The way We do a Disney Re-Do ~~ Beach club Aug 13-22 - FINISHED!!! 1/20 About This Page:

[saibot0001]

I love all the pictures. You have some cute kiddos, and everyone looks so happy. LOL that your dh and ds went on the mountain rides b/c of no lines. My husband gets sick now on coasters so he skips out on the big ones ie: EE. On our last trip the girls and I left him sitting while we went to ride and the lines were so short, we went on a couple more times w/o him noticing. Your story made me remember that. I'm in suspense to hear the rest especially w/ your earlier spoiler.

[B.M.]

Glad you had a great (crowd free) morning at MK! Hurry back to fill us in on your cliff hanger.....

[kmurburg]

Great pictures from CM and your Fairies and Princesses meet and greets! Your kids are all so cute and everyone looks like they're having a great time!

[OneLittleSpark]

OH NO!!!!! Shelly you are so good at doing this!

I was reading along smiling as big as the girls at their wonderful pics! I LOVE the one of you and Delaney on the Barnstomer, what a smile. I love Hannah in the one in front of Minnie's with all 3 kids, that slight tilt to her head is great. Loved the one with Hannah and Tinkerbell too, she looked very happy and the one of them hugging...so sweet. Ben of course is a handsome young man, and has a great wide beaming smile in every pic.

Sounds like it has been a magical day indeed and I am so scared of what's coming next!!!!
Hurry!!! LOL

[sc507]

Originally Posted by benjiboo25

These two pictures are priceless! What great smiles they all have!!
Your day was sounding so nice until your teaser! Not fair to leave us hanging!! Hurry back with more

[Cam22]

Glad Chef Mickey's turned out so well! Love all the pictures, especially with Tink and on Barnstormer! Just a bit of afraid of "and then."

[stubekis]

Glad that Hannah enjoyed CM so much and relieved for you, too, that it all worked out! Sounds like a wonderful day so far at MK but now I'm on pins and needles waiting to hear about what happens next!

[mcc0313]

The pictures of the girls and the fairies and the princesses were amazing. They both look so happy and I love the one of Hannah hugging Tink and Delaney with her big smile...and about that smile, the one of you and her on Barnstormer, you can just see her excitement. What a great picture. Sorry that Minnie's house was not as fun as it was last year, we find sometimes when we get there and its empty it is great but the crowds can damper the fun. We really lucked out this year as it was like we had Minnie's House to ourselves.

Sorry that the heat was getting to everyone...I love suspense but I am hoping that what comes next did not put a damper on what has been such a wonderful day.

[benjiboo25]

Originally Posted by Linnynad

Uh-oh!!! I have been smiling to myself while reading along on your updates today because of Hannah;s reactions to the chararcters and her telling you how much she enjoyed it!!! SOOOO wonderful!
Glad the crowds were low for you in MK. We were so rushed through Minnie's house this visit, I wish we could have spent more time in there.
Nervous to hear about what's coming up next though

Originally Posted by islandgirl

I'm all caught up again....Great updates! Love all the wonderful pictures you got! You have a beautiful family! So glad your vacation was filled with magic this time!

Originally Posted by B.M.

Glad you had a great (crowd free) morning at MK! Hurry back to fill us in on your cliff hanger.....

Originally Posted by kmurburg

Great pictures from CM and your Fairies and Princesses meet and greets! Your kids are all so cute and everyone looks like they're having a great time!

Originally Posted by saibot0001

I love all the pictures. You have some cute kiddos, and everyone looks so happy. LOL that your dh and ds went on the mountain rides b/c of no lines. My husband gets sick now on coasters so he skips out on the big ones ie: EE. On our last trip the girls and I left him sitting while we went to ride and the lines were so short, we went on a couple more times w/o him noticing. Your story made me remember that. I'm in suspense to hear the rest especially w/ your earlier spoiler.

Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark

OH NO!!!!! Shelly you are so good at doing this!

I was reading along smiling as big as the girls at their wonderful pics! I LOVE the one of you and Delaney on the Barnstomer, what a smile. I love Hannah in the one in front of Minnie's with all 3 kids, that slight tilt to her head is great. Loved the one with Hannah and Tinkerbell too, she looked very happy and the one of them hugging...so sweet. Ben of course is a handsome young man, and has a great wide beaming smile in every pic.

Sounds like it has been a magical day indeed and I am so scared of what's coming next!!!!
Hurry!!! LOL

Originally Posted by sc507

These two pictures are priceless! What great smiles they all have!!
Your day was sounding so nice until your teaser! Not fair to leave us hanging!! Hurry back with more

Originally Posted by Cam22

Glad Chef Mickey's turned out so well! Love all the pictures, especially with Tink and on Barnstormer! Just a bit of afraid of "and then."

