Disney Every Day - Update 10/21 – 1, 2, 3! We’re Leaving for Orlando Tomorrow!

[Lovemy3babes]

Erin, I love your house!!! It is so pretty. I can see lots of happy memories being made there with you and your children.

PS: I totally remember Hey Arnold!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Hey Erin,

Subbing On...

I followed you over from Alysa's PTR (I always feel funny saying that- It makes me sound like a stalker...don't worry I'm not...

Your children are lovely...

You're writing is very funny and I sometimes feel like my life is a tangent so I can totally appreciate that...

Late August is actually a great time to do because you're right -people stop going those last couple weeks which makes it less crowded for those of us who do-(speaking from experience...) ...it's just hot... but well it's Florida right?

I love the idea of your cupcake quest... lots of great ones... I want to do a smaller version of that too...(shorter trip) I've had Crumbs in New York...very good... Have you had Georgetown Cupcakes?...(I see you're in Northern VA...)

Have to go catch up...

Hi, Patricia! I never thought about it, but I always say I followed someone over from another PTR, so I guess I sound like a stalker too Thank you for the compliments on my kids and my PTR I’m glad that you gave me another recommendation for going to WDW in late August! I hope we can see and do a lot without being held back by the typical summer crowds. Yes, I’ve been to Georgetown Cupcake, but I’ve never seen Katherine and Sophie. True really wants to meet them and she loves the show. I got True a Georgetown Cupcake t-shirt for her birthday last year. Their cupcakes are very moist and the frosting is thick and delicious! I want to vote for the hometown hero and say Georgetown Cupcake is the best, but Crumbs cupcakes are bigger and taste better in my opinion. Have you been able to visit the Georgetown Cupcake shop in NY?

Erin, your house is so cute! I love all of the light and the fireplace. And that tub! Yep, candles, wine and a good book sound perfect.

So funny that you think you'll get more use out of your yard because its less shady- I'm always complaining I don't have enough shade and made Robbie build me a pergola.

I hope you guys make lots of happy memories there.

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Thanks, Hope! I love my house so much and we’re already making some wonderful memories! Yeah, the sunny back yard is good now – in October – but I may be singing a different tune come July!

And I'm so behind- I read all about your plans and Bruno a few days ago but didn't have time to respond. The plans look great and it's cool that you and Anne may be able to pull off a dis meet.

Bruno is so cute! Funny because my BIL has a boxer named Bruno. I haven't met him yet because they live in Germany but the pics and stories my SIL posts on FB are priceless!

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I’m really glad that I’ll have my first DISmeet with Ann! I like the way the park plans are shaping up too I think Bruno is a popular Boxer name. Ashley said she looked up “Boxer names” on Google and chose from there He looks like a Bruno. He is a silly little boy and he is so much fun to be around!

OMG, can I move in?!?!? I LOVE LOVE LOVE your new house! The lighting is TERRIFIC, like a photographer's dream! I'm so happy for you Erin!!!

Thanks, Karen! We love it here, too! I peeked down at your ticker – 6 days to go! I’m so excited for you!

Oh Erin......I agree with everyone else....I absolutely love your new home. It's so airy and light!! I am sooooo happy for you! Thank you for all the pictures. It really gives us a sense of being there! I can't wait to see how you decorate it! How you doing getting ready for Hurricane Sandy?

Thanks, Ann! We already have a couple of decorating projects in mind and I can’t wait to get started! I didn’t do much to prep for Hurricane Sandy, but we did get a few more non-perishable food items and filled my big ol’ bathtub with water. I’m about to give a few more details after I post the replies. Thanks for your concern!

Your house is awsome...

Let's see lots of stuff in no particular order...

-Love, love the Spy Museum-so fun

-Good luck with the home schooling- I'll be curious to see how you like it... I've considered it a various times for both my children for different reasons... I didn't but I can totally understand how you came to this place...

-Both of my children have had anxiety issues... both diagnosed at different times... and they are both amazing kids... It's not always easy but it can be controlled and I think that it gives them a really empathy and understanding for other people and their issues...

I know I've forgotten other comments but have an awesome time in Boston... it's one of my favorite cities...

Thanks, Patricia! The Spy Museum was awesome! Homeschooling is going well, so far, and it has helped out a lot with Coy’s moods. He used to get in these moody, glum, angry phases on some days and I realized that they always came about when he had a particularly hard day at school. Now that the social pressure of school has been lifted, he’s been dealing with his anxiety issues a lot better and he hardly ever gets in those moods. I think he and True are also learning a lot more because most of their learning is self-guided. We’re all still learning about how this will actually work, but I think we are making progress! I’m very excited about Boston! Coy has to register for his classes between now and Thursday, so I hope he gets some good ones!

