November 25, 2008

Service Review: Disney's PHOTOPASS

This is a free service offered by DisneyWorld for all ticket holders. When you visit a character, they have a pro there to take your picture. Then he scans a credit-card-type card and hands it to you. It is linked to all the pictures the pro just took. As you see other pros and characters around they park they will link THEIR photos to the same card.

When you get online, you type in your card code and POOF! There are all your pictures! Since last year, they've made vast improvements in their website and system.

** Now you can flag pictures as favorites for review later.
** You can share your pictures with friends/relatives - you can share all or just a segment.
** You can purchase all kinds of photo sizes and picture items - ornaments, mugs, shirts, posters, calendars.
** You can add graphics to the pictures - the pictures "know" which character is in the shot and so one of the choices is always that character's autograph. Also, a year stamp, a DisneyWorld stamp and a variety of other icons.
** You can also edit the pics there as well.
** You can upload your own photos to be printed as well as have borders/graphics added.

And my new favorite feature - HOW TO FIND LOST PHOTOS!
After we had seen a bunch of new characters on a new card, we forgot to get our card back from the pro!! OH NO! We had pics of Bolt, Sorcerer Mickey, Frozone and Minnie on there! Well, if you goto the kiosk they can search by time of photo, area of photo and characters seen! They found our pictures!!

Also, this year you can purchase some frames online. The selection is not huge, but it's an improvement over the NONE offered last year!

If you hit a Disney park, DO THE photopass thing. If nothing else, you'll have awesome pics to share, even if you don't buy any - but I bet you do end up buying some!!

(This is not a paid advertisement!)

November 24, 2008

attack of the many day virus!

Oldest started throwing up Friday night at midnight.  He is just now starting to feel better (after 2 doses of zofran) and had 1 piece of toast and 2 bites of banana today.

BabyJ just started throwing up.  The kids are so weird - they were perfectly fine before they got sick - BabyJ even ate a great dinner before she got sick.  Here's hoping Mom, Dad and ToddlerT are spared.

November 23, 2008

read this...

give this a read while you wait for my post-vacation wrap up, which includes a mad phone call to our dr at 8 a.m. and them refusing the prescription I KNOW MY SON NEEDED which the ER said "of course, that is exactly what he needs" at 8 p.m. 4 states north!

http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2008/11/dont-let-them-die.html

November 14, 2008

November 13, 2008

what is wrong with me?

i can't even read that last post w/out crying.  I see my little girl, at 19 months old, and think - "someone had a little one just like her and didn't want her."  Didn't want to love and protect her.  Didn't want to kiss her lovely hair.  Didn't want to snuggle up with her or make her smile.  Kiss her boo boos.  Put on darling little socks.  How could someone NOT want that?  I saw her knocking on the door to her dad's office saying "daaaaaaaaaaaaaad'  and i just burst into tears thinking this girl, at one time was 19 months old with no daddy that loved her like she was his world.  Every girl loves her daddy, and this girl having a daddy that abused her makes me sick.  I hope he rots in jail and that the inmates really treat him as he treated her.  Did you read that she got pneumonia from almost being drowned in the tub?  How sick and frail she must've been - and that no one swooped in and cradled that poor girl.  It is so heartbreaking.  I wish they would let me at those people.  HOW CAN THEY HAVE DONE THIS TO A CHILD?

how??????????????

I just read this article: http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=17718

HOW DOES THIS EXIST?  HOW DOES ONE DO THIS TO A CHILD?  I'M HEARTBROKEN FOR THAT LITTLE GIRL JUST PICTURING WHAT EVERY DAY OF HER LIFE WAS LIKE - EITHER BEING TORTURED OR LAYING ON THE FLOOR IN THE CORNER RECOVERING AND WONDERING WHY NO ONE IS HELPING HER?  WHY THE PEOPLE THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO LOVE HER DO THIS TO HER?

HOW IN THE WORLD CAN THIS HAPPEN?  HOW? HOW? HOW DOES ONE DO THAT TO A CHILD? I CANNOT EVEN WRAP MY MIND AROUND IT.  I HOPE THERE AREN'T MORE CHILDREN SUFFERING LIKE THIS AND I AM SO AFRAID THERE ARE.  WHY ARE THE PEOPLE THAT DO THESE THINGS NOT DEAD?  WHY CAN WE NOT TORTURE THEM RIGHT THE FUCK BACK?

man have I got a gift for you!

My brother brought down our old Halloween costumes and toys from my mom's attic!  OMG the memories!  The Nostalgia!  So -as I go through the stuff I'll be posting pics of all the wonderful items!!  Aren't you so excited?  Can you not wait one more minute??!!

