Dave Ramseying to Disney!Some final thoughts 8/18

[moparop]

Did you see that there's a post on the podcast thread about Pete's breastfeeding comments. I started to respond and then deleted it accidentally. UGH!

 

[999ghostslover]

Did you see that there's a post on the podcast thread about Pete's breastfeeding comments. I started to respond and then deleted it accidentally. UGH!

Well, now I'm in the middle of all that. Sheesh!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I'm here now and all caught up!

We are big Dave Ramsey fans here as well. When Joe and I got married we had a TON of credit card debt. We worked our way out of it when I was pregnant with Henry. Now, due to moving, we do have a bit on our credit cards - but we are once again being very focused and applying Dave's principles to our money and it should be paid off in the next few months. Doesn't it feel great to make your money work for you instead of you work for your money?

And kudos on that letter to the podcast! I haven't listened to the podcast in a while, but that would have irritated me as well. I wasn't able to nurse - Henry would NOT latch properly, so I exclusively pumped for eight months - I couldn't keep up after 8 months and my pump broke! I haaaaaaaaated pumping, but knowing I was giving my little man the best I could was wonderful. I know many mothers have problems with it and we all do the best we can, since I could produce enough, I was determined to do it despite despising every second of being a cow attached to a pump! If we have a #2 ever, I hope s/he nurses easily....!

We did a trip to CSR, it was fantastic - we loved it. It's the September 2009 trip if you want pics, etc.

 

[999ghostslover]

I'm here now and all caught up!

We are big Dave Ramsey fans here as well. When Joe and I got married we had a TON of credit card debt. We worked our way out of it when I was pregnant with Henry. Now, due to moving, we do have a bit on our credit cards - but we are once again being very focused and applying Dave's principles to our money and it should be paid off in the next few months. Doesn't it feel great to make your money work for you instead of you work for your money?

And kudos on that letter to the podcast! I haven't listened to the podcast in a while, but that would have irritated me as well. I wasn't able to nurse - Henry would NOT latch properly, so I exclusively pumped for eight months - I couldn't keep up after 8 months and my pump broke! I haaaaaaaaated pumping, but knowing I was giving my little man the best I could was wonderful. I know many mothers have problems with it and we all do the best we can, since I could produce enough, I was determined to do it despite despising every second of being a cow attached to a pump! If we have a #2 ever, I hope s/he nurses easily....!

We did a trip to CSR, it was fantastic - we loved it. It's the September 2009 trip if you want pics, etc.

Glad to have another Dave fan on board. He is great. And just like a diet...if you get off track and cheat a bit or hit a rough patch then you just come back to his principles and start over. Yes, it feels so good to have our money work for us. It feels so good to tell it where to go instead of wondering where it all went. I could quote Mr. Ramsey all day!

Thanks, I had to write something. And there is a thread where it is all debated, pretty hotly, and at the end Pete jumped on and apologized. He did a great job doing so too. Way to go Pete!
My first baby, A, nursed like a champ. We did not make it quite a year because when she was 11 months my whole family (16 of us) went to Italy for 10 days. My grandmother paid and I just could not pass that up. It was a 5 star guided tour (Tauck, kinda like ABD) and there was no way to bring her so my amazing in-laws watched A for the ten days. We started her on some stage 2 formula and of course by then she mostly eating all real food anyway. As much as I hated to stop nursing her then I do not regret taking that trip AT ALL. When I got pregnant the second time I thought nursing would be easy since I had already done it once. WRONG. B latched and the milk was a plenty but he started losing weight. I cannot look at his two-month pictures because he is so sick looking. He started with (TMI ALERT) bloody and foamy stools. My best friend is a lactation consultant and we tried eliminating foods and all of this other stuff and nothing was working. B was eventually diagnosed with lactose/lactase imbalance disorder. We had to read Australian midwife medical journals to even figure it out. The solution was to pump off most of the foremilk and give him mostly hindmilk. At the same time I started having gall bladder attacks and it hurt too much to sit up and pump. So we started supplementing and his stools improved, I was able to have surgery and in the end he is now a pudgy happy toddler. I still nursed him some up until a year (of course I got pregnant when he was 6 months old and that was not fun either).
So when baby C came along I was freaking out that this would happen again. He has been a nursing champ. So easy. As he is nearing a year and I have been pregnant and/or nursing straight through since August of 2007 I am sadly ready to start weaning sooner than later but I know I will miss it.
This is all to say that when you are ready to give Henry a baby brother or sister you have a great chance of not having problems and there are so many resources in NYC that you will do great.
Do you have a TR from your CSR trip?

