I'd rather be wordless wednesday 2/10, Disney Social Media Edition

The excitement builds on the bus on our way to the first event for Disney Social Media Moms.

  

Right after a great sneak peek at what's to come at Disney (hello awesome cruise ship and fantastic summer nights,) we were treated to an incredible party at the ESPN Wide World of Sports, complete with food, dancing and FUN!

I didn't get a chance to snap any pictures of another favorite part of the night - watching my kids meet the sweet kids of Janice, from 5 Minutes for Mom on the way back from the party.  (Wow, how nice are her and her husband - loved that!)  My daughters fell immediately into a friendship with her kids (My eldest said to their eldest, "are we going to be friends?  I need an answer now." I was on the floor over that one.) And they were so happy to run into part of their clan later at the food joint.  I love meeting such nice new people, and the conference just started!

Please remember, FCC, that while I did pay for this conference, it might be also considered a sweetheart deal as I am getting tons of lovely perks at such a low price - the same as the rest 100 or so conference attendees.  Know that also, all statements I offer on this blog (or elsewhere) about this event are my own, forthright opinions. Got it? ;)

I'd rather be mingling 2/8

Hey guys!  I appologize in advance for two things, both related to the fact that we are in Disney World for the a combo vacation and Disney Social Media Moms Conference.

First:  My kids are all up in this video.  It is distracting.  And really funny.  Sorry!
Second:  I probably won't be able to get to the Mingle's in a timely manner.  But I'll do my best to get to them eventually!

Monday Mingle Feb8 from Mandy Sellers on Vimeo.

Have a great week!

PS - I found it really easy to Make Monday More today at Disney - returned an almost lost sweater, picked up a little girls special card, and just smiled a whole lot.  Everyone deserves a better Monday in Disney! :)

I'd rather be wordless wednesday 2/3

Since there are mere DAYS before we leave for Disney and the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I thought I'd make my first (semi) wordless wednesday a few pictures from our last WDW trip, taken at the Polynesian!

The girls' favorite room pastime - bed jumping!

Where is my daughter?  Playing hide-n-seek in the night stand, of course!

The best spot to relax - on the beach, in a hammock, still in Disney.  Perfect.

We can't wait to do it all again!

I'd rather be mingling 2/1

Hello to any new visitors of my little neck of the blogoshpere!  I'm doing my very first Monday Mingle today - woot!  I had actually planned to do it several times before, but chickened out.  I guess I'm not too comfortable with seeing myself on camera.  It shows in my video too, in funny ways.  For example - why do I keep looking outside, as if my backyard had changed in the last 5 seconds?  And why do I hold my mouth to one side for almost the whole video?  Weird, I say.  Weird.

Anywho...here is my vid:

Monday Mingle 2/1 from Mandy Sellers on Vimeo.

If you want to join in, click the button above, and that will take you to Eighty MPH Mom's blog where the info can be found.  I'm excited to check out the other participants and meet some more fun ladies!  

I'd rather be not sore.

Okay mamavation ladies, and any other lovely visitors I may be receiving, here is my weekly update.

I have been doing pretty well with food - and we kept the eating out to just the weekend!  I didn't stick to the plan of doing just one meal out, but we made it every week day with out a last minute trip to a restaurant.  (Believe me, this is HUGE in my house.)  And I can tell my kids are starting to get the drift - getting fruit as a snack with out asking for junk, preferring carrots at a friends house.  Who the heck are these kids!?

I decided that I would share any new workouts with you guys that I do weekly in these posts.  Last week was Bollywood (if you tried it, let me know what you thought!)  This week is the Weight Loss Workout with Violet Zaki.  She reminds me of a British Jillian Michaels - except for not a raving lunatic much sweeter.  (In case you missed me saying it before, while I love what The Shred does for my body, I find Jillian to be my nemesis.) I found Violet's routine to be pretty comparable as far as the sweat factor, and she gave great modifications too.  Plus, she has that cute accent.

She pretty much kicked my butt.  My hamstrings were sore for 4 days.  No joke.  FOUR freakin' days of "oooowwwww" every time I sat down on a hard chair.

The scale went down again - woot!  Another pound gone.  Now I only have two more to lose to get back in the leg warmers! (That means I currently weigh in at 191.)  I'm really excited about this - but I have one MAJOR hurdle coming my way: Disney World.

