4/29/06 Eastern Magic...We're Going!!!!!

[Belle&RellasMom]

Good Question Suzie!!!

I'll agree about the power strip...we took one last time and plugged it in over on the desk...worked out well to "charge" all of the batteries and, if I remember correctly, I may have used it to plug in my hair dryer, curling iron, etc...

Another lifesaver that we took last time (but won't need this time) was an umbrella stroller. Abby had just turned two so she really needed a stroller, but there really wouldn't have been any room to store a full size one (nor would it have fit in the teeny tiny elevators). The umbrella folded up and we ended up using it ALL THE TIME!!!! CG...something you should think about bringing!!!

If I told you that I packed way too many clothes then Tom would read this and try to get me to take less this time, so I won't say it!!! Seriously though, on the at sea days we spent most of the time in our suits by the pool so a shorts outfit for everyday was really a space hog in the suitcase! The kids, however, did wear most of their clothes since they needed to be dressed in the clubs.

That's all I can think of off of the top of my head...off to playgroup (again - second time this week)...my kid has a busiser social life than I do!!!

 

[castlegazer]

Thanks - I have an awesome one. We use Combi strollers ( have an entire fleet no less) and I bought, second hand with the package wrapping still on it, a double one that collapses so small it will fit in an overhead compartment and weighs 13 pounds - it's soooo cool!!!! I love IT! It has its own sound system too! It's not an umbrella so its got a more comfy cushioning for the seats and Catrina has fallen asleep in it. We have the single of this model and it has gotten us through everywhere with Quinn. I can't say enough about this stroller!

I ditto the light packing as I always end up wearing a swim suit and coverup for the sea days.

Gotta run - I will keep piping up, though.

 

[castlegazer]

If you have cruised before, what is something you brought that made life in the small cabin more bearable?

A hard bound folder for the documents that you get every day.

A small shore excursion bag

small airplane shots of liquor No, just kidding.

What are some of your "don't forget" things you take on a cruise or vacation?

bathing suits - many, not just one

documents/passports

This time it's going to be a whole new ball of wax as I will have to have separate stuff for Flounders and the kids.

I am still making my lists right now.

I use this thread alot:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=468132

 

[PhillyJen2006]

Hi gang...just back from Target! I went for Laundry detergent and toilet paper and dish detergent....my we were a sorry crowd last night....laundry and dishes piling up everywhere and no TP except a tiny roll in the downstairs bathroom! So.....you can imagine my surprise, when I loaded 2 outfits for Hannah, shoes for Katie, tablecloths, napkins and bar plates, and oh yeah a picture to hang in the basement over the bar into my car!

Anyway-ditto the clothes thing. Can't have too many clothes for the kids and you can not leave enough at home for you. I dressed every night for dinner and I guess 3 complete outfits for day and then gym shorts, tshirts and cover ups. I brought 10 complete outfits for every occasion last time and didn't wear half-yet it gets wrinkled and gross enough that you have to wash it when you get home anyway~ My husband had it right the first time, he brought 3 pairs of dress pants and 1 suit for dinner(wore it both formal and semi with different shirts and ties) and like 4 shirts. The rest of the nights he wore polo type shirts with his dress pants. HG is a strange bird-won't catch him anywhere but home in chino type pants. We also washed laundry once on board and I have to say-not that bad~! Do it in the morning when you get up or mid week like right before dinner! It helps with the little ones too that might still be potty training that you don't have little accidents to stink up your dirty clothes bag the entire week(can you tell...I've been there!)

I am psyched about the power strip idea! I can't believe how many times we have had to sacrifice the charging camera batteries or laptop for a hair dryer.... and the girls both had short hair that doesn't dry nice by itself. I had to not only dry my hair, but both girls every night! This time, H has longer hair and you can bet that it is just going to be braided or something each night(except obviously formal and semi).

I also have to give props to bringing your own wine onboard-or whatever floats your boat . We each(Mermaid Patty and myself) brought about 5 bottles of wine on board and drank every one of them(we shared our loot- right Tom, Julie, Pango and Laura). I am not saying i am proud of that, but it did save us a TON of money. This year, we are bringing a case of beer on board with us and you can bet that while we will still patronize Jamaica James-we will NOT be spending a cumulative $80.00 on the equivalent of a case of beer poolside on Thursday! Or quick fixens for a nice Margarita on the rocks. And it doesn't take up a lot of space!

