javamom
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- Jan 11, 2006
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Crashdad and Javamom: The Continuing Mis-Adventures
I thought that I would take a stab at a Pre-trip Report, with a possible promise of a follow-up Trip Report when we return. I say this only because there have been a few trips, recently, that I didn’t post about at all. But for this trip, I am feeling nostalgic, so I thought “What the heck, why not bore the good peeps on the DIS to tears again?”
So, the question becomes, why am I feeling so nostalgic about THIS trip?
Answer: simple, we are a man down. Our eldest son will not be joining us on this trip, which in and of itself, isn’t that big of a surprise seeing as how he’s older and has some responsibilities. I really didn’t bet on him being able to join us. What I didn’t bet on was that he would decide to join the Marine Corps. Which, to be totally honest, I never imagined was within the realm of possibility in his world. It all started last Fall, when he met a former recruiter at his Tech School. The rest is history, as they say, and he left for Boot Camp in August. Despite having nearly 8 months advance notice, I was woefully unprepared for how this would affect me. I think I cried almost incessantly for the first 2 weeks, which is soooo not like me. I felt like Diane Keeton in the movie “Something’s Got to Give.” I found out that I was amazingly good at crying, even in public. My son was not only grown, but GONE, unreachable, and un-huggable. This was panic-inducing for me.
God Bless Wobin for being so gracious and understanding where I was at. She assured me that I was not going insane. I cannot thank her enough! Now, I have calmed down over the weeks that have passed. Getting a few letters and a couple of phone calls has helped tremendously. Those first few weeks were just horrid.
In the movie screen of my memories, I could see him growing up and images of him over the years kept flashing through my brain. And the soundtrack to all of that was his old recording of Wishes from a former trip, and his terribly off-key singing with it. It made me laugh and cry at the same time.
Here, enjoy, you’ll be able to hear him:
So, I am feeling nostalgic, it’s time to write a Pre-trip Report and I will leave him in the cast of characters because we will be carrying him with us. I might do a Flat Stanley thing with the cardboard version of his head glued to a tongue depressor, so he can be peeking out from behind someone’s shoulder in every picture…LOL I don’t know for sure yet.
So here is the crew, again:
Javamom – Steph – Wife, mom, and worker bee. Disneyphile, Keeper of the DVC Points, and Family Trip Planner.
Crashdad – Mike – My dear husband and Partner in Crime. Loves his family, works really hard, and plays in Epcot.
Jack Skellington – our Marine Recruit, miles away yet still with us.
Candace – (formerly Belle) is our tween daughter. She’s soft-spoken (unless directed at her brothers), kind, and has a lovely singing voice. She wants everyone to be her friend, and doesn’t like the Mean Girls. I am NOT looking forward to Middle School.
Phineas – (formerly Peter Pan) our little Pan is growing up too. He is very observant, and is completely consumed with dinosaurs and Transformers. Still says that he wants to become a paleontologist when he grows up. Starts almost every sentence with, “Hey Mom, guess what?” or “Did you know?”
Maisie – Making a cameo in the story, will be our 18 month old pup. She is a Shih Tzu and Bichon Frise mix-breed pup, called a Shichon. She’s quite the Princess in her own right.
So, where to begin… just accept the fact that in the Internet Age, we engage in a lot of stream of consciousness communicating. This is the Blog generation. So, edit schmedit, leave in all the thought process. Ok, yes, where was I?
The beginning:
How did this trip materialize? I mean yes, we have the DVC points; so yes, we are going to use them. Why here, and why now? Four really good reasons:
1) This is the last year of Grade School for our kids
2) It’s Candace’s Birthday!
3) Who doesn’t love some F&W and MNSSHP?
4) Seriously, they are only little for a short while and then they become Marines!
Ok maybe that last reason is bit of a stretch for Candace and Phineas, still the lesson has been learned. I only wish that I could have brought Jack here more when he was younger, but I had NO financial means to make that happen. So, we are going to get while the getting is good!
I think it must be said, that planning this trip (although still a lot of fun) has been a bit more stress inducing than in years past. Our growing concerns over the US economy have us all nervous. Since I work in the housing industry, any news of layoffs means very, very bad things. The layoffs are still happening, and around here every job lost in manufacturing affects another 4-8 jobs in other industries. In a word, it’s SCARY. Should we be going to Disney? Maybe not? Would it make that much difference if we didn’t in the face of either of us losing our job, probably not. Still, the budget is a MUCH bigger concern for this trip than any other. I had to evaluate my choices a lot more, and second and third guess them. I even have spending Plans A, B, and C to fall back on if needs be.
Plan A: Eat insane amounts of table service foods, buy everything that we see. This is the “Daddy forgets how to say NO plan.”
