We obviously weren't trying to keep a strict schedule that week anyway.

Rule #2: Kids can eat dessert first. And, if they want to have ice cream for every meal, they can.
This one wasn't too earth-shattering either because I knew Sam wouldn't do it. Yes, he would have more sweets than usual, but he's just not addicted to sweets like some kids can be so I wasn't really worried.

Rule #3: Kids are in charge.
WHAT??? Did you really just say that to a bus full of children and tired parents? What a maroon! I could have ripped that damn drivers vocal cords right up outta his eyeballs. Honestly, I really didn't think that much about it when he first said it. I just thought, "Oh, how cute. The kids think they are in charge." I didn't think about it much until the first time I tried to get Sam to stop doing something (picking up the hotel phone receiver and pushing buttons willy nilly) and he retorted with, "Mickey said that I'm in charge!"

Oh dear God, we have created a monster... and this sadistic bus driver didn't just say it once, he just kept repeating it and giving scenarios that the children could best use their new found sources of power over their parents. I heard it over and over again that week. I swear I dreamed of the many, many ways I could hurt that bus driver if I ever saw him again.


Anyway, enough of that.

It's a pretty good drive to the hotel, so we are ready to get off the bus when we pull in. We go in to check in and they have a little area set up with a small movie screen and little theater seats and a little stage area for the kids to play in. Ron checks in and made sure we were in the Buzz Lightyear building. I think Sam would have been heartbroken had we been put in another building.

First things first, RC car from Toy Story:


Sam was just amazed with our room. "Look! We have a phone!" "Lookie! A TV! We can watch TV! I wonder if Mickey has Spongebob on his TV" "Look at the bathroom, mom! The sink is outside the room!" LOL It was quite funny.

We wanted to hit Magic Kingdom first because I just didn't think Sam would really feel like he was at Disney World until he saw


He was in absolute awe of that castle... As was I. I have to say, it's pretty magical walking down Main Street with that sight on the horizon; however, the damn stroller getting caught in the trolley tracks were enough to drive even the most patient person insane! LOL

The kid wanted a roller coaster so we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and he loved it! Ron even rode it and he loved it too! It was a lot of fun, especially being able for all 3 of us to share in it together. I often feel so bad because Ron isn't able to ride a lot of stuff. I feel like he is missing out on some of the best parts which is watching Sam react to the ride and its surroundings.

Then it was on to Splash Mountain! I had showed Sam this ride online so he knew it was themed around Brer Rabbit. We've been watching the Brer Rabbit movie a lot lately and he was so excited!



He LOVED Splash Mountain. He just giggled the entire time! There were a couple of dark parts that could have been a little scary, but we just repeated our Disney mantra: Mickey Mouse would never do anything to hurt me. I had warned him previously that some stuff might be dark or loud or even scary, but that Mickey would never do anything to hurt him so he didn't have to worry or be scared. It worked like a charm. Anytime anything was dark or scary, he would take my hand and say, "Mickey would never do anything to hurt me. Right, mom?" I would squeeze that little hand and reassure him that he was right.

After Splash Mountain it was time for dinner at Tony's Town Square Restaurant in Magic Kingdom, with a quick stop off to visit with Goofy outside. This thing had a motion sensor in it so every time you got close to it, Goofy would talk to you. Fuhreaked Sam out the first time it happened. LOL



Dinner was delicious!! Ron and I both had artichoke and spinach dip for an appetizer. I had the beef and spinach cannelloni for my entree and some to die for cheesecak thing for dessert. It was really good!

After dinner, Ron and Sam took a spin on the cars; however, I couldn't seem to get a good picture of them so here is one of Sam in the car outside the ride.


And then on to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin which was a huge hit for all of us. It was really fun!




And is my little guy completely and totally tuckered out after his big first day at The World...


Second day to follow soon...

Preschool art show

Each year, Sam's preschool has an art show displaying collections of art from each student that they have done throughout the year. Sounds simple enough, right?

These people really do it up right! They have classical music playing, spotlights shining on the walls, white tablecloths, greenery, sparkling grape juice and red grape juice served in little plastic wine glasses. It's a hoot!





And here is Sam and his little girlfriend. Oy, that is a whole blog entry to itself right there! He's crazy about this little girl and she's just as crazy about him it seems.




And here are two of our favorite people in the whole world: Sam's teachers. These two ladies have been so wonderful with him and it's a shame he won't have them again next year! Mrs. Stevens and Mrs. Porta.

Crazy mixed up day

Sam's preschool had crazy mixed up day and he was quite excited to participate. We spiked his hair, put his shirt on backwards, zipped only one leg off of his warm up pants and put on two different socks. He had so much fun with this!

Just have to get this out

I'm sure I'm going to ramble, as I usually do, but I'm just seething inside and I don't know what to do about it.

Sam blurted out while playing with Will that I said Will was crabby. Well, of course, Heather was there. I scolded Sam because I did not say that. I wouldn't say something like that in front of him. I couldn't even think of the situation that he was talking about. Once Sam described in more detail though (later when we were inside), I remembered that we were driving up in the car and Will was out playing. We stopped to talk to him and Will wouldn't talk to him or said he didn't want to play with him or something. Once we drove away, Sam asked "Why doesn't Will like me?" I assured him that Will does like him. I told him that everybody has bad days and can be crabby sometimes and maybe Will was just having a bad day. Translated into Sam speak: Will is crabby.

