2012? No Problem...but when?

[DMGeurts]

This weekend was supposed to be spent working on my 6 dress order. I plan on having it hit the post office this week.

I ran in to a snag on Saturday. On the two Steamboat Willie dresses, all they need is the buttons. I always save them for last...while they are not fragile, I am always afraid the Mickey ears will come off the heads.

I had all 4 buttons sitting (oddly enough) in a Mickey Head soap dish that I use by my sewing machine to hold pins and things. When I went to sew on the last button...it was GONE! I have turned the sewing room upside down looking for it. I have offered a TEN dollar reward for it (that ALWAYS brings things back to where they are supposed to be!) No luck!

My supplier no longer had it on his website...so of course I am in panic mode. I found some similar on Ebay, but they are not exact...meaning I would have to change the ones already on.

I finally got an email from Hong Kong this morning...he has some! Just got them in and will send them off in the morning! Crisis averted...except now the dress will not be able to be sent this week! And I really hope I did not sound too desperate in the email! All my profits could be eaten up in that one shipment! LOL!

Yikes... I have a bag full (I'd probably have to turn my sewing room upside down to find them too) - but if you would have texted me, I would have looked for you, taken a picture to see if they match and sent you one free of charge... If you still want me to do this... let me know. I'd be happy to. I can get it in the mail today yet.

Hubby and I had a small short talk about the budget for our three trips this year...he is paying for the beach trip and I am paying for the two Disney trips! It looks like I am going to be about two thousand short having enough for both trips. I really need to figure out a way to bring in a little bit more money. I seriously doubt I could trim the budget much more..I only spend around $250 a month for food as it is (for 4 BIG eaters).

We have been having budget talks lately, as well... Nothing horrible - we just need to be better about sticking to it. Our food budget is closer to $350/mo - I don't know how you do it on $250, I am barely squeeking by on what we have... Which is why I've taken to so much couponing.

Interestingly...next year our vacation habits will change drastically. For the past several years, we have taken one beach and one Disney vacation each year. Next year, hubby's brother is signing over his condo time share in Branson to him. They grew up in Springfield, Mo (just thirty minutes away) and we haven't visited them in 5 years. It has become more expensive than going to either Disney or the beach for a week...the drive is twice as long...and we used to be able to stay with his mother or grand mother when we went. Since they have both passed on, there are not a lot of places to stay within our budget.

Since his brother has gotten married, he no longer needs the condo...so he and his new wife decided to deed it to us, so we can visit more often.

While visiting my inlaws is not unbearable...I have been fine with once every couple of years...now we will be expected to go every year. But to make it work, we will be having to give up either a beach or Disney trip each year...BOOO!

I know...such a terrible problem to have! Seriously I know how fortunate we are to have this type of a problem...and I get lots of lack from friends who don't know how much we sacrificed in past years to get to this point. (and how much we sacrifice now!)

Yikes - congratulations on the condo... sadness on skipping one trip or the other... Hopefully there is some way you can make it work to not have to skip anything.

plans are finalized for the June birthday trip. The last variable is do we rent a wheelchair for Mr D or wait....


Nini

Yay for the June trip though!!!

D~

 

[cogero]

Congrats of the Condo. I am not a huge fan of Branson but I am sure you will have a good time.

I have been focusing a lot on budgeting lately myself too.

 

[NiniMorris]

Congrats of the Condo. I am not a huge fan of Branson but I am sure you will have a good time.

I have been focusing a lot on budgeting lately myself too.

I actually rather hate Branson, but the town they grew up in in so small there is only one no-tell motel. (While it isn't quite that bad it is very old and small...not a comfortable place to spend our vacation!)

But since there is no real place to stay close by, we decided that Branson is at least loaded with places to eat and things to do. There are lots and lots of expensive fabric stores! And we will end up at Silver Dollar City, which my husband mistakenly thinks is the same as going to Disney!

Yikes... I have a bag full (I'd probably have to turn my sewing room upside down to find them too) - but if you would have texted me, I would have looked for you, taken a picture to see if they match and sent you one free of charge... If you still want me to do this... let me know. I'd be happy to. I can get it in the mail today yet.



We have been having budget talks lately, as well... Nothing horrible - we just need to be better about sticking to it. Our food budget is closer to $350/mo - I don't know how you do it on $250, I am barely squeeking by on what we have... Which is why I've taken to so much couponing.



Yikes - congratulations on the condo... sadness on skipping one trip or the other... Hopefully there is some way you can make it work to not have to skip anything.



Yay for the June trip though!!!

