Yearly Archives: 2017

When you are planning your trip to Disney, it’s overwhelmingly exciting!  If you are anything like me, you get excited even thinking about all the possibilities and the fun you are going to have!  You are probably also one of two types of people:  the super planner who makes lists and thinks about what to plan and pack for every single occasion;  OR you are the easy goer, who plans a little here and there but decides it’s more important to enjoy the experience then worry about the little details!  Do you fit into either one of those categories?  We have been both to be honest, and living here and experiencing Disney on sometimes a weekly basis the one thing that we have learned as a family is you can’t skip out preparing, planning and packing a day bag if you have little ones!

If you are the super planner you have probably already thought about this and maybe even stressed a little.  Don’t worry pal, I’ve been there and I’ve got you covered!  If you are the easy goer, you may or may not have thought about it but it’s not on the top priority list!  They have everything you could ever want at Disney and that is absolutely true;  but bringing some precious items into the park will not only save you a lot of money, but it will also help you maximize your time and keep everyone happy!

What should I bring into the parks?  What should we or can we bring in our day bags?!  This is probably one of the number one e mails I get from friends and it’s why I wanted to make it our second installment of magic Mondays!  We’ve already covered 5 Things to Know Before Disney, which you can catch up on if you missed it!  I think what’s equally as important is knowing and starting to think about what you will need once you are inside the Disney Parks!

Here is a list of 7 things we ALWAYS bring with us, every single time we go!

  1. A Change Of Clothes:  I always pack a change of clothes for Linc whenever we go to the parks: especially Magic Kingdom and Epcot!  My little loves to get wet and there are many opportunities for him to play around in the water,  even at Disney Springs!  Some of our favorite spots are little splash pad area’s like MK’s Casey Jr’s Splash and Soak Station.  It’s a great place where he can run and play and we can often sit, take a rest, and have a little adult time to just talk.  Always having a change of clothes means we don’t have to say no!  Linc can enjoy anything in the parks that has water and we can enjoy watching him play!  It’s also nice because it’s Florida and well it does rain sometimes.  We don’t mind getting wet but sometimes Linc wants a dry pair of clothes.  It’s just always nice to have a spare shirt, shorts and undies.   7 Things we always bring to Disney!
  2. Water:  We bring a giant bottle of water in the parks! I personally love the Hydroflask because it stays cool no matter what (it even kept ice from 9 am-5 pm one day!)  We have one for Tuck and I and then a smaller one for Linc.  You can bring water or juice into the parks and it’s a lot cheaper than having to buy drinks.  Now, if we pass by a Dole Whip or a Frozen Lemonade, you better believe we are stopping and treating ourselves!  You will need lots of water with all the walking you will be doing around the parks and you might have to remind yourselves like we do to actually stop and drink.  If you are planning on making your trip over the summer, double up on the water and pack a few extra bottles in your bag!
  3. Snacks:   Yes!!!  You can bring snacks into the park and we do!  You can actually bring a family cooler into the park.  We bring a variety of snacks and we have our favorite spots where we like to stop and take a break.  I will be sharing those later in another post!  We bring pretty easy ones that can be thrown into the backpack and then easily pulled out:  goldfish, pirate booty, apples, oranges and pretzels.  I did attempt to take Linc some chicken once but it just didn’t end up as well as I thought it would.  We do have our favorite treats and we do stop and splurge but having snacks with you will prevent a lot of the melt downs that we see happen a lot of the time!
  4. Band-aids:  I always carry a handful of band-aids in my bag at all times!  Our first trip to the park when we were just visiting from Virginia Beach,  Linc took a huge face plant dive in Casey Jr’s Splash area and we immediately had to go home.  It was the end of the day so we were all ready, but Linc was a little traumatized because he was gushing pretty badly from a few areas on his body.  Since then, I always carry band-aids and I’m always using them.  Little ones run and trip and they skin their hands, knees or elbows and what makes it better?  A band-aid!   You walk around the park so much and if you aren’t wearing the right shoes, you get a blister!  What makes that feel better?  A band-aid!  Band-aids are just handy to have and they take up no space what so ever!   7 Things we always bring to Disney!
  5. Sun-screen:  We don’t carry this as often as we should because I forget to pack it, but sunscreen in stick form was in our bag for a long time!  One thing I have noticed about Magic Kingdom especially, it’s the hottest place on earth.  The sun just beats down and if you are sensitive to sun burns, pack sun sunscreen, please!
  6. Camera:  Please, Please, Please bring a camera with you to the parks!  Disney does have memory maker and we do love it!  They will capture all your moments with the characters and the rides and they do a good job.  BUT, and for me as a children and family photographer this a big but, unless you bring your own camera there won’t be anyone to capture all the really true disney magical moments that happen in between!  Some of the most iconic moments aren’t with the characters at all but when your little one puts on their Mickey ears or eats their first Mickey Bar!  It might be a silent moment while waiting in line for a popular ride that your find yourself looking right at the perfect moment that captures your entire Disney experience.  One of my most favorite pictures from our first trip ever was Linc jumping in the water from Casey Jr. Splash and Soak.  Please bring your own camera and don’t rely just on your i-phone or the memory makers!  I brought (the first time) my 35 mm and my 85 mm, yep I went big.  I ended up using the 35 mm a lot more than the 85 but I was glad that I had  both.  Now I usually switch between the 35mm and the 50mm and bring just one!   7 Things we always bring to Disney!
  7. Tylenol:  I debated whether or not to put this in here but I do always carry with me Tylenol or Asprin.  I suffer from really horrendous migraines.  I actually have medication that I take daily for migraines and sometimes depending on the day I will bring one of my prescriptions with me just in case.  Usually though, I will bring something in case I don’t drink enough water and I get a headache.  If you are planning full park days, I think it’s a good idea to bring something with you in case you need it for headaches (from dehydration or lack of food), or for sore muscles, aches and pains from walking too much, or anything else that you might need it for.

