No mom of the year award

I will never win an award for my parenting skills when it comes to my boy's nightime habits. From the day they were born, I have never been good at creating a nightime schedule and sticking to it. Most nights consist of multiple trips to the bathroom, extra drinks, another kiss goodnight and numerous questions they had no interest in until the lights were turned off but now just have to know the answer to.

One of the best ways for me to keep the 6 and 8 year old in bed is to agree to sit in their room with them until they are asleep. I know, I know- terrible habits but see my first sentence above. Most nights I spend this time in their room anxiously tapping my foot and re-thinking the million things I could be doing instead however tonight I just sat in the darkness and listened.

I listened to them say their prayers and ask God to bless their family and friends, I listened to them whisper in the dark, "Mom are you still here? I love you". I listened as their breathing slowed as the sandman came. For a long time after they were asleep I stayed and listened and thought...not of what I could be doing, but rather the weekend I spent with my family. I thought of our warm home where my family gathered to share a Thanksgiving dinner. I thought of the boys' Christmas wishes as they made their list for Santa. I thought of a Saturday night spent around a warm fire as we watched Christmas movies. I thought of the way my youngest curled up next to me on the couch to cuddle while we watched morning cartoons and I thought how lucky I am that my inability to get them on a nighttime schedule, gave me the chance to stop and reflect on how truly blessed I am.

Do we have enough turkey?

Do you know what tomorrow is? Well my six year old does and he is very concerned that the ones responsible for feeding him have forgotten.

I found him checking out our refrigerator and freezer a few times last night. Now it is not unusual to find someone's head stuck in our fridge, three growing boys you know, but it was a little strange that he never got out a snack but kept returning to look again. Finally I had to ask him what he was looking for. "Mom, do you know what Thursday is" he asked. My response...yes, of course. "Well where is the turkey" he asked. He was relieved to hear grandma was taking on the turkey duty this year and had one all tucked away at her house. He returned a while later to ask if grandma had a big or little turkey to which I was happy to assure him we had a nice big turkey. Guess who woke me up at 3am-yep you guessed it!
"Mom, are you sure grandma has enough turkey ?" Maybe I should call my mom and make sure we have enough turkey-looks like someone is hungry for this year.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Ok here it goes....

My morning ritual includes checking in on many of my favorite blogs. I love to read and laugh along with the adventures of so many that I have never met but feel like I have known for years. I never thought I would take to a blog myself though. Don't get me wrong, I have never been accused of having little to say or being shy, I just never thought about putting the chaotic adventures of our family in written form. Never say never though and things change, so here I sit attempting my first blog. What has changed, you may ask...go ahead, ask, I'll wait......

My new fantastic journey is due to a little company called Disney, maybe you have heard of them. This company owns and operates a little vacation spot in Florida called Walt Disney World. Hopefully you have been there to experience the magic that Disney does better than anyone. Anyway, back in 2007 Disney announced an idea that involved tapping into the hugely popular online blogging and forum community. After an extensive search starting with approximately 10,000 applicants, Disney selected twelve very unique and special moms and dads to handle a site they introduced called disneyworldmoms.com. This site proved to be extremely popular so Disney decided to select a new panel for the 2009 year. Each applicant was asked to answer three questions about their family and Disney experience. To my astonishment, I received an email from Disney a few weeks later congratulating me on advancing to the next round. Another set of questions and more waiting until this popped up one day in my inbox

"On behalf of Walt Disney World® Resort, we would like to congratulate you on making it to the final phase of the selection process for the 2009 Walt Disney World® Moms Panel!
As you know, we received thousands of applications, and you are among the top candidates whose knowledge of – and passion for – Walt Disney World® continues to make a lasting impression on the judging panel. Your expertise and willingness to share the Disney magic is inspirational!"

The final step was a phone interview with the Disney executives that oversee the Moms Panel. I had made it this far last year but was not one of the final twelve selected but instead of being nervous, I felt very calm and excited. I answered all of their questions with enthusiasm. Then the waiting began. Luckily we had a Disney World trip planned and I passed the next week in my favorite place. I returned to find an email letting us know the new panelists would be announced the next day. While I sat in my school's PTA meeting the next afternoon, staring at my cell phone, I saw that wonderful 407 area code and knew this was it. All I remember is Leanne congratulating me on being selected to the 2009 Disney World Moms Panel. My fellow PTA'ers laughed as I jumped up and down and screamed in excitement.

Since finding out this exciting news I have been lucky enough to connect with the other fifteen panelists that were selected. We will all be gathering in Disney World on December 5th to spend the weekend learning about the site. I am so excited at what the next year brings and that I finally get to meet fifteen new friends to share this amazing adventure with.

Karen, Kay, Tanya, Whitney, Amber, Anna, Cathy, Diane, Diane, Doug, Jackie, Jennifer, Jo, Joanne and Jodi...I can't wait to share this journey with you. See ya real soon!