Weird and Ninja Shout Out to You! (updated on 7/14)
- Thread starter RachelNinja
- Start date
catchmeifyoucan
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2012
All caught up, from the first trip report to this one! Can't wait to hear more!
RachelNinja
Sometimes I'd rather live in VMK than in real life
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2007
It's going to be quite an interesting experience when our kids join the mix with their own personalities!
It really was a great trip for us!
Hi Yuki! I'm so glad you're back and you're here!
Wow, that's some dedicated reading! Thanks!
RachelNinja
Sometimes I'd rather live in VMK than in real life
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2007
My last update was at the end of March, but I actually have a rather valid explanation for my absence. Remember my last "life" update in February? I mentioned returning to teaching full-time, so as always, the school year was something that occupied my time. However, that's not really the big reason. What have we been doing for the last 5 months?
Firstly, we bought a house! After what felt like a ton of searching and visiting apartments, townhouses, and then finally houses, we found one we both loved and immediately put an offer on it. The housing market was crazy at that time as houses would go up for sale and be off the market so soon after. They were also selling at or close to full listing price! But God definitely provided and was with us with each and every step regarding the offer itself, the inspection, the mortgage approval, and then the closing in May.
But in all honesty, I actually don't know just how complicated the entire process was since Howard thankfully handled all of it. Why was I being such a bump on a log? Because I was growing my very own bump! At the beginning of March, we found out that we are expecting! I posted this picture on social media as our announcement for our new production being revealed to the world in November even though we took it last August when we were wondering if it ever would happen.
I'm currently 23 weeks pregnant, so I'm almost 6 months. This is the most recent picture of the two of us. Wait, I should be saying the THREE of us!
The first trimester was rough on me. Though I only got sick twice, I FELT sick all the time. I was grateful that I was able to manage for the most part when I was at work unless I was hit with the strong perfumes of certain colleagues or the lovely pre-teen odors coming from my students, but near the end of each school day, I started feeling worse. I would go home and be utterly useless. I barely ate or drank anything. In retrospect, I'm glad that the worst of it was at home. I'm sure my job was a good thing because it kept me preoccupied especially when I had to pretend as if everything was okay. I kept it a secret from my kids for a bit, so I had to pretend that everything was okay. It was funny because the only class I was a little bit more relaxed with during that time was my 8th graders because they were mature enough to get the work done during the first period of class we had together and then do a lesson-related activity or watch something during the second period. We actually watched the documentary on Time of Scott Kelly's year in space in science, and when I told that class weeks later that I was pregnant, one girl said, "THAT'S why we watched so many videos!"
Currently, I'm feeling pretty good since I'm in that "food-is-delicious-and-I-wanna-eat-everything" phase. I do have back pain, round ligament pain, leg cramps, itchy skin, and a plethora of other pregnancy symptoms, but I know that those are just signs that the pregnancy is progressing and that the baby is growing. I seem to get the symptoms a few days before it's mentioned in my Ovia app weekly updates, which is pretty funny. Howard and I read them every Sunday, and we also check all the "how big is your baby now" options. We're constantly looking at each other and going, "That's why you feel this way ..." as if it's all right on schedule!
I also started feeling the movement and kicks about two weeks ago, and it is non-stop! During my ultrasounds, the doctors and techs sometimes have a hard time finding what they need to find because of all the activity. When they were trying to do the measurements for the antepartum testing and when they were trying to find out the gender, there were flips and turns and a ton of movement even before I could feel it. Now I'm aware of a lot of it because the baby is, of course, getting bigger by the week.
Even though it was a little difficult for them to determine the gender, it was confirmed by 3 separate people that yes, it is a boy! There was definitely some adjustment (and I admit, a little bit of crying from me when we got home) because we both expected it to be a girl. I think it was just because boys seem so foreign to me, and I have such a good relationship with my mom that I thought I could have that with my own daughter. It definitely took some time adjusting to the idea that we are having a son instead of a daughter, but the few people I expressed my true feelings to reassured me that when he's here and in my arms, we're going to be like, "He fits in our family perfectly, and I can't imagine anyone else to be our third member." It's been a few weeks since, and there's no doubt how much we love this little guy. It's not that we ever stopped loving him, but I just had to go through the process of dealing with the gender disappointment. In actuality, once I read a few articles online that included the opinions and feelings of other women who felt the same thing, I felt better. Beforehand, I just felt a little guilty because I'm so aware of those who deal with infertility, but reading a few things validated my feelings and that helped me deal with them. Now I can't wait to meet this little boy! I wish I could meet him and learn a little bit about his personality and then have him go back, haha, because we're not actually ready just yet for his arrival.
