First-Time Disneyland Tips From a Disney Newb – Ep. 295

Shanna

Hi, welcome to Big Fat Positive with Shanna and Laura. On this week's episode, we have our weekly check-ins. We have our special segment, Gripewater, where we talk about party poopers, drone drama, and more. And we wrap it up with our weekly BFPs and the offense. Let's get started. Hello, everyone. Welcome to episode 295. Hi, Laura. Hi, Shanna. How are you doing? What's your check-in this week?

Laura

Well, this week's check-in is a lot more positive than last week's check-in. Good. Last week, it was the COVID diagnosis, my almost avoided for four years COVID diagnosis. And the unrelated yet serendipitous postponing of my kid's joint birthday party because it was going to rain and then I got COVID. So it was like, oh, I'm glad I canceled that. This week, I'm happy to report that nobody has COVID. Both Cori and I are testing negative and the kids never tested positive still. Good. And the sun came out and we got to have the joint birthday party this weekend.

Shanna

Oh, yay. Well, that's exciting. How did it go?

Laura

It was super fun. It was hot, Shanna. It was like... Such a 180 from the previous weekend. The previous weekend, it was one of those massive, like, pineapple express rainstorms, atmospheric river, whatever they like to call it these days. And it was cold. It was absolutely pouring. I think it got up to 80 on Saturday, which was the day we had this party. Sunny, beautiful.

Shanna

OK. That's climactic whiplash right there. That's uncool.

Laura

It really is. Everyone was sweating. We were all like, oh, my God, this is hot, like downright hot. But it was great for the party. So my whole plan was basically to provide the kids with entertainment and stop there, like not kill myself about decorations or any of that. And I feel like I succeeded. I got a bounce house, a big old bounce house, the same one we usually get. And I got a face painter and a balloon artist to come. How fun. And we blew up some balloons and got some Costco cake and a bunch of snacks and some pizza and called it a day.

Shanna

Uh-huh. I should mention for listeners who don't remember from last week, I was not able to come to this party, so I'm hearing about it for the first time.

Laura

Yeah. So here, let me send you some pictures. Okay. Okay, I sent you a handful of photos. I actually don't have that many because I was busy running around being the host.

Shanna

Okay, let's see. So cute. Sebastian in the face painter's chair. He has some kind of Spider-Man painting around his eye. He looks really into whatever she's now painting on his hand. Super cute.

Laura

He was so patient. He's always so patient in these face painter's chairs. I'm always impressed. She's doing a spider on his hand, of course. Oh my gosh.

Shanna

How fun. Augie wearing his ninja costume with a balloon sword. That's exciting.

Laura

Did he wear that for the whole party? I wouldn't say the whole party, but a good chunk of it, yes. He was very insistent on it being an indoor slash outdoor party when his first friend arrived. He was like, is this an indoor party, mama? And I was like, Yeah, what am I going to do? Like, I can't keep you guys out of there. Like, how is this going to work? Because he really wanted to show off all his toys and play with his toys with his friends. So a good chunk of the party was spent in his playroom trying on costumes of various friends would just appear in various costumes at different points.

Shanna

Oh, that's so cute. His footwear indicates indoor outdoor too. He's got a boot on one foot and the other foot is barefoot.

Laura

Yes, very. Very classic combination of ninja costume, one rain boot, and one barefoot, yes.

Shanna

Oh, here's the cake. That looks delicious. Augie looks very excited to be there with all his snacks. Oh, in the last photo, he's also got the Spider-Man ring on his face. That's so cute.

Laura

Yeah of course they had to have the same one this face painter was so good i think her company name is top stars face painting so if you're in the area i definitely recommend hiring her let me send you a picture we won't be able to post it on. Our socials because it's of a friend's kid but let me show you what she did for this little girl that was at the party.

Shanna

Ooh, that's gorgeous. It's some kind of like lotus flowery embellishments above her eyes and eyebrows. It's very, very beautiful.

Laura

There's like beads. She has beads on her face. It's amazing. Oh, I have to zoom in to see that. Yeah. And of course her little brother has... Spider-Man!

Shanna

Spider-Man.

Laura

The little boys were a little predictable. That's so cute.

Shanna

How was it combining the boys' parties? Was that a good decision, do you think? Or do you think you'll do it separate from now on?

Laura

I think it was a good decision financially. I don't know. I mean, they seemed fine with it. And so many of their friends have siblings that are the same age, right? You know, they're two siblings. Two years apart basically so it kind of worked out that way I will say in retrospect I do actually wish I could have invited a few more people but it was getting really big really fast combining the two groups of people together so. I guess that's the downside of it but no I definitely think it was a good call. A couple of mom friends were like, this is the way to do it. My friend Makayla was like, I need to do this for my boys because this is smart.

