Laid off & cheering up w/a PTR: updated 4/29- I hit my goal weight! plus CM's & EPCOT

[GinnyBear's_mom]

So it might seem a little strange that I just found out today that I am being laid off and one of the first things I do is create a PTR for my trip in June, but seriously I need a few laughs and something to keep me lighthearted and thinking of Disney is just the thing for me. I've worked as a librarian for 7 years in public schools in NJ and if anyone knows anything about NJ lately it is that our new governor has drastically cut state aid to schools (about 15%) and my district has decided to layoff their librarians I had a feeling this would happen so it didn't come as a total shock but nonetheless it sucks! I still have a job until the end of June and hopefully I can find something for the 2010/2011 school year.

Anyway, enough of the job-loss drama and onto the exciting stuff. My DH, DD (1) and I will be vacationing in Disney June 23-29th. Not the optimal time weather-wise I know, but with my teaching schedule we don't really have many options. We were in WDW last year in July and while it was hot, we were never in the parks during the afternoon so it wasn't so bad. Our current trip is actually pretty cheap since we're staying off-site- I know, I know, but we probably would have had to cancel the trip if we were staying on-site since our income is now cut in half and we have about $250 in Disney Visa rewards ; so there's no danger of having to cancel the trip

I can't seem to find any good family pics - the last good ones we have show DD as a newborn
I'll do some seperate shots, here's a recent one of DD, she will be turning 2 the week after we get back from our June trip

and here is DH and I on our first trip to WDW as a couple in 2007 - this was my 3rd trip and DH's first.

I'm glad we had the opportunity to visit WDW together before having kids, so now we don't feel like we're missing out on anything if we have to leave a line because DD is having a tantrum.

So what do we have in store for our June 2010 trip? A zillion character breakfasts, a 2,000 mile round trip car ride with an almost 2 year old and 6 more family members going with us . Am I crazy? Nah, crazy would be sitting in my misery at home instead of looking forward to all of the great times we'll have on this trip

I. The ADRs
II. The Weight Loss
III. Planning for the Road Trip- food allergies
IV. Planning for the Road Trip- Weight Watchers points values for fast food
V. Two emails from Disney today!
VI. Planning for the Road Trip- Disney Mix Tapes!
VII. Getting CRAFTY!!
VIII. Gin's Disney wardrobe takes shape
IX. It's our anniversary- let's go to the Disney store and celebrate!
X. Lists, lists and more lists!
XI. Update on the road trip
XII. Pland for our first full day- Hollywood Studios!
XIII. GAD volunteer opportunity
XIV. Day 3: Chef Mickey's & EPCOT

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

I'm in for the pre tripee!

But, I must admit, I'm appalled that the best way to save money was cut librarians from public schools. YIKES!

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

I'm in for the pre tripee!

Yay! At least I know I'm not just talking to myself on the boards now

But, I must admit, I'm appalled that the best way to save money was cut librarians from public schools. YIKES!

Unfortunately, school librarians aren't mandated in NJ. Neither are school nurses, kindergarten or arts/music. All of those areas are also getting cut. It is estimated around 1,000 teachers and staff will be losing their jobs in NJ this year

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

Yay! Unfortunately, school librarians aren't mandated in NJ. Neither are school nurses, kindergarten or arts/music. All of those areas are also getting cut. It is estimated around 1,000 teachers and staff will be losing their jobs in NJ this year

Not to highjack your pretrip, but that is unreal! I'm going to keep the rest of my opinions to myself or I may be guilty of an irate political tirade. To say the least, this is a crying shame!

On a better note, you're going to Disney!!! So, give us the scoop! I like all the juicy details.

