The Great Disney Debate.

I was so excited planning our first Disney trip I tried not to let the naysayers discourage me. Is Disney too much for little ones? I'm pretty sure if you were to ask Walt himself he would agree Disneyland is made for children, toddlers and yes even babies. From the moment you enter the gates it is apparent you are truly in a magical place. The park is filled with baby centers. A quiet calm AC filled room with impeccably clean changing tables, rocking chairs and even private rooms for feeding. Most rides are very baby friendly. We enjoyed many rides as a family including Pirates of the Caribbean, the Jungle cruise, Nemo, all of Fantasy land and Toon town and I must not forget to mention my favorite the Haunted House.

Our boys loved DL and most importantly it was real. When Mickey walks by he is really walking by. When they walked through Goofy's house their was no doubt they were is his home. This is something that can only happen with young children. The older they get reality hits and it's more about how fast the roller coaster is and not so much about Tigger and Pooh. By all means take your little ones to Disneyland, they will enjoy it.

Maybe the real debate should be Is DL a place for people who don't like kids. My answer is no! Stay home and don't try to rain on our parade the next time a new parent talks about making the trip to DL.

Table for four please!

Going to dinner with my almost 3 y.o and 10 month old boy's can be interesting. I dread being "that table". The ones that leave a layer of cheerios behind on the floor or give an ear piercing scream because "it's fun". I recently nicknamed my 3 y.o. "Piccolo Pete". Kids can be unpredictable when it comes to going out. With a few stressful dinners under our belt we usually opt to stay home or eat take out. We decided to venture out one evening. The idea came from a random drive past Benihana. What a great idea, good finger food plus free entertainment. Nothing says good times like sharp shiny objects being tossed in the air and onion steam volcano's. Unfortunately approaching the hostess I could tell she wasn't as thrilled to see me. Trailing behind me was my dear husband and our double stroller. The wait at 5 P.M. on a Sunday was 45 minutes to an hour. Not in the mood to make dinner, we decide to move onto another restaurant.

Dinner started off well. The waiter brought the boys crayons and paper. I could tell when my 3 y.o. had enough when he dropped his crayons in my beer. Huge party fowl... I know! The food was ok but it took almost an hour to get to us, which meant an hour of entertaining two little monkeys. The 3 y.o. couldn't help but play musical chairs and the 10 month old had a stare down with the couple at the next table. As I glance at my husband I think to myself, I wouldn't want it any other way.

So we haven't seen a movie in 3 years, date nights are almost unheard of and the thought of going out to dinner as a family can be daunting. I feel life with my boys is fun, exciting and full of surprises!! Hopefully I will get the courage to say "Table for four please" again soon.