Play time!

Too tired to type up a real post....

How about some adorable pics of my husband and son playing Army Men vs. Aliens?

... and of course an epic battle to defeat Syndrome and the Kronos robots... you may notice that Syndrome is fighting against himself as well....

Playtime is special!

"The Many Uses of Ivory"

In my Influenster Mom VoxBox, I received a complimentary bar of Ivory soap to test and review.  I received this item for free from Influenster and Ivory, but the opinions are my own.  At first I thought, "OK. Soap. I guess we will wash with it!"  I opened the package and though the scent was light and fresh, I didn't care for it as a body soap.  I am very sensitive to scents of any kind.  Shortly after, I got online and searched for "Uses of Ivory Soap."  

What I used it for:
The first thing my son and I did was take a sliver of soap and put it in the microwave.  About a minute and a half later, the soap puffed up and made what looked like snow.  There is a lot of science going on here.  If you'd like to read about the physics involved, go here.  We used it as actual snow and played with the lego snowboarder even though it was over 100 degrees outside.

We also used the soap to wash hands.  It felt really clean and I noticed that my ring looked more sparkly afterwards.

I also contacted several friends who make their own laundry detergent like I do.  Remember this post?    I decided to try to make some dry soap instead of liquid soap.  Since I only had about half a bar, I used this recipe:
1/2 c. borax + 1/2 c. super washing soda + 1/4 c. oxyclean + 1/2 bar finely grated soap.  Use 1 to 2 TBSP of mix per load.

What I like about Ivory and Results I saw from the Product
I absolutely love that Ivory has so many uses.  The fact that it is JUST PLAIN SOAP... 99.44% pure makes me very happy as I know I am not using a product with a bunch of fillers I can't even pronounce.  Ivory worked great as soap, as laundry detergent, and as a craft.  It performed as well as other products we've used in its place.  Did I mention how shiny my ring was?!?

Thoughts on Ivory's Value
Ivory is CHEAP!  At less than $0.50 per bar if you pay full retail (or less with a coupon), you can afford it.  For example, the laundry soap mentioned above cost me about $2.00 total to make and will wash over 30 loads.  You can't beat that price.

Recommended Uses for this Product
Are you ready?  As you remember, I started this project looking for "Uses for Ivory Soap."  What I came across was a really cool document from the Procter and Gamble company.  They had a contest on Unusual Uses for Ivory Soap and picked their favorites.  They claim that "Ivory Soap and water will not injure anything that water, alone, will not harm."  You can read the whole document online here.

I read the whole pamphlet and cut and paste my favorites... I hope you enjoy.  I can't wait to try some of these out soon - especially the dust cloths. Those Swiffer brand ones are expensive!  I also thought the "keep your fingernails clean" idea was brilliant.  I also love the quote at the beginning of the book from the Procter and Gamble Company:  "If, at any time, you have a cleaning problem no covered by printed instructions, all that is necessary is to use Ivory Soap and common sense."

imPress Press On Manicure - Influenster Review

Recently I joined a group called Influenster.  If you like to blog, use social networking, and like free stuff, you  should join this group.  In my "Mom VoxBox," I was excited to see this imPRESS Press on Manicure kit from Broadway Nails.  You can learn more about this product from their website:  www.impressmanicure.com and can download a coupon for $1.00 off your purchase (Look on the bottom right corner of the screen).  These nails retail for $5.99-$7.99 and can be found at your local drugstores/beauty stores like Walgreens and Walmart.

Now I know you're thinking, "Press on nails? Seriously? What are you, eight?"  But you have to understand, although I love the look of a manicure, I can't stand long nails for day to day life.  My job as a teacher means that I wash my hands A LOT.  My job as a mom means I do a lot of baths and dishes.  Water is hard on polish. My pastimes of piano playing and wasting time on the computer critical blogging don't like long nails due to the clicky-clack of nails on keys that DRIVE ME CRAZY.  But I digress...  To keep it short... (ba-dump-ching!), I love the look of long nails for special occasions but find that short natural nails work best for me for the most part.

