The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley

Once you step inside, it feels like you're really there. Everything is so realistic and the people are always in character. It's amazing. If you only do one thing while at Universal, you should just walk through the WWoHP. The rides are great, too. And the Butterbeer. Try the frozen. You will thank me. The lines for pretty much everything may be long, but there are usually things to entertain you while you wait.

One big suggestion I have is to buy a wand. Yes, they're expensive. And yes, you can only use them while at the WWoHP. However, I think they are a great addition to any vacation. They help keep kids entertained and add a bit of whimsy to your trip. Some of the 'spells' are a little difficult and you may need to try them a couple times before getting them to work. Even as an adult, I had some difficulties. But my son absolutely loved it and I don't regret buying a wand one bit. To save some money, only buy one wand for the entire family and take turns.

If you really hate the idea of buying souvenirs early in the day, you can try buying them on your way out of the park at the main souvenir shops in the parks. They do have a great selection of Harry Potter stuff. However, they don't carry everything so if there's something that you really love, just know that the only place you may find it is in the shop that you originally saw it in.

The only ride I rode on in the WWoHP is the Flight of the Hippogriff (which is located in Hogsmeade). It was very fun! I loved seeing all the cool things like the actual Hippogriff and Hagrid's Hut. Plus, this was my son's first ever 'coaster'. It was the day before his 5th birthday so he was a little scared, but after the ride was over, he told us how much he loved it!

The biggest reason for me to pay for park hopper tickets is to ride the train. I mean, come on, ever since I watched that first Harry Potter movie, I have wanted to ride the Hogwarts Express. And believe me, it's worth it. This is not just a way to get from one park to another. This is a complete ride/experience in itself. You hear and see the shadows of Harry, Ron, and Hermoine outside your room. While you watch the 'window', there is a different view depending on which way you are traveling (from Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley or the reverse). The only downside of our two trips was that our son didn't get to sit by the window either time because people were very selfish and thought their families were more important that ours (even though he was clearly wearing his birthday button). So be advised. Unless your family is larger than 6 people, you will most likely be sitting with another family.

WWoHP: The Three Broomsticks

located in Hogsmeade

Our family got a chicken platter with half a roasted chicken, corn on the cob and potatoes and a kid's fish and chips with fish, fries, and grapes and a frozen Butterbeer (the best drink ever – kind of like a mild cream soda infused with butterscotch in slushie form). We all shared everything. The chicken was tender. Everything was so delicious. I was full by the end. The portions are fairly large and you won't want to carry around leftovers so (especially if you want to save some money) I suggest sharing meals. We only ended up ordering 2 meals (an adult meal and a child's meal) for 3 people (2 adults and 5-year-old). It worked for us. If you're going to be at the WWoHP, you need to stop here and eat. If you come during normal lunch hours (or dinner hours, I assume) then you will wait in line to get in.

Once you get into the building, you will wait in another line inside (where the building is air conditioned, thankfully). While in this line, you will get the chance to look at sample plates of items on the menu, helping you decide what you want before you even get up to the counter.
Then, you will be told which line to go to for someone to take your order. Whichever line you were told to go in is then the line you will wait in to receive your food once it is ready.
Then when you are ready to sit, there will be a woman that will show you to your table. That means you don't have to find your own seat. I think this is a wonderful concept.

WWoHP: The Leaky Cauldron

located in Diagon Alley

Our family went in for a mid-morning (10am) snack. We decided to just split the American breakfast and get a cold Butterbeer (amazing!). It came with bacon, eggs, sausage, potatoes, and a croissant. It was amazing. It was filling and exactly what we needed. The atmosphere is great. And the servers were very friendly and joked with my husband that he looked like Hagrid's cousin. (He's a hairy guy with a beard and mustache.) Overall, it was a great time.

Orlando, FL: Mel's Drive-In in Universal Studios

We had chicken strips and fries, a kids mac n cheese with grapes and carrots, a root beer float, and a milkshake. Everything was really good. The atmosphere was pretty cool too. We loved looking at all the cars outside. Eat here! It's a great break. There is indoor seating and outdoor seating.

