Calling all Chicago DISers #3

[slo]

If sure felt good staying in bed an hour later than normal


Stitchfans - Please please please tell us when your books get published - I will definitly get them and read them Congratulations with finishing these - what an awesome accomplishment!!!!!

DG - Thanks, I'm starting to feel a little better.
**The girls are on fall break.
**Congrats on the CRT ADR

nd - Thanks for the circus info!!!

TTTiiiggern - Great pictures!!!!
**I'm sorry housekeeping wasn't very good I would have complained
**We really like 'Ohanas too

Bunchkin - Your ribs sounded yummy!!!!

ID - That's a shame about your priest leaving - I hope your happy with your new priest




Well, it's time to get ready for work - I wish I could stay home.

Have a good day!!!!

 

[disneygal922]

Good Morning Everyone! So Mike called the DVC member services today to see if we could get San Angel because as of yesterday it still wasn't loading properly in their system. He did! so Monday 4/26 we are doing San Angel and the CM moved our CRT to Tuesday 4/27. This way we end our honeymoon with an awesome dinner experience. We are very excited as I have said so many times within the past few days. Mike also got a call from our realtor. We are scheduled to go see our top 2 choices on Sunday with our parents. He did say he talked to the listing agent for our #1 choice and she mentioned they may be expecting a contract on it but so far nothing has come in. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

ID ~ that is very exciting about your pastor!

Slo ~ ahhh... fall break! I didn't get a fall break until I was in college when I saw it on the calendar I was like, 'what? what is a fall break?' Glad you were able to sleep in a bit today. It does always feel nice to get that extra hour of sleep!

 

[Stitchfans]

Good morning. Have a parent/teacher conference today. DD is off from school today. DH had the week off also for one of his vacation weeks. Now I know what it is like to have him home all day (just like it would be if he was retired)all I can say is. we have a looonnnngggg road ahead of us when that time comes.

Slo-sure thing. If I ever get the books published I will let you all know. I hear ya about staying in bed later, but I didn't today even though I could of. I know it doesn't help anything but I found myself up and crying over my oldest DD. Can't help myself, it is the only way I am getting through her problems since I am so far away and unable to help her any more.

Hey Bunchkin, yeh, long time no talk to. Thanks for the well wishes. Ribs sure did sound good. All I made last night was hamburgers, and that was after DD told me that was what she had for lunch. think she would of said something when I said what I was going to make them.

Irish dancer- thanks for the well wishes also. Yes, time does fly by too quickly. Sure hope it flies by real quick once winter sets in.

Hope everyone else's days go by great today. Sure hope the sun decides to pop out sure would help with my mood. Don't like gloomy cold days. BRRRRR.

 

[momto1]

Hi gang! Gosh, I have missed so much not being here in almost a week! I read what you all have been doing, though.

DG - So sorry to hear about Mike and the car. You sure have a lot of exciting things going on! Can't wait to hear about the condo. Way to go on your ADR's. You will love, love, love CRT!

Tiggern - You're pictures are great! I want to go back. Can't wait to see more.

Hi to everyone!

I made ADR's yesterday for Boma's and Rose and Crown. I coulnd't get an Easter Sunday brunch at my top 3 choices so I need to reconsider what tod do. I told dh and ds they could each pick one place for an ADR. Notice, I got to pick 2 places?! Anyway, they can't decide. DH wants to go someplace we haven't been. OK pick one. He says he needs to do more research. DS said Coral Reef then asked if they serve anything other than sea food. HUH? He better do his research, too.

