A Tale of [family madness in] Two Cities - Final Thoughts & PTR Link!

[CJsMom]

Hmm - I always thought you could use the fp anytime that day - that they didn't really care about the return time. Do you think they were being more strict because it was a busier time of year?

Awesome pictures and video!!!

Good luck with the house - I hope everything works out!

 

[MaryAz]

Glad things are going well. Hope the DVC sells soon as welll as the house. Great update-love all the pics.

 

[TyRy]

Finally all caught up and all I have to say is I hope you want visitors in NY. I LOVE that whole area. When we lived in Astoria we were at Broadway and 30th, right around the corner from the N train and down the street from the yummy chicken place that I can't remember the name...it was a Greek restaurant.

The first place we wanted to rent was in Ditmars (was calmer that our area even back in the late 90's). But once the owner found out it was going to be DH only for a couple of months till I got there, she changed her mind. It was ok, as I LOVED where we ended up.

Good luck with selling the house and DVC...I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

 

[ptcrn]

Great update!

Looking at the pictures of Wishes and the castle at Christmastime just put me in my happy place!!

I love the ceiling fan game- too cute! It sounds like your FIL is a great Poppa!

Bummer that you got denied at SM- hey, it was worth a try, right?

That is really cool about the tree at Kidani. I would love to know how they did it!

I don't think I ever posted after your last news... wishing you good luck on selling your house! I'm sorry you have to sell your DVC, but it will always be there. Putting the money to good use to follow your dreams is wonderful! Woohoo for more showings! Hopefully one of them will work out. I'll keep you guys in my thoughts and prayers!

 

[blessedby3]

Great update Brook I love your pictures from Wishes!! It is my favorite-especially the Holiday Wishes
Sorry you didnt get on SM, but what a great feeling to give away those Buzz passes. So nice of you
Glad things are going relatively well with the moving process. Hope you get a nibble or better yet a buyer soon! We are having a yard sale soon too. We have so much stuff laying around and NO storage in our house. We have a yard sale every year and I always say- where does all this stuff come from. I think the stuffed animals are definately multiplying at night
Im heading back to watch your videos now
Gotta get my disney fix

 

[3prettyprincesses]

And the boys watching...

Continued in next post

Oh, this is the sweetest pic! You have to keep it forever and hold it close to your heart, it's pricelss!

Awesome update! Although I did feel badly for you to have to do the walk of shame out of the FP line at SM! Your Wishes pics are fabulous too. I love love love Wishes. My DD was 4 the first time she saw it with Tinker Bell flying across the sky, she was screaming with excitement and it was precious!

Ok, how the heck are palm trees growing through the roof?? I'm completely baffled, I think I'll have to go all Nancy Drew and figure this out! With the help of google of course!

Good luck with the price reduction too Brook! Still here, still praying!

 

[A.Mickey]

So happy to hear from you! I missed you!! I hope all goes well with the house selling for you!!

Poppa sounds like so much FUN!!
awww...that stinks that you got denied, but at least you tried for us and now we know...and knowing is half the battle!

LOVE Wishes! I have yet to see the Holiday Wishes show. Maybe this December...if they still have it.

 

[bethk78]

Great fireworks pics!! Someday I will see it...

Also, I found a great forum for work at home moms with lots of legitimate job opps: wahm dot com (not sure if it's okay to post other sites - eek), my favorite being the WAHMs Who Write forum.

Hope that helps and good luck with everything.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Brook, thanks for the update. I was wondering what happened with your sale. How horrible for your potential buyer to be in that serious car accident while they are in the process of buying a house! And I can understand how frustrating all this waiting must be fpr you and Joe! You have been writing about wanting to sell your house for such a long time! I really hope that your plan becomes reality soon!

I am impressed with how much research you have already put into it. What you write about Astoria sounds like a great area.

It has been a LONG time! It is starting to get to me - we are trying to be really as aggressive as we possibly can be with the sale. If it doesn't go soon, we are going to look into renting it out....which we DON'T want to do, but...!

I am a research geek. Vacations, moving, apartment hunting, selling a house...love it all!

Hi Brook!

Oh, how horrible for the potential buyer that they were in a car accident. Hopefully they recover very quickly.

Queens sounds like a lovely place to move. I know you are anxious to set all of that in motion!

I thought of you yesterday when I went to run errands and saw McDonalds. Oh, how I wish we had Shamrock Shakes here in the South.

