tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18898606260881543552024-02-07T08:20:55.705-05:00Me Plus OneTiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.comBlogger233125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-17921924493858048852016-03-04T02:00:00.000-05:002016-03-04T10:00:27.008-05:00A Year in Pictures...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Elena turns five years old today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Seriously?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I mean, come on! Seriously?!!?!!! </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">How that is possible? I don't even know.</span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This past year with Elena has been an amazing year. She has blossomed & her personality has really emerged! I love the way she thinks and feels. I love the conversations we get to have. The way her mind works, she's wise beyond her years. She is confident and strong, compassionate and empathetic. She has all the traits I'd hoped she'd have.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">They are also traits that, at five years old, make parenting very challenging. She's a spirited child to say the least. We have blissful days and tedious days in equal measures. Elena knows how to push my buttons and push she does. I am working everyday to be a better parent. It's exhausting...yes, yes very rewarding too...but exhausting. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anyway...let's look back at the last year, shall we?</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">March 4th, 2015</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">April<br />
Elena learned to ride a two-wheeler this year!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">May<br />
She also played her first season of soccer</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">June<br />
Just look at those eyes...I can't determine if they are blue, hazel or green</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">July</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">August<br />
I just love the pensive look on her face</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">September<br />
First Day of School!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">October<br />
My Little Pony...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">November<br />
Her school photo...she looks like she's in Grade 1 not JK!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">December<br />
I took Elena to see The Nutcracker...she started ballet herself this year & loved the show very much!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">January<br />
My little island princess in Punta Cana</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">February<br />
I found this photo on my iPad. Where did she learn the duck face???</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I am so proud of my little girl & the person she is becoming. She inspires me to be a better mother...but more than that, a better person. I love her more than I ever imagined possible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">Happy Birthday my sweet girl!!</span></div>
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Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-64786837208181017032015-09-18T10:47:00.000-04:002016-01-01T10:48:00.044-05:00Disney World - Day 5 - Homeward Bound<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Day 5 had us up early...but not too early thank goodness! I was able to let us sleep in a little since we had special breakfast reservations at Chef Mickey!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I did the last of the packing & we called to have help with our bags. What a great service l was glad someone told us about! They have airline check in right there at the hotel where you can check your bags & everything! Unfortunately we couldn't use the baggage check since their computers couldn't confirm us straight through to Toronto & we didn't want to have to collect our bags at our stop over in Chicago & recheck them. Since it was just a 40 minute layover, I didn't see how that could work. At least we were able to check in for our flights & confirm our seat selections. They had baggage storage anyway so at least we didn't have to drag our bags everywhere! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This all took less time than I'd thought it would which worked out perfectly as it gave us plenty of time before our reservations to take a spin on the monorail. We'd talked about doing it all week.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We then got off at the Contemporary Resort & headed over to Chez Mickey. We were early but they sat us right away & we had a great table to get to see Mickey & the gang. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Pluto came by first & I inadvertently kept calling him Goofy, d'oh!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Then came Mickey...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Then Donald & he was smitten with Elena & stuck around & flirted with her for a while!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Goofy was next & thankfully I didn't call him Pluto, lol</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Last but certainly not least came Minnie!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Then it was time to head back to our resort for the last time & wait for our bus to the airport. I looked at buying another suitcase as, when we were at the check in, they'd weighed my bag & said it was just over the 50lb limit. I'd thought packing us both into one bag had been a good idea but with all the issues with allowances, I see the benefit of packing 2 cases. However, all the suitcases at Disney cost quite a bit more than the estimated $50 charge I'd be facing at the airport so I resigned myself to that fact. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The baggage gods were on my side again as when we did the baggage check at the airport, it came up as being over weight but didn't charge me anything! Even the worker who was helping us was mystified! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">With that we said our farewell to Disney & were headed home. I was very pleased everything went so smoothly. The excitement & energy of the week seeped out of Elena & exhaustion seemed to set in. Here she is on our layover in Chicago</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">She did perk up when we finally got the courage to ask to meet the pilot. Elena was so excited to see the cockpit & loved that one of our pilots was a girl!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It was an exhausting & exhilarating 5 days! Looking back, there's a couple of things that stick out in my memory as having made things easier or more enjoyable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Renting the stroller was genius. I'm glad I took that advice. There is a lot of walking & not having to drag a tired 4.5 year old around is a big bonus. Plus it was a great place to store a bag of essentials like snacks, sunscreen, etc. There is lots of stroller parking too so often we would park it in one area & explore around & come back for it an hour or more later. Be forewarned though, sometimes cast members will move strollers but never very far, sometimes you just have to look around or ask them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I loved the Art of Animation resort but of course have nothing to compare it too. I was glad that it had direct buses to Magic Kingdom & Downtown Disney but there was still a lot of waiting & full buses. I think next time I'd prefer to stay at one of the resorts on the monorail line. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I was glad we got the dining plan but in hindsight could have used it more wisely. I didn't realize until near the end of the trip that we could mix & match with it, like if we'd skipped a quick service lunch we could have converted that into snacks. I would have taken better advantage of that. The good thing about having the dining plan was booking all the character dining experiences. Since Elena got to meet mostly all her favourites at these meals, we didn't have to spend time (or Fastpasses) on character meet & greets. Except for Elsa & Anna of course as they hadn't yet been included in any dinner experiences. Besides, I felt the dinner meets were a bit more fun & you seemed to have a bit more time with the characters than at the meet & greets. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So many early mornings were tiring but making the magic hours was worth the extra time in the parks. Since we were there in August, when it was so hot, this meant we could be done early enough to hit the pools while most people were having lunch. Being early birds anyway it wasn't so bad. It's that we combined them with unusually late (for us) nights that really made us exhausted. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Lastly, I'd definitely highly recommend the Cirque de Soleil show. It really was amazing & worth the money. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Disney really does do things right. Their service really was impeccable & I can't wait to plan our next visit...but that will have to wait just a bit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Our next trip is just a few weeks away. We are headed back to Dominican Republic for a week in the sun. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Then we are heading to Alaska in June on our first cruise...so of course, it has to be Disney!</span></div>
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<br />Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-44362334826405171852015-09-17T14:45:00.000-04:002016-01-01T10:42:55.881-05:00Disney World - Day 4<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Day 4 was yet another early morning & our last full day at Disney. We were heading to Hollywood Studios for magic hours. I let Elena sleep in as long as I could since we didn't have to get breakfast before leaving as I'd made reservations for a special breakfast there. I think it was the hottest day yet too!</span></div>
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At Hollywood Studios, when they opened the gates, EVERYONE headed for Toy Story Mania...and I mean everyone! There was no way we would get into that before our special reservations so we headed in the opposite direction. It was like a ghost town! There wasn't anyone else around. We ended up going to see the Muppets 3-D. This was Elena's first experience with 3-D & it very entertaining seeing Elena reaction. </div>
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Then it was time for our special breakfast. We walked to Hollywood & Vine and the Disney Junior Play 'n' Dine! Elena was beyond excited to meet Jake, Doc McStuffins, Princess Sophia & Handy Manny! The buffet breakfast was delicious & Elena loved that they had chocolate sauce & put it on everything!!</div>
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From there we headed to Disney Jr Live On Stage. I was a little disappointed. Having to sit on floor wasn't fun plus it was just a glorified puppet show, not what I expected at all!</div>
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We went straight over to Frozen Sing A Long. Now this was awesome! Especially for my little Frozen fanatic! It was very well done & very funny. Elena was very excited & sung her little heart out. It was precious!</div>
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At this point, it was coming on 11am & it was getting so very hot! Since this was our last full day, I convinced Elena to head back to the hotel. She wasn't all that interested in seeing any more shows & we were both looking forward to a swim before our evening plans. </div>
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After a long wait for a bus, we were back at the hotel & were able to pick up Elena's Questcom before grabbing lunch which we brought back to the room to eat. I sure wish we'd figured out that trick earlier in the trip!</div>
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After a brief rest we headed to the Big Blue Pool for a swim. We had a great time & I even helped Elena participate in one of their pool activities: Duck Races! It was a blast! Then we took a quick wander to get some photos around the hotel. Then back to our room to get ready for a big Saturday night out.</div>
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We were destined for Downtown Disney to see Cirque du Soleil! Amazing show! Absolutely amazing! Funny & exciting, really amazing!</div>
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The crowds afterward were insane. It was scary for me & I was feeling a little panicked. I really don't like crowds. I just had to breath & calm myself and we made it back to the other side where the shops were & then we were able to do some shopping before heading back to our hotel. It was another long wait for a bus. It was so crowded & very busy at that terminal. We did finally make it back to our hotel & did a bit more shopping for the last of the gifts we wanted to bring home. </div>
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Finally back to our room, poor Elena was over tired & exhausted & didn't know what to do with herself. I was able to calm her down & go to bed & asleep by 10:30, way past her bedtime! What a long day! A long but exciting & magical day!</div>
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Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-48178408063339898982015-09-16T06:22:00.001-04:002015-09-18T21:35:29.838-04:00Disney World - Day 3<div><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></span></div><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></span></div>Day 3 was Elena's half-birthday! We were up early again & we headed for a second day at Magic Kingdom. This time we staked out an excellent spot to watch the Welcome Ceremony. </span><div><font color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7019607843137254)" face="UICTFontTextStyleBody"><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></span></font></div><div><font color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7019607843137254)" face="UICTFontTextStyleBody"><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjACGi3gGhxo5US5aeVzcLCY2am9BfEWekhR1YjJBr-T-3Vmq24VKwP0SXNdc9-clPJmd86X61TUDpIr6cq-b7ePMiWKh_8oIxx1HrXYZHQdTOyiSbpAF6gTzCgK90w-WFhGidW30ntfnQ/s640/blogger-image-1282359547.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjACGi3gGhxo5US5aeVzcLCY2am9BfEWekhR1YjJBr-T-3Vmq24VKwP0SXNdc9-clPJmd86X61TUDpIr6cq-b7ePMiWKh_8oIxx1HrXYZHQdTOyiSbpAF6gTzCgK90w-WFhGidW30ntfnQ/s640/blogger-image-1282359547.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfgbctOHQY6fj1jeLt-u_kRMwnYtsIBdzL3nIepxfpBbK8DeSYNCTgQ5Vikf4__RFgMai_4wXztXri4Qoq4fwQdNH-cgOHxJ8TV-4AoxBJzZj3M0Zxsd1IqxXCf60YIaFiXIoJfkntDRs/s640/blogger-image--788235186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfgbctOHQY6fj1jeLt-u_kRMwnYtsIBdzL3nIepxfpBbK8DeSYNCTgQ5Vikf4__RFgMai_4wXztXri4Qoq4fwQdNH-cgOHxJ8TV-4AoxBJzZj3M0Zxsd1IqxXCf60YIaFiXIoJfkntDRs/s640/blogger-image--788235186.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO19-u8QF3ZUTu9jeiIFTx1XIxqTFlROCddUp_XBnvsZ5XMOQrqeLRNjwjCS_1DQrKAehaUDayUawNT77W_uDxbOmSdy3vZ2wa7KZ0OP-DHTHCwIuyvaW1hqahb1TY3mN8KM3ApszB9rw/s640/blogger-image--367234384.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO19-u8QF3ZUTu9jeiIFTx1XIxqTFlROCddUp_XBnvsZ5XMOQrqeLRNjwjCS_1DQrKAehaUDayUawNT77W_uDxbOmSdy3vZ2wa7KZ0OP-DHTHCwIuyvaW1hqahb1TY3mN8KM3ApszB9rw/s640/blogger-image--367234384.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCxZVR_SCGdBFNBCLmaG_i19dIxa9qIbBxqmKifUDcQOagTsakNiIWkF0a-ErEfz0RNZv-JxB-Y9pcvPlLj_p0MEEY8pDV8c1b72nU72ZUawsPBkxpzlzR2C6cascBpOpZGibguB1GsRs/s640/blogger-image-1371111018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCxZVR_SCGdBFNBCLmaG_i19dIxa9qIbBxqmKifUDcQOagTsakNiIWkF0a-ErEfz0RNZv-JxB-Y9pcvPlLj_p0MEEY8pDV8c1b72nU72ZUawsPBkxpzlzR2C6cascBpOpZGibguB1GsRs/s640/blogger-image-1371111018.jpg"></a></div><br></span></font><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Tomorrowland was our destination & Elena was so excited! You see, her favourite show right now is Miles from Tomorrowland! She was convinced we would run into the Callistos since we were in their "hometown" lol! I had to convince her they were probably out on a mission!</div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Our first ride was on the Tomorrowland Speedway. Elena loved getting to "drive"! We went on twice!</div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjopDSrj1oASdno32vTW96dBU47x_dJWCJUmRuNgXa5SPFjaHx0DdtrHF3w5Op5M0W3fLOazbXu_j1ctzFKYbnxDkpDo4MjP13H2DvWk1ZC8MHshjUM_0ZM0sj36SVpdEuZAxYoxJK-9Qo/s640/blogger-image-1458521140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjopDSrj1oASdno32vTW96dBU47x_dJWCJUmRuNgXa5SPFjaHx0DdtrHF3w5Op5M0W3fLOazbXu_j1ctzFKYbnxDkpDo4MjP13H2DvWk1ZC8MHshjUM_0ZM0sj36SVpdEuZAxYoxJK-9Qo/s640/blogger-image-1458521140.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Next stop was the Orbiter...that was fun & we rode that twice as well</div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Then we had to ride The Peoplemover, you know, because it's on the Miles from Tomorrowland show! She enjoyed this but it resulted in one little hiccup. You see, since we started planning this trip, she was very excited to go on Space Mountain. Well, the Peoplemover goes through Space Mountain & it's pitch black! Elena does not like the dark! After this, she didn't want to go on the Peoplemover ever again! And now she wasn't sure about Space Mountain either!