Is 304 Days Too Soon to Start Planning??? (with chapter links!!!)

[disneyplanningdad]

Sorry to hear that the competition wasn't what you hoped for. Really sorry Skye is under the weather. As the saying goes "you'll get em next time.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Ok, so there hasnot been a lot on the planning front...after all, I still have over 100 days until I can even get ADRs ...but don't think I have not been thinking about it!

However, the "thinking about it" is muddled with a bunch of cheer practice, football practice, school, Halloween parties, costumes, goodie bags for school, Halloween bow making for the girls for tomorro's game, etc...

I have been extremely bored with work so I have been on her all day day dreaming and reading other people's trip reports for ideas.

We have been trying to do a day at a time on our future count down calendar (more to come on that later) and we updated out other count-up sort of thing (more on that later too!).

The home computer is just about back to working condition so I shoul dbe back at it soon enough...and tomorrow is the last regular season football game...so we've almost done!!! We always are excited to start and then excited to end!

So we are at 288 more days...it is still getting closer even if it does not feel like it!

 

[Krisscot]

We just got back a couple of weeks ago and just decided we were going to go back next fall break. I haven't decided anything yet so I am lurking on your PTR. I am writing my TR now but I am sure when I am done I will do this too. Anything to make the time fly. We have always stayed at moderates before but I think we may to one of the values this time. ALthough if we do we will upgrade the dining to the moderate one. I don't know so many decisions...

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We just got back a couple of weeks ago and just decided we were going to go back next fall break. I haven't decided anything yet so I am lurking on your PTR. I am writing my TR now but I am sure when I am done I will do this too. Anything to make the time fly. We have always stayed at moderates before but I think we may to one of the values this time. ALthough if we do we will upgrade the dining to the moderate one. I don't know so many decisions...

Welcome!

I agree...gotta make that time fly a little easier!

I have already made decisions and changed them...again and again. Luckily, nothing, except room, tickets, and dining have been reserved yet so most of my changes have been on paper.

We have a grueling two weeks ahead of us so I don't know if I will get around to update anything ... but my computer is backt o working at home...so it's possible!

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween...we did!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Well, I thought my computer was fixed but I cannot get on-line...Lou can get on-line but I can't!!! And he doesn't even have anythign important to do on-lime...like me...and you...

We have done three pages of out countdown...but I cannot find ant pictures to color or cut out of Fauna, Flora, and Merriweather to put in there. Any suggestions?

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Ok...computer is working....but I but I don't know fo rhow long...
I have some time because I had a really awful discussion with the president of out football and cheerleading organization, well, actually for some reason he thinks is it ok to talk to me like I am two and he is right and I am always wrong...so needless to say I am so wired.

But I am really upset at what transpired tonight and by the president of a community organization...it was completely uncalled for and inappropriate...so I am hoping diving into a little Dis will help me relax and be able to sleep...

So we are at 273 more days and I have not made any changes.

We are almost done with Cheerleading (well unless they earn the bid...which is doable but we'll have to see what kind of a mood the girls are in come Sunday.

I am working on our countdown calendar...but I am not ready with pictures yet.

But let's move on to our next introduction...

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Well, you saw how well that worked...as soon as i had Tyler introduced and was adding the last picture my computer decided to go to sleep!!! UGH!

And I have good and bad news...

THE SUPER PEE-WEE TITAN CHEERLEADERS ARE GOING TO STATE!!!!!!

...that is the good and the bad news! So there are three more weeks of cheerleading...I feel like the groundhog saw his shadow or something!

And more good news...

THE WIDGET TITAN FOOTBALL TEAM IS GOING TO SUPERBOWL!!!!!!

...so one more week of football!

Normally we're not so eager to see it go but this year...we are!

But anyway...I am hoping to get the computer up and going soon so that I can update more here...I have more to tell but I'd like to do it in some kind of order...

