21 Days till Disney World - A Project a Day! #9 - Autograph Book Bag

[Jiminy'sGirl]

I am taking the day off from a post... But somehow I think no one will mind.

 

[Alysa]

I am taking the day off from a post... But somehow I think no one will mind.

You earned it - the pillowcase dresses are adorable! I want to go sew one for my girl and make her wear it! But make sure you are working hard on a great project for tomorrow!

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

I am sewing today!!! It's cold and windy out (in Texas this fall weather is rare!) so it is a good day to cut, iron, and sew.

Tomorrow while the kids are at school I will be starting in on the arrival day goodie bags.....

Your girl won't wear the dresses, huh? My older daughter is 8 and she will wear a pillowcase dress only if it isn't pink and if I make a matching one for her American Girl doll!

 

[DMGeurts]

Just 27 days to go until we leave!! Last night I started making lists.

Things to Buy
Things to Pack
Things not to forget
Electronic contraptions not to forget
What to wear each day (mainly just for Paige)


I could go on and on but I will spare you. Lists are kind of my thing. And label makers. It's a sickness.

I canceled Tusker House and switched up to Raglan Road for dinner on Saturday, November 3. We always hit up DTD after our AK day. AK only takes us a few hours. We ride EE, the safari, the Primeval Hurl and we are good to go. The kids might traipse through the Boneyard, where we will fear we will never see them again and we will join other parents in randomly shouting our kids' names into tunnels and cubbies and hoping they pop out. We like to see FOTLK but it's not a necessity. My parents wanted a day of rest on this day, so they are taking this day off, but will be joining us for dinner. They will also do just a few hours at DHS with us later in the trip. LIke I said, they really want to make use of those hammocks. I hope its cool out (65-75) because they love that weather.

So I chose Ragland Road for three main reasons: 1. I seriously like the Serious Steak, 2. My Mom is Irish and has been to Ireland a few times and I'd like her take on the place, and 3. I wanted to ensure that we actually make it to DTD. I can see us lazy-ing out. But we haven't seen the new Lego stuff yet, and the kids love getting those Potato Head parts. Even AJ, at 10 years old, still gets into this. It's all about the excitement of packing as many body parts and accessories as one can into those boxes.

We got our Mickey Mail at the 32 day out mark. This seemed earlier than normal, but perhaps that is because we paid the trip off the day we booked it. What does everyone think of the new luggage tags? I was excited to get something besides the castle, though I loved those we have lots, and I think the Mickey head is super cute. But is it just me or are these a bit flimsy? And I don't like the plastic attachey-string. It was hard to work with.

So this is hardly a project, and I apologize, but I did get the luggage tags attached to backpacks last night:

Cute, huh?

By the by, it has been tough to convince my Mom that she didn't need that luggage tags to get on the "Disney magical airport bus." The rest of us call that the Magical Express, of course. She was also non-convinced that she should attach the bright neon ME tags to her luggage when she checks the bags in St. Louis. She thinks it will throw off the Delta employees. I assured her that Delta sees people going to WDW everyday of the week and they will not be confused by them. She seemed to accept this but I think she was patronizing me and doing that "dialing her ear" thing to show my Dad how crazy she thinks I am.

Here are a few things I have found on clearance lately:

Minnie outift from Ross, marked down to $3.99. I don't buy character clothes, typcally, so Paige was thrilled with this. I can't decide if I find it cute or not, but for 4 bucks I can give it the benefit of the doubt.

This was from BabyGap outlet and was on clearance for 3.37 or somesuch, plus I had a 25% off coupon plus I had 10% off for using my reusable Gap bag.

Now the hubster got a good laugh out of this. I honestly thought of nothing but Tinkerbelle when I read "Fairy in Training" but his mind went elsewhere. So now I have a feeling we will snicker at this all day when she wears it. However, this is man who actually hopes for his daughters to be lesbians because he would rather not deal with boys coming by for dates. He is serious, I might add. However, this could easily go in the "jammie t-shirt" pile just because we have plenty of homemade tees to wear.

Does anyone know where to find a pop up hamper? All I am coming across are 1. expensive ones, or B. mesh bags.

Thanks for reading -- please say hi! I'd love to meet each of you!

OK - Love the LLBean backpacks... I have a story about them (figures)... Back when my girls started kindergarten, I "splurged" and purchased LLBean backpacks for each of them... They have used them every year for school, and also as a carry-on for each trip we have ever taken + countless trips to the lake. These bags have gotten their use, and then some. This year, my oldest dd came home from her first day of school, begging for a new backpack. I am such a tightwad, that I initially told her "no, there's nothing wrong with yours"... And her reply was "Mom, puleeeze... I am in 9th grade, I need to stop carrying my Kindergarten backpack." Wow, funny how time flies, I thought... I guess she has a valid point.

