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

[Tink-erin-belle]

Jeez Erin! You stay gone so long that I can't reply to it all when you finally post!

First off, OMG what is with doctors and homeschooling?!?!? I swear, they must have a secret-against-homeschooling-sect. It's ok, you are right, until someone has bashed you or given you trouble about homeschooling, you aren't really in the club yet. So WELCOME! People need to keep their opinions to themselves when they have no clue what they are talking about. A doctor telling you about homeschooling is like my mechanic telling me about being a CEO.

Can't wait for more Disney nights and sounds like things are going well with the new guy!

I need to get better about posting on a regular basis! I like your comparison about the doctor/homeschooling thing to the mechanic/CEO It’s so strange to me that some people will take such a personal interest in how someone else is raising their kids! It’s ironic, though, that I recently read an article by a doctor who decided to homeschool her kids for a lot of the same reasons I chose to homeschool mine. Maybe I’ll get lucky and the next doctor they see won’t be so against homeschooling.

I’m definitely doing a movie night this weekend. True already started planning the menu The new guy is pretty cool. I kinda like him

So.......Erin's got a new man, eh? I wish you all the best with him. Just make sure he is good to you and the kids! HE MUST LOVE DISNEY AND WANT TO GO EVERY SINGLE YEAR!! Ok, there are my requirements. If he passes those things, he may be a keeper!

Don't worry about what others say about homeschooling. My feeling is as long as they are learning what they need in order to persue the careers they choose, then that's great! It's no one's business anyways.

So yes, we need some Disney movie nights!!!

Your requirements for the new guy are my requirements, Ann! He has to understand the Disney trips, but if he doesn’t want to go, you can be sure I will go without him! But it would be awesome to have someone in my life who shares a love of Disney World!

Thanks for the encouragement on the homeschooling! People just love to be in other people’s business, don’t they? I think the kids – especially Coy – will do much better with their chosen professions later in life because they are learning at an early age to be self-motivated

Movie nights coming up after this weekend! I promise!

Hey Erin! Sorry I have been MIA. I don't have a Disney trip planned for a long while so it's a little depressing to be here sometimes. I need to get over myself!

I had no idea you were homeschooling the kiddos! How cool. I hope it's going well! I'm sorry your ex put you through such crap awhile back. I'm glad that it's done and over with.

Looking forward to catching up more with you!

I’m glad you’re back, Kelli! I know the feeling about being too depressed to go on the boards! But I can’t wait to hear more about your mommy & daughter trip, so I hope you stick around!

Sorry I haven’t kept up with the chapter links. That would have made it a lot easier for you to catch up! I keep telling myself that I am going to do them, but I keep getting sidetracked. Yep, I am homeschooling and yes, my ex-husband is a jerk I’m glad all of that drama is over, too!

Funny about Jurassic Park - Harold wants to take the kids to see this too. Let us know if you go!

Don't you hate renting? I do. Congrats to your brother! Can't wait to see the photos! You and True always make such cute parties!

Bahh! Don't listen to your doctor. People are always going to happily tell you what you can't do. You and your kids know what is best for them. Stay strong!

Coy will probably be resting his chin on the top of your head soon!

How wonderful and exciting about the guy! Congratulations! No one deserves a good man more than you my dear!

I’m about 80% sure we’re going to see Jurassic Park on Sunday, so I’ll definitely let you know if we do.

Yes, I hate hate hate renting! I want a place of my own where I can actually paint the walls without having to worry I’ll lose my security deposit!

I am so excited for my brother! I can’t wait to get the decorations and start making the food for his party! I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures!

Yes, people always want to tell people what they can’t do! That just makes me want to do it even more and prove them wrong! Coy and True are doing great, so they definitely help me to stay strong Oh, and Coy is going to be towering over me in no time!

Thanks for the congrats on the new guy! Let’s hope my intuition is right and he really is a good man!