Erin, I love your house!!! It is so pretty. I can see lots of happy memories being made there with you and your children.

PS: I totally remember Hey Arnold!

Thanks, Kelli! I’m glad to see you’re back! How was your trip??? I haven’t been on FB much the past couple of weeks, so I don’t know if you posted any pictures over there. Are you going to do a TR? Oh, and I’m glad you remember Hey Arnold!


So, the worst of Hurricane Sandy has passed by us, thank goodness! I’ve got to admit, I was a little concerned when I heard the weather forecasts over the past few days. Also, being in a new city, I wasn’t sure how they dealt with weather emergencies. I went shopping on Saturday and it was packed in there! Everyone was getting water and buying out the whole store! I guess that is typical of Northern VA, though. We tend to panic in weather emergencies! On Sunday evening, my boss sent me a text to tell me that the office was closed for Monday. Well, that was good because Metro had already decided to suspend public transportation service for Monday, so there was no way I was going to drive to work. Nope. No way! Sunday night, it had already started to sprinkle outside, but nothing major was going on. By Monday morning, it was raining, but it still wasn’t raining too hard. The wind started kicking up, though, and we heard the wind howling outside all day. Coy said it sounded pretty spooky, so I suggested that we watch a scary movie, but he wasn’t too keen on that idea! I think the wind made it sound a little too realistic! True and I watched a couple of episodes of The Haunted on Animal Planet, but then she got tired of watching, so we changed the channel. It’s funny, because Coy is usually the one that I watch scary stuff with, so I am glad that True is starting to like the scary stuff too! Eventually, we all started watching a marathon of season one of Once Upon a Time. We are watching it now because Coy stopped watching with me and True last season, so he needed to catch up. We all love that show! We haven’t watched season two yet because we want to be all caught up before we watch, so I am DVRing them now. So, yeah, we did a lot of TV watching yesterday. It’s OK though, because we had a ball on Saturday at a pumpkin patch. We also had a lot of fun decorating the house for Halloween on Sunday. Oh, and we baked. We baked A LOT. I’ll try to post an update about our extended weekend tomorrow. So today, I am all TVed out from yesterday! I have the day off again, so I have a craft project in mind for us to do.

Anyway, our power didn’t go out, thank goodness! We had three quick outages that all lasted for less than a minute last night. They all happened within a ten minute time frame, and they all happened while I was cooking! The first time the power went out, I thought to myself, “Great! This is what I get for waiting so long to make dinner! Now the food is going to go to waste!” but then it came right back on. I was so relieved! Then it went back out and I thought, “This is it. The power isn’t coming back on this time,” but as soon as I thought that, it was back on. By the third time the power went off, dinner was almost done, so I wasn’t going to be too upset if the power didn’t come back on. At least we would have been able to eat! Thankfully, the power came right back on again and we were fine from that point. I am very grateful that we have power because I saw that millions of people up and down the east coast do not. I hope that they can all stay safe. I am also very grateful that my family is all safe. Most of my family lives in Maryland and I was worried about them, but they are all OK The wind was wild and there was a lot of heavy rain later in the afternoon and early in the evening. It became pretty clear that my office wasn’t going to be open Tuesday, either. I heard from a friend who worked at my old job and he was putting in overtime at work to help out. He told me that the office didn’t close at all. I felt bad for my friend and all of the other people who had to work at my old job yesterday, but he said he was happy to get the OT. I guess that’s another reason it was a blessing in disguise that I got laid off from that job! I got to stay home and be with my kids during the storm! Naturally, I woke up at the crack of dawn this morning even though I didn’t have to go to work! Ugh! True came in my room with me and started watching TV. She fell back asleep, though. I think it’s time for me to go back to sleep, too! I have to take advantage of having an unexpected day off by taking a mid-morning nap!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I'm glad to hear you guys are all well and bonus 2 days off work rocks! Did you get pics at the Pumpkin Patch?!?!? Where are they? Erin, you must know by now that I require you document everything with photos.

Yes, 6 days! I need to do another little update on my PTR!!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I'm glad to hear you guys are all well and bonus 2 days off work rocks! Did you get pics at the Pumpkin Patch?!?!? Where are they? Erin, you must know by now that I require you document everything with photos.

Yes, 6 days! I need to do another little update on my PTR!!!

Yeah, I took pictures at the pumpkin patch. Most of them didn't turn out very well because it was almost dark when we went and my phone doesn't do well in low light. I should've brought my point and shoot. But I'll post them anyway because if there aren't any pictures, it didn't happen!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Well I am glad you are safe and sound after Superstorm Sandy! Fortunately, we live about 40 minutes inland, so it wasn't bad for us. The coastal areas were a little hard hit, but nothing too too terrible, thank goodness!!