D~

Thanks for the offer...but I was able to cannibalize my grand daughters too small (by about 3 years) Steam Boat Willie dress and reuse those buttons. My order of 20 new white Mickey head buttons is on its way (at the same price I paid 3 years ago!)

I spent a little over 2 hours ripping out a serged ruffle from one of my customer dresses!

I knew it wasn't perfect...but I didn't realize just how bad it looked until I took a picture of it to send to the customer...oh my! It was not even in the same playing field as 'ok'! I seriously need to get my ruffler attachment to work more consistently! Spending this much time ripping is not a very productive way to spend my time... it works good for short ruffles...but one that goes the whole length around the bottom of the skirt is so inconsistent...yucko!

I have now used about a million pins and attached the bottom ruffles on both underskirts and overskirts...now to see if when I sew it on it looks decent. If not I'll rip it out again and try once more. I am so ready to get this order out of my house and get my launch dress finished! (Hopefully this launch dress will sell and I won't have to look at it much more...not liking it as much as I did when i first thought of it!)


On the June trip--- trying to decide if we want to rent a small wheel chair for Mr D. Hubby thinks we should see if he can walk since it is only one day. But after a shopping trip to Hobby Lobby and Joanne's over the weekend, I can see that after about an hour he will be miserable. If I could get him to wear his orthodics his feet would be a bit more comfortable...but he will never be able to walk for long distances.

After the accident, he had such poor muscle tone that he had both of his arches fall. As in they are completely on the ground. Then the ankle bone fell...I am drawing a blank as to what the bone is called, but he walks on the ankle. The foot is turned so bad that he walks on his inside ankle... Not very comfortable!


Speaking of feet...I knew my grand Princess had 2 different sized feet, but did not realize how bad it was...they went shoe shopping last night. On her good foot she wears a size 12. On her bad foot she wears a toddler size 7. They have to work really hard to find a shoe that comes in both sizes ...and then buy 2 pairs of shoes.

They went shoe shopping last night...she should be a happy camper...she LOVES shoes! LOL!


Miss B is about to catch the school bus and I am going down to sew!


Nini

 

[DMGeurts]

I am glad you were able to get your buttons... I guess mine wouldn't have worked... They're black. LOL I tried though.

Oh - I feel so bad for Mr. D... That has to be just so painful to walk, I can't imagine. I would do a wheelchair for sure - or something.

And wow, that must be very difficult shoe shopping for the grandprincess... And if she loves shoes - this may become a huge issue in the future. Have the Dr.s ever said anything about whether her feet will catch up to eachother?

D~

 

[NiniMorris]

I am glad you were able to get your buttons... I guess mine wouldn't have worked... They're black. LOL I tried though.

Oh - I feel so bad for Mr. D... That has to be just so painful to walk, I can't imagine. I would do a wheelchair for sure - or something.

And wow, that must be very difficult shoe shopping for the grandprincess... And if she loves shoes - this may become a huge issue in the future. Have the Dr.s ever said anything about whether her feet will catch up to eachother?

D~

Unfortunately, she lost some bones in the whole ordeal...and they were all part of the growth plate. Her foot will never grow on its own.

She has to have a surgery, where they place a spacer with a 'key'. Once a week they will go in and 'turn the key' making the spacer grow, giving her skin a chance to keep up. It will take a few months and will have to be repeated several times through her growing years. They were supposed to do it this year...but we decided to give her a rest and probably do it next summer. (which means another summer with no swimming for the fish!)

Hence the much shorter foot!



Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

SO BUMMED!

Our beach trip in August is off!

My daughter in law could not make up her mind to put the Princess in public or private school next year...they finally decided and then discovered that her new school will start the day after we are supposed to get to Destin!

Our deposit is non refundable...and to go with one less family will seriously hurt our budget!

Dividing the condo by three families was doable...by two families not so much! We were already having to pay half of the food budget for the trip since we had 4 people going and everyone else had two adults and infant or toddler... Now to increase that by almost a thousand dollars...not happening!


I guess I will now see what I can find for just my four...I really don't want to give up the beach all together!

Whine almost over!


Nini

 

[cogero]

oh Nini I am so sorry that you have to cancel your summer trip.

I hear you on Orthotics. J could really use them on his ankles due to toe walking but I can't do it to him since it is primarily a sensory thing for him but I feel like he suffers through so much and this is something I don't have to have him suffer yet with.

I would go ahead and rent a wheel chair so you have it at the resort.

 

[NiniMorris]

We haven't cancelled officially yet... Daughter in law is trying to see what penalties they will impose on a kindergartener missing the first week of school in a private school with only one kindergarten class! (I am sure it will be the difference between being a doctor and a plumber!)

