birthday trip report...now finished!

[disneynerd420]

Molly, I am so happy for you in respect to your dedication to working out. I wish I had that kind of drive.

I can't wait to see the pics from your upcoming trip. Your son is absolutely adorable and it seems like you guys have such a good time.

 

[bumbershoot]

She stopped where we were walking and said, "Mommy that baby has the same parts as Loren. Why do they have a tail and why is it in front?" I wanted to melt into the floor. This is the same child that at four wanted to know when she was getting breasts. Ah yes, kids

Meanwhile, DS continues to wonder why I don't have boy parts.

Since he's 5, he's still allowed in the Women's Locker Room (not the adult-only women's locker room with the sauna, etc), but I'm getting really uncomfy, both for him and for the girls in there, and routinely cover his eyes as we're walking through certain areas. But there are even older boys that go in there and their moms don't seem to care! I dunno...I think I'm going to not use the locker room for changing him for swim anymore (they have private family restrooms with showers in the pool deck, I have just not yet been organized enough to use 'em). But anyway, I know that he's going to bust out one of those questions, or point out parts...we use proper part names around here, and...it's going to be blushworthy, I just know it...

Molly, I am so happy for you in respect to your dedication to working out. I wish I had that kind of drive.

I can't wait to see the pics from your upcoming trip. Your son is absolutely adorable and it seems like you guys have such a good time.

It's still early days...but it does feel good. Except for the exhaustion thing. Probably should start taking a multivitamin for right now.

I have a good feeling about this trip. First...Robert's been gone on his trip so long, and still has 5 days to go, and then it's only about 10 more days and we leave. Second...we really know what's important to us. Third...we know it's supposed to be the last DLR trip for at least a year (waaaaah), unless brother and SIL want to see E, so we want to make it good.

I'm hoping that the working out is going to make the long days a bit easier. It might mis-fire, I might be more tired b/c I'm still getting used to it. But at least my legs feel better and I feel better about my legs!




I'm still trying to decide if we want the Minnie's b'fast or not! I have a feeling we'll just end up doing it. It's a lot for eggs and coffee, with perhaps a powdered sugar sprinkled waffle for E...but if it gets some of the character-spotting out of the way, then it would be worth it.

 

[kaoden39]

We have always used real names here too but I think she was confused, she never really looked at Loren.

I vote for Minnie breakfast. We have always done Goofy's Kitchen, but all of the pictures I have seen from the Minnie one the characters there are great.

 

[bumbershoot]

Poor hubster. He switched countries, and is now 2 hours behind where he was. Plus last night (my time) was his pill night, and his dose was doubled, so I'm sure he's still in slumberland...that stuff knocks him out. Since it has to do with prolactin (and any woman who has nursed a kidlet knows the sleepy zombie feeling you can get from that) and dopamine, you can imagine how sleepy he gets.

His mom just called. Wants to know if he's home. She just does not listen. I really really really should learn Korean. Hubby's only at a 3rd grade level. Get this...in Federal Way, which has a HUGE Korean population, has this great language place...they teach pretty much everything *except* for Korean! What the???? And the MIL still doesn't believe in teaching American kids Korean, even though learning as a kid is the best time.


I'll probably keep the Minnie's PS...might as well...it's been a couple trips since we did a character breakfast...



Thought I'd broken my foot at the Y yesterday! As it is, I must have pulled something or I've developed some sort of inflammation...fabulous! Totally thought I'd broken my heel, though...got up from watching E's gymnastics class (after 28 minutes on the elliptical before) and youch! Debated going straight to Urgent Care for xrays, but decided to hold off. Since just wearing my Crocs at home helped it go away, I figure it's not the bone.

 

[kaoden39]

It could be bone spurs though. I have a friend that had them really bad and her Dr had her wear Birkenstocks. Poor Robert, that is not fun. It's bad enough dealing with the time difference.

 

[Brady's Mom]

OY - the time difference and sleep inducing drugs and a hotel bed and food you're probably not used to and disrupted sleep patterns - could make for a very tired man! I hope he's okay.

Ice that foot to reduce inflammation!

Hubby has been battling foot problems since May or June and frankly, I am tired of it! We took our fam to DLR in May and he had some trouble, then he and I went in July and he had more trouble. He saw the chiro and surprisingly it didn't help. (We have the best chiro!) He finally had to see the podiatrist and wear a boot/cast thing for 5 weeks. When he went back to the pod, he was having trouble with his big toe (the tendon on the top) and the pod said he expected it and it would feel better in a few days.

