Dances With Bears

I almost forgot about this video of Scarlett dancing with the Valentine dancing bear....he's a great dance partner.

We're Back

We finally made it home and are recovering from the holiday. We had a great Christmas. Jon and I were pretty busy getting ready for Santa after the girls went to sleep Christmas Eve.



Savy was worried that Santa wouldn't like the milk (it was soy milk), but he drank almost all of it.



Granny Ruth was here Christmas morning to watch Savannah and Scarlett open presents. I love the look on Savy's face when she first sees all the gifts under the tree.





Savy's favorite gift was a plasma car from Santa, and Scarlett got a "Goldilicious" four-wheeler.


There were presents and wrapping paper all over the place. I got everything I asked for and more. I also got some very cool new toys...like a table saw and a nail gun.


After we were done here, we headed to Mimi's house for Christmas lunch and more presents.





Savy and her new "Jessie" doll watching Toy Story 2 in my bed.



Monday we took Granny Ruth home to Glen Allan and stayed with Lesa for a couple of days. Savy looooves her Aunt Lesa and didn't want to go home. Here she is on the deck of Lesa's lake house telling me that we are most definitely coming back this summer to play in the water and go for boat rides!



Here's a close-up of the little table I made as one of Savannah's gifts. There's a storage area underneath for crayons, coloring books, or whatever.



We're all recovering from very nasty colds, but other than that we had a great holiday. I can't wait to play with my new toys...I've got lots of new projects in mind!

Happy Christmas Eve

We finally got around to getting the girls' photos made with Santa this week. They looked very cute in their little Christmas dresses. If you're wondering about the twinkle toes, Savannah insisted on wearing them for the pic. Here they are before they left...Scarlett wasn't in the best mood...



Unfortunately, Scarlett is at that stage where she wants nothing to do with strangers in funny costumes. They only got one picture where she wasn't crying, and this is it.



The girls had a good time drawing together when the got home.






Last night we went to Zoo Lights...thank you, Suzie, for the tickets! We had a great time.



Savy likes living dangerously...




The ice skating rink. Savy really wanted to ice skate, but since neither Jon nor I know how (and Savy definitely doesn't know how), we had to skip this.







Savy's favorite part was this slide.





After we left the zoo, we went to Old Venice for dinner. They had live music last night, and Savy really enjoyed hearing the band.

Now I've got to get everything ready...Santa comes tonight!

Follow Up

I saw Dr Vasu for my follow up appointment today. He answered some more of our questions, discussed all the treatment options with us, and drew some more blood. I'll be starting copaxone as soon as all the details are worked out. It's a daily injection, but it's the least likely to cause me any side effects. He's still optimistic, and he also encouraged me to start exercising again ASAP...I'm looking forward to it.

Savannah got out of school early today, and she was very excited to find out Nanny and Lee Ottis were waiting for her when she got home. They kept the girls while I was at my md appointment. Savy's school Christmas program was tonight, and all the kiddos were adorable.

Enchanted Forest

This morning we went to the Pink Palace museum to visit the enchanted forest with Maeson and her mom. Savannah couldn't wait to see Maeson again...those girls are like peas and carrots. I really hope they are in the same class when they start kindergarten next year.









Loved this gingerbread display





We looked at a few exhibits after the enchanted forest (we didn't have time to do the whole museum today). I thought this miniature moving circus was awesome.





I finally got my wedding dress out for this year's wedding dress project pictures. I picked a really bad time...Scarlett was fussy and the lighting was terrible. At least Savannah was cooperative, and I got a few cute ones of her.



I let her wear the veil this time.



Scarlett was only good for a couple of shots...





After that, she was done.



I'm definitely going to have to redo these...a day with better light and Jon to help.

Pajama Day

Today was pajama day at Savy's preschool. I actually got the date right this year...last year I sent her in her pj's a day early. She insisted on wearing her long fleece gown instead of pajamas, so I made her wear a pair of capri leggings underneath for warmth.




