and we're back. [Walt, Wizards, and....Woolungasaurus?]

[kaoden39]

I have always liked Jack London. Have you ever been to his house in the Sonoma area? It is very cool. We made a trip to there when Loren was reading his books. It made them more fun for him. And then we went to Calaveras county when he was reading Mark Twain. It sounds like E enjoys learning and that is good.

 

[QueenDoOver]

Oh, I forgot to say! I am very happy for Robert and his improved health. It is difficult at best to stay focused on the end goal. I only met R one time but he is a good spirit and I hope he continues to progress toward his goal.

And Molly, I was mostly kidding about staying for a couple more weeks, but I know if it worked out that way, it would be just great fun!

 

[bumbershoot]

Tracey, yeah, Universal does seem to be expensive! You might want to check out the packages, just to see how it compares...though for us it was about the same buying tickets and booking hotel separately (note: Hotels.com has almost exactly the same prices as directly through Universal) as it was for a package.

We know we'll go at least one day, or more likely one night and 2 days (since you get the express pass privileges on check in and out (like staying onsite at DLR on a Saturday night with MM). It would feel just too nasty to be there in the opening year of Wizarding World and not go, but the cost is high!


I have never done any Jack London tourism, nope-a-rooni. And yep, E likes to learn.

He did two no-hands forward rolls today at gymnastics. That was pretty cool!



AUGH, the specialty pharmacy where R gets his HCG...they had billed for the October shipment back in October. Billed insurance that is. Insurance sent them a message that they needed more info. And there it sat. Until February, when I noticed it in my online EOBs, just the lonely little message that the insurance needed more info.

Let me interject here. We use a particular insurance company. That insurance company has a "specialty pharmacy" for things like this drug. That's the specialty pharmacy that we use for this drug. WHY they don't communicate more I have NO idea.

So anyway, I noticed this sad little EOB, and I called the pharm to ask. They said they never got anything from the insurance company. I called the insurance company, and they said that they would "send it over again". So within mere weeks, we had a bill from the pharmacy and a lovely EOB! Yay, I helped, I helped!

Problem was, the pharm wanted to charge us about 80 cents more than the insurance company said was our responsibility. And while 80 cents is not much, it's the principle of the thing. This pharm belongs to the insurance company; that is beyond just being a preferred provider, and a pp isn't supposed to charge more than what they've agreed to. Robert talked to two reps, and the second one said "omg what is up with this" and just took what the insurance company said was our responsibility.

This is all neither here nor there, because today's letter was sent before we took care of that last Friday...

But today we got a letter saying that we were "at least" 150 days overdue for this payment, and that we "may recall" that they have sent us previous letters, and they have "reached out" to us by phone. No, you sooooo have not. You didn't even care about this debt (28.50, by the way) enough to answer the insurance company's questions about it.

Talk about your STUPID form letters!

 

[bumbershoot]

I have 5 December 2010 calendar pages printed out, and I'm working out many scenarios. I check to see if the wait list came through twice a day, but I'm busily working out the other places that would be good once the 7 month window opens. The question on the table is...is it the property or the weekend that is most important?

Tracey, the only reason why your idea would even possibly work is because all we were able to get for the FAMILY weekend is the weekend of the 11th. But we wanted to be with FAMILY for our first glimpses of the parks. So if we delay the start of our vacay....

But then all the other properties are getting so points-heavy after the 14th, and that's not pretty.

Robert really wanted BLT for the FAMILY, but until he mentioned that, we were all good with AKV, which is much more possible.

We'll see, though!

Off to homeschool PE!

 

[kaoden39]

I have a friend that stayed at BLT and she did a trip report I can find you links if you would like to see her trip report and pictures. It looks beautiful.

Have fun at the Y.

 

[QueenDoOver]

Hi Molly!
Just wondering, what are you hoping for with Airfare. They are too scary right now for sure. During your weeks it will surely be much better than the holiday airfare we will be buying.

We have one companion fare for Alaska available and maybe two free tickets, but geesh the airfares are high!~ With all that, it will still likely cost us $700 for airfare! Hoping they go down and maybe we can get that out of pocket cost to $400 or so.

 

[bumbershoot]

Airfare, the great unknown.

We were going to go with Alaska Air, and either use DH's miles to buy a ticket, or use his miles to buy a discount on 3 tickets.

