One big (blended) happy (sometimes) family PreTrip June 09 *new updates* pg 8 6/11

[princess&her4princes]

Please Please review this and let me know your thoughts... This is my 1st DDP and I'm so nervous about it.

Sat Day 1 (resort day)
Dinner - WCC
Sun Day 2 (Epcot day)
Breakfast - Akershus (late breakfast = lunch)
Dinner - Ohana (my bday)
Mon Day 3 (MK day)
nothing this day.. counter & TRex (not on DDP)
Tues Day 4 (MK / MGM day)
Dinner - 50s Prime Time
Wed Day 5 (AK day / MK night)
Dinner - Chef Mickey's (1st for me)
Thur Day 6 (MGM day)
nothing planned - counter all the way
Fri Day 7 (MK/Epcot)
Breakfast - Crystal Palace
Dinner - LeCellier
Sat Day 8 (departure day)

Okay.. I hate having days where i have NO ADRs and days where I have all ADRs, but its all I can figure out for now... HELP

Your ADR's are great....we LOVED Le Celliar was FANTASTIC when we went for lunch in December. The mushroom risoto filet was delish!! YUM!!!!! We also did Chef Mickey's then for dinner and it was really good too, we loved it and so did our boys. 5 more days!! WOOHOO!!!

 

[HeatherBelle614]

Any luck with the bridesmaid/jr dresses, yet?

I definitely think #2 is your dress!

Can you guys fit in Sci-Fi Drive-In for a lunch? That is one of our favs; it's a great atmosphere for the boys and girls, too. They have some of the best burgers I've ever had, not to mention wonderful onion rings! The dinner menu doesn't have the burgers, though.

I've also been told Donald's Safari breakfast at Tusker House is great for the entire family. If you make an ADR first thing in the AM, you'll be one of the first people in line for the safari, too. The animals are just waking up and it's gorgeous!

Pixie dust your way for your ADR day!!!

 

[catherines_mama]

Any luck with the bridesmaid/jr dresses, yet?

I definitely think #2 is your dress!

Can you guys fit in Sci-Fi Drive-In for a lunch? That is one of our favs; it's a great atmosphere for the boys and girls, too. They have some of the best burgers I've ever had, not to mention wonderful onion rings! The dinner menu doesn't have the burgers, though.

I've also been told Donald's Safari breakfast at Tusker House is great for the entire family. If you make an ADR first thing in the AM, you'll be one of the first people in line for the safari, too. The animals are just waking up and it's gorgeous!

Pixie dust your way for your ADR day!!!

I have an appt at David's Bridal this Saturday. Its just hard finding Jr Bridesmaid for my 8yo in the color I want (plum). We'll see.

I was not sure if Emma would like Sci-Fi. She is not super scared of stuff, but being only 4, not sure what she'd think of it. But I could definetly go for a great burger for lunch! I'll look at how that might work out.

YES, we did the Donald's breakfast back when it was in Dinoland, but it was such a delisious breakfast - YUMMY. It won't work out for us this year b/c it's either the EMH day that we are going or its the reg day after a lat night and I wasnt wanting to push it with the kiddos. But I agree - its a great breakfast.

 

[catherines_mama]

The stinkin board was getting upgraded yesterday (yes, I notice the differences.. yes, its great) BUT I COULDNT GET ON AND POST

So I set my alarm for 6:45 am ON A SUNDAY and was up and dialing by 6:58. By 7:02 I was in and on hold. It took about 40 minutes sitting on hold, then once she answered it took about 25 minutes go get all 7 ADRs, confirm #s, etc.

It was not too bad at all. I had to do some dinners earlier then hoped, but that's okay. I was hoping for a few later seatings to help us be up and around for fireworks. If we miss some b/c kids fade, that's alright. We'll just try to build in longer naps etc.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Hello, joining in on your pre trip report! Come on over and check mine out, I have a stepson also, and a 7 and 4 yr old too! Your family is gorgeous.

Yay for making your ADRs this morning!!!!
And congrats on the upcoming wedding.

 

[catherines_mama]

Hello, joining in on your pre trip report! Come on over and check mine out, I have a stepson also, and a 7 and 4 yr old too! Your family is gorgeous.

Yay for making your ADRs this morning!!!!
And congrats on the upcoming wedding.

I subbed to yours and will get reading soon! Thank you for joining!!

