Disney...by Land and Sea...Morris Style!

[cogero]

Oh good luck.

I would be so nervous for Mr D I hope it will go smoothly and be better than you think

 

[NiniMorris]

Oh good luck.

I would be so nervous for Mr D I hope it will go smoothly and be better than you think

Well, we had open house tonight, and it went well for the most part. Right up until the very end. I sent my two out in the hallway to wait while I explained to the new teacher that a certain Spec Ed 'person' is not to have ANY contact with Mr D. I explained that because she had locked him in a closet, if she comes around I will sue. After our discussion, guess who popped her head into the door...The teacher in question!

I know beyond any doubt that she only did it to let me know she had heard what I said and she was there... I am livid! At this point, I would love to keep Mr D home on Monday while I gave it a bit more thought. But at this point, he is looking forward to it too much.


So, now I have to gather all my info and drop by the attorney's office on Monday, just to head off any problems that might arise.



Why can't it be easy?


Nini

 

[cogero]

I don't know why that one won't just let things be. She has no interest in what is best for Mr. D. I am happy Mr. D is looking forward to school and I hope he continues to make strides.

 

[NiniMorris]

I don't know why that one won't just let things be. She has no interest in what is best for Mr. D. I am happy Mr. D is looking forward to school and I hope he continues to make strides.

I am SOOOO over this person! She made a determined effort to let me know that the case that was similar to ours against her was thrown out by a judge last spring....and now this. I can't wait to see what happens with the civil suit against the other teacher.

Prior to that case being thrown out in the criminal trial, she was under strict orders to stay away from Mr D, but she still managed to find a way to come into his classroom every chance she got!

If it were not for Mr D really loving school I would pull him to yet a different school. We were hoping to move before school started, but now looks like we we'll be staying here for a few more years. I don't want to pull Miss B out and make her change high schools.


Any way...


I did my first attempt at freezing Lima Beans to day. Not anywhere near as hard as I imagined it would be. Of course, that didn't stop me from researching it a million ways before I finally decided to just DO IT!

Reminded me of my mom. Once husband retired from military and we moved back here, we always had fresh veggies from her freezer. Although it was a small garden plot, he made the best of it! They canned or froze enough veggies each year to keep them in stock as well as us and half their neighbors. With still enough fresh during the summer to have them coming out our ears!

Whenever my kids wanted something for dinner that we didn't have they would call Papa and he would bring over a box of frozen veggies! It was amazing the first time they realized that most people had to go to the GROCERY STORE to get their veggies!

Of course, I grew up thinking that God made the veggies come in a can...the first time I ever realized that veggies could even come frozen was after I was married. (and I got married at 23!)

My first experience at preserving my own food came when Pap brought me 5 bushels of peaches and wanted me to make jam...which I did! And it was very VERY good!


Trying to think of some new Disney news, but other than work related, I got nothing! I guess today I will print out the packing lists and start crossing stuff off the lists and packing them...or at least pre-packing them. I am still having an issue with the fact that this trip will have a total of 3 stops...pre cruise hotel, cruise, then Animal Kingdom Lodge. Husband is already upset that I told him we are not the Clampetts and will not be lugging up boxes to our Savanna view room at AKL!


Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

I knew there was something I forgot to post about the other day, and it is sort of Disney related.

Miss B is about to start her first year of high school....and we were planning on taking her out a week in February to go to Disney. Just found out we may have a problem...


She is taking AP classes. When I was in school AP classes meant it was an accelerated class. Nope, this is an advanced placement class where if she scores high enough at the end of the quarter she gets college credit for it! She can possibly end up getting credit for two full years of college when she graduates high school. While that is exceptionally great news...it means a full week of missing school could be a big difference in getting that credit or not.

The school said they normally disqualify freshmen from the AP classes the first year, but since she scored so high on her CRCT (standardized testing) they are making an exception for her. So now I have to be unselfish and change the week we will go...so we will end up going when it is very busy!

Boo Hiss for being an adult! LOL!

So we will be sitting down sometime in the next couple of weeks and deciding when we want to take the week...


Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

Two months ago I set on a new eating strategy. Not really to loose weight (although I SERIOUSLY need to!), but more to just eat healthy. Originally it was Paleo. I quickly discovered it was not for me. Too many of the things I love was on the no no list...so I started modifying it a bit. More Primal and less Paleo, but still wasn't where I felt comfortable. But some how I discovered that as long as I stayed away from wheat I was feeling pretty good.