Better get back to work. Have tons to do!
Lori

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Hey all. I will continue with day 2 in a moment. I have my kids and 3 friends here today. School got out at noon. Boy is it noisy!
Slo, hope you are having a good day at work today and that your respirtory problem is resolving.
DG, congrats on your ADRs. I know how exciting that is and how the only people you can trust to get that excited with you are other Disers. I remember when you were asking us over a year ago if it was too soon to start all your planning. Now it's just a few months awayTime sure does fly by. Glad noone was hurt in the car accident.
momto1, I think I'd convice my DH he wants to choose 'Ohanas.Maybe you could whisper it in his ear at night. Congrats on your trip planning. I see you have 2 to look forward to. Good for you!!!!!!
Stitchfans, I do understand how you feel about DH being underfoot once his retirement comes. I dread DH misc. days off. I get nothing accomplished. I remember when my dad retired. My mom was still at work and he'd be home in the mornings trying to convince me of what I needed to eat for breakfast! What High School girl eats rinderwurst for breakfast?!
ID, I think the weatherman forgot he said it was going to be a nice day.Where is the sunshine?! You sound very busy. Hope you are having a good day today.
Bunchkin, I am with the others....recipe please. I just bought a pork roast and am going to try to do something with it in the crock pot tomorrow, but it appears every recipe I find requires 10 hours in the crock pot.I'll have to get up at 5 AM to start dinner.
Thanks nd5056 for the link to the discounts. I wish DD didn't have ballet committments. I would love to take the kids next Sat.
Hi Rose.
Paint, hope your DSis is doing OK now.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

OK now I am all caught up.
Happy Birthday to Kim and Hersey. I missed the 2 of you while I was gone.

On to Day 2:
Attempted to sleep in a little.But our neighbors didn't know of that plan and began flushing the tornado toilets very early. We were in an adjoining room and I don't think the doors are very solid that divide the 2 rooms. So, I believe we were up and out of the room by 9. We stopped in to the food court and got some muffins and headed out to wait for the bus. Weren't there long enough to finish my muffin and the bus to AK was pulling in. Unfortunately, that is a shared bus with Blizzard Beach, so it had to make a stop first. IMHO it wasn't warm enough for a water park, but some people were heading there anyway. You know what "they" say. No sense No feeling!
Finally, we are off to Animal Kingdom Park. I scooted on over to Everest for Fast Passes and my friends went to get in line for the Safari. Lines were not long anywhere today. They were calling me and had to step out of line for me to catch up with them before I could walk back across Asia to Africa. The safari was one of the better ones I'd taken. Many critters out this morning. The lions were even moving. I've said this before, I often wondered if they were stuffed. BUT, now I had proof. They really were real. Alot of other animals were out on the move, too.

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From the safari we went over to ride Everest and then wandered around a bit. I kept hoping to see DeVine, but once again missed her. We headed over to Flametree for lunch. 2 of us had the ribs and the other one had the chicken. It was all very good! So much better than Pizzafari (remember-no pizza, chicken nuggets or hamburgers on this trip). We wandered around some more checking out the animals and hit some shops. Then we checked in on a few Bugs! I still find that show amusing. And then headed over to watch The Lion King. Got to finally sit in the elephant section. I was tired of being a Warthog! By then we figured we'd head over and browse around the AKL a bit before our dinner.

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I get such a sense of peace and calm rocking in those chairs and watching the animals. The CM at Kidani Village doing the DVC stand was having a strange sense of humor day. I found him a little off putting at first. He followed us out onto the overlook. I think he realized we didn't care for his humor and stuck to telling us about the animals and the resort.
Then we were off to BOMA for dinner. Loved the Butternut Squash soup. The salad was great! Then I took to sampling bits and pieces of everything. I can't even remember what it all was. Didn't care for the Seafood soup. Ended with a plate of lovelies!!!

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I could eat those cheesecake bites forever!
Stuffed once again, we rolled out of there and headed off to catch the bus to the MK for the NSSHP!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

We arrived a little early for the party.

