Mixed Marriage 2: The Conversion Continues..... now complete

[FSUDisneyGirl]

aww, so sorry you had to wait so long for a baby! i was sad as i was reading at first, unitl i looked at your siggie....twins, and GIRLS!

that is so fun i can't wait to read about trips in the future with all of your kids!

surprises are fun, too i remember when my mom surprised me with a trip to disney when i was younger...it was the best thing ever! can't wait to hear how you told him!

lovin' the trip report!

 

[Harmony272]

This is getting very interesting, hurry up and write twinkie!!

 

[KarlaG4Kids]

TwinkieMama,

I have it on the best of authorities (myself and my little brother) that the part of the station wagon to which you refer is most accurately called the "back-back." I lurked through your first TR, but couldn't resist the urge to correct your station-wagon nomenclature in this one.

BTW, my DW and I paralleled you and your husband during the late 90s and early 00s, with shoe-string budget Disney trips, a wedding, expensive custody battles... you know, the good old days: when men were men, and ex-wives were... well enough of that.

Keep the trip report going, I'm all ears.

Oh no, I have to stand up for twinkiemama on this one. It is definately the WAY BACK in a station wagon. We once had a station wagon that was all black and had been owned by a funeral parlor....I would stay awake the longest so my brothers would have to get in the way back and I could sleep in the middle seat...no way was I going to lay down in the part that those dead people had been carried around in!!!!



Also, you guys that find babysitters for multiples are LUCKY. I had 4 kids in 2-1/2 years (twins and 2 singles). I could NEVER find a babysitter to keep the kids more than a few hours at a time. One time DH had to travel to DC and I wanted to go, we had to split the kids between 2 different households! I'm happy for you guys!

 

[tubachick]

YEAH TwinkieMama!!!


I love it. Can't wait till you get to WDW!!!

 

[UtahMama]

Mad-Props to the Kansas haus-frau!

Oh-My-Gosh! We had a "way-back" in our Station Wagon too! Good times. Now we have a way back in a Suburban...WITH safety belts!

See Y'all!
UtahMama

 

[DisneyNutMary]

I am loving this report.
I can totally relate to the fear of the boy's mother trying to sabotage a trip- we lived that story for many years

I can't wait until he finds out- how will he react? Will you DH ever understand the allure of the World?

Write more please!!!!

 

[OneMoreStitch]

More, more, more!!! I have been lurking here and read your other TR and joined so I could subscribe to this one. Your TR is great!

 

[TwinkieMama]

It is still Wednesday night. I am still packing, using the famed DIS method of the gallon ziplocks for my little guys outfits. Remember how my one regret of the last trip was his rather loud attire. I have solved that problem this trip with darling outfits themed to each day (dinosaur polo and tan shorts for AK day etc) and I am really enjoying packing the clothes for my little doll. Fortunately for me, DS puts up with this and pretty much wears whatever I pick out. At least he did when he was 6.
Then I remember another DIS tip and I yell downstairs “Honey! Quick… we need to go to the mall Right Now!” since I am not a real girlie-girl my husband was somewhat taken aback. I believe his reply was something to the effect of “Whaaaa?”
Remember how I said that I like to ponder everything and carefully consider all the angles? That is true but once I make a decision I want things to start happening 10 seconds ago. I also like to have conversations that I consider part of the decision making phase and DH considers the actual decision. It drives him crazy. He is my total opposite- he makes decisions with lightening speed and once they are made he feels absolutely no need to actually do anything about them. But he loves me… and he wasn’t packing anyway (because in his world clothes should not be in the suitcase for anymore time than necessary- I guess his clothes are claustrophobic)… where was I?
Oh yes, the man undoubtedly loves me so despite his confusion takes me to Ye Olde Mall. That is not the mall's actual name, but the real name is equally idiotic. Where I walk with purpose toward the Disney Store.
What better way to tell a little boy that he is going to Disney World than with a walled stuffed full of cold hard Disney Dollars? He will love it! And once the money is his he will carefully consider what souvenirs he wishes to buy instead of asking for something at the end of every ride. I am actually not real worried about the gimmes because he seems pretty immune but I love the idea of children handling their own money and learning the very hard lesson that you can’t spend the same dollar more than once. This is brilliant! I am congratulating my self mentally for being smart enough to find the DIS and for having this wonderful idea of beginning our trip with a little magic that I almost don’t hear the Disney Store CM tell me they have to special order Disney Dollars 3-4 weeks ahead of time. At least at Ye Olde Mall Disney Store they do.
“Are you kidding me? You people actually print your own money and now you are telling me that I can't have any? Hell-o! I am trying to give you real money! I’ll I ever wanted was to take my precious child to the Happiest Place on Earth and You are Ruining my Magical Idea!!!”
No, of course, I don’t say that. That isn’t my style at all. I am repressed. I don’t have fits of any variety. I actually say “Thank you ma’am for your help.”
“Have a Magical Day!” she replies.
I give her my ironic smile which she doesn’t even know is ironic. DH, however, is tuned into my subtle nuances… and the fact that his normally quite sane wife is acting… well, a wee bit strange this evening.
“What was that all about?”
So I explain my (by which I mean I read about it on the DIS but he doesn't know that) brilliant idea which leads to an explanation of Disney Dollars.
“You mean play money with Disney characters on it?”
“No, honey, it is real money but it is only good in Disney World.”
Now he gives me his smile that means I am crazy but he loves me anyway.