I love The Haunted on APL. I love all those ghost shows and can't get enough of them! After Victoria's appointment on Thursday we went to see Paranormal Activity 4 just the two of us. We had the theater all to ourselves which was extremely cool. I'm with Karen on wanting to see the Pumkin Patch pictures! I'm also curious to know if you took pics of the baking marathon. Would love to see the goodies you made! I have to go restock my baking supplies (flour, sugar, etc) as I may, just may want to get to baking soon. Tis the season, you know!!!

Enjoy your nap while I'm slaving hard at work...... (I couldn't even say slaving with a straight face!!)

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Enjoy your nap while I'm slaving hard at work...... (I couldn't even say slaving with a straight face!!)

Yep, you're all over the DIS...proof that you are SLAVING AWAY!!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Yep, you're all over the DIS...proof that you are SLAVING AWAY!!

Of course that's proof!!! And it's just you and Erin I stalk!!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Well I am glad you are safe and sound after Superstorm Sandy! Fortunately, we live about 40 minutes inland, so it wasn't bad for us. The coastal areas were a little hard hit, but nothing too too terrible, thank goodness!!

I love The Haunted on APL. I love all those ghost shows and can't get enough of them! After Victoria's appointment on Thursday we went to see Paranormal Activity 4 just the two of us. We had the theater all to ourselves which was extremely cool. I'm with Karen on wanting to see the Pumkin Patch pictures! I'm also curious to know if you took pics of the baking marathon. Would love to see the goodies you made! I have to go restock my baking supplies (flour, sugar, etc) as I may, just may want to get to baking soon. Tis the season, you know!!!

Enjoy your nap while I'm slaving hard at work...... (I couldn't even say slaving with a straight face!!)

The Haunted is a really good show. There is a marathon on today, too, so I am recording those. I also like A Haunting and a few other shows about paranormal investigations. I am terrified to see Paranormal Activity 4 in a theater, much less an empty one! You two are brave! I never watch scary movies in a theater! Well, actually, I saw Paranormal Activity 3 in the theater with that guy I was seeing last year. I was terrified! Coy wants to see PA4 in the theater, but he hasn’t convinced me to do it yet We baked tons of cupcakes the other day! I’ll get some pictures up soon. I’m always in the mood to bake this time of year! Oh, and I thoroughly enjoyed my nap!

Yep, you're all over the DIS...proof that you are SLAVING AWAY!!

Ann and I are always “slaving away” when we are at work!

Of course that's proof!!! And it's just you and Erin I stalk!!!

Hey, what our bosses don’t know won’t hurt them!

 

[-Hope-]

Glad you're safe and sound!! Also glad you didn't have to try to get to work in the storm.

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[Tink-erin-belle]

Happy Halloween!!!



Are all of you Ghouls and Goblins getting ready for a night of fun?! My kids certainly are! They can’t wait to go out and get TONS of candy tonight! We had a lot of fun this weekend! First, we went to a farm that was having a Fall Festival. I wanted to go to this farm in particular because they said they knew the Great Pumpkin would be visiting! By the way, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” is a tradition with me, so I am definitely watching it when it comes on tonight! The kids will probably be busy sorting out their candy! LOL! They have watched it before, but they aren’t big fans of Charlie Brown like I am. Oh well. So back to Saturday evening: I was determined to see the Great Pumpkin rise out of the pumpkin patch! We drove WAY out to the farm and saw that it was pretty busy there. It wasn’t packed or anything, just very busy. Lots of kids were running around and some families were clearly making a day out of their visit to the farm! They were bringing in coolers and blankets. I started to wonder if we should have gotten there earlier. I think we got there at about 5pm and the farm closed at 10. As we walked in, we could smell kettle corn, cotton candy, funnel cakes and just about any other type of sweets that they have at fairs. The kids took one whiff and wanted to make a bee-line to the concession stand! That is, until they saw the farm map! They both got very excited about exploring once they saw that!

