Loved this Buzzfeed! Different artists redid some of my favorite Disney Movie Posters. I think my favorites are #8 Winnie the Pooh (and I’m not even a huge Winnie the Pooh fan!) and #23. Fantasia (Sorcerer’s Apprentice)…just love the colors on this one! Check them out here!
Monthly Archives: April 2014
As M would say…Choooo Choooo!
Last weekend we headed up to Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad in Ohio with 20 of us to celebrate my Grandfather’s 87th birthday. Took us about an hour and 45 minutes from Robinson Twp, PA and was a pretty easy drive (well that’s at least what Dan said!). The tickets were only $10 and we went an hour through the park one way and an hour back. It was nice! M really enjoyed it and there was lots to see. They have a ton of options from biking one way, popping your bike on the train and taking the train back, to wine and beer tasting rides. They also have Thomas the Tank visiting in a few weeks, a fall ride that includes a stop at a farm market to pick pumpkins and see the fall foliage and at the holidays they have the Polar Express! We will definitely be returning. I even got M a Polar Express hat on clearance for when we go back!
“C”lue-If you become a member at the “Brakeman” status, you get advance purchase of up to 8 tickets for Polar Express. Check out the membership options here.
“L”ink- For more of their special event listings check out their event page here.
“T”hought- We went out for dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse in Akron after. Good choice for 20 of us. They were able to accommodate us, food was good and service was quick. Would go again if we were up there. I like the location here in the Strip too. For locations and to make a reservation for 2 or 20 click here. I also heard last night there is an O’Charley’s in Akron. Must visit there next time. Haven’t been to one since I was working in Memphis!
Disney Food Tips
From the Disney Food Blog…read here. Some good ideas here if you are heading to Disney soon! I agree with 99% of them.
Most Important?
4. Make your reservations 180 days prior to your visit whenever possible. Nope — it’s not enough to just make reservations; you need to make them as early as possible. For most restaurants, that’s 180 days prior to the date you’re seeking. If you’re staying in a Disney hotel, you can book all of your reservations for up to 10 days beginning exactly 180 days before the first day of your trip.
16. Visit at slower times of the year to avoid crowds. While slow times at Disney are becoming more rare, there are still a few times during the year that you can go when the crowds are lower. Booking your visit in September, early January, early February, or May can lead to shorter lines and more dining options available.
#16 is really cool especially when you get free dining!
Winner Winner!!
I was a little late on picking the winner, but just used random.org…the Winner of the set of bows from Decorative Matters is Rhoda Goehring!
Thanks so much to all who entered! We had over 40 entries. Next giveaway will be coming soon!
Happy Easter!
Taking the week off from posting because there is lots to do this weekend. Thanks to everyone who entered the Giveaway. There is still time if you haven’t! You have until midnight tonight! It’s easy! Enter here !!
Heading on a Train Ride in Ohio this weekend and spending time with the family (Will post about the Train Ride next week.). Hope you all have a great weekend!
It’s a Giveaway!
And my first one! Super excited!
Maddy is finally getting some hair, but to stop all the strangers from saying, “What a cute little boy!” I have been buying hair bows from an Etsy seller, Decorative Matters!
I have partnered with Decorative Matters to giveaway my first set of hairbows! To enter, first make a comment on this blog post below with your favorite item from Decorative Matter’s Etsy page:https://www.etsy.com/people/DecorativeMatters and then make sure you “Like” The CLT Diaries on Facebook. You can get extra entries by clicking “Like” on Decorative Matter’s Facebook page, following @thecltdiaries on Twitter, Sharing the giveaway on Facebook or Tweeting about the giveaway! Good Luck!
Thanks to Decorative Matters one lucky reader will win a 5 bow set. This giveaway will end April 18th at 11:59 PM. The winner will be chosen via random.org, and I will be notifying you by email. You will have 48 hours to respond, and if no response, a new winner will be chosen.
***Update! A few people have had problems commenting on the blog so entries will be accepted by commenting on the giveaway post on The CLT Diaries on Facebook . Just let me know what your favorite item from Decorative Matter’s Etsy page is! ***
***Update #2!
I was a little late on picking the winner, but just used random.org…the Winner of the set of bows from Decorative Matters is Rhoda Goehring!