So the directions look pretty simple.  You peel the sticker.  You press it on.   I thought, "I can do this..." 

 I took a before shot here.  I tried to get that Pinterest "holding a bottle" look... ha!

I went through the bottle of 24 nails and picked out the ten that best fit my nails.  I have pretty small nails, so I used the eight smallest nails and then one of the more medium ones for my thumb.  I feel like if you have medium-to-large nails, you would have had enough for your nails too.  There was quite a variety of sizes in the bottle.  I swabbed my nails with the "prepping" cloth...  very refreshing.  I peeled the stickers and stuck them on!  This whole process took me about 10 minutes from start to finish.

And done! You can still see my nail bed on my thumb... should have used the next size up for this particular thumb... the other looked great.

Now, like I said, I'm pretty plain jane when it comes to nails, so here is my impression of these products.  First off, let me remind you that I received this product FOR FREE from influenster for testing and review.  The product was complimentary, but the opinions are my own.

1.  This was fast and looked pretty darn good.  I felt pretty special and pretty when my husband and I went on an afternoon date.  I see myself buying these again and putting them in the drawer for special occasions... a nice dinner, a wedding, or just a night out with the girls... a quick way to make yourself feel special.

2.  The price is pretty good.  This is not a salon manicure, but it faked my sister out who was shocked to find out they were press-on.  For about $6.00 I got a very manicured look without spending all that cash at the nail salon.

3.  I would not have chosen this color (Stilletto) because it is pretty dark and it is summer time.  However, there are several bright colors and fun prints available to try out.  I checked my local Walmart and they carried these in about 4 colors but the website claims to have 36 different styles.

4.  These are long lasting.  I lost one nail while I was doing the dishes about 5 days after I applied.  I had to really work to get the others off.  I think if I'd had some nail glue, I could have popped the rogue nail back on and the manicure could have lasted for quite some time.  The package claims "up to a week" of survival.

In conclusion, I would definitely buy these again and encourage you to try them out -- especially if you are like me and can't maintain or afford a professional manicure.  Try them! 

Sweet Dreams, Little Man

Godspeed, Little Man.

one month old

I sing this song to Robbie nearly every night I put him to bed and have done so since the day we brought him home from the hospital.  

You Tube Version of this Song  The Dixie Chicks perform it.

Dragon tales and the Water is Wide;Pirates sail and lost boys fly;Fish bite moonbeams every night;And I love you;Godspeed little man Sweet Dreams little man;All my love will fly to you each night on angels wings;Godspeed sweet dreams

The rocket racer's all tuckered out;Superman's in pajamas on the couch;Goodnight moon we'll find the mouse;And I love you;Godspeed little man Sweet Dreams little man;My love will fly to you each night on angels wings;Godspeed Sweet Dreams

God bless mommy and matchbox cars;God bless Dad and thanks for the stars;God hears "amen" wherever we are;And I love you;Godspeed little man Sweet Dreams little man;My love will fly to you each night on angels's wings;
Godspeed, Godspeed, Godspeed Sweet Dreams 

A few months ago, he stopped me at the last verse and said, "Mommy, why can't God bless Robbie too?"  So we replaced the words with "God bless mommy and God bless Robbie, God bless daddy and thanks..." He is my little "Prayer of Jabez" boy! 


Tonight, he asked me if it would be OK if he sang his lullabies with me instead of just listening.  I said, "OK, which one are we going to sing?"  He said, "Rockin' Tales" (which is what he calls this song).... and then we sang... the whole song... he knows every word even the ones I sing wrong (fish bite moonbeams every night/fish those moonbeams out of the sky).  It was so precious.  My heart was so full and once again overwhelmed by how much love I have for this tiny precious man God gave me to raise and love.  I kept thinking, I HAVE TO REMEMBER THIS MOMENT.  I have to remember this feeling.  This is one of those "little moments" that are really the "big moments," you know? 


