Tangled Party: AKA Momma Gets Crafty

Let's jump in the time machine and head back to the summer.  Emmy turned 4 in August and, of course, wanted a Princess Party.  Every party she's ever had has been a princess one.  She was a 1st Birthday Princess.  Then there was Little Mermaid and Brave.  So which princess would be the lucky one for her 4th?  Rapunzel of course!!!  So I did what any good mom would do....create a party board on Pinterest!!!!

I had originally bought the standard party store decorations but with a week to go before the party, I shifted gears and went completely homemade for everything.  I made the Hubs take most of the decorations back and used the money for my craft supplies.  I found a few pins for bunting and other decorations.  I cut out the sun logo that's seen throughout Rapunzel's kingdom and got to work.  I painted it on the bunting.  I made paper lanterns.  I braided 25 feet of yarn to make a Rapunzel braid to decorate our entry way with.  Each girl got a Rapunzel braid on a ponytail holder to wear for the party.  I even made the Magic Golden Flower that gives Rapunzel's hair its magic powers.  I might have gone a little overboard for a 4 year old's party but I had so much fun doing it.  I have set a high standard for myself for future parties though.

Without further adieu....Emmy's decorations!!!!

Making my templates for the bunting and paper lanterns

Paper lanterns in full effect

Tea staining my Wanted Posters

25 foot Rapunzel Braid

Rapunzel braids for all the girls

It turned out really nice

I love the way the lanterns looked!!!

I'm so happy with how it turned out.  I don't know if I'd change a thing.  It wasn't overtly Tangled but if you saw the movie, you appreciated the touches I did.  I'm so thrilled with the cupcakes I made that they're getting their own post!!!  Probably the most exciting thing that I've done so far in my baking career!!!!

Disney Vacay Part 8: What We Learned

I know I've posted all of the amazing fun that we had on vacation.  But trust me, it was not all fun and games. There were times when I wanted to go home (or send certain family members home).  The Hubs and I definitely learned a lot from this trip that we'll keep in mind for future vacations, even if they're not to Disney.

~The biggest thing we realized is that we can't schedule too much in one day. My kids do not like to trapped in a strict schedule.  I don't know if that's because we're on summer vacation or what but they did not like having to eat at specific times, having to go to certain places on certain days, or being told they had to do what we had planned.  My OCD kicks into high gear when it comes to planning trips for my family.  I had every day planned out from the minute we woke up to the minute we went to bed.  After the first day, I realized that things were going to have to just go with the flow. The only thing that was set in stone was our dining reservations.  I think by the end of the week I was okay with waking up and letting the day unfold as it did.

~Don't push a sick kid to do more than they should.  Poor Noah said the outside of his ear hurt before we even left on vacation.  It wasn't red or anything so I thought nothing of it.  He had moments where he was a total terror.  His behavior was horrible and he just wasn't himself.  When he had his worst day on Tuesday (aka he cried all morning and asked to just go back to the hotel) we knew something was up.  Poor kid asked me to take him to a doctor.  And after 4 hours in Urgent Care, we walked out with a diagnosis of Swimmers Ear (External ear infection) and ear drops.  Now we had behavior issues the rest of the week with him but he got a little better once his ear pain started to go away.  I'm not going to sit here and say that it was all because of his ear.  That factored in a lot but he just had some challenges.  But all in all, the good behavior outweighed the bad.

~Keep in mind that you child might freak out with characters, no matter how many times you see them or how many times they say they won't.  We had 5 character dining experiences scheduled.  2 were with the princesses.  The other 3 were with the Disney classics.  Em tends to freak out with any character that isn't a person.  She wigs out when Mickey comes around.  She has no problem with Minnie or Daisy (because they're girls) but bring Mickey or Pluto around and she FREAKS!  She cried and panicked and hid for almost every meal.  Definitely something I thought it might happen but didn't expect it on that level.  She's turning 4 in a few weeks but it was still a scary experience for her.  You might want to take your child's fear level into consideration when you're scheduling character dinings.  I didn't take it into enough consideration.

~Be in the moment.  I'm guilty of being attached to my phone, attached to social media at all times.  I made a conscious effort to detach as much as I could and just enjoy my family.  I didn't take as many pictures as I normally would. I used my good camera and my phone's camera.  Am I upset about that?  Yes and no.  I'm upset because I only have like 200 pictures instead of the 1000 I expected to have.  But instead of hiding behind my camera, I was playing with the kids.  I was enjoying my family.  I was loving the time we were spending.  And I actually relaxed. It was perfect. It was what I needed.  What we needed.

Disney Vacay Part 7: Family Fun

The best way to describe the fun we had as a family is through pics.  So again, I'm going to totally go overboard with my pictures!!!!  Enjoy!!!!

