My Kids Apparently Hate Disney. And Stupid Squirrels

Yesterday, we went to Animal Kingdom. The kids didn't really want to go and in the spirit of compromise, I agreed to forgo rope-drop. However, I was not willing to let them sleep as late as they wanted and woke up the older kids around 8:30 to announce a 9 departure (Luke was already up and dressed).

Unfortunately, it was really crowded. The line for Flight of Passage was 105 minutes, Safari was 60, even Dinosaur was 75 (Everest was closed all day). We decided to let Luke do the Wilderness Explorer program. We have avoided it on previous visits, but it seemed like a good day to give it a try. They give the kids a book and the kids go around and collect stickers from various places in the park. At each station, they learn about animals or conservation. There were 27 stops and we did them all! Only Luke wanted a book and he absolutely loved it. It took us all over the park and we saw some areas we hadn't previously visited. The only ride we did was the Safari, the wait went down to a posted 35 minutes and ended up taking less than 20. The other lines remained crazy. The one for FOP looped around the entire land and didn't appear to be moving much as we walked by. I was hoping to ride dinosaur, but it stayed over an hour and most of it was in the sun, so it just wasn't worth it. I also think that one was probably fairly close to the posted time, we had waited in it once when it said 50 and it took 50 and the line was much shorter that day. 

It was cool to see this family of gorillas after seeing them on "Magic of Disney's Animal Kingdom"

Luke learning about enrichment activities for tigers.

Kara and Luke planning out future stops.

So, Luke finished his book, and got to take the Wilderness Explorer's Oath. He was very enthusiastic and was the perfect age for the program. He was an active participant and gave good answers to the questions. His favorite station was matching dinosaur teeth to the correct dinosaur. Some of the stations were combined, so he didn't get the full effect, but it was fun and a nice way to spend the day. He was the first kid of the day to finish the book and as we walked out of the park, he stopped to tell a parking attendant that he had finished the book and was the first kid that day to take the oath. She (acted) duly impressed and it was very sweet.

He took the oath with gusto!

Thomas and I had a good time. Even without riding rides, we had a lot of fun and enjoyed the atmosphere and the animals. Riding on that high, we polled the kids if they wanted to renew our passes. Thomas asked the kids, on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being you can't imagine anything worse, 10 being the greatest news ever, and 5 being completely indifferent, what they gave the idea. Jack and Luke said 5. The girls both said 2. Losers! I am an 8, Thomas said he is a 7. The girls said it is because they want to spend more time at Universal. But, we would never go there on a Saturday, so the two aren't in direct competition. But, whatever. If the parks continue to increase capacity without having shows or the ability to put larger groups on rides, then I can see my number dropping. 

In other recent news, we went to Universal on Columbus Day. It was crowded, but we had a great time. We started with Hagrid's, which was about an hour wait. While we were in line, they opened up a virtual queue and we were able to snag two more ride times (one with each phone). We visited both parks and managed to do quite a bit. They canceled Halloween Horror nights, but had two haunted houses set up. The waits were really short, and Kara wanted to try them out (so did I). We did the first, less scary one, and she really liked it. Jack had asked to go to Halloween Haunt last year, and I thought the houses were a good test of if he was ready. So, I convinced him to go in the second one with Kara and me. Unfortunately, it was a LOT more gruesome than the first and I felt bad for talking him into it.

Their Doc Brown impersonator was awesome!

The tribute store had some awesome displays.

We even got more voodoo donuts, which are good, but I think comparable to DD (and, way more expensive).

We also got to see the new Bourne Spectacular. It was pretty amazing technology. If it wasn't for the masks, I think it would have been really difficult to tell the live actors from the ones on the massive screen. It was well-done and we all enjoyed it. It was a good way to end a three-day weekend.

