Dayngrous Discourse

Princess Jasmine and the Three Year Old

2008-07-15T00:54:00.005-04:00

Here, our little Princess meets Princess Jasmine from Aladdin and tells her that it's her birthday and she's three. Actually, since she was wearing a birthday button - compliments of Disney, everyone knew it was her birthday and all of the cast members wished her a happy birthday wherever she went.

I think it is safe to say that they both had a great time meeting Princess Jasmine and chatting her up. I can't imagine what must have been going through their minds as they met her and the other Disney Princesses. It was such a great day.

What A Monday - Stank of America

2008-07-14T16:27:00.002-04:00

What a Monday! Today has been the Monday from the depths of hell when it comes to dealing with corporations and their customer service reps. You are not going to believe any of what I've dealth with today. It's that ridiculous.

Let's start with Bank of America, a company I have come to absolutely despise. To make a long story short, I opened a Money Market account with them in April of 2007 and (like with all bank transactions) it took too much time and mountains of paperwork. Then, in Jan of 2008, Bank of America decided to convert my Money Market account into a cheesy MyAccess Checking account. This time though, they didn't consult me, get my signature or waste my valuable time. How can a bank convert my account without my permission but if I want to open an account I have to stand in line forever, fill out mounds of paperwork and hope they do their jobs correctly so all goes well?

I never received a notice that this was happening. No phone call was made to alert me, no email sent and no U.S. mail was ever sent to my home. I found out accidentally when I went to make a deposit into my Money Market account that week and was told I didn't have one. To make a painfully long story short, I thought I had cleared up all the confusion by closing the account (created by Bank of America, without my permission) and opening a new Money Market account. A few months later the MyAccess Checking account I had closed magically appeared again when I checked my online banking accounts. Once again I cancelled it out and moved forward.

Much to my suprise, I learned today that it's back again but this time masquerading as a savings account. At least that's what it shows up as on my online banking screen. I called Bank of America's customer service number at 1.800.432.1000 and spoke with Karina who advised me that this was not a savings account, as it shows on my screen, but rather the same MyAccess checking account I closed twice before. She also stated that she showed the account was closed but that a deposit of $400 had been made to the closed account which is what probably re-opened it. WHAT? Yes, it gets better. Then Karina went on to say that rather than cancel the deposit or direct deposit and send it back to wherever it came from they just accepted it and re-opened the account.

Uh, excuse me.... When did the bank get to decide it could re-open an account that I closed in person with my signature? Since when can someone make a deposit, direct or otherwise into a closed account? I'm willing to bet that, true to form, Bank of America NEVER followed through on their end and closed the account when I handled this back in Jan of 2008. How else could someone make a deposit into the account?

Through no help of Bank Of America's I found out that despite their claims, when I opened the new Money Market account, that they couldn't link accounts opened in different states to a single ATM card, they did. After a detailed discussion with Mr. Right I learned that they never closed out the MyAccess checking account they created because it was still showing as a linked account on my ATM card. Though the MyAccess checking account was created by Bank Of America in Florida and my original checking account was created in VA the two were somehow linked to my ATM card. When Mr. Right went to make a deposit for me into my account, he picked the wrong checking account thus depositing money into the account that I cancelled out and closed. Mystery solved.

I'd like to add that I do have a "personal banker" by the name of Rita Cabrera who works at the Hialeah Branch. However, Rita isn't much of a personal banker and has dropped the ball on more than one occassion on other account issues. Much like her ball dropping then, I contacted Rita about this issue on May 13th 2008 at 11:45 AM and again the same day at 3:25 PM and never heard back.

Now, once again, I will need to go to Bank Of America and sit down with a representative and close this account - for the third time. I think this time around though I will speak with a bank manager and have him or her close out all my accounts and my safe deposit box so I can find a bank that actually values and takes care of their clients.

Any suggestions on where to go?

Tags: Bank of America, Customer Service, Money Market Accounts, MyAccess Checking, Banking, Dayngrous Discourse

Never Judge A Resort By It's Cover

2008-07-11T17:45:00.003-04:00

Let's talk Disney Resorts. We thought we'd take one of my girlfriend's suggestions and try one of Disney's All Star Resorts. The only one available when we booked (which was pretty last minute) was All Star Sports.