 

[999ghostslover]

dur. i found your CSR TR. Reading it now. Great pics so far!!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Glad you found the CSR trip! Enjoy! The hike from Casitas 5 to the main building was a bit long, but nothing terrible. We had good bus service the entire week and really enjoyed our stay there. Everywhere you look it's beautiful!!

I have a friend too - who like me, had trouble with her first one nursing, then the second one ZERO problems, so I have hope should we have a second! I'm glad to hear Pete got involved in that thread and apologized about it all,

 

[999ghostslover]

Let's talk DHS. So Star Tours is officially "down" so that they can fully update it and make it a 3-D experience. I'm not a huge SW fan but that does sound much-needed and pretty cool. When the original ST ride came out the line to ride wrapped the park. People got their first thing and stood all day just to ride for like weeks. This was before there was such a thing as FP and Star Wars weekend. It was the first major sim ride for Disney and with a brand like Star Wars of course it was ridiculously popular.
So we will be there approximately in the middle of Star Wars weekend time. The goal, I assume, is to premiere the ride during the first SWW. We will arrive at our hotel and have our day trip to Titusville during the second SWW so no problem there. Do any of you think that DHS will be crazy busy that week because the ride is new and fans will try to avoid the SWW crowds? Touring plans has DHS listed as a 4.0 to 1.9 on crowd scale while we are there with the exception of Gay Day at DHS when it jumps to 8.9. I think we will purposely try to not be at any park during its gay day that week simply for crowd level predictions. What I am asking is, do you think we should skip DHS this trip? I have no problem missing the new ST ride. Two of our three kids can't ride and while DH would like it he is not a huge fan of sim rides. Although hopefully new technology will make this a smoother ride. I think we may play it by ear and wait until we get closer to the day. Two animal kingdom days sounds like a pretty nice alternative especially in June when that park is hard to handle for many many hours at a time. If we are going to do DHS then we want to get an ADR for Play and Dine lunch as that place has pretty bad CS restaurants. But if we do two AK days then we might get brave a try Yak and Yeti. I guess I could get a lunch ADR for Pand D and a dinner ADR for Yand Y and just decide that morning, right?


Anyway, thoughts are appreciated....

 

[Lady Lallie]

I went to Disney in 2009 in May during the SWW. I didn't go to DHS during the weekends but I had no problem with crowd levels while there during the week. I really don't think the new refurbed ride is going to affect crowds that much during the week...on the SW weekends maybe.

If you want to go to DHS, I don't think you would need to worry about the crowds.

 

[moparop]

i have never been during SWW, but based on the other trip reports I have read, it sounds like the park should be fine during the week. I always feel like DHS is easy to skip because it is so small, but my kids are Pixar nuts and I feel bad if they don't get to see their favorite characters. Also, my little ones have loved Playhouse Disney on stage. Did you hear they have changed the P and D characters? Jojo and Goliath have retired and moved to the coast and Handy Manny and Oso are taking their spots. Major win for the preschool crowd!

It truly amazes me how different each BFing experience can be. I figured out today that have spent just shy of 4 out of the last 6 years BFing. While I want my body back in a big way, I know Aileen is our last and I will be heartbroken to be finished with this wonderful gift I have been given from God.

 

[999ghostslover]

i have never been during SWW, but based on the other trip reports I have read, it sounds like the park should be fine during the week. I always feel like DHS is easy to skip because it is so small, but my kids are Pixar nuts and I feel bad if they don't get to see their favorite characters. Also, my little ones have loved Playhouse Disney on stage. Did you hear they have changed the P and D characters? Jojo and Goliath have retired and moved to the coast and Handy Manny and Oso are taking their spots. Major win for the preschool crowd!

It truly amazes me how different each BFing experience can be. I figured out today that have spent just shy of 4 out of the last 6 years BFing. While I want my body back in a big way, I know Aileen is our last and I will be heartbroken to be finished with this wonderful gift I have been given from God.