It has now been two additional weeks and the darn toe is still not better! So it is off to the pod for hubby again on Monday since we are down to about 5 weeks for us until our trip and I do NOT want him to be grouchy because he can't walk far and feels like he is hindering our fun!

Sorry for the small rant! Just hoping you take care of your feet so you can have a great pain-free time! And how cool is it that you are down to 2 ish weeks????

 

[bumbershoot]

Mmm, bone spurs, boots/casts, toe pain...fun!

I meant to soak it in epsom salts last night along with icing it (not at the same time), but then it felt so much better with my Athens on...

I definitely think my shoes have something to do with ti. Oh, and my weight. But of course that's what the exercising is all about, isn't it? But these shoes have *never* felt right, not since I got them. Think I'll go back to Saucony, as the Jazz model shoe I had was good.


Hubby finally got up, not long after I posted, and he went off for coffee and is now tracking down a good wifi signal. Guess his hotel doesn't have a great connection and supposedly (heh hem) doesn't have a plug-in. He knows I'm doubting that one...


Along with thinking about the trip with most of my mind, I'm trying to help the MIL with some random collection agency that started calling her...I think I know what it's all about...they say it's verizon but she has *never* had a Verizon account. But FIL had something with MCI, and I don't have any sort of notes other than an account number (doesn't match the letter, though) and a phone number, but I'm going to work this out. Got my "letter to the collection agency" all printed out, ready to be sent by registered mail...

I'm also randomly cleaning. Wanted to get some water, so I grabbed the drymop thing and ran it under the couch (how do so many Legos get under there?), cleared out a bin so I can put other things in the bin so I can vacuum the area rug in the dining room...that sort of thing. Suddenly the end of hubby's trip is looming, and I have barely done any of the things on our list! Though honestly...just surviving without one or both of us (me and E) going batty was priority number one, and we've done well on that front.



Do you know what'll drive you crazy? Checking your 401K balance every night. up, down, up up up, down down...etc. I get on these "kicks" to do that every so often...wait, maybe I have lost some marbles...

I know what HAS happened during this travel time...even bigger respect for those who are either always single with their kids, or who have long periods of it. Hubby has been such a hands on father, for quite a long time he was more than 60% of E's care, despite not being home all day long (not sure how I'm figuring that, but that's what it felt like, at least)...so this is quite a culture shock. Thankfully E's old enough to really get that it's temporary (except for his pre-flight fits, that is...man that kid can spook a person about planes!), etc etc...if this had been when he was any younger, I don't think it would be going this well.

OK, where should I clean next?

 

[bumbershoot]

My goodness Shannon, I never really noticed the span of ages of kids in your sig before! How awesome is that???

 

[Brady's Mom]

My goodness Shannon, I never really noticed the span of ages of kids in your sig before! How awesome is that???

I actually think it's pretty awesome, myself. Francis and I wanted 4 kids from the beginning - but we wanted 2 boys and 2 girls. We had our oldest about 2 yrs after we were married and then waited a REALLY long time to get our second. But, we had a miscarriage and some other infertility stuff going on during that waiting time. When we were pregnant with our 2nd and I was about 5.5 months along - I had a panic moment of WHAT WAS I THINKING???? hit me. Alex was 8 and in school all day, I worked at the same school he went to and things were good.

I loved having such a space between my kids - mostly because I felt like I really bonded with each of them and got to spend really good one on one time with them.

We tried again to have more kids after we had Jeff, but didn't have any luck so we just figured we were done. I still had the same infertility issues that I did before and we just didn't expect to have anymore kids.

During treatment for my infertility issues (PCOS) I discovered that I was pregnant with our 3rd - but I didn't find out I was pregnant until I was almost 20 weeks.

And then, who knew that I could get pregnant within 2 years of having a child! That's how we ended up with 4 kids - just not 2 boys and 2 girls. But, Francis says 4 of a kind beats 2 pair any day!

So, there is the TMI version of my infertility story and the weird spacing of my kids!

 

[bumbershoot]

"I discovered that I was pregnant with our 3rd - but I didn't find out I was pregnant until I was almost 20 weeks."

Love it! Actually, since very long pregnancies run on both sides of our families (hubby himself was a 44 week baby, and DS was 42 weeks 3 days, and showed some signs of prematurity when he was forced out against my will), and since my friends figured it out almost immediately (didn't realize that the simple act of seeing an MD was so out of character for me that THAT is what would cause people to know)...I've hoped that a future baby doesn't announce it self so fast. It just made the wait SO much longer.

But...it would be pretty hard to miss such a thing with my system, unless my bod decided to actively LIE to me... (it's OK bod, lie to me, it's OK)

We just gotta wait it out, wait until the dude's endocrine system heals up...