The resort was adorable with sports themes inside and out. We stayed in the Surfs Up section where there were giant surf boards and a shark fin. The place was just too cute. It is a must see even if you don't actually stay there.

I would highly recommend this for anyone with teens (since they were everywhere and ruled the place), folks on a budget or with moderate expectations. I knew going in when booking that it wasn't going to be my idea of a dream vacation since it was geared toward kids. I like my hotels geared a little more toward adults with some kid friendly features but I figured we'd give it a try. After all, it is a Disney resort so it had to be top notch right?

Wrong. We had a preferred room, which means you pay a little more to be closer to the amenities like the pool (we faced it) and the main building which houses the gift shop and dining areas etc. It is also where you can pick up all the Disney theme park shuttles. Though the place was worth its weight in gold for the transportation features it left too much to be desired everywhere else.

The pool closed at midnight but you couldn't tell since the noise never really ended. There were tons of security guards but I never actually saw them ask anyone to get out of the pool after hours and the place was overrun by teenagers and teen groups. There had to be hundreds of them - all louder than the group before.

Even your basic hotel room comes with a little coffee pot and some coffee. Not this one. If you wanted coffee you had to trek down to the dining area and buy some. We did and it was nothing to write home about. Can we get a Starbucks over there ASAP?

This hotel did not have wireless internet service but rather broadband and even that wasn't free. Are you kidding me? Disney doesn't give you free wireless? WTF? The internet was $9.95 a day.

They nickeled and dimed you around every corner.

I have yet to be to a hotel that didn't have laundry bags for dirty clothes. No wait, we just stayed at one. When we called down to housekeeping they had never heard of that. Maybe the fact they didn't speak English might have had something to do with it too. Either way, they didn't have any at the All Star Sports Resort.

Did I mention our room had bugs too? Yeah, it did. They offered to spray it - that was it though. No apology for our inconvenience, no offer to move us to another room, no complimentary anything, no discount, etc. They didn't really care too much.

Even though the accommodations were small for the price (double beds only) and left so much to be desired, the kids were having a blast. They were enjoying themselves (and their time with Nonna) so much that we decided to stay another day because the kids really, really loved it. We asked to extend but even that didn't go smoothly. Instead of letting us stay in the room we were in, they wanted to move us across the resort which meant we would need to pack everything up and move it all. What a mission for 3 adults and 2 little ones.

Then to make matters worse, they didn't even have a room assignment for us. They wanted us to pack everything and leave it in their storage facility until they could assign us a room. All the while mentioning what time check out was each time we called for a room assignment. They didn't give us the impression they were interested in their guests comfort or care at all. (Maybe I should have complained but I didn't want to become even more frustrated.)

I wasn't about to leave all of our stuff in their storage facility, I'd already seen how they cared less about lost items - but that is a WHOLE other story. Believe me, I'll blog it later because it is so insane.

I also found it really weird that if you wanted to use the luggage cart it was mandatory to have the luggage guy with you at all times - as if you were going to steal the luggage cart. You'd think this wouldn't be a big deal since it IS the bellhop's (do we still use that term?) job to help you but it was a big deal because there weren't enough people to go around. This meant that when you called, you got an attitude.

When we needed a luggage cart to move I was told and I quote "I'll see if I can get one to your room". I wanted to tell her "You'll see? How about you just make it happen."

That was the final straw for me. When I realized we needed to pack everything like we were leaving I told everyone we were leaving. Why not, we had to pack it all up anyway right? Once we packed it all up, I got on the phone and the blink of an eye we had an amazingly fantastic, over the top room at Disney's Contemporary Resort - mere steps away from the Magic Kingdom. I don't know if the room really was incredibly, amazing or if it was that we were just so happy to be some place SO much better than the last. No, seriously, it was incredibly amazing. It was like going from grabbing a hot dog from a street vendor to sitting down to dinner at a 5 star restaurant. The place was completely zen and had the decor to match. I think my whole body went "Ahhhhh" when we walked in. ( I know everyone else was thrilled too!)

