"Big Girls Only" A Sept 2015 PTR *Final PT Update 9/10/15*

[MissMaryQC]

Well folks, it's been a wild few weeks, to say the least; as of September 2nd, 2014 I am officially a mommy! Our sweet girl is named Elora Darling and she is by far the cutest thing I've ever laid eyes on! See for yourself! Kid isn't even a month old and I already have about a million photos of her; I think this is love! As you may have guessed life with baby is busy, almost too busy for WDW Vacation planning, the key word there being almost. : Sis, mom and I have decided to add a few adventures to our 2015 trip. So far we agree we want to do MNSSHP (which we have never been too ), as of now we are going to dress up as Lock, Shock and Barrel from The Nightmare Before Christmas. We have also decided to go DisneyBounding while we are visiting the world. We've never done this either, but the idea of sorta dressing up while we're there is so much fun, plus the outfits I've seen online are adorable. There are a few other activities we are considering: Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party, the new Villains Dessert party in Cinderella's Castle during MNSSHP, mini golf, the list continues! Any and all suggestions are welcome! Since my sis is coming to visit us in October we will likely have a sit down to iron out a few of these details. I'll tell you what though, March can not come soon enough; I have a list of ADRs that are burning a hole in my planning pocket! Good thing I have this sweet baby angel to keep me busy!! TTFN friends! I sure hope all is well in all your lives!​

 

[KatMark]

Mary, I'm joining in; I'll be back to read soon.

 

[MissMaryQC]

Mary, I'm joining in; I'll be back to read soon.

Thanks! It's great to have you along Kathy!

 

[KatMark]

Okay, back and caught up.

First, congratulations on the baby. Elora is absolutely beautiful!

The trip sounds like loads of fun and your plans sound great\

Your dining choices sound good too. LOVE Crystal Palace and the Plaza (both will be covered eventually in my TR). Unfortunately, we were not fans of Ohana at all and won't be back. But I do know there are many diehards out there. And we tried 1900 Park Fare for breakfast for the first time this trip.

How great that your sis is moving back to Florida!

 

[MissMaryQC]

Okay, back and caught up.

First, congratulations on the baby. Elora is absolutely beautiful!

Thanks Kathy, we sure like her; I think she's a keeper!

The trip sounds like loads of fun and your plans sound great\

We still have some details to go through, but I think a y.ear is enough time to get everything done...

Your dining choices sound good too. LOVE Crystal Palace and the Plaza (both will be covered eventually in my TR). Unfortunately, we were not fans of Ohana at all and won't be back. But I do know there are many diehards out there. And we tried 1900 Park Fare for breakfast for the first time this trip.

OoM can't wait for your reviews! Funny you should mention 'Ohana, we found a lot of mixed reviews on that restaurant. As of now we are pretty sure we'll be going to a different location. We shall see!

How great that your sis is moving back to Florida!

It's been a great year for us and the news of sis moving back has just been icing on our cake. She'll be visiting this month and we will be ironing out a lot of WDW Trip details while she's here! Thanks again for following along!

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

Joining in! Congrats on your DD!! Now the disney obsession can be passed on

MNSSHP is awesome! If you can fit it in your trip do it

March is going to come up really fast!

 

[MissMaryQC]

Joining in! Congrats on your DD!! Now the disney obsession can be passed on

Thanks for joining! We've started already; Disney lullaby, Minnie Mouse onesies and we (meaning I since she's too little) watch Disney movies whenever we can!
MNSSHP is awesome! If you can fit it in your trip do it

I've been reading reviews and we are pumped! We all agree we need to make time to go even if it means we are exhausted!

March is going to come up really fast!

I know it, that's a lot of why we plan so far ahead; don't wanna miss a single ADR!

 

[Sisa]

Awe, how did I miss the post about your precious baby girl?! She is perfect!

There is nothing wrong with taking a million pictures. Other than hard drive space I too, take a million photos of my kids who are 5 and 3, so you can imagine how many I have.

