What's Goin' On?

Yes, I've totally been a slacker lately, but for good reason...

While my Fall 2013 MBA classes were a breeze, Winter 2014 has been a bear. Third trimester of pregnancy, two children, school and a host of other things has meant my poor blog has suffered.

I have kept up my schedule for WDW Fan Zone, which is helpful because it keeps me from not being so disconnected from the Disney fan community while I get through this semester. I've also been a co-host for WDW Fan Zone's Midnight Magic BlogCast every Friday night at midnight (or Saturday morning if you're being picky.) It's been hard to stay awake, but has been worth it every week. Stuart, Jeanie, Kurt and I have lots of fun discussing various Disney related topics.

Kathy Kelly and I chatted for a bit on her Special Mouse Podcast, about crunchy parenting at the parks, including packing, breastfeeding and cloth diapering. Kathy is awesome! We could have easily talked for much longer than we did.

As always, links to posts on other pages, podcasts, and other information are readily available on my Facebook page. Stop by and click "Like" for me, OK? There's still a $5 Amazon Gift Card up for grabs to the 100th person who likes the page.

What's coming up?

Food & Wine Festival Mistakes

This post is a reminder to myself as I'm planning for next year's visit to Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.  There are about ten days left in this year's festival, and I'm wondering if I can get an early flight and leave the same day on a super late flight to try and catch a few of the things I missed.  I stayed at Saratoga Springs for two nights, and that simply was not enough time to ingest all of the awesomeness at this year's festival! When you plan your trip, learn from my mistakes.  I certainly have!

Congratulations...

For the past 16 months, I've been leading the board of Boys & Girls Club of Greater Flint through a very lengthy and thorough strategic planning process.  As Board President, I've seen a lot happen during my tenure, and even took over the job of Executive Director while a search was conducted to find a replacement.  This planning process, with the board, new Executive Director and staff, was very important in making sure the future of our organization is secure.

Today was the last day of our final planning retreat before the plan is presented and voted on at our next board meeting, and I had trouble focusing.  Emails informing Disney Parks Mom's Panel Hopefuls of their round two status had gone out. I was trying desperately to display commitment to our cause and not touch my smart phone, which grew increasingly more difficult as the four o'clock hour approached. Sometimes being a leader sucks.

3:58...No sign of a break anytime soon?

4:05...I'm the President. I should just demand everyone go get some fresh air.

4:07...Didn't Shirley order snacks? Why aren't they here?

4:10...I can't take it anymore.  I'm calling for a break as soon as the consultants finish this topic.

4:11...Thank you, consultants for calling a break!

I don't think I have ever reached for my phone so fast.  My thumbs flashed back and forth across the screen like lightening.  I opened the email and read the first word, "Congratulations..."  In disbelief, I shoved the phone into the hands of our Executive Director who quickly read it and gave me the loudest hi-five ever.  The entire room looked our direction.

"I made it to round two," came out a wink higher than a whisper.  "I've got to go call my husband," I said while rushing out of the room, leaving our Executive Director alone to explain to the confused crowd.

After three years of trying, I had finally made it to round two.  Even though I wasn't at home to hear my computer play "Soarin'" when the email came in, it still felt totally magical to have so much pixie dust flying my way.

Everywhere But Here...

Seems like I've got a lot of posts popping up everywhere but here!  Lately, there's been recipes shared on The Disney Gals, clothes and games talked about on WDW Fan Zone and I shared with readers why we cloth diaper on the Cloth Diaper Whisperer.

Don't worry, I'll get back into the fray soon enough with more chit chat about eating cleaner, right after I break most of my food rules indulging at this year's Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.  I'm signed up for culinary demonstrations, planning to catch a couple of concerts and have the opportunity to test out Magic Bands and Fast Pass+.  Lots to talk about when I return, including a review of my daughter's virtually free birthday party with newspaper decorations and my latest natural hair experiments involving honey, egg and coconut oil.  Follow me on Instagram, @CrunchyDisneyMa, to see pictures of all of the above.

See ya real soon!

Cloth Diapering At Disney...Vacation Home Edition

Cute sundresses & matching diapers are the way to go!

Our last family visit to Disney World was a couple months ago and we had a blast staying in a vacation home with my friend and her family.  I did a quick review of the property and staying off-site in a vacation home as a guest author on DisneyGals.com.

Of course, we continued to cloth diaper our littlest family member, who was celebrating her first birthday.  Using cloth was tons easier at a rental home because we had a washer and dryer right there.  We brought our own detergent, EcoNuts, which was used for all of our laundry.  The biggest advantage here was not having to trek across a resort to laundry facilities and wait for the machines to finish.  The washer and dryer were available, whenever we were.  Late night/early morning washing was a breeze.