And as I sit here and reflect I can't help but think... he knows every word of this song? Why? Because I sing them every night.  What other things do I say to him every day? He probably knows those words by heart too.  I pray that God will guard my tongue and give me words of wisdom and love to say to him every day.  I need to say things to him every day so he will know them.  I love you.  Daddy loves you. God loves you.  You can do great things.  You are important.  I will always love you, no matter what you do, what you say, or how you choose to live your life.  


Here is a great article by Victoria Osteen: Bless Your Children.  and another one by Pam Leo: Teaching Children Respect that are good, quick reads if you have a moment and you are a parent.

And in the meantime, I'm off to bed with a precious memory of my beautiful three-year-old singing lullabies with me on a hot summer evening.  Godspeed sweet dreams.

Disney World - Day 5 - LAST DAY!

We've had several really fun days at Disney, but today is the day we have to go home.  Today was extra magic hours at the MK so we packed up the car and got on the boat.  We rode the Space Ranger Spin again (twice), Peter Pan, Small World, and then waited in line to see Tinker Bell.  Robbie loves Tinker Bell almost as much as Mickey.  We waited for FORTY FIVE minutes in line for Pixie Hollow.  As soon as we were next, Robbie says, "I think I changed my mind.  Let's go."

OH, NO, my son.  We waited. We're next. We are seeing Tinker Bell and you are going to enjoy it.  Of course as soon as we turned the corner, he turned in to shy boy and wouldn't detach from me.  Oh well.

Tinker Bell's friend Rosetta

Robbie said he afterward he expected Tinker Bell to be smaller.

Crystal Palace is always a fun place to have lunch with Winnie the Pooh and friends.  Robbie was in a pretty good mood and it was adorable watching him get excited to see Tigger, who he claimed was going to really be fun.

Crystal Palace

Robbie was too tired to do anything else, so we left.  Robbie really wanted to ride Dumbo again and made me promise that the next time we come to Disney World it would be the very first thing we did.  I promised, but I don't think he understands that the next time we come back he probably won't want me to keep my promise because he will be older.

Best ride of the vacation? Maybe the one home?

My collection of pins for this trip.  My goal was to collect as many "Vinylmation" Mickeys I could find.

Next Disney Trip?  Well so far, we've gone about every five years.  We'll see how long we can wait to go back.  Robbie is already talking about all the things he's going to do next time... including playing in the pool...

Disney World - Day 4: Animal Kingdom, Rain, Fantasmic Lightshow

 Animal Kingdom was really fun the last time we went, but this time it was not as much fun.  It was REALLY crowded this day and REALLY sticky hot.  Robbie was grumpy in the morning. We got turned around and mixed up trying to follow the map. 

2 out of 3 aint bad

We took Robbie to The Boneyard in DinoLand where he played, climbed, splashed, and dug in the sand for most of the morning.  He really enjoyed this so we just let him play as long as he wanted. We gave our FastPasses for the Kilimanjaro Safari to another family and headed out to our lunch reservation at the Tusker House.  We tried to check in, but were too early and Robbie was starving, so we went to Pizzafari and picked him up a slice of pizza.  It was a good thing because although our reservation at Tusker House was a 12:20, we weren't seated until after 1:00!  We would have just walked out, but this meal had a cancellation fee (no fair!) so we waited.

Meeting Miss Daisy
(Robbie had no interest and really needed a nap!)

The food at Tusker House was really good - African Style buffet.  As we were leaving, it was starting to rain.  When we woke up from naps it was REALLY RAINING. We had "priority seating" at the Fantasmic Light Show and needed to get to Hollywood Studios.  We were a little worried that the show would be cancelled, but packed up our ponchos and headed to the bus stop.

Robbie was in a MUCH better mood this evening and actually enjoyed stomping around in the rain at Disney Studios.  We watched the Muppets 3D, but most of the other outside stuff was closed due to the rain.  The FastPasses were all gone for the Toy Story Midway Mania and the sign said that the wait time was 120 minutes.  We do not wait for 120 minutes on rides generally, but since it was raining and we had some time to kill before the show, we decided to wait.  Enter the most brilliant idea I read online before our trip: the kiddo camera.  