But then we got the news...as of mid August, Virgin America is adding flights from SFO and LAX directly out to Orlando (they already go to Ft Lauderdale). And VA is pretty much our fave airline, even though their frequent flier miles expire and they charge for the first bag.

So now it's even more in the air!


(anyone else who remembers E's comment about going from DLR out to WDW just have a big duh duh duhhhhhh moment when you read that VA is flying to Orlando out of LAX? )


E was in a play today! Er, well, a 4 minute scene, showing the YMCA value of Caring. It was one of the 3 best skits, DH and I agree on that! The other 3 skits...you just couldn't tell what on EARTH they were doing, or how their value went along with what they were doing, etc. Everyone was enthusiastic (though some were very very quiet), I'm not saying mean things about the kids...but the three best skits were either loud enough or animated enough where you could really understand what was going on.

It was so nice that Robert has been working from home, too, this week because he just took his lunch break and came to watch.

 

[QueenDoOver]

It is so nice to have flexible scheduling so working parents can participate. I am always so sad for parents that have those horrible 9-5 jobs with 2 hour commutes. What sort of life is that? I switched careers entirely when I had my first son because I knew that I couldn't live that way. I think I have a happy medium, at least one I can live with:0


So we are facing all the same flight dilemnas. My hubby keeps saying airfare is going to cost us $2000. I keep saying no way, because I will cancel the trip I think the most I would spend is $1000 total. But we shall see.

Hey Molly,
Thanks for having me on your pretrip. It is so much better than having my own and feeling obligated to it! You can kick me out anytime though, really!

PS The kids and I are staying in a 2 bdroom condo up at Birch Bay over our spring break which is the week before easter. If you and E want to come up and swim and stuff that would be fun. We are only 3 but have beds for 6

PM me if you want

 

[kaoden39]

Ladies, I heard on the radio that they expect the cost of flights to start going down soon if that helps. I hope they are right, right now they are way too high. Not that we are going to fly anywhere.

Molly, how exciting that E was in a play, and how wonderful that R was able to be there. It always bugs Scotty when he misses a concert at school. Of course I think it is unreasonable that they schedule these things during school hours which so many times are during normal work hours. That or they are at 6 o'clock in the evening. Odd stuff.

 

[bumbershoot]

It is so nice to have flexible scheduling so working parents can participate. I am always so sad for parents that have those horrible 9-5 jobs with 2 hour commutes. What sort of life is that? I switched careers entirely when I had my first son because I knew that I couldn't live that way. I think I have a happy medium, at least one I can live with:0


So we are facing all the same flight dilemnas. My hubby keeps saying airfare is going to cost us $2000. I keep saying no way, because I will cancel the trip I think the most I would spend is $1000 total. But we shall see.

Hey Molly,
Thanks for having me on your pretrip. It is so much better than having my own and feeling obligated to it! You can kick me out anytime though, really!

PS The kids and I are staying in a 2 bdroom condo up at Birch Bay over our spring break which is the week before easter. If you and E want to come up and swim and stuff that would be fun. We are only 3 but have beds for 6

PM me if you want

I think we're so lucky in western WA, where the work concepts are so easy. Other people at other companies in other areas just aren't so lucky. My cousin's husband, out in Florida...he works for a tiny company that does something with wood (I think they make really fancy things from wood?), he gets NO paid sick time, NO paid vacation time, no proper vacation days....he works until the boss-man decides to take a vacation, and then he gets a vacation. That is NO way to live, and it hurts our hearts that he stays there. But he's terribly afraid of interviewing, and figures he's been there for upwards of 10 years now, and doesn't want to try something new. He's originally from further up the east coast, and his friends have family have just about offered him a job, all he has to do is sit in the interview...but his interview phobia has caused that to be impossible for him.

And then there's the opposite end of the spectrum with my brother's job at a big company based in San Jose and Durham...when he moved from NC after his wife became a lawyer, he told the company that he'd be in San Diego, they needed to set up an office for him with everything he needed in his house, and that if they needed a face to face they would just fly him wherever they needed him to be. Since his work is SO specialized, they fussed a bit, but then acquiesced to his requests! There's also a small office in SD, so sometimes he goes in there, but mainly it's him and his laptop on his comfy chair with his cats sitting near his head!

Feel free to co-plan here! I like the company.

Is it possible your hubby is saying 2K so that he gets used to that, and when his budget-queen makes it happen for less, he feels he got a bargain? Because you know you will.