So, as soon as I can I'll be back!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

So...I really want to get this going (and finish out trip report from April) but the world is not agreeing. Cheerleading has put lot more practice time in for the next two and a half-ish weeks and my computer decides when it wants to work and when it doesn't and so far, it's schedule has not agreed with mine!!!

But I do have some great news though!!!

My birthday is on Saturday (two years ago we were in Disney right now!!!) and I got my present from my parents and Lou and the kids...

...a Canon Rebel T1i...​

So...as soon as the computer gets fixed or Tyler gets his main Christmas present for Santa (a laptop) I will have an awesomly picture loaded trip report to post!!!! So as I learn how to use all it's great features in the time until we leave, you will be privy to my picture taking journey!

Any tips or suggestions????

 

[tyandskyesmom]

BURBANK TITAN WIDGETS ARE THE 2010 SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS!!!!!!​

Wow, that was nice to say! The boys had a great time plying that game in Toyota Park.

I am getting closer to getting pictures going and and this report going!

I couldn't get my strip to load my pics into the computer on Saturday so I put them on a disc and hopefully that will help...if not I am plannin gto use my parents computer maybe this weekend...just to get this moving some!

I got some really great pictures with my telephoto lens at the game...around 1000 pictures!! Just think what I will be able to do at Disney for two weeks!!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

We had a nice long weekend. We got the christmas tree up...all disney, of course, with Ariel as the topper! We relaxed and recouperated form being sick...at least Skye and I did. We went to Sam's and found that they had Disney grapes in cute little Toy Story cups and Apples and Carrots...and while I know they are no different than anyone else's they just seem to tast better with Disney's name on them...and they were only $3.98 for a big tub of each...not bad! Hey, if it gets the kids to eat them better, I'm all forit. I do have to admit to grabbing a cup of grapes for work this morning and keeping the cup on my desk for pens or something...

We got the kid's rooms cleaned, new sheets for my bed, my bed spread washed, laundry done, and a bunch of other things done and still managed to relax.

The kids wanted to go out "for Black Friday"...they did not really know what that meant but had heard som many people talking about it that they felt they needed to experience it too. So Friday afternoon we ventured over to Sam's and the attached stores (WalMart, Justice, Kohls, Petco, and Target) and did some necessity shopping...jeans and decent shirts for Tyler (he seems to have outgrown all of his old things (BTW, does anyone know what size men's pants start at? He is now at an 18 boys but the men's seem too long...but the waist seems too big...he needs length not width)), dress shoes and boots for Skye (of which she ended up woth three pairs of each), socks and tights, clothes for Christmas pictures. The kids were also able to tell me all the junk, I mean treasures they hope Santa (for whatever it's worth because I am pretty sure Ty knows and I am pretty sure Skye is teetering on the edge of wanting to believe but being unable to make the case either way yet) leaves under the tree. So we did not really do "Black Friday" but they were satisfied.

Trip wise, Southwest had released flights up until the day before our departure date a week or so ago...and fares look higher than I want them to. So I keep checking back just for an idea. We are used to $79.00 fares wach way so $139.00 sounds high. The other option is driving but that does not sound like the best option. I guess we will just have to wait and see...

I have been able to get Lou to talk about dining a little ...we're getting there...but mostly because he does not believe me about how much we will be eating and not paying very much for.

I have quite a few pictures waiting for you guys but I cannot keep my computer functioning long enough to get a post in...so as soon as I can this should get to be more fun!

Thanx for sticking around guys!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Look at that! We are down 50 days already!!!!

ANd I just discovered that now, at least for today, I am able to access my photobucket account at work!!!!

You know what that means, right????

I can update here...at work!!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

TYLER​

Hmmmm....

Tyler is my first born...by baby...and will be the death of me. He is is like me in all the wrong ways...I mean, just about everything I would like to change about myself, I have apparently passed onto him. He is emotional, he is moody, he likes to do his own thing but just does not quite know how to go about doing that. But he is also super smart and fun and interested in all kinds of things.