</div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Poor kiddo! So I figured we'd try the Carousel of Progress for something tame. She loved this! I thought she would get board but she really loved it! </div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">It also bolstered her courage & off we went to Space Mountain! Although she didn't like that it was so dark, she loved how fast it was! </div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpIlAR9m_Suir7h1CQ89IfsNbQm3PsUdSZPARK-5g8yFsIbsEWCzv1VbEwiNheE6vLx0OIUb5rwBrysQN-ESz4lrGwzrT1h0e3z_Md1oz4nSO2QGMpToybBfzmm6lGuWy1P1oYvANKGs/s640/blogger-image--1306456627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpIlAR9m_Suir7h1CQ89IfsNbQm3PsUdSZPARK-5g8yFsIbsEWCzv1VbEwiNheE6vLx0OIUb5rwBrysQN-ESz4lrGwzrT1h0e3z_Md1oz4nSO2QGMpToybBfzmm6lGuWy1P1oYvANKGs/s640/blogger-image--1306456627.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Afterward she said she loved it...but why did it have to be so dark?!?! As you leave, you're led into the souvenir shop & what was the main display? You guessed it - Miles from Tomorrowland! I let Elena study every single item. Wouldn't you know, they of course had Miles' Questcom. Elena had been asking for a Questcom for months so I agreed that she could get it! How could I say no? I'd told her she could get 1 toy on this trip & the Questcom seemed like a good choice. While paying, the cashier offered that we could have it delivered to the Magic Kingdom front entrance or our room. I opted for our room, how convenient is that? The cashier said it would be there in 3 hours. </div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">After a couple more rides, we started to head back to the main entrance to see one of the parades. We got there with perfect timing but were only there a few moments before Elena said, "Why does it have to be so loud? It's too loud!" And she wanted to go. It was very loud. We decided to head back to our hotel for lunch & a rest since we would be heading back to Magic Kingdom for dinner. We had thought about staying for the fireworks that night but after I explained how loud they would be if we were at the castle to watch them, she wasn't too keen...but I had a plan...</div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7I_bNs2z1axu3DTkEOoVtPdWhaWtZdRe_B0WNdptWdw-Gok6fwTvAU4g6NfzgeJxKTWOkJCa5CIRdN23cHQ2blKly6Du00pd_0veeGwdkuS8D4pT2r43wyrmLmvxkE0K7G-7Mw4djRhA/s640/blogger-image-433890573.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7I_bNs2z1axu3DTkEOoVtPdWhaWtZdRe_B0WNdptWdw-Gok6fwTvAU4g6NfzgeJxKTWOkJCa5CIRdN23cHQ2blKly6Du00pd_0veeGwdkuS8D4pT2r43wyrmLmvxkE0K7G-7Mw4djRhA/s640/blogger-image-433890573.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Anyway, once back at the hotel, we grabbed lunch & headed for our room. I thought we'd hit the pool for a while before having to get ready to head back to Magic Kingdom for dinner. But Elena didn't want to swim. I was mad at first thinking it was a waste of time to sit in the room watching tv. Plus I was thinking she just wanted to be in the room to wait for her Questcom. But then thought, why not? It was so hot outside & with the pools being heated, they don't give much relief so it was nice to stay in the AC & rest for a few hours!</div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Later, I got Elena all princess-ified up & we headed back to Magic Kingdom. As we were getting on the bus a mist rain started. By the time we got off the bus at MK it was torrential rain! Thank god I'd packed our rain ponchos. It was so bad, we couldn't even see the Contemporary Resort just across the street! We stayed under the bus shelters to wait it out, about 10-15 minutes then headed to the park. There was was quite a bit of flooding at the front of the park!</div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkYVzvJYj4tohNeuk9QvjGSwnHvRLNLSjea-Ba1SFZ_ECReuOljqw8zRZT4Ge1UPVX2nRMwj9JX2PEhrnPatMt6sH2oRPb03GuXegO1qyTRtDIVAxX_s6XR1wkk0DxeyUQYw2m26Ip24s/s640/blogger-image-508370492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkYVzvJYj4tohNeuk9QvjGSwnHvRLNLSjea-Ba1SFZ_ECReuOljqw8zRZT4Ge1UPVX2nRMwj9JX2PEhrnPatMt6sH2oRPb03GuXegO1qyTRtDIVAxX_s6XR1wkk0DxeyUQYw2m26Ip24s/s640/blogger-image-508370492.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Our destination for dinner? The Royal Table in Cinderella's Castle! When you first go in, Cinderella is there & you wait in line to meet her & get a photo op. Elena was so sweet with Cinderella, she was feeling very royal. It was so heartwarming to see the twinkle in her eyes then she made my heart burst when she insisted I come over too & be in a photo. </div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3Pig6EBOBa0aN46v-fJSxCZ1Va_O9HiZaXDEaslFG_b3PWVDg3WJ42jGfcy8R8Jy2OcjRxE1yCB44O6SOLGSGnLam8znp7k44BTrUdbtDlRAOyjQZuSDQydC2DoXP1TesXcqhnkVVPw/s640/blogger-image-16387947.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3Pig6EBOBa0aN46v-fJSxCZ1Va_O9HiZaXDEaslFG_b3PWVDg3WJ42jGfcy8R8Jy2OcjRxE1yCB44O6SOLGSGnLam8znp7k44BTrUdbtDlRAOyjQZuSDQydC2DoXP1TesXcqhnkVVPw/s640/blogger-image-16387947.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ZnHhWIjuTh-8yVSOEEAS69dHBXug8aXERQFICZDs3zXZd-n8rMDeJuirpsYLVnScZxm3Z0UtGwoNxV1UIY0VXaJ2go8fqs8mCgRmQbH88qzRhHarbAw_jzf9DwmDi26VFmC21uPUIqs/s640/blogger-image--927067501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ZnHhWIjuTh-8yVSOEEAS69dHBXug8aXERQFICZDs3zXZd-n8rMDeJuirpsYLVnScZxm3Z0UtGwoNxV1UIY0VXaJ2go8fqs8mCgRmQbH88qzRhHarbAw_jzf9DwmDi26VFmC21uPUIqs/s640/blogger-image--927067501.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSNXGNPfzoEotIoumR7aH2BXEWDzjLpQKBrDh99nY6m7BpW4q4xmigszTadpZyXEsXYP06qe4q_lpIHPz9P3-W8XkmLAb63IWb1snV4h3uGVAKiZcWzV4M-Kd_-Kfb-SR4p_hxbDZucU/s640/blogger-image--732111963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSNXGNPfzoEotIoumR7aH2BXEWDzjLpQKBrDh99nY6m7BpW4q4xmigszTadpZyXEsXYP06qe4q_lpIHPz9P3-W8XkmLAb63IWb1snV4h3uGVAKiZcWzV4M-Kd_-Kfb-SR4p_hxbDZucU/s640/blogger-image--732111963.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKCgo4qpCiLqHxfS0S1eMHCa4RdBkx4kloLjO893YYGqurQ1nFoMZhtUjcCwivR6-fuL9x8C9YRqdVQy3qczY__s13RluNz9Yr9q-oq59I441Y5BDFJRfHrmrzQRNk2wLS2hgpm0w1-vo/s640/blogger-image--708311108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKCgo4qpCiLqHxfS0S1eMHCa4RdBkx4kloLjO893YYGqurQ1nFoMZhtUjcCwivR6-fuL9x8C9YRqdVQy3qczY__s13RluNz9Yr9q-oq59I441Y5BDFJRfHrmrzQRNk2wLS2hgpm0w1-vo/s640/blogger-image--708311108.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">We then went up stairs & were seated at a great table right by the window overlooking the courtyard. Dinner was delicious, mine was anyway, Elena just nibbled at hers. Then the brought her the most beautiful dessert!</div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3seku_37FbUzt701XokxMVAoT6W1KMymwKE1Jy6X6ZcFxmOixmZujLukKDHspyW_2Es6MDSug90L7zox2CxygY1T70RjgzpY1d6IGIOkKJhHTtG9j9ohztS5Qr2oM69d_h-kwJoxIdlw/s640/blogger-image-579586880.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3seku_37FbUzt701XokxMVAoT6W1KMymwKE1Jy6X6ZcFxmOixmZujLukKDHspyW_2Es6MDSug90L7zox2CxygY1T70RjgzpY1d6IGIOkKJhHTtG9j9ohztS5Qr2oM69d_h-kwJoxIdlw/s640/blogger-image-579586880.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1l-MeNwmFDzV8wH_xMtiFsS4Y8Y00G6iY_FdUrqLgydQ5Bj2aEaHfayvf8rTIoR8FkrHXT_qQIt1zUdC9AgBE6HTAb1yjFHcaRnTqFa99ough634NeOuFco75anMO4vUWKW9SmwvSFnc/s640/blogger-image--2134203514.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1l-MeNwmFDzV8wH_xMtiFsS4Y8Y00G6iY_FdUrqLgydQ5Bj2aEaHfayvf8rTIoR8FkrHXT_qQIt1zUdC9AgBE6HTAb1yjFHcaRnTqFa99ough634NeOuFco75anMO4vUWKW9SmwvSFnc/s640/blogger-image--2134203514.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">During dessert 4 princesses came out & made the rounds to each table. First was Snow White, which made Elena's day since she's her third favourite after Elsa & Cinderella. </div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6V2t7GgUwZJPx0f1_o4x8hkDJ0neKIlUo1B8WDTKASmVgj0TwKE7y217Iv7QJJz-XHw1JsEf38DUUK-8L709CyJL56JbcStEwDkvAM1JT462ITkRT6peA-PTNaZppLsnLrtEhHgv2Iw/s640/blogger-image-595644888.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6V2t7GgUwZJPx0f1_o4x8hkDJ0neKIlUo1B8WDTKASmVgj0TwKE7y217Iv7QJJz-XHw1JsEf38DUUK-8L709CyJL56JbcStEwDkvAM1JT462ITkRT6peA-PTNaZppLsnLrtEhHgv2Iw/s640/blogger-image-595644888.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Then came Ariel</div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCJqkM1NIB0x-Q0YU2c00D6PjRU7xyCzKPKkKjv4sNhC0mNaOr1RYkmWHWNME_KZWZjebT0q9yt6ugJTBRsuV3KPnKQwkkQY5FfVI5LNWgQJ3cZg3Jb3cTXGIRoIu4QJr8Pb_B72GXRE/s640/blogger-image--713288296.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpCJqkM1NIB0x-Q0YU2c00D6PjRU7xyCzKPKkKjv4sNhC0mNaOr1RYkmWHWNME_KZWZjebT0q9yt6ugJTBRsuV3KPnKQwkkQY5FfVI5LNWgQJ3cZg3Jb3cTXGIRoIu4QJr8Pb_B72GXRE/s640/blogger-image--713288296.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Then Merida, who is my favourite princess!!</div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTXE_hyphenhyphenF8FPi9B-VaseaYm9wswQw5KzDj1Rj952MZvz0uBxDLaeiK6dOAmCgFbYXr0KnmQPAJdftRjLcoHB1LdOGnEuI0SxvjNp5zPio2ejfiBHxTANSry5WBy5OJ1fUWogOqoXJDpCk/s640/blogger-image--437422243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTXE_hyphenhyphenF8FPi9B-VaseaYm9wswQw5KzDj1Rj952MZvz0uBxDLaeiK6dOAmCgFbYXr0KnmQPAJdftRjLcoHB1LdOGnEuI0SxvjNp5zPio2ejfiBHxTANSry5WBy5OJ1fUWogOqoXJDpCk/s640/blogger-image--437422243.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">And last was Mulan, which was a nice surprise but Elena was unimpressed since she'd never heard of her before that night. </div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLDZSjM8igc0ukSuIfwghtruew3PzoVfIEmCX2bzjYUv8Z0fs8nnLMe6YATbzxKw_PKUD8rwtu1DuTIM9mKpded74vbQ-tHKEojBmtpP8tgk8-HblJ-XsboQJXoA3NGzQQkzW5LuPsYY/s640/blogger-image--942871360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLDZSjM8igc0ukSuIfwghtruew3PzoVfIEmCX2bzjYUv8Z0fs8nnLMe6YATbzxKw_PKUD8rwtu1DuTIM9mKpded74vbQ-tHKEojBmtpP8tgk8-HblJ-XsboQJXoA3NGzQQkzW5LuPsYY/s640/blogger-image--942871360.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">From there we had to head straight over to Fairytale Hall for the moment Elena had been waiting for most of all...meeting Anna & most importantly, Elsa. Both were so sweet with Elena & very complimentary of her dress and Elena just basked in the attention. </div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4pz8jFgjkemPkXVpwOL7KSy884KTdm45h2kKdmpunZFik1c2VGD7n0jfvid9WYm3SZ-wNgdwsJJiwWwaarg7wn_LN_WUXWtwJTVzWmfm1K6rSxyTmA79BjYus-AcIOszETglguXqpIxg/s640/blogger-image--20879889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4pz8jFgjkemPkXVpwOL7KSy884KTdm45h2kKdmpunZFik1c2VGD7n0jfvid9WYm3SZ-wNgdwsJJiwWwaarg7wn_LN_WUXWtwJTVzWmfm1K6rSxyTmA79BjYus-AcIOszETglguXqpIxg/s640/blogger-image--20879889.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBd2xaQXUsG_8Dhy9LulKc_fv26DTiBAatIu_47fz3tkd_WJk6uwlLUXp21pU-iRCGUqN7KuJvQwbOUQ4JbbA_PtpZsrllI0lmwi8uTdANt2rdfcceMSCSJy4BQ_WBu-4NyUopUq1XjXs/s640/blogger-image--353051228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBd2xaQXUsG_8Dhy9LulKc_fv26DTiBAatIu_47fz3tkd_WJk6uwlLUXp21pU-iRCGUqN7KuJvQwbOUQ4JbbA_PtpZsrllI0lmwi8uTdANt2rdfcceMSCSJy4BQ_WBu-4NyUopUq1XjXs/s640/blogger-image--353051228.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmp0Q4nKtyXvJKaP9lGG1yzUD5a7yQ7aX-mC7Xm9mOy2fLrv4z807-u7pCo3-3eSo_jiomLMaLwPccMpWASYotAFkRx8U6puMcGui_VejZ5U2aIUtg7yHiG0IqPGXKqT1wtK31lUHcNL4/s640/blogger-image-2136554059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmp0Q4nKtyXvJKaP9lGG1yzUD5a7yQ7aX-mC7Xm9mOy2fLrv4z807-u7pCo3-3eSo_jiomLMaLwPccMpWASYotAFkRx8U6puMcGui_VejZ5U2aIUtg7yHiG0IqPGXKqT1wtK31lUHcNL4/s640/blogger-image-2136554059.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRp4m5z3mvaD-z4fJoDBkW8Zj9mgVs7gKSy5ag5sPlqhAFLRS_2cITPsD2FvJU9BJh_gq8S5RtLu4Ufiaye8n2cSrxWIalgCH5KZy5e5vZp-bro1B1nJ5Ds8G_mv0CUqkcpxFtF2ynT7Y/s640/blogger-image--2084334986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRp4m5z3mvaD-z4fJoDBkW8Zj9mgVs7gKSy5ag5sPlqhAFLRS_2cITPsD2FvJU9BJh_gq8S5RtLu4Ufiaye8n2cSrxWIalgCH5KZy5e5vZp-bro1B1nJ5Ds8G_mv0CUqkcpxFtF2ynT7Y/s640/blogger-image--2084334986.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">I then asked what she wanted to do now. Elena kept saying she wanted to go on the carousel. It was right there so I took her & she got all upset! I was confused & didn't know what had made her so upset...she finally explained she wanted to go on the Carousel of Progress...in Tomorrowland!!! What a kid, too funny!</div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTuX1TR70G_UJa3wRDQmvzscWPNW2P8YwrqGM3EzMpU1XE9SgpZpAhSwbUXwEe6Gq1Vll8gASWwLo3ql2NynWwBjl6u1iYb65UzEnIT3rIbfvHpZ7vqTjM1Ju90dts9Pd8uB08YqL_3mw/s640/blogger-image--1834455132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTuX1TR70G_UJa3wRDQmvzscWPNW2P8YwrqGM3EzMpU1XE9SgpZpAhSwbUXwEe6Gq1Vll8gASWwLo3ql2NynWwBjl6u1iYb65UzEnIT3rIbfvHpZ7vqTjM1Ju90dts9Pd8uB08YqL_3mw/s640/blogger-image--1834455132.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyozXO-4fS9CDROhQpPgFtKXRKsIvc1IPxexvda8hyphenhyphenln_-iWYae2B34QG6TELk1A2esQg0hp7mBXqwGufeDJDPvIUdpITschLL60GyMmqEoRqvzjAR2MdstIopybpggYZmW_ziFd70fe0/s640/blogger-image--1661934652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyozXO-4fS9CDROhQpPgFtKXRKsIvc1IPxexvda8hyphenhyphenln_-iWYae2B34QG6TELk1A2esQg0hp7mBXqwGufeDJDPvIUdpITschLL60GyMmqEoRqvzjAR2MdstIopybpggYZmW_ziFd70fe0/s640/blogger-image--1661934652.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">After wandering around & a few more rides I realized it was getting dark! We had to make a mad dash to leave so we wouldn't be there for the fireworks! Elena would be too scared of the loudness & noise for the parade & fireworks...but as I said before, I had a plan! </div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">The first night we were in Disney, after Elena had gone to sleep, I heard what I thought was thunder. Then I realized it was the sound of fireworks. I looked out the window & saw people at the end of our balcony & realized you could see the Magic Kingdom fireworks from there. So that was my big plan and we got back just in time to see the fireworks from our hotel balcony. It was perfect. Elena was awestruck. She kept saying, "wow!" And, "I've never seen fireworks in real life before!" It was perfect for Elena. </div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Once back in the room, Elena was very disappointed that her Questcom still hadn't arrived. It dawned on me that maybe it doesn't come to the room but to the front desk. I called & they said purchases are delivered the following day. I asked why the cashier would tell us it would be there in 3 hours. He said that is the timeframe if you have it delivered to Magic Kingdom's front entrance! Oh no! We weren't going back to MK!! Typical of Disney's impeccable customer service, he reassured me that he would track down the purchase himself and ensure it was delivered to our resort, even if he had to bring it himself! </div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">With that settled, I was able to get Elena to finally go to bed! It was almost 10:30pm! A long, magical, exciting day!</div></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPIsuNuzp8fglGYYSdw5ogPvbROPpxtu-h6wS_NDeYaJDKPrW6lbGh3-og3MCeXlNyYiFysnY1nNz3mg98SIDG77gqxrxNwCQILIZoz081ln5JbDCWVX17Of8li5qUPpiOIJ24lufTGs4/s640/blogger-image--1063298409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPIsuNuzp8fglGYYSdw5ogPvbROPpxtu-h6wS_NDeYaJDKPrW6lbGh3-og3MCeXlNyYiFysnY1nNz3mg98SIDG77gqxrxNwCQILIZoz081ln5JbDCWVX17Of8li5qUPpiOIJ24lufTGs4/s640/blogger-image--1063298409.jpg"></a></div><br></div>Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-14560532811120104462015-09-13T12:30:00.001-04:002015-09-13T12:43:38.337-04:00Disney World - Day 2<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">Day 2 at Disney started very early. I didn't have a good sleep & was slow moving. I knew we had to get down early for breakfast in order to make it for magic hours at Magic Kingdom. We were first on the bus & among the first at the ropes for the opening parade. We couldn't really see the show or Mickey's arrival but loved being at the head of the "parade" down Main Street. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0T65IzFNjD24H3WQzTUFlCcvAS2MnryC9hK6zvO00-Vk58NHEOm9wFqlYMGK5xKmS6bhqQQDyZWpzReBXyimtAJQmfPEbZnGjF8Jv3RWf4nHtjnzYYa8eth1kjuk8SYGXOW4R2BWGWs/s640/blogger-image--304020467.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0T65IzFNjD24H3WQzTUFlCcvAS2MnryC9hK6zvO00-Vk58NHEOm9wFqlYMGK5xKmS6bhqQQDyZWpzReBXyimtAJQmfPEbZnGjF8Jv3RWf4nHtjnzYYa8eth1kjuk8SYGXOW4R2BWGWs/s640/blogger-image--304020467.jpg"></a></div><br></span></div>
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Only Fantasyland & Tomorrowland were open for these magic hours so we beelined it to Fantasyland & had our pick of rides to go on. Peter Pan was our first stop. It started out well...but Elena became very scared, not by the ride itself but by the dark & loud sound effects. Upon getting off she said, "I never want to do THAT again! Ever!"</div>
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After the scare of Peter Pan, Elena needed something a little more tame so it was off to It's a Small World. She loved it. If I let her, we would have done it a dozen times...but twice was my limit! Then we had to ride the Carousel, of course!</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIc0DQPgAQ5XDMBw4JEBpsmEmWn86BpjqvIum4G3V6B_kjpmwbMgaok9Ot6NvlIwE4s5Zhb41jN_F88s-c99LR7krdy-7PkpKwiQEzO4gqLiM4gl8MU5wF6wf-OcBtgKThh2Tyff_vUSg/s640/blogger-image-622066855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIc0DQPgAQ5XDMBw4JEBpsmEmWn86BpjqvIum4G3V6B_kjpmwbMgaok9Ot6NvlIwE4s5Zhb41jN_F88s-c99LR7krdy-7PkpKwiQEzO4gqLiM4gl8MU5wF6wf-OcBtgKThh2Tyff_vUSg/s640/blogger-image-622066855.jpg"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIc0DQPgAQ5XDMBw4JEBpsmEmWn86BpjqvIum4G3V6B_kjpmwbMgaok9Ot6NvlIwE4s5Zhb41jN_F88s-c99LR7krdy-7PkpKwiQEzO4gqLiM4gl8MU5wF6wf-OcBtgKThh2Tyff_vUSg/s640/blogger-image-622066855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4sMWSYJ4uNssWqNDnh66eGVYs2YPemh8iUWNosjIooPc2SqwX1hjKPpO0JfEK-sTE4hrCZJIEsRbM31LBaK0gm85yP4h9937_OfdwDvFzXok-UX44vx1Pa7EdHOHzoBg5-MGdHFjodH0/s640/blogger-image-2008160572.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4sMWSYJ4uNssWqNDnh66eGVYs2YPemh8iUWNosjIooPc2SqwX1hjKPpO0JfEK-sTE4hrCZJIEsRbM31LBaK0gm85yP4h9937_OfdwDvFzXok-UX44vx1Pa7EdHOHzoBg5-MGdHFjodH0/s640/blogger-image-2008160572.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtdO7SWQr5t-C202Yijqs9QqHfNRl0_WpN7h5xmWXkVqsCSoALdLDCKD0H9M8ANAN4J-j-NM0e_6BFs09GrE1L5_71N8iTOhxu9ml-5jURe4Ufh64pAH0Wtq6RPnJVtOHu2X6_ZqFyThU/s640/blogger-image-1628816285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtdO7SWQr5t-C202Yijqs9QqHfNRl0_WpN7h5xmWXkVqsCSoALdLDCKD0H9M8ANAN4J-j-NM0e_6BFs09GrE1L5_71N8iTOhxu9ml-5jURe4Ufh64pAH0Wtq6RPnJVtOHu2X6_ZqFyThU/s640/blogger-image-1628816285.jpg"></a></div><br></div></div><br></div>
