Frogger + Pacman + Japan + Toiletries = Awesome.

I stumbled upon this tutorial while searching for a link to send a friend. Instantly, I knew I had to make this bag. I'm going away for my birthday weekend next week and am lacking in the awesome toiletry bag department. Actually, I have no toiletry bag at all, so this was a welcomed project.

The whole thing whipped up in about an hour. Though your time might be significantly less if you're not pausing to wipe yogurt out of someone's hair, changing dirty diapers or chasing children around the house trying to retrieve forks, permanent markers and other random hazards. Even with those distractions, I still ended up with a rockin' bag.

The instructions are straight forward, lots of photos and free. What's not to love? I will say this is fairly small. If you carry a small department store's cosmetics counter with you, you'll need to make a larger bag. I'm not judging, just forewarning. Fortunately, for me, my toiletry needs are simple and sparse; shampoo, spare contacts, toothbrush and deodorant. Easy peasy. And, dare I say, Japaneesy.

I got this fabric as a freebie when I ordered my last shipment of Japanese Lego fabric. It's imported from Japan, is a medium weight cotton canvas and just about the coolest thing ever. How can you not be drawn to the Frogger-Pacman-esque theme? The myriad of dots, stripes, Japanese words I have no idea how to read, and zigzags call out to the primal Eighties era crafter in me. Until now, it had sit in my stash being neglected. I just couldn't figure out what to make with it.

The inside is lined with a scrap piece of orange dots. The zipper was actually an 18" I cut to size and the tabs on the sides are grosgrain ribbon because I didn't feel like making them. I already have plans on making another for sewing stuff.

I love this bag.

At a Completely Different Beach

Saturday I was grouchy. Really, incredibly grouchy. I didn't get to the projects I had wanted, the kids were making a huge mess, not listening to anything I said, fighting and driving me bananas. Rob took far longer at the junk yard that either of us expected, though by now I should know that a "quick trip to get this one thing" will be a six hour adventure. By the time I did get out I had only enough time to get groceries and look for something at Ikea (which I didn't find). I took Emmy, which tends to add to my "quick trip" by about two hours.

So, yesterday, through a wild comedy of errors, we ended up at the beach with our bikes. Well, most of our bikes. The weather was just how I liked it: overcast, windy and cool but not cold. I'm not really a beach person (even if my actions over the past three days say different) I'm not one for suntans and seaweed. I can do without lying in the hot lick of the sun, where the white sands reflect the light in a headache inducing blindness. I don't do volleyball, surfing or swimming. I think that last one is really what makes me beach-phobic. I have wee ones. None of us swim. That's a dangerous combination when in close proximity to large masses of water.

But yesterday, well, yesterday was one of those little jewels of beach time.

The water was too cold to go out far, just a quick splashing of ankles and knees before retreating back to the tide line, which relieved much of my water fears. For living in Florida for more than two-thirds of my life, I've rarely visited the beaches, which makes up a big part of the sights of the state. I actually had to call Rob to find a beach Friday. And found out it was less than fifteen minutes from my house.  Pathetic, I know.

The beach was ripe with shells. The girls and I went hunting for perfect mermaid ones.

Even though, at this beach, the sand was more gritty and rife tiny shell shards, we got to dig and play. Max loves dirt. He's the quintessential boy. I even got a photo of me.

We got rained out after only about an hour and a half but it was enough. We biked back to the car down the trail which was significantly harder than the ride in. Pulling seventy or so pounds of kid on a bike is hard. Especially, when you're out of shape. I could have complained and moaned and been irritated we spent so much money on something that wasn't very much fun (for me, at least) but I didn't. I firmed my resolve to just get better and maybe, if we can have more days like this, try not to hate the beach quite so much.

Why are their no Starbucks at/near Disney?

Or, Why does Disney have crappy coffee?

Yes, it's true. For you parents that can't sum up the mental capabilities to settle squabbles over who gets the last remaining pink bowl or why on Earth you two year old is screaming incoherantly about something in or around the television  before you ingest a good half cup of that black gold nectar of the Gods, be forewared; Disney and Coffee are NOT synonomous.

In fact, much of our mornings were spent procuring the life imbibing juice. Or trying to. Keeping us in a less than magical mood for our Disney excursions.

The photo of Max consuming Mickey's head is just a spot of cuteness for you to look at while I bitch.

The four star hotel had Starbucks. Listen closely. They had Starbucks as in they hired some daft girl and paid her minimum wage to pour hot water over the beans of Starbucks until lunch time. It was not A Starbucks. As a matter of fact, there was not a single Starbucks in the entire Disney area. The capitalization opportunities Disney would incur by placing some Starbucks inside their golden gates would be down right phenomenal. Even with my meager accounting abilities I can see the ginormous potential. All those bleary eyed parents overwhelmed with glittery sing-songy hyped up kids, usually in multiples, would suck up the 'Bucks like nobody's business, gleefully handing out the Disney Dollars. Oh, if only Walt were alive he'd see the vision.* Perhaps they could borrow some of the Starbucks from Toronto.

