After All This We are going To Need Some Magic **Sad Update 8/20**

[Jackiemarie21]

Love everyone's cute Mickey gingerbread houses. I will have to look for those next year.

We also have a kid who was born on our anniversary. DH calls it our "diaper anniversary". I love your idea of celebrating on a different date important to you as a couple.

We got the Mickey gingerbread houses at Cracker barrel of all places!

Have a kiddo born on your anniversary certainly takes away the celebration aspect of the anniversary. Its not really like its your day any more! But I love it in a way too! On our third anniversary we had dinner at CRT and watched wishes from our table. I remember asking Bob how we could ever top that anniversary. The very next year we were in the hospital after having our amazing daughter. She toped the anniversary before for sure! We have not, however, been able to top that one!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

We are getting excited!​

Um I think its time for a little update!
I have not really been thinking much about our actual trip other than our very initial bit of planning (In other words, deciding we are going) but this last week we have actually started talking about the trip and some of our plans!

I will start with a little about life:
Mom is not doing great. She had a string of days that got better and better between thanksgiving and Christmas and then things have sort of gone down hill from there. I think it is mainly depression, but mom is jittery and anxious and very angry. Nowhere near where she was last Oct., but it is still not a great sign. In some ways I think she has started to give up. She really thought she would be better by now and just isn't. She had an MRI today and several doctors appointments this week. So, I guess we will know more as time goes on, but it is so hard to watch someone you love suffer so much. I wish I had some pixie dust for that!

Now that we are sure the new baby is going to be a princess, we have to have a name for her! I think we have finally decided on Cecilia Mary! It was so much harder to pick a name this time! Every time I thought I *liked* a name I would say it a few times and end up hating it! I also kind of liked the idea of this baby having the same initials as Charlotte so we could pass down some of her monogrammed stuff (because there is A LOT of that). I also realized I needed to pick a name this time where I liked the nickname (I am not a fan of any shortened version of Charlotte however, DH's family insists on calling her Char Char against my will) So, with Cecilia we can call her Cece and I really like that! So we have a winner! Boy naming kids is a tough business!


So, about our trip plans I am going to give you a rough outline of what we are planning now, even though it will most likely change a 100 times!

We are going to leave Friday after my DH gets home from work and drive through the night.

MapQuest says it should take us about 14 1/2 hours from our door to the Poly. Adding in stops and time to let the kiddos stretch their legs we should arrive at the Poly mid to late morning Saturday.

Our plan for Saturday is to hang around the resort, we might do some swimming or just relax. I am going to request to have our room ready early, but we will see what happens. I am considering doing a fun charter meal that night, perhaps 1900 Park Fare or Chef Mickey's. We were not planning on doing tons of TS meals but it may be a fun was to get us into the Disney spirit!

Sunday we are going to do MNSSHP (assuming there is one that night). We will sleep in and go to 'Ohana for breakfast. This was originally one of the two TS meals we planned on. Our whole family LOVES stitch and last time we had a great experience with this meal! After breakfast we will have another take it easy day until time to head to the party! Naps will be mandatory! We will have to learn Cece's personality before we actually determine how the party will go, but Bob has volunteered to take her back to the room if she crashes before the end. Charlotte has always been an night owl and will most likely not have a problem closing the party down with me!


Monday we are going to just get up when we get up our plans are pretty flexible. We are most likely going to go to one of the water parks. The tickets that came with our package are two day tickets and include one free "fun" pass which can be used at a water park or Disney Quest. We originally were going to get a third day of tickets but then decided to save the money and try out a water park rather than HS or AK. A water park with a 6 month old is going to be tricky, but if we take turns with her I think we should be fine. I know Charlotte is going to love it! I am considering a dinner at 'Ohana on this day as well. It was not a part of the "original" plan but I am not sure we can stay at the poly and not eat here! I would be too sad!

Tuesday we will be going to EPCOT. We are going to mostly fill up on snacks. I am so excited to try some of the food and wine offerings. But, there are so many delicious things there we have never tried! We have always been so full from all our TS meals we haven't tried much! I am dying to try anything from France and I must try school bread this time! Just to name a few! Don't worry as we get closer there will be an entire post on snacks! We will probably take some sort of mid-day break and return to try some more food, maybe a QS dinner, who knows? The only thing planned about this day is it will be at EPCOT, everything else is up in the air!

Wednesday we will go to MK. We will do some sort of QS for lunch and take a mid-day break . We will head back to the MK for the evening and hopefully snag an ADR for BOG. Which was one of the two ADR's I was planning to do since the beginning of the trip.