Love your MNSSHP costume idea, I hope you do attend because I want to see those.

Disney bounding....YAY! I really love seeing what DISers come up with. Can't wait to see who you all decide on.

Congrats again and thank you for sharing pictures of your beautiful baby girl.

 

[MissMaryQC]

Awe, how did I miss the post about your precious baby girl?! She is perfect!

Thank you so much! I'm completely obsessed with her!

There is nothing wrong with taking a million pictures. Other than hard drive space I too, take a million photos of my kids who are 5 and 3, so you can imagine how many I have.

Lol! I can't imagine how many you must have! Might be time I invest in an external hard drive.

Love your MNSSHP costume idea, I hope you do attend because I want to see those.

Disney bounding....YAY! I really love seeing what DISers come up with. Can't wait to see who you all decide on.

We are so pumped to dress up. We've been all over the web looking for ideas and I'm SO ready to actually start shopping for stuff; holding out for some post Halloween sales.

Congrats again and thank you for sharing pictures of your beautiful baby girl.

Thanks so much for following along!

 

[finny1981]

We are planning our next vacation around the same time as you, I will join. With so much time to wait I am anxious for ideas to help pass the time

Congrats on the beautiful addition!

 

[MissMaryQC]

Well hello! I sure hope everyone is doing great; we sure are. Lots going on in our house these days: getting ready for our first Halloween with DD, and sadly preparing to end my maternity leave. I go back to work at the end of November and I am not excited. That’s not totally true, I do really love my job but I’m gonna miss spending every waking moment with my sweet baby. My SO says going back to work just means that when I’m home all my time and attention can be devoted to DD. How quickly men forget about things like laundry and chores! Any who, we shall cross that bridge when we get there. In the mean time I plan to enjoy my baby as much as possible!

We had a very nice visit from Sis and her fella last week. It was the first time sis met DD! The whole trip sis wouldn’t let DD out of her arms, it was very sweet to see sis and DD bonding! This trip also allowed mama, sis and I to spend some time talking Disney! Ok I spent time talking Disney with sis while mama quietly rolled her eyes at our over planning. We covered a lot of ground in the short three days sis was here and have made a few big decisions.

We decided to skip ‘Ohana and instead have an earlier dinner on our arrival day so that we may attend MNSSHP that evening! I’m so excited about this. We’re gonna go as Lock, Shock and Barrel (sis, me and mama respectively), but with more of a DisneyBounding costume than an all out dress-up costume. We’d also like to do some mini-golfing in our arrival day. Any suggestions on must-sees at MNSSHP? Or a preference of golf course? I’m thinking Winter-Summer Land over Fantasia Gardens…

We also decided to skip the Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party. Between sis being very health conscious, thus not wanting to over do it on the sweets, and the fact that you don’t really see the fireworks from your table (which I thought was the whole point…?) we figured we could spend that $30 each on something else. Maybe one year when DD is a bit older I’ll be able to do it, but next year just isn’t the year! Skipping this does leave a hole in our dining plans (we were planning an early dinner so that we could make the party). I’m thinking we’ll do lunch at the Harbor House cause I’ve read such great things about it. Plus I’m pretty sure its included in the Tables in Wonderland discount, which we plan to purchase!

I also opened a Disney Vacation Account. I already have a high yield savings account with American Express (.9% interest which is great!) where I put my monthly cash. My plan is to use the money I’ve saved with AE to buy discount Target GCs in March or April. See I discovered a few websites that sell $50 Target GCs for like $48. I’ll use the GC’s to buy Disney GCs on my Target account so that I still receive the 5% off. Then I’ll put all the Disney GCs into my DVA and receive my $20 for ever $1000 I spend on my vacation package. It sounds way more complex than it is, and it will end up being a nice little discount!

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll post a few photos of DD’s first Halloween as well as our DisneyBounding choices, next week. I hope everyone is happy and healthy. TTFN friends!

