A pregnant mama, Mr. Crazypants, and Ga-Gae celebrate Epcots 30th! TR LINK-10/16!

[ladylyons]

Congrats on planning a 10 year anniversary trip! Are you guys going to Disneyland? I'd love to get out there, maybe in a year or two!

Disneyland is our home away from home so we try to go at least once a year. But this last year I some how managed to talk my DH into an annual pass so between May 2011 and May 2012 we went 6 times!!! It was a great year.

Our 10th Anniversary trip will be to WDW if airfare cooperates. And it may be a kidless trip if I can find a way to make it work and not feel guilty about going with out them.


Good luck on the move. Whether your moving down the street or out of state moving is never any fun. That's great tht your family is so helpful!!

 

[afwdwfan]

Good luck with the move and keeping everything in order. Reading your description of the piles and packing things in trash bags made me think of Toy Story 3.

I love the Contemporary, and one of these days, I swear I will stay there... even though DW doesn't like it at all. I don't see how anyone could not like a hotel that has a monorail running through the middle of it and is right next to the Magic Kingdom. I mean it is unique, has a great location, and is just absolutely awesome.

 

[khertz]

Good luck with the move!

Wow, so jealous you are staying at the Contemporary!! I can see how that would be super convenient for MK & Epcot since you are by yourself, which is another plus. Hopefully you will get pixie dusted with a fantastic view as well.

 

[shan23877]

Packing and complaining about packing is hard work! I'm with you.

Good luck with the move, so nice to have your family to help you out! I hate feeling so unsettled, and it make you feel so guilty when the kids (and pets) are too.

Yay for the Contemporary!!!! The monorail will be really nice for you guys. Holding a child's hand while folding a stroller and all their stuff=impossible. Good call.

 

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

Yippee for the Contemporary!!! I have always wanted to stay there. I keep telling DH that is will be more worth the money now when we have a little one and will be spending the most time at the Magic Kingdom! He just thinks I'm trying to blow all our hard earned money!

 

[amazingact21]

Great resort choice. I love the idea that you're taking Everett and your mom to the same Disney resort that you went to with your family. Plus, I can only imagine how useful taking the monorail will be with a toddler and while being pregnant.

The Contemporary pool view definitely beats looking out an office window, but I just don't think I'd have enough self control not to put the laptop down and swim for a while.

 

[CandleontheWater]

I'm so completely jealous that you're staying at the Contemporary! But, since I like you, I'm also extremely happy for you!

I think it's a fantastic location for y'all! I mean, it really can't be beat!

I would love to hear about the Anniversary trip!

And that's so wonderful that your family is being so helpful with the move. I definitely understand the whole packing/complaining about packing thing. Then, you move & you get to unpack/complain about unpacking. We've been settled for about a week now & I'm still complaining about the move.

I do hope that everything goes very smoothly for y'alls move!

Aww thanks, I'm glad I'm still on your good side, despite staying in your dream hotel! You guys will get there, and it will make it even sweeter when you do!

Yes, I think I'm going to be complaining about this move for a good long time. I remember last time we moved I was pregnant with Everett and I was thinking that no move could be harder than that one, now I'm pregnant and have a toddler so it has only gotten worse, I'm cringing to think what the next move will bring!

Good luck with the move, thank goodness for your awesome family! The stress must be over the top for you! I'm sticking around to hear how the move goes and how your trip planning is taking shape. I hope you are feeling well too!

I think I'm handling everything pretty well, but my DH is on def-con 12 freak-out mode. He doesn't do change well and pretty much hates anything that disturbs his routine. I have no idea why he thought the military would be a good career choice! Well, it all will be over soon (at least that is what I keep repeating in my head!).

Best wishes on your move! I know packing for college can be stressful, so I can't even fathom packing an entire house!

Hooray for the Contemporary! I'm excited for you to be staying there. "Mon-choo-choo" is the cutest thing I've heard in a while... how precious!

I'd love to hear about your getaway trip!

Well, the good thing is that the movers do most of the heavy packing, and it would be really simple if I wasn't going to spend 8 months in CT. I'm just hoping that I don't forget anything important. The other day I remembered to pack my winter coat, hat, and mittens. That is something you don't really think about in June, but I'd be really upset if they were in storage in Norfolk, when winter hit in CT!

