Disney Bucket List: Events

Events is the fourth list in my Disney World Bucket List(s) and these things I am really excited about! I would have added the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival to the list, but we were there while it was going on last year and will be this year as well. It's so beautiful to see all the flowers and neat to see what they can create out of simple flowers and bushes/trees. If you have never been - I highly recommend going to WDW during the festival for some beautiful sights.

* Attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
* Attend Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
* See the Braves play at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

What special events would you like to see at Disney?


Here is a map to find all my Disney Bucket List(s):
Bucket List: Disney World Style
Disney Bucket List: Food/Character Dining
Disney Bucket List: Resorts
Disney Bucket List: Rides/Shows/Shopping

Amanda

Disney Bucket List: Rides/Shows/Shopping

This is the third list of my Disney Bucket List(s). When we went to WDW last year, we got to go on a ton of rides that I planned on and wanted to, so I won't add those to my list. Also, I had back surgery (have had back problems since I was 18) last June so I am unable to ride all roller coasters and rides that are jerky or bad for people with back problems.

I decided to add Shows and Shopping because there aren't many "rides" that I have on my list, so this way I can get more on it!

* Ride in Downtown Disney's Character in Flight Balloon
* Go on a behind the scenes tour
* Take Big N on a fishing excursion
* Go to a Cirque du Soleil show
* Get Little N to be able to ask a question to Crush in "Turtle Talk with Crush"
* See Illuminations at Epcot (did this as a child, but want to experience it as an adult)
* See every parade in one trip
* See the Beauty and the Beast show
* Get a Christmas ornament at the Christmas store in Downtown Disney
* Make our own Rice Krispie treat at Goofy's Candy Co.
* Design our own t-shirts at the Disney's Design-A-Tee shop

Characters in Flight Balloon in Downtown Disney

Illuminations at Epcot

What are your must buy sourveniers? What rides or shows do you do every trip?

Here is a map to find all my Disney Bucket List(s):
Bucket List: Disney World Style
Disney Bucket List: Food/Character Dining
Disney Bucket List: Resorts

Amanda

Wordless Wednesday

Photography done by MelanieAPhotography!

The picture on the left is of Little N when he was 18 months old and my dear friend Melanie starting photographing him. The picture on the right is his 3 year old shoot that Melanie did for us just last week. He has grown so much!

Ok, I know it's supposed to be Wordless Wednesday, but I had to explain :)

Amanda

Disney Bucket List: Resorts

This is the second list of my Disney Bucket List(s). I have never stayed at a Disney resort, so this one is very important for me to be able to cross off as soon as I can!

* Stay at any Disney hotel!
* Stay at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
* Stay at the Grand Floridian
* See the Gingerbread house at Christmas time at the Grand Floridian
* Resort hop to see all of them in one trip
* Watch the Electric Water Pageant and Wishes from the beach of the Polynesian resort
* Stay at The Beach Club

Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

What is your favorite resort to stay at? Do you have any secrets or tips to share with me about a Disney resort?

Here is a map to find all my Disney Bucket List(s):
Bucket List: Disney World Style
Disney Bucket List: Food/Character Dining

Amanda

Disney Bucket List: Food/Character Dining

This is my Disney bucket list for anything that deals with food and character dining. This is probably one of my longest list as I LOVE to eat and try new things, especially sweets!

* Eat the "Kitchen Sink" at Beaches and Cream
* Eat a Dole Whip
* Eat a cupcake at Starring Roles
* Do all of the Character breakfast/lunch/dinners
* Attend the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show at the Polynesian
* Enjoy a Chef's Table dinner at Victoria & Albert's
* Have a bowl of Strawberry Soup at Cinderella's Royal Table
* Eat chocolate from each of the countries in World Showcase
* Eat something sweet from Main Street Bakery
* Try all the drinks at Club Cool in Epcot
* Try as many Quick Service restaurants as we can




Kitchen Sink Sundae at Beaches and Cream
















Strawberry Soup at Cinderella's Royal Table



What are your favorite places to eat? Which quick service resteraunts are your favorite?
Here is what you missed if you are just joining us:
Bucket List: Disney World Style

Amanda

Blog Post Fail

Today is my first day back to work after our wonderful Disney vacation and it's not very fun. We went from 80 degree sunny weather without one drop of rain in Orlando to 65 degree weather and storms all weekend here in Alabama.

