Five Years

My baby girl is five.  Five.  I swear it was just yesterday that I was going into labor and looked like this...

You don't have to tell me how radiant I am.  It's not pregnancy glow, it's nine months worth of built up sweat.  All things considered, it's not as bad as it could be for a woman who is less than 24 hours away from giving birth.

But alas it wasn't yesterday because this grinning face stares back at me every morning from the backseat.

And in school pictures cheesing for the camera as usual.

She really was the happiest baby ever and has turned into the happiest little girl, always smiling and laughing at the tiniest things.  Right now she is EXTRA happy because we told her that we are taking her to Disney World!  If I aimed a little higher I would have those pictures uploaded, but let's be real here.  Taking a 3 hour nap on Sunday when all our company left was far more important than staring at a laptop.  I'll get around to it before we leave.  Mostly because my friend CC took most of the pictures and at some point she is going to want her camera back.  

So for today I will just say Happy Birthday to my sweet baby girl.  I am so, so lucky to be your mama.  

All Roads Lead to Disney

Next month we are taking a trip to Disney World.  This may not seem like a major announcement or revelation and a month ago I would have agreed with you.  It's a vacation like any other, right?

Wrong.  Very, very, VERY wrong.

People, I am out of control.

When I say out of control, I mean OUT of control.  To quote Joey, "You're so far past the line, you can't even see the line!  The line is a dot to you!"  You know I can't pass up an opportunity to throw in a Friends reference when it's applicable (as if it's ever not applicable).

Prior to two weeks ago I had made maybe one purchase from Etsy in my history.  I now have 6 orders pending that have not shipped yet.  In case you were concerned about my bank account, don't be.  All Disney things I purchase before we go is less I am going to be gouged on at the Magic Kingdom, right?  Because I will get it out of my system prior to arrival there and won't need to purchase things there.

That's a lie and we all know it.  But the silver lining is that I get Skymiles from my card so at least I'll be able to rack up some extra airline points.  Of course I won't be able to afford to go anywhere, but that is entirely beside the point.  

I have spent a ridiculous amount of time booking a character dinner, looking at fast passes, and crafting all manner of cute things to wear while we are there.  The rest of the time has been spent trying to figure out what shoes are going to kill me feet the least while walking approximately 254 miles a day, give or take.  Normally I would wear tennis shoes, but we're talking Florida in July, surrounded by 60,000 people which I am pretty sure is exactly the same as standing directly on the equator.  There has got to be a better option that allows my feet to breathe.  Any suggestions are welcome.  If you tell me not to go to Disney in July I swear I will wish for a swarm of mosquitos to infiltrate your bedroom.  It was not my idea.

So I apologize because I promised to blog more but it is going to be Disney centered for at least the next month.  If you geek out on the Mouse the way I do, stick around.  If not, come back the beginning of August.  You'll be just in time to see me curl up in the fetal position because my baby is starting kindergarten.

You can thank me later.

Weirdest Birthday Request Ever

One of my favorite parts of the day is driving to and from school with Alaina.  She is generally a chatty cathy anyway, but something about being in the car really revs her up!  Her favorite topic as of late is anything related to 'Frozen' (while singing at the top of her lungs) and her upcoming birthday.  Yesterday I asked her what presents she would like expecting something about a new doll or sparkly earrings.

I was not prepared for her response.

After asking for a Nerf Gun (already done), things got weird.  Next on her list was a crystal ball to find things that she lost but, "it has to have magic in it or it won't work, okay?"  Aight.  I'm not sure what exactly she has lost that she's looking for but I'd love to have one of those too.  Anyone know where I can find one?  Last time I checked Target and TJ Maxx don't carry crystal balls.  

Then it got weirder.

The next item on her list was bottles.  When pressed for why she would need a baby bottle since she is a big girl, she stated that they were for her baby brother or sister.

Say WHAT???

"But sweetie, I am not having a baby so we don't need any bottles."

"But you're going to and when you do we are going to need bottles so let's go ahead and get some."  I sputtered some sort of response and quickly changed the subject.  I am not sure exactly what my sweet daughter is seeing in that crystal ball of hers but last time I checked there was nothing growing in my uterus.

But I might have to swing by the store on the way home...just in case.  After all, the Magic Eight Ball hasn't let me down yet.  

Intention

I am a terrible writer.  It's true, I am.  Not because my content is awful or because I make heinous grammatical errors (I do) but because I have absolutely no consistency.  For as long as I can remember, I have been in love with the written word.  The last two decades of my life have been spent jotting down quotes and reading everything I could get my hands on.  I was the nerdy girl in the corner or the coffee house by herself, pausing only to scribble down inspiration on a napkin.  Maybe one day I'll actually do something with them and be the next J.K. Rowling.  Which is totally possible except not at all because I am a terrible writer.  The problem with my writing is the exact same as my biggest overall flaw.

I lack follow-through.  By lack I mean, absolutely none.  I have tons of great, inspired ideas.  I have flashes of brilliance when I sit down and the words that pour out of me are pure magic.  I sit back and feel energy and exhaustion coursing through my veins simultaneously.  I look at the screen and I know that I can do this.  I can write things that challenge and inspire people.  I can publish my novel.  I get up and walk away from the computer on cloud nine.  

And then I do nothing.  If I am being a super slacker, I might not even touch it again for weeks.  If I am at least attempting to stay on track, I will sit down and try to connect the brilliant moments into something semi resembling a completed story.  Those forced words are complete crap.  I know it, they know it and every person who reads the manuscript knows it.  I throw my hands up in frustration and just walk away from it completely, leaving it to collect dust in the darkest corner of my hard drive.  Substitute blog post for novel and it's the same thing all over again.  Brilliant ideas, almost none get finished and posted.

My word of the year for 2014 is 'Intention'.  My goal was/is to stop being haphazard and make intentional choices in order to accomplish the things that I want to accomplish.  I was going to buckle down and do things.

We are halfway through the year and thus far, I have failed miserably.   I didn't post anything here for the first five months and I haven't touched my novel once.  Granted, there have been a few unforeseen complications, but I am not here to make excuses.  I am here to stop and commit to spending the second half of the year embracing the word I chose.  So that is what I am going to do.  I make no guarantees that anything I write will be decent, but I will at least begin by actually finishing and posting the things I write.  It's progress, right?