Friday, May 30, 2008

Reagan's Special Day

Reagan has been complaining recently about not getting enough attention. Apparently, I've been giving Presley some attention--how dare I! Anyhow, I sent Presley to Nana's & Gran's yesterday so that Reagan and I could have a full day together.

It started with her getting to watch whatever she wanted on TV (which is usually the case anyhow, as Presley is easy to persuade). We made a quick stop at Target on the way to swimming lessons, and Reagan took her time browsing through the nail polish, lip gloss, and other assorted sparkly cosmetics. After lessons, we had a yummy brunch at Nashville's famous Pancake Pantry. (Reagan had the "Bears in the Snow"--bear-shaped pancakes with powdered sugar and chocolate chips.)

After brunch, we made a quick stop at Michael's for fairy wings (birthday party swag) then headed to Green Hills Mall. It had been quite some time since I'd been to GHM, and it was sadly disappointing for Reagan. There's no Disney Store, no playground, and not even a toy store that we could find. But on another intersting note, I read this morning on People.com that Miley Cyrus was there yesterday too! (What is it with us and Hannah Montana being at the mall together? Read about our previous sighting at http://valsmomblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/hannah-montana-sighting.html.)

Since the mall was a bust, I took Reagan to a used music store, where we could look at all the instruments and decide what she might want to play someday. At this point, the only thing she probably has the dexterity to play would be piano or violin. We've already started a bit on piano and plan to do a bit more this summer. We haven't decided about violin--it's a pretty big financial commitment for something she may or may enjoy. Maybe in a year or so...

We came home and regrouped for a couple of hours before I had a chiropractic appointment. After that, we got ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery and finished the day out at McDonald's. Reagan ate like a champ (all that running around must have made her hungry) and played with some new friends in the playland.

All in all, we had a fun day of overindulgence and lots of undivided attention. Just what Reagan wanted.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Seeing Spots

Why am I perfectly capable of constructing intricate sentences, creating aesthetically pleasing melody lines, and even solving complex mathematical equations, but am utterly incapable of doing a load of laundry without turning everything pink?

Sunday, May 25, 2008

A Stinky Situation

I think it's time to start hard-core potty training. We definitely know when Presley's about to make a stinky--although she denies it vehemently--because she finds a place in the room where she can have some privacy. (In case you can't understand her, she's saying, "Go away!")

Friday, May 23, 2008

Pomp and Circumstance


On Thursday, Reagan "graduated" from Pre-K at King's Kids Mother's Day Out. The kids said the pledges (American flag and Christian flag), sang a couple of songs, and read their sight words (and, it, the, etc.). They also had one of those tear-jerker video presentations where you see a baby photo and then your big kid (sigh). Then, as each graduate was given a "diploma," the director read what the child wants to be when he or she grows up. The answers were varied and interesting--everything from a doctor to a Power Ranger. Reagan apparently wants to be a fairy. (We're a bit obsessed with Tinkerbell right now.)

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Greg Long Sighting


Ok, so this one is a bit more obscure, but in keeping with my recent "celebrity sighting" posts, I thought it was worth adding. Today after Reagan's preschool graduation (post to appear on http://www.reagangibbs.blogspot.com/ as soon as I get time to upload pics), we saw Greg Long of the Christian group Avalon. (He also had a solo career in the 90s. I had one of his albums, and he had Christian radio hits with "How Long?" and "Days of Grace" among others.) I believe he's a member at Christ Church, and he may actually even be on the board there.
I hope to be back to normal blogging soon. It was a busy week, and this is faster than sitting down and actually forming my thoughts into words.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Phil Vassar Sighting


It was not my intention to become a celbrity blogger, but recently I've been seeing them everywhere. Tonight after Reagan's Kinderdance recital (read about it at http://reagangibbs.blogspot.com/2008/05/tiny-dancers.html), we were eating at McAllister's in Brentwood when Phil Vassar walked in. I'm a huge fan of his music (mostly his writing, but I like his voice too), but I resisted the temptation to throw my kid in his lap and take a photo (even though I did have my camera there).

Tiny Dancers


Tonight we were once again in the "cutest place on earth" as seven little Kinderdancers took the stage and wowed friends and family. Although I am certainly biased, I think Reagan may just have been the best little dancer! Certainly, she was the most committed. Her movements were fluid and her facial expressions were priceless. (Sadly, it was rather dark and my photos are pitiful. We're hoping for good video.) I have a clue where she gets the drama, but I have no idea where she gets the actual dance talent. Maybe it skips a few generations.

