All the makings of a disaster I’m bringing two reluctant teens and the in-laws!!

[shalom]

Seven people in a seven passenger van That must be a fun ride

The front and middle seats are separate, but the three kids sitting in the back can get a mite grumpy! We have a rule that the kids get to start rotating to the middle seats once they get as tall as I am, which means Ballet Girl and Warrior Girl are stuck in the back the whole time and the other three rotate. Mr. Cool is also Mr. Territorial, so it gets noisiest when he's back there.

Our guest for our trip out to South Carolina was going to treat us to an eight-passenger van, but when Ballet Girl decided she wasn't going that plan was scrapped. Actually, I've been wondering if they'll even fit back there if it's two of the older ones and Warrior Girl! Could be ... interesting.


Wow, that medal really is stunner! You could hang that on the wall for a decoration.

 

[lurkernj]

I'll keep my fingers crossed for your Narcoosee's back-up ADR. You seem to have a knack for getting the hard-to-get places though (Ohana for 10 ), so either you are incredibly lucky or doggedly persistent!

LOVE the medal! Can see why you would want it. I gotta give you huge kudos on the walking/running AND on the 3 pound loss. <jealous> (wish we had a clapping smiley, but this will have to do)

Enjoy your quiet time!

I've been slacking on my Narcoosees ADR, there is one available, but its not til 9:20, so I'll keep trying. I will say it's a combination of both, luck and vigilance!

Since I can't have that medal this year, I'll have announcement in my update

Quiet time was awesome as always!!! Sometimes I feel guilty enjoying it, knowing that soon enough, the boys will be out of the house, but what the heck, can't worry about that now

 

[lurkernj]

The front and middle seats are separate, but the three kids sitting in the back can get a mite grumpy! We have a rule that the kids get to start rotating to the middle seats once they get as tall as I am, which means Ballet Girl and Warrior Girl are stuck in the back the whole time and the other three rotate. Mr. Cool is also Mr. Territorial, so it gets noisiest when he's back there.

Our guest for our trip out to South Carolina was going to treat us to an eight-passenger van, but when Ballet Girl decided she wasn't going that plan was scrapped. Actually, I've been wondering if they'll even fit back there if it's two of the older ones and Warrior Girl! Could be ... interesting.

Wow, that medal really is stunner! You could hang that on the wall for a decoration.

I just have images of a finger in front of someones face saying "I'm not touching you"

That medal is really motivating, but stay tuned for my update!

 

[lurkernj]

Not many, but I'm just trying to see how much stuff I can squish into the few days we are all together

But first.....40 DAYS

Like I said, I really liked that 10 mile medal. I have been obsessing over the RunDisney site, and the thread on the w.i.s.h board (down below the community board in case you didn’t know) for this years TOT 10 mile weekend. I now have a phantom trip planned for next year

Last fall I started running and talked DH into a trip this September so I could run the Halloween 5k (this is how this trip first started). Then suddenly they moved the Wine and Dine half marathon weekend to November and nothing was said about the Halloween 5K. Then I had all sorts of shin splints, blisters, etc, so I didn’t bother following up on it

Well, now that I’ve been running for a couple of weeks, and I’ve been on the running sites and just noticed that this race is a Halloween themed race and I saw the medallion for it….here it is

Not as awesome as the Tower of Terror one, but still pretty cool. I just wish it had the year on it.

I had an epiphany…I should run this race. I’ve walked a couple of 5ks with DH, but I’ve never run one on my own. What a great race to have as my first! I asked DS17 if he wanted to run it with me and he said YES!!! He runs cross-country in school. He was actually disappointed that the 10mile was full (I’m glad cause I didn’t want to stay up that late anyway especially since I can’t run it). Last night I told DH about it and he wants to do it too (he’ll just walk it since he can’t run).

So now, the Saturday morning we were planning to sleep in and go to Animal kingdom (after our late night at MNSSHP) we will be up early to go run, then head to Animal kingdom after showers etc. Animal kingdom is not a long day for us, so we could be back in our room by 1-2p, catch a nap, then head to Ohana for dinner (or whatever we are doing with our friend that night, if anything...he still hasn't called her).