If the penalties are not too stiff they will go...if they are stiff...we will not go. Once again, my life is on hold waiting on someone else to make a decision (so tell me.... was that dramatic enough? LOL!)



Sorry... just dealing with so much other people's drama today is making me a bit punchy! I have enough drama in my life that I don't need other drama queens making their drama so much bigger than it needs to be!

Sorry...I have a friend with a special needs child that is strange (the friend not the kid! The kid is super!) The mom has to one up everyone with their drama. If your child has a cold then her child has pneumonia and the doctors are only giving them a few months to live...that type of thing! (all the while said child is outside playing without shoes or jacket!)

Anyway... I am so over the drama...I need to find something to get my mind off it...I know...more Disney planning!


Nini (who is in a much better mood already!)

 

[NiniMorris]

LOL...can I be more indecisive?

I just booked an alternative date trip...in case free dining is offered during this time and not in December...September 21 to 30!

Upside...crowds will be lower than when we go in December...downside...the heat will be unbearable!


Nini

 

[babynala]

A trip to MO sounds nice but it is just not Disney.

I hope your beach trip gets figured out. So I assume that means you will only have one child to home school next year?

Any new exciting plans for Disney?

 

[NiniMorris]

A trip to MO sounds nice but it is just not Disney.

I hope your beach trip gets figured out. So I assume that means you will only have one child to home school next year?

Any new exciting plans for Disney?

I would possibly call a trip to MO nice...there really isn't much there for me.... my mother in law and her mother are no longer living. Two of her sisters are gone, and one of my husband's favorite cousins has died.

His step father has remarried and moved away... the rest of the cousins fight like cats and dogs. One of the reasons we have to stay someplace like Branson is so that I can keep the kids away from the fighting as much as possible!

If all goes according to plan I will have ZERO kids home schooled next year... we are going to try and get Mr D back in public school under MY terms and not the school's. I will in return agree not to sue them for locking him in a closet! I think it is a fair trade...LOL.

He has reached a stage where I can't help him much anymore. He needs some specialized training in learning to read. And he really misses having other kids to play with. He would still be going to all of his therapy classes, So I guess we are talking about part time school.

I really need to light a fire under my posterior and get started on that letter again...otherwise he may be home schooled after all...only 3 more months left in this school year!


No real surprises for the September trip...we would go during Mr D's birthday... and they would miss a week of school... of course, the real trick is convincing hubby we need to go to Disney three months after we get back....


Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

Found out last night that my daughter in law doesn't think we are being fair... we are putting our vacation plans ahead of her daughter's education. (While I can think of a million different things to say to counter that argument...I will pass) So, since the deposit is 'only' $500...I guess we will eat it!

So, we are thinking about adding a short beach trip to the end of the June Disney trip. If we do that, we will take the Princess with us... which brings up a ton of issues... but we will just deal with them.

(although, this time it will cost her momma premium!)

The possible September Disney trip is probably NOT going to happen. While I was trying to convince my husband it was a good alternative if Free Dining wasn't offered...I sort of talked myself out of it! I won't actually cancel the reservation just yet...but I am thinking we will stick with Nov/Dec.

I had a bad coughing/asthma attack last night and am still feeling a bit dizzy from it, so no sewing today... or at least no sewing this morning. I am not sure if the dizzy-ness is from the meds or from not getting enough air...but either way, I have to take it easy this morning.


That is about all of the news for today...not much...same old same old... but I am getting excited that the customer order is getting closer to being mailed...of course, it WOULD be nice if the weather would cooperate so I could get some good pictures before they left for a new home...we have gray skies, rain and cold until at least Monday!

This is GA! Where is our SPRING!? I can't believe that stupid little rodent was right about 6 more weeks of winter! Beauregard Lee I curse you! (not really...still trying to be dramatic here! LOL)


Nini

 

[DMGeurts]

That is awful about your deposit... It's too bad that you can't make it work somehow.

OK - so now I am a bit confused... YOu added a Sept trip on top of Nov/Dec? Or was the Sept in place of nov/dec?

But June is still on - just the possibility of bringing the grand princess?

I hope you're feeling better today, and that the diziness goes away soon.

Spring can come in MN too - any time really. Last year, it was 80s and sunny at this time, tulips were blooming...

D~

 

[NiniMorris]

That is awful about your deposit... It's too bad that you can't make it work somehow.

OK - so now I am a bit confused... YOu added a Sept trip on top of Nov/Dec? Or was the Sept in place of nov/dec?

