Free Dining Designing!

[disneychic2]

You and Dan. He had logged 30 hours just with Monday and Tuesday!! Yes, he worked Labor Day. He got a lot done since he was the only one in. I'm glad you'll have some time off to get things done at home and have some girl time with friends. That's so important!

I guess I didn't realize you were going to Epcot today. I hope you had a wonderful time! Where did you end up eating lunch? We love Kringla bakeri for quick service and sooo many table service places there are good. Oh, yes, I remember you weren't going to spend the night, just there for the day. I guess sniffing all this dog urine and smoke is getting to my brain! lol

Riverside was the first moderate we stayed at and we enjoyed it a lot. At the time (way back in 2003 I think) French Quarter was completely closed for renovations. We would pass by there on the boat on our way to DTD and watch the progress. So, when we went back in 2006, we thought FQ would be nice. It became our favorite resort and remains our favorite. I do hope you can get another day and have it be at FQ. Anywhere you are will be fabulous, as you say.

Dan didn't have to work on Saturday for the first time in I can't even remember. So we went to the condo and got tons of stuff done. We just got home a bit ago and had showers and need to eat. I'm too tired to go out, but maybe we'll order a pizza. I don't eat pizza very often due to my dietary restrictions, but this is one time I'll make an exception.

Can't wait to hear how your Epcot day went. I hope the weather was good and the crowd level decent!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Poor Dan, he's been working all these hours pretty regularly for a long time. So glad you guys will have a nice break together next week.

We are planning birthday trips for Charlotte, DH, and Peyton so I decided I didn't want to be left out. There was no way we could go last weekend with my work schedule so we decided to just do a quick day trip today. It was great, low crowds and overcast most of the day so it never got too unbearably hot. Lines were non-existent!

We had an unplanned breakfast when we got to Epcot this morning - Charlotte didn't eat anything before we left or in the car so we had to feed her so we all had a little breakfast at Sunshine Seasons. Then we ended up mostly snacking for lunch - the girls shared a hot dog, we all shared a pretzel, ate some chips, I had a croissant from France, Charlotte devoured her favorite veggie snacks from Japan. DH ran out to get us dinner tonight - I am exhausted and unprepared to cook. Everyone else slept most of the way home.

French Quarter was our first moderate and is, by far, our favorite. We need a do over at Riverside - the one time we stayed there, it was just for one night, Charlotte and I both ended up with sunscreen in our eyes at the pool. It was unbelievably painful for both of us so we ended up taking a long bath and going to bed early - we didn't get to experience much of the resort at all. We'll be happy either way, they are close enough that we can still visit the other resort to experience whatever we might be missing.

Congrats on getting a lot done at the condo today! I'm sure it's nice to check stuff off your list before your trip.

I need to run, spent too much time on the DIS tonight - I am double booked with a hair appointment and open house for Thursday so I need to find out when else my hair dresser can get me in!

 

[disneychic2]

Looks like you posted at the same time I did last time. I'm glad you had fun at Epcot. And 5 and 10 minute wait for Soarin'???? Crazy good! We do like the food at Sunshine Seasons. Nice variety!

Oh man, sunscreen in the eyes. That had to hurt! It's so easy to do that. Yes, a do-over is definitely something I recommend! That's my way of thinking!

Only two more days for you at the old job. I know they are kicking themselves for not keeping you happy there. Now you can move onward and upward and it's their loss. Hope you got your hairdresser appt worked out. I'm getting mine cut today, in fact. Have a great day!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

I'm pretty sure I've never seen waits that short at Soarin' - hope crowds are that light for your trip, Lois.

I am actually working from home today, on my next to last day at the old job. We had Peyton at the doctor yesterday and she has strep throat. I went ahead and took Charlotte to the doctor today, just to have her checked out too. No strep for her yet. Peyton also had a reaction to her antibiotics so we had to get a new prescription for her. It's been quite a day of not getting much work done. At least I don't have to worry about getting in trouble or getting fired

I can't believe Wednesday is our FP+ day - actually tomorrow night, since I'll be trying for A&E and the Mine Train! I need to rework our plans a bit since we've added the extra night and I need to play around with our dining reservations since we aren't doing the dining plan anymore. By tomorrow!

Hope everyone is having a great day!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Last day at this job! I am so excited to be moving on. I'm going to try to be super productive with the next 3 days off, so I may not be updating at all so I can feel like I've really given our house my all.

Hope everyone has a great week!