Busy Week

It's a big week at the Gibbs house. Tonight is Reagan's Kinderdance recital. I've been running errands this morning--picking up flowers (every ballerina should get flowers!) and a giant cookie to celebrate with after the big show.

Then Thursday is Reagan's preschool graduation. We're having a few family members over for lunch just after the program, so I've got shopping and cleaning to do for that.

You'd think we'd have a week or so of down time after that, but Reagan starts swimming lessons the following week. (What were we thinking?) I guess being busy is better than being bored!

"Ear Hurt!"

I LOVE that Presley is getting more vocal and is now able to tell us things that actually make sense. After a rather sleepless night last Thursday, I called the pediatrician to make an appointment for Friday morning. She had been coughing for a few days, but had no fever. However, Thursday evening she but she became inconsolable and wouldn't sleep (and she's a champion sleeper!), so I knew something was wrong. As I was getting us all ready to go, Presley whined, "Ear hurt!" Wow! She could actually tell me what the problem was!

So...after one bout of projectile vomiting and a change of clothes for Mama and Presley, we made it to Dr. Lee's office. A quick look in her ears confirmed that she had a bulging ear infection. In fact, he even warned us that it might rupture (apparently, that's not terribly serious--you just let it heal on its own).

With a few doses of antibiotics in her system, the baby girl is doing just fine. She still has a cough (maybe seasonal allergies?), but her ear is, "better," as she will tell you herself.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

We're Just Saying "No" to Zyrtec

Reagan had been sniffling and coughing, without fever or other symptoms, for a few weeks when I finally called the doctor. We suspected seasonal allergies when we visited Florida and the symptoms ceased--and then returned when we got home. The nurse recommended Zyrtec, since it's a once-daily med that (supposedly) doesn't cause drowsiness like Benadryl.

Before giving it to her, I did some research of my own and found that some parents had reported their kids having behavioral and mood changes while taking it. But I spoke to my cousin Starla, whose older kids (10 and 11) both take it without problems. I figured it was worth trying, since it's now readily available OTC.

For the first couple of days, it seemed wonderful. Reagan's cough was gone, and she had no obvious side effects. But on the third day, she had the mother of all meltdowns. She yelled and screamed and cried and was defiant. It was as if she had absolutely no self control. On the flip side, when she wasn't in demon mode, she was sweet, loving, and very affectionate. It was almost as if she had bi-polar symptoms--very Jeckyl and Hyde.

She has had similar outbursts at least once a day for the last four days. So...we're kicking the Zyrtec habit. We probably have only a couple of more weeks of super-high pollen counts, so we'll take our chances with Benadryl. Sure, she'll be sleepy, but at least she won't be unbearable.

Every kid is different, and I'm sure this med is a god-send for some. But I would recommend extreme caution when giving it to younger children.

Bo Bice Sighting

Have I mentioned that Bo Bice (of American Idol semi-fame) has a child at Reagan's preschool? The first time I spotted him in the elevator, it was a bit alarming. He kind of looks like the type of guy you don't want to get into an elevator alone with. But he seems to be harmless. He was there this morning dropping off his son, along with his wife.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Guess Who's Who

Just had to share my favorite vacation photos past and present. Both were taken on the last evening of our Disney vacations. In both cases, the girls were just too tired to wake up and get their PJs on. They were approximately the same age at the time the photos were taken (within a few months). One was taken in 2005 (that's Reagan). The other was taken just days ago in 2008 (Presley). Can you tell who is who? Scroll down for the answer.

The top picture is Reagan and the bottom picture is Presley.

Mother's Day


This year Mother's Day started on Saturday, when Reagan and Daddy baked a cake for me. (Of course, I bought the cake mix and the frosting.) Reagan was sure I would want a princess cake, so she put some of her princess figurines on the finished cake. It was quite yummy, even if it wasn't the most beautiful creation ever.

Reagan, Presley, and Daddy went shopping on Saturday and brought home a dozen red roses, along with gifts I would get on Sunday. As soon as she had given them to me, Reagan asked for one of the roses. (She likes to pretend to be Belle, and a rose plays a very important part in that story.) Of course, I couldn't refuse. Within a few hours, the rose was in pieces. We saved the petals to add to her bath.

Sunday morning came much too early, as both Scott and I had to "work" at church--me singing and him running the computer. We all had to be at church by 7:30 a.m., which was no easy task. In fact, Reagan's hair was rather messy, but I stuck a bow in it as we hurried out the door. Had I known the kids were going to sing that morning (we'd been gone for two Sundays at Disney, so I was out of the loop), I would have made sure her hair looked nice, even if we had to be late!