Molly, how exciting that E was in a play, and how wonderful that R was able to be there. It always bugs Scotty when he misses a concert at school. Of course I think it is unreasonable that they schedule these things during school hours which so many times are during normal work hours. That or they are at 6 o'clock in the evening. Odd stuff.

It was such a cute little scene. I actually think that DS forgot what he was supposed to do, because he was supposed to "drive" an ambulance (they were demonstrating caring by seeing someone drowning and getting help for her) and say "come on, get in!", but he didn't do either. However, the other kids didn't seem to be messed up by that, so maybe they cut his part...but he was there, and followed the other 3 kids around, and he didn't cry or refuse to go on "stage" (the gymnastics floor routine mat), etc etc, so this was a VICTORY. Let's all get misty-eyed at the memory that I, at 4, refused to set foot inside the Tumbling class I'd begged to take, because I was so dang scared that I would mess up. So glad the kidlet isn't exactly like me!

 

[bumbershoot]

OMG how does one decide where to eat and when??????

I'm just trying to work out the most basic thing...if we have 2 days in MK, where would we eat on each day? Repeat for each park. It would seem to be easy, since we have a limited menu in the family...but gosh, how do I know how hungry we would be, if we had an early b'fast at Crystal Palace?

The other reason for doing this is to really run the numbers for just paying for food vs the dining plan. What happens if we figure that we'll just do our usual and share meals (not buffets of course) and so do not get the dining plan, but then get extremely hungry while there, and realize that the plan would have been better? I don't want to waste money, ya know?

So complicated...

 

[QueenDoOver]

OMG how does one decide where to eat and when??????

I'm just trying to work out the most basic thing...if we have 2 days in MK, where would we eat on each day? Repeat for each park. It would seem to be easy, since we have a limited menu in the family...but gosh, how do I know how hungry we would be, if we had an early b'fast at Crystal Palace?

The other reason for doing this is to really run the numbers for just paying for food vs the dining plan. What happens if we figure that we'll just do our usual and share meals (not buffets of course) and so do not get the dining plan, but then get extremely hungry while there, and realize that the plan would have been better? I don't want to waste money, ya know?

So complicated...

That is always the challenge I tell you! Well, you know your family the best. I ran the numbers for dining plan too and just felt it would force the issue of eating too much if we did it. We tend to do a lot of sharing, and hardly ever order stuff for the little one, because he is so picky. So he eats off our plates and out of the backpack really. Thus the dining plan did not make sense for us. Even the quick service was more food than I wanted to be committed to eating, and we don't really need to do character meals anymore.

But I would make ADR's for any must do places for sure. I love to read the menus and think about what I am going to eat, but sure seems the family dynamics always cause my plans to go awry!

Good Luck!

 

[bumbershoot]

I just wish I knew how Robert and I will react in Orlando. And if it will be hot or cool. When it's hot, we just don't get horribly hungry, and food kind of makes us ill-feeling (tell me again why we carry so much extra weight?). But I want it on the much warmer side, b/c I want to swim and have some sunshine...

This trip is going to be multi-faceted, with a few different room reservations. So I figure, in true Libra style (and for those who get into that sort of thing...Robert's b'day is on the cusp (tomorrow, actually), and Eamon is a Gemini! how many personalities live in this condo??????), I'll get the dining plan for one of the parts of our stay...

At this time, the "dream" is to start off with the family in a 2 bedroom, then they go home and we have a few days in a different place, then hopefully make it to Universal for a night or three (it IS expensive, though, isn't it Tracey?), then back to WDW for a longer stay just on our own. So probably that post-family pre-Universal part we'll do the plan.

And, since with DVC you can add the DP at any time before 48 hours from the start of the reservation, if we LOVE the plan, we can add it to the last part, either while doing the Plan part, or right as we get over to Universal.

Much easier than signing up for a package, but it IS an extra choice, which is both hard and fun for moi!



