Make a Wish - Day 4

So last night, we forgot to give Mason his usual round of Tylenol so he was a little restless.  At 3:00 am, I gave him some and he slept hard for the rest of the night.  Chris and I are taking turns on "Mason-duty" by sleeping with him in the King bed and the other sleeps in the other twin with JJ in her room.  Not exactly the way we prefer it, but it makes our life easier. ;)

We set our alarms for 7:00 am so we could get up and start getting ready before the kids woke up.  Each day we have a hard time getting our things together and getting out of here early enough!  Today, we got to Magic Kingdom right when they opened!  Mason was having a fairly decent morning (still puking - but not as often) and we've got our method down.  He wears a bib 100% of the time, with a towel across his tray.  If he has issues, Chris and I have our method down like we're racing to change a tire - don't make a scene, wipe it up, throw it in a bag, replace the bib and towel.  Our biggest concern is that he's losing weight because he has not been eating great. If its still an issue when we go home, we'll take him in to the Dr. and get a handle on this.

When we got to Magic Kingdom, we were able to jump right to the front of the line and meet Minnie!

Then we had our picture taken in front of the castle!  Some of our memory pass pictures are not appearing (any Disney veterans know what is going wrong?)  Here's my cell phone version:

We then walked through the castle and JJ and I rode the merry-go-round.

Then JJ met Rapunzel and Tiana!

After we caught back up with Daddy and Mason, we decided to ride Peter Pan's Flight (awesome - both kids loved it) and then It's a Small World (I know Buck, your favorite.)  We thought there was a 12:00 parade, so we wanted to make sure to get one more ride in and then make our way to the parade.  We went to "Under the Sea" and afterwards found out they don't have a 12:00 parade!  We rode the train back up to Main Street and decided to visit Mickey Mouse and Tinkerbell!

They had 12:30 street-dancing, and the characters really got JJ and Mason into it! I posted videos on snapchat, but they are too big to post to the blog. :(  I'll try to post at least one to facebook for those not on snapchat.

After street dancing was a 1:00 show on the castle stage with Olaf, Elsa, Anna, Tiana, Rapunzel & Flynn!  It was very fun and JJ's favorite part of the day.

It was getting really warm and Mason was getting uncomfortable, so we decided to take the ferry back to the car (MUCH better than the tram on a warm day!). 

When we got back home we ordered in a late lunch while Mason got one of his first decent meals in for the day. Then it was time to go swimming!!

The pool here is great. It's nice and warm, and gets deeper very gradually.  They have PVC wheelchairs to transfer into so Mason can move around the pool too.  He loved the pool, but was getting very tired.  We went back to the villa, cleaned up, and then ventured out back in the resort.

We went on a ride they have here where you can control going up and down and Mason's wheelchair could roll right onto it - I wish I would have taken more than a selfie on it. :)

They also have a train called JJ Express!!!  We (obviously) took a train ride.

 

 

We then went for more ice cream and soda, and headed back to the villa!  Dad, just for you, I've uploaded villa pictures today! (after spending 20 minutes cleaning up the disasters we'd created.)

Mason in his usual spot in the living room (and note his balloon he had to have - which can't come home!)

The other side of the living room. The entrance to the villa is just to the right of this photo.

Imagine I'm standing in front of the tv from the previous picture.  I'm looking at the dining room table.  JJ is on the floor playing her with ballerina book :)

The kitchen (and rows of Mason meds)

The hallway.  Double doors on left is washer/dryer, door on right is parent's bedroom.  Left door is parent's bathroom.  Door at the end goes into the kid's bedroom and bathroom.

Parent's bedroom (aka Mason and parent on duty.)

JJ's bed in kid's room

Other parent's bed in kid's bedroom.

Kid's bathroom, one side.

Kid's bedroom, other side (roll-in shower and Jacuzzi tub)

I made my 10th run to Walmart, this time for more Kleenex, bags and detergent. Chris picked up Red Lobster to go for dinner, which was really good.  Now we're kicked back watching the Packer game and getting the kids ready for bed.

Tomorrow's plan is a meet-n-greet here at the resort with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and either Belle or Mary Poppins.  Then breakfast, then heading to Epcot!  We'll do Epcot for a few hours, take a break and then finish the day at Magic Kingdom.  Hopefully there is a nice breeze because the 83* today was toasty and the same is expected for tomorrow.

GO PACK!

Make a Wish - Day 3

 Well, thank you for all the thoughts and prayers!  Mason slept GREAT last night from 10 pm - 8 am this morning.  JJ too.  Mommy and Daddy too!  You can tell from the pictures below that they were both well rested and ready for Day 3!