 

[Alysa]

Happy Mother's Day Erin! Hope you had a wonderful day with Coy and True!!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Hi Erin!!! Hope you had a nice Mother's Day!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Happy late Mother's Day Erin! You're a great mom to your kiddos and I hope your day was filled with happiness.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Guys, I am so sorry I haven’t updated! Things have been completely insane at work! Not that I do the majority of my DISing at work, or anything My boss, who has been my friend for several years now, has been having some health issues the last few years. He has had to scale back his responsibilities at work and go to part-time to focus on his health. He only works from home now, and only for a few hours per week. I am glad that he did this, because I was truly concerned about him. I’ll respect his privacy by not saying exactly what is going on, but I think that this was a good decision for him and I hope that he will be able to return to work soon. Right now, it is on a month by month basis that he is doing this, so there had to be someone taking over some of his responsibilities in the meantime. That someone was me. About two weeks ago, our Director met with me and my boss, and asked me to take over a good deal of his workload. In exchange for that, she would give me a bonus each paycheck. Um, OK! This is just a temporary situation, so there is no official salary change and there is no title change, but I am OK with that! Most jobs would have an employee just take on the extra work and not give anything in return, saying that the experience was valuable enough. So I realize how fortunate I am to work at a place where they value what I am doing. I am thankful that I am learning a LOT of new skills to put on my resume, and I am privy to Manager meetings that I wasn’t before, and that I am making more connections within the organization. The trade-off is that I am incredibly busy, but if this experience means that I will be in a better position to get a real raise and a real promotion at some point, it is worth it! I’ve only been here 11 months, guys, and I am already taking on the responsibilities of a manager! I am so sorry about the way that it happened, because I am worried about my boss, but I am glad that I was able to step up. The other option would have been to bring in someone else to temporarily fill his role, but they trusted me. Yeah, I’m just a little proud of myself

Another downside is that I can’t work a compressed schedule this summer. I think I mentioned it before, but basically, we are able to work our full time schedule for 9 days in a pay period and take the 10th day off without using any PTO. But being that this was a two person department and now it is only being run by one person, I can’t do it. I’m kinda bummed about that because I was looking forward to taking a couple of long-weekend trips with the kids this summer. Nothing too fancy, but I wanted to take them to a couple of beaches and take them to Philadelphia and Boston. Hopefully, I can do it next year. We can probably still do Philadelphia, but it will just be an overnight trip if we do. The other thing that concerns me is the timing of my Disney trip. I am only…let me count… OMG there are 98 days until our vacation! Double Digits, baby! I didn’t even realize! OK, now I know what to name this post: Double Digits!!! Yes! Anyway, a few weeks ago – when my boss was first considering reducing his workload – he said that I would still be able to take my vacation, but that was before he modified his work schedule so drastically. I am concerned that if he doesn’t come back by August, I will have to postpone! AGAIN!!! I cannot do that again! I will flip out! Also, I really hope that he is well enough to come back next month or in July. I truly hope he isn’t out though August So, please send thoughts of health and wellness to my boss! I truly hope he gets better… and you all know how much I need this Disney trip!

Speaking of Disney, I ordered my first $50 gift card from My Points for Landry’s. I can use that at T-Rex, RFC or Bubba Gump. I almost have enough points to order another $50 gift card! Also, I upgraded my cell phone and my kids’ cell phones last week. My cell phone provider was running a promotion and I am getting a $50 Amex gift card for each of the phones! So, it’s like another $150 in free money! OK, so it isn’t really “free” since I had to pay for the phones but it is money I wasn’t expecting. So those gift cards, as well as the two Landry’s gift cards, are all going to get tucked away until our trip! It’ll be nice to use those to offset the cost of our out of pocket dining. I’ll have to post about this later, but I am calculating the out of pocket costs and all of the tips and putting them on a spreadsheet. I still have to make the tip envelopes! So, I have to get this stuff done soon! 98 days will go by so fast! I can’t believe I didn’t realize I was in the double digits! See? That’s how busy I have been at work! I am ashamed of myself!

