In Which A Light-Up Yankee Scoreboard Clock leads to the creation of a monster...

[dormouse72]

It all started with a clock. A light-up Yankee scoreboard clock. That is what he gave me for our first Christmas. I do love the Yankees and I do love stuff for my house but...a light-up Yankee scoreboard clock???

I went on a girls weekend away a couple of weeks after Christmas and sitting in the backyard of my friend's house in Ft. Lauderdale (we were discussing the clock) it was determined by the commitee over a pitcher of margaritas that he needed some guidance in time for my birthday in March.

So my best friend dropped a "subtle hint" that for my birthday I'd really love to go back to visit my friend in Florida. He's open to the idea and she helps him buy his first ever plane tickets (yes - first plane tickets). A couple of weeks before we go, Florida friend calls, saying it's her nieces birthday the weekend we will be in town and she traditionally takes her up to Disney. If we don't want to go, she'll reschedule her Disney weekend otherwise we could all go together. I'm always up for Disney and BF says "I've never gone - I always figured it was too expensive".

He walked into WDW for the first time at age 33 - into HS. He was definitely overwhelmed at first but as the morning wore on, he started bouncing. Literally bouncing. I bought him pirate Mickey ears with his name on them as a gag - he wore them for the next 36 hours stratight (he even slept in them). We went to all four parks in just over 12 hours and before we left Florida, we had a reservation to go back the following October with my kids.

I think he sold off most of his extra posessions and got a part-time job in order to come up with his part of the money for the trip. He sat with his mother and showed her all of the pictures about 50 times "No, Mami...you don't understand how BIG it is!!!" Our trip morphed into a massive 12 person extravaganza complete with MNSSHP tickets and two character meals. He convinced his best friend to come with us - another boy from the South Bronx who never thought he'd ever get to go. The pictures of the two of them in their Mickey ears are priceless.

We went on a non-Disney vacation to Cancun this past April. He was so excited to get to use his passport and we ended up being bumped up to a five-diamond ultra-exclusive resort because our hotel was overbooked; so the boy from the South Bronx lazed on a beach bed with miles of white sand in front of him and a butler (yes - a butler) on call. But in the back of his mind, he kept trying to bounce. Five diamond resorts aren't always made for bouncing.

My best friend mentioned a cruise to Puerto Rico in January right after his birthday on 1/1. He's never been on a cruise and to Puerto Rico (that's where his parents are from and he's never been). But the plans start to fall through - her boyfriend can't get the time off work and as it's a special reunion cruise for her university, we can't go without her. He's bummed. He has his vacation fund but no where to go. Unless..."Honey, what about Disney? Can we go back?"

Me: "Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

BF: "We don't have to if you don't want to..." (he actually put his head down and kicked a rock)

Me: "We can look at the website and see if they have any deals going..."

BF: "OH BOY!" and he started bouncing...

So Tigger has found his bounce again. I don't know if he likes Extract of Malt but he ran in to work and put his vacation request in saying "My girlfriend is taking me to Disney!"

Next Chapter: In Which the Natives sense that the Adults are planning Fun...

 

[dormouse72]

Sharks have a special organ somewhere in their nose which allows them to dectect the presence of blood in the water something in some rediculous ratio. Or maybe it's movement in the water. Anyway, they will circle in from miles.

My children have this same sense when it comes to Disney.

I sit in my bedroom with my laptop, busily switching back and forth between screens for airline tickets and the Disney site...

DD12: "Watcha doin?" (No knock, no nothing. I close the screen so all that is up is Yahoo news)

Me: "What's wrong?"

DD12: "Nothin. Watcha doin?"

Me: "Just playing around on the computer"

DD12: "You know, Christmas is a lovely time to go to Disney. I'm just saying".

DD8: "Christmas in Disney? Do you know Mickey has a Christmas Party?" (where did she come from?)

DD12: (rolling of eyes) "Of course! It's really cool. It snows on Main Street and you get hot chocolate"

DD8: "I don't remember that. Mama, why don't I remember that?" (DD8 refuses to acknowledge that the world existed before she was born).

Me: "You were in my tummy, baby"

DD8: "Oh yes...the hot chocolate was very good".