I very gradually and very very slowly started adding some gluten free items back. I will be the first to admit that the taste of some of the gluten free items left a LOT to be desired... but I eventually found a few replacement items that weren't too bad.

Last night I made a mistake. The kids were having Orange Chicken from Trader Joe's. It is a frozen dinner type thing where everything is included (except the rice) in the bag with easy directions that Miss B loves to make. Orange Chicken is my absolute favorite frozen meal around! I decided to have some last night....and it ended worse than I expected it to.

I now know that a gluten intolerance is EXACTLY what I have. I won't go into detail but I still feel yucky this morning...

So glad I finally decided to remove gluten from my diet...and very glad that I added gluten allergies to all my Disney dining....so I won't be tempted!

Still need to call it into the Cruise though...

Yesterday we officially got the luggage out and piled all the stuff that we have accumulated for the trip into it. The mess on my dining room table actually makes me feel better! It means I am going to Disney!

I also mapped out the route yesterday. Planned out stops. Planned our meals. Planned the timing. Then, I checked with the driver (husband) to make sure these worked for him. So far so good. He will make any adjustments later on. (once he has had time to think about it)

Now, for us the planning of the route was a big deal. We basically had two ways to go...go like we were going to Disney and then keep going once we got to our Disney exit and head towards the port. Or we could go on down to Savannah and then head down the coast to the port.

I was afraid that going like we were going to Disney would be a problem because it would seem 10 times longer after we passed our Disney exit! Going the other way is only about 10 miles longer, and it is also a route we know well.

We will leave about 6 am (which is 3 hours later than we leave to go to Disney!) We will drive until we get to Savannah and stop at a Cracker Barrel for breakfast. That will be about 10ish. If I know the kids they will be sleeping until this time.

After about an hour break here we will hit the road around 11 and drive until we get to Cocoa Beach which should be around 3. Which just happens to be check in!

Since the late breakfast will be more of a brunch, we will have some healthy snacks in the car to go along with the movies the kids will be watching, plus a few for Dad.

Believe it or not...the route for the drive down and where we will stay that night have been MAJOR problems for me!Now that is taken care of I feel like a weight has been lifted and am ready to get to the packing part of the trip...of course, that really means I need to get to the sewing part of the trip first! Or there may not be much of a packing to do!!!


Nini

 

[cogero]

so much fun, planning your route.

Sorry for the gluten intolerance. Unfortunately i have a problem with dairy. I LOVE Dairy.

I need to start gathering the kids things for the trip. to make sure there is nothing I need to get.

Have a fabulous day.

 

[DMGeurts]

Even though the gluten allergy is a pain... I am still so relieved for you that these YEARS of pain and problems could be fixed by a simple diet change rather than medication or surgery... I am in the minority where I am convinced that half of the medical problems plagueing our nation could be fixed (or greatly improved) by modifying our diets. And you, my friend, are a perfect example of this.

Love packing... Love, love, love it... In the midst of the same thing myself and I am giddy with anticpation!!!

And yay for getting your route planned... Mine is much less variable... Car to airport, plane to FL, ME to resort...

D~

 

[NiniMorris]

so much fun, planning your route.

Sorry for the gluten intolerance. Unfortunately i have a problem with dairy. I LOVE Dairy.

I need to start gathering the kids things for the trip. to make sure there is nothing I need to get.

Have a fabulous day.

Why is it we always LOVE the things that are bad for us? Funny thing is I always had a problem with dairy...for YEARS! In the last 10 years it sort of went away. There are still some things I can't eat...like that frozen stuff they call ice cream from Dairy Queen....it is not really ice cream, and I doubt it has too much actual dairy in it...but it bothers me when I eat it. Good quality ice cream as well as the home made kind, no problem! (I'm weird like that!)

Even though the gluten allergy is a pain... I am still so relieved for you that these YEARS of pain and problems could be fixed by a simple diet change rather than medication or surgery... I am in the minority where I am convinced that half of the medical problems plagueing our nation could be fixed (or greatly improved) by modifying our diets. And you, my friend, are a perfect example of this.

Love packing... Love, love, love it... In the midst of the same thing myself and I am giddy with anticpation!!!

And yay for getting your route planned... Mine is much less variable... Car to airport, plane to FL, ME to resort...

