MagicBands + Margaritas + Muggles + Minions = TRP. New TR link is up! 10/31

[eandesmom]

BTW- BOOM!

Congrats on your Seahawks victory!

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had my good luck mojo going for the game



Jeff was pretty into it at the office last week





I let Evan miss school to go watch the parade. Which is VERY unlike me but once I found out 3 of his 4 teachers would also be skipping school (having subs, 2 classes were watching movies and the 3rd, a worksheet in class that can be done the next day) I made him go to zero period Jazz band and then cut him loose. Of course this is the only picture he has texted me so far!

 

[Leshaface]

Even though the idea of loading up on all possible ingredients for the Tailored Omelet sounds like a steal, I probably would have ordered what you got. Looks divine!

The boys look great with their fresh cuts! And you dad does too of course

Strange about the Starbucks cup/PP situation.

You are a VERY cool mom for letting your son go to the parade! TBH, the first year DH became a teacher, San Francisco Giants won the World Series and his first official 'sick' day was to go up to SF for the parade. Had the BEST time and something we'll never forget.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I love parades. Of any sort. How cool. Hope he had a great time.

 

[annmarieda]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO that is just wrong. I mean get a 1 day base ticket for Epcot if nothing else...

Right? I suspect they haven't a clue really. I think they probably think it is like a fair food. Not sure I would pay the money to go eat fair food either.

I let Evan miss school to go watch the parade. Which is VERY unlike me but once I found out 3 of his 4 teachers would also be skipping school (having subs, 2 classes were watching movies and the 3rd, a worksheet in class that can be done the next day) I made him go to zero period Jazz band and then cut him loose. Of course this is the only picture he has texted me so far!

I think a lot of people skipped out on school and or work. I have friends who started the trek up there last night... in preparation for today. I don't want to sound blasphemous, but... I didn't even watch any of it on tv. I know it was big though and the population doubled in the city? Definitely something that will be a huge memory for Evan. I am sure he will someday really thank you for allowing him to have it.

 

[princess_momma]

I'm glad to have found another one of your TR's...you have been one of my fav's for a long time, even though I often go a while without posting. Oops.

Except...then I get to the last page and see your a Seahawks fan and I'm reminded that my heart is currently broken into a million shards and will probably never be whole again.

I still love your TR's but it will probably be sometime before my heart heals from the wounds your team inflicted upon mine.

Love Always,

The Dramatic Broncos Princess

Lol, please no Seahawks stuff!

P.S. Please understand that I do still love your TR's. And I'm being playful about the football stuff. Somewhat. Kinda. Not really. It's still too soon. Let's just give it time.

 

[GoofyFan1515]

I let Evan miss school to go watch the parade. Which is VERY unlike me but once I found out 3 of his 4 teachers would also be skipping school (having subs, 2 classes were watching movies and the 3rd, a worksheet in class that can be done the next day) I made him go to zero period Jazz band and then cut him loose. Of course this is the only picture he has texted me so far!

You let Evan miss out on school for the parade, and the only thanks you got was one measily crowd shot???

I'm glad to have found another one of your TR's...you have been one of my fav's for a long time, even though I often go a while without posting. Oops.

Except...then I get to the last page and see your a Seahawks fan and I'm reminded that my heart is currently broken into a million shards and will probably never be whole again.

I still love your TR's but it will probably be sometime before my heart heals from the wounds your team inflicted upon mine.

Love Always,

The Dramatic Broncos Princess

Lol, please no Seahawks stuff!

P.S. Please understand that I do still love your TR's. And I'm being playful about the football stuff. Somewhat. Kinda. Not really. It's still too soon. Let's just give it time.

 

[eandesmom]

Even though the idea of loading up on all possible ingredients for the Tailored Omelet sounds like a steal, I probably would have ordered what you got. Looks divine!

if you liked that, wait till you see my next favorite breakfast of the trip!

The boys look great with their fresh cuts! And you dad does too of course

I love the barber shop! I just wish some day, some year, the Dapper Dans would come in and sing! They do sometimes...but never when we've been there

Strange about the Starbucks cup/PP situation.

Silly

You are a VERY cool mom for letting your son go to the parade! TBH, the first year DH became a teacher, San Francisco Giants won the World Series and his first official 'sick' day was to go up to SF for the parade. Had the BEST time and something we'll never forget.

