No Matter How Long the Winter, Spring is Sure to Follow – A Flower & Garden PTR

[ksl5f123]

I love the story about your stroller. The patch is beautiful. You have taken some amazing pictures. My camera always seems to be pointed at my children, so I forget to photograph the scenery.

We have a Peg Perego that we bought when my oldest was born 7 years ago. It has held up amazingly well!

Good luck with just getting a trim for Boo at Harmony Barber shop. I asked for my DS to keep his curls last summer and we went from:

to

Somehow, I don't think they understood what I meant.

 

[Colleen27]

Great idea...and deal.
I broke down last summer and bought a Maclaren Quest. Even though Claire doesn't use a stroller a lot, I knew at Disney we would need one. She was to oheavy for the 3 others we have...so I just took the plunge. It is so nice. We have used it a few times so far, and it is so light wieght and just nice to have when needed. They seem to hold there value too, so I know I can sell it when I'm done and not feel bad about it. (I still need to list my other 3, though I'm sure I won't make much in them)
When I first took my older DD to Disney, she was almost 5 and I never would've even thought to bring a stroller. And of course we had to carry her almost everynight. She had blisters on her horrid feet, and was so tired. I wish I would've brought one back in those days too. Disney is hard on people...kids and adults alike.

I would love to see a picture of your stroller!

I'm such a mean mother... I imagined a stroller at Disney to be a big ol' headache, so before our first trip I started taking walks with the kids to get them used to the distance they'd be logging at WDW! We had a couple evenings where Pocahontas spent as much time up on DH's shoulders as walking, but for the most part they did really well with the walking. The hard part was getting from the bus to the room, because they both fell asleep on the ride almost every evening!

I'll post a pic of the stroller when I get the new iron-ons put on. I just discovered the kids have run my printer low on ink, so I'll be picking up a refill when I head into the city on Thursday and then I'll get the two I have ready to go put on.

Ahhhh....so THAT'S what you meant when you mentioned your patchwork stroller!! I hope we run into each other so I can see it in person!!!

I shouldn't be too hard to spot. Between the stroller, the tags I've already shared, and the girls' outfits I'll be posting pics of as I finish them pretty much all my park gear is making an appearance in this PTR! (And as a side note - Yay for summer stuff starting to show up in local stores! I can FINALLY get the tees I like to use for the girls' tops! A week ago Target only had them in long sleeve)

Good luck with just getting a trim for Boo at Harmony Barber shop. I asked for my DS to keep his curls last summer and we went from:

to

Somehow, I don't think they understood what I meant.

Don't tell me that! Pocahontas had her first haircut there and they were great, only took about an inch off of the ends and shaped bangs, at our request. I'm hoping for as good an experience with Boo...

If it were up to me she might very well never have a haircut at all. Pocahontas and I both have waist-length hair, but ours is straight. Boo's is getting hard to manage already and it is only down to her mid-back. The curls are just so hard to keep untangled!

 

[blessedmom4]

I LOVE the stroller idea, I wish I was crafty! Your family is lucky to have you to make such creative projects.

 

[Colleen27]

A quick update because I know I've been neglecting this... I haven't forgetten y'all, I promise! I've just been sewing away trying to get everything ready for our trip, and I still haven't gotten into town for t-shirts or printer ink to do my stroller tags.

I got the girls' Flower & Garden festival skirts done, but I still have to get the tees appliqued to match these.

And I got Boo's Mickey stripwork jumper done. She wouldn't take it off when I tried it on her!

Modeling after dinner:

Still to make - Boo's Monsters Inc patchwork and matching Boo tee, the tees to match the floral patchworks, the Hollywood tee for Pocahontas, the Mickey stripwork jumper for Pocahontas, and princess sundresses for both girls (Belle for Boo, Cinderella for Pocahontas).

 

[jenseib]

Those are absolutely gorgeous! I wish I had the talent to sew!

 

[ksl5f123]

Your dresses are gorgeous! I can only do really basic stuff. I would love to be able to put a ruffle on a dress like you did on the bottom of your Mickey stripwork jumper.

 

[inkedupmomma]

those outfits are adorable! I'm going to try and have my friend make me a couple before our trip.. i think this may be the last time I can get Kayla to totally dork out on me!

 

[Colleen27]

Thank you all for the compliments on my creations!

Compared to some of the talented ladied over on the Disboutique thread I'm quite the newb, but my girls love it all and that's what matters most to me. I'm especially happy that Pocahontas, who is at an age where girls seem to start outgrowing custom Disney stuff, not only still wants the outfits for our trips but also wears them at home/to school. That's why I haven't pushed myself to learn to do some of the more elaborate styles and character appliques, because she loves that the outfits I make her "aren't too Disney" (meaning don't have characters all over them!).