 

[MI mom of 3]

More, More, please. I am loving this report.

Oh and when I was little it was definately the BACK-BACK of the station wagon

 

[TwinkieMama]

I somehow make through the next day (Thursday) at work. I am really bummed about my lack of Disney Dollars. I have decided to wrap the wallet anyway but put his park ticket in it. I convince DH that we should let him open it right after school. So we take DS out to our back yard (for a better background for the inevitable photographs) and I tell him that I am going to give him the little part of his surprise right now.
And he unwraps it and says “Wow. My own wallet. Cool.”
I wait for him to find the ticket.
He does.
It is cute and plastic like a credit card and it is green and has Mickey on it.
He inspects it.
“Is this like a pretend credit card?” he asks calmly. Now this isn’t quite what I had imagined. If only I had those Disney Dollars....
“No son.” Says DH “Your mother and I are taking you to Disney World!!!” (DS has called me mommy since he was about four… how it came about is also a good story but not Disney related. And yes, it makes me melt.)
“When?” he asks. He has always been a practical little kid.
“On Saturday! Isn’t that exciting!!!” I say in that voice grown ups use when trying to get kids on board like “Now we are going to take a bath and brush our teeth. Won’t that be fun Junior???”
Argh!!! my magical moment is crashing and burning…..
“But mom, this doesn’t make sense about the riddle about the surprise being both big and little”
Have you ever been patronized by a 6 year old?
“You see, son, Disney World is big… bigger than our house. And the ticket you are going to use to get into Disney World fits in your pocket.”
“Yeah, but that wasn’t a good riddle mom. Anyway, can I have a snack?”

This does not bode well for the Twinkie family…. Was this all a terrible idea? Will the entire trip also crash and burn? Will this ruin the previous magical memories?
Up next: We actually go to Disney World

 

[DisneyDoll10/28]

