December 2012

Fun With Space Mountain Pt 3 | Wordless Wednesday

Disneyland March 2011

Fun with Space Mountain Pt 2 | Wordless Wednesday

Disneyland March 2011

Fun with Space Mountain | Wordless Wednesday

Disneyland, March 2011

How to Embarrass Your Kids at Disneyland

Every ride you go on, even if it's not a coaster, raise your arms and start singing Taio Cruz's Dynamite. 

Big Thunder Mountain, March 2011

"I throw my hands up in the air sometimes, saying ay-oh, baby let's go!" 

Totally works.

Corn Chowder Recipe from Storytellers Cafe at Disneyland

We went to Disneyland in the beginning of December for a holiday preview. We met up with Deb and her family and the little ones ran around like kids on a sugar high. They decorated cookies, got their faces painted and danced to a DJ. It was so cute. 

We also got to eat some really good food. We had a buffet dinner featuring some of the chefs from restaurants around the park. My favorite was the corn chowder. I haven't tried the recipe yet but it looks pretty simple so I thought I'd share it with you.

If I didn't have time to roast the corn (or if it wasn't in season) I'd use either the frozen fire roasted kernels or sweet kernels from Trader Joe's. This is definitely not a healthy recipe which is probably why I liked it so much! Enjoy!

Charred Nebraska Corn Chowder from Storytellers Cafe at Disney's Grand Californian (serves 4-6)

4 ears of fresh shucked corn

4 slices of bacon, divided

1 TBS diced onion

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 Yukon Gold potato, peeled and diced

4 C chicken stock

6 TBS butter

6 TBS all-purpose flour

2 C heavy cream

1 C pulled chicken meat

2 tsp cilantro (optional garnish)

Salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste

*Preheat oven to 350

*To roast the corn, put whole ears in their husk into preheated oven for 25 minutes. Cool then shuck and remove the kernels. Set aside.

*Dice 2 slices of bacon and saute. Drain all but 1 TBS of of the fat. Add onion and garlic and sautee until transparent. Add corn, potato and stock. Bring to a simmer.

*Meanwhile, in another pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour, whisking until smooth. Cook 3-4 minutes until mix loosens slightly. Cool.

*Add cooled butter/flour mixture to the simmering broth, mixing well with a whisk. Stir often to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Simmer 30-40 minutes. 

*Add cream and chicken and simmer another 10 minutes. 

*Meanwhile, cook the other 2 bacon slices until crisp. Drain, dice and set aside. 

*Add to chowder salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste. Serve and garnish with bacon and cilantro.

I copied this recipe into Google Docs for you to print: http://bit.ly/StorytellersCafe_CornChowder

Disclosure: Disney provided tickets to the park, dinner and the entertainment for the kids. This is not a sponsored post. You all know how I love my corn chowder! I get so many people visiting my blog looking for the recipe to the Chili's corn soup. I hope this one will be a good substitute. It's fantastic!

Would You Turn Down Free Tickets Because of Your Child's Sports Practice?

I haven't done as well as I think I can at being a Yes Mom when it comes to sweets and computer time (though I have bought Tyler two popsicles). But I think Phil and I do kick ass when it comes to doing things with Tyler that make lasting memories. Last Friday, I didn't tell Tyler until after school that he and I were going to Disneyland. We stayed overnight, and the next day we checked out all the Halloween stuff in the park. 

I'm so fortunate with all the things this blog has brought me. I try to share my good fortune with friends and family whenever I can. I invited our neighbor's kids to go with us as a thank you for watching Tyler when I was in Vegas. They declined because they had a busy weekend planned. I invited my other neighbor. No, sorry, dance and karate. 

I invited so many people, and got the same answer each time. Everyone declined because of their kids' schedules. I have to say I was totally surprised. I literally could not give the extra tickets away! I agree that we have to teach our kids to honor their commitments to their sports. We've had that conversation ourselves when Tyler complains about being too busy. 

But the way I see it, Tyler has his whole adult life to be beholden to someone else and to feel the weight of commitments he can't ignore. Childhood goes by so fast. It won't be too much longer until, as far as Tyler is concerned, the only things Phil and I will be good for are rides, spending money and keeping him fed. Now is the time to make memories. Now is the time for bending the rules a little. 

We've taken Tyler out of school for fun stuff before and we don't feel the least bit bad about it. Tyler has told us more times than we can count, "this has been the best day of my life!" We're so lucky to be able to have given him that. To us, that's part of what being a parent is about. Even though we didn't have company, Tyler and I had a great time together. I just wish the friends I invited had been able to see beyond the missed practice to the potential for lasting memories.

What do you think? Is it OK to miss a class for something like this? Would you have gone? 

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*Disney provided our hotel accommodations and tickets to the parks.

The Hottest, I Mean, Happiest Place on Earth

We're headed to Disneyland today. We're trying to get in a few last hurrah's before Tyler goes back to school on Monday.

Let me pause just a moment to enjoy that last sentence again.

***

Okay. I'm good. 

I'm not sure how late we'll be there but I hope late enough that we can watch World of Color again. The show is UH-mazing! I saw it for the first time at the world  premiere event and was blown away. How they managed to synchronize water, light, music, fire and movie is a mystery. If you go to the park it's a definite must-see.

Hopefully I can figure out what the best settings are on my camera on to capture the images projected onto the water more sharply, and I'm bound and determined to find the perfect picture taking spot for short people. Most of my shots look like this:

They're blurry and have someone else's camera smack in the middle. If I get any video I'll post it because the musical score is great too. I have better pictures on Flickr (including me with one of my favorite TV stars!)

If you're going to Disneyland here's a little World of Color info from the Disneyland blog:

*World of Color is playing nightly through Labor Day (check the Disneyland site for specific times)

*A third 11:15 show was added to accommodate all the fans

*Disney California Adventure will be open until 11:00 through September 6th

How to see World of Color:

*With a FASTPASS 

*Picnic Meals 

*Pre Fixe dinner packages

From the two times I saw the show I think getting there early will offer the best viewing. You can stand on the bridge to the left of the show but all the images are best seen head on and you need to be there fairly early to claim a prime spot.

It's going to be fry-eggs-on-the-sidewalk hot today so there's a good chance I'l succumb to the heat and this will be my last post ever. Thank you for reading.

*I was not compensated for this post. Disneyland did provide tickets to the park and lodging for me to attend the premiere. My opinion that World of Color is spectacular is 100% my own.

Wordless Wednesday: Trick or Treating at Disneyland

For more Wordless Wednesday visit: 5 Minutes for Mom, Mom Dot, What's That Smell

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Disneyland's Magical Fireworks

The new fireworks show is amazing! The score is great and the pyrotechnics are choreographed to the music, which blows me away. There's even shapes within the fireworks (Mickey head, smiley face).



You Tube doesn't allow more than 10 minutes of video so the whole 12 minute show isn't here.
For more Wordless Wednesday visit 5 Minutes for Mom, Mom Dot, What's That Smell