Guilt and the Guilty Pleasure – A Single Mom’s April 2011 PTR for a Surprise Birthday

[Tink-erin-belle]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR ERIN, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU......bday:

Thank you!

 

[-Hope-]

I hope you have a fantastic day!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I hope you have a fantastic day!!

Thank you!

 

[PennyLane1084]

Erin! I'm finally caught up with your PTR. Your packing lists look really good. As you might know, I'm an obsessive list maker myself. My DF thinks I'm a bit neurotic, personally I like to consider it being organized. I always make packing lists whenever I travel.

Once on my yearly family trip to Wisconsin Dells, I forgot to pack socks. Luckily it was the summer so I wore sandal for most of the trip.

I also really like the bags you got from LL Bean. I can't wait to see how you like them. I might order myself one for my trip.

 

[inkedupmomma]

Happy Birthday!!

 

[micandminforever]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Erin! I'm finally caught up with your PTR. Your packing lists look really good. As you might know, I'm an obsessive list maker myself. My DF thinks I'm a bit neurotic, personally I like to consider it being organized. I always make packing lists whenever I travel.

Once on my yearly family trip to Wisconsin Dells, I forgot to pack socks. Luckily it was the summer so I wore sandal for most of the trip.

I also really like the bags you got from LL Bean. I can't wait to see how you like them. I might order myself one for my trip.

Thanks! Yeah, packing lists are a must for me too or I will forget something I'll definitely let you know how the back packs work out after a week in the parks

Happy Birthday!!

Thank you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Thank you too!

 

[Native NYer]

I love those backpacks!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I love those backpacks!

Thanks, me too! But I love just about anything LL Bean makes LOL

 

[tinkerbells mum]

Happy belated birthday, not been on here for a few days so missed the "day", hope you had a lovely time. not long now until you can tell Chip and Minnie about their birthday trips, bet you can't wait xx

 

[Native NYer]

Thanks, me too! But I love just about anything LL Bean makes LOL

Me too! I've been visiting the LL Bean website, trying to decide on backpacks for everyone. I think I'm going to order this one!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Minnie is gorgeous! I love her dress and shoes. So pretty!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Happy belated birthday, not been on here for a few days so missed the "day", hope you had a lovely time. not long now until you can tell Chip and Minnie about their birthday trips, bet you can't wait xx

Thank you so much! I had a great birthday! I can’t believe my kids’ birthdays are just a few weeks away now!

Me too! I've been visiting the LL Bean website, trying to decide on backpacks for everyone. I think I'm going to order this one!

I am just itching to try mine out, but I don’t want to “spoil it” before the trip. I’m a weirdo

Minnie is gorgeous! I love her dress and shoes. So pretty!

Thank you so much! She loved her whole outfit and had a really great time at the dance

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Sorry I haven’t been on the boards for a while. I had a lot of thinking to do and was going through a lot. Long story short – I thought I was going to have to cancel this trip. I got my taxes done and I ended up getting a lot less back than I was anticipating. My refund was supposed to help me pay for the rest of the trip. I spent the last few days going back and forth about why I should and shouldn’t take this trip. The only way I could think of still being able to pull this off was to dip into my savings – and that was something I just couldn’t bring myself to do. On Sunday, I was about to call to cancel everything, but something made me stop and I decided to think about it for one more night.

I tried to console myself by pricing out our Winter vacation, but I was just over a month away from this fantastic trip I had planned for the kids’ birthdays and I was having a really hard time coming to grips with having to wait 8 or 9 more months to take a vacation. Then it hit me! First I priced out a different resort and then I priced out different Annual Passes. I was getting excited, but I didn’t want to get too excited, so I decided to sleep on all of the information I gathered and make a decision in the morning. Well, yesterday I did it! I changed our resort and now we are staying at







Pop Century!!!




Since I’d already made payments on the reservation to POFQ, I will have very little to pay once we arrive at Pop! One other thing I should mention is that I almost made a big goof! I could’ve sworn that I read somewhere that I would have to have the AP before I could book a room at an AP discount. Luckily, I mentioned that I was getting APs to the CM and she said she would have to book the AP rate for the resort at that time and that I would just have to show my AP when I checked in. I thought they took discount off at check in! Well, thank goodness for a diligent CM who was able to give me the correct info because I could’ve lost out on the AP discount – which was 32% on a Value resort!!! Score! So I am not disappointed at all about having to switch back to Pop because it is the resort I’d chosen originally for this trip. POFQ will be there – hopefully that’s where I’ll book for our Winter trip.

As far as the APs, I was going to get the Premium Annual Pass for us, but I decided I will get the regular AP because the only real difference is that it doesn’t give us access to the water parks, Wide World of Sports or Disney Quest. I know we don’t have time for any of those things on this trip. Our Winter trip will probably be in early December and the weather is hit or miss that time of year, so water parks may be out of the question anyway. I personally have no interest in the Wide World of Sports and I doubt the kids would either. The only thing we might miss out on is Disney Quest – but the kids don’t even know what that is – so no harm, no foul! Actually, by the time I was going to buy the APs, I probably would’ve come to the same conclusion because it would be $401.51 more for us to get the Premium AP, but it would only be $113.59 for our family to spend one day at Disney Quest with the AP discount. No brainer! So if we do happen to have time for Disney Quest in December, I’ll just pay OOP and I’ll still come out ahead