 

[Redwolf8812]

So it might seem a little strange that I just found out today that I am being laid off and one of the first things I do is create a PTR for my trip in June, but seriously I need a few laughs and something to keep me lighthearted and thinking of Disney is just the thing for me. I've worked as a librarian for 7 years in public schools in NJ and if anyone knows anything about NJ lately it is that our new governor has drastically cut state aid to schools (about 15%) and my district has decided to layoff their librarians I had a feeling this would happen so it didn't come as a total shock but nonetheless it sucks! I still have a job until the end of June and hopefully I can find something for the 2010/2011 school year.

I'm a NJ state worker. We're all biting our fingernails waiting for him to make his layoff & privatization decisions. I can't believe they're cutting you already. He just came out with his budget 3 days ago! Praying for all.....

 

[taymorel]

Sending you my prayers in your job search. But, at least you have the Disney trip to look forward to. Have a great time. Can't wait to read more of your PTR.


caroline

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

Not to highjack your pretrip, but that is unreal! I'm going to keep the rest of my opinions to myself or I may be guilty of an irate political tirade. To say the least, this is a crying shame!

On a better note, you're going to Disney!!! So, give us the scoop! I like all the juicy details.

Thanks for joining me! I know how you feel, it is difficult for me not to turn this into a political thing about the governor...

I'm a NJ state worker. We're all biting our fingernails waiting for him to make his layoff & privatization decisions. I can't believe they're cutting you already. He just came out with his budget 3 days ago! Praying for all.....

Most school already had their "doomsday" lists ready, they were just waiting for the official numbers to be released by the state. I have so many friends working in public libraries who are also worried about their jobs as well. Sending prayers right back at ya that your job is safe!

Sending you my prayers in your job search. But, at least you have the Disney trip to look forward to. Have a great time. Can't wait to read more of your PTR.

Welcome aboard!

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

Last summer I planned a big family trip to Disney for DD's first birthday. Since my sister lives in Florida we invited her family as well including her huband and my 2 cutie nephews (2 and 8 months at the time). My mom and step-dad also joined us. They got a little freaked out when I handed them their Disney binders at a pre-trip meeting about 2 months before our actual trip. But (as you can see in my siggie) we had a great time and as soon as we came back my mom who had always been a Disney-hater asked when we could all go back again! I was totally shocked! So I've been planning this trip since July of 2009...

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

So as you can see in my siggie, I've been trying to lose some weight. Ever since the news came down from the state that there were going to be significant cuts to schools (about 3 weeks ago) I decided to take action. Since I couldn't control what was going on with my job I decided to focus my energy on my weight loss. I've been doing WW points. I joined about 2 years before DD was born, but then I quit when I got pregnant. I don't go to the WW meetings, but I do keep track of my calorie intake- I even still have an old WW slide rule to calculate points for everything I eat. I actually have to update the little weight tracker thingy at the bottom of my siggie because as of this morning I have lost 9.5 lbs My 1st goal was to lost 10 lbs by Easter and I think that looks pretty certain so far! I sooooo would have normally eaten comfort foods yesterday when I got home but instead I had some chips and salsa and a very sensible dinner last night so I'm feeling pretty proud of myself My second goal is to lose 18 lbs by the trip in June. If I can get down to that weight my BMI will be 24.9 which is the upper limit of being in the "normal" weight range instead of "overweight". Now that I have some frustration to work out I may be burning some major calories!

 

[deslynnpatterson]

So as you can see in my siggie, I've been trying to lose some weight. Ever since the news came down from the state that there were going to be significant cuts to schools (about 3 weeks ago) I decided to take action. Since I couldn't control what was going on with my job I decided to focus my energy on my weight loss. I've been doing WW points. I joined about 2 years before DD was born, but then I quit when I got pregnant. I don't go to the WW meetings, but I do keep track of my calorie intake- I even still have an old WW slide rule to calculate points for everything I eat. I actually have to update the little weight tracker thingy at the bottom of my siggie because as of this morning I have lost 9.5 lbs My 1st goal was to lost 10 lbs by Easter and I think that looks pretty certain so far! I sooooo would have normally eaten comfort foods yesterday when I got home but instead I had some chips and salsa and a very sensible dinner last night so I'm feeling pretty proud of myself My second goal is to lose 18 lbs by the trip in June. If I can get down to that weight my BMI will be 24.9 which is the upper limit of being in the "normal" weight range instead of "overweight". Now that I have some frustration to work out I may be burning some major calories!