 

[disneychic2]

Hi Jennifer! I see you haven't been on since starting your new job. I was wondering how that was going. And did you get the FP selections you were after? I hope so. I won't be online much since I have so much to do since getting back and needing to work over at the condo. I come home from that just too exhausted to think about anything. I hope you are loving your new job! So sorry to hear Peyton had strep. Hope Charlotte never did get it. Hope Peyton is feeling much better by now! Catch you later!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Thanks for checking in, Lois! I haven't been on much since starting the new job - I've been way to busy and haven't found a good spot to fit in my DIS time yet. I am loving the job! What a nice change.

We are gearing up for Charlotte's birthday trip next weekend. Saturday at AK, staying overnight at CSR, Sunday at MK and then heading back home. It will just be a quick trip but I know she'll have a blast. The week after that is her actual birthday and then I head back to Disney for my grown-up girls weekend at Food and Wine.

I was a bad DISer when it came to my FP+ selections. I was coming down with a cold or something and I just couldn't see dragging myself out of bed at midnight and there was no way I could stay up that late. So I got up around 5 the next morning and got right on the computer. I couldn't get Anna & Elsa for any day of our trip but I did manage to get the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train so I was happy. The girls met Anna & Elsa when they were still at Epcot, either before the movie came out or before we'd had a chance to see it yet. We only waited about 30 minutes. Since they've already met them, I don't feel too bad for them to miss it this trip. We'll have another chance, maybe once the hype dies down a bit.

Hope you had a great trip! Going over to read about it while I finish my afternoon snack

 

[disneychic2]

You are on your weekend trip right now!! Hope you're having a wonderful time.

I haven't been on the DIS since I wrote here last. It just sort of overwhelms me when I am so tired.

Your upcoming trip should be a ton of fun! It's so great that you can get together with friends and have a little adult time for yourself!

So glad to hear you love your new job! I hope it stays that way once the "honeymoon" phase is over. Dan is still working 14 - 16 hours a day and can't take vacation when he wants. They have extended the project now to February instead of launching in October. So, more of the same I'm afraid. But we are feeling so blessed that he has a job.

Safe travels home today!

 

[Chicago Mo]

Hope your trip is going well!!!

CONGRATS on the new job hope it all is perfect!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

I must have misposted my dates - as much as I'd love to be walking down Main Street right now, I'm not, I'm sitting in my cubicle. We will be taking Charlotte to Disney this weekend for her birthday though, and next Thursday I leave for my girls trip! I am so excited (mostly for my girls trip), I can hardly stand it. I have such a great group of girl friends that go on this trip and it's so nice to have a break from the kids and get to act silly and maybe have a little bit more to drink than is responsible. We'll also do a nice dinner at California Grill and I'll get to sleep in a bed without Charlotte kicking me!

I have made it through 2 weeks at the new job and I still absolutely love it. It is definitely a good fit for me!

Lois, I'm so sorry that Dan is still having to work so much and that the project has been extended. I'm sure he was looking forward to the end of all this and now he's got to deal with things even longer. He is blessed to have a job (and one I think you've said, he loves) but it sure would be nice if he could have a little more balance. Saying a prayer for you guys that this crunch time for him will be smooth sailing.

Do you have dates for your trip with Miles yet?

Mo, I am heading over to your report. I haven't checked in over there in far too long.

 

[Chicago Mo]

Slacker.

 

[lovedonaldduck]

I am such a slacker!

Finally ordered Charlotte's cake and my mom's scooter for Saturday. At lunch today I will be running out in search of Frozen characters to put on top of the cake.

I spent most of my work day yesterday trying to make sense of our November plans. I am almost there - need to finalize a couple of dining reservations as well as our famiy pictures (the darn paper that I have the times and locations written on is at home again today! I sure hope I remember to grab it tomorrow) - but then we should be all set.

I'll try to be back later this week to post our weekend plans and then next week I'll swing by and post our girls weekend plans. I love my famiy and I'm psyched to celebrate Charlotte's 3rd birthday at Disney (even if it is a few days early and just for one night) but I am so looking forward to this girls weekend!

 

[Chicago Mo]

Have a great time! POST lots of Birthday pictures too!!!!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

So, we are leaving for Charlotte's birthday trip in about 72 hours. Last night, my MIL called DH and asked if she could join us on this trip. So, today I will be adding her to the resort reservation, adding her to our dinner reservation, and trying to add her to our FP+. Nothing like last minute changes! I am so thankful that my mom can help me out too. She will be picking up MIL's ticket at the base so we can get a little bit of a discount on it (we are paying for a 4 day Florida resident ticket for her as an early Christmas gift, so she can join us this weekend and another weekend sometime in the future). My mom is also going to run to the Disney Store to pick up a T-shirt for MIL to wear on Sunday, since we all have quite an assortment of Disney clothes in our closets to choose from.