Bonus:  If you’re like me, I always pack a change of shoes too!  I usually wear flip flops to the parks but recently I messed up my ankle and have had to wear decent shoes.  This bugs me, especially if you read the 20 Things about me post!  So lately I either wear flip flops and pack shoes to wear when my ankle hurts, or I will wear shoes and keep my flops in the car for when we are done!

That’s pretty much what we bring every single time!  There are days when we know we will be spending more time than usual and we pack certain extra things!  There are certain parks where we bring extra’s (like Hollywood Studio’s always means a Star Wars something whether it’s a costume or a figurine!).  These are our basic essentials if we are going for a typical day at any of the parks and we think they make a good suggestion/base packing list for what to think about when you start packing your own day bag!

There are a few extra things we bring that we will be sharing exclusively to our newsletter friends when we launch that in the next month!  Yep, we are launching a newsletter full of Disney Goodness!

These are special things that we only want to share with those who are truly interested, and they are pretty top secret 😉

As always, we are just a family of three who have learned a bit while living here in Celebration for a year now!  We aren’t Disney experts by any means but we do visit a lot and we wanted to pass along any tips or tricks that we have learned not only from our own experiences, but also from our friends that visit and also work at Disney!

If you have any questions about our Bag and what to pack, shout out to us in an e mail!  We are happy to help in any way that we can!

7 Things we always bring to Disney!

 

 

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Happy Friday everyone!  I feel like this week has been a very long week and yet, at the same time a very short week too!  Do you feel that too?  Today, if you are an instagram fan you know it’s #fridayintroductions, but I thought I would move the fun over here to the blog today and share some fun personal quirks, facts, and things that you might not know about me!  I was actually inspired by my friend Bethanne , who is an amazing wedding photographer who shook things up a bit and shared this personal post on her blog on Monday!  These are just silly things that if we were able to sit down and hang out together for maybe a week vacation you would learn!  You might discover them just by being around me and noticing the little details or you could discover them through deep conversations!  Just for today though, you get to discover them without having to take a trip with me (or live with me) and understand a little bit more about who I am, other than just the goofy, clutzy girl behind the camera!