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Next stop was The Little Mermaid: Under the Sea. Elena was scared of this one too but we were prepared this time & she covered her ears & eyes during Ursula's part. Once was enough for Elena on that one. </div>
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Next was Winnie the Pooh. I thought this one would be a hit! I mean, honey pots & Pooh Bear? What could be more tame? Well the dream sequence part scared poor Elena. Again it was the dark & the loud sound effects that did her in! Poor kiddo! </div>
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Next stop was The Barnstormer! Now this was my kid's speed - FAST! She loves roller coasters & this one didn't disappoint! We went on it over & over...& over & over...many many times! No less than a dozen! We took a break to ride Dumbo & the Tea Cups...but always back to The Barnstormer!</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4qzP9uqULDkpLvjZF4fay0Cq_T9eYaPneoHZpsXqH2Lz9FQabp52bRacLS5QmcX3-Mm8gE5-73XMxsKp3-8n0vCaEGJf4lQT8rfpH3UZ1B5faT2TdCUX5giST7v-YSOcR_0WGmACJwww/s640/blogger-image--665184296.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4qzP9uqULDkpLvjZF4fay0Cq_T9eYaPneoHZpsXqH2Lz9FQabp52bRacLS5QmcX3-Mm8gE5-73XMxsKp3-8n0vCaEGJf4lQT8rfpH3UZ1B5faT2TdCUX5giST7v-YSOcR_0WGmACJwww/s640/blogger-image--665184296.jpg"></a></div><br></div>
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We did all this until it was time for our Fastpass to meet Belle at Enchanted Tales. Elena really wanted to be in the show & was picked to be a plate...not a starring role but good enough for her! And if you asked her, she'd tell you she was the baker, lol! Not having seen Beauty & the Beast, she didn't realize the significance of being a dancing plate. </div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66qLs1LhUYMjuBfAw0oYM7C03R83zwi65WNCFlUgKwHnqVnyDc1IWJTy_tzzC4u43d24PhMMlNSt0GRiSzmdvBt_nbJXVRX0xhkr6ORsTJm_kft2fgmgytkT4zhCLBBJubiUL8mbM26s/s640/blogger-image-1460256670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66qLs1LhUYMjuBfAw0oYM7C03R83zwi65WNCFlUgKwHnqVnyDc1IWJTy_tzzC4u43d24PhMMlNSt0GRiSzmdvBt_nbJXVRX0xhkr6ORsTJm_kft2fgmgytkT4zhCLBBJubiUL8mbM26s/s640/blogger-image-1460256670.jpg"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66qLs1LhUYMjuBfAw0oYM7C03R83zwi65WNCFlUgKwHnqVnyDc1IWJTy_tzzC4u43d24PhMMlNSt0GRiSzmdvBt_nbJXVRX0xhkr6ORsTJm_kft2fgmgytkT4zhCLBBJubiUL8mbM26s/s640/blogger-image-1460256670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_k3Q4KT_hAkk_ahfTLWT47RtE6IejBhrBVpS1J98JyfPIHV0mIT_g48AxvRP28cbvOd3ZIU84KNSdQcrchmfb8kw0FTWLCYTAyh_k6C8gP9YqrBOctBB3Ysndx6Owdy9QaZGBo5Fbt0/s640/blogger-image--1823952723.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_k3Q4KT_hAkk_ahfTLWT47RtE6IejBhrBVpS1J98JyfPIHV0mIT_g48AxvRP28cbvOd3ZIU84KNSdQcrchmfb8kw0FTWLCYTAyh_k6C8gP9YqrBOctBB3Ysndx6Owdy9QaZGBo5Fbt0/s640/blogger-image--1823952723.jpg"></a></div></div><br></div>
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We followed this with lunch at Be Our Guest in Belle's Castle. I found this a bit overwhelming & a little overrated but at least the food was good. It was neat how they get your lunch to you. You go in this room with a bunch of computer kiosks & you order your food. You then go into the castle & pick any table in one of the 3 rooms. Then you food get delivered to you at your table! Magic!</div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2RoVuh_Ufa7ASm93QwGqpfnuG_uwUr76izkCe6yIMWo85zbm6kJcDYph8ct2u9jVzJqTDyRCBZqMLRhrTY53ZPnuMLIgyIvRLm9wlCXsUD8ol4VL_BCFs3dBb5GelSPyseoQmED8RHQ/s640/blogger-image--800457355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2RoVuh_Ufa7ASm93QwGqpfnuG_uwUr76izkCe6yIMWo85zbm6kJcDYph8ct2u9jVzJqTDyRCBZqMLRhrTY53ZPnuMLIgyIvRLm9wlCXsUD8ol4VL_BCFs3dBb5GelSPyseoQmED8RHQ/s640/blogger-image--800457355.jpg"></a></div><br></div>
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After lunch we were pretty exhausted but we had a Fastpass to ride Seven Dwarf's Mine ride. Since this ride is in such high demand, it seemed a waste not to go on it but we had an hour to kill...so we rode, you guessed it, The Barnstormer many more times while we waited! </div>
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We then got some snacks & took the train back to the entrance of the park. On the train we met another girl named Elena! She was dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow & gave Elena a Mickey sticker. It was very cute. We don't often meet other Elenas. </div>
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I was so dang hot! It felt like miles to walk to get to our bus stop! </div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi44zVwI4yIiwEE8FsOqEvU33LNzFgntZRXrUc870OMxpOuA5O50ibGoH3tZ98Prhb2DoGumyEjR9TfyRdW-nmiL7Qyz93Z4rWXJ2DkbMeR2FEnYiQos_v0n04QOSJqVdX6WM3lJ68Vib8/s640/blogger-image--7061920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi44zVwI4yIiwEE8FsOqEvU33LNzFgntZRXrUc870OMxpOuA5O50ibGoH3tZ98Prhb2DoGumyEjR9TfyRdW-nmiL7Qyz93Z4rWXJ2DkbMeR2FEnYiQos_v0n04QOSJqVdX6WM3lJ68Vib8/s640/blogger-image--7061920.jpg"></a></div><br></div>
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Did I mention how so dang hot it was?! By the time we got back to our room, I just about collapsed onto the bed! Elena covered me with a blanket & let me rest briefly before we got changed & went swimming. This time we checked out the Big Blue Pool. It is considered on of the best pools in all of Disney & it was fun but just so busy! And loud! I convinced Elena to check out the Cars pool. It was smaller & much more quiet & we were able to get a pylon cabana which was so fun! We spent a good two hours or more there, so nice. </div>
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On the way back to our room, I picked us up dinner & brought it to the room to eat. It was nice to eat in the quiet instead of the bustle of the cafeteria. With Day 2 under our belts, it was off to bed for both of us! </div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><br></div><div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitRhlfBnuO11hDjQPKP3i0oB5DzN3H3ZA9ZIwcPGynstPU7-mrUkSY9uLEdyrz54uS-auxfVcRVtsMgOxUJ81PMLV2KVgj3xmjuYm93AI0RWu2LIwUgNOYgVejlumVNuTRxS1LdviZx2c/s640/blogger-image--1272323894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitRhlfBnuO11hDjQPKP3i0oB5DzN3H3ZA9ZIwcPGynstPU7-mrUkSY9uLEdyrz54uS-auxfVcRVtsMgOxUJ81PMLV2KVgj3xmjuYm93AI0RWu2LIwUgNOYgVejlumVNuTRxS1LdviZx2c/s640/blogger-image--1272323894.jpg"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitRhlfBnuO11hDjQPKP3i0oB5DzN3H3ZA9ZIwcPGynstPU7-mrUkSY9uLEdyrz54uS-auxfVcRVtsMgOxUJ81PMLV2KVgj3xmjuYm93AI0RWu2LIwUgNOYgVejlumVNuTRxS1LdviZx2c/s640/blogger-image--1272323894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiShABFG7LHoa9YvcEsy3qThQ_n17edyU39f3TbnQMumaCL-mOk0x4_mPidd_sz56SWwjDzeRkFgulj1sO6C3CXrOao8c6MSUzksd6QqmmMCZ5zATacSoNWIAyr_m6vQo_zyzolWoQLTwI/s640/blogger-image--1870783752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiShABFG7LHoa9YvcEsy3qThQ_n17edyU39f3TbnQMumaCL-mOk0x4_mPidd_sz56SWwjDzeRkFgulj1sO6C3CXrOao8c6MSUzksd6QqmmMCZ5zATacSoNWIAyr_m6vQo_zyzolWoQLTwI/s640/blogger-image--1870783752.jpg"></a></div></div><br></div>
Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-82707335496013130162015-09-12T09:46:00.000-04:002015-09-12T09:46:15.422-04:00Disney World - Day 1<div style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392); color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">
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Elena & I had been planning a trip to Disney World for a while. She knew we were going, she just didn't know WHEN. One of my favorite things in the past few months was the two of us cuddling up with the iPad and exploring the Disney app. On departure day I had to wake Elena up very early to get our 8:15am flight. I turned on the light and she was none too pleased! She said, "I'm tired!" I asked, "Do you want to go to Disney today?" She yawned & said ok. Her enthusiasm was underwhelming but it gave me a chuckle & reminded me of the scene from Frozen when Anna is woken up the morning of Elsa's coronation. The more awake Elena became, the more excited she got!</div>
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We got to the airport with no trouble. The flight was uneventful & we even got into Orlando early. A bonus since we had a full day of adventure planned!</div>
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Disney makes everything so easy! At the airport, we didn't even have to worry about baggage claim. They'd sent us tags to put on our suitcase & it would be delivered to our room later that day! All we had to do was make our way onto our Disney Magical Express bus! </div>
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We had reservations at Disney's Art of Animation resort, a Little Mermaid room. I had my fingers crossed our room would be ready since it was only noon. Not only was our room ready, but it was an awesome room, excellently located! And our rented stroller was there waiting for us as well!!</div>
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We had just enough time to dump our stuff in our room before we had to head to Downtown Disney for Elena's appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. We'd brought Elena's Elsa dress & she was in her glory getting all pampered & fancied up. After that we spent time exploring Downtown Disney including a ride on the carousel & some shopping. </div>
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We then headed off for our dinner reservations at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian. I loved the atmosphere there, it reminded me of Mary Poppins for some reason! Dinner was buffet with Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Evil Step Mother & the Step Sisters making their rounds to every table. Elena was not interested in Charming at all. He seemed a little put out & tried to engage her but she wasn't having it. So he said, "Do you want me to just stand behind her & you can take a photo?" So that's what I did. </div>
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On the other hand, Elena loved Cinderella! Elena was enchanted by her & her face just shined! It warmed my heart to see such happiness on her face! When Cinderella & Prince Charming had their royal dance, Elena got the opportunity to dance with Cinderella & what a special moment! Elena seemed transformed after this & seemed to be floating on air! She started greeting everyone as though she were one of the featured princesses! It was hilarious. </div>
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After brief encounters with the Stepmother & Stepsisters, we were on our way. It was so hot in Florida! Stifling hot! Getting back to our hotel would involve a monorail ride to Magic Kingdom then transferring to a bus to our hotel...I was just too exhausted to face this! So Elena enjoyed her very first taxi ride!</div>
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When we got back to our room, what was waiting for us? A balloon bouquet that included a set of personalized Minnie Mouse ears! Elena was so surprised! I'd ordered them before we left home, a bit pricey but well worth the smile & surprise for Elena! </div>
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It was past Elena's usual bedtime by this time & though I knew I should get her to bed since we had an early morning, she insisted we go swimming! I was so hot, the thought of a quick dip was very appealing so I agreed. It wasn't quite as refreshing as I'd anticipated since the water was as warm as bath water but it was a nice way to end our first day in Disney World!</div>
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Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-16635762388893801942015-09-01T12:47:00.000-04:002015-09-04T13:55:21.346-04:00What we did on our summer vacation…<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Last summer I scheduled our summer to the umpteenth degree…it was a great summer but it felt very structured & busy. This past summer, I decided we would not do the same thing. I wanted to just take things as they came. It didn’t feel any less busy but it was equally as enjoyable!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The summer actually started out with me doing a couple of things on my own, sans Elena. My best friend turned 40 this year. Our original plan was to have a weekend away. Her husband took their boys to his parents for the weekend & my mom looked after Elena. When we realized her house would be empty we decided to just stay home & watch a movie, party animals that we are, hahaha! We did go out for pedicures & a nice dinner. </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The following week I tagged along with another friend & her husband for a lovely evening of a movie in a vineyard! The movie was Top Gun! How could I pass that up?!? Elena was sorely disappointed not to get to come so that weekend I took her to the movies for her second time to see Inside & Out. What a great movie!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I signed Elena up for a summer dance class. She had been begging to take ballet for the past year. I found this great studio run by an old high school class mate. I thought this 8 week class would be a great introduction to test Elena’s interest. Unfortunately, they didn’t have enough people sign up for the ballet class & had to cancel it. They did offer an acro class instead & I figured, “Why not?” Elena enjoyed it but after every class, when I asked if she had fun her response was always, “Yes, but we didn’t do ballet.” The good news is she is starting their ballet class in September. I hope it lives up to all her expectations. If nothing else, she looks absolutely precious in her tutu.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Another thing Elena was talking about was Thomas the Tank Engine. We went to Day Out with Thomas last summer & she was hoping we would go again. I said no at first but the more I thought about it, the more I reasoned that she’d have no interest in these sort of events soon enough so why not go while she is interested. I bought tickets but didn’t tell Elena & surprised her. It was a great day!!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24XUvCYNsy8crzkx7bPeMhVMkpy2sEodBrOLHEzgTWYI9vQxMVKsioD3CT4Mr-y5an3SUmCmszUEYOP6i09izw7R7o7ZQ7ikXUCLbIbt0naasIb-ClcMwjK43sqqry0-HM5eylyIHsMo/s640/blogger-image-1363034331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24XUvCYNsy8crzkx7bPeMhVMkpy2sEodBrOLHEzgTWYI9vQxMVKsioD3CT4Mr-y5an3SUmCmszUEYOP6i09izw7R7o7ZQ7ikXUCLbIbt0naasIb-ClcMwjK43sqqry0-HM5eylyIHsMo/s640/blogger-image-1363034331.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_VPBiDOVtSiD6mB9439TJUwYMqzZRL6Z9N66rfetlr6MY74XzUO92NhULqiGYtOhC7xDc-pOZhb7g-YGvR0BiEZHCfWbhbu8-XGCKWBhHeG4o1KMcW3CdXyyMNbgY6ccROFPM-ZHIcw/s640/blogger-image-1618652143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_VPBiDOVtSiD6mB9439TJUwYMqzZRL6Z9N66rfetlr6MY74XzUO92NhULqiGYtOhC7xDc-pOZhb7g-YGvR0BiEZHCfWbhbu8-XGCKWBhHeG4o1KMcW3CdXyyMNbgY6ccROFPM-ZHIcw/s640/blogger-image-1618652143.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Elena also played her 1<sup>st</sup> season of soccer. She really enjoyed herself…most of the time. I think the thing she liked most were the snacks at the end!! She is also proud to mention that she’s scored FOUR goals in her whole life!!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJVCYOAAB-AA6xuOT3PEk_kNA-NwsGb0ExMcZrIbAGY-q7zOa6ktGzbutzO4p7caMxDcicu6A3PSUxUENHSMdwYOsA-XW45LEVcxDtodzDyIG2UcLbWB4mqOlAdi6N2WCoL3pdSHQABbc/s640/blogger-image-1695946412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJVCYOAAB-AA6xuOT3PEk_kNA-NwsGb0ExMcZrIbAGY-q7zOa6ktGzbutzO4p7caMxDcicu6A3PSUxUENHSMdwYOsA-XW45LEVcxDtodzDyIG2UcLbWB4mqOlAdi6N2WCoL3pdSHQABbc/s640/blogger-image-1695946412.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibnVzDoGa1XtsRn9pFDkw8YvfpH8IcMLqXZRSxZ2pdrk-woP6iyTerZhtQToaI2njYpMpoYLAYhQYsm45yzYowKuGD4INfLgCa2PIWZcIvSe1RScWhMr4hnUkwx0sOtL9wCwUiA5PKTU/s640/blogger-image--1589491537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibnVzDoGa1XtsRn9pFDkw8YvfpH8IcMLqXZRSxZ2pdrk-woP6iyTerZhtQToaI2njYpMpoYLAYhQYsm45yzYowKuGD4INfLgCa2PIWZcIvSe1RScWhMr4hnUkwx0sOtL9wCwUiA5PKTU/s640/blogger-image--1589491537.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIPPO9D-_9tNB_MQ3K-wXU5TE9ePqceUMsUAka1YrU0RRH3LufZDc338oQ_TYbbdQTceZvZ-_moFpXoONU57oSX530d0VEWWpC69JngynaoG2nkSz1DrZRQovY9KTvjoGTn4ZGERTg1Pg/s640/blogger-image--904614037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIPPO9D-_9tNB_MQ3K-wXU5TE9ePqceUMsUAka1YrU0RRH3LufZDc338oQ_TYbbdQTceZvZ-_moFpXoONU57oSX530d0VEWWpC69JngynaoG2nkSz1DrZRQovY9KTvjoGTn4ZGERTg1Pg/s640/blogger-image--904614037.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><br><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">When Elena heard about the pedicures my friend & I got...well, she of course wanted to go too. When we both visited again, we made sure to go. What fun it was!