While I am super happy that Charlotte will get to celebrate her birthday at Disney with both of her grandmas, I am so annoyed with my MIL. We have been planning this trip for over a month, and when we initially booked it, I asked DH to see if his mom wanted to join us, since my mom has a separate room booked and doesn't mind sharing and picking up a ticket for my MIL would take care of her Christmas gift from us. It would work out to be a relatively cheap trip for her and was an easy way to include her. Initially she was on board with going, but then she talked to her boyfriend and he had already made plans for them to go to a car show that weekend (which they probably do about 20 times per year) so she backed out. Then, yesterday, the car show plans fell through, so now she wants to come to Disney with us. I love to plan, so it's really not a big deal to jump through the hoops to get her added on to everything, although having a little more notice would have been nice. I just hate that Charlotte's birthday is a back up plan or second choice for her. I think my girls deserve better than that from their grandparents.

Sorry for the long rant. I just want to get all of this off my chest. It's in my nature to hold grudges, so I'm going to have to make a real effort to put this behind me and enjoy the weekend for Charlotte's sake. I'm sure, reading between the lines above, it's obvious that my MIL is not my favorite person. so even under the best of circumstances I wouldn't be thrilled about her joining us.

Wish me luck this weekend, and thanks for bearing with me while I complain.

 

[Chicago Mo]

Oh No. Sorry to hear this! Grandkids should always be #1!!!

Just try to forget her and look forward to DISNEY with Charlotte!!! and make it the best you can for HER!!!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Luckily, Charlotte's not old enough to realize she was the back up plan and she's just excited that grandma is coming on her birthday trip. I'm going to Disney with my DH and my girls so I have nothing to compain about!

I did manage to jump through all of the appropriate hoops yesterday and get my MIL added to everything so we are all set.

I'm not sure if I'll make it back here tomorrow, so I'm going to go ahead and post our weekend plans now.

Tomorrow, my mom will be spending the night at our house
Saturday we leave at 8am
That should put us at the hotel before 11
DH and MIL will take Cooper and check him in at Best Friends Pet Care while my mom, the girls, and I will check into CSR - fingers crossed that our rooms will be ready
We will eat lunch at Pepper Market or head straight to AK depending on how hungry we are
I'd like to be at AK around 2 if we decide to eat at CSR
We'll start off with Meeting Minnie and Mickey with our FP+
Then move on to Kilimanjaro Safari with our FP+
From there we'll do the Pangani Trail
Peyton really wants to do Rafiki's Planet Watch which neither DH or I like so we may let the grandmothers take the girls while we go ride EE with our FP+
After that, a quick spin on Triceratops Spin
Depending on time, we may visit the Boneyard and/or Maharajah Jungle Trek and/or Kali River Rapids
I'd like to be heading back to the hotel around 5
We have a dinner reservation at 6 at Maya Grill - Charlotte will be surprised with an oreo cookie birthday cake with Frozen decorations on top, as well as a few small birthday presents
I will most likely be going straight to bed after dinner

Sunday we will be up early and headed to MK by 8am
I'm going to leave things up to Charlotte today as much as I can
She has mentioned wanting to do Dumbo, Barnstormer, and Tomorrowland Speedway (the cars) and meeting all the characters
I think I'll make a beeline for SDMT and then everyone can catch up with me, if it's a reasonable wait, we'll ride, otherwise it will be off to Dumbo, Barnstormer, and Tomorrowland Speedway
I currently have FP+ scheduled for Cinderella & Rapunzel, Mickey Mouse, and Tinkerbell but I'm going to switch one of these out for Tomorrowland Speedway - I just need to see which one Charlotte wants to give up
Yesterday, Charlotte mentioned meeting Goofy and Donald Duck - if she sticks with that, we'll squeeze that in before Dumbo
Hard to not have concrete plans for this day, but I want it to be about the birthday girl as much as possible
We'll probably leave the park after lunch, once we are back at the hotel it will be time to pick up Cooper and head home

Not too much time at the parks but I know we'll have fun. I'll tell you guys all about it in a couple of weeks!

 

[DMGeurts]

Sounds like you have a lot of great things planned Jennifer! Safe travels!

D~

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Thanks! I am really looking forward to this special trip for Charlotte! I can not believe my baby is going to be 3 on Wednesday. Time is flying!

 

[Chicago Mo]

Checking in! Hope it was WONDERFUL!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

We had a great trip! Charlotte was thrilled to meet Cinderella. Traveling with my mom and MIL was not so much fun for me or DH but we got through it. We weren't able to accompish nearly what I wanted to but luckily we go often enough that it isn't a big deal. I'll fill in the details next week.

In 48 hours I should be back in Orlando, if not quite to Disney property yet, for our Food and Wine Festival Girls Weekend! We are all so excited!

I was going to include a quick run down of our plans but I have some work I need to get done so maybe later today.