Oh- and we brought little Welcome Aboard suveniers for the kids that Mermaid Compulsive Planner Patty had been socking away for months. She brought them in little pails, with stickers, coloring books, lip gloss ect..... for the "downtime" as well as disney princess disposable cameras and sunglasses. She got it all at Wal Mart, and the girls were just as excited maybe more than if they had gotten something in the room from Disney!

Oh- and the Room Service cheese tray- I forget what it was called. I know you don't "bring this" but I have morphed the conversation into just favorite things. Every night, while we were hanging in the cabin getting ready for dinner, Hannah would call up RS and order 4 of the cheese trays to be brought to the room. Some nights we'd even get so fancy as to go down to Topsiders and get Shrimp Cocktail for our little parties! We opened our adjoining room door, sent the kids in to one and the adults had our own private happy hour before dinner! It is just nice, because the kids really needed a little downtime before going to dinner and the adults wanted to be partying-NOT YOU PHILLY JEN- I know.....Hard to believe!

I meant to say this last night and I can't remember now who posted it, but we love Napolean Dynamite! Believe it or not-I got Pat a doll for Christmas that says like 6 phrases from the movie. The liger bit, Part about Pedro's mustache...He sits on the bar and we laugh hysterically everytime we hear it! I actually had to see it like 3 times before I "got it" cause I kept falling asleep before the end!

Alright- I will get back to those of you who were interested in the bracelets later today. Gotta get to work!

PJ

 

[suziemva]

I use this thread alot:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=468132

WOW! That is a heck of a list! I didn't read the other 10 pages (OMG! I do have a life you know!) but I can only imagine. I would have 15 suitcases if I took everything!
We had 7 last time and had way too many clothes - yes, I will say it! I overpack! But then I found out about the laundry rooms and how great they are! We did all our laundry before we disembarked and had clean clothes when we got home!! WOOHOO!! Totally recommend doing laundry on board! We even had one grammy that would take it out and fold it up for you if it sat a bit. She and her DH were so sweet!!!


New topic: I am so excited!! Ed's job (full time) ends while we're on our cruise. He will still work part time for his current employer but since they sold the MANSION there's not much for him to do. SOOOOOOOOO, he's starting his own business doing property management/estate management, quality and corporate startup management and whatever else people want him to do. He's already had two companies come to him and ask for proposals. I finished the second one last night! I'm so excited that things seem to be going now. I was afraid that he would end up having to work for someone else and we'd end up moving somewhere like NH or some other bu** freezing cold place!! (I'm really ready for the cold weather to go away - it's 35 out right now!). So, this may mean less quick trips for the family to The World, but we will still have our annual vacations.....but he will be his own boss!! HOW COOL IS THAT!!!

And yes, CG, I did answer my own questions, because they were for EVERYONE! I didn't want to make myself feel bad by leaving myself out!

 

[PhillyJen2006]

Suzie-That is excellent news about your DH's job! It is so fun to see people realize their dreams! Ok I REALLY need to get to work- I am working on a butt load of rings today and they are time consuming!

TTYL-
pj

 

[castlegazer]

hey Jen, what do think? A bottle of beer per diaper in my suitcase? Figure it would make good packing stuff? I gotta check the laws as there was some hubbub about FL laws about shipping wine, but what we plan on doing is sending down our favorite liquor (Sabra) and some wine and whatnot in a box to the port. Gotta check on this, but that is the plan.


THAT IS AWESOME NEWS SUZIE!!!! Really awesome! Nothing better, or more stressful, than owning your own business.

I am so happy for you guys!!!

 

[castlegazer]

Julie, we have to talk! Check out the Dream Home MB! The Cruz's (living in DH05 after winning with the hope of keeping it) are selling! HGTV sent them an adjusted ARV tax sheet that upped the prize value by a LOT and they can't make the payment. Someone did a check on the value of the DH06 and its now valued at over $3 million (the ARV in the rules is somewhere a little north of $2 million). I have a very big feeling that this home would be very bad to win. I am now just entering with the hope of winning one of the cash prizes and if I were to happen to win the house - I NEED A BUYER IMMEDIATELY!

