Corinne still likes to dress up like Dorothy. The only problem is that her dress is from two years ago, so it's getting a little short. She grew out of her ruby slippers, and replaced them with pink furry boots. Her Dorothy wig got mangled, so the Ariel wig was the only other option. The end result is what I like to call a Dorothy hot mess. She could almost pass for a haggard Motley Crue groupie. She's too cute for that, though.
Christian boarded his first flight all by himself today. He was excited and eager; I was scared and worried. So far, so good. He made it safely to San Francisco to have a date with his Grammy. I just called him, and he told me all about the view of the bay from his Hilton hotel room, the free snacks on the executive level, the indoor pool he was about to take a dip in, and the room-service steak dinner he was about to eat. Oh, I can't forget about the warm chocolate chip cookies he'll get before bed tonight. Is it wrong to be jealous of my eight year old son?
We had a fun/quiet Easter. It was an early morning for us with singing in a few services. The kids were very understanding that the Easter Bunny got backed up and had to ask John and I to hide the Easter eggs. We were so tired at that point, we didn't feel like sneaking around in the front yard. It's easy to get in touch with the Easter Bunny when you have his cell number. Oh, we also have Santa on speed dial. I almost woke up at 3am to throw something in the crock pot, but I was only getting about four hours of sleep. John had the idea to go to Benihana for dinner. What screams Easter better than Benihana? It was a far leap from traditional, but I kind of loved it.
Here's a video of Corinne at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique after they were all finished turning her into a princess.
This was a conversation between Coy and Corinne as we were packing everything up and getting ready to come home from our trip last week...
Corinne: I love being at this hotel! I want to live in a hotel.
Coy: You can't live in a hotel, Corinne; it's just for vacations.
Corinne: But if people don't have a home and sleep outside, they can live in a hotel.
Coy: No, No, No! First, you have to get a job. Then, you have to get some money. Then, you have to get a wife. A wife is a woman, Corinne.
Coy's train of thought always cracks me up. A lot of grown men still haven't figured this one out. I guess Coy is ahead of the game.
Here are some things that made me happy this last week...
1. We went to Disneyland for free because of Disney's Give a Day, Get a Day promotion. The family did some volunteering, and we all received a ticket into the park. We had to pay for Corinne because she was too young to volunteer, but still, the price was right. I get more pleasure out of Disneyland than the kids do.
2. When we got to the hotel in Anaheim, I did not find a single thing wrong with our room. John has learned to not even bring the bags into any hotel room we stay in until I have thoroughly checked the bathroom, beds, and carpet. To simply state it, we often room change when we're on vacation. Yeah, I'm one of "those" people. John was shocked that I had nothing negative to say about the room.
3. Christian has finally grown out of the stage where he is afraid of all the fast rides. He loved Space Mountain this time. Yay! He really is my child. Corinne, on the other hand, will never be the same after her first ride on Space Mountain. I think we may have scarred her for life. She did love Star Tours, so I thought she would like Space Mountain. Umm, no.
4. As an early birthday present for Corinne, she had an appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Disneyland. She had her hair, nails, and make-up done by her fairy godmother. She got to pick out her hairstyle, and when the royal attendants were finished, they turned her chair around to look into a magic mirror. She already had on her Little Mermaid costume, so she looked like a beautiful princess the rest of the day at Disneyland. I wish they had the boutique when I was little.
5. Coy wanted to wear his Peter Pan costume all day at Disneyland. He even carried his sword around all day. The best part was the perplexed look he would give people when they said "Hi, Peter!" as he walked by.
6. I was without a dog for three days. We boarded Apollo for the first time, and it was so much easier than finding somebody to take care of him or taking him with us. I kind of liked not having a dog.
7. Banana cream pie is on sale at Marie Callender's.
8. Last but certainly not least, I bought New Moon on dvd today. The kids are going to bed early, and I have a date with Edward and a glass of wine.
That's hot.
Usually, I just post pictures of our family on holidays and vacations on this blog, but that's not real life. So, I thought I would just give an update/vent about what's going on in our day to day. I think all the blogs and social networking of today are great. It let's us connect with old friends and see a smidgen of what's going on in their lives, but I've found that it also can make you feel a little less than.
Of course, this isn't the fault of those people posting pictures of every vacation, every new outfit, every dance recital, every beautiful room of their professionally decorated house, every new haircut, and every accomplishment they and their children have ever made. I even do it myself sometimes. We're human, and we are proud of our kids, think we're pretty, or want to show off our nice things, but these pictures and stories are not the down and dirty reality. This is just how we would like everyone else to perceive our lives; "look at me and how great I'm doing." With all of the peacocking, we fail to mention some other very real aspects of our lives. For example, your old friend from high school, Ashley, looks as if her existence is the epitome of fabulousness (I made that word up), but she failed to reveal a few of the goings-on in her life. She never blogged about her husband being laid off at work last week. She never posted the pictures of her lower half that display the 20 pounds she has gained. She never shared the details of the final step in her bankruptcy procedure. She didn't give a status update on the medication she now has to give her child in order to keep him from being kicked out of the classroom because of his newly diagnosed ADHD. These were all left out on purpose, of course. Nobody wants to reveal those old scary skeletons in the closet; we like to put pretty, rose colored glasses over our truth and then, post it on the internet. Is that to say I would like to know all about Ashley's woes and think she should share every aspect of her life? No. If she was a close friend, I would already know about all these struggles, and I would be helping in any way I could. And if I couldn't help, I would be praying.
So, to wrap this all up, my hope is that everyone can see blogging and social networking for what they are and not let it discourage them. Don't compare your life and possessions to others; doing this will never allow you to see how truly blessed you are. Remember the grass is rarely, if ever, greener. So, let's keep posting pictures and stories about the great things in life, but maybe we could add a touch of our human struggles here and there just to keep it real. Beware not to go too far, though. It's a sure bet that when you post all the gory details of your life, you not only show how attention-seeking you are, but you will most likely revolt someone.
*THESE ARE THE OPINIONS OF A 28 YEAR OLD NAMED COURTNEY*
To practice what I preach, I'm going to reveal a bit about myself that's just the plain and simple truth. I can't really say anything about my kids, cause let's face it, they're perfect. I'm not bragging; they really are. I've been blessed in the kid department. So, I'll start with myself. Since after Christmas, I've been completely disgusted with myself. I'm a natural born eater, and when you get used to eating all the holiday crap, it's hard to go back to being healthy and just plain smart about food portions. I joined a gym a month ago and have averaged three days a week. I sweat, I lift, I hurt for several days. A month later, the end result...I've gained five pounds. What the heck?? I'm not giving up, though; I'm just going to start doing weight watcher points again daily. Hopefully, that will help. The other day, Corinne patted my tummy while I was doing her hair and asked if there was a baby in there. I've heard other women tell the same story, but it finally happened to me. Maybe I should do four days at the gym.
John and I are extremely grateful to have the full realization that God answered our prayers when it came to whether or not he should have left his job of four years at MGM to go to City Center. It was a tough, scary decision, but we felt led to take the new job; even though we didn't know for sure what the money situation would be. We found out last week that John's position at MGM, front services supervisor, was completely done away with to cut costs. They laid off three of John's friends who held the same position, and each were given six weeks severance and told, "sorry and good luck." So, even though money is tight right now and tips are crazy low because nobody is coming to Vegas at the present, we are overwhelmingly grateful to be employed and have health insurance.
So, there's a little bit of our "real life" at the moment. I hope in someway I made your day by making you feel better about something in your life.
