Come on kids- we're going to Disney World!!!

[xanphylus]

Wahoo!!!! I booked our trip about 1 hour ago and I have already started making reservations for dining and I am sooo bouncing off the walls right now. I booked the free dining for Feb 2011! I LOVE it!!!

ok..... calm down time here.

background info!

Hi! I'm the crazy Disney mom, Jenn. My DH, John, tolerates my obsessions with planning and taking these trips on occasion. We have two great kids, DD9- Aleks, and DS1 David. We were planning two smaller trips, one to Universal for DD's 10th Birthday Surprise, and one for DS's 3rd Birthday- but, I saw the free dining and hoped on board with just the one, bigger trip.

We were planning a smaller, 4 day, 3 night trip in a cheap hotel and using our free Disney tickets one day and buying a Universal ticket for one day as well for DD's birthday, and a bigger, hoping-for-free dining-and-cheaper-tickets-before-he-turns 3 birthday trip for Davy. (say that 3 times fast! ) But, I saw the free dining for in Feb and figured we did DS's first birthday in the world, so it should be DD's turn now!

Now my only issue is when to go to Universal to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter...... hmmmm I am a Potter freak and so is DD, so it is a must do this time. So should we go and stay an extra day in another hotel? HELP!!! It's a good predicament to be in though!

[xanphylus]

Ok. Now for some more info about us, the wonderful family you are helping plan this super, secret, surprise trip to Disney World!!!!

Yes, you heard me right! I am not telling the kiddos until the morning we leave. Here's my plan! We will pack the car the night before and since DH works at night, he will have to drive a loaded with crap car to work.... lol.... and when he gets home, as usual around 7:30 am, we will finish getting DD ready for school, but instead of heading to the bus stop- we breeze right on by it, waving to her friends! Then she will realize the car is packed to the gills with suitcases and bags, if not before this point! And we will hand her a card or some such telling her she is going to Disney World and Universal Studios. How's it sound? Should I change anything?


Ok.... back to the about us portion of this PTR.

I'm Jenn, 31.... or is it 32? Either way, early 30's! I married DH April Fool's Day 2007. You know what they say, only fools fall in love! We had been together for about 2 years before that. DD was in the wedding as flower girl- she is actually my step-daughter, but closer to me than her mother. So, for future reference, she IS my DD! And we have a DS who will be 2 in Sept. He is my world! I'm a stay at home mommy right now- can't find a job anyone? So I hang with Davy all day. It's a great deal!

Need some faces?

Me- Mommy


DH- John My loving hubby!


DD- Aleks My pretty birthday girl!


DS- Davy Boy My world!


I'll be back with more later. It's a school night and I gotta get Alesk up in the morning. I also have to clean up all my Disney information- so she doesn't find it! I am gonna have SUCH a hard time not spoiling the surprise when I am sooooo excited!!!!

[xanphylus]

I am about ready to cancel everything. I dunno what to do..... If we go the dates we have scheduled, we will be super broke and not be able to afford anything. We might even have bill issues such as the extra ones like having to pay for DD's flight to MI for Christmas..... court ordered visit to her mother's house. UGH!!!!

Me and DH are arguing..... I say wait until Sept and for her birthday, give her a huge card and balloons at her party that says she will be going to Disney and Universal to celebrate her in sept at the MNSSHP. He says that she will think we are there for her brother's birthday again. His birthday is in Sept. I think she has more sense than that and she won't care either way. DH says this trip was supposed to be for her at her birthday. I told him that if we do it then, no free dining, no Disney and no resort. We would have to do only Universal, at a regular cheap hotel and pay for all food. And then the trip could only be feb 11-14, not the Sept. 29- Oct 3 or 4 I started to re-plan.

He still says, I dunno...... he is really irritating me and not helping at all here. Anyone have any no flame suggestions??? I don't need any more stress......

[xanphylus]

Ok. Catastrophe diverted!

We discussed it... and argued about it a good bit.... But a decision has been made. And by the surprise victim, unknown to her of course. I swear, the child should be blond. Over the past few weeks I had already been asking her "for a friend" who is taking their child on a birthday trip, where they should go.

I asked her the other week, "If my friend's kid has already been to Disney, should they do Disney again, or Universal?"

She of course screamed, "Harry Potter!!!!"

So, thus far, we know she wants Universal.

I booked the Disney for a great price, but once we add in another day and Univeral tickets and food for that day- it is way over budget. So that was where our problem was. We could do a cheaper, 2 day tickets of Universal only at a regular hotel, or wait 6 months after her birthday (when we have income taxes in and hubby's bonus) and go on a 5/6 day trip with Disney and Universal with free dining.