We stayed in the Garden Wing so I'm not sure what the other rooms looked like but ours was a knockout. Two queen-sized bed with lush bedding, pillows and neckrolls along with a day bed. Floor to ceiling windows. Flat screen TV, & computer, Marble bathroom, two Kohler "flat sinks", separate bathroom and shower areas, rainshower showerhead - just beautiful. I could go on and on. Plus, at this resort everything we needed was right in the room, including a refrigerator.

The Contemporary has 3 restaurants (California Grill, Wave, and Chef Mickey's), a bar and something they call a Grab and Go where you can just grab items like boxed cereal, fruit, bakery items etc. and go. Very convenient.

The only thing I was disappointed about was that though Chef Mickey's is located in the hotel they didn't take reservations at the restaurant. If you wanted to eat there you had to call a toll-free number to make a reservation and no one ever answered. You had to leave a message and wait for a call back. Who wants to sit around in their room waiting for a phone call?

Also, related to Chef Mickey's - a big complaint I had with Disney (overall too) was that it seems they've forgotten that it is all about kids and their Disney experience. Though the staff advised us we could have the kids meet and get photos with the characters at Chef Mickey's using our photopass, that wasn't allowed unless you had a reservation for breakfast, lunch or dinner. In other words, it didn't matter that we were guests at the hotel. It didn't matter that we had a photopass and planned to purchase the Disney photos we'd taken. We could not have our children meet the characters unless we paid for the meals at about $22 per person. Even with that though, we wouldn't get professional photos with them. We'd have to take them ourselves. How do you explain to a 3 and 4 year old that the only way they can see Mickey who is just 5 steps away is if mommy and daddy pay for it. Outrageous! Shame on you Disney!

Honestly, a better solution to this would be to have professional photos w/characters available to those who dine in and a basic meet and greet for those who do not. Because really, the kids should have the option to see and hug the characters if they are in the hotel with them. It's all about the kids, isn't it?

Though the All Star Sports Resort wasn't my idea of a relaxing hotel, it was nice. In all fairness to the staff, everyone we dealt with face to face was fantastic but everyone on the phone left us with the impression they really didn't care about service. As with most large organizations, the left hand didn't always know what the right hand was doing so often we got misinformation depending on who we talked to. I expected so much more from Disney because I figured they trained their people to be guest oriented.

All in all I highly recommend staying at a Disney Resort for the benefits, just be sure to pick the one that's right for you and fits your family's needs.

Tags: Disney Resorts, Disney All Star Sports, Disney Contemporary Resort, Walt Disney World, Orlando FL, Florida, Family Fun, Chef Mickey's, Disney Characters, Review

How We Celebrated Our Independence Day

2008-07-11T15:52:00.001-04:00

This is how we spent our 4th of July. We took the Dayngrous Duo to Disney World in Orlando for the fireworks, fun and festivities. Isn't America great that we have the freedom to do things like this for our children?

It was also a special surprise trip for the little Princess since it was also her 3rd birthday (on 7/3). It wasn't all that hard keeping it a secret but it was definitely worth it to be saved all the "are we there yet?"s. It was completely worth it to see the expression on their little faces when we announced we had arrived and it was even more over the top when they saw their Nonna meeting us at the hotel.

We had such a good time and the fireworks displays 4th of July weekend were incredible! We saw them at EPCOT's World Showcase and it was well worth it.

Remarkably, the parks were not as crowded as I expected so if you ever have the chance to go for the 4th, do it! It was hot but then again, it's always hot here in FL so it wasn't unexpected.

It was so heart-warming to see so many people in Red, White and Blue all in one place. When we got to America @ EPCOT they really went all out. There were so many activities for the kids and great giveaways. There was also fantastic entertainment. While we were there we saw Bjorn Again (an Abba Tribute Band) rockin' it out. We had such a great time overall I would definitely recommend going to Disney for Independence Day.

