Frolicking Pants & Chicken Necks!_How this Dorky Mom & Daughter Do DisneyWorld! *7/24

[heaven2dc]

Oh my goodness....what a week you have been having! We have all been praying for you that everything would go well with you but never dreamed you would be plagued with more problems You are such a trooper to endure what you have plus now your daughter has all these tests to go through.

We hope all turns out well with her and that you get rested and get your strength back

We will wait patiently for an update

 

[scooby9932]

Oh my goodness....what a week you have been having! We have all been praying for you that everything would go well with you but never dreamed you would be plagued with more problems You are such a trooper to endure what you have plus now your daughter has all these tests to go through.

We hope all turns out well with her and that you get rested and get your strength back

We will wait patiently for an update

Thanks so much! I knew my DIS friends would understand.

 

[princess.chell]

Wow. That's quite a time you've been going through! My thoughts and pixie dust are going out to you and your daughter

I too will be waiting patiently for your next update. Wish you both a speedy and full recovery.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I know that a lot of folks (certainly not Disers) say "you're in my prayers" but you really have been in mine. Isn't it funny how tight we can get here on the discussion boards.

 

[CAJUNWDWFAN]

Another Louisianian reading your TR. We were there at WDW same time as you for our honeymoon! April 26th to May 3rd. And we were in the Tahiti Building Second floor! Howdy neighbor!

 

[scooby9932]

Wow. That's quite a time you've been going through! My thoughts and pixie dust are going out to you and your daughter

I too will be waiting patiently for your next update. Wish you both a speedy and full recovery.

Thank you! SP is at the Neurologist now getting the Nerve Conduction series. We have the Myelogram tomorrow. Hopefully they can figure out what's going on so we can start to get her feeling better!

I hope to get an update sometime this week. *crossing fingers*

I know that a lot of folks (certainly not Disers) say "you're in my prayers" but you really have been in mine. Isn't it funny how tight we can get here on the discussion boards.

Thanks so much! And it is really wonderful how this board brings people together. I can't thank you enough for keeping me in your prayers.

Another Louisianian reading your TR. We were there at WDW same time as you for our honeymoon! April 26th to May 3rd. And we were in the Tahiti Building Second floor! Howdy neighbor!

Well, hello there neighbor! First off, Congratulations on the wedding! I hope you had a magical honeymoon! And to my TR. I hope to get some more updates posted soon.

What part of Louisiana are you from?

 

[CAJUNWDWFAN]

What part of Louisiana are you from?

I'm from New Iberia but live in Lafayette.

 

[scooby9932]

I should have a report update posted in a few minutes. Hopefully, there's still people reading along.


Non Trip Report News

So, the last time I posted, we were dealing with SP's mysterious back issues. Well, after exhaustive & might I say, very expensive, tests they still don't know exactly what's going on.

They thought she might have Lupus.

But the blood work came back negative. While I'm THRILLED about that, I know from experience that blood work most often doesn't confirm the Lupus diagnosis. So, I haven't told SP, but I'm still worried. What if I passed on this horrible disease??

The only other explanation the doctors have is that that nasty flu virus she battled for months might have moved into her nervous system, causing the trouble. They said sometimes a virus will take months to clear out of your nervous system. I'm hoping that this is what is wrong.

In the meantime, SP is going to Physical Therapy 3x a week. Hopefully they'll be able to provide some relief.

Oh, and did I mention that she was fired from her job when she told them she had to take 2 days off for her myelogram?!? Yep, her boss said, and I quote: "You'll have to choose: your job or your health. If you don't cancel the tests, than you don't have a job here anymore." Needless to say, she chose her health. I mean, what the ???

Yep, bloody *&S!*#. And, yes, I know that it's illegal to do this. But not technically since she hadn't yet worked there a year. Believe me, I checked with some lawyer friends. They said we could fight it, but it would cost a lot of money & time. We chose not to pursue a legal case against them. From what one of her co-workers tells her (they're good friends), this isn't the 1st time they've done something like this. Maybe some day someone will call them to task on their actions. But in the meantime I just think, "Karma & all that."

So, SP is without her primary job. And she did so love taking the babies' pictures. But, I'm certain that this one closed door will lead to an even better opportunity down the road. At least she doesn't have to worry about being able to make the Physical Therapy 3X a week.