I'll fill you all in on our getaway in my next update!

Disneyland is our home away from home so we try to go at least once a year. But this last year I some how managed to talk my DH into an annual pass so between May 2011 and May 2012 we went 6 times!!! It was a great year.

Our 10th Anniversary trip will be to WDW if airfare cooperates. And it may be a kidless trip if I can find a way to make it work and not feel guilty about going with out them.

Good luck on the move. Whether your moving down the street or out of state moving is never any fun. That's great tht your family is so helpful!!

I hope you guys do get to WDW, and go without the kids. I understand feeling a little guilty, but you and your DH deserve some fun time to reconnect too!

Awesome that you got to Disneyland so much last year! I really want to take Everett to carsland, because he is completely obsessed with the movies. We were considering taking him in Nov, but now with the new baby, I'm not going to be able to travel that far so close to my due date. It will have to be another time.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Good luck with the move and keeping everything in order. Reading your description of the piles and packing things in trash bags made me think of Toy Story 3.

I love the Contemporary, and one of these days, I swear I will stay there... even though DW doesn't like it at all. I don't see how anyone could not like a hotel that has a monorail running through the middle of it and is right next to the Magic Kingdom. I mean it is unique, has a great location, and is just absolutely awesome.

I didn't even think about Toy Story 3, but that is what it is like!

I'm with you, I think there is just something so special about a resort that has a monorail running through it, it is just about the coolest thing ever!

Good luck with the move!

Wow, so jealous you are staying at the Contemporary!! I can see how that would be super convenient for MK & Epcot since you are by yourself, which is another plus. Hopefully you will get pixie dusted with a fantastic view as well.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed about the view, but bay lake isn't too shabby either! I know Everett will enjoy watching the electrical water pageant outside of the window on the nights we head back early!

Packing and complaining about packing is hard work! I'm with you.

Good luck with the move, so nice to have your family to help you out! I hate feeling so unsettled, and it make you feel so guilty when the kids (and pets) are too.

Yay for the Contemporary!!!! The monorail will be really nice for you guys. Holding a child's hand while folding a stroller and all their stuff=impossible. Good call.

I guess some people can manage to navigate folding a stroller and corralling a little one, but those people probably have nice, calm children, that aren't hell-bent on their personal destruction every hour of the day.

Yippee for the Contemporary!!! I have always wanted to stay there. I keep telling DH that is will be more worth the money now when we have a little one and will be spending the most time at the Magic Kingdom! He just thinks I'm trying to blow all our hard earned money!

Did you notice that I'm taking this trip without my DH?

We really lucked out with the 50% military discount, otherwise I don't think we could have stayed there. It still isn't cheap, but DH has a hard time saying "no" to things when he is deployed, so I can push the boundaries a little.

I do think that the location is perfect for young families though, it doesn't get much better than walking to the MK (although I think if I suggested walking DS would have a fit, we're at the "mou choo-choo" hotel for a reason, you know! ).

Great resort choice. I love the idea that you're taking Everett and your mom to the same Disney resort that you went to with your family. Plus, I can only imagine how useful taking the monorail will be with a toddler and while being pregnant.

The Contemporary pool view definitely beats looking out an office window, but I just don't think I'd have enough self control not to put the laptop down and swim for a while.

My mom LOVES the Contemporary, so she was 100% on board with my resort choice. She and my Dad honeymooned there back in 1977 I love the photos of the room decor from back them, apparently that was what the future looked like in the '70s!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Well, we are really down to the wire with the move now! My parents and brother and SIL came down on Saturday and packed up a WHOLE bunch of stuff and took it back to CT. Everett has been a little upset that all his toys are gone, but I've been letting him watch lots of Disney movies, so he gets over it pretty quickly! This Saturday my parents are coming back, and we're packing up the rest of the stuff going to CT, and heading up. DH is going to drive with us, and then fly back on Sunday to meet and supervise the movers. I think once the house in Alexandria is all packed up, that it will be a big weight off our shoulders and then hopefully we'll be able to enjoy our anniversary trip!

Where are we headed?