(sorry in advance for the single paragraph...I could split it up, but I write how I talk, and this is all one big long thought in my mind, and I just can't split it up)

Robert's off at a friend's for a few hours today, taking care of our car. Oil, air, tire rotation, etc. And I'm glad he's out for a bit! He got a call from that company for which he was contracting last summer, and they want him back as a direct hire. This is his dream company. Not a dream job, though. But we LOVE having him where he is, he likes his job, he basically likes the travel and the travel is good for me as well. Our lives are really calm and peaceful when he's working at the current company, we love the company. But this offer to interview is causing strife, and the adults in the household have been extremely on edge the last 4 days or so. If he left now, he'd put the current department in a real jam (he's the best in the dept...seems he always is the best in the dept!), we'd have to pay part of a bonus back, there would be no 3+ week vacation by December, etc etc etc. But there are most excellent aspects of going for the other place as well. I'm so angry at the interview offer; they were supposed to wait until at least the summertime to come calling...aaaaauuuuuuggggggggghhhhhhh. I don't want Robert to make the mistake of his life by going one way instead of the other, and I don't want him to make that mistake by listening to my thoughts (which are important in some aspects, but not so much on others, like when I whine that the current place has a summer picnic, while the other place has ended their summer picnics...Tracey, you know how important it is to have a big picnic in THIS area, it's the one time you get out in the sun, LOL). Bah!

Anyway, I'm glad he's out for the day. 3 days of working at home then a weekend involving birthday festivities, with all this stress, was just getting to be a bit much.

However, he will LOVE his b'day presents.

 

[bumbershoot]

I was right, DH loved his presents.

Actually, it was just really special that he got presents! Two years ago, he got a computer bag he wanted and nothing else; I thought that's what he wanted! He wanted a surprise, too. Last year, we had NO money (well, er, we had blown all the money on, you know, things like the Disney Diva DLR trip ), and his bag had broken but was under warranty, so he "got" his new bag (they couldn't fix it so they replaced it after a revamp of the broken (commonly broken, it turned out) part). He was glad for it, but that's no way to have a birthday.

So this year, I shopped from his wishlist for this funky little magnifying thing with clamps that he's going to use on motherboards once he gets a soldering iron and starts making his own computers. Also, as a total surprise, the DVD set of Firefly (gold box special on amazon, got it for a song!), and DS got him a small Lego set.

He opened his presents (which were wrapped in watercolor-painted papers done by Eamon, because we realized we only had Yuletime wrapping paper) through the course of our meal at Spaghetti Factory. And we were even able to splurge and get Italian sodas for all (after checking the syrups)...E got a vanilla one b/c it has no coloring agents in it, and Robert and I had orange and raspberry respectively. The servers even sang to Robert, which he LOVED.

Robert just IMd that I'm the "coolest wife ever" for getting the Firefly series.

 

[kaoden39]

How wonderful that you were able to make his birthday special. I am a big lover of birthdays and always try to do them up big.

 

[QueenDoOver]

Glad Robert had a great bday. It is nice to be the star for a day, ya know? And I am sure that you are the coolest wife!

I am not that great at presents for occasions. I sort of freeze. I'm good at presents for no reason though.

Hmm...the job dilemna. Not great timing, huh? I do know that the other place is a salt mine and will require long hours. But R already puts in the long hours, right? It will all work out, one way or the other

Nathan is home "regurgitating" as he puts it, after his study of penguins. He is the worst! Never ever makes it to the toilet or the bowl in his hands even. I am way over changing beds and shampooing carpets! Sorry TMI!~

 

[Brady's Mom]

Glad Robert had a great bday. It is nice to be the star for a day, ya know? And I am sure that you are the coolest wife!

I am not that great at presents for occasions. I sort of freeze. I'm good at presents for no reason though.

Hmm...the job dilemna. Not great timing, huh? I do know that the other place is a salt mine and will require long hours. But R already puts in the long hours, right? It will all work out, one way or the other

Nathan is home "regurgitating" as he puts it, after his study of penguins. He is the worst! Never ever makes it to the toilet or the bowl in his hands even. I am way over changing beds and shampooing carpets! Sorry TMI!~

Ewwwww!!! But I love kids phrases for that condition. My DS 7 (second grade) recently told me that throwing up is called reverse paristalsys (sp?). Just makes you wonder where they come up with these things! Hope Nathan is feeling better sooon.

 

[Brady's Mom]

YaY for birthday surprises. At least Robert wants surprises! My DH wants me to go off the list and the list only. I love surprise gifts and want to get them for him - but that usually flops, so I have learned after 23 yrs. of marriage to just shop the list. If I buy him a surprise present for something other than birthday or Christmas he loves it - but otherwise I just shop the list.

I would have just used the seasonal paper. We've used it for many other occasions when we don't have anything else. But, you and E. were totally creative with the water color paper. Fun paper, fun presents! Glad you're the coolest wife ever!