I somehow make through the next day (Thursday) at work. I am really bummed about my lack of Disney Dollars. I have decided to wrap the wallet anyway but put his park ticket in it. I convince DH that we should let him open it right after school. So we take DS out to our back yard (for a better background for the inevitable photographs) and I tell him that I am going to give him the little part of his surprise right now.
And he unwraps it and says “Wow. My own wallet. Cool.”
I wait for him to find the ticket.
He does.
It is cute and plastic like a credit card and it is green and has Mickey on it.
He inspects it.
“Is this like a pretend credit card?” he asks calmly. Now this isn’t quite what I had imagined. If only I had those Disney Dollars....
“No son.” Says DH “Your mother and I are taking you to Disney World!!!” (DS has called me mommy since he was about four… how it came about is also a good story but not Disney related. And yes, it makes me melt.)
“When?” he asks. He has always been a practical little kid.
“On Saturday! Isn’t that exciting!!!” I say in that voice grown ups use when trying to get kids on board like “Now we are going to take a bath and brush our teeth. Won’t that be fun Junior???”
Argh!!! my magical moment is crashing and burning…..
“But mom, this doesn’t make sense about the riddle about the surprise being both big and little”
Have you ever been patronized by a 6 year old?
“You see, son, Disney World is big… bigger than our house. And the ticket you are going to use to get into Disney World fits in your pocket.”
“Yeah, but that wasn’t a good riddle mom. Anyway, can I have a snack?”

This does not bode well for the Twinkie family…. Was this all a terrible idea? Will the entire trip also crash and burn? Will this ruin the previous magical memories?
Up next: We actually go to Disney World

Okay I don't have kids of my own BUT I have a pretty good memory of my mother doing something like this for me and me COMPLETELY deflating her surprise with my less-than-enthusastic-anticlimatic-response. So hearing it from the otherside just makes me laugh. And makes me appreciate all the moms out there. Can't wait for the rest of the TR. I'm trying to take good notes from you TwinkieMama so I can write mine in a few months.

 

[jeepgirl30]

Hurry!!! I was so excited to see a second trip from you and darn it, you keep me hanging again.

Love your reports.

 

[Karenj2]

Okay I don't have kids of my own BUT I have a pretty good memory of my mother doing something like this for me and me COMPLETELY deflating her surprise with my less-than-enthusastic-anticlimatic-response.

Heck, my HUSBAND does that to me sometimes!

Twinkimama - I finished your first trip report, and I'm sad to find that I reached the end of your second TR.

 

[TwinkieMama]

(Sorry- I lied. It seems that we don’t actually go to WDW in this post… I keep underestimating my overwhelming verbosity… but we are going. I promise. All I have to do is finish up at work. And pack some more. And drive 10 hrs.)

Finally it is Friday and we (ok just me) are counting the hours to go… but first I have to go to work, finish up some experiments, send some DNA to be sequenced (cheapie non-rush in-house job takes about 4 days… I am sure yours is faster but this was 2000 and we were Ag not Pharma) so I am “working” even while I am gone, and remind my boss that I won’t be here next week. The last part is tricky. For those of you unfamiliar with the cut-throat world of scientific research, this won’t make much sense. But I’ll try. PhDs come in several main flavors- the absent minded professor, the laid back Birkenstock clad former flower child, and the high strung ultra serious sort. (Or course there are many cross varieties and sub varieties and I am not even talking about the joint MBAs and JDs and of course this is not intended to offend any PhDs out there, I am sure that you are completely normal. Yes. Really I am. ) Anyway, my boss was the high strung, ultra serious, very intelligent, and probably famous (in very small circles) type. We also had flex time at work and I worked from 5:30 am to 2:30 pm so my little guy wouldn’t have to go to afterschool care (yes I mentioned it in an earlier post but he was having problems at school and we decided that his school day was just too long so that spring I changed my hours) and my boss was a night owl who rarely darkened the doorway before 10 am. After he got used to it, my boss was very happy with arrangement because many biological experiments just take 12-15 hrs and we could be very efficient in resource usage. Anyway I often came to work with my desk littered with sticky notes asking me to start certain experiments for him to finish. So I had to remind him, again, that I wouldn’t be there all next week so if he left me a note I wouldn’t be able to do it until the week after next. I soothed him with promises of DNA sequences already ordered and monthly reports already drafted. So with that tricky step out of the way I could soothe myself with some last minute “research” on the DIS.
And then I was speeding home (literally) to do the last minute packing.