I have so much more to tell you guys, but I need to get some work done (and by that, I mean I need to read your TRs and PTRs! ) I might not be able to respond to everyone today, but you can be sure I am reading! I have to catch up with you all! I’ll try to carve out some time tomorrow to respond. Oh, and I have to tell you about my brother’s graduation, the party at my house, more about the new man in my life and – this is the kicker – the fact that my sister Ashley is going to Disney World in just a few weeks with her BF!!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Happy Mother's Day Erin! Hope you had a wonderful day with Coy and True!!

Hi Erin!!! Hope you had a nice Mother's Day!

Happy late Mother's Day Erin! You're a great mom to your kiddos and I hope your day was filled with happiness.

Thank you all SO MUCH for the Mother’s Day wishes! I am sorry I wasn’t here to wish you guys a happy Mother’s Day! But it is Mother’s Day every day, right? Yeah, I wish!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Hey Erin!!! No apologies for not updating, I haven't been updating much either...not a ton going on 279 days out!

I'm sorry about your boss, but SO COOL about the bonus checks for extra work! DISNEYmoney, right?!?! I'm sure that they won't make you postpone, especially since all your reservations are made, etc. They'll just have to do without you for a bit in August!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Hi, guys! Remember me?!? My name is Erin. I occasionally post on the boards… Yeah, sorry again. I know you don’t feel like hearing it! Work has been kicking my butt! I have a small pocket of free time now, so I am jumping on the chance to update! Plus, I updated my status on Facebook the other day to “In a Relationship” and Ann said that I must spill the details on the boards!

But first, I think I should update about the trip before the powers that be decide that this is no longer a PTR and more of a community type report! I don’t blame anyone who would want to remove me from PTR status, though. I haven’t updated in ages! I am 70 days away from Disney! By the way, my sister Ashley is 13 days away from her trip! I am so happy for her and her boyfriend! For the past few weeks, she has been calling and texting me for advice, and I have enjoyed every minute of it! They are staying at POR, they have 4 or 5 day park hoppers (I can’t remember which) and they are on the DDP. Ash made a few reservations, but my work-stressed mind can’t remember where. I know at least one or two of them are character meals – Ashley said those meals were a must – and she is doing a romantic dinner. If I didn’t love her so much, I would be super jealous! I gave her my login for touringplans.com so that she could make a touring plan for each park, because she was nervous she wasn’t going to be able to see and do it all. I told her to not worry about that, but be realistic and understand that there is a possibility that they won’t be able to do a few things. Then I told her that just gives her and her boyfriend an excuse to go back one day! I am keeping my fingers crossed for her, too, that she gets a ring while they are down there. They have been dating since high school and they have lived together for a year now. I say it’s time for him to pop the question! But I haven’t said anything about that to him in a long time because I don’t want him to feel like her family is pressuring him Whatever happens, I am sure they will have a fantastic time in Disney World!

As far as my trip, I still don’t have any new plans. I feel like I need to plan something, just so I can get my mind off of work. I am so busy. Even right now, I am wondering, “Why am I not busy right now? What’s going on???” But it’s just that I have everything under control at the moment, so I should stop waiting for the other shoe to drop. (Guess what, guys! I started writing this update 2 days ago, and I am just getting back to it now because the other shoe DID drop! ) I am also still worried about my boss and what affect that will have on my trip plans. It is only June, so I wasn’t expecting him to be back at work yet, but I was surprised when he told me that he wasn’t going on the trip to Vancouver. That makes me a little nervous because if he already knows he isn’t going to Vancouver in September, what is that going to mean for my trip that is in August? I’m really trying not to worry about it, but if I have to push back this trip, my kids will be upset. And Ann will never forgive me! Seriously, though, I will be POed if I have to move this trip because I have pushed it back for how many years now? I’m going to talk to my boss in the beginning of July to see where things stand. I have to pay off the trip by mid-July, so I need to know before that if I have to reschedule. AGAIN.