Oh! And SO and I did this on a Sunday a few weeks ago:


Her first ears!

 

[MissMaryQC]

We are planning our next vacation around the same time as you, I will join. With so much time to wait I am anxious for ideas to help pass the time

Thanks so much four following along! A year is a long time, but it can go by so fast; gotta keep those hands busy!

Congrats on the beautiful addition!

Thank you! We love her a lot!!

 

[Sisa]

Savor your last month off with your beautiful girl. I hear that it's hard at first but will be easier over time.

A mini family reunion, love all the pics. So neat your sister was able to come meet and bond your little princess.

Hooray for MNSSHP, I think you are making a fabulous decision. Not that I have been but it seems like a good one to me. Can't wait to see the costumes!

The mini golf looks like so much fun!

Yay for some savings, every little bit helps!

Awe, the pic of your DD in her first ears and Minnie outfit...so adorable and so precious!

Looking forward to seeing your DD dressed for Halloween, hope you have a fun first Halloween with her!

 

[finny1981]

Just to give you a little comfort, I work full time and am a mom to 4 full time. The first few weeks after you return to work will be the hardest, but it will get easier and it helps that you love your job (I love mine too). I am not saying there won't be hard days, my youngest just turned 10 and there are still hard days leaving for work, but it also makes the time you get so precious. People at my work without kids just don't get that I love to be with my kids and choose to spend my time making memories with them rather than going out to have fun myself (not that I never do), but to me the memories we have made and the ones that we will make in the years to come are worth more than anything!!

Cherish her she is a special gift!

 

[KatMark]

I'm sorry I'm late in catching up.

First off, love DD's first ears.

Glad you and sis got to talk plans re Disney.

Enjoy these last at home full time with that beautiful daughter of yours.

 

[kjpotter]

Just stopping by to say that I was in a similar position. I left my DD when she was 15 months old. She stayed with my DH while my Mom, two sisters, and I did a week long Europe trip. It was hard to leave, but it was the trip of a lifetime. You will create memories that cannot be replaced.

It has been 9 years since our trip and we would love to do it again, but it's hard to schedule since everyone is married, working, and there are 5 kids already.

 

[MissMaryQC]

Savor your last month off with your beautiful girl. I hear that it's hard at first but will be easier over time.

I've heard the same, and I do really love my job.

A mini family reunion, love all the pics. So neat your sister was able to come meet and bond your little princess.

They had such fun together! I can't wait for sis to be in Orlando so we can drive up for the weekend to see her; much better than hours on a plane to NYC!

Hooray for MNSSHP, I think you are making a fabulous decision. Not that I have been but it seems like a good one to me. Can't wait to see the costumes!

I think this might be what I'm most excited about!

The mini golf looks like so much fun!

I know! Hopefully we'll actually have the time; we are go, go, go in WDW but we all agree we want some time to relax next year. We'll see if that actually happens!

Yay for some savings, every little bit helps!

I agree!

Awe, the pic of your DD in her first ears and Minnie outfit...so adorable and so precious!

I am just obsessed with her; she makes me want 20 more!

Looking forward to seeing your DD dressed for Halloween, hope you have a fun first Halloween with her!

Posting in my next update!

Just to give you a little comfort, I work full time and am a mom to 4 full time. The first few weeks after you return to work will be the hardest, but it will get easier and it helps that you love your job (I love mine too). I am not saying there won't be hard days, my youngest just turned 10 and there are still hard days leaving for work, but it also makes the time you get so precious. People at my work without kids just don't get that I love to be with my kids and choose to spend my time making memories with them rather than going out to have fun myself (not that I never do), but to me the memories we have made and the ones that we will make in the years to come are worth more than anything!!

Cherish her she is a special gift!

Thank you so much for your kind words. I agree 110%. My working is going to give my DD her best chance. Plus it'll make our time spent together that much more worth while!