D~

I just find it crazy that all the doctors and specialists I went to and I discover it on my own! And I realize that part of this is that I got to a lot of specialists (like for the arthritis, the skin stuff, and the neurologist.) They don't put it all together... The surgeon was the first one to even suggest it might be a problem. But when his biopsy turned up negative he didn't know where else to look

Since I am still 2 months out from my trip (plus a few more days)I am still in the pre-packing stage! One of the biggest roadblocks...seems to be that all my packing cubes seem to have been commandeered for other things! I am considering taking some money set aside for the kids souvenirs and getting some more cubes! I can not imagine how I can pack for three different destinations with out them!

Oddly, I feel much more relaxed now that I have my route planned and all the information placed in the binder. Of course, the binder includes an index card with all the addresses I need on it, so it will be easier to plug them into the GPS. In fact...later this week I will plug the addresses of each place in the GPS....and that way when it is time to go I only have to choose one of the previous destinations and we are all set! Makes for much less stress!



Not Disney...but just as important!

Saturday is my anniversary! Thirty-seven years! (I will now say, for the record, that my Dad did not think it would last! He was convinced I would be home within a year. My sister in law had a bet going with my brother that we would never make it to the alter!) My brother and that sister in law divorced after two years of us getting married....and my Dad has been married three times...the one to my mom lasted only 24 years...and my first step mother died. So I think we have done pretty well!


We used to go on trips for our anniversary. Since school starts today, it will be too difficult to get someone to watch the kiddies and make sure they get to and from school (at least that has become my excuse!) Oddly enough, we have not gone on an anniversary trip since I became a TA...hmmmm


Anyway, this year I have zero idea what to do about a present for husband...I am thinking about getting him some golf clubs. He has played a total of 3 times in his LIFE...but seemed to enjoy it when we were in Florida. He has actually been looking at clubs every time we go shopping. But they are a bit more expensive than the money I have set aside for him....


But...for our 40th...we ARE going on a cruise to Tahiti and Bora Bora! Miss B will be 17, and Mr D will be 15...so I am pretty sure we can manage to get away for a week.

Well, time to make sure the kids are ready for school....



Nini

 

[cogero]

We go away a lot on our anniversary but it happens to be with the kiddos since it is around Spring Break a lot

Anyway we haven't been away together since 2006 but we are going in July of next year to Nashville.

Hope the kids have a great first day of school.

 

[NiniMorris]

We go away a lot on our anniversary but it happens to be with the kiddos since it is around Spring Break a lot

Anyway we haven't been away together since 2006 but we are going in July of next year to Nashville.

Hope the kids have a great first day of school.

The best part of school starting...is NO PHONE calls! I was beyond worried I would get a call early today... but here it is almost 11 and zero phone calls!


My husband is going to kill me!

I was reading some TA boards...and while I can't go into specifics (because it would be borderline unethical) I found that I can get an AP cheaper than using the military tickets..... in a way that will allow us to get 2 complete trips with just the 6 military tickets I get in a couple of weeks. (oh and what I am doing is not the borderline unethical part...it is taking too much about it!)

It will mean I need to swing a tiny bit more money....but I think I know how I am going to do it! I am sure that if I convince husband to give me Disney cards for my anniversary and the kids to give me Disney cards for my birthday (a tiny bit early) I will have more than enough to get done what I want.... I am so beyond excited... of course, that will not help any in getting to Disney in August to meet D~



Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

I have tweaked my dining ADRs again...not much.

Thursday Coral Reef 7:15
Friday Tutto Italia 7:45
Saturday Beaches & Cream 1:50 (this is a surprise for Miss B...just the two of us!)
Saturday Chef Mickey's 8:10
Sunday Boma 7:05
Monday Be Our Guest 8:40


And... I have made my ADRs for the February trip as well..


Sunday Tutto Italia 6:45
Monday Marrakesh 6:45
Tuesday Sci Fi Drive In 6:45
Wednesday Liberty Tree 6:45
Thursday Yak N Yeti 4:45
Friday Be Our Guest 7:35

As you probably notice, we have a routine...Be Our Guest is always done on our last night. I didn't really expect to find one for that night, because I was a couple days late getting to our ADRs...but since it was there...I HAD to get it! LOL!


School time!


Nini

 

[cogero]

Great ADRs.

Looks fun. we have never been to Beaches and Cream

 

[NiniMorris]

Great ADRs.

Looks fun. we have never been to Beaches and Cream

On that day the guys are going to a water park...and we decided we were going to hang around Downtown Disney a bit. (originally were thinking of Universal, but changed my mind on that pretty quickly! LOL!) She thinks we are going to stay at DtD. She had been looking at the menu for Beaches and Cream, and really REALLY wants to try the Kitchen Sink...so, even though I know we won't be able to even scratch the surface... I thought I would surprise her with a treat. I mean it is the ONLY thing she has really shown an interest in!


Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

I seriously feel like I should be doing something 'Disney' for the trip, but at the moment I can't think of anything!

After I drop Mr D off at school I will be testing an embroidery design for a friend (and adding it to one of our shirts)but that is it. And it probably will be the last shirt I make for a while, since #1 it is the last blank I have and #2 I am out of basting spray!

I did rework the budget yesterday...for the millionth time! If Disney would just let me pay for the last payment on the day I arrive (as opposed to 45 days early) it sure would be easier! LOL! Especially when I keep counting October's paydays in the equation!

Yes, the trip is NOT in danger, just wish I could convince myself. But this is the sort of thing I stress about each and every trip, so nothing really new here!

Still trying to decide what we are doing for our anniversary this weekend. Seems our babysitter has decided she had rather watch the kids on Friday night instead of Saturday night. So that is messing with our plans a bit.

One last funny about Miss Mia... Yesterday her and Momma had to go to Home Depot to get something. Miss Mia decided she wanted to watch her favorite ABC video (that is on Momma's phone) Unfortunately, Momma left her phone in the car charging. So Miss Mia starts screaming "B...B....B" The whole time she is in Home Depot she is creaming, flailing her arms and legs, and as her momma put it "Throwing a Royal fit"

I tried to tell her that it was a classic 'terrible two' thing to do. She is only 15 months old. My response? Terrible Twos is not as much an age as it is a developmental milestone. When they are verbal and mobile they start to explore who they are. They discover they have certain control over some situations, and no control over others. They learn the differences and why it works that way. She is very vocal and very mobile...she fits! Most kids are at this stage by the time they are two. Which is where it got its name.


I told her she could pretty much see this part of her daughter rear its ugly head for periods through out her life until she is an adult. It a part of growing that is really hard to miss. And that believe it or not, one day she will look back on this and miss it! Doesn't mean you are a bad parent or a good parent...just means you have a child that is not a clone of you!


Enjoy!


Nini


(who thinks it might be poetic justice...Miss Mia's momma stayed in the terrible twos until she was 18! LOL...insert evil laugh here!)

 

[cogero]

OMGosh. too too funny about Miss Mia. J pitches a fit every time we are in a store. He is 6 can I still blame the terrible twos

Actually Sami doesn't mind shopping as long as people say hi to her and she can wave. Sami is beginning to say a huge amount of words I love it and have to remember this is what typical children do. I have decided to not stress too much about the walking she will do it when she is ready.

I can't help you with Disneying your trip I stink with things like that.

 

[NiniMorris]

OMGosh. too too funny about Miss Mia. J pitches a fit every time we are in a store. He is 6 can I still blame the terrible twos

Actually Sami doesn't mind shopping as long as people say hi to her and she can wave. Sami is beginning to say a huge amount of words I love it and have to remember this is what typical children do. I have decided to not stress too much about the walking she will do it when she is ready.

I can't help you with Disneying your trip I stink with things like that.

LOL...that is the way Miss Mia used to be...now she is getting opinionated...just like her Momma!

OK...I am beyond upset right now! This trip in February is driving me crazy! As of this moment in time it is now in serious jeopardy, but not for anything in my control. I can't go into the details, but lets just say that it is not anything in MY control at this point. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR


However, on the current trip in October's front....I have changed an ADR yet again! While I loved the thought of doing Tutto Italia on Friday...I realized it is Food and Wine...high crowd levels and the restaurant is in the BACK of the park! Friday nights are brutal there...too many locals...too crowded... at first I thought it would be alright...since it was a later ADR, we could just hang around for the fireworks...nope. Fireworks will be much later that night!

So, we decided to try a new restaurant that night...so we chose RainForest Cafe at Animal Kingdom. Since we are staying at AKL it only made sense!

Anyway...


Last night Rex and I went out to dinner for our anniversary. (our anniversary is today, but our babysitter , aka Miss Mia's Momma, could not watch the kids today....so we went out last night) When we went to pick up the kids, Miss Mia had just gotten in bed, so of course, Momma let her up to play. She was hilarious! She KNEW she was getting away with something so she made the best of it! Grandpa showed her a video of a German Shepherd...and she immediately thought it was Mr Max. Every time it would go off she would holler "Again..Max" over and over. She watched it about 20 times! Then her Momma showed us her favorite 'train' video. She was saying the words of the letters before the video was saying them.

