Oh The Places We’ll Go

Congratulations! Today is our day, we’re off to great places. We’re off and away.

Once a year, the hubby and myself try and take a vacation alone. Last year we went to the beach, the year before that we went to Vegas… This year we went to Universal in Orlando.

If you’re married with kids, I highly recommend that as a couple you take a trip with out your bundles of joy. It makes us feel like we are dating all over again, and instead of 100% of our focus being on chasing after our kids, that energy we can be focused on each other. Now on to our awesome experience at Universal. Let me begin by saying that 80% of what you read on TripAdvisor.com is hogwash. I read plenty of reviews of people saying the lines were a nightmare, it wasn’t clean, and blah blah blah. On day one we arrived at the park roughly half an hour early, we had to get our tickets for the park, reservations for breakfast, and passes to city walk. The will call kiosk was a breeze. we got our tickets and got in line. They make a huge deal about the park being open, so once they make the announcement and say “Action” they open the gates. (at universal studios) Now if you read on their website, the advice they give you is to go to the back of the park and work your way forward. That’s exactly what we did. The first ride we rode was the Men in Black ride, you ride through and you have guns and your goal is to shoot aliens.. The first day Daniel whooped me! The next time we rode he wasn’t so lucky. 😉 If you’ve never been to Universal in Orlando, Universal Studios is laid out really awesome. From MIB we hit up the Simpsons ride, Simulation rides are kinda trippy, and if you have any chance of getting sick from motion. please don’t ride, no one likes puke on them.

Characters are AWESOME! They all play the part, Bart was a flirt, He kissed me on the hand then wouldn’t let go. In the photo above hes actually holding my arm down 🙂 After the photo Marge gave Bart “a talking to” It was our first encounter with characters up close and personal. (and no we didn’t wait 2 hours to meet them)

Before Noon we had rode 7 rides, met The Simpsons, and was sitting down for lunch. Universal Studios, which is my by far my favorite park of the Two, is way more relaxed and not quite as packed.
Inside Universal, the best ride is The mummy ride. The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster is like the ninja at Six Flags and I needed some advil afterwards. Thats the only traditional roller coaster in that park. All in all that park has the feel of a back lot in Hollywood.

Universal Studios also has, the blue brothers, Lucille Ball, & Marilyn Monroe. These people are so cool. They do not break character. For me Marilyn was the one who gave me chills.

Day 2 was set for Islands of Adventure.

Islands of Adventure is cool, not our favorite, but its plenty of notches higher on the scale compared to Six Flags over Georgia. The most over crowded section of that entire park is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Which for any Harry Potter fan, This was AMAZING!!! Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey gives you exactly what you could only dream of. You go through Dumbledor’s Office, the Defense against the Dark Arts Class room, and the the ride is brilliant. I can’t even begin to tell you how awesome it was, If you haven’t gone you’ll have to experience it for yourself.

BUTTERBEER! I have nothing left to say, other than it is some sugary goodness. It tastes like cream soda with butter scotch topping, and if you get it, the frozen is way better. Trust me on that one! 🙂

Thats a Butterbeer in my hand! Yummy!

I actually have so much more to share about our trip, but ill have to save some more for another day. There are plenty more pictures to share, and more stories to be told. So i’ll blog a little bit more about our vacation later.

Good night and God bless.

A Day at the Museum

If you bank with Bank of America, the first weekend of every month, you can get into certain museums for free with your I.D. and debit card. So we thought it would be something cool to do. It’s out of the heat, and has hands on things for kids. The Tellus Museum is about 20 minutes north of us in Cartersville, Ga. It has minerals, fossils, cars, airplanes, space shuttles, and a “big backyard” for hands on activities for the kids.

That’s Jacob and myself, Bradley decided that the truck was a little scary so he opted to stay put in his stroller… Rewind five minutes and Jacob is screaming like that truck was going to turn into a decepticon and gobble him up. Somehow I managed to calm him down enough to get this picture. The truck is actually from Nevada, they used them for gold mining. We then made our way into the museum.

Bling! Bling! Could you imagine if that was a ring? The minerals section of the museum had so many cool things to see, even a meteor that went through a house in Cartersville, this section wasn’t quite as exciting for the kids. But it was pretty awesome to see.

. Meet Stan, he was found in Georgia, at first Jacob was terrified of the skeletons, but once he warmed up he was all into them. He’s a dork, just like his daddy 🙂

This is our first family photo in awhile, they are hard to get when you don’t have anyone to take the picture 🙂

Jacob in the main gallery, even here he had to be convinced that he wasn’t going to get eaten.
After we saw the minerals and the dinosaurs, we moved on to an area called “The Big Backyard”. Everything is hands on for the kids, and they learn alot from all of the hands on activities.