Orlando, FL: Universal Studios Resort-Islands of Adventure

Universal Studios Resort: Islands of Adventure
6000 Universal Blvd
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 224-4233

The heroes were by far my son's favorite part! They are so great with kids. It's amazing. Spiderman showed him how to shoot webs. Captain America showed him how to pose like a super hero. The rides were great. Now that we're home, our little 5-year-old can't stop talking about how amazing his birthday was at Universal. Everyone should bring their kids here.

My first tip is to get in line as soon as you see a superhero or character that you want to take a picture with. You may find that this will be the only time you see these people. Sometimes, they're hard to find.
And everyone, please note these very simple rules:
1. There is a line and there will always be a line. This line might not always be very long. And sometimes, this line will form before the character even arrives! So please, do not assume that you can just walk up to the superhero and get your picture taken with them. I saw someone do this (as if they didn't even notice the huge line) and they were very rudely (and justly) told by the people in the front to go to the back!
2. When the times on your map say that the character will be there from 2pm-2:30pm, you can get in line to see them until 2:30. However, once this time has been reached, there will be an employee standing at the end of the line to tell everyone that this is the end of the line. Don't get angry. Accept it.

The Spiderman ride is so much fun! It's similar to the Transformers ride. Go on it! I would say it's worth the long line that inevitably forms.

The Cat in the Hat ride is kind of boring. It's not terrible or anything, but unless you have small children, I would skip it.

The Incredible Hulk coaster is always a very long line so unless you're super attached to sitting next to the people you're with, go through the single rider line. It usually cuts the wait time in about half. My husband was the only one that wanted to ride this ride, so he did this while we waited outside.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish is a cute little ride that all small children should ride! If you don't follow along with the song, you could get a little wet (my son did this on purpose!).

Pteranadon Flyers. Oh what should I say. First of all, please know that this ride has a very small window of height allowed for children. And as an adult, you can only ride this with a child that fits in those height restrictions. And the people at the beginning of the line are kind of rude. They are there to make everyone aware of these strict height rules. However, my husband wanted to stand with us in line and then just walk through while my son and I rode this and they told him he couldn't do that. What? Seriously? I don't care about your stupid wait times! They're always wrong anyway so maybe it would do some good to throw a couple extra people in the line to make the times even more realistic. He had to just find someplace to sit while we waited in line for close to an hour! The point is, know all of this in advance so that you're not disappointed.

Storm Force Accelatron is a fun little ride. It's basically the same as one of those teacup rides. It's located right next to the Hulk coaster.

Oh! The Stories You'll Hear! is worth seeing if the time intersects with the time you're free. After the show, the characters do meet and greets. This is a great time to take pictures with these characters. You can get all of them in one fail swoop.

These are the only rides we rode on while we were there. I hope this helps!

Orlando, FL: Golden Corral

Golden Corral
5535 Kirkman Rd
Orlando, FL
(407) 447-1032

Our son is notorious for going places and then not eating. Well, good old Golden Corral had tons of choices and he ate an entire plate full. They had cotton candy for dessert. Everything was delicious. If our picky family can find things to eat, anyone can. And the price was good too. The biggest downside to this place are the people that work there. They seem to be quite trashy and very loud, which is not the greatest when you have a small child with you.

Orlando, FL: Best Western

Best Western Plus Universal Inn
5618 Vineland Rd
Orlando, FL
(407) 226-9119
website

Everything about this hotel is exactly on par with what we are used to when it comes to Best Westerns. The room seemed clean. The breakfast was pretty good. The pool was nice. They had towels by the pool. Good location. It was right behind Universal and there were lots of food choices nearby. Great value. There is a shuttle to and from Universal (and Sea World). The times while we were there were leaving at 8am and 10am and coming back at 5pm and 8pm. You just have to sign up the night before. There is a mini fridge and a microwave in the room. With a Walgreens so close, you can easily eat a couple meals in your room if you want. Breakfast was pretty normal. Your usual meat, waffle, pastries, fruit selection with coffee and juice. My only complaint was when we first got there, it was really late (11pm) and we just wanted to check in so that we could go to bed and the guy at the front desk was on a call for about 10 minutes. But that's it. I definitely recommend staying here.