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0WRj1cobpQQ2b3VWEcL7a5lq-I2PR63v4r2wbfSdj6wls_N4glN2Zwze3dyJYW3vyVC0COAXlXydyOa0SkhqucSO6gnwIRGzA5z-Qg08kv1ikie7eVgf5b26Xpmd2zFoO531H3HrbM4/s640/blogger-image--987492743.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0WRj1cobpQQ2b3VWEcL7a5lq-I2PR63v4r2wbfSdj6wls_N4glN2Zwze3dyJYW3vyVC0COAXlXydyOa0SkhqucSO6gnwIRGzA5z-Qg08kv1ikie7eVgf5b26Xpmd2zFoO531H3HrbM4/s640/blogger-image--987492743.jpg"></a></div><br><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The rest of our weekends were spent swimming in my aunt’s pool. Technically it belongs to the community she leaves in but since we were often the only ones there, it felt like our pool! Elena has become quite the little mermaid! She can just about swim the length of the pool unassisted. We spend most of our time in the pool in the deep end now where she is perfecting her somersaults, both backwards & forwards! It was four years ago, when Elena was just 4 months old, that I took her into my aunt’s pool for the 1<sup>st</sup> time. I am so proud of how far she’s come! She’s back in swim lessons starting in September. I wonder if she’ll be able to pass the swim test before she turns 5 in March!!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSiBPGWTM2HXSjKiyHVZmqeh3brHDC51IlcjwW_JWgSlRywrxDAMAyTPJsuYnYrpDrYEw8iXyHD6T1kU8k72GDZUAKox7CBJwEzQyAT9tyR7M_YomDhyphenhyphenluvGOmcT8jEaXTOT-W544XhQ/s640/blogger-image--2141460894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSiBPGWTM2HXSjKiyHVZmqeh3brHDC51IlcjwW_JWgSlRywrxDAMAyTPJsuYnYrpDrYEw8iXyHD6T1kU8k72GDZUAKox7CBJwEzQyAT9tyR7M_YomDhyphenhyphenluvGOmcT8jEaXTOT-W544XhQ/s640/blogger-image--2141460894.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbyvKmjETL4LGAQTbOIJ99MCHl118qMUWXk7hNJO_ZTncx5EdFo3ZfqULXX8CqWRnr6EcceuzgILP8wnGbW3KfvbHjDqwT5NOGF2D47ItEg7Pvi71ipbsiJGwzB_pUrGuIaloySnpHIc/s640/blogger-image-477957899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbyvKmjETL4LGAQTbOIJ99MCHl118qMUWXk7hNJO_ZTncx5EdFo3ZfqULXX8CqWRnr6EcceuzgILP8wnGbW3KfvbHjDqwT5NOGF2D47ItEg7Pvi71ipbsiJGwzB_pUrGuIaloySnpHIc/s640/blogger-image-477957899.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: start; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">All in all, it was a perfect summer. Elena’s last summer before entering public school. Oh the emotions that are brought up with that statement! But that deserves a post of its own!<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br></span></div>Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-75578813143823822862015-06-16T07:49:00.001-04:002015-06-16T07:49:18.712-04:00Conversations about Daddies
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The other day at Elena’s
swimming lessons, while waiting their turns, the girls started calling out
hellos to their moms. They were all just being silly & having fun. One of
the girls called out, “Hi Mommy & Daddy” waving at her parents. My little
copycat waves at me & calls out, “Hi Mommy & Daddy!!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Later, at home, I
brought it up with Elena. I knew the topic of daddies was coming up more often
than usual with Father’s Day nearing so wanted to initiate a conversation. I
also knew she would have more awareness this year than ever before too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I asked her why
she’d called out “mommy & daddy” to me & she replied simply, “Because I
wanted to.” Ooo-kaaay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I said, “You
remember that we are a mommy & kid family, right?” & she said, “and
Gramma & Raina & GiGi &…” & named a bunch of the people we
call family. Yes, of course.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Then I asked her, “If someone asks you if you have a daddy, what do you
tell them?” She replied confidently, “I have a Gramma instead!” That's pretty good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I then asked if
they were working on crafts at preschool for Father’s Day. She confirmed they
were so I asked her who she thought she’d make her craft for. I was thinking maybe
she would say me but instead she said Fifi. Fifi is what Elena calls our neighbor,
Felicia. How sweet!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It also confirmed
to me that Elena doesn’t see me as her dad any more than I would try to fill
that role. I am her Mom, period. It was something on my mind after a few conversations
on some SMC boards recently. I was very curious what Elena’s perspective was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">These
conversations put my mind at ease. I think, at this point, it is safe to say
that Elena is pretty well adjusted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">P.S. Today is my
5 year <a href="http://join-tiaras-world.blogspot.ca/2010/06/lucky-number-2.html">Inseminaversary</a>!!!! How do 5 years fly by so fast?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-22273176981497502632015-05-19T08:21:00.000-04:002015-05-19T08:21:07.189-04:00Oh, My Heart<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Elena's imagination has really bloomed this year & I love the stories she comes up with. "Just pretend" is a phrase I hear very often these days. She has a plethora of imaginary friends (due a post of their own, for sure!) & we are always "joined" by at least 2 or 3 "friends" wherever we go.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Driving in the car this past weekend, we were talking about who was "joining" us for our outing. She names a few of the usual suspects & then says, "And <a href="http://join-tiaras-world.blogspot.ca/2014/02/the-long-road-home.html" target="_blank">Gramma Lee</a> too"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">My heart skips a beat. I still miss her so much, the mention of her brings a lump to my throat. I look back at Elena in the rear view mirror & she says, "I know she's gone, Mommy. Let's just pretend she's not. Let's pretend she just went away. Let's pretend she's in S'awaii & she can come visit."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I replied, "That's a good idea, sweetie. Let's just pretend..."</span></div>
Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-15819477546356215822015-04-28T08:40:00.003-04:002015-04-28T08:40:59.033-04:00Takes Me Right Back...<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">For as long as I can remember, I've use body wash & lotion every morning. I like to pair them so they match & I also change them for the season. A nice Pumpkin Spice for the fall...Vanilla Cookie for the winter...a fresh citrus for spring & summer.</span></div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span> </div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">These last few summers I've been using the Coconut Lime Verbena from Bath & Body Works. I love that one! Now that spring seems to finally be upon us here (fingers crossed!!) it was time to change things up...I went to Bath & Body Works at lunch yesterday. And wouldn't you know, they had discontinued my Coconut Lime Verbena!! I was so disappointed!!</span></div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span> </div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">They did have White Citrus. I knew I'd used this scent a while back so new I like it. Since I was on my lunch, I grabbed it & went.</span></div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span> </div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I used it this morning and oh, that smell. It took me right back! Back to 2010, to when I was TTC. I had switched to this fragrance just after my miscarriage. I had wanted something new & fresh & clean...</span></div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span> </div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Smelling it this morning, all those emotions of that time came flooding back...those feelings of hope & fear...I closed my eyes & I was back in that exam room. I could hear the sounds & feel the nervous anticipation...the excitement. That smell was the smell of many, many blood draws & ultrasounds...its the smell of waiting...it's the smell of calm as I rest after the insemination...it's the smell of waiting for the pee stick to turn...it's the smell of seeing that tiny perfect heartbeat for the first time...</span></div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span> </div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Unreal how a smell can transport me back so completely...</span></div>
Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-69305571704877814942015-04-17T15:04:00.000-04:002015-04-17T15:04:37.660-04:00Elena Lately...
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A proper of
update on Elena & our lives is long overdue! Elena has changed so much in
the past year & I have been lax in recording it all!</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDwZUBX98cVfNuENhF6Lz3owEfQ2KRrCu2FPTyjXjo_zy7rrK2R5cyrXrB7DtWu6WmIFy9pBJ-pdPcAT_yM20TCI0szs4J-rXg5aLJf67-pwdLeAkR9aeBPIFp_xpdCQzFTwMLnYZGcgI/s1600/00.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDwZUBX98cVfNuENhF6Lz3owEfQ2KRrCu2FPTyjXjo_zy7rrK2R5cyrXrB7DtWu6WmIFy9pBJ-pdPcAT_yM20TCI0szs4J-rXg5aLJf67-pwdLeAkR9aeBPIFp_xpdCQzFTwMLnYZGcgI/s1600/00.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From her 4 year photo shoot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">She is now 45
inches tall & 44 pounds…making her the height & weight of an average
SIX year old!! I worry because she constantly hears people say, “She’s so <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">BIG</i></b>!”
I always clarify that yes, she’s very <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">TALL</i></b>. I grew up with body issues; I
don’t want her to feel self-conscious. It will be hard for her being taller
than the other kids in school…I know, I was the tall kid too. I hope I can help
her to have the self-confidence I didn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">She still attends
preschool four mornings a week. Elena just loves that place & so do I!! She
has really connected with her teachers this year & won over all their
hearts! They’ve made me promise we’ll stay in touch next year! I have signed up
for Elena to start Junior Kindergarten in September. We got to visit the school
when we dropped off the forms & it seems really nice. They have an
orientation session in May & we are looking forward to this very much. We’ll
be able to meet her teacher that day & hopefully some of the other kids in
her class. I can’t believe my little girl is starting school!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Elena has many,
many interests these days. She has her music class weekly & is still going
to gymnastics class every week. She has come a long way with her skills. She
flies through the balance beam with ease now, she is able to flip herself on
the uneven bars & she tumbles & somersaults with grace!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">She also still
has swimming every week & is in Level 5 now!! She can essentially swim on
her own; she just needs her confidence about it. She does, however, have all
confidence in doing somersaults in the water!! At one of her last lessons, the
lifeguard was asking that they flip from a front float to a back float. Elena,
not being so great about the floats, just did one of her somersaults…she went
from front to back, just not how the lifeguard was intending!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Recently, Elena
started asking regularly to take dance lessons…oh, I’m sorry, she specifically
asks for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">BALLET</i></b> lessons. I wanted to be sure this wasn’t a passing fancy
before making a big commitment & was able to find a creative movement class
at our local rec centre. She <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">LOVES</i></b> it! Except after every class,
when I ask how it went, she says, “Good, but we didn’t do ballet.” So I have done
some research & sourced out a really good studio for her to start at in the
fall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The other new
interest Elena has talked non-stop about lately was soccer. I was not excited
about this one. I have very deep-seated, irrational fears of bugs & specifically
birds, bees & hornets. The thought of spending Saturday mornings on a
soccer field ignites immense anxiety. However, I’m not about to let my fears
hold Elena back from an interest or good wholesome exercise & fresh air. So
I’ve signed her up for soccer starting in May!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A great source of
pride for me recently is that Elena has graduated to riding a two-wheeler
bicycle! No training wheels!! I gave her a balance bike for her 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup>
birthday & she’s been mastering it these last 2 years but has now grown
much too tall for it. I bought her a new bicycle & intended to put training
wheels onto it. I brought it with us to my friend’s on Easter weekend thinking
her husband could install the training wheels for us. Well my friend encouraged
Elena to try without. Her 2 sons, her & I all headed outside & took
turns running along with Elena & she did really well!! I left the training
wheels off & this past weekend took Elena to the high school parking lot
& away she went! Because she was so confident on the balance bike, being on
the two-wheeler all she had to master was peddling & that she got pretty
quickly. She still needs some practice before I can let her lose on the
sidewalks but she’s getting there! Now it looks as though I’ll have to buy a bicycle
for myself so I can keep up!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEoct-XBHLj9SKVPrySnvOXDuy5SK0oAVDxgN_q6YYSwDFgaUo-aplVXUNZ11lTx2H2BhHUzbqlHk8zjsB7fzWkmQXGkWcM_qiF0E1kNp-kmisBS8wcfRNWT-YDDa-RZ74Mt62KYw7Ba4/s1600/0.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEoct-XBHLj9SKVPrySnvOXDuy5SK0oAVDxgN_q6YYSwDFgaUo-aplVXUNZ11lTx2H2BhHUzbqlHk8zjsB7fzWkmQXGkWcM_qiF0E1kNp-kmisBS8wcfRNWT-YDDa-RZ74Mt62KYw7Ba4/s1600/0.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There she goes!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwR9Eu0ILIjDNz6CIjd_HQAElQ6kdDkZHziIgqz0WRLt8yX5l4qrNHImL2X3lyNBgJSO_e8Pzy9UhRESasw4g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmahkdSkkO5_Cljrb20hcHshtqmaTPLbI38IYXBvf4CSeGsoZZeBUVboDwpUdY9zoV9ybD3tLiwxBLt1wMyO869d8bP7umUyDfGvJyY9E8HxnufHNpgMSO1htAZMJ_y_1CyENi6wxCoI8/s1600/01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmahkdSkkO5_Cljrb20hcHshtqmaTPLbI38IYXBvf4CSeGsoZZeBUVboDwpUdY9zoV9ybD3tLiwxBLt1wMyO869d8bP7umUyDfGvJyY9E8HxnufHNpgMSO1htAZMJ_y_1CyENi6wxCoI8/s1600/01.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a break from all that cycling!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Elena’s speech is
developing by leaps & bounds! I never get tired of listening to her &
let me tell you, she talks <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nonstop</i></b>!! What I love to see is her
gaining the confidence to speak up for herself. Even the mothers at gymnastics
have commented how wonderful it is to see her talking & chiming in to the
conversations! What I find most adorable is how she sounds, just like a little
Italian lady! I suspect it’s because, when she was first learning the sounds of
speech we would over pronunciate & now she does this in regular speech. As
an example, if she were to ask for milk she would sound like: “You get-ah my
milk-ah, pul-eeze?” Even funnier, since she loves pizza she’ll say, “You
make-ah my pizza?” very Italian, lol! Also, if you’re taking too long she’ll
say, “You taking for long time!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Her vocabulary is
immeasurable now. She really is a sponge. After watching any TV show, she wants
reenact it & can repeat the dialogue practically verbatim! And of course
she’ll assign me a character too!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Of course we have
our hard days, Elena is 4 after all & very willful. Unfortunately for me,
she has inherited my hair trigger temper. If she’s fed & well rested, she
is very easy & amendable. We enter danger zone from when I get home from
work at 5pm to when I get her to bed at 7pm…she starts off being hungry &
then just tired. If I can keep my patience we can usually navigate this time
pretty well with no meltdowns. But if I am off my game, the whole evening can
be a disaster. I don’t want to seem like I think she’s blameless for her behavior
but as her mom, I need to teach her to manage her emotions. Her meltdowns can
be amusing & I sometimes have to be really careful not to let her feel like
I’m laughing at her but she is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so</i></b> dramatic!! Sometimes we can
divert a meltdown by laughing about it but that is a technique to be used with
caution as it can change things from bad to worse in seconds if she’s not in a
place to laugh about it. The number one technique that helps the most to divert
a meltdown is for me to express verbally the feelings she’s feeling. “I know
you don’t want to go to bed! You just want to play & play!” I use the
wishing technique too, “If only we could play all the time!! I wish we could
just play & play all night long!!” Sometimes I have to repeat variations of
these a few times but mostly it will diffuse the situation pretty quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I also make sure
we play reconnection games to…roughhousing, tickle fights & our favourite:
Never Gonna Let You Go where I get her into a hug & then pretend I don’t
know how to let her go or I say, “Um no, I’m just never going to let you go!”