I'm fine with the Saturday plan, however, the inconvenience of the packet pickup was almost enough for me to not want to do this race. You can only pickup the packet at WWOS from 12-8 on Friday. We're already pressed for time on this day since it is the first day of food and wine, plus dinner at Coral reef at 4p, then the Halloween party. I guess we'll just walk over to Beachclub(they're a host resort for the race) from Epcot and hop a bus from there around 2p, then maybe head back to POR to change into costumes and go to the party. At this point, I'm planning to have our last day on Sunday be another Epcot day since it's getting so short changed on Friday.

I snagged a res for Coral reef for lunch on Sunday, as I'm thinking of cancelling the one on Friday to keep life simple, and just focus on F/W, then counterservice. If we do the lunch, I will need to cancel the Ohana breakfast. But that's all contingent to our plans on Saturday night with the friend. I would rather do Ohana on Saturday with or without the friend, then stay for wishes on the beach. If she doesn't want to do dinner there, then that will be the wrench in the plan.

So we're all registered and ready to go. I told DH he needs to get with the program since he does run the chance of getting swept I don't think we'll do costumes for this, but I do have a really cute Mickey halloween t-shirt I got a few years ago that I will wear

 

[BearcatsFan]

I LOVE THAT MEDAL! So cute! Very cool that DS17 wants to run it with you.

I've been working towards a 5K for years - just can't seem to get to the point where I think I would make it in a reasonable (read: not embarassing) time.

 

[shalom]

I asked DS17 if he wanted to run it with me and he said YES!!! He runs cross-country in school. He was actually disappointed that the 10mile was full (I’m glad cause I didn’t want to stay up that late anyway especially since I can’t run it). Last night I told DH about it and he wants to do it too (he’ll just walk it since he can’t run).

That's great that you managed to work it out! Looking forward to hearing about it.

 

[lurkernj]

I LOVE THAT MEDAL! So cute! Very cool that DS17 wants to run it with you.

I've been working towards a 5K for years - just can't seem to get to the point where I think I would make it in a reasonable (read: not embarassing) time.

The more I look at the medal, the more I like it I hear you about the embarassing part. I'm sure I'll be towards the end somewhere especially since I plan to take part in the character visits. I'll just be happy to finish without getting swept.

Also I just want to clarify that DS17 will go with me on the buses and wait for me at the finish, but won't actually run "with" me, as that would be sooo uncool, besides, I run like an old lady

That's great that you managed to work it out! Looking forward to hearing about it.

I'm pretty excited about it! This could be a good segway into future trips, DH wouldn't dare deny me if it encouraged exercising

 

[lurkernj]

Sooooo, I'm at the 38 day mark!!!! Waaaahooooeeeee

I took care of the 5k registration this week, now I think I need to get some running shorts to match my Halloween shirt I am getting rid of Prince charming and Tweedledee this weekend since they're going fishing for the weekend. I'll still have Tweedledum at home since he doesn't want to miss football practice, but he's a pretty easy kid.

Sometimes he even likes shopping, especially when there's something in it for him. I'm thinking that maybe me (and possibly him) will head out to the mall on Saturday for a bit and check out some exercise wear for me and some school clothes for him. I also have an idea for my costume for MNSSHP. I'm thinking just a plain white long nightgown, you know, the creepy kind that ghosts wear when they're waiting at the end of the hallway glaring evil-ly. I could just wear white shorts and a white cami top under it so Im not sweltering. I still have to work on something for prince charming.

I also took care of getting a dog sitter while we're gone. My SIL lives down the street and has 5 kids. They are all in their 20's (except one). We've had our dog for 8.5 years and he's never had to go to a kennel yet, we've just gone down the line of kids and as they grow out of it, we go to the next one. We're on the 4th kid now, who's 20. He lives at home with 6 people and 4 dogs, so he can appreciate having our house to himself for 6 days. All I ask is that he not drink my booze, bring your own. Nah, this one is actually pretty good, so I don't worry about him.