Newport RI!

I have actually never been to Newport, despite growing up less than an hour and a half away. DH hasn't been there since he was a kid, so it seemed like a nice, easy place to spend a few days and get away.

We actually love staying at Bed and Breakfasts, so we found one that looks really cute! The pickings were pretty slim, since we were booking at the 11th hour, but I think we're going to be really happy.

We're staying at the Victorian Ladies Inn. Its a cute historic Victorian-style and its pretty close to everything, so I think we're going to be happy with the location.

I like when inn keepers attempt to decorate the home in keeping with the historic period when it was built, so I was happy to see Victorian inspired decor. I've seen B&Bs that try to cater to more modern, minimalist tastes, and it never seems to work.

The grounds also seem very pretty with nice gardens and a koi pond.

The room we are staying in is called the Victoria and luckily it wasn't too fusty for DH's taste

He won't stay in rooms with lacy doilies and too much floral print (although this may be cutting it close), I think he finds it too girly!

Of course what I'm really excited about is the breakfast! I like that this place does a cold buffet and a hot entree, the more food the better! I'm really hoping we're there on blueberry cobbler french toast day! yummy!

So the plan is to leave CT on the morning of July 1st, which is the day of our actual anniversary (6 years, holy cow!), and drive over to Newport. I would like to get on the road relatively early, but since we will be at DH's sister's wedding the previous day, I'm not sure how that is going to go. I really hope we don't get roped into a post wedding brunch or anything like that. I'd like to enjoy my anniversary in-law free!

(continued next post!)

 

[CandleontheWater]

The main draw of Newport is the mansions, and I'm hoping to tour as many as I can. They have a ticket that includes five mansions for 31.50 or I could do the ticket that includes three mansions (the Breakers, The Elms and Marble house) along with a lunch at the Elms and a special tour that highlights servant life.

I'm thinking that the latter may be what we do, because I do want to spend some time relaxing and walking around newport, and if I buy the tickets to 5 mansions, I'm going to want to see all five.

I also really want to do the servant tour, since I am a HUGE Downton Abbey fan (anyone else?) and I think it would be so cool!

If we do the second ticket my thought was that on the 1st we get to Newport right before lunch time, check in to the B&B and park the car, go get lunch and then go to Marble house. Go back to the B&B and enjoy the afternoon tea offerings, and then have a nice dinner later

Marble House

Marble House ballroom

On July 2nd- we would go to the Elms, tour the mansion, have lunch there, and then do the servant tour. Head back to the B&B for tea, and then go out to dinner later.

The Elms

Lunch would be at the carriage house, overlooking the gardens

On July 3rd- we could check out of the B&B go to the Breakers (save the best for last), have lunch and then head back to CT.

The Breakers

The Breakers dining room

That way we'll be back for the 4th of July and can take Everett to fireworks, since they are about his favorite thing on earth!

So what do you guys think of our getaway plans? I'm still working on dinner, but I know I want to go to a steak place one night and a place with great seafood the next. I also want them to be super fancy, the type of place I wouldn't be caught dead taking Everett into! I have to live up being child-free while I can!

 

[khertz]

Sounds like a great little weekend! I think I would love the mansion tours (but DH probably not so much ) because I LOVE touring Plantation homes in Louisiana and Mississippi. I've never tried the B&B thing, but it looks fantastic! I think you are making a good choice with the 3 mansions & the servants tour. Gives you a taste of everything while still having some time to do other things! Hope you share some pictures with us when you get back!

 

[afwdwfan]

Wow, those are some fancy mansions.

It looks like it should be a nice getaway for the 2 of you. Taking advantage of being child free and eating at some non kid friendly places is an excellent idea!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Sounds like a great little weekend! I think I would love the mansion tours (but DH probably not so much ) because I LOVE touring Plantation homes in Louisiana and Mississippi. I've never tried the B&B thing, but it looks fantastic! I think you are making a good choice with the 3 mansions & the servants tour. Gives you a taste of everything while still having some time to do other things! Hope you share some pictures with us when you get back!

I'm lucky that DH is a little bit of a history nerd, so he will go along with that sort of thing, just to learn more about robber barons and the gilded age. I will be oooohing and aaaahing over beautiful decor!