So excited to hear that these "new" characters are taking over. Even Abby Rose doesn't remember JoJo. It has been a long time since she has been on.
And the other two would have no clue. Yeah, not nursing will be tough. Day to day it can be so much. But in the big picture I do love it. I will miss having babies.

I went to Disney in 2009 in May during the SWW. I didn't go to DHS during the weekends but I had no problem with crowd levels while there during the week. I really don't think the new refurbed ride is going to affect crowds that much during the week...on the SW weekends maybe.

If you want to go to DHS, I don't think you would need to worry about the crowds.

Last trip we were there during the week of a SWW too and it wasn't too bad during the week. It was an EMH morning so it was a little nuts but not too bad. I'm just scared that all of the fanboys will make this park unbearable for a month or so. But on the plus side maybe they will all head left to ST and we can head right to FP TSM and ride RRC and ToT while they all fight over ST. And then if we catch it later so be it and if not oh, well.
But I still think I may keep Y and Y in my back pocket. Or maybe a resort ADR. Just in case.

 

[999ghostslover]

I tried submitting my Disney memory to the site yesterday. The last page said I would get an email response within 1-4 hours. I have gotten nothing and when I try to log back in it says I have no saved memories. I typed it out so nice. I worked so hard and did not save it. I'm getting kinda frustrated. What gives?
And in unrelated technical issues, I think my laptop is on its last legs. So bonus money may be going to get a new computer. It is always something.

 

[brookelizabeth]

I had the same issue with the Memories site - I submitted two and...nada. It's a cute site though, isn't it? I figure I'll just try again some other time...I wasn't too upset because I didn't spend too much time on it, but I would have been if I did!

I agree with the other and SWW - the weekends are nuts, but the weekdays are much calmer. Sure, ST is gonna have a long line, but you can always just FP it or skip it all together. We really enjoy DHS with Henry because they have Playhouse Disney Live, the stage shows (which are excellent and he loves them!), the HISTK playground and TSM. Another winner this past trip was the Backlot Tour, Henry LOVED it! I think it's a great park for littles - just running around back in the Streets of America is fun too!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

I haven't gotten my email confirmation, either! What is going on over there?!?

 

[ag98]

 

[999ghostslover]

I had the same issue with the Memories site - I submitted two and...nada. It's a cute site though, isn't it? I figure I'll just try again some other time...I wasn't too upset because I didn't spend too much time on it, but I would have been if I did!

I agree with the other and SWW - the weekends are nuts, but the weekdays are much calmer. Sure, ST is gonna have a long line, but you can always just FP it or skip it all together. We really enjoy DHS with Henry because they have Playhouse Disney Live, the stage shows (which are excellent and he loves them!), the HISTK playground and TSM. Another winner this past trip was the Backlot Tour, Henry LOVED it! I think it's a great park for littles - just running around back in the Streets of America is fun too!

Yeah, I will try to rewrite my memories. I hope I can reword it as succinctly and still capture how special it is to us. Our last trip was during SWW and my neighbors were there at the same time and they thought we were nuts for avoiding that park during the actual event but we were fine with it. They said it was really crowded but still worth it. But they have teenagers. I love all of the stage shows too. Last time we saw 0 there. All of the timing was off between ADRs and leaving to get a nap in and we spent a huge chunk of the morning at backlot and playing in HISTK playground. This time I think we will skip backlot and try to get in Playhouse Disney and at least one other one. My vote is Beauty and the Beast because it is the only show I haven't seen (other that AI which I have no desire to see).

I haven't gotten my email confirmation, either! What is going on over there?!?

It is all funked up. I call Disney Foul! Bring back the year of a million dreams!