We left that section and went on the cars, trains, planes, and space shuttles…. Which for me was the most intriguing.

The very first Benz, the plane that the Wright Brothers built, a steam engine, even that hideous GM electric car that was piloted then recalled in CA, AZ, and GA. As well as the Apollo shuttle, a space suit, and all of the awesome models of all of the shuttles ever built. After that we let the boys go on a fossil dig and do some panning for gems.

Which leads me to my next topic, Walt Disney World. In December, we had planned on taking the boys. Today showed us that they aren’t ready for all the magic yet. Big things scare them, and they are exhausted after only 1 hour. Which means there is no way they will make it through half a day in Disney. Which for the cost of park tickets we will take them to the magic kingdom when they are a little older.

Today was fun and exhausting, it’s time for a little nap before I need to cook dinner 🙂
I hope everyone who reads this has a wonderful Sunday.

-Cassandra

Work. Is. A. Pain.

June 2nd will go down in the books as a pretty crappy day. Work SUCKED. It sucked enough to make me cry like my puppy died or something. I don’t like being too overwhelmed. And today was just that…overwhelming. My dear husband had a heart doctor appointment, I knew he would be fine, however he wasn’t so optimistic. Staying positive for him was my major concern, what if the doctor came in and said it was something bad. Thank God his heart is fine. Little did I know that wasn’t going to be the most trying part of my day. Anyone in most professions will tell you that when there is a holiday in the week, the rest of your week is hell. Especially in the banking business. For some reason people assume the bank will disappear or something… What that means is that there is a line out the door, and not enough staff to accomodate these people. In my wonderful postion I’m required to “babysit” my teller line, and I’m expected to document conversations, coach on what and what not to do, and make sure they are having conversations to make the bank revenue. Well guess what when you’re required to be one of those people that you have to “babysit” you can’t get squat done. My shift ends at 4:30pm, I left at 6:45pm. Still had to figure out dinner get kids picked up, and get home. All I did was cry when I got home, and it didn’t matter what Daniel said to make me feel better, it fell on deaf ears. Bless his heart, because he’s persistent or else my butt would be in bed. Needless to say the work day sucked. Theres too much to do and not enough time to do it.

Looking back its just work…. Never mind, scratch that, the pug pissed in her crate.. Oh the joys of life (by the way she does that when she gets excited) at least the kids are in bed… I had barbecue for dinner and it’s now peaceful in the home. Tomorrow is a new day, it should end up being better than today. After all it is Friday. I thank God that work was the worst part of my day, and that I have a husband will listen to me rant and go on about how I’m going to quit. And if it wasn’t for that man, there is no way on this earth my days would end up calm. He knows just how to get me back to a normal state of mind. I love that man more than he’ll ever know. To anyone else reading this, if your Thursday was a crappy one, I hope your Friday is better too.

– Cassandra

To have or not to have, that is the question…

What is everyones obsession with asking me if I’m going to have more kids? I love both of my boys dearly, but honestly if you spent a couple of days here you would understand why i say two is enough…

That is Jacob: From the outside hes a normal 4 year old who one day wants to be a Cowboy and the next wants to be a Diver. On the inside he’s allergic to peanuts, cat dander, trees, grass, and your normal seasonal allergy flair ups. He also gets breathing treatments multiple times a day throughout various times of the year. Hes full of energy and doesn’t stop moving. And sometimes schools me on things I had no idea about.

Thats Bradley: Hes two. I should just stop there and everyone would understand but I feel that sweet bundle of joy deserves an explanation… Bradley is an angel 50% of the time. The remaining 50% can be broken down into 10% hell raiser, 10% sailor, and 30% the devil himself. He’s mischievous and up until recently his older brother has been punished for his evil deeds (who wouldve thought he could actually reach places he physically can’t). He’s is also my cuddly kid, and a mama’s boy. He blows everyone kisses and makes sure you know that he loves you. Now on to his evil alter ego…. Where there is a will there is a way. And if he wants something bad enough, even if it lands that hiney of his in time out, he’s going to do it. He knows no fear. His favorite words at the moment are “doo-doo” and “Booty-head”. No I’m not kidding either. Now as far as him being the devil himself, well if I can get a clip to play for you thats all you would need for proof. Id say there is a 666 on the back of his head but we’ve shaved it and there is no mark of the beast. But those tantrums are straight from hell, and I don’t remember Jacob going through that phase.

