Hey Strangers!

Sorry I’ve been away for a few weeks, but look where I went:

IMG_5011

 

In case you can’t tell, that’s me and Gianni with Goofy in DISNEY WORLD! The whole Roder clan had a blast, especially the kids. (Though Sophia will eat slugs for lunch before she goes on the Tower of Terror again. What was I thinking?)

Here are a few highlights from our trip:

Disney breakfast1. The Disney Dining Plan is worth it, especially if you want to gain 10 pounds in 1 week. Need to bulk up for your sumo wrestler tournament? Then this is the plan for you! We each got 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, and we could eat in whichever restaurant we wanted to, even the fancy ones. Plus, each meal came with an appetizer, entree, drink, and dessert for each person.

This is me on the first day of our trip:

disney carousel

 

And me on the last day:

 

Disney food

I’m actually under that slab of bacon.

 

2. Vader ain’t got no game. My kids totally destroyed him.

 

3. The Princesses are REAL! And we met just about all of them.

 

4. Disney really is magical! We loved it!

Disney Family

The Princesses are Back!

Our princesses are back and up to their usual mischief! Looks like last night they were watching tv and sneaking some candy. Naughty girls!

  

http://nicoleroder.com/2014/12/01/the-princesses-are-coming-the-princesses-are-coming/

The Princesses Are Coming! The Princesses Are Coming!

Last year, right after Thanksgiving, I woke up early before the kids and found this ridiculous mess in my kitchen.

Princesses chocolates

I was suspicious, of course. Had the kids been up already? Sure enough, I could hear them moving around upstairs, so I went to the girls’ room and asked them to explain the mess in the kitchen. Continue reading

Sister Love

Emma and Sophia reading

Emma and Sophia reading

 

This really just happened.

Emma and Sophia were playing in the basement when the swell of some sort of roar-scream hybrid came rushing up the stairs. Surely, someone had lost a toe or discovered a dead body in the bathroom. I went running to rescue my babies. No one had lost a toe. It was worse. Way worse. Continue reading

Your Daily Funny :)

Probably 3 years ago or so, we bought a Disney Princess CD, that for some reason included “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from the Lion King. The first time we listened to it, Emma asked me what “disaster” meant, and I said, “It’s just like a really bad thing.” Being a completely reasonable toddler, she was immediately terrified of both the word and the song. For the longest time she wouldn’t listen to it, and she would have a complete freak-out fit if even the song before it (Once Upon a Dream-her favorite song at the time) came on. She had a paralyzing fear that once that song ended, I wouldn’t get to the CD player in time to skip THE SONG OF DEATH. She even convinced Sophia to hate the song.

Nothing I could say would convince her that the song was safe. “Honey, that weird little badger guy from the movie is just worried that his friend will want to spend all his time with his new girlfriend. It’s normal, I promise!” Alas, she remained terrified.

We haven’t listened to the CD regularly in at least a year and a half. Both of the girls prefer pop music now. Every once in a while we’d pull it out because somebody requested a specific song, but we’d listen to the one song and that would be that. Well, today while I was in the shower, Matt put the CD on for the girls. Apparently, they needed a break from Christmas music. (A break from Christmas music?! Mom would NOT have allowed that. I’ll deal with it later, though.)

So there we were, innocently listening to Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip sing Once Upon a Dream, and I couldn’t help thinking, Uh oh, The Lion King’s coming on. I didn’t say anything, though, and to my relief neither did the girls. Maybe they’ve forgotten. They were pretty little.

Then I had to ask (stupid Mommy!) “So do you guys like this song?”

Sophia: Noooo!! It says “disaster!” That’s a bad word!

Me: It’s not a bad word. It just means something bad. Is “bad” a bad word?

Now, I know what you’re thinking. I’ve already told you about the joy I take in scaring my children. This is all my fault. But hey, did you notice that memory? Not bad for a four and a half year old. I’ll take it as a win.

This isn’t the most Thanksgiving-ish post I could’ve written, so I’ll end with some gratefulness. God has blessed me with so many gifts. A happy, healthy family whom I love more than anything, amazing friends, plenty of food, a warm home, and the privilege of being able to help others. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!