Baby's First ADR Day! Disney Dining for the first timers!

Well hello there! We have officially reached the point in our Disney World planning when you see how much you've learned along the way and the nerves start a-fluttering!

We ended up booking our vacation through MVT, a travel agency notorious for customer service and fantastic deals! Many of their vacation packages are actually at a steeper discount than you'll find through Disney direct or anywhere else! So far, I am very happy with them! We are using their agent, Brandi, and she has been so dedicated and knowledgeable! If you'd like a free quote from them, just click on MVT and it'll take you to their site!

So, with the balance, room, dining plan, and park tickets clearly in place our next big step was to choose any meals that may or may not need a reservation and have it ready by the 180 mark! Since we knew, roughly, which days we want to be in which park it made it a little easier! We've gone through probably five "itineraries" that have been changed until we finally seem to have the plan that will work best for us - which included adding a day to our trip so we can enjoy a resort day in the middle of our stay!

To start planning your park days, I'd suggest looking at the things that are a priority to your family. We know we'll need a rest day, so we added that to the middle of our trip. We also really want to book the Early Morning Magic at the Magic Kingdom which allows you entrance to Fantasyland before the park opens as well as an All You Care to Enjoy breakfast! That experience is only offered on Sundays and Tuesdays, and since we won't be there on a Sunday - Tuesday *has* to be our Magic Kingdom day! Knowing that meant we could fill the rest in easily.

Another must for us is the Hollywood and Vine Character Breakfast in Hollywood Studios, since we fly in on a Monday that would be too close of a time crunch to risk, Tuesday is Magic Kingdom, Wednesday is rest day, that leaves us Thursday and Friday - Friday being our travel day back home. So, you can see how knowing what's on your "must do" list is imperative to planning your days and dining reservations!

Now that we know which park we want to be in each day, talk it over with your family! I was comfortable not doing a dining reservation at Hollywood Studios for dinner and just letting the day happen, but my husband really wanted to try the 50's Prime Restaurant which is by reservation only.

I've found that it's also helpful to have a tally mark space in your notebook if you're doing a Dining Plan! We are utilizing the middle-tier Disney Dining Plan, so I started by noting how many of each meals we get and then as I marked off our "must-do" meals, I tallied them up. This is important because not all meals are created equally. The dinner at Be Our Guest is now a Signature Meal. That means 2 Table Service Meals per person. So we're using 6 TS credits for one dinner. Which, considering we're pretty vanilla eaters, seems like a waste - but it's also the only way for us to meet C's favorite character - The Beast. And so we'll use them. But anyway, tally marks for the win!

So now you have your itinerary planned, your restaurants picked, and the 180 day mark is approaching. The reservation window opens at 7 am Orlando time. Which meant 6 am CST where I am. I set my alarms and had the MDE app on my phone ready to go! And then it wasn't loading...and I panicked. I rushed - half asleep - to the computer and got the Disney website going, all the while frantically refreshing the app. And then it worked.

The good news is - I got all of my reservations and at times that I think will work for my family! AND it really wasn't as hectic as I thought it would be! The bad news is...well, there isn't. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail! And I am all about planning this trip!!

So there you have it! The next update will be our 60 day Fast Pass+ day where we'll plan out ALL the princess visits! And then at 30 Days it'll be PAY IT OFF day! And then we'll be there! Woohoo! Make sure to stay tuned as we wind up the planning and then post there!

The Thing They Never Told Me

You're not going to sleep for 18 years. You'll never look the same. Say goodbye to your love life. Now you'll really be out of money. Good luck keeping a clean house now!

All things about parenthood I heard while enduring 10 months carrying precious cargo. But there was a warning no one gave. One I couldn't even vocalize it until a friend of mine asked a week or two into having my darling Caroline home.

She asked,

"What's it like to be a mom?"

What is it like? To know that this tiny person depends on you for everything. To know that for the rest of her life she will look to her daddy and me for security. Comfort. Advice. The list goes on and on. And while they are true, there was one thing that rang truer than the rest, and it was the answer I gave.

"It's like I never knew God until I held her."

I have sang the songs and learned the verses. Jesus loves me. For God so loved the world that He gave His only son. And as I held that tiny baby in my arms, I realized how great a sacrifice that was.

Mary held a slumbering babe in her arms. She faced the same knowledge as I, that he would look to her for security, comfort, advice. That babe was given to her, the son of God. God's son. And He knew that His son would be persecuted and tortured, loved and hated, that he would suffer on the cross and die. My heart aches with the thought. And Mary, oh Mary. To watch her son go through so much. And surely as she saw him under the burden of that cross she remembered the first time she held him in her arms. A tiny bundle, asleep, nestled close to her. What strength she had.

This is also around the time that I stop to wonder if that's where the similarities end. Did Jesus have colic? Gas issues? Because I tell you what, if Mary got through colic and gas without gas drops and gripe water, she must have really been given heavenly strength.

The first few weeks I found myself in tears, frequently. I was overwhelmed. Not with sleep deprivation or disgust over my new "mom pouch," but overwhelmed with love. The love I had for her, for my mom and husband who helped me get through labor, and in pain for the mom's who have had to watch their children suffer. C is only going on 6 months, so she has yet to be lied to or have her heart broken or learned the evils of the world. But the quiver and pout of her lip when she's over tired, over hungry, or just having a bad day is enough to melt me. I would give anything for her to never hurt, but that's impossible.

And who knows, sometimes beauty can come from pain we've endured. Sometimes having to sit by yourself in the cafeteria gives you strength. Being rejected teaches you perseverance. In all things there are lessons, and God promises to turn all things to good for us.

Which brings everything full circle. We are God's children. The same way I hold my baby and want to give her the world, God wants to give us the desires of our hearts. The same way I want all the best for her, He wants for me. The same way I will set rules in place for her safety, He has already given to me.

The thing no one ever told me, is how much clearer I would see God and understand Him in the slow rise and fall of my daughters chest as she sleeps peacefully in my arms, safe and secure and trusting.

Just was we need to be in the arms of our Father.