A little side note about the photo - The way these photos work is like this. You wait in line for your turn to take photos with the characters. If you have a photo pass the professional photogs take the pics and you can pick them up later for a price or you can snap some of your own for free. Once your turn is over you step aside and it is someone else's turn. However, our little Princess didn't want to say goodbye to Donald Duck. When she realized she needed to leave him she had a total meltdown. It was so tragically sad and cute at the same time. Apparently, everyone else thought so too because Donald came right over and hugged and kissed her and all the photogs started snapping pics of the two. It was incredibly sweet of Donald Duck to do that, especially since he didn't have to and there were other people waiting. It was really, really sweet and it seemed to be just what she needed to move on.

Tags: Disney Theme Parks, Disney World, Disney Resorts, EPCOT, 4th of July, Orlando, Florida Vacations, Florida Attractions, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Dayngrous Duo, Dayngrous Discourse

545 People

2008-07-11T12:39:00.003-04:00

I have some folks in my family that send me some pretty opinionated things from time to time and I thought I would share some of them here to get your thoughts. I'm interested in what you think about this. What would you say to this? Feel free to speak your mind, good or bad on this one or any of the others soon to come.

545 People
By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congess does. You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy, The Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 300 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country. I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash, the politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.

The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.

Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ.

If they are on an elite retirement plus health insurance benefits plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power. They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the peole who are their bosses - provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel

Princess Bell and the Dayngrous Duo

2008-07-05T12:37:00.000-04:00

The Dayngrous Duo meet Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast in Norway. This was the beginning of a dream come true for Lola, who is celebrating her 3rd birthday all weekend long. She absolutely loves the Disney Princesses and this was her very 1st princess up close and personal. She was thrilled to pieces. She didn't know it at the time this photo was taken but she was about to have lunch with quite a few more princesses. More photos to come later as we're still in Disney World.

Tags: Adventures with Dayngr, Dayngrous Duo, Beauty and the Beast, Disney Princess, Belle, Disney, EPCOT, Norway, 4th of July at Disney World

Meeting Mulan

2008-07-04T23:45:00.001-04:00

Here the Dayngrous Duo meet Mulan for the first time in China. I love how Lola's looks at her in amazement. What a great shot. I can't wait to see the professional photos at the end of our trip.

Tags: Mulan, EPCOT, Disney, 4th of July at Disney World, Adventures with Dayngr, Dayngrous Duo

Birthday Surprises

2008-07-03T09:36:00.006-04:00

Then
and
Now

Today is Lola's 3rd birthday and we're suprising her and her big brother, by taking them to Disney World. We're heading out this morning and it's a mere 4 hour drive. That surprise would be good enough but we're actually going to have their Nona meet us there for a double a surprise. This will be their 1st trip to Disney with their Nona and I don't know who will be more excited, her, them or us for having an extra set of hands and eyes!

I'm dragging my laptop with me primarily because, it's the 4th of July and it's one of our busiest holidays so I'll have to check in and make sure everything is running smoothly. I'm pretty that since I'll have my laptop with me, I'll be uploading photos and maybe even blogging. It all depends on how much the Dayngrous Duo wear us out. If it is anything like the last trip in May, don't hold your breath. We were beat!

I can only imagine the fireworks display we'll see at Disney World and EPCOT. I bet they will be unbelievable.

We're also hoping to get to see Disney's Animal Kingdom this time as well. It will be a first for the whole family. It should be exciting.

The Planned Itinerary (kinda)

Thursday - Driving and Hotel Check in
Friday - EPCOT
Saturday - Disney World's Magic Kingdom
Sunday - Disney's Animal Kingdom
Monday - Downtown Disney and Driving home

Wish us luck and have a great 4th of July weekend with your family and loved ones.

Beautiful Flowers at EPCOT

2008-07-02T17:00:00.000-04:00

Here are just two of the beautiful plants I was able to get photos of. The Flower Expo was there when we went in May and the place was gorgeous (as it always is). What do you think?

Knocked Out

2008-07-02T14:30:00.002-04:00

Do you think we wore them out at Disney?

Family Day Parade At Disney World

2008-07-01T18:10:00.000-04:00

We had one of the best seats in the place for Family Day at Disney World during Charlie's birthday weekend. Here's one of the photos. Sure to make it into the scrapbook!

