Free Dining Designing!

[DMGeurts]

I'm excited that I'll get to meet D~ and the girls too! I'm thinking an evening beverage by the pool might be perfect I'll look for your message on Facebook (can't get to that at work), D~. I'll also send you a PM here or there with our details. And, you'll get to see another of your bags in action - my mom was just saying yesterday as we were hatching our plans that she needed a new park bag for this trip - so the Cruella bag will be an even earlier Christmas present than I was planning - August instead of November And now I need a park bag too Want to bring a spare UPB down for me to rent/borrow for the weekend?

This is so awesome! I am very excited to see the Cruella bag again! It was one of the most unique bags I've ever made.

As a whole - there will be a BUNCH of my bags in the parks in August... And I am planning to meet up with most of them (and their new owners)... Yes, sometimes I think of them as my "children"... LOL

I might have an extra bag I can loan you? I will have to see how full my luggage is, and if I can fit another in there. If so, I will bring it with.

Your plans sound fantastic! I will add you to our plans that day, and I am very much looking forward to finally meeting you and your family Jennifer!

D~

 

[lovedonaldduck]

My mom is going to flip over the Cruella bag - I am probably going to give it to her on Sunday so she doesn't buy a new bag before our trip!

I was joking about borrowing a bag, although I would very much appreciate it if you do have room in your luggage I think we'll get to travel pretty light in the parks this trip since Charlotte is officially potty trained. I'm thinking a snack, sunscreen, change of clothes for Charlotte, baby wipes, and extra pins.

We can meet up either night we are at POFQ, whichever works better for you. I just put you down on the second night because I wanted to have you in the plans somewhere and I think you had mentioned that being an early night for you guys.

Last night and this morning we had to decide on Magic Band colors. With 2 girls, this is harder than you might imagine. Charlotte immediately said she wanted green, then this morning she wanted orange, until I said I was getting pink, then she wanted "pink, just like you, mommy", she switched back to orange, and then finally "pink, just like you, mommy". For Peyton to decide, I had to pull out our old Magic Bands from last year (green, blue, pink, and grey) and our charms so she could try hers on each band to see where they looked best. At different times she chose pink, green, grey, and finally settled on blue. They also picked out everyone else's bands - green for DH, red for my mom, and orange for my dad.

Since work is finally manageable again, I spent some time yesterday researching cameras. Mine died on our Spring Break trip and I have been putting off getting a new one since I want to upgrade to a DSLR and I don't want to spend the money. Looking at our finances right now and the time I have to learn a new camera, I have decided to just get another point and shoot for the time being. I'm going to run to Best Buy at lunch today so I can look at the 3 I have narrowed it down to and then I will make a decision. Amazon has better pricing on 2 of the 3 so I'll go from there. This will save us several hundred dollars and I can save for the DSLR until the point and shoot dies

Tonight I'll be packing the girls up for 2 days with my parents. They are going to go shoe shopping for school shoes tomorrow and also hit the Disney Store to see if they can find Frozen T-shirts for our trip. Then they are going to spend tomorrow night. Saturday they are going to swim and hang out and then we will pick them up on Sunday.

Hope everyone has a great day today!

 

[Chicago Mo]

Can't wait to hear what you decide on!!!
Ya know me and cameras! Good luck with the MB and colors. as she changes her mind you can just paint it a different color with Nail polish! over and over again...

 

[Iamthequeen]

Check out JC Penney for Frozen t shirts

 

[DMGeurts]

That night actaully sounds good for us... I've added it to my planner. We need a pool night anyways. Did I ever give you my cell #?

I will try for the bag. Just not sure how I am going to get it to you? And how we are going to get it back to me? LOL Logistics...

Good luck with the MBs... I thought I was going to have the same issue - but the girls have all been adament on their choices since the beginning.

D~

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Can't wait to hear what you decide on!!!
Ya know me and cameras! Good luck with the MB and colors. as she changes her mind you can just paint it a different color with Nail polish! over and over again...

I think I'm going to get the Canon ELPH 340. The Nikon Coolpix L830 is too bulky for a point and shoot. I was also considering the Samsung WB350 but Best Buy didn't have theirs charged and I need to check out the delay between shots and the menu set up - especially since I've never used a Samsung before. I tried out the super cheap point and shoots but the shot delay was noticeably much longer so I think this second tier of point and shoots is right for me right now. I'd love to go the DSLR route but I will wait until it's in the budget and I can imagine having enough time to learn how it works- I barely have time to do laundry - can't see having much time to learn and practice with a DSLR right now.