Shanna

Yeah.

Laura

Who knows how they'll feel going forward. You know, I know their preferences are going to change. Interestingly, they weren't that interested in the bounce house, which I was kind of shocked by. Like, I thought Augie was going to live in there, but he barely went in. So I'm like, oh, our bounce house stays over. Like, is that possible? Or maybe he was just too interested in playing in costumes with his friends. I don't know. Yeah. But other kids went in there and never left. Like his little friend, Sol, basically went in there and never left. Like I was just like, we're a soul and his parents were like, oh, he's been in there. Like we lost him in the bounce house the minute we got here and he has not left. Like, okay. But yeah, I'm going to talk a little more about this in our subsequent segments, but for now that's all I'm going to check in on. Shanna got a question for you. What?

Shanna

Just a little bit. It was Elle's birthday this weekend and as you know our plan for her birthday was to go to Disneyland.

Laura

Oh, my favorite place, the happiest place on earth. Okay, Shanna, I can't wait to hear this check in. I do have to admit that there was a period of time on Sunday where I checked in on Steve's location. For some reason, Steve and I share locations. I swear, like 10 years ago, we were at like getting drinks at Golden Road Brewery. And that feature, like Find My Friends, I think, had just been created or something. I don't know. There was some reason we were looking at it. And Stephen and I were like, let's share locations that we did. And to this day, I follow Steve's location. I think he follows mine. So at some point, I'm like looking at what you guys are doing. And I'm like, you must be on Star Tours.

Shanna

Oh my gosh, that is too funny. Yes, so we did go, it was fun, but backing up just a bit. Because Ellsberg Day was on Sunday, which was the day we were there, we were at a hotel and everything, I decided to kind of do a family celebration with her on Saturday, because I guess it started during the pandemic and I was trying to make things festive for the kids, but it's like, They wake up in the morning and the house is decorated for them and gifts are out. We do a special breakfast and this whole thing. And I was like, oh, if we're going to be at a hotel, we can't do that for her. So we did it on Saturday. So I'll just give you a couple of pictures of that.

Laura

All right. Let's see here. We have a display of adorably wrapped presents, a slew of presents. I'd say this is a lot of presents. some Hello Kitty Sanrio balloons. And then, oh, there's Elle in front of a pancake shaped like the number eight, which is mind blowing to me. And she looks very pleased and content. Also noted Jasmine looking out the window behind her. How fun.

Shanna

Yeah, so that was really fun. So we did all that celebrating and then headed down to Anaheim to check into the hotel. And oh my gosh, these kids love a freaking hotel. I mean, you would have thought we were in Hawaii. And in fact, at one point, Elle said, this is better than Hawaii. And I was like, OK. I'm glad you're having a good time. Also like.

Laura

Thousands of dollars less noted noted for our future vacations. They find a way to like give compliments that just twist the knife though, you know, I know, right?

Shanna

So we stayed at a hotel that you recommended maybe a motel is the better word for it, but it was right across the street from entrance to Disneyland. So perfect location, they enjoyed swimming, you know, when we got there. And the next day we just woke up bright and early, had that free breakfast at the hotel and headed on over to the park.

Laura

Did you rope drop? Do you know what that is?

Shanna

Yes, yes. Our friend Jen gave me a bunch of tips ahead of time, like the day before in an email. And that was one of them. And I was like, that's a great idea. And we just did not get our act together in time for that, which is like getting there a little early so that you can

Laura

Rush into the park as soon as they like open the gates right or like drop the yeah Stanchion or whatever I don't know what it is either exactly like there's nuance to it like they let you into the park early But certain sections aren't open so you're like waiting for them to drop the rope I I too do not have the energy or dedication for that, but I've heard it's a thing Yeah, but it sounds like you got there pretty early no matter what I

Shanna

Yeah, we did. I think we probably got there around 8.30 or so. So it was good. So we headed in. I really didn't prepare much ahead of time for this trip. I still don't have my head wrapped around what the different sections of the park are. So I couldn't tell you the name of where we went. But there was a big carousel and a Dumbo ride and all that jazz. Fantasyland, yes. Okay, there we go. So we started off with the Dumbo ride. That was the very first one. And that was super cute and fun. And Cici really liked it. And then immediately like we went and did the carousel. And then Laura, I realized I had not been adequately caffeinated yet that morning because the hotel coffee was horrible. And I just like couldn't really drink it very much. And I was like, oh, I'll get something at the park. And I forgot about it when we got there.

