This weekend, we decided to take the kids to DisneyWorld to celebrate Andrew’s 5th birthday. I had absolutely nothing to do with Scott’s selection of attire and this just goes to show you how much this man loves me, by wearing the SteamyKitchen shirt that I made him.
Traveling with kids and especially going to theme parks where it takes 3 hours just to walk back to your car because you have to catch the train to catch the monorail to catch the parking tram to then forget where you parked your car in the sea of 50,000 minivans and then head back to the park the same way. So you want to make sure you’ve got it all and when the kids were babies, we used to pack everything in 30 foot trailer and drag that behind us rickshaw style. Yes, I was one of those freakish parents who wanted to be prepared for any situation. Hungry for deep fried ice cream with bubblegum jewels while pretending to be a pirate? I’ve got you covered.
And every year that goes by, we are able to lug less and less. No more diapers, wipes, strollers and 5 changes of clothing. We’ve graduated to a DELUXE fanny pack, as modeled by my husband:
Sorry for the porn music…I just couldn’t resist.
As we were in Tomorrowland, I saw something that made me shriek with laughter. It’s very rare that I come across a situation that makes my body uncontrollably convulse into the most annoying human in on the planet. And especially at Magic Kingdom, where the park is really designed for kids. Yes, it’s really cool to watch the kids totally have fun, but there’s just something about people wearing big, furry, fuzzy costumes with heads the size of a giant water tower that makes the mother in me uncomfortable. Are they hot? How can they breathe? Can they see? How much do they get paid to wear this 50,000 pound costume in 95F Florida summer with 10,000% humidity? All these questions and I start feeling sorry for these people and I have an urge to unzip their costume and throw a bucketful of ice cubes down their backs.
We had just come from AdventureLand, where were rode the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and the boys wanted pirate toys. They chose the light-up pirate gun and I happily paid the $10 each for them, because the other thing they were eyeing was the $40 dress up costume (and you know I’d have anxiety issues over that!)
So we get to TomorrowLand…you’ll have to watch the short clip. I just love the part where Nathan (3 1/2yrs old) doesn’t even say a word, calmly picks up his gun and shoots the robotic trash can.
Of course, I’ve just disqualified myself from winning the Mother of the Year award since I egg on my other kid to shoot him too. I just have one thing to say to defend my obnoxious behavior. When alien forces attack planet Earth, I’m standing behind my kids.
(btw Andrew is wearing a big “Happy Birthday Andrew” button)
Did you see the guy at the end talking and controlling the trash can? He was so sly, dressing in regular street clothes and looking very Keanu Reeves. He wore a messenger bag slung across his broad, hunky shoulder, one hand in the bag controlling the trash can and the other hand holding a voice-changing microphone.
Ok, enough blabber, I’ve got a lot of work to do! In two weeks, 08/08/08 is not only my BIRTHDAY!!!! but the start of the Beijing Olympics and I want you to be prepared. I mean, prepared for cooking good, authentic, easy Chinese food - not necessarily my birthday, though all gifts of the chocolate or coffee nature are welcome with open arms - so I’ll be posting quite often and you’ll see a series of Chinese recipes and menu ideas!
