Three Generations going to the World!

[tarak]

Originally Posted by PracPerfPatricia

I'm thinking that unless you are really dead set against it-you should try out for AI at the Studios...

they really push it-push it hard... in the morning when everyone is lined up at rope drop...there are producers from the show and talent scouts recruiting all over the place...

so if its something you've ever thought about-it's a good chance...I wouldn't give the age thing a second thought...

Hmm. I can always look at the song list (I'm assuming it's somewhere on this board - I don't think there's been one piece of information that I couldn't get here). Maybe my friend who's coming to our grand gathering next year would do it with me.

[tarak]

The Dude’s godmother stopped by on Sunday night with her brother and mother. They are lovely people who adore our kids (and our kids adore them right back). Thea Irene is an older Greek lady who looks not unlike the Yia Yia in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I have never seen her wear anything but black and she is somewhat severe. She has no grandchildren and loves to see our kids (usually about once a month). Not having grown up in a Greek family, I think I would have been terrified by her as a child. The second time Jeckle met her, she grabbed Thea Irene by the hand and dragged her into the living room to watch Spongebob. I don’t think Thea Irene knew what hit her. She tends to be very protective of our kids and every time they visit, she lectures my husband about not having a fence around our yard (there’s a pretty tragic back story behind that, so her reaction is understandable, but it still drives my husband batty).

At any rate, the Dude’s godmother mentioned that godparent’s weekend has been moved to the 25th of October (it’s usually some time in the Spring). She asked if we were still going to be in Florida. I just said that we’d be in town. Heckle was present at the time, but fortunately didn’t pick up on anything. The word “Disney” might have caused some sort of Pavlovian response (would she drool, start listing the rides she has to go on, or just go upstairs and pack a suitcase?), but fortunately the word “Florida” just doesn’t hold the same magic. Any questions would have been passed off as a mistake about next year’s trip. But still. My husband’s family has a long history of spilling the beans a few days shy of the surprise (my SIL’s husband gave away my surprise bridal shower a week early and her daughter gave up the surprise baby shower a few years later). I have less than two weeks to go. I feel like avoiding his family completely for the next 12 days.

The garage sale wasn’t a complete bust, since I did manage to get rid of a few things. However, we have a lot of clothes and a few toys left. It drizzled all morning – luckily we have a garage, so we still had people stop by. We made brownies and sold them for $.25 each or free with purchase. We didn’t give too many away, let’s just put it that way. The Dude ate 3, I think and then we spent the morning playing hide the plate of brownies from the two year old. At one point, Jeckle declared that she needed to eat a brownie or she was going to die. I think she may have been exaggerating things a bit.

We managed to sell enough to cover the cost of the newspaper ad and the brownie mix, plus a few bucks. So all was not lost. My good friend is having a neighborhood wide sale this Saturday and it looks like the weather gods are going to cooperate a bit more, so I’ll shlep what’s left (along with Heckle and possibly Jeckle) over to her place bright and early Saturday in the hopes that we can unload the rest. Then it’s on to the flu shot clinic followed by a birthday party at the Viper Pit. When I first saw the name of the venue, I thought “what a horrible place to have a birthday party.” Then I remembered that River Phoenix died in front of the Viper Room, not the Viper Pit. Totally different place. Plus, the Viper Pit is in Etters, Pennsylvania, not West Hollywood, California. Again, totally different place. Although I still find the name Viper Pit a bit unnerving. This is for a group of 6 year olds, after all, and not my high school gym class.

[disneygirlinnj]

Awww, I still swear that the YiaYia in My Big Fat Greek Wedding was completely based off my YiaYia...except mine was a little rounder in the middle region. Always in black and pretty stern, and always cursing of the Turks. But did have a complete soft side to her. Glad Heckle didn't pick up on the slipup!

[Flossbolna]

Sorry that the garage sale did not go better and good luck for the next saturday. I hope you can keep your secret. When we were small my sister was really good at finding her presents before her birthday or christmas. She did not search for them, but just happened to come across them. My mother was really desperate about that!!

[tarak]

Originally Posted by disneygirlinnj

Awww, I still swear that the YiaYia in My Big Fat Greek Wedding was completely based off my YiaYia...except mine was a little rounder in the middle region. Always in black and pretty stern, and always cursing of the Turks. But did have a complete soft side to her. Glad Heckle didn't pick up on the slipup!

I think Thea Irene is a softy as well. She doesn't have any grandchildren of her own, but I think she thinks of ours the same way. I don't know if I have the relationship right, but I believe she's my FIL's first cousin.

My husband's parents took him to Greece when he graduated from college. At one point, they decided to visit Turkey. All their Greek relatives were horrified that they would voluntarily step foot in Turkey. I think they just agreed to not discuss it anymore.

Originally Posted by Flossbolna

Sorry that the garage sale did not go better and good luck for the next saturday. I hope you can keep your secret. When we were small my sister was really good at finding her presents before her birthday or christmas. She did not search for them, but just happened to come across them. My mother was really desperate about that!!

My sister was the absolute worst when it comes to snooping for presents. I usually liked to be surprised. I think I'll be able to fool them if anyone slips up in the next few days. If being a lawyer hasn't done anything else, it's definitely improved my ability to bend the truth. Or, you know, lie.