The coffee in Epcot was a joke. It came from a soda dispenser for Christ sakes. I won't even bother to comment more on that atrocity.

The $1.99 plain black coffee served at The Land (our first attempt at Epcot coffee getting) was hot (I dislike hot coffee in steamy humid Florida) and had to be so severely doctored to be drinkable that I should have sent Disney a bill for medical services rendered.

You'd think Coffee in a restaraunt/pick up food line/kiosk would be a mandatory serving menu item. It was not. So very, very few places actually serve anything even remotely coffee-esque. And the "frozen latte"'s don't count. Again, machine dispensed.

I'm spolied I suppose. With six total days of non stop vacationing, coffee is a mandatory thing. It just is. I'm not going to apologize and I really, truly tried to take my fix any which way I could but a girl's just gotta have a handcrafted beverage with her specified number of shots (five to be precise, one for each kid) or things will get nasty. Case in point:

Me. Day three.

*If they merge Starbucks with Disney at ANY point in time I expect full credit for the idea.

Not so magical beginning

We've been in Orlando for two hours. We've been in our hotel room even less time than that. If you assume a well organized vacation would get off without much hitch, you're wrong. Two hours in and let's just say it's beginning to feel like a National Lampoon vacation.

First we started at the Uhaul station. After making reservations online, then calling to confirm when Rob got there they lost the reservation. Thankfully, they had one 4x8 trailer left. It also happened to be the dirtiest on the lot. Yum. Bringing it home and loading it up wasn't too bad. We did have to put a jack and a concrete pillow* on the back to weigh it down enough.

Then we went to Macaroni Grill for a late lunch to kick off the vacation. On the way in I held Emmy's hand, she tripped and now is sporting a nice ace bandage from elbow to fingers. Great.

The entire trip Olivia asked if we were there yet on average every four miles. On a 80 mile trip.

Finally, we get to the Comfort Inn just after 4pm. The kids are cranky and tired. I hop out to check us in. The clerk had our reservation, which I made months ago and called this week to confirm. We had two adjoining (remember this word it's important) rooms. In the system? Yep! Credit card on file? Got cha! Adjoining rooms? Not a chance. They have adjacent rooms. Well, it's a hotel I'd expect that much but that's not what adjoining means now is it? Hello, Mr. Manager please.

After twenty minutes of waiting for him while he explained to me that they recently converted, looked at the notes in the reservation and it indeed said adjoining, spent a ton of time on the phone with corporate reservation to see if they could fit us in a room within a ten mile radius, we got new reservations at the same price with rooms that have a door in the middle at the Rosen Center. A 4 star hotel.

Pack it up. Drive for 15 minutes. Cha-ching Rosen Center plaza we arrive. Now this is a pretty fancy hotel across from the Convention Center in Orlando. BUT wi-fi isn't free, there is no kitchenette with microwave, fridge and sink and we have a lovely view of the roof. Comfort Inn it might not be but the CI was better equipped. According to Rob, our car isn't the shittiest one in the lot but it is the only one toting a Uhaul.

We're getting nickle and dimed like you wouldn't believe. This 4 star hotel is too fancy for my 2 star taste. More to come soon.

*A concrete pillow is made when you purchase a bag of concrete that is too heavy for you to carry. So, you kinda let it drop out of the car then forget about it sitting on the grass next to the drive way for approximately six months and let the weather solidify it.

And we're off

Rob's picking up the trailer and we're headed for five (presumably raining according to the weather) days at Disney World. If you want to know how we can afford a five day, five night trip to WDW it's really a once in a lifetime opportunity. First you or someone you love has to go to war for like a year, which I really don't recommend. Then  you have to scour the internet for months to find the most killer deal on adjoining rooms, because, let's face it, seven people in one room in the Comfort Inn for five days will probably kill us. Two nights in a two double bed room had us pulling our hair out last month. Please don't push me anymore.

Why is Rob picking up a trailer you ask? Well, you see, seven people need a lot of stuff for a full work week away from home. We have 2 strollers, a play pen, 4 sleeping bags, 2 pillows, 3 fairly large toiletry bags, a case of diapers and half a case of wipes, 6 bottles, sippy cups, bowls and utensils, formula, a couple slings, a camcorder, a camera, a portable DVD player and movies, three bags of groceries, 30 juice boxes, a laptop, a cooler with frozen food, 7 jackets, rain coats, and probably a bunch of other stuff I've forgotten. All that won't fit in an Astro filled with five car seats and 2 additional adults. It just won't.