im joining in First of all i want to say i am so sorry about your lay off I will be sending good vibes your way!! Second, your DD is adorable and 3rd congrats on your weight loss!! I am also into losing weight and have done Weight watchers for about 2 years now and it has become more of a life style change-- i talk about my workout plans and healthy eating in my PTR! oh and i didnt go to the WW meetings either- i just did things on my own with my points counter good luck with everything!! and I hope you can find a new job soon

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

im joining in First of all i want to say i am so sorry about your lay off I will be sending good vibes your way!! Second, your DD is adorable and 3rd congrats on your weight loss!! I am also into losing weight and have done Weight watchers for about 2 years now and it has become more of a life style change-- i talk about my workout plans and healthy eating in my PTR! oh and i didnt go to the WW meetings either- i just did things on my own with my points counter good luck with everything!! and I hope you can find a new job soon

Thanks! I just checked out the PTR for your September trip, looks great! I'm also trying The Plaza for the first time- I already looked ahead to the menu and I think I will go for the Vegetarian Sandwich with the basil pesto on the side. I'll probably take out 3/4 of the cheese and instead of the sides they have (broccoli slaw, homemade chips or fries) I will sub one of the healthy sides they offer the kids-grapes or carrots. If you can think of a healthier option there, let me know!

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

So I actually hit the 10lb mark today I'm pretty sure stress had something to do with me losing 1 lb this weekend, but hey I'll take what I can get!

Today I'm going to a second-hand spring/summer baby clothing sale run by a Mothers of Multiples group. I have friends coming from over 40 miles away to go to the sale with me- it is THAT good! They seperate all of the clothes by size and by gender on different tables and on each table there must be several hundred different articles of clothing all in excellent shape (they don't even try to sell things with stains on them) some of the clothes still have the original tags and most of the items sell for between $1-$3. This is primarily the only place I have ever bought DD's clothes. They offer this 2x a year- it opens at 12 but we will be in line at 11 so we get first crack at what they have. Even though we get there so early we are never first in line-- we are usually about 20 or so people back in line. I'm hoping to find some great character tees for our Disney trip!

 

[my2disneyboys]

HI!! We have lot's in common.... big family trip... trying to also loose weight... and I was laid off in December.

I am excited to see your plans for your trip!!!! You have a beautiful family!!!!

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

Before I run off to the baby clothing sale I'll share my ADR's...

The 180 day mark for my ADRs started December 26th and since I am staying off-site I had to get up at 6:45 am every morning for 6 days straight during my Christmas break when you are SUPPOSED to be sleeping in! But I’m glad that happy thoughts of walking down an empty Main Street, seeing DD’s face when Pooh walks up to her during breakfast and glowing ice-cubes in my drinks won out over getting to sleep in for an extra hour or so. I got my entire ADR wish list!

We are staying in Windsor Hills so most of our meals will be spent in the house (much easier when you are traveling with kids- especially kids with food allergies DD has a severe allergy to eggs and one of my nephews is allergic to dairy)

June 23rd: we are getting in pretty late for the kids, so we’ll just have dinner at the house

June 24th: 50’s Prime Time Café at 5:15 for 2(date night at DHS, the grandparents are watching DD!)

June 25th: Chef Mickey’s at 7:30am; The Biergarten at 12 (just for the grandparents); Rose and Crown at 5:30 -may cancel if I don't have a job by June 1st!

