Seeing The World for the 1st Time (again)-1st time PTR w/pics INPUT WELCOME

[Leonsmom]

Wow! I am brimming with tears! You guys are so awesome. The DIS is awesome! Lynn I can't believe you did all that for me. Actually I can, you are such a genuine, caring and generous person! A TRUE FAIRY GODMOTHER!
Sorry I have been gone so long but I really needed to devote all my spare time to prepping for and then working the consignment sale. Which HAPPILY generated $650 for me to put towards Disney. so that is really good news! As soon as I get my check I am buying the next AP. The other good thing is that my computer is working. We had to replace the power source. It seems to run slower than before but I'll live.
My pics are still lost.... I haven't heard anything yet, but I am keeping my fingers crossed. The longer it takes though the more I think I may not get them back. As far as the van, we plan on driving it till it dies. It makes no sense fixing it at that price. It is working for now and hopefully it will last.
More good news is that so far I have lost 22lbs and gone down a little over a dress size, which is great! However now that summer is over I can't find any warm weather clothes that fit Oh well it will be jeans for me the whole trip. No biggie I would rather not buy new clothes right now anyway. Afterall I do plan on losing more weight so I don't want to waste any money on something that I hopefully won't need for long.
Anyway I have made some changes to my plans and I can't wait to share them. However it is going to have to wait. Believe it or not I started writing this at 9:30am. Really i did. However between a teething baby who desperatly needs to nap but just won't and my wonderfully hyperactive child being home from school today I keep getting pulled away from the computer every two sentences. Now my mom just called and said she is stopping by in half an hour. So I have to go throw a bunch of stuff in my closet and under the bed so that the lecture on what a poor housekeeper I am isn't too too bad So when are you guys coming to help me clean my house again??????
Tonight some friends are coming over for "game night", and tomorrow Ron and I have been called into the principles office for a meeting to discuss Leon's behavior with her and his teacher - OH JOY! After that I am pulling Leon out of class to go to the doctor because he has been complaining of chest pains I hope I can get back to this PTR tomorrow night barring any complications. And then i need need need to get my fix of Lynn's TR I miss the DIS and my friends here!

Hey Jill. I talked to Mickey today and he's going to be mailing Leon a package this week to help aid you in the planning process. Check your mail...if that doesn't get you to post, nothing will!

I'll be here waiting to see what Mickey sent you!

I am excited! I really hope you didn't go over board!! But knowing you.....

ya, newtodis and I will be over to help you clean. And then you guys can come to my house and clean and then we'll go to newtodis' house and clean for her too!! How are things going?? Any better??

AWESOME!! I definitly NEED help with this place. Do either of you have a bulldozer???
Things are getting better. Life is not without complications, i just happen to have more than usual right now. I guess it's true, when it rains, it pours! But imagine the Rainbow that will be at the end!!!


Ahhh mom's here!!! Time for a tongue lashing.

 

[newtodis]

Wow! I am brimming with tears! You guys are so awesome. The DIS is awesome! Lynn I can't believe you did all that for me. Actually I can, you are such a genuine, caring and generous person! A TRUE FAIRY GODMOTHER!
Sorry I have been gone so long but I really needed to devote all my spare time to prepping for and then working the consignment sale. Which HAPPILY generated $650 for me to put towards Disney. so that is really good news! As soon as I get my check I am buying the next AP. The other good thing is that my computer is working. We had to replace the power source. It seems to run slower than before but I'll live.
My pics are still lost.... I haven't heard anything yet, but I am keeping my fingers crossed. The longer it takes though the more I think I may not get them back. As far as the van, we plan on driving it till it dies. It makes no sense fixing it at that price. It is working for now and hopefully it will last.
More good news is that so far I have lost 22lbs and gone down a little over a dress size, which is great! However now that summer is over I can't find any warm weather clothes that fit Oh well it will be jeans for me the whole trip. No biggie I would rather not buy new clothes right now anyway. Afterall I do plan on losing more weight so I don't want to waste any money on something that I hopefully won't need for long
Anyway I have made some changes to my plans and I can't wait to share them. However it is going to have to wait. Believe it or not I started writing this at 9:30am. Really i did. However between a teething baby who desperatly needs to nap but just won't and my wonderfully hyperactive child being home from school today I keep getting pulled away from the computer every two sentences. Now my mom just called and said she is stopping by in half an hour. So I have to go throw a bunch of stuff in my closet and under the bed so that the lecture on what a poor housekeeper I am isn't too too bad So when are you guys coming to help me clean my house again??????
Tonight some friends are coming over for "game night", and tomorrow Ron and I have been called into the principles office for a meeting to discuss Leon's behavior with her and his teacher - OH JOY! After that I am pulling Leon out of class to go to the doctor because he has been complaining of chest pains I hope I can get back to this PTR tomorrow night barring any complications. And then i need need need to get my fix of Lynn's TR I miss the DIS and my friends here!