 

[999ghostslover]

Remember a couple of weeks ago when my mom and dad gave me a hard time about booking the trip? And I said I was going to politely say that we have decided to just go as a family. Well, I did do that. But they actually really want to come. My mom had her gall bladder out a few days after they were here when she made the "one track mind" comment. She did not look good while here and I know she was really sick. She had a fever. And after driving home 6 hours by herself (my dad had flown out on business) she was in really bad shape. She spent two days home throwing up and sick as a dog. She went to one of those doc in a box places and they told her she had kidney stones (she didn't). Finally, my sister drover her to the ER and she was in the hospital for 5 days. Now, I had my gall bladder out and they had me out of the hospital by 9:30 AM. So you know she was really sick. On the day she got home from the hospital (her birthday, the poor thing) she mentioned the trip and how she knows we really need to make plans. I told her that it was okay we could decide later. So when she brought it up a few days later I finally said that it was okay if they did not want to come. We were going to have a great trip regardless and Disney in late May is no place to be if you aren't excited to go. But she said she really wanted to see the kids there and that she and my dad were excited. So I called Angela, my TA and poof! they are coming to Disney. They will be staying 4 nights and going to the parks 3 days. They got free dining too. The one bad thing is that they are leaving on Brady's actual birthday. But you know how Disney birthdays go. We will be celebrating all week, right? The other bad thing with three days is that they will have to miss one park. I am thinking looking at crowds and what we want to do it will have to be Epcot. I think that is fine. We are going to try to do MK day 1, AK day 2 (they have never been) and HS day 3. I am pretty sure we will give up Play and Dine lest my dad stab his eyes out with a fork. I think 3 days is going to be great. I know that is a good amount of time to have fun and not get too overwhelmed. My mom did say the other day that she doesn't see how someone can go to an" amusement park" for a week and since she doesn't go on rides it doesn't make sense. Oh mama. I think she is remembering Disney like 6 flags where every ride is a behemoth. Who knows maybe we can turn her into a MeMom, right? My money is against it. BUT I know they will love it. My kids are their only grands and they love them to pieces and wish they could be together a lot more. So all in all I am very happy they are coming but now I need to wrap my head around new ADRs and such.

 

[jms25]

Just wanted to drop by and say HI. I discovered your pre-trip report today. We too are doing Finacial peace. We actually just started the HomeKit. Dave had it on really good sale last week and we work opposite shifts so "live" classes just weren't working out for us.

We just got back from our last trip in Dec and are looking at Oct 2011 for our next trip, but it depends on where we are in the whole baby step process. Anyway, I am enjoying reading your pre-trip! Can't wait for more details!

 

[999ghostslover]

Just wanted to drop by and say HI. I discovered your pre-trip report today. We too are doing Finacial peace. We actually just started the HomeKit. Dave had it on really good sale last week and we work opposite shifts so "live" classes just weren't working out for us.

We just got back from our last trip in Dec and are looking at Oct 2011 for our next trip, but it depends on where we are in the whole baby step process. Anyway, I am enjoying reading your pre-trip! Can't wait for more details!

Another Dave fan!
Yes, I would love to be completely onto babystep 3 at least by the time we went away but with student loans it just isn't possible. Well, I realize that it is possible...delay the trip. That is what Dave would say for sure but by having Disney in the back of my mind as a goal it is so much easier to say "no" to the drivethrough, "no" to that little thing at Target that I just have to have all of the sudden. We have come incredibly far with our debt this year. More so than any other time in our marraige. We are different people today. I love the new us. We never fight about money, we pray more and we have learned to act our wage and not pretend to live like other people.
I can't wait to complete this baby step and move on to wealth-building though. I have to tell you. There are days where it gets monotonous or you give in. But just have an emergency budget meeting and you will be all set. We did the course online and I think it was great. I would love to see Dave in person one day. That would be phenomenal.

 

[inkedupmomma]

sorry about your mom! I had my gallbladder out after I gave birth to DD, and I can vividly remember the terrible pain I was in!!

Glad they are coming now! good thing she told you now! You still have plenty of time to rearrange everything without messing it up!

 

[999ghostslover]

sorry about your mom! I had my gallbladder out after I gave birth to DD, and I can vividly remember the terrible pain I was in!!

Glad they are coming now! good thing she told you now! You still have plenty of time to rearrange everything without messing it up!

I had mine out after having my second child. I don't think I ever got to the awful attack part. I had a sharp pain on my right side that was worse when I sat up. I thought I had liver cancer but I am a DRAMA QUEEN. They scanned me and it was my gall bladder. I def. think having it out before you get to the really bad pain is the way to go.

I agree that it is good they let us know now. Now, they just can't back out!