I was very much a NO mom over the whole thing until I found out all 3 of his teachers that day would not be there. 51% of his high school missed school yesterday and I actually am not sure he is even included in that number since I did make him go to zero period Jazz Band...the one class where the teacher WAS there.

He had a blast, as did Kendall.

I love parades. Of any sort. How cool. Hope he had a great time.

He did! Froze his toes off (bad momma lent her special new superbowl scarf and a pair of gloves but didn't think to give him wool socks).

Right? I suspect they haven't a clue really. I think they probably think it is like a fair food. Not sure I would pay the money to go eat fair food either.

Me either. But oh, still!

I think a lot of people skipped out on school and or work. I have friends who started the trek up there last night... in preparation for today. I don't want to sound blasphemous, but... I didn't even watch any of it on tv. I know it was big though and the population doubled in the city? Definitely something that will be a huge memory for Evan. I am sure he will someday really thank you for allowing him to have it.

Not blasphemous at all. I am not a huge football person. I enjoy it but generally don't watch much besides the Huskies and the Hawks and honestly both are usually more on in the background as opposed to "really" watching, unless it's a big game.

Allegedly 51% of his HS was out! I don't think he is even in that total since I did make him to to zero period. Oh he thanked me, he actually got to do all the food prep for dinner on Tuesday night and has been extremely grateful. He had a blast, as did Kendall.

I'm glad to have found another one of your TR's...you have been one of my fav's for a long time, even though I often go a while without posting. Oops.

I am so glad you are here!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Except...then I get to the last page and see your a Seahawks fan and I'm reminded that my heart is currently broken into a million shards and will probably never be whole again.

I still love your TR's but it will probably be sometime before my heart heals from the wounds your team inflicted upon mine.

Love Always,

The Dramatic Broncos Princess

Lol, please no Seahawks stuff!

No worries, there will not be much more, if any (I'll spare you the pictures of Marshawn tossing skittles and catching them...Evan did catch and recieve!).

I confess, we felt really bad. Not at all what anyone expected and honestly that's a little bit of a bummer for us too. It was crazy. Uber impressed with how Peyton is handling it.

I am not unhappy about winning dinner for 2 though as we did have a bet with my MIL and her DH...they would get dinner at Elway's and El Gaucho for us.

P.S. Please understand that I do still love your TR's. And I'm being playful about the football stuff. Somewhat. Kinda. Not really. It's still too soon. Let's just give it time.

I'll have a real update soon! I promise. And it won't be about the 200 emails that flew between our office and our Denver office during the game.

You let Evan miss out on school for the parade, and the only thanks you got was one measily crowd shot???

He sent me a couple more last night but allegedly took about 80, I need to look at them all (was too busy fighting with the TV I may have broken last night to look).

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Hi Cynthia! Well, even though things didn't go as planned, you got a lot of details done on your first morning. The boys look happy with their haircuts See, so far you and Pat are proving exactly what I was sure would be the outcome of the FP+ You spend a bunch of time making and linking reservations ahead of time, only to have things change and you miss your opportunity - yet there's no going back to get a FP. I'm to see how this all works for you. Thanks for being the Beta tester for me We are looking at next year with just Ryan's family.

 

[emma212010]

I'm so glad they got haircuts at the barber shop! So fun!! I can't wait to bring my future boys! It would be so special if they got their first haircut there. Anyway, enough dreaming!

CHRISTMAS PARADE!! I love Christmas time. The season is just so fun and jolly!! I'm so excited to relive it through this TR!

 

[eandesmom]

Hi Cynthia! Well, even though things didn't go as planned, you got a lot of details done on your first morning. The boys look happy with their haircuts See, so far you and Pat are proving exactly what I was sure would be the outcome of the FP+ You spend a bunch of time making and linking reservations ahead of time, only to have things change and you miss your opportunity - yet there's no going back to get a FP. I'm to see how this all works for you. Thanks for being the Beta tester for me We are looking at next year with just Ryan's family.

Well I wouldn't say that's what happened to us at all. Yes, 3 out of the 9 of us missed one FP+. I didn't say we missed our opportunity though. You can change on the fly with the app. Sometimes it works great and sometimes not. I can honestly say though, without giving away any spoilers, that for us we LOVED FP+. A lot of that was time of year, I can't imagine the trip without it but boy, no one missed sprinting across the park timed for FP window openings and it was lovely knowing we had some "for sure" rides we could count on. When we did miss, it was a conscious choice. Sometimes we re-booked and sometimes not.