After getting breakfast, we took JJ to ride a horse in Keaton's Korral!  Mason got to pet the horses. :)

This earned them both their own cowboy hats! (How are we getting all these things home?!)

After riding horses, we requested the Ozone cleaner for the villa and packed up to head to Animal Kingdom.

Right away at Animal Kingdom we met Pocahontas!

Then Santa Goofy!

Mason loved the birds and the gorillas.  They both loved the Finding Nemo musical, a 30 minute show of the story equipped with amazing constumes and bubbles and fun songs!

(Yes, Mason's face still looked like this all day - he's very impatient waiting for shows.)

We walked around Animal Kingdom for awhile but its hard to see the animals and there were not many rides that Mason could do.  We took a picture by the tree of life and then decided to head to a new park!

On the way out, we hear from many workers that Magic Kingdom is just about at capacity.  As much as we wanted to spend New Year's there, I don't want to be herded like cattle all night.  The Genie Pass (the pass that gets us to the front of the line) is amazing, but its not worth the frustrations in between.  We decided to head to Hollywood Studios instead.

Right away at Hollywood Studios, JJ met Princess Sofia and Doc McStuffins!

After these meet and greets, we went on a Toy Story ride.  It was a ride where you ride in a buggy with 3D glasses and get to shoot at video games with 3D technology.  It goes to about 6 games and even gives you a score at the end!  It was very fun!!

We walked around Hollywood Studios a bit and JJ got her face painted like tinkerbell!

Mason had been feeling ill all day again.  We think its a combination of his cold still lingering and anxiety with so many people.  Right when JJ's face was done getting painted, the park started handing out New Year's hats and noisemakers.  Chris and I both think the same thing - we've got to get out of here - Mason is going to HATE. THIS.  We managed to get one more meet-n-greet wit Olaf and then get to one more show, a Muppets 3D show,.   Then we headed back to the car.


We got home about 6:00 after some stops and Walmart and Publix (yay for shrimp!) and now Mason and I are chilling in the villa.  Mason is finally comfortable again, has a little cough, but I'm trying to play catch up with the pediasure.  He hardly ate today. :(  He also had his first BM of the trip so hopefully that helps him feel better too.

JJ and Chris went to see Moana in the theatre they have here in the resort.  I'm sure she's loving it!

Looking forward to getting to bed at a decent time again tonight and getting an early start so we can head to Magic Kingdom before it gets too hot.  The plan is to get there earlier (8 am-ish) then head back to the villa from 12-3 and take the kids swimming when its in the 80's. We'll head back to Magic Kingdom for the evening when it starts to cool a bit.  Today's weather was really perfect - mid 70s - so we'll see how Mason handles the 80's.

Thank you for following along and please pray for healing and another restful night!

(and dad - we'll get inside pictures of the villa when I have a chance to clean it up a bit - its a disaster!)  (I should have downloaded the walk-through I posted to snap chat.  Oh well.)

Make a Wish - Day 2

Before I can jump into our day 2 activities, I've got to share the evening (early morning) prior.

Mason had a few coughing jags but fell asleep hard at about midnight.  Around 1:00 am, he started coughing again, pretty continuously, and when we went in to check on him he was running a fever and then threw up all over his bed.  3 times.  We couldn't change the sheets/bedding fast enough and clean him up. :(  Once we finally got him rested again, I sent Chris to Walmart to get pedialyte (our go-to when he pukes as we'll go to that temporarily to keep him hydrated) and I gave him some Tylenol and cuddled.  He even threw up the Tylenol. :(  He fell asleep afterwards, I was able to give him another 1/2 dose about 1 hr later, and by 2:30 am he was sleeping pretty soundly.

I however, was not.  Anxiety majorly kicked in.  Thoughts of  - Please don't let us be stuck in FL with Mason this sick and have to take him to a hospital.  I hope the entire trip isn't like this.  I really need to fall asleep.  I'm feeling so anxious I'm feeling physically ill. :(  By 4:00 am I asked Chris to take over sleeping next to him so I could try and get some sleep.  Anxiety slowly faded and I figure I fell asleep about 5:00 am, and woke up by 7:30 am.  Chris got about the same amount of sleep, as when he took over, Mason wanted to be constantly moved as he was uncomfortable.  This always happens when he's ill - his baclofen pump doesn't work as well and his muscles tighten and sleep suffers.

JJ woke up at 7:30 (hence why we all did) after getting very sound sleep.  3 sleepy Mrdutts and one talkative one made for very impatient parents this morning.  We all went to get breakfast, and both Chris and I start to feel ill - the anxiety of the night before along with a 11:30 pm dinner was wreaking havoc.  We weren't sure how to tackle this day - we don't want to lose the opportunity to check out a park, but we need to be realistic about what we and Mason can handle.