Scarlett is super fussy lately because of her teething. Jon made her a "sugar tit" tonight. He put a spoonful of raw turbinado sugar in a dry washcloth then tied it shut with a string so it made a tight little ball. She loved it!




I'm anxiously awaiting my follow up with Dr Vasu on Thursday. As far as I know, I'm supposed to start the injections after that visit. I've been so tired for the last two days. I've tried to take a nap yesterday and today, but I keep getting interrupted. Maybe tomorrow....

We took a trip to East Memphis last night to visit Whole Foods. That store was actually Wild Oats the last time I went, but Whole Foods took over recently. I definitely like it better now...there seems to be more variety in the products they sell, and the prepared foods bar is pretty impressive. What amazed me was the produce section. Not only did they have a huge selection, but you can really SMELL the fruit just from standing near it. I'm not saying I'll be making bi-weekly visits to East Memphis just for fresh produce, but I'll definitely be going back more frequently than when it was Wild Oats. I'll probably visit a couple of times a month for organic stuff I can't find near home. It was super crowded last night - that's what we get for going on a Saturday evening.

I'm on day number 3 with no soda and no artificial sweeteners....it's not as hard as I thought it would be. I don't feel groggy or drowsy as I feared I would from cutting waaay down on the caffeine. I'm learning all I can about the vegetarian diet. I never in a million years thought I'd be considering giving up meat and milk, but...here I am. Baby steps.

This is going to be a battle with Savy. In some ways it won't really affect her...she doesn't like meat anyway (except for chicken and the occasional hot dog), and she's accustomed to drinking water at home. I'm glad that she never liked hamburgers to begin with - ground beef is the first thing I've given up. The problem is that she doesn't like fruits and vegetables either. I don't want to force her to eat things she doesn't like, but I'm not going to continue giving her things I know are unhealthy...Scarlett as well. She won't starve herself....will she? I'm not saying I'm never going to let her have another piece of chicken, but our diets are going to become mainly vegetarian. Anyone out there who is vegetarian with children, I welcome advice about how to make this easier on the kiddos!

Jon is being a pretty good sport, but I doubt he'll be giving up meat. I introduced him to quinoa last week (my favorite new protein source), but it didn't go over too well.

I'm grateful to have such great friends and family who are supporting me through all this. Special thanks to Jen and Val who have helped me with information on diet.

Must Read

I admit, I've become a little obsessed lately. I finally had time to watch The Beautiful Truth last night, and I've been spending every spare moment researching. I came across a great blog today - FULL of information. Here's a link, and I'll also post it in my blogroll to the right.

The Wellness Warrior

I'm still juicing every day, and this was my first day without soda...just water, juice, and a little coffee (with no artificial sweetener) today.

Making Changes

Jon and I had a great date night last night. Jessica and "Burtney" did tag-team babysitting so Jon and I could have some alone time. We saw the latest Harry Potter movie and then had dinner at Carrabba's. It was much needed!


Shortly after I was diagnosed, my friend, Jen, told me about a few documentaries I should watch...Food Matters, Food Inc, The Gerson Miracle, and The Beautiful Truth. So far, the only one I've had time to watch is "Food Matters," but it was very informative. I can't wait to watch the others. At about the same time, my mom brought up juicing. Two people suggesting similar dietary changes within a week of each other...I took it as a sign. It certainly can't hurt.

I've never been one to eat my veggies. Actually, my diet was pretty terrible until after I gave birth to Savannah and needed to lose the baby weight. I started eating a healthier, lower fat diet, but I still never cared much for vegetables or even very many fruits. Yesterday we purchased a Breville centrifugal juicer, and we set it up today.

Savannah was very excited about making our own juice. She went to the market with me and picked out all the fruit. Earlier today, I picked up "Total Juicing", which is a book of pretty basic juicing info and recipes.

Here is the cast of characters. Pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, pears, apples, carrots, and kiwi. I thought it would be easier to start with mostly fruits, then work up to the veggie juices.



