Doing Disney World pregnant is no easy feat I’ll admit that but the smorgasbord of food choices and plethora of fun to be had makes the slower pace and aches and pains totally worth it. We took advantage of every bit Disney had to offer despite my blossoming belly and I’m so glad that we did. From delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinners, oh and snacks too, to fun rides and shows that are right up my alley pregnant or not, we gave our little girl a fantastic vacation to remember before we add her little sister to the mix.
22 Weeks with Baby #2 in Disney World
And let’s not forget the little girl with the obstructed view of Disney World; she had a fantastic time as well in mommy’s belly, enjoying some different foods, flip flopping on Dumbo and the Magic Carpets, and bopping around to the music of the Electrical Parade at night. There’s no doubt in my mind that we have another little Disney lover on our hands already, something that her sister will be happy to share with her!
23 Weeks with Baby #2 in Disney World
As I neared 6 months, I definitely started to feel the aches and pains that come around at that time. While I was pregnant with our little girl I had some sciatic pain which reared its ugly head this time too, but right before we left for our vacation. With some bed rest, hot showers and baths, and tylenol, thankfully the pain went away just in time to enjoy our trip. Despite the aches of pains of just me and baby getting larger, there are those truly amazing moments of feeling this little girl swirling around and giving some pretty big kicks just to remind me that she’s there. As tough as the weeks will be from this point on, feeling her move like that is such a sweet reminder of why being a mother is my favorite role in this world!
A few more details of what 22 and 23 weeks looked like in Disney World:
Go to gluten free foods: Bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches courtesy of Roaring Fork, my absolute favorite: Dole Whips, and I can’t forget the roasted nuts and legendary Disney popcorn.
How am I sleeping?: While we were away I had a little bed buddy join me in the form of a restless, tossing and turning toddler. The only time our little girl sleeps with one of us is on vacation so it’s a special treat for all parties involved. Don’t get me wrong, I love snuggling up with my little girl but she is definitely a restless sleeper and I’m an extremely light one, especially while pregnant, so that meant mommy barely slept while in Disney. There are worse reasons to not sleep though, so no complaints here since I got to sneak in some extra special bedtime snuggles with my little girl.
How’s baby doing?: Mommy and baby went for our most recent check up the day after our return from Disney which was excellent timing since I was antsy to make sure she fared okay from the trip. All seemed to be progressing well size wise but this little one of mine is quite the swimmer, making heartbeats pretty tough to clock in. My little fishy’s heartbeat is strong and healthy though!
How’s mommy feeling?: This mommy-to-be is definitely getting more sore and tired but still trudging through, especially while in Disney. I have to say I was definitely a trooper even though my feet were incredibly sore and pretty swollen by the end of our trip. All in all though, as I just turned the 6 month corner, I have to say I’m feeling pretty good, just slowing down a bit now.
A little sister is on the way!: We did the big reveal on the blog of who Baby #2 will be and we couldn’t have been more excited to share the news with everyone else. We put a little Disney magic into the big reveal so check it out if you missed it last week.
Jenny over at Let’s Talk Mommy is hosting a blog hop for fellow bloggers out there. Just share two of your favorite posts and meet some new bloggers too! Check out my two favorite posts about my Little One’s Birth and Being A C-Section Mommy over on Let’s Talk Mommy this week. A huge thank you to Jenny for this great opportunity to share my stories and read some new ones too!
The winter months are a busy time for birthdays in our family. While little one has her birthday around Christmas, both Dan and I are March babies and are actually separated by only a few days, well a few years and a few days, but the dates themselves are only a few days apart. We love that we’re so close and we can have one big celebration together but this year with our Disney vacation being right around that time, our birthdays kind of came and went without too much fuss. Disney was really our big celebration but we decided when we got home to have a small family get together to talk about Disney and do a little birthday dinner and cake for both of us.