DD15: "What about hot chocolate?" (suddenly every living being in the house are all in my room. DD15's appearance has allowed the cats to sneak in).

DD8: "The hot chocolate at Mickey's Christmas Party was really good"

DD15: "What? Are we going back to the Christmas Party? Is Belle's castle finished? You know she's my favorite princess, Mommy" (Mommy? Suddenly I'm Mommy again? Yesterday you were talking about going to get your learner's permit but I type the letters D-I-S-N-E-Y into my keyboard and I'm Mommy?)

Me: "Don't you all have homework? I want to see all of it."

They slowly move out of the room - but the "H" word can only work for so long. I need to book this trip quick.

BF (on phone): "So, did you book it yet?"

Me: "I tried but...they KNOW!"

Next: In Which We are faced with the Unthinkable Prospect of NO ADR's...

 

[TheDisneyGirl]

Ok, I am intrigued by what you have written so far.. so I am in for following you...
I am a NY girl at heart (in Manhattan a few times a year) and I love your cat's name (cicciolino.. are you Italian or what?! )

 

[dormouse72]

So I manage to wait until the hordes have gone to bed and waited even more to make sure they stayed in bed. And then...I did it. I booked. I found a decent flight out and a decent flight back, picked the weekend of Three Kings Day when the children usually go to their paternal grandmother's house for "Little Christmas" and pushed the button. Since we're not taking the kids we don't have to worry about having enough room for five so I pick Caribbean Beach Resort because I think he'll like it. Just to increase his excitement, I put the reservation in his name and have the paperwork mailed to his house. This also took care of the ticklish situation of Disney mail coming to the house.

It's close to midnight when the phone rings...

BF: "Honey, I got an e-mail from Disney!"

Me: "Yes, I know"

BF: (Unabashed giggling - gotta love a man secure enough to giggle) "Can we eat at the place with the cars this time? We didn't get that one last time and it sounds so cool..."

Then it hits me - like a bucket of cold water has been dumped on my head. We are certainly under 90 days out but ADR's are now made at 180. I was able to score free dining and decent flight times but WHERE WILL WE EAT?

BF: "Honey?"

Me: "Of course I'll take care of it! I'll see what they have available"

#@$%

BF: "I know I don't have to worry. But if you could also get Chef Mickey again...that was fun!"

Me: "Of course! It's your birthday trip!"

I figure out my options...Chef Mickey can be our last morning since we have a mid-afternoon flight and DME won't pick us up till 11 AM. A huge early breakfast will hold us till we get to the airport where we can get a snack for the plane. What else?

Dining in Epcot is a MUST but nothing we can get at home. Maybe the Moroccan restaurant with the belly dancer? I've never actually seen anyone go in there so that might be a safe one but I think he'd really love the Japanese steakhouse where they flip your food around as they cook in front of you. Sci-Fi if we can get it or 50's Prime Time. He liked Liberty Tree last time - he even bought the souvenir glass mug. We have to go to AK so he can go on Dinosaur - maybe we can eat there? Thank God the boards have menus...Yak & Yeti looks decent. But what if I can't get Chef Mickey early enough? Maybe do a signature dining which uses two dining credits and just hang around the hotel on departure morning???

At 6:59 I dial the Disney number while simultaneously getting three kids out the door. I'm on hold for almost 30 min (which is ok because two out of three leave at or before 7:30 and DD8 is happy to take advantage of me closing myself in the bedroom to sneak Webkins into her bookbag to play with at after-school.

This is what I get:

Wednesday - Tappan Edo (late enough to make it on our arrival day but early enough that we should be able to see Illuminations)
Thursday - Liberty Tree (dinner)
Friday - Yak n Yeti (lunch)
Saturday - Sci-Fi (YES!)
Sunday - Chef Mickey (7:40 AM!!! I did want early...)

I go to work with the serene satisfaction of putting together a pretty decent Disney trip in only 24 hours...Pride goeth before the Fall.

 

[dormouse72]

I was feeling pretty good coming off of the ADR's. It was a sweet sweep - pretty much everything I wanted when I wanted it during Free Dining under 90 days out.