 

[bumbershoot]

Shannon, your tickers must have been from magical kingdom? There's a thread on the Theme Parks board saying that that site is giving out viruses with their tickers. So it's blocked, and your tickers are just code (with the name of the site all xxxxx'ed out. Gotta find a new ticker site!


Tracey, poor Nathan and poor you!


Michele (finally noticed you put your name in your trip report, and I'm going to strive to remember it!), I don't normally do much for birthdays, but I think last year's near *negative* present (the bag being fixed) that sent me over the edge to finally really DO something for Robert.

Birthdays for me are tricky, b/c there just never seems to be anything I want more than to just put that money towards debt or disney, I hate purchased cards, cards that are made are cute but present a "what do I do with this" dilemma that never seems to give Robert or Eamon trouble, and I do not do cut flowers unless I'm buying peonies and maybe anemones from the farmer's market.... And I'm the cake baker, plus cake mixes are right out b/c of ingredients (even though, as a person that grew up in a house with homemade cakes and frostings from scratch, I have a deep and abiding love for grocery store cakes...same with Eggo "syrup", it's only been in this last year that I've started to like (specifically) Trader Joe's organic real maple syrup, which was always a deep pain for my mother who grew up in Schenectady NY and nearly LIVED on Vermont maple syrup), so no one can make me a cake.... So birthdays for me are...well, disappointing for everyone, and I've finally gotten myself to the point where just a "happy birthday" makes me happy and we go on with our day!

E's b'day this year will be difficult. Last 2 years we went to Disneyland, of course. That was done b/c it was fun, but also b/c having a b'day so close to Mem Day weekend meant that very few people could go to the parties we were throwing, AND he still doesn't have any close friends (he's the youngest in the classes, generally, and for whatever reason, he's not becoming BFF with any of the close-age kids). So I do not know what to do this year. Robert says "go visit your brother", b/c he knows that my sister in law will take/send us to Disneyland, but that doesn't make me comfy.



So anyway.


I was taking part in the Budget Board "how to get Princess and the Frog, along with Toy Story 1 and 2 bluray/dvd combo packs for nearly nothing" fun, so I've visited Toys R Us twice in two days, and today I will go to Target for the second time in two days (to buy disney themed banddaids, whose UPCs will be sent, along with a princess/frog UPC, to Bandaid, for a rebate). Since we were at TRU twice, I got to hear their little...OK what do you call them...kids sit in the "vehicles" and you put coins in and it plays a song and makes the vehicles move...those things? So there are two of those at the Tacoma TRU, one of them is a Mickey thing, and the other is a Pooh thing. The Pooh one is fabulous, b/c it plays the song that plays during the Pooh ride at Disneyland!

I heard that sound yesterday, while freaking out the manager at the TRU b/c of how little I was paying for TS 1 and 2, and it nearly brought me to tears, I miss it so much.

Why do I love the ambiance at Disneyland/DCA sosooooooosooooo much?


I facebook-chatted with my cousin yesterday, and told her what was going on (waiting to 7 month booking window), and told her what weekend we really wanted it to be (not the weekend we have booked at Bay Lake, by the way, LOL) and re-asked which days, especially what day for checking out, and she reacted so enthusiastically I got the definite feeling that she's been waiting for me to do that. While I've been waiting for her to tell me her preferences. I guess we're kind of alike!

 

[Brady's Mom]

I like Robert's idea for Eamon's birthday. What better place to spend your birthday than at DL? I still haven't had a friend birthday party for my DS 5.5. He doesn't seem to have any BFF's, either. He did have one, but he moved to FL. He was the nicest little guy with the nicest family. And his sisters could sure play the piano. They were my piano students and he would come and play while they had lessons. I was totally bummed when they moved.

What do you do about airfare when you go visit your brother? If you have to spend extra money on airfare that might put a damper on the plans. What if you considered doing Eamon's party the weekend before or after Mem. Wknd? We've done that time lapse party for DS 7 when his birthday falls during Spring Break at school. Everyone goes out of town over his birthday when it's during Spring break and trying to plan a party is a bummer. It's worked for him to do it another day. We just explain WHY, since he's a very logical kid.

Thanks for the heads up about the tickers, I wondered what had happened to mine. I haven't been on the boards very much lately and missed the info. Tooooo much going on and not enough time to fit it all in.