Laura

Yeah, the Red Rose Tavern. It's not far from the carousel in Dumbo, right?

Shanna

No, it would have been right where we were. So anyway, I'm so mad at this point that I don't have coffee. I was kind of embarrassed that I was losing it. I go in and I was like, I need to order extra coffee. Like, Steve, between the two of us, let's get three iced coffees because then we won't have to come back. Here and get more coffee would be we'll be ready to go so I go up and I order three iced coffees and Steve takes a sip and it has sugar in it like tons of sugar and he's like does not like that He doesn't he he doesn't like coffee with sugar and he's like I don't want to drink that And I was like, ah, but I just bought it. And I was like, OK, fine, whatever. I'll just take three iced coffees, I guess. And I was like, hey, can I get a lid for these coffees? They're like, we don't have lids. And I was like, excuse me? Are you joking? And they were like, no, we're not joking.

Laura

Because your brain health was supported.

Shanna

Yes, yes. Give me my caffeine.

Laura

As someone who is thoroughly addicted to caffeine, I understand your plight. And for next time, there is a Starbucks on Main Street. I can't remember exactly where, but you can get it right as you go in.

Shanna

Good to know. Good to know. Oh, one cute thing that we did right when we went in, Jen recommended this. We went into a little shop and the girls got pins. One said like Elle's eighth birthday, you know, so she got to wear a pin with her name and her birthday and they both got a pin that said it was their first visit and they loved that. They felt so special. People were wishing Elle a happy birthday all day and that was really cute.

Laura

Yeah, so you went to City Hall right when you came in? I guess.

Shanna

I don't know.

Laura

That's what it's called. I've actually never gone into City Hall because I don't want to wait in line and I'm always like, to the rides. But I think the whole point of those first visit and especially the birthday badges is I think the cast members, the staff there, right? The cast members I think are like obligated to wish you a happy birthday if they see it on you. Like it's part of their training. So it does make you feel super special. Yeah, that was cute. Okay, so I'm curious what your favorite thing was and what your least favorite thing was, or maybe it's the girls. Like what was their highlight and low light?

Shanna

Yeah. So we quickly realized that Elle is into the intense rides. Like we did Pair to the Caribbean and that's when she was like, oh, this is the kind of ride I like. I want to do fast things. So after that we did like Big Thunder Mountain and Matterhorn. And so she loved those. Those were her favorites. Cece, After Pirates of the Caribbean asked for slow rides. That was so cute. She loved Winnie the Pooh and her absolute favorite was It's a Small World. I mean, going through that with her was a true joy in life because watching her face, looking at everything, taking it in, she was singing the song the whole time. She looked like she was on cloud nine.

Laura

asking to listen to the song in the car. And he calls it Disneyland song. And he'll just occasionally ask for it. He's like, I want Disneyland song. And I'm like, it's a small world. Yeah. And he loves it too.

Shanna

Yeah, it is. It's charming, despite its stereotypes. But I enjoyed it too.

Laura

But you know what's good about it? It's indoors. So if you go on a hot summer day, which it must have been actually pretty warm for you guys.

Shanna

Yeah, the weather was perfect. Actually, it was like mid 70s. So it was beautiful.

Laura

But if you're there in the summer, it's a small world. You go inside for the whole ride. It's long and it's cool. So if you're ever looking to beat the heat at Disneyland, it's a small world is the way to go. Yeah, for sure. Were there any disappointing parts?

Shanna

No, not really. I don't think so. The one thing, we got in line for the millennial Falcon. Millennium Falcon.

Laura

Millennium Falcon, yes, yes.

Shanna

Yes. OK, so we got the Genie Plus. So most lines were pretty quick. But even for that one, it was like a little bit longer. So we were standing in line and Cece was tired and she fell asleep in my arms. By the time we got to the front, the worker was like, is she asleep? And I was like, oh, well, I think she'll wake up. And he's like, she needs to be awake for this ride. I was like, okay, forget it. So I just took her and laughed and Steve and Elle did that one. So I didn't get to do some of the rides because Cece fell asleep in the middle of the day and took a nap, but I think that was fine. I think she needed that refresh of energy.

