Our Disney Family Tradition

There is something so magical about Disney World. Everything you see in the movies or read in the books becomes reality the moment you step through those gates. It's no wonder we can't stay away. One of the most exciting parts of my little family is the ability to start new traditions over the years and I am happy to say, that taking a trip to Disney World on Sienna's birthday has become one. We went as a family for her first birthday and continued the tradition last year when Daniel was only eight months old. 

We definitely had our work cut out for us going to Disney with two little ones two and under. After this last trip I thought we would wait a couple years to continue the tradition, but something changed. Maybe it was the little sparkle in Sienna's eye when she gushes over all the princesses. Or Maybe it is the joy that it brings them that just melts your heart. Or maybe that Disney World is truly the most magical place on earth and there is no way I am breaking this tradition now. 
See you in December Mr. Mouse!

We Heart Hotel Tonight

About a year ago I stumbled across an app called Hotel Tonight, downloaded it, then paid it no attention until about six months later. Little did I know what a gem of an app it was! Here's the skinny on it: Every day at noon the app populates all of the current hotels that are available to book for that same night at an exceptional rate. The catch is you have to book it for the same night, hence the name, Hotel Tonight. There are certain hotels that allow you to book multiple nights if you would like to stay somewhere for a longer period of time. The hotels also change daily so you can't really plan to book a hotel that was on the app the day before because it's a mystery if it's going to be there the next day. 

Basically this app is for someone who loves to live a little on the wild side. Perfect for a family with two babies two and under, right? Right! We have used this app close to ten times since we discovered it and love every minute of it. We usually use the app to book a room at the beach so it's like a mini vacation. We've also used it in Orlando where Danny had a work conference and we switched hotels the second night to be closer to Downtown Disney. 

This past week we booked a stay at the Tradewinds Guy Harvey Outpost (our favorite local getaway)  through Hotel Tonight:

Traveling spontaneously with the littles really can be fun and all of this Hotel Tonighting has prepped us for all our big travel plans :) 

Click here to see some more photos from our stay.

Mommy & Me Time

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Giving birth to Daniel was one of the most bittersweet times in my life. It was and is truly a blessing to have such an amazing little boy brought into my life, but the beginning of life with les deux was a difficult time because I was forced to give up the alone time spent with my little Sienna. I chose to nurse Daniel as I had done with Sienna which was wonderful, but the downside to that was that I had to be the one to give Daniel most of his primary care. Danny definitely took control and helped with Sienna and now their father-daughter bond is stronger than ever and needless to say, Daniel is attached to my hip :)

This past week Sienna and I were fortunate to have not one, but two mommy and me dates. This was the first time since Daniel was born where we actually were able to go and do something fun, just the two of us. Of course we occasionally will get to run an errand together or we have our weekly baby ballerina class, but this was quality time spent together.

First Thursday morning, we went to see the new Madagascar Live show at Busch Gardens which was a great time! Then on Sunday I took her to see our first Disney on Ice show which was absolutely magical. I am so grateful to have my two beautiful babies, but this past week made me realize how important it is to spend some quality one on one time with each child.

Love you baby girl!

    

Insta Weekend!!!

Happy St.Patty's Day!! I hope you all have had a great week! It is has been super busy over here, but we didn't forget to squeeze in some fun times and photo ops. Enjoy...

Insta Weekend!!!

Happy weekend everyone!! I am excited to announce a new weekly blog post I will be starting called 

Insta Weekend!! It will be a weekend recap of my Instagram photos. If you don't follow me on Instagram (which you probably should: les_stina), you can just follow my blog and see what's been going on in this crazy little world I live in. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do...happy Instagramming!!!

My Favorite Roll Dog...B.O.B

Source

Bob is my favorite roll dog, my PIC (partner in crime), my jogger from another mother. If you haven't caught on yet, BOB is my double stroller. We technically still own the single one as well, but I go back and forth everyday on whether I should sell it or not. For those of you not familiar with BOB strollers they are what I believe to be one of the best jogging/everyday strollers out there!

Before Sienna was born I spent MONTHS researching what type of stroller we should get. I went back and forth daily and in the end I chose the single BOB Revolution knowing if I didn't get it I would regret it.

I looove having the option to jog with the BOB and that was one of the main selling points for me! Not to mention all the reviews I read from BOB owners who said they had been through a million strollers and wished they would have just started out with the BOB. So when I got pregnant with Daniel, I knew I had to upgrade to the BOB Duallie!

It's a great stroller to use for the beach, theme parks, and even the malls! There's one downside and that is the size...it's definitely not a lightweight stroller and people look at me like I'm crazy when I attempt to go through a single door, but it fits! Sometime it takes me two tries, but we always make it through. You also aren't going to be fitting through many clothing racks, but the way I see it is most double strollers won't anyway!

BOB is now a cherished member of our family! I'm not gonna lie, I've had some moments of doubt while I had passersby offer me help as I tried to stuff a giant double stroller into my small VW trunk (Which is now why I am stuck driving Danny's SUV)! But in the end of the day nothing beats being able to exercise with my babies in tow!

I actually just started the Ease into 5k app for the fifth time time in five years! Let's see if I can get past the first week this time ;-)

Anyone else had any luck with this app?? Or better yet this app while using your Bob stroller??

*As many times as I mentioned BOB this is not a sponsored post :) I have the BOB Revolution SE and BOB Duallie. I would recommend buying them off Amazon for the best price around!

DIY Astroturf Play Area

Last month my family and I took a mini vaca to the most magical place on earth--yep! You guessed it! Disney World!!! I am SUCH a big kid so of course I usually am the most excited one for these vacations...especially since my children really have no idea what Disney World really is.... Anywho, we make it a tradition to venture around Downtown Disney the day before we visit the park to get some fun Disney swag and t-shirts for the kiddos! While there, we stumbled across this cute little grassy area made out of astroturf that we thought would be a perfect stop with kiddos to release some energy. They loved it as you can see and I was joking around with Danny that we should totally put a plot of this in our backyard for the kiddos....

HAHA it was a joke, I'm a daydreamer, but once we got back Danny had different plans. He came home with all the supplies to lay an astroturf play area for the kiddos with their own white picket fence so the dogs don't...ahem..."disrupt" the turf ;)
 

Supervising with Uncle Er 

                                   Whaddaguy!!! He really gets Dad of the year for this one :)