Wizarding World of Harry Potter

When I was pregnant with my first child I had all of these dreams that we were going to be so close. We were going to do everything together. I was going to be the cool mom. The one she shared everything with. Plans didn't quite pan out when I realized she was just like her dad, and just plain liked him better. Which is good. I love that they have a great bond! But I admit, there are times that I struggle to connect with her like he does.

When we planned our Disney trip we knew we wanted to squeeze in time for Universal Studios simply because that's where the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was. I was pregnant with Mariah when I read the first book and completely fell in love with the series. The books have been in our home her whole life, and when I felt she was old enough, passed them on to her. She was even more hooked than I was, and Harry Potter has been a staple in her life ever since. Yes, she is a nerd and proud of it ;)

My husband didn't care either way about going to the attraction. He never read the books or watched the movies, so that is the one thing I hold over him when it comes to our daughter. Getting to experience the attraction with Mariah was actually the highlight of our entire trip for me. It was great sharing her excitement over pointing out things she loved from the books, dining at The Three Broomsticks (even though lunch for 4 cost us $100!) and being the one that she wanted to ride the rides with. And I got offered a taste of her chocolate frog and her dad didn't. Take that Jason! I think there is also a Harry Potter attraction in New York that I would love to go to with her some day. Until then, here are a few photos we have to remember this trip by.

First taste of Butter Beer

Do you love Harry Potter too? Have you been to Wizarding World of Harry Potter?

Day After Thanksgiving Traditions

Ok, show of hands! How many of you crazy cats went out this morning for some Black Friday shopping? I thought about it. Seriously thought about it. But, I have realized that as I get older, I value my sleep a little more than saving money. I admit though, I was one of those jerks who went shopping on Thanksgiving Day. I ended up going to Michael's for some much needed Christmas craft supplies. My husband and daughter tagged along just to see the lines at Best Buy and Toys R Us, which Allison found the people with their fire pits and tents quite amusing.

I think the day after Thanksgiving is one of my favorites of the year. It's the kick off to the Christmas season, so we always spend the day decorating the house and tree. This also starts our family nights of holiday movie watching. Don't you just love holiday movies? The lights will be turned on outside, Christmas music will flow through the house, we will start on our handmade gifts for the year, and our Elf on the Shelf returns. The girls have their own little trees they keep in their rooms and were so excited, they ended up putting them up after Thanksgiving dinner.

While my next month is super busy, I am looking forward to every minute of it!

Do you have any day after Thanksgiving traditions? If you went shopping, did you get what you went after?

Our Disney Trip!

Most of you know that we went on a family trip to Disney World last week. There really aren't any new tips or tricks I can share with you that haven't already been covered, but I am excited to share some photos with you :)

We spent 3 days at Disney and 2 days at Universal Studios. The very first thing we saw at Disney was Cinderella's Castle. It is breathtaking in person! At night you can't keep your eyes off of it. They have the lights set up to change color every few minutes. It's really a site to behold!

We met some cool characters-

Lucille Ball!

Marilyn Monroe♥

Allison was thrilled to meet most of the princesses!

But the highlight for Mariah was meeting Princess Adalia Rose. We saw her at Disney on our 3rd day. She was in line to have her picture taken with Tigger, but Mariah could not muster up the courage to go say hello. She ended up kicking herself all day for missing her opportunity. As dumb luck would have it, they sat on the bench next to us during the Beetlejuice show the next day at Universal Studios. As soon as the show was over, Adalia and her mom were gracious enough to stop for a minute to say hello.

 

Disney is building a new wing of the park in 2014 called Fantasyland. They have a few bits of it open now, but the rest should be done next year. This was my favorite section of the park. I really felt like I was in a storybook. Here you will find Belle's Castle and Ariel's Grotto. I believe there will be a Snow White attraction also, but it wasn't open for us.

Belle's Castle

Gaston's Tavern

Ariel's Castle and Grotto

We did spend extra money for the Mickey's Christmas Spectacular. It was worth every penny! The lines were so short, we were walking right up to the rides with no wait time, and the character meet and greets we only waited about 10 minutes for each. If there is an extra show when you are going, I would highly recommend paying the extra for the extended park hours. Those 5 hours were the best of all the time we spent at the parks!

We also visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I feel I am on photo overload here, so I will save that adventure for another post. 

I would suggest to anyone who has not visited Disney, make sure you schedule some down time between your days. We had 5 days jam packed with activities, which resulted in Allison having a massive breakdown on the 3rd and 4th day. Seriously, if the child sprouted horns and a tail, I wouldn't have been surprised. We should have added an extra day for everyone to catch up on sleep and just relax. Otherwise, the trip was more wonderful than I could have hoped for :) 

Have you vacationed at Disney? What was your favorite part?

Wordless Wednesday~ Suitcases

2 more days until we pack up the kids and head home from vacation.

We're #1!

Some of you have been asking about how Mariah has been doing on her school fundraising, and I finally have an update for you. This has been one of the most stressful things we have ever been a part of. If you remember, the top 4 fundraising earners get to place a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Easter Sunday. Just trying to find out where we stand against all the students has really been a roller coaster just trying to get answers. We knew she raised $1000 dollars, but we weren't sure if anyone else was close or passed that amount.

Thursday we had a trip meeting at the school. There we were told that..... Mariah is #1 in earnings! Woo Hoo!

We have put in so much time and effort, I am so happy that she will see that if you put forth the work, it really does pay off. We also got word that if all goes well, she will have the opportunity to meet Michelle Obama that week, and maybe even President Obama! Regardless of anyone's political beliefs, I think that will be an amazing opportunity. The icing on the cake is that 2 of her best friends are in the #2 and #3 spots for earnings. Not only will she have this awesome experience, she will be doing it with her best friends!

There is still a candy cane sale amongst the students at her school, but I can't see anyone surpassing her lead by selling candy canes to the students. Just in case, please keep your fingers crossed she can maintain her lead :)

Creamy Toffee Apple Dip is Everything!

Fall rocks with everything pumpkin and apple flavor, right!? Since Jason doesn't care too much for pumpkin (BOOOO!) I find myself baking with apples a lot this time of year. There's only so many pies and muffins and tarts a girl can take, so I came up with a delicious dessert idea that's so easy to whip up, and best of all, no baking is required. This apple dip is so creamy and delicious, I'm almost not ashamed to admit that when I got to the bottom of the bowl, I may have stuck my face in and tried to lick the remnants out. Yes, it's that good!

  

Ingredients:

1- 8oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup Heath Candy Bits (located by the chocolate chips in the baking aisle)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together with a mixer. Chill in fridge. Serve with apple slices.
Keep stored in refrigerator in an air tight container for up to 1 week. 


Easy peasy, and quite delicious! I think this would be pretty good on graham crackers and pretzels too!

What are your favorite fall flavored dips?