I do hope the person recovers quickly! We just dropped the price again, so if they are doing better perhaps that will be incentive enough for them to make an offer!

It is a SHAME you guys don't have them! I had to go get one yesterday again since last year our McDonald's ran out shortly after St. Patrick's Day. Just had to fit in one last delight!

Sorry for taking so long!! Life interrupts DISing all too often lately.

Ok so the reason we lived in Astoria is because my dad was from Greece and Astoria was like the Little Greece of Queens. I think there are still lots of good Greek restaurants there if you like that kind of food. We moved to Bayside, Queens which is a little more suburban, no trains, etc...

I went to Our Lady of Mount Carmel which was a Catholic School that I think sadly has closed. It is funny to hear that Astoria is Trendy and Hip, it so was not when I lived there. We spent every weekend shopping on Steinway Street- walking the whole way. Wow, you have brought back lots of memories.

So this is ironic, and I believe you read it on my current PTR and commented on it, the story about how I met my best friend, mom going into labor, neighbor across the street knocks her daughter down, yadda, yadda, yadda. Well that story happened right there on 29th street in Astoria, I will post a pic of those stairs for you!

Good luck with all the plans and definitely keep us posted- you must be on pins and needles right now!

Ahhhh! I LOVE that the whole story happened on 29th Street in Astoria!!! And yep, it's still "Little Greece" - though not quite as much as it once was. Flushing is quite popular now. I have some Greek friends out there.

Steinway is still very well known for it's shopping. And overall Astoria is still slower moving and family focused, but there are Starbucks everywhere, so that sorta equates to "hip and trendy" ville with funky bars and all that! It's like once a Starbucks appears the whole neighborhood vibe changes.

I actually looked at Bayside as well, it sounds like a FANTASTIC neighborhood - but like you said, it's far from the trains, etc. so it's a no-go for us since Joe will require them. But, I'm thinkin' we'll have to go visit because it sounds, and from pictures I have seen, looks beautiful!

Sad, it was only Nov 2008 when I saw the parade and I had to go back to my pictures and see if they had the floats lit up or not because I could not remember for sure. There were a few that had Christmas lights on them as decorations, but to say lit up, the answer is no. Here are a few pics from the parade at night and you can see what I mean about the lights.

That is very cute with them decorated with Christmas lights! I am guessing during the daytime parade they are still there but you can't tell. Now I might have to go back through my pictures too!

Oh my goodness! I would be in heaven there! I love Greek food in all its forms! Yum, yum, yum! There was a Greek restaurant (I think it is still there) on King Street in Charleston that we used to go to ALL the time when I was growing up. They had the most divine food, and the owner would always give me a gigantic lollipop!

I love Greek food too! SO YUMMY!!!! I love your memory of the lollipop!

sorry to hijack here but CP you make me I think you just love food...period! I wish you lived near me cause so do I -we could do food of a different nation each week! Oh and Greek food would be number one on my list- after all it's in my blood!

Can I join ya?! Pick me! Pick me!

You're right -- I do love food! International foods especially so a weekly food fest would be heavenly in my eyes!

Every year in MN they host and "International Food Festival" for high school students. I remember going and eating my way through the place. Drool.

 

[Charlefours]

Cute picture of Henry watching his beloved stuff characters. What a great thing you did with the Buzz FP! We hope to do a similar thing with the extra F! tickets we will have since 4 are not planning on attending it at this time (they don't care for it ).

Great pictures of Wishes!!

 

[brookelizabeth]

What will be the distance between you now with the move? Have you already started talking about how to get in plenty of visits? We have all talked about how we'll be going to Orlando hopefully four times a year, and Trent can come here 3-4 times a year, and then we could meet in the middle a couple of times a year. If we are able to do all that, I think we'll all be fine. It might mean an extra job for me just for travel expenses!

Right now we are 20 minutes away. When we move to NYC it will be a 2 hour plane ride plus 1 hour in the car. We haven't spoken much about how often we will come back - except we will be here for most, if not all, holidays. I would love it if the family came to visit us! I think they may eventually, they just aren't big travelers...but perhaps they will be changed into them after this past trip to WDW and New Orleans and the upcoming summer trip! I also like the idea of meeting halfway. It sounds like you guys will be seeing Trent about once a month then between you going there and him coming to see you?

I gotta get caught up on your TR and see how it all went.

wow, somehow i missed the big moving news. i am so excited for you. i live in staten island, ny. not too far. it will be great you can take henry to the mets games. i dont think i could live anywhere else, except maybe disney world (not florida, actually in minnies house)
so sad that you have to sell dvc, but the positive is mousekeeping will now make your beds and you'll have an excuse to eat out all the time. those are the things that i tell myself when i feel bad that i dont have dvc.