20 things

1.  I love Coca-cola!   My love really isn’t above the drink itself, it’s more the carbonation and also the association with my mom!  My mom also loves a nice ice cold coke and so whenever I see a coke, drink a coke or even hear the pop of a soda can and the fizz of the carbonation, I just always think of my mom!  Coca-cola was my mom’s (and still is) her morning coffee.  It’s her comfort drink when she’s had a rough day.  It’s her go to when she has a migraine and so for all of my life, coke has been those things for me as well.  And… when I just need my mom, I grab a coke.  I know that probably sounds silly to some, but a nice, fizzy, cold coke in a cup with a straw is comfort for me!  That’s why I drink it!  I can go without it for sure and I have for many months at a time and for years even… but there’s something so safe and comforting that reminds me of mom just when I need it!

2.   Barefoot Forever, Shoes Never!  For as long as I can remember, I have never liked shoes.  I still don’t like shoes.  Well, I take that back, my husband will beg to differ.  I actually LOVE shoes and have a closet full of them.  I just never wear them!  I prefer to walk barefoot, even if my feet are freezing (and they usually are!)  I walk the dog barefoot, I ride in the car barefoot to most places that I don’t have to get out of the car!  I’m just always barefoot!

2.5.  That used to go for underwear too!  This is an embarrassing story and I would probably never share but my parents LOVE to share it and it’s been heard so often now that, who cares!  That’s also why it’s 2.5 and not 3.  When I was little, like pre-school age… I used to not like underwear either!  My parents would have to double check to make sure I was wearing it.  I would go to school looking cute in skirts and then sit in a straddle.  Yep, that’s me, I just like my freedom!  Back then… right, let’s get that straight!  Now I’m a complete lady!

3.  I’m always cold, always!  It can be 100 degree’s outside and I will pack a hooded sweatshirt with me.  I might even be wearing a zip up and shorts!  I’m always cold.  I actually love August and September here in Florida because the heat doesn’t bother me.  In fact, I can still wear a long sleeve shirt and shorts down here.  People look at me like I’m nuts but I am just always cold!

4.  Linc has a T-shirt that if I could fit I would wear it because it suits me perfectly:  I put Ketchup on my Ketchup!  It’s my truth ya’ll.  I put ketchup on everything.  I put it on my eggs, my pizza, my grilled cheese even.  I like to put it on plain spaghetti noodles or soba noodles that are swimming in chicken broth and make it a soup.  It’s a real thing I promise!  I like to put ketchup on chips.  I even like ketchup on fruit!  I just love my ketchup!

5.  I am a total Grilled Cheese connoisseur!  If a grilled cheese is on the menu, I will order it!  If Linc orders a kid’s grilled cheese and we could make one better at home, I still don’t care I’m going to finish his left overs!  I LOVE a great grilled cheese!  It can be fancy (which that’s just amazing) or two pieces of bread with a american slice in the middle, it’s all delicious to me!

6.  I am a hoarder of TV series that I love and I will binge watch on repeat forever!  When I say forever, imagine the kid from the sandlot and say it like him… FOR.. EVVV.RRRRRR!  I will give you examples:  Alias!  It’s my all time favorite TV series, I mean Sydney Bristow was a bad ass and it was 5 seasons of crazy amazingness.  I own them all on DVD and I just watch them from the pilot to the series finale again and again and again.  It drives Tuck mad!  He doesn’t understand.  Burn Notice is another one:  Fiona Glennanne… Bad ass!  Same thing, I own them all and I can finish Alias and start that series and watch until it ends, again and again!  I love it because I’ve seen them all and I don’t have to focus entirely on them.  I can do other tasks (like edit, blog, or fall asleep).  They are predictable to me and comforting.  I know what to expect!  But they are still entertaining and again, the female leads are such strong role models!  I can recommend some other shows too:  Merlin (OMG phenomenal) Luther (also soo amazing and the character development is fantastic) and Jane the Virgin is hysterical!