So, I'm all better, no sickies anymore...and Eamon is sick. What's not funny but is funny, is that I knew it 2 days before he got sick. I could just see it, I could almost smell it. He was just different. I kept telling him...if you're going to get sick, do it NOW so it's over with...and he did!


Anyone see the SNL messup last night? Whoopsie for the new girl! NBC messed up too, b/c they are telling news outlets that they edited out the problem word for the west coast showings...but they didn't. And I have it DVR'd to prove it. I was really impressed with her (she had a momentary reaction to the word she'd just said) and to her other castmates...they just kept on going!


And I love U2, so I can't wait to watch the whole show later. I've been to something like 5 of their shows, and wish so much I could see this one. But I don't have a current passport, and their only this-area show is in BC...and it's at the end of next month. Well wait, I could probably do that...hmm. Still, expensive.


And while roaming ticketblahblah, I found that Eddie Izzard is touring...very limited in the States right now, but still. Love him. We had front row, middle, seats to see him at a small venue after our honeymoon cruise, it would have been SO great...but hubby got a very rare (nowadays) migraine, and it hurt to laugh. So he spent the evening in pain, and I spent the evening worried about him...poor Eddie, he probably didn't know what to do about those two spoilsports in the front row.



Trip!

Someone on a thread mentioned Steakhouse 55. Now, let's just call it Tofuhouse 55 in THIS thread, OK? I've heard they have a great breakfast, and I've read their menu, and many things would be extremely acceptable for us...mmm.... Do I *really* need characters with my breakfast? Do I *really* need to get a "free" button to show I've dined somewhere? Do I? It's worth thinking about, and perhaps going over the menus again.

But first I should probably continue to clean up, declutter, organize...

 

[Brady's Mom]

I just checked out the Tofuhouse 55's breakfast menu and they sound pretty good. I think the Huevos Rancheros sounds really tasty and of course the french toast or pancakes with the warm berries - YUM. (Not a bananas foster person) and I do not like breakfast meat - so I would have to give mine to hubby.

But, if you feel like getting out of the DLR for a little while - Mimi's has a really great asparagus omelette that they serve with grilled asparagus. It was REALLY good and filled the veggie need for me. I never get enough veggies when we are on vacation.

 

[kaoden39]

Sorry Molly, but I have to hijack for a second. I have proof that Mickey Louse is indeed everywhere, this was taken at Point Reyes National Seashore museum today.

 

[bumbershoot]

That picture is cute! And funny. Not just a hidden mickey, but a hidden mickey themed watch.

Mimis is definitely a good suggestion, thank you!

 

[kaoden39]

That picture is cute! And funny. Not just a hidden mickey, but a hidden mickey themed watch.

Mimis is definitely a good suggestion, thank you!

Mimi's has a good breakfast, two people could make a meal out of one of their muffins I swear.

If you ever find yourself in the bay area that is a great place to visit. I have lived in this area for most of my life and this is the first time we have ever been there.

 

[bumbershoot]

The bay area is so full of things to do. CA for that matter is too! Such a huge state....

Was up half the night with the kidlet. Big ol' headcold, biggest one he's had since the days of nose-suckers ended, and he was just SO freaked out by the gunk that headcolds create...took about 20 minutes just to get him to stop looking like an alien had come out of his face every time he blew his nose...

Hubby's getting ready to start his LONG journey home later today (his brilliant wife noticed that the hotel had a stay 2 days get 1 free, and hotels.com let her book 2 sets of that, which means he has his room until the following morning, which means he can do his work until he leaves, instead of having to check out and find some random place to finish up, and for NO extra cost). He's worked nonstop this whole time, every day, had to deal with useless travel agents who gave him one HOUR to get off a plane, get through customs, and get on another flight...of course he would have missed it if we hadn't had them change the first flight...he missed the two hours between 4 days before, of course he would miss the one hour one....anyway, his boss has told him he'd give him some extra days off...so now he's wondering if we should just stay in Anaheim extra...it's "just" points, right?

But the cost of our return flights was less than the change/cancel fee, so we'd just have to walk away from our return flight and book another set...and then there's the extra cost involved in staying longer...etc etc... So it's not just points...

But I still haven't banked our remaining DVC points (gotta do it by end of month if we're going to do it), just in case he comes up with some brilliant answers, LOL.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Too bad about E getting sick, but you're right - get it out of the way before the trip!