*sigh* I almost hate to say what else has been going on. People might not want to read this thread anymore, scared they'll get a piece of this black cloud hanging over my family.

My dad has some health issues. He had back surgery in 2007 & they told him at the time that he'd need more some day on another disk. Well, he's been in a lot of pain. But they told him to do some exercises first to see if that will help. In the meantime, he just has to deal with a lot of pain. He can't sit. He either has to lie down or stand to be comfortable.

And they discovered blood in his stool.

And his prostate exam was worrisome.

So, he had tests run & it looks like the prostate is just inflamed. Whew! His dad died of prostate cancer. He's on pills now to help.

He now has to go in for his colonoscopy next Wednesday to see what's going on there. Everyone's trying to keep upbeat & positive. But it's still worrisome. He turns 75 next Friday, so that's a great milestone.

Ok, that's pretty much it. Oh, and we have been going through an audit at work. BLECH! I've been working 10+ hours every day & am just so tired. But that's a temporary problem. They're leaving week after next.

BTW, prayers are so welcomed! We really need them.

On the good news front, SP & I are going to New Orleans the weekend of Aug. 7-9 to see the Disney Train & just tour around & relax away from the worries at home. We're both really excited about our "mini trip."

Also, I received a PIN code for Free Dining in Nov/Dec. SP & I just have to figure out if we can afford to go for a short Christmas trip. We've both wanted to see DW at Christmas with all the decorations, etc. I hope I can swing it. Without her job & with all the extra medical bills, it will be a miracle if I can. But hope is eternal.

 

[scooby9932]

Friday, May 1:

So, the last I left off, we had drunk ourselves a little silly on Lapu Lapu. I was feeling kind of poorly & went to bed early. SP stayed up late web cam talking to Steven.

Friday morning I wakened to the sound of the alarm going off & SP saying, "Are you ever going to get up?" Apparently I had slapped the snooze button a few times & didn't even remember doing it!

Once I was awake enough, I look over to see SP wide awake in bed texting on her phone. I ask her how long she'd been up & her reply was a big sigh plus "since the alarm first went off at 6:30 this morning! We were supposed to try for rope drop at DHS, remember?" I looked at the clock to discover that it was now 8:00 in the morning!

I apologized & asked why she hadn't woken me. She just looked at me & said, "Mom, if you could see yourself right now, you wouldn't ask that question. It's obvious you don't feel well."

Oh.

I did get up & manage to look at myself & had to agree with her. My joints were aching something fierce & I just didn't have much get up & go. Because I really don't like DHS, I wasn't sad to not go. The only thing I was sad about was missing out on Toy Story Mania. And since neither of us had ever been on it, we wouldn't really know what we were missing.

SP & I talked it over & we both agreed that we could easily skip DHS & not really be sad about it. So the decision was made to just hang around the resort until it was time for our Grand Flo tea.

I climbed back in bed & slept some more while SP entertained herself.

Once I awoke for good around 9:30, I took a nice hot bubblebath to ease my joints while SP caught up on some more texting/email.

The bath had helped some & I was feeling stronger if not less tired & worn out. I guess the sun exposure the day before had taken more out of me than I liked to admit.

So, after getting our bathing suits on & collecting a bag of stuff for the "beach", we headed out the back way & rode along the path leading toward the pool.

There were few people around at this time. Luckily, I was able to score a nice beach cabana with a view of the Grand Floridian.

SP wanted to sunbathe, so she pulled a lounger a bit away from where I was sitting, but close enough we could still talk.

After a few minutes of just sitting there resting & enjoying the view, I started reading one of the books I’d brought with me. It was a really good story & I was pretty absorbed in it. I noticed out of the corner of my eye a little blond head peek around the corner of the cabana. When I turned to look I see this cute little boy just grinning at me. Not being able to see if his parents were nearby, I stood up & looked around. Sure enough, chugging along with another little boy and a baby girl was a very pregnant mom headed our way. I could hear her calling, “Don’t you bother that nice lady, Brandon!”