Overall, I would give this place a 4/5.

A cute teacher gift basket (mostly from Etsy!)

I'm only a substitute at a preschool so I've never actually received any teacher gifts. However, since my son started preschool this 2014-2015 school year, I have given a couple. Now, as I am preparing to make a couple more for the end of the year, I am looking around for a couple ideas. Now, I will not be using these for myself because I think some of these wouldn't be necessary. After all, in my son's preschool, the teachers don't even have their own desks. However, as he grows and has teachers that are in elementary school, I want to keep some of these ideas for later.

Now, before we get started, I would like to point out that I don't think teacher gifts are always necessary. I have had some terrible teachers growing up that were mean and didn't care about me as a student at all. Personally, I don't think they really needed anything. However, there are so many amazing teachers that go above and beyond when it comes to caring for their students and I think we, as parents, should recognize that and give them a little something extra. That doesn't mean that you need to spend a ton of money on gifts. Especially if your child is in junior high or high school and they have like 10 different teachers! Yikes!

And honestly, most teachers would probably appreciate just a gift card more than anything else. But that's just not my style. Sorry teachers. So this is what I've come up with.

Personally, I like gift baskets. They are my bread and butter when it comes to gift giving. For a really successful gift basket, you have to start with the vessel. This doesn't necessarily have to be a basket. It can be some kind of drink container. Or a bag. Or a crocheted basket (I sell those!). Or go to Dollar Tree and look for something. I know sometimes these can look cheap, but honestly, it's not the basket that matters. And if you think it does, then get one of the things I suggested earlier. You can find something small or large there:

Like this mason jar

or this basket

or one of these

Now, for the stuff you're going to put in there. Again, gift cards are great. Or personalized items. Or practical teacher things. Unless you know the teacher you're making this for loves a specific food item, I would leave any edibles out. Here are a couple things I've found on Etsy:

Personalized stationary like these chevron apple notepads are a great choice. They come in 3 different sizes ranging from $6-$15. Add some cute pens or pencils to make this gift even better.

I love this cute personalized desk name plate that you can get for $14.95.

So of course I had to choose something from my own shop to put in here. But seriously! How cute are these little pencils! They come in 3 different sizes and range from $10-$14

And for my personal favorite, this amazing personalized stamp. How cute is that? It costs $10.50. And trust me when I say this (because I've recently bought something from this woman's shop), from the time that you order it to the time that you receive it is very fast compared to most things you will buy on Etsy. Now add in a stamp pad and you're good to go!

Now, if you were to buy a nice basket and buy every single one of these things, it could easily cost you $100. I don't think any teacher expects you to spend that much on them unless that teacher happens to work at an exclusive private school that costs as much as college. I would only buy one or two of these things and then fill the rest with cheaper items like drink mix-ins or pencils and pens.

At the very least, I hope this helped to add some inspiration for a clever teacher's gift.

Let me know in the comments what you've given to your kids' teachers.

Travel: Flying With Young Kids

We tend to take a vacation at least once a year. I would rather spend my money traveling than on things. But don't get me wrong, we have plenty of things too. That being said, we didn't start taking our son with us until just 1 ½ short years ago when he was 3 ½. Now, he has just turned 5 and we took him on a plane for the 3rd time (8th if you count round trips and layovers). I'm no expert by any means, but I have been lucky enough to have a near-perfect child during these flights! He's a brat sometimes, but with lots of planning and research, I have found different ways to entertain him. Even with all this planning, it has been by pure luck that we haven't had a meltdown with crying and yelling. Here are some of my tips for a toddler happy flight:

1. Bring snacks. You don't necessarily need to pack a large amount of snacks, but rather a large variety of snacks. Kids get distracted and bored of snacks as easily as they do with toys. So they may only eat a little bit of something and then want to move on to another thing.