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I'd heard of the toothbrushes (Star Wars) being given out if you were at that spot in tomorrowland early, so we started off in that direction. We wandered for a bit and shopped,

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and when the party started, hit every candy stop in Tomorrowland. No toothbrushes.I found out later they were being given away behind the Cosmic Dance Party. Never saw them, but maybe you had to be part of the dance party.
The line for Snow White was huge already and they weren't even outside yet, so we wandered around checking out the decorations and the shops. I wanted to get the kids the party pins they had asked me for. DS wanted the one with all the characters in costume and DD wanted the Tinkerbell one. Would you believe, they only had 3 of the party pins left-one for the Annual Passholder, the Spider Web one that had the party name on it, and one other ugly one. I cannot believe they sold out of all the party pins and it was only the 20th! What are they going to do for the rest of the month and for Halloween itself? I liked it better when you got the one for that date and if there were leftovers from other parties, you had the option to select those as well. I went home with regular Halloween pins for the kids that I found at our resort. How disappointing.
It was nearly time for the first Villians Mix and Mingle, so we headed out to the front of the castle to watch that. I missed this the first 2 parties I went to.

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I enjoyed the show. We didn't stick around for the Mingle of it. We hit a few more Treat stations. Kept hoping for the chocolate (I think the CMs saw the adults coming and gave us Smarties on purpose...) We pulled up a seat on a bench and watch the parade go by. I think my partners in crime were tired and needed a footrest/beverage. Then we grabbed a spot for Hallowishes!

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We shopped a bit more then headed into Frontierland to get a curbside seat for the 2nd parade.

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After the parade we wandered over to do Haunted Mansion. I love this ride on party nights. The Mansion CMs look so cool!
By this point, we figured we'd head back over to check on Snow White and all 7 of her dwarves. Didn't want to get in the line, but managed to get a shot of them without guests in the way.

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It's now close to midnight and time to head out. We'd had another lonnnnnnng day. Ready for bed. Once again we had a bit of a wait for our bus. The first bus in the line was packed, but we managed to squeeze in. The only time we stood this trip.
Time for bed. Tomorrow is a Rope Drop!!!! Must be there at Rope Drop!!!!

 

[Bunchkin]

Things to remember about a crock pot from my experience:

Practically anything can be made in it!
Any recipe calling for a certain amount of hours on low can be cut in half and cooked on high.
Always use Reynolds brand crock pot liners...clean up is so much easier!!!!


This is how I cooked the ribs yesterday. I took the easy route as I was pressed for time.
I used pork ribs, cut the back skin off and cut into 3-4 rib piece sections.
Put them on a baking sheet and seasoned both sides with salt, pepper, and Emeril's BAM seasoning. Placed in crock pot and coated both sides with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. Shot a little more sauce into the crock pot for good measure and the secret ingredient.......about a half cup of Coke!!!! Yeah, you read that right, good ole' Coca Cola!!!! It makes everything taste better in the crock pot!! I used it once with a roast in the crock pot and it was THE best!!
The ribs were fall off the bone tender and really yummy!


Tomorrow I'm making chili in the crock pot! This is really easy and tastes the best, as chili always tastes better the longer it cooks.

 

[geffric]

Tiggern.. thanks for the report and the pictures..

Momto1 - Dh loved Coral Reef.. said they have the best steak he ever had..

so today I was at meals on wheels all morning and then SHIP.. so nothing here.. tomorrow the high school plays in the first round of playoffs.. so it should be fun..


Got our TAX BILL OMG why does it always go up..? My house dropped in price but not the bill.. it has gotten so high it is rediculos (sp) .. why do I live in Illinois?? or at least Cook County..

 

[disneygal922]

Bunchy ~ Thanks for the recipe for the ribs! I'll have to try that one of these days! it sounds delicious.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Things to remember about a crock pot from my experience:

Practically anything can be made in it!
Any recipe calling for a certain amount of hours on low can be cut in half and cooked on high.
Always use Reynolds brand crock pot liners...clean up is so much easier!!!!


