Disney Dates

Good Thursday morning!

The Gallery Pics today are of Roxie's pageant pictures that have to be attached to her pageant registration form. They are supposed to be casual pics, so this was right up my alley. I love having a child who loves having their picture taken... even though she's getting a little pickier the older she gets. The winner of the three dozen or so pictures we took is on Belinda's Project 365.

I also added a picture of the Refrigerator Bran Muffins. I made over four dozen! That's a lot of regularity, folks! And they're tasty, too!

While we were walking this morning, Julie and I were talking about the muffins and Cam said something about making Captain Crunch muffins. Hmmm. Interesting. If Julie's recipe could make Raisin Bran taste good, just think what it would do to Captain Crunch. So I went by Food Depot and bought another quart of buttermilk, a box of Captain Crunch cereal and headed to the house. "What happened next?" you must be asking yourself. Well, I'll tell you. Something was not quite right... as in something was terribly wrong.

I'm going to try it again. I am. But instead of buttermilk, I think I'm going to use half and half, and I don't think I need to add the cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. These muffins will have NO nutritional value whatsoever... which will probably make them the best muffins EVER! I'll let you know when I wake up from my self-induced diabetic coma.

Oh, and there's another Disney photo to go along with our theme this week.

Weekend Family Fun

The Home Depot - The Home Depot's workshop is this weekend. They will be building a firehouse bank in honor of fire safety month. Unlike Lowe's, Home Depot only does the children's building clinics once a month.

The first 50 children to arrive will receive the project, goggles and an apron. Ages 5 to 12 are eligible, and classes start at 9:00 a.m.

You can also purchase previous projects at the store.

Kid's Circle Event - Learn how to decorate a Spooky Pizza and celebrate Halloween at the same time. The Bruno's Kid's Circle attendees will work with pre-made pizza crusts and make them look like a scary face or Jack 'o Lantern that will be cooked in a special bread oven. After the cooking demonstration, the fun continues with a department by department trick or treat adventure. Class size is limited. Parents may observe, assist, participate or grab a cup of complimentary coffee. Pre-register for this free activity by calling 987-2523 or e-mail cborden@cswg.com.

Dollar Movies - The Dollar Movie in Hoover has not one, but THREE, family movies this weekend. (Aliens in the Attic, Ice Age 3 and Up... all rated PG.) If you haven't seen these movies at the theater yet, now is your very affordable chance.

Farm of the Week - Best known for their school tours, Tate Farms Cotton Pickin' Pumpkins is also open for family fun in Meridianville, Alabama!

The $10 general admission includes the following:

Hay Ride to pumpkin field (pumpkins are an additional charge)
Play in the Cotton Jump
Hay Bale Maze for exploring
Three corn cribs to play in
Animals to pet
Barnyard Playground
Fall photography displays
General Store

Other activities include hay bale and cotton picker slides, mini John Deere tricycles, horse tire swings, and farm animals.

There are additional charges for pumpkins. Carving or specialty pumpkins are priced according to weight. Gourds are priced according to size and variety. The Corn Train is $2 per person per ride. The Gourd Gun is 3 shots for $5 and Face Painting is $.50 per design.

And, of course, you can pick your own pumpkins from their huge 60-acres of pumpkins and gourds of all kinds and varieties!

Don't forget to visit the Tate Farms Cotton Pickin' Pumpkins Country Store with great food, toys, collector's items and more. Inside, you'll also find the cookbook "Tate Farms, Friends and Family," featuring recipes from the Tate family, friends and employees featuring old family favorites, and of course, lots of pumpkin recipes.

Enjoy great food and fun at The Barn Cafe. The Cafe is open Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. They serve cooked to order hamburgers, hotdogs, delicious grilled and fried chicken sandwiches, chicken fingers, and fries. Of course, they use their own pumpkins to prepare their great tasting homemade pumpkin pies! The Barn Cafe offers a soup of the day, along with the southern favorite pintos, cornbread, and a slice of onion.

They also offer pumpkin slushies, pumpkin sippies, soft drinks, hot chocolate, cappuccinos and coffee.

On Saturdays, they have fudge puppies (Belgian waffles dipped in chocolate), funnel cakes, cotton candy, roasted corn and specialty breads and desserts.

Plan to spend a full day at Tate Farms Cotton Pickin' Pumpkins and don't forget your camera!

Sorry, no leashed or unleashed pets may be brought onto the farm.

