We Visited the Children's Museum of Indianapolis

I was finally able to finish this video from our trip a couple weeks back. I was up till 3 AM with the final edits because my computer was acting up and I was super paranoid that if I didn't finish it would have all been scrapped! There was a couple of close calls and potty language to say the least.

We went to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis on one of the last weekends of the Doc McStuffins exhibit. We left Penny with the grandparents. We love her so much but she is such an active and independent toddler that I was afraid the entire day would be chasing her around and we really wanted the older kiddos to enjoy the day. 

It is the largest children's museum in the world and it was very interactive and worth the 3 hour road trip from Chicago! Check out our fun below and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

We road tripped out to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis from Chicago just in time to see the Doc McStuffins exhibit before it ended. We had so much fun and fortunately the grandparents watch Penny for the day, which made the day much less stressful and enjoyable for the older kids!

Our Top 5 attractions for the under 5 at Walt Disney World

Recently, I've been getting asked for suggestions on the can't miss attractions at Walt Disney World. There are so many things you can do at each of the 4 parks that it can seem overwhelming. This got me thinking and so I asked my daughter, who has been to Disney World several times only at the age of 5. Here is my daughter's top five list!

It's a Small World

-Fantasyland

She has loved this ride since before she was 1 and it's a classic. There is something magical and happy about this ride that opens up their little eyes. It's located in the Magic Kingdom in Fantasyland.

Disney's Electrical Parade

-Fantasyland

This is a can't miss! Seriously, your kids will love this just as mine did. We always plan this one ahead as it's only offered on certain days and at certain times. The sparkly lights at night with the famous Disney characters drive the kids insane! In a good way, that is.

Dumbo 

- Fantasyland

It's a classic and it's fun! They recently revamped this attraction. This is more of an adventurous ride as the height can be intimidating to little little kids. Bella is not a fan of "thrill rides" but still enjoys this one very much.

Kilimanjaro Safari ride 

- Animal Kingdom

This one is such an adventure for young kids. It's so much more than a Zoo and you feel like you are really on a safari in this open atmosphere. We have always had the most luck of seeing the amazing animals if you go right when the park opens. This ride is located at the Animal Kingdom Park.

The Little Mermaid and Nemo Ride

-Fantasyland and Epcot

These are a combo as they are kind of the same but with different movie themes and both are great for young kids. The Little Mermaid ride is at the Magic Kingdom in Fantasyland and the Nemo ride is at Epcot.

Dressing up at the parks

- Anywhere!

Okay, this is actually number 6 and it's not really an attraction but my kids love doing this so I just had to mention. The kids love wearing their costumes at the parks. You can find some pretty affordable princess outfits that wont break the bank ahead of time at Target or Walmart. You can even get a coordinating outfit that resembles a character and the kids will be excited. I would recommend bringing some loose clothes for them to change into just in case they get hot in the dresses.

Have you heard of

Disney Bound

? People, by people I mean adults too, actually dress up like characters in their own interpretations with regular clothes while matching the color palettes of the characters. For a more detailed explanation I found an article

here

 that describes it best. It's pretty cool and I'm sure we will try this on our next visit. You can find some ideas on pinterest by searching 

here

!

Honorable mention: Winnie the Pooh ride at Fantasyland

The ride itself can be a tad outdated but the kids still love the black florescent scenes. The main attraction with this ride is actually waiting in line. They have fun games and activities throughout the line to keep the kids occupied and entertained.

Have you traveled to Disney World with your little one's? What are their favorite attractions? Leave your comments below!

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Facebook!

First Ever Magical Mondays Link up!!!!

Welcome to Magical Mondays Link up!!!

The world of Disney is something that is very close to my heart. I'm a former cast member and frequent vacationer of Walt Disney World. We are so excited to be going back  in 4 weeks and I can't wait for this adventure. To count down our trip and continue on with the spirit, Magical Mondays is a link up dedicated to any and all things Disney. Every Monday we will be here to share our favorite moments and posts. It can be a post about a review from the parks, a craft, recipe or just a heartfelt memory. Whatever it is (past or new) link up those Disney inspired posts!!

Rules

 This will be pretty simple.

 1. Just link up your post below.

2. Add the Magical Mondays button to your post or a simple link will do.

3. Visit other participants and start sharing!

<div align="center"> <a href="http://3wittlebirds.blogspot.com/" title="3 Wittle Birds"><img src="http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/kdelarosa05/95f5467c-715c-4960-88de-ed02e7a9bc61.jpg" alt="3 Wittle Birds" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Pretend Play Italian Menu: Lady and the Tramp (free)

I got such positive feed back on the

Hawaiian play menu

I created last week that I thought it would be fun to continue on with the theme and do something Italian!