When I picked the girls up from school yesterday, they hadn't changed their minds on their Magic Band colors...yet

Check out JC Penney for Frozen t shirts

Thanks! I found some at Target for $9 a piece and we will be headed there for back to school shopping on Sunday - if they don't have them in the right sizes, JC Penney will be my next stop.

That night actaully sounds good for us... I've added it to my planner. We need a pool night anyways. Did I ever give you my cell #?

I will try for the bag. Just not sure how I am going to get it to you? And how we are going to get it back to me? LOL Logistics...

Good luck with the MBs... I thought I was going to have the same issue - but the girls have all been adament on their choices since the beginning.

D~

You did not send me your cell number yet.

I think on the bag, since we are staying at the same hotel, we could leave it at bell services to get it to and from one another? If it's going to be a pain, we can just skip it. I have a backpack that will work for a couple more trips until I have my own permanent UPB in November

So far so good with the Magic Band colors. Although I made the mistake of telling Peyton about cover bands last night - I think she wants one of each! I have decided not to get any for this trip, individually, they are reasonabled priced but times 6, it just seems like spending more unneccesary money.


So, my boss and the rest of my team are all off today. We had a conference call yeesterday and it came up and jokingly I said I should work from home today. My boss agreed so I am working from home! It's great because I'll be able to get all caught up on laundry today and enjoy my weekend.

My parents are on their way over now to pick up the girls for the next 2 days and nights! They are going shoe shopping today and swimming tomorrow and we will pick them up on Sunday. I think DH and I are going to go out to dinner tonight, see a movie tomorrow, go to a nice dinner tomorrow, and go out to breakfast on Sunday. I hate to spend the time together doing all that eating and spending money, but we want to take advantage of the fact that we are kid free. We looked at a last minute hotel stay but our favorite places are pricey so we decided to splurge on meals instead When we pick the girls up on Sunday, we are going to go to Target for school supply shopping. Peyton also needs/wants training bras! Wish me luck on that one. What is with all the bright colors and patterns on little girls bras? They were all white when I was young.

Off to get some work done so I don't get in trouble for not working on my work from home day.

 

[disneychic2]

Wow Jennifer, sorry work was such a headache for you! Too bad you can't just walk away, but I know that's probably not feasible at this point. At least you have the mini trip to Disney to look forward to. Think of it as a sanity break.

So glad you and D~ are going to be able to meet. I don't know what price you were able to get for FQ, but our son is meeting us for a day while we're there and he did Priceline and got FQ for $74!! What??? We are so jealous!

Your days sound really fun. I'm not really surprised TSM and 7DMT are not available. And I've heard that A & E are little to no wait during the parade. Not sure if that's true, but if it simply has to happen, it's worth a shot. I think your days seem to be nicely full.

Glad you get to work from home today and can get some other things done as well. Sounds like a great kid-free weekend. Enjoy! No guilt!

 

[Chicago Mo]

so your going to get the canon! i am a canon shooter. The little point and shoot looks perfect for you!

To learn a DSLR does take time.

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Wow Jennifer, sorry work was such a headache for you! Too bad you can't just walk away, but I know that's probably not feasible at this point. At least you have the mini trip to Disney to look forward to. Think of it as a sanity break.

So glad you and D~ are going to be able to meet. I don't know what price you were able to get for FQ, but our son is meeting us for a day while we're there and he did Priceline and got FQ for $74!! What??? We are so jealous!

Your days sound really fun. I'm not really surprised TSM and 7DMT are not available. And I've heard that A & E are little to no wait during the parade. Not sure if that's true, but if it simply has to happen, it's worth a shot. I think your days seem to be nicely full.

Glad you get to work from home today and can get some other things done as well. Sounds like a great kid-free weekend. Enjoy! No guilt!

I have definitely felt like walking away from this job several times. If I were in a position to not work, that would be my first choice. Unfortunately, our lives are set up for dual income and neither of us can afford to make a rash decision and potentially be unemployed for awhile while looking for something else. I will just make the best of it.

I am so jealous of your son's rate! Ours is not that good. I think $277 for 2 nights for each room, which I am happy with.

For a last minute trip, I am happy with the FP+ we were able to get.