I am keeping positive, though, and moving forward with movie nights. Well, they aren’t really movie nights because we have been watching the movies but not doing the parties to go along with them. It’s been fun, though, because True and I had a Jurassic Park marathon one night and we came up with a couple of cool crafts that I hadn’t thought of before. So, I think we will FINALLY do the Jurassic Park night in a few days when we can get Coy to watch the movie with us. I think that if I can get back into the movie night routine, I will be able to take my mind off of the uncertainty of the trip. I don’t have the kids for the next couple of weekends, though. My ex-husband let me keep them three weekends in a row so that I could have them for Mother’s Day, but then I had to give him three weekends in a row to make up for it. So the kids were with him last weekend, they will be with him this weekend for Father’s Day, and they will be with him the weekend after that, too. It’s OK, though, because it is the summer and the nights are long and the kids and I can still do stuff together after I get home from work

Let me show you a few pictures from my brother, Kyle’s, graduation!



Mom was pretty proud of her boy:



Me and my little bro:



Marissa and Kyle:



Ashley and Kyle:



Ashley, Kyle and Marissa:



I love this picture of them laughing:



True was the photographer for the day, so she took a picture of Marissa taking a picture of her:



Kyle is so silly!:



All of us (except for True ) :



Coy and Kyle:



Luckily, Kyle’s girlfriend took this picture of True and Kyle. I had to snag it off of Kyle’s Facebook. I love the caption!:



After the ceremony, we all headed to my house for lunch. My cousin, aunt and sisters helped with cooking, while True entertained my cousin’s kids. It was such a crazy, fun, exhausting day that no one took pictures at my house! It was a shame, too, because we had quite a spread of food! I made a jalapeno popper dip that I found on Pinterest, Ashley made cole slaw, Marissa made… now I can’t remember! Whatever it was, it was good. And she helped me with the jalapeno popper dip. Our cousin made pasta salad. We had hot dogs, hamburgers, salad… it was great! I got a graduation cake from Costo and Kyle’s girlfriend made a tres leches cake! We were stuffed by the end of the night! It was a full house, too, so we didn’t have any leftovers of the food! The new man in my life came over, too, and he got along really well with my whole family and with Marissa’s boyfriend.

My boyfriend is fairly private, so I won’t share his name on here. Let’s just call him Captain America! Haha! I think it suits him because he is a pretty traditional guy and used to be a Marine. He’s very chivalrous and I really appreciate that! It is nice for someone to always hold the door open for you, you know what I mean? Usually that kind of stuff ends after a few dates. Or maybe I have just been dating the wrong type of man! CA is a really cool guy. He can make conversation with anyone and has really blended in with my family well. My siblings and their significant others all like him. The most important thing though, is that my kids like him. We took my kids out to dinner two weekends ago and had a great time. He was playfully teasing True and she kept rolling her eyes at him. That is a sign of endearment from my little diva! She was talking to him a lot during dinner, and so was Coy! That was what really got me! Coy is usually VERY reserved around new people (he had only met CA once before), but CA really got Coy to come out of his shell. Coy was laughing at CA’s jokes and everything! This is a big deal for a kid who has social anxiety issues! I was really happy to see them get along. Coy likes him. True says she likes him some days and she doesn’t like him other days. Why, you may ask? Because he takes me away from her and, as she said, “You were mine, first!” Yeah, it took her a few weeks to get used to the idea of Mommy having a social life. Now she likes him when he calls me on the phone, but she doesn’t like him when he comes over. We’ll get there eventually This is the first guy in a LONG time that I have let meet my kids.

Anyway, I have to get back to work, but I will keep reading your PTRs and TRs. Hopefully, I will have some time to respond soon. I miss being active on the boards and seeing what everyone is up to!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Ok, I'm leaving work now, but I just HAD to pop on and read!!!! I'll comment more later, but in the meantime......

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Erin, I'm so happy you have found someone that treats you so well.

You and your sister Ashley look like twins! Wow!! All of you are gorgeous. I LOVE Marissa's hair!