 

[catherines_mama]

So, Steve FINALLY went back to work today. Seriously.. I was getting to the point where I was close to cancelling Disney But YAY he's back to work and we'll be good to go. He's even looking forward to the week off in June.

Kids are doing great - Catherine started back at Daycare this week and loves it. She's at a new place (a church program). And after some research and talking to the director... Emma will be going there next year for VPK and Jack & Cat will both be there for the summer program. They'll be involved in Vacation Bible school etc. I'm really excited about it.

FMIL likes to control some situations and is not happy that Emma will be at the school from 7a to 5:30p, she'd rather watch her. BUT they travel a lot so when they travel, I'm stuck finding another solution and thats not easy to do.

Anyway, things are going really well here and we are just getting SO excited about going to Disney.

 

[summermac]

Enjoying reading so far. Gorgeous kids!

I wanted to see those wedding dress pics but they're gone now.

 

[catherines_mama]

Okay.. I've been MIA. Steve's day 1 was a weld test that he's not done that form of welding in a long time and... he didn't pass. SO he's been home AGAIN. Luckily, he got a call today from the same company that .. They have standard weld work for him - In LAKELAND.. Lakeland is about 1 1/2 hrs away. And... he's working NIGHTS. It's a 3week gig and after it they'll be a spot for him at the nearby power plant. 3 weeks... It is WONDERFUL for us b/c now I don't have to cancel disney BUT I won't see him for 3 weeks (except for a saturday here and there but he'll be sleeping).

Its really not a big deal because its only 3 weeks, the only thing I'm really anxious about is the kids. They are sad and they are going to miss him and, I'm basically a single mom to 3 kids now. The kids and I curled up tonight and talked about how we ALL miss him and it's okay. We all have eachother and we'll call him everynight and we'll see him every weekend. They all seemed okay. Emma wanted to cry at bedtime, but she held it up.. that's my big girl!!

Saturday is Catherine's BIRTHDAY party!! She turns 8 on Monday so Saturday we're goin to BounceU for her party. It will be SO fun. And in blended family style, Megan (Steve's ex) is coming too. I'll have the kids but she wants to come to see them and bring something for Catherine - Wow - we have come SO far!

 

[princess&her4princes]

Hi!! So sorry to hear that Steve is away for three weeks, but you've got the right spirit on things. Stay strong and just think 3 weeks will go by fast and then you're that more closer to DISNEY!!!

I hope you have fun at Catherine's party on Saturday!! Can't wait to hear more about it, post some pics, would love to see them!!!!

 

[catherines_mama]

So - yeah, we had our 1st night and morning alone. Not too bad.

I got to sit on the couch and watch MY shows. And the entire time I had the laptop with me reading DIS stuff. When I got into bed, he had left me the shirt he'd worn yesterday (just around town for errands etc) and it smelt like him. I had trouble falling asleep, I mean, the room smelt good! There was no 'love gas' (as steve likes to call it).

When I got up this morning there was nobody to fight the bathroom for. The kids were mildly okay. Steve called as we were getting ready and talked to everyone. Everyone was very "hi, this was my day.. blah blah" but Emma just got on the ph and cried.

Granted - she was tired. Their mom kept them up late Tues night (nothing new) and after 11 hrs of sleep last night, she was still tired. I plan to work with her on how fun it is to talk to Daddy when we don't see him. How many fun things we can tell him etc. We'll see how that goes.

Tonight - I get to play mom/dad and go to Cat & Jack's parent-teacher conferences (for report cards). I think they'll both do great. Steve's friend Kevin is going to let the kids play at his house with his kids while I go to the school. I don't want to have 3 sets of little ears listen to it all.

So - that's that. So far so good. I'll fill you in in 2 wks when I'm t-totally lonely. But for now, I'm good!!

 

[princess&her4princes]

Yay for making it through the first night!! Good luck tonight with everything!!!

 

[catherines_mama]

Report card meetings went great!

Jack is very bright - yes we knew that! He only needs to work on his fluency and on turning in his homework. I cannot believe that in 1st grade its his job to hand in his folder and not hers to collect them. I just dont think he's there yet. We had a talk when I got home - hopefully he'll get better.

Granted I raised a girl and I'm used to natural organization, I have to remember he's a boy and he needs a little more direction. - CHECK

Catherine is a pleasure, well behaved and hard worker. The only thing she needs to work on is not rushing through her work. I think she is just afraid she wont finish on time. It might be a confidence thing too, we talked and we'll see how she does.