Oh the laughs & giggles that ensue!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We have some
pretty exciting travels coming up too! I have booked our first Disney trip for
August. It has been fun navigating the Disney planning app together. Elena is
very excited & knows we are going but doesn’t know when. We’ve made a deal
that one morning I will wake her up & say, “Wanna go to Disney today?” I
have also booked us on the Disney Alaskan Cruise for 2016. It has been a dream
of my Mom, Aunt & mine to do an Alaskan cruise so when I saw that Disney had
one, we jumped on it! I’ve never been on a cruise & am not sure I will like
being on the boat so if I may only ever do 1 cruise in my life, I wanted it to
be Disney & I wanted it to be to Alaska!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I feel like there’s
a million more things I wanted to share in this update but since they’ve all
flown right out of my head & this is long enough already!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-63971425513173402412015-03-27T07:39:00.000-04:002015-03-27T07:39:50.798-04:00Elena turned four...
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Elena turned 4 on March 4<sup>th</sup>! Quite a day we
had celebrating! I took the day off work so I could spend the day with her. I
continued our tradition of balloons on her birthday morning. While planning her
birthday, Elena said she wanted to have a ballerina theme. For the life of me, I
couldn’t find ballerina decorations! When I broke the news, she was accommodating
& she told me instead she wanted Hello Kitty…& Elsa & Anna…&
Barbie…& Paw Patrol. So that’s what I did for her…</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0L1kG9uWT3B9Mcz-7yflmBYd5oQzDUZsijTTU8_ujwp-uyVJ4EyIV8pCScbwYl9nMCNCdBevAGXcYva1dGXntT9wBdDDQvgvTPvub-624gdGXLry8VMXwNPbSaTGlXEMX1WZIkVFIti0/s1600/BD3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0L1kG9uWT3B9Mcz-7yflmBYd5oQzDUZsijTTU8_ujwp-uyVJ4EyIV8pCScbwYl9nMCNCdBevAGXcYva1dGXntT9wBdDDQvgvTPvub-624gdGXLry8VMXwNPbSaTGlXEMX1WZIkVFIti0/s1600/BD3.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello Kitty Balloon...it was bigger than Elena!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyw2-WyFtfzghmVZU8Bfcz1lhnG8SL4elLnVm3RvX9OLsNuhvwcfdZQ_KQd0dpsZA3M0tetQVia4sV1rjMFLLHIBWtWJbYTcENziTXW8e9m6OFiTs_Sa1XFzq46Dyy68GjnJAXANF6cc/s1600/BD1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyw2-WyFtfzghmVZU8Bfcz1lhnG8SL4elLnVm3RvX9OLsNuhvwcfdZQ_KQd0dpsZA3M0tetQVia4sV1rjMFLLHIBWtWJbYTcENziTXW8e9m6OFiTs_Sa1XFzq46Dyy68GjnJAXANF6cc/s1600/BD1.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paw Patrol Banner</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjz32rev2rNiF4Au856Hy4GWeNWwIdOxochA7O1BBjM57NheYmPsFDMn6k1DuMD3X4kjgFgv3D0FNScnI4OqRJvR5y4pr9bMw1MVVqvzbJ8dQihQRUPytFrQEwO4abOK8ELgxXnLlzXV0/s1600/BD2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjz32rev2rNiF4Au856Hy4GWeNWwIdOxochA7O1BBjM57NheYmPsFDMn6k1DuMD3X4kjgFgv3D0FNScnI4OqRJvR5y4pr9bMw1MVVqvzbJ8dQihQRUPytFrQEwO4abOK8ELgxXnLlzXV0/s1600/BD2.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't see the Barbie balloon but it's in there!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">She still wanted to go to preschool that morning as
they were celebrating Purim & she wanted to get to wear a costume to
school! I let her open her birthday present that morning because I had bought
her the Disney Elsa dress & knew she would want to wear it for school.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_p1HfdsWgm6vL3dp4onoox9KRwTa5i1l1cUjj4ybFR3ilUXSDlAmKB8FmBtoP2G7evfLRV8tfenq72lB3iFHb8JBQf66U79nG5atxEURZF4sKnAWBFpIsfKsSN8OkeJa5l5IZr2BbFk/s1600/BD4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_p1HfdsWgm6vL3dp4onoox9KRwTa5i1l1cUjj4ybFR3ilUXSDlAmKB8FmBtoP2G7evfLRV8tfenq72lB3iFHb8JBQf66U79nG5atxEURZF4sKnAWBFpIsfKsSN8OkeJa5l5IZr2BbFk/s1600/BD4.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Queen Elsa" ready for Purim at preschool</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My Mom, Aunt & I picked Elena up after preschool
& we all went for lunch at Swiss Chalet. She had been there a few weeks
before & they had sung happy birthday to some patrons & so Elena
insisted she wanted that too! After they did, Elena turned to me & said, “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Now</i></b>
it’s my birthday!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">From there we headed to Elena’s favourite place…the
Mall!! Elena had been talking for a while about having her ears pierced &
we’d agreed to get them done for her birthday. She was very brave & took
the 1<sup>st</sup> pierce with a stiff upper lip…& then refused to have the
other ear done. No amount of encouraging & negotiating on my part would get
her to agree to have the other ear done! Just when I was sure we’d be leaving
with only 1 pierced ear, the salesperson told Elena she’d give her a lollipop
if she agreed & that was enough for Elena! Elena allowed her to pierce the
other ear without complaint!!</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyNzszZ7pUR3tEUI4Rc8SNFRlGDEGuqtixkqdHYBqpT8lu3_yzCh1O8uoozzUG-F2Ej-6ozXt5GCTjj1tsvXTf-22V1h3K0PUIa8O1mnnhxK-FDoOerjZWinpNZmfQsYogJ3AEvPCaao/s1600/BD5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyNzszZ7pUR3tEUI4Rc8SNFRlGDEGuqtixkqdHYBqpT8lu3_yzCh1O8uoozzUG-F2Ej-6ozXt5GCTjj1tsvXTf-22V1h3K0PUIa8O1mnnhxK-FDoOerjZWinpNZmfQsYogJ3AEvPCaao/s1600/BD5.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very serious...& yes she wore her Elsa dress all. day. long.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After that, we headed over to Build-A-Bear, another
thing Elena had been begging to do for eons!! I couldn’t have been more pleased
by the service we received. They really made the experience special for Elena.
She picked the Elsa Bear, go figure!!</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6x475uhHLJ-LPlm19wBsgQa3DGsN-KbVnxNGTKZDmnd9PEX9vDStMpxJqLIba6_tIF5blKis2LhZ7yu8HpNxxtRpht07SAJIANWOWgvUKUCcKBQoZU4XVRA41RfOBnHOJPWhxaNiZclk/s1600/BD6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6x475uhHLJ-LPlm19wBsgQa3DGsN-KbVnxNGTKZDmnd9PEX9vDStMpxJqLIba6_tIF5blKis2LhZ7yu8HpNxxtRpht07SAJIANWOWgvUKUCcKBQoZU4XVRA41RfOBnHOJPWhxaNiZclk/s1600/BD6.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giving Elsa Bear a fluff</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Then we headed home & enjoyed cupcakes. All in all
it was a great day & a fun way to celebrate Elena turning 4.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8J2ZRw3TxlX-S5TecF9P-Aw_4kEkAsnPzVAkWKTt_cPd9lGWyLV_ryNJPCZxVKpBTABK5hQQ8jQMhMo2Ij2BZzwBm7NekYaDOr2bCY27NJLcAY7enLqM4gSaPK8nwhC6k4m1arUGYh84/s1600/BD7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8J2ZRw3TxlX-S5TecF9P-Aw_4kEkAsnPzVAkWKTt_cPd9lGWyLV_ryNJPCZxVKpBTABK5hQQ8jQMhMo2Ij2BZzwBm7NekYaDOr2bCY27NJLcAY7enLqM4gSaPK8nwhC6k4m1arUGYh84/s1600/BD7.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delicious!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-2648724374437521492015-03-04T06:00:00.000-05:002015-03-04T06:00:03.518-05:00A Year in Pictures...<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Elena is Four Years Old Today!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">This was a big year for both
Elena & I. Elena learning how to express herself verbally made a
huge difference in our lives. Imagine being in a place where you understood the
language completely yet you were unable to speak the language or make yourself
understood. Imagine the frustration you would feel. That is what it was like for
Elena. The speech pathologist explained this to me. She also explained that
when Elena made her word attempts, it sounded in her head the way it was
supposed to but the output came out sounding very differently. Imagine that
frustration! You think you’re speaking the language everyone else is yet they
just don’t understand you. Learning this made me admire Elena so very much. I
admire that she didn’t shut down, that she never gave up & that she worked
so hard to learn speech sounds so she could express herself. I could not be more
proud of her.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWIcLlKwwAybP2zWKedxoAlcuHB9R_OzEfpaI8KfYhgmTQoj9JDY9cdrs7vlHFQVsfYKQHERYDjFSWMUeS-kuJuYqAj6Ps54aO0lM-5iaiK6Am3ws7eDVYHmIJLTZ48FTpva7kX_AKV4/s1600/IMG_3761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWIcLlKwwAybP2zWKedxoAlcuHB9R_OzEfpaI8KfYhgmTQoj9JDY9cdrs7vlHFQVsfYKQHERYDjFSWMUeS-kuJuYqAj6Ps54aO0lM-5iaiK6Am3ws7eDVYHmIJLTZ48FTpva7kX_AKV4/s1600/IMG_3761.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">March 4, 2014</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7ZAf8rL8N0o8IU-ODCPynhzV5det7dRSPK1FM7K4lrgYCVcYXV1WtFsKeyikUdJZRETc4Wm4FCGrqAEUPM6rPWzDN4tpWp6zCnTkedT8SmK5_lZy7Pam2QknQ_BObZp0lcG4tatPT00/s1600/IMG_3945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7ZAf8rL8N0o8IU-ODCPynhzV5det7dRSPK1FM7K4lrgYCVcYXV1WtFsKeyikUdJZRETc4Wm4FCGrqAEUPM6rPWzDN4tpWp6zCnTkedT8SmK5_lZy7Pam2QknQ_BObZp0lcG4tatPT00/s1600/IMG_3945.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Haircut!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">April</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6GDrmpWpZt4XY2ppmZkbkTjHciN4OEVKxWmHnBqY4Me06fEO1GTSqC6-4at3hjlDCuUABGdAaeyR_l7LoiyHSabKAcHDWnkFSSIJEh3_XS18UKXFi5DjuEtm1-sxXpSlfJoocLn3iHZ0/s1600/IMG_4168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6GDrmpWpZt4XY2ppmZkbkTjHciN4OEVKxWmHnBqY4Me06fEO1GTSqC6-4at3hjlDCuUABGdAaeyR_l7LoiyHSabKAcHDWnkFSSIJEh3_XS18UKXFi5DjuEtm1-sxXpSlfJoocLn3iHZ0/s1600/IMG_4168.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">First school pageant</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">May</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZCZShIJD8jyCayQH_ttWZaq5ILv6xn5udS50RGHM3Num6qHuofPmKVgUHfsatQ2dR_Y2HsVKfP4W8fE0LsG4ojjt02T-jhnx9opby_KuPMkkBIDW-ojJK7vctwwmSmxV6yhbkyEW-b8/s1600/IMG_4285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZCZShIJD8jyCayQH_ttWZaq5ILv6xn5udS50RGHM3Num6qHuofPmKVgUHfsatQ2dR_Y2HsVKfP4W8fE0LsG4ojjt02T-jhnx9opby_KuPMkkBIDW-ojJK7vctwwmSmxV6yhbkyEW-b8/s1600/IMG_4285.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">June</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMNyZNZBsOf1F1ohi6aaxLdQAMa8tS96Y-PKTlQ5MBLzkFoRJPNs9xdC13S1BbaEXUmdvaVAfvMQzM8IwODTTYYUhTDApSdqDuFwxArwH3JoN_pWHB8SnM05dmK_tkbnFP9014kc8xHbU/s1600/IMG_4573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMNyZNZBsOf1F1ohi6aaxLdQAMa8tS96Y-PKTlQ5MBLzkFoRJPNs9xdC13S1BbaEXUmdvaVAfvMQzM8IwODTTYYUhTDApSdqDuFwxArwH3JoN_pWHB8SnM05dmK_tkbnFP9014kc8xHbU/s1600/IMG_4573.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">July</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYuDVAtQvdz51Rc4OEuVsb8505rFmAcnh2rQ_4qapwhz8Y-8Iotccdhe7Fa9hfI4na5bm0mCpGkynW9nfZodgg_BE4VVCr8D-pJ-u2UX38X2kEr-qXU7DpoISrgPqoBEQB99R27E-qVXQ/s1600/IMG_4638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYuDVAtQvdz51Rc4OEuVsb8505rFmAcnh2rQ_4qapwhz8Y-8Iotccdhe7Fa9hfI4na5bm0mCpGkynW9nfZodgg_BE4VVCr8D-pJ-u2UX38X2kEr-qXU7DpoISrgPqoBEQB99R27E-qVXQ/s1600/IMG_4638.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">August</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsJHCDzyJX4fcX50BPJ6GBuXUd8BlvC4zC6vsCeC6489KZwyME_QzDF9Y3I52590zb-KD5hpcf4lEs5N8d3vogBdHiwoPrprwO3yLwQFwOrkwLyHsnCQ82t_ZlmdURb8nEwhd8snAKnY/s1600/IMG_5003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsJHCDzyJX4fcX50BPJ6GBuXUd8BlvC4zC6vsCeC6489KZwyME_QzDF9Y3I52590zb-KD5hpcf4lEs5N8d3vogBdHiwoPrprwO3yLwQFwOrkwLyHsnCQ82t_ZlmdURb8nEwhd8snAKnY/s1600/IMG_5003.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">S'mores! Yummy!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">September</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKd3p82EQ__fY64WQOX-82S8qqlW9IULenzSWIQVMY-Bs-7cSmlsXdnL2Yao47KNP0fFOULvrr8W6aZDnOX72eExZAMyKDJbz-WkUpwsH8YjwSltI_dB8QWTxArAnGYj0lPNxdori91c/s1600/IMG_5048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibKd3p82EQ__fY64WQOX-82S8qqlW9IULenzSWIQVMY-Bs-7cSmlsXdnL2Yao47KNP0fFOULvrr8W6aZDnOX72eExZAMyKDJbz-WkUpwsH8YjwSltI_dB8QWTxArAnGYj0lPNxdori91c/s1600/IMG_5048.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">October</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgth1IP89Vt4SfLqtSJk_2yxSg9iFSPooiGyb-JZxvmcoNTO9CUUJozY3mDqjxdG5OD-mvEyhE4Vn_kjYj7UZ8etbRTuSkvBIlAn-YB2UeFvhUnOHXs_UtDwE4NDS-FZF3emmFn-D_CTCI/s1600/IMG_5291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgth1IP89Vt4SfLqtSJk_2yxSg9iFSPooiGyb-JZxvmcoNTO9CUUJozY3mDqjxdG5OD-mvEyhE4Vn_kjYj7UZ8etbRTuSkvBIlAn-YB2UeFvhUnOHXs_UtDwE4NDS-FZF3emmFn-D_CTCI/s1600/IMG_5291.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">November</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3sUCr_rbFR6nPSDolfh-5Sv_smOsU8CZLnwt2mTloS-6qJ2L6umkfPT6KeipdbV5sQspKf-UfiXaXbpFrCYhfGjaHJ00hOXCHiTsa2VAgO3XyJ_lfsjKb6tTSw-nNfLv_zuLHk2ITW8/s1600/IMG_5330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3sUCr_rbFR6nPSDolfh-5Sv_smOsU8CZLnwt2mTloS-6qJ2L6umkfPT6KeipdbV5sQspKf-UfiXaXbpFrCYhfGjaHJ00hOXCHiTsa2VAgO3XyJ_lfsjKb6tTSw-nNfLv_zuLHk2ITW8/s1600/IMG_5330.JPG" height="320" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">This is her school photo! What a little lady!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">December</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzH__dzYlRh-gzNOlBNaDyfAJQ1uy-23jEYqEnWiN0PzjfW3wMBK_YcrmW3il7EvkjpqFhBN0W9MaY6bEzALJkvjDCO5zHMSsxanL1KAPcHKYGwYAbnsP_H5K5fz1wBTGzoPEU2pmz-oI/s1600/IMG_5532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzH__dzYlRh-gzNOlBNaDyfAJQ1uy-23jEYqEnWiN0PzjfW3wMBK_YcrmW3il7EvkjpqFhBN0W9MaY6bEzALJkvjDCO5zHMSsxanL1KAPcHKYGwYAbnsP_H5K5fz1wBTGzoPEU2pmz-oI/s1600/IMG_5532.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">This is Elena’s “Wedding Outfit”</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">January</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjebYBjdGFSTH8uNvSKzMmbeE-b5U9-QncngE4FaaOWp0imXI0RgU4iQ5MxMjUBQVnyTpqf3E5uUECSOsYfnfe5geYTDaSZkXj_Ntag2SJJlHckukcb-PWcrTSyT9cyVgH9pF_Adaz84hg/s1600/IMG_5575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjebYBjdGFSTH8uNvSKzMmbeE-b5U9-QncngE4FaaOWp0imXI0RgU4iQ5MxMjUBQVnyTpqf3E5uUECSOsYfnfe5geYTDaSZkXj_Ntag2SJJlHckukcb-PWcrTSyT9cyVgH9pF_Adaz84hg/s1600/IMG_5575.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">February</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">This past year has been my most
favourite year yet. When I think my heart is full with love for Elena, it just
expands larger. I never imagined loving another person so much. I will never
stop being grateful for getting to be Elena’s Momma.</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Happy 4<sup>th</sup>
Birthday my precious Elena!<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-50893252600457229492015-02-28T21:24:00.000-05:002015-02-28T21:24:16.514-05:00S'awaii 5-0
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">S’awaii. That is what Elena
started calling Hawaii just before we left, after previously calling it Hawaii
quite clearly for months! </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">This trip to Hawaii was a
sentimental one. Long before she got sick <a href="http://join-tiaras-world.blogspot.ca/2014/02/the-long-road-home.html" target="_blank">my aunt</a> had asked that when she died,
I spread her ashes in the ocean. Last year, she’d planned to spend a couple of
months in Hawaii. We had to cancel her trip once we learned how sick she was.