June 26th: Crystal Palace at 8:10am; The Plaza at 5pm

June 27th: Tusker House at 8:10; Tea at the Garden Room at 3 for my mom and I


June 29th: Cape May Café at 9am


What's new this trip-
1) 50's Prime Time Cafe: I've heard so many good reviews and I was looking for a fun place in DHS for a double date night. Last year we chose Sci-Fi and while we did have fun on double date night the food was just OK so we're trying someplace new this trip

2) The Plaza: The food doesn't look super spectacular but when you are traveling with such a large group (6 adults and 3 kids) it is nice to know that we won't have to bum around a CS place looking for tables and stand in line for our food.

3) Rose & Crown: We've only had drinks there before but my family LOVES all things British especially the drinks haha!

4) Cape May Cafe: DH and I love Cape May, NJ. We spent part of our honeymoon there 8 years ago (at Congress Hall- beautiful!) and we just went back to the same hotel to have lunch yesterday to cheer me up and it worked Since this is a character breakfast with DD's favorite characters and set with a Cape May beach theme we had to go even though there are mixed reviews.

What we did last time that we aren't doing again-
1)Sci-Fi: again, the food wasn't fantastic, but DH loved the atmosphere since he is a B-movie fan

2) Ohana's: We had breakfast there on the last trip and had sub-par service from the waitstaff (they kept delivering our food re-fills to other tables around us who clearly didn't need to be reilled!). The food was also very limited, especially for a group with so many allergies and although the chef was great in accomodating our group's allergies we're leaving it behind

 

[deslynnpatterson]

So I actually hit the 10lb mark today I'm pretty sure stress had something to do with me losing 1 lb this weekend, but hey I'll take what I can get!

Today I'm going to a second-hand spring/summer baby clothing sale run by a Mothers of Multiples group. I have friends coming from over 40 miles away to go to the sale with me- it is THAT good! They seperate all of the clothes by size and by gender on different tables and on each table there must be several hundred different articles of clothing all in excellent shape (they don't even try to sell things with stains on them) some of the clothes still have the original tags and most of the items sell for between $1-$3. This is primarily the only place I have ever bought DD's clothes. They offer this 2x a year- it opens at 12 but we will be in line at 11 so we get first crack at what they have. Even though we get there so early we are never first in line-- we are usually about 20 or so people back in line. I'm hoping to find some great character tees for our Disney trip!

congrats on reaching the 10 pound mark!! so exciting!! the second hand sale you are going to sounds like a lot of fun good luck with finding a lot of good deals and some disney clothes!! you are going to have to let us know what you find good! I love flea markets and go a lot in the summer time-- i love bargains too!!

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

HI!! We have lot's in common.... big family trip... trying to also loose weight... and I was laid off in December.

I am excited to see your plans for your trip!!!! You have a beautiful family!!!!

We do have a lot in common! I was just reading your PTR the other day- I just subbed. I found that the more you plan for Disney the more people come out of the woodwork that want to join you in those plans Your boys are adorable and Boston is one of our favorite places to go on vacation!

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

Ooh, I updated my ticker at the bottom, so exited that I reached the 10lb mark already!!

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

The baby sale I went to yesterday was MOBBED! We got there an hour early and there were still about 100 people in front of us in line. At least the weather was nice and I was with friends and my mom so the time passed quickly. I got tons of cute outfits & other things for DD that should last all spring and summer; for $58 I got 11 tops, 7 summer dresseses, 1 pair of shorts, 1 pair of denim overalls, 3 tanks, 2 PJs, a light jacket, a swim shirt, bathing suit cover-up, a magna doodle, see & say, tickle me Elmo, Elmo slippers (both Elmo items are being saved for Christmas) and a backpack. Three of the items are Disney related and will definitley be making it on our trip with us- Aristocats PJs, a minnie dress and the backpack has Pooh on it. Everything is in DD's room (she's sleeping) or else I'd take a picture! I'll try to post them tomorrow. The deal of the day had to be a Ralph Lauren dress that still had the original tags on it! I got it for $12 DD is going to an Easter egg hunt this weekend with my step-dad so I'm thinking she'll wear the dress then.