We enjoyed the kid free weekend - we went out to dinner Friday night, then grocery shopped (which, without the kids, is actually kind of nice), we rented a grown up movie (which took us 3 days to finish watching), Saturday we slept in, I got a pedicure, we went out to lunch, went to a movie, and tried out a British pub we'd never been to before (not worth it), Sunday we slept in and DH made me breakfast, then we went to get the girls. I gave my mom her Serendipi D~ bag which she loved! She said she wants to carry it as her everyday purse. We got Peyton's school supplies and then decided to run down to our Disney outlet to see if they had anything we needed for our trip. They didn't. Charlotte briefly considered getting her ears pierced, but they only had one person working and I want them to do both ears at the same time. We were going to go to another mall to do it, but then she changed her mind so we just called it a day early. It was a nice weekend.

so your going to get the canon! i am a canon shooter. The little point and shoot looks perfect for you!

To learn a DSLR does take time.

I meant to go camera shopping this weekend, but we got distracted with all the fun stuff. I was going to check Target when we were there yesterday for school supplies, but I forgot. We need a new laptop too so I think we'll hit Best Buy next weekend. I think I've had a Canon and a Nikon in the past and like them both. My last camera was a Sony and I hated it.

I figured I don't have the time for a DSLR right now so I'll just start saving for it. Then when work calms down and I have time, I can snatch one up without feeling guilty for spending the money.

No real news on our August trip, except it is coming up fast!

I started talking to Charlotte about her 3rd birthday party (October) last week. She wanted to do a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme. I talked to DH this weekend and asked what he thought about seeing if Charlotte would rather go to Disney for her birthday. He said that was fine, as long as we left it up to her. So I asked her yesterday afternoon and that is what she wants to do. I am working on booking the hotel now - I booked FP+ and dining reservations yesterday. The AP has refueld the full Disney addiction!

Hope everyone has a great day. Lots of work for me to complete today!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Charlotte's birthday trip is booked. One night at CSR for her big 3rd birthday (we are going the weekend before her birthday, the weekend after her birthday is my girls trip to Food & Wine Festival). She said she wants to meet princesses on this trip, if she sticks with that plan we'll go to MK and Epcot. MK is her favorite park, but I'm not really sure what her 2nd favorite park would be? The princess plan gives me a logical 2nd park.

Yesterday was a good day for me. Even though I didn't realize it, I was super productive at work. I was able to get a ton of stuff done. I have until the end of the day tomorrow to finish up 3 reports, which I should easily be able to accomplish with time to spare! I also managed to make it to the gym yesterday afternoon. Last night, when I got home from work, the whole family chipped in and got some housework done real quick and then had a nice family dinner together.

Today, I hope to be super productive at work again and make it to the gym again. It's my turn to cook dinner - I am hungry for spaghetti so that's what we are having. I just realized that I have some appointments Thursday afternoon that are going to conflict with me taking the day off to take Peyton to her meet the teacher. So, I'll have to spend some time working on my calendar for the rest of the week to resolve this. I'm hoping we'll have another quick session of family housework tonight - once Peyton goes back to school on Monday, our schedule will get a little busier.

Hope everyone has a great day!

 

[disneychic2]

Are you kidding me? If I lived in Florida and had an AP I would probably be there all the time to the detriment of my pocket book! Nice to have a birthday to celebrate and have another excuse to go.

Glad you got so much done at work. That's always such a great feeling. You needed that after last week! Also, it's so nice when you get help with the housework.

Your weekend sounds like it was a lot of fun. As much as we love our children, it's always nice to send them to Grandma's and take time for each other on a regular basis. I'm glad you got to enjoy yourself!

I hope the rest of this week goes really well for you. Won't be long before you'll be heading to Disney to meet the famous D~ and her entourage. Or is that infamous?? lol

 

[lovedonaldduck]

We will get good use out of our APs. Now that Charlotte is a little older, we'll probably do more day trips again. When we've had APs in the past, we've gone down about every 3 weeks or so. It does get expensive, even for a day trip, but once our passes expire we'll probably take another year off or so.

We had a great weekend, just the two of us! This was only Charlotte's second sleep over but I imagine there will be more going forward.

I can't wait to meet D~ and her girls! Very excited!

No Disney news today - I have managed to go 24 hours without booking a trip! Although, I did price a trip for DH's birthday and also checked Peyton's school calendar against my work calendar for a day we could do a mother/daughter girls trip.

More work today - 2 reports left to get to my boss by the end of the day. I am working from home tomorrow - Peyton has meet the teacher at 11am, which may be the most inconvenient time possible for working parents. I had originally planned to work from home in the morning and take the afternoon off, but I have 2 conference calls I can't miss in the afternoon. Peyton is not very happy with me but at least I'll be at home so she can have the day off and I'll be able to take her to meet the teacher.