Thursday we will head for home and cry the whole way

So, like I said this will probably change a million times, but its a rough outline!

 

[AprilRenee]

Sounds like a nice trip and one with some cool new things.

Love the name!! And calling her by her name just makes her seem so real!!

I'm so sorry your mom is going downhill again I hate that this whole thing is happening to you guys

 

[Dugette]

Sending to your mom. Sorry she's having a rough time lately. I hope things start looking up again for her.

It is really hard picking out a name, isn't it? There are SO many variables to consider. Cece's really cute, though! And it's good you like it - lately, Izzy has been DEMANDING that people call her Izzy - if someone says Isabella (her real name), she immediately barks, "NO, I'm Izzy!!!"

Your plans sound good! We've never made it to one of the Disney waterparks, so that will be interesting to hear about. I have the same problem as you - adding more table service meals than I planned... It's just so hard to skip them!

 

[ksl5f123]

I love the name Cecilia! We have had it on our list the last two times (but both of those babies turned out to be boys).

I am so impressed by people who can do the drive through the night. Ours is also 14 hours and we do it in 2 days.

Mmmmm, snacking around Epcot. Sounds like a great day!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Sounds like a nice trip and one with some cool new things.

Love the name!! And calling her by her name just makes her seem so real!!

I'm so sorry your mom is going downhill again I hate that this whole thing is happening to you guys

Yes! We are looking forward to trying some new things! Makes it even more exciting!

Thank you! I know its unbelievable how different you feel once you know the gender and the name. Like its really a person in there!

I have some good news about mom today! Stay tuned...

Sending to your mom. Sorry she's having a rough time lately. I hope things start looking up again for her.

It is really hard picking out a name, isn't it? There are SO many variables to consider. Cece's really cute, though! And it's good you like it - lately, Izzy has been DEMANDING that people call her Izzy - if someone says Isabella (her real name), she immediately barks, "NO, I'm Izzy!!!"

Your plans sound good! We've never made it to one of the Disney waterparks, so that will be interesting to hear about. I have the same problem as you - adding more table service meals than I planned... It's just so hard to skip them!

Thank you! She is actually doing much better, I'll update about that in a sec...

Oh, naming kiddos is so tough! There is so much to consider, only the first of many major parenting decisions though, huh?

I am really looking forward to trying a water park. Its always been on my Disney to do list, but there is so much other stuff to do, we never really got around to it.

OH the TS meals ADRs its so hard not to want to do them all! The food is so good and hard to cut back on! I always end up with too many!

I love the name Cecilia! We have had it on our list the last two times (but both of those babies turned out to be boys).

I am so impressed by people who can do the drive through the night. Ours is also 14 hours and we do it in 2 days.

Mmmmm, snacking around Epcot. Sounds like a great day!

Thank you! We are really happy with it! I love that you don't hear it everyday, but its so classic!

We drove through the night on a 12 hour drive last year and it worked out great! I figure 2 extra hours shouldn't make too much of a difference.

So many yummy snacks in EPCOT. Its going to be super hard to narrow it down!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Sleeping Beauty Movie Night!​

Tonight we had our first movie night in a long time! It was so great to get back to having them! I forgot how much I enjoyed putting them together! Charlotte absolutely loved it and wants to do another one tomorrow! That is not happening, but I am so glad she really enjoyed it!

So here was the table set-up:

For decorations I went very simple! We just used a doll bed and put a sleeping beauty doll on it, for our centerpiece. We used fancy glasses. I had a lot more plans for this one, but I just ran out of time! I did however, make Charlotte an Aurora dress. I really like the simple peasant style dresses styled into a princess dress. I make them for Charlotte often because they are comfortable for Charlotte to wear to play in and they wash very well! She can also wear them when we go out running errands. Another plus is they can be made out of simple cotton material so they are cheap to make! And bonus, no glitter around the house! Sorry for the tangent there!

For dinner we had Spinning Wheel Mac and Cheese, Fire grilled Dragon (grilled chicken breast), royal roasted green beans, Briar Rose's berry baskets, Pink, no blue cupcakes (did not get a pic of these!) and pink punch!


We had a great time!






This weekend I also made Charlotte a new Cinderella dress. She is going to see the Rogers and Hammerstein version with my in laws next weekend. Since her old one was way too small, a new one was in order! I used my modified peasant dress for the Cindy as well! I will post some pics next weekend when she goes to the show!