So that was our night. When I picked them up from our friends, friend told me that he'd heard during his conference (shouldn't have been told this but oh well) that 2 teachers in the school are on un-paid leave. I did some internet research. One is not revealing what it is but its not AS bad as the one who duct-taped a 4th grade boy to his chair! Yeah - that one has been escalated to the states attorney.

So that was my night. TOMORROW - I'm back on track for DISNEY. I'm going to start reviewing my day plans.. YAY!

 

[princess&her4princes]

Glad to hear the kids did well in school!! I can't believe that that teacher duct taped a kid to his chair!!!!!!!! Oh my!!!! I may have thought about doing that to my own...only kidding, but for a teacher to do it!!! WOW!!! I would be FURIOUS as those kids parents!!!! Crazy....

Can't wait to hear your Disney plans....hope you had a good night otherwise!!!

 

[HeatherBelle614]

I'm sorry I've been so MIA; I hope I'm finally back for good, though.

Please let me know how your plans are progressing again!!

I'm so happy to hear you got your ADRs; I'm already worrying about it. I'm going to even take that day off from work so I can make sure I have plenty of time to get everything done without stressing out!

 

[catherines_mama]

Catherine's birthday party went great! (could have been better)

Steve got home around 9 this morning and after breakfast he went to bed. I informed him it is now MY bed and he just gets to sleep in it once a week

Before he went to bed, he and I let Catherine open her gifts. Its 2 days early but he wont see her until after her bday and I wanted him here for it.

We got her pink roller-blades!!! She rarely rollerskates but has been talking about wanting to rollerblade. This from an 8yr old who STILL cannot ride a 2-wheeler. She was so thrilled. We also got her a cute outfit - just some pink/yellow/white plaid bermuda shorts with coordinating shirts.

Catherine and I kept busy, did errands all that fun. Her party started at 1:30pm, and we got there at 1:15. It was at a place that had all indoor bounce stuff (obstacle courses, boxing ring, tug-o-war, slides, etc).

I invited 12 children because the party was for max 12. Of them only 4 RSVP'ed (not counting my 3). the 4 who RSVP'ed showed up and nobody else did. Couldn't they call me and tell me they couldn't come. Geesh. Note to self: RSVP even to say NO.

Anyway, at this point Megan (Steve's ex) had not shown up with Jack & Emma yet. I think I told her 3 times when & where it was. The setup is great. 30 minutes in Room 1, 30 minutes in Room 2, 30 minutes doing cupcakes & gifts.

We had 10 minutes left in Room 2 when Megan showed up with the kids. When the 10 minutes was up we moved on to cupcakes etc. Jack was so sad that he could not play more. He asked many times if he could go back and play again.

How do you tell a 7yr old - I'm sorry dude, your mom is a moron and you were too late to play and have fun? How do you politically do that?

Not to mention - She had on butt showing shorts, low-cut shirt and 2 inch wedge strappy heels. Steve's best friend was there (he brought his 2 boys) and he leaned over and said "Moms like that exist to make mom's like you realize how good you are".

Anyway, Cat loved her party. She's said like 10 times - "THANK YOU MOMMY!" She is so happy, I love it!

 

[catherines_mama]

Day 1 is simple:

Wake up Saturday June 20th. Pack the truck, drop the dog off at the kennel.

Leave for WDW around 11am.

Arrive at Disney - POFQ around 12:30 / 1:00

Check-in (maybe via on-line, I'm not super sold on it yet). I know the kids will love watching the movie while they wait. Again this is the 1st time for Jack & Emma - this will be a huge thing for them, the entire resort experience!

We'll pack so that we can easily grab swim-suits incase the room is not ready. So while we're waiting we'll have the kids swim and explore.

At some point we'll go upstairs to change and get ready for dinner. I'm so anxious to find out where we'll be and how the location is. For me that is always SUCH a big moment. I honestly hold my breath til we get there - its so exciting!

After some baths and getting dressed, we will get in the car and drive to WL. We have 7pm dinner ressies at Whispering Canyon. I was really trying to find a fun night 1 dinner and this is something not in the parks - but fun!

Catherine and I ate there Oct '07 and had a good time, but it was just the 2 of us, and I hope with more people we can have some fun!