So with two very active, very different children under the age of 5, considering the thought of another child is honestly the furthest thought in my mind. And there are plenty of children in this world who need a home as well, so maybe if we decide to have another we will go the route of adoption.

Now can I please never be asked that question again?

-Cassandra

IT’S BEEN TOO LONG!

Well everyone, it’s been way too long since we’ve posted anything….well that’s about to change! Stay tuned…I can’t promise that every post is the most entertaining but you’ll laugh, you may cry, and you will definitely get to take a peek inside our crazy blessed life. We offer up our hearts up with every post. I hope you enjoy reading what we put down for you. A post is coming…soon

God Bless y’all
-Daniel

Happy Valentines Day, with Love

February 14th, the quintessential hallmark holiday. I got my wonderful husband a card. A really heart felt one, that he understands, not that cheesy crap that makes people vomit in their mouth at the local grocery store. And even though I bought this little card for my Husband of seven years, we don’t celebrate the day as a holiday. There are multiple reasons for this, the first is that we got married on March 1st. Its a little stupid to celebrate this day all about “love” just to turn around and celebrate a day meaning so much more. If you put up with my crap for seven years you would understand. The second reason is that why do I have one day dedicated to show someone I love them… The concept is all wrong. You should show someone that you love them every single day. Today is kind of like being told to clean your room or walk the dog. You should do those things regardless of the day. So attention all of you guys out there, if you think that buying flowers that will die in two days, or a box of chocolates, or some fancy schmancy dinner is gonna win over a girl, you have lost your ever lovin’ mind.

This is the one “holiday” i don’t mind doing without. Daniel and I will have been married for seven years on March 1st, and have been together for a grand total of 9 years mid year. I’m not saying that it has always been easy or that we don’t have our moments, but one thing is for sure, we aren’t relying on a hallmark holiday to reconnect as husband and wife.

If you rewind 24 hours to roughly noon on February 13th, What you would see if you were a fly on the wall, is an irrational woman upset that nothing is going her way. It starts with kids, back talking, not listening, and all around being rambunctious toddlers that would push anyone to the brink of an insanity zone. Nap time hits. PEACE and QUIET… no not so fast. I quickly learn that my intentions of getting some grocery shopping done has had a wrench thrown into the works. Aaron, my brother in law who lives with us, has left and so we would have to A: wait for him to get home and pray that the kids are still napping, or B: wait till the munchkins wake up and take them to the store with us. And for the record “B” is not happening. I’m very “organized” about the way my grocery store encounters happen, I get in, get out, stick to my list and my budget. So when I find out that Aaron has left that was enough to send me into a rage of craziness. So I then am annoyed with the fact that my wonderful husband is playing a video game instead of cleaning or folding laundry or whatever else would make any normal wife shut her mouth. Not me. Even though he has turned off the game and started housework, the damage was done, and everyone was about to feel my wrath. Unfortunately, Daniel was the only one to feel the wrath of the beast. And it was ugly… So ugly, that the heart felt card I mentioned earlier was torn into pieces and then thrown into the garbage. It was an action that i now regret, yet will always be a reminder of how heartless I can be sometimes. No one is nice when they are mad or upset, but I am definitely the worlds worst. But in that nasty argument one thing happened. No matter how mad I was, no matter what I said, Daniel went and got that card out of the trash, taped it back together, and then made me read it out loud to him. At that moment that was the best way anyone ever could have shown unconditional love. He took the crap I dealt him, and then spoon fed me love back. Which is what I needed. And yesterday even with the argument is worth so much more than any box of chocolates he could ever buy.

So fast forward to after dinner, on Valentines Day, the pug is driving us crazy, the kids are in bed, and its a normal night in the Walter household. Which is just the way we like it. Time for some popcorn and a movie, not because of the day, but because we need some time to chill, just the two of us.

Happy Valentines Day,
With Love,
Cassandra

And We’re the Three best friends that anyone could have…

Okay so maybe not always best friends. We all have our moments, the picture above just happens to be a sweet one.  The truth behind every awesome photo is a tale of dysfunction. If you think I’m lying think of a time when you’ve taken a PERFECT family photo and there wasn’t a fight or tears or screaming and yelling… If you haven’t experienced any of that congratulations you’re a robot.  Actually this morning was smooth. The boys are excited to go to school so it makes the mornings easier.  But since I haven’t blogged in a while I thought now would be as good of time as any to list out the holiday dysfunction.