So this past weekend, we got together at my parent’s house for my dad’s homemade pizza, yes he even makes gluten free for me!, and cakes too. Little one couldn’t have been happier to be reunited with her grandparents and some of her cousins, as evident by her running hugs to greet each and every one. She rarely gets to be around other kids especially during the winter months since we steer away from play places so it’s always a treat to play with her cousins who I hate to admit can be a little more fun for her than her mommy and daddy. After some playtime, we wrangled the kids up and settled in for some delicious homemade pizza. My dad’s pizzas are one of those prominent food memories that I mention from time to time. Most of a Sunday was spent prepping the dough and toppings and making tons and tons of pizzas for each of us, filling the house with that pizzeria aroma; keep in mind that at those times all of his pizzas were filled with gluten, so since then my dad has really gone out of his way to make any and all of his dishes gluten free when we’re there and the pizzas have been no exception. So after cutting up some pizza for little one, I settled in to enjoy my gluten free personal pie that was waiting for me.
The pizza was delicious as always but I can’t lie I couldn’t contain my excitement for my extra special gluten free birthday cake that was waiting for me in the kitchen. With the craziness of our Disney vacation I didn’t have time to bake our cakes this year so we went store bought all the way. Dan picked a delicious looking triple chocolate cake that seemed to get rave reviews from the rest of the family and I decided on this sprinkle, Confetti Cake by Whole Foods that I’ve been eyeing for probably a few years now, waiting for an excuse to try it. I’ve always loved Whole Foods gluten free treats in their bake shop so I figured it might be a safe gamble to splurge on the $12.99 layered cake for my birthday.
Gluten Free Sprinkle Cake
The gluten free masterpiece is two layers of vanilla cake with a vanilla meringue icing, all covered with my favorite type of sprinkle. It’s definitely big enough for a number of people to dive into but thankfully not too many of our diners stole any of my gluten free cake, except that is a kid or two who couldn’t stand the sprinkled appearance. So with a quick happy birthday to both Dan and I, we dove into our cakes and the table grew silent with everybody’s mouth full of sweets of all kinds. Okay while most of the table was enjoying the chocolate cake, our little girl included, myself and my non-gluten free nephew nibbled on gluten free sprinkle cake.
I love layered cakes, especially when they’re covered in sprinkles!
I have to say what captured me first with this cake was how pretty and delicious it looked from the outside, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was equally impressed with the inside of the cake too. Two moist and firm (not crumbly) layers of vanilla cake with generous helpings of the not too sweet icing was really a perfect combination. I’m not normally a huge cake person but this cake was a definite winner for me, especially since I finished my piece without a problem. Honestly, this was the first time I’ve bought a birthday cake for myself since going gluten free, so it was a real treat to be able to buy a beautiful and delicious cake rather than spend the day in the kitchen baking my own. I’ll definitely keep this one in mind for next year’s birthday or maybe a special event between now and then too!
After our Disney fun, this was the perfect way to celebrate our birthdays, especially watching our little girl run toe to toe with her three boy cousins. So as our birthday season comes to a close we can’t help but think of what next year’s birthdays will look like. It’s so exciting to know that this time next year we’ll two little girls to share in the celebration. It’s just amazing how quickly life changes and ours is certainly changing drastically very soon!
So here’s a Happy Birthday to my loving husband, you’re my absolute best friend and an amazing father to our little girl. I couldn’t have ever dreamed that my life would look this beautiful but I’m so lucky that it does, and that’s all thanks to you. Cheers to a fantastic birthday this year and many more to come! We love you!
Not too long ago, pre-babies, Dan and I ventured to Europe and Disney World while I was pregnant with our first little one. We created so many amazing adventures with little one in my belly, ones that she’ll surely love hearing about down the road. Although they were both difficult for completely different reasons, they were so worth it for us to add to our memory book. Just as we were trying for our second baby we had been in talks for our 2015 vacation. We knew we wanted to do another Disney trip but the timing was of course a question. With no luck on the positive pregnancy test front yet we bit the bullet and booked our vacation for spring and two days later learned the excited news. We were so thrilled about the positive test result that we had almost forgotten we had planned a vacation that would put me nicely in my third trimester which for me was a no go. The next day we bumped up our vacation to a new time of year we hadn’t experienced in Disney yet and signed ourselves up for another vacation while expecting.