As far as my mom, we had some wonderful news! Last update I mentioned she was not doing so well! She had a week of appointments last week. We were fully expecting bad news, however that is not what we got! Her CAT scan and MRIs showed that the cancer is shrinking, big time shrinking! The brain tumors have shrunk to 2/3 their original size they are now almost the size of scar tissue! Same thing with the lungs, much smaller! So, the doctor thinks her issues the last several weeks were related to the medication she was on. They have now adjusted that and she is doing so much better! Such great news! She has chemo this whole week so, that is usually pretty hard on her. We'll see what happens next!

Well, that's all for now! I will be back soon with more!

 

[JoTheBookish]

I've been quietly following along so far, but that is such great news for your family, I had to join in! I am so happy that things have taken a positive turn. All the best to you and your family.

 

[AprilRenee]

Your movie night looks great! Pics of the food made me hungry! Haha
Love the dress too! It looks great!

And YAY!!! About your mom!! That's awesome!!! So so happy to hear it!!

 

[Dugette]

First off, great news on your mom's tumors shrinking! So happy to hear that and I'm glad the medication adjustment has her feeling better.

I love your Sleeping Beauty night! One of these days I'll be motivated enough to do a themed night like that. Looks really fun and cute! I like her Rapunzel spoon, by the way.

 

[ksl5f123]

Hooray for your mom feeling better! What great news!

I love your Aurora dress. I agree about sewing with simple cottons although I hadn't thought about the no glitter part - very clever!

Spinning wheel pasta was a cute idea and I love the berry baskets.

 

[Blissikins]

Subbing in! We are going to WDW in October too.

I'm glad to hear your Mom got good news! I hope the only way is up from here. Those medications can have some worrying side effects, my Mum is ill (not cancer, but degenerative illness) and some of the medication issues we have seen can be frightening. Hopefully they've got your Mom's meds sorted now.

Your movie night dinner is too cute! I love the Fire Grilled Dragon idea!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Hi there! Joining in!

Sorry to hear about you mother. I know that must be hard especially while pregnant.

Yay for another girl and getting to reuse clothes!

Amazing that you get to stay at the poly! Staying there is on my bucket list!

Sounds like just the right amount of time in the parks for such a short trip.

I think you made the right call to drive. I couldn't imagine flying with an infant.

There I think thats everything! Can't wait to follow along!

 

[anniebabymu]

I've been MIA on here the last few weeks... but just want to tell you I love baby girl's name! So cute! She'll be here before you know it!

Love, love, love your movie nights! As always, this one doesn't disappoint! Charlotte's Aurora dress is adorable and can't wait to see her Cindy dress!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

I've been quietly following along so far, but that is such great news for your family, I had to join in! I am so happy that things have taken a positive turn. All the best to you and your family.

So glad to have you following along! Thank you! We really are thrilled and hope things continue to go so well!

Your movie night looks great! Pics of the food made me hungry! Haha
Love the dress too! It looks great!

And YAY!!! About your mom!! That's awesome!!! So so happy to hear it!!

Thanks April! I love how much Charlotte loves princess dresses and movie nights!

Thank you! We were so very happy to this news as well.

First off, great news on your mom's tumors shrinking! So happy to hear that and I'm glad the medication adjustment has her feeling better.

I love your Sleeping Beauty night! One of these days I'll be motivated enough to do a themed night like that. Looks really fun and cute! I like her Rapunzel spoon, by the way.

Thanks! The medication with cancer really is a balancing act.

Movie nights are so much fun! For a while I don't think Charlotte really understood them, but now she loves them!

Hooray for your mom feeling better! What great news!

I love your Aurora dress. I agree about sewing with simple cottons although I hadn't thought about the no glitter part - very clever!

Spinning wheel pasta was a cute idea and I love the berry baskets.

Thank you! Ugh as much as I love raising a girly girl, I detest the glitter that comes with princess stuff! That's where making it yourself really is better!

Subbing in! We are going to WDW in October too.

I'm glad to hear your Mom got good news! I hope the only way is up from here. Those medications can have some worrying side effects, my Mum is ill (not cancer, but degenerative illness) and some of the medication issues we have seen can be frightening. Hopefully they've got your Mom's meds sorted now.

Your movie night dinner is too cute! I love the Fire Grilled Dragon idea!

So glad to have you along! I am so excited to see WDW in the fall!
I am sorry to hear about your mom. Its so hard to watch someone you love go through these illnesses! And medications can work miracles, but sometimes you really have to consider their side effects as well.

Hi there! Joining in!