1. Step mother got wasted at thanksgiving. kept telling Jacob there was a secret in his green bean casserole.

2. Buddy, our elf on the shelf, came to visit. which is a total nightmare for the boys.

3. The boys decided to pump the Atlantic Ocean in their bedroom, via a cup and the toilet.

4. Uncle Aaron thought it would be a bright idea to use a normal vacuum as a wet dry vac 😉 he made up for it and replaced the one he broke so its all good.

5. The Macy’s lady screwed over the hubster. if you know him you should know not to screw him over. its not a pretty scene in public.

6. It snowed in Georgia, and on Christmas day none the less. It was AWESOME!

7. The kids were wonderful for all of Christmas day, when Jacob told me to die and ran away from Daniel in a parking lot. Whats worse than time out? Taking away EVERY single toy in their room.

And that leads up to today…. As of Monday they started going to an actual preschool/daycare. Which is helping so much. I got a yes ma’am and didn’t even have to look at Jacob for him to know to say it. and not to mention they are actually tired when I pick them up 😉 Which means it makes the night soooo much more smooth for me and Daniel.  knock on wood it keeps going like this, I actually feel like I get to spend time with my hubby before bed again :))

This side of the Railroad Tracks

With the holidays approaching things get even more crazy. Its hard to believe, but it does. Now is the time of year when normal child disciplinary techniques change from the standard to “I’m going to call Santa”. Of course this works…. for all of 10 minutes. In fact if Daniel and myself really were going to call Santa then Jacob would know that come Christmas morning he wouldn’t have anything under the tree. Unfortunately we don’t have it in us to do that to him. It is stressful however, that a 4 year old will do everything in his power to make the situation difficult. When he doesn’t get his way he deliberately pees the bed, will poop in his underwear, and refuse to eat. We have now resorted to the tactic of “Fine don’t eat it”  and he has to now put his own urine covered linens in the wash, mommy isn’t doing it anymore for him. So far this seems to work a little. But all I can wonder is what happened to that sweet little boy that use to help me with everything. The one that never pitched fits or any of that nonsense.  Some say that its because a little brother came along? Some say its a phase all kids go through it? I’m personally not sure yet. But the little brother thought brings me to my next thought… I was a mean kid. Me and my brother would fight, And up until the age where he could hold his own, I would beat the crap out of him. I personally think there are pros and cons to this. The major pro is that I don’t take crap from people. I’m fairly a tough little cookie. The Con is that we were never close until the day I moved out and started a life of my own.  I don’t see this being the case with my boy, they fight and argue, but You can tell they are partners in crime. For now. Everyone says We are lucky to have them so close together, Its harder when they are younger, but when they are a bit older they will be easier to handle. Bradley is mean. Hes lovable too, but hes mean. He holds his own… and he doesn’t go down without a fight. Sounds all to familiar to me. Hopefully he will grow out of it. And the we have Minnie. you know that sweet little pug a few blogs down… shes pure evil. Okay maybe not pure evil. but evil enough that I can assume she was sent from the devil. I have read numerous times that pugs are VERY stubborn dogs…. what a better companion for me. We’re both stubborn, when I take her to potty, we don’t come in till she goes. she knows that. So I think there is some element of understanding between us. However, this morning at the wonderful hour of 2 a.m she decided to pee on me.  Seriously, She sleeps in our bed… which she has made hers as well.  and she pees on me?!?!?! what kind of crap is that…. So now that we have a two crazy kids, and a demonic dog in the mix….  We’ve realized that not everything is a cute little house, with a white picket fence, and a dog.  Every day is a challenge. And this is just another one in the mix….

