Finding My Way Back to Blogging

So it appears I haven't posted on here in about two years. Seriously? Where does time go? And why am I such a procrastinator? Best laid plans and all that jazz. I am going to really work on that...but I've said that before...so you never know. Honestly though, life is good in our world. Mason is playing on Richard's varsity soccer team this year. They finished out district on Tuesday (Mason ended with three goals for the season...not bad for a sophomore.) Playoffs start next week, and we are hoping for a long run - his team finished 17-3-2 so they are set up for it. At this moment, Richard and I are in Austin with my debate team for the state tournament. All in all...we couldn't ask for more.

Changing Our Lifestyles...One Day at a Time

Richard and I have had two friends lately die very unexpectedly from heart attacks. My first reaction was to be devastated for their family and ask why. But my second reaction was the one that rang the wake up call. These men were fairly young, one only fifty and the other only sixty. Richard and I are shockingly close to those ages and we do not eat right and very rarely exercise, so in a few years, it could very well be our children wondering what happened. On that note, we have decided to listen to the wake up call and do something about it. I know usually this blog, when I write which hasn't been much lately, is a place to read funny stories about our crazy family, but now, I am going to use it to share our journey to healthy. Don't worry...I am sure there will be funny mixed in...we are still us after all!

So the first step we took on our journey was to order the 21 Day Fix plan from Beach Body. Going to be honest...we love the workouts but don't quiet get the meal plan. Two adults with three kids in the house can not do that much planning...it just doesn't work. So last week, which was our third week of the program, we joined a 5 day challenge on Facebook with easier clean eating recipes and adding a workout to our day. We did great with the meal plans and so-so with the extra workout - but we did do our daily one we had already been doing. So, after our first round of the 21 Day Fix, (drum roll please).....I am down ten pounds from 190 (yikes) and Richard is down eleven. We still have a long way to go, but I think we are finally in a place where the extra work is worth it because we have decided our lives are worth it. 

It's been a while...

I know I haven't posted in a long time, but I decided to give this another try. Things have been good but crazy in the Meisel house. Hard to believe, but we are actually going to have a high school freshman next year. And Connor will be in middle school. Pretty sure I am getting old! Richard and I have joined the healthy eating kick lately and we are working out...here's hoping we don't kill each other in the process.

New Year...New Us

2014 will be a great year. Richard and I have agreed to several "resolutions" this year that we are going to try to keep. I really don't like the word resolutions; however, I guess that is really what they are. My favorite thing we are doing is the online savings plan that has been Facebook viral lately. We opened a new checking account and we are really trying to put money in there weekly as a new way of saving. We are also trying really hard to get healthier. We are focusing on drinking water and eating more fruits and vegetables. I see wonderful things in our families future this year, so I am also going to try to do a better job of blogging. With our children, there is guaranteed to be some funny stories soon...so stay tuned. Hope everyone has had an amazing start to the new year!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

So at this moment in my house, cookies are baking, the kiddos are hanging ornaments on the tree (which has been sitting naked in the living room for a week, and I am editing Christmas pictures. It is definitely looking like this holiday is coming ready or not. I really love this time of year, but I feel like it sneaked up on us this year. I think it's because Thanksgiving was so late this year. We did attend a showing of The Polar Express at the refurbished old movie theater downtown with Reagan and Connor. Mason was at the deer lease (pretty sure he is thinking he is too old for all this stuff.) Here are some pictures of the cuteness of watching a movie in public in your pajamas which of course had to be followed up by a late night visit to Chick-fil-A. We hope everyone is getting geared up for a very, merry Christmas!!

Day 6: Disney and DUN!!!

Today we finished up our Disney vacation by making sure we did EVERYTHING in the new Fantasy Land. We rode Dumbo, Barnstormer, Under the Sea, Winnie the Pooh, and Peter Pan. We also met Ariel, Belle, and Tiana. During Story Time with Belle, Connor got to be the Beast, and that involved dancing (only pics are on the camera so stay tuned!!)