Sorry to hear about you mother. I know that must be hard especially while pregnant.

Yay for another girl and getting to reuse clothes!

Amazing that you get to stay at the poly! Staying there is on my bucket list!

Sounds like just the right amount of time in the parks for such a short trip.

I think you made the right call to drive. I couldn't imagine flying with an infant.

There I think thats everything! Can't wait to follow along!

So glad you decided to join in!
We are so excited for this trip! We stayed at the poly last time and it was AMAZING! A total dream come true. I am honestly in total shock this worked out a second time!

I am not much of a flyer to begin with, but I really don't think I could do it with a 6 month old...way too nerve wrecking!

I've been MIA on here the last few weeks... but just want to tell you I love baby girl's name! So cute! She'll be here before you know it!

Love, love, love your movie nights! As always, this one doesn't disappoint! Charlotte's Aurora dress is adorable and can't wait to see her Cindy dress!

Thank you! I can not believe how fast time is flying! I am really done been pregnant and I am ready for April to get here!

Thank you, I love our movie nights they are so much fun! I'm planning to update again tomorrow with the Cindy dress!

 

[Tinker326]

Holy Cow, I had not idea you started another PTR! I've missed out on months!

I am all caught up now!

Poly is my FAVORITE resort... I love it- so very exciting you get to stay there... I have not seen it since it's remodel, so I can't wait to tour it in a few weeks when I'm down there for the half marathon.

BIG CONGRATS on baby girl #2!! I love the name Cecilia. So beautiful. And funny about nicknames... we have always called our Charlotte Charlie or Char Char.. and she yells at us "No, my name is Charlotte or Flower". So we just run with it..and call her Flower. Because it's funny.

So, so sorry about your mom. If you ever need someone to just talk it through, I've been through a very similar situation. My dad was diagnosed with stage 3b lung cancer in 2010. He did radiation & chemo as well... he had massive problems with his meds and depression... he wasted down to nothing because he refused to eat- eventually not being able to walk. His wife (my stepmother) had passed the year before and so care-giving fell to me.. it was very hard & I know the frustration, hopelessness & sadness you experience as watching someone you love go through this all along trying to maintain their spirits so they fight! It's not an easy position to be in...especially while pregnant. Hugs to you!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

I'm back!! I can't believe I missed so much. I don't know how that happened!

Anyway, I'm so excited about all your plans, the excellent travel deal and staying at the poly! It all sounds so great and like everything is working out so well!

I'm glad to hear that things with your moms health are looking up and going so well! Sending prayers and good vibes her way! It's hard when it seems like you have to become the parent of your parent. My mom has never been the same since my dad passed away and it make me sad that I don't have the mom I remember around. Being a grown up is hard.....

Anyway, happier thoughts--love the new baby's name! It IS hard to pick names! We're probably lucky that Madison is even named--we couldn't agree on anything for her! And since we didn't know what we were having either time, we had to come up with a boys name too. That was even worse-we could NOT agree on any boys name!

Your sleeping beauty dinner looks like fun and is seriously making me hungry!

Ok, I'm all subbed again and ready for more updates!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Holy Cow, I had not idea you started another PTR! I've missed out on months!

I am all caught up now!

Poly is my FAVORITE resort... I love it- so very exciting you get to stay there... I have not seen it since it's remodel, so I can't wait to tour it in a few weeks when I'm down there for the half marathon.

BIG CONGRATS on baby girl #2!! I love the name Cecilia. So beautiful. And funny about nicknames... we have always called our Charlotte Charlie or Char Char.. and she yells at us "No, my name is Charlotte or Flower". So we just run with it..and call her Flower. Because it's funny.

So, so sorry about your mom. If you ever need someone to just talk it through, I've been through a very similar situation. My dad was diagnosed with stage 3b lung cancer in 2010. He did radiation & chemo as well... he had massive problems with his meds and depression... he wasted down to nothing because he refused to eat- eventually not being able to walk. His wife (my stepmother) had passed the year before and so care-giving fell to me.. it was very hard & I know the frustration, hopelessness & sadness you experience as watching someone you love go through this all along trying to maintain their spirits so they fight! It's not an easy position to be in...especially while pregnant. Hugs to you!

I am so glad to have you along!
Yes, it has been a crazy few months!
I am so thrilled we get to stay at the Poly again, it seems too good to be true in some ways! I can't wait to see what the renovation looks like. I have high hopes that it will be great.

Oh, naming this kid was really really hard! With Charlotte we just knew that was what we were going to name her. With this one we went back and forth a lot!

