Disneyland: best places to nurse your baby

Before I let you in on my top 5 favorite places to nurse at Disneyland, I need to state that because of Disneyland I was able to conquer my fear of N.I.P-- Nursing in Public. Let me Explain.

We took Goofy to Disneyland when he was 12 weeks old. Call us crazy but I think this was our way of celebrating the fact that we survived the fourth trimester. Up to that point anytime we went out we would time it so that it minimized the amount of public feedings I would have to do. This meant a) really short outings (have you seen how often a newborn eats???) or b) feeding in the car, fitting room or eeep even a public bathroom!

Well, all that changed when we were at the land of the mouse. You see, I was not about to spend our trip hiding somewhere trying to feed the baby. So, armed with my nursing cover, I decided to feed him whenever he was hungry, without going to great lengths to find a bathroom or some other dark corner. My fears and anxieties were further lifted when I observed a European mama (I could tell by her accent)  in line at Buzz light year  pick up her hungry baby and proceed to nurse, without a cover or blanket, or anything. I was astonished! I know, it is probably a European thing, but it just made me laugh at myself. At that point I decided my fears were silly and I vowed never to feed my baby in a bathroom ever again. I figured, as long as I was covered up, and my hubs didn't mind, then I would feed my baby wherever he wanted to eat.

So yes, back to the point of this post. I have nursed my oldest son when he was a baby and my 2 current babies, Chip and Dale, all over Disneyland. My Top 5 favorite places to nurse in Disneyland:

Mama Made It: Baby Ponchos for Disney

Our last trip to Disneyland was in January, in the middle of winter. Since we were expecting to see at least one night show during the trip I wanted the babies to be warm and did not want the hassle of falling blankets while walking (because you know that after a day in the stroller the last thing a baby wants is to be in the stroller at the end of the day!). I found a poncho tutorial from the Make and Takes blog and knew it would be perfect for our trip. I raided my fabric stash (thank you fleece that was on sale at Joann's during Black Friday 2011) and got to work. I preferred the no-fringe version for my boys and added the Mickey applique to give it some Disney magic. The project was so easy that I was able to complete both ponchos over the course of 2 nap times which is a huge accomplishment!

When the boys wore them around Disneyland they were bundles of cuteness and a hit with random folks. 

Dale, with his Mickey Poncho at Disneyland, complete with ears.

Twins and a Toddler: Shopping configurations

Someday when my boys are all grown we will go to the store and not need two carts. They will walk next to one cart and we can get in and out of the store relatively painlessly.

These days however we know that there is no such thing as popping into the store really quick with twin babies and a toddler.

As infants, it would take, oh almost an hour to do a Target run to grab some diapers and a few household items. Ideally we would try to keep the babies at home to minimize the chaos that is required in getting out of the house

 But even mama needs to get out of the house and see the light of day sometimes.

So what does it take to go shopping in the store? I know when my babies are grown up we will laugh at these days, but  we have settled onto various configurations for our shopping needs.

Simple moments to treasure...

I <3 babywearing my almost 3 year old 'baby'.

Mama Made It: felt food! chips and sandwich

Felt food has gotten popular around the internet lately and with an almost 3 year old who loves to pretend to cook I don't know why I did not jumped on the bandwagon earlier. Here is my first project. It only took one nap to finish.. I was inspired by the ever popular brown bag lunch tutorial on Skip to My Lou but scaled it down into a 1 nap project instead of a 2-3 nap project (yes, I think of my crafty time in terms of nap; one nap lasting approximately one hour). It would have been faster if I was brave enough to dust off my sewing machine but I did not.

So, I made a bag of tortilla chips (Goofy called them Doritos!) and a PB & J sandwich (with grey PB because I ran out of brown felt).  And just like his daddy, Goofy wanted to make a chip sandwich, because, you know that's the only way to eat a sandwich.

Twins and a Toddler- Getting into the Car

My twin boys are 9 months old and we have almost survived our first year as a family of five. Looking back its easy to take for granted how we have all adjusted and grown together as a family. Take for example the simple act of getting everyone ready and into the car to go somewhere, such as the Dr's office. As infants,  the process would typically be as follows:

Mama Made it: Crinkle ball for baby

During one of many diaper changes, I observed that my baby boys love to play with the plastic wipes pouch because of the crinkle sound that it makes. This got my mind rolling to make a crinkly toy for my babies. I grabbed a couple items lying around the house:

You know its Spring when...