Your dresses are gorgeous! I can only do really basic stuff. I would love to be able to put a ruffle on a dress like you did on the bottom of your Mickey stripwork jumper.

The ruffle is super simple, actually. You cut the strip of fabric 1.5 to 2 times the length of the hem you're attaching it to and twice the width you want it to be when finished. Fold it in half to the finished width and press so it stays put. I don't have a ruffler attachment for my machine, I use a zig-zag stitch over dental floss at the very top edge of the strip - it finishes the edge and tightening the floss makes for a nice, even ruffle. Then you just pin the ruffled strip into place and attach it like any other seam.

Now, back to the trip planning...

Guess what? The new Disney Junior show is opening a few days ahead of schedule, according to the Disney Parks blog. Not just a few days early - ON the EXACT day I'd originally had planned for DHS before I changed things around to be there after the projected reopening.

So now, do I change it back and enjoy the ability to get an early start at DHS? Or do I leave it as-is to catch the evening EMH dance party?

Unbelievably, all the ADRs I have are open to switch back so dining isn't a factor and it would put me on "recommended" days, but at the expense of evening EMH at both parks. Then again... It gets dark early enough that we don't need evening EMH at Epcot for night views of the gardens, and it would make the mornings work a little better if we didn't have so many late nights.

 

[Colleen27]

More finished projects!

Boo's Monsters Inc skirt:

And her Belle sundress, though I still need to run out for more rosettes to finish the back. The shoulder swags look a little funky on the hanger, but lay really nicely when she has it on.

 

[amandaluvsgoofy]

CUTE stuff!!! I need to learn to sew for Emma! I would love to be able to make a Tinker Bell costume for Halloween!!!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Love those outfits!!! Way too cute!!!!

 

[Colleen27]

Two weeks!!!

The Accuweather forecast now extends to our check-in day, and they're predicting.... 84 and partly cloudy. Can't wait! Sure, the cold here at home has let up for now but warm weather + mountains of snow makes for a soggy, grey, muddy mess and the FL sun will be a happy break from watching Michigan melt.

To pass the time and because I'm digging through old files to take advantage of a Snapfish offer, I've decided to start posting a random Disney pic of the day.

Pocahontas first haircut, at the Harmony Barbershop in 2005. You can't see it in this photo, but they put her hair in a ponytail and sprinkled it with glitter and Mickey confetti. And just so he wouldn't feel left out, DS got his hair cut and styled too - gotta love the mohawk!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

That's cute!! We are taking DD's there for the first time. We were looking for something inexpensive and different to do this year and it looked like fun! I can't wait until tomorrow so I start seeing my dates show up on accuweather as well!! It's awesome seeing your dates on it isn't it?

ETA: Yay for two weeks!!

 

[jenseib]

Yay for 2 weeks!
I love that monsters skirt. The colors are great and I just LOVE it.

 

[blessedmom4]

The weather is gorgeous , the outfits are BEAUTIFUL (You are incredibly talented ) and Disney is just around the corner...I am SO excited for you!!!!

 

[Colleen27]

Trip updates:

• I did change my days back to the original plan, thanks to Disney pixie dust getting the Playhouse Disney rehab done earlier than scheduled and actually announcing the revised reopening date!
  
  So it is DHS on the 4th and Epcot for our last park day on the 7th. We like Epcot so much better and I really didn't want to wrap up with our least favorite, most frustrating park to tour, especially not with a late start and Pocahontas wanting to ride TSM, so this plan just works out better all around.
  
  The ADRs are still basically the same - Brown Derby lunch and Flying Fish dinner on our DHS day, and Via Napoli lunch with Beaches & Cream dinner on our Epcot day with a Capt Grill ADR as a back-up in case B&C has too long a wait.
  
  
• Still no verdict on the Tigers game, but I hope that my mom and I will have time to chat about that tomorrow over lunch. A snow got in the way of our original plans for Sesame Street Live (fortunately my mom hadn't bought the tickets yet - she was waiting on the forecast because she knows I don't do our country roads in bad weather unless I absolutely have to) and then Pocahontas decided she wanted to go too, so we're all going tomorrow.
  
  
• I'm working on final updates to my daily plans, based on a few weeks of watching the Lines app wait times and of course the new park hours and showtimes. I'll post them at some point over the weekend if the kids don't have me running around in circles for the whole of winter break.

And on to the semi Disney related fun - since I'll be in the city tomorrow I should have tons of fun things to post when I get home.

Pocahontas got her ears pierced for Christmas and is still wearing the starter hoops, but it has been long enough to change them so while I'm out I'm taking her to get birthstone Mickeys from Sears.