Tags: Family Fun, Adventures With Dayngr, Disney World, Orlando Vacation, Orlando, Florida, Central Florida, Dayngrous Duo, Dayngrous Discourse

Our Disney Vacation

2008-06-30T16:26:00.002-04:00

By now you've probably guessed that we went to Disney World, in Orlando, on our family vacation. It was a great way to celebrate Charlie's 4th Birthday and a great getaway for all of us. We really needed to take some time off and just have some fun as a family.

We had a fantastic time and we hit the road on a Thursday and went to Epcot on Friday. The Dayngrous Duo had such a wonderful time. It was pretty funny to look at the photos we took. It was their first time going ever and it showed on their faces. Most of the photos they look awestruck, like their in total shock and disbelief at what they're seeing. It really was funny. By the second and third day though they were really getting the hang of the magical, wonderful place and they loved it.

At Epcot Charlie was picked from the audience to participate in one of the presentations. What a little ham! It was for Kodak and they were spotlighting their digital cameras and printers. The dressed him up like a little scientist and he had to look at the camera and say "One, two, three - AHA!" and they would snap a photo of him with the giant camera. It was a big hit. Below are the photos we took and the final one is the shot from Kodak's giant digital camera. I love how the people in the back are all doing it too! What a wonderful first trip to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and an incredible birthday that I have no doubt will be remembered forever.

The Plan
The plan was as follows:

Thursday: Driving time
Friday: Epcot
Saturday & Sunday: Disney also known as The Magic Kingdom

Favorites

Lola's favorite thing to see at "The Disney" was definately Cinderella's Castle. Everytime she sees it at the beginning of a Disney movie, she recognizes it and gets so happy and exclaims with glee "Cinderella's Castle" in her best big girl talk.

Charlie's favorite was definately driving the race cars at Tommorwland's Indy Speedway. He got the biggest kick out of it since he adores the movie "Cars" and lately all he talks about is race cars. He was thrilled to be able to drive the race cars and go around and around. What fun!

It was Mr. Right's 1st trip to Disney too so his favorite thing to say was "Amazing, just amazing". He liked Epcot the best.

One of my favorite memories is Charlie calling it "The Disney", not Disney but THE Disney. It still cracks me up when he says it. However, my all time favorite was just watching their faces when they saw Epcot's fireworks at night. I enjoyed watching their faces and their expressions of amazement and awe. It was so much more than any fireworks show could ever be.

It was a mixture of emotions for me to be at Disney with my children and to see them experiencing it for the first time and thinking about how my parents must have had such similar experiences with me. I was melancholy and misty more than a few times wishing they could have shared the magic with us - wishing they could have at least shared in the memories when we returned home.

Along with tinges of sadness were tons of smiles and so much joy. Joy, knowing that the same Disney that I shared with my parents I was now sharing with their grandchildren and making such wonderful and happy memories. Hopefully, they will walk down the same streets with their children laughing and singing and having a fantastic time and maybe of I'm lucky I'll get to be there too.

Your Final Clue

2008-06-25T02:39:00.002-04:00

Here's your final clue as to where we spent our family vacation... if you can't get this one then it is hopeless!

Here's Another Guess

2008-06-24T23:20:00.000-04:00

Here's another hint on where we went on vacation... I know you'll get this one!

A Visit With Nona

2008-06-23T21:26:00.004-04:00

As a special treat for my birthday, Nona came down for a visit. I thought it would be great fun to take her and the kids to the Miami Children's Museum since it was supposed to be a terribly rainy and stormy day. No sense sitting at home when you can have a ball at the museum and make some great memories too.

To make the day even more special for Nona (which means Grandma in Italian) I stepped out of the way and snapped photos of her with the Dayngrous Duo. I'm going to turn the photos I took of them into a photo album just for her. Nona rarely gets to spend time with the Duo because she lives several hours away. She's quite the hip chick with her 1970's VW van but it isn't the most reliable vehicle on the road so visits are few and far between. Having her visit and spend time with the kids and watching them enjoy each other was one of the best birthday presents - especially now that my parents have passed. Family is so important so it was really wonderful to have them all playing together.