And Coy looks like a grown man for crying out loud. He's just 14, right? Sheesh these kids get big too fast!

 

[Alysa]

What a treat! Coming home to find Erin is back!
Wonderful news that work is going so well!
Ooooo - how exciting for your sister. Here's hoping she brings you home a new brother-in-law to be!
Looking forward to seeing your new movie nights! I know how hard it is to schedule them into your busy day.
And congrats to your brother! Sounds like it was a great day and your mum looks so proud!
I am so happy that things are going well with the Captain. You deserve it!
Glad you are back my friend! Missed you!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Hey Erin!!! No apologies for not updating, I haven't been updating much either...not a ton going on 279 days out!

I'm sorry about your boss, but SO COOL about the bonus checks for extra work! DISNEYmoney, right?!?! I'm sure that they won't make you postpone, especially since all your reservations are made, etc. They'll just have to do without you for a bit in August!

Oh yeah, Karen, I’ll never complain about the extra Disney money! Things have been looking better in the last few days with work. There is a possibility that my boss will be back in July and there is also a possibility that the big project we are working on will be pushed out to September or later. If it gets pushed out, I’ll be free to go on my trip

Ok, I'm leaving work now, but I just HAD to pop on and read!!!! I'll comment more later, but in the meantime......

Yeah, that pretty much looks like him! Except my Captain America is brown and he doesn’t have that awesome shield He has a strong jaw and fantastic arms, and he looks great in a uniform!

Erin, I'm so happy you have found someone that treats you so well.

You and your sister Ashley look like twins! Wow!! All of you are gorgeous. I LOVE Marissa's hair!

And Coy looks like a grown man for crying out loud. He's just 14, right? Sheesh these kids get big too fast!

Thanks, Kelli! He is a good guy. Do Ashley and I really look alike? I always thought she and Kyle looked alike. I don’t see it, but I’ll take the compliment I don’t see it when people say my kids look like me, either, so maybe I am bad at recognizing family resemblances Isn’t Marissa’s hair gorgeous? I want her hair and she wants mine. I guess you always want what you don’t have People will stop her on the street and tell her that they love her hair! And yes, my baby boy is only 14 and he is almost 5’9” He has orthopedic inserts in those shoes (flat feet) so he is pushing 5’10” when he wears them! He will be towering over us all in a matter of months! As you can see from the pictures, he is already way taller than my little shorty brothers!

What a treat! Coming home to find Erin is back!
Wonderful news that work is going so well!
Ooooo - how exciting for your sister. Here's hoping she brings you home a new brother-in-law to be!
Looking forward to seeing your new movie nights! I know how hard it is to schedule them into your busy day.
And congrats to your brother! Sounds like it was a great day and your mum looks so proud!
I am so happy that things are going well with the Captain. You deserve it!
Glad you are back my friend! Missed you!

I really am enjoying my new responsibilities at work. It’s been hard at times, but I think it will pay off in the end I sincerely hope that Ashley’s BF realizes that Disney World will be the perfect place to propose to her! Mom was really proud of Kyle! It was a great day. And it was also great that Captain America was able to come over and celebrate with us. He seems like a keeper! I’m going to try to get on the boards more often because I have missed you guys too

 

[-Hope-]

Ah, Erin! We came back at the same time!

I'm hopelessly behind and have no hopes of catching up so I'm just jumping in here and saying I'm glad we're both back!

 

[Alysa]

Oh yeah, Karen, I’ll never complain about the extra Disney money! Things have been looking better in the last few days with work. There is a possibility that my boss will be back in July and there is also a possibility that the big project we are working on will be pushed out to September or later. If it gets pushed out, I’ll be free to go on my trip

And if it doesn't??????

Yeah, that pretty much looks like him! Except my Captain America is brown and he doesn’t have that awesome shield He has a strong jaw and fantastic arms, and he looks great in a uniform!
Swoon!