Savy with the juicer.



Savannah's excitement faded once she tasted the juice....not exactly the kind she had in mind. She still wanted to help with making all three recipes I'd decided to try, so I insisted she drink some if she was going to help make it. I hope she will develop a taste for it.



Scarlett loved it! She chugged her cup quickly then smiled and said "Mmmmmm."

Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy

Mom stayed the night with us Monday night, and she helped me and Savy put up the
Christmas tree.

When Lesa gave us this musical gingerbread house a few years ago, I had no idea it would be one of the best gifts we've ever gotten.




It plays "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" when the button is pushed, and the gumdrops light up. Savannah absolutely loves this, and when it comes out every year along with the Christmas tree, she is a ballerina for the holiday season. She just can't help herself. This year, Scarlett is following suit. Savannah pushes the button over and over again, and they dance together.




I could watch them do this all day...it makes me smile every time. Thank God for my little girls.

Around The DisneyWorld In Eight Days

...and SeaWorld and Universal Studios....

Sorry it's taken me so long to post vacation pics. It's been pretty busy around here...unpacking, getting back to work, and just recovering from DisneyWorld in general. It was fun, but a Disney vacation is not a relaxing vacation by any means.

I didn't take a lot of photos this time...at least, not as many as I have on previous vacations. We've been to DisneyWorld four times now, so it just didn't seem necessary. Jon actually took most of our photos on his i-phone and posted them on Facebook.


We got up super early Saturday morning and headed to the airport. We got on the plane without any trouble, and Savannah and Scarlett were perfect little angels on the flight...Scarlett slept most of the time. When we landed in Orlando, we got right off the plane and right onto the Disney Magic Express...no waiting at all. We didn't even have to deal with any luggage (except for our carry-ons)...I'm so glad Jon is such a good planner! We were in the happiest place on Earth even before Savy could ask "Are we there yet?"

This was our first time to stay at the Port Orleans Riverside resort, and it was love at first sight. Port Orleans is a moderate resort. We've now stayed at all three levels of resorts...luxury resort concierge level (The Boardwalk on our honeymoon) and value resorts (Pop Century and Music), and I have to say this was my favorite so far. We checked in and headed to the room. I think we got about 10 feet once we walked outside before we lost our room keys...that's got to be a record! Luckily, they'd already been turned in when Jon made it back to the desk to report we'd lost our room keys.

This is the dock area and a view of the back of the lobby.



A view of our "mansion" from across the water.




This is the view from the balcony outside our room.




Our room



I don't know when Jon set this up, but there were special surprises for me, Savannah, and Scarlett.











This box of chocolates brought back memories...we had this very same thing on our honeymoon. Even the box is made of chocolate.




Scarlett wasn't finished exploring the room yet, so she didn't want to pose for any pictures.






We rested for awhile, then we hopped on the boat to Downtown Disney. It's our tradition to eat at Raglan Road our first night at Disney - love their fish 'n chips and bread and butter pudding.

Savy and Pappi after the meal


Savannah got to dance with a real Irish dancer when we finished dinner...wish I'd been able to get a video of that.

Sunday we went to Animal Kingdom. Savannah rode Dinosaur and Everest for the first time. She didn't like Dinosaur very much (pretty scary), but she seemed to like Everest.

Our first character sighting for this trip was Goofy and Pluto. Scarlett was a little afraid of them and didn't want to be in the photo. Savannah sure wasn't afraid - never has been. She walked right up and beeped Pluto's nose. She even pulled his tail just after we were done taking photos, and all the people watching laughed...she's such a ham.




We went to Boma at the Animal Kindom lodge for dinner Sunday night. I wasn't sure if we'd like African cuisine, but it turned out to be one of my favorites. It was pretty crowded, but the food was great, especially the mushroom soup.