My mom was with us, and it was at that moment that she realized that she left her phone in my car. Ugh! LOL! The kids were saying, “Hurry up, Grandma!” as she went back to the parking lot! Haha! We yelled that we would meet her at the big barn and she encouraged us to go on to have fun. The first thing I spotted was a photo-op, of course! My little sunflowers:



By the time we finished with that picture, my mom was on her way back. I guess she listened when the kids asked her to hurry up! LOL! There were a couple of cute things to photograph, so I took a few pictures while we waited for my mom to find us:





I really need to find my point and shoot because these pictures were taken with my phone. I love the camera on my phone, but it doesn’t do a great job on the action pictures. When we met up with my mom, the first stop was inside the barn. True was swinging on a rope and having a great time, but the best shot I could get was this:



I decided that it wasn’t worth missing watching True have fun on the swing, so I stopped trying to get that perfect picture. She was laughing and smiling so hard! I asked Coy if he wanted to go on, but he thought it was for little kids. He also didn’t want to go deeper into the hay. The hay was piled up very high in that part of the barn, so I didn’t blame him for not wanted to get any more stuck in his shoes! Just then, I remembered the app I had for my phone that had a fast shutter speed! Duh! I could have been using that! As I half looked at my phone and half looked at True swinging, I asked True if she wanted to swing for just another minute. She said that she didn’t, and promptly got off of her swing. And by “promptly”, I mean that she hopped off and fell flat on her back! I busted out laughing! I know, I am a horrible human being! But I am not a bad mother because I knew she was OK since she fell on mounds and mounds of hay! LOL!!! She said, in that sing-songy voice that pre-teens use, “Mom!” and started laughing too! She was a little embarrassed because the hay was sticking to her sweatshirt, but she is so good-natured that she just kept laughing! We brushed the hay off and headed to the slides!

I used to love riding on the burlap sacks down the slides when I was a kid, so I knew the kids would like it! I was going to go, but then I changed my mind because I didn’t feel like walking up the huge hill to get to the top! Lazy! I know! Again, Coy didn’t want to go because he thought it was for little kids. True was perfectly fine going by herself, but my mom decided that she wanted to go too! When I was a kid, my mom was my burlap sack riding buddy, so I shouldn’t have been surprised that she wanted to go on the slide. True and Grandma went up the hill and raced down the slide! They loved it! True decided to go again and again, but my mom sat the other rides out! She said her thighs were burning from going up that hill! My mom walks every day, so if her thighs were burning, I knew mine would have! It was a very steep hill. Meanwhile, the kids –including True – were running up the hill again and again to go on the slide! I remember when I could do that when I was a kid! I need to get in shape! LOL! So, here is a picture of one of the many times True went down the slide:



Even though it is a blurry picture, you can still see that she has a big smile on her face! We had to pull her away from the slides to do something else. No, I mean literally. I literally had to pull her aside before she ran up the hill again to tell her that we were going to do something else! Haha! I told her she could have one more ride on the slide and that was it. She listened, thankfully, because I was not going to chase her up the hill if she didn’t! LOL! We started walking down the path to the other park of the farm:



Coy and True came across a calf:



They have only ever seen full-grown cows, so Coy asked why the cow was so skinny! LOL! You can tell that boy hasn’t spent much time around farm animals! The sun was starting to set. Coy wanted me to take this picture:



That is the last picture of that night I have to share! Sorry! I can tell you what happened after that, though! The kids saw some goats and ran over. They are both fascinated with goats. True went as far as to say that she wanted a goat for a pet! Thank goodness we don’t have the space for that! Then after hanging out with the goats, they went to the ziplines! I was so excited to see that the farm had ziplines! Coy and I were supposed to go ziplining a few years ago, but because of a terrible course guide, Coy and a few of his other classmates didn’t get to ride. Unfortunately, Coy didn’t get to ride on Saturday either! This time, it was because he was too tall! The ziplines were built for smaller kids, and since Coy is taller than I am now, he wasn’t going to make the cut. I felt terrible! He was OK about it, but what is it with this kid not getting to ride ziplines?!? It made me think about our trip in August and how I HAVE TO fit in a morning at the ziplining course. Coy will love it and I really want to make it happen for him. So, it’s official. We will not be having an “Off” day when we are in Orlando. Who says we’re supposed to relax on vacation, anyway?!? LOL! Back to Saturday, True went on the zipline and she barely made it herself because she is pretty tall. She had to bend her knees to keep her feet off of the ground! Haha! My mom was watching her, and I could see in my mom’s eyes that she wanted to do it. I said, “Go on! You should do it!” and that was all it took for my mom to jog over to True to get in line behind her. True went on her second ride and got the hang of running, jumping and then lifting her legs up just enough so that she could actually sail from one side of the line to the other. My mom took her turn and did the same thing, but she had a hard time at first keeping her legs up high enough for her feet to not touch the ground. She got it eventually, though. When my mom came back over to where Coy and I were standing, she said that it was so much fun! She also said that one of the kids who was running the zipline said that she was too tall for the ride. She’s 5’2”, mind you. She was so happy because, in her words, “That was the first time that anyone has ever said that I was too tall for anything!” LOL!!! That made her day!