When she got closer, she apologized & said he’d just run off headed straight for my cabana. I told her it was fine. Brandon continued to play in the sand next to my lounger despite his mother’s continuous pleas to leave me alone. She kept apologizing saying he was just so outgoing & seemed to really like me. I told her again that it was fine & I didn’t mind a little company. We talked a bit & I commented that I liked Brandon’s LSU Tigers swim trunks. Turns out they were from Louisiana, just an hour or so away from us. We talked LSU & Louisiana for awhile. It truly is a small, small world!

SP finally notices that I’m talking to a group of people. She’d been dozing on her lounger while listening to her iPod. While she & the mom talked a bit about babies & Woman’s Hospital, Brandon started to build a sand castle with me. Brandon & I chatted a bit. I couldn’t understand most of what he said as he was so little & mumbled a bit. When I asked him how old he was he held up 3 fingers. He seemed perfectly content to just sit near me & play in the sand.

After a while, they left to meet up with her husband who had been at a convention at Coronado Springs. Realizing we had been out there for awhile, I turned to SP & asked if she had put on more sunblock. I noticed she was getting pink. She told me she was fine & didn’t need any.

By this time, SP was getting hot & decided to try out the pool.

While I was taking pics of SP, I noticed a small duckling in the pool frantically swimming around calling for it's mama. A lot of people were talking wondering where the mama duck was. Someone said they saw her head toward the GCH. Several people tried to herd the duck to the shallow end, but because this is where most of the "rowdy" action happens, the duck wanted no part of it. Some tried to catch the duck, but couldn't. SP sees the poor thing trying to get out of the pool, but it couldn't leap up & out. So, she swam & caught the duckie & placed him on the sidewalk. Everyone cheered!

After a bit more time on the beach, we packed up & headed back to the room to get ready for our tea at the Grand Floridian. We hadn’t eaten much all day, just nibbled a bit here & there on snacks we’d brought with us. We were both hungry!

I got a shower first as I take MUCH shorter ones than SP. After I was dressed, I started to clean the room a bit, organizing receipts, etc. SP was in the shower & when she got out I heard her gasp, “Oh, no!”

I went to see what was wrong & boy did I laugh! SP was standing in front of the mirror looking at her face & saying, “I can’t believe I did that.” She had suntanned with her big sunglasses on & looked like a raccoon! She had a slight sunburn on her face, but her back & shoulders were really rather red & sore looking, so I rubbed her down with Noxema to kill the burn. I couldn’t stop laughing at her raccoon eyes, though. I started to call her Meeko. She was a bit put out at first, but soon saw the humor & was joking back with me.

You can see the sunglasses that left the Meeko eyes here:

Make Up does wonders to hide the worst of it:

I wanted to be sure to get there on time so we left a bit early to catch the monorail over to the Grand Flo. When I asked if she’d like to walk over, SP groaned & said, “No thanks. I’ve walked a lot already & will be walking so much more over the next few days. Let’s just ride the monorail.”

When we got to the GCH monorail station, a really nice CM, Jeffrey, was waiting there. He saw my birthday button & had everyone sing me “Happy Birthday”. He was super nice & full of news about the College Program. We chatted for about 10 minutes until the monorail came.

We arrived at the Grand Flo about 45 minutes early. I guess I planned a bit too well. So, SP & I walked around & visited the shops on both floors. We both enjoyed the Basin store & had fun sniffing all the soaps & bath bombs. SP got a few pictures of the grand lobby area, etc.

While the Grand Floridian was absolutely beautiful, we both decided that as a resort, we wouldn’t want to stay there. It was what we like to call a bit to “fwa fwa” for us. Too fancy & the shop ladies were a bit snooty. Seeing as how we were actually dressed up for the tea, we felt that if we were to wear our usual Disney clothes, we’d feel really out of place.

Even the restroom is fancy! I remarked to SP that she should go in & enjoy the great water pressure. While waiting for her to come out, I hear several people exiting remarking about the great water pressure!

After making a quick trip to the restrooms, I suggested we go outside to get some pictures. Well, SP had gone into full-on “meaniny” mode. That’s our word. When SP gets hungry, especially if she’s not had any vegetables, she gets mean & whiny. So we say “meaniny.” Oh, well, she was not a happy camper. She couldn’t even find nice things to say about the pretty roses.

We took a few outside pics & then headed in to wait in the air conditioning.