I love your reasoning! I DO miss the bed making/clean room everyday! But, I love the space with a toddler. But, all well - it will be fine! And we need that money at this point.

I have friends on Staten Island, I couldn't tell ya where on Staten Island though. I was only at their house ever once and I was in awe of how suburban SI was. Makes sense, but it took me by surprise even still.

I'm really looking forward to everything we can do with Henry and show him, the history, culture, and life! He talks about riding the trains already - and wants to see the Statue of Liberty. We've trained him well.

Good luck with all the happenings in your life Brooke! We are battling similar sorts of things too with moving and making the right decision for your family. You are an inspiration!!

Don't feel bad for spacing out your updates--we will be here when you have the opportunity!!

Thank you!!! Are you planning on moving/selling in this nutty economy? It's such a battle. We have ALWAYS paid our house payment on time (and sometimes even more than the minimum), yet we are taking a huge hit on the house and there is ZERO to help us. If we couldn't make the payments, or just don't, then there is all sorts of help. We feel like we are punished for being good. Ugh. It's such a pain. Sigh. I hope your "adventure" is easier!

Brook, I finally caught up on your TR. I was over 29 pages behind. Like you said life happens and things have to wait. Sometimes I just wish it could be the yucky stuff that had to wait.

I have so enjoyed experiencing your Christmas/New Years trip through your eyes, and your wonderful photographs, as well as the video's your DFIL took, it all has been really wonderful. Brook you are a talented writer, who has a gift for taking your readers on a adventure. Thank you for sharing so much of your family and especially little Henry. He is such a cutie! Reading your trip has brought back some wonderful memories of our last WDW trip before Christmas. That is such a magical time at WDW, all the lights, decorations, and everyone seems so filled with joy.

I am excited about your move. I certainly see why New York will be a very good place for you, Joe and Henry. Life will be more fulfilling for Joe there as well as all the opportunities for all three of you. We are cleaning out our home purging items we don't need or want. We hope to sell and move out of state in the near future. I know how hard it is in this economy to find a buyer who is willing to pay a reasonable price. I know that God will work out everything in his perfect timing for you all! You will be in my prayers, as well thoughts for a perfect family who will love your home and allow you to obtain your dream.

Don’t worry about doing updates until you are ready. We all will be here when you are ready.

Angel16

Thank you so much for your words and prayers! They are coveted. All the cleaning/purging out is kinda fun in a way - we've been doing that (again) for weeks, very aggressively this time in complete faith that we will be on our way soon. I hope your selling/move goes smoothly!

Thank you as well for the kind comments on the TR and pictures! It's so much fun to write and share with everyone. It's always my goal to make it feel like you are there with me as much as I possibly can! I know I need to live vicariously between trips!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Brook! I had to come over and tell you my exciting news! Connor and I stopped at McDonald's on our way to Charles and Chelsea's soccer game to get milkshakes and guess what they had??? That's right!!! I got to try my very first Shamrock Shake, and it was as wonderful as I always thought it would be!!! I was so beside myself with excitement! I would have taken a picture if I had had my camera with me!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! That is AWESOME!! I'm also glad to read that you enjoyed it! Hopefully they are there next year and the year after and the year after! The Shamrock Shakes have INVADED the South!

I'm so sorry to hear about your potential buyer Brook. That doesn't sound good at all. I'm happy that you've been able to do some research and have a good idea about where to transplant the family. From your thoughts, it sounds like a nice place! Minnesota will miss you though. LOL!

It was a bit scary to hear what happened to the buyer! I do hope they recover quickly. I know the tax credit ends on April 30, so if they need that I hope they are able to continue their hunt and get it settled before then.

Astoria really is a wonderful place, it's beautiful! I will miss aspects about Minnesota. Caribou Coffee and GRASS being two of them! Whenever I would come back to visit before I would have to lay in the grass and just sniff the earth, so fresh, so clean....ahhhh. And I had to go directly to the first Caribou I could (often the Mall of America) and get a coffee. I am not so much a Starbucks gal when there is Caribou around!

And of course the family. They are always the hardest to leave.

