And THAT's when I threw up on my grandmother. p.17: We're back!

[ashleypmo]

At least there is some idea about what has been causing your symptoms....

If you decide to take meds just don't tell Tom Cruise...

Missed you

When my novel is published and I do my Oprah interview , I may have to address for the record what Tom Cruise can do with his opinions. I figure, until he's pushed a baby out of his....body, he needs to leave Brooke the heck alone!

Is it just me, or does Tom Cruise play every character (with the exception of the vampire LeStat) the exact same way? I can just envision him in the meeting with the director. "I'm thinking of playing him as an angry white guy." "But Tom, you're playing Buffalo Bob."

 

[LaLaroo78]

Ashley!!! I am so glad you decided to go to the doctors and got some answers to your symptoms.

Glad to have you back! If you get some time please post a little about your plans for the trip. I hope you and your family have a wonderful time!

Michele

 

[jordanyosh]

I used like Tom, but he's gone waaaaaaay off the deep end. His performances are very one note....

 

[ashleypmo]

Not much time to post, but we went shoe shopping to get Ramie & Mason new shoes for the trip (as opposed to going shoe shopping to get new toothbrushes, I suppose).

Mason has gotten to where he constantly takes his shoes off. Since he wears orthotics in his shoes, he sounds like Captain Ahab pacing the deck. "Thump CLICK thump CLICK," until he decides to just sit down and take the other shoes and both orthotics off and run around barefoot, sending Mommy into a frenzied game of "WHere did Moochy hide the $800 orthotics?"

I'm hoping he'll leave these on. I have this horrible feeling we're going to bend down to pick him up out of the stroller our first day at Magic Kingdom to find him barefoot, no shoes in sight. Probably better invest in some silver sharpies to write name & hotel info on the shoes.

Grabbed a bunch of St. Patty's day stuff on clearance at Target the other day. Now we'll be able to wear our green beads, Shamrock tiaras, and green satin sleeve garters to Raglan Road!

 

[jordanyosh]

only 23 more days....

 

[mousescrapper]

Grabbed a bunch of St. Patty's day stuff on clearance at Target the other day. Now we'll be able to wear our green beads, Shamrock tiaras, and green satin sleeve garters to Raglan Road!

that is great! PLEASE take some pictures of that and show us when you get back...would love to dine at Raglan Road...being Irish and all, but no time this trip! just trying to keep it relaxed in the eveings for the kids and especially Michael my special needs guy...guess that's why you come back right?

hope your feeling OK!

 

[jenna]

Just wanted to wish you a safe & magical trip Ashley!!

Take lots of pics and tell us all of the details when you get home!

 

[jordanyosh]

Just wanted to wish you a safe & magical trip Ashley!!

Take lots of pics and tell us all of the details when you get home!

Wow...!!!!! Good catch jenna.

Ashley...Have a great time. I hope you return happy and rested.

TR? I hope so......

 

[Shmu]

Miss Ya

 

[jordanyosh]

anyone...anyone....Bueller?

 

[ashleypmo]

I'm here! I'm here!

And I want you to know, I did post after we got back. It was a kick-booty post, too-- y'all woulda loved it. But when I hit the magic button at the bottom of the screen, Tinkerbell waved her magic wand and poof it disappeared!

Actually, I got that message that the disboards were down for maintenance, but it was so , because it took me a good long while to write the durn thing, and then it was gone, gone like a Mickey bar in the hands of an 8 year old in Anandapur.

The same thing actually happened a couple of days before our trip--I was posting to set up a DisMeet w/ Winkers which never happened because the Dingo ate my baby--I mean, the Disboards ate my post, and I was like and just never got around to posting again.

So I will try in the next few days to at least begin to tell of the wonder that was our trip.

Until then, you'll just have to ask yourselves these questions:

Did anybody throw up?
Why did everyone on the plane hate us?
What the heck was Jordan doing with our luggage?
Why is Kendra at the Trout Pass bar my new BFF?

Okay, I'm going to click on the magic button now. Ready?

 

[Lovemy3babes]

It went through!! Can't wait to read about your trip.

 

[jordanyosh]

I was going out on a limb thinking you were gone......I'm wrong..thank goodness.

 

[jenna]

Yay Ashley!! I was thinking about you the other day! Glad you are around & can't wait to hear about your trip!

 

[winkers]

Ashley!! I'm so glad you checked in! I can't wait to hear about your trip! I wish we could have met up!