Then we headed to downtown Disney where Reagan got a full Cinderella costume (Halloween done for her), and the boys finished up their souvenir money at the Lego store. Tonight we are having dinner at an Italian restaurant in downtown Disney where Reagan will be dressed as Cinderella so stay tuned for the last round of pics! I need a vacation from my vacation but oh my!! We have had sooooo much fun!!!


6:50pm: check our who we are having dinner with tonight - so be-a-u-tiful!!!!




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Day 5: Magic Kingdom Round 2

Back at the Magic Kingdom for more fun. Today we started out having a Zippity-Do-Da day!! Yep that right, we rode Splash Mountain...not once, but twice! Back to back. Of course the boys absolutely loved it, but surprisingly, so did Reagan. Think we might have a little dare devil on our hands. Tonight is the big night - eating with Mr. Big Ears himself - Mickey Mouse! Look forward to many, many pictures from our Chef Mickey experience. Here are a few from this morning - no kids, just rides!




10:00pm: Chef Mickey was a HUGE success - check it out!!









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Day 4: Magic Kingdom

Well we have been at the Magic Kingdom for about four hours now, and all I can say is wow!! This place is crazy. Each land is a miniature theme park and crowds are insane!! The first thing we did was get a fast pass to meet the princess so needless to say Reagan is in high heaven!!




While the boys were riding Space Mountain, Reagan and I rode the People Mover. What a great idea! We got to ride inside all of the other rides in Tomorrow Land, including Space Mountain. They should have a sign suggesting that by the entrance of Space Mountain. Reagan thought it was cool that she was inside the ride while the boys were.
Here are a few more pics! And look, I'm in one - thought it was time to prove I was really here!!













11:30pm:

Main Street Electric Light Parade - awesome!!!
Fireworks and show at the castle - awesome!!!
Watching fireworks in the rain - wet!!!!!
Waiting to catch the monorail and tram at 11:00pm in wet clothes - torture!!!!

I do have an 18 minute long video of the parade to share when I get home!!!!

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Day 3: Hollywood Studios

Today we are at Hollywood Studios, and I have BIG news!! Reagan FINALLY picked out her ears, and they are adorable if I do say so myself. She and I are waiting on our boys to ride Aerosmith's Rocking Rollercoaster, so we thought we would share a pic of them!!




And just in case you are worried the boys aren't getting enough picture time, they are signed up to be a part of the Jedi Training Show at 2:20 and pictures will be taken.

3:50pm: We are waiting for the Indiana Jones stunt show to start so I thought I would take a minute to share the afore promised Jedi pictures, but I have something better than pictures, I have video; however, I can't figure out how to share those right now so they are to come. They did awesome!!!
Here are a few pics!!










9:41pm: Headed back to our room without seeing Fantasmic :(. They cancelled the 9:00 show an we weren't making it to the 10:30. Everything else today was amazing!!! One big shout out to my Connor man!! He was the only child brave enough to ride Tower of Terror (he gets his bravery from me!!) Richard rode it with him and said he didn't even scream!!
Tomorrow is Magic Kingdom. Please say a prayer for me not to be as overwhelmed as I think I am going to be there!!

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Day 2: Animal Kingdom

We are all moving a little slower this morning, but still excited and going strong! Today is the Animal Kingdom. A place full of adventure and wild animals...we should fit in perfectly!


MUCH LATER......



OMG! During the Lion King show we were chosen from the crowd and moved to VIP seating. Then the kids got to participate in the performance. It was amazing!! I personally loved today more than yesterday which I think makes Richard sad - I am pretty sure the history teacher in him really wanted his family to love Epcot. All the kids had a blast today. When asked their favorite parts they said:


Reagan: the water ride (River Rapids), the Lion King, and seeing the zebras on the safari


Connor: Expedition Everest, Lion King, getting autographs, and the safari


Mason: meeting Donald Duck, Lion King, and the safari


Needless to say, the Lion King made a huge impact on the kids - pretty sure we made a life-long memory today!!!