As the one who was actually expecting, I couldn’t have been more excited to be pregnant and bring my family to Disney again but I have to admit my constant nerves about the unexpected. You just never know how your pregnancy will go and planning a vacation, especially one like Disney where the weather can be really hot and uncomfortable and the intensity level is well, less than relaxing, is a pretty nerve wracking undertaking. Nonetheless, this mommy-to-be was Disney bound with our little toddler who’s surely a Disney baby and our new little one who would get to share a similar story with her sister of her visit in mommy’s belly, how cool?!?! I couldn’t help but be so excited for the vacation ahead, to experience the magic of Disney, create more family memories that will last a lifetime, and enjoy one last trip as a family of three before our new addition makes her appearance.
Disney World at 22 weeks with Baby #2
So as I turned into my 22nd week, I packed my maternity attire and emergency supplies and we were off to experience the magic of Disney. We headed out nice and early for the first flight of the day so we could get in a nice full first day. We all made it through the flight in one piece and were greeted in Orlando with warm and sunny weather, a stark difference from the impending snowstorm in the Northeast. We quickly switched into some summer clothes and were greeted by the Magical Express who whisked us away to our home away from home, the Wilderness Lodge. With magic bands on our wrists, we were ready to start our Disney adventure and couldn’t wait to head over to the Magic Kingdom to ring in our trip.
By the time we had checked in and caught the boat over to Magic Kingdom it was lunch time so we grabbed little one a quick lunch and mommy a little snack too from Roaring Fork at Wilderness Lodge and decided to hop on a few rides first before we lunched on something more substantial. Since our little girl’s favorite attractions are by far those in Fantasyland we headed that way first and caught a few Disney staples before this mommy-to-be was in desperate need of sustenance. For the first lunch of our trip we decided on one of my all time favorites, the Turkey Leg from the Frontierland cart over by Splash Mountain which is also conveniently located right next to a Mickey Pretzel stand that was music to our little girl’s ears.
Mommy & baby with a giant turkey leg.
I manned the pretzel stand and grabbed our little girl her very own Mickey pretzel, which are sadly not gluten free, while Dan checked over the turkey leg ingredients and picked up lunch for us. I’m normally not a huge meat eater, especially while pregnant, but just the thought of a delicious, juicy turkey leg made my mouth water so I knew it would be the perfect fit for lunch for me. And it was just as delicious as in my memory, thanks to the smoking it was a juicy cross between ham and turkey that is a hugely satisfying lunch for anyone out there. Since I hardly ever put a significant dent in a Disney turkey leg Dan agreed to share one for our lunch especially since we were eating an earlier dinner at Hollywood Studios. With both of us devouring the turkey leg, after some time sitting in the shade the turkey leg was no more and the Mickey pretzel, well didn’t really resemble Mickey too well after my little girl was through with it. With Daddy’s finishing touches on the pretzel we were off to enjoy a bit more of Magic Kingdom before a little afternoon nap.
We had a fantastic couple of hours in Magic Kingdom to kick off our vacation and were really looking forward to a perfect first dinner at 50s Prime Time Cafe. We caught our bus over to Hollywood Studios without too much of a delay and arrived for our dinner more or less on time, checked in, and waited a bit too long for our table to be ready. Our little girl was less than patient waiting for our table, pure exhaustion was setting in, which made the waiting a lot more painful, but thankfully we were called back and settled in without too much trouble. I requested to speak to the chef since our waitress hadn’t heard anything about my allergy free fried chicken pre-order which unfortunately was the same response from the chef. Despite my ordering ahead of time via email and phone, the chef told us that he hadn’t heard anything about the allergy order, which was so frustrating for me especially since I had taken all of the extra steps to make dinner easier. Last time this had happened the chef told us he couldn’t make the chicken for me but thankfully this chef was so accommodating and just told us it would take a little while but I could absolutely enjoy the chicken. So without too much delay my Gluten Free Fried Chicken had arrived piping hot and with an allergy pick sticking out of it.