His sister on the other hand(she was the first one), watched the dog about 5 years ago, and called me at 5am on the first morning of vacation (in the Outer Banks) saying she couldn't get the bedroom door open and she was locked in with the dog (we have an old house that has the old fashioned key locks). After telling her multiple times to call Pop around the corner, she admitted she was also locked in there with a boy (she was 21 at the time) She ended up calling her brothers, who were just getting in from a night of drinking (number 2 and 3) to come break the door down. All ended well and the door was salvagable, though her virtue was not. Made for a great story that we still laugh about. Sitcom material right there.

Anyway, I mentioned previously that I should post a photo of the handsome pup. He is very camera shy and runs away when he sees the camera. I've been able to fool him lately with the Iphone, but he caught on this morning and here he is trying to escape up the stairs

Here's another of the big baby hogging my bed

We also have a cute box turtle that my nephew will take care of, though he doesn't need much, just some clean water and some food every couple of days. He actually doesn't like being in his enclosure either, so he gets a fair amount of free time running(ok, maybe not running, but he can be kind of fast for a turtle) around the kitchen. Here he is trying to get outside.

I also made both reservations for the parking lot at Philly airport since I got a discount emailed to me yesterday. $48 for 6 days including all fees, MILs was $64 for 8 days. Not bad and it is a lot we've used before and was very convenient. We usually like Newark, since it's closer, but I got the Southwest credit card with the 50,000 points, and Philly has direct to MCO, so here we are.

 

[shalom]

I'm pretty excited about it! This could be a good segway into future trips, DH wouldn't dare deny me if it encouraged exercising

I'm going to steal this tactic, I think.

What a pretty dog! The box turtle looks nice, too. Turtles can be pretty personable, IMHO.

 

[BearcatsFan]

Locked in the bedroom ... with a boy ... AND the dog ... and had to CALL YOU!? OMG! To shamelessly steal from Larry the Cable Guy, "That's funny ... I don't care who you are!"

Your dog is beautiful! Our pooches were always camera shy, too. They end up looking so sad when you do catch them, like it's the worst punishment in the world you could possibly do to them.

 

[lurkernj]

I'm going to steal this tactic, I think.

What a pretty dog! The box turtle looks nice, too. Turtles can be pretty personable, IMHO. [/QUOTE

Haha, feel free to use the tactic, hopefully we both get the same result!

I do love having the turtle. Easiest pet ever, and he's just so cute.

Locked in the bedroom ... with a boy ... AND the dog ... and had to CALL YOU!? OMG! To shamelessly steal from Larry the Cable Guy, "That's funny ... I don't care who you are!"

Your dog is beautiful! Our pooches were always camera shy, too. They end up looking so sad when you do catch them, like it's the worst punishment in the world you could possibly do to them.

That was definitely a classic story. Her parents still don't know, even though half our town knows since they were with us renting the house.

We got Winston because of his unique looks and intelligence and we've paid for it ever since. He opens doors, cabinets, helps himself to snacks. I especially like when he opens the cabinets and doesn't take anything out, it's like he's saying there's nothing worth eating in there and I better go shopping. Speaking of the little devil, I'll have to post our adventure last night in my next update.

 

[lurkernj]

So I mentioned that DH and DS17 were fishing for the weekend. DS14 went to a friends house last night. I told him I'd pick him up at 10p. Around 9:30 I'm laying on the couch watching the end of Finding Nemo, and a funny smell overcomes me. Ewwww, a skunk....

GOOD LORD... the dog is outside.

I go let him in and sure enough, he smells. He didn't appear to take a direct hit, as his eyes looked pretty good, but there was still a stench about him. I quickly go online and research "dog got skunked", praying this wouldn't involve tomato juice, since I had none. I find a recipe of things I actually have in my house(peroxide, baking soda, and dish detergent..who knew??), then bring him upstairs to the tub. He hates getting a bath, and I usually have to drag him in there and have a wrestling match getting him into the tub.

However at this moment, he apparently couldn't stand his smell either. He marches right in the bathroom and when I told him to get in the tub, he actually jumped right in I bathed him in this goop, twice, and he didn't move a muscle. Somehow I still manage to get DS ontime, but I'm soaked, however, I feel accomplished.