When I think of Italian and Disney movies, I picture Lady And The Tramp.

Please enjoy this free printable play menu for your pretend play activities.

Get your own free copy of Lady's Italian Bistro 

here

.

If you like what you see here, be kind and follow along on 

DIY Digital Snow White Invitations

For some reason I am the worst person at sending out physical invitations and thank you's.

Some people do it so well but for me, I always have to resort to an email, facebook event or evite.

I go through the trouble of creating this wonderful invitation on publisher and then... opps!! It's past that acceptable deadline to send them out and now I need something like right now!

Here is the Snow white Printable invitation I did created for my little one's birthday. Perhaps, I will share on Google docs or maybe put it up on Etsy? Let me know what you think I should do:)

Our Disney Trip 2013: Part 1

These pictures are a little late but I wanted to share our amazing trip with you all!!!

We went at the end of January and the weather was wonderful but slightly cold for swimming(we did anyways!).

Disney Beach Club

The Pirate ship with the slide!

We stayed at the Disney's Beach Club Resort, part of the Vacation Club!! The Villas were very spacious! Our favorite part... The pool!!!

How do they do that... the

sandy beach

pool? Surprisingly super clean too. Bella could sit there and build sand castles all day! Another thing I loved about the resort was that it was right off the Boardwalk and short walk to Epcot! Yes, we could walk to the back entrance of Epcot, without any lines and start in the World Showcase right by France!! One of the evenings Grandma and Grandpa offered to watch the kiddos and the hubs and I had a date night through World Showcase! We had coffee and chocolate croissants in France!

Animal Kingdom

We started off our first full day at Animal Kingdom! I knew the girls were really going to enjoy this park. We got on the safari ride right as it opened! This is the best time for this ride. I have been on this attraction more times I can count and this was by far the best time!! We got to see all the animals!

I saw this cure garden scape as we left the Festival of the Lion King!

 Bella really got a kick out of the African musicians! She became pretty shy when the guy started smiling at her.

Hollywood Studios and Epcot

We didn't really spend much time at these two parks. By mid day the kiddies were cranky and hungry and all Bella wanted to do was swim. Here are some of the photo ops I remembered to get.

If any of you get a chance, I highly recommend stopping at the

Honey I Shrunk The Kids playground

!! I've always loved this attraction and it gives the kids a chance to run around and blow off some steam in a giant backyard playground just like the movie!!! Bella really enjoyed this.

Ride along with the giant ant or climb in a "spider web"

Epcot

Bella wasn't too excited about the Sea's with Nemo and Friends ride. I think she was more afraid of the sharks. We sort of had to

force

 convince her that it would be fun.

See her enthusiasm?

 Afterwards was fun... you can read all about it

here

.

It never stops amazing me at the little things she finds so much joy in. There was a fountain in Epcot, Bella thought it would be fun to just run through it. On a normal day I would have yelled and tried to stop her from soaking her clothes and shoes but today I was a little more carefree. I did manage to convince her to put her swimsuit on, but by that time it was a little too late...

Reminds me of something I have once done... although I wasn't so young:)

Stay tuned for Part 2 with Magic Kingdom and Character greetings!!! Oh there are so many pictures to share!

Neverland - Tinkerbell Party and Marshmallow Fondant!

Oh my gosh!!! Did you know that you can melt marshmallow? Did you know that when you mix it with powdered sugar it forms a dough like frosting... similar to how you would kneed pizza dough?!?!? I think I have found the easiest thing yet to decorate my birthday cakes and I am super excited to share with you!

What you need

A bag of mini marshmallows

food coloring or frosting coloring

powdered sugar

This recipe is pretty simple. I took half a bag of the mini marshmallows  sprinkled with some water to coat and tossed. Then I microwaved the bowl for two sets of 45 seconds, stirring in between.

I added a cup of powdered sugar to the mix and then poured in out on a bed of powdered sugar.

This gets messy!!!! 

Note:

I recommend adding in the frosting coloring while it's in the liquid stage. I didn't do this the first time and I wasn't fun!

 I'm sorry for some of the blurry photos. the Hubby was on camera duty!!

This is the Tinkerbell Cake that I created from the Wilton Doll pan.

 I created this Pixie Hollow sign from Dollar Tree flowers, foam letters and wreath!! This is now hanging in her room over her bed! I love reusing party decorations!

 The flower pot was also created with materials from the Dollar Tree. I made three of them and placed them through out the party as center pieces!

Party favors include a pirate theme for the boy's (hook, tatoos, lost boys treasure) and a fairy spa theme for the girls (pixie dust, mini nail polish, mini nail kit, fairy rings). Everyone went home with their own Peter Pan story book!

 I had Bella help me with painting the treasure chest!! I found this one at Michael's for $15.

