Celebrating my Un-Birthday Disney Style-April 2010-New 5/3 - The TR has started!

[DisMomAmy]

So which bag did I pick??

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None of the above!!

I've decided that many of the bags I was looking at are similar to others I have but don't really like to carry around for long periods. I want small and light, but I need something a little bigger to hold my essentials... So why should I buy another that I'm not sure about??

I'm still interested in the Crumpler Baby Pea (the little backpack), but that wasn't through ebags and therefore not part of the sale that ends tonight.

I'm going to visit a couple store to see what I can try out so I can make a better decision.

In other news... we woke up to the smoke detectors squeaking as the power went out... again! Tim was home long enough to get the generator going (at 5am) then had to head down to Connecticut for the week. The kids were up at 5 for the day! I tried to go back to sleep but the phone rang announcing the cancellation of school! And wouldn't you know it, power was back on by 8:30! Uggghhh... Needless to say I had some tired cranky boys on my hands today. I had planned to work today, which didn't really happen, but I was able to get a lot of things checked off my week 6 to-do list.

 

[jordanyosh]

good choice.

if the truth be known, I kinda like the backpack too.

 

[mrsksomeday]

Originally Posted by DisMomAmy
....This year he has become friendly with one boy in his class - they've gotten pretty close & Alex had him over today. It went really well! I almost cried when they talked about being best friends!

Awww I want to cry just reading it, that is fantastic!!

puffles (from Club Penguin)

I am so glad you said something about these. See we got a pin lot from Ebay recently and there were pins of the puffles and I had NO CLUE who they were. So thanks to you, I could tell Bill what the heck they were.

Here are some pictues of the boys on Crazy Hair Day and Literary Character Day. Zach was Cat in the Hat.

Those pictures are terrific, the boys are so cute.

The Children's Museum of NH in Dover, NH held it's first "Exploring our way" autism partnership program.

What an amazing program, that is wonderful .

I am no help with the park bags, Bill has a bag on the back of his wheelchair so he carries all our stuff around.

 

[Angies1274]

Catching up!

Love your countdown chain and calendar!! We just made our countdown chain over the weekend. The boys had fun putting it together! Ooohhh...good idea including the puffles.

Your boys look adorable in their costumes! Great job!!

Okay, I was going to say that I liked the first bag too...until I read that you decided not to get any of them. I agree though...why get something that's similar to what you already have. I do like the backpack though!

 

[eandesmom]

I love slings and if the straps are right, they don't hurt at all. I vastly prefer them to a backpack for easy access (no on, off). Sherpani makes some I think that I've seen at REI that look pretty great.

When I do carry day packs I tend to sling them on one shoulder anyway, so it's basically the same thing.

I agree, don't get something similar to what hasn't worked before! that's how I ended up going with another purse instead of a true park bag. Every time I try what "should" be a park bag, it just doesn't work for me.

I can't believe you lost power AGAIN!

WAH!

That sounds like a long, and annoying day. If it's off at least have it be off long enough to make the canceled school day worthwhile!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Interesting choice on the bags! Really, I can't blame you for not getting any of them because of the reasons you listed.

Did you not have school yesterday because of the wind storm?

 

[jenniferkeala808]

i love your countdown calenders! So cute! It makes it more exciting to really SEE how many days you have left!! From those bags you posted, I liked the first one but I think you'll be able to find a better one to suit your needs! Can't wait to see what you've chosen!!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Oh boy....back to the drawing board on the bags! Keep looking...I'm sure you'll find one you like. You should ask the store if you can take one on a "test drive" so to speak! Carry it around with random stuff for a day and see what you think!

Sorry about no power and cranky boys. How frustrating!

 

[DisMomAmy]

good choice.

if the truth be known, I kinda like the backpack too.

Awww I want to cry just reading it, that is fantastic!!

I am so glad you said something about these. See we got a pin lot from Ebay recently and there were pins of the puffles and I had NO CLUE who they were. So thanks to you, I could tell Bill what the heck they were.

Those pictures are terrific, the boys are so cute.

What an amazing program, that is wonderful .

I am no help with the park bags, Bill has a bag on the back of his wheelchair so he carries all our stuff around.

Everything is all about puffles around here these days! I was at school today and I guess Zach has his whole class playing some sort of puffle game at recess every day! We'll definitely be looking for puffle pins at Disney this year.