I am so sorry to hear about your Dad. My mom is stage 4. We never actually expected her to fight. Her sister passed away last year from lung cancer and after watching her, mom always said she would not get treatment if she ever had cancer. I fully expected her to just give up. Instead she has been fighting, and fighting hard! Which makes watching this even harder in some ways. I think in the last few months she has realized how much she really has to live for and is trying hard. Some days, I swear I go through every single emotion!

I'm back!! I can't believe I missed so much. I don't know how that happened!

Anyway, I'm so excited about all your plans, the excellent travel deal and staying at the poly! It all sounds so great and like everything is working out so well!

I'm glad to hear that things with your moms health are looking up and going so well! Sending prayers and good vibes her way! It's hard when it seems like you have to become the parent of your parent. My mom has never been the same since my dad passed away and it make me sad that I don't have the mom I remember around. Being a grown up is hard.....

Anyway, happier thoughts--love the new baby's name! It IS hard to pick names! We're probably lucky that Madison is even named--we couldn't agree on anything for her! And since we didn't know what we were having either time, we had to come up with a boys name too. That was even worse-we could NOT agree on any boys name!

Your sleeping beauty dinner looks like fun and is seriously making me hungry!

Ok, I'm all subbed again and ready for more updates!

So glad to have you back! I missed you!
Our travel plans are one of the few things that actually seem to be working out these days! So yay for that!

Oh being a grown up really stinks right now! It is hard to become the care giver of your parent. When that role is reversed it makes things difficult for everyone. Luckily she is starting to do a few more things for herself so, that is a relief for everyone.

I feel really good about this name! Every time I say it, I like it more. But, boy we had a hard time this time around!

So glad to have you back!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Some More Randomness...​

Some random things have come up over the last week that I thought would be fun to share.

First, I just now realized that our ADR date and the date of my scheduled C-section are the same! So, what is a girl to do in this situation? I mean it is so important I score that BOG ADR, right? Well... I have to be at the hospital at 5:30 our time, the online system opens at 5:00 am I will probably just try to make them on the way to the hospital. Sounds crazy huh? Yeah, I guess it is, but here is my logic. My last C-section I was sooo nervous I would have welcomed a distraction on the way to the hospital that day. So I think it will actually be a good thing, no if for some reason I forget or things get crazy and the ADRs don't happen, its not that big of a deal. Or and this literally just popped into my brain, I could have my TA make them...maybe that would be better . Who knows, I have a while to decide. I just thought it was interesting my baby will be exactly 180 days old when we go!

Next, last night I used the recipe for Hollywood Brown Derby Cobb Salad for dinner. It occurred to me this might be something of interest for all of you. Many of the fantastic recipes used in the WDW restaurants are easily found online and are pretty darn close to actual thing! I love making them a part of our dinner menus because, 1. well they are delicious, and 2. it helps a little with Disney blues. It makes me feel like we are there! Anyway, the cobb salad was one of our favorites last trip and has become a regular dinner in our home.
Here is a pic:

Its a little messy because a certain three year old helped me assemble it!

Also, I wanted to show off the bibs I made for Cecilia for our trip:




I also got her a Minnie lovie and put her name on it:


I am anxious to get started on our custom outfits for the trip, but I am having a hard time deciding what outfits exactly I want to do. I have some ideas swirling around, but I think I am going to wait until the summer to do them. I will also have a better idea of what size Cecilia will be wearing come trip time. So for now a few things like the bibs are about I'm going to do.

The final thing I wanted to share with you are some pics of Charlotte in her new Cinderella dress. The Rogers and Hammerstein version of Cinderella came to The Fox Theatre (our local theatre where many Broadway productions come). My in-laws have season tickets to the Fox so they had tickets to one of the shows. They purchased an extra ticket and took Charlotte with them as a special date with them. Of course, Charlotte had to have a Cinderella dress for the occasion! I made her one in a similar style to the Sleeping Beauty one I showed in my last update. Here is Charlotte all ready for the show:



A curtsy. You can really see her hair here. I tried to put it in a bun and it was hard to get it just right. I have a new found respect for those fairy godmothers in training...they have a very hard job!


Charlotte just being her silly self.


Charlotte during intermission at the show.

So, not much trip news, but some random points of interest.

 

[princessbelle2015]

Joining in.

I'm so sorry about your mom. I hope that she continues to get positive results from the doctors. I love the name that you picked for your new DD. I am looking forward to your ptr and seeing more of your beautiful sewing.