When Obsessive Compulsive Isn't Cool - Disneyland

There have been a few times in my life when Obsessive Compulsions take over.  But more often than not- it is just a disorder that I envy.  Don't get me wrong- hopping over cracks in the pavement or locking my door 82 times like Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets doesn't appeal to me.  It is the idea that I could spend hours of time doing something to perfection that sounds good.  You know, before I get distracted by my own blog, or get overwhelmed by whatever task I started obsessing about.

Some of the time obsessing has paid off:

New Babies.  Before Riley was born I stopped working the day job to focus on doing hair out of my house and to spend time every day growing the baby inside of me.  I spent a lot of time in the giant kiddie pool in my backyard wearing my bathing suit soaking up every last drop of summer reading every pregnancy book I could get my hands on.  I was well aware that I knew almost nothing about babies.  (other than that they will spit up on  you if wear anything that is dry clean only) So I read all the books.  I have to say- after I had Riley and JT changed all of her diapers in the Hospital and then I cried at home when I had to change one because JT was helping the guy repair the furnace that broke while we were in labor and I was scared that I might somehow smush her while he was in the garage- I was a pretty good mom!  (and you get 50 points if that sentence made any sense to you) But the books did help.  If any of you remember Riley as a baby you will know she slept like a champ.  (we are talking 3 naps a day and  full 12 hour nights within the first 3 months) She was pretty much a dream baby.  Whenever people commented about what a good baby she was I would say that Heavenly Father knew I would never have a second if the first was hard.  (This is actually very true)  I also promptly explained that it was the books.  It was all the books.  It was hours obsessing and studying and training for the little bundle that others instinctively knew how to raise.   It was the obsessive side of me that knew that if I fed her at 8:07a.m. she would sleep way longer than if I fed her at 8:23a.m.  It was the books telling me that the prenatal yoga I did is what made her so happy and made her poop smell good.  (ok, I think you can see that I may have gone a little too far with the books- kind of like hopping over cracks in the sidewalk) But I will say- it was helpful to be a little obsessive.


Some of the time obsessing goes very bad:

Eating.  The more I try to count calories... the more I cut out evil gooey yumminess... the more I turn down an ice cold Diet Coke... the more I want to look good- The crazier I become.  It is the same phenomenon.  Only instead of creating a perfectly well rested happy baby- I create a monster.  The kind that is irritable, frustrated, counting (playing with numbers alone is enough to make me cry), and usually gaining weight.  This obsession usually doesn't last long before I tell myself that I look better in a bigger size jeans than I do in that ugly grumpy deprived dieter face.  (the one I had on last week when JT and I cut back our treat intake)


Besides those few things, I have obsessed over... nothing.  You see, I am not very good at this OCD thing.

Until now.

I found a new obsession.  Not facebook, not pinterest (although those do help)- DISNEYLAND.

Yep, my obsession is "The Happiest Place on Earth".  But I think my obsession may turn it into "The Most Stressful Vacation on Earth".

We have been planning to go at the end of May.  We (ok, I) have been  looking forward to the break from reality, the last big fling before the official start of P.A. school, the hope of seeing a full week's worth of sunshine, and the chance to see my kids' faces light up.  I have wanted to go for a long time, but didn't think it was possible.  But thanks to some airline miles, family in California, and a bonus from JT's work- I think we can swing it!  This is where the obsession has kicked in.

I have been reading everything.  Only this time, I have not been sitting in my giant kiddie pool in the backyard #1 because it is April and still rainy (yes, I know, except for today, I know some Seattle lover wants to point out that we had two days of non rain this week) #2 because my backyard is less private in this house and I don't want all of you checking me out in my bathing suit right now- see Obsession #2 above for reasons why that would be a bad idea #3 because the baby that was in my tummy came out, along with two more and life is far too crazy to lay out all day reading about Disneyland.... So I stay up all night.  On pintrest, on blogs, on the Disneyland website. I can't get enough.  I find myself daydreaming about the kids matching shirts (that Aleisa will make :), the magical flight (yep, I l-o-v-e planes, I am looking forward to flying almost as much as California itself, strange, I know), building sand castles on the beach with Riley, eating expensive Mickey Mouse Ears ice cream with Macie, and wearing flip flops for a whole week.  *sigh*

Right here is when we think Obsessing is working out in my favor, right?  Until I went to purchase the plane tickets and realized that  Cars Land opens in June!  (obsession gone overboard)  If we go in May we are missing Cars Land by just a few weeks! (Have you met Blake? My son with the Lightning McQueen Obsession?)   My first instinct was to think that I wouldn't go in the summer anyways because of crowds, but then I went to the Crowd Counter chart (which I found online during one of my midnight obsessions) and saw that the very end of August isn't that busy.  We could go then.  JT will have that time off between quarters, and we are almost guaranteed good weather.  But the plane tickets are more expensive in the summer. (does anyone know if those will drop?)  And it could get pretty hot...

And here is where it goes bad.

How can I decide?  Go now when the lines aren't as long, and the weather is mild (since my kids sweat like crazy in the heat)?  Wait until August so that Blake can experience Cars Land?  Go now since Macie cried herself to sleep tonight because I mentioned Disneyland and she thought we were going today?  Wait till August so that we can go on a weekday and still have the park open late to see the fireworks and Fantasmic?  Go now when I need the break?  Wait until August when I will need the break?  Go now when I am already obsessing about it - so that I don't spend the whole summer in the kiddie pool researching?  Go in August so that I have the whole summer to sit in the kiddie pool researching?

Are you exhausted yet?  How did Jack Nicholson do it???

I know it has not worked in the past for me to ask a question and solicit tons of advice on my blog (even though I dream of asking an important question, like this one, and taking a pole and getting thousands of responses from my 3 readers) - I am going to ask anyways:

 
What should I do??  What would you do??  Please, help me stop obsessing!