So... You'll get your use out of those backpacks, and I swear they never wear out. To make them look new again, I just throw them in the wash every fall before school starts.

And I ROFLed at your DH's fairy concept... I hate to say it - but I think my DH is the same way...

Love the outfit, love the shirt... but I would definately use your customs before anything store bought - only because your customs are unique & adorable - no one else will have them, and they are made with love.

I am going to forge ahead with this PTR... I promised an update each day until we leave, and by golly Imma gonna do it!

So, for reals, my trip is 26 days away. Craziness. This trip was conceptualized in March 2010 so that fact that it is now so close is surreal. And almost sad. Maybe you all are the only people on earth who can understand what I mean.
: as much as I want to trip to get here, I know I don't want it to be over. This feeling is even stronger than usual because in 2013 we are NOT going to WDW. This is because we have ear-marked 2013 for a trip to Atlantis in the Bahamas. And I think in 2014 we are going to do the Disney cruise out of Galveston. So who knows when I will be back to my happy place... 2015, I suppose.

But enough boo-hooing.... I'M LEAVING IN 26 DAYS! So much to do, so little time.

So I have done a bit more sewing....

Another pillowcase dress made to be worn with leggings. Paige had to have this fabric, because it has ALL her favorite princesses on it. ALL of them, she told me over and over. So I got it.

Paige's favorite princess is Cinderella, though her favorite princess movies are Alladin and Tangled. Actually, her favorite movie is Lilo and Stitch, but there is no princess in that one so she'd neevr actually admit it.

Ok, so for her birthday in March we had a Cinderella theme. One of my closest girlfriends here was a friend of Cindy's at Disneyland back in her 20s. I talked her into donning to gown and wig one last time. IT WAS AMAZING. Until you have had a Disney-trained princess at your party you have not had a princess party.

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Paige can't wait to see Hi to Cinderella again when we get to Disney World!

I love this!!! You can totally tell that she is Disney trained - even in pictures!!! What an amazing party!!!

D~

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

OK - Love the LLBean backpacks... I have a story about them (figures)... Back when my girls started kindergarten, I "splurged" and purchased LLBean backpacks for each of them... They have used them every year for school, and also as a carry-on for each trip we have ever taken + countless trips to the lake. These bags have gotten their use, and then some. This year, my oldest dd came home from her first day of school, begging for a new backpack. I am such a tightwad, that I initially told her "no, there's nothing wrong with yours"... And her reply was "Mom, puleeeze... I am in 9th grade, I need to stop carrying my Kindergarten backpack." Wow, funny how time flies, I thought... I guess she has a valid point.

So... You'll get your use out of those backpacks, and I swear they never wear out. To make them look new again, I just throw them in the wash every fall before school starts.

Yes!! I bought my kids each one in Fall 2006. Leah got a new one last year only because she was 2 when I bought hers, so it was the small one like Paige's in this pic. By 2nd grade she was brining home enough stuff that it didn't all fit anymore. I throw these in the wash now and then and fully expect them to last through nuclear war or high school, whichever comes firs.


Love the outfit, love the shirt... but I would definately use your customs before anything store bought - only because your customs are unique & adorable - no one else will have them, and they are made with love.





I love this!!! You can totally tell that she is Disney trained - even in pictures!!! What an amazing party!!!

It is so fabulous to have friends with such cool skills!

D~

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

Forgot to change my font above... sorry to make you hunt for my text!

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

On our very first trip with the kids, in November 2007, we put a goody bag in our hotel room from Mickey to each of them (we only had the two back then). This is now something we *must* do. This year the older kids are getting gift cards from Mickey .... This will be their money to spend however we want. We will buy all the snacks and pins - they buy the rest with this $$. It isn't a huge amount, but we buy one large gift each trip. So with us buying snacks, pins and one big gift, this should be a fun little treat. Most of all, it will force them to think carefully about what they buy and not ask for every last thing they see. At least, I hope so. It has worked in the past so fingers crossed it works again!

I ordered gift cards from Disneystore.com - Chip n Dale for AJ and Dumbo for Leah, of course.

** funny story below

Paige can't be trusted with a gift card, so she still gets the goody bag. Here is what I have collected for her so far:

I just love that autograph book. We haven;t done these in a few trips as no one had interest (which was nice). But at 3.5 Paige is the perfect autograph-hound age. I used to order books from eBay, so I never paid much attention to the park ones. This one has a spot for a 4x6 photo on the left hand side, and the autograph page on the right. You probably all know this already, but to me it was so cute!!!! I'm easily amused!!!!