She had booked her flights with travel points & they were kind enough to
refund all her points & transfer them to me since we knew she would not be
able to use them. Lee then made me promise I would use the points to go to
Hawaii & spread her ashes. And that is what I did on the anniversary of her
passing. It was a wonderful trip & made the anniversary easier.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The flights were long…on the way there we had a
4 hour layover in Vancouver, on the way home, we had a 6 hour layover in
Chicago…layovers are a nightmare for me, just wasted time waiting!! But that’s
what you get when you book with points, you get what you get. I am extremely
lucky that Elena is such a good traveller. I thought the layovers would be
better than if we’d had the option of a direct flight because then Elena
wouldn’t be on the plane for 10-12 hours…but she totally could have managed
that! She really is an awesome little traveller & flyer. Luckily both the
Vancouver & Chicago airports had play areas for kids so Elena was easily
occupied. I was bored stiff!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpdXLjoE14xjNcfjJdoRTku9kmI6EOZ76jMqqolTj8NUedD7FrrTZ3HlAp1WWk-OlDNv2S2TpErw6sJLf-rlbRCqwCN54RJ7ppi61bfcNimv6q7jL8Dvv5rObZwO5psAp8ysVBhL6thA4/s1600/IMG_5590+a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpdXLjoE14xjNcfjJdoRTku9kmI6EOZ76jMqqolTj8NUedD7FrrTZ3HlAp1WWk-OlDNv2S2TpErw6sJLf-rlbRCqwCN54RJ7ppi61bfcNimv6q7jL8Dvv5rObZwO5psAp8ysVBhL6thA4/s1600/IMG_5590+a.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is from our 1st trip ever...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFUDuyYUleghXkDrhW707y2HAw6zHMmHPiMSukT71B_f9U8c2JhjZ_rLOEoSJcLOTQeWFoCYANzGXG9Fl4cq2L3MhQZaFH9vWMk4p8LnBKFP_gXASFWh3yG6em65ApFTS4j256TDICftc/s1600/IMG_5590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFUDuyYUleghXkDrhW707y2HAw6zHMmHPiMSukT71B_f9U8c2JhjZ_rLOEoSJcLOTQeWFoCYANzGXG9Fl4cq2L3MhQZaFH9vWMk4p8LnBKFP_gXASFWh3yG6em65ApFTS4j256TDICftc/s1600/IMG_5590.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She still finds sitting in the newspaper boxes fun!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRkGclulNvRp8oXXBgA1ZebJnMWL7pSCMkIrlpLjSiVceIXTd_eOpG7XZ2iyRCLIBGWMxG8JJj1nqe0R4qyjKVn-amocuByu7Qqh26xdHwFlt-hvAypqZfBd4Ekaa_LlyEyb57YsEQ_ms/s1600/IMG_5608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRkGclulNvRp8oXXBgA1ZebJnMWL7pSCMkIrlpLjSiVceIXTd_eOpG7XZ2iyRCLIBGWMxG8JJj1nqe0R4qyjKVn-amocuByu7Qqh26xdHwFlt-hvAypqZfBd4Ekaa_LlyEyb57YsEQ_ms/s1600/IMG_5608.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vancouver Airport playground</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVr53AOCGtIVJKn-o2smuVPCbxDpSmcaS3HIN9psJ2xHmRsjxqwPqRT2JLZ5B5A8qd0cxHI7nfJPSyMF8oirIFyUct85iFAlpoqAg5-HN46O8s6SRC2z1oen-AbVR6auVxj5Jc2ADBL8/s1600/IMG_5828.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVr53AOCGtIVJKn-o2smuVPCbxDpSmcaS3HIN9psJ2xHmRsjxqwPqRT2JLZ5B5A8qd0cxHI7nfJPSyMF8oirIFyUct85iFAlpoqAg5-HN46O8s6SRC2z1oen-AbVR6auVxj5Jc2ADBL8/s1600/IMG_5828.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicago Airport</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Hawaii is beautiful & stunning…I love the
mountains!! It was nice to have a car & get to drive around the island
& see so much of the island. I rented a condo right on Waikiki Beach &
that was a really great decision. The place was gorgeous & the service was impeccable.
</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqEd5vmoi8NFNyDZByRYoTPsWErdiFqEqoQN21lN1FNBdUbcjqmdMOpVvlzAEhOYQug_0B2pCL8LOTK2PgZZRxl68vmg1QZivxhARKK8MTnfhuAoFX6Melxfbf_FqObHO0lMAWeQv6H-E/s1600/IMG_5616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqEd5vmoi8NFNyDZByRYoTPsWErdiFqEqoQN21lN1FNBdUbcjqmdMOpVvlzAEhOYQug_0B2pCL8LOTK2PgZZRxl68vmg1QZivxhARKK8MTnfhuAoFX6Melxfbf_FqObHO0lMAWeQv6H-E/s1600/IMG_5616.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from our condo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The first morning we went grocery shopping then we went to Waikiki Beach, right
across the street from the condo! It was nice that it had the break walls so
there weren’t waves & it was only knee-waist deep on Elena so I could let
her wander back & forth in the water on her own without worry or fear. The
downside was that it was SUPER busy with people & it was hard to find a
spot etc & I’m not a fan of crowds.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> night we went to Tiki’s
Grill & that was a fun place for dinner! The music was very good. The highlight
for Elena was the purple dinner rolls!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6wVGgGHZeXy-0LZzliU3hXvl9e9v7JXgs-IFfiVFQ2-P1d7jXrYw9h6iRzQXr8Em38JFNw5HNSG7D4J4qG2TPw4YJMZQojrkMt95TtJ9DPXak9HY2UXrgQiqljVBkSQQiSJ441pfoHCQ/s1600/IMG_5638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6wVGgGHZeXy-0LZzliU3hXvl9e9v7JXgs-IFfiVFQ2-P1d7jXrYw9h6iRzQXr8Em38JFNw5HNSG7D4J4qG2TPw4YJMZQojrkMt95TtJ9DPXak9HY2UXrgQiqljVBkSQQiSJ441pfoHCQ/s1600/IMG_5638.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The next day we drove up the coast to a beach I
had researched, Waimanalo Beach. It had good parking, washrooms & quiet
beach. It was awesome…beautiful big beach, easy parking, and not many people. I
really loved it after the chaos of Waikiki Beach. The only downside was that
the waves & undertow were very strong so Elena couldn’t go in by herself
& it was scary a few times as I really had to hold onto her tight when some
waves would come. But it was fun to experience real waves & that
excitement.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJK6GbzedL2-QKj6bia-Qhl6MXqraJr2Nl_piDOchKaEW8qp2BOyD68s1EQ0XEuB58jufHhEda7lyhoi0tJdqVv_xs4kRI2U6U1NDeO0Wke3tvxwUSsVPaTljDkwHvGL_QtFofLc2EvdA/s1600/IMG_5655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJK6GbzedL2-QKj6bia-Qhl6MXqraJr2Nl_piDOchKaEW8qp2BOyD68s1EQ0XEuB58jufHhEda7lyhoi0tJdqVv_xs4kRI2U6U1NDeO0Wke3tvxwUSsVPaTljDkwHvGL_QtFofLc2EvdA/s1600/IMG_5655.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our #1 favourite thing to do at the beach is<br />
to dig holes!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAiRcBFvawXgNcc76eA0HDxHzlpvJbW90bNIVV0u-Gp5Cz4LFGUnTNg1Ik3WH7of7nJepX3YdV8FvKk7DhAQ8KgsybiCFViGj0_vxoLEDpe1k8Wq8y8mI1kBCA4gCVqtYX3X60grRj-E/s1600/IMG_5666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAiRcBFvawXgNcc76eA0HDxHzlpvJbW90bNIVV0u-Gp5Cz4LFGUnTNg1Ik3WH7of7nJepX3YdV8FvKk7DhAQ8KgsybiCFViGj0_vxoLEDpe1k8Wq8y8mI1kBCA4gCVqtYX3X60grRj-E/s1600/IMG_5666.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And sometimes bury each other in them!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">On the Monday we went to the North Shore to the
Polynesian Cultural Centre for the day. This was a beautiful drive & well
worth the money spent It was the only touristy thing we did & it was a must
see. If you ever go to Oahu, you can’t miss this. It is like your pioneer
village type thing ... but for the Polynesian islands & culture. This is
also were we had the luau & they really did it up amazingly & made it
such an authentic (as far as I’d ever know) experience. Then in the evening,
they have this show sort of like the myth or fable of the birth of the
Polynesian culture & it was STUNNING, AMAZING, BREATHTAKING!! I really
can’t say enough about how good it was!! Even Elena, who was exhausted at this
point after the long day, was enthralled!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho1wFblAFF_GOGROydGpH0zJ54gCjxhyphenhyphenxqt4qOo63gwYLwrRo_HVcgDOFK6DeprerUT_9po8mJoBBj5R_Jq31Tu5OqZFACkTsI8zh4euz1aZFhZ42g10P96yQv7FUN0z_ofKQxMF_Hs2c/s1600/IMG_5751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho1wFblAFF_GOGROydGpH0zJ54gCjxhyphenhyphenxqt4qOo63gwYLwrRo_HVcgDOFK6DeprerUT_9po8mJoBBj5R_Jq31Tu5OqZFACkTsI8zh4euz1aZFhZ42g10P96yQv7FUN0z_ofKQxMF_Hs2c/s1600/IMG_5751.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonCBQ0h-cD8yk1W3kyka3aDJZyPrq3Qq-M-X4oiyY6zqxwWpW7t24Xt6Lp9LtqAAmcZX-N58XaG_Lj2Tapd9HwWu9uQ58JVXHrZRG7ZEmEi1_4f0rvE113zIEdMiR5kX8iKuU6eBZFSg/s1600/IMG_5695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonCBQ0h-cD8yk1W3kyka3aDJZyPrq3Qq-M-X4oiyY6zqxwWpW7t24Xt6Lp9LtqAAmcZX-N58XaG_Lj2Tapd9HwWu9uQ58JVXHrZRG7ZEmEi1_4f0rvE113zIEdMiR5kX8iKuU6eBZFSg/s1600/IMG_5695.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elena wouldn't try the coconut water</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6SXQ-eeC1OmvOIHXqaq-EvWJoBQ77pM2Z8_9hGROhKglDaD5TTRqdgTjrz61cpOj9aHrlB2e3bD9xnG800IqNJZ9pp2M_JFttKUVg8enEy8xQtdn4myiwO6aBkU2MidvcTWPvN1YwicA/s1600/IMG_5762.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6SXQ-eeC1OmvOIHXqaq-EvWJoBQ77pM2Z8_9hGROhKglDaD5TTRqdgTjrz61cpOj9aHrlB2e3bD9xnG800IqNJZ9pp2M_JFttKUVg8enEy8xQtdn4myiwO6aBkU2MidvcTWPvN1YwicA/s1600/IMG_5762.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She wouldn't try the pineapple smoothie drink either</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlIAXWoeosbDF_hj7b25shYI_P-refBD7eIwN65UOF2Z2vQyOAbzkth49163hSdTQbwxLqZLZmkrmkQu9EkwV8w9usHeMikyPTpcH_vanNGXXny7qyAF6eS8ZM_ANE9FwhAKwjmrIEnc/s1600/IMG_5793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlIAXWoeosbDF_hj7b25shYI_P-refBD7eIwN65UOF2Z2vQyOAbzkth49163hSdTQbwxLqZLZmkrmkQu9EkwV8w9usHeMikyPTpcH_vanNGXXny7qyAF6eS8ZM_ANE9FwhAKwjmrIEnc/s1600/IMG_5793.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSPmpHYu5rU131LZloeAzEnWL91lVw4NdoUVJTdtaa2hF9lZ5gjjiHmev4mYpP9siEa0wBuufsn_Pu0gMK-RWy-G4uWeICUf32fyZyAw6SYxwqNYHweH9BID_T3RDeYDwQaNUkTejOXE/s1600/IMG_5799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSPmpHYu5rU131LZloeAzEnWL91lVw4NdoUVJTdtaa2hF9lZ5gjjiHmev4mYpP9siEa0wBuufsn_Pu0gMK-RWy-G4uWeICUf32fyZyAw6SYxwqNYHweH9BID_T3RDeYDwQaNUkTejOXE/s1600/IMG_5799.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elena was very excited to have her photo taken<br />
with these 3 ladies so was completely taken aback<br />
when this warrior photo bombed her!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">On the anniversary of when Lee
passed & the day I wanted to spread her ashes. I’d been scoping out ideas
all week & we decided to drive to another beach. This one, Ala Moana Beach,
was still on Honolulu but not as busy as Waikiki but still had the benefit of
the break wall so the waves were calm & safe thought the water was deeper.
Elena & I dug a deep hole & poured most of the ashes in then filled the
rest on top with sand…then I took a bucketful into the water & spread them
around there too. I allowed myself a moment to reflect & say good bye, etc.