I will now insert a Grandma brag! She is learning her ABCs. Momma has started 'tot' school. She is learning the sounds they make as well as what they look like. The little devil cries when you turn off the video and goes to grab her plastic ABCs with the magnets in them to show you she wants to go through them again. They play a game where she has to find the matching letter from the video in her plastic letters. She is getting pretty good at this.

I told her momma she had better watch out, Miss Mia was going to be smarter than her and Daddy before long!

I love how she is just a little sponge, soaking up every thing she can. She has also been learning sign language. She has started making up her own signs for words and peoples names.

And when she puts her toys away, they have to be just so...the toy box is reserved for blocks ...her dolls have to be laying on a blanket, her stuffed animals have to be sitting with the books. (She has an animal book that her stuffed animal 'love' to read.) The toy 'corner' has now become the whole living room.

Any way...now I am off to see what Disney can do for me...


Nini

 

[cogero]

definitely a good change you made. we found friday and saturdays in Epcot unbearable during Food and wine nothing but a lot of drunks.

Love Miss Mia stories.

 

[NiniMorris]

definitely a good change you made. we found friday and saturdays in Epcot unbearable during Food and wine nothing but a lot of drunks.

Love Miss Mia stories.

Right...we experienced the drunks on a Halloween party night a couple years ago, and have made sure to avoid at all costs!

Good thing you like the Miss Mia stories, because I have a ton of them!


Well, I am supposed to be off the computer. It is our 37th anniversary, and I promised not to work at all today! But, when I discovered that Disney had accidentally cancelled our Feb trip, I had to set out to make it right. Since there was no room that I wanted available to me for a great rate, I took it as a sign that we shouldn't be taking Miss B out and are waiting the 2 weeks until they are out of school. It will mean higher crowds, but it will keep her stress levels way down. I will just have to scale back my expectations of what we normally get to accomplish.

Then I had to cancel all my dining for the trip! Boo...that was really really hard! Disney puts this silly little button for you to cancel, then asks if you are sure...it was SOOOOO hard to press that one. Especially for the Be Our Guest one! But I get to redo them on Monday. Hopefully I can get the same or better.

So, I will now close down my computer and make sure the rest of the gang is up...we had dinner last night and we are having a 'family' anniversary celebration today. Just husband, Mr D, Miss B and I.


Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

Wow..

I closed down my computer yesterday and the world survived!

Not sure how THAT happened, but I want o thank everyone for keeping the world in orbit and no major catastrophes!

We went to lunch at one of my husband's favorite local places. The Butcher Block. Let's just say it is NOT on my husband's list of favorites any more. The food was good ... just not as good as we remembered it. And since I had my food without the sauces, it was a bit bland for me. But the veggies were GREAT!

We then did some shopping and some driving around. We didn't actually buy anything, but Mr D was adamant about 'going some where' Then husband decided we should go see a movie (we had this problem the night before!)When he FINALLY decided which movie we were going to see, well, we had driven the opposite way of the ONE place that was showing it!

Plan #2... husband decides we are going to go see Guardians of the Galaxy. By this time we were heading AWAY from the theater that was closest, so he decided we should drive to the one closer by our house...and it started in 20 minutes.

Now, anyone familiar with Atlanta traffic knows, if it is the next town over it can take an hour to get there! Husband was sure we could make it...at 4:30 in the afternoon. On a Saturday. And...he did NOT go the shortest route!

On to plan #3. Go back to the movie at the 7:30 showing, because we were still over 20 minutes away when it started!

We FINALLY made it to the theater with just minutes to spare...and husband wondered why I pre bought the tickets!

The movie has a few more bad words than I would have liked (especially for a kids movie) but it was overall pretty cute and had some very hilarious parts in it!

For those that don't know, Mr D has a bit of echolalia. This means he tends to repeat words he hears...especially dialog from movies and tvs. So, on the way home we had a discussion about the language in the movie and why we don't say those things....to which Mr D replied..."its OK Mom. I will just let my brain reset while I sleep and it will know that is not words I should say!"

If only it were that easy!

Today is Sunday so I will get the munchkins up in a few minutes to get ready for church. Right now is my quiet time... and time for another cup of coffee!

Then, tomorrow I get to make my dining for the February trip all over again! LOL! Wonder what I will choose for my first round...because we all know I willl change them a million times in the next six months!


Nini