I met the bus and my little boy was bouncing. Apparently he mentioned that he was going to Disney World tomorrow and it started a mosh pit like atmosphere in the kindergarten which was full of 6 year olds all hopped up on cupcakes and the last day of school.
“Are we really going? Are we really going to Disney World tomorrow Mom? Are we?”
Yes. We really are going to Disney World tomorrow. Very early in fact.
**********************************************************
By 5 pm when DH gets home from work, DS and I are completely packed and snuggling on the couch reading the UG. DS really likes the ratings. DH comes in and begins another Twinkie Family Trip Traditon. The nagging of the wife. This is a long standing tradition that has its roots in his family where his dad was the early starting ultra organized one and he always spent the night before a trip nagging his wife (my MIL) because she shares the same feelings as my husband that it is cruel and unusual to lock clothes up in a suitcase for anymore time that really necessary. It must be genetic.
So he walks in the door saying “Lets go people. We have work to do. We have to pack. The car is going to be loaded before bed tonight. We need to go get snacks for the road because we gave a long drive tomorrow and We Are Not Stopping! Move it. Move it.”

Um, dear, we are all packed. The food is packed. DS’s toys are packed. All we need to do is pack the cooler in the morning and buy gas and ice on our way out of town. You however need to pack your clothes, and your toiletries and don’t forget a swimsuit. Everytime we go on vacation, DH has to stop at Wal-Mart and buy a new bathing suit because he forgot to pack his. He owns like 20 bathing suits now.

So he packs. We read more UG. We go for a walk. We load the car and lay out our clothes for tomorrow. We set the alarm for 4 am. We go to bed. For the record, 2 out of 3 Twinkies are too excited to sleep….

Up Next: This time we really do go to WDW or at least to I-95

 

[SoosieQ]

This is a great trip report. Maybe you have a 2nd career as a writer. You could write your own DW guide book

 

[jackdis]

Twinkie,
I've been with you since your last trip report, allbeit quietly, and I am loving this one too! You are such a captivating writer! Can't wait for more. And yes, I think I need to buy me some Twinkies tonight!! Even though it's not Disney related, I would love to hear how DS started calling you Mommy........
Thank you for sharing this great trip report with us!!!

 

[heart]

....was similar to my children's reaction when, after 18 months of super-secret planning, I surprised them with the news, "You're not really dropping me off at the airport to go to a meeting in Kansas, we're all going on a Disney Cruise!"

Sort of a non reaction.



It killed me at the time, but we had a great cruise, and I laugh about it--well, sorta--we have it on video, but I haven't had the heart to watch it!

I'm really enjoying your trip reports--what a wonderful gift you're giving to your children by committing the memories to paper.

 

[TheRealMortimerMouse]

TwinkieMama,

I just wanted to tell you that you are a great mama! To change your work schedule so that you can be home for your child, and the fact that he is your stepchild makes it all the more amazing, even though I am sure you love him as much as if you had carried him yourself. I just wanted to let you know that you are greatly appeciated, in case you hadn't already been told. You have one lucky husband, but I am sure he already knows that.

 

[princesslibby]

I met the bus and my little boy was bouncing. Apparently he mentioned that he was going to Disney World tomorrow and it started a mosh pit like atmosphere in the kindergarten which was full of 6 year olds all hopped up on cupcakes and the last day of school.
“Are we really going? Are we really going to Disney World tomorrow Mom? Are we?”
Yes. We really are going to Disney World tomorrow. Very early in fact.

Sooo funny and sooo sweet!

You however need to pack your clothes, and your toiletries and don’t forget a swimsuit. Everytime we go on vacation, DH has to stop at Wal-Mart and buy a new bathing suit because he forgot to pack his. He owns like 20 bathing suits now.

Maybe if it was hard for them to find a suit that fits they would remember. But they don't even have to try them on. My DH has alot of trunks from vacations past too. They're like souvenirs. The red one is from S.C.,the blue one from Kansas City and the purple and orange one is from Ron Jon surf shop. Boys!

Up Next: This time we really do go to WDW or at least to I-95

I can't wait until you get there. Did he notice the Billboards on the way down? Which Park is first? Did you find Disney dollars?

 

[tubachick]