Plan B: Eat moderate amounts of table service foods, and make easy peasy lunches in the villa kitchen. This is the “Somewhat Skinnier Daddy STILL forgets how to say NO plan.”
Plan C: Eat only crackers and soda water, then duct tape Crashdad’s wallet shut. Ok I am only kidding about his plan. Besides we are out of duct tape. Just consider this plan to be a more extreme version of plan C.
Still this is a bit more planning than even this OCD planner wanted to delve into. But, we will NOT let that dampen the fun! We are still beyond blessed to be able to go at all, and that factoid will NOT be lost on us.
Brief synopsis of The Plan:
October 2-9th, departing on the 10th
1 night at Pop at AP rate, due to the cheaper direct flight I found on SW. Besides we like Pop!
5 nights at BWV 1BR with a Boardwalk View (I heart that view)
2 nights at ???? booked on the AP rate. Shhhh it’s a surprise, I hope it’s fun too!
So what’s with the report title?
Calamity, thy name is Travel. We have had some strange, yet true, things occur in and around our travel dates.
First there was the week before our first Disney trip in ’06. We all got the stomach flu, like dominoes. We each took our turn. We even had Jack stay away from the house until the night of departure, in hopes that he would not get it. No dice, he tossed up his O’hana birthday dinner at 3AM the first night. He and I spent our first Disney day together in our room at POR. Meanwhile, I sent Crashdad out the door with the other two, with a wide-eyed terror upon his face. LOL Still, I wouldn’t have changed that day. I hope that Jack knows that I always have his back, and will always be there when he needs me.
Next was a trip last year, which was fraught with all sorts of weirdness. It all started about a week or more before departure day. Jack got fairly sick, and went to the Dr. She gave him some meds, and it was forgotten. Jack was feeling much better, and Jack wasn’t coming on this trip anyway.
Now, let’s fast forward to the night of departure. Crashdad was packing (this was a surprise trip to the kids, so no pre-packing could be done) and left to go to Walmart for some last minute things we needed. He was heading back to the house, when someone shot out the driver’s side window of his truck!! I kid you not!! Now, we don’t live in a “deluxe apartment in the sky,” but we don’t live in “the hood” either. All I knew is that Crashdad was running pretty late, and the next thing I knew was that he was standing in our courtyard and appeared to be talking on his cell phone to someone at midnight??? Huh, who could he be talking to? You know, I really did well with the whole scene until the police officer pointed out that his ear was bleeding. The shattered glass cut him. On that note, we just went back to bed, and decided to try to sleep instead of finishing the packing. We would get out a little later than planned, but oh well. This would be a bit of a mistake.
Anyway, I kid you not, we are backing out of the driveway on our way to Disney when the phone rings. It’s the Dr’s office calling to warn us that Jack had contracted the “Flu of the Year,” and that we had been exposed (so was half the city for that matter) and that as a precaution, they wanted us all to take Tamiflu. Now, not a one of us was sick at all. But since we had been exposed to the “Flu of the Year,” they wanted us on the Tamiflu. So, the next couple of hours were spent getting prescriptions for everyone and wolfing down McDonald’s. We found out at a McDonald’s rest stop somewhere in the middle of Oklahoma, that Phineas is allergic to Tamiflu. We discovered at a Shoney’s in Georgia that Crashdad is too. Yes, we drove that trip. Never again. ‘Nuff sad.
So, one must wonder what may befall this year??? It’s not that I’m in to worrying in advance, it’s just good practice in this family. Consider if you will that the following things have happened to Crashdad in the years that we have been wed:
1) Was hit in the head with a brick by a belligerent hag at a convenience store. For the record, he was not her intended target.
2) Was nearly knocked over by a fleeing shoplifter outside a Target store.
3) Fell through the floor of an attic and got stuck. Think “The Money Pit” only without any Care Bears.
4) Was shot at while driving home from a Walmart at midnight.
This is not to say that I have not had my own weird issues. However, that business with the light pole doesn’t count.
What I/We hope to discover on this trip:
Will sudden calamity befall our crew in the days, nay hours, before departure? More on this to follow, no doubt about it!
Will changing resorts cause me to pull all of my hair out?
Which spending Plan will we opt for?
Will we cave and buy Phineas an RC car in DTD (see Plans A and B)? More on this later.
Will we freeze our asps off at MNSSHP this year?
What happens when you give Crashdad unlimited access to pretzel bread?
Is it still a Disney trip if we don’t eat at Cape May or Le Cellier?
What will the men folk choose to do whilst the ladies are at High Tea?
Will I cry in my tea with my pinky extended ever so daintily, whilst watching my daughter turn 12 on what is sure to be one of our last play dates that will ever involve dolls again?
So stay tuned...