I'm so glad they got haircuts at the barber shop! So fun!! I can't wait to bring my future boys! It would be so special if they got their first haircut there. Anyway, enough dreaming!

I would have loved to get their first cut there. In a bazillion years, maybe a grandbaby can. Of course if those babies are like the e's...they won't need a cut until they are 3 years old!

CHRISTMAS PARADE!! I love Christmas time. The season is just so fun and jolly!! I'm so excited to relive it through this TR!

It was VERY cool!

 

[eandesmom]

I am HOPING to get an update up tomorrow. However life's been a bit nutty.

Last week I had a perfect storm of ick. First, I took Eric in to get braces. Now this was not new news, it was planned, I knew how much it was going to cost, all of that. But somehow I managed to schedule it for a day at the end of the month, before payday, in the brokest month of the year that was more broke than January usually is, due to our most excellent NYE adventure.

It totally depressed me.

It wasn't helped by the fact I'd gotten a child support check for $1.23 that day. Granted, I rarely get c/s anyway and when I do, it's for an amount like that. Generally I find it humorous but well, to be honest, after seeing a 4K bill that his bio dad won't have to pay a penny towards I was downright crabby about it. Gotta love people that work the system..and under the table. It is what it is and I'm grateful most of the time that he is not in their lives but occasionally, well I am human, and it burns me.

2 days later was payday.

or it was SUPPOSED to be.

Due to a "processing error" my check didn't post to my account.

No one's did.

In the 4 years I have been with my company, there has never, ever been an issue with direct deposit. I only get paid once a month and as a result, everything is due all at once, and gets paid all at once. I get paranoid about missing dates and usually log on a few days before payday to make sure all is set to pay and in this case that included paying off the trip CC bill.

Given that there has never, ever been an issue in 4 years I did what any idiot might and scheduled several of the payments for...payday.

my bank, of course, sent the checks.

Imagine my surprise to log in Friday morning and see a bunch of NSF fees! I mean, I keep a buffer but sadly, not a whole months paycheck worth, especially 2 days after the 4K ortho adventure.

It's all resolved and fixed now but not without a lot of stress, a lot of phone calls and one embarrassing moment. Long story short we changed banks at the office and some of the protocol changed and well, basically someone didn't submit payroll when they should.

It was NOT a fun day for that person. And me, well I won't schedule anything for actual payday again, EVER. didn't help that my shoulder is all messed up, neck and elbow are acting up again...that kind of stress didn't help matters.

For whatever reason that little fiasco spurred me into gear to try and sell a bunch of things. And make an appointment with the chiro lol! I have all these intentions of selling stuff and slowly, get it packed and organized and then it takes me forever to actually list it. When I do get going, I get a lot of it going. Most of it is little stuff (a lot of playmobil, sniff!) but one was pretty big, Eric's entire bedroom set.

Yep, it's time for the big boys to move to big boy beds. I know I wouldn't be comfy in a twin. It's a long term plan that involves a lot of moving pieces and will take a long time to complete. Getting rid of his twin loft bunk set was step one. Imagine my shock when it sold in 2 days! Clearly I should have listed it for more.

So my weekend is now tied up with packing his stuff up and getting ready for the set to be picked up tomorrow.

It will be really nice though, Evan has 2 twin captains beds in his room right now, one will go into Eric's. Both rooms will have SO much more space that even though we won't be upgrading bed sizes until May/June for Evan when his current set moves up to the cabin, Sept for Eric when he inherits K's set, it will be a good thing for all.

Even me as come September, it means new family room furniture as the old stuff goes into K's room.

Not for her leaving but for a new room downstairs and a functional game room for the E's.

In addition to all that a major room move entails we've finally gotten our TV fixed. a couple of weeks ago, when I was freaking out about just how broke Jan was, I decided to take a hard look at our utilities and really see if we could save anything switching cable or cell phones.

Nope.

But it did spur me to call and order the stupid internet connection kit from Direct TV. When we switched to them, maybe 3-4 years ago, they didn't have wireless yet. It was "coming soon". We never bothered to get it set up and had been managing along with Netflix and red box. Recently though we have wanted on demand and have had some issues due to being not connected. I was able to get them to send the kit for free and on Tuesday, when I was feeling ambitious listing things on Ebay and Jeff decided to go to the gym without me for an "extra" workout, I thought I'd hook it up.

BAD idea.

TV wouldn't talk to satellite dish

Jeff tried to fix it

No dice.