Hollywood Studios, 50s Prime Time Cafe Gluten Free Fried Chicken
The chicken was just as tasty as I had remembered, crispy coating covering the juicy, tender meat inside. It was perfectly complemented with a garlicky mashed potato and crispy green beans, which my little girl was appreciative of enjoying as well. All together my entree was delicious but I do wish that my extra homework ahead of time paid off and not only guaranteed me my meal but also limited our wait too. Thankfully this dinner we got lucky and had a great chef who looked just as frustrated as we did when he heard what had happened but nonetheless put together a great gluten free meal for me.
Hollywood Studios, 50s Prime Time Cafe Gluten Free Dad’s Brownie Sundae
We certainly couldn’t finish our dinner at 50s without a Gluten Free Dad’s Brownie Sundae so it was one sundae for us three to split and trust me there’s more than enough to do just that. A perfect gluten free brownie smothered in all kinds of fixings, from hot fudge to vanilla ice cream and a mountain of whipped cream to all kinds of candies. It was perfection, my only complaint was the missing popcorn topping which may or may not still come on the sundae, not sure about that one, but that aside, the sundae was delicious!
Our first day of our Disney vacation was certainly a magical one filled with lots of smiles, delicious gluten free and non-gluten free food, and an extra special purple Mickey balloon for an extra special little girl. After so much excitement on our first day we called it an early night and relaxed back at our room only to find the biggest surprise of all, our room was in perfect view of Magic Kingdom’s firework show. With such an amazing surprise, we pushed off bedtime a bit and snuggled together on our balcony to enjoy the amazing firework show. Can’t ask for a better ending to our first day than that! Stay tuned for more Disney updates from our 2015 Disney vacation!
We’re back from our last vacation as a family of three! Every ounce of our trip was filled with so much magic and so many memories. Our little girl was in love with every bit of Disney from the big castle and seeing all of her friends to riding rides and watching parades, there is truly no better feeling than watching your little one love something so much! We certainly did create memories for a lifetime and I can’t wait to tell our second little one of their first unofficial trip to Disney in mommy’s belly.
Couldn’t love my family more!
It’s hard to believe next time we venture down to Disney we’ll be a four rather than a three but we couldn’t be more excited to make even more Disney memories with our little one and her new baby sister. That’s right! We’re having a little girl! While I never really had a “feeling” of what this little one might be I would’ve sworn it was a boy judging by how different I had felt this pregnancy from my first but after two ultrasounds confirming it we are definitely going to be welcoming our second little girl this summer! I’m so in love with our first little girl and I just can’t wait to shower our new little one with just as much love.
Little one is going to have a little sister coming this summer!
Stay tuned for more pregnancy updates and Disney gluten free recaps!
I have to say this pregnancy has ticked by pretty slowly for me, probably because we’ve had a freezing cold winter keeping us cooped up inside and also because this mommy-to-be hasn’t really felt too good since day 1. But I’m happy to report that we’ve passed the halfway mark and we’re now headed into countdown mode. Baby is moving around like crazy, even letting daddy feel a kick for the first time! After now experiencing two totally different pregnancies, I can officially concur that pregnancy as a whole is a crazy, roller coaster ride with tons of ups and downs, both emotional and physical, but by far the peak of each one is feeling that little one swirling around and kicking inside, there’s nothing more euphoric than that feeling.
21 Weeks with Baby #2
As baby and mommy grow, we just keep getting busier and busier over here, but that’s how we like it! It’s hard to believe that Disney is just around the corner and then soon after comes Easter, spring time which means plenty of outdoor time finally, Memorial Day parades, and then some early summer adventures before baby comes. We’re in for some eventful and exciting weeks and months ahead! But for now I just wanted to catch you up on how I’ve been feeling now that I’m nestled snugly in my 2nd trimester!