 

[Shmu]

Oh this trip sounds so exciting.
You have a wonderful way with words.
Ready when you are.

 

[ashleypmo]

Ashley!! I'm so glad you checked in! I can't wait to hear about your trip! I wish we could have met up!

I kept my eyes open (coz it's so very hard to walk around for very long with them closed) to see if I could spot you, but I wasn't sure if I'd recognize you in 3-D!

 

[ashleypmo]

Oh this trip sounds so exciting.
You have a wonderful way with words.
Ready when you are.

Hey Shmu!
When God makes the new Heaven and the new earth, do you think He'll make a new WDW too? One uncorrupted by the fall, with no humidity, unlimited fastpasses, and free Mickey Bars that don't melt before you finish them? And it would be really cool if He brought back the original Alien Encounter, 'coz it was waaaay better than that abomination that they call "Stitch's Great Escape."

 

[ashleypmo]

Like all trips, my mega-planning was followed up by some mega packing!

DH pulled all the suitcases down from the attic and inspected them for creepy-crawly-bitey things before bringing them into the house, and I began the task of packing, which included the task of running close to 30 loads of laundry.

Then, after the kids were asleep...sshhh...I crept quietly into the closet and pulled out my stash. You remember my stash, don't you? All the clandestinely pre-purchased souvenirs? Just a few little trinkets here and there, a few things on sale at the Disney Store, the Safari Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, and Pluto from ebay. Just a few things.

How the heck am I gonna pack all this stuff? It's boxes and bags full of light up spinners and music boxes and tshirts! Who's been buying this stuff and stashing it in my closet? oh well, at least we won't be having to spend a gazillion dollars at WDW on souvenirs.

So I pack, and repack, arranging and rearranging everything into the most efficient packing configuration possible. 6 people, 2 checked in bags and 2 carryons each. Got it.

*Ring, ring* (actually, my phone plays this little melody, but I can't remember the name of it, so we'll just leave it at *ring, ring*, unless anyone objects. No? Good.)

It's my mother telling me that a friend of hers just informed her that as of May 1 (the day after we leave), Delta is only allowing 1 checked bag and 1 carryon per person. And dare I say again.

Now, I have just spent so much time packing, I'm really tempted to just keep things as is and just leave half of our stuff at WDW. But that's not all that practical. Or cost effective.

So, back to the drawing board.

Now, the real wrench in this is that Mason has a citric acid intolerance, which basically means he can't eat anything that comes from a fruit or vegetable. There's a short list of fruits/veggies he can eat, but basically anything with olive oil, soybean oil, corn oil, corn starch, etc. is out for one thing. I know Disney is really on the ball when it comes to food allergies, but citric acid intolerance is extremely rare, and there's just a huge list of ingredients and additives that are off limits, so we're bringing Mason's food with us--a whole suitcase full. Not to mention snacks for the kids, especially Ramie so that we don't have to worry about her nut allergy all the time. So the Sacred Suitcase of Food (SSF, for short) is non-negotiable.

Everything else, on the otherhand, has to be rethought. I'll spare you the six hours repacking play by play, but it the short version looks something like this:


Finally we were like . Until Gus weighed the suitcases and found out that two of them exceeded 50 pounds. Then we were back to . We had to redistribute a few things to the lighter suitcases.

Funny thing about redistribution. See, the reason you put stuff in your suitcase is because, well, it's yours and you want it with all the rest of your stuff. Makes sense, right? Well, then you go and put it in someone elses suitcase, or in the toiletry bag or something, and you forget about it. Then you spend 9 days at WDW walking around going "Where the heck did I pack my houseshoes? I know I remember packing them. " Then, the day before you leave, when you're trying to cram everything BACK into the suitcases for the trip home, you find them shoved in the bottom of the big red bag o' toiletries, and you say "Oh, yeah...now I remember...."

Well, the twelve year old just announced rather loudly, "Mason, if you don't stop that, I'm going to go get Mommy." I think she means it. And she knows where I am, so I can't hide. Better go see what kind of havoc he's wreaking. Yesterday I looked up to find him sitting in the middle of the dining table, which wouldn't be so terrible except that he has a hard time remembering that the world is flat when he's up there. Just goes sailing right off the edge.

Sorry this wasn't the most exciting of posts, but I'm just trying to get back in the swing. Next time, you get to hear about the joys of getting 7 people and a stroller through airport security.

 

[winkers]

I can't believe all the re-packing you had to do! Stupid airlines!!