7.  I never thought I was a TV person until I became a mother!  I realized that I use TV (and binge show watching) as an escape from real life!  That’s so tough to admit to myself and it’s scary to admit here because you never want to be “that” person but if you don’t own up to your faults how can you change them?!  Before we become parents we always say I will never do that as a mom, or my kid will never have that!  It’s funny because the second you become a parent it’s all about surviving and just trying to do your best for that day!  Then you laugh at your “before children”  judgey self!  I have realized, especially after our move, just how much TV we have in our house, and also how much time I spend “away” from my family to watch my shows folding the laundry or resting!  So I made a goal this year to change that!  I want to be outside and present more!  Intentional and mindful friends!

20 things

8.  I worked in a children’s hospital for 6 years before I became a mom and I have a title after my name of CCLS!  Certified Child Life Specialist which means so much to me because I worked so darn hard for those initials!  If you haven’t ever heard of a Child Life Specialist and your a mom who finds herself in a children’s hospital one day… you need to know who they are!  They will become your best friend and ally!  Check out the full job description here.  I loved my job as a CCLS and it taught me so many life lessons but the biggest take away that I try to bring into my life everyday is that life is exactly what you make it!  Children see the world with such wonder and amazement:  even when they are so sick, when they feel good they want to play!  They are never the victim!  They don’t try to get sympathy or feel badly just for the sake of it.  They just want to be happy and enjoy the moment!

9.  My first job ever was at our local pharmacy!  I sold candy, worked at the soda fountain making real, traditional lime-aides (still my favorite treat to this day if I can find them) and then eventually helped the pharmacist which was really great and educational.

10.  My second  job all the way through summers home in college was working in a surf shop!  Those were the best days and I even learned how to build skate decks!

11.  I am a huge empath!  I feel everything and very deeply!  If someone else is hurting, I hurt too and in a big way.  A lot of people might see this as a weakness but I have always felt it was one of my biggest strengths.

12.  I cry… a lot!  I cry when I’m sad, I cry when I’m happy, I cry when I’m angry and I cry when I’m frustrated.  Sometimes this can get me in trouble!  I find it hard for people to take me seriously in confrontations or difficult situations when I need to come across as strong and confident.  I feel like I’m always saying please don’t mistake my tears for weakness.  I am not crying because I am sad or afraid, I am actually crying because I am extremely frustrated with our situation right now and would like to come to a mutual agreement and resolve the issue.

13.  I have a serious wanderlust right now and desire for travel!  I have been to France and Peru with my parents and both were amazing trips!  Tuck and I went to St. Lucia on our honeymoon.  We just went to the Bahamas on our Disney Cruise which was gorgeous.  I am still dying to go to Alaska, New Zealand, Italy, Australia, Africa, Japan and Ireland…. just to name a few!

14.  I have 4 tattoos and am working on a 5 right now!

15.  I have a full shoulder replacement and we joke that I am the bionic woman!  Seriously though, my right shoulder is titanium and that is what allowed me to travel with my parents through Peru!

16.  I am a complete believer that everything in our lives happens for a reason and that there are no coincidences!  I believe every situation in our lives is there to teach us a lesson that we need to learn or to slow us down so we can appreciation what we have in our lives at this given moment!  Nothing is random and nothing is without a plan or purpose.  If we can’t see it right away, that’s OK we just need to change our perspective a bit.

17.  I am a complete clutz.  I trip over everything.  I run into walls (often).  I stub my toes on objects I know are right in my path.  I constantly have bruises all over!  One time on a date, I walked right into a light pole.  I fell down an entire set of brick stairs while shooting a wedding.  I fell of a ledge into a pool while shooting a family session (thank goodness I didn’t have my camera on me) and daily I run into the corner of our bed, that hasn’t been moved an inch since we moved in a year ago!

18.  My husband calls me jowls or gums because I apparently have the biggest cheek walls he has ever seen!

19.  I like real images of play better than sitting still and posed because that is my life!  We are all in a constant state of movement, especially with young children.  Why wouldn’t we want to capture life right as we are right now?!  Working in the hospital I realized that life is seriously precious.  I brought that home and it has shaped the way I live and the way I parent.  I want to capture Linc just as he is in this moment which is crazy active and always bouncing and moving.  I want the life!  I want to movement!  I want the giggles and the laughter and even the “naughtiness”!  He never sits still!  That’s why I shoot the laughter and the movement and the bear hugs.  That’s truly how I see life.  That’s how I want it to be lived!