Laura

You know what? I think that was for the best. She might not have liked that ride. Yeah, really kind of fast and intense. Yeah. Yeah. That was the ride when we went when Augie was like just four with our little friend who's the same age and they went on it for the first time and his little friend. freaked the F out and was sobbing. And it was to the point where then Augie started crying. I think like because she was crying, you know, like the whole like me or Neuron thing. And because I thought he'd love it because of the Star Wars fandom. And he's gone on since and does love it. But that first time it was bad. And I, knowing how CECE reacted to Pirates of the Caribbean, I think that it was good you skipped that.

Shanna

Oh good, okay. So that worked out. But yeah, all in all it was like a really great day. I don't know like if I just kind of had low expectations or it was a great combo of great weather and it wasn't too crowded and I don't know. It just was like, it was great. It was pleasant. Amazing. I enjoyed it. Yeah.

Laura

I'm so glad to hear that.

Shanna

You know, just one last thing, an observation I found so hilarious is like going from Toontown, right? Like we went on Mickey's runaway ride or whatever. It's like, cartoons everywhere. It's like so silly. And then the next ride we did was Pirate of the Caribbean. And it's like going from that. to drunken swashbucklers shooting muskets at each other and bearded dirty men chained up behind prison bars. And I'm just like, wow, what a world. And Johnny Depp? Yes, Jack Sparrow just sitting there. on his throne drinking booze, loving life. It's hilarious. It's just quite the dichotomy. Yeah.

Laura

Well, I'm so glad you finally got to go with the girls. And I still think we need to go as a group trip.

Shanna

Yeah, I would love that. Now that I know what it's all about, what to expect. Yeah, I'm down. I'm down. Awesome. But yeah, that's pretty much the summation of our week. And I think we should move on to our special segment. Sounds good.

Laura

We are back, and our special segment for this week is GRIPE WATER, where we allow ourselves to complain about things that are bugging us. It's a judgment-free space, Shanna, where we get to unload things that have been bothering us recently. And I'm very curious, what's your first gripe?

Shanna

Okay, here is my first little gripe. So this was a couple months ago when the weather was warmer and we were out in the backyard doing water play. The girls were, I don't know, doing slip and slide, water balloons or whatever on there in their bathing suits. And we hear this like buzzing sound. And I know this sound because my husband is a lover of drones. He has a drone, but this was not his. This was someone else's drone that was flying right over our backyard low enough that we could hear the motor like propellers or whatever. And I'm just like, look, I don't know if all drones have cameras on them, cause I don't know how drones work. But like my first thought is like, why is someone spying on our backyard? My girls don't always keep their bathing suits on when they're playing. You know what I mean? Cause it's the privacy of your own yard. And who is this? Where is it? I don't know.

Laura

Yeah, that sucks. I feel like there's all this talk about keeping your kids off the internet. And obviously, our kids have pictures of them on the internet. But we are very conscious, I know I am and you are too, about what kind of images we put online of our kids. Like I'm not putting pictures of them without shirts on or You know, definitely not naked and all that stuff because I don't want those kind of images to be available for anyone to find. And you have now some unknown person flying a drone, which is most likely a camera drone, right? Because what else are they doing with it? Even if the express purpose isn't to get pictures, it has a camera because it has to know where it's going and stuff. Right. Hovering right over your house, ostensibly being able to grab pictures of your family and private, you know, at home time. That's fucking weird. I'm sorry.

Shanna

It is. It is weird. I guess like when you go out in public, into public spaces, you might expect that a bit more because you're like, well, I'm here in public. I'm putting my image of my kid's image in the world, but we were in our backyard. It has walls all around it, you know, except on top of it. And this drone was getting in the one way we are not covered, which was by the top of our yard.

Laura

Yeah. See, your yard is super private. Like there's no way for other people to see in unless they're purposely climbing over the walls on the outside of your property. My yard, on the other hand, has chain link fence on either side and apartment. It's on either side of them, so we do have a lot of people walking by who can look in. So we don't have that expectation of complete privacy, but I can see how it would be so violating to have that happen. So did it just go away? Like, what happened?

Shanna

Well, I ushered everyone inside, and we... So I don't know, but we heard it long enough that to me, it seemed like it was hovering over our yard. You know, it wasn't just like a... like a drive-by kind of sound. It was a hovering sound. So I don't know. I don't really know.

Laura

Yeah, that's creepy. I don't like that either.

Shanna

But yeah, that's pretty much my gripe. Stop flying over my backyard and taking pictures of my family.

Laura

Valid. It's a valid gripe, Shanna.

Shanna

Thank you. All right, what's your first gripe water?

