Sunrise on the Reaping

 Yesterday, Sunrise on the Reaping was released.

I had pre-ordered it in June and was anxiously awaiting 11:00 CST when I knew it would hit my Kindle. It actually took until 11:02 and when I tell you I went through all the emotions thinking I would have to wait until Midnight... it's not a lie. 

Anyway, I snuggled in and got straight to reading. 

Back in the old prekids day, I used to stay awake for book releases. When the last Harry Potter came out I not only waited in line the night before for a wristband to buy the book as soon as possible but I had my brother go get the car at 11:55. We might have been the 4th book sold at the Barnes and Noble that night but I was the first person out of the parking lot! I went straight home and read the whole thing finishing about 6:00 or 7:00 am. 

And that was in 2007 and I am much older and require much more sleep these days. So I started reading at 11:00ish pm and started dozing off about 2. Then I had a resurgence of energy for about a half hour at 3:00 and passed out from 3:30-8:00. Then I finished reading from 8:00-11:00 am. 

Not too shabby but also not too impressive either. 

Anyway... my mind was blown many many times in the first 3 chapters and I continued to be surprised at the connections being made. 

There was a point where I was confused as to why we were seeing so many characters we already knew and it almost felt lazy, but the more I think about it, that is exactly what we should expect from Panem and Haymich. Just as Katniss wins and realizes that she will be playing the game for the rest of her life, so too does Haymich have to come to that conclusion and it would make sense that we'd meet other victors living that same life. 

It is a hard book to read in that you know what to expect and you already know Haymich wins his games: so all the other tributes have a death sentence and emotionally that's complicated. But getting to know why Haymich is the way he is and seeing how much he lost gives so much insight. 

If you like the Hunger Games: you'll probably like this book. 

And I don't think it's a spoiler to say brush up on your Edgar Allan Poe because there's a lot of it. 

If you haven't read Ballad of Songbird and Snakes... I wouldn't start here. They're definitely meant to be read in the order they were written. Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mocking Jay, Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Sunrise on the Reaping. 

What's next? Hopefully a Finnick book. Or a Beetee book. Though I would LOVE an Effie book myself. 

If you yourself have already read the book... let's chat!!

A Leprechaun Trap

This week is Spring Break. We had not intended to be home for St. Patrick's Day but the world had other plans for us so we were. 

One blessing is that the kids, even though they're far too old really, made a Leprechaun trap and it brought joy to my heart. Creativity and imagination are never problems to me. 

I present to you The Green Hotel that definitely did not catch a Leprechuan. 

We had a most uneventful day yesterday but we did watch the Quiet Man during our not fancy or green lunch. 

Honestly, other than a trap, a few shenanigans (the playroom was tped and some pictures got some beards and horns via dry erase markers) and a Lucky Charms breakfast that's all we did to mark the day yesterday but still... finding the little moments. 

How D'ye Do and Shake Hands

Remember when I didn't have any updates on anything interesting? I'll go back to that thanks. This past week has been... horrible. As there are no resolutions I will write about it all when there is. Today, on St. Patrick's Day let's focus on the actual good. 

M played in her first piano festival and earned a superior rating.

This was the warm-up room, no pictures or recordings were allowed in the actual room. 

And this week was C's musical Alice in Wonderland Jr. My little Tweedledee was delightfully cute. 

Husband's Aunt, Uncle and Grandma came to the daytime show which was so wonderful and cute! 

Since Grandma was in town just for a short time I called M out of class to come say hello. When your 80 year old Great Grandma is in the same building as you it seems silly not to say hello right?! 

M was really confused when the office called her down. 

And because it makes me happy, here is C's scene so you can see his knack for the stage. (It's less than 3 minutes long. He's the short Tweedle.) 

So these are the things that bring me joy. And golly, I am glad for the joy. Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!! 

Another Week With Nearly Nothing to Show For It

You guys. I apparently take no pictures anymore. 

So let's recap the last week with nearly nothing to show for it. Only this time it's March.

Saturday M had an explorers class in the morning. Then a playdate. I invited myself along to the playdate to tie dye with my very own bestie. It was fun. Then went to Mass and out to dinner because why not? 

Sunday we did NOTHING. And the angels rejoiced! I love a good day of nothing. I did take one picture: 

Miss M had gone to bed with wet hair and had a funny bed head curl to show for it. 

