I'm Not Ready For a Real Vacation Just Yet

While in South Carolina, Nathan and I decided we would escape to Orlando for a few days while we had access to excellent and willing babysitters (my mom and sister are the best). We discussed the details and invited my little brother, Hudson, and his girlfriend, Lindsey, to join in on the fun. Hudson and I have been obsessed with Harry Potter for the last 15 years, so I knew he would love to tag along to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Speaking of Hudson, he graduated from college this Saturday with a degree in engineering. He already has a job at a prestigious power plant and will be a nuclear engineer just like Homer Simpson. We're proud of out little smarty pants. 

My brother, sister, and dad.

Isn't my mom cute?

I love how happy Ezra looks.

We went to graduation and as soon as it was over, we packed our minivan and drove straight to Orlando. Nathan and I were excited to get away and bond with Hudson and Lindsey. But as soon as I shut the door after kissing the children goodbye, I felt a huge lump form in my throat.

How could I leave Ezra and Elliott so soon? Would there be enough stored milk to last the three days? Would they sleep okay without being able to nurse during the night? Would Eliza cry for us? Would my sister (who was alone with them for several hours) lose her mind with FIVE children under the age of 2? 

I was worried and feeling a ton of mixed emotions. The first night at the hotel, I cried myself to sleep while Nathan tried not to laugh. He was so relieved to be able to sleep longer than a three hour stretch that the thought of me missing the babies and having no sleep was laughable. He tried hard to be sympathetic, but his laughter actually cheered me up (rather than infuriating me). He was right. The children would be fine without me. I would be fine without them, too.

The next two days were AMAZING. We went to Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios, which meant our days were extremely busy.

It's not surprise that my favorite places were the Jurassic Park rides and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

We were able to try Butterbeer, which was absolutely delicious. In case you were wondering, it taste fairly similar to a Vanilla Bean Frappucino from Starbucks.

The rides were fantastic and the shops were just like I imagined. From the sorting hat and Gryffindor flags to chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean in the Honey Dukes Candy shop, everything was there!

My brother was the most excited about the wand experience. He had to have a wand and thought long and hard before deciding on Voldemort's prized possession.

Nathan felt "evil" just touching it, but Hudson thought it was too cool to pass up.

Of course, we couldn't leave Ollivander's wand shop without having a duel.

I really wanted Fred and George's matching wands for Elliott and Ezra (they need them, right!?), but we decided 80 dollars was a little much to spend on 5 month olds.

 I also loved the Time-Turner necklace, but it was a little pricey. My brother and Lindsey surprised me with a Time-Turner keychain, which I loved! It was the perfect gift.

We rode rollercoasters, watched 3D shows, and enjoyed the sights. Unfortunately, Nathan was unaware that he actually doesn't like rollercoasters. He had only been on a couple of rollercoasters before going to Orlando and none of them had 3D effects or did crazy spins. I felt so bad that he didn't go on most of the rides, but he assured me he went for "the experience." (Hudson and I both agreed that whether or not you like amusement parks and rollercoasters should be on a pre-wedding uestionaire.)

Another highlight of the trip was seeing the movie "The Avengers." We loved it, and it was especially entertaining after wandering throughout the land of Superheroes for a day.

The only downside to the trip was worrying about the kids and how my sister and my mom were doing in addition to constantly pumping. I continued to pump every three hours (yes, I brought my pump to the amusement parks) and keeping the milk frozen was an adventure on its own. I refused to let it go to waste, though!

 Oddly enough, I pumped nearly 40 ounces more a day. That's over a gallon of milk a day. As soon as we returned to South Carolina, my supply was back down. I think this goes to prove that everyone could use a little vacation. Stress really does affect you!

After two and a half days of partying without children, I was grateful to be back home and holding my little ones.