Disneyland

This summer we had the incredible opportunity to visit Disneyland. It was an unplanned trip, so it didn't go exactly how we wanted it to, but it was fun nonetheless. My cousing died unexpectedly and so we drove to CA. My other cousin just happened to be getting married at the same time, so we drove down and had a day off between the two events. My cousin just happens to work at Disneyland and can thus get three people in for free. So, we only had to pay for Malia (Timothy was free). It was a ton of fun (minus the headache and the throwing up on my part). We started out the day having to buy batteries for our camera because even though we brought two completely new packages of four, none of them worked. After that, though, the day went pretty smoothly (until Thayne had to buy ibuprofen- $1 for two pills! That and the batteries were our only souveniers).

We, of course, had to have our picture taken next to Walt and Mickey.

We started out the day on Peter Pan's flight- the only ride that Timothy really had a problem with. He had to get used to that feeling of going down.

Here are Kaylee and Malia waiting to go on "It's a small world". This and the caterpillar roller coaster were Kaylee's favorite. We really enjoyed the changes to the ride- they now have dolls dressed like the Disney characters throughout the ride. (Although the people behind Kaylee and I complained that it made it "too commercialized"- your at Disneyland, the whole thing is a big huge commercial for Disney!) It was really fun looking at the different bushed that were shaped like animals.

This was probably Kaylee's least favorite ride- the matterhorn. She really didn't like the curves! Malia said she liked it, but when we asked her if she wanted to go on it again, she immediately got wide eyed and shook her head no.

This was the one ride that I never thought Kaylee would have a problem with- Nemo and the submarine. But she got really concerned that we were going to drown- she held on tight to Thayne the whole time!

The few cars that I'm not afraid to put my kid's behind the wheel!

I wish we had one of these at home!

After over an hour's wait we were finally able to meet the man- Mickey himself! The girls were way excited, but they sure did rush us through. Malia really wanted to meet the Princesses but it would have been a 1 1/2 to 2 hour wait! We told her that the next time we go she can see them.

Later we went through the Haunted Mansion- Kaylee didn't really like this one. I'm not sure what Malia really would've thought- she couldn't see most of the stuff. She did like the ghost sitting next to her at the end.

Pirates of the carribean, although one of Thayne's favorite rides, did not go over well with the girls. The sudden drops and the water splashing had them both holding onto the bars so tightly their finger's were white.

Kaylee got to be a special helper in the Tikki room. She was chosen to wake up the birds- she was so excited!

While Malia and Timothy had fallen asleep in the stroller during the new show "Magical" (It was really cute- they had Tinkerbell and Dumbo fly through the air and fireworks, so cute!) Kaylee was still wanting more. So I stayed with the stroller while Thayne took Kaylee on the caterpillar roller coaster and Peter Pan's flight again. Then they came back and I took her on "It's a small world" again.

The day was truly magical for us.

new site to check out

So my Cousin's wife, Bronwen, is about the most creative person I know and she has a little shop set up on Etsy to sell some of her stuff. I wanted to make sure that everyone could see her stuff so I am putting her link on my blog. Go check it out.

Yummy Food Storage

So at my meeting last night I was talking to one of the women and she has started working with her friends company selling gourmet food storage- imagine that- food storage that actually tastes good! Anyway, I thought I would add her button to my site so that if any of you are interested you can go look at her site. Or just click on this!

More on Acai Berry Scam

So as I was writing my previous blog, I went to google pictures of acai berries (I thought it would make the post more interesting) and found the following article.

Attorney General: Conn AG investigates Acai Berry businesses
By George Gombossy on March 23, 2009 12:33 PM

ATTORNEY GENERAL ANNOUNCES ACAI BERRY INVESTIGATION INVOLVING IMPROPER CREDIT CARD CHARGES, WEIGHT LOSS CLAIMS

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today announced an investigation into the business practices and questionable science associated with Acai berry products -- primarily pitched by Internet-based companies as a wonder treatment for weight-loss.