20.  My house is a shrine to Linc and it’s slightly embarrassing!  We are hoarders of images and prints.  We are also slightly over doing the color blue, but that’s OK!

Life is all about having a good balance of crazy and calm!  At least that’s how we try to live.  We have a little more crazy than calm probably but we are hoping some day it will even itself out!

What are some of the things that you love?!  What are some of the quirky traits that you have?  Do we have anything in common?  Are you a weird ketchup lover like me or have crazy cheek walls?!

I would love to know!

I hope you have a wonderful Friday and a great weekend friends!!!

See you next week for a Magical Monday (hooray) talking about Disney and then some fun sessions in store later in the week!

 

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Linc and I took a nice little trip back to our hometown in Virginia Beach this past spring break!  What happened on the way home was pretty eye opening for me.  Linc and I were standing in the security line waiting our turn to take off our shoes and pack our bins when I realized… oh my gosh, I left my phone in Papa’s chair!  I double checked my bag, even triple checked my bag just to make sure I was mistaken but I could see it lying there in the corner of his brown leather chair and I can even remember getting up, throwing it down as I rushed about trying to get Linc dressed and the bags out the door so we could head out to the airport in time to hit the security lines early.  Now, here we were standing at the front of the almost non-existent line and there was my cell phone, still lying in papa’s comfortably worn leather chair, right where I had thrown it down… left behind.

Now most of you would panic!  Heck, I thought I would panic but oddly enough, I was calm and even relaxed at the thought of not having a cell phone.  The incredible TSA agent heard me talking with Linc and checking my ticket offered to lend me his phone so I could call my parents and have them run it up to me.  He even went as far as to offer to personally run it to my gate since I had plenty of time to spare.  I didn’t want my parents to have to make an extra trip, and it really wasn’t that big of a deal to me so I politely thanked him but told him it was totally OK and my mom could just package it up and send it to me.  He looked at me at me like I had three heads.  “What will you do without your phone for that long, I would be panicking!”

This it when it hit me, how crazy attached we are to these little electronic devices, and why?! Didn’t we grow up without them? Our parents didn’t have them and they raised us to be perfectly healthy and safe adults! So the past few days, I’ve been really mindful of my time and I’ve learned a lot!  Here are some of the things I’ve noticed about cell phones and leaving my own behind:

(Here’s a caveat though:  Tuck did activate my old one so I did have a cell phone to use, not a very good one because it would shut off every 30 minutes or so!  I don’t want to mislead you into thinking I was totally without when I wasn’t!)

CELL PHONES & ELECTRONIC DEVICES HAVE BECOME OUR “FILLERS”:

We don’t allow ourselves the time anymore to just sit and be!  It seems like today as a society (and this is just my opinion) we have to always be doing something!  We always have to be on the move, on the go, on top of the game, whatever the game may be and in the know and I think the cell phone (because it has every single app and all the information up to date at your finger tips) gives you that in an instant is the perfect answer!  It’s the perfect filler of time!  We don’t like to still anymore and to me this is a bit sad because there is so much you can learn in the stillness!  I realized that I need the stillness and silence and as uncomfortable sometimes as it is, I have to create the space for it.  Leaving my cell phone behind (and having one that shuts off all the time) helped me to create space for stillness.  I wasn’t able to scroll through social media as often or check amazon as often.  I actually had to be in the moment and focus on what I was doing, or not doing, and that actually benefited me in so many other ways, especially my creativity!