I’ll take an extra large lemonade with extra sugar

A series of events occurred today, oddly enough one would assume being Monday that the day would have been horrible. Much to my surprise it was quite the opposite. We get up, the morning runs smooth. Car doesn’t want to start right up, “no big deal its cold” I think to myself as I come in and make the statement “We are gonna need a new battery”. We corral the munchkins out the door, and off we go on our daily journey. Hubby is dropped off at work early, that means overtime, which means next week will be easier. I head to work. I start thinking that the traffic en route to the bank is extremely heavy, which stinks on Mondays as it is. Get to work, and after being told I was scheduled to work on my VACATION day off, I expected the worst. So I make my way in, and I am informed that I need my PA done. *Here we go, This gives the beast a reason to unload all of her thoughts about what she really thinks about me in a semi diplomatic format* Much to my surprise, I exceed in all of my goals. Get FRANCHISE wide recognition for being a top performer in 2010. And get to see the 6 1/2 min video filmed for the bank that made me “Famous”.  Find out that my market management does see the potential in me and actually has a plan.  Not too shabby for 9am. So lunch time rolls around, I tell my hubby the grand news. He lets me know his days is going pretty good for a broken toe. 😉 Then when My fearless leader comes in we realize the beast is leaving. THANK YOU JESUS!!! All this means is that the rest of the afternoon will be PEACEFUL.  And it was. We closed up shop, I head home to see my vicious pooch, and guess what she peed and pooed in the entry way to her gated linoleum heaven. If this is as bad as it gets I can’t complain…  So we chill out, I call a bill collector to find out why in heavens they want to jack up my payment. Hung up the phone and thought “that went way too well” So me and the pooch get in the car to head to pick up the rest of the family. Get the boys. They are happy & smiling. And then I find out my 4 year old pooped his pants for no reason. GROSS. He knows better, and more than anything I’m disappointed. We get loaded up to go pick up my husband, who still loves me after I made him bolt out of the bed room, kick and trip over a barstool, only to find that he has a broken toe. Yes I am the one to blame for the broken toe. So at the hubby’s work, were sitting in the car waiting for him to finish. I leave the radio on and shut the car off. He comes out and I go to crank the car…….. you know the sound you hear when your car battery is dead? Yea, that one. Thats what we heard. And the Escape would not start. All I could think was “You’re kidding me right” Daniel assures me this is gonna be okay. Luckily one of the truck drivers hadn’t left and also had jumper cables. Woo we got jumped. We are on our way…. home… i wish… no we are headed to the auto parts store. Daniel calls and this guy from Jamaica, holds a battery for us, and even though its after cut off time, he puts the battery in for us.  All the glory goes to God for this, We had just enough money in our checking account to buy a new battery. We actually had it sitting there to start our Emergency Fund. I had completely forgotten about it. I can’t believe how the day is turning out. Its late there are screaming kids, who are mad because they are hungry and its not going according to my plan. I have to remember, Its not my plan. Its God’s. He puts us in the right place at the right time. Even though it is 10 minutes to 10pm and I’m still eating dinner and typing a blog, it’s not about what happens on my watch its about what happens on his.  This was a lessoned learned on my part. I’m very quick to react. I panicked, wondering how we would get home, questioned if the car would start tomorrow, and so forth. Daniel steps in and assures me it will be okay, and it was. I love that man. Without him I’d go bonkers. He helps me dial down the crazy. Seriously how does he put up with me??? I mean some days I’m certifiable. and yet he still will tell me that i undercooked the rice tonight trying to make dinner way too fast. “Its like risotto” he says and he eats my semi crunchy dinner.  Today is a prime example of the good, the bad, and the ugly…. Which is all fine. But how we handled it makes it that much better.

one point for Daniel/0 points for Cassandra

It’s the end of the world as we know it…

For some reason today of all the other days of my vacation was the most draining, but I suppose that also has something to do with the fact I must return to work Monday morning. Its really not the end of the world but I’ve enjoyed the time I have had off. I feel like a whole lot more has been accomplished and I’m sad because pretty soon it will be the same crazy whirlwind that it was before. Makes me wonder how people do it. How the husband goes out makes more than enough to support the family and give them well than more than what they need. I know personally We’d save atleast $900 a month if there wasnt daycare to pay for. However if I were to stay home then we’d also lose about $2000 in income monthly.

And not to get on a political rant but if these politicians that work for the people would listen… but the Fair tax would solve a lot of peoples problems. And if the government wants to spend some money why don’t you think on this one…give each tax paying household $50000. This will boost the economy in multiple directions. Want to know how?

First- 75% of people will blow it. meaning that they will go out and buy things that they ordinarily wouldn’t buy, like a car or larger televisions, nonsense crap that really has no value what so ever. So that will cost the sales portion of our crap economy to boost up.

2nd- the remaining 25% will spend wisely, invest it in the market. and hope to make some money…. then what does this do. It shows worldwide economically that the US would financially be heading in the right direction.  Instead of the government spending the money on how they think they should, put the money, that you are only going to increase the deficit more, in the hands of the taxpayers…

Its a win/win. and of course nothing is free. And I understand the reason for taxes. but if you are going to charge me 150 bucks on my ford every year to fix the same potholes that have been there for 4+ years, I think its time to take a closer look into where that money is actually going…  and no I haven’t gone in to some ridiculously long diatribe of how this would work. But if they can justify some of the ways they are spending, you would think they could figure this one out.

 

Either way, I think this day is just draining and I don’t want to go back to work Monday…. Its amazing what can stem from just that thought. 🙂