Laura

Okay. My gripe is that there is no good time to have a birthday party for kids my age. That is my gripe. Okay. And this became clear because I had the boys' birthday party from 2 to 5 p.m. And I picked that time specifically because it would be after nap, because there's, you know, Sebastian still naps, a lot of his friends still nap. Oh, right. But I also made sure to include that there'd be pizza. So if people did eat dinner, they'd be fed, you know, it's not getting too late. And I thought I had cracked the code. I thought this was the perfect time to have a third and fifth birthday party until we get halfway through the party, about three thirty and Augie comes to me and says, mama, when's the party going to be over? I'm tired.

Shanna

Oh, no. What, Augie? The little energizer bunny who never gets tired.

Laura

Yeah. And Sebastian skipped his nap because he was too excited for the party. So he was also kind of a wreck. It got to the point where they were in that late afternoon just wired state, you know, where they're tired, but also over excited about things. It came to a head when Augie and his little best friend from school started really acting up that they, I think, amp each other up. We've gotten a number of messages from school about how they amp each other up in the classroom and whatnot. And the two of them were just getting wild, like totally wild. And they ran upstairs and locked themselves in my office. And I had to go get the little key to open it. And I was just like, boys, we need to calm ourselves. But of course, you can't calm yourself at a birthday party with a bounce house and face painters and cake and all that stuff.

Shanna

All right, let's see. Oh, sitting around the TV. in the living room.

Laura

Yes, they were watching the Paw Patrol Mighty Pups movie or whatever, whatever the new one that just came out.

Shanna

Yeah.

Laura

My friend Kirsten was so smart. At some point, she saw this escalation happening. She was like, and Augie had said, like, let's watch TV. And I was like, we're not watching TV at your birthday party. Like, this is not happening. But she kind of pulled me aside. She was like, maybe we should just turn the TV on. Like, I think they need it. They need somewhere to just be calm and still. And I was like, You're right. You're absolutely right. I turn it on of course all the kids flock to it and I did feel like all these parents going to judge me for being the parent who like turns on the TV during a party. But it did calm the party down and allow these kids to kind of chill out. So let's see, the time stamp on here is 4.08 p.m. So like the party was winding down and we needed to get these kids to wind down. Yeah. This is how we got them to chill out just before cake.

Shanna

Ah, yes, they are looking calm. That's good. And I mean, two hours of playtime. My big thing would be like, I spent all that money on a bounce house and balloons and face paint, and you're just going to sit and watch a free movie, you know? For sure. But you're saying they got a couple hours of all of that in already. So that's good.

Laura

They did. They did. But like, I don't know what the alternative is because you can't do it at noon for this age because so many kids nap and you You can do it at 10, but like 10 to 12 is really butting up into nap time. You know what I mean? Like if I... Like I can go to 10 to 12 parties but then I worry that Sebastian's gonna fall asleep in the car and the drive home and it's a whole thing. So I'm just saying there's no winning and that is my great.

Shanna

Yeah, yeah. Well, they'll age out of it soon. I am personally a fan of morning parties. I like getting it out of the way and doing a little lunch and then like relaxing the rest of the day. But yeah, naps of course make it trickier.

Laura

Yeah. But anyway, that was my first gripe. Felt good to complain about it. All right. Shanna, do you have another one? I do.

Shanna

My next one is a loving gripe because I appreciate that my kids have strong opinions and kids in general. This is, I think, about kids in general. Have strong opinions, love to express their opinions, et cetera. But holy moly, kids are such Know it all. I don't know if your kids are like this, but mine are such know it all. For example, the other day I told Elle that I was having a migraine and she was like, oh, it's not one of those bad ones where you're sensitive to light and throw up, is it? And I said, well, yeah, I mean, yeah, that's migraines. I don't throw up. But yeah, that's migraines. And she's like, no, it isn't. And I'm thinking, OK, she's like, it's a different kind of bad headache, like a worse headache type. And I'm like, what are you even talking about? I'm like, oh, OK, you know all about headaches? Like, what do you know? I'm a neurologist.

Laura

All right. Do your kids ever do this? Oh, Augie for sure. Sebastian's still a little young to properly express that sort of thing. I call it being mansplained by my small child. He's been mansplaining me for a couple of years now and all the time, all the time, he's telling me that I'm wrong about something. And sometimes he's right, which is extra infuriating, you know? He'll be like, no, mama, that's not a battleship. And he'll be like, oh, I think it is a battleship. And he'll be like, no, mama, it's not. And I'll look it up and I'll be like, oh, you're right. That isn't a battleship. It's a cargo ship or whatever. You know, like this is just an example that popped into my head based on last week's episode. But I feel like it's the embodiment of the Dunning-Kruger effect, you know, this idea that

Shanna

Oh my gosh, it is so true. Cici will sometimes like quiz me on math and be like, mama, what's two plus two? And I'm like, four. And she's like, no, it's 12. And I'm like, what? Or she'll even be like, it's infinity. And I'm just like, what are you even talking about? But it's not like worth it to argue with them, especially when you have sensitive kids, right? Because it's like, I try to argue with them and like tell them the right thing. It's like, oh, forget about it. So yeah.