But June is still on - just the possibility of bringing the grand princess?

I hope you're feeling better today, and that the diziness goes away soon.

Spring can come in MN too - any time really. Last year, it was 80s and sunny at this time, tulips were blooming...

D~

I added a September trip in case FD is not offered in December (since it is more likely to be offered in September if only during one time frame) We would cancel the Nov/Dec trip...

June is on...and I have been spending the whole day looking for hotel or condo availability at the beach on the way back...so far not much luck! I am too cheap to pay that much for a hotel room not in Disney! LOL!


Last year, we had the pool already opened by the middle of March! We have had colder weather this past few days than all of Winter... The water is still slightly above freezing...ok it is in the 40's... and trying to clean out the pool and fix the hoses...my hands are frozen...it is going to have to wait a few weeks before I feel like getting it done! I have a 4 day process...but so far I can't get more than 2 days done in a row... soat this rate the water will be clean and clear by July! LOL



Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

This is another dramatic whine about the pool!

Getting the pool ready each year is my job (like I don't have enough to do!) Since we have multiple different types of trees around, we have multiple types of leaves in the pool. They each carry their own 'type' of algae. See, I did not know that ...I thought algae is all the same, just came in different colors...nope! Some of the algae types 'bloom' in different temps. Some are cooler weather blooms and some are warmer weather blooms.

So, if we covered the pool in the winter I could save a lot of my issues with the pool...but Mr D does not like the pool covered. The first year he thought it would be fun to see how many large things the cover could hold before it collapsed! Including mud... stick, stones, go old fashioned rocks, and HEAVY metal Tonka trucks! The pool cover did not win the war!

We have a new pool cover but now I am afraid he will try to jump in....which he has done in the past in the winter...

So... I basically try to determine which algae is present and put in the right algaecide and hope I was right. With the stupid weather we are having... an algae blooms and the next day the weather kills it...so I have no clue if I guessed right or not! The hose to the vacuum has broke, so I have to wait on the replacement to come in (on back order) before I can vacuum out the pool (which would help tons in getting rid of the algae!)

Normally I can shock the pool a couple times, put in the right algaecide and vacuum the pool and the water is crystal clear, clean and ready to go! I call it my 4 day plan...because no matter how bad the water is, I can clean it up in just 4 days...sometimes less...but I don't like the kids getting in until I am 100% sure it is safe...

So far I have spent closer to 4 WEEKS trying to get the pool ready! Every time it warms up the pool turns green, and I have to get it started all over again...the trick is to get it clean BEFORE the pine pollen starts falling...then it is easy to keep clean...once you get a pool full of pine pollen it takes FOREVER to get it clean again!

Yes, I do sound obsessive about the pool! Probably because I am!


LOL!

Nini

 

[cogero]

So I learned something new. I didn't know that different types of trees cause different types of Algae. I am so happy I can swim in my parents pool and they have a pool guy who comes.

 

[NiniMorris]

So I learned something new. I didn't know that different types of trees cause different types of Algae. I am so happy I can swim in my parents pool and they have a pool guy who comes.

When the pool store first told me that I thought they were just trying to get me to buy more stuff... then I discovered it is true to an extent...and if you buy the right algaecide you don't have to put as much chemicals in the pool. Through trial and error I figured out what I am likely to have based on the trees in my yard... Of course, I have never experienced the other types of algae and I know it comes in other lovely colors (which are other types) but so far we haven't had them...

We are really lucky that once the pool is ready for the summer I can control it without having to buy any thing other than household stuff...like bleach and baking soda!



One of my current problems is the crazy weather...three days ago it was 80 degrees...this morning we had snow flurries! Our normal should be in the upper 70's low 80's!


Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

Thinking about making some window clings for Miss B's birthday trip...the kind you print out on a special plastic...but I can't remember (and misplaced the website address) the best type to get...anyone know?


I know I have made some in the past out of the stained glass paint...but in order to go that route I would have to buy tons of paint....and that is a back up option....but I had rather just print them out and hide them until we get to Disney!


Nini

 

[babynala]

The pool saga continues. I never thought about the pine pollen in the pool. What a pain. I am waiting for the warm weather but dreading the pollen.

Sorry I can't help with the window clings but that sounds like a great idea for a birthday celebration. I have never printed my own. Just used the ones from the dollar store. I do wish we had these for my brother's trip. My nephew knocked on our neighbor's door at 7:45 one morning because he thought it was our room. I think they were up but still

I'm sure you already checked but maybe somebody on the Disney design thread would know.

 

[DMGeurts]

Just stopping by to wish you a...

D~