This is how I cooked the ribs yesterday. I took the easy route as I was pressed for time.
I used pork ribs, cut the back skin off and cut into 3-4 rib piece sections.
Put them on a baking sheet and seasoned both sides with salt, pepper, and Emeril's BAM seasoning. Placed in crock pot and coated both sides with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. Shot a little more sauce into the crock pot for good measure and the secret ingredient.......about a half cup of Coke!!!! Yeah, you read that right, good ole' Coca Cola!!!! It makes everything taste better in the crock pot!! I used it once with a roast in the crock pot and it was THE best!!
The ribs were fall off the bone tender and really yummy!


Tomorrow I'm making chili in the crock pot! This is really easy and tastes the best, as chili always tastes better the longer it cooks.

Thanks Bunchkin. Your comment about good ole' Coca Cola really made me laugh. I've seen it used to unclog G-tubes back in the olden days. (for those that don't know, a G-tube is a tube that goes directly to a pt. stomach-for someone unable to eat for very extended periods of time. The liquid food and crushed pills would sometimes clog the tube. Coca Cola would dissolve the clog.) Kinda scares ya' to drink it now, doesn't it?!

Forgot to tell everyone thanks for the birthday wishes!! Always welcomed and appreciated. So thank you much!!

 

[irish dancer]

Hi guys! Just a quick drive by before heading to bed. So much for our "nice day"..........

DS9 had a problem at school that has me stewing. He didn't get lunch and should have had hot lunch. Teacher emailed that he "learned natural consequences today". Seems he wouldn't follow directions to order his choice and then wouldn't take any of the substitute options so he went withouth lunch. I understand he was being difficult but he has Autism!! He's not a typical kid. How could they let him go without lunch and not call me? Ugh!! I haven't replied to the teacher yet as I still get upset over it.

Kids are very excited for Halloween. DD12 has a Jr. High dance tomorrow and DSs school is having a carnival (no rides just games, etc). Hope it stays dry for trick-or-treat Saturday.

Tiggerrn - yikes! Coke to unclog a G-tube?!
*Keep the pics and TR coming, I can make believe I'm there.

geffric - best of luck in the playoffs!!

Bunchkin - thanks for the recipe, sounds yummy. We had corned beef in the crock pot today.

momto1 - Boma and R&C - yumm! Sounds great.

Stitch fans - how was PT conference? My DMom used to always say "married for better or for worse but not for lunch" . My aunt got a job when her DH retired!

disneygal - will keep my fingers crossed for you on the condo!

slo - wow, we don't get a fall break. We get a long weekend at Columbus day but that's it. Enjoy!

Well, I'm of to try and get some sleep! Busy weekend coming up! Have a great one everyone!

 

[KimRaye]

Got our TAX BILL OMG why does it always go up..? My house dropped in price but not the bill.. it has gotten so high it is rediculos (sp) .. why do I live in Illinois?? or at least Cook County..

ALL our houses dropped in value, but the taxes are still expected to be higher. In Chicago, we can expect a 6% increase while our houses have de-valued about $50-$100,000!

DS9 had a problem at school that has me stewing. He didn't get lunch and should have had hot lunch. Teacher emailed that he "learned natural consequences today". Seems he wouldn't follow directions to order his choice and then wouldn't take any of the substitute options so he went withouth lunch. I understand he was being difficult but he has Autism!! He's not a typical kid. How could they let him go without lunch and not call me? Ugh!! I haven't replied to the teacher yet as I still get upset over it.

id, this TURNED my stomach! no pun intended. This Upsets ME! {{HUGS}} to your DS! THAT teacher needs some 'natural consequences' from his/her inability for compassion and understanding and caring and patience! Oh! That just makes me so mad! So sorry you had this to deal with. And, just an email - AFTER the fact?!? I'm livid...sorry.

 

[HERSEY]

ID Many kids and adult have difficulty making decisions. My decision would be to have a conference with the prinicipal, teacher and whoever else I could drag in. No only is it very unhealthy I could go on and on. What if he had a medical problem like diabetes!

I hope everyone is faring well enough with this rain. I can't believe how much water came down and is still coming down. Poor dogs got a bath outside they were not happy.