In final news--we have squirrels living in our eaves, attic, who knows? We can hear them running around the soffits and scratching above us (but, not where the attic is, so crawl spaces I guess?). Also, they have chewed wood on the outside of the house. It is very obnoxious. We spent $700(?!?!?) on tree trimming, but that served more as a reveal for more damage, rather than a deterrent to the obnoxious rodents. We had three removal/remediation specialists come out to provide estimates. The first was $1600 to trap the squirrels and seal up all entry points. The second was $1200 and we are waiting on the third; I expect the third to be the highest (they appeared the most thorough). One of the guys who came out said that he does a lot of work in our neighborhood and the houses were built in a way that makes it easy for critters to gain entry (form over function?). I fully believe this--while I don't know many of my neighbors, all the ones I do know have had this issue. The people right next door have the same exact floor plan and have had issues with both squirrels and racoons. Backing up to the woods is really pretty, but definitely has its price! But, at least we are aware of the issue now and will know the signs to catch it early (or hopefully avoid) in the future. The companies all guarantee their work, but there is some fine print that doesn't elicit full confidence. 

Today, we are going to Marta's house in a bit for more Sunday fun (swimming, games and dinner). 

Perspective?

Last year I became a little concerned when a lady who worked in the school lunchroom seemed overly attached to Luke. She gave him candy and other little treats every single day. Eventually, she started giving Kara candy too. They both, of course, loved this, but Thomas and I weren't as enthusiastic. I had Kara do a little "spying" and learned that her interest in Luke was unique (she wasn't giving other kids candy every day, at least not that Kara could tell). She would also buy him milk and occasionally gifts (like matchbox cars, nothing big).

Both Thomas and I thought it was odd and it made me uncomfortable. We reminded Luke not to get in a car with anyone, even people he might know from school and I thought about contacting his teacher to ask her to put a stop to the daily candy consumption. Finally, I went to a school activity and met her. And, I felt a lot better. She seemed to be around my father's age and I stopped fearing that she had some nefarious purpose. She continued with the candy, and gave both Kara and Luke a bunch of gifts for Christmas (mostly dollar store stuff, but a lot of it and all individually wrapped). We had Luke and Kara write cards and gave her a gift card to Panera. The candy continued after Christmas. Because of COVID, Luke wasn't at school for his birthday (in March). She contacted me and asked if she could drop off some birthday gifts for him, which she did. 

She also asked to Facetime with Luke. At this point, I finally mentioned it to Luke's teacher and learned that Luke was the spitting image of the lady's grandson, who had moved away. After that, we decided to be more patient and we let him call her a few times, but not the weekly call that she had suggested. I think he did it 3 or 4 times over the course of the 5 months he was home from school. When school started again, she was back in the lunchroom and again started giving Luke candy/gifts every day. I rolled my eyes a bit and again thought about contacting her and asking her to stop. I told Luke to remind her that she didn't need to give him anything, that he would like her regardless, but it continued. Then, one day Luke came home and said she was going to a different job and wouldn't be in the lunchroom anymore. We asked him a few times if he ever saw her anymore and he always said no. 

A month or so went by and I saw an announcement on the PTA page that she had passed away. I struggled with whether we should tell Luke. A few months ago, maybe a year, he had been nervous about death and I didn't want all of that to resurface. So, we decided not to. He hasn't mentioned her for a while and, of course, we have stopped asking if he's seen her. 

But, I can't get it out of my head. For the past few nights, I have laid awake thinking about everything that transpired. I found her obituary and did some Facebook sleuthing and learned that there was more to her than I realized. She was a retired nurse practitioner, which I assume was fairly unusual for someone of her generation (from the obituary, I learned she was 76). She had one son, who is a doctor. She was a lesbian, who lived with another teacher at the school. And, she didn't just work in the lunchroom, she also tutored kids and apparently was really good at it. In other words, she had a very interesting life and I had never thought to consider who she was as a person. I had assumed she was working in the lunchroom at her age because she had to. 

But, in reality, I didn't think about her much at all. I just thought it was weird that she liked my son. Luke liked talking to her, I could have let him call her more often and they both would have been happy. And, I feel really bad that I didn't. I also feel guilty for talking and thinking poorly of her. I felt like she was trying to buy Luke's affection. I always seemed to give her some ulterior motive. In reality, it is far more likely that Luke was just sweet to her and she enjoyed being around a child who reminded her of a grandson living in another state. I could have been so much nicer.

