Team O'Neill

My papa repeatedly said that he owed my mother everything; that without her his life would have been nothing. He frequently worried about things being good enough for her. That she deserved the sun and the moon which he attempted to give her figuratively; and literally in jewelry that has the sun and the moon on it. My papa said that my mom taught him how to have fun; I think my papa taught my mom to believe in her own ability to do anything she wants. He may have regretted the amount of self confidence she eventually had; because he liked taking care of her and he liked that she used to need him to do that. I'm not sure at the end who was taking care of who.

My parents liked to dance. And my papa was a good dancer. He enjoyed the music and the drama of a ballroom; the beauty of the experience, while my mom took care of counting and knowing how to help move around the floor; all while making it seem that he was leading. It is an analogy for their marriage really. The waltz is hard but their foxtrot together was perfect. My parents song was Moon River.

My mom and papa met the first time in a parking lot. He was the counselor. She a brand new teacher. She was not sure where she was supposed to go; he was running late. Later that year she lost her temper with a student and she got really worried that she shouldn't have. She went to talk to the principal who was out. My dad the counselor reassured her that she shouldn't worry; he would take care of it. And he did, he always did.

My mom and papa were a good team. And I know that she's not sure how to be just one person on what has been Team O'Neill. But I know that she can do it; and I am confident that my papa is waiting. He always waited for her. While she was on the phone with me; while she was trying on clothes; while she made dinner...on and on. And he never minded. He is waiting patiently then and now.

I think what sticks out to me most is that he loved her so. And while her room mate Linda said, "What does he want with you?" when Linda answered the door for their first date. My papa to the very end knew that quite possibly, he was the lucky one.

My papa passed away Saturday July 25. He will be missed every single day.

A symbol of independence

"Mickey Mouse is, to me, a symbol of independence. He was a means to an end. He popped out of my mind onto a drawing pad twenty years ago on a train ride from Manhattan to Hollywood at a time when business fortunes of my brother Roy and myself were at lowest ebb and disaster seemed right around the corner. Born of necessity, the little fellow literally freed us of immediate worry." - Walt Disney

I have been thinking a lot about how it is that I have found our adventures in Disney World a healing process. I think that it has something to do with being a family, and having something to look forward to. I think it has something to do with going to a place where it is expected that you will smile. But when I read the previous quote, I thought maybe Walt Disney said it best. Perhaps it is about freeing yourself from worry. Allowing the worry and the fear and the sorrow to fade away. Whether it the Mickey flag outside our house, the sticker on my car, a photo on my desk, or this blog. Mickey has become a reminder to be happy. A "symbol of independence" Today I head to Iowa City to talk to our doctors about adding to our family. It is exciting and scary. They will advise us about the best route to take and whether or not it is wise; we trust them. Mostly I find myself grateful that we are feeling independent enough from our tragedies to move ahead in whatever direction life takes us.

Disney Scrapbook

I finally finished my Disney scrapbook!! Take a look if you like:

http://www.disneyphotopass.com/virtualviewer.aspx?id=d3b37033-fefb-4956-8b1f-ec75751f62a7

To Nook or not to Nook

The Nook is an e-reader made available at Barnes and Noble for between 149.00 and 199.00 (depending on whether you chose Wi-Fi connectivity or 3G connectivity. I have had my Nook since Christmas and while it has steadily decreased in price since that time, I am not a bit sorry that I have had it for the last 6 months! Next to the GPS I think it is my favorite piece of technology in the Rich household. Top 10 reasons I love my Nook:

1. When I'm done with a book; it doesn't take up space or gather dust!
2. When I feel like reading a book is immediately at my finger tips!
3. Books are cheaper! New releases still in hard book are about 9.99 when downloaded to my Nook. Older paper backs are about 4 or 5 dollars.
4. I can keep the Nook in my purse and it holds on it thousands of books. So I can easily take 10 books with me on vacation and it just takes up that little space in my purse, and its less than a lb!
5. It makes reading a one handed job. I can hold Will on my lap with my right arm around him, hold the Nook in my left hand and turn the page by clicking a button on the Nook with that same left hand. Therefore never even making Will aware of the fact that I am not ACTUALLY watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
6. The Nook keeps my place..now while an old fashioned book mark does too; I just never used a book mark very well.
7. Did I mention that it doesn't take up space or gather dust?
8. The text can be made smaller or bigger.
9. Its adorable, and so is my pretty cover.
10. For whatever reason I just read more. Perhaps its because the books costs less, perhaps its because I feel less guilty if I buy a book and don't like it, I move onto another book? Whatever the reason, I have read about a dozen books in the last six months, and before I had my Nook I read maybe just one or two in the past two year!.