A few more details of what 21 weeks looks like in our house:
Go to gluten free foods: Absolutely loving my Sweet Note Bagels with cream cheese!, lots and lots of salads with Marie’s Blue Cheese Dressing or Olive Garden’s Italian Dressing, some of my favorites from Toscano’s Ristorante vodka rigatoni and their antipasto salad, Schar wafer cookies are one of my favorite go to snacks right now, and slowly but surely I’m getting back into making smoothies
How am I sleeping?: This is hit or miss with me, some days are definitely better than others and waking up to go to the bathroom at least once is certainly not helping.
What’s happening in our world this week: Being cooped up inside because of our freezing cold temperatures is certainly no fun by myself let alone with an ancy toddler who just wants to run around but we’re making the best of it with lots of coloring, painting, reading, and tv and movie time. Feel free to share how you keep your 2 year old busy and happy when you’re cooped up for the winter.
The big secret has been revealed, well kind of: We finally know who our second little one is and I have to say it’s the sweetest secret that we’ve gotten to share just us three and a few others too. Now we have the biggest task ahead, picking a name! We have our list started and a few front runners have emerged so we should be narrowing down on that one pretty soon but as far as the final name choice, we’re keeping that between just us three until baby arrives and meets the rest of our family and friends.
What I love most at this point: Baby seems to be moving constantly these days giving me plenty of swirls and twirls but even some notable belly jump kicks in there too. But my favorite moment recently is when Dan was able to feel baby for the first time, he’s been a second too late for every single other feeling until this week when he got a little reminder of the little one that’s been living in my belly!
After so many years of eating gluten free, I find I’m always on the lookout for new brands and new products to try. It’s not unusual to find newbies in the prepackaged cookie arena or dry pasta but when it comes to fresh baked goods or fresh pasta the entrepreneurs seem to be fewer and farther between. That being said though, when it comes to this less traveled department I’ve always had some pretty good luck at Whole Foods. In fact, on my last adventure to Whole Foods, spread amongst my favorite fresh gluten free pasta brand RP’s Pasta were fresh gluten free ravioli by La Pasta, that’s right they were fresh gluten free raviolis. I probably couldn’t usher in a container of the gluten free raviolis fast enough but I couldn’t contain my excitement to try these out. Don’t get me wrong, gluten free ravioli exists in frozen form, but haven’t always been successful in my book except for those by Pastosa, but as far as fresh gluten free raviolis, these were a first sighting for me!
Whole Foods La Pasta Gluten-Free Cheese Ravioli
For about $8 a package you get 9 ounces of medium size cheese raviolis that only take a few short minutes to cook up. The container makes plenty for more than one person, I shared some with my little girl and still had some left over for lunch/dinner the next day. Price wise these are pretty comparable with the other gluten free ravioli offerings out there but for me nothing beats a fresh option; so as long as Whole Foods stocks La Pasta’s fresh gluten free ravioli I’ll be heading up there to pick some up when the craving hits.
A plate full of medium sized, gluten free cheese ravioli!
What I love about fresh pasta is that you feel like you’re eating something so fresh that it could’ve been made that very day even if that wasn’t the case. The freshness really does affect the taste, that’s probably why Dan and my go to meal when we were dating was fresh pasta with vodka sauce from our local Italian market. While I’ve found a great option for fresh gluten free pasta in RP’s, I hadn’t ever seen fresh gluten free raviolis up until La Pasta’s. The pasta is so tender and delicate but don’t burst open when they boil up, and are stuffed full of a combination of four perfect cheeses. I just love splitting my raviolis into four bite sizes pieces, letting the melted butter mix with the cheese filling, a little bite of heaven!
Melted butter is the perfect topping for gluten free ravioli!
I’m so grateful for companies like La Pasta who’ve given something back to us gluten free folks that’s so much more important than they probably know. They’ve given us not only fantastic additions to our gluten free diets but a feeling of normalcy and inclusion again. I rarely now make a meal for my family where I have to make something completely separate and different from what my little girl and husband are enjoying. Now I can sit side by side with them and enjoy raviolis just as they do! My only wish is that more restaurants could jump on board with offering gluten free menus that are more than just a plain piece of chicken or buttered box pasta. These companies make phenomenal products that would make many a restaurant diner happy to dine out while being gluten free.