As it was, I was already trying to figure out how my Mom, my Sis and her husband, my In-Laws, and my family would all be able to live in that house together without killing each other It takes a village to keep a Dream Home.

 

[castlegazer]

OK guys, keep yourselves amused for the next day or so. I may be on tomorrow afternoon, maybe, just for some stress relief - good one today TT! (I had a bit of insomnia last night too, but didn't come on and check up on you all)

I have lots to remark on from the questions, like one that pops to mind: STEVEMED, you and I have to chat about Samantha Brown! So I am sorry if it feels like your answers went into the stratosphere - I have lots to say now that I know all your weird habits.

Off to the wake!

 

[Belle&RellasMom]

DID SHE SAY DUCT TAPE???

I will admit that I am an over-packer, but one thing that I won't be packing is DUCT TAPE!!! Suzie, I know you say that there are a thousand and one uses for it, but if I come up with even ONE use for it I'm borrowing yours!!!!!!!!! Remember...there are four chicks in this family...can't be taking up precious (and limited according to Tom) space in the suitcases!!!!!!

I'll agree with PJ about the cheese tray...we did that every night too while we were showering and changing for dinner. Something else we did, along the same lines, was to order a pot of coffee and a tray of muffins & danishes & fruit on it to enjoy each morning. Each evening we would fill out the order form and hang it on the door (or leave it for the room stewards when they turned down the bed). We still went to one of the dining rooms most of the mornings, but it was nice to get our coffee and a little something to keep the kids busy while we were getting ready to go.

As far as PJ's other advice goes...you know the advice about the beer, wine & liquor...that is also something we'll be indulging in this time around. We didn't bring much on board last time since we were "newbies", but this time around we know the deal! This may also help when it comes to paying our bill off on the last morning...hopefully it won't be 1200.00 bucks again ) Bringing bottles of booze & wine on board won't be a problem, the problem comes with the beer that I like to drink! Harder to carry on! I'm sure that I'll be indulging in the "Drink of the Day" a lot like last time though.

CG...our thoughts are with you.

 

[mketting]

Tom- I see you like Curb you Enthusiasm. We don't have HBO but my aunt taped a ton of them and gave them to us. Kirk abosolutely loves the show!

Jen-- Thanks for the encouragment. I guess one good thing is I don't drink so that was something I haven't had to cut back on. I think alcohol is the only calorie ridden thing you could consume I don't like. I like my grain in the form of bread, bread and more bread!!

Bring Along- Highlighter for the navigators. I am going to try and not overpack, it will be very hard though. Shoes alone could fill a suitcase!!

Outer Banks- This past Summer we went to Emerald Isle, NC with Kirk's whole family. HIs family has never really gone on many vacations so I planned and organized it, it took 3 months just to find a date that worked for everyone. There were 18 of us in one big house for the week. I didn't sleep for the week before the trip worrying how it would go. Well, everyone loved it and we plan to go again in 2007.

 

[suziemva]

OH-HO! After a night of overindulgence and the freakin' curtain to the verandah (or window) won't stay closed and that little shaft of light hits you in the face .......DUCT TAPE would have kept it closed!!! HA! Too late to borrow it then! You'll be cryin' a different tune then, my friend!! At that time the price rate goes up!

STEVEMED - just saw this one for you, my friend!!

Ed just chimed in to say don't foget clothes pins for the shower curtain! Nothing worse than showering and the curtain flying around or sticking to you!

 

[GrumpyC.Hook]

I would like wristbands? how much would i owe you? I would need one for me and one for my mom

 

[suziemva]

Does anyone else have a problem with the posting time? It's 11:14 pm and my posting time is (edited) 12:11 am!!!! WTHeck is going on! I can't seem to get it fixed and have no clue.

Amy, PM castlegazer with your order. She may not answer this weekend because of a family funeral but hang tight and she'll get to you as soon as she can.