Hi Brook! I was stopping by to read your lovely update and get the official news on the NY move. I've kept up with you on Facebook, however I haven't been on all my TR's in several weeks. I've been working on my digital Disney scrapbook which I just finished. I had forgotten I had one left in my prepaid balance with Shutterfly and every minute was spent getting it done so I wouldn't lose my $50 already invested in it. I officially finished it tonight!!

Sometimes we just have to go with what's in our heart! I understand completely what you're saying and only because I grew up in Europe. As Magdalene has mentioned, in most places in Europe (Germany to be specific), you can use public transportation and hop over to the market, walk to places and parks, etc. I've never been to NYC but I know enough about it that it has these characteristics. I still struggle at times here in the States because I didn't grow up here, but I'm happy so that's what matters. I totally get it though and I'll be wishing and praying for you guys. I'm so touched for Joe that he'll finally have an "easier" life and that's just so sweet!

Good luck on selling the house and stay strong!

Heather

Congrats on finishing your digital scrapbook! Does Shutterfly have ones that are automatically themed Disney? I have done a couple of their books and they are just awesome! I need to look into all that again when I have some time.

Thank you for your encouraging words! We are ready to take the big plunge and just go for it. I love the "no car culture" and miss it-and yep, NYC has those exact characteristics. I just love being able to walk wherever, or hop on public transit and go. Watching Joe receive independence from it all will be life changing for both of us I'm sure!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Great update, Brook! Seeing pictures of AKL always makes me want to be there right that very instant! What a fun game with Mickey and Donald on the fan!

Not the Walk of Shame!!! Like you said, it was worth a try!

Wonderful photos and video from Wishes!

 

[DreaGirl]

Great update! Your Wishes pictures really bring me back to my magic place!

I hope that someone takes the bait on the house and you sell it quickly. It's great that you are getting so much traffic though. That seems to be half the battle.

Brook you should start a blog so we can all follow along on your move. It is so exciting!

 

[kschafer]

I was so excited there for a minute that you were going to get to use you FP, bummer for the walk of shame I remember waiting in the FP line for TT and there was a group a bit ahead of us denied access. I can't remember what exactly they were trying to tell the CM but they didn't all have FP's and they were very mad they had waited that long just to be turned away at the end (the FP line was still like a 30 min wait!) I don't know if the person at the beginning didn't count passes or if some of them line jumped but I was glad the CM at the end stood his ground

Beautiful fireworks pictures! I wish my hubbies camera had that photo from video feature, he doesn't take many photos and that would be a great way to get the "perfect" shot!

Sending pixie dust that your sales happen soon so you can move on toward your dreams

 

[MeMom]

Right now we are 20 minutes away. When we move to NYC it will be a 2 hour plane ride plus 1 hour in the car. We haven't spoken much about how often we will come back - except we will be here for most, if not all, holidays. I would love it if the family came to visit us! I think they may eventually, they just aren't big travelers...but perhaps they will be changed into them after this past trip to WDW and New Orleans and the upcoming summer trip! I also like the idea of meeting halfway. It sounds like you guys will be seeing Trent about once a month then between you going there and him coming to see you?

I gotta get caught up on your TR and see how it all went.


I'm really looking forward to everything we can do with Henry and show him, the history, culture, and life! He talks about riding the trains already - and wants to see the Statue of Liberty. We've trained him well.

We are shooting for every month, but it'll probably be more like every month and a half in reality. Travel is expensive, unfortunately. Money will be the determiner, because desire would be having us hook up every month or even more.

Henry will surely have a wealth of activities around him in NY! I hope we'll get to see all the little mini-trips you guys take.

 

[ClaireW]

Enjoyed the update!
And still keeping fingers crossed for your house sale

 

[kimmylaj]

what a fun update. i love the girls night out at mk and i have to say i am shocked that second cm did not let you on sm.
and garage sales. i love garage sales. having them, going to them. oohh my first one i made just over 900 dollars , it was crazy , i got hooked. i tend to sell my kids toys right out from under them

 

[Lovemy3babes]

What a lovely update. I'm sorry no one has yet put in a bid but I'm so hopeful they will soon since you have had a lot of lookers. It's really tough work to keep a house "showing ready". I do not envy that at all. We really need to get our house on the market but with all the work it is and the cruddy economy, eh...not feeling it yet.

I'm glad you enjoyed MK and saw my favorite fireworks show! I love the pictures and video both. Sorry you were turned away at SM though, what a bummer!

 

[jordanyosh]

Nice update!

I like that game for Henry! I'll have to remember that one.....

Nice that you got some girl time at the MK....

Glad you got to see WISHES!