Then hopefully we'll be home and in bed at 9pm. Just intime for EMH Sunday morning at Epcot!

 

[catherines_mama]

I'm sorry I've been so MIA; I hope I'm finally back for good, though.

Please let me know how your plans are progressing again!!

I'm so happy to hear you got your ADRs; I'm already worrying about it. I'm going to even take that day off from work so I can make sure I have plenty of time to get everything done without stressing out!

Everything is going great! I have all girls attire. I found a website I'll order our flip flops from. Catherine does not LOVE her dress, but she's fine enough with it . She'll get over it. I promised her that when she gets married I will wear whatever she wants me to. LOL I also ordered my invtiations. A good friend of mine does homemade cards and she is doing them for me.

I finally saw the white laze dress my FMIL was wanting to have Emma wear - Yikes! I'm very glad I had talked her out of that one. It looks like something Laura Ingles would wear. No big deal - its just not for ME. She is really dissapointed Emma wont be wearing it (i mean, it's paid for) but hey, MY DAY!

Only things left: flowers, cake and guys attire and honestly that is all Steve's dept.

I can't wait! Our biggest decision this week was that the girls and I will all wear white flip flops, and Steve & Jack will be wearing Black Vans. LOL hey - as long as they are happy LOL

 

[catherines_mama]

Just a quick drive-by to say.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweetness! She is 8 today. When I woke her up at 6:20am (meanie) I whispered in her ear "8 yrs ago today I was REALLY tired". I had labored all day the 5th and she finally appeared at 12:12 AM on the 6th. I remember being so worn out. I never did sleep that 1st day in the hospital after she was born.

My mom called me this AM to reminise about that 1st day. She was so worried about me. I was having headaches (learned 3 days later, the spinal fluid dripped from my epi) and really struggling with breastfeeding. Its hard to learn to do that when you cannot sit up without feeling like a truck ran you over.

During labor I'd popped a ton of blood vessels in my face (maybe why you should not hold your breath and push) and I swear I looked like I was 12 yrs old. *I was 23 3/4 and 2 yrs out of college* when I had Cat. But all the Drs treated me like this young mom who knew nothing, which I wasn't. I'd done a lot to prepare for her... I was a great young mom and am still a pretty good mom (on a good day). LOL

I adore Jack & Emma, they have a piece of my heart that belongs to them so true, I become a total "dont mess with my babies" mama bear with those two. I've raged and yelled and cried to Steve over how unfair their life is. I've even told my mother (whom I love) what-for when she's not understood Jack's acting out at times (it was at one time, pre-Dr. Hamilton directed at Catherine who is my mother's "princess"). I feel so proud when they achieve and grow. The lady at daycare said to me how Emma is growing up so well, how out-of-her-shell she's coming. I just beam. I'm miss merry sunshine and very optimistic in life (99% of the time) and LOVE to be acknowledged that miss Em is learning those things from me (which she is b/c Mommy is not miss merry sunshine - she's just not - its the truth).

But there is that bond Cat & I have that cannot be broken. We were a team of 2 that could not be stopped. We got in a big moving truck and took the journey of our lives in May '07 moving from NC to FL. She's the most amazing little girl and I love her so much! *crying* If you look at a pic of me at her age now, we're twins. She's every bit me and she's my bestest friend in the world (above my mother AND steve - just don't tell them). This past year has been a rollercoaster for her, learning to adjust to this new life, OUR life. She's still a kid though and still has such wonder and joy. I never want her to not think Disney is real or ever stop believing that any kind of imagination is fake. Last year we enjoyed her Bday at AKL and it was so magical. I'm hoping to get a daytrip in soon (Sunday 4/26 I THINK) to just enjoy the magic with her alone.

Okay, that was a long quickie huh! HAPPY BIRTHDAY CATY CAT! Mommy loves you SOOO much!

P.S. is it June yet? I want to stop planning the trip and go enjoy it! I'm already buying comfy cotton outfits from Target for the kids to wear while at the parks. I need June to get here about as badly as September. LOL

 

[catherines_mama]

Okay.. some trip planning... Day 2: Epcot EMH

Okay... so we were in bed by 9pm our 1st night of our trip.

Sunday morning we'll wake up, dress and down something simple on our way to the bus. We are not huge breakfast people. Yes I know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but we just never eat a lot in the morning. We'll have a banana and milk, something like that.