I said "duh, choose the bigger and better!"
Hubby said "but it's not her birthday then- it's David's."
But I said "it's who you celebrate, not the date that matters."
So we argued most of today.

So- I thought, ask her! He agreed. Sooo......

I asked her when she came in from school, "So if you could have a big, cool present for your birthday, or a bigger version of it 6 months later- after your brother's birthday next year- which would you choose?" She, like I knew and prayed she would- answered, "The bigger one!"

Now I have to call Disney, while she is either outside or at school tomorrow- change our reservations to Sept 2011. That makes our trip 1 year from now!!! UGH! But I still can't wait. Time flies. And at least then I get my free dining, she gets her Universal (me too! ) and we all get Disney. Since her little bro will only be able to do a little there anyway, it seems like a better overall trip.

Glad all that is over with!!!

Now I can keep thinking and planning how we are going to tell her and when!

[J'sMum]

Hi !!!!! i'm subbing And all i can say is NO WAY on your anniversary date !!!! we was married on april fools day too Ours was funny.. we was in an argument mind you we was 19.. i looked at now DH and said we might as well get married we fight like we are he said ok lets do it.. i said fine we will.. we walked down got a marriage license application.. called everyone said come over to house on saturday.. we had no idea it was april fools till the actual day.. we forgot to pick up our license!! so we left everyone sitting at our apt.. left to go get it so everyone thought it was an April Fools Joke .. LOL it wasnt and 15 yrs later........

I;m so glad you guys have things settled on when to go, bites that you have to wait longer but at least you can still go

[xanphylus]

Originally Posted by J'sMum

Hi !!!!! i'm subbing And all i can say is NO WAY on your anniversary date !!!! we was married on april fools day too Ours was funny.. we was in an argument mind you we was 19.. i looked at now DH and said we might as well get married we fight like we are he said ok lets do it.. i said fine we will.. we walked down got a marriage license application.. called everyone said come over to house on saturday.. we had no idea it was april fools till the actual day.. we forgot to pick up our license!! so we left everyone sitting at our apt.. left to go get it so everyone thought it was an April Fools Joke .. LOL it wasnt and 15 yrs later........

I;m so glad you guys have things settled on when to go, bites that you have to wait longer but at least you can still go

That's great that we have the same anniversary!!! If you go to Disney for yours, we will so have to meet you there! We live in GA, so it's not too bad of a drive. We went there for our honeymoon! It would be great! And hopefully this time, hubby wouldn't loose the dern keys to our car.

Yes, he lost our keys on our honeymoon....... Cost us about $400 extra to have our car broken into and new keys made and many, many tears from me... it was horrid. Disney couldn't even tell us our car would not be towed that night when we left it in the parking lot. We were the LAST people to leave that night. Kinda scary actually. Had to get a taxi and ugh...... the locksmith that came that night didn't wanna stay and finish the job and told us to call them back in the morning. Needless to say, I did. And they got an ear full. They came and picked us up for free the next morning at our hotel, finished the job and paid us back for the taxi from the night before. I still have nightmares....

I would love to re-do that trip. No kids! And no DH saying, in the middle of the light parade, "uhhhhhh..... where's the keys?"

I actually told him to give me the keys that morning when we got there too!
He said, "No, I got em. You think I'm gonna loose them?" LOL!!!

I should have listened to my gut and kept them. He had locked our keys in the car after the wedding, when we were about to go out with the fam. Yes, twice in two days...... It was funny though. When he locked the keys in the car,
Aleks looked at me and said,
"Next time you get married Jenn, don't marry a dork!"


It was a priceless moment that I will cherish forever. I love that kid!

[J'sMum]

Originally Posted by xanphylus

That's great that we have the same anniversary!!! If you go to Disney for yours, we will so have to meet you there! We live in GA, so it's not too bad of a drive. We went there for our honeymoon! It would be great! And hopefully this time, hubby wouldn't loose the dern keys to our car.

Yes, he lost our keys on our honeymoon....... Cost us about $400 extra to have our car broken into and new keys made and many, many tears from me... it was horrid. Disney couldn't even tell us our car would not be towed that night when we left it in the parking lot. We were the LAST people to leave that night. Kinda scary actually. Had to get a taxi and ugh...... the locksmith that came that night didn't wanna stay and finish the job and told us to call them back in the morning. Needless to say, I did. And they got an ear full. They came and picked us up for free the next morning at our hotel, finished the job and paid us back for the taxi from the night before. I still have nightmares....