True rode the zipline a few more times, but it was getting dark, so I really wanted to get over to the pumpkin patch. There was a hay ride over to the pumpkin patch, so we hopped on. I have never been on a hay ride before. Honestly, I don’t know what the appeal is for riding on a hard bale of hay and feeling every bump on a dirt road! Haha! For some reason, the kids liked it! As we rode to the pumpkin patch, I kept a look out for The Great Pumpkin! I looked and looked. I was afraid I missed it. We were finally at the pumpkin patch, but still no Great Pumpkin! I asked one of the kids who worked there and he laughed at me and said that The Great Pumpkin doesn’t really appear. What?!? Um, isn’t that what it said in the ad that I looked at online? I didn’t ask the kid that because he was doing his best not to keep laughing. Ugh! Well, serves me right. I had a feeling that I should have called to verify when The Great Pumpkin was appearing. Then, maybe, they would have told me that it was just an advertising ploy and there was no Great Pumpkin! I felt like Linus! LOL! I thought that I was going to at least get to see a big pumpkin on a stick! Haha! Oh well. Watching the Peanuts cartoon tonight will have special meaning for me now! I am a nut. I know.

Once we got back from the pumpkin patch, we decided to go on the go karts. Well, they weren’t go karts as much as they were John Deere peddle-cars. I wish I had a picture of these because they were so cool! There was a really big track with lots of turns and slopes. The main slope came after a fairly steep incline. A few kids were getting stuck before they reached the top and they had to walk their cars up the rest of the way. True, Mom and I were ready to get in line, but Coy didn’t want to do it. We tried to convince him to go, but he said he just wanted to watch. I didn’t want to push him, but I was afraid that he wasn’t having any fun. He told me that he was having fun, but he just didn’t want to ride in the cars. Oh well. As the three of us waited, and Coy waited on the sidelines, I looked at the people on the track. The key to getting up the hill was having enough momentum from the other part of the course. Got it! I shared my thoughts with my mom and True and they agreed that was probably the best way to do it. It was finally True’s turn. She got on her car and started peddling away! A few seconds later, it was my turn! I got on and the kid running that ride showed me where the brake was, but I was so nervous about that hill that I just said, “OK,” even though I wasn’t paying attention! I peddled as fast as I could and I was gaining some speed on the flat part of the course. I knew I was going fast enough to help me up the dreaded hill! I kept peddling as the course started to incline and I thought, “I’m going to make it! I’m not going to get stuck on the hill!” I was feeling really great about it until I turned the corner and saw a backup at the top of the hill! The boy who was in front of True stopped! He had to get out of his car to push it the rest of the way up the hill! True slowed down and started pushing hers up the hill, too. She was pushing so fast that she passed the little boy! I thought he might be out of the way before I got there, but he was still pushing as True was making her way down the hill. I kept peddling because I didn’t want to lose momentum, but then I caught up to the kid, too. I asked him if he needed some help pushing his car, but he said he didn’t, and he struggled the next few feet until he reached the top. I let him get ahead of me a little bit because I didn’t want him slowing me down on the slope! LOL! I got out of my car, thankful that my mom and other cars weren’t behind me yet, and I pushed the rest of the way. There was no way I could peddle up the hill after a complete stop. I got back on my car and peddled once I reached the top. I started going down the hill. I was gaining speed. I was gaining more speed. I tried to stay on course through the hairpin turns. I was gaining more speed! Where did that guy say the breaks were?!? I was gaining more speed through the turns and I fumbled for the brakes! I finally decided to try to stop the car Fred Flintstone style, but my feet just kept kicking up from the road! I screamed, knowing I was going to flip, but I kept turning like I was on Pole Position or something! It was terrifying! It was fantastic! I made it out in once piece and I found the break just as I was pulling up to the stop at the end of the course! The kid who initially told me where the break was said, “You were coming down fast on that hill!” He made it sound like I was his daredevil hero! Really, I was just an idiot who didn’t pay attention! Haha!

I caught up with True and she loved riding the go kart! My mom came up shortly after and she loved it, too! She said her thighs were burning again. I told her mine were, too! We decided then and there that we were going to have to work out to prepare for coming back next year! LOL! After the go karts, we headed for the cornfield mazes! Coy was very excited to do that, so I was glad that he finally had something else to do. We decided to do the easy maze, but it was still pretty challenging! Coy lead the way most of the time and he was proud of himself for getting us out of there! At the end of the maze, True wanted to go down the slide one more time and try to get on the go karts, too. Coy wanted to do a more challenging maze. My mom took True so that Coy and I could go through the maze again. Coy wanted to do the hardest maze, but that one took up to an hour to complete, so he decided to go through the second most challenging maze. Coy lead the way the whole time. It was very dark outside at this point, so the maze was pretty scary! There was only a little bit of light coming in, so he and I started talking about how terrifying this would be if it was a scene in a horror movie! Haha! It took Coy about 30 minutes to lead us out of the maze. He was having a lot of fun in there and he wanted to do it for a third time, but it was getting late, so we had to meet my mom and True. We got up to the go kart track just as True was taking her turn. After her ride, we left the farm, exhausted from our fun evening!