Originally Posted by stubekis

Glad that Hannah enjoyed CM so much and relieved for you, too, that it all worked out! Sounds like a wonderful day so far at MK but now I'm on pins and needles waiting to hear about what happens next!

Originally Posted by mcc0313

The pictures of the girls and the fairies and the princesses were amazing. They both look so happy and I love the one of Hannah hugging Tink and Delaney with her big smile...and about that smile, the one of you and her on Barnstormer, you can just see her excitement. What a great picture. Sorry that Minnie's house was not as fun as it was last year, we find sometimes when we get there and its empty it is great but the crowds can damper the fun. We really lucked out this year as it was like we had Minnie's House to ourselves.

Sorry that the heat was getting to everyone...I love suspense but I am hoping that what comes next did not put a damper on what has been such a wonderful day.

About how crowded Minnie's house was--interestingly--the crowds were actually much worse in Minnie's house during our last trip.We had to wait in line to get in, and the line moved slowly through the house. Kinda backwards, but I think the line was so thinck that no one was actually stopping to explore. Me and the girls were in there about 45 minutes and we got amazing pics! This time, it was empty enough that all hte families were trying to get good pics of their kids playing. Our kids needed to wait to even sit at the sewing machine this time!

Looking at the Barnstormer pic, I remembered just how uncrowded it was! There were lots of empty seats! It was great!

I will add the update on the cliff hanger during my lunch today....

[OneLittleSpark]

Yay!

I will be waiting on the edge of my seat for this! LOL

[benjiboo25]

The stroller suddenly tumbled down the curb. I had a millisecond to react and try to break the fall of the double stroller on top of the three-year old. Delaney ended up on the ground, trapped on her side with the stroller on top of her. My reaction helped to slow the fall, but not prevent it. What happened next is a bit of a blur. Hannah was still in the front (back? Whichever) of the stroller (not buckled at all—she was just sitting there) so we needed to get up her up in order to free the stroller from Delaney. She seemed frozen and I pushed (pulled?) her out of the way.


Delaney was screaming like I have never heard her scream. I was frantic. It looked like Delaney’s arm was pinned. My mind jumped to the worst case scenario. I yelled at DH for not locking the stroller…just as he was yelling at Hannah for pushing the stroller over the edge…Once I figured out that the blood-curdling screams were about the spilled lemonade and not a broken bone, I was able to calm down a bit. I pulled out the first aid kit to try and bandage Delaney’s (minor) injuries. DH explained to me that when he parked the stroller on the curb (while I was getting our lemonades) he told Hannah she needed to sit on the bench with us. She wanted to sit in the stroller. DH put on the wheel brakes and made her promise not to try and push the stroller back with her feet.



For those who know ASD…you probably know that DH had planted a question in her mind. “Hmmm…I wonder what would happen if I push the stroller with my feet?”... ASD kids are inquisitive, to say the least! My thoughts were not as kind and understanding at the time. I took Hannah and Delaney’s spilled drinks back to the snack cart, explained the situation (yes, they had heard the screaming…), and got a new lemonade.



One… new lemonade. I did not ask for an extra cup. This one would not be split. I gave it to Delaney.



Our next stop was to be to Mickey’s House. DH would take Ben and Delaney there now. Hannah would stay with me on the bench.



I was too angry to talk. She did not talk either. I know I need to wait until I am calm and rational to process with Hannah. I need to be able to speak in short, factual statements in order to come to resolution. I cannot ask her “why” questions or make accusations. If I make a statement about her behavior that is not “true” she will correct me, but she is not able to provide her own original reasons or rationales.



After a few minutes of sitting in silence, I said, “That was a terrible thing you did.”

Hannah nodded.

I continued, “Delaney could have been hurt very badly.”

More nodding.

“Dad told you not to push the stroller and you did.”

(hanging her head)

“We are lucky she was only bleeding on the outside.” I let that sink in a while.

“You need to do something to make it up to her. Think about you can do.”

(An aside—I do not like forcing my kids to apologize. I teach them, and my students, that an apology is not just words, but an acknowledgement of personal responsibility and a commitment to do something different in the future. I take it very seriously. I make a big deal about how much strength and power it takes to make a real apology [of course, this also serves to turn the wrench of guilt a bit to “encourage” that apology…]. Even when one is not yet ready for an apology, it is important to do something to make amends.)

Hannah suggested she give her sister a hug.

I told her that would not be good enough. “Besides,” I prodded, “Would you want to hug someone who just pushed you into the street?”

She asked if she could buy something for Delaney out of her own souvenir money (each child had $50 loaded on a gift card).
I said I thought that would be a great way to make amends.
I could tell that Hannah was now engaged with what had happened.
She started to get a bit weepy. She asked if we could do it now. We needed to make that happen in order for her to make all the necessary connections.


I turned to an older couple who was sitting on the bench next to us, (and whom had witnessed the entire scene, even offering band-aids) if they could alert DH of my whereabouts when they emerge from Mickey’s house. They kindly agreed. We left the stroller and I went into the store with Hannah.