With the move and the baby, updating my trip report was on the back burner, but I think I need a little bit of some Disney memories to help me through this phase of not having a trip planned. We're not going to do a babymoon there because I think I'd be upset not being able to ride my favorite rides. Plus, I don't have the stamina to make it through a day at any of the parks, and the heat even in NY is unbearable to me. So let's relive some memories from a past trip!
Not Meant for Kids
After a calming train ride, Howard was up for trying something new. He had never been on Barnstormer before, and the wait wasn't long at all since it was late at night. I feel that that's the only time that that ride is worth it since the ride itself is so short! I can't imagine waiting so long for something that lasts less than 20 seconds. The queue is definitely fun to look at even though a lot of it would definitely be in the heat if it were the warmer months.
I love the "First Aid" box as well as the "Second Aid" box! There are so many puns that I'm sure we missed, but that was an obvious one that I think would be cute for kids to spot.
Even the detailing on the destroyed skis is a funny added touch!
Though the beginning of the ride starts off dark since it was really late, you can hear a kid scream, "MOMMY!!!" right before the drop. It kind of made us laugh, haha. And then at the end of the ride, the couple in front of us were having the same struggle we were trying to get out of our seats! I mean, two adults in those seats means that you're really packed in there!
I was actually pretty dizzy after the ride. Even though it's so brief, it really whips you around! As I said in the video, it is really not a ride you bring kids on, haha. I actually think Thunder Mountain is a lot tamer because even though it's a bigger coaster, it means you don't twist around as much because there's more room. I'm sure going at night made it a little bit rougher too since it was kind of just taking us wherever when it was a little hard to anticipate the next move. But it definitely was something that will cause us to laugh for many years to come!
Firstly, we bought a house! After what felt like a ton of searching and visiting apartments, townhouses, and then finally houses, we found one we both loved and immediately put an offer on it. The housing market was crazy at that time as houses would go up for sale and be off the market so soon after. They were also selling at or close to full listing price! But God definitely provided and was with us with each and every step regarding the offer itself, the inspection, the mortgage approval, and then the closing in May.
But in all honesty, I actually don't know just how complicated the entire process was since Howard thankfully handled all of it. Why was I being such a bump on a log? Because I was growing my very own bump! At the beginning of March, we found out that we are expecting! I posted this picture on social media as our announcement for our new production being revealed to the world in November even though we took it last August when we were wondering if it ever would happen.
I'm currently 23 weeks pregnant, so I'm almost 6 months. This is the most recent picture of the two of us. Wait, I should be saying the THREE of us!
The first trimester was rough on me. Though I only got sick twice, I FELT sick all the time. I was grateful that I was able to manage for the most part when I was at work unless I was hit with the strong perfumes of certain colleagues or the lovely pre-teen odors coming from my students, but near the end of each school day, I started feeling worse. I would go home and be utterly useless. I barely ate or drank anything. In retrospect, I'm glad that the worst of it was at home. I'm sure my job was a good thing because it kept me preoccupied especially when I had to pretend as if everything was okay. I kept it a secret from my kids for a bit, so I had to pretend that everything was okay. It was funny because the only class I was a little bit more relaxed with during that time was my 8th graders because they were mature enough to get the work done during the first period of class we had together and then do a lesson-related activity or watch something during the second period. We actually watched the documentary on Time of Scott Kelly's year in space in science, and when I told that class weeks later that I was pregnant, one girl said, "THAT'S why we watched so many videos!"
Currently, I'm feeling pretty good since I'm in that "food-is-delicious-and-I-wanna-eat-everything" phase. I do have back pain, round ligament pain, leg cramps, itchy skin, and a plethora of other pregnancy symptoms, but I know that those are just signs that the pregnancy is progressing and that the baby is growing. I seem to get the symptoms a few days before it's mentioned in my Ovia app weekly updates, which is pretty funny. Howard and I read them every Sunday, and we also check all the "how big is your baby now" options. We're constantly looking at each other and going, "That's why you feel this way ..." as if it's all right on schedule!
I also started feeling the movement and kicks about two weeks ago, and it is non-stop! During my ultrasounds, the doctors and techs sometimes have a hard time finding what they need to find because of all the activity. When they were trying to do the measurements for the antepartum testing and when they were trying to find out the gender, there were flips and turns and a ton of movement even before I could feel it. Now I'm aware of a lot of it because the baby is, of course, getting bigger by the week.