He plays football (obviously, you have all heard about that Super Bowl win!!!) and baseball, is a black belt in Tae-kwan-do, loves to read and play video games and watch movies. He is a disney nut...and loves trivia of any kind.

There is not a puzzle he cannot handle.

He is turning 12 in 29 days and is in sixth grade...which is causing him more trouble than any other. Not becasue the work is hard, in fact, it is super not hard! But becasue, despite my letting the teachers know what I expected at the beginning of each and every year and letting them know that the work is not challenging for him but that I was afraid that some day he was going to hit a wall as far as studying and organization and things like that and that would be his downfall. Everything has just always been soooo easy for him, it has never been an issue. Now, all of a sudden, they want to change it on him. I just got off a phone conference with his teachers and principal so I might be a bit fired up still...sorry! So now they expect them to just know how to study (which really has never been an issue) and how to write their assignments in a notebook all by themselves when they have held their hands completely prior to this year. And things like that. Well, that is Tyler's problem...he is like Einstein smart.

He is also my cautious child. He was nine before he was brave enough to climb a rope ladder (like in the Boneyard)...he'd get half way up and cry for someone to come get him. He was afraid of the ride in Norway, Test Track, Figment, Dinosaur, etc... This past April he got brave and rode all of that...and even liked most of them. He even rode Everest and Tower of Terror. He had been on Rockin' Rollercoaster once before but said he did not want to go back but in April he suggested it. He hated Tower of Terror (but I cannot blame him there...I felt like I was holding onto Skye for dear life!!!), Everest and RR was ok but we only rode them once each. But I think what pushed him into being brace was that Skye was finally big enough to ride a lot of other things (not the coasters) and he did not want her to show him up.

So moving on...he will tell you that Hercules is his favorite character. And Big Thunder Mountain is his favorite ride. Animal Kingdom Lodge is his fav hotel. He loves seeing characters, even the girly ones. His favorite restaurant is Boma because he has a competitionwith himself and he holds his chocolate chip cookie eating record at 12...hey, it is vacation!

He loves his sister to death and they actually get a long very well but he does get jealous lately that everyone says how cute she is all the time. So I have to keep reminding him that when he was little people used to say that about him too! He gets called "Princess" a lot or referred to in a femine way becasue of his hair but I really do not understand it becasue he looks nothing like a girl otherwise...especially standing next to Skye.

He is outwardly like Lou. And that drives Lou crazy. They fight a lot. And when they are fighting they fight hard but the next minute, they are the best of buddies and screwing off driving me crazy!

On with sopme pictures...cause now I can...

 

[mariacj]

You have been busy posting....

The only comment I make is about your son and the school. I feel now trying to apply to doctoral programs in the next year... that the root of all my problems started in High School... it was also too easy for me. I read romance novels in front of my history teacher... sounds bad... but his wife gave them to me! I still passed the class with a 100%. He is now retired and is still my favorite teacher.

I like that schools are wanting to change things up... but change should be a gradual thing. Hopefully, things work out!

is Chearleading almost done?

I have two weeks left and need to write a 20 some page paper... so wish me luck!

Good luck with Christmas shopping!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

You have been busy posting....

The only comment I make is about your son and the school. I feel now trying to apply to doctoral programs in the next year... that the root of all my problems started in High School... it was also too easy for me. I read romance novels in front of my history teacher... sounds bad... but his wife gave them to me! I still passed the class with a 100%. He is now retired and is still my favorite teacher.

I like that schools are wanting to change things up... but change should be a gradual thing. Hopefully, things work out!

is Chearleading almost done?

I have two weeks left and need to write a 20 some page paper... so wish me luck!

Good luck with Christmas shopping!

Yes...cheerleading is done after Sunday...thank goodness! I think we are all just done! It has been a long season for those little girls...and their coaches!