With Disney just around the corner, my weeks just keep getting busier and busier. On the top of my to do list this week is to share my belly pics from the last few weeks. I can hardly believe I’m 21 weeks right now, even though my belly and baby movement confirms just that. So needless to say I have some catching up on here to do. On top of sharing my pregnancy moments in time with you, I also wanted to go over my dining agenda for our Disney vaca coming up very soon. With my appetite halfway back to normal I’m so excited to dine at Disney and share with all of you my gluten free Disney dining plans! So for my Happy Monday post I thought I’d sprinkle my blog with a little Disney magic and share our dining plans!
We’ve taken a number of trips over our years together and the planning is always one of my favorite parts. No, we don’t have typed out itineraries planning every detail down to scheduled bathroom pit stops, but we do make sure we have a plan for each of our days figured out before we go. Thankfully, this practice came in handy when vacationing gluten free because there’s certainly no better way to travel gluten free then with a plan. Our Disney vacations are no different, in fact Disney themselves make it so you almost have to plan out every detail of your vacation before you even go, from dining 6 months out to picking your ride fastpasses 60 days prior to leaving. Yes, it takes a bit of the spontaneity out of your vacation which we still try to maintain with open-ended lunch locations and a dinner or two along with our park hopper passes, but for this Gluten Free Mom To Be planning most of my meals ahead is a must.
One of our favorite topiaries last year! Wish we could’ve taken it home for our Bambi nursery!
This time around we’re venturing to Disney in a cooler season than we had originally planned thanks to Baby #2’s arrival early to mid- summer, but we’re so excited because we’re going to be there for the Flower and Garden Festival, an amazing Epcot event that we were able to catch at the very end last Spring. On top of the gorgeous floral topiaries, we’re so excited to revisit the butterfly garden with our little butterfly lover. enjoy some of the music that’s supposed to be there that weekend, and finally make a few pit stops to some of the food stands throughout the countries, which I’m crossing my fingers that there are some gluten free and pregnancy friendly treats for me to enjoy. But on top of the special event that we’re going to be around for, we’ve got some really exciting meals planned, some are favorites that we do every time, some are occasional meals that we like to enjoy here and there, and some are brand new places for us!
Day 1: We always try to head straight over to Magic Kingdom our first day after we arrive and sneak in a lunch and a few rides before an early dinner. We have an early dinner reservation at 50s Prime Time Cafe, which has kind of turned into a tradition of doing on the first night. What can I say, I look forward to that fried chicken for months before so why not ring in your vacation with as a great a gluten free dish as this one.
50s Prime Time Cafe gluten free friend chicken.
Day 2: We’re heading back to Magic Kingdom to enjoy some more of our favorite rides, characters, and parades until our dinner at Ohana at the Polynesian. We haven’t been to Ohana the past few trips but we think our little girl will really like the food not to mention everything going on around her this time around. I just wish they could do a gluten free lomein when they bring that delicious looking bowl full of the gluten filled version but I’ll just be happy with that amazing salad to start!
Our first Ohana visit when I was pregnant with our little girl!
Day 3: One of our favorite stops when we’re in Disney World is Epcot, and especially now with the Flower and Garden Festival going on. With most of this day spent in Epcot, we planned a new dinner for us at the Hollywood Brown Derby in Hollywood Studios. It’s a two meal dinner so it’s a splurge but the menu is definitely up Dan’s alley and their infamous Cobb Salad is right up mine. I couldn’t resist trying it this time around thanks to the amazing reviews by Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free in WDW & Gluten Free in Orlando. So excited for this one!
Day 4: Hollywood Studios is usually our shortest day so we’re planning on doing a morning at that park and then maybe some pool time if it’s warm enough before our dinner at the Rose & Crown Pub in Epcot. Dan loves the Rose & Crown food, I’m more of a fan of the actual restaurant and the outdoor seating right on the lake even though they have made a delicious steak with garlic mashed potatoes.