Even though it was a little difficult for them to determine the gender, it was confirmed by 3 separate people that yes, it is a boy! There was definitely some adjustment (and I admit, a little bit of crying from me when we got home) because we both expected it to be a girl. I think it was just because boys seem so foreign to me, and I have such a good relationship with my mom that I thought I could have that with my own daughter. It definitely took some time adjusting to the idea that we are having a son instead of a daughter, but the few people I expressed my true feelings to reassured me that when he's here and in my arms, we're going to be like, "He fits in our family perfectly, and I can't imagine anyone else to be our third member." It's been a few weeks since, and there's no doubt how much we love this little guy. It's not that we ever stopped loving him, but I just had to go through the process of dealing with the gender disappointment. In actuality, once I read a few articles online that included the opinions and feelings of other women who felt the same thing, I felt better. Beforehand, I just felt a little guilty because I'm so aware of those who deal with infertility, but reading a few things validated my feelings and that helped me deal with them. Now I can't wait to meet this little boy! I wish I could meet him and learn a little bit about his personality and then have him go back, haha, because we're not actually ready just yet for his arrival.
With the move and the baby, updating my trip report was on the back burner, but I think I need a little bit of some Disney memories to help me through this phase of not having a trip planned. We're not going to do a babymoon there because I think I'd be upset not being able to ride my favorite rides. Plus, I don't have the stamina to make it through a day at any of the parks, and the heat even in NY is unbearable to me. So let's relive some memories from a past trip!
Not Meant for Kids
After a calming train ride, Howard was up for trying something new. He had never been on Barnstormer before, and the wait wasn't long at all since it was late at night. I feel that that's the only time that that ride is worth it since the ride itself is so short! I can't imagine waiting so long for something that lasts less than 20 seconds. The queue is definitely fun to look at even though a lot of it would definitely be in the heat if it were the warmer months.
I love the "First Aid" box as well as the "Second Aid" box! There are so many puns that I'm sure we missed, but that was an obvious one that I think would be cute for kids to spot.
Even the detailing on the destroyed skis is a funny added touch!
Though the beginning of the ride starts off dark since it was really late, you can hear a kid scream, "MOMMY!!!" right before the drop. It kind of made us laugh, haha. And then at the end of the ride, the couple in front of us were having the same struggle we were trying to get out of our seats! I mean, two adults in those seats means that you're really packed in there!
I was actually pretty dizzy after the ride. Even though it's so brief, it really whips you around! As I said in the video, it is really not a ride you bring kids on, haha. I actually think Thunder Mountain is a lot tamer because even though it's a bigger coaster, it means you don't twist around as much because there's more room. I'm sure going at night made it a little bit rougher too since it was kind of just taking us wherever when it was a little hard to anticipate the next move. But it definitely was something that will cause us to laugh for many years to come!
Graciegirl5
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 2, 2015
Congratulations to both of you! I'm so excited for you!! 
chunkymonkey
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 27, 2009
Congrats Rachel and Howard! Really happy for the both of you!
Curiouser&curiouser!
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2010
Congratulations! That is wonderful news! I am so happy for you guys!
Great update! Barnstormer is such a fun ride, with great theming, but I never understand why people wait so long for it! It doesn't make any sense to me!
Great update! Barnstormer is such a fun ride, with great theming, but I never understand why people wait so long for it! It doesn't make any sense to me!
RachelNinja
Sometimes I'd rather live in VMK than in real life
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2007
Congratulations to both of you! I'm so excited for you!!
Thank you so much!
Thank you! I know that first trip with a baby is going to be a completely new experience! We're going to have to change the way we tour.
Thank you so much!
Thank you! It's going to be new being a family of 3 instead of a family of 2!
Wow Congratulations! What a huge blessing!!!
Thanks so much!
Thank you so much!
Yeah, that is one super quick ride! The queue has such great theming, but there isn't much to even see on the ride itself, haha. I think walking off the ride and seeing all that track makes it more interesting!
RachelNinja
Sometimes I'd rather live in VMK than in real life
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2007
Experiencing a Rite of Passage: Dumbo!
Once we finished with Barnstormer, we decided to experience something a lot tamer. We headed over to Dumbo because we knew the wait would be short. Plus, just like Barnstormer, we've never gone on it together. We both have fairly interesting stories about riding Dumbo with our families when we were kids, of course, when there was just one of them in Fantasyland.
Whoops, Howard saw that and had to adjust his settings. It's funny thinking about how much time he spent adjusting his settings or changing lenses on this and previous trips. Then when we went on our final trip pre-baby last August (although we didn't know it at the time that it would be our last trip!), we both had DSLRs. I used his old one, which definitely isn't as good as newer ones, but it was an upgrade from my point and shoot that I use for the quick videos I take. Now that baby is on the way, I recently said to him that that August trip was the first and ONLY trip where we could have 2 DSLRs. It'd be too heavy to have two with us, and we probably won't have the hands free anyway!