Fortunately, I have no reason to believe she was lonely. In fact, I know that she lived with her partner and her partner's son and they seemed like they had a loving, happy life. But, I still wish I had gotten to know her. And, I worry that I would have treated the situation differently if I had known that she was a retired professional. And, obviously that is pretty ridiculous. So, these are the thoughts that keep me up at night. Am I a snob? Am I selfish? Why wasn't I nicer? Should I tell Luke she has passed away? I also haven't told the older kids because I am afraid they will slip and tell Luke.

Hopefully, writing this out will help me to stop thinking about it so much so I can get a better night's sleep. I can't undo the past, hopefully these are lessons for the future. 

Politics (warning, if you like Trump--this will annoy you)

So, here is my promised political post. Please don't read if hearing the opinion of someone who really dislikes Trump is going to make you mad. I feel like I have been relatively moderate in voicing my political views online, but have already had a couple of people unfriend me on Facebook. Which, frankly, is completely fine. Several people I love are Trump supporters. And, while I genuinely have a hard time understanding that perspective, I accept that I don't have to understand. And, if people can't reciprocate and accept respectful disagreement, then I am okay with losing them from my life. I strive not to personally attack those I disagree with, although this post may come close. So, again, read at your own peril. And, know that if you disagree with me, I am okay with that and would be happy to read your differing views with an open mind (also recognizing that at this point in the game, you aren't going to change my opinion and I am not going to change yours--this is about me memorializing a crazy, historic time, not trying to persuade).

Tuesday, Jack and I watched the Vice Presidential debate. Thomas watched some as well, but he really can't stand listening to a debate when the parties don't answer the questions. And, this was definitely one of those kinds of debates. But, I enjoyed it so much more than when Trump and Biden had their moment to shine (and completely failed to do so). Both Pence and Harris told some lies, Pence more than Harris according to the fact checkers, but truth so is so arbitrary right now. It seems like either side can find some study, piecemeal quote, or "expert" to support whatever position they are taking. And, politicians have become very good at half-truths. I don't really like Pence, but he doesn't strike me as a complete bully/narcissist/liar, so maybe I could have voted for him and maintained ties with my Republican party if things were different. Fortunately, I really like Harris. I was nervous for her and thought she did a great job. I can definitely see her litigation background and I am generally a fan of strong women.  I was annoyed at the people who called her "unpresidential," which seemed especially hypocritical considering they support who is arguably the least "presidential" president our country has ever had. 

For me, the highlights were when Pence asked Harris if she would take a vaccine and she said yes, if the science supports it, no if it is just Trump telling her to take it. That is exactly how I feel. The second highlight was when there was a fly on Pence's head. And, that isn't because of any political view. Rather, how bizarre is it to have a fly land on your head and remain there for 2 minutes? What was that all about??? Back to the debate, I didn't like that Harris wouldn't answer the court-packing question. She couldn't even give some dumb answer like, "we aren't going to rule out any action that ensures the success of our democracy," or some other meaningless "maybe"?  But, I did find it really funny that Pence asked the record to reflect that she wouldn't answer the question when he himself had just completely failed to address the question that was asked of him. Gotta love a politician!

I watched a clip of some Democrat at a Republican rally. Most of the attendees seemed pretty nice, but there were two things that caught my attention: The first is just kind of funny and not really related to my political views. The host was asking someone if the economy was better now than it was four years ago. The guy announced really emphatically that he thought so. The host pressed him a bit and the man remarked that he is so much better off, he is making 4x the amount he made four years ago! The impressed host asked him what he did for a living. And, without any irony, the man responded, "I'm a debt collector!" It still makes me chuckle.

The second one is more serious and goes to a big issue for me. A lot of people, all of whom were white, remarked that they do not believe that racism is an issue in our country. I am sure that for them, it isn't. I know that for me, as a middle-aged white woman, I am not facing discrimination. However, the majority of African Americans would disagree (approximately 80% according to most polls). So, who should I listen to on questions regarding racial inequality in America, the people who are affected by it, or the ones that aren't?