Thanks to all who entered! Next giveaway will be coming soon!***
Sleep…It’s great if you can get it…
So we have been pretty lucky since M started sleeping through the night. Most nights (unless she is sick), once asleep about 8pm she stays asleep until somewhere between 6am and 8am. 10-12 hours. Not bad. Granted, she was about 10 months old when she started sleeping through the night, but I will take it. The topic of many facebook posts, office conversations, and lunch chats this week have been about sleep so I thought it might be a good topic for the week. Think about it. How many times a day does someone say they are tired to you, you say you are tired to someone else, or you just don’t feel like you have the energy you want? If you are anything like me, it is a lot.
“C”lue-Based on information from SleepFoundation.org the amount of sleep we need varies based on age, and also by person. Research says there is no “magic number”/ I’m pretty sure I need 12 hours…and don’t get it.
“L”ink-My biggest problem is getting back to sleep if M wakes me up due to a nightmare or if our dog Hailey decides that it is not okay that there is a thunderstorm happening outside. And yes, we have tried the Thundershirt, anxiety pills, and other techniques to calm her during storms. It’s all crap. This past Monday night both happened within an hour of one another. I had just fallen back asleep from Hailey’s meltdown to be awaken by Maddy screaming because of a nightmare. About 5 minutes after Maddy was up, she was back and settled in bed. I was not. Tossing and turning and thinking about everything under the sun and not being able to relax. So I googled…here is what I found. 7 Ways to Get Back to Sleep One thing I learned from getting up 4 times a night when Maddy was a baby. Don’t look at the clock. Just don’t do it. Otherwise you will just be thinking how many hours until you have to get up. It took me a while to train myself not to look, but I don’t anymore and it really does help. I also will use the relaxation technique that they talk about in #4. One thing my mom used to tell me from when I was little. I guess she wanted me to fall back asleep quickly too. 🙂
“T”hought- Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Herb Tea – 8 out of 10. I wouldn’t suggest it if you wake in the middle of the night, but if you are having trouble sleeping try it. And keep it consistent. Two weeks is what it takes to see if an herb or medicine is working for you. Maybe it becomes a habit, maybe it works. It has helped me in the past!
How Obsessed with Disney are you?
I have some news! I will have my first giveaway in the next week or so. I have spent some of my free time after M is in bed this week working on my blog. Bought the domain name, created a Facebook site, created a Twitter site and a few other things. To keep in the loop please “Like” my Facebook page here and Follow “thecltdiaries” on Twitter @thecltdiaries . You can also “Follow” my blog by clicking the link about this post. Facebook is being funky about showing all my posts about the blog, so this way you won’t miss one!
Since my aunt sent me the “How Obsessed with Disney are you?” Buzzfeed quiz, I figured this is a good week for a Disney post. You can take that quiz here. My result was 87 out of 120 & “ You are a true Disney head. If there is a Disney thing, you know about it.” Let’s just say, I’m not surprised.
“C”lue-A great way to keep up on all things Disney is the many fan created Facebook pages. I follow a ton but you need to find the ones that are right for you. I have a few listed below this week, but you can find others by just typing “Disney Facebook” in Google.
“L”ink- Here are a few Facebook pages I “Like”. A lot have websites too, but here are the links to their facebook pages.
Walt Disney World for Grownups – Find them here
The Main Street Mouse – Find them here
Disney Dining – Find them here. This one has a bunch of spin offs, and I actually follow them all. But when I’m planning my trips I find it to be very helpful.
“T”hought- Dan and I have a bunch of favorite restaurants in Walt Disney World. When we went last time we tried to rank some of our favorites. We came close to agreeing, but couldn’t get it down completely. One of our favorites is California Grill. It was just recently renovated this past Fall and the food is amazing! If you are on the dining plan it requires two credits, but it’s worth it. After you eat, you can watch the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom from your table or their balcony. They pump the music in. So be sure if you want to make a reservation to time it to when the fireworks will be that night. You can find that out by looking at the calendar on the Disney website. Want to salivate over the menu? Check it out here!
If anyone has any Disney questions that come up while you are planning, please let me know! I would love to feature your question in a blog post!
thecltdiaries 