It was too good to last...

The kiddies were tucked up in their beds. The house was a mess but I just wanted to look on the boards. It's easier to ignore a messy house when you have more important things to think about (like a Disney trip!).

Innocently looking at the Resort Board, I saw a ticker which read "2 months till my First Half Marathon". Oh - how nice! A runner. I am not a runner. I am an anti-runner. But I admire the fortitude of people who do run when they are not being chased by monsterous beasts.

I look at another post. "Three months until my Princess Half-Marathon". Marathons at Disney? Interesting!

A niggling little voice started picking at the back of my brain. I chose to ignore it.

Another post talking about a Marathon....I didn't realize there were so many runners on the boards! And they all seem to be talking about the same Marathon - very cool that DIS sponsors a marathon! I wonder where they hold it? Must be a big one because here's a post talking about crowds...

As the White Queen said "You couldn't deny that, even if you tried with both hands!"

I BOOKED DURING MARATHON WEEKEND!

My heart sunk. Not only will it be crowded, but it will be filled with people who are in better shape than me and who can outrun me to the Fast Pass machines!!!

Oh well. I still have my ADR's. As they huff and puff past my table I will lift my fork in silent tribute to them all (and hope they are all too tired to notice I am sneaking past them to TSM and Soarin!).

 

[dormouse72]

DD12's job is to bring in the mail. The mail used to come in through the mail slot but our development went through some (much needed) outside refurbishment last year (I now no longer live in an avocado green and pink brick house - HOORAY!) and they put up a central mailbox area. Since DD12 is more responsible with her keys then DD15, she was given the extra mailbox key. She scoops up the mail on her way home from school.

Of course, that also gives her first crack at things like report cards.

Planning this Disney trip has raised a good amount of parent guilt. Not that I haven't gone to Disney without them before - I've done it twice. The first time was a day trip with XH while driving back from Florida Friend's first wedding. It felt daring, especially since DD15 was maybe 5 and DD12 was not quite 2. The second time was with BF on his first trip to Disney in March 2009 - it wasn't really part of the plan but a welcome addition.

This is my first planned, multi-day no-child trip (well, no chronological age child; BF asks me every day for a countdown. I'm thinking of making him a countdown chain). So I had started playing with a short trip next December - especially after DD8 and the Mickey's hot chocolate comments. It's no wonder the kid chose violin in school - she can sometimes play her Mommy like a fiddle.

My first clue came - as always - in the bathroom. We only have one and for some reason my children's bladders are completely in snyc so they always fight for it. Not that it mattered when we had more than one bathroom - they always wanted to use the same one and howled with rage if they had to walk down (or up) a whole flight of stairs to the other one (usually with the giggles of victory coming from behind the disputed bathroom door). When I came in the house there was an empty envelope from their school on the bathroom floor.

"What came from the school?" Blank looks from DD15 as she looked up from her texting. DD12 was no where to be seen.

"DD12 got it - I don't know. It's on the table. It looks like junk"

I went through the circulars piece by piece. Hidden there among the wreckage was an envelope with DD15's name on it. I took a deep breath and opened it.

DD15 is a brilliant kid (and I'm not saying that because she's my kid - her IQ is off the charts) but she struggles with dyslexia. I made the decision to get her classified and don't regret it but she's tired of working so hard for so many years and not being able to take any of the fun classes (like music, art, TV production, Science Research) because her day is taken up by her academic classes and support classes. But half the battle is just turning the #$*@ work in on time!

DD12 came in the house mid-rant and tried to sneak down the hallway to her bedroom. "Bring me yours!" I hollered. Even the bedroom door opened with a small, sad sound.

DD12 is not as brilliant as DD15 according to her test scores - she's a creative free thinker, very smart, and if she likes her teachers (as she does this year), she does very well. She does not have any disabilities so she gets many of the "nerd camp" offers that DD15 would love to go to (another source of sibling rivalry). So I was surprised to see less then stellar grades from her.