I attended a 9:00 orientation where we get our tickets and lots of info.  Right after that wrapped up, Chris and the kids met me at Amberville (a section of the village where they have remote boats and a big train set.)  Mason was freaked out by most of it, which is strange as he loves trains, so we moved on quickly. Afterwards, JJ rode the merry-go round while Mason watched (he had no interest).  Then she went for ice cream. Then we took a special card to the sleeping tree where we woke up an owl and the owl gave both kids a travel pillow. This all sounds weird, but it was all pretty cool.

Anyway, we decide about 12:00 that we should head to Universal Studios. We know the park caters to an older child, so we figured if it was a bust, we'd head home early.  After getting about 10 minutes away, we realize we forgot our backpack with my wallet, ipad, and snacks. I'm super irritated, but Mason and JJ are being super patient.

After getting back on our way, JJ falls asleep.  Universal is only 20 min away but its a 45 min drive. Stoplights and traffic suck here.  Especially this week.  Upon getting to Universal, our pass gets us free parking.  We park, walk to the entrance, get our picture taken, and start roaming the park to see what's in store.  First we did the 4D Shrek attraction.  JJ was realllly nervous about it as it seemed like it was going to be scary.  It was a little scary.  They sprayed water at us 3 times, the 3D was amazing.  Mason did not like it as much.  He seemed uncomfortable. But he was a trooper and made it all the way through.  Although JJ was scared, she wanted to do it again later, so I take that as a good sign.

After that we wander around, find a small ride that Chris and JJ rode, then make our way to the Curious George section.  Come to find out its a water attraction and it was chilly today (60* and windy) so it wasn't nearly as awesome.  We walked through some other playground areas and then Chris and JJ rode a small rollercoaster. JJ said it was "too fast".  :)

After this ride, we make our way back towards the entrance where we run into Dora, Diego, and then the pets from Secret Life of Pets.  Most exciting part of the park for us!  Mason liked it, but definitely still was not feeling well.

We then run into the penguins from Madagascar!  Fun group!

We stopped for a late lunch around 3:00 pm and I realize why people pack ahead!  $38 for 3 of us to eat. Afterwards, we decide we'll do one more ride, the Minions 3D ride, and then head home.

The Minion Ride had a 130 minute wait.  We found a worker and got on the ride in 5 minutes. Universal definitely has this down.  It happened on all 4 rides, they see you and escort you to the front, no questions asked.  It's usually away from the waiting crowd, too, so you don't have to be concerned about the glares from those waiting.

We decide we'll have Mason do the attraction from his chair so Chris and him choose the stationary seats.  JJ and I sit in the benches.  The story of this 3D ride is that you are going to be changed into a minion in a lab.  But the lab is a roller coaster and you definitely feel like you're on one....stomach drops and all.  5 seconds in, I know I'm not going to make it on this ride.  I had to take my 3D glasses off and look at Jordyn to avoid feeling the stops of the bench seat.  JJ watches intently and it doesn't bother her at all.  I look at Chris and Mason, who are both enjoying it as well. I clearly took the wrong child!

I felt ill until we got to the car, in fact, probably about 1/2 way home.  Mason was starting to look better, JJ caught another small nap, and we were back home about 5:30 pm.  Since we had a late lunch, we decided to stay at the house a little longer then head to the buffet.  Mason starts up with his coughing and puking again, and why not, the fever starts creeping back.  We give him some Delsym (which we did this morning also and we're convinced it was our saving grace today) and within 20 minutes, coughing and puking stop and we're giving him food again.  I think it may be allergens in this house, as he was fine travelling yesterday too until we got to this house.  I guess its Delsym every 12 hours until we can get warmer weather and open up the windows.

We divided and conquered again, I took JJ to supper then Chris went to grab food to-go.  Mason has been chilling with his ipad and we're watching Snow White.  Soon, its baths, showers, bed and hoping for a much better night for Mason.  Prayers, please, we all need a good nights rest so we don't get homesick so soon.

Tomorrow JJ is going to do a horses ride after breakfast here at the village, then its off to Animal Kingdom. If Mason does well, we'll do Magic Kingdom in the afternoon/evening.  Probably looking at a low-key new years vs. the planned fireworks at Magic Kingdom because the kids both need some rest and healing (and parents too).  I am, however, scopin' out the nearest Publix for some steamed shrimp for a New Year's Eve snack. :)

Thanks for following along!  Here's another photo drop!