I am excited! I really hope you didn't go over board!! But knowing you.....

AWESOME!! I definitly NEED help with this place. Do either of you have a bulldozer???
Things are getting better. Life is not without complications, i just happen to have more than usual right now. I guess it's true, when it rains, it pours! But imagine the Rainbow that will be at the end!!!


Ahhh mom's here!!! Time for a tongue lashing.

This made my day!!! I'm so glad that you checked in!!! We were getting worried about you!
HI JILL!!!

I'm so glad that you made all that money-that's amazing! Congratulations!!!

And it's wonderful that the computer's fixed. I agree about the van-drive it until it dies then decide what to do...we'll shower it with pixie dust so you can just fly!

YAY for loosing 22 pounds! That's wonderful! I agree-don't buy a lot right now. Wait until you really need something then hit a thrift store! That's what I do! Or find a really good sale!

Yay for game night! That sounds like fun. Too bad y'all don't live closer-I need a break from my kids! (love them-really I do but Dan's been gone all this week and will be gone all next week too ). The boys were up at 4:30 this morning. Yesterday Corbin was up at 5:45 for the day after getting up at 1:00. I'm kind of a zombie today!

So I saw a commercial for "The Doctors" yesterday and they were talking about ADHD and medications and stuff like that. I didn't actually have a chance to sit down and watch it. I'll try and search to see if I can find the episode and watch it for you (like you have an hour to sit and watch a show!) and give you the breakdown of what they talked about. I truly hope he's ok. Maybe it's the weather...a co-worker had to go to school yesterday and pick up her son for getting in a fight on the bus. He's home until Tuesday wtih out of school suspension. I hope the doctor's appointment goes well too. It could really be a lot of different things so we'll hope for the best!

Hope you had a good visit with your Mommy! If you need anything holler! That's what we're here for! I don't have a bulldozer but I'm sure there are enough big fans here at the fire station-we can just open the windows and blow everything right out!

Thank you so much for the kind words-it's easy to help out such a sweet person! The DISigners are over there hard at work to get you some amazing things I'm sure.

I cannot wait to hear all about this change you speak of! Are you coming to visit me first??? I'm almost as fun as Disney!

Alright...it's almost time to go home and I've got to come right back for a meeting tonight....ugh! I feel like a kid at Christmas-I'm so glad you're back with us!

 

[Grace and Mickey]

HI Jill
I'm glad your back Glad to hear things are going better, just one day at a time. ,
The tee shirt dis signs are awesome, Lynn Is quite a friend
WOW 22 lbs GREAT JOB how did y ou do it?
Looking forward to hearing about you new plans, I now have my own PTR please check it out if you have time.
Have a good day, see you soon

 

[lmillercrew]

Glad your back! Now we can get the party started. Sorry you have to go to the principals office. Kinda made me giggle when you said that. Sorry about the mom lashing. It happens to the best of us!

 

[newtodis]

Good luck with the meeting and doctor's appointment today!!

 

[newtodis]

Here's another amazing DISign from taekwondo mom:

 

[newtodis]

Ok you teased us with a mini update and the fact that you're changing plans....then you don't come back. What's up with that??


Just kidding of course! Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!! Can't wait for you to come back and share everything with us!

There are tons of new updates on my TR...I only have to add our drive home and my outlet purchases then my photopass photos when the CD gets here....please come visit soon!!

Alrighty....better get to work. I've still got the rest of the house to clean today and it's been raining all morning so I haven't been able to send Corbin out to play!

 

[lmillercrew]

I'd like to hear the changes too!!! Hope you had a relaxing Sunday!

 

[newtodis]

From chaoscent:

 

[newtodis]

Ok Jill I miss you! Please come back and see us. Did you get your package from Mickey yet???

 

[mickimousemama]

I know I am late, but I am just discovering the world of TR