I would love to re-do that trip. No kids! And no DH saying, in the middle of the light parade, "uhhhhhh..... where's the keys?"

I actually told him to give me the keys that morning when we got there too!
He said, "No, I got em. You think I'm gonna loose them?" LOL!!!

I should have listened to my gut and kept them. He had locked our keys in the car after the wedding, when we were about to go out with the fam. Yes, twice in two days...... It was funny though. When he locked the keys in the car,
Aleks looked at me and said,
"Next time you get married Jenn, don't marry a dork!"


It was a priceless moment that I will cherish forever. I love that kid!

LOL Oh My that is too cute,You know what they say tho, old wives tale.. Something must go wrong on wedding day or honeymoon for it to stand true.

I am full of old wives tales as we come from a 100% Irish family
However, its the moments like that , that are rememered best, can you imagine it without it? As fun as it would have been it would have been a mosly traditional uneventful trip, this way you have that story to tell and of course something to tease with for life hahaha, too cute

[Minnie J]

Originally Posted by J'sMum

LOL Oh My that is too cute,You know what they say tho, old wives tale.. Something must go wrong on wedding day or honeymoon for it to stand true.

I am full of old wives tales as we come from a 100% Irish family
However, its the moments like that , that are rememered best, can you imagine it without it? As fun as it would have been it would have been a mosly traditional uneventful trip, this way you have that story to tell and of course something to tease with for life hahaha, too cute

This is definitely true about the old wives tale. My wedding was December 18th,2008. I was driving and I noticed I needed to stop for gas. I pulled in the station and ran smack dab into...a Police officer!! Well the only thing that got me out of trouble was my son who said,"please don't take my mommy to jail. She'll be good!"

[xanphylus]

Just a quick update! Aleks still has no idea we are going to Disney in a year, even though I keep asking her questions about what she would want to do and where she would want to eat if we ever went again.... lol. Poor kid!

She surprised me and actually said she would rather do MNSSHP over going to Universal and seeing the new Harry Potter place.... crazy! She has already been to MNSSHP once, never to Universal at all. I bet she might change her mind when she finds out she gets to choose one for real!

On another note- We drove all the way down to Fernbank today (a natural history museum we are members at) to go to the dinosaur birthday bash, and there we so many people there- you couldn't even turn into the parking lot.... ugh. So we drove our disappointed kids around Atlanta some and finally just ended up eating lunch at the Cracker Barrel. It wasn't the same as a party, but it was good. And when I got home- I got a present! I won a MP3 player from Napster a while back and it came in! It's really neat too... it even has a video feature!

[J'sMum]

Originally Posted by xanphylus

Just a quick update! Aleks still has no idea we are going to Disney in a year, even though I keep asking her questions about what she would want to do and where she would want to eat if we ever went again.... lol. Poor kid!

She surprised me and actually said she would rather do MNSSHP over going to Universal and seeing the new Harry Potter place.... crazy! She has already been to MNSSHP once, never to Universal at all. I bet she might change her mind when she finds out she gets to choose one for real!

On another note- We drove all the way down to Fernbank today (a natural history museum we are members at) to go to the dinosaur birthday bash, and there we so many people there- you couldn't even turn into the parking lot.... ugh. So we drove our disappointed kids around Atlanta some and finally just ended up eating lunch at the Cracker Barrel. It wasn't the same as a party, but it was good. And when I got home- I got a present! I won a MP3 player from Napster a while back and it came in! It's really neat too... it even has a video feature!

Awww Bummer on the dinosaur b-day bash But how cool on the MP3 Player !

[xanphylus]

Originally Posted by J'sMum

Awww Bummer on the dinosaur b-day bash But how cool on the MP3 Player !

Yeah. If we decide to do it next year, we will leave way earlier! I wanted to leave at 10, but the fam was running late as usual.... oh well- it wasn't meant to be! And I am having fun with my MP3 player. So is Davy! He loves it.

Now I am working on embroidering a pair of blue jeans for Aleks' Christmas. Yes, I am one of those nuts who shops early. I have too, otherwise the kids would have nothing for Christmas. We can't afford to go out and blow money like that, but if I spend $10 here or there, its all good. I appliqued a purple heart to the bottom of the leg and now, I am sewing around the heart in diff colors of embroidery threads. It looks cute, but not as good as a machine could do- but it's ok, I made it with love instead! Maybe I will try to make Davy a pair of jeans with a blue Mickey head later!