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Day 1: Epcot

4:30pm: Wow! We are having so much fun, but did I really think I would have time to blog while we were here?!? I'm an idiot. It is coming a seriously hard rain now with lightning and thunder and we are hiding out in Innovations so I had a quick minute. We have ridden Test Track (awesome!!!!), Mission Space, Soaring (also awesome!!!!), Living with the Land, the Nemo ride, and Experimenting with Figment. We have met Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto, and we did Turtle Talk with Crush. During Turtle Talk with Crush, Reagan was chosen to talk to him (I guess here it does pay to be super cute), and now my children won't stop saying the word "dude". All in all, it's been a great first day!!












Once again, these are NOT the best pics...those will follow when we get home.

8:25pm: just staked out a spot at the World's Showcase to watch Illuminations. Still having a great time by we are fading! Can you tell by this picture?




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Home Away from Home

We have arrived to our "villa" which I would call a condo. It's really nice even though it's a very good possibility we will only be sleeping here after today. I am super excited about the two bedrooms, plus that bathtub is screaming bubble bath to me, and that will probably feel great after 12+ hours of Disney each day. Pool time today and we start hitting the parks tomorrow beginning with Epcot. We decided to start there because we have been told it could be a disappointment to the kids if we went to another park first. We are so tired of being in the car that we are eating dinner here tonight. Richard is cooking baked shells (yum). Here are a few pics of our home away from home.




















5:15 pm: Pool lasted about 45 minutes until a Florida shower stopped it but look how fun it was while it lasted!




6:00pm: Since the storm isn't blowing over, the kids are swimming in the tub!!!




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Location:W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy,Kissimmee,United States

Travel Day 2

We just left our hotel in Tallahassee and are Kissimmee bound!! We only have 255 miles today so we should be able to make it without killing each other. We brought Richard's truck so we use these three massive tubs in the back to put our bags and other stuff in which is a good thing since we drove through about five showers yesterday. The looks we were getting this morning dragging those giants through the lobby were quite hilarious.


I forgot to share Reagan's new word from yesterday:
capacitous: When we walked into the restroom at the Florida welcome center, Reagan said, "Wow, how capacitous is this."
She really cracks me up!!!


Also, Mason knocked on the wrong hotel room door this morning. He was just a knocking and the whole time Connor was telling him that wasn't our room. He was slightly mortified, but when Richard asked if that would be the last thing he did today to embarrass us Mason said probably not.


Needless to say, we are having quite an adventure and we haven't even met the mouse yet!!!


12:40pm: Mason just taught me something I didn't know - people from Florida are "Florindians". Imagine that, I've spent my whole life thinking they were Floridians.


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Disney Bound!!!

4:15am is extremely early, but it's not so bad when the alarm clock song is "Zippity Doo Da"! Yep, that's right!! The Meisel gang is Disney World bound! We have been on the road for about an hour and a half and we just crossed the Louisiana border. One state down and four to go, and only one argument between Connor and Reagan so far. I might not need my happy pills after all. We were expecting the kids to sleep a while this morning, and Mason really did try, but Connor and Reagan had other ideas, so we watched the sunrise together. I told Reagan what my dad and mom told us when we took trips and left super early in the morning, "If you will be really quiet and not scare it away, the sun will wake up and you can watch it." Apparently, she wasn't too worried about scaring it because she just kept talking. Wonder where she gets that?!?




8:39am update: Reagan just broke the seal. Yep, she did it! She asked, "Are we there yet?" The next 10 hours should be interesting!!! Also, our friends, the Smiths, just returned from Disney and challenged us to a license plate war. Only 4 hours in and we already have 10 states...they are going down!!


3:48pm: We are now getting "are we there yet" about every ten minutes and the crazy traffic in the Mobile Bay tunnel almost made me share my happy pills with Richard, so I am pretty sure we will be looking for a hotel in the next few hours. WDW better really be "The Most Magical Place on Earth" because it's going to take it for this drive to be worth it! Oh and we have seen license plates from 22 states plus Canada and Mexico - we got this!!