I read on a travel site that you should buy your kid their own camera to take on vacation, something cheap like a disposable.  Disposable cameras run about 10 bucks around here.  However, Walgreens has a "loyalty" camera that is digital that I was able to get for about $8.50 with Sam's discount.  It takes 50 pictures and you have to take the camera to walgreens to get it developed or pics burned to a CD.  During our 120 minute wait in line, I gave Robbie the camera and let him snap away pictures.  He took pictures of everything he could see and had a blast.  I don't think he even realized how long we stood in line because he was so distracted!  When it was finally our turn to ride, we really enjoyed it.  This was more fun than the Space Ranger Spin at MK, but I wouldn't wait as long to do this under normal non-rainy circumstances.

The rain had stopped and the Fantasmic lightshow was a go!  Robbie held his ears the entire time (or I held them so he could rest his arms).  We tried to get him to wear earplugs but he freaked out.  We are going to look into getting him some of those noise cancelling over-ear headphones before the Fourth this year.  

As for the show itself - he LOVED it!  He smiled and clapped and cheered when Mickey defeated the villains.  The joy on his face was priceless and even though he probably won't remember this trip very well because he is only three, I will remember the look on his face forever.  

On the clipboard of fun for tomorrow: Our last day! Magic Kingdom and Crystal Palace

Disney World - Day 3 - Disney Studios, Pool, Arcade

Disney Hollywood Studios is one of our favorite parks.  Although we knew we wouldn't be riding the Aerosmith Rockin' Rollercoaster or the Tower of Terror this trip, we still love the shows and street performances at this park.  I think this place has some of the best "theme" restaurants in Walt Disney World as well.

Robbie was the least excited here...
you can hardly tell, right?

 We waited for a meet-n-greet with Phineas and Ferb.  Sam LOVES this show.  We also took a moment for a photo op with Lightening McQueen and Mater.

Aren't you boys a little young to be signing autographs?

The "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" playset was a big hit with Robbie.  He especially enjoyed this giant super-soaker that squirted water every 20 seconds or so.  It had a nice climbing/sliding area and lots of fun enlarged props to play with.

Watch out for the super soaker!

That's a big puppy nose!

Lunch was at a favorite restaurant - the Sci Fi Dine-In Theatre.  I'm glad we had a reservation because they were turning people away at the door who wanted to wait for a table.  This is a great place to eat.  It looks like a drive-in theatre, your table is a car, and you get to watch clips of old sci-fi films. Awesome!  I got an appetizer of spinach and artichoke dip (which I normally don't order) and it was super yummy!

Robbie received a "driver's license" and got a fruit punch with a glowing Buzz Lightyear toy.  So much fun!

Glowing margarita? Don't mind if I do!

Nap time was upon us, so we hopped the bus back.  Robbie claimed not to be sleepy, but really needed to blow off some steam, so we took him to the hotel pool for a couple of hours.

If you ask Robbie what his favorite part of Disney World was, he will answer: "The pool!"

Sam and Robbie played in the pool for several hours while I slept relaxed in a lounge chair.  After a nap, we headed to the hotel arcade to burn our complementary tokens that came with our hotel package.  They had a giant screened version of Fruit Ninja, virtual bowling, and more that Rob really enjoyed.  We had a late dinner at the Whispering Canyon in our hotel.  This is such a fun restaurant if you've got kids. Just make sure you ask for ketchup, ok?

Tomorrow on the clipboard of fun: Animal Kingdom AM, Disney Studios and Fanstasmic Light Show PM.

Disney World - Day 2 - Chef Mickey's, Epcot, Magic Kingdom

Chef Mickey's is a character restaurant at the Contemporary hotel that is actually kind of difficult to get a reservation for.  I made breakfast reservations about 2 months ahead of our trip and had a choice of breakfast at 7:20AM or 10:35AM. We chose the early one. When I found out mom and dad would be joining us the first two days, I tried to change our reservation for 3 to 5 people and was told there wasn't a single table for 5 people available the entire week for any time or meal.  So mom and dad stayed at the hotel for breakfast and we went alone.  