My mother had bad mood swings/depression in her younger years. Being a very smart woman, she noticed a pattern that corresponded with her menstrual cycle. She began tracking her moods and kept detailed records that she brought to her doctor. Rather than listen to the person who was experiencing the issue, he told her it was all in her head and there was no correlation. As a result of his unwillingness to listen my mother suffered needlessly for years. Not a perfect analogy, but for some reason, it is the one I always think of. How can a good portion of American choose to ignore what 80% of a demographic is telling them? It boggles the mind!

I do not believe Trump is responsible for the racial discord, but I do believe that he has done much to fan the flames and support the animosity in this country. To me, that is evidenced by comments about white supremacy, police brutality, and even his continued refusal to accept responsibility for the very serious mistake he made with regard to the Central Park Five. I actually don't believe Trump is racist, but I do believe this is another example of him putting his own self-interests first.

My goodness, trying to narrow down all the reasons I dislike him is harder than I thought. So here are some examples. The fact that he has repeatedly used his political office to further his personal interests (that call with Ukraine for example). His statements about McCain make my blood boil. His quid pro quo attitude and demand for personal loyalty over loyalty to country or constitution. The fact that a good number of his associates have been convicted of crimes, many on his behalf (paying off mistresses, lots of false statements). His record on how he treats women; he was literally caught on tape saying he grabs them by the pussy and they just let him do it. Yet, 26 different women have accused him of sexual misconduct, and who knows how many more were just paid off.  His failure to believe in global warming. His consistent attitude that the rules don't apply to him. His political appointments that coincide with large donations. His dealings with China and Russia. Or, him admitting he doesn't read his daily briefings. So many personal failures!

There is a lot I think on the issues too. I think he has hurt the economy, not helped it. I think he has hurt our world standing. I think we are less safe than we were 4 years ago. I think he has taken credit for other's accomplishments. The rich have gotten richer, the poor have gotten poorer. I don't blame him for COVID, but I do blame him for divisive rhetoric and politicizing an issue that should have united our country. I wonder why our country has 25% of the cases, when we only make up 4% of the world's population?

But, at the end of the day, even if a fact-checker proved me wrong on some of the above, I could never vote for someone to represent our country that I see as such a mean, divisive bully. I use that word (bully) sparingly, but believe it truly fits here--he has proven himself as vindictive and mean, just read up on all the people he's fired, or who’ve quit, and what he said before versus what he said after about them. The way that he talks to people who disagree with him, the way he speaks about McCain and other former POWs, the continued pattern of ignoring fact and saying whatever he wants with impunity. Remember this gem, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters." Unfortunately, he has proven that point. He is not my candidate. I believe that almost anyone else would be a better President. There are 1000 more reasons, but I am getting myself all worked up writing this, so I'm going to call that good.

Jack and Anna are Teenagers (and Some Halloween)

October 3rd marked a much anticipated birthday--Anna and Jack turning 13! Anna especially had been looking forward to this day for years. When she was 10ish, she asked if we could spend a night at the Gaylord at National Harbor. I told her I would take her and some friends when she turned 13. Of course, life got in the way and we moved to Florida. But, Florida still has a Gaylord and lots of other really nice hotels. But, then, COVID-19 reared its ugly head and the thought of hanging out at a hotel in a mask while social distancing just didn't have the same appeal. So, for the first time in years, the kids opted to receive presents. It has been a long time since we picked out and wrapped birthday gifts, since the kids (almost) always choose an outing. We tried to make the day as special as we could, which ended up mostly revolving around food. 

For breakfast, Anna wanted to go to Starbucks. I had told the kids on Friday night that I would buy drinks for whoever watched my newly discovered childhood favorite movie. Anna and Kara were in. Jack lasted about 15 minutes, which is coincidentally about when the love story begins. The movie is "The Pirate Movie" which is a silly musical based on the Pirates of Penzance. It is rated PG, but it was a 1984 PG, which is definitely more of a PG-13, mostly because of very inappropriate innuendo, but also some disturbing themes. But, I loved it as a kid and all of that just flew over my head. I didn't let Luke watch (not that he would have lasted any longer than Jack) and the girls only thought it was okay. They don't know what life was like before Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, YouTube, etc. We had a few movies on VHS that we watched frequently. And, obviously, we are more sensitive (rightfully so) to certain topics than we were 30 years ago. 