Today I washed all of DD's new clothes and put them in her closet - it went from being almost completely empty to totally packed! I should have taken a before and after picture. DD went through a small growth spurt recently and I've been holding off buying new clothes until this big clothing sale. It will be nice not to see her in the same 2 outfits over and over again! Here's what Ginny did while I was putting away the clothes...

I heard on the boards that a few Big Lots had some Disney Crocs on sale for $9.99 so I think I might stop by this week and see if I have any luck. DD only has one pair of shoes that fits and I doubt they will fit the entire summer.

DH and DD were both sick this morning when I got up to go to work, so I decided to stay home to take care of both of them. I have a zillion sick days that I was saving for a future maternity leave and since I won't be back to teach there in September I need to take them by the end of the school year or else I lose them. I'm pretty sure DD and DH caught a stomach bug from a child that came over for a playdate on Saturday evening. The parents didn't tell us their child was sick until AFTER they had already been there for about an hour . Apparently their son had been vomiting the night before. Nice. DH had work Sunday and felt nauseous after lunch and all night and DD was unusually cranky when she went down to sleep and woke up a few times.

Hopefully tonight I can get a better night's sleep!

 

[deslynnpatterson]

The baby sale I went to yesterday was MOBBED! We got there an hour early and there were still about 100 people in front of us in line. At least the weather was nice and I was with friends and my mom so the time passed quickly. I got tons of cute outfits & other things for DD that should last all spring and summer; for $58 I got 11 tops, 7 summer dresseses, 1 pair of shorts, 1 pair of denim overalls, 3 tanks, 2 PJs, a light jacket, a swim shirt, bathing suit cover-up, a magna doodle, see & say, tickle me Elmo, Elmo slippers (both Elmo items are being saved for Christmas) and a backpack. Three of the items are Disney related and will definitley be making it on our trip with us- Aristocats PJs, a minnie dress and the backpack has Pooh on it. Everything is in DD's room (she's sleeping) or else I'd take a picture! I'll try to post them tomorrow. The deal of the day had to be a Ralph Lauren dress that still had the original tags on it! I got it for $12 DD is going to an Easter egg hunt this weekend with my step-dad so I'm thinking she'll wear the dress then.


Today I washed all of DD's new clothes and put them in her closet - it went from being almost completely empty to totally packed! I should have taken a before and after picture. DD went through a small growth spurt recently and I've been holding off buying new clothes until this big clothing sale. It will be nice not to see her in the same 2 outfits over and over again! Here's what Ginny did while I was putting away the clothes...

I heard on the boards that a few Big Lots had some Disney Crocs on sale for $9.99 so I think I might stop by this week and see if I have any luck. DD only has one pair of shoes that fits and I doubt they will fit the entire summer.

DH and DD were both sick this morning when I got up to go to work, so I decided to stay home to take care of both of them. I have a zillion sick days that I was saving for a future maternity leave and since I won't be back to teach there in September I need to take them by the end of the school year or else I lose them. I'm pretty sure DD and DH caught a stomach bug from a child that came over for a playdate on Saturday evening. The parents didn't tell us their child was sick until AFTER they had already been there for about an hour . Apparently their son had been vomiting the night before. Nice. DH had work Sunday and felt nauseous after lunch and all night and DD was unusually cranky when she went down to sleep and woke up a few times.

Hopefully tonight I can get a better night's sleep!

wow congrats on a successful shopping trip that is awesome you got so much stuff for such a low price!!! and even a plus that you got disney stuff too!!
the picture of Ginny is soo cute!! I am so sorry she is not feeling well-- i hope your hubby and DD get better soon

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

wow congrats on a successful shopping trip that is awesome you got so much stuff for such a low price!!! and even a plus that you got disney stuff too!!
the picture of Ginny is soo cute!! I am so sorry she is not feeling well-- i hope your hubby and DD get better soon

Thanks- it seems like it was a 24 hour bug, I few of my friends mentioned that their children had the same thing . Most of the adults just had minor stomach cramps.