Woah! You...RELAXED??? On a Disney vacation? What kind of diser are you??? Lol
I'm kinda jealous. Looks like a nice evening.
We've totally done the "it's cold but these pool jets are just slightly warmer than the rest of the pool" dance before. We've only ever gone once with warm weather and the other two times we think we want to swim til we get in and freeze lol.
I don't know if we relaxed so much as ran out of steam.
But it was a nice "evening in." Yes, the pool jets were just a tad warmer, but it was sure a chilly swim, despite still being "warm" out. If it had still been sunny, I'm sure it would have been much better.
Since you were switching dinner reservations, not canceling, did they not charge you for that 25 hour cancellation fee they have? I have thought about moving restaurants before, but I just didn't know if that qualified as a cancellation.
Nope, no fee. However, we made that ADR back before they had fees for ALL restaurants - it was just for the Signatures at the time, I believe, and Boma didn't fall in with that. So, it wasn't a problem. Though I would imagine, if this happened now, they probably still wouldn't charge a fee, due to the monorail being down and all. Not sure if they'd charge a fee for just switching.
Sounds like the pool was chilly! It was December, after all. And while the pools might be heated, the wind is not.
but at least you can say you tried.
Indeed! The pool was heated, but the air was chilly enough that it made it unpleasant. But, yes, at least we tried to get in a swim at the Poly!
I love the fact that you can buy milk in all gift shops/food locations at the resorts. So convenient.
I love that they have whole milk available - very nice with a baby/toddler in tow!
Haha, I know exactly what you mean about preferring sleep to relaxation. Any parents does. While the balcony sounds nice, sleep sounds even nicer.
Sleep is the ultimate treat!
Yep! DH and I were talking yesterday about the idea of another kid, because he really wants one and I told him if we did, we'd have to have some changes in regards to household work, baby duty, etc. He very much wants me to breastfeed again (which of course I do too!) But with DS being attached to me, I can't see how that would work, unless I get some major help from DH. Of course, he may not be like that years from now, but just thinking about all the work with DS in addition to another baby just seems like a lot. Especially when us women, feel like we're doing the majority of it all. But I see a lot of families with more than 1 child and I start thinking, it really can't be as bad as i'm making it out in my head. As long as there can be some balance in our household, I think we can do it.
I think that you and I are of very like minds on this topic!
The local moms group I am a part of (from when we had our babies) has had several of the moms already have second babies and I just can't imagine how they do it! The age our kids are now still requires a ton of attention and I don't know how that can be done while nursing and caring for a newborn nearly 24/7. I can see that it would be easier as the toddler becomes more independent and better at communicating and even helping, but until then, it seems very challenging unless the spouse is really on top of things. I will say that Izzy didn't start consistently sleeping through the night until 3 months ago, so that factors into how I perceive things too...another 18 months without a full night's sleep?
But, yes, people do it all the time and (generally) seem okay with it. Maybe we can send our DH's to a training camp
And maybe TheMaxRebo can run it!
Can you believe i've never been to either?! Very bad. DS is on a HUGE fish kick right now (no beef, very little chicken) so right now CHH sounds like the better call.
Wow, you've got to correct that omission to your Disney dining experience list.
It will be interesting to see what DS is into by the time you take your trip, as it seems Izzy is changing her mind ALL the time on what she likes. One day, wouldn't touch a (turkey) hot dog at all...2 days later, ate the entire thing like it was going out of style.
Oh my goodness. Your Poly pictures are absolutely beautiful!
I have a few favs. I love the one of you holding Izzy in the air with the castle in the background and the one where Izzy is pointing to the castle. So precious! And it totally doesn't look like Izzy is upset when Dug is holding her. You could have said nothing about her crying and I would have believed that she was having a grand time! Wish I would have thought to do a photoshoot with DS's first time.
Aw, thanks! But just to prove how Izzy was doing right before those photos with Dug:
Good call on changing your dinner plans. Doesn't the idea of traveling from one place to the other sounds tiring? That's where i'm at right now. I just got done making our ADR's yesterday, and i'm looking at our plans trying to figure out how we're going to get from this place to this place already, and seeing if my ADR times are good, etc..
I like when we can work them into other plans in a convenient way, but this one was really out in left field. It made no sense in our schedule and was just there because I wanted to eat there and couldn't find anywhere else to put it. Luckily, there is good dining to be had at the Poly!
man, I feel like I have to stand up for the husbands again
You are the official DIS-husband representative of this TR!
As someone two kids and a third on the way I can first say that going from 1 to 2 was a big change - actually more than I thought it would be (everything I have heard is going from 2 to 3 isn't a big deal .... we'll see) ... BUT you figure it out. You figured out how to go from 0 to 1 you will figure out how to handle 2.
Hmmm, not sure about anyone else, but I'm not all psyched up yet...
As far as sharing the workload, you have to figure out what works. I do most of the cooking at our house and often do dishes and help carry laundry (plus typical "guy" jobs like taking out the garbage, etc.). Also, I get up early with the kids and feed them breakfast and stuff - but then get a "break" during the day at work ... you just have to figure out what works for you
I think that is the major issue in our house. And it's something that I've never been able to "fix", no matter what approach I take. The ONLY chore that Dug does reliably (well, except the weeks where he forgets
) is take out the trash and recycling. His other "job" is to load the dishwasher, but he puts it off so long that I end up doing it at least half the time (and my "job" is to unload, so I'm doing both). He does do his own laundry most of the time, though, so there is that. He really doesn't clean at all - and usually makes messes. I learned a long time ago that I need to strike a balance between cleanliness and keeping my sanity - so our house is usually in only a "tolerable" state so that I don't stew about having to clean up after him all the time. This is probably more than anyone needs to know. But, suffice it to say, that husbands who do their fair share around the house, especially voluntarily, are pretty awesome.
