Dare to Dream

Last night, we got to attend the newest Disney on Ice, titled "Dare to Dream". We arrived early and got to do a meet and greet with Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. D was all about getting to meet the characters from his most recent favorite movie but K was a little less thrilled. He was a little intimidated by the characters but he did give a good snuggle to my friend Sue after we took pictures. Silly monkey.

After that we did a cool crown craft and had some yummy snacks. D put his crown on,  pronounced himself King of the Beasts and jumped in on a few other peoples photos. Then it was time to find our seats!

Now, for those of you that are already getting all weird about me taking my boys to what you have labeled in your head a "princess show", you are wrong. This show was an amazing blend of songs from three Disney movies that had princesses in them but it was in no way a "princess show".


The first up, was the Princess and the Frog. Once the lights dimmed and the show started, the boys didn't move for the first few musical numbers. They stayed glued to the spot, watching Tiana and Prince Naveen on their journey. We were immediately immersed in New Orleans and the story was brought to life in an amazing, fast paced and totally captivating way. The crowd, including all the parents, were singing and clapping along. The skaters were so dynamic and energetic and it was immediately clear this was going to be an amazing show!



 The next up was the classic Cinderella. The skaters captured the grace and fun of the movie perfectly. I don't know that the boys have ever actually seen Cinderella but they loved watching the mice skate around and help Cinderella out. I loved hearing and singing along to some of my favorite Disney songs. It was a perfect pace to follow up the loud, boisterous music of the last story.


After a short intermission, we got started again with Disney's newest hit, Tangled. D has watched this movie a handful (or two) of times but he loves to pretend he is Flynn Rider. He swings around the house with his backpack or basket saying "I'm Flynn Rider, mama! You're 'Punzel cause you have hair!". 

Here again, the skating was superb and there were even some amazing aerobatics involved that had us all watching on the edge of our seats. All of our favorite songs were there and the lantern scene was so beautiful. Even though the story was rearranged a little to accommodate the length, it was still my favorite.

All in all, this has got to be my favorite kids show I have seen. Seriously. Everything was amazing. The scenes were beautiful, the lighting was perfect and the the skaters were into it. It was like watching your favorite movie happening in real life... on ice. My mother and I were talking on the way home that Olympic skaters have nothing on these guys. Next Winter Olympics, we want to see them do their routines in fat suits and wigs. That is talent!


If you are local to Atlanta, Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream is showing at Philips Arena now through Sunday. With multiple shows Friday through Sunday, there is a chance for everyone to check it our and I highly recommend it! Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and start at only $14 apiece. If you have ever been to a show at Philips, you know there is not a bad seat in the house, so this is an amazing deal!

For those of you that are not local, you should still check out the Disney on Ice website to find a show coming to your area. You won't be disappointed!


*I received tickets for us to attend this performance but it in no way altered my opinion. It really is an amazing show!

Poor Littles

So tired...

#Unplugged

In case you missed the announcement: This week, I took a break. I took a break from social media, from my smart phone, and everything internet related. Some by choice, some not so much. It not been what I expected though. I expected to be fretting. To be wondering what I was missing and what things would be like when I got back. I blame social media's reach into my daily life and the speed at which things change here on the internet. I had gotten into the habit of checking things way too much. I would make the boys lunch, check the computer. Go to the bathroom, check the computer. Its sad and weird but I think there are more people out there that way than any of us want to admit. Afraid to miss something, anxious to respond quickly or be judged as rude. Skip a day, you are behind, so what happens if you skip a week?

Nothing.

I missed nothing. I logged back in tonight to check up and see what dramatic changes had happened in the life of every one I know and I was kind of sad at the lack of excitement. Either things this week have been terribly boring or things have just gotten too blasé in general with the change of the weather. Of course, there are the regular "OMG my kids are driving me nuts" posts and the "My neighbors so crazy" mixed with the "repost this to every thing you have access to or a dog will die" type stuff but nothing new or exciting. The world hasn't changed its orbit and nothing important exploded here in town.

I, however, have had an amazing week. The boys and I have spent our entire days enjoying the weather, stuffing our faces, and taking some epic naps. Repeat times a million.

We have kicked this year's "schooling" into high gear with all kinds of fun activities and workbooks. Oh, how D loves his little workbooks. K loves his too but he is still at more of a flashcard stage than workbooks stage. So while D would work at his workbooks at the table, we spread out K's myriad of flashcards and sorting bins and got to work. My little sponges. D is going to an outside the house preschool for a few hours, three days a week too though and was burnt out by Thursday. So we spent that day skipping rocks and chasing each other around the playground for a few hours.

Oh, the playground hours. They have been plentiful and grand. There is a playground, a tennis court, and a sandy volleyball court here in the neighborhood and they have all been thoroughly tested and trampled by a certain two little boys this week. When it takes 30 seconds to walk to anything you could possibly want to do, life is good. Say what you want about it but oh how I missed apartment life.

We also spent this week as the first week of our 30 day no spend challenge as part of the 2011 list. This is hard. I had not realized just how often we spend money on weird little piddly stuff. I am determined to make this work though. Have to save up for Black Friday.

I should probably say that my house is spotless and my hair is perfectly coiffed considering I have had all this spare time on my hands but I have to be honest with you.. My house is a wreck and I haven't washed my hair in four (or is it five.. crap.) days. Does it bother me? Nope. Does it bother Tommy? Maybe a little. Does that bother me? Nope.

Now that I have had my week of slacking though, will it be hard for me to get back into the swing of things? Maybe. You know what though? I am totally okay with that. I know for one thing, I have been broken of the thinking that I have to check them on any kind of semi regular basis. I'm not a huge sharer anyway and to be honest, if you update your Facebook with meaningless, mundane pieces of information every hour or if the only things you ever post are self promo items, I already have you blocked from my feed. I really don't need an update every time your kid farts or wakes up. Come to think of it, I am totally okay with it if I never have to go back to Facebook or Twitter again.

Of course, I will go back. My friends live there but even that can be bypassed. Thing is, being away has sort of shown me who those real friends are. They are the ones that noticed my absence and checked on me when I logged off and just didn't come back. The ones that actually care about me and my boys. What really surprised me was that the people I thought would miss me, weren't the ones that actually did. Its ever so tempting to just go ahead and do a huge defriend of the people who seriously just don't care while its on my mind. The people who are only there to stalk and judge me. I don't have time for that petty weirdness. I won't though, I know that from experience.

Unplugging for the week has been fabulous. Kind of like spring break from the internet. Wild and loose, with no rules or schedules or appointments with inanimate objects. Only no alcohol or obnoxious undersexed teenagers. So not complaining about that either though. Except the no alcohol part.. I could really use a nice, big glass of wine. Any way, back to life. Back to living a real life outside of the virtual world. See you around?