** now, Leah no longer likes princesses. She is 8 and much too cool. Ha. But there is an Ariel story that is Disney lore in our family. I will share it with you here, excerpted from a past TR. Warning, don't drink anything while reading or you may snort it out your nose.

Here is the story. The part I am referring to is shaded brown. Let that serve as your warning.

 

[DMGeurts]

Love the goodie bags!

We do the same thing with the GCs... The girls usually get their own to spend as they'd like. I usually purchase a TON of trading pins off of Disney.com when they go on sale, and then I also purchase them a pin with the year of our trip on it, a resort pin (if we stay at a new resort - which we always have) and one holiday specific pin. I usually always get them a hat/ears too.

D~

 

[reelmom]

First of all~ You have a beautiful family.

Secondly~ I love your daily projects. I have no idea when we are going back to WDW( We are doing SeaWorld and Aquatica next June) so I should have a long time to decide what my daily projects should be. I think I love the planning almost as much as the trip.

Lastly~ Thank you for the warning about not drinking while reading the brown post. It most certainly would have ruined my laptop.

Can't wait to see what is in store next and to follow along with you for your TR.

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

Love the goodie bags!

We do the same thing with the GCs... The girls usually get their own to spend as they'd like. I usually purchase a TON of trading pins off of Disney.com when they go on sale, and then I also purchase them a pin with the year of our trip on it, a resort pin (if we stay at a new resort - which we always have) and one holiday specific pin. I usually always get them a hat/ears too.

D~

I love that your girls wil still wear the ears!!! I think I could talk Leah into it, but not AJ. I am just hoping I can get my brother and his bride to wear the bridge/groom Mickey ears!!!

First of all~ You have a beautiful family.

Secondly~ I love your daily projects. I have no idea when we are going back to WDW( We are doing SeaWorld and Aquatica next June) so I should have a long time to decide what my daily projects should be. I think I love the planning almost as much as the trip.

Lastly~ Thank you for the warning about not drinking while reading the brown post. It most certainly would have ruined my laptop.

Can't wait to see what is in store next and to follow along with you for your TR.

Thanks!! I am so glad you are here to read along and keep it "reel" with me. hehe

The planning is fun, isn't it????

I am working on another project as we speak for today's update!

 

[DMGeurts]

OMG!! ROFL!!! I just read the Ariel head story... LOL... And I love your dd's reaction and how she'll just use the non-crowned Ariel head from now on... LOL

D~

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

<hork>
<gag>
<heave>

hehe. Good memories. Seems so long ago!

 

[Alysa]

What is it with kids putting stuff in the toilet?!?!

 

[SillyFamily]

LoL I loved your brown story.

I am really enjoying your PTR. It makes me think of all the projects I need/want to do for my up coming trip. I am so thinking of making my own matching mickey shirts. If only i thought my dsis would wear one and not kill me.

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

What is it with kids putting stuff in the toilet?!?!

It must be the water. Or the flush. Or maybe they just wanted to return Ariel to the sea. All drains lead the ocean, you know.

LoL I loved your brown story.

I am really enjoying your PTR. It makes me think of all the projects I need/want to do for my up coming trip. I am so thinking of making my own matching mickey shirts. If only i thought my dsis would wear one and not kill me.

Watch out - it can get addicting! Before you know it you're forcing your peeps to change their shirt twice a day to get all your custom shirts worn!!!

Still working on today's project. The house is crawling with kids today so it's work 5 minutes, get distracted by a mess or chaos for 30. Repeat.

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

I hate computers. I mean, I love them, but I hate them.

After slaving away at CS4 yesterday working on today's projects my computer decided to give me the blue screen of death. This is why I prefer my Mac laptops! However, I was working on the PC yesterday because it has a larger store of Disney clipart for my projects.

After cussing, shouting, sulking, pouting, gnashing my teeth, and oh yeah - cussing - I have decided to carry on with this post (a day late) and post some pics of the same project from previous trips.

Because we used to live in SC we used to drive to Disney World. To give the kids something to do on the 6 hour drive, I would make them kid-tineries.... Little picture-based schedules tailored for each, showing the fun we would have each day. They are now a requested staple. And now I have to make three! Here is an example from the trip we took in 2007:

The itineraries are glued to the front of their travel journal. I actually don't make these anymore, as the teachers send plenty of work that we end up rushing through like freaks on our plane ride home (I have the best of intentions, people, but we never get to the ubiquitous packet in the hotel.... does anyone?), but these were great on our earlier trips and make for a great memory.