[PracPerfPatricia]

Originally Posted by tarak

The Dude’s godmother stopped by on Sunday night with her brother and mother. They are lovely people who adore our kids (and our kids adore them right back). Thea Irene is an older Greek lady who looks not unlike the Yia Yia in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I have never seen her wear anything but black and she is somewhat severe. omg-BFGW is a film I watch when I just want something that will make me laugh a little---you actually know someone like Yia Yia...do you know anyone like the aunt who makes the lamp shades and talks about her bipopsy...(the whole twin story-simultaneously funny and gruesome.../)... ...

The second time Jeckle met her, she grabbed Thea Irene by the hand and dragged her into the living room to watch Spongebob. I don’t think Thea Irene knew what hit her. She probably loved it-no one probably had done that to her before... ...

At any rate, the Dude’s godmother mentioned that godparent’s weekend has been moved to the 25th of October (it’s usually some time in the Spring). She asked if we were still going to be in Florida. I just said that we’d be in town. Heckle was present at the time, but fortunately didn’t pick up on anything. The word “Disney” might have caused some sort of Pavlovian response (would she drool, start listing the rides she has to go on, or just go upstairs and pack a suitcase?), but fortunately the word “Florida” just doesn’t hold the same magic. They're still young too...so you're right Florida doesn't automatically equal DisneyWorld...Any questions would have been passed off as a mistake about next year’s trip. But still.... I.

The garage sale wasn’t a complete bust, since I did manage to get rid of a few things. However, we have a lot of clothes and a few toys left. It drizzled all morning – luckily we have a garage, so we still had people stop by. We made brownies and sold them for $.25 each or free with purchase. We didn’t give too many away, let’s just put it that way. The Dude ate 3, I think and then we spent the morning playing hide the plate of brownies from the two year old. At one point, Jeckle declared that she needed to eat a brownie or she was going to die. I knew I liked Jeckle-I told you she was a young woman who knows her own mind...She/and or Heckle are welcome to come on a road trip to Philadelphia anytime to visit me...anytime they'd like...I miss not having a little girl anymore...(my little girl is going to be 15 next month...

Then it’s on to the flu shot clinic (Great Minds-yeah we'll be doing that this weekend too...followed by a birthday party at the Viper Pit. When I first saw the name of the venue, I thought “what a horrible place to have a birthday party.” Then I remembered that River Phoenix died in front of the Viper Room, not the Viper Pit. Totally different place. Plus, the Viper Pit is in Etters, Pennsylvania, not West Hollywood, California. Again, totally different place. Although I still find the name Viper Pit a bit unnerving. I have to agree with you-even the Viper Pit as opposed to the Viper Room sounds a little I don't know-underworld for a group of 6 year olds... This is for a group of 6 year olds, after all, and not my high school gym class.

Hmm...wonder what goes on at the Viper Pit when it isn't hosting 6 year olds...

Wow-you're just getting closer and closer to your trip...

[tarak]

Originally Posted by PracPerfPatricia

Hmm...wonder what goes on at the Viper Pit when it isn't hosting 6 year olds...

Wow-you're just getting closer and closer to your trip...

I’m so happy to be this close. I went ahead with the online check-in this morning and that seemed to work like a charm. I wasn't sure it took the celebrations I tried to add because after that I got some message about "technical difficulty." I'll try to call later - I made the reservation with a TA - if Disney reservations won't talk to me, I'll send my TA an email asking her to send the message. She's been pretty responsive whenever I've emailed her. Tomorrow, I can officially do the single digit dance (although really, I’m only counting work days at this point, so I’m already there).

Jeckle definitely has her opinions. Last night, she was going through the guidebook she had for our trip last year and pointed out all the rides she didn’t like. Even the ones that are gentle (like the boat ride at the Mexico pavilion) she said she probably shouldn’t go on because she “might throw up.” She must realize that vomit is to most people like garlic is to a vampire. When we were at WDW last December, I took the video camera and recorded their comments for posterity. Jeckle has since changed her mind about POTC, but the rest of the rides are on her “not good” list.

Jeckle at the Magic Kingdom
Jeckle at Epcot

I think a meet-up in Phillie would be wonderful! One of these weekends, I really want to take them to some of the museums. I’m still kicking myself for not making it there when the King Tut exhibit was in town.

So we got the approval for Heckle to miss school for the week. She has to write a report or create a photo essay of what she learned. I’m thinking of a few things we can do (other than take photos of the animals at the lodge or at AK) - we could take the cultural tour and take pictures for the photo essay. Another possibility would be to go listen to the folktales at the firepit (which I planned to do anyway) and then try to take photos that would match the story? I’m sure there are lots of things that would work for us.

[tarak]

Single digit dance

[TxMickeyLover]

Originally Posted by tarak

Single digit dance

Yay for you!!

[disneygirlinnj]

YAYYYY for single digit dances!!!

[PracPerfPatricia]

WOW-1 week...Are you Ready?

[tarak]

Originally Posted by TxMickeyLover

Yay for you!!