2. Bring something to draw/color with. This can be as simple as a pencil and some plain paper. Kids don't care. They just love to draw and color. Older children will appreciate the coloring pages more. What I do is print out some coloring pages that have something to do with our destination. Disney Cruise: Mickey, Nemo, Olaf, etc. Universal Studios Resort: Spiderman, Minions, Harry Potter, etc. The Beach (anywhere): Starfish, Whale, the Beach, etc.

3. Bring Travel Presents. These don't have to be anything overly grand, but my mom used to give me travel presents when I was little and I loved it so I now do it for my boy. This last trip was during his birthday so some of the gifts he got this time were a little bigger than normal, but you'll get the idea. Some of the things he got include: Spiderman Pez, Avengers Play Pack (seriously! Those play packs are awesome!), a couple books (for nightly storytime), a new movie, some Lego minifigures, and some twistables crayons (to go with those coloring pages I printed out)! We even wrapped them up in tissue paper so they were like real presents.

4. Load some movies and TV shows onto your phone. Or bring a portable DVD player. If you're one of those people that has very strict screen time rules for your kids, I get it, but this is supposed to be vacation and it's most likely that while you're at your destination, your kids will be doing things and not watching TV so just relax on those rules for the short couple of hours you'll be traveling.

5. Go to the bathroom right before your plane starts boarding. Kids have small bladders. If they need to pee during the flight, sometimes it's really difficult to get back to the bathroom. When they bring those huge carts through to get you a drink, it's really difficult to get past them sometimes and trying to do that with a child is nearly impossible. It's just easier to go potty before you leave. But even then, sometimes you have to make a trip to the back for the bathroom.

6. Pack light. I know so many people are into the whole carry-on luggage thing where they pack everything for their trip in their carry-ons and not check any luggage. I'm not one of those people. In fact, most of the time, I find some of these people to be extremely annoying. Why? Because they stand right next to the counter and wait so they can be the first person in their boarding group to board so that they can take up all the overhead space and not leave any room for anyone else. It doesn't really seem fair that I'm the first person to be anywhere near my seat and the overhead space is already taken. Well, this is the reason that my husband and I started bringing small, tiny carry-ons. My son has a small backpack. I have a large purse. My husband has a regular-sized backpack. That's it. We don't bring a giant carry on plus our personal item. This really does make everything easier though when traveling with a child. You have less things to worry about. You have less things to keep track of.

7. Go with the flow. This is very important. Sometimes flights get delayed. Sometimes kids throw hissy fits. Sometimes other people are extremely rude and as much as I want to yell at them to quit being a jerk, it's important to remember that this is your vacation and there's no reason to get upset. In the end, everything will work itself out. If the airline loses your luggage, just go to the store and buy some cheap t-shirts and some toiletries to get you through (keep your expensive electronics in your carry-on).

What are some of your tips for flying with kids? I want to know!

Diet

So, today I started a new diet. It just needs to happen. I don't know how I've let myself get this far. Currently, I weigh 320 pounds.

There are a couple reasons I want to lose weight. One being my son. I want to be able to do all the fun things like run around and play sports with him. I also want him to grow up to be healthy and I feel like I'm not setting a very good example for him. My other reason is purely selfish. This year, we went to Universal Studios Resort in Orlando. I did my best, but I was very exhausted at the end of every day. We had to take multiple breaks because I physically couldn't walk anymore. I couldn't fit in some of the rides because I was too fat. While our vacation was amazing and I had a great time, I could have had a better time if I were in better shape.

In 4 months, we're going to Washington, D.C. for my husband's cousin's wedding. While there, we're going to spend 1.5 days seeing the sights. That is a lot to do in a short amount of time so we're not going to have any time for breaks. I need to get in better shape! Then, in almost exactly 1 year, we're going down to Florida for my best friend's wedding. I'm going to be a bridesmaid and I'm the only fat one so it would be great to not look completely out of place. In exactly 1.5 years, we will be going to Disney World! I'm so excited to bring my son. But I don't want that vacation to be like the one to Universal. I want to enjoy everything! I don't want to have to ruin everyone's time by taking lots of breaks.

Let's get started! Do this with me! Today, we are going to eat right. We're also going to start slow with our workout routine and go for a walk. Then, we're also going to prepare breakfast and lunch for the rest of the week.