INTIMACY AND CONNECTION:

This one is a bit tricky because we all know and love that cell phones can create such connection especially when you talk about social media!  BUT and this is a big but, have you ever gone out to dinner and looked around and see “those people”… you know the ones who are on a date but they aren’t talking or looking at each other at all because there eyes are down and totally focused on their electronic device screens!  Have you ever been “those people?”  I think we all have!  It’s so hard because these days we are so extremely connected and locked in that it’s hard to put the phone down and actually be present with the people you love!  So on one hand, you gain connection and intimacy with people but on the other hand, your losing connection and intimacy with those your living with and have chosen to spend your life with!  It’s such a hard balance!  Tuck and I have a rule, no cell phones at the dinner table or after 530 pm.  It’s a great rule.  There’s a problem with the rule though… once dinner is over and Linc’s in bed it’s like the rule is lifted and it’s ok for electronic device time and it’s right back on.  It’s like permission granted and eyes down once again.  It’s such a hard thing to navigate and who’s to say what’s too much time or what’s right or wrong.  It’s a personal choice and every family is different.

We all laugh about the dinner couple, we laugh because we know it’s true.  We laugh because we’ve been the dinner couple.  We laugh because it’s awkward and we hate to admit we’ve all been there.  We laugh because we all want to change it but we accept that it’s a truth too!

IT HELPED ME REMEMBER MY CHILDHOOD:

I grew up in the 80’s (shout out to everyone else who did!!) and we didn’t have cell phones!  When we played, we came home at a time our parents had designated or when the street lights came on.  When we went out as a family, that was our plan for the day and that was it.  If someone wanted to reach us, they called the house phone and left a message on the machine.  It was so simple and actually in hindsight much better for the family unit.  You made your family plan and you stuck with it.  There were no interruptions during the family outing and guess what:  mom and dad weren’t constantly checking in on social media or taking work calls or checking e mail!  Family time was exactly that:  family time!  Everyone was completely plugged in, 100%.  A beach day was just a beach day!  There were no status updates or pictures taken to shout to the world “hey look at us, aren’t we so awesome and cool!”  Pictures were taken purely for family legacy!  Baseball games were enjoyed by the whole family and dinner was just a family dinner were stories were shared!  What a great time to grow up a be a child.  Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing Linc a disservice.  I document his every move and is that a good thing or a bad thing?!  I think for our own family legacy it’s a great thing, but sometimes I wonder about social media.  I realized this week, I’m all too distracted by my phone.  I need to worry more about giving him my full attention now while he demands and wants it before that’s gone and he’s off with his friends;  and worry less about likes on social media!

Sometimes I even notice a difference in his behavior.  If I’m on the phone, distracted and not giving him my full attention;  I notice that his behavior isn’t as great as sI would like it to be.  He becomes frustrated easier, has more tantrums and generally is just grumpier.  And why not:  his mom isn’t fully present with him.  Moms:  Have you noticed the same?

Why would I not want to change that when the solution is so easy!!!

CREATING A NEW INTENTIONAL ROUTINE:

Leaving my phone has opened my eyes and allowed me to see that I need to create a new intentional routine!  Seeing all these things that I’ve listed above:  that I’ve been using my phone as a filler because I can’t sit still or focus on just one task.  That we are so connected on our phones that we aren’t truly connecting and investing time into the people we are doing life with and then probably most importantly remembering how I grew up!  I realized that I want to truly be mindful and intentional now of how I use my phone and my electronic devices.  I mean hey, I have to use my phone and social media for my business so I can’t truly escape it, but I can choose HOW I use it and WHEN I use it.  I do want to give Linc the same kind of attention and family time that I had when I was a kid, so I am going to start shutting my phone completely off when I’m with him, that way the temptation isn’t even there to start!  I think on weekends when we are out as a family that’s a great place to totally disconnect!  During office hours, I will keep my phone on but after that in the evenings when Tuck gets home from work, my phone will be turned off as well so I can truly be present for him as a wife and Linc as a mom.  We have a house phone so in an emergency situation we can be reached and that’s really all that matters!  I realized I have less anxiety when I don’t check in and I’m not plugged in and that’s a great feeling!

What do you think friends?!  Will you join in with me on this challenge?  Are you feeling the same way I am with the cell phone connectivity and push and pull?!

Do you struggle with wanting to disconnect?

Have you ever done anything like this or left your phone behind?

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!!!!

what I learned when I left my cell phone Photo Cred:  The amazing Terri Z

Filed in:For Moms | Personal | Real Is Better Than Perfect SeriesTagged in: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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