Well I better get in the shower to get wet then dry off only to get wet again

 

[macraven]

it's friday..............


hooray........... but..........

and

 

[slo]

Wow, we've really been getting slammed with all the rain.
How are you all doing - the same as me?
I have a feeling we are all under this same rain cloud together


What are your kids being for Halloween???
I told my kids they had to be what they were last year, because I didn't want to buy new costumes. We were in WDW last year, and nobody around here saw their costumes, so I told them they were wearing them again
Katie is a ladybug
Stehanie was going to be a Devilish Diva until last night. We had a delivery at home, and it came in a perfectly square box. I told Stephanie that this box would be a perfect box for her to be a Rubix Cube. She agreeded, and Kevin cut a hole out for her head and arms, and it fit perfectly. Today he is coloring it and it's going to be so awesome when it's done - I can hardly wait to see the finished product!!!!!!


DG - Have fun taking your parents to see your top 2 choices Sunday I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you are able to get the one you want the most

Stitchfans - to you!!!! I will keep you all in my prayers to have all good things happen for your DD

momto1 - Congrats on your ADR's I've never been to either one, and I would like to someday.

Tiiiigggerrnnnnnnn - Your pictures and trip report are great Right now, is when we should be there, so I'm living vicariously through your pictures

Bunchkin - Wow, those ribs sound so easy - I"ll need to try them sometime

geffric - I"m sorry to hear of the tax bill Those bills are never easy to pay I feel the same way about all the taxes I have to pay for the store

ID - I would be so upset about my kids not having lunch too I could understand their point, maybe, at the middle school or high school level, but absolulty NOT at the elementary level - irregardless if he has autism or not, he should have been given a meal!!!!!!! I'm steamed just thinking about this!!!!

Kim and HERSEY and Mac -






I don't go into work today until 12:30pm, which is pretty nice, but I have to get ready for work as if I'm going in at 10am (in case my employee calls me and I need to go). I have her her working this morning, because she asked off for later today and tomorrow, and Thursday - Saturday is the only time she can work, due to classes.

Have a great day today everyone!!!!!

 

[Stitchfans]

Morning. I am really loving those pictures from Disney World.
I hear ya Slo, the rain sure is something. It is so windy here too. Surprised our big plastic pumpkin is staying put and still standing.

Irish dancer- I'd be fuming also. Considering the teachers know your son's situation you would think they'd cut him some slack and call you to see what could be done. Oh, the conference went fine once we discovered where we were suppose to go. DD's teacher wasn't in her room and we ended up being sent to 3 different rooms before we found her. About time we found her I was a bit peeved. Going up and down 3 flights of stairs is not my idea of a good time.

Kim Raye- I hear ya. The value of our house went down also, but yet they found it necessary to raise our property taxes. For our dinky house it is ridiculous. I heard about it in the news. From what I understand parts of Chicago are being hit more than the suburbs.

Well everyone enjoy the warmer but rainy weather. Before we know it we will be freezing to death.

 

[disneygal922]

Good Morning Everyone! I went to the doc last night to get my back fixed again. As you may remember me mentioning before, occasionally the bones in my back (the ribs and the one all the way at the bottom, it's name escapes me at the moment) get all wonky over time and shift out of place. The doc just manipulates my back to get them where they should be. It feels so good. Well, he always says, you'll be sore for the next few days and well, I never am. BUT, i woke up this morning and let me tell you, i am SORE!!! I actually had to take some Tylenol this morning before leaving for the train. Oh well, I'm sure it will be better by tomorrow!

Slo ~ you can ignore my facebook message seeing as you answered my question here! I'm sure Katie will look so cute as a lady bug! You'll need to post some pics!

ID ~ what that teacher did really grinds my gears. i would go to the principal. that is just unacceptable to let a child go without lunch. when i was in elementry school, if someone forgot their lunch the school went out of it's way to make sure they were fed, whether they called the parents and had them drop a lunch off or they just gave them snacks that were kept there with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. grrrr... i just can't believe that!