Originally Posted by disneygirlinnj

YAYYYY for single digit dances!!!

Originally Posted by PracPerfPatricia

WOW-1 week...Are you Ready?

Thanks, everyone! Six more sleeps until Disney! Three more sleeps ‘til we camp in Gettysburg! Three days of work left!

Okay. I have that out of my system. I have started packing. Over the weekend, I told the girls I was going through and taking out their summer clothes that they probably wouldn’t fit into next year (along with their bathing suits, which are really in need of replacement next summer). These have been stored in a bag in my closet (which they rarely go into – even if they did, I’d just tell them I’m collecting for the salvation army). I will wait until they go to bed on Sunday night to pack their Halloween costumes. They tend to rummage through that closet a lot and would notice them missing. Thanks to a tip on the budget subforum, I picked up red Disney crocs for the girls. They will be perfect for Jeckle’s Minnie costume. They are a little big, but white socks should do the trick. She’s 5, she can get away with the socks and crocs combo.

Heckle’s tennis shoes finally wore out, so I ordered her a new pair of skechers. They should arrive today, thanks to the wonder that is Zappos.com. I bless and curse the day I discovered Zappos. Skechers now has an Ed Hardyish line that seems like just the thing that Tinkerbelle would wear. If she wore tennis shoes. When I showed Heckle the pair I ordered, she jumped up and down and squealed. I just hope they fit. I have already told Heckle that she is not allowed to crush the back of the shoe down as if she were wearing a pair of clogs. And she will wear socks so her feet don’t stink. Or the next pair she gets will be plain, white tennis shoes made by stride-rite (which is the brand for babies, according to her). They won’t have a speck of bling. The heels won’t even light up.

I also started getting some of my own things together. The rest of my Halloween costume is supposed to arrive today, so I’ll be able to try that on and hopefully it will all fit. I have no desire to wear boots in 90+ degree heat, however, and wonder if pirates ever wore sandals. I’m thinking that this pirate will.

Work has predictably started to get crazy on me. Lots of stuff to draft. Lots of last minute drama. If history serves, however, it will all be waiting for me when I return (this has been the case each time I’ve been on maternity leave for a twelve week stretch, so I’m guessing one week won’t be considered a big deal). But one must be prepared. Or so the boy scouts say. So does Tom Lehrer, although in his case, to paraphrase Inigo Montoya, I don’t think it means what you think it means.

On the home front, we discovered that two of the downspouts from our roof are rotted through where they connect in the ground to the pipe that takes the water out to the street. Or rather should be taking it out to the street. Instead, it has been pooling in our basement and I discovered some delightfully mildewed paneling and carpet on Saturday night. On the bright side, I’ve been wanting to rip out that carpet for a while and the old 70’s paneling was hideous even before it was mildew stained. On the dark side, it’s considered “seepage” and not a plumbing failure, so our 7+ years of insurance premiums have yielded no help whatsoever. At least we have a temporary fix for the downspouts (and it’s supposed to rain for the next several days, so that’s a very good thing). The joys of home ownership...

[Flossbolna]

Tara, I think I might not get to post again before you leave. I hope you have a wonderful trip and bring back many pictures of AKL as well as many unforgettable memories!

[tarak]

Originally Posted by Flossbolna

Tara, I think I might not get to post again before you leave. I hope you have a wonderful trip and bring back many pictures of AKL as well as many unforgettable memories!

Thanks, Flossbolna! I plan to take a lot of photos - also, since my husband won't be there to laugh at me, I may take food pics. At least of the offerings for the food and wine fest.

[tarak]

Well - they don't. Except when I'm camping with my kids and it rains the whole time and the kids are stir crazy (and I don't blame them because I am as well). We managed to get one round of s'mores in before the deluge. I have to give props to DH - he said it wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it was going to be. Considering it was pretty bad, I'd have to put his expectations somewhere around the 7th circle of Dante's Inferno.

The kids got up promptly at 5:45 each morning. Except this morning - when Heckle got up once around 2 a.m. to tell me she thought her throat was bleeding (I told her to make sure and get back to me). Then at 4 a.m. when she'd managed to break open a glow bracelet all over the blanket and was I going to go to jail because of it (I told her no - I was tempted to say that I would only go to jail for killing her if she woke me up again, but I think she'd take me seriously and cry and even I'm not that heartless). Then at 5, we heard the dude shrieking because Heckle had climbed into his pack and play. At that point, I told her she was grounded. Yeah - she's six and doesn't have a driver's license - I'm tempted to wait until she does, though and say "remember that time you almost crushed your brother in his porta-crib? Well, you can't take the car anywhere this weekend." At some point, Heckle and Jeckle both showed up and crawled into bed with us, so there were four of us in a seemingly small queen sized bed. Then all was blissfully quiet until about 7:45.

But, hey, we go to Florida in 12 hours! The girls still don't know. I still don't know whether to let them guess, or just tell them. I'm tempted to just pop the planning DVD into the player in the car on the way to the airport and see how they react. If you hear loud shrieking coming from general vicinity of Hershey, PA, that will be them!

Off to bed. This will probably be my last post until sometime next week when it will be a TR report, I suppose, and not a PTR.