So sorry about my lack of blogs last week while I was out of town. I had all of my Disney Bucket List ready to go and thought I had to to post on different days, but apparently I didn't set it up right so they are still sitting as drafts. But don't worry - I will post them this week and be able to let you know which ones I was able to cross off the list on this vacation!!

I plan to have a recap of our trip (with pictures) up sometime this week or early next week. We had such a great time!!! The weather was perfect and the crowds weren't too bad. I can't wait to tell you about everything we did!

Amanda

Disney World . . . here we come!!!

We are headed to Disney World in just 4 short hours!!

We will be driving overnight so the little ones can sleep most of the way (and the adults can keep their sanity!). The trip is about 10 hours for us, so with 4 adults driving, that is only about 2 1/2 hours a piece. We plan on getting into Orlando early morning and stopping at Perkins for breakfast. This is a tradition in Michelle's family, so we thought it would be fun to join in and be a part of it!

After a nice breakfast and stretch of the legs, we hope to check in to our room. If it's not available, we are going to begin to explore Downtown Disney! If it is, we will be unloading the car and heading to the grocery store for the essentials.

Our families have taken many trips together over the 6 years we have known each other. From trips to where it was just the adults (newly married!) to trips with our kids. Atlanta, Gatlinburg, Gulf Shores - we've been to some fun places. But I have to say I am most looking forward to spending time with our great friends in the most magical place on earth!

I am looking forward to enjoying all our time together and seeing the smiles and joy our children will get out of a ride or meeting their favorite character. I know we will make many memories on this trip together and will remember it forever!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend and week. I have some posts scheduled and when I get back home I will recap our trip!

Nicholas dressed as Mickey for Halloween 2010

Amanda

New Winners for Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce!!

Well, neither one of the winners for the 2 bottles each of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce emailed me to claim their prize. So that means I get to draw 2 new winners!

Congratulations goes to:

Alicia and Rachel

Please email me at mommyworking@gmail.com within 48 hours to claim your prize.

Amanda

Bucket List: Disney World Style

The past few weeks I have been immersing myself once again in all things Disney. Although, different from last year - I have been reading tons of Disney blogs to get ideas, tips and tricks for our trip this year and in the years to come. There has been one thing that really caught my eye on several of the blogs that I have been reading . . . a Disney Bucket List.

I wanted to write a disney bucket list of my own, but once I started putting all the things down I wanted to do, I realized the list would be out of control! Therefore, I have decided to break my list up into several smaller list with specific categories. I will have 5 different lists: Food/Character Dining, Resorts, Rides, Events and Memories.

Basically a Bucket List is a list of things you want to do before you die. In this case - these things all have to do with Disney. I LOVE this idea!! I will keep these list and as I am able to do them, I will cross them off and link to the blog post about it.

I also will leave it open and add to it as new things come up and I learn more and more about cool things to do in Disney World!

What is on your Disney bucket list? Do you have any suggestions for me to have on my bucket list?

Amanda

Wordless Wednesday



(From left to right) Derek (BIL), Abraham (FIL), Big N in Disney 2010



And the Winners are . . . . .

So sorry I completely forgot to post the winners on Saturday!

Here are the winners:

1.) The Vail Family

2.) DaisyGirl

Congratulations! You will each receive 2 bottles of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce to try!

Please email me with your contact information so we can get those bottles out to you! You will have 48 hours to claim your prize or I will choose a new winner.

Thank you to everyone who particpated and thanks to Country Bob's for hosting the giveaway!!

Menu Plan Monday ~ March 14th

Last week I did fairly good with sticking to our menu, until Friday. The weekend I didn't end up cooking one meal at home, so we will have those meals when we get back from our trip.

This week is going to be busy with packing/working and getting ready to leave on Thursday, so I am doing simple meals that can be made quickly.

Check out OrgJunkie for more menu plans and recipes!

Here is our menu for this week:

Monday: Chicken Nuggets & fries

Tuesday: Taco Salad

Wednesday: Spaghetti

Thursday: Chick-Fil-A (we are leaving for Disney so we are eating on the road)

Friday - Sunday: We will be in Disney World!!!

Amanda

Opposites Attract

I am a planner. I LOVE to plan everything, from birthday parties, baby showers, vacations, etc.!

Big N is not a planner. He is a go-with-the-flow kind of guy.

I am totally jealous of his attitude and I drive him crazy with mine.

I wish I could be more like him and I really do try sometimes, but it's just not in my nature to NOT plan things. Since we are leaving for Disney in just 1 week, plus Little N's birthday party is in 2 weeks - I have been going plan crazy lately.