Thanks, Kelli! He is a good guy. Do Ashley and I really look alike? I always thought she and Kyle looked alike. I don’t see it, but I’ll take the compliment I don’t see it when people say my kids look like me, either, so maybe I am bad at recognizing family resemblances Isn’t Marissa’s hair gorgeous? I want her hair and she wants mine. I guess you always want what you don’t have People will stop her on the street and tell her that they love her hair! And yes, my baby boy is only 14 and he is almost 5’9” He has orthopedic inserts in those shoes (flat feet) so he is pushing 5’10” when he wears them! He will be towering over us all in a matter of months! As you can see from the pictures, he is already way taller than my little shorty brothers!

I really am enjoying my new responsibilities at work. It’s been hard at times, but I think it will pay off in the end I sincerely hope that Ashley’s BF realizes that Disney World will be the perfect place to propose to her! Mom was really proud of Kyle! It was a great day. And it was also great that Captain America was able to come over and celebrate with us. He seems like a keeper! I’m going to try to get on the boards more often because I have missed you guys too

So exciting!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Hi Erin. I am keeping my fingers crossed for you that everything works out job wise, so you can definitely make it to Disney this year. It is hard to believe how quickly our vacations are coming. At least you have a new man to occupy the days until the vacation.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Hi, guys! Remember me?!? My name is Erin. I occasionally post on the boards… Yeah, sorry again. I know you don’t feel like hearing it! Work has been kicking my butt! I have a small pocket of free time now, so I am jumping on the chance to update! Plus, I updated my status on Facebook the other day to “In a Relationship” and Ann said that I must spill the details on the boards!

Yes, I did!!! I just didn't think it was fair that your FB friends get to know, but your Disfriends didn't.....NOT FAIR....Oh, wait....I'm on both friends list. I'm good. You are welcome everyone!!!

But first, I think I should update about the trip before the powers that be decide that this is no longer a PTR and more of a community type report!

Absolutely nothing wrong with a community report!!

I don’t blame anyone who would want to remove me from PTR status, though. I haven’t updated in ages! I am 70 days away from Disney! By the way, my sister Ashley is 13 days away from her trip! I am so happy for her and her boyfriend! For the past few weeks, she has been calling and texting me for advice, and I have enjoyed every minute of it! They are staying at POR, they have 4 or 5 day park hoppers (I can’t remember which) and they are on the DDP. Ash made a few reservations, but my work-stressed mind can’t remember where. I know at least one or two of them are character meals – Ashley said those meals were a must – and she is doing a romantic dinner. If I didn’t love her so much, I would be super jealous! I gave her my login for touringplans.com so that she could make a touring plan for each park, because she was nervous she wasn’t going to be able to see and do it all. I told her to not worry about that, but be realistic and understand that there is a possibility that they won’t be able to do a few things. Then I told her that just gives her and her boyfriend an excuse to go back one day! I am keeping my fingers crossed for her, too, that she gets a ring while they are down there. They have been dating since high school and they have lived together for a year now. I say it’s time for him to pop the question! But I haven’t said anything about that to him in a long time because I don’t want him to feel like her family is pressuring him Whatever happens, I am sure they will have a fantastic time in Disney World!

So, if I'm figuring this out correctly, Ash has 3 more days until her trip. OMG!! I would love to be that close! You will definitely tell us if the Big Question gets asked, right??! I'm excited for her!!!

As far as my trip, I still don’t have any new plans. I feel like I need to plan something, just so I can get my mind off of work. I am so busy. Even right now, I am wondering, “Why am I not busy right now? What’s going on???” But it’s just that I have everything under control at the moment, so I should stop waiting for the other shoe to drop. (Guess what, guys! I started writing this update 2 days ago, and I am just getting back to it now because the other shoe DID drop! )

Yep, that's the way it always goes.....