Even so, I'm excited to get pictures of our little guy seeing Disney for the first time. I don't know exactly when we'll take that first trip, but it'll probably be with my parents so we can have some extra hands. Plus, I know they are just as excited to see their grandkids in WDW because of all the memories of taking my brothers and me. Now if only my older brother and sister-in-law would get as excited as the rest of us, haha, then it would be a lovely family trip! I give my niece Disney-related gifts whenever possible to start the indoctrination, hehe.
I feel as if taking the kids on Dumbo is a rite of passage. Since we've never been there with a kid, the two of us never had a need to wait in line to ride. But that night was just right.
In the video, you can hear our brief recap of what happened when Howard went on Dumbo with his dad. Apparently, they didn't think to push the button in front of them, so they never flew! I think that's pretty hilarious, haha. They thought they had a defective Dumbo. I don't think I'd mind a defective Dumbo though! I wasn't a big fan of the bounces that felt like drops to my stomach! It's kind of funny how I had issues handling that, but a ride on Thunder Mountain isn't an issue!
My own Dumbo story is pretty funny too. I was riding with my mom and older brother when my little pink denim Osh Kosh B'Gosh hat just flew off my head! A CM had to let my dad in to grab it. Thankfully, there was no water underneath or my hat would've gotten drenched! My mom still has that hat because it was one of her favorite things from my childhood.
Once we got off, Howard wanted to attempt a nighttime shot with the tripod. He had carried it around all day, but he barely uses it in the park because he feels bad for making me wait. I said I didn't mind if he wanted to shoot especially since he lugged it around (and I bought him the MeFoto one for Christmas/his birthday specifically for things like nighttime shots at WDW!), and I said that I would go see what they had in the shops in terms of merchandise and possible pin trading.
I really liked that sweater, but it's not surprising that it was expensive. We very rarely buy any souvenirs in the park. We're much more into purchasing things at the outlets! The only time I just went all out with buying things was when we got an engagment gift from a student that I saved to buy Disney goodies for our kitchen. It was in our "Delicious Indeed" TR, I believe, when we got the salt and pepper grinders, trivets, and other "necessities." Oh, speaking of our trivets, I was at IKEA recently with my family and my mom wanted to get new trivets. The cork ones were in a pack of 4 for $3.99, and the last time my parents were there, my dad said not to get them because he said they were expensive. I said to my mom, "How much does he think trivets are? They cost a lot individually! I can't imagine what Daddy would say if he knew how much I paid for EACH Mickey trivet!" So I bought them for her since my mom is in desperate need of new ones that aren't falling apart! It's interesting to think that just by slapping some Mickey heads on something, the cost just rises exponentially even though the function is exactly the same as things without that reminder of Disney!
It was late at night, so the options available at the stores for pin trading were pretty standard. I'm sure there were a bunch of scrappers too, but I look just in case. This was the first time I had seen the popcorn buckets in person. I really like how they make their displays more interesting than just the bulletin board, but I think that sometimes the bulletin board is easier to see because I automatically go left to right as if I'm reading.
I also took a look at all the sweet treats they offered because the smell was definitely permeating the air, but I knew I wouldn't get anything so after that brief amount of browsing, I headed back out to find Howard. This was the shot he got, which I think is pretty nice especially since this was quite some time ago.
I'm sure even with the baby, we'll make sure he has time to shoot. Maybe when I ride Dumbo for the 5th time with our kiddo (or when he's napping and I grab myself a sweet treat, haha), he can take some nighttime shots!
Once we finished with Barnstormer, we decided to experience something a lot tamer. We headed over to Dumbo because we knew the wait would be short. Plus, just like Barnstormer, we've never gone on it together. We both have fairly interesting stories about riding Dumbo with our families when we were kids, of course, when there was just one of them in Fantasyland.
Whoops, Howard saw that and had to adjust his settings. It's funny thinking about how much time he spent adjusting his settings or changing lenses on this and previous trips. Then when we went on our final trip pre-baby last August (although we didn't know it at the time that it would be our last trip!), we both had DSLRs. I used his old one, which definitely isn't as good as newer ones, but it was an upgrade from my point and shoot that I use for the quick videos I take. Now that baby is on the way, I recently said to him that that August trip was the first and ONLY trip where we could have 2 DSLRs. It'd be too heavy to have two with us, and we probably won't have the hands free anyway!