November 12, 2008

Real Housewives of Atlanta

I cannot, CANNOT stop watching this trainwreck of a show.  SERIOUSLY, it is a total trainwreck.

In our latest episode, Kim (who is dating Big Papa, aka Quincy Jones) wants to be a country music star - which I guess you can give a good try at if you're 39 and dating a music industry giant.  So he intros her to Dallas Austin, a BIG NAME in music who produces albums of all the big stars.  Dallas visibly laughs every time she tries to sing, but I guess he has to give her a shot because of his boss.  So he sends her to THE vocal coach in the industry.  The vocal coach tells her she CANNOT SING and has no idea what she's doing.  So she decides to try and record anyway, and OF COURSE Dallas has to comply.  So he takes her into the studio and records her, much to my ear pain.  Then he plays it back to her and she's HORRIFIED (as she should be).  They don't say what'll happen next - I hope she throws in the towel as she CANNOT SING.

Then there's DeShawn.  Who is married to a basketbal pro.  They moved into a new house.  She is the one that whines about being a single mom while her husband travels.  She would be a single mom if it wasn't for her Chef, Nanny, House manager, house keeper, Executive Assistant and there was one other title that I didn't catch.  Single-mom my ass.  She says "I always KNEW I would be somebody!".  Hello?!  All you did was marry well!  That doesn't make you "Somebody".  Not by a longshot.

And NeNe.  Such a trashy lady I've never seen.  She makes fun of Kim, who is supposed to be her best friend when she's hammered.  She just acts like a total waste of a person.  I don't know why these people even hang with her.  At least these other women are Nice and are trying to do something (even if they are failing).

Sheree is the one DIVORCING a sports star.  She expects seven figure settlement, which she repeats often.

I cannot stop watching!  In the next episode, Kim and NeNe have a falling out!  OH MY!

Greenland!

In today's LIST UNIVERSE (  http://listverse.com/nature/top-10-least-densely-populated-nations/ )

I learned that Greenland has 57,000 people.  That is twice the number of students at Virginia Tech.  I cannot imagine a country so beautiful with so few people.  Between it and Iceland, seems like some beautiful, not crowded, places to live!!  Especially when the crowds of Northern VA (and my LORD is it crowded here) get to me.

November 06, 2008

goodness! PEOPLE!

$51 for a copy of yesterday's Washington Post?!

http://svmomblog.typepad.com/dc_metro_moms/2008/11/someone-stole-m.html

I say, if you have one, SELL IT!  If some fool is willing to PAY YOU $51 so a newspaper can turn yellow in their attic, SELL IT!  GET IT OUT OF YOUR HOUSE.  Sell it while the getting's good!  Seriously - that paper is going to sit in a drawer somewhere and not be seen for years, when it'll be yellow and falling apart.

People are crazy!

not even home yet, and the fighting's started...

Hubby returns later today (Thursday) from a 60 day trip.  Me and the kids - we miss him TERRIBLY.  He is the fun parent - I am all about rules and the following of such, and the keeping of the clean.

He is all about fun - crazy made up games, giving the kids crazy stuff (like candy at 6 p.m. RIGHT before dinner), lots of cuddly tv time.  We are sorely missing out on all these days he's been gone. Halloween decorating would have been WAY overboard, as it usually is when he's home.  Pumpkin patching would have been a much bigger event.  2 parents vs. 1 parent really makes a big difference in how much you can do with the kids (well, for me at least.  Between 3 kids alone AND a job, whew!  Not much energy for extra activities, though I did try really hard!)....

So he comes home tomorrow and is currently on layover waiting for his last flight home.

And I hear my TIVO bleep when I DID NOT push a button.  And a different show loads up.  WHAT THE?  Hubby is at the airport and wants to watch TV and the Slingbox points at the TV I am currently watching!  So we beep at each other trying to undo what the other has done so we can watch what we want!  It's started already and he's not even here!

But seriously - I CANNOT WAIT FOR HIM TO BE HOME!  AND GET MY ARMS AROUND HIM AND HOLD HIM TIGHT.  WELCOME HOME HONEY!

November 04, 2008

I VOTED!

Apparently 1:30 is an awesome time to go because the place was almost deserted! So, my vote is done and will be counted!

Please go vote if you have not already!

VOTING UPDATE!

My mom went to her voting place at SIX a.m. and did not get to vote for 90 minutes!  The line, at 6, was THAT LONG!  OH MY!

Good job getting out there to vote people!!  This is awesome!