Day 5: We’ve always wanted to see Animal Kingdom Lodge but truthfully haven’t made it over there because it’s kind of out of the way. We figured there was no time like the present and we’d take advantage of our Animal Kingdom day and just head straight over to Animal Kingdom Lodge for a new dinner. Our little girl loves animals so Animal Kingdom is always a highlight of her trip so we figured a dinner at Sanaa would be a real treat for her, especially if we catch a glimpse of animals grazing by while we eat. Even though I’ve read pretty good reviews on the dining here, I’m still a bit nervous because the cuisine is not necessarily up my alley but Dan is beyond excited.
Day 6: Time for our second Epcot day! While I’m not too keen on all of the walking that Epcot entails while I’m pregnant, I am really happy that this trip we’re not going to be doing the trek in 110 degree summer heat like we’ve done in the past. We decided this day to either take advantage of the food stands or do a delicious dinner at Tutto Gusto wine cellar in Italy. I’m leaning towards a nice sit down dinner where I can get my favorite gluten free Pomodoro Pasta or maybe something new!
Gluten Free Pasta Pomodoro at Epcot’s Tutto Gusto
Day 7: We always try to do a character breakfast every trip, especially since we have a huge Disney lover on our hands. This time around we decided to do an early breakfast at the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom where you can meet Winnie the Pooh and friends. We’ve done this breakfast before and little one loved the humongous squishy characters who she couldn’t get enough hugs from, but now she knows who they are so I think it might be an even bigger hit.
Crystal Palace gluten free breakfast in Magic Kingdom
After our breakfast at Crystal Palace we’ll spend our last full day in Magic Kingdom, day and night, with a break at dinner time for one of my favorite dinners at Kona Cafe in the Polynesian. This has become an every vacation tradition, and usually ends up being our last night’s dinner because we LOVE this dinner location! Anywhere where I can get a humongous bowl of their gluten free noodle dish with grilled chicken that reminds me of my favorite lomein of years past is phenomenal in my book!
Large bowl full of Kona Cafe’s gluten free Pan-Asian Noodles!
Day 8: Our last day in Disney is bitter sweet, we usually book our flight for later in the day/night so we can enjoy a fuller day at the end. We squeeze some of our last favorite rides, sit down for a nice lunch, and just relax back at the resort until our not so Magical Express arrives to take us to the airport.
We’re so excited to explore Disney one last time as a family of three but also with our second little one in tow in mommy’s belly makes it even more special. We vacationed in Disney in the heat of the summer when I was pregnant with our first little girl and we just love telling her that she was in Disney before she was even born and now we’ll get to do the same for this little one. Since we’ve had some hiccups the past few vacations, my fingers are crossed extra tight that we’re all happy and healthy for this adventure. We’re so excited for our big vacation, and as always I’ll be sharing my delicious meals with you when I get back so stay tuned to see how the dining goes but also to find out if our little girl will have a new brother or sister!
20 weeks down and 20 weeks to go, maybe less if we get an early appearance like our first! Oh my, it sounds so long when you phrase it like that right now, especially since this week I’ve been feeling less than stellar, but I know as the weather warms up and we’re able to be out and about, time will really start to fly. The next 20 weeks are going to packed full of finishing little girl’s big girl room, sprucing up the baby nursery to make it personal for Baby #2, unpacking and washing all of the baby equipment that we stashed away in the basement after little girl outgrew it, signing up for CBR for Baby #2, and picking up a few new baby items for round two. The good news with Baby #2 is that we have tons of the necessary baby equipment already so we’re really only left with picking up the obvious newborn necessities and filling in our supplies with a few accessories better suited for two little ones.