Dh and I have done a few plantation tours outside of New Orleans, back when we were living in Pensacola. I loved Oak Alley the best, it was so beautiful!

I'll definitely share pictures, and likely do a mini-TR- if that is OK with everyone. I'm sure I'll find some way to tie it into Disney!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Wow, those are some fancy mansions.

It looks like it should be a nice getaway for the 2 of you. Taking advantage of being child free and eating at some non kid friendly places is an excellent idea!

They are pretty impressive! I'm looking forward to seeing them in person!

I told DH that if a restaurant has chicken fingers or grilled cheese on the menu, that we're not even going to step foot inside. I want all fancy, all weekend!

 

[amandaw]

That really sounds like a wonderful getaway for y'all! Those mansions are gorgeous! Reid is sitting next to me on the couch & asked if the Marble House is the Haunted Mansion.

Those tours sound like so much fun! I also love touring old homes like plantations and old mansions. Have y'all ever been to the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina?

I hope the move goes smoothly for y'all!

 

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

Sounds like a lovely trip!

I have been to Newport a couple of times- the mansions are beautiful!!! I would go with the 3 mansion tour with lunch and the servant information. You would be suprised at how long you can spend in each of those mansions!

I know that Breakers is a guided tour- with a real person. I know a lot of the others are self guided - with a headset where you can make selections. I don't remember which houses have which though.

Unfortunately, I can't help much with dinners as I don't know the restaurant scene very well. We usually only go for a night or two and eat at the same place- which I can't even remember the name of right now!

 

[CandleontheWater]

That really sounds like a wonderful getaway for y'all! Those mansions are gorgeous! Reid is sitting next to me on the couch & asked if the Marble House is the Haunted Mansion.

Those tours sound like so much fun! I also love touring old homes like plantations and old mansions. Have y'all ever been to the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina?

I hope the move goes smoothly for y'all!

I nearly spit out my drink when I read Reid's haunted mansion comment! Very funny, I could see Everett saying something like that. We're completely brainwashed our children!

I have been to the Biltmore Estate in NC. It was awesome! We went at Christmas time and the decorations were amazing, I'd love to get back someday!

Sounds like a lovely trip!

I have been to Newport a couple of times- the mansions are beautiful!!! I would go with the 3 mansion tour with lunch and the servant information. You would be suprised at how long you can spend in each of those mansions!

I know that Breakers is a guided tour- with a real person. I know a lot of the others are self guided - with a headset where you can make selections. I don't remember which houses have which though.

Unfortunately, I can't help much with dinners as I don't know the restaurant scene very well. We usually only go for a night or two and eat at the same place- which I can't even remember the name of right now!

Glad to see and expert is backing up my plan! I know I'm going to take longer than the average guest to look around, since I'm completely obsessed with architecture, antiques and historic homes, and I don't want to feel rushed. I think the servant tour will be really neat because you don't get to see those parts of the mansions on the regular tours.

I've been doing some research about restuarants and I know I should make some decisions soon, I know I should make reservations, but I figure a week in advance will be fine. This isn't Disney, right?

 

[punkin413]

Subbing!

 

[marDgreen88]

That sounds like an awesome getaway! Newport seems really, really nice, and the bed and breakfast looks lovely (but not TOO girly!!!)

Those mansions... wow! I'm with you, if I bought a ticket for five, I'd definitely want to see all five, too! I'm sure whatever you end up doing will be great... your plans sound wonderful!

 

[khertz]

I'm lucky that DH is a little bit of a history nerd, so he will go along with that sort of thing, just to learn more about robber barons and the gilded age. I will be oooohing and aaaahing over beautiful decor!

Dh and I have done a few plantation tours outside of New Orleans, back when we were living in Pensacola. I loved Oak Alley the best, it was so beautiful!

I'll definitely share pictures, and likely do a mini-TR- if that is OK with everyone. I'm sure I'll find some way to tie it into Disney!

Oak Alley was the one that started my obsession! That was the very first one I went to as a kid on a school field trip and I was just in love with them ever since. I never get tired of walking down the long oak-lined driveway.

I look forward to the mini-TR!