The kiddos having fun

Epcot fun

That was Noah's legit score on Buzz Lightyear.  The best possible score is 999,999

Getting ready for lunch with the Princesses

Riding on a Disney Bus for the first time.  This kid has waited all his life for this and it was his absolute favorite experience.  Pure joy in his smile!

The many faces of Em.  These poses happened in 6 pictures in a 5 minute time frame.  And who taught my 3 year old to "duck face"?

The crazy Crimella's

This picture totally sums up my family!!!!

Disney Vacay Part 6: Cinderella's Castle

If you've never been in Cinderella's Castle, you are seriously missing out.  I'm lucky enough to say that I've been inside the castle 3 times now.  The Hubs took my for dinner there for my birthday the first year we were together.  It was amazing.  Then for our anniversary last year we went again.  He managed to snag a table by the window so I could see the fireworks as we ate.  He's not a dummy that Hubs.  He's a good one!  So when we booked our vacation, we decided that we were going to celebrate our last night in Orlando in Cinderella's Castle.  We kept it a surprise from the kids for months.  I'm so proud of this!  5 months is a long time to spell "castle" around a kid that can spell now.  It's a daunting task.  

We spent all day Thursday hanging out at the hotel.  It was our "pool" day.  Then we got all dressed up and headed to our "secret dinner." Noah had fun trying to guess where we were going based on where we were on the road. He was excited for Magic Kingdom but never thought we'd be eating in the castle.  We had a minor behavior issue prior to dinner but everyone calmed down and ended up having a great time.

When you enter Cinderella's Castle, you're greeted by the princess herself!  Everyone was excited to take a picture with her and it turned out to be the only family picture that I got all week that is "wall worthy" aka I can hang it up. Both kids were smiling!  Mom win right there!!!

Our family picture from vacation

Then, in grand fashion, our name was called to head up the beautiful staircase to the dining room. Once in the dining room, we were escorted to our table where we were referred to as "Lord" and "Lady" all night long. A girl can get used to that!!!  The kids were each given a blue wishing star (to be used in a wishing ceremony later on) and a sword/fairy wand.  They were big hits!  Throughout the meal, different princesses were introduced and made their way around to every table.

I promise she's happy

Handsome man

I will be photoshopping that straw out of the picture later(and maybe Emmy's ridiculous facial expression)

Funniest story ever.....Noah tends to just talk and talk and talk to the princesses no matter how many times he says he hates meeting them.  Well this night was like none other.  Princess Jasmine stopped by our table, which made Em's entire vacation.  She's talking to the kids and Noah's being silly as usual.  Then, out of nowhere, he sticks his hand down his shirt.  We're all asking him what he's doing (Jasmine included) and he pulls out a crayon.  I have no idea how a crayon ended up in his shirt or where he actually found it or why he thought it was a good idea to do it with the princess standing next to him but the entire table lost it.  We were all hysterical, Jasmine included.  She tried so hard to stay in character but I think she laughed for a good 5 minutes.  I felt so bad for her because you could tell that she wanted to fall over laughing but had to stay in character.  Major props to her!!!

Poor girl didn't stand a chance.  And notice how funny Noah thinks he is.  Priceless moment. 

I won't even begin to talk about the food.  It's amazing!  Hands down, one of the best places to eat at Disney. 3 courses of amazing flavors.  The Hubs dreams of the steak he's had there.  And the kids get to create their own cupcakes. How cool is that?!?!?

He caught me sneaking a pic of him

And the silliness continues

Admiring his creation

She loved hers!!!

Between the amazing food, the beautiful Princesses, and the outstanding decor, everyone should experience a meal in Cinderella's Castle!  You can have breakfast, lunch or dinner.  I've only been for dinner but I can only imagine how nice breakfast is.  Plus, if you get a reservation before the park opens, you have the opportunity to get amazing pictures.  No crowds on Main Street or in front of the castle...what more could you ask for?  There's the opportunity to get pictures in front of the castle with just you, your family, and the most iconic place in all of Disney.  Don't think that this isn't on my agenda next!  If you're there for dinner, try to get a reservation during the fireworks display and ask for a window table. It's definitely a magical experience. Either way, make sure you get your reservations early.  The Castle tends to fill up months in advance (you can make reservations 180 days in advance) so make sure you get your table.  Although you could get lucky like we did once and get a reservation the day before we headed up there. 

Love this view

It's a magical place and an experience that you'll never forget.  I'm so excited that the Hubs and I could share this with our kids and we have the best memories from that night. I know they  loved it and won't forget it.
  

Disney Vacay Part 5: Characters

Prepare for photo overload!  The best way to describe our vacation in regards to the characters is through pictures.  We had tons of character dining experiences that were unforgettable.

Chef Mickey's

Magic Kingdom

Crystal Palace

Princess Storybook Lunch

Play N Dine

Wreck It Ralph

Tusker House

Pocahontas