Well, I tried to get this update done earlier, but it has taken me longer than I thought! There is a Part Two but it’ll have to wait until after I take the kids trick or treating. For now, I’ll leave you with some pictures of the kids decorating the windows for Halloween!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween! The kids and I certainly did! We went trick or treating throughout almost our whole neighborhood and got a ton of candy. The kids were even nice enough to share with me!

I wanted to get this post up last night, but I’ll just go ahead and post it today, even though it is the day after Halloween. It doesn’t have a lot to do with Halloween, anyway, but it is what we cooked and baked after decorating the house on Sunday. I saw a recipe for a 7 layer dip on Pinterest that had a Halloween theme, so I thought about doing that. Then I thought about how True is in a phase now where she doesn’t like refried beans. Keep this in mind because it is going to come into play later! So, I decided to make Taco Pie instead and give it a Jack o’ Lantern face! It is a very simple recipe and it comes together in minutes. First, I browned up two pounds of ground beef. Then I added three taco seasoning packets and let it simmer:



Yummy yummy yummy yummy yummy! Why three seasoning packets instead of two? That is because of my secret ingredient!:



Yes, refried beans! The refried beans really stretches the amount of taco meat and I put it in every time I make tacos. It is actually a trick I got from my mother. When I was in my early twenties and making dinner on my own, I would always end up with taco meat that looked like the picture above. It was good, but it was just a little soupy. My mom’s taco meat was very creamy, so I finally asked her why hers had a different consistency. She told me that she always added a can of refried beans! What?!? I thought I hated refried beans! At least, I grew up thinking that I hated them. I don’t ever remember saying that I didn’t like them, but my mom said that I didn’t. Hmm. I think it might have been one of those situations where my brother, David (the extremely picky eater), said that he didn’t like something and then we never had it again. Yes, my family is dysfunctional Anyway, I always add refried beans and True knows that, but she insists that I don’t add them to her portion of the taco meat. Yeah right. I’m not doing that! Don’t get me started on how my mom used to prepare separate meals for David if he didn’t like what we were eating. Nope. I don’t do that. If my kids don’t like what we’re eating, then they don’t eat! It’s not really that extreme, but if they don’t like something, they know that they have the option to make a sandwich or heat up some leftovers or something. I’m not a short order cook. Sorry! So, needless to say, I don’t make a special batch of taco meat for True. I just add the refried beans when she’s not looking! It gives the taco meat more of a chili-like consistency:



See? True gobbles it up, too! She’ll probably come around with eating refried beans again. It’s just like when Coy went through his phase of not liking shrimp. I was questioning if he was really my child! Then, about six months ago, he started eating shrimp again. But we’re not talking about shrimp! We’re talking about Taco Pie! I called True into the kitchen – after I added my secret ingredient – so that she could help me fill the pie shells:



After the layer of meat, we added a layer of crushed up tortilla chips:





Then we added a layer of salsa to my pie. True said she wanted to do something different with her pie, so here’s a pic of mine with salsa and another layer of meat:



Oh! And a layer of green peppers! I forgot about that until I looked at the picture! So it went taco meat, tortilla chips, green pepper, salsa and more taco meat. A food blogger, I am not! True piled another layer of taco meat on top of the tortilla chips in her pie. Then she added cheese to both of our pies. She did a pretty design on mine before filling it up with cheese:





We baked them for about 25 minutes or so. I can’t remember exactly, but it was just long enough to brown the crusts. I’m thinking that it would probably be OK to pre-bake the crusts, too, but I have never done that. Here are the taco pies, bubbling hot right out of the oven:



I made a Jack o’ Lantern face on my pie with green peppers, but it looked a little creepy:



I decided to fill in the eyes and I thought it looked better:



True decided to go with a simple topping, and just peppered her pie:



It was time to decide who’s Taco Pie was best! We all had a slice of each pie. Then we had seconds. By Tuesday afternoon, this was what my pie looked like:



This is what True’s pie looked like:



Yeah, True was the winner! Her pie was really good because there was so much taco meat in it and not a lot of extra stuff taking away from that flavor. Mine was still very good too, but the kids liked the more simple version. Oh, and the pepper on top of True’s pie really made a difference! It made the pie even more spicy and delicious!

