So… I think I need you all to help me out here.  How many of you have been to Disney World?  On the Disney Cruise?  BOTH?  Can ya help me out?  Because we’re going on one of these fantabulous Land/Sea Vacations later this summer and I’m, quite frankly, freaked out about it.  Partially because I have become a hermit and am uncomfortable leaving the confines of my own cozy abode and partially because it’s Disney and everything is SO. VERY. MAGICAL.  You will have fun or you WILL DIE, damnit!

That’s a lot of pressure.

Firstly, I’m worried about the plane trip.  I still don’t know which airline we’re taking, though I’m leaning towards Southwest.  But I do know that I will have to get myself, my husband and three kids through security and on a cross country trip that will take the better part of a day AND our sanity.  Oh, and we’re planning to come in the day before and spend the night at the timeshare my parents are staying at so we’re there for the park the next day from the word go.

Any tips for flying with children?  One who is nine (going on TEN, so help me God), one who will be a newly minted THREE (again with the help) and a 16 month old.   We’re planning on bringing on car seats for the two little ones.  Good plan?  What do I need to bring, entertainment wise?  How much alcohol do you think it will take to dull the pain?

The next issue is strollers.  I think I’ve narrowed it down to two choices.  We will either a) bring something with us which means we’ll have to BUY something as our double stroller is definitely not the sort you want to travel with, but bringing it would mean we’d have it in the airport or b) rent one from an Orlando stroller rental company that delivers to your hotel for you so it’s there when you arrive.  While it would be nice to have a stroller in the airport, we would also have to deal with it on the cruise and I’m not sure how I feel about that.  Is having a stroller on a Disney Cruise a pain in the arse?  Plus, you know, we’d have to buy something.  The stroller I’d really like to have (coincidentally, the same one the stroller rental company provides) is muy expensive and way out of our league.  We’ve talked about a fold up wagon with umbrella but that would be neither comfortable for the kids if they wanted to nap in the park(s) or easy to get on and off transportation.  A cheapo side-by-side double?  Are there any cheapos that recline?  OY.

You can see why it’s an issue.

Also: Dining.  What to do?   Do we get the Disney Dining Plan which allows us to eat pretty much at will for the duration of our stay in the park?  CAN we get it, since our room is already booked and it seems to be tied to your room rate?   Or do we just save up our clams and expect to pay out the arse for food?  My mom thinks we should buy peanut butter and jelly and make sandwiches in our room.   Not a bad idea but I am not going to subsist on peanut butter and jelly for THREE DAYS.  I don’t care what it costs.  This IS a vacation, after all.  I need information about this.  What have other people done?  What has worked?  What hasn’t?

If that weren’t enough:  the heat. Who planned this thing for AUGUST, for pity’s sake?  I will surely melt.  What is central Florida like in August?  Give it to me with both barrels, folks.  I can take it.  What do I need to do to ensure we don’t all die of heat stroke?

I find I’m less concerned about the cruise (though that has its own set of issues including the fact that Liam cannot go to the children’s activities because while he will be three, he will not be potty trained and therefore is stuck with us which means we are stuck with HIM and that severely limits our fun quotient).  At least there will be air conditioning on the cruise.  And the food will be included.  So there’s that.

What do I need to know?  I need your help, oh wise internets!  Give me your experiences and tell me what I should (and should NOT) do/bring/think/say/expect, etc.

I’m scared.

Try as I might to deny it, Christmas is upon us.  It’s knocking on the door and rattling the windows.  It’s calling my home phone every hour and leaving voicemails on my already-crowded-and-never-listened-to inbox.  We were out and about all day on Sunday and if there’s one thing I noticed it is this: Christmas is Here.  It don’t care that temperatures will be up near 70 degrees today (Seriously, WTF, Nevada??).  It doesn’t care that I haven’t even begun to think about decorating (at least our exterior is mostly done already, since we never took down last years decorations) (don’t you want to be our neighbor??).  It doesn’t even care that we haven’t even had Thanksgiving yet.  The fact of the matter is that Christmas is rapidly approaching and if you aren’t shopping your guts out by now then you totally FAIL.  

So in the spirit of Yuletide and all that rot, I’m going to share with you my Holiday To-Do List.  Because don’t we all have one of these?  At the very least, this little exercise might help organize myself so that I can at least hope to get some of these things done.  

• Compile and burn Christmas CDs for Holiday Gift Bag.  I THINK I know what songs I want to put on there.  But I should probably stop putting this off and just get it done.  This is an EASY task. 
• Finish making the ornaments that Harry burned out on making after he made 1/2 of one.  SIGH.  
• Paint and decorate the remaining picture frames (we have one done.  Sort of. 
• Make holiday candy and treats for Gift Bags.  This could be dangerous for my waistline.  Especially the fudge part.  So I think I’ll make Kile do it.
• Purchase Whole Foods reuseable grocery bags for the Gift Bag.  It’s sort of an important component, actually. *cough*
• Dig Christmas tree out of the garage and assemble.  Then decorate it.  Then pray to Baby Jesus that Liam doesn’t entirely dismantle it.  
• Do the Santa gift thing.  We (sorta) know what we’re going to get.  But we probably won’t be making any purchases until after Thanksgiving.
• Find presents for Kile.  GULP.  Since I’m pretty much a hermit and never leave the house alone with the kids, this could be… interesting.  Hellooooo online shopping!!
• Make more fudge.  For myself.  (Who am I kidding??)
• Do the post office thing.  *shudder*  Hmm.  On second thought, delegate that task to Kile.  
• Oh crap!  Christmas cards!  I almost forgot.  Yeah, since I actually have some to give out this year, I should probably do those too.