Frequently asked questions:

Do I miss the feel and smell of paper and the actual book? No, never. I thought I might but I don't.

Can you lend books on the Nook to other people? In theory yes, but so far none of the books that I have purchased on technically lendable.

Is the Nook lighted? No. While it is very easy on the eyes, and reads quite nicely in the sun, if you are in the dark you can not see it without a light.

Is there an audio component with the Nook? No there is no voice that reads the book to you, though you can download MP3 files to it.

Does the battery last? Yes, the battery lasts quite well, and charges quickly!!

What about the Kindle? What about it? I think its probably awesome too, but I don't know nearly as much about it, and my husband bought me the Nook.


To Nook or not to Nook? I say most definitely Nook!

New Feature at Walt Disney World!

I am so excited about the new internet feature that Walt Disney World put on their web site some time in the last day or so!! Anyone who has internet access (and it works nicely on my Blackberry) can access information about the park at their fingertips!! By using the website you simply click on a theme park. For example, lets say that I choose Disney's Hollywood Studios. It then asks me if I want info about attractions, characters, dining, shopping or transportation. If i click attractions it than allows me to browse the attractions based on wait time, and Fast Pass availability! If I click on characters it tells me where and when I might see Handy Manny, Mater, Mickey, Mike, Power Rangers, Sully, The Incredibles, and The Toy Story Friends!! The dining option tells me what restaurants are availble by location or cuisine. While the application might take the "hunt" out of finding some of the characters; it would also take some of the anxiety away from missing an attraction or character that is really a must for your family! For instance I really really wanted to see Sully. I checked back for him three times, and with the new feature it indicates what blocks of time you can expect him to be there! I wouldn't want to spend my whole day with my nose in my Blackberry, but it certainly provides a handy option!!!

The fear of the tantrum....at Walt Disney World

Our first day at Walt Disney World was spent at the Animal Kingdom. It is a beautiful beautiful park. When we originally planned our trip, we were planning to go only for two days, and only to the Magic Kingdom; however, my husband's desire to see Kilimanjaro Safari prompted us to commit to a third day (Animal Kingdom) and then three lead to four and four lead to five. Anyway, we got to the Animal Kingdom very close to the time that it opens; and we headed directly to Kilimanjaro Safari. Kilimanjaro Safari is a feature that allows you to pretend that you are on Safari in Africa.

When we got there we used the Williams' families strategy for Fast Pass. Joe and Will got in line, and I too our tickets to the Fast Pass Kiosk to get a Fast Pass to ride again, later in the day. We have heard that riding the ride multiple times is even recommended because you just never know what the animals might be doing. We were excited to see the animals in an environment that is more natural than the typical zoo provides. We were not disappointed. And, one of the cutest moments of the whole trip happened on that ride. Will was so excited by the animals (keep in mind this is the very first thing we have done on our much anticipated trip). Will sees a giraffe and he said so excitedly, and in such a loud and grown up voice, "Hi Giraffe, I Will!" I am not sure if it was cuter that he introduced himself for the first time to my ears, or if it was the fact that he actually thought the giraffe cared and might respond! We saw many exciting animals, and I particularly loved seeing the baby animals!