But, I digress. Obviously, I wasn't going to make Jack forgo or buy his own treat on his birthday, so Starbucks for all! Well, for Anna, Jack and Kara. Thomas and I aren't interested and Luke is too little. We don't love it for any of the kids, but as a rare treat, we'll allow it. From there, we went to Dunkin Donuts and everyone picked out donuts.

We got home and the girls and I worked on the birthday cake, which was a recreation of an old favorite--the Pumpkin Patch cake we first did 5 years ago. We made the cake and the cake pop monsters. The monsters were kind of frustrating, because I couldn't get the chocolate to melt to the right consistency. I have never had that problem, but I ended up having to throw away an entire bad of red and we were left with just brown and black. The girls had a great time decorating them, and they tasted amazing, so alls well that ends well.

The finished product. Monsters invading a graveyard/pumpkin patch?

For their birthday meals, Anna chose Chick-Fil-A and Jack chose Wendy's. Originally, Anna wanted sliders and Jack said Chick-Fil-A, then Jack changed his mind and wanted Wendy's, but Anna had been really excited about CFA, so she switched her meal. We thought about spreading them out, but then figured it was better to just get it over with. So, we had Starbucks and donuts, followed by CFA, followed by Wendy's, followed by cake and ice cream. It is a good thing we only have one set of twins who only have one birthday a year! Some of us, well actually just Thomas and me, had salad or abstained from the second fast-food meal of the day and some of us just went for it! YOLO maybe??? Although, I do have a rant about that expression, but I will save it for another day.

They both seemed to enjoy the day. And, they liked their gifts. A new, nice skateboard for Anna with new protective gear and a Deluxe Switch remote and Axis and Allies game for Jack. Plus, gifts from their siblings (books from Kara and clothes picked out by Luke).

He is now 5'9!

One of Anna's gifts to Jack

Kara gave Anna A World of Food. Anna loved this book when she was little and decided to get it from the library to see if it was as good as she remembered, but they didn't have it. So, Kara surprised her with it.

Cake with a side of monster.

Jack got her these awesome lights for her room, Thomas hung them and they look really fun.

Sunday we played games and had a quiet day. Sunday evening I took Luke and Kara to SeaWorld to do their trick-or-treat trail. Luke has really wanted to go, but they only do the trick-or-treating on the weekends, which are typically very crowded. But, Sunday was a rainy day and we figured the crowds would be light. We did the trail, had dinner at the Sesame Street food truck and the kids did some of the little rides. Then, we walked through the trail again. It was nice to be outside and they had a great time. It was nice to see them getting along so well. I love it when my kids act like they love each other.

They had tons of great photo ops. This was my favorite.

This was my close second, it is hard to see, but they "glowed" as it got dark.

In today's final news, Thomas and I decorated the downstairs bathroom for Halloween. I recently had a memory resurface of my third grade teacher (my favorite teacher ever--Mrs. Pepin) who turned the class bathroom into the "Bat Room" in October. It had Halloween lights and bats hanging all over. I loved it as a kid and wanted to try and recreate it. Thomas and I bought some decorations and then Thomas hung everything up. We surprised the kids with it and they all think it is awesome, although Luke does find it a little scary :)