That is exactly what I have been telling his teachers and principal for years...that the work was too easy and while they seemed to think that was a good thing, I knew that some day he was going to come to this point where it got more difficult...not the actual work necessarily but what he has to be equipped to handle...and I knew they had not prepared him to do that. And now he is suffering for it. I am not saying he does not have any responsibility in it but he is doing what he has been taught and it is difficult as an adult, knowing what the correct processes are sometimes, to change the way you are used to doing things so for an 11 year old, I can only imagine! I basically told them that I need them to treat Tyler like that child who has a learning disability or os not academically up to par. The only difference is that it is not extra help and tutoring in the material that he needs but he need extra help and someone to work specifically with him/for him to teach him how to decide what needs to be brought home and when and how to organize his things at school...I'd do it if I could but I can't...actually, I'd pull him out and homeschool him if I could but I just don't have the time and I'm afraid I'd screw him up for next year. It is just so frustrating...

Good luck with your paper...and thanx for your comments!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We...getting...closer!!!

This weekend is our last big hurrah for cheerleading. Lou is picking the kids up a school at lunchtime and they are coming to get me at work. It should be about noon when they get here. I am half way there.

It should be a fun weekend but it will also be very busy.

The girls did awesome at their last practice last night so hopefully that carries over to Sunday night!

Wish 'em luck!!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Well guys...after the super long weekend...the girls had a ton of fun...and scored better than their last qualifying meet...they received a 72.76...but becasue they were the only ones at their level competing their placement (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) depended on the average of all the other 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams which included up to 8th grade teams (they are a 2nd grade large sized group) so they did not place...just went home with participation trophies...which kinds stinks...but they did do better than their previously best score and they were the ONLY second grade large team so technically even though they did not score high enough to hang with 8th graders scoring in the 80s, they are still THE #1 SECOND GRADE LARGE CHEER SQUAD IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS becasue no one else even scored high enough to get there...so all's good!

The hotel certainly was not Disney...pool broke the day before, broken elevator all day on Saturday, rude front desk clerk, pizza party they threw for the girls to compensate for the pool issues was throen before the competition was over so by the time we got there at 7:05pm all the pizza was gone (the party was supposed to be happening until 7:30pm) and no one was actually notified about it either. They were also having a door decorating contest for the girls but apparently they were notifying the winner Sunday afternoon which was after most people had checked out and were heading home. SO the weekend was not without it's frustrations but we made the best of it and had fun still.

Now we should have more time to think about Disney though...and plan and soon I should have access to a working computer...etc...

Thanx for hanging in there with me guys...I will try to introduce more of us shortly...

 

[tyandskyesmom]

...and Skyler just got moved up to Silver I in gymnastics for the Winter session!!!!! She is so excited and has worked really hard so is very pleased with herself! This is a girl who spent over a year at Shooting Stars (the program that is prior to turning 6) becasue she couldn't do a backward roll and now she turned 6 in April so had Bronze I for spring and summer, moved to Bronze II for Fall and now has gone to Silver I...she;s thrilled! And they suggrest two classes a week at Silver and the classes get to 1 3/4 hours (used to be 1 1/4 hours) so we are adding that to our activities but that's ok becasue that is somewhere I can drop and leave if I need to (but I like to stay and watch through the window so that probably will not happen too often) so it is not all time consuming as cheer is.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

WOW! Time is blowing right by

About two more months until i can start making ADRs!!! Which sooner or later I will get around to telling you about! Becasue that is where my biggest issues come in...and I would like some opinions. But we'll get to that.

I have been wirking 11 hour days all week and am exhausted! But we have nothing planned for this weekend...well, we did plan on going to the Museum of Science and Industry but I don't know if it is in the budget so we might just move the Zoo up a week and go to the Holiday Magic there...we're members so it is basically free! And it is supposed to snow pretty good so hopefully it does becasue the last time we went was a huge snow storm and it was so much fun...lots of snow not too cold...pictures were great becasue you could actually see the snow falling...if I ever get my computer working, I'll have to post a few.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Skye at State competition last year where they took Second place overall in their division.