 I really wanted to create a pirate ship carved out of watermelon .. but they are not in season this time of year. So I created this pirate fruit bowl with a sail.

 Bella couldn't wait to try out her new bike.

And after the guests left.... They had to put blocks on the pedals because her legs are too short!!

Disney Field Trip: The Seas with Nemo and Friends at Epcot

One of the many things I love about Disney is there ability to incorporate education into their attractions! Disney World has to be one of the greatest field trips ever!

I know Epcot is not on the top of the list of parks to see, but it does offer a great classroom for conservation of the Earth ! On our recent trip we were excited to try the new attraction The Seas with Nemo and Friends!! The ride itself was a cute clam shell adventure through the Finding Nemo story. 

Once you got off the moving walkway, you were led to an amazing exhibit of underwater life. You can walk through this two story pavilion at your own leisure. 

My favorite part was pointing out Nemo and Dore! It really brings the movie alive and into the real world. What kid doesn't like the aquarium?

As I sit her and edit this, Bella informs me that this is NOT Nemo. It's the daddy Marlin because he is bigger and Nemo is smaller!

The Bruce's Sub House is a fun adventure where you can learn about the sharks of the ocean and the dangers they encounter everyday.  A hands on experience for all kids to have a chance to feel what real shark skin feels like and take a photo op inside Bruce's Jaw! Bella was a little frightened by the jaws of life.... so my Dad played along!

I think Bella's favorite part was the friendly dolphins that played back and forth beyond the glass!! They were pretty shy to take a picture though!

We saw real manatee!!!

The aquarium was gorgeous and provided us with just enough cool indoor entertainment! When the kids get older we will spend more time here!

DIY TinkerBell Invitations

Well if you couldn't have already guessed it.... Bella's birthday party theme is....

Tinkerbell and a Neverland Party!!!

Peter Pan is one of her favorite movies and I knew how much she would love a Tink party! I am generally not a person to purchase anything I can do myself. When it comes to invitations, I always like to create them myself. Microsoft Publisher is a great tool and I have managed navigate through it fairly easily. So I came up with this design! What do you think?

It was pretty easy to create and there are many free graphics out there if you know where to search. As long as your not selling and they are for personal use, you should be okay with using free graphics! The key is searching for a PNG graphic.

If any of you are interested in the FREE editable version email me!! I can send you my publisher file so you can make changes! Don't for get to show some love and subscribe!

More party ideas to come! Come back soon!

Tips on planning a Disney Vacation

With much excitement about our trip to Walt Disney World in January, I thought I would put together something to help anyone planning a trip to WDW!!! Our family are expert Walt Disney World Resort vacationers (and I a former college program cast member) and over the years I have found some things helpful with my travels.

• It's all about the time of year!!!!!! Planning your trip in a low season is key, especially if this is a once in a life time for your family. I get that summer vacation is when your kids are out of school and you don't want to have to pull them out for a vacation but..... do you really want to spend all that money (because it is expensive) to wait in a hot and muggy line for over an hour, just for a two minute ride? You might get to go on maybe 3 rides before your family has a meltdown... especially with young children!!!! With that said, from my experience as a former cast member and a annual (well almost) guest, September through October is beautiful weather and the lines are minimal. January through the beginning of February is less crowded as well and you are looking at cooler weather.

• Think about investing in the Vacation Club! If you love to travel and want to vacation every year, not necessarily Disney either, this is a great investment. If you don't already know about this research it! Now! What are you waiting for?

• Stay on property! While some off property hotels can offer some amazing deals, you still have to rent a car, which can add up and not save you any money. Plus, if you stay at one of the many Disney fabulous resorts, they offer transportation to all of the parks and other exciting attractions with in the Walt Disney Resort. What is great is they have so many resorts that accommodate all types of budget!

• Skip the meal plans. If you stay in one of the WDW resorts that offers a kitchen (which I would highly recommend upgrading to) you can have a food service delivered right to your hotel!!! Saves on the costly meals in the dinning room and you will have access to your own stash 24/7. Will share more about the food delivery service on tips for your trip!

• Disney's Magical Express!! A wonderful shuttle to and from the airport!! With Baggage delivery... you don't even need to worry about picking up your checked in luggage... it's delivered right to your room!

• Be realistic about your budget. You say to your self  "we are only going to spend this much"... but then you get there and the kids go wild in the Disney stores and your daughter wants to be a princess at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. In then end you will always spend more and the last thing you want is to either go home broke or go home feeling like you might have missed out! Research the different attractions with in the parks and downtown Disney. Know your battle grounds before you depart your house.

Oh my gosh... I am too excited just thinking about it!!! Check back on tips for traveling with small children and what not to miss at WDW!

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