You can hover over the photos to pause the show and you can click on the pics to see them at full size.

Happy Birthday Baby

2008-06-23T19:18:00.008-04:00

We celebrated Charlie's 4th Birthday in style, in fact, we planned a family vacation around it. But when we returned home we absolutely wanted to do a little something special to honor his special day. What could be more delicious and fun for a 4 year old that cupcakes? His cupcake featured Tow Mater from the movie Cars. Yum!

Of course, little sister Lola couldn't be left out of the celebration. Her birthday is quickly approaching too. Her cupcake featured one of the Disney princesses. Which she loves, naturally.

To say that they loved the cupcakes would be an understatement. They devoured them!

P.S. How much do you love my parent's 1970's paneling and floral window treatments in the kitchen?

Guess Where We Went

2008-06-13T15:36:00.003-04:00

Guess where we went on our vacation -

Details and more photos to come!

Tags: Family Fun, Adventures With Dayngr, Florida Attractions, Family Entertainment, Dayngrous Duo, Dayngrous Discourse

Save The Date

2008-06-13T14:10:00.001-04:00

Mark your calendars! My birthday is June 18th.

How should we celebrate it? Leave your suggestions in the comment section.

Tags: Birthday, Birthday Fun, Dayngrous Discourse

No More Mommy Kisses

2008-06-13T13:04:00.003-04:00

As if he read my blog, Charlie delivered a swift blow to my momminess last night at dinner. I gave him a kiss and he wiped it off and stated "I don't want your kiss". He's getting too big now to be fawned over by his mommy. In fact, he's even started calling me mom. Who knew that 4 was such a milestone?

I told him that I couldn't help it, I loved him so much that sometimes I kissed him "just because". He replied "mommy, you kiss me too much". I had to laugh a little. He's becoming such a little big boy now. We talked about kisses and we agreed that sometimes I'd give him kisses" just because" - because I really couldn't help it but most of the time I would do my best to wait until he said he wanted mommy kisses.

Little sister Lola is quickly following suit and immitating her big brother. It won't be long before she'll start acting like she doesn't want mommy anymore even though she still has a little time before those feelings really kick in.

I guess for now I'll just enjoy what time I have left to snuggle and cuddle whenever possible and follow their lead.

Tags: Parenting, Parenthood, Growing Pains, Dayngrous Duo, Dayngrous Discourse

Mommy's Got Growing Pains

2008-06-12T16:55:00.000-04:00

There are times when being a parentless parent is difficult. Right now I'm going through this grieving process for the babies I once had who are quickly becoming little-big kids. I know this is all a part of growing up and I thank the good Lord that I even have little-big kids to make me miss their baby stages - but I'm just not ready to see them become such independent little people.

I know there's nothing I can do about it and, frankly, their independence is proof that I'm doing everything right. But, I still want to hang on to my babies just a little while longer. I miss those baby hugs and snuggles and how they never wanted to go with anyone but me.

I can no longer deny it. My babies are growing up a little faster than I'm prepared for.

The first pangs started quite some time ago but more recently they became much more intense. The Dayngrous Duo officially moved out of their convertible cribs and into toddler beds. I swear I almost cried we when disassembled their cribs and packed them away. Soon after, Charlie and Lola picked out their own bedding and couldn't wait to sleep all night in their big kid beds. They didn't try to get out of bed and they didn't even fuss. It was much too grown up for a mommy like me.

Now, the time has come to seriously consider pre-school and all the good and bad that comes with it. I don't even know where to begin. I will say this though, I almost cried when I took a look at the closest pre-school nearby (the same one I went to when I was a kid) and saw their curriculum. It sure seems like so much for a little kid to take on. Isn't pre-school supposed to be all about fun and not so much about being scheduled down to the minute?