I'm all about EMH - I love to take advantage of that extra hour. So we'll arrive at Epcot in time for EMH to open I always like to go to Epcot EMH and then plan a late breakfast in Norway (so its more like Lunch - we LIKE lunch).

Well, with ADRs the latest we could get was 9:35 so we only have so much time to get things done!! The plan will be... SOARIN, obtain FP to SOARIN and then RIDE Soarin'. I LOVE Soarin!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Soarin!!! And I think if people ride it the 1st time, they miss so much because they don't realize all the little things at 1st. You just cannot prepare someone for the amazement that IS SOARIN'.

So, we'll ride and get a FP to ride again later. Then we'll head over to TT and Mission: Space. We'll check out times and ride one or the other. Emma won't be able to ride Mission: Space so I'll sit with her while Steve & the kids watch it. M:S has such a fun area for the kids to play.

After M:S we'll probably be able to grap FPs to Test Track and head to breakfast. I LOVE breakfast in Norway.. LOVE IT! Its a really good meal and the character interaction is PRINCESS but without the pressure and the stress of getting CRT ADRs. Norway is for Emma & Catherine, they'll love it.

I don't really know how Emma will do characters. In Nov when we went for the day she was NOT about seeing the characters, but the little lady has really come out of her shell, and hey.. she's FOUR now!!! If not, oh well, I know Cat & Jack will love them. Hopefully Em will be brave & have fun too.

After breakfast it'll be time for Test Track FPs (hopefully), then Soarin'. Then hopefully we can hit Living with the Seas, and character spot. We don't have to stay in THAT order, but I'd like to get those things done between brunch and say 2ish....

Oh My Gosh!!! I forgot to mention - TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!! Happy 32nd to me!!! Also, I have promised to share this day with a wonderful wonderful man! -Happy Father's Day Steve!!!

So, when we have our fill of FW and MAYBE hit Mexico for a drink or 2 - it IS my birthday ya know!

Once we are done with Epcot and the heat is getting to us, we'll make our way back to POFQ and GO SWIMMING! Tonight is going to be a late night and I'd like to let the kids cool down and rest up!

So once the kids are cool, rested and relaxed... and clean and dressed nicely We are off to celebrate My-Birthday-slash-Fathers-Day at our favorite restaurant! Steve had been to Ohana's as part of a company christmas party years - like years ago. It was pre-me, pre-kids, so a LONG time ago. LOL

in Feb 04 (when Cat was just pre-3 and FREE) we ate at Ohana's on our 1st night of our 1st REAL vacation. Since then I have loved the place. Its so good, love the atmosphere and ... love the beach being right there to watch Wishes from.

I wanted to have a later ADR to give the kids a better rest AND to time us better for Wishes! Well, 6:55 was the latest I could get Wishes! that night are at 10pm so the likelyhood that we'll make it - to watch Wishes! - on my birthday - is a little unlikely. But that's okay, I'll have a wonderful dinner with my family and watch the kids have a great time.

The only thing I did wrong... I'm so sorry I'm saying this... is invite the ILs. Yeah - Foot in mouth!

Steve's folks live a whooping 5 minutes away. They are heavily involved in our life. Not too much - ya know like TOO much but they are helpful with the kids. we don't ask them to help us, but they do. Catherine still goes to before/after care just because its her norm, and I hate being dependant on people. That is just not me.

Also the not always HAPPY part of our blend... 2 kids 5 months apart = fight often. and Steve's parents just don't handle it well. and I just don't handle hearing negative things about my kids very well. So to keep us all sane, she goes to the local before/after church program while J&E go to nana & Papa's when they aren't with Mommy.

So anyway, MIL was asking about our trip and realizing that they'll miss Cat's bday, Steve's bday and My bday b/c of travel plans (mostly theirs). So I said "hey, why don't ya'll drive over to Orlando Sunday night and have dinner at Ohana's with us. we'll be celebrating my bday and father's day for Steve". WHY? WHY? WHY? I told Steve and he just shook his head. Oh well - I'll just have to have a few umbrella drinks - gosh I love Disney buses!

After dinner I doubt we'll make Wishes! but that's okay, its on the plan for later in the week, but I can still HOPE - can't I!!! but if we DO make Wishes! at least tomorrow is reg park opening.... at..... MK!!!!!