I managed to make it to the gym again yesterday! This is really good for me. I'm hoping to go again this afternoon since my work schedule the rest of the week won't allow for it. I'm not sure what I've done with my work badge, though, and if I can't find that, I can't get into the gym.

Hope everyone has a great day today!

 

[Chicago Mo]

i personally think it's time to get a job at Disney...

 

[lovedonaldduck]

A Disney job is the retirement plan! Unfortunately, I don't think I could do what I want to do at Disney for the money I get paid to be an accountant

Currently working from home. I had technical issues with both of the reports I was supposed to get to my boss yesterday, so I am trying to work those out today.

Charlotte was not happy when she found out that Peyton and I were doing something without her today. I'll have to give her some one on one time soon - not that Peyton is having much fun with me while I am working.

I didn't make it to the gym yesterday - with all the issues on my reports, I just worked through that hour. Hopefully I can find 2 or 3 days to make it next week.

Charlotte has her follow up with the audiologist at the ENT tomorrow morning. We'll find out if the tubes have restored her hearing to what it should be. Fingers crossed.

Hope everyone has a great day!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Charlotte did great on her hearing test. Her hearing is "normal" which is an improvement from where she was before tubes. She managed to sneak in her one on one time today - she didn't want to go back to school after her appointment, but I had to come into the office today. So, I told her she could get a special treat on the way back to school. She wanted a lollipop, but I was at a loss as to where I could conveniently stop and get her a lollipop so I suggested a cookie. She was fine with that, until we went into Panera, then she wanted breakfast. So, she had a cinnamon roll and I had a bagel and we sat and ate breakfast just the two of us.

I couldn't work through any of my reporting issues at home yesterday so I am going to try my best to get those resolved today.

Tonight, I am having a girls night at one of my girlfriend's houses. This is supposed to be a planning night for our girls weekend for Food & Wine festival but the last couplel planning nights, we've all but forgotten to talk about Disney. We just don't get together often enough

My MIL is supposed to watch the girls for a little bit tomorrow so DH and I are going to go laptop and camera shopping. I think on Sunday we are going to take the girls to see Planes Fire and Rescue. It would also be smart for me to make sure that both girls are set for school next week and to also get a jump on our Disney packing.

Speaking of Disney, I called yesterday and swtiched our CSR reservation to the military rate and added a room so my mom can join us. Tomorrow, DH is going to ask his mom if she wants to join us too. If she does, we'll be all set. If she doesn't, we still have to decide on where to stay. When I was on the phone yesterday, I was having them quote different resorts, and for only $30 more than what we are paying to stay in 2 rooms at CSR, we could all squish into one room at the Contemporary! We've never stayed at the Contemporary before and it's on the monorail, so I'm torn. I'm leaving it up to DH, because I wouldn't want to have to share a standard hotel room with my MIL (I'm not really sure I want to share one with my mom...but it is the Contemporary!). But that's a possibility.

I am also having an inner debate with myself regarding Crystal Palace. I was able to get both a breakfast and lunch reservation for our upcoming trip. I greatly prefer breakfast buffets, put I hate to miss out on prime MK touring time. Our reservations are at 10:20 and 12:55, which shoudl I keep?

Hope everyone has a great day and a great weekend!

 

[disneychic2]

Yay for Charlotte's hearing being back to normal. And for a special breakfast together!

I hope you got all your report issues resolved. I hear you about not making enough money at Disney…but it would be so much more fun!!! Good retirement plan, though.

If my calculations are correct, you are at this moment shopping for new electronics. I hope you find just what you want at a good price. I know you've done lots of research on the cameras, and I assume on the laptop as well. It's always fun to buy new toys!

Have fun!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

We ended up buying a new camera, laptop, and printer on Saturday. We had planned on taking the girls to see Planes - Fire and Rescue on Sunday but it isn't playing at the theaters that are convenient to our house anymore We ended up going shoe shopping - DH wanted/needed new tennis shoes for Disney and new work shoes, Peyton decided she wants to start the running program at school, so she needed running shoes, and since we were at Rack Room, I picked up a cute pair of dress shoes for Charlotte too (didn't want to miss out on my BOGO)! Then we took the girls out to lunch and to a park that has some shade (it was hot yesterday) - the park is close by but not in our neighborhood so we rarely go there. The girls thought it was quite a treat!

Today has been crazy so far! Peyton's first day of third grade ! She did awesome, no tears or anything at drop off. I am super proud of her. I thought I brought the flash drive with pictures from this morning, but it must be sitting on our kitchen table. I'll try to get them up tomorrow.