Geffric, Hersey, Tigg, Mac, Kim, Stitch ~ hope you are all having a wonderful day!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Vent-----I am tired of SINGING IN THE RAIN!!! 'Nuff said!

ID that teacher should have some severe consequences!! That is inexcusable! I cannot imagine telling a kid they will have to starve for their uncooperative behavior. At the very least they would get PBJ if they couldn't make up their mind. I hope you are able to get some resolve with the principal.

Slo, those costumes sound adorable. DD is using her witch costume from her Drama Camp this summer and DS wanted to be an Army Man. Found a cheap costume at KMart for $10 to fill the bill. I just hope it is dry tomorrow.

DG, hope your back is feeling better as the day goes on. I am sure the dampness outside doesn't help anyone with aches.

geffric, I hear you on the taxes vs. home value. Not to mention insurance. Everything but the home value goes up.

Glad everyone is enjoying the photos. I only have a few photos left that I uploaded to photobucket. But I will show you what's there.

Kids had their Fall party today. Fun!! Fun!! We played 7-Up, Bingo, Hot Potato (with 2 overly wrapped boxes of candy-1 layer gets unwrapped at a time until someone unwraps the last layer and wins the box of candy), and did a Mummy Wrap. They had a great time. I have to work for Halloween so I hope DH gets them dressed and out for T/T. Suppposed to have the last soccer game in the morning. I think the fields will be more than a little soggy! Have a great weekend everyone!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Day 3
Had Stitch on the wake-up call this morning. Same message as last year. I was so tired, I practically knocked everything off the night stand trying to get to the phone. Up and showered. Off to Food Court for breakfast-hungry today. Unbelievable, I know. Already hit the candy bag in the room for the lone few pieces of chocolate present. Mickey waffle and bacon this morning. Muffin for the roomies.
Off to DHS. As usual, we had to run for our bus. This was getting to be great comedy for us. The more we ate, the more we had to run to the bus. We were first up at the turnstiles along with the Zag N Meet group from Tour Guide Mike. That was fun. I knew I was in good company in the race to TSM. Through the turnstile then to the rope and then.... We're Off! Told the girls to meet me in stand-by and I headed straight to Fast Passes. We were on the ride within 10 minutes. Round 1 goes to me. Just love this ride!

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From there we headed over to TOT. Great drop sequences! I headed back to TSM-time to be able to collect another FP. Then headed back to meet the girls-they were resting on park bench and talking to family. Off to RNRC. Usually I don't care for this ride. My head gets quite shaken. But this time I got my head in the contour and held it steady and had a really good ride!
We shopped a bit and then headed to Sunset Blvd and ate at one of the little counter service rest. I had a pulled pork sandwich that was to die for!!! I wish I could create that here at home. And a carrot cake dessert. Friends had the taco salad. All was really good.
We went and used our FP for TSM-friend won this round. We wandered around a bit, rode Star Tours for old time's sake, and browsed the store. Then headed over to catch the Lights Motors Action Stunt show. Headed back across and used 3rd TSM FP. Round 3 to me!!! I never could get as high a score as I was hoping for. Just couldn't get the tips to work. Then we went into the Animation studio for a look around. They were showing bits of Princess and the Frog this year.
We shopped a bit and decided to head out to the boats for a nice calm, relaxing ride to the Beach Club.
We browsed the resort area a little and their shops and then checked in for dinner at Cape May. The resort still smells the same as last year. I have fond memories of the trip here last year.
Had the clam chowder soup, crab legs, clams, mussels, ribs, corn bread and some fruit. Then the waitress came out with....

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It was chocolate covered chocolate moose. I still HAD to waddle over for my oreo cookie bites. I was so full I could hardly move, but I could not go away without my guilty pleasure from last year...

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We finally finished and went to catch the bus to DTD for some shopping. We needed to walk that off. We hung out there until around 10:30 and decided it was time to head back for some much needed R/R. Thought it would be a good idea to have an earlier night and a sleep in........