I think I might have gotten a little carried away with it too. Yesterday I spent several hours planning our meals for our Disney Trip for 2012. Yes, you read that right: 2012. We haven't even gone on this year's trip and I am already planning next years. I *might* need a little bit of help.

Anywho . . . I drove Big N crazy last night talking about which restaurants I wanted to try out next year (we already have a plan for this year) and which character meals we should do and why. Although, he was a good sport and actually listened to what I was saying, while nodding his head and agreeing every now and then as appropriate.

Thankfully, Big N is forgiving and overlooks my obsessive planning. When I go a little too far, he brings me back to reality but he mostly just lets me indulge in it!

Now back to my regularly scheduled planning :)

Amanda

Let the Countdown Begin!

In just 10 days we will be heading to the most magical place on Earth . . .  Disney World!!!

Last year, Big N's parents took the whole family to Disney World. We were gone for 10 days and it was fabulous! We had so much fun and were actually down there for Little N's 2nd birthday, so that made it even more special.

A wonderful lady at our church gave us and great friends of our a free week (through her time share) at any place we wanted. The first place we thought of was Disney! My friend, Michelle, has been going to Disney every year (or multiple times a year) since she was younger and her parents are DVC members. I have been in love with Disney since last year, so it was perfect for all of us! We booked it right away, and it ended up being the same week we went last year - which falls during Little N's birthday!

We have been planning our trip for about 8 months now, and I can't believe it's almost time to go. We have been planning our days, where we are going to eat at, plus a little special surprise that Michelle and I have in store for the boys :)

There will be 6 of us total: Big N, me, Little N, Michelle, Brian and Brooklynn (she is almost 4). We are driving down in Michelle's van together to save on gas and driving time (10 hour trip w/2 toddlers - one who is potty training - could be a mess!) Thankfully, all the adults can drive, so we will each just drive about 2 1/2 hours. Plus, we plan on heading out for Disney Thursday night so the kids and I will be able to sleep most of the way there.

I am going to have several posts in the weeks following our trip where I give more information about Disney and all the fun and fantastic things you can do there! I am by no means an expert, just someone who is learning as I go and enjoy sharing with all of you.

I will leave you today with a few pictures of our trip last year!

Amanda

Menu Plan Monday ~ March 7th

These next two weeks are going to be very hectic around our house! We are leaving for our Disney World vacation in less than 2 weeks and I am planning Little N's birthday party (which will be 2 days after we get back from our week long vacation).

Needless to say, I didn't do that great with last week's menu plan, but hope to use up most of the meat and things we have this week and next so we don't have to throw away good food before our trip. Here is my menu plan for the week:

Monday: Chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, corn

Tuesday: Honey Glazed Chicken Stir Fry

Wednesday: Beef and Bean burritos

Thursday: Working @ Melanie's

Friday: Creamy Pesto Chicken Casserole

Saturday: Chicken Quesadillas

Sunday: Crockpot Cheesy Chicken and Rice

Don't forget to check out OrgJunkie for tons more Menu Plans and recipes!

Amanda

Wordless Wednesday - My silly Prince!

UnHealthy Obsession

OK, so lately I have been obsessing over something. This something is not very healthy for me either. But I just can't help it - I love it! Alfredo sauce!!!

When we go to an Italian restaurant I always get the Fettuccine Alfredo - no matter what. Now, Big N can't stand it for some reason. I'm not sure what he has against the wonderful, creaminess that is alfredo sauce, but he doesn't like it. So maybe it get it partly to annoy him, but mostly because it tastes so delicious!

At home, I like to eat Bertolli Alfredo Sauce. It tastes so good and is perfect with any kind of pasta! Plus, it so simple and easy to make a meal out of! I just cook up some pasta (penne, fettuccine, whatever I have on hand), drain, then add the sauce to the pot of noodles.

I also found recently that I have been missing out on something really special. I am a big fan of Parmesan cheese (really any cheese!), but about a week ago I bought a tub of real shredded Parmesan cheese to try out. It is fantastic and has such a different taste than what we've been eating. I cannot believe I've never tried it before. It just makes my Alfredo sauce that much better!

Unfortunately for my waist line, this habit of eating this delicious and creamy meal is not very healthy. Although, I haven't felt good in over a week, so I treated myself a couple few several times this week with this yummy meal! I think I will have to moderate my intake to make sure my pants still fit as they should :)

Amanda