Blumenthal's office has received numerous consumer complaints related to Acai berry purchases, and is investigating with other states.

There is no competent scientific research that demonstrates any of the claimed effects of Acai berry, including weight loss, detoxification and increased energy and vitality, Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal said various companies selling Acai berry products -- in addition to bogus weight loss claims -- have improperly charged consumer credit cards.

After promising 14-day "free trials" of Acai berry products, the companies often make it virtually impossible for consumers to cancel the trial, resulting in charges to consumer credit cards ranging anywhere from $59 to $89.

Even worse, some consumers never even receive the product within the trial period -- making it impossible to try the product before deciding whether to cancel.

"There are no magical berries from the Brazilian rainforest that cure obesity -- only painfully real credit card charges and empty weight loss promises," Blumenthal said. "Aggressive Acai berry pitches on the Internet entice countless consumers into free trials promising weight loss, energy and detoxification. These claims are based on folklore, traditional remedies and outright fabrications -- unproven by real scientific evidence."

In reality, consumers lose more money than weight after free trials transition into inescapable charges. We will investigate these allegedly misleading or deceptive nutrition and health claims and take action under our consumer protection statutes -- as we have done with other food products. As problematic as the berries are the bills.

"Supposedly free online product offers commonly entail costs. These false celebrity endorsements and fake blogs show the dark side of online marketing."

David Schardt, senior nutritionist for Center for Science in the Public Interest, said, "If Bernard Madoff were in the food business, he'd be offering 'free' trials of açai-based weight-loss products. Law enforcement has yet to catch up to these rogue operators. Until they do, consumers have to protect themselves."

Acai Berry & Colon Cleanse Scam

I sent out an email to many of my friends and family about this, but I feel compelled to write about it. I, like so many others, have struggled for a long time with weight management. So, when I saw all of the ads about the acai berry and colon cleansing, I was intrigued. I looked into it and discovered that the "free offer" is not what it should be. You have a very limited amount of time to cancel with these companies before you are automatically enrolled in their monthly system. You pay upwards of $80 each for these products, and they bill you on an ongoing basis. From different blogs and articles that I have read on this subject, it also appears that cancelling your monthly subscription is a pain in the you know what. I also found that many doctor's actually disagree with these products, seeing as their hasn't been any competent research done to back up the claims of these companies.
Finally, I was looking at some websites and found that Becky from beckysweightloss.com is also Ann from anndropslbs.com and Ellie from elliesweightloss.com. I also found that Ashley from ashleysweightloss.com is also Anna from annasdiet.com, and Lauren from bestcelebdiet.com is also adriana from adrianasweightloss.com. I only went through a fraction of the sites out there. I bet if I continued I would find that these same people are claiming to be several other people. These companies are not legitimate! Do no waste your money on them! Plus, who knows if these products have long-term side-effects that have yet to have be discovered because there is no adequate research.

Haircuts!

So my girls got their hair cut by a professional for the first time on Friday (I have always cut it before now). Kaylee's hair was looking ridiculous- almost like a mullet. And Malia's just needed a trim, but I decided to get it cut anyway. Our neighbor, Sara, did it for us. I watch her little 4-year old girl, Ella, a few times a week and she usually pays us about $50/week (I've told her several times that $50 is way too much, but she said it is a lot less expensive than putting her into a daycare). Anyway, Sara offered to do haircuts for us as a way of paying us also, so I decided to let her do it, and the girls look so cute! I will attach a picture soon.

Sick, Sick, Sick

For the first time in my history as a mom I stayed home from church with all 3 of my kids because they were all sick! Timo has been the worst, though. He wants me to hold him all the time! Well, this too shall pass, right?

Oh- one spot of good news. My sister-in-law found out she was having a girl! She has 3 boys and this is their last baby. So we are all very excited for her.