Catching up!

Love your countdown chain and calendar!! We just made our countdown chain over the weekend. The boys had fun putting it together! Ooohhh...good idea including the puffles.

Your boys look adorable in their costumes! Great job!!

Okay, I was going to say that I liked the first bag too...until I read that you decided not to get any of them. I agree though...why get something that's similar to what you already have. I do like the backpack though!

I'd love to see your countdown chain! I'm always looking for ideas on how to make them a little different. This year we used Mickey's colors.

I love slings and if the straps are right, they don't hurt at all. I vastly prefer them to a backpack for easy access (no on, off). Sherpani makes some I think that I've seen at REI that look pretty great.

When I do carry day packs I tend to sling them on one shoulder anyway, so it's basically the same thing.

I agree, don't get something similar to what hasn't worked before! that's how I ended up going with another purse instead of a true park bag. Every time I try what "should" be a park bag, it just doesn't work for me.

I can't believe you lost power AGAIN!

WAH!

That sounds like a long, and annoying day. If it's off at least have it be off long enough to make the canceled school day worthwhile!

I'll definitely track down a sling bag to try out in the store. We don't have an REI nearby, but we have EMS, which is a big outdoorsy store. There's also a big outlet mall over the border in Maine that has a huge outdoor gear store.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Interesting choice on the bags! Really, I can't blame you for not getting any of them because of the reasons you listed.

Did you not have school yesterday because of the wind storm?

The power went out around 5, then school was canceled at 6ish. Power was back on before 8:30. But I guess there were some roads that were washed out. We had over 7 inches of rain between Friday & Monday. That's A LOT of rain! They say each inch of rain is equal to one foot of snow... Can you imagine if it had been cold enough to support snow (which is not unusual at all around here in March)... 7 feet!

Some of the towns nearby (including the town I grew up in) have major flooding! One town is even having concerns of a bridge collapse from all of the rushing water underneath!

Luckily the wind wasn't too bad this time around... it did get pretty windy Sunday night, which is why the power went out, but not as bad as the wind storm two weeks ago. And the outages weren't widespread like last time.

i love your countdown calenders! So cute! It makes it more exciting to really SEE how many days you have left!! From those bags you posted, I liked the first one but I think you'll be able to find a better one to suit your needs! Can't wait to see what you've chosen!!

Thanks Keala! You can count down with us!

Oh boy....back to the drawing board on the bags! Keep looking...I'm sure you'll find one you like. You should ask the store if you can take one on a "test drive" so to speak! Carry it around with random stuff for a day and see what you think!

Sorry about no power and cranky boys. How frustrating!

Yes, ugghhh about the bags! I'm not going to stress about it though. At some point I'll get to a store to try some out and hopefully will end up with something different than I've used before.

Luckily it was almost 60 degrees here today (crazy warm!) so the kids are getting plenty of outside play time today. I think that's the best way to cure the crankies this time of year. We were getting a bit of cabin fever this weekend. Interestingly enough it's only 65 degrees in Orlando right now...

 

[mrsksomeday]

Everything is all about puffles around here these days! I was at school today and I guess Zach has his whole class playing some sort of puffle game at recess every day! We'll definitely be looking for puffle pins at Disney this year.

Is Alex into the puffles too or just Zach? Is there something Alex likes a lot that is Disneyish?

 

[Happydog]

Great updates on your trip business! Countdown calendar, and the chain!!! Don't know what to say about the bag, but I get your logic -- why get another if you have others that would suit this time and you don't have one that speaks to you (bag do do that, you know )

Anyhow, crazy weather, right? We have 60s all week they say! Then rain, AGAIN... spring.

 

[disneyfan61]

I don't blame you on the bags. If you can try them out first that would be great.

Love the countdown calendars!!

Dover NH, right next door to me

 

[pipersmom]

I hear you on the bag thing! I ended up taking an LL Bean backpack, but like Tracy & Bill, we ended up with a wheelchair for Piper, and it was slung across the back of the chair most of the time. I think the longest I carried it was 3-4 hrs, but it was fine for that length of time. : I am a money in one pocket, keys in the other type of girl normally, but it worked out fine. You may want to check out a gear store in your area (re..REI, Dick's, Bean) not sure what's near you..that way you could try out some bags made for comfort and all day carrying? Just a thought!

