Anna turned 5 on Friday; I can hardly believe it. Bryan and I wanted to do something special for her. Five is a big year and last year's birthday wasn't what I ever thought it would be. Lucy was in the hospital on Anna's birthday last year, and our lives were in constant limbo. I spent my days at the hospital being a mom to Lucy and my evenings being a mom to Anna. I tried my best to keep things normal and balanced for Anna, but planning a birthday party and big birthday celebration wasn't going to happen. So we kept things low key; Anna chose Harry's for dinner, and we gave her some gifts (a bike and some clothes I think). Anna was amazing through it all, and even though she doesn't remember all of the stress, emotions, and commotion those 2 1/2 months we decided to go to Disney for her birthday this year (for all of us). It was one of the best decisions we've made for our family. We all had a blast. Anna loved meeting the characters (especially Rapunzel) and riding the rides (especially Space Mountain). We loved seeing her joy and excitement. It was nice to get away from work stress and spend the week together as a family.
I don't know if you've been to Disney, but there is food (mostly delicious) everywhere. You can't walk 20 feet without being bombarded with a restaurant or food stand. We had a food plan (1 quick service meal, 1 sit down meal, and 1 snack each day), and I think we overrate the whole week. I tried making healthy choices, but the dessert always got me. It's OK though - it was a celebration!
We went to this restaurant, The Wave, which offered fresh, organic, sustainable food, and I have to tell you it was the best food I've had in a really long time - maybe ever. I had the chicken breast with mushroom risotto. It was the perfect mix of sweet and savory and I think Gordon Ramsay would approve (you have to watch Hell's Kitchen). I had my first experience with creme brûlée, and I might be a changed person :). If you find yourself in Disney World be sure to head to the Contemporary and eat at The Wave for dinner (or breakfast or lunch). I advise being on a dinning plan so it doesn't seem like you are actually paying for the food (it was way more than anything I would ever normally pay for).
Even though I broke lots of rules I'd been careful to follow the past few months. I did try to be conscientious of my choices. These are a few things I did to try to keep real food in the picture while on vacation:
1. We went grocery shopping for healthy snacks when we got to Orlando: apples, peanut butter to go cups, carrots, and 100% fruit strips
2. Choose fruit for snacks: Disney offers whole and cut fruit at many stands
3. Choose vegetarian options: I had a yummy veggie pizza at Epcot (roasted red peppers, mushrooms, squash, and zucchini), a delicious black bean and veggie burrito as well as hummus with chopped veggies several times.
4. We went to several breakfast buffets so I tried to fill half my plate with fruit then add 1/4 eggs and 1-2 pieces of bacon and a treat (or 3 - I'm a sucker for sweets).
Now I'm trying to get back on track after our week long sugar binge!
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