4:45pm: Woohoo! We are in Florida. BTW - they have an amazing welcome center with free orange juice and a play area for the kids. I guess it does pay to visit a state who claims tourism as one of its main industries. Please don't judge the picture quality - I was in a time crunch and sadly left my big DSLR at home (Richard is extremely excited about that!) I did bring my new point and shoot but those pics will be shared when we get home.




















10:00pm - Settled in a hotel in Tallahassee. Tomorrow we finish the drive, check in to our condo, and get settled and organized to start six days of fun at Disney.

Bluebonnets are Here

I love this time of year. I love having more daylight in the evening. I love the feel of cold in the morning and hot in the afternoon. I love pulling out my summertime clothes and getting dressed each morning. I love SPRING. The best part of spring in Texas is bluebonnets. However, one year I will learn that no matter how many beautiful pictures I can take of other people's children in the bluebonnets, it just isn't in my cards to get one of mine. This morning we woke up and went to church (the kids were in good, clean clothes.) After church, we decided to try to get a few shots of them in the bluebonnets. We ran by the house, grabbed my camera, and bribed them with lunch as a reward for taking beautiful shots. I probably should have eaten a bite then. Anyone who knows me knows that not eating mixed with my hypoglycemia makes me a very cranky momma. Things were actually going pretty well until Reagan saw her first bug. From there things went drastically downhill. She wouldn't lay in the blubonnets of even put her hands on the ground. I pretty much just got pictures of her sitting there whining. Also, Connor has had several visits from the tooth fairy lately which means he didn't want to smile and show teeth. And throw the diva, Mason, who thinks he is God's gift to the camera. All together, that makes for one interesting photo shoot. By the time we got in the car, Richard was saying, "Really Emily? Really!" If you know him, you realize that is unlike his laid back personality. I did manage to get a few shots - which are here. The last picture is my absolute favorite - don't you agree?

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When Did I Get Old?

We are riding home from school this afternoon listening to my new favorite station on my Sirius radio, the 90s on 9, when the song Scrubs by TLC came on. I love that song. I can seriously remember riding around with friends singing it at the top of my lungs. So, of course, with every intention of embarrassing my children as much as possible, I begin to jam out to the song. You know you want to sing it in your head right now:

I don't want no scrub
a scrub is a guy who can't get no love from me
sitting on the passenger side
of his best friend's ride
trying to HOLLA at me!

So it gets to the holla part, and Mason says, "Why are guys hollering at her. Is she hard of hearing?" I realized I was old when it tried to explain the difference between "holler" and "holla" to my eleven year old!

2 Crock Pot Day

Today is pretty busy,so I put dinner in the crock pots. No...I haven't forgotten my grammar over spring break, the "s" on the end is correct, I am attempting a two crock meal. I have out standby favorite, Ro-tel Chicken, in one and a new recipe for Spanish rice in the other! Can't wait to see how this turns out!





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Working at the Carwash

Since I got a new car a few weeks ago, I can't stand for it to be dirty. It's really quite funny considering you had to dig your way into and out of my other car. Wonder how long this obsession with a clean car will last? Anyway, I have been spending way too many quarters at the carwash, so I decided to wash my car...the old-fashioned way, by hand. Luckily, I had my trusty assistant on hand to make it fun...since it definitely wasn't that productive. I remember washing my first truck at least once a week. I even used I use Turtle Wax and buff it by hand. Seriously, I used to enjoy that...glad to know it really is true that you outgrow some of the ways of your youth. Anyway...Reagan seems to really enjoy it...for all of three minutes...then she got bored and soaked herself in the water hose. Then she sat and watched me finish while enjoying a snack of Cheetos...and then she poured the left over Cheetos out on the wet concrete to feed the ants who she said looked hungry. Honestly, I would love to spend a few hours in her brain listening to how it works!









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