Two Year Old Program
Language Arts - Language development and listening skills that include color words, shapes, animals, transportation, countries, community helpers, health, safety, manners, science
Numbers - Simple counting 1-25, Number concepts 1-10

Three Year Old Program
Language Arts - Recognition of name, sound, and picture for short vowels and consonants
Formation of vowels and consonants in upper and lower caseLanguage development and listening skills that include color words, shapes, animals, transportation, countries, community helpers, health, safety, manners, and science
Numbers - Simple counting 1-30, Number concepts 1-15

Four and Five Year Old Program
Language Arts
Phonics and Reading - Recognition of name, sound, and picture of long and short vowels and consonants
Sounding of blends and one- and two-vowel words
Reading of sentences and stories with one- and two-vowel words
Cursive Writing - Formation of letters, blends, and words, Writing of first name
Poetry - Twenty-eight poems and finger plays committed to memory
Language - Language development and listening skills that include color words, shapes, animals, transportation, countries, community helpers, health, safety, manners, science
Numbers - Number recognition and counting 1-100, Number concepts 1-20, Numbers before and after 1-20

I was blown away. They expect my 4 year old to memorize 28 poems?! It seemed way over the top to me. Of course, this is just from their website so I have no idea what their approach is. Am I the only one that thinks this is this too much? I honestly don't know. I don't have any frame of reference so if you have any insight on this, please do share it with me!

I think I will be taking it much harder than they will when we finally do pick a pre-school and they head off for their first day.

How did you handle your mommy growing pains?

Tags: Parenting, Family Life, PreSchool, VPK, Smart Start, Pre-K, Daycare, Dayngrous Duo, Dayngrous Discourse

Say Uncle

2008-06-09T08:00:00.001-04:00

Guess who the boss is around here? As you can see, big brother doesn't mind at all. He's giggling up a storm here. (This photo is from January, but I never posted it back then)

Tags: Family Fun, Dayngrous Duo, Dayngrous Discourse

Summer Fun Splashtacular

2008-06-08T19:15:00.001-04:00

It's so hot here but the great thing about summer heat is cool pool fun. Here, the Dayngrous Duo are spashing it up in their new pool. They love it and last weekend we got them the cutest sandbox with an attached picnic table and umbrella. It's adorable. I'll have to get photos of them in that.

Though the pool is currently in the screen room with their slide I'm really trying to make their backyard as much fun as possible since all the parks around here really leave a lot to be desired.

It makes me feel so good knowing that they are playing and having so much fun in the same backyard I did when I was their age. There's nothing like childhood memories. I love that they have each other as playmates too - built in best friends.

Tonight, for dinner, we're going to have some delicious mojo rotisserie chicken, macaroni salad, cole slaw and hawaiian rolls. For dessert we've got cupcakes to surprise the kids. It's a nice easy dinner to keep things fresh, light and cool. Let's eat!

Practicing their swimmy kicks

Tags: Family Fun, Summer, South Florida, Easy Dinners, Dayngrous Duo, Dayngrous Discourse

Messy Haired Hooligans

2008-06-08T13:08:00.000-04:00

Here are my messy haired little hooligans getting silly on the bed at the hotel during our vacation. How cute are these two? This is what they look like when they first wake up. I could just eat them up.

Remember I told you we went on vacation? I'm taking a little time this weekend to catch up on my blogging and I can't wait to share with you where we went on our vacation along with some photos.

Tags: Family Fun, Adventures with Dayngr, Dayngrous Duo, Dayngrous Discourse

My Mother's Day Recap

2008-06-08T12:27:00.004-04:00

I was so busy that I never blogged my Mother's Day fabulosity. You can't see the cute cards I received or the chocolates either but you get the idea. I loved this balloon because it lookied like 3 even though it was just one. The two smaller ones on each side represented my adorable little Dayngrous Duo so I was all smiles.

If you click on the photo and see it full size you'll notice that there is a ceramic bride and groom under glass in the background. That is the top of my parents' wedding cake. Yes! Their wedding cake topper. No laughing at the white paneling. I'm still working on updating our 50 year old home. I'm fortunate enough to be raising our children in the same home I grew up in but there are parts of it that are is in dire need of updating. Still, isn't that just awesome?

How was your Mother's Day? What did you do?

Tags: Mother's Day, Memories, Dayngrous Discourse