Laura

It also kind of feels like getting gaslit by your kids because. Yes. They'll be like, mama, the sun is green. And you're like, no, it isn't. It's like, yes, it is. And you're like, OK, I just have to agree with you. Yes, it is. It's a bad example. I wish I'm going to have to try to catalog some of these. And I'll come back with them. We'll have our mansplained by a child segment. And I'll tell you all the things that Augie has argued with me.

Shanna

But the thing is, it's like after a while, they're so insistent. I'm like, is the sun actually green? Like, am I getting it wrong this whole time? Yeah.

Laura

You do know everything. Actually, that is something that Aki has said to me. He says, mama, I know everything. Cool. I'm so glad to hear it.

Shanna

Oh my gosh. Kids, kids, kids. All right. Do you have one more gripe water for us?

Laura

Yes, I do. This is a world shattering gripe. You ready for it? Oh, yes. Shatter my world, friend. Okay. I'm pretty sure you are not familiar with Lego Ninjago, right?

Shanna

Well, I do know that you made cupcake toppers with that character. That is the extent of my knowledge.

Laura

Okay. That was about the extent of my knowledge until recently, until the boys have decided they love Ninjago. And as such, I've tried to immerse myself in the world of Ninjago. We've gotten a ton of Lego Ninjago sets for their birthdays. And I'll talk a little more about that in the final segment. But recently, I saw a mom in one of my mom's groups post a whole set of Ninjago books. Like they're kind of like comics, picture books, like soft cover picture books for sale. And so I like bought four of them.

Shanna

By soft cover, do you mean like a piece of cloth? What is this soft cover?

Laura

No, no, it's just like, it's not like a hard cover book. You know what I mean? Like a paperback? It's, yeah, I guess, but it's a paperback, but it's like really thin, like a really thin volume. Oh, okay. You know what I mean? Like a comic almost, right? Oh, okay, got it. But not a comic.

Shanna

Anyway.

Laura

And I have two here because I'm going to read you a little excerpt from them. My gripe is that not only are the stories in here impossible to follow like truly impossible. But the specific gripe is that there are too many fucking names in this book, Shanna, in this whole series. Like characters? Let me just read you the first page of Ninja vs. Ninja from the Ninjago Masters of Spinjitsu series, OK? Oh, god, my brain is already spinning. OK, go. Page one. Zane had been missing for many months. The Ninja of Ice was being held prisoner on Master Chen's secret island. Cole, Jay, Kai, and Lloyd knew Zane was on the island somewhere. So when Chen invited them to take part in his Tournament of Elements, they went to search for their missing friend. But first, they had to fight in the tournament. Who are all these people?

Shanna

Who are they? Are there pictures of them?

Laura

There is a picture of four different Lego Ninjago people, but I don't know which one's which.

Shanna

Right, this is not like a My Little Pony situation where they all have like distinct features, right? Like, I don't know, Apple Jacks. Like, doesn't she have an apple on her haunches or something?

Laura

They have colors.

Shanna

Colors. Okay.

Laura

That I've since learned that I think Lloyd is the green one Kai is the red one Cole is the black one I still don't know who I guess by process of elimination that makes Jay the blue one. So yeah but then it goes on like every single page introduces a new character with no context. So like the next page has what I'm guessing is Zane in his prison cell Inside his prison cell Zane had ever gotten who he was. Where am I? You're in danger Zane you have to get out of here a familiar voice replied Who are you Zane said? I'm a friend said pixel and it's like who's pixel where'd she come from or he I don't know

Shanna

Uh, are these books just basically catalogs for their Lego products? I mean, is that the purpose?

Laura

I mean, essentially, actually what they are, I think, are novelizations of the TV show.

Shanna

Oh, they really simplify, okay.