On our list of Baby #2 purchases:
Side-by-side double stroller
Two camera video monitor so we can keep an eye on both little ones
A baby sling that’s a bit more comfy than the Baby Bjorn that we used round 1
New diaper bag, how does anyone get there diaper bag to survive more than 1 baby I’ll never know
New food processor/blender that would work well for baby food and smoothies, I tossed around doing this with my first but had a rough year after she was born so kind of forgot about then
Some odds and ends for the Bambi nursery which we did very gender neutral before babies, except for a few personal touches: i.e. new name letters in pink on the wall, hang some pink lanterns above the crib that we held onto from our It’s A Small World party, and thinking about getting a new rocking horse and a few stuffed animals so Baby #2 can have their own set of friends that our little girl seems to have fallen in love with
Thankfully, we already made some head way on this list and picked up a new diaper bag on our last adventure to Disney. Our trip was pre-baby on board so it wasn’t picked on any gender, so no baby reveal here by the color choice, but instead I picked mommy’s favorite. It’s an adorable and subtly Disney Vera Bradley bag with Mickeys and Minnies here and there throughout the floral pattern. I’ve stashed it away until the big day of Baby #2’s arrival this summer so I’m very eager to use it but wanted it to be something special to start our new adventure with our next little one.
Vera Bradley Disney Bag, check it out on Disney Store’s website for more details
Other than the diaper bag we’re on the hunt for the rest of the list which I’m sure will grow as I see new baby items out there. But for now, those are the basic essentials we need to get started on our next adventure. As the weeks tick away, I’m planning on sharing some of my favorites in each of these categories and hopefully hear some of yours too to help our decision making. While in many ways this pregnancy seems to have been chugging along slowly, I truly can’t believe that we’re halfway there and we’ll be meeting this little one in only a few months! Here we go!
After a number of years living gluten free and trying countless gluten free products, I usually tend to steer away from pre-packaged cookies since my past has taught me that the higher price and ease of convenience doesn’t necessarily guarantee a better tasting product than homemade. Since my early days living gluten free though, times have changed and more and more fantastic gluten free products are appearing on the shelves and certainly warrant a taste test. Being a gluten free blogger I’m more than happy to oblige and give these products a test run and share the good, run out and buy immediately products, and also the bad, not worth the extra money items, with all of my fellow gluten free folks.
In my gluten free phase of life, I can definitely say that Schar has become one of my favorite brands, most of the time loving every bite from their line but some of the time hating their break apart $5.99 loaf of bread. Despite their low points though, I have been and will always be a Schar follower, after all no brand is perfect, and am willing try any and all of their products that pop onto the shelves. I’ve dabbled mostly in their bread products and crackers with an occasional sweet endeavor, but not too long ago Baby #2 gave me an extra push to dive into the sweets side of the shelf again. One of the first boxes of cookies that caught my eye were their Gluten Free, Wheat Free Chocolate-Dipped Cookies. The picture drew me in immediately and before I knew it the box of cookies had jumped into my cart, okay or maybe I was so excited I hurriedly shoveled them in!
Schar Gluten Free Chocolate- Dipped Cookies
I’m happy to report that Schar’s Chocolate-Dipped Cookies were for me love at first sight and then bite. They were just divine, very reminiscent of my mom’s favorite Milano cookies that she used to let us try from time to time. When I say these remind me of a Milano cookie I mean in every way possible from texture to taste; the crisp sweet cookie has just the right amount of a perfect chocolate bottom and could fool any non-gluten free eater any day. Pair these cookies with a cold glass of milk or Silk and you’re in for a few minutes of pure bliss. My only wish is that there were more in a package because this mommy-to-be surely couldn’t stop at eating just one!
In the gluten free world, it’s not incredibly shocking to have to search high and low for your favorite items and then spend more on your groceries than a non-gluten free shopper. Gluten free living is work but I’m happy to report that I was able to pick up a 5.5 oz box of these cookies for about $4 at my local Shop Rite. They were a tad bit pricey but for a specialty cookie and one that tastes as good as this one the price is more than worth it and is comparable to a package of Milano cookies, in price and delight. So treat yourself and pick up a box of these amazing Schar cookies, and maybe an extra too to send over to this expecting mommy because I’m all out!