"Guys, I had been thinking of going to Disney next December" - DD8's eyes opened as wide as saucers - "but with grades like these, no one is going anywhere!" DD15 and DD12 looked downward in shame. "All I can say is - I'm going to plan to go. You have the rest of this year and the beginning of next to prove to me it wouldn't be a mistake to take you."

DD8 raised her hand like she was in school. "Mommy, does that mean if I am the only one getting good grades, I am the only one who gets to go?" When the older two went on a "big girls" ghost hunting weekend over the summer with friends, DD8 spent the time trying to convince me we should change the locks. She has always identified strongly with Cinderella on the whole sister thing (but not the housework).

"I don't know...maybe. Nanny or Aunt M could stay with anyone who has to stay behind!"

She jumped up from the table, grabbed her homework packet, and started furiously writting. Nothing would make her happier than to wave good-bye to them as they look mournfully out the window. I'm hoping that the idea of not only having to miss a trip but live with DD8 if she is the only one who can go is enough to get the older two in gear. We have a year to find out.

 

[dormouse72]

I love October in general (I REALLY REALLY love it when we don't blow it in the post-season but that's another story; I like the idea of Texas going all the way. Nice to see someone there for the first time - kind of like Disney). In October the leaves change and the humidity lowers. I can sleep with the windows open. The days are generally warm and sunny and the nights cool enough to get a fire going. Of course, you need a fireplace to do that; if I did it I'd burn the place down and it probably wouldn't smell as nice.

It's also Halloween. I'm not big on blood and gore but I love ghost stories and we live near one of the prime Halloween spots EVER (as in the real-deal Sleepy Hollow) so there's tons going on this time of year.

My parents always dressed up for Halloween, which wasn't as big overseas off-post. There was the year my mom dressed up as Santa for my Halloween sleep-over and my friend got homesick and needed a ride home. Imagine seeing Santa drop your kid off in October! Another year she was a tomato. And my dad routinely dressed up as a really good Hell's Angels - what made it funnier was that he was Provost Marshall (like the Chief of Police) so the new MP's were never quite sure what they were supposed to do when they saw him. But it was better than the year he put on the monks robe, a black ski mask, some light-up goggles and a bike chain to take us Trick-or-Treating. A couple of people got really scared seeing him and he had to prove who he was more than once.

One year I was a geisha in a real-silk kimono one year in HS and another year I was a flapper and a dance hall girl. I can remember being a gypsy and Marie Antoinette with a wig made out of cotton balls. There are pictures of me in a little English nurses' kit and my first Halloween I was Raggedy Ann but cried when I saw myself in the make-up. But I definitely DON'T remember ever being a floozy (for lack of a better word).

Why do our sweet little girls go from fairy princesses to floozies? It's a challenge every year to find something other than a street-walker costume; espeically for DD15. Even in jeans and sneakers she looks more like she's 19. In heels and a little black dress she could easily pass for 23. And of course - glamour queen that she is - she hates my ideas.

"What about a hobo? Big baggy jacket and pants and a little bandana on a stick," I said hopefully.

"Mother..." she sighed. "I am not going to be a hobo".

"A tomato? Nanny was a tomato once - I bet she has the costume!"

"Nanny probably has it stored right under Jimmy Hoffa and next to Amelia Erhardt in her basement", DD12 chuckled. My mother is a pack rat.

"I'm being a queen," DD8 said. Her costume really is gorgeous - a Renaissance queen a la Anne Boleyn, complete with stage make-up for her neck. "Remember last year we were at Disney for Halloween? And I was Tinkerbelle!"

"I wanted to be Tink - she's my favorite" DD15 huffed into her iPod Touch.

"You could be Tink if she actually wore a skirt. We'd both be arrested if I let you go to Mickey's Halloween party like that", I said. "Besides, the mermaid wasn't so bad - once we ditched that poor excuse for a top that came with it for your one piece bathing suit under the fin skirt! That's it - you could be Mr. Smee like DD12 was last year! Long shorts, striped shirt, the stocking cap and granny glasses..."

"Or borrow Nanny's Nana-the-Dog outfit," DD12 said as she tried on her (really pheonominal) Mad Hatter hat. She's always the most creative with her costumes. No short-skirted girly Hatter for her. She's dug up a waistcoat, cravat, and pin-stripped capris as well as mismatched socks.