I thought that I would take a stab at a Pre-trip Report, with a possible promise of a follow-up Trip Report when we return. I say this only because there have been a few trips, recently, that I didn’t post about at all. But for this trip, I am feeling nostalgic, so I thought “What the heck, why not bore the good peeps on the DIS to tears again?”
So, the question becomes, why am I feeling so nostalgic about THIS trip?
Answer: simple, we are a man down. Our eldest son will not be joining us on this trip, which in and of itself, isn’t that big of a surprise seeing as how he’s older and has some responsibilities. I really didn’t bet on him being able to join us. What I didn’t bet on was that he would decide to join the Marine Corps. Which, to be totally honest, I never imagined was within the realm of possibility in his world. It all started last Fall, when he met a former recruiter at his Tech School. The rest is history, as they say, and he left for Boot Camp in August. Despite having nearly 8 months advance notice, I was woefully unprepared for how this would affect me. I think I cried almost incessantly for the first 2 weeks, which is soooo not like me. I felt like Diane Keeton in the movie “Something’s Got to Give.” I found out that I was amazingly good at crying, even in public. My son was not only grown, but GONE, unreachable, and un-huggable. This was panic-inducing for me.
God Bless Wobin for being so gracious and understanding where I was at. She assured me that I was not going insane. I cannot thank her enough! Now, I have calmed down over the weeks that have passed. Getting a few letters and a couple of phone calls has helped tremendously. Those first few weeks were just horrid.
In the movie screen of my memories, I could see him growing up and images of him over the years kept flashing through my brain. And the soundtrack to all of that was his old recording of Wishes from a former trip, and his terribly off-key singing with it. It made me laugh and cry at the same time.
Here, enjoy, you’ll be able to hear him:
So, I am feeling nostalgic, it’s time to write a Pre-trip Report and I will leave him in the cast of characters because we will be carrying him with us. I might do a Flat Stanley thing with the cardboard version of his head glued to a tongue depressor, so he can be peeking out from behind someone’s shoulder in every picture…LOL I don’t know for sure yet.
So here is the crew, again:
Javamom – Steph – Wife, mom, and worker bee. Disneyphile, Keeper of the DVC Points, and Family Trip Planner.Crashdad – Mike – My dear husband and Partner in Crime. Loves his family, works really hard, and plays in Epcot.Jack Skellington – our Marine Recruit, miles away yet still with us.
Candace – (formerly Belle) is our tween daughter. She’s soft-spoken (unless directed at her brothers), kind, and has a lovely singing voice. She wants everyone to be her friend, and doesn’t like the Mean Girls. I am NOT looking forward to Middle School.
Phineas – (formerly Peter Pan) our little Pan is growing up too. He is very observant, and is completely consumed with dinosaurs and Transformers. Still says that he wants to become a paleontologist when he grows up. Starts almost every sentence with, “Hey Mom, guess what?” or “Did you know?”
Maisie – Making a cameo in the story, will be our 18 month old pup. She is a Shih Tzu and Bichon Frise mix-breed pup, called a Shichon. She’s quite the Princess in her own right.
So, where to begin… just accept the fact that in the Internet Age, we engage in a lot of stream of consciousness communicating. This is the Blog generation. So, edit schmedit, leave in all the thought process. Ok, yes, where was I?
The beginning:
How did this trip materialize? I mean yes, we have the DVC points; so yes, we are going to use them. Why here, and why now? Four really good reasons:
1) This is the last year of Grade School for our kids
2) It’s Candace’s Birthday!
3) Who doesn’t love some F&W and MNSSHP?
4) Seriously, they are only little for a short while and then they become Marines!
Ok maybe that last reason is bit of a stretch for Candace and Phineas, still the lesson has been learned. I only wish that I could have brought Jack here more when he was younger, but I had NO financial means to make that happen. So, we are going to get while the getting is good!
I think it must be said, that planning this trip (although still a lot of fun) has been a bit more stress inducing than in years past. Our growing concerns over the US economy have us all nervous. Since I work in the housing industry, any news of layoffs means very, very bad things. The layoffs are still happening, and around here every job lost in manufacturing affects another 4-8 jobs in other industries. In a word, it’s SCARY. Should we be going to Disney? Maybe not? Would it make that much difference if we didn’t in the face of either of us losing our job, probably not. Still, the budget is a MUCH bigger concern for this trip than any other. I had to evaluate my choices a lot more, and second and third guess them. I even have spending Plans A, B, and C to fall back on if needs be.
Plan A: Eat insane amounts of table service foods, buy everything that we see. This is the “Daddy forgets how to say NO plan.”
Plan B: Eat moderate amounts of table service foods, and make easy peasy lunches in the villa kitchen. This is the “Somewhat Skinnier Daddy STILL forgets how to say NO plan.”