No American Idol recording

No TV at all downstairs

But the big issue was...

If we didn't get it fixed...NO OLYMPICS! The opening ceremony was on my birthday and that's what I wanted to do, stay home and watch it. Friday (Jeff stayed home) was full of emails and texts that were increasingly discouraging but finally...he did it.

It didn't help that the TV itself kept telling us to reset the connection on something called a SWIM connector.

That the TV said we had.

We were sure did not. It wasn't until Jeff's third call and a guy who actually knew what he was talking about ran some diagnostics that confirmed nope, we didn't have one.

Apparently he'd been hooking up the old comcast cable by mistake



So I enjoyed the opening ceremonies last night and today we got the wireless actually connected, as well as our surround sound and DVD player which hasn't been hooked up fully/right since we switched to Direct TV either...

Good thing as we can't get new surround sound, unless we get a new TV as all our stuff is well, behind the times.

Thankfully I don't have to cook or clean (the kitchen) tonight, Jeff is making his special lasagne for my birthday

My mom threw her back out so I'll be sitting with her for a chunk of the am tomorrow while my dad is at church but maybe I can get my update started then.

I am behind, AGAIN on everyone's threads but hope to rectify that soon.

 

[Steppesister]

Yikes! What a horrific nightmare. But hey, congratulations! You got enough c/s for at LEAST one whole rubberband!

 

[PrincessInOz]

That's the worst! When you don't get paid and then all the auto-payments start hitting the account. OUCH!

I hope that you haven't been stung by too many fees and charges by your bank.

Sounds like you're sorting out the house. I need to take a leaf out of your book.

 

[eandesmom]

Yikes! What a horrific nightmare. But hey, congratulations! You got enough c/s for at LEAST one whole rubberband!

good thing I don't need rubberbands!

That's the worst! When you don't get paid and then all the auto-payments start hitting the account. OUCH!

I hope that you haven't been stung by too many fees and charges by your bank.

Well it was funny (ok, not really). I asked the office about that and their response was that since they gave me a paper check that same day to cover it, the bank should have the fees. I had to call the bank anyway as they treated it like a normal paper check and only released part of the funds immediately which, well,wasn't enough to put me in the black. The bank didn't feel they should have to pay the fees, or that I should but given that the company likely had 70 people freaking out about it and some asking for fees, I really didn't want to be one of them. Bank took pity and waived it all. Good news was that they did at least pay all the auto bills versus anything "bouncing" for real.

Sounds like you're sorting out the house. I need to take a leaf out of your book.

Yes, even though I made the kids purge over Christmas Break, magically we've ended up with 3 more bags of clothes and one of books...so far and neither boy is done!

 

[annmarieda]

Oh Cynthia When it rains... it does seem to pour doesn't it. I have had weeks like that.... I am glad you got through it.

 

[jedijill]

Oh lord, when it rains it pours! Glad everything worked out in the end. Hope your birthday was a good one.

Jill in CO

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Well I wouldn't say that's what happened to us at all. Yes, 3 out of the 9 of us missed one FP+. I didn't say we missed our opportunity though. You can change on the fly with the app. Sometimes it works great and sometimes not. I can honestly say though, without giving away any spoilers, that for us we LOVED FP+. A lot of that was time of year, I can't imagine the trip without it but boy, no one missed sprinting across the park timed for FP window openings and it was lovely knowing we had some "for sure" rides we could count on. When we did miss, it was a conscious choice. Sometimes we re-booked and sometimes not.

That's good to hear! I'm probably looking for things that point to my fears! I think having little ones and all the rain on our last trip made me conscious of how hard it would be to just change it on the fly. But I know we made conscious choices to skip some things on our last trip without FP+ and didn't feel like we missed much, either. It's all how you choose to see it, I'm sure! I'm looking forward to learning how it all works.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Yikes! I just read your last post. I'm sorry you had such a crappy start to your weekend. I hope things get smoother for you.

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (sorry the greeting is late) I don't know why I didn't see it on FB?

 

[dizneeat]

Oh Cynthia, that bank fiasco is not the way to ring in the birthday weekend.
But I am glad you were able to get things straightened out.

NO TV? With kids in the house? I am happy to hear that you got it all worked out.

 

[Pinkocto]

Happy belated Birthday!!!!!! I hope it was fabulous despite all that happened. I sorry you had to deal with all that stress, no fun I'm glad it all sorted out and bonus you were able to sell the bedroom set so quickly.