This picture cracks me up because Robbie is like picking his teeth or something.  He was really tired from yesterday and insisted on bringing his cuddle pals kitty and puppy with him, so they are in the picture too.  

Chef Mickey's Character Breakfast

 After breakfast we popped by the gift shop.  I bought these "Ellie Badge" pins from UP.  LOVE THIS!

Back to the hotel to meet Mom & Dad and head to Epcot.  We were a little worried Robbie wouldn't like Epcot since it's geared more toward education and he is pretty young, so we only planned to be here in the morning.

We headed to "the Land" to see if he was tall enough to ride Soarin' but he missed out by about a finger width.  Bummer.  Then over to the Seas to ride the Finding Nemo ride... where just as we were getting on the ride he totally freaked out and refused to get on.  The cast member at the ride asked him if he wanted a flash light, which he accepted and grudgingly got on the ride.  Robbie, now happy with a flash light, was enjoying the ride.  The lady a few cars down from us was ticked though and kept yelling, "Put that flashlight away! You're not allowed to have that! Some kid has a flashlight and needs to put it away!" for the whole ride... so y'know... that was frustrating.  We got off and headed over to Turtle Talk with Crush which Robbie LOVED.  The kids got to ask questions and Crush answered.  I don't know how they did it, but it was adorable.

It was about lunch time, but Robbie was starting to get whiney, so we canceled our lunch reservation at Biergarten and headed back to the hotel.

Happy boys on the monorail

After another much needed nap, we went back to the Magic Kingdom. We rode the "Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin" which turned out to be Robbie's favorite ride at Disney World.  He had so much fun!  We had to say goodbye to Mom and Dad who needed to head home.  I'm so glad we got to spend some time with them.  We miss them and hope to see them again soon!


Robbie was missing his Papaw and Grandma, so we headed toward Fantasyland to ride Dumbo again to raise his spirits.  We happened across this new splash pad in Mickey's Toontown fair.  It was adorable and Robbie went from hot, tired boy to soaked, exhilarated boy in minutes.  Sam and I sat in the shade while Robbie ran around and splashed for nearly an hour.

Splash Pad! Exactly what we needed to beat the heat.

 We grabbed dinner at the Tomorrowland Terrace, rode a few more rides, then headed back to the hotel BEFORE the parade and fireworks.

Three Leahys on a flying elephant.

Dumbo at night... One of Robbie's favorite rides!

We watched the Electric Water Pageant from the balcony of of room and hit the hay.  On the Clipboard of Fun for tomorrow was Disney Studios.

(Robbie is in his stroller hiding his face
... so the photographer just shot us!)

Disney World - Day 1 - Magic Kingdom

We decided (maybe unwisely) that to save some money we would drive the 15+ hours to Walt Disney World instead of flying like we normally would.  We find that since we have to pay for three tickets now instead of just two, flying is a little out of our budget.  Sam flipped his schedule by working a few overnight police shifts leading up to the trip.  Our awesome babysitter Courtney came and picked Robbie up on Saturday morning and took him to her house to play while Sam slept and I packed up all our stuff.  Robbie came home right after lunch, Sam woke up, and we all got in the car for the drive.

We arrived at Walt Disney World's Wilderness Lodge around 8AM or so and we were relieved that they had a room ready for us.  We checked in, changed our clothes, and called Mom & Dad (who were driving up from Ft. Myers to spend the first few days with us.)  We really like the Wilderness Lodge.  Sam and I stayed here on our honeymoon 11 years ago.  The hotel itself is gorgeous inside and out.  The restaurants are great with very "American" food that we always enjoy.  The ride to the Magic Kingdom is just 10 minutes or less by boat and there is a great bus system out front for the other parks.

Disney's Wilderness Lodge

When Mom and Dad arrived, they were able to check in as well and we headed over to the Magic Kingdom for the first day.  Looking back now, we probably should have hung out around the hotel or did one of the other farther away parks the first day.  Robbie was tired from being in the car and wanted to run around.  This was also his best behavior day as well because he was running on excited holy-cow-I'm-in-Disney adrenaline.  But we didn't and the day still turned out pretty great.