We decided to check in about 25 minutes early & luckily they weren’t busy at all & took us right in. Well, as hungry as SP was, she couldn’t find anything on the menu of food choices that she really liked. She didn’t want anything sweet, so we settled on splitting a plate of the sandwiches. We got watercress, chicken salad, pear & cheese, and shrimp salad. SP ordered the princess tea and I ordered English Breakfast. Wow – for the price you pay, you’d think there would be a few more “sandwiches” on the plate. The tiny little scraps of bread with filling in no way helped SP with her “meaniny’s.”

We enjoyed the tea, but wouldn’t do it again. I don’t know if it’s because I collect teaware & have regular teas that I put on at home or what, but I just wasn’t that impressed. Plus it was too expensive for my tastes for what you get.

I have this same pattern teaware at home:

SP was now truly starving & had a fierce craving for hummus. The only place I knew to have hummus was the Tangierene Café in Epcot. So, after a quick trip back to our room so SP could change clothes (she didn’t want to wear the dress she had on), we headed on to Epcot.

On the monorail trip around to the Poly we stopped a minute by Space Mountain. We both lamented that it was closed:

Now, we hadn’t planned on Epcot this night. I knew the crowds were supposed to be pretty bad. OMG!!! They were awful. I was so caged in between people trying to drive my scooter along that I was very uncomfortable & had a hard time breathing.

People were so smushed in near me that I couldn’t catch a clear breath, plus what I was breathing in wasn’t pleasant. IF you’ve never ridden on a scooter, you might not know this, but our view is of people’s armpits & butts. Not a nice sight. An even nastier smell after a long hot day in the sun!

Anyway, we finally made our way to Morocco. SP went in to get us some Chicken Schwarma plates. I held a table that had taken me about 15 minutes to score.

How was the food, you ask? Um, is it me or is the “chicken” they serve here maybe not really chicken? It was the weirdest texture – like it had been soaked in water & was really spongy. Neither SP nor I like it at all. And we LOVE Greek/Lebanese food. We go for chicken schwarma at Albasha’s here in Baton Rouge at least once a month. This was simply inedible.

At this point I begin wondering if our low opinion of everything so far this day was because we were tired & not feeling well. But after reviewing it again later, I stick with my original opinion. The hummus was passable, but the salad, tzitzi sauce, flatbread, and chicken were gross. We ended up throwing most of it in the trash. Thank goodness hummus is filling.

After dinner, the crowds had thinned out the tiniest bit. We toured Morocco a smidge.

SP looking like she's mad or drunk or both. She was actually just trying to mimic the camel, but this one lady kept trying to get in the picture with her & she was starting to get annoyed.

Then it was off to Norway for some pastries. We were both in better moods, but still feeling a bit edgy due to the crowds. Finally, we made it to Norway.

Now, this was good food! The pastries were even better than usual. SP had a cherry Danish and I enjoyed the school bread. Yummy. We were finally full & satisfied.

A much happier SP with her cherry danish!

After a long, out of sorts day, we were both tired. SP was feeling the effects of her sunburn. So, we decided to make our way out of Epcot & to the monorail to go back to our room. We had no interest in seeing Illuminations this night. The crowds had thickened again & it was abysmal getting around. We finally got back to the Poly & collapsed into bed.

I had no fun writing about this day. While we laughed & had some fun, it wasn’t the worst day ever, but it was the worst day we’d ever had at Disney World. I was just glad it was over.

The next promised to be a fun day…Animal Kingdom!

 

[shannn]

I hope it's okay if I join in. You and SP are just darling together and I love your mother's day tradition. I love to read about adult trips and compare them to my hyper-planned, gotta-meet-Tinkerbell ones!! I can't wait to actually experience an adult trip in December with my BFF.

My mom has been fighting cancer for the past 6 years (started as breast, now metastasized to her bones & liver). She just finished a round of chemo and is on a break until September when she'll do scans again. I've been trying to convince her that she should use a scooter when we go to DW in October. While she can walk, she gets fatigued very easily and I think it would be a great option for her. Sounds like you use one pretty regularly?

I hope your chemo/radiation treatment is successful and you are able to put cancer behind you!! I will definitely say a prayer for both you and SP.