It concerned me, though, because Heather was right there and she's sensitive about Will anyway because of the sensory issues he has been having. I've been very sympathetic with her about them, helping her research and doing some research on my own... and I've made Sam take a lot of crap from Will because of it. I mean, my kid is laying there at night asking "Why doesn't Will like me?" All the while, I'm trying to convince him that Will really does like him without divulging anything about his sensory issues because God knows I don't want him blurting that out in front of a group of kids.

Anyway, after the day that Sam said that, Heather wouldn't even talk to me. We went up there to play one day and she just bold turned around and took the boys in the house. I cried all the way. I had honestly forgotten about that conversation because I knew I hadn't said it in the way Sam had communicated it and I thought I had communicated that to Heather. Apparently not, because she blatantly avoided me on several occasions after that.

Well, one evening I had had enough of the junior high BS and walked up there while she was outside. I said a couple things to her and she was being quite cold and I asked her point blank if she was upset with me over something. She said, "Not upset, my feelings are just hurt." I asked what about and she kind of laughed and said, "Oh, you know." I honestly had no clue because like I said, I had forgotten about the crabby comment.

She said she was upset over that. Well, what I should have done is been flabbergasted that she was still holding on to this, gathered up Sam and went home. Instead, I stood there for half an hour explaining and re-explaining the context of what was said and making apology after apology. She begrudgingly forgave me, but continued to act a bit standoffish.

In my eyes, this has ruined what friendship we did have. How can she trust me again when she has convinced herself that I talk smack about her son? I'm not sure what will happen in the future. I obviously can't let Sam go up there and play by himself and I can't stop him from going up there. He loves to play with those boys. I guess I'll go and watch him, but just stand off to the side, or send Ron.

This just brings back bad memories of the whole issue with Misty. I mean, she stiffed me out of a $75 concert ticket and somehow I'm the bad guy. She acts like I have the plague now. I thought at first maybe she thought I was the one mad at her and maybe, possibly, she might have felt some sort of guilt or remorse for doing something so shady. But now, I just think she can't stand me and has a new group of idi... people to hang out with.

So, what is my problem? I have no friends. I keep in contact with absolutely no one from high school; exactly one person from college; and have no tried and true IRL friends. I have a couple of people here at work. I have several very good Internet friends, several of whom I've met in person and I love dearly although I wonder if they would continue to be my friends if we lived closer and they knew me better. I mean people I can call up and go to dinner with or grab a drink with.

All my life, people have this preconceived notion of me that I am outgoing, outspoken to the point of abrasive... all of this sometimes before I even open my mouth. In truth, I am shy, backward, terrified of confrontation and excessively concerned about what other people think and say about me. And I mean excessively.

Yes, I am sarcastic. Maybe I should give that up. It's a total defense mechanism though. I don't even know who the real me is because I am constantly putting up a front to gel with whomever I am with. Except it's obviously not gelling with ANYONE because I have no friends.

I guess I should just not worry about it and stick to myself. I wanted so badly though to be friends with the parents of Sam's friends so we could do things together and sit together at events and such. I guess I can still do that, though, but be more of an acquaintance than a friend. I guess I make a better acquaintance than I do a friend. People at work that just pass me in the hall and exchange niceties, from what I understand, think I am a very nice person. It just seems that once someone gets to know me very well, they don't like me. Hell, most of the time I think Ron just stays with me because he thinks he doesn't have any other option.

I know this all sounds like one big fat pity party, but this thing with Heather has really thrown me for a loop. She is the first person in a long time that hasn't made me feel inferior, fat, stupid, etc. and now that's gone. I want to go yell at her and say "how could you believe a four year old when I explained the situation to you!" I did NOT call him crabby. I was trying to explain to MY four year old why he is constantly rejected by this other child. I was trying to explain that Will really does like him, when in fact, I really believe he doesn't. I was trying to explain to my son why Will will play with Darren and not him.

No one reads this and that's ok. I hope getting some of this out will stop the thoughts from running through my head constantly and maybe now I can get some sleep.

Flood!

We knew we were testing our luck living in the 100-year flood plain; however, we didn't think it would happen so soon!

Thankfully, no one was hurt and it didn't get into any of the homes in our subdivision, but it did shut down travel for a couple days.

Sunday afternoon (4/15/2007), I sent Ron and Sam to Wal-Mart to pick up a few groceries... and so I could get some cleaning done while they were gone. They'd been gone about 15 minutes and Ron called. I just figured he had forgotten something that I had told him. He said they had been driving around the neighborhood and that we were flooded in.

WHAT??? It had been raining for a couple days, but I never expected for the river to flood. So, they picked me up and took me out to show me.

This picture is taken from the entrance to our subdivision, looking left toward Route 214. This one is on Little Coal River Road down by the stables.

This is the drainage culvert running through our subdivision.

And this is directly across the street from where the previous picture was taken... the empty lot that the contractor is still trying to sell! LOL

And this is Sam giddy because he is getting to ride in the front seat of the car while we look at the flood water.

My buddies

Sam's goal at the Easter Egg Hunt this year was not to get the most eggs... It was to get his picture taken with the WQBE Rabbit! The rabbit is the mascot of a local country station that Sam and his babysitter (and, consequently, Ron and I have to now) listen to. And we made sure it happened! Twice even!

Coloring Easter eggs

First he had to help me boil them...


Then it was time to dig in!


Concentrating...

And then Teagan joined in the fun!