It was a peaceful, healing experience.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">It was a too short trip. I wished I had planned
to stay longer. I would like to go back again with the experience I think I
could do it cheaper. It was nice to get away from the winter & snow. As
with every trip, Elena said we should just stay there & not go home. I told
her she could plan to go to university there & I would move with her!</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBvcyy0lZ9fipsxhoYPiVlFO1K6-kiUU4rstdNuHZ5Nb4PsErT3WNpb4MYBijmAJo3IY4VdJQpBAeK_mqtqxCxpl7BhUG1-96t8gW7Yjy5k3Z_hW-FB5N_NWME9RCIC8tyd89wh37D80/s1600/IMG_5823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBvcyy0lZ9fipsxhoYPiVlFO1K6-kiUU4rstdNuHZ5Nb4PsErT3WNpb4MYBijmAJo3IY4VdJQpBAeK_mqtqxCxpl7BhUG1-96t8gW7Yjy5k3Z_hW-FB5N_NWME9RCIC8tyd89wh37D80/s1600/IMG_5823.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just chillin' waiting for the plane</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I really am beyond grateful that Elena is such
a great traveller. I love to travel & dream of all the trips we will take
together as she gets older. We already have our next one booked…we’re heading
to Disney World just before school starts in September!!</span></span></div>
Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-1998563895930173612015-02-19T05:10:00.001-05:002015-02-19T05:10:14.335-05:00Promise, MommyLast night, after Elena's bath, she looked at me very seriously and said, "P'omise, Mommy, P'omise you alway' talk to me." "Of course, sweetheart," I replied, "I promise I'll always talk to you." Then she said, "P'omise, Mommy, P'omise you alway' listen to me." She was so very serious & intense, my eyes well up with emotion, wondering what would bring on such a conversation. "Of course I'll always listen to you. I promise." She then reached out her little hands, cupped my face so lovingly, and said, "P'omise, Mommy, P'omise you alway' do as I say!" I just about fell off my stool laughing! Sorry, honey, that's one promise I just can't make! But it was a good try! Dang, I love that kid!Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-89305119361775377632015-01-29T13:10:00.001-05:002015-01-29T13:12:39.924-05:00Jealousy Revisited<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><strong><em>Caution: Post discusses pregnancy & pregnancy loss...be wary if these are triggers for you.</em></strong></span><br />
<strong><em><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"></span></em></strong><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I previously <a href="http://join-tiaras-world.blogspot.ca/2013/05/jealousy-sucks.html" target="_blank">wrote about</a> how hard it was being
surrounded by pregnant moms at Elena’s gymnastics class. I was coming to terms
with being one & done & felt like I was being kicked while I was down.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">~~~<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Not long ago a co-worker of mine, we’ll call
her S, came to me & asked a lot of questions about getting pregnant &
cycles. She was 35 & had decided to start TTC. I explained to her about cycle
days, when fertility higher, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I felt like I was in on a big secret as she
wasn’t talking about this to anyone else. I knew what cycle day she was on, I
knew when she was getting close to testing, I helped her decide when would be
best to POAS to get an accurate result. I was the first person to know when she
got her BFP, after her husband, of course. She never imagined she would get
pregnant on their first try. She was sure they’d have to try for a few months at
least. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I was very excited for her as she experienced
her first pregnancy symptoms. She didn’t have anyone to talk to, other than her
husband & he didn’t have the attention span I did for discussing the
nuances of early pregnancy. She made her doctor’s appointments, started
researching midwives, planning for her new future. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">At about 6 weeks she started to have some
bleeding & cramping. She asked if she should be worried. I told her I
couldn’t tell her not to worry because it could be something…but it could be
nothing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">It wasn’t nothing…she was scheduled for an
ultrasound at 7 weeks & there wasn’t a heartbeat. They advised her that
they’d do another ultrasound in a week because maybe she had miscalculated her
cycle & it was just early. My friend was cautiously hopeful…but I was
pretty sure of what the outcome would be. I hoped I was wrong but we’d been
very careful with tracking her cycle. The next ultrasound showed no growth
& still no heartbeat. She was devastated & my heart crushed for her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">During this same time, another co-worker of ours
announced her pregnancy…it was a whoops, they were so happy!! As you can
imagine this was like salt in the wound for S. No one knew, aside from me &
her boss, what she had just gone through & how hard it was for her to have
to hear everyone be so excited for our co-worker. They would have been due
about the same time. Again, you can imagine her pain watching this co-worker
reach milestones she should have. And ANOTHER co-worker announced her pregnancy…another
whoops. Poor S was hurting so very much. We really bonded during this time. I
was her shoulder to cry on & made sure she didn’t feel alone. My heart hurt
over these pregnancies too. I wished it could be me. I was happy for them…but also
oh so jealous of them…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">~~~<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">After some time, S started asking me some
random fertility questions again. I let her know that I was here for her in
whatever she needed. I told her that I’d never ask her about whether she was
trying or not because I knew how painful answering those questions could be…but
I let her know I was here if she needed me…I had a hunch. Sure enough, she was
pregnant, she thought, she was only a day or two late. She was ecstatic…&
terrified!! I was so very happy for her…& terrified for her. But week after
week passed & finally she had an ultrasound that showed a good strong
heartbeat.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">During this time, another co-worker announced
her pregnancy…after she’d previously had a miscarriage as well. She knew the
pain of loss & now the excitement mixed with anxiety of being pregnant
again. Yet another co-worker, she was in her 40s & had previously hinted
& hedged that she’d been trying for a very long time, announced she was
pregnant! Then another co-worker, who had been trying for a second child since
I’d been trying 2010, we had commiserated over treatments & doctor visits,
she announced SHE was pregnant!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">To say my work was experiencing a baby boom was
an understatement!! As I was planning baby showers & advising on mat
leaves, etc it hit me: This doesn’t hurt. There’s no underlying jealousy. As I
thought about this, at first I thought maybe it was because this group of women
had struggled & suffered. I was ashamed to think that I was able to be happy
for these women because somewhere in the darkest reaches of my heart, I felt they had <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>earned</u></i></b>
their happiness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The more I thought about it, the more I analyzed
my feelings I realized that it didn’t hurt because I had finally & truly
come to peace with having one child. Those if onlys would still float through
my mind…if only I had started trying sooner…if only I had more money to afford
IVF…but when I was honest with myself, I knew in my heart that where I was was
exactly where I was meant to be. Elena & I, our family was complete.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">~~~<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I do feel haunted by my <a href="http://www.stirrup-queens.com/2012/12/our-invisible-travel-companion/" target="_blank">ghost children</a> though.
For me, they are children that I imagine could have come before Elena, who
should have been her older sibling(s). I can’t shake the feeling that Elena
would have been such a great little sister, that she would have adored an older
sibling(s). There are many situations when, as I watch Elena, I imagine what the
dynamic would be like if there was an older sibling in the mix. I envision that
ghost child. Maybe it’s because I was the younger sibling & Elena is so
much like me. I don’t know…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I do know that I have come a long way to
feeling content with how life is turning out. I am grateful for not being
weighed down by feelings of jealousy, guilt, sadness, anger & frustration <a href="http://join-tiaras-world.blogspot.ca/2013/05/jealousy-sucks.html" target="_blank">like I use to</a> be when faced with pregnancy announcements. I hope that this will help
Elena too, for her to see me genuinely & deeply content with our family, to
know that I don’t feel there’s anything missing in our family. Maybe she won’t
feel like anything’s missing either…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-46669659187765619292015-01-19T09:31:00.001-05:002015-01-19T09:31:32.567-05:00I Chickened Out<div align="justify">
</div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I thank you all for your advice & commiseration on my last post. Two Saturdays have passed & I haven't mustered up the nerve to actually ask. Not exactly, anyway. Last week, while trying to steer the conversation towards asking resulted in a conversation about play date catastrophes. This week, I just didn't have the nerve.</span></div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span> </div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I had mentioned that Elena & I had gone snow-tubing & she said how much they'd been wanting to take V but couldn't (V's mom is pregnant.) I did say we'd be more than willing to go with them, but it was more of an abstract offer than making any concrete plans.</span></div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span> </div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">I really like the idea of planning something at a neutral location rather than inviting them to our house. So I think I'll hold off until the weather is a bit nicer & we have more options...that'll give me more time to work up my nerve ;)</span></div>
Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-29184238600815461792015-01-09T15:25:00.002-05:002015-01-09T15:25:33.861-05:00Socially Awkward
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That’s me. I am
not good at meeting new people. Being extremely shy & self-conscious, I am
very intimidated approaching people or making small talk. If approached by
another, I am okay to engage but I get so nervous I sometimes say ridiculous
things in an effort at small talk. With those patient enough to give me a
chance, I do chill out. Since having Elena, I find I’m put into situations that
make me anxious more & more frequently. We have never been invited to a kid’s
party where I didn’t already know everyone there…but I am dreading that first
time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Elena has become
friends with a girl in her gymnastics class. They’ve been in the same class the
last 2 years. V seems to share Elena’s admiration & they squeal with delight
when they see each other. They hold hands through most of their class. I know
her mom from being in the class last year & now this year we’ll chat in the
viewing room while the girls are in class. I’m past my anxious, nervous stage
with her & it feels comfortable chatting with her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">During the 2 week
break at Christmas, Elena has been talking constantly about V, saying she
missed her. She’s to have V come to our house & us to go to hers. She’s
asked me to ask V’s mom to allow V to visit. I think it’s adorable & am
glad Elena has developed her first friendship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">However, I am nervous
sick at the thought of asking V’s mom if she’d like to arrange a playdate. I’m
not sure what I’m afraid of, that she’ll say no, maybe. I know I have to ask,
for Elena’s sake but because I’m so nervous about it I’m afraid it’ll come out
all awkward & weird.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I know it sounds
simple but for me, it’s just not. So I’m asking for advice. How do you approach
these situations? From the other point of view, do you think it’d be weird for
me to initiate a playdate? I’m afraid to make things awkward at gymnastics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I know it is
important that I overcome my discomfort & do this for Elena. How would I
explain to her if I was too afraid to ask? There is no other kid that Elena has
expressed this much interest in, not at school, not swimming, nowhere. I have
to at least ask.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">I’m just so scared. Help,
please?</span>Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-86382530982954772602015-01-06T09:25:00.000-05:002015-01-06T09:25:56.946-05:00Our Christmas Vacation
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I had 2 weeks
off over Christmas & it was so amazing! I had every intension of posting
about our Christmas…but then HBO announced they were running the complete
seasons of Game of Thrones from the beginning. It premiered about a month after
Elena was born & I missed it back then & since just never had the time
to catch up. So I dedicated my evenings to binge watching that instead. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t regret it either! I feel like I got
the best of both worlds, an abundance of quality time with Elena plus indulging
myself by giving myself permission to immerse myself in the series. Now I have
to play blog catch up because we really did have a wonderful holiday & I
don’t want to forget it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Even though this
was for a sad occasion, my aunt’s memorial service, I just loved how adorable
this photo turned out<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWlRFUhr3eZgcFimgp7A9Lw2432E3klUCFbl1CWI5mwUiiZPqeJNo4ebTxJogLtD9TgrNPoD-UkxVJPbjYV3E6bJS35oecVsftgsKNBnIT42NK9xCjbjcJJ4Egs7dN1Wr73BX1Oxo_SUQ/s1600/IMG_5268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWlRFUhr3eZgcFimgp7A9Lw2432E3klUCFbl1CWI5mwUiiZPqeJNo4ebTxJogLtD9TgrNPoD-UkxVJPbjYV3E6bJS35oecVsftgsKNBnIT42NK9xCjbjcJJ4Egs7dN1Wr73BX1Oxo_SUQ/s1600/IMG_5268.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I’ve really been
on the fence about the Santa Question…on the one hand, I don’t want to lie to
Elena nor do I want to deprive her of the innocence of believing in Santa. I
decided to just let her lead the way on the whole topic & Elena was
thoroughly into the magic of him this year. We had so many fun & thoughtful
conversations about him. I adore how great her photo with Santa turned out,
total redemption after her <a href="http://join-tiaras-world.blogspot.ca/2011/11/100-days.html" target="_blank">first</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaxjO0Ph7gd4BX5yo5fTspmdffYABneom3WhHUUWoL0BOdGnn1iLKEVa8gLVAk671FiibN6BXMlpknSfZ_ejVTz5medPU76nfi7qJGZ82XLa5Al2AvyJUQyGHxjC7jjKKJBuy1HXsM2SI/s1600/IMG_5285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaxjO0Ph7gd4BX5yo5fTspmdffYABneom3WhHUUWoL0BOdGnn1iLKEVa8gLVAk671FiibN6BXMlpknSfZ_ejVTz5medPU76nfi7qJGZ82XLa5Al2AvyJUQyGHxjC7jjKKJBuy1HXsM2SI/s1600/IMG_5285.JPG" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Elena was also
very interested in Hanukah since they of course were celebrating it at her
preschool. She learned to play dreidel & “made” latkes (with construction
paper). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She kept asking if we could have Hanukah at
our house. I told her I didn’t know anything about Hanukah but we found a
really great children’s book at the library that informed us both. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I gave Elena an
early Christmas present & took her to see Toopy & Binoo. It was
nostalgic because the first show we ever went to was Toopy & Binoo, we’ve
seen dozens since so it was nice to see them again & Elena loved it!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">On the Friday at
the beginning of my holiday, we bundled up after dinner & did a Christmas
Lights tour, a tradition I hope to continue. It was fun!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_jaDfHeYa5ypkD6DrCFVwxVnSV7qxvwMnaUiz3zdLZDAkmQ5Frv31y-y6hxb_4gPvYBVFZiKxmIQfjwKGqKF7Q2IH3jXjms2ck2vIqzCdQykxNFSDpZm-PZoFgOE8l2PAn1pzwkUmEaY/s1600/IMG_5364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_jaDfHeYa5ypkD6DrCFVwxVnSV7qxvwMnaUiz3zdLZDAkmQ5Frv31y-y6hxb_4gPvYBVFZiKxmIQfjwKGqKF7Q2IH3jXjms2ck2vIqzCdQykxNFSDpZm-PZoFgOE8l2PAn1pzwkUmEaY/s1600/IMG_5364.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">On the Sunday
before Christmas we were looking for something to do as our plans had fallen
through & stumbled upon a great experience. It wasn’t exactly a Sleigh Ride
since we didn’t have any snow but it was the next best thing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">On Christmas Eve
we continued our cookie baking tradition. The difference this year was Elena
wanted to leave a plate for Santa. I told you, she was totally into him this
year!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elena had asked Santa for Elsa & Anna
dolls (yes she is totally into Frozen!) Santa complied, of course. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided to get her doll house…the doll house
I wished I’d had as a girl. When Elena saw it Christmas morning, she was beyond
excited & squealed, “Santa brought me a doll house!” Damn Santa stole my
thunder!! Oh well!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">My friend &
her family came to visit after Christmas & while they were here, her husband’s
cousin invited us all over for dinner. I was very nervous about going with
Elena as the cousin is fairly wealthy & live in a mansion. I was terrified
Elena would run wild & break something worth more than I make in a year!
The first thing Elena noticed after we arrived was the old fashioned
grandfather clock & of course had her Frozen moment:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I am proud to
say that she did not break anything & more than that, she was a complete
angel, remembering her manners, eating all her dinner & playing quietly, no
tantrums, no misbehaving, I was just bursting with pride! I know it helped
having my friend’s kids there too, they helped keep her occupied.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I also took
Elena snow tubing & we went to Ikea & Elena made her first foray into
their ball room but I don’t have any photos of either of these activities. The
snow tubing was a blast! What a brave kid she is! She must have my thrill-seeker
gene. Her first time ever doing anything like this & she insists on going
down the hill ALL BY HERSELF! She loved it & would keep asking the monitors
at the top for Super Spins!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">She’s still a bit too young
for us to start any New Year’s traditions so I put her to bed at her usual time
& I spent the evening watching Game of Thrones, of course! I crawled into
bed at midnight & Elena half woke up & cuddled up to me & said, “I
love you, Mommy”. What better way to ring in the New Year! I drifted off to
sleep marveling at how lucky I am!</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And now the countdown is on! We leave for Hawaii in exactly 1 month!!</span></span>Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-27885981911354564032014-12-31T19:39:00.000-05:002014-12-31T19:39:13.124-05:002014 In Review
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The days are flying away from me. I have had every
intension to post about Christmas & now here we are December 31.
I didn’t want to miss my tradition of this post, my fifth one! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I would characterize 2014 as a year of loss &
growth. It feels surreal<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a> to be here, at New Year’s Eve
again. As time passed this year, it didn’t feel as though it was passing
quickly. At many moments it felt like it was passing incredibly, unbearably
slowly. This was the type of year that would have broken a past version of me.
There were many moments I thought I might crumble, that I wanted to crawl under
the covers & never come out. That wasn’t an option though; I wouldn’t do
that to Elena. Somehow I found the strength & resolve to pick myself up,
dust myself off, put one foot in front of another, on auto pilot a lot of the
time. Being here now, coming out the other side of it all, the crushing grief
has been replaced with satisfaction & self assurance. My first thought in difficult
situations will no longer be, “I’ll never get through this” but instead, “I
will get through this…somehow”. I have grown into the woman I had hoped I could
be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I wasn’t the only one growing this year. Elena has
come very far herself, having started the year with a vocabulary of less than
30 words to now speaking in full sentences & having a countless vocabulary.