Now because I was just looking deep into my Photobucket archives, I came across pics of my travel/planning notebook from 2007. This is something I haven't done in awhile... What are your thoughts on this? After so many trips, do you still use the planning notebook/binder? I have to admit, it's kind of fun to put together. So I could probably be swayed.

As an update, I found the cheap pop-up hamper. Yay! Good ole Walmart....

Since I am looking through these old Photobucket albums, I thought I would share a few pieces of nostalgia... Here are a few things my kids loved on their first trip that they won't be able to see this trip:

We will miss you, Mickey and Minnie house. We hope you're not sleeping on a bench somewhere on Main Street.

Please come back, Spectro. Please. Your slightly creepy music speaks to my soul. And MSEP speaks to my "it is late and cold and we have been at this all day so please don't let me fall asleep."

We won't be seeing you anymore, All Stars, ever since that husband and wife had that domestic dispute in the room next to us one night in 2008 and hubs declared "No More Values -- ever."

(As an aside, I'd like to thank that couple, as I have thoroughly enjoyed WL, POR and BC since then! And I am hoping to enjoy CBR this time! I am sorry we called security on you. Actually, I am not. Who screams obscenities for three straight hours?)

Have a great day, readers!!!! I am so thankful for each and every one of you - you are helping to make this planning fun for me again!

 

[Alysa]

Oooo, those are great little itineraries! So cute!
And the journals sound like a great idea too!
I;m sorry you had to listen to people fighting for three hours - but glad for you that you got to go to WL instead (my favourite!)

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

Yeah, Alysa, it was no fun. Luckily it was 2am- 5am and the kids slept right through because the language wasn't nice. We were shocked because it took security an hour to get there after our first call at 3:30am. We could hear them talking to the couple, then leave, five minutes later the fighting was back and even worse because now they were blaming each other for getting he cops called. SO we called again and this time they came back about 5am and took the male in the room with them.

Before this hubs had a "why pay for anything but Value" mentality. He then decided this kind of thing wouldn't happen in a mod or deluxe (as if), and now that he has actually stayed Deluxe he is angry that we are staying mod this time! ha! But when you are bringing along two extra adults (my parents) something has gotta give!

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

I have messed with my ADRs. A lot. Does anyone else do this? Why do we do this? I get a little idea in my head and next thing you know we are eating all different stuff. The biggest thing I did was drop the Chef Mickey's ressie for 8:50 on our arrival night. Our flight leaves at 8am and the airport is 45 minutes away so I knew this was not a great idea. The next day is a full one at MK and MNSSHP that night so I don't want to ruin it with a late night the night before. But getting our dinner on with Mickey and Pals is important on our first day. I was stalking the ADR page of the Disney site but finally gave up. I ended up getting a lunch reservation for Chef Mickey's at 1:35 on Nov 2. I think after we eat this we will go back and rest a bit before the party that night.

Because we should arrive at CBR about 2:30 we will probably have a lte TS lunch in the food court while waiting for my parents, whose plane gets in about 3pm. I went ahead and made an ADR for Shutters that night at 6:30. I am not uber-thrilled about that meal but I figured between multiple arrivals, some pool time (weather permitting - we are Texans and we get cold), getting my Mom's ECV picked up and set up, etc, maybe it would be a good idea to stay put and chill and be ready for the big week ahead. Now, if we end up feeling energized and have lots of time on our hands we may head over to DTD and eat at EOS (yummalicious).

So... the project.....

I wanted to make a cute little bag with my fabric scraps to hold Paige's cute little pink Princess autograph book. And whatever else she wants to put in there. I have been teaching Leah, age 8, to sew a bit on he machine. She is very interested in making American Girl doll clothes. This was good practice for her. I really let her do just about everything. I helped straighten out her stitch a few times and ironed the hems. Nothing is finished on the inside and the strap got a bit sketchy but overall she did very well. I thought this was a great little introductory project. Prior to this she had only sewn straight(ish) lines on scraps.

Here is the front, with a little pocket for stickers, etc...

Here is the back, with a pocket to hold two sharpies. One will undoubtedly be pink.

And here it is hanging in my dining room....

I think Paige will be thrilled with it. And her big sister is so tickled that she made it herself. Of course, now I need to give it to Paige before we leave. If it shows up with the goodies from Mickey the big kids will be wise. Of course, I am sure they already are. But we all along with the ruse.... It's much more fun to believe Mickey is gifting us each time we arrive in WDW!!!

 

[Alysa]

That bag is so awesome! She must be so proud of herself. And I LOVE that you let her do it all herself. That is so hard for me sometimes!
Tell her that her mom's Dis friends are so impressed with her skills!