I’m so glad I figured out a way to make this trip work. I’m also glad that I didn’t have to spend money I shouldn’t be spending. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my retirement (a birthday will do that to you ) and a lot of thinking about putting away money to help the kids with their college funds (registering a kid for middle school will do THAT to you). I want to retire at a decent age. I want to be able to put the kids through college or at least be able to contribute a big chunk of that expense for them. I want to be able to continue to travel to continue to expose myself and my kids to different parts of the US and the world. Since I’m single, I know that responsibility will fall solely on my shoulders. I mean, I do have that man-catching vanilla lotion and all, but unless the man I catch is independently wealthy and doesn’t make me sign a prenup, I’ve got to continue to build up my own savings! My idol, Suze Orman, would probably say, “Denied!” if I asked her permission to take this trip but I NEED a vacation! It has been a rough couple of years for me not getting child support from my ex-husband and I have worked my b-u-t-t off to provide for our kids with minimal financial help from him, so I DESERVE this vacation, gosh darnit! And my kids deserve the world because they are such wonderful kids! Brats, but still wonderful Suze Orman would also say that I need another revenue stream in order to meet my goals. I thought about working a second job for however many years it would take, but I don’t want to take that much time away from my kids. So, after thinking about it, I decided to start my own business again on the side. I’ve done a few other MLMs on the side before – all great companies – but I didn’t personally have a lot of success with them. This time, I thinking about trying Pampered Chef. I’m sure it’s the same type of thing where they not only want you to sell the products but also build your “downline” – which is my least favorite part of any MLM business. BUT… I love to cook and to entertain (ooh, I forgot I need to post another one of our Dinner and a Disney Movie nights!). I also went to a Pampered Chef party with my cousin once and we had a lot of fun. I got an ice cream scoop and I think she got some spices. This was years and years ago when our kids were practically babies, but I still remember enjoying myself, like it was a girls’ night out, and not feeling as if I was in a high pressure sales environment. Anyway, I think I’m going to try that out so that I can start putting away a lot more money for the future.

Whoa, Nellie! Tangent! The point is, it is March 1st and we are still going to our happy place in a little over a month! I can’t wait!!!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Erin, I am soooo very proud of you for finding a way to still make this trip happen without dipping into the savings. You've thought long and hard about everything and seemed to come up with a wonderful alternate set of plans! I so know what's it like to be a single Mom since I've been one for so long myself. It's not easy and the sheer magnitute of the responsibility can be overwhelming. Somedays you want to just throw your hands up in the air and say I quit!! As for me, I'm thinking next year it will be at Pop, if there is a trip next year. Our state is in rough financial shape and they are talking about a 5% paycut for all state workers. And we will be required to pay more on our health insurance. I'm fine with paying for my insurance, but a pay cut? Really? Oh, I just don't want to think about it....and the cost of flights right now?? Oye vay!!! .......

Anyways, again, I am very, very proud of you!!!

Oh and as for your Pampered Chef business.......I wouldn't know ANYTHING about those type of things, now would I????

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I'm so glad you are still going Erin! You DO DESERVE this! PoP is a great resort, we loved it, and you are going to have a wonderful Birthday trip with the kids!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Erin, I am soooo very proud of you for finding a way to still make this trip happen without dipping into the savings. You've thought long and hard about everything and seemed to come up with a wonderful alternate set of plans! I so know what's it like to be a single Mom since I've been one for so long myself. It's not easy and the sheer magnitute of the responsibility can be overwhelming. Somedays you want to just throw your hands up in the air and say I quit!! As for me, I'm thinking next year it will be at Pop, if there is a trip next year. Our state is in rough financial shape and they are talking about a 5% paycut for all state workers. And we will be required to pay more on our health insurance. I'm fine with paying for my insurance, but a pay cut? Really? Oh, I just don't want to think about it....and the cost of flights right now?? Oye vay!!! .......

Anyways, again, I am very, very proud of you!!!

Thank you so much, Ann, that means a lot to me You are so right that being a single mom is so hard sometimes and it feels like things will never change. But that is when I realize that *I* have to be the change in my life and I have to move things forward. Family obligations and work obligations can be so overwhelming for me sometimes! I’m sorry to hear about potential paycuts at your job and the health insurance issue you might be facing. That is one of my biggest fears because I provide the health insurance for me and my kids. I think my company is doing OK, but my job responsibilities are changing and I have classes I have to take and certifications I have to get in order to stay ahead of the curve. I found out about that last week too, so last week was one heck of a week for me! LOL Oh, and Minnie said that next time we go to WDW she wants to fly because it is too long of a car ride. I was so close to telling her, “That ain’t gonna happen, Honey. Just be glad there is going to be a trip!”

Oh and as for your Pampered Chef business.......I wouldn't know ANYTHING about those type of things, now would I????

No, of course not, Ms. Avon!

I'm so glad you are still going Erin! You DO DESERVE this! PoP is a great resort, we loved it, and you are going to have a wonderful Birthday trip with the kids!

Thank you, Karen! Hearing that makes a difference! It does look like a really cool resort. I’m most looking forward to taking pictures of all of the pop culture icons around the resort and hopefully going to the pools! It was such a relief to be able to still pull this off! Also, I had no idea what I was going to do for the kids’ birthdays if we didn’t go!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Just know that anytime you need to vent, talk, plan, dream, etc.....you can always do it here, with us!!!

 

[-Hope-]

I'm so happy that you found a way to make this trip work! I'm not a single parent but we are a one income family since I homeschool the kids so I know that sometimes balancing the pressures of planning for the future without being miserable in the present can be difficult. Pop looks like so much fun and was where we were planning to stay before we decided to do the house share with Karen and family. I know you'll have a blast!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hurray for still being able to take your trip! Pop is a lot of fun! I agree -- sometimes a vacation is just plain necessary to keep our sanity!