Back to Sunday, we made Halloween cupcakes! Don’t get too excited, because I only have one picture! Basically, they didn’t turn out the way I wanted because I planned on getting Candy Corn at the store on Saturday but I forgot. So we ended up making chocolate and vanilla batter in two separate bowls and we made chocolate/vanilla swirl cupcakes! But the cool part was that the vanilla was dyed orange! I can’t believe I forgot to take pictures of the process! Coy, True and I were mixing red and yellow food coloring into the batter for what seemed like forever! We took turns and it was one of those situations where the color wasn’t turning out quite right, so we kept taking the bowl from one another saying, “Let me do it!” and, “No, that not the right orange! It looks peach! Let me do it!” Coy was the one who finally got the batter to look orange! I really need to get some of those paste food coloring kits! Especially with the holidays coming up! As I said before, I hate the taste of red food coloring, but the cupcakes and frosting didn’t taste like that, thank goodness! So yes, after going through the process of getting the batter orange, Coy volunteered to get the frosting orange as well. I was going to make zebra cupcakes but then I decided that I didn’t feel like it so they became swirl cupcakes! I have a few other pictures of the frosted cupcakes, but the frosting has a pinkish hue to it, so here is the ONE presentable picture of our Halloween Cupcakes:

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I'm glad to see (on Hope's PTR) that you read posts and then respond later b/c that is JUST what I have done with your last two posts! I'll be back to respond, I swear...just a little busy...ya know...with LEAVING FOR WDW in 4 DAYS!!!!!!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Glad you're safe and sound!! Also glad you didn't have to try to get to work in the storm.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Thanks, Hope! Yeah, there was no way I was going to risk going in on Monday or Tuesday. I’m so glad that our office was shut down those two days!

I'm glad to see (on Hope's PTR) that you read posts and then respond later b/c that is JUST what I have done with your last two posts! I'll be back to respond, I swear...just a little busy...ya know...with LEAVING FOR WDW in 4 DAYS!!!!!!!

Oh, yeah! I rarely have time to read and post at the same time! I am always posting the next day or so, and half of the time I forget what I was going to say!

Well, I’m about to give you even more homework because I have a Disney related post coming up today! You’ll have to respond to three posts then! I am so happy that you are so close to your trip!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I dont have much to plan for our Disney trip right now, so now is the perfect time to do a 30 Day Challenge! I did the 30 Day Photography Challenge on my last PTR and it was a lot of fun. I found a different Disney challenge on Facebook, so I am going to do that one this time. Also, for an added twist, I am going to include Universal Studios in this one! Im going to use the UO rides as a basis for the questions. So along with my Favorite Disney Heroine, Ill pick my favorite Universal Heroine! This might be tough! For anyone who wants to play along, here is the list for the 30 Day Disney Challenge:

Day #1 Favorite Disney Character
Day #2 Favorite Disney Princess
Day #3 Favorite Disney Heroine
Day #4 Favorite Disney Prince
Day #5 Favorite Disney Hero
Day #6 Favorite Disney Animal
Day #7 Favorite Disney Sidekick
Day #8 Favorite Disney Villain
Day #9 Favorite Disney Couple
Day #10 Favorite Original Character (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy etc.)
Day #11 Favorite Disney Song
Day #12 Favorite Disney Love Song
Day #13 Favorite Disney Villain Song
Day #14 Least Favorite Disney Song
Day #15 Favorite Disney Movie Kiss
Day #16 The First Disney Movie You Saw
Day #17 Favorite Disney Classic
Day #18 Least Favorite Disney Classic
Day #19 Favorite Pixar Film
Day #20 Least Favorite Pixar Film
Day #21 Favorite Disney Sequel
Day #22 An Overrated Disney Movie
Day #23 An Underrated Disney Movie
Day #24 A Disney Movie that Makes You Laugh
Day #25 A Disney Movie that Makes You Cry
Day #26 Favorite Scene from Your Favorite Disney Movie
Day #27 Saddest Death in a Disney Movie
Day #28 Favorite Quote in a Disney Movie
Day #29 Favorite Disney Theme Park
Day #30 Favorite Disney Theme Park Attraction or Ride

& and here is the list for the 30 Day Universal Challenge:

Day #1 Favorite Universal Character
Day #2 Favorite Universal Princess
Day #3 Favorite Universal Heroine
Day #4 Favorite Universal Prince
Day #5 Favorite Universal Hero
Day #6 Favorite Universal Animal
Day #7 Favorite Universal Sidekick
Day #8 Favorite Universal Villain
Day #9 Favorite Universal Couple
Day #10 Favorite Superhero (Hulk, Captain America, Spiderman etc.)
Day #11 Favorite Universal Song
Day #12 Favorite Universal Love Song
Day #13 Favorite Universal Villain Song
Day #14 Least Favorite Universal Song
Day #15 Favorite Universal Movie Kiss
Day #16 The First Universal Movie You Saw
Day #17 Favorite Universal Classic
Day #18 Least Favorite Universal Classic
Day #19 Favorite Dreamworks Film
Day #20 Least Favorite Dreamworks Film
Day #21 Favorite Universal Sequel
Day #22 An Overrated Universal Movie
Day #23 An Underrated Universal Movie
Day #24 A Universal Movie that Makes You Laugh
Day #25 A Universal Movie that Makes You Cry
Day #26 Favorite Scene from Your Favorite Universal Movie
Day #27 Saddest Death in a Universal Movie
Day #28 Favorite Quote in a Universal Movie
Day #29 Favorite Universal Theme Park
Day #30 Favorite Universal Theme Park Attraction or Ride

Oh! And to make this even more challenging, I am going to try to answer all of these questions with memes! Why do I have to make things so difficult for myself? So, lets start with Day #1

30 Day Disney Challenge: Day #1 Favorite Disney Character

Tinker Bell! Shes so sassy!




30 Day Universal Challenge: Day #1 Favorite Universal Character

Why, Harry, of course!



Admit it. You sang it while you read it!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Double Post!!!

 

[-Hope-]

Oh, I love your challenge! I may have to do the Universal one at some point. I think I'll wait until after the holidays but I'm saving the list so I don't forget. : I doubt I get as ambitious as you and use the memes but I love that idea- and I sing along every time I see that Harry/milkshake mash-up.

Tinkerbell is a great character; she's so independent and sassy. And you know I Harry!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

30 Day Disney Challenge: Day #2 Favorite Disney Princess

Rapunzel!


ETA: Rapunzel is my new favorite princess because she is so conflicted about pleasing Mother Gothel and exploring the world. She is scared because Gothel filled her head with crazy ideas about what the world outside of the tower was like, but Rapunzel ventured off anyway and discovered how strong she could be!





30 Day Universal Challenge: Day #2 Favorite Universal Princess

Princess Fiona! If you like pina coladas! And getting caught in the rain!


ETA: I love Fiona because she is flawed. She is bossy. She can take care of herself (I love the scene in Shrek with Robin Hood and his Merry Men). She has ridiculous expectations of what True Love should be, just as so many little girls do, but she learns that love can come from an unexpected place.




In other news, I got an email this morning that Universal is opening a Transformers ride in Orlando!



I watched the Transformers with David sometimes when we were kids, but I never really got into it. I was more of a Voltron gal Ive never seen the Transformers movies, but Coy has. Im pretty sure True didnt see them. So, I smell a movie night coming on! I already checked Netflix and they have the Transformers movie that came out in 2011 but not the ones that came out in 2007 and 2009. Im going to check the cable listings to see if they might happen to come on sometime soon, but are they worth buying? I remembered that Coy loved which ever Transformer movie(s) he saw. The trilogy is $25.59 on Amazon (I didnt compare prices anywhere else yet) and thats not a bad price if they are good movies. That is a bad price if the movies are terrible In any case, Im really excited that there is a new attraction coming to UO!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Oh, I love your challenge! I may have to do the Universal one at some point. I think I'll wait until after the holidays but I'm saving the list so I don't forget. : I doubt I get as ambitious as you and use the memes but I love that idea- and I sing along every time I see that Harry/milkshake mash-up.

Tinkerbell is a great character; she's so independent and sassy. And you know I Harry!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I’m glad you like the challenge! Yeah, I am a crazy person for thinking I could do them all with memes, but I am going to try! I won’t tell you how long it took me to find one for Fiona!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

30 Day Disney Challenge: Day #3 Favorite Disney Heroine

Merida! I love how she didn’t want to be restricted by an arranged marriage when she knew she wasn’t ready for marriage. She is a Disney Princess that didn’t have to find her prince.




30 Day Universal Challenge: Day #3 Favorite Universal Heroine

Hermione! I can’t put into words how I feel about Hermione. I’ll just say that she is a fantastic role model for little girls, young women and grown women alike!

 

[Breagh]

Just getting caught up on your PTR today. Your new house is gorgeous! & it looks like you had quite a bit of fun at the farm My family does a similar trip to a farm in the fall. I think it's great for family time.

A transformers ride at universal?! YES! That's the best news I've heard all day! I'm a big geek, (and proud of it! ) and love the transformers movies and cartoon shows, which I watch with my nephew. Any news on when it will be open?

I also love Merida & Hermione. My classmates used to call me Hermione in school, cause I used to have a similar attitude as her in the first few books.