Tate Farms is located a little under two hours from Gardendale. For directions contact them at (256) 828-8288 or check their website at www.tatefarmspumpkins.com.

Again, this would be a day trip with your family. Check out their website to see if you and your family would enjoy a fun-filled fall day at this farm. As I said last week, I haven't visited this farm personally (only the website), so it would be an adventure for you and your family to try. Remember to be flexible.

Disney Week - Part Four

Yep, it was strep all right. I was pretty sure I had a fever when I woke up the next morning, and I had a golf ball in my throat. Unfortunately, there was no rest for the terribly ill... We had reservations at Chef Mickey. Mike was having some trouble with a sinus infection as well, so before we headed out to breakfast, we both called our doctors' offices and left messages asking them to send great quantities of drugs. Sick as we were, we headed to Chef Mickey's and had a marvelous time. If you can have that much fun with a 102 degree temperature, it let's you know how wonderful Disney really is.

The breakfast was great with Austin having his fill of Fruit Loops and pancakes and every kind of doughnut available making Joshua's dream come true. Roxie was content just meeting Minnie and receiving kisses from Chip, Dale and Mickey. It was one of our nicest meals at Disney.

MGM was on the schedule for the day and it did not disappoint. We enjoyed the Star Wars ride, which was very similar to Body Wars at Epcot. We had warned the kids about the wait for the Mulan Parade. We found the perfect spot one hour before the parade began and broke out the snacks. The kids were wonderful. Waiting didn't seem to bother them too much as long as they were prepared. Once the parade began, the children were mesmerized and the wait was definitely worth everything we went through to save our special "spot."

The Indiana Jones Show amazed and impressed the boys. As we watched the show, I began to feel worse and worse (if that was possible). However, it didn't dampen my excitement of watching the boys' reaction to Indiana Jones. As soon as we left the theater, the boys purchased Indiana Jones' rifles with their souvenir money and they were happy guys.

I didn't think I could make it one more step, but we walked to the rear of the park to look for a few characters and we hit the jackpot. My favorite Disney character of all time is Winnie the Pooh, and I had mentioned to the kids I wasn't leaving Disney unless I got my picture taken with him. Joshua, who was our designated character spotter, saw him before we even turned the corner and I got to meet Pooh! I could barely stand up, but it was still so magical! (However, the picture of me with my head on his shoulder and his arms supporting my drooping body is not so much "sweet" as it was "necessary!") We also met Alice in Wonderland right before we left, and Roxie was happy because that was one of her all time favorite movies.

It was a wonderful day, but the best part was room service pizza (Austin and Joshua's suggestion) and major doses of antibiotics from a local pharmacy. We were in the bed by 8:00 p.m., tired, but content and excited about the next day. (And really, really hoping the Z-Pac was going to perform a miracle during the night!)

Disney Dates

Disney Dates are great if you have two or more children, and you are staying at Disney for more than three or four days.

When visiting the park, pick a time for Dad or Mom to go with only one child for a specific period of time (three to four hours if possible) to their favorite park doing their favorite or age-appropriate things.

For example, Roxie and I attended a Princess Breakfast early one morning. While we were at breakfast, Mike and the boys were in a different park for the morning. It was nice, leisurely and very girly.

That evening, Mike and Austin spent several hours at Innoventions (one of Austin's favorite things to do) and watched a show. The next day Mike and Josh spent several hours doing some things he specifically enjoyed (one of which was riding the Mickey Boats in the large lake outside the Polynesian). While Mike and the boys had their individual dates, I took Roxie and the remaining brother to the hotel pool or arcade which were things we probably wouldn't have taken the time to enjoy if we had all been together trying to see and do EVERYTHING Disney has to offer.

When you take two or more children on vacation in a minivan and stay in a hotel room together and eat every meal together 24/7, a little time apart with just Mom or Dad might help let off a little steam. It makes some sweet memories for the kids, too.

We did this on both of our Disney trips (2000 and 2004) and a trip we took to Universal. It worked great on all three trips.

Oh, and by the way... We pick a name out of a bowl to see who gets the first "date." We keep it completely fair, and everyone has to wait their turn. If you get a chance, try it... I think you'll like it!

Have a great Thursday. It's a beautiful fall day. Survivor is on tonight. What more could you ask? (Don't get me started.) Tomorrow I have a Disney book, TV reviews (Survivor and Amazing Race) and the last of Disney Week.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda