planetpayne

During our stay at Disney World we ended up at the Lego store and I picked up this beetle set on sale for $89. I have no idea where I’m gonna put it, but it was on sale and resisting something both VW and Lego is pretty much impossible. Ingrid and I had lots of fun making it, although her crazy hyperactivity slowed us down at times, she still liked helping. She thinks she’s going to use it to play with her polly pockets, but she is mistaken. :)

I finally finished Ingrid’s purse. It was Ingrid’s idea to add the flower. I wasn’t into it at first but now it’s growing on me. The flower makes it more girlish, more Ingrid. The pattern is from a calendar my mom gave me, which features one knitting project for each day of the year. This project was sometimes a headache (lots of ripping rows), but I got to learn some useful tricks, like Chevron patterning, moss stitch, and mattress seaming. I already have my next project picked out… actually, the next two!

Check out Ingrid’s new shoes while you’re looking, she’s told me she loves them about a hundred times so far.

We’re staying close to Fort Lauderdale for a week or so, because Andrew needs to go in to the local Sun office for work. We’re somewhere between Everglades and the coast, about 30 minutes from each. There are fun things to do in the area, but it’s only day two and we’re still in shock from how wonderful the weather is, so the only thing on the agenda today is being outside and relaxing.

This morning I finally got my butt in gear and went for a jog. They have a paved path around this RV park which is about a mile long. The dogs and I jogged only two and a half miles, but it was very pleasant. There are tropical trees and lizards and song birds and everyone here is in a fabulous mood. True, they are all quite a bit older than us, but it’s clear to me that they are having the time of their lives; most are reading books outside or walking or bicycling. The happy people and the perfect weather have lulled us into a lazy, euphoric state. Even the dogs looked happy during our jog and they sat outside and actually relaxed for a change, instead of whining incessantly.

Yesterday Ingrid and I worked on building a butterfly kite from a kit that Amanda gave her for her birthday. It looks good but I don’t know how well it will actually fly. We’re going to need some help from Andrew to get the engineering part done. Ingrid has been asking to build a kite for a year now, and I’m very happy to finally get to it.

The last place we stayed, near Tampa, was Alafia River State Park. I thought our lack of planning would really do us in this time, but so far we’ve had excellent luck in finding places to stay in Florida. I called Alafia the day before, and someone had just cancelled. We got to stay two nights at a campground that has been booked for eight months. I can see why, the park was beautiful and had some surprisingly wicked mountain bike trails, plus it’s only $20 a night and that includes water and electric! There were alligators in the river so we couldn’t go in but Ingrid and I enjoyed bike riding and just walking around and seeing the different trees and birds. I made a mental note to come back some day.

I wish I’d used a more colorful yarn, but this was what I had on hand, leftover from a failed daddy-hat. This was my first time doing yarn-overs and slip-slip-knits. Never mind that Ingrid complained about being too hot and took it off 1 minute after the photo. Knitting is fun!!!

We’ve just arrived to our campground near Tampa, where we’re staying just a couple of days for some errands. It’s pouring rain and thunderstorming, but we’re happy happy happy, to finally be wearing shorts and flipflops in Florida! It feels like the Enchanted Tiki room in here tonight!

Leaving Disney went better than I thought it would. It was still sad, but I felt like we made good use of our time there and I feel fulfilled, at least for now. I have to admit I’m ready for some quiet home time. I do hope (we all do) that we’ll return to this magical place soon.

This week we went to the three other major parks, Hollywood Studios, Epcot and Animal Kingdom. We spent just one whirlwind day at each. In Animal Kingdom, one of the highlights was the live bird show, where I was picked to be a participant! Unfortunately Andrew had gone back to the RV to work, so there are no photos. But basically they asked for a volunteer with a camera and even though I am super shy in front of a crowd, my desire to be close to a bird overcame my hesitation. They had me sit down and poise my camera ready, then a huge tropical bird flew directly at me and landed on a perch just above my head. The bird had a huge wingspan and its flapping made my hair stand up like I was in a tornado, which is exactly how I felt. There was also petting the sheep and goats, seeing the live animals in the safari, the vanilla Mickey shaped chocolate dipped ice cream bar (Ingrid told me write that down), the Triceratops spin ride (exactly like Dumbo ride), and just having a “girl” day with my Ingrid.

In Epcot there was a cool Japanese store where we bought Ingrid a My Neighbor Totoro jigsaw puzzle; dancing with Donald Duck to the mariachi band; the Canada film; the Chinese children acrobats, and just “seeing” the different countries.

At Hollywood Studios, we rode on Toy Story more than any other ride. The first time, the line was very very long- reportedly 40 minutes but actually more like an hour and a half. When we got to the last part, they had us stop and let a huge group of fast-passers in, that’s apparently what had been holding everything up. After them, there was a big gap and I saw another huge group of fast-passers coming. I didn’t want to be behind them so we inched up. The Disney lady saw us and was confused who we were, just then her phone rang and she was told to let some people in to the handicap area. Since she didn’t know what else to do with us, she picked us. We got to get on the ride right away instead of waiting another 20 minutes! I felt kind of bad but she was going to pick someone, so it might as well be us. The next day we came first thing in the morning and went straight to Toy Story. Andrew stopped to get us some fast passes for later. We got on quickly and at the end of the ride just as we were about to disembark, the ride broke down! We were stuck for ten minutes, and for our trouble they gave us passes to come to the front of the line. Sweet! Hollywood Studios was also fun for the Great Movie Ride, where we got to be in the Munchkinland scene from Wizard of Oz; Ingrid wasn’t afraid of the witch this time. Andrew loved the Tower of Terror and tried all week (unsuccessfully) to try to talk me into going. He did something nice for someone and they gave him their Rock ‘n Roll rollercoaster passes. Ingrid really enjoyed the Nemo ride, Little Mermaid Musical, Beauty and the Beast Musical, and the Mickey Mouse Live Clubhouse.

From the Magical Kingdom, we want to remember the wonderful fireworks show over Cinderella’s castle (we saw it three times). Ingrid loved the Dreams Come True stage show with Peter Pan and the gang. The second time we saw it, it was our last day in Disney and she was dressed like Cinderella. She decided she was going to dance like the princesses on the stage. It was great to see Ingrid overcome her own shyness, for the desire to dance like a princess. We rode the same Fantasyland rides over and over and over… Dumbo, Peter Pan, Small World, and Pooh. I got to the point where I just -knew- that I could not ride Small World even one time more, even for my Ingrid (and I love that ride!). We were sorely disappointed by the Tiki Room, but at least we got to see the original one at Disneyland. Funnel cakes, cream cheese danishes, churros, smores- we ate so much delicious junk. I knew it was a one-time deal so we went for it.  The campfires with Chip ‘n Dale, and meeting the characters was exciting and magical for Ingrid.

On our way out today we stopped at Downtown Disney and did a little shopping. It’s so hard not to go crazy there. Ingrid got her very own Chip ‘n Dale, breaking our often-broken rule about no more stuffed animals. I know it sounds cruel, but we have three overhead cabinets out of only ten total, filled to overstuffed with her kids. She also got a cute turquoise Tinkerbell hoodie. For me, I chose some Mickey cups, and a Mickey + Minnie blanket. Andrew bought a Lego VW Beetle project which he’s pretty stoked about. We don’t know where we’ll keep it, we just know that he had to have it.

It’s our third day here in Orlando and we’re taking the day off. The weather stinks and it’s pouring rain!

Yesterday and the day before, we spent our days at the Magic Kingdom. We got up early and were able to go on a whole bunch of rides without waiting much. It doesn’t seem as crowded here as in Disneyland. Our favorite rides so far have been Dumbo, Pooh’s Adventures, Peter Pan, and Small World. We also loved the show “Dreams Come True” and the street party parade. We love the big castle and how it changes colors. I’m really enjoying Disney itself this time around; we were at Disneyland over
Christmas and there it was more about being with my family than the park.

Even though we barely got to hang out, it was fun to see Andrew’s old friend Renee and her little monsters Naomi and Nina. Renee got Ingrid this cool little art project book where you make circus things out of inked fingerprints, Ingrid totally loves it. Ingrid will fondly remember Naomi as the girl who gave her one of her suckers.

The RV park we’re staying at is the best! It’s Fort Wilderness, and one of the Disney resorts. Not only do they have every imaginable amenity, but there’s also all the wonderful Disney programs. Our first night, we went to the nightly campfire with Chip ‘n Dale (Ingrid’s favorite characters). We roasted marshmallows, sung along, and did the hokey pokey. Chip ‘n Dale came around to everyone in the audience. When they came to Ingrid, they teased her about her hat. Ingrid hugged them each and I saw on her face that she genuinely loves them, and was thrilled to touch them. She told me they feel very furry. After the chipmunks and singing, there’s a movie. We stayed a little while to watch Bugs Life. The next night, we headed to the show on the beach instead. There’s a lake between Magic Kingdom and the campground. To get to the Magic Kingdom, we walk along the beach in a beautiful tropical jungle abounding with interesting birds like egrets and blue herons and cormorants. We even saw an armadillo one day. A boat takes us to Magic Kingdom in just ten minutes. Anyway there’s a beach at the edge of the campground where we sat on lounge chairs and watched a really neat light show on the water. Hard to explain, but it was basically huge colorful animals that looked like they were coming out of the water- a lochness monster, dolphins jumping up, a turtle walking, etc. I loved it! There’s even a dog park right next to our loop so the mutts can run free everyday or play fetch. We haven’t ventured out to the other events, but there’s daily arts and craft sessions, family games of tag and soccer, archery lessons and boat rides on the river. The only real downside of this campground is that it’s spendy. If it weren’t for that, we might be tempted to upgrade to season passes and stay much longer, as many other people here seem to be doing.

It’s been a while since I posted to our blog. Christmas was busy and I just felt like letting everything go. Ingrid and I flew to California for two weeks, and Andrew joined us a week later. We stayed with my sister Tana again. Ingrid spent some time with Tana, chatting and reading books. She played fairy with Nicky and just hung out with the boys when they were watching football. When Andrew arrived, we drove to a big house in Anaheim to meet up with the rest of my family. There we spent five days, three of them at Disneyland.

The days at Disneyland were long and busy, but fun. Ingrid’s favorite rides were Dumbo, the Tiki Room, and Small World. We all loved the Midway ride at California Adventures. I got to ride Space Mountain for the first time in like ten years!

I must have been good this year because I got some great presents. Some earrings and a necklace, a heart monitor for my runs, a warm fuzzy jacket, workout gear, books, and more. Ingrid got lots of Legos, costumes, glasses for her kids’ meals, books, games, clothes. We’ve been playing Eye Spy nonstop and Ingrid consistently beats us! Same with her new Memory game.

Now we’re back in St. Louis enjoying some snowy weather. Ingrid and Andrew built a cute little snowman on the picnic table. His eyes are made of screws. Ingrid has been asking to make a snowman for months, so I’m happy we were able to do it today finally.

This morning we got up at 4:30am and walked five blocks, rode the subway for 22 minutes, walked eight blocks more, then sat on the sidewalk and froze for three hours while waiting for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade to start. To be honest, I wasn’t sure it would be worth it. But then the clowns on skates came by and sprinkled confetti on us, and we saw a HUGE spider man balloon emerging from between two buildings, and I knew that I would never forget this moment. We spent the next several hours clapping and cheering and waving and pointing. It was pure joy watching those balloons float over our heads. Amongst our favorite balloons were: Hello Kitty, Snoopy, Mickey, Kermit, Pillsbury Dough Boy, Buzz Lightyear, Dora, Smurf, Horton, and a little clown that was said to be the oldest in the line up. My favorite float was the Sesame Street float, with all the famous puppets hanging out of windows, Oscar in the garbage can, and the real Gordon, Susan, and Luis!

We also got to see… (hang on to your seats for this one)…

Cyndi Lauper!!!

Yes it’s true, we saw Ingrid’s most favorite singer in the whole world, in the flesh, perched atop a bright pink castle. How great is that?! There were other celebrities too, like Gloria Gaynor and Miss America and many many more. But we couldn’t have picked a better one than Cyndi Lauper to be at the parade today!

Ingrid made two new friends at the parade, a little girl named Alicia and an older one named Pauline. They played What Animal am I, and pulled their hats down over their eyes and bumped into each other and just goofed off while we waited. After the parade, we headed for our last New York city adventure, to FAO Schwartz. Unfortunately every one else at the parade had the same idea and the place was packed. We were sweating just walking around and had to cut the visit short. I did finally get to eat my New York cheesecake at a place called Junior’s, reputed to have the best cheesecake in New York. I have to say, we were not disappointed. It really was an incredible cheesecake, with a wonderful flavor and incredible texture.

Walking back to the subway, Ingrid told us that if we decide we want to build a house, that we should do it in New York city. Andrew asked her what about building a house in Hawaii? And she said no, because there’s more to do here in New York, like Macy’s parades and Wicked and ice skating.

Yesterday we started Otto on Phenobarbital, for seizures. He’s been having an alarming amount of them since about a week ago. He does tend to have seizures most frequently at this time of the year, when the rains come. I read online that some dog’s seizures are triggered by mold, could this be Otto’s problem? Hard to say, he does still have seizures throughout the rest of the year but much much less frequently than in October and November, and he’ll go a couple of months in the summer without one. It’s very hard to figure out. I was journaling it for a while, but I couldn’t find any pattern. Coconut oil seems to help the severity of the seizures but does not altogether prevent them. Phenobarbital is harmful for the liver and obviously we don’t want this; neither do we want him to go through the terror each time, and suffer brain cell loss. There are many factors to consider: his quality of life, the many vet visits to check blood Phenobarbital level, the toll it takes on us (mostly me) when he has a seizure. Yesterday Otto helped us make the decision by having two seizures in one day. And in the days before, at least one seizure each day. I felt terrible giving him his first pill. Reading about the side effects didn’t help! However, I was encouraged that he didn’t have another seizure that day. Today he received his second and third doses; again no seizures. I feel so relieved. He’s sleeping more than usual but I know he’ll get used to it.

On to happier things. We are getting more and more used to riding the subways. Ingrid actually gets mad now when we have to drive somewhere. She loves walking the streets of Jersey City to get to the trans-Hudson subway. Then when we get to the city, there’s plenty more walking to do. But it’s fascinating, and fun. She complains about her feet getting sweaty but she’s always excited to go. I am loving jogging here, in a big city. I can’t tell how the dogs feel, I think they are constantly in hunting mode. They look very serious, no panting. I guess I don’t run fast enough to make them pant but I do wish they would relax a little. They’re very excited when I put on my sneakers. Maybe it’s the unfamiliar surroundings- they haven’t spent much time in cities. For me though, it’s a blast seeing the city up close. Everyday I explore a different route. There are tons of little niches, bridges, dirt paths, parking lots, even running alongside the subway is fun when you’ve been away from a city as long as I have! Sometimes it feels like I’m in a video game…

Yesterday we met up with Andrew’s old friend Janet. By coincidence, we decided to go to MOMA, the museum of modern art. She happens to work there, and she lives just a few blocks away! She met us there with her little guy Jonah, who’s 14 months I think. Ingrid and I loved him on first sight. I think I was more excited to hang out with a baby than I was to see the exhibits! (I know Ingrid was.) Anyway we breezed through the Tim Burton special exhibit. It was great, lots of fun, creative things to see there. We had to rush it because it was SO packed and not comfortable physically for Ingrid. The exhibit had just opened, and I’m sure there were more people than the fire department would have allowed; it was like a hundred degrees in there. Andrew and I took a quick stroll through the other floors while Ingrid played with Jonah and Janet in the atrium. It was pretty surreal to see some of the paintings I’d learned about in Art History, like the ones by Picasso, Frida Kahlo, and Matisse. I was surprised they weren’t behind glass or anything, you could go right up to them. Afterward we walked to Janet’s. She happens to live right next to the studio where I was planning to take a dance class, home of the amazing Alvin Ailey dance company. I took a samba/afro-brazilian class, and fulfilled my dream of dancing in New York. The class didn’t meet my high expectations, but it was super fun and sweaty. The teacher was warm and obviously an accomplished dancer herself. And it’s hard to beat live drumming! It had been so long since I’d been in a samba class that I gave it my ALL, and I was nearly dead by the time I left there and walked to Janet’s. I had jogged earlier that day and done my strength training routine too! We were all beat but we had to pull it together for the hour ride/walk home. Coming home and seeing that Otto hadn’t had a seizure was a great ending to a wonderful day.

Speaking of the big apple, Ingrid and I are in love with New York apples. We cannot get enough of them. They are like candy to us. Today at lunch Ingrid ate one and you would think she was eating ice cream the way she kept going on and on about how yummy it was. Tomorrow, we are going to break the program for the first time, and cheat on a non-cheating day. The reason is that I MUST have New York cheesecake while I am in New York. Possibly also red velvet cake, carrot cake, cannoli, and one of those cupcakes from a store that is all cupcakes. And then I’ll leave New York happy :)

On Sunday, we spent the day at the Statue of Liberty. We took a ferry over, skipping Ellis island. When you have a young child, you have to really prioritize and be able to let things go. I wasn’t sure how it would go with Ingrid. Could potentially be super boring. I hoped at least she would enjoy the ferry ride. When the statue came into view, I came out onto the deck where Andrew was taking pictures and just stood looking at her. I started thinking about those five million immigrants and how they must have felt seeing her for the first time… pretty soon there were tears streaming down my face. What she stands for resonates very very deeply in me. I struggled a bit to hold it together amongst all the other tourists who were just staring in a blank kind of a way.

After going through two security check points, including one that x-ray’d us and blew gusts of air around our bodies (Andrew thinks it was for bomb material sniffing), we arrived at the museum under the statue. I approached my first sign and Ingrid asked me to read it to her. I did, and surprisingly, she stood by me while I read each and every exhibit there to her. I could see other people watching us… it seems not as child friendly here than in other places we’ve been. They probably thought it was a waste of time but Ingrid kept looking at the exhibits and asking me questions and I was only too happy to turn this into a learning opportunity. We found out how the statue was made, why, and got to see some life size examples of it, that we could touch. I learned about the broken shackles on the feet, the seven rays sending liberty to the seven seas and continents of the world. I thought it was fascinating that the sculptor and creator did not wish to make her a fighter for liberty, but rather a peaceful beacon of enlightenment. Also that she is made of copper that is only as thick as two pennies! She is walking rather than just standing, and she looks very similar to the sculptor’s mother. She’s not very tall, only about 100 feet, plus a 200 foot pedestal.

We had to walk to the top of the pedestal because the elevator is out of service indefinitely. They warned us it would be 168 steps but it really wasn’t bad at all. Ingrid got a free ride in daddy’s arms. We didn’t plan far enough in advance to get tickets to the crown, but we liked our visit so much that we’re planning to do it another time, and go all the way to the top.