Monday happened. It wasn't bad. Just a day. I had a few meetings, all went well. 

Tuesday day happened. Again. Lots of meetings. M's piano lesson got cancelled. But that evening I went to another free library class but this time I took a friend! 

After the class I took her out for a dinner because she turns 40 TODAY! 

Wednesday was Ash Wednesday. I went to the 8:30 Mass and somehow had to be an ASHER! Which was way way harder than I thought it would be. 

Then I went over to the school for a few things and all the kids were like, "How did you get ashes already?!" 

I did go to the very beginning of the very crowded school Mass because C's class was leading. 

Anyway. So it's Lent. Blah. And it doesn't even really feel real since Exodus started in January so it's not like anything really changes now. 

Thursday, otherwise known as yesterday, was another day full of back-to-back meetings. Truly. And then M's rescheduled piano lesson was cancelled. And my baptism class couple cancelled too. So suddenly the evening freed up and we went to Texas Roadhouse for Dinner after C got done with his long rehearsal. I took no pictures of dinner, but it was really lovely. 

Even waiting in the car was okay because we got to just chat. Though we did watch a truck run over a Barbie and it was actually really sad. When we ate and came out of the restaurant, Barbie was sitting on a rock. My kids made a whole backstory for the Barbie and it was just one of those nights that wasn't particularly special but I will remember for a long time for its normalcy. 

Today... I had a meeting this morning. We've got a doctor's appointment this afternoon, rehearsal, and then family movie night. 

And that's been the week. Yay March. 

The Week With Nothing to Show For It

Seriously. It was one of those weeks where I took almost no pictures of anything and life was busy but I have nearly nothing to show for it. 

Monday, I was excited because our maintenance guy who drives me absolutely nuts isn't my favorite moved his big old van that has been parked in our lot for over a month. Only he brought it back and it was then parked in MY SPOT!

Which is somehow worse than the past 2 weeks of him being in the spot next to my spot, which meant the teacher who typically parks there was in my spot. I couldn't be mad at her for taking my spot when the dumb van was in hers! 

But later when I came back for baptism class, he had moved to the far side, which is where I prefer it. (I mean, honestly, I wish it were gone but if it has to be here over there is better.) 

And now that all is right in the parking lot... On Tuesday I met someone from a different parish for a brunch meeting. And it was totally awkward because I didn't know who I was actually meeting since we had only spoken on the phone. So I just waited and hoped someone would show up. 

C has been mad that Village Inn redecorated and said that he bet it was boring inside too, so I took a pic of the inside. 

I think it looks nice enough. And the meeting was NOT at all awkward once we got past the fact she brought a friend with her and I only had two menus and silverware. It was an easy enough fix! 

And then I legitimately took no more pictures. But last night M took pictures of the no bake s'mores bars we made for C's 6th grade bake sale today. It's our last bake sale of the year, thank goodness! It's kinda the worst part about 6th grade... having to make 2 dozen treats every other month. 

But the money raised pays for their big field trip. (And the money from the bazaar.) So it's all a good lesson. Hopefully the treats make all $12 they're supposed to. 

**Please ignore the bottle of Vodka and DayQuil Kids in the picture of M. DayQuil is for the coughs that won't quit to help get through a school day. 

And the Vodka, I honestly think was in the freezer and Husband cleaned that out a bit ago, and the Vodka never found a new home since we don't have a bar. (And I think the vodka was for pie crust anyway...) 

But again it's Friday and I am ever so hopeful for a restful weekend with lots of sleep to try to get my own cough taken care of once and for all!! 

Made It To Friday

So I alluded last Monday (LAST MONDAY!) That I got some airport germs. Boy howdy was that the understatement of the century. Negative for all the things but not well. 

I am just now coming back to life. 21 days of February I've been out of my norm. (Vacation + sickness.) Yesterday I finally got my appetite back after 11 days of barely eating. That's good! Progress at least!

I am still requiring a TON of sleep. Like on Wednesday night I went to sleep at 9:30 instead of 8:15 (like the moment the kids are in bed) and I could not wake up yesterday when my alarm went off.  

I have taken so few pictures because of it. Here is M declaring her desire to go fishing with my dad this summer. 

This was miserable and sick me at the show I had to review on Saturday. I wasn't fevering and hadn't been for a long time but I still had a wicked cough. Fun fact: I still have a wicked cough. 