After dinner we went to Magic Kindgom for the extra magic hours. Savannah was just dying to ride Splash Mountain - her all-time favorite ride. Mimi and Pappi kept Scarlett while Jon, Savy and I rode three times (there was no wait to get on). We got soaked to the bone.

On the way out of the park we ran into Donald Duck.


Monday - Hollywood Studios. We saw characters from Little Einsteins and Handy Manny...you guys know I love Handy Manny!




Savannah's favorite parade...the Block Party Bash. She always gets picked to come out in the street and dance with the characters at the end.



The Christmas lights and "snow" were great. You can't really see the snow in the photo, but you can see Savy and Scarlett trying to catch snowflakes.



Kitty towel animal was waiting for us in the room when we got back to the resort.



Tuesday we went to Epcot. Here we are outside Le Cellier waiting for our table. I still love the signature filet with mushroom risotto at LeCellier...the recipe was a little bit different this time, though.



As full as we were from lunch, we couldn't resist some fresh caramel corn from germany...this stuff was wonderful.



Wednesday - Magic Kingdom. We spotted Daisy Duck on our way in.



Mimi and Savannah on Dumbo. You can't see Savy in there...looks kinda like Mimi was on Dumbo by herself.



Dinner at Crystal Palace with the Winnie the Pooh characters.



Scarlett finally got over her "character phobia",



And she LOVED piglett!




Eyeore is still Mommy's favorite...no I wasn't thinking of Eyeore when I decided to wear gray that day.



Cinderella's castle looks beautiful with the Christmas lights.



Thursday - SeaWorld. The stingrays were the first thing we saw.




Savy was a little squeemish about touching the food (anchovies) at first, but she go over it.



Once they figured out who had the food, they were all over her!


I think Dolphin Cove was Savy's favorite part of SeaWorld. See this little guy hightailing it toward us?




He totally soaked Jon and Savannah when he went by.



Savy and Jon got to feed and pet the dolphins.




Killer whales




Savy also got to feed sea lions. She learned she had to be quick when a large bird swooped in front of her and stole the fish right out of her hand before she could throw it.



Mommy and baby sea lion




Our dinner reservation for Thursday night was at La Hacienda in Epcot. Since we had the rental car (loved the Cadi!!!), we decided to drive to the Boardwalk (where we stayed on our honeymoon). There is a bridge from the boardwalk to World Showcase, so we just walked over. We haven't been back to that area since our honeymoon, and it brought back lots of good memories. At La Hacienda, they gave us a great table by the window over the water. It was the perfect spot to watch Illuminations...this is the view from our table.




Friday - Adventure Island. This was also new to all of us. I really enjoyed this park...especially the Harry Potter attraction. I LOVE the little village with all the shops and back alleys. It was super crowded during the day, but the crowd thinned out a lot later on.



Hogwarts was awesome! The building is very impressive inside and out. This was my favorite ride ever, but it is definitely not for the little ones. Savannah didn't meet the height requirement, but she would've been scared silly if she had.



Savannah found a quiet spot in front of the shops to chug her Butterbeer.




At night and not quite so crowded. Savannah even got her own magic wand before we left the village. Earlier there was a 4 hour wait to get into the wand shop - can you believe that? We waited until just before closing to go in - no wait.





Dr Seuss Landing was awesome too. I absolutely LOVE this carousel!






Saturday - Univeral Studios. We were running out of steam by this time. Savy wanted to get her face painted.



And we met some local celebrities




The flight back was easy. I was a little worried because Orlando airport has the new TSA scanners and is doing pat-downs. Luckily (thanks to Jon) I didn't have to deal with any of that and went right on through without any long lines or being violated. Scarlett slept the whole flight home...I even got in a short nap on the plane.

It was bittersweet leaving Orlando. I missed our home, but the time we spent in Disney gave me a peace of mind I haven't had in 3 weeks...and am not likely to have again for quite a while. I'm exhausted, so I will save that story for another day. A few of you already know what I'm talking about, and I'll fill the rest of you guys in very soon.