I'll be picking up the tees I need to finish the floral, Monsters, and Hollywood outfits for the girls, and the fabric for the Cinderella sundress for Pocahontas.

I'll stop for printer ink and finally get my stroller tags printed and ironed on.

Basically, I'll get a ton of things checked off my to-do list all at once!

13 days to go!

Today's Disney memory - Chilling out in Italy on a very hot August afternoon on Pocahontas 6th birthday trip. I am going to miss those Kidcot masks, the kids had such fun decorating them!

 

[Colleen27]

Wow, I missed a day!

We went to Sesame Street Live yesterday which was a lot of fun, but as always going into the city makes for a very long day. My ability to cope with traffic has diminshed greatly over the years of living in a small town and I've gotten to a point where rush hour driving really takes a lot out of me. (Spoiled, I know).

And to cap it off, I came home to DH putting the basement back together - the combination of melting mountains of snow and old pipes made for a lovely little backup at the main drain access. No big deal, living as close to the water as we do we're used to the possibility and the basement is designed to handle it (nothing on the floor to ruin, and the sub-floor in the finished part is raised), but it is still a hassle.

Oh, and can you believe we're planning on starting a minor remodel of my office before I leave? Really I'm not crazy, but all the sewing for the trip got us talking about a ways to rearrange the office to build in a permanent sewing area rather than me hogging the dining room table for weeks. So we're going shopping Wed. at a little second-hand shop that has a lot of salvage and overrun cabinets to get the project started. That way DH can finish up while I'm gone.

So I still have two dresses to sew, four tees to paint/applique, the rest of the packing to do, and my touring plans to finalize and print. All in all I think I'm in good shape - everything should be just about finished in the next couple days.

11 days to go!

A couple moments from our most recent trip, one for yesterday and one for today. First, Boo's first encounter with Mickey. She wasn't afraid of him, but she sure didn't want to hold still and let Pocahontas hold her while we took a pic!

And Boo twirling her way to our pre-park opening breakfast at Crystal Palace on the last full day of our Christmas trip.

 

[jenseib]

Aww...Love the pictures. How was Sesame Street. When Claire was little I got 3rd riw seats...and no one was sitting in front of us either. We were right in the center and it was so awesome. She was glued to the stage. And Elmo sat right down in front of us. A big highlight for her as well.

 

[Colleen27]

9 DAYS TO GO!!



All of my stuff is packed. I still have a few things to make and get together for the girls, but we're almost ready and we're almost there!

It has been a long weekend, with the kids on break and all our "spare" kids hanging out over here, and it didn't help that we got hit with more snow so they all want to play inside!

Pocahontas' floral top is done, and the paint is drying on step one of her Hollywood shirt. One of the two dresses I have left to make is cut out and ready to assemble, and the fabric for the second is washed and ready to go.

As far as Boo's... well, I still haven't found blank shirts I like! The ones I usually get from Target aren't in yet and Kmart doesn't have any plain white tees for toddlers, so I'm going to have to hit Meijers or Sears and hope I have better luck there. But I did finish up the tether for her straw cup, so all of the sewing for her is done. It is just the two tee shirts left to do.

Hopefully I'll be able to get on a roll once the kids are back in school on Wednesday!

Today's Disney memories... This one is from DS's 10th birthday trip. Pocahontas had a Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique makeover that afternoon, and we had a special dinner planned at California Grill just in time for the fireworks. Her princess dress and makeover got her so much special attention all day, and to cap it off she was chosen to "start" the fireworks from the restaurant, complete with a Magical Moment certificate and picture. Then we settled in to watch the fireworks from the most fabulous window table.

On our last trip we had a waterview pirate room at CBR, and this turned out to be one of Boo's favorite things - playing in the sand on the beach right outside our room in the mornings while we waited for everyone else to get ready.

 

[Colleen27]

Aww...Love the pictures. How was Sesame Street. When Claire was little I got 3rd riw seats...and no one was sitting in front of us either. We were right in the center and it was so awesome. She was glued to the stage. And Elmo sat right down in front of us. A big highlight for her as well.

Sesame Street was fun but I think it would have been better if she watched the show more. She loves Elmo and Cookie Monster because of toys and books she has but hasn't spent much time watching the show. So she loved the songs and skits that starred her favorites, but her attention kind of wandered when it was Big Bird or Bert and Ernie doing their thing.

Next time I think we'll wait for a Disney show to come to town. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is about all the TV Boo watches on a regular basis, but thanks to Pocahontas and her friends she's pretty familiar with a lot of the Disney movies too.

But next up is the circus - the Shine Circus is in town at the end of March and we haven't gone since before she was born so we've decided it is about time for her first elephant ride!