We left Kilimanjaro Safari and went on to other attractions. It was a very very hot day. And, we were tired. The excitement and travel and heat had successfully worn us down prematurely that day. Yet we still had our Fast Passes to ride Kilimanjaro Safari again. So we pushed on. Despite the fact that we had our Fast Passes, we still had to wait a short time (10 minutes)...and Will had the tantrum. And when I say the tantrum. I mean THE tantrum. It was a tantrum of epic proportions. We felt stuck, should we back out of line? Should we go forward? Should we hope that if we just get on the ride he will recover? But just like everything else at Walt Disney World...the cast knew what to do. Along comes an official looking guy who said to us that he would like to help if he could. Might he suggest that we go to the Child Care Center and give Will a break, and that he would give us a slip of paper so that we could go on ANY ride we wanted that day and go right to the front of the line. Could he put the magic back in our day? We were so relieved, he helped us out of line, he helped us to take the break we should have known to take for ourselves, and he helped to make it so that it was easy to return to the fun when we were ready. When I hear families worry that Walt Disney World is big, and scary and crowded, and that their kids or worse their husbands might not be ready. I shout, "relax!" Believe it or not, Walt Disney seemed to know what he was doing with this place and families!!

I lived it, do I need a picture of it?

We spent the second day of our trip at the Magic Kingdom, touring nearly the entire day. We took a short break in the afternoon to prepare for our very special dinner with Mickey Mouse and friends at Chef Mickey's located at the Contemporary Resort (click on Chef Mickey's for Williams family blogs directions and description of Chef Mickey's, I can not do it the justice that they can). And then following dinner we went back to the Magic Kingdom, took in the fireworks, the carousel, and the lighted parade.

The NEXT day, we decided to rest up, just a little. We spent the day at the amazing pools and water slide at our time share the Fountains Resort. Will loved the water. He was just a little fish in his life jacket and floaties. I was shocked at the difference between last year and this, with his enthusiasm for floating on his back and for leaping off the side of the pool with no one to catch him. He climbed the stairs to the water slide and slid down on his own maybe 30 or so times before the resort "caught" him and let him know that he was technically too little to slide.



That night we ate dinner in the time share and then headed back to the pool only to realize that because of lightning we were going to be unable to swim. Will was so upset. I carried a screaming, kicking, and hollering 2 1/2 year old what seemed like a mile back to the condo. And, eventually we went to bed. In the morning before I even opened my eyes, I knew. I knew that my camera was gone. That I had left our water proof camera right on the edge of the pool just before the lightning forced us out. And it was gone, along with hundreds of pictures. I ran down to the pool but it was not there. I was confident that it was gone, but checked with lost and found. They would open in a couple of hours. I was so sad and when I informed Joe he was so angry he said, "I have nothing to say to you." Because after all, I lose stuff constantly. I even once recycled my reading glasses. Just yesterday I lost the garage door opener in his Jeep Wrangler, it has still yet to be found...and we are not talking about a very big space. So, suffice it to say I have a reputation. I tried to be encouraging that we could retake the pictures....but then I remembered that while we could retake a great many of them...our dinner at Chef Mickey's would be lost. Why is there no photopass guy (click on photopass to see Williams family's explanation of photopass at WDW) at Chef Mickey's, taking pictures as they do throughout the park I wonder!?

Chef Mickey's was a real highlight of the trip. Delicious food and a "contemporary" restaurant are fun. (I love pics of food!)


But the truth is that nothing compares to the energy and excitement of having dinner made by Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Minnie, and even Pluto. It was such a highlight. And we would not be able to relive that.





To our shock, when the woman who worked at lost and found came in, the camera was on her desk. She called me immediately and we were elated that the camera was found. HOWEVER, the drama was not over yet! Joe decided, to go ahead and transfer the pictures to a computer so that if God forbid I lost the camera again, it would be OK. Well, upon transfer there was some kind of technology snafu, and the pictures were all lost---the memory card erased!! By this time, I am finding it almost comical..and just darn grateful that its not my fault!! And I at this point feel like, I lived it. I do not necessarily need a picture of it. I would however miss the pictures of Chef Mickeys.

I have heard a number of camera stories now, people having broken their cameras, losing them, dropping them in water, technology problems etc. I'm wondering on our next trip if I should plan to remove pictures every day in case there is another snafu??

I am pleased to report that we were able to recover the pictures as seen above..with some fancy software. And while they are not the quality that they might have been, we do have them. And I am glad to have them.