Disney and Parenting Fails

Our Disney passes expire next month, so we have been trying to cram in a few more visits. There is a possibility we will renew, but it is more likely we will skip it. I love Disney the most, I think the rest of the family enjoys it, but would be perfectly fine with taking a year (or more) off.  It had been a couple of months since we'd visited the Magic Kingdom, and we wanted to see their fall decorations, so off we went. I had a great plan for the day. We were going to rope drop Big Thunder and then Splash Mountain. We were a couple of minutes late leaving the house, but still managed to be walking to the ride by 8:55 (for a 9 opening). I was congratulating myself on my awesome planning and strategizing when we noticed a castmember on the Frontier Land bridge. Both Big Thunder and Splash were down. Ugh! Kara asked to do Haunted Mansion, so we did a pivot and headed in that direction. It was a quick wait and when we got off, Splash was open with a 35 minute wait. Big Thunder was still closed, and when we got to Splash, the wait had changed to 45, then 55 as we passed under the sign. We decided to do it anyway. The wait ended up being around 25 minutes. I was pretty content at this point, Splash and Haunted Mansion are my two MK favorites. Big Thunder had finally opened, but the wait was 65 minutes and the line stretched across the bridge, we decided to do Pirates instead (Thomas' favorite MK ride). Then, we had an early lunch at Cosmic Rays, rode Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, and the Barnstormer and headed into Tomorrowland. We got Pumpkin Pie shakes (Thomas, Jack and Kara), a slushy (Anna) and a chocolate shake (Luke) at Auntie Gravity's Galactic Goodies. The older kids rode Space Mountain and Thomas and I took Luke to Buzz Lightyear, which ended up being our longest wait of the day at around 35 minutes. All in all, it was a great time. We have a reservation once more to go in November and that should close out the year on MK.

Luke is not a fan of the part where they take your picture.

Wednesday was the first day in the forecast with a high below 80 in months. It was also an early dismissal day for the kids. We decided to take advantage and go to Epcot. Our plan was to walk the world showcase and enjoy the nice weather. We got there around 3:30 and Thomas took the boys on Spaceship Earth while I took the girls on Soarin'. We lucked out with our favorite seats (center, top row). Then, we all met up and watched Planet Earth. We saw the movies in Canada and China, had dinner at the new Barbecue place in America and ended the evening with a ride on Test Track. It was super fun! Luke was complaining about walking the World Showcase, but he ended up having a great time. He just kept running and spinning and doing kicks in the air. That kid has a lot of energy! It was much nicer to visit Epcot during the week and we may try another Wednesday if the stars align again.

Both parenting fails happened on Wednesday. Here's my Facebook post describing the first: Today, Luke came home with quite the story to tell. He was sitting in class minding his own business when someone came to the door and said they were pulling four students. Luke was thrilled when his was the last name called. The lucky four were brought to "the room where they did karate last year!" Luke was so excited! He didn't know why he had been chosen, but was sure it was going to be something amazing! Then, he was sat in a chair and...given a shot in the arm. This was not what he was expecting.

He relayed this story with shock to Thomas and me immediately after being picked up from school. We imagine this is what it is like for a dog to go on a car ride, only to find out the destination is the vet.

So, the first parenting fail was forgetting it was flu shot day. He was still talking about it this morning. Fortunately, he seemed to find the experience more incredulous than anything else. It did make his day a little brighter when I reminded him that now he was done for the year and the 5 of us still have to get one.

Parenting fail #2 also took place on Wednesday. We got home to see two boxes on our front porch. One was addressed to Anna and was from Precious Moments--her annual birthday train piece, sent to her every year by Basille. The other was a box addressed to Jack. We all figured it was a birthday gift and Jack had a hard time deciding if he should open it or save it for his birthday. Ultimately, he couldn't take the anticipation and decided to open. We gathered in excitement and he unveiled...Epi Pens (actually, Auvi-Q, but same purpose). I had forgotten they were being delivered. It was quite a let down. But, like Luke, he was a good sport.

Speaking of Epi Pens, we got the result of Jack's blood work. He did not test allergic to peanuts. He did test allergic on the scratch test, but the doctor said he has a 96% chance of not being allergic to peanuts any more! We are going to do a peanut challenge in December. We are hopeful, but not super optimistic. The doctor said that he had a feeling, based on his history, that Jack might fall in the 4% who fail. But, we shall see. Of course, he is still allergic to shellfish and tree nuts, so even if he isn't allergic to peanuts, he will still need to keep getting those Epi Pens (but, hopefully not delivered in a way to make him think it is a birthday surprise).