Now, the real issue is where is Winston going to sleep tonight? He always sleeps in my bed or on the couch if DH falls asleep there. He's wet, and potentially still smelly, no thank you. I lock myself in my room upstairs(don't worry, I know how to work the lock and managed to get myself out just fine). I put a bunch of boxes in front of the stairs to block him from coming up, and he moved them, and every couple of hours he's trying to push the door open by jiggling the doorknob (he puts his mouth around it and turns, maybe my neice should have let him try to get them out), when that doesn't work, he slams himself into it hoping to push it open. When I woke up this morning, I notice he's sleeping on DS17 bed. Those sheets are in the wash now, and he will be none the wiser

Anyway, the concoction seems to have worked, as I don't notice any odor today.

 

[shalom]

I find a recipe of things I actually have in my house(peroxide, baking soda, and dish detergent..who knew??), then bring him upstairs to the tub.

Huh, that's a mix I hadn't seen before; I know tomato juice works because it's acidic, and I wouldn't think that's an acidic formula at all. Although baking soda is my main go-to for stench; put something stinky in a bag with that or charcoal and it'll smell much better in a day or so.

However at this moment, he apparently couldn't stand his smell either. He marches right in the bathroom and when I told him to get in the tub, he actually jumped right in

That made me laugh out loud -- I can totally see it! So he's a character as well as beautiful! Glad to hear he's good smelling again.

 

[BearcatsFan]

Sorry to hear your dog got skunked! Too funny that he jumped into the tub by himself! Oh my goodness ... Thanks for the laugh this morning!

 

[lurkernj]

Huh, that's a mix I hadn't seen before; I know tomato juice works because it's acidic, and I wouldn't think that's an acidic formula at all. Although baking soda is my main go-to for stench; put something stinky in a bag with that or charcoal and it'll smell much better in a day or so.



That made me laugh out loud -- I can totally see it! So he's a character as well as beautiful! Glad to hear he's good smelling again.

He is definitely a character. A bit high maintenance, but a character. I thought that was a strange combination too, but apparently it works and is much less messy than the tomato juice. Maybe I should start adding odd recipes in my report. I've read other people adding cookie recipes, etc, this could be my niche

Sorry to hear your dog got skunked! Too funny that he jumped into the tub by himself! Oh my goodness ... Thanks for the laugh this morning!

We aim to please

 

[lurkernj]

Alrighty, we've recovered nicely from the skunking and have moved onto actually preparing for my trip, which is 33 DAYS AWAY

The suitcase scenario isn't too bad. We have three carryons that are good, one that's a little bit of a pain (wheels are a little wacky), and the broken one that I still haven't taken to get fixed. I figure if I get the one fixed, I'll leave the wonky wheeled one home.

I decided not to get running shorts, I ran in some black athletic capris on Thursday, that were already in my drawer, and loved them, they are long enough that I don't get "chub rub". Here is the Halloween t-shirt that I have. I just love this shirt I think it will look great with my medal

I also have been driving all over creation looking for a white nightgown that doesn't cost $40. I was so desperate yesterday that I even went to Walmart.

You know how we all say we love Disney because we feel like we're transported to another land? Well, that's how I feel about our Walmart, but not in a good way. There is a highway that divides Walmart from my town and it literally takes 3 minutes to get to, but on each rare occasion that I go there, I am amazed. Where do these people come from? Yes, the People of Walmart are alive and well here in NJ.

One day DH and I went in there, and this creepy looking guy was going up and down the beauty aisle til he stopped, grabbed a lotion off the shelf and pumped some in his hand and began slathering all over his hands and arms, then put it back and continued on I was reminded of "put the lotion in the basket" (Silence of the lambs reference there)

Well, yesterday, in an act of desperation, I went there. Alone. I parked away from the other cars since this parking lot is always a mess and difficult to navigate. I went inside for no more than three minutes, they didn't have what I wanted, so I quickly left. Not without seeing a couple of strange people, like one eating a burger, chewing with her mouth open, while looking at womens clothes, and another one picking her nose. Harmless enough I guess.