After I took Charlotte to school on Friday, I got a random phone call from a headhunter - not one that I've worked with before. He asked if I was open to hearing about opportunities and I said I was. He had a position in an industry I used to work in (and loved) working for someone who used to work at another company I have worked for. By the end of the day, I found out the position reports to the husband of a girl I used to work for. She really liked me when I worked for her and we have stayed in touch on Facebook so I asked her to put in a good word for me. I went this morning for an interview. I may hear something as early as the end of this week! If the job can pay enough, it would be perfect for me! Fingers crossed!

Disney trip updates - in the order the trips are occuring:

I did nothing to get ready for our trip this week, except for grab Peyton's Frozen shirt out of her drawer so I could pack it. I need to pack - which I should be able to do any night this week (if we're not too busy and I don't get stuck at the office too late), decorate our Magic Bands (I may not bother for this trip), cancel our Crystal Palace breakfast (DH and I decided that lunch will work better for touring), get welcome letters for the girls, print gift tags for the girls, and make up and print daily touring sheets. That should be everything!

DH and I decided that I shouldn't be left out of the birthday trips this year, even though I will be super busy at work on my actual birthday. So, we are going to do a day trip for my birthday - unless I can get a super great deal for one night. I need to choose a park, schedule FP+, and get a dining reservation. My birthday is the first week of September!

Charlotte's birthday trip - MIL will not be joining us. I have lots of not very nice things to say about that, but I'm not going to get into it now. I need to decide if we are going to stick with CSR or stay at a Deluxe resort in one room. Also, need to figure out which park to visit other than MK.

Girls' Food & Wine Trip - we actually accomplished some planning at our dinner on Friday! We decided who is driving, who is buying what food and alcohol, and which T-shirts we are getting. Which is pretty much everything that needs to be done.

Free Dining Trip - November - no updates...Once I get through this week's trip, I will focus on November since our FP+ date is early in September.

At this point - I can't even deal with planning DH's or Peyton's birthday trips! They will have to wait until we get through a couple of these other short trips first.

Hope everyone has a great day!

 

[Chicago Mo]

i can actually say...

I can't keep up with you....


GOOD LUCK WITH THE JOB! That's fantastic news!!!! I am SO SO happy for you!!!!!!! good job on no tears what a relief!

Naughty no pictures. NAUGHTY!

If you haven't stayed monorail resort before.. I say DO IT!!!!!

 

[DMGeurts]

I hope Charlotte has a great first day of school today...

Love getting new shoes... I have a shoe problem - but we all know that already.

Good luck with the job interview and fingers crossed you get it! That's awesome!

OK - all of your trips have my head spinning, I can't even keep track! LOL They all sound great though! How far are you from WDW again? YOu must be close? LOL Wish I was that close - it costs me almost as much for airfare as it costs for the trip... OK 50%, but still... THink of all the trips I could take if I were closer? LOL

Looking forward to meeting you!

D~

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Finally, something I can outpace Mo at! I feel like I can't keep up with your daily life, and now you feel like you can't keep up with my Disney plans. I think I will name my trips so we can keep them straight.

I am super excited about the job. I actually found out yesterday that I am their #1 candidate and they want me to come back in to meet with the president. We are having some problems getting on the same page with compensation, but I'm still hopeful we can make it work.

First day of school pictures are on Facebook, but they haven't made it anywhere else yet

I think I'm going to leave it up to my mom - 2 rooms at CSR, 1 room at Contemporary, or 1 room at WL.

I did nothing for our "Frozen Summer" trip yesterday. Actually, that's not true, I used the link Mo had posted on her PTR and got BOG Fastpasses and then realized that we are already eating lunch at Crystal Palace so I'll have to cancel those fastpasses. So, I actually just did nothing useful. I need to add calling Harmony Barber Shop for an appointment to my to do list - Charlotte still needs her first hair cut.

"Jennifer's Birthday Trip" - I can't decide on a park but I'm leaning towards MK - that way if my mom doesn't join us, we will have the most things that we can do as a family without worrying about height requirements and who is afraid of which ride (Peyton is a scaredy cat, Charlotte is a dare devil).

"Charlotte's Birthday Trip" - Still haven't decided on a second park or where we are staying. We are currently booked at CSR.

"Free Dining Trip" - Not working on this until after the "Frozen Summer Trip" is in the books.

Hope everyone has a great day. I have lots to get done at work plus a doctor's appointment this afternoon. If I could request prayers and good thoughts for my doctor's appointment - just hoping the issue is minor and easily treated and also for some common ground on the compensation issue for the potential new job.