I Ride Roller Coasters

I have never been the queen of the amusement park. I've always been too afraid of being out of control. Of going too fast. Of the giant dips. And the many swirls (as Audrey calls the twists and turns). Of the loop de loops. And the thought of being thrust upside down at a rapid speed sends my heart racing.





But lately--I'm changing. The voice in my head is growing quieter. I am more spontaneous. I am enjoying my life. I am being. And in turn, I am living. I ate a giant chocolate chip cookie simply because I wanted one. I loved every bite and was guilt free as the girls and I indulged. I stopped reading a biz article I needed to get through to play with Audrey's beautiful shiny hair. I hung my head and cried for my aunt whose son died last summer. I was on a crowded plane and could care less who saw me.





To be truthful, I am not entirely changed. We just left five fun filled (albeit water logged days) in Disneyland.





While the trip was lovely, I certainly had my share of uptight moments.





No clue why Eric ordered two pizzas at 10 p.m. knowing the girls and I would maybe have one piece each and that's if we stayed awake long enough for the delivery. I lectured Eric on being wasteful.





I could not believe we forgot to check out of the hotel! We checked our bags with the concierge while we went in for the final day at the park but we forgot to check ourselves out of the room- oh my! Fortunately, the hotel automatically does it for you at 11 a.m. I beat myself up for being forgetful.





By the end of the trip I was ready to burn the bag I spent far too much time rifling through all week in search of the camera, the cell phone, my earpiece, the umbrella, the lollipops, the autograph books and on and on.





And if I wasted any more time waiting for Olivia to tie her shoes I was going to flip. Actually, I did flip over her shoe tying. A few times. She refused to tie double knots so about every 10 steps the laces came untied. I could not resist this pic...she even made Mickey & Pluto wait while she laced up!

But regardless of some stressful moments for the most part I am less uptight than usual.

Here we are pictured below late for a dinner engagement with my wonderful aunts, cousins, and parents because Minnie fell asleep in my arms. The party came to us, though. They met us at the hotel, we had some margaritas and then went off to dinner. Minnie slept, Mama chilled, and life went on.

At one point the rain was streaming down HARD and we had "VIP" seating at the fireworks so we really wanted to catch the show. We grabbed the umbrella and the show went on. And no one melted!

Clearly you can see when Mama is happy... ...everyone is happy.

And now with less chaos, clutter, and concerns in my head--- I even ride roller coasters! Big ones--complete with giant dips, lots of swirls, and a loop de loop!

California Screamin' at Paradise Pier in California Adventure