Skye's first dance recital costume...she was 4.



Skye being Skye!



This is Lita. She is 1 1/2 years old. When we got her from the shelter she was a very sick little girl...they thought the runt...although none of this was known until we brought her home. She spent two weeks back at the shelter in the vet's office and even then they tried to convince me that they thought she had some feline disease that she would die from within a month or so...well, she stunk really bad for a long time earning her new name of Stinky Pete...so for the most part no one calls her Lita anymore...she is Pete or Peter or Stinky Pete...but she has stopped smelling so bad. She is not coming to Disney with us but we do love making her mad and dressing her up so I had to put this pic in...



Skye's second recital...she was 5.



Skye at halloween two years ago...



Believe it or not this was last spring...he looks so young here...



Skye with her fav at the zoo...CHICKENS...ChiChi was there too!



Tyler's football picture 2007.



Tyler after breakfast at 1900 Park Fare.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Lou is the husband, the daddy. He is 41 as of this past October. He is a trained Union Carpenter...which means that he has not worked in Carpentry in about the last 4 years. He has been a forklift driver as a news paper plant about 5 minutes form home for about six months now. He is working a fireman's shift overnights so it has taken a bit getting used to but it does have it's benefits.

He loves sports and video games. He'd ba happy to go back to the days of 80s Glam Rock. He is a huge University of Michigan fan. I think he truely believes "he who dies with the most toys wins!". I am trying to break him of that. Nothing ruffles his feathers so when he thinks something is out of line, I know I am justified in my feelings. He is the calm to my storm. He balances me out.

We met at a nightclub 16 years ago and got married 15 years ago. and about two and a half years later along came Tyler.

He and Tyler do not get a long very well most of the time. I think the problem there is that Tyler is just like Lou in the ways that Lou bugs everyone else...so now he gets to see how it feels. But they will fight back and forth and each wants to have the last word.

As much as he fights with Tyler, Skyler has him wrapped around his little finger. She can get him to do just about anything she wants. He thinks I am too hard on her and too easy with Tyler.

He has sacraficed our last three trips and stayed home becasue he said if he went we would have either not been able to go or we would have had to be tighter on money. I think he likes being home alone honestly. But he does love Disney...maybe not quite as much as the rest of us but he's there. Disney Channel is most often when is on when he is home...Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, Phineas and Ferb...he can recite them as well as the kids can.

He hates playing Disney Trivia games with us becasue he does not remember the details like we do and usually does not win.

He wants to be told where to be and when to be there. His eyes glass over when I start talking about planning...especially if I start using too many letters. He has never used a dining plan with us...and he is worried that dining will put us too much on a schedule and he does not want a schedule while we are on vacation. But he loves eating. However, he is a little picky. Like he does not do creamy sauces or soups. Gravys should only be on mashed potatoes. Wants your standard veggies with a meal, none of that fancy stuff. And has never eaten Mac & Cheese in his life...in fact, he's not a huge cheese fan at all (which is odd becasue the kids could live off the stuff!). He does like a good steak but always forgets how he likes it done. I tell him medium rare but he knows how I like mine (he said just club the cow so it doesn't moo on the plate) so orders medium. He enjoys a good beer and sometimes a fancier/more expensive drink but not really a wine or champagne drinker. I think in the end he will come away having loved the deluxe dining plan...but he is not so sure right now. He also cannot believe we sould eat over $3000.00 worth of food in 10 days...we'll show him!

I don't know his favoritess so I'll have to get back to you on that after I quiz him later.

Ok...got it...favotire movie is Pirates, fav character is Mater or all villans, favorite park is Disney Hollywood Studios, favorite ride is either Pirates or Haunted Mansion, favorite hotel is Animal Kingdom Lodge but he does want to check out Wilderness Lodge, and his favorite restaurant is Le Cellier.