Gaining this ability has allowed Elena to let her personality shine through.
Just today, while shopping, I was looking at discounted wrapping paper & Elena
said, “We don’t need wrapping paper. Christmas is over!” A simple, logical response
but for me, it was hearing the words & knowing what she was thinking
because she TOLD me that was so meaningful! A phrase I am constantly saying
these days is, “Did you hear what she just said?!!?” I never tire of hearing
what she has to say, her endless questions about dinosaurs & why the sun
rises everyday & how the birds fly & most of all to hear her say, “I
love you, Mommy”. It’s…magical to me. I can’t think of a better word to
describe it! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Lately I’ve just found myself marveling about how,
after such a hard year full grief, I can come out the other side loving life so
deeply & fully. I love my life, even the hard bits. I’d rather have the
hard parts amidst joys than the alternative my life could have been. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If 2014 can come off seeming not half bad, I
have high hopes for 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Happy New Year, Everyone!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-27226916119747469972014-12-13T07:24:00.001-05:002014-12-14T14:21:33.456-05:00Stuff It!<div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Well, it had to happen sometime...I think we did pretty well making it 3 years & nine months before a visit to Urgent Care...& leave it to my kid to make it for a ridiculous reason! </span></div><div><br></div><div>I got home from work the other day & my mom let me know Elena was complaining her nose hurt & it was bleeding just a bit. I was thinking she was stuffy from a cold & the blood may be from dryness...but Elena tells me there's something in there. I'm still thinking boogers or something until she says, "No Mommy, a flower!" Wait, what?!?</div><div><br></div><div>She explains that it is a flower from a hair elastic. I'm not exactly sure what she means but I'm thinking it's a flower bead. After trying to get Elena to snort it out to no avail, I called the doctor on call but she advised we'd have to go to urgent care. So off we went!</div><div><br></div><div>After two hours of waiting (which isn't bad, I guess. They said it was a slow night. I'd hate to see a busy night!) we finally saw the doctor & he attempted to pull it out with tweezers. Elena jumped though & he lost grip & then Elena wouldn't let him try again. </div><div><br></div><div>At this point he advised we could transfer to the hospital & they would be able to sedate Elena so they could get it out. Wait, what?!? Sedate her just to get a bead out of her nose? I felt the risks far outweighed the necessity of that! He said the only other option would be to restrain her & pull it out but that would be very scary for her. </div><div><br></div><div>It made my heart hurt to see Elena so genuinely scared & begging me not to let them do anything to her...but I also knew this would only cause minimal discomfort, not hurt her. I'm not sure how they sedate a kids but I'm guessing it involves needles. So I told Elena I knew she was scared, so so scared, but she'd have to be brave so we could get the flower out of her nose. </div><div><br></div><div>The doctor called over two other nurses & they did what they called a bunny wrap which basically was them wrapping Elena up like a burrito in a blanket. I was able to hold Elena's hand & one nurse immobilized her head & the other restrained her body. Elena was fighting quite hard at this point. Then one nurse asked if she wanted a Popsicle after it was done, Elena relaxed immediately & the doctor pull the flower right out. It turned out to be a foam flower petal from a hair elastic we'd got in the Dominican last year. Elena was given her Popsicle & no worse the wear except for a bloody nose. </div><div><br></div><div>The doctor then says, "I sure am glad we didn't transfer you to hospital for that." Ya think?!!?!</div><div><br></div><div>On the way home I told Elena I hoped she wouldn't ever put anything in her nose again. She said she wouldn't...but then said, just her finger! What a kid!</div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYjvvEtAQp7wz046B_LezCkxTL0baOcYmV7ug0dt-GocpBT1qyVOiAjtLcbQtszQ25n8qpNedB0CAYckzpPlt75GtzVmXuuow_67Ki5SyFoOJDKH1tN4Q_mUESPp0-YIx4R4lHwhFg8Zk/s640/blogger-image--674620732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYjvvEtAQp7wz046B_LezCkxTL0baOcYmV7ug0dt-GocpBT1qyVOiAjtLcbQtszQ25n8qpNedB0CAYckzpPlt75GtzVmXuuow_67Ki5SyFoOJDKH1tN4Q_mUESPp0-YIx4R4lHwhFg8Zk/s640/blogger-image--674620732.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div>Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-88508024287779501642014-12-03T13:49:00.002-05:002014-12-03T13:49:28.667-05:00Another Goodbye
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My mother’s sister passed away in November just
shy of her 60<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> birthday. I wasn’t nearly as close with her as I was
with my <a href="http://join-tiaras-world.blogspot.ca/2014/02/the-long-road-home.html">Aunt Lee</a>. She was born in
January 1955 when my <a href="http://join-tiaras-world.blogspot.ca/2011/11/why-buy-cow-when-you-can-get-milk-for.html">Grandmother</a> was
36, five years after her previous child. There’s no way to know this for sure
but I suspect the pregnancy wasn’t planned. She was born in an era where she
was labeled “slow” or worse “retarded”. She was developmentally delayed. I
wonder if she had been evaluated by today’s standards, if she would have fallen
on the autism spectrum. Regardless, she grew up with many challenges.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Karen was the youngest of 6 children. She grew
up being spoiled & having family do things for her & speak for her. In
spite of this, she became determined to do things on her own. She was
eventually able to attend a vocational school & learn skills that enabled
her to secure a job in a factory. This also enabled her to move out on her own
& live independently in her own apartment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I don’t have many memories of her when I was
young. She was 19 when I was born & not long after getting out on her own,
she became involved with a man. Not a good man, an abusive man. She became
estranged from our family during this time. As happens in abusive
relationships, he isolated her. I can only imagine what life was like for her
during that time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another Aunt, her sister, was married in 1982 (I
think). I was a flower girl in that wedding. Karen attended & I remember
going to her apartment. I didn’t know it at the time but her boyfriend was in
jail then. I remember her being very proud of me & I remember her telling
me about her boyfriend, who painted, & saying she wanted him to meet me.
Another memory was a few years later, we “kidnapped” Karen so she could visit
with my Grandma & Great-Grandma who were visiting. I wonder how she managed
after going home to this man that day, if she’d told him where she’d been, if
he’d found out on her own…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Her boyfriend died a few years later & she
became a more constant presence. My dad would pick her up in Toronto & she
would come stay weekends with us. I remember her being fun, always up to play
games or put puzzles together. She loved her soap operas & it was with her
I first watched Dallas & she filled me in on all the details.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In 1994, she was introduced to a man & they
fell in love. You can imagine, with her past, my family was skeptical. But he
was (is) a good man. Yes, he has issues of his own, schizophrenia, but he is
kind & loving & the knight in shining she deserved! They were married.
I got to be her Maid of</span> Honour<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">! They celebrated their 20<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> anniversary a few weeks before
she died.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With all the challenges Karen faced in her
life, she certainly was determined & proud. I admire her not passively
letting life pass by. All she ever wanted was to be “normal” & she
certainly succeeded in getting everything she ever wanted…except one thing. She
had always desperately wanted to be a mother. She loved children so much &
was so good with all of us nieces & nephews. To the day she died, it was
her biggest regret. I remember having a conversation with her while I was
pregnant & me saying she’d done so well in her life & she’d done one
better than me, at least she’d gotten married & her reply, “Yeah, but I
didn’t get to be a mother.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In late 2012 she was diagnosed with Stage IV
breast cancer with a</span> tumour<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> on her brain & mets in her liver & lungs. The doctors weren’t
optimistic. She had radiation on the brain</span> tumour<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> in November that year & endured round
after round of chemo for the next 2 years. There was no other option in her
mind. She believed it would cure her. She didn’t understand or accept that she
was palliative. I wonder if that contributed to her surviving for so long, that
won’t quit attitude. Almost exactly 2 years later the doctors broke the news
that they just couldn’t continue giving her chemo. To her that translated to
them giving up on her, she just didn’t understand. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She remained at home for as long as she could
but due to a fall she ended up in hospital & then transferred to hospice.
Her life ended much like it began, with people doing everything for her. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Even though we weren’t close, I am feeling this
loss heavily. It brought up dormant feelings of what I went through this past
winter. Also her death has continued a disturbing emerging family tradition of
passing just prior to a milestone birthday. My Uncle, my Dad & now Karen
all passed within months prior to their 60<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> birthday. My Auntie
Margaret & Aunt Lee both passed just prior to their 70<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
birthday. It’s been a tough year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-56924287592994017702014-10-28T15:46:00.000-04:002014-10-28T15:46:34.298-04:00What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?!!?<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now that I've caught you all up on Elena & her speech development, I want to start sharing some of our funny interactions. I mentioned that I understand her most of the time, but there is still a learning curve... </div>
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A month or so ago, Elena started saying the same phrase very often. It sounded like, "E-ma A-ba, E-ma A-ba" & she should almost sing it. I would ask what she means or if she could show me...she would smile but couldn't make me understand.</div>
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On one of the rare occasions I was home to take Elena to preschool, she started her sing song "E-ma A-ba, E-ma A-ba" & I asked pleadingly, "What does this mean?" & she replied, "S-koo" "School?" I asked...she replied, "Ya, own-ee Fi-day, no Two-day"</div>
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That's when it all became clear to me!!! You see, Elena's preschool is run out of a Jewish synagogue! The have Shabbat Party every Friday!! She was singing, "Ima" & "Abba"!!! When I told this story to her teacher, she explained that there is a Shabbat song they sing every time. What made us laugh is that Elena reminded us Shabbat Party is only Fridays, not Tuesdays!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2yM_3U2jKvR2I-AOgvpc6MSuHAsLBbxoLY1hyphenhyphenOgcfr222b3LrbmC2smaommVY0yvtF98-FbHeZbupBH1ydr6zRa3JkNUgewXlAJ6_ZozET-GmBOk5kiL6AuDwktHiMKX1G4pR4qhu2I/s1600/IMG_3294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2yM_3U2jKvR2I-AOgvpc6MSuHAsLBbxoLY1hyphenhyphenOgcfr222b3LrbmC2smaommVY0yvtF98-FbHeZbupBH1ydr6zRa3JkNUgewXlAJ6_ZozET-GmBOk5kiL6AuDwktHiMKX1G4pR4qhu2I/s1600/IMG_3294.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Elena's 1st time getting to play Ima.<br />
She was so very proud!!!</td></tr>
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Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-3919491005019576162014-10-23T08:52:00.000-04:002014-10-23T08:52:56.148-04:00Say Anything
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">This post is a long time coming & far too
long overdue…Elena’s speech. For those of you who have parented a toddler,
remember when they were a year or so old & started saying words & then
sentences…remember how exciting that was? In a nut shell, that is where Elena
& I are now. A difference being that since Elena is so much older; her
thoughts are that much more complex. It’s unbelievable what she comes up with.
She has been a sponge these last 2+ years, taking everything in & now that
she’s becoming able to express herself, it’s amazing to know what is going on
in her head! It is so exciting to be able to understand (most of the time) what
Elena is trying to say & she is really coming out of her shell as she gains
confidence in her ability to communicate. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">As I mentioned in a previous post, we were
enrolled in a program through our provincial Early Words initiative that ran
from last September (2013) thru December. Elena was thoroughly evaluated &
identified as having an expressive language speech delay. The purpose of the
program was really more about teaching me, as her parent, how to better
facilitate her being able to develop her speech. I learned a great deal about
speech development. I know I didn’t cause her speech delay but I realized how,
in many ways, I made it so much harder for Elena. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">In the program I learned many techniques. I
learned that I needed to let Elena lead the conversation or play by Observing,
Waiting & Listening. I realized how important it was for me to get down on
her level & play face to face. I learned that I needed to identify objects
in a way that made it easier for her to imitate. Me saying, “That’s a ball” was
too much. She needed to hear, “Ball” so she could imitate that more
successfully; then later adding descriptions, “Blue ball”. It was important for
me to change how I spoke to her to. I knew she could indicate yes or no so I
would phrase all my questions so she could answer this way. This did nothing to
help her speech development. I had to make the conscious effort to ask open
ended questions & also offer her choice so she’d have to articulate an
answer. Every situation became an opportunity to encourage her speech
development. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Because Elena had, on her own, developed her
own signs & gestures to express what she was trying to say, I was encouraged
to teach her signs. I will admit that when the pathologist made this
suggestion, in my head I was extremely frustrated. I was looking for Elena to
learn to speak & felt that teaching her signs would be a step backwards.
Why would she try to speak if she could just sign? But I know I’m not the
expert so I taught Elena the first 3 signs the pathologist advised, Milk, Juice
& Water. Well lo & behold, didn’t Elena attempt to speak the words as
she signed! I was hooked! We download the My Smart Hands app & were on our
way. I’ve already mentioned how she would play with the app on her own &
teach herself signs!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I was thoroughly amazed at the progress Elena made
but I thought that we’d go through this program & Elena would be “cured”
& we’d be on our merry way. That’s obviously not how this works…once the
program ended, we had to be placed on the waiting list for further services. I
was told we here near the top. We saw the speech pathologist, Ms. D, who ran
the program, a few times after but her caseload was full & she couldn’t take
on Elena for the amount of service Elena really needed. I am grateful, however,
that Ms. D advocated for Elena to get the services she did need.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">You see, I learned that you really have to be
the squeaky wheel…but I really don’t like to be squeaky. I get really anxious
when I have to “nag” people about things. I hate having to make repeated phone
calls saying, “You said you’d do such & such…how’s that coming?” But Elena
needed me to…I could see what a struggle it was for her to have so many big
ideas in her head & have them blocked by her inability to express them. You
could see the wheels turning as she tried to make you understand what she was
thinking…then the look of utter defeat when she realized you just didn’t get
it. What we had learned in that first program had taken us this far…but she
needed more.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">So I sucked it up…I got over myself & made
those nagging phone calls. Every two weeks I would call Ms. D asking if there
was any news on getting Elena services. She in turn would contact the powers
that be & remind them that my little girl needed help. We’d be told that
Elena was at the top of the list & I would receive a call back within a
week. Then 2 weeks would go by without any word. I knew Elena was at a critical
juncture. She was trying so hard but the frustration was building. I was very
afraid she would just give up. So I kept calling…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We just kept getting the run around. Ms. D
would call the program, they would tell her Elena was at the top of their list
& they would call me, I’d hear nothing & call Ms. D…I cannot tell you
enough how grateful I am to Ms. D because she got tired of the loop before me
& went pleading to the other pathologists in her own department. Thankfully
Ms. K had an opening. She could take us on for 1 hour a week & even had a
4pm time slot so I would be able to attend.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We started with Ms. K in July. Her program
takes what we previously learned a step further. She breaks down the common
sounds in speech & starts there. She combined those sounds with gesture
cues. I knew this would be successful based on Elena’s previous progress with
her own gestures & the signs we learned. Now that Elena has practiced &
learned these basic sounds, she is able to combine them into words & those
words into sentences. She has gone from a vocabulary of maybe 20-30 words in
July to well over 200 now as well as 4+ word sentences. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Elena & I have our homework every night.
Ms. K gives us flash cards with words & pictures & I use the gesture
cues for Elena to say the word. Every week our stack of cards grows larger. We also
combine the cards to make small sentences. Ms. K is as amazed as I am with
Elena’s progress. Often now I don’t even have to cue Elena, she sees the card
& knows the word. Ms. K explained that this is early literacy. Not only is
Elena learning to say words & sounds, this is also a first step to her
learning how to read.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I was also amazed & surprised to learn that
Elena knows how to count! She just didn’t have the words for the numbers. She
can now clearly say numbers one to ten, with just a little trouble with six
& seven but those are more complex sounds.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">It is remarkable to see Elena blossom in this
way, to really get to see her personality shining through. I’m also so very
grateful that we got this help before she enters public school. If we’d waited
until then, who knows how defeated & frustrated she’d have felt by then. I
am so thrilled to be witness to this wonderful little girl come into her own!</span></span></div>
Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1889860626088154355.post-25951502582839465122014-10-21T08:16:00.000-04:002014-10-21T08:16:10.915-04:00Let's Do This!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.stirrup-queens.com/2014/10/the-2014-creme-de-la-creme-list-is-now-open-for-submissions/"><img alt="http://www.stirrup-queens.com/2014/10/the-2014-creme-de-la-creme-list-is-now-open-for-submissions/" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj09yfez9hxQmrDKYbmHUZU69bOusHExvOCX3ZoujZnfyXX6D4bS8TrR2qB2U-9eoO70TH3mKchypwGly0ercOhqz8n66qtPJvt8meXzpas6eCXD5NPeEzmjebFOtckIAT8T_Z27nokXeA/s1600/2014Creme.jpg" /></a></div>
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It's that time a year again...please take the time to review your archives, pick your best post & submit it to the Crème! </div>
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Thank you so much to <a href="http://www.stirrup-queens.com/">Mel</a> for doing this for the 9th straight year!!</div>
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Tiarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17511522028218347560noreply@blogger.com1