[xanphylus]

oops..... double post... stinkin puter!

[xanphylus]

Hello! Nothing to really report here....

I am getting Davy a ride on train tomorrow that a friend found on Craig's list for me. $10!!! This thing is like a $199 inthe stores, allbeit- no track with this one... but hey- he can live without the track, and I need a new battery. Good deal still. And he will be very excited. He squealed when he saw the picture of it.

Aleks has been whiny about her silly bands being stolen at school..... now they are banned in her class, yet she still wants more? I don't get. I guess, yeah- she can still wear them with her friends after school and to Girl Scouts and church.... so, ok... yeah. I can almost see her point.... although I think silly bands are just that- silly. (and a waste of money..... but she buys the fake ones with her $.....)


My family is silly...

[J'sMum]

Originally Posted by xanphylus

Yeah. If we decide to do it next year, we will leave way earlier! I wanted to leave at 10, but the fam was running late as usual.... oh well- it wasn't meant to be! And I am having fun with my MP3 player. So is Davy! He loves it.

Now I am working on embroidering a pair of blue jeans for Aleks' Christmas. Yes, I am one of those nuts who shops early. I have too, otherwise the kids would have nothing for Christmas. We can't afford to go out and blow money like that, but if I spend $10 here or there, its all good. I appliqued a purple heart to the bottom of the leg and now, I am sewing around the heart in diff colors of embroidery threads. It looks cute, but not as good as a machine could do- but it's ok, I made it with love instead! Maybe I will try to make Davy a pair of jeans with a blue Mickey head later!

Love that idea about the jeans !
Since i can sew straight lines atm (almost hahaha) I am going to see about making both kids a quilt, My grandmother gave me this strange triangle thing with #'s all over it.. and this fabric cutter that is super sharp and almost looks like a pizza cutter. Um I am positive that this will nto be straight and have 1000001 errors but again it will be a try this is a very old chilly house so I know they will appreciate it hehe and my nana had also given me a tote of fabric ... Guess she was trying to boot me into gear on trying to sew ?

Originally Posted by xanphylus

Hello! Nothing to really report here....

I am getting Davy a ride on train tomorrow that a friend found on Craig's list for me. $10!!! This thing is like a $199 inthe stores, allbeit- no track with this one... but hey- he can live without the track, and I need a new battery. Good deal still. And he will be very excited. He squealed when he saw the picture of it.

Aleks has been whiny about her silly bands being stolen at school..... now they are banned in her class, yet she still wants more? I don't get. I guess, yeah- she can still wear them with her friends after school and to Girl Scouts and church.... so, ok... yeah. I can almost see her point.... although I think silly bands are just that- silly. (and a waste of money..... but she buys the fake ones with her $.....)


My family is silly...

Um are theses those bracelets that are in shapes? hearts flowers dinosaurs animals etc which i was trying to understand how comfy they could be? If so let me know and i can send you a couple packets, store down here sells the name brand ones for 99cents think its a 5 pack or 10 pack? Reny's anyways is the store.

[xanphylus]

Originally Posted by J'sMum

Love that idea about the jeans !
Since i can sew straight lines atm (almost hahaha) I am going to see about making both kids a quilt, My grandmother gave me this strange triangle thing with #'s all over it.. and this fabric cutter that is super sharp and almost looks like a pizza cutter. Um I am positive that this will nto be straight and have 1000001 errors but again it will be a try this is a very old chilly house so I know they will appreciate it hehe and my nana had also given me a tote of fabric ... Guess she was trying to boot me into gear on trying to sew ?

That would be so cool to sew a quilt! I wish my sewing machine worked, or even that I knew how to use it. I took it to a friend who sews, and she couldn't figure out what was up with it either.... She said to take it to a sewing shop and have them look at it and see if they could fix it, but I really don't have the money right now- so it will have to wait. And I don't have quite the patience to hand sew a whole quilt I don't think. I dunno. It might be fun to try!

Originally Posted by J'sMum

Um are theses those bracelets that are in shapes? hearts flowers dinosaurs animals etc which i was trying to understand how comfy they could be? If so let me know and i can send you a couple packets, store down here sells the name brand ones for 99cents think its a 5 pack or 10 pack? Reny's anyways is the store.

Aleks would probably crap herself to get any mail from people. She loves mail! I think all kids do. She loves those bands. They really aren't band to wear, and I am on the "Pooh" sized end, and I can stillwear them to make her happy. Davy even wears them! It's funny. He has dinosaur ones and she has music and all kinds of other ones, but she hasn't got flower ones or hearts.