The show was good. I managed to write about it and get that published. And then I slept a lot more. And even though my appetite is back, I am still counting down the hours until I am back at home in comfy clothes and I can take a nap!! 

So I made it to another Friday. I am more than ready for the weekend! 

Day 7 and Day 8

So last year, we disembarked, spent the entire day at the airport and got home after midnight. That was terrible. It made the end of the vacation just miserable. 

We got wise. We disembarked and went to WDW for the day. No parks!! Just a casual resort hopping day. 

We had our early early breakfast and said goodbye to Randy and Roman. 

Then we had to get off the ship. Boo. And we sat on a bus for a real long time. Now... I don't see a way around this. Because had we stayed on board we wouldn't have been allowed in our room and we would have just sat around there too so getting off was fine. 

The Wish was also in port. It was nice to say Hello to her too! 

Finally, we got going and made it to WDW.

Let it be known that I was deeply unexcited about staying at Pop Century. But I figured it was only one night. 

We ditched our bags at Bell Services and then sprinted for the restroom which were being cleaned. I was not super kind to the poor guy when I demanded he tell me where a restroom was then! After we used the restroom he kindly directed us to, we hopped onto the Skyliner. 

We rode all the way to Epcot and then walked to the Beach Club. Then took a bus to Disney Springs. 

First, we waited in the half-hour line at Gideon's Bake House. I would never in a million years say it was worth it on a regular Disney trip, but for our day it was nice to finally try these cookies. They were fine. We have a place in town and the cookies are just as good and big. But I am glad we tried it. Then we went to Earl of Sandwich for lunch. Yum! 

We went to the World of Disney and I realized how much I saved by going to that hour-long presentation. 

After that, we rode a boat to French Quarter and I got my girly some Mickey Beignets. After all the Disney trips I'd never been to French Quarter before. My one bit of feedback was for a place that literally is just churning out beignets all day you'd think they'd be faster. (Kinda like Raising Canes... you only serve Chicken Tenders and Fries...) 

I should note here, at this point C was falling apart. He was over tired and had a cough and just wanted to rest. So we got on a bus to Hollywood Studios and then rode the Skyliner back to Pop Century where we were staying. Our room was ready. 

Now I did in fact pay extra for a preferred room but I was INCREDIBLY happy with our room and it's location. For our one night and what we needed, the room was great. I liked it significantly better than Art of Animation and I would actually consider staying at this resort again. 

We all rested and C was very happy to do so. And then we all went for a swim because why not? We were still in Florida after all and it was going to be cold when we got home. I am glad I got in the water myself even though it was cold to me because the novelty of swimming in February just couldn't be beat. 

Then for the last and final time, we all showered and dressed for dinner. We hopped a bus to the Magic Kingdom. We were there with all the cheerleaders and for the most part it was fine. I would never plan a trip during cheer competitions though. 

Then boarded the monorail for the Polynesian. 

Where we killed a lot of time waiting for our reservation. 

C was cold and tired so I had him lay and try to rest. That really helped. Admittedly they were pumping the air conditioning and even I was getting chilly and regretted not bringing a sweatshirt of my own. 

Then it was our time for Ohana and oh how the Holy Spirit covered me. You have to know that I do not care about fireworks at all. But the Happily Ever After fireworks make me cry. For MONTHS I had been plotting eating at Ohana during the fireworks. 

And my dream to be eating Ohana Noodles while watching the fireworks with the music patched in... absolutely came true. We had a castle view. And I cried. And sang along. And ate noodles. It was everything. The cherry on top of an almost perfect vacation. 

After we went back to Magic Kingdom, got a bus back to Pop and we were all in bed rather quickly. 

It was a much better day than spending it all in the airport. And definitely made leaving the cruise more bearable. 

Day 8 we woke up, packed up, and waited for our bus in the fog. 

Funny enough, the first time we weren't on Disney Cruise Line Transportation is when we got a Disney Cruise Line Themed Bus.

We had an uneventful flight from MCO to CLT. The highlight being MCO let us check our bags all the way through to Moline for free. Then had to walk to the third-world country under construction area of the Charlotte airport. 

And then before you knew it we were home. In all it's gray and dreary glory. 

And that was the trip. It was a success. I am still sad it's over. Life is just more fun when you have a vacation to look forward to isn't it?