• your babies go to sleep in their non fleece jammies
• you can't wait for all the warm weather fruit that is just around the corner
• you cant wait to get back to the rhythm of going outside everyday
• pedicures are back on the budget list--- time to break out the sandals!
• your mind is planning a vacation, somewhere. Anywhere. Like Disneyland ;) 

Oh, Spring, how I've missed you so!

Simple Moments to Savor

I <3 blocks. Good for playing and eating. Win win!

Twins and a toddler- Eating Out

"...Party of 5, 2 high chairs and 1 booster"


This is what I usually ask for on those occasions that we are able to take our family out for a meal at a restaurant. The hostess usually looks at my family with a look of surprise at seeing two babies and then examines the table chart of the restaurant. Occasionally, consultation is needed with another hostess or waiter to determine proper placement. Then, we are usually seated.

My husband and I are pretty easy to please in general. However, when we do go out to eat, we do have our requirements.

Keep the hands (and creativity) moving

For as long as I can remember I've always loved crafts. Anything that involved my hands and creativity was right up my alley. As a child it was fun to wander up and down the craft aisle in the local Pay Less Drugs (now, known as Rite Aid) and imagine the possibilities of what could be made.

 
When I was in 6th grade our class learned how to crochet and my mom once again helped me to figure it out. In terms of handicraft skills that are passed down the generations, my guess is that you are either a knitting family or a crochet family. Our family was definitely a crochet family. My great grandmother, so I am told, would crochet lace and all sorts of doilies and other things that can be found around the house.

Aside from 6th grade I haven't picked up a crochet hook in years. I think I did crochet a scarf in college, but that was it. So this winter I was inspired to crochet again when by chance I happened upon a ruffled scarf pattern online at the crochet spot.  A search through my sewing box, several You Tube videos later,  and I was back in action. It felt great. Just like an old friend, the familiar rhythm of creating something with your hands.  A scarf was perfect for a first item. It was good to practice the basic stitches and short enough to  give instant gratification and satisfaction. (Which is important when the only time to crochet is basically during naps and bedtime!)

Now my only problem is figuring out what to do next....

Simple moments to savor

I <3 staying in bed on cold mornings.

Mama, the blanket keeper

At night when my kids are asleep I find myself doing an extra check on my three just to make sure the blanket is still on them snugly. Yes, I'm sure that is totally the reason. Or maybe I just want to squeeze in secret snuggles and kisses at night. After all, they're only little for so long.

Who could resist extra snuggles with this cutie?

Disney on the brain: Random Disney Memory

Knowing that we will be heading back to Disneyland for a short (i.e 2 days, 1 night) trip Disney has been on the brain lately. A lot of it is thinking of what we would like to do this time around on top of wondering what the weather will be like and what to pack for three kids  under three. But amidst all those thoughts a random Disney memory creeps into my mind and makes me smile to think of the magic waiting there for us.

This was from Goofy's trip last year, at 2 years old so the first trip that he actually can remember. Before we went I would talk to him about how he would be going to 'Mickey's House' and that he could hug Mickey if he wanted. Well, our first day at Disneyland our first stop had to be Mickey's Toon Town since it was all Goofy could talk about. And here he is, getting a big hug from his pal Mickey Mouse. I know for a 2 year old boy this was definitely an epic moment in his life so far.

Simple moments to savor...

I <3 seeing my 3 huddled together in play. Wonder what they are dreaming up together.

Rationale behind our blog names

As you can probably guess from our nicknames, Disney, rather Disneyland is a big deal around here. It all started when DH proposed...we were at....Disneyland. Our first non-honeymoon vacation as husband and wife, yep, Disneyland. First vacation as a family of 3 (than later 5)....yep, you guessed it. Here are numbers:

4: the most number of times in a row we rode Buzz Lightyear (it was a rainy and slow day)
12: the age in weeks that Goofy first visited the Mouse
16: the age in weeks that our twins, Chip and Dale first visited the mouse
2: the number of times on average we see Disney Jr live show per visit
2: the number of strollers we need to make it through the park with 3 kids under 3.
6: the number of hours it takes to drive to Disneyland
8.50: the cost of the best dinner that feeds 2 (turkey leg!)
2.5: the number of hours we've been known to wait in front of sleeping beauty's castle for THE prime spot for the fireworks

And:

69: number of days till our next visit!

We just booked a super quick trip in order to get our Disney fix until our annual (longer) trip in the fall. Super excited!

Simple Moments to savor

I <3 sweet snuggly baby feet, especially when there's two pairs.