Anyways, I got back out to my car, which was parked in no mans land and there is a gigantic pickup truck with the big wheels and lots of chrome parked next to me, and it has such dark windows I couldn't tell if anyone was inside. It was right next to my driver door, and of course my auto lock stopped working last year, so I can only get in with a key, which takes a couple seconds longer. My spidey senses were tingling and I was tempted to enter through the passenger side.

Well, I'm happy to report, I survived and did not get kidnapped. Just a little creeped out. If it was night time, I probably would have had DH come meet me....

Here is what I ended up getting at Marshalls.

I'm not totally thrilled with it. I was looking for something with some sleeves. I'll keep looking, but at least I have something if I don't find exactly what I want, and I won't be sweating to death in this.

I got just a plain white button up shirt for DH that I will shred in some places and spray with some gray and black paint to give it the "I've just dug myself out of the grave" look. I'll do that to my gown too. I'll probably just have him wear black shorts with it.

I also went to Target and got some toiletries to add to my bag of stuff to pack. I got a 3oz tube of toothpaste, 3oz sunblock, a small mouthwash, and a single pack of TIDE(just in case, I really don't plan to do laundry there)

 

[Dancegrl624]

Love the Halloween shirt! It's making me excited to get back to MNSSHP! We're still trying to figure out costumes...my DH isn't real big on dressing up so I'm trying to think of simple costumes.

 

[BearcatsFan]

I also love the t-shirt. Now that you have your costume figured out, think you can work on something for DH and I? I still. got. nothing.

 

[Fratthouse]

I also have been driving all over creation looking for a white nightgown that doesn't cost $40. I was so desperate yesterday that I even went to Walmart.

You know how we all say we love Disney because we feel like we're transported to another land? Well, that's how I feel about our Walmart, but not in a good way. There is a highway that divides Walmart from my town and it literally takes 3 minutes to get to, but on each rare occasion that I go there, I am amazed. Where do these people come from? Yes, the People of Walmart are alive and well here in NJ.

Joining in! I can totally relate to your sentiments about walmart! We have one two minutes from our house, but I always drive ten minutes to target because every time I go to walmart something bad / weird / annoying happens. One trip, I had a teenage boy ask me if I was single (I'm 30, with a wedding ring on, and a baby sitting in the front of my cart - really???), then in the next isle over had a lady try to pick up my child from out of our cart. one minute she was oooohing and ahhhhing over him, then the next thing I know she is lifting him out of the seat! Needless to say, I bolted and haven't turned back.

 

[shalom]

Maybe I should start adding odd recipes in my report. I've read other people adding cookie recipes, etc, this could be my niche

Go for it. I've been thinking about adding random non-Disney recipes to mine. I do weekly menus on the computer and sometimes set one up ahead of time -- middle daughter's birthday is this week and when I clicked on the menu page I'd set up long time back, up popped a picture of the birthday cake she wants. Chocolate cake with reeses pieces on top and kitkat bars all around!

Part of me is jealous you've only got 33 days to go; part of me is looking forward to your trip report (you're doing one, right?); and part of me thinks, "I'm glad I've more anticipation time to go before I hit Disney". Apparently I am just like Walt Whitman, "I am large; I contain multitudes."

I love that shirt! So colorful, and such a clever use of Mickey's actual ears!

You know how we all say we love Disney because we feel like we're transported to another land? Well, that's how I feel about our Walmart, but not in a good way.

I haven't seen anything like that at our local Walmarts (although admittedly I don't go to either one very often), maybe because we live in such a boring city. I looked over the site a while back, and it seems to me that, while a lot of the "people of Walmart" likely "don't know any better" (as my grandma always put it), a fair percentage of them are just quirky characters who are perfectly happy in their EXTRAORDINARY color choices, and although they may wearing outfits that likely glow in the dark, otherwise they're perfectly reasonably dressed. They usually look like they know they're a bit out of line but are having fun with it.

Although probably half the people hanging out of their clothes think they're perfectly reasonably dressed, too, because a lot of them are in the south and it's presumably hot. But I agree that they mostly look harmless. The truck parked out by my lone car would unnerve me, though. But maybe it's a compliment and they thought your car nice enough to park by, on the theory that you wouldn't mar their treasured truck getting in your car.