Laura

Yeah. So then they go on, there's a fight between Turner, Master of Speed, and Gravis, Master of Gravity. Then there's Neuro, Master of Mind, and Bilobo, Master of Nature. Then it gets to Chi, Master of Fire, versus Ash, Master of Smoke. And we're supposed to like keep track of all this shit. That's just like the first couple pages of one book. Okay. Let me just read you the first page of this other book. It's called The Rescue Mission. Okay. Also, none of these are numbered, so I don't know if they're supposed to be read in any order. That was my first question, like, should I have known what was going on? But not that I can tell. Okay, it's titled A Team Divided. During the final epic battle against the Overlord, Zayn gave his life to save his team. Okay, that's dark. After losing their friend, the other ninja went their separate ways.

Shanna

This is kind of how I feel when we read the one and only Pokemon book that my girls ever got. It's just like, I don't know, for one hot minute, L was into Pokemon and we got a book. And I just like flipped through it like, what is this? I mean, there are so many worlds that are created, you know, for children with all of these characters and stories and they get immersed in them. But we as parents, we're just like, huh, what in the heck? Unless it's like, I don't know, Bluey or, you know, Paw Patrol. It's just like more simple and I can learn everyone real quick. But otherwise, it's cryptic.

Laura

Yeah, you have to know all the mythology and I don't have time for that. So. Oh, no, no.

Shanna

I mean, I look at one single Pokemon card and I'm like my brain like fritzes. I'm like, what is all this information? Have you ever seen a Pokemon card? It's like there's so much info on it and I just, I don't know.

Laura

Yeah, I don't know what's going on either. feel like I'm going to have to learn pretty soon. But yeah, we've gotten a few in happy meals and I'm just like, huh? There's a number up in the corner and they try to explain it. I'm like, I still, yeah, I don't get it.

Shanna

No, it's like, that could be your thing, kid. That'll be your thing.

Laura

But anyway, that is my current gripe about what my children are into. Check back in in a loose end segment to find out if I ever learned all the names of the different Ninjagos.

Shanna

Yes, yes indeed. Well, I guess then that wraps up our segment. Should we move on to our BFPs and BFNs?

Laura

Yes, we should.

Shanna

We're back, and we wrap up every episode with our Big Fat positives or Big Fat negatives of the week. And Laura, you're up first. What do you got for us?

Laura

I have a BFN, actually.

Shanna

Oh, no. All right. What's this all about?

Laura

Well, I don't know. I feel like I have a lot of complex emotions about it, and I just kind of want to vent here. But my BFN is that I feel like my children are on a hedonistic treadmill of getting more and more and more presence. It makes me feel like I'm like... a bad mom or something or like I'm doing something wrong because all they care about is opening more presents. And I feel like they got to the point after this party, which I specifically did not say no presents because they love presents, right? And that's what they expect from the birthday party. So I did not indicate anything about presents. And of course, people brought presents for both of them. They were so excited. But then as they were opening them, watching them do it, I'm like, are they even getting joy out of this?

Shanna

It's such a present, heavy time of year, having the Christmas and the birthday together. And I am, I don't know, I could check my notes, but I feel like 99% sure you had this same problem last year at the same time.

Laura

I probably did. It's ringing a bell for me too.

Shanna

Yeah, so I feel like obviously this is an issue for you. You're seeing a recurrent problem and maybe something does need to change. I don't know what that is. I mean, it's so hard because kids do expect presents for their birthday and it's a fun part of birthdays. Yeah, I don't know.

Laura

I don't know either. Maybe I just need to talk to my therapist about my feelings about it because it is bringing up all these concerns in me. Like, oh, he's not grateful. Or oh he needs to enjoy what he has and he's greedy and all this stuff right like I'm projecting all this stuff that he's also just being a kid you know he he's not really any of those things but of course I feel like I'm getting judged by his reaction to things and I don't know but that could be it that could definitely be it because I feel like my kids blow through presence and we have a similar

Shanna

timing problem, you know, with Cece's birthday being before Christmas and then Elle's being a few weeks after. There's a lot of furious opening and just moving from one thing to the next, but I don't know that I internalize it as much. So, yeah, maybe that could be something to explore. Yeah, yeah. But also she, you know, didn't get presents from like 70 people. Sounds like you guys had a very intense situation.

Laura

It was about 30 families, you know? So, yeah, it was a lot. And not everyone brought presents, thankfully. I do really appreciate the people who brought books. You know, like, Augie didn't, but I did. And I was like, oh, thank you. You know, Augie's like, it's not a toy. I'm like, yeah, it's better. It's a book. Like, let's Let's take it down a notch. But, um, yeah, I just, I don't know. I don't know. I hesitate to even talk about it because I feel like I can hear people being like, well, we just need to be less materialistic and you need to have fewer things and a toy rotation and all this stuff. And I'm like, you guys. I don't know if that's going to work for us, but anyway, I will say one nice thing was I kind of mentioned Ninjago slash Lego in the invitation. So people did bring a lot of Lego sets.