We're trying to do this on a budget with the food. The rooms both have a microwave, sink and minifridge. We've packed enough PB&J, microwave burgers, fajitas and bagel dogs to make a few meals. Lots of apples and trail mix from the fruit I've been dehydrating over the last six months. The Crystal bars, as Rob calls them (you can find the recipe for Raw Treats on here) and other snacks like pretzels. We want to have a good time, we don't want to come home broke. We also don't want to get sick eating out. It's amazing how your body will reject foods high in salt, sugar and fat when you stop eating them.

Today we're driving out, getting a meal at Macaroni Grill with a gift card I scored from earning points on http://www.mypoints.com/ by buying other stuff. I have another for Rainforest cafe which is in Downtown Disney. We'll check into the hotel and try and turn in early so we have a good start for the next day. Planning to go to MK at least twice to see everything the kids want as many times as we want. We're going to throw in some learnin' too by taking the behind the scenes tour of the enormous greenhouse at Epcot. I really hope it's packed with great info and not just "Hey look we grow big friggin' fruit". I imagine there's nothing like getting veggie growing tips from that amazing place. Hey, we're still farmers at heart even in the most magical place on Earth.

So, until I have time and energy to blog again, we're off.

Long weekend

We're going away this weekend for mandatory Army fun. Really, it should be a pretty nice time. We're getting put up in a Marriott, most all expenses paid (or reimbursed) and get some free child care. Nice. It's getting ready for the 2 nights and 1.5 days we'll be gone that's a doozey. You just don't realize how much stuff 7 people need until you have to pack said people and enough stuff to get them through that short time into an Astro. We should really invest in one of those plastic roof thingies that until recently I thought was a roof top dog crate. Hey, sometimes those neurons just take a day off.

It's been getting progressively colder here. We're sitting at about 61 right now, dips a little cooler at night and rises into the 70's at full sun. I'm a little worried about my baby garden. I've been painstakingly out there every day to clear the beds, water and pull any dead leaves off. Virtually every garlic has sprouted, the shallots are raising their many fingered hands from the soil and the long wispy grasses of the onions are edging near a foot long. The new beefsteak tomato plant has quite a few nice blooms. I think the cherry tomato is feeling a little nervous about being outdone by the new guy and has sprouted a third blooming for the year. The outside snap peas are shorter but thicker than the inside ones but should do great in the cold. We're not looking at anything below mid-fifties this weekend so frosts shouldn't be an issue. I still worry though. Maybe I'm more a farmer than I thought.

Alex has been learning distance in math and just loves the GPS so he might get navigator duty on the trip. That's still up for debate though. I'm annoyed my MP3 player died. I haven't had any money since I had to buy that stupid dress and shoes at the mall the chance to replace it yet which means I get to swap out CD's (which now reminds me to pack some) or listen to movies I can't see playing in the back of the car. It's about a three hour drive which can easily turn into five with the every five mile potty breaks.

Maybe when we come back on Sunday afternoon I'll have some fun stuff to share about our long weekend away. I'm being harassed by a toddler that wants to wear her shorts on backwards with two legs in the same hole and can't figure out why they won't pull up. So, have a good Friday the 13th and corresponding weekend all. Adieu.

He's coming home

Well, it's happened! My hubby left his camp and is travelling back to the states as we speak. Well, actually, he's sitting waiting to travel but it's progress. He's already moved one space forward on the board. A couple more jumps in the game and he'll be back on U.S. soil, another jump, in Florida and the last, we get to take with him, as we bring him home.

This past year has been everything; difficult, depressing, scary, lonely, fun, crazy, loving and even sometimes easy. So much has happened too. Alex lost his first two teeth, Max was born, Emmy fell of the bunkbeds and had a minor concussion, Alex graduated from first grade and Livi just started. We celebrated birthdays and holidays.

Memories that are now bittersweet laced with the sadness of a missing spouse and father. How many times had I wished he was here, through the good and the bad? I'd have given my eyeteeth just to be able to grab his hand to hang on for some of this crazy ride.

We were lucky in some respects. Communication has advanced so much we were able to keep in contact through email, messenger, postal mail and phone calls. He could even text me. I think I owe a large chunk of my sanity to technology. If we were in WWI or WWII I don't know if I would have survived not hearing from him with that kind of frequency.

Then again, my friend from church, Helen, who lived through it said to me "You just get up everyday and do what needs to be done." Which I suppose, I have done over these last 400 days. It makes me wonder how much more we can endure than we give ourselves credit for.

There are things I think to myself "No way could I handle that!" but could I really if I had to? Probably. If I have to, but I'd rather not find out.

Now, we're just trying to get through these last long weeks bubbling with anticipation and excitement, practically to overflowing as we wait, as patiently as a kid in a candy store for him to come home.