"Or BF's Captain Hook outfit!" DD8 said as she floated past with her green velvet wonder. "Or Uncle Robbie's Peter Pan costume!"

"I know" DD15 said triumphantly. "Marilyn Monroe!" And there on her iPod Touch is a picture of the iconic screen legend in the Seven Year Itch dress.

"How are you going to do that? It's too low cut and too cold!" In my mind I see her on her first Halloween as a little clown, then as a woodland fairy, as Cinderella and a Barbie Bride. She was a witch and a pirate and a vampire. She was a cowgirl the year DD8 was born (DD8 was the cow) and made a great 50's car hop girl in middle school. Now - Marilyn? Maybe she's ready but I'm not sure I am.

DD15 went to her Halloween dance last weekend as Marilyn and she looked great. She found a dress for $20 which wasn't an exact replica of Marilyn's but was close enough (it has a decent neckline and little cap sleeves) as well as a short blonde wig and white strappy heels. She came out of the bathroom with her fake eyelashes and bright red lipstick, blew me a kiss and tripped out the door.

I still love Halloween. At least until we go through this whole costume hunt next year.

 

[dormouse72]

The children were gone for most of Halloween weekend - just out. It started on Friday night - DD12 had a school dance in the evening and DD15 was "hanging out" with her friends who "started a band" (really, I think it was because of ONE of those friends in that band. FYI - her Marilyn costume won first place in the HS costume contest). So it was DD8 and I, just hanging out...until BFF8 called and invited her to sleep-over. She dropped me like a hot potato.

So I was able to snuggle up on the couch with total control over the remote and a lovely glass of wine. Ahhhh.... And I started to hear all the noises in my building that I normally can't hear over the chaos created by my own kids. The four kids in the apartment downstairs were having a video game contest. They were also having a Yu-Gi-Oh! card contest with the kids across the hall in the common entry way. DD12 will often sit in our doorway when they all play MarioKart on their DS's but she's not into Yu-Gi-Oh!

I go into my bedroom. Ahhh...wow - the old man next door has a hospital bed? I thought he had looked like he was struggling to make it up from the parking lot. The kids all put down their DS's to open the door for him and carry his packages because they are afraid he'll keel over on his way in. And I can hear him coughing through the wall - that really doesn't sound good.

My first foray into "peace and quiet" ends at 9 PM when I have to pick up DD12 from her dance and DD15 from "band practice" - which stopped being so much fun when DD8 got there; BFF8 is the little sister of the drummer. "If I wanted to hang out with the Princess of Darkness I'd have stayed home!" she muttered. With the comforting sounds of Teen Nick from the living room and Green Day from the bedroom, I was finally able to relax.

Saturday was back to crazy as usual - the elementary school fundraiser was going on and I had to go get DD8 from there. DD12 came with me and immediately dumped me for her friends. DD15 was back with the band, after trying to convince me she really could play keyboard (she's never taken a piano lesson in her life). I come home with an extra 8 year old and some pumpkins, to find my mother waiting for me with her camera to "take pictures of them in their costumes" before the town "Halloween parade and trick-or-treating" event where they close off blocks of the town center. DD12 is summoned by cell phone and we manage to dress and make it out the door.

But once we are there, DD8 and her friend meet up with other kids in their class; they melt into a large mob of 3rd grade girls who think they are "so cool" that they get to walk down the middle of the street without a grown-up (we are relegated to follow at a respectful distance). DD12 again dumps me for her friends, and DD15 appears long enough to kiss her grandmother on the cheek and bum $10 off me for pizza. "This is what your life will be like when they are all out of the house!" Mom says as we wander down a street filled with strollers of Sweet Peas and toddlers dressed as bumblebees.

DD8 goes off for another playdate following the parade. DD12 has a birthday/halloween party to go to and says she'll call when it's over; she's off to her friend's house to "finish getting ready". DD15 texts to say she's at a band members house watching horror movies and "oh...BFF15 says I can sleep over". I ask my mother if she wants to go to dinner. She can't - she has a date. I call BF but he is busy playing Monster with his four year old son but commiserates that "once the older two get here they disappear. I see them in time to drive them home". I spend my free time making stew from scratch until it's time to pick up DD8. It's good I have the quiet - I haven't been able to do something like this for years. Since I started having children. Stew is better the next day anyway. They come home in time to stumble into bed to sleep off their candy comas.