The other factor that is BIG for us is that we both have 1-hour++ commutes each way. Which means that I get up crazy early and leave by 6am (Dug has to do daycare drop-off, since 7am is the earliest), then I have to leave work around 3:30pm so that I can get home to pick Izzy up by the 5pm deadline, however Dug doesn't make it home until after 6pm, at best, due to his later start. Point is, it is difficult to do anything with a schedule like that. And, clearly, you can tell by when I post my updates, I am a night person and not very good at going to bed early to get enough sleep. So, that's not helping my "another kid" mindset either. We are both sort-of looking for new jobs without commutes.
However, I will say that I almost felt like Dug was lurking these comments tonight, though (pretty sure he wasn't). For whatever reason, he was incredibly helpful!!! He had worked from home today, so was already there and wrapping up work when I got home with Izzy. Rather than his usual sit-in-recliner-with-computer-and-phone routine, he played with Izzy, changed a diaper, cooked dinner (well, it was in the crockpot during the day, but he did it), put dinner on the table, etc. I got to leisurely prepare coupons for my grocery run tonight. It was SO nice. Gave me a taste of what it could be like (because this is NOT the norm around here). So nice to not be on toddler-duty every waking moment.
Going from 1 to 2 kids was hard for us. I can honestly (unfortunately) say I didn't like my husband very much for several months. Of course, our 2nd child was the demon baby so that didn't help much. She's almost 5 years old now and still doesn't sleep well.
Going from 2 to 3 was a breeze. I finally felt sane again. I can't explain why 3 kids is easier but it is. It almost makes me want to try for a 4th.
Through each rough spot, I always remind myself that people choose, on purpose, to have more kids than we do. That they willingly try to have more than X number of kids. It has to get better or no one would have X+1 kids. That argument gets a little weaker if you have 4 kids because families of 5 or more kids are rare. I think I better stick with the 3 that I have now.
Man, with a comment like this, people are going to pop in and think they missed an announcement.
(No announcements like that here, folks!)
Thanks for your thoughts and that makes sense. Though, again, not very encouraging about a second...but it sounds like TheMaxRebo is pulling into Easy Street with his 3rd almost here.
Realistically, for us, all of this is a just a theoretical discussion anyway. We don't know if we'll even be able to have a second (or more). Izzy took 2.5 years and was still, well, kind-of a lucky fluke.
Okay, enough deep thoughts for tonight....moving on....
Hi!! So glad to see the great pics from the poly photoshoot! Neat you got the waterfall too, though I love the outside shots.
Hi! Thanks - I was really happy with how the pictures turned out! Thanks for being one of the people that gave me the idea to do it!
Kona looks great! I wish there were easier transportation options to get to resorts. It's the main reason I get a car! And resort hop lol! Brrr on the pool though, it was def a chilly time to swim.
For early morning and later evening ADRs at resorts, I can absolutely see why a car would be easier. Otherwise, we generally figure out a reasonable way to work things in using Disney transportation, but I would imagine just driving is still more efficient most of the time.
Yeah, it was chilly for a swim. Wish we'd had time while it was still light out - the warm sun would have helped a lot!
Why had he not wondered why I was gone so long? What did he think I was doing? Did he think I was taking care of Izzy and also bringing up food for him? Why wasnt he helping with anything? Why did he expect me to do everything while he just sat and relaxed? When I got up to his table, some version of all that came out. I think I might have gotten some attention from nearby tables for laying into him (quietly, but still). I really didnt care, though. Looking back now, 6 months later, it seems kind-of silly. But, as any mom who has felt like they were on baby-duty 24/7 can tell you, that sort of thing will really grate on your nerves seeing the other parent enjoying some alone time and just assuming that you will do all the work. 
what can I say - I am who I am.
We are really lucky that we found a mom friend that also does great family photo shoots, so we've had Izzy's 1 year and 18 month photos taken by her for about the same price and all shots electronically (and she's spent a ton of time with us). But, otherwise, getting family photos can be CRAZY expensive! 
Glad she did such a good job with him!
It's really tough to be stuck with all those questions and the frustration that builds from them. 
Enjoy all your DIS-reading! 
Really depends what type of food you're in the mood for. If you want some fish or broccoli, CHH. If you want a burger or taco salad, Pecos Bill.
and thank you! 
Not unhappy about it, by any means, but a bit amazed that this is my life. So, in order to sort everything out, thought I would just do a post to summarize everything until I can manage to get any actual stand-alone pre-trip-reports going. I have to admit, I actually just went around my house and snapped a few pictures to post so this wasnt ALL words, ha! 
ESPECIALLY when Disney announces something like Frozen Summer Fun and you have a toddler that can use the AppleTV remote to load up and watch Frozen all by herself yes, shes obsessed! 
In case you were wondering, the answer to Do you want to build a snowman? is ALWAYS, Yeah!!! 
Im fairly confident that I will have at least another $50 Disney Gift Card before the trip. You can do the math. It makes me want to do a TheMaxRebo thing: A+B+C+D+E = foolish and irresponsible NOT to go! 
(Okay, so we could do that through April here, but still). I hope she is still as into Frozen by the time we go. It will be so amazing to see her immersed in something she loves. Plus, well get to do some other (non-Frozen) things that we didnt have a chance to do last trip.
I just so happened to be unbelievably lucky and was looking while Delta had their major price glitch. Well, long story short, the in-laws already took their dirt-cheap trip to Hawaii and we rented DVC points at a bargain price and are coming up on ours!