Whenever Hannah is in a position to choose a gift for another person, I am amazed at her perceptiveness and her ability to cue on another’s likes and dislikes. She seems to be able to do this with an ease that does not come across in her real interactions with people--almost as if there is a book or checklist in her mind of all the things people like and do not like. Many other kids I have seen are ego-centric in their gift choices—choosing things that they themselves would like. Not Hannah. She can put her own interests aside completely as she considers all of the possibilities. I guided her to less expensive items, however, as the things she was picking would have eaten up most of her own souvenir budget. I wanted this experience to be a “sacrifice,” but since neither Hannah or her little sister has a real understanding of cost and value, there would be no need to drive the point home that much! When we started looking at the smaller items, Hannah recalled how much Delaney loved those mini clip-on stuffed animal characters. Delaney chose a Minnie Mouse baby clip-on (complete with the tiny little blanket) the day before and has been attached to it constantly. We were on a mission to find more of the baby clip-ons…



Unfortunately, there were none to be found at this particular store. She had made a decision and that is what she would get. We needed to find it. I had to convince Hannah that it would be okay for us to look for it over the next day or two—we did not need to get it now. She made me promise to keep the secret.


When we came out of the store, the rest of our family was on the bench. DH had “re-created the scene of the crime” to take a picture of Delaney in front of the curb and stroller. As you can see from her smile, there was minimal long-term damage J Hannah apologized and Delaney accepted a hug.




All this and it wasn’t even Noon!


But it was hot. We took shelter at Mickey’s Philharmagic, Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan’s flight, more favorites with the added bonus of teeny lines. Sitting in the dark cool attractions, I was reminded of how much my head was pounding and my body was aching…


As we past the outdoor attractions (Carousel, Dumbo, etc.), Delaney was soo upset that we would not stop. It was just too hot. There was no way I could handle waiting in a line in the hot sun.


This would be a good time to add in my:


Weather Report—Sunday August 15: High 94, dew point of 74 for heat index of 103. But with bright sunshine, it felt very HOT at MK.


I was sick. Heat made it worse. I was starting to think I needed to get some antibiotics. I was starting to think that unless I was feeling better, my health would drag down my mood, and our family’s experience. I told DH I needed to figure out how to find an urgent care. I thought we needed to go back to the resort for an afternoon break. Even the kids asked for an afternoon break (well not Delaney, who was whining about Dumbo and the carousel…).


Leaving then meant that we would be sacrificing our dinner ADR at CP. But it was an EMH evening, so if we made it back we could stay as late as we wanted. Weighing the pros and cons, it was clear that we should leave then. Only the three-year old disagreed (in the often loud and kicking way that three-year-olds can disagree!), so DH carried her, and I pushed the big kids in the stroller back through the entrance. We were soon on a bus back to the BC. We were back at our resort before 2:00.


I was hoping concierage could point me towards an urgent care…

[benjiboo25]

One more picture to add in here. It did not get a spot in my text above, but when I reviewed my photos, I thought it was a telling moment.

Before we went on the Pooh ride, Hannah told us that she did not like the ride. I did not remember it being a concern during the last trip. She clarified, "I like almost all of the ride--just not the breaking house part." She said she could go on it if I promised to cover her eyes during that part. I told her she needed to let me know. Sure enough, she warned me the scene before that the part she hated was coming next. I covered her eyes before we turned that corner. (I did not realize DH had the camera out, and DS was "playing" with it. I am sure it was not an intentional shot...) My expression here is amazement that she remembered from a year ago not only that she did not like this part, but also precisely where it was in the sequence. How does she do that?????

[mom9905]

Great story, I hope concierge referred you to Centra Care. Those nice people in the blue van who will pick you up.My 5 yr old caught a nasty bug and an ear infection. in and out of there in 30 minutes.

[OneLittleSpark]

Oh no! Glad Delaney was okay, through her fall. Can't wait to hear what Hannah picks for her apology gift. I think that's a great idea with the apologizing, not the gift giving per se, but the saying sorry doesn't work.
Love Love LOVE the pic from Pooh ride, although I had to laugh, bc it almost looks like your very happily sufficating your child and eveyrone else has huge smiles on. Believe me I know that's not it, but look at it again, it's VERY comical!

[benjiboo25]

Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark

Oh no! Glad Delaney was okay, through her fall. Can't wait to hear what Hannah picks for her apology gift. I think that's a great idea with the apologizing, not the gift giving per se, but the saying sorry doesn't work.
Love Love LOVE the pic from Pooh ride, although I had to laugh, bc it almost looks like your very happily sufficating your child and eveyrone else has huge smiles on. Believe me I know that's not it, but look at it again, it's VERY comical!

LOL!!!!!! I am sooooo glad I included that as a separate post with its own explanation!