I am also still worried about my boss and what affect that will have on my trip plans. It is only June, so I wasn’t expecting him to be back at work yet, but I was surprised when he told me that he wasn’t going on the trip to Vancouver. That makes me a little nervous because if he already knows he isn’t going to Vancouver in September, what is that going to mean for my trip that is in August? I’m really trying not to worry about it, but if I have to push back this trip, my kids will be upset. And Ann will never forgive me!

Nope, never ever ever!!!

Seriously, though, I will be POed if I have to move this trip because I have pushed it back for how many years now? I’m going to talk to my boss in the beginning of July to see where things stand. I have to pay off the trip by mid-July, so I need to know before that if I have to reschedule. AGAIN.

So has there been any news about this??

I am keeping positive, though, and moving forward with movie nights. Well, they aren’t really movie nights because we have been watching the movies but not doing the parties to go along with them. It’s been fun, though, because True and I had a Jurassic Park marathon one night and we came up with a couple of cool crafts that I hadn’t thought of before. So, I think we will FINALLY do the Jurassic Park night in a few days when we can get Coy to watch the movie with us. I think that if I can get back into the movie night routine, I will be able to take my mind off of the uncertainty of the trip. I don’t have the kids for the next couple of weekends, though. My ex-husband let me keep them three weekends in a row so that I could have them for Mother’s Day, but then I had to give him three weekends in a row to make up for it. So the kids were with him last weekend, they will be with him this weekend for Father’s Day, and they will be with him the weekend after that, too. It’s OK, though, because it is the summer and the nights are long and the kids and I can still do stuff together after I get home from work

Um I don't see a movie night update, Erin? What up with that??[/B]

After the ceremony, we all headed to my house for lunch. My cousin, aunt and sisters helped with cooking, while True entertained my cousin’s kids. It was such a crazy, fun, exhausting day that no one took pictures at my house! It was a shame, too, because we had quite a spread of food! I made a jalapeno popper dip that I found on Pinterest, Ashley made cole slaw, Marissa made… now I can’t remember! Whatever it was, it was good. And she helped me with the jalapeno popper dip. Our cousin made pasta salad. We had hot dogs, hamburgers, salad… it was great! I got a graduation cake from Costo and Kyle’s girlfriend made a tres leches cake! We were stuffed by the end of the night! It was a full house, too, so we didn’t have any leftovers of the food! The new man in my life came over, too, and he got along really well with my whole family and with Marissa’s boyfriend.

I think the next time your family has a gathering involving food, I must be invited!!!

My boyfriend is fairly private, so I won’t share his name on here. Let’s just call him Captain America! Haha! I think it suits him because he is a pretty traditional guy and used to be a Marine. He’s very chivalrous and I really appreciate that! It is nice for someone to always hold the door open for you, you know what I mean? Usually that kind of stuff ends after a few dates. Or maybe I have just been dating the wrong type of man! CA is a really cool guy. He can make conversation with anyone and has really blended in with my family well. My siblings and their significant others all like him. The most important thing though, is that my kids like him. We took my kids out to dinner two weekends ago and had a great time. He was playfully teasing True and she kept rolling her eyes at him. That is a sign of endearment from my little diva! She was talking to him a lot during dinner, and so was Coy! That was what really got me! Coy is usually VERY reserved around new people (he had only met CA once before), but CA really got Coy to come out of his shell. Coy was laughing at CA’s jokes and everything! This is a big deal for a kid who has social anxiety issues! I was really happy to see them get along. Coy likes him. True says she likes him some days and she doesn’t like him other days. Why, you may ask? Because he takes me away from her and, as she said, “You were mine, first!” Yeah, it took her a few weeks to get used to the idea of Mommy having a social life. Now she likes him when he calls me on the phone, but she doesn’t like him when he comes over. We’ll get there eventually This is the first guy in a LONG time that I have let meet my kids.

Oh boy do I remember the dating days and trying decide who and when to have a man meet Miss Victoria. I certainly don't miss that at all. It sounds as though you are not having any trouble with the kids (or at least not much). I wish you all the happiness in the world. You deserve it!

