Cracks in the Armour: A Disney Day

So, I completely lucked out and got three great, TOTALLY FREE deals for March Break.

First, the kids went with my mom and dad (since I had to work) to see The Lorax on Monday. It was offered through our local Autism Ontario chapter (of which I am a paid-in-full, lifetime member). They have really stepped up their game this year, with a new director on board and are offering tons of fun and free stuff. The 4 of them went, and got popcorn and drinks, all for nothing. The kids had a blast and my parents did too.

Tomorrow night, we are taking them to see Richard Scary's Busytown, at our local convention centre. Back in November, we had taken them to see the Backyardigans. The show experienced several technical breakdowns and as an apology to everyone, they offered free Richard Scary tickets. I was a little slow on the upswing, so our seats aren't as good as they were for the first 2 shows we saw there, but for free, I can't really complain. The kids loved going the last couple of times, so I think they are really going to enjoy this.

And the piece de la resistance for the week was today. Also through the AO chapter, we got FREE Disney on Ice tickets. FREE!! We decided to keep it a total surprise for the kids, and didn't tell them anything at all, just that we had a surprise and we had to drive there (it was in Hamilton.)

Yesterday, we had made a trek up to Limeridge Mall (or the Mickey Mouse Mall, as the kids call it, because it has a Disney store.) They had a clearance sale on, so I got a cute Minnie Mouse dress and shoes for Sawyer and Sebastian got a Mickey t-shirt (a little big). I figured they could wear them today.

Sawyer's Minnie Mouse shoes

Bastian's rocking Mickey shirt

The morning started well enough. I got up with the kids, made them french toast for breakfast, made sure a certain Mr. got all his meds and they even had some free time to play. I logged in for a quick minute, to help the last girl at work out (long story!) because I felt tremendously guilty that she got stuck by herself. After that, I popped Sawyer in the tub, washed her hair and her face, which were both a disgrace, got her out and dressed, and she even let me brush her hair and put it in a ponytail. Ok, she cried and freaked out at the brushing, but the ponytail was fine. I called Sebastian up to dress, got myself ready and then checked on Geoff.

ready to go, but still have no idea where!

Geoff likes to sleep. A lot. He stays up really late and likes to sleep late. Now, granted, he doesn't often get the chance to sleep in. But then, neither do I. I usually have to tell him that I want a chance to sleep in. He usually interprets that to mean that he will continue to sleep in, and so will I. So, when the kids inevitably come in, I end up getting up with them anyway, only now with a whole load of bitterness on my shoulders. He has been getting a little better, but really, I don't get a sleep in day more that once every couple of months.

So far, Geoff has had sleep in days all this week since Tuesday.

So, with the show starting at 1pm, and with it being at least an hour's drive away, my thought was that we should be leaving around 1130, at the latest. This made sense to me, gave us some leeway for traffic or getting lost, not being able to find parking or our seats.

My problem is, I assume that my logic is so logical, it doesn't need to be vocalized or discussed. So I didn't. So Geoff had no idea. So Geoff slept until 11:15.
Then he decided he had to shave.

Hmm.

Anyway, now it's 10 to 12, and we are finally in the car. I am trying really, REALLY hard to not be mean or snipe-y. I am watching the clock, and constantly calculating how much time we have left. But I am not vocalizing or blaming, or doing anything negative. I think I earn a gold star for that.

Or maybe I am just a giant dope. See, Geoff has ALWAYS been like this, he always makes me late. I have been married to him for 14 years and the fact that I am not used to it, or actively working against it 24/7 tells me I am kind of an idiot.

Anyhoo...

So, long story short (I know, too late!) we hit tons of traffic, think we are going the wrong way, decide to persevere, finally find the place (Google Maps said 1.4 kilometers, and there was NO way it was that...it was more like 5-8 kms), pass the parking, turn around, get in the parking, get a spot, mad dash to the building, check the tickets, drag the kids as fast as we can past the cornucopia of Disney memorabilia for sale, find the seats, finally sit down and LITERALLY 3 seconds after we sit, the lights go off and the show starts. Talk about nick of time!!

All my aggravation washed away however, when the kids finally figured out what was going on. They lost it when Minnie and Mickey came out. They were thrilled with the Nemo section, and the Princesses, and Toy Story. Sebastian was in awe and Sawyer kept clapping for her favorite parts. They both loved it, and it was so worth every step of the painful process to get there.

the whole gang out on the ice!

Both kids ended up with a ridiculously overpriced princess doll (Bastian wanted Belle, Sawyer wanted Snow White). But honestly, it was a small price to pay to watch them light up, and see that happiness glow.