This is a BART Public Service Annoucment

This is a public service announcement.  Please refer to this guide when you are considering questionable activity on BART.  This is sure to rub some people the wrong way, but you know what, all these things rub me the wrong way.  If you don’t like it, start your own blog. (Feeling kinda snarky right now)

Please DO NOT, brush your hair, pluck your eye brows, floss your teeth or clip your nails.  If this were a game, your goal would be to not leave any biological evidence that you were ever on the train. 

If you are listening to your music so loud I can make out the lyrics, even if you are using headphones, it is safe to assume I do not share your taste in music and respectfully ask that you turn that noise down.   

Please DO NOT pick your ring tone on the train.  If someone calls you, I am sure your current ring tone will do a great job of alerting you to the call.  And on that point, if you have an obnoxious ring tone, please pick up your phone immediately; do not look around like you are trying to play it off on someone else.  You aren’t fooling anyone. 

Please DO shower before boarding, and if you choose not to, don’t give everyone the evil eye when they move away from you.  You stink and you know it. 

I am not a pillow, please DO NOT fall asleep on me.  

We don’t live in the animal kingdom, obnoxious repetitive sounds are not endearing.  This includes but is not limited to: popping your gum, clicking or sucking noises with your tongue, lips or teeth, snapping or tapping. 

Please DO NOT stand on the left side of the escalators.  And if you do, expect to get run over and yelled at. 

If you insist on sitting in the outer seat of a row, please DO stand up and get out to let the person on the inside out.  You chose to sit there, moving your knees slightly to either side doesn’t cut it.  AND if you won’t stand up, DO NOT get pissed when you get whacked in the head by someone’s bag as they try to climb over you. 

People with large backpacks or accessories, please DO be aware of the space occupied by your carry on, no one appreciates getting knocked over because you found it necessary to take your whole life with you (I am so guilty of this one). 

Women traveling in groups, please do us all a favor and use your normal voice instead of the women traveling in groups voice.  Ever notice, the more women in the group, the higher the octave. 

For men traveling in pairs, you are probably not as important as you think are, and your buddy that you are trying to prove it to knows you’re completely full of it. 

And finally, just use common sense, nobody actually wants to be on BART, it is just a necessary evil of living in the Bay Area and beats getting stuck in (insert bridge or freeway here) traffic. 

Thank you, that is all.  Train Operators please disconnec......

Disney: The Aftermath

The Winners: Goofy’s Go-Gadget Coaster, Tea Cups (the spinnnier the better), Carousel, Dumbo, Astro Orbiter, Trains (all of them)

The coaster was the biggest hit of all.  As the roller coaster pulled back into the loading area, Cara lifted both fists in the air like Rocky at the top of the steps proclaiming,” Yeah!”  A freeze-frame moment if I ever saw one.

Tea Cups were a respectable first runner up.  We rode them twice, the second time without daddy (who gets motion sick) and we really got the cup spinning.  She was grinning and giggling so loud, it was reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat.

The Losers: Peter Pan, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, basically anything dark

The first ride we did was Peter Pan, no more than 30 seconds in, she was in tears, scared of the dark and begging us to get off.  Oops.  A few rides later, she indicated that she wanted to go on Mr. Toad, same thing.  We should have known better, but we let her talk us into it.  After that, we avoided Snow White and Pinocchio.

What I learned

Disney must release a crack-like vapor into the air, only effective on children under ten that keeps them at an energy level well above the normal range.  However, the minute you are off the premises, and out of the vapors range, you child will crash, hard, like within 30 seconds.

If you have a daughter, be prepared to wait in line for at least an hour, to spend less than ten minutes taking pictures of the princesses and you own precious princess with a grumpy face.

Weight training is advised in advance of your trip, four days later and my legs and arms are still burning from lugging around 40lbs of kid for several miles over two days.  (And I think I am in fairly decent shape)

Hedging our bets and going on week days paid off.  Week days equals shorter lines, which equals happy kid, which equals happy mommy.  ALSO, get there when they open, your kid is already going to be up, so you might as well capitalize on that time.  We covered all of Tomorrow Land in just over an hour, very efficient.

The biggest take away though was that despite the aches and lack of sleep, the experience brought so much joy to my daughter and I can’t wait to do it again when Bri is old enough.

Taking our princess to Disneyland

At the end of this month, my baby turns three, THREE! And to celebrate we are taking her on a special Mommy, Daddy, Cara trip to Disneyland. I am not sure who is more excited, her or us.

Over the last six months, she has adopted all things Disney as her new favorite pastime.  The excitement she exhibits when she see the iconic castle appear before a movie is just about the cutest thing you have ever seen.  She obsesses over Princess Aurora, Ariel and Belle.  She talks non-stop about the “Bad Lady” from 101 Dalmatians and even convinced us to go see the ‘cowboy’ at Toy Story on Ice.  Disneyland is going to blow her mind.

In preparation, I have done some reading on how to prepare for a trip to Disneyland with young kids, booked the hotel, downloaded the aps, I will be going to the store this weekend to stock up on travel snacks, light sticks and other sundry supplies.  I haven’t however bought the tickets, perhaps I should get on that.

 Meanwhile, Bri is going to spend some quality time with grandma and grandpa.  This is going to be the first time I have left Bri for more than 12 hours since the day she was born.  I am conflicted over being so excited about the time I will get to spend with Cara, and how much I am going to miss Bri.  Logically, I know Bri is going to be fine.  I mean, my sister and I managed to make it successfully to adulthood didn’t we?  Plus, I have written painfully detailed notes and portioned out all of Bri’s food with labels (if you know me, you know this isn’t an exaggeration).

Pictures to come after our adventure, in the meantime, I have got to get ready!