Funny story on how your DH ended up with a camera. Sounds like something that would happen in our house

Yay for the continued workout and glad your foot is feeling better. We just changed gym memberships from a club we've been going to for years to the "Y". The place we were at just kept raising their rates and finding other things to charge us for Starting back up my workout schedule tomorrow morning at 5am - wheee!

Oh, and funny stories between you and Michele on how to make friends

Glad hubby is almost on his way back home - whoohoo!

No, I missed the SNL goof, but caught it on youtube just now. Oops what a debut! U2 is great and I looked into seeing them too, but too far and too much $$$, especially right before a DIS trip. All I have to say is they better tour again. I almost went to see the Foo Fighters this summer with my younger DD and decided to cancel, only to hear the band broke up after the tour

4 boys on such an age span - more power to ya Shannon!

Hope you can get the collection agency off MiL's back. It is so hard to shake them when they start calling

Good luck with the continued scheduling and wrangling those points

 

[bumbershoot]

That was a great recap/reply to everything! I could seriously learn from you.


I just printed a sign for E to hold, if he decides to try for the Jedi Academy...got it from one of the DISigners' share sites...should probably go thank her.

Ugh at the whole digital scrapbooking shakeup going on in the scrapping section on the dis...updates in rules might mean that I'm not allowed to answer questions about amazon anymore (done to help people), since our paycheck comes from them...might be seen as advertising.


Some Haunted Mansion printables here! I haven't totally checked it out, but found the link through micechat (which is interesting, since usually it seems it's all just intellectual chatting about the rides and management...not a lot of trip planning help over there much of the time).

 

[mnmrmustard]

That was a great recap/reply to everything! I could seriously learn from you.


I just printed a sign for E to hold, if he decides to try for the Jedi Academy...got it from one of the DISigners' share sites...should probably go thank her.

Ugh at the whole digital scrapbooking shakeup going on in the scrapping section on the dis...updates in rules might mean that I'm not allowed to answer questions about amazon anymore (done to help people), since our paycheck comes from them...might be seen as advertising.


Some Haunted Mansion printables here! I haven't totally checked it out, but found the link through micechat (which is interesting, since usually it seems it's all just intellectual chatting about the rides and management...not a lot of trip planning help over there much of the time).

Hehe, thank you on the recap. I have found that since i get busy and easily get behind on threads, I open up an e-mail message for comments in one screen (I have dual monitors) and read through the thread in the other.

It also helps because every once in a while the boards flake out and choke trying to post your comment and I don't want to lose what I've written. Once the post is successful I clear the e-mail message

Holding up a sign at Jedi Academy sounds like a great idea to get attention. My girls wore Disney hats (PumpkinGirl in a spotted bandana with Goofy ears and Bean in pink pirate Minnie ears) and found that they got picked for things quite a bit.

There are always shake-ups/rule changes in forums. All it takes is one person complaining and everything gets stirred up. Good luck with it and hope it doesn't hamper your ability to help people

Thank you for the link on the printables - I'll have to go check them out

 

[bumbershoot]

Wooo! The hub has landed. OK, in CA, but still. Closer than he was! So now he has to wait 3 hours for his next flight, yawn. Really it's too long to just sit, but too short to go anywhere interesting. I just do not know about these travel agents!

So bummed E had to miss swimming yesterday, and probably will tomorrow, too. But I just can't deal with taking a sick kid out (OK, except for that once incident at Safeway...sorry to those around us...but I had to go b/c the list was in my head and I couldn't get it onto paper, and DS couldn't deal with me leaving him with hubby, so the three of us went...I had no idea that he was going to *get sick* all over me and the floor in the Dairy aisle, I'm so sorry). After all, I was glaring up a storm, in my mind at least, at the grandmother and grandson next to me, when the grandmother said "oh, you still have that cough? I'm glad the cough syrup helped"....AUGHHHHH if the kid needs drugs to quiet the cough, do NOT bring him to a baby-filled, enclosed, warm-air indoors swimming pool.....

I'll have to call the swimming people, see if we should just drop the class, or come in next week...we'll be missing the second to last class this session, too, b/c of the trip.



This t-shirt thing is growing on me. But I don't like t-shirts. I like v-neck, and pockets are kinda fun. Hmm... I could get tees for the guys and then a pocket-V for me and just print something out really small for myself, put it on the pocket.

Or if only I had a button making machine...I could just make myself buttons to match the boys!

What the heck kind of family are we; where the trip planner/mother does NOT want the matchy matchy Ts, but the guys in the family do?????!!!!!????

 

[kaoden39]

I cannot stand how a t-shirt feels around my neck. I feel like I am choking it would never work. I love the button pin idea because you can have it forever.