After two services of the kids performing and my own sappy solo, "When You Come Home," we went out for lunch. Of course, every nice restaurant had an hour or more wait, so we settled for Calypso Cafe--one of my favorites, and a place you can always find a table. The kids eat pretty well there too, so that's a bonus.

We came home and had a mostly lazy day. Presley napped while Reagan watched movies and Scott and I read the paper. Scott handled all the diapers and feeding the kids snacks and dinner. He even offerred to make me a peanut butter sandwich (I declined).

I forgot to mention that I received a cute Disney card (which I believe Presley picked out), along with some sparkly pens that Reagan chose (she knows my love of office supplies), and a Starbucks gift card that I'm sure Daddy chose.
To make Mother's Day last even longer, I bought myself a new color laser printer yesterday--sweet!!! Now I can scrapbook, print photos, make colorful party invitations--oh, yes, and also work--to my heart's content.

Friday, May 09, 2008

Another Thing Disney Does Well

I forgot to mention in my last post that when we made our ADRs (advanced dining reservations), we told the operator that Reagan has a tree nut allergy. She noted this in our reservations and said that although this information would be noted, we should also mention it when we checked in for each restaurant.


In both cases at check-in, before I had a chance to even mention it, the hostess let us know that it was noted and that a chef would come to our table once we were seated. And that's exactly what happened. The chef came out, asked us our specific allergies, and then warned us of any foods that Reagan should avoid. Actually, since she can eat peanuts (just not tree nuts), there wasn't anything she absolutely couldn't have at either restaurant, although we were told to avoid one specific dessert at the princess lunch, since there was the possibility of cross-contamination with tree nuts.


It was very reassuring to know that the ones that had prepared the food could assure us that we wouldn't run into any problems. This food allergy thing is pretty new to us, and fortunately we only have a few specific things we have to avoid. Nonetheless, I can't praise Disney enough for the way they handled this. I know there are families with much more serious allergies than us that are thankful their kids can have a fun theme park experience without worries.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Minnie & Mini-Minnie

Because of her affinity for playing dress-up, Reagan got to meet her twin on two separate occasions: First, she met Cinderella at the Storybook Princess Lunch in the Norway Pavillion of Epcot. (Presley is dressed as Belle.)
Then she met Minnie Mouse (dressed as Mini-Minnie) at brunch at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort.
To read more about our Disney vacation, visit http://www.valsmomblog.blogspot.com/.




Arrrgh, Matey!

Presley has started noticing pirates and anything pirate-related lately. Whenever she sees the scull and crossbones, she says, "Arrgh, Matey!" It's pretty funny. Here's a pic of Presley in her eye patch (given to her by our good friend, Conny, who works at Disney). We're waiting for the Finding Nemo, the Musical show at Animal Kingdom to begin.


You can read more about our Disney vacation at http://www.valsmomblog.blogspot.com/.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Disney Vacation Highlights








We're back and we had a fabulous time. It would take pages to write everything about our trip, so I'll hit a few highlights:




  • The DVD player in our car was a godsend! We made it all the way to Gainesville in one day and probably could have made the entire trip straight through.


  • My friend, Conny, who works at Disney truly rocks! Not only did she get us free entry to the parks each day, but she also set up VIP parade viewing for us. That meant we saved about an hour staking out a spot, and we had a perfect view of the castle in the background as the parade approached us--priceless!


  • The Storybook Princess Dining in the Norway Pavillion at Epcot had surprisingly good food. And we got to see five princesses in the span of about 20 minutes!


  • Reagan got to ride Cinderella's favorite horse on the carousel (it's the only horse with a gold ribbon on its tail).

  • We LOVE the ice cream bars shaped like Mickey's head--yummo!

  • We all agreed that Chef Mickey's is by far the best character meal, in terms of food, character interaction, and value.

  • I met up with Nori, a friend I used to work with at Word, for tea at the Grand Floridian. It was a relaxing, quaint ritual!

  • We give the new Finding Nemo, The Musical show a hearty thumbs up! We had incredible seats, and Nemo's puppeteer even smiled and interracted with Presley.

  • Scott and I got to be in the show at the Studios' Backlot Tour. We were the ship captain and deck hand, and we got pummelled with water. Fortunately, we were wearing rain gear.

  • Our favorite parks are in this order: Magic Kingdom, Disney Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, and then Animal Kingdom (there's just not enough to do at AK yet, and it was very crowded).
I'm sure I'll elaborate on some of this later, but I just wanted to get some quick thoughts down. Needless to say, we enjoyed it immensely.