Halloween day I refuse to let anyone leave till they help me clean the house. DD15 stumbles in at about 10 AM and is horrified that she has to spend longer in the house than it takes to shower and change clothes. We manage to eat together before DD15 is out again with the promise to be back to take her sister Trick or Treating ("We need a little kid in order to get any candy!" is the rationale behind her generous offer). By 4 PM, the house is reasonably neat and the younger two get into their costumes. They go out in our development till DD15 and a couple of her friends arrive to take them further afield. By this time the weather has changed and it's cold. Gloves and hats come out and coats go on over costumes. "I'll pick you up down the hill at 7 PM!" I call as they set off.

I shiver - it's really cold out. I'm glad I don't have to go out there in this weather. I answer the door for Trick or Treaters and finish folding laundry. My friend from Florida calls to say she's going to be an aunt. "I'm surprised to find you home! Why is it so quiet over there?" she asks.

"This is what happens when they get older!" I say in my most off-hand tones. The laptop is open to the Disney boards as I look at ways to make the most of being a couple of adults alone at WDW. This weekend shows me I'm REALLY out of practice.

 

[dormouse72]

The phone call came - as it usually does - in the middle of a crazy day at work. Official announcement of additional lay-offs came out today and although the people affected were already told, it takes a huge toll on morale overall. Not to mention I went to print 4 simple pages only to find that none of my network printers were installed any longer and no one could figure out where they went to how to get them back.

"Mom - I don't feel good. When are you coming home for lunch?" It was DD12. It being Election Day the schools were closed and I knew she had made all kinds of plans today. Being sick wasn't among them.

"What's wrong?" There is about 50 lbs of Halloween candy in the house. My first guess was system overload.

"I'm hot" Her voice didn't sound good. "When are you coming home?"

"I have something to finish, baby. There is Tylenol in the cabinet. Take that and see if it works. I'll see if BF can stop by"

"K" A sad little voice hangs up the phone.

BF and I work at the same place but he is often out on the road, so I ask him to stop by the house and check on her. A few minutes later he calls.

"She's really warm. I stopped before I got here for ginger ale and crackers. I just gave her the Tylenol. I'll be here for a bit".

I sigh and turn back to my computer. The phone rings again.

"Mom-my...when are YOU coming home?"

"Is it that bad?"

"Yes" It was the whimper that got me. I gave my computer one last kick and grabbed my purse. My boss said "Get out and give me a call if you think you'll make it back. Otherwise I'll see you tomorrow" and I ran home (well, walked quickly - I live within walking distance).

The other two were going down to a movie at the local library so BF gives them a ride down on his way back in. DD12 was lying on the couch - thank goodness for BF. She sleeps on the top bunk and she's taller than me now; I don't know how I'd get her down by myself. She is HOT. I get her a light sheet, open the window, put ice in her water bottle, put her favorite Notre Dame floor pillow behind her back and a bag of frozen peas on her head. "Ahhhhh..." she sighs. She falls asleep. A couple of hours later when she wakes up, I give her Motrin and get her into a tepid shower. When she gets out, chicken soup is waiting as is her favorite doll K from her bed (she still sleeps with her).

I get her back on the couch. As I fix her blanket, she gives me a huge hug. "I'm so glad you're here, Mommy. BF didn't know about the cool side of the pillow or K or that I like peas on my head". By this point, she feels noticeably cooler (down to Kinda Warm from Hot) and her energy level is better. I caught her trying to smuggle a Fun Sized package of Nerds into her sick bed.

"It's my job, kid".

The other two lumber in from their movie. They can tell their sister is sick so they make themselves scarce and keep their sweatshirts on rather than complain about the window being open a little. As I wander around picking up stray socks and discarded candy wrappers, I realize my weekend of feeling left behind might be more frequent in the future, but for now - "Mommy" is still my full-time job.