Disney has this new (or at least new to us) thing called "Photopass" where you have a card with a barcode.  They have photographers all over the park.  They take your picture. They scan your card.  Then when you get back home, you go to the website and you see all your pictures.  You can buy a CD (or download) and a limited release copyright permission form.  It's kind of pricey and I wish I had bought the CD before I left (at the discounted pre-purchase rate) because I could have saved over $50 and we got a lot of really great pictures with Photopass while we were there.

Dad, Mom, Sam, Mandy, and Master Robert at Magic Kingdom
(Photo used with permission (c) Disney Photopass)

First order of business at Magic Kingdom was Robbie's Pirate Makeover at the Pirate's League.  He LOVED THIS.  He especially loved walking around the park and getting people's attention.  They would see him, smile really big and say things like, "Oh what a cute little pirate!"  He ate that up.  After the makeover we rode the Pirates of the Caribbean ride... ummm... during which Robbie cried profusely.  Now, he wasn't scared of the dark, or the pirates, or the creepy "DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES!" voice... no... he was terrified of the little waterfall boat drop at the very beginning of the ride where if you sit in the front of the boat you get splashed.  He cried and screamed and we felt like terrible parents.  He did calm down eventually and enjoyed the rest of the ride.  When he got off the boat he said, "I'm NEVER riding that ride AGAIN! Never!" and we proceeded on with the rest of the day, now a little worried about how the rest of this would play out.  We visited the Enchanted Tiki Room, the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House, and eventually headed over to Tony's Town Square restaurant for lunch.  Sam and I ate at Tony's on our Honeymoon and again when we came for our 5-year anniversary.  Then it was back to the hotel for a much needed nap for everyone.

That evening we headed back to the Magic Kingdom and waited to see Mickey and Minnie at the Town Hall Meet-n-Greet.  Robbie was very excited.  He loves Micky Mouse!  We've been watching The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the Disney Channel since he was just a tiny thing.

Mickey really hammed it up when Robbie tried to high-five him with his hook. The characters do such a good job! They are so much fun!

Even pirates love Mickey.

We had dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern.  Oh my.  BEST. MEAL. EVER.  I'm not kidding here, this was an AWESOME meal.  The meal was an all you can eat "family style feast" with roasted meats, potatoes, veggies, bread, mac-n-cheese, and more.  For dessert was ice cream and a warm fruit cake that was divine. We will definitely be going back to this place again!

Sam and Robbie rode the Dumbo ride for the first time this day.  Robbie loved it.  I kept trying to get a picture, but Robbie wanted Dumbo to fly high the whole time.  This is as good as I could get.

We thought Robbie would enjoy the parade, but didn't get a spot early enough and sort of got crushed up against the castle.  He saw a little on Sam's shoulders.  Then we got really trapped as people tried to position for the fireworks.  Really. Trapped.  As in crush-of-people-can't-move-trapped.  We tried to escape out through Fantasyland then Frontierland but didn't quite make it when the fireworks started.  Did I mention that Robbie hates loud noises?  He started crying and holding his hands to his ears but there wasn't any place to go.  Even when they were over, we couldn't get out of the park because of the nine billion other people trying to leave.  It was also at this time that we notice that someone had stolen Robbie's water bottle spray fan off of our stroller.  Robbie was crushed, sad, exhausted,... would this be the worst trip ever?!?

OK.  In truth we had a great day and were thrilled to spend time with Mom and Dad.  We learned a valuable lesson in that if you want to be able to leave the park and be in bed before midnight, you've got to do so before the 9pm parade.  Robbie loved his pirate makeover, riding the kiddo rides, and getting to see Mickey.  He was such a good boy the whole day! Even though we had a few tears, most of the day he had a huge smile on his piratey little face.  Tomorrow on the Clipboard-of-Fun was breakfast at Chef Mickey's and a morning at Epcot...