PJ - I'll get back with you soon....gotta get my ducks in a row first! Great talking to you. I actually met up with Ed on the street over (got off work early) on my way to pick up Tori. Poor baby! She was the last kid in her class to be picked up! They were getting ready to call my cell!!! Time just gets away too quickly......gotta be a Buffett song in there somewhere, Pango! Help me out here!!!

 

[STEVEMED]

Welcome back. to grumpy c hook

 

[suziemva]

I'm going to try to stay off the boards and just lurk today. Let me just apologize now for any pissiness or nastiness that may come from this little corner!

 

[PhillyJen2006]

I dont' get it?

 

[PhillyJen2006]

TT/JT-When are you guys going to be at Vero Beach? And where is it? I just found out that the girls and I are possibly going to be in New Smyrna Beach(south of Daytona) from the 8th-17th of April! I have no concept of time when looking at countdown tickers....

Here's how it went down...my mom- a serial vacationer- and I were on the phone last night and she was feeling some guilt that we wouldn't be able to go see my grandparents in FL. They come home for the summer in May. She said her and my dad(who never drive) were thinking about Easter week. I just jokingly said that if you guys were driving we'd come with you(me and the girls) since Hannah has 6 days off school. She kind of laughed it off, then told my dad who is already planning when we are doing the driving rotations and where the girls are going to sit in their car!!! So...if my Grandparents don't have any other company coming to visit that week-we are going to Florida! This is good for several reasons! I love going to my granparents place-so relaxing, literally just across A1A(am I banned from A1A I wonder) from the ocean. I love New Smyrna Beach, a very classy little vacation town. My MIL lives near Coco Beach and so when HGP is with us-we always stay with her, and I am not crazy about Satellite Beach in general-her house NOT excluded for a variety of reasons.

Here is the best part-no fake bakin for me....I will be able to get started on my FL tan early! AND-the summer clothes are ALWAYS cheap and available at BEALLS and so I can wait until we get there to get Hannah's clothes for the cruise! I have a big concern bc the last cruise I bought her an entire new summer wardrobe in like April and by July-she needed new stuff. I don't want to have to replace her summer wardrobe mid summer-not getting a regular paycheck this year and all and she doesn't have the type of body that can get away with things "a little big". She is a shorty with a j-lo "back" if you know what I mean. It will make her very happy someday but it is a beyatch to buy her clothes now! Meanwhile Kate JUST retired her size 12MO(she'll be 5 in 2 months) Lands End bathing suit recently. I still let her wear it to the Y, but it is actually wearing out!!!! If you can believe that!

Alright- I was going to take her to see Nanny McPhee today-HGP and Hannah went last weekend. He said it was one of the best movies he'd seen in a long time. BUT Katie "claims" she didn't like Hannah's choice last night of restaurants(Report Card dinner) so I decided to take her out to lunch instead! She isn't really a good movie goer either- never met a public bathroom she didn't like....

Hannah picked a Sushi/Hibachi Restaurant FujiSan last night. They love this place-how could you not with the Hibachi chef setting the table on fire and making volcanos out of stacked up onions. And Kate, who lives on Trader Joes "pirate booty" and girl scout cookies, ate more fried rice, chicken and shrimp with CHOPSTICKS than I have ever seen her eat in her life! I swear she just like to be difficult! Maybe she will graduate to a size 24MO soon

Have a great day everyone! Oh-and since we are going to FL 2 weeks earlier than expected-my BL diet has taken on full steam(after California Pizza Kitchen with Kate today) I guess the total tally is down 6 lbs since Jan 6th. They serve Sterling Chardonnay by the glass-not many "chain" type restaurants have a even a decent "by the glass" wine selection!

Have a good one!
PJ

 

[PhillyJen2006]

Where is everybody today? CG gets a pass-and now that I think about it....she's the one(with the exception of the "lurker") that keeps this board everyday! NOw it's me-I have a few minutes while my hair dries to chat and it's like a ghost town.....

So-in the meantime-checkout my new sig.....my new motto!!!

PJ

 

[Belle&RellasMom]

Suzie...is it my DUCT TAPE comment? You know I was just joking, right???