Day 70

Tuesday October 26, 2010

This morning was bittersweet. It was bitter because it was our last morning with the Marbans. Their love and hospitality was incomprehensible. Six months ago we had been virtual strangers. Now we were family, forever bounded by the greatest happiness and sadness known to mankind!

It was sweet because Todd and Teddy were coming to pick us up. Nina had been asking for Todd and Teddy all weekend long. On Saturday, Todd told me Teddy had a cold and had a fever during the night and that he himself had a stomach bug. We monitored the illnesses over the weekend and consulted with Dan Brennan to make sure they weren't contagious. On Monday morning, Nina heard Linda and me talking about Teddy not feeling well and my smart girl suggested that Mario babysit Teddy so that dada could come and be with her :) The thing about Nina is that she is constantly thinking! Problem solving has never been a challenge for her! How I love her!

Linda and I worked on a few last items and then she and Nina proceeded to make chocolate chip cookies while I ran some errands. When I returned, the house smelled like a bakery and Nina was beaming with pride! Within seconds of my arrival, Todd and Teddy arrived. Nina was ecstatic to see her father and brother. Teddy was also happy to see me and gave me the biggest hug! I had missed him terribly. He is such a beautiful boy and has the most expressive face! He also has the most powerful lungs known to mankind :)

Teddy was extremely impressed with Maison Marban and asked if we could come back, which delighted Linda! We loaded our bags into the car and thanked Linda one more time! I reminded her how much we loved them and how eternally grateful we were for their support and guidance! The kids waved goodbye and we were off to Disneyland.

Teddy and Nina were elated to be going to Disneyland! The Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation had secured us a suite at the Grand Californian and Kathy Ireland had paid for us to have a personal Ambassador for the entire day! This person would lead us through park and take us to the front of the line for each ride. Teddy was especially excited about this prospect! I had to admit I was too!

We left the Marbans at 2:30 to avoid traffic. Silly us....it's LA...there is always traffic. On our way, I fell asleep and Todd ended up passing our exit by 20 minutes :) I guess it's not a good thing for the co-pilot to fall asleep...oops! By this time, the kids were hungry so we stopped at In-and-Out. Apparently, Nina had been craving a vanilla shake all weekend long and was stoked to finally get one! "This is so yummy! Finally!" What a character!

We arrived at the Grand Californian, 4 hour later. The kids were totally getting frustrated by this point so we immediately checked in. The kids were both very impressed by the room and the direct view of Downtown Disney. They were also tickled by the gift baskets that the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation had sent. After getting settled, we went for a quick walk through Downtown Disney. We went through several stores and tried on different costumes. At Disney 360, Nina proclaimed that it was essential that she and I get matching pink pirate costumes to wear the next night. We found her size but the problem was that there weren't adult versions! I asked for the biggest size possible and one of the clerks brought me one to try on. Well....I was determined to wear a matching costume! I have always loved matching clothes for the kids and matching pjs for mommys and daughters; Todd has always made fun of me for this but I don't care! I am a cheese-ball and proud of it! So....I tried on the costume and....it fit as a shirt! There was no way I could wear it any other way...it would have been x-rated otherwise. I showed Nina and she giggled! I took that as her approval and bought the costumes.

At a couple of other stores, Teddy identified  a list of potential souvenirs. He also tried on costumes but wasn't convinced one way or another. To both Teddy and Nina's delight, the kids found a Club Penguin display. With this, nothing else mattered. They each picked a Puffle (if you don't know what a Puffle is, please go to www.clubpenguin.com and educate yourself; Puffles are very important and everyone should know what they are!).  The puffles made everyone happy so we returned to our room.

The Mad Hatter indeed!

After walking us back to our room, Todd escaped to the ESPN Lounge for a couple of hours while the kids and I ordered room service and watched Phineus and Ferb. Room service was a huge hit!! Teddy couldn't believe his luck! Nina was more like This is old hat! She had grown accustomed to room service over the weekend :) What a life!

Once room service was done, it was tooth-brushing and then beddie time. I kissed both kids good night. Nina fell asleep quickly so I went and crawled into bed with Teddy who was wide awake. We cuddled for a long time, his scrawny legs wrapped around mine; how I had missed that! I told him how much I loved him and how much I had missed him. He told me about his weekend and his cold. Then he tucked his head on my chest and said, "This feel just perfect!" I melted!