Shanna

So that's awesome. That's really awesome.

Laura

Like here, let me send you a picture of Augie with the Spider-Man Lego set he put together that his grandma, Sherry gave him. And I will say this one, he did require a little bit of help because I think it was for ages eight and up. So it was a little fiddly.

Shanna

Wow, that's very cool. Yeah, that's a great activity. It sounds like I wonder if your biggest issue with it is the present opening itself. You know what I mean? Like the actual act of them opening the presence, disregarding some, you know, moving on to the next one. Maybe that's the most stressful thing because as time goes on, they eventually like use the toys and play with them, right? That's true. That, yeah, absolutely. So I wonder if you could like, I don't know, perhaps like pour a glass of wine for yourself before the present opening time. Tell yourself, I'm going to sit back and let it be what it is. Those kids are going to do what they're going to do with the presents, and they will eventually enjoy them. You know, they're just going to rip through them like a bunch of rabid dogs right now, and I'm going to be chill about it.

Laura

Fair, fair. OK, that's a good plan for next year. I'll try to remember.

Shanna

Yeah, set a reminder.

Laura

Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, friend. Okay. How about you? BFP or BFN?

Shanna

Mine is actually kind of a mixture of both. It's a bit of BFP and a bit of BFN. Okay. So as you know, Elle got her ears pierced probably four months ago, back in September, and she has been waiting patiently for months. to change her earrings. The piercer specifically was like, do not change these earrings for four to five months, let it really heal. And we made it four months. I told her that on her birthday, she could finally change her earrings. And she's been getting a lot of earrings for Christmas, for her birthday. So right before we left for the hotel, she changed her earrings, right? I helped her. I took out the metal bars that she got pierced with. We put in a pair of studs, just, I don't know, cute little rainbows or something she had gotten. But they're the kind, you know, just normal earrings with like a pokey thing in the back and a backing and stuff.

Laura

You have just unlocked a memory that I have completely forgotten about, and my mom doing the exact same thing to me. Really? Uh-huh, uh-huh. It would not come out the back, and she was like, well, make it come out.

Shanna

Yeah. Yeah. That was actually the night before we went to dinner at the habit, you know, the most fancy place to wear fancy dangly earrings. Yeah. We had our matching earrings and oh, so sweet. So cute. I just love it. That's so great. Yeah. So it ultimately had a happy ending, but it was just scary there for a minute.

Laura

Oh man, I'm so glad it worked because after all that time. The last thing you want to do is get repierced. Oh my goodness. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Shanna

But yeah, that's it for me. And I think that's it for our show unless you have a five star review to read.

Laura

Oh, you know, I do. This one is from someone who goes by Tar Heel dancer on Apple podcasts. They say, my comfort companion, five stars. This podcast has been a constant go-to companion from early pregnancy through the first year of my daughter's life. Huge thanks for alternately keeping me company, helping me relax to sleep and making me laugh. It's not an exaggeration to say your content and delivery has improved the quality of my life over the past two years. Much love and appreciation.

Shanna

Aw, that's so sweet. That's really sweet. Oh my gosh. I just love the idea that we are improving the quality of anyone's life. Yours, especially Tar Heel Dance. That warms my heart.

Laura

And I also have to say that I love to hear that we put people to sleep. Hopefully not while you're driving, but I am a person who loves to listen to an audiobook or podcast to go to sleep. So I will never hold it against you if you use us to go to sleep.

Shanna

Indeed. Listeners, if you haven't had a chance yet to leave us a five star review, could you please do us a favor and head on over to Apple Podcasts, leave five stars, say a few things you love about the show and we might read it on an upcoming episode. And if you have any gripe waters you want to share with us and get off your chest, we are here for you. Laura, where can everyone reach us?

Laura

We're on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok at BFPpodcast. We have a website, bigfappositivepodcast.com. And if you want to send us an email, you can always throw a voice memo in there. Just send it to contact at bigfappositivepodcast.com. And finally, if you want to see some exclusive content from me and Shanna, and you want to join the coolest group of people on the internet, just search Facebook for Big Fat Positive Community. It is a private group, so you have to request to join and make sure you answer those two membership questions so we know you're not a robot. Once you do that, you will be sent straight through to the amazing, wonderful, supportive conversations we're having in there.

Shanna

Our show is produced by Laura Beirut, Shanna Micko, and Steve Yager. Thanks for listening, everyone. Have a big, fat positive week. Bye. Bye.