If you all have any suggestions as to what I can do while I'm there, I would love to hear it.  I know I will be walking all over the place, but in past trips to WDW, I haven't faired too well.  To be honest, I haven't even tried previously.  I'm hoping that if I get my head in the right frame of mind, I'll do okay.  I have one more week to get ready for it, so help me out!

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for your support.  Mamavation ladies are so great like that. Smooches!

I'd rather be in Fantasyland

Do you ever feel like if you (or your child) take just one small step in the wrong direction, it will change the rest of your children's lives?

I know it sounds dramatic, but I feel that way.

My daughter is walking this thin line - the line between Fantasyland and Real Life (which I will now refer to as Meanieville.)

In Fantasyland people play magical games of pretend and believe in Santa Clause, The Easter Bunny, and The Tooth Fairy.  They are trusting to a fault - but that is okay, because no one lies.  They see through rose colored glasses, and are quite content in the fantasy of it all.  It's almost like your living in a Disney movie, where the biggest problem of the day is when will the princess get to dance with the prince again.

Meanieville is not so.  It is a dark, scary place, full of icky nasty stuff.  If one of those little people from Fantasyland were to wander over, they would be eaten alive and be used up for everything they have.  In Meanieville, the people of the land tell lies - big old stinking piles of lies.  Lies like "My sister is the model on the back of the portrait package sheet," and "At midnight all of the adults are going to turn into robots and try to eat us," and "I am a vampire, and I will eat you."  And the cute little people from Fantasyland believe it all as truth, naturally, because that is what just they do - they are gullible.  They are tortured by these lies and can't see them for what they are.

This is the line my daughter walks, and I don't know if she can keep it up.  She has already waltz into Meanieville a few times and it has not been pretty.  I would love her to keep a sense of wonder and mystery about the world, while still being able to tell the fact of life - that things aren't always pleasant.  I want her to still believe that when you blow on your birthday candles your wish may come true, but not believe that ghosts are haunting her school just because a friend says so.

Is it too much to ask?  What do I do to help her keep a lookout for those big stinky piles, but yet not become jaded?  Should a seven year old have to even worry about such things?  Or a mother of a seven year old?

Or do I just need to accept that this is life.  Accept that this is what happens when children grow up.  That they need to learn lessons like this first hand.

My hope is that she will learn that while Meanieville is alive and well, you can still visit Fantasyland - and visit it frequently.

Obviously I do.

I'd rather be in Bollywood

Good morning and happy Monday!  It is a rainy day here, but I'm feeling quite chipper, regardless.

Ready for my weekly check-in?  Here is the run down:

Work outs:  Did more yoga, walking, balance ball work outs, and more Bollywood dancing!  Some of you had mentioned you were interested in them, so taking a cue from @BusyBabyMama, I thought I'd post a clip for you.  First is a short trailor that gives you a quick glimpse into the video:




And, yes, I do feel like a bit of an ass doing the workout.  But it is still fun to do.  If you have time, here is a clip of Ellen doing it on her show - she looks goofy, but you get the idea that it's a happy, fun dance.



WARNING:  The elk move at the end is VERY dangerous to preform around any male. *wink*

Onto food:  I followed my usual m.o. - good during the weekdays, not so good on the weekend and once everyone is in bed.  I have made a plan with my husband to tackle our major affection for eating out, but I think I need advice from you all about my nightly snack habit.  I wait until everyone is asleep, and I have this nice happy quiet moment when I catch up on my shows, and get to eat what I want, with out having to share it with little sticky fingers.  The problem though, is that I pick sweets (hello chocolate and peanut butter, my two best friends) or salty foods with dip (everyone knows pretzels taste better with queso dip.)  I am determined to make better choices, but not ready to give it up entirely.  Do you have any suggestions as to what might make a better (yet still deceivingly satisfying to my craving) choice?  Because I am kinda sick of working so hard, then sabotaging myself.

I'm feeling good, overall.  I think I have lost about a pound.  (Hard to tell, on my scale, but the needle moved a little, so that's what I'm going with.)  I'm happy with this, as I think I'm gaining some more tone in my muscles too.  I'm still in the right mode, and really want to keep losing.  This week, I am committing to working out Monday through Friday (whew!) and only eating out once (gasp!) - because I have heard a few compliments lately ("wow, your face is looking thin," "hey skinny mini,") and I want to keep them coming!

Thanks for listening and I look forward to your snack advice!