Anyway, I have to get back to work, but I will keep reading your PTRs and TRs. Hopefully, I will have some time to respond soon. I miss being active on the boards and seeing what everyone is up to!

Now that you've updated I feel guilty about not updating mine! I'm at 55 days now. Woo Hoo!!!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Hi, guys! It’s surprising to hear from me on a Monday, huh? Today is so crazy, but I had to find a moment to update since I finally have SOMETHING to update! Well, it isn’t so much as an update as it is a confirmation that WE WILL BE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD IN AUGUST!!! I am so happy that I didn’t have to cancel! This is what happened:

On Thursday, I was talking to my boss’ boss during our normal one on one session and she asked me when I was taking vacation. I told her that the plan was to go the week before Labor Day, but I was concerned that I would have to cancel because of the big project that we have coming up and the fact that my boss may or may not be in the office. Long story short, she basically said that there was no way she was letting me cancel my vacation! She asked me to give her a little bit of time to see what she could do to make sure that it would work out, because she didn’t want to see me give up on something so important. First thing Friday morning – and I mean literally as soon as she walked in the door – she came up to me and said that she worked it out so that I could go on vacation as planned! Yes! So I am officially 53 days out from our vacation! I put the countdown app on my phone, I renewed my subscription to touringplans.com – the Disney World side and the Universal side – and I got the Touring Plans “Lines” apps for Disney and Universal as well! THEN when I got home on Friday, I had my $150 American Express gift card that I was waiting on from upgrading my family’s Sprint phones! THEN when I was going through some mail that I didn’t really look at before, I realized that I also got my Landry’s gift card from My Points! This was shaping up to be a good weekend!

So, since I had my “free money” in my hot little hand, I thought I would finally talk about tip money! Since the dining plan covers everything but the tips for the wait staff, I need to budget for them. Plus, I need to budget for tips as well as the full cost of the meal for any meals we are having at Universal. I like to over-budget. Does anyone else do this? I’ll look at the menu and pick out the most expensive thing on there so that I know that anything on the menu is within our budget. The exception is if the most expensive thing is something none of us like. For example, the most expensive appetizer on the Mythos menu is the shrimp cocktail for $9.99. Well, the kids and I don’t like shrimp cocktail, so the next most expensive app is the tempura shrimp at $8.99. I do it this way so that I don’t have to plan our meals out in advance More than likely, all three of us won’t be eating an appetizer, a main course, a dessert, and a specialty drink at every meal, but I budget it out in case we do. This includes meals that are on the dining plan – like our meal at Sci-fi – that has things on the menu that we might like to try even if they aren’t on the dining plan – like the cool drinks with the light-up ice cubes! Then I calculate the maximum tip I will give based on that – so 20% of the total cost of the meal. I’ve never paid for a meal at Universal, so I don’t know if each server will earn the full 20% tip, but I have always given a 20% tip to each server I have had in Disney World. I think I am just generous when I go on vacation! But I was a bartender in my life before kids and I was a waitress for a whole three weeks (I couldn’t take it! ) so I know how hard waiters work, so I usually tip well. Anyway, I created this spreadsheet:



This is a screenshot from my phone. I think that I need to make a few more charts and keep them on my phone! It’ll be an easy way to keep all of my ADRs in one place! In any case, I have to fill my tip envelopes with cash for all of the tips I need, and I need to make sure I have enough gift cards for the meals at Universal. I’m sure that sheet looks excessive, with $16 drinks and things like that on it! But, considering that we haven’t been on an Orlando vacation in so many years, I think we deserve to splurge! And if we don’t splurge, the extra tip/meal money will just be going into the souvenir budget!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

YAY!!!! MY BUDDY IS OFFICIALLY GOING!!!!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

YAY!!! I'm so glad it's official! LOVE your spreadsheet. I don't use a spreadsheet, but I do go through and overestimate prices to see what I need! More for souvies if I don't spend it! (but I usually spend it on drinks.)

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

What a relief for you! I am so glad you get to go.