Even so, I'm excited to get pictures of our little guy seeing Disney for the first time. I don't know exactly when we'll take that first trip, but it'll probably be with my parents so we can have some extra hands. Plus, I know they are just as excited to see their grandkids in WDW because of all the memories of taking my brothers and me. Now if only my older brother and sister-in-law would get as excited as the rest of us, haha, then it would be a lovely family trip! I give my niece Disney-related gifts whenever possible to start the indoctrination, hehe.
I feel as if taking the kids on Dumbo is a rite of passage. Since we've never been there with a kid, the two of us never had a need to wait in line to ride. But that night was just right.
In the video, you can hear our brief recap of what happened when Howard went on Dumbo with his dad. Apparently, they didn't think to push the button in front of them, so they never flew! I think that's pretty hilarious, haha. They thought they had a defective Dumbo. I don't think I'd mind a defective Dumbo though! I wasn't a big fan of the bounces that felt like drops to my stomach! It's kind of funny how I had issues handling that, but a ride on Thunder Mountain isn't an issue!
My own Dumbo story is pretty funny too. I was riding with my mom and older brother when my little pink denim Osh Kosh B'Gosh hat just flew off my head! A CM had to let my dad in to grab it. Thankfully, there was no water underneath or my hat would've gotten drenched! My mom still has that hat because it was one of her favorite things from my childhood.
Once we got off, Howard wanted to attempt a nighttime shot with the tripod. He had carried it around all day, but he barely uses it in the park because he feels bad for making me wait. I said I didn't mind if he wanted to shoot especially since he lugged it around (and I bought him the MeFoto one for Christmas/his birthday specifically for things like nighttime shots at WDW!), and I said that I would go see what they had in the shops in terms of merchandise and possible pin trading.
I really liked that sweater, but it's not surprising that it was expensive. We very rarely buy any souvenirs in the park. We're much more into purchasing things at the outlets! The only time I just went all out with buying things was when we got an engagment gift from a student that I saved to buy Disney goodies for our kitchen. It was in our "Delicious Indeed" TR, I believe, when we got the salt and pepper grinders, trivets, and other "necessities." Oh, speaking of our trivets, I was at IKEA recently with my family and my mom wanted to get new trivets. The cork ones were in a pack of 4 for $3.99, and the last time my parents were there, my dad said not to get them because he said they were expensive. I said to my mom, "How much does he think trivets are? They cost a lot individually! I can't imagine what Daddy would say if he knew how much I paid for EACH Mickey trivet!" So I bought them for her since my mom is in desperate need of new ones that aren't falling apart! It's interesting to think that just by slapping some Mickey heads on something, the cost just rises exponentially even though the function is exactly the same as things without that reminder of Disney!
It was late at night, so the options available at the stores for pin trading were pretty standard. I'm sure there were a bunch of scrappers too, but I look just in case. This was the first time I had seen the popcorn buckets in person. I really like how they make their displays more interesting than just the bulletin board, but I think that sometimes the bulletin board is easier to see because I automatically go left to right as if I'm reading.
I also took a look at all the sweet treats they offered because the smell was definitely permeating the air, but I knew I wouldn't get anything so after that brief amount of browsing, I headed back out to find Howard. This was the shot he got, which I think is pretty nice especially since this was quite some time ago.
I'm sure even with the baby, we'll make sure he has time to shoot. Maybe when I ride Dumbo for the 5th time with our kiddo (or when he's napping and I grab myself a sweet treat, haha), he can take some nighttime shots!
Curiouser&curiouser!
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2010
Good update!
I love a good ride on Dumbo. And you are right! It is a bit of a rite of passage. I didn't make it to Disney until I was an adult and never felt the burning need to hop on. So my first ride on Dumbo ended up being my DS's first ride too!
Disney with kiddos sure does change the way you tour. You bring a lot more stuff (but none of it is for you), and you get a lot less done (cause everything takes much longer), and it is a lot less of an 'escape' from the world (since you still have to, you know, be a parent there too), but the memories with the kiddos makes up for it all!
I love a good ride on Dumbo. And you are right! It is a bit of a rite of passage. I didn't make it to Disney until I was an adult and never felt the burning need to hop on. So my first ride on Dumbo ended up being my DS's first ride too!
Disney with kiddos sure does change the way you tour. You bring a lot more stuff (but none of it is for you), and you get a lot less done (cause everything takes much longer), and it is a lot less of an 'escape' from the world (since you still have to, you know, be a parent there too), but the memories with the kiddos makes up for it all!
lovegrumpy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2007
Congrats!!! I have two boys and loved every minute of it.
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