Loved the pics of the boys in their costumes..too cute! And very cool that the museum is running that program.

 

[pipersmom]

Okay, missed the post that you were going to go try out bags! Sounds like a great idea to me though! :

 

[DisMomAmy]

Is Alex into the puffles too or just Zach? Is there something Alex likes a lot that is Disneyish?

Alex is still really into the young Disney stuff. Zach has moved on to Club Penguin and Phineas & Ferb but Alex still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (The Fab 5 & Daisy) and the Little Einsteins. He has also been watching Nickelodeon's Yo Gabba Gabba (yuck!) lately.

At Disney, he loves anything fast! Last night he asked me if we can go to DHS on our first day because it has his favorite rides (RnRC, ToT & TSM). Fortunately that is exactly what I have planned for our first morning.

Great updates on your trip business! Countdown calendar, and the chain!!! Don't know what to say about the bag, but I get your logic -- why get another if you have others that would suit this time and you don't have one that speaks to you (bag do do that, you know )

Anyhow, crazy weather, right? We have 60s all week they say! Then rain, AGAIN... spring.

Yes, very crazy weather!!

We keep forgetting to put stickers on the calendar & take off links of the chain! But I think that makes it more fun because sometimes we get to do two days at once!

I don't blame you on the bags. If you can try them out first that would be great.

Love the countdown calendars!!

Dover NH, right next door to me

Hopefully I'll have better luck with the bags when I hit the stores!

We're about 30 minutes from Dover... PM me if you want to know exactly where.

Remind me... what are you trip dates?

I hear you on the bag thing! I ended up taking an LL Bean backpack, but like Tracy & Bill, we ended up with a wheelchair for Piper, and it was slung across the back of the chair most of the time. I think the longest I carried it was 3-4 hrs, but it was fine for that length of time. : I am a money in one pocket, keys in the other type of girl normally, but it worked out fine. You may want to check out a gear store in your area (re..REI, Dick's, Bean) not sure what's near you..that way you could try out some bags made for comfort and all day carrying? Just a thought!

Loved the pics of the boys in their costumes..too cute! And very cool that the museum is running that program.

Okay, missed the post that you were going to go try out bags! Sounds like a great idea to me though! :

I wish there were a way to attach our bag to the stroller, or hang it over the handle without it tipping over when empty! When Zach rode in the stroller we would put the backpack on the top. Then when he would get out we would have to move it into the stroller otherwise it would tip over. He's a little bit taller this year so I'm also afraid that we won't be able to put the bag on top of the stroller without it resting on his head!

 

[MRYPPNS]

Amy just come clear with everyone.....you know you want to use your fanny pack for a park bag! LOL (I can let you borrow my EMS one )

 

[mousescrapper]

• Spending money: $300?

really how do you do that?

For counter service meals I estimated $35 per meal for our family of four. Counter service total: $180

that is probably right...I am estimating $50 for 6.


Bringing us to a grand total of $1443 – TIW discounts of $135 (based on this budget) = $1308!!!


crazy huh? when you'd spend like 1 /4 of that for 2 weeks of groceries huh?

So what do you think?? Do I need to add anywhere... this figure is actually a little bit higher than it originally was... the closer I looked, the more I kept adding!

do you need that spreadsheet..you asked but I forget if I offered it?

Today starts our Florida/Disney countdown! We’ve made paper chains before (2007) and Mickey Head calendars (2009) so this year I asked the boys what they would prefer. They each chose something different, so again this year, we have two countdowns! We start on Sunday at 39 days!

Here is Alex’s:

Here is Zach’s:

love the costumes....when Michael was younger he loved reading the Nate the Great books!

Amy just come clear with everyone.....you know you want to use your fanny pack for a park bag! LOL (I can let you borrow my EMS one )

J~

 

[disneyfan61]

I PM'd you.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Amy just come clear with everyone.....you know you want to use your fanny pack for a park bag! LOL (I can let you borrow my EMS one )

You know me so well...

In the midst of my bag saga, Tim told me to either buy a more expensive bag that I will use again because it's comfortable (which is how I ended up on the Crumpler website) or just go with the fanny pack if it works because Disney's more about function than form! So we'll see... I'm sure it will make an appearance at some point.