I'm sorry I'm late in catching up.

No worries; I'm late updating and responding!

First off, love DD's first ears.

I can't wait to get her some real ears! Maybe even for her second birthday...

Glad you and sis got to talk plans re Disney.

We are too! Planning via email is not nearly so fun as sitting tigether and gushing about this or that Disney adventure!

Enjoy these last at home full time with that beautiful daughter of yours.

Thank you, I really have been trying to.

Just stopping by to say that I was in a similar position. I left my DD when she was 15 months old. She stayed with my DH while my Mom, two sisters, and I did a week long Europe trip. It was hard to leave, but it was the trip of a lifetime. You will create memories that cannot be replaced.

I agree! This trip will be our last trip just us three and we are going to make the most of it!

It has been 9 years since our trip and we would love to do it again, but it's hard to schedule since everyone is married, working, and there are 5 kids already.

This is totally why we decided to go ahead now; there is still opportunity to get us together. As families grow and change it gets harder and harder to all go on vacation.

 

[MissMaryQC]

Well hello all! I sure hope everyone is doing well, and enjoying this fine fall weather (well it's fine here in Miami)! I've been such a slacker with my updates; it's been nearly month!

I've been enjoying my time with DD and preparing to go back to work. Funny thing about that it's my SO who has become the nervous one; he will be doing more freelance web design and stepping back from his 9-5 so that we don't need to hire a nanny. Last night he tells me that he's afraid DD won't like him! She loves him. That little girl smiles ear to ear at his voice every time. Truth be told his being so nervous has made me less anxious about going back, not sure why

Halloween was fun, but also kind of a bust. My SO and I spent a lot of time on our costumes. We made just about every part of them. We went as three of the five Rescue Rangers: Gadget, Monterrey Jack and Zipper! I think we looked pretty good, and we got recognized a few times (mostly by parents, but that's ok with us).



The reason Halloween was a bust is because Trick-or-Treating was not really happening. See, we live in Miami, Florida and over the last maybe 10 years fewer and fewer neighborhoods have Trick-or-Treating. This is likely mostly for safety reasons; Halloween in a party night for adult down here which generally leads to intoxicated drivers. In some neighborhoods its illegal! So we went, with another family, to a strip of shops having Trick-or-Treating. What a disaster! There were SO many people and there was no spirit of Halloween; it was literally people walking from store front to store front and taking candy. I don't think I heard one child say "Trick-or-Treat" much less "thank you."

We were home fairly early and took the evening to discuss some life changes. It looks like we will start trying to move our family out of Miami. Not just because of Halloween, although that did precipitate the conversation, but because we want DD to grow up in a neighborhood thats safe, where she can ride her bike and play with the kids next door, like I did. Miami is just too expensive for us to afford that kind of living (we live in a "transitional" neighborhood). We're looking into Nashville, Atlanta, and Durham; my company has stores in those locations. We are also considering St. Louis, but neither of us have ever been there so it's more of a back up.

As for Disney, not much going on there. Most of our plans are made, just waiting for our ADR date! We're also hoping for Free Dining, man would that be a great discount!

That's all for now folks! More to post as the year comes to a close and we wait, impatiently, for March 17th (our ADR day) TTFN!

 

[Sisa]

Loved your costumes when I saw them on the FB group. Still love them now, so creative!

Hooray for not needing to hire a nanny, that's really awesome of your DH to want to change up his schedule.

Gosh, reading about your Halloween experience was depressing. I can't imagine not being able to trick or treat door to door with my kids.

Sounds like it is a good idea to find a more family oriented place to live. I am curious to see where you end up, it's such a big decision.

I am with you, hurry up March and fingers crossed for free dining!!!

 

[KatMark]

I love your costumes, but sorry that Halloween was kind of a bust.

I'm glad you don't have to get a nanny...that's awesome.

I'm with you...March hurry up and get here because it means I'm going to Arizona to see my girls.