Plan C: Eat only crackers and soda water, then duct tape Crashdad’s wallet shut. Ok I am only kidding about his plan. Besides we are out of duct tape. Just consider this plan to be a more extreme version of plan C.
Still this is a bit more planning than even this OCD planner wanted to delve into. But, we will NOT let that dampen the fun! We are still beyond blessed to be able to go at all, and that factoid will NOT be lost on us.
Brief synopsis of The Plan:
October 2-9th, departing on the 10th
1 night at Pop at AP rate, due to the cheaper direct flight I found on SW. Besides we like Pop!
5 nights at BWV 1BR with a Boardwalk View (I heart that view)
2 nights at ???? booked on the AP rate. Shhhh it’s a surprise, I hope it’s fun too!
So what’s with the report title?
Calamity, thy name is Travel. We have had some strange, yet true, things occur in and around our travel dates.
First there was the week before our first Disney trip in ’06. We all got the stomach flu, like dominoes. We each took our turn. We even had Jack stay away from the house until the night of departure, in hopes that he would not get it. No dice, he tossed up his O’hana birthday dinner at 3AM the first night. He and I spent our first Disney day together in our room at POR. Meanwhile, I sent Crashdad out the door with the other two, with a wide-eyed terror upon his face. LOL Still, I wouldn’t have changed that day. I hope that Jack knows that I always have his back, and will always be there when he needs me.
Next was a trip last year, which was fraught with all sorts of weirdness. It all started about a week or more before departure day. Jack got fairly sick, and went to the Dr. She gave him some meds, and it was forgotten. Jack was feeling much better, and Jack wasn’t coming on this trip anyway.
Now, let’s fast forward to the night of departure. Crashdad was packing (this was a surprise trip to the kids, so no pre-packing could be done) and left to go to Walmart for some last minute things we needed. He was heading back to the house, when someone shot out the driver’s side window of his truck!! I kid you not!! Now, we don’t live in a “deluxe apartment in the sky,” but we don’t live in “the hood” either. All I knew is that Crashdad was running pretty late, and the next thing I knew was that he was standing in our courtyard and appeared to be talking on his cell phone to someone at midnight??? Huh, who could he be talking to? You know, I really did well with the whole scene until the police officer pointed out that his ear was bleeding. The shattered glass cut him. On that note, we just went back to bed, and decided to try to sleep instead of finishing the packing. We would get out a little later than planned, but oh well. This would be a bit of a mistake.
Anyway, I kid you not, we are backing out of the driveway on our way to Disney when the phone rings. It’s the Dr’s office calling to warn us that Jack had contracted the “Flu of the Year,” and that we had been exposed (so was half the city for that matter) and that as a precaution, they wanted us all to take Tamiflu. Now, not a one of us was sick at all. But since we had been exposed to the “Flu of the Year,” they wanted us on the Tamiflu. So, the next couple of hours were spent getting prescriptions for everyone and wolfing down McDonald’s. We found out at a McDonald’s rest stop somewhere in the middle of Oklahoma, that Phineas is allergic to Tamiflu. We discovered at a Shoney’s in Georgia that Crashdad is too. Yes, we drove that trip. Never again. ‘Nuff sad.
So, one must wonder what may befall this year??? It’s not that I’m in to worrying in advance, it’s just good practice in this family. Consider if you will that the following things have happened to Crashdad in the years that we have been wed:
1) Was hit in the head with a brick by a belligerent hag at a convenience store. For the record, he was not her intended target.
2) Was nearly knocked over by a fleeing shoplifter outside a Target store.
3) Fell through the floor of an attic and got stuck. Think “The Money Pit” only without any Care Bears.
4) Was shot at while driving home from a Walmart at midnight.
This is not to say that I have not had my own weird issues. However, that business with the light pole doesn’t count.
What I/We hope to discover on this trip:
Will sudden calamity befall our crew in the days, nay hours, before departure? More on this to follow, no doubt about it!
Will changing resorts cause me to pull all of my hair out?
Which spending Plan will we opt for?
Will we cave and buy Phineas an RC car in DTD (see Plans A and B)? More on this later.
Will we freeze our asps off at MNSSHP this year?
What happens when you give Crashdad unlimited access to pretzel bread?
Is it still a Disney trip if we don’t eat at Cape May or Le Cellier?
What will the men folk choose to do whilst the ladies are at High Tea?
Will I cry in my tea with my pinky extended ever so daintily, whilst watching my daughter turn 12 on what is sure to be one of our last play dates that will ever involve dolls again?
So stay tuned...
Hope all goes SMOOTH !!! and you will have to tell your son Thank you for choosing such a noble profession, and I wish you all the strength in the world as a mum of a kiddo who chooses a job in which can make a mum cry ! *hugs*
for some better luck this trip!