Make a Wish - Day 1

Today was our travel day to get to warm, sunny Florida!  We left our house at 11:00 am in a Cadillac Escalade! Nice driver that didn't mind us not wanting to chat much as JJ, Chris and I all took naps on the way over while Mason watched Secret Life of Pets.  Mason got sick a little bit right when we got to the airport and I thought...oh, boy, here we go. He's been fighting a head cold for 4 or 5 days and we thought he was finally on the mend, but he's got this tickly cough that sometimes sends him into a gagging spree.  One puke in the Escalade isn't too bad.

We get to the airport and the line to check in our bags is looooooooooooooong.  Mason proceeds to puke again, a LOT, and bystanders stare as I try to calm him, clean up and keep moving in line.  Lovely.

We check in our bags and I'm positive the special treatment started right there because we only paid for 1/2 of our bags.

Then it was onto Security.  They only had one checkpoint open at the Humphrey terminal and the line was looooooooooooong, but they saw Mason and bumped us into the VIP line.  Wheelchair for the win!  Mason obviously set off the alarms so Chris took the honor of getting the full patdown (they won't pat down kids).  I swear it took 20 minutes to wipe him top to bottom, along with his bag.  The pediasure threw them off, and even though I had a letter, they stated they didn't need it but still proceeded to check every. single. can.  It's pediasure, I swear.

So we get through Security and I realize its 3:15 and our flight leaves at 3:55 and I go into panic mode.  We still need to eat, get settled, get a tag for Mason's wheelchair and we'll likely go through pre-boarding.  Divide and conquer.  I grab subway,  Chris gets to the gate.  After walking up to the gate, I ask to get a tag for Mason's chair and they see his Wish shirt.  One lady says "We have a wish kid! I need to get to my office!"  She quickly asks me if he likes teenage mutant ninja turtles, I mumble yes, sure, and she's off.

10 minutes later, she comes to us at the gate (after we scarf down our subs and chips) and hands both kids a bag.  JJ's is a Frozen bag with figurines, coloring book, and snacks/treats.  Mason's is ninja  turtles with the same snacks/treats.  She then tells us we can board now.  (They hadn't even made any announcements yet.) 

We go up to the gate and we wait 5 minutes (she got ahead of herself and the staff hadn't boarded yet).  We then get to see the cockpit, meet the pilots, take our seats and get settled in well before another person boarded.  Amazing.

Mason was a little nervous at take-off.  JJ was a superstar, never nervous at all.  Once we were in the air, we settled them both in with their ipads and we relaxed listening to music.  When they came around for drinks, I hear the stewardess say "snacks for purchase?"  I say, no, we're ok, thank you.  She says "don't you want something for her (JJ)?"  I say, no, its ok, she has some snacks we brought.  She then starts handing me boxes...one, then another one. Full of chex mix, cheese, crackers, cookies, applesauce, granola bars, olives, craisins, rice krispies.  She hands Chris a cheeseburger.  (He didn't ask.)  She then rolls the cart away and we both look at eachother like, "Did you pay for this?"  I literally have a plane tray full of food and don't know where to start.  I hand Chris about 10 things to pack in his backpack and give some of the things to JJ to start eating.  She scarfs it all down.  Guess she was hungry. :) (We're still eating these snacks as we wait for our dinner delivery - its 11:15 pm!)

For the landing, Mason was a little more nervous, even cried a little.  He was much  better when we hit ground and slowed down.  I think the descent feeling he gets is the same he gets in elevators, and it just gives him an "icky" feeling.  When we get to the gate, we let everyone get off the plane and then walk off to get Mason back in his wheelchair and make our way to baggage claim.

We had to ride a tram from the terminal to baggage claim.  Once again, an excited JJ but a nervous Mason.  After getting to the main terminal, we see a man with a luggage cart and Mason's name on it! It was even spelled correctly!!  He escorts us to get our bags (and then proceeds to push them all the way to the car rental)...he walks us through getting our van, loads our van, and hands us step by step instructions on getting to the villa. Good thing we followed them too, it was only two tolls and cut about 10 minutes off what my phone was telling me to do!

When we get here, the check in desk is crazy - I was amazed by the two ppl working up there.  They had everything down.  They were expecting us (were placing our food order before I even checked in) then they grabbed our bag of things and said "follow me on the golf cart to your villa".  Our villa is awesome, very clean, open, a nice King bed for Chris and I and two twins for Mason and JJ.  Their bathroom is huge with the roll-in shower and Jacuzzi tub. 

So now we're chilling out, snacking, just called to check on dinner, then will be hitting the sack for the night!  Oh! It just arrived!  I hope we're not eating the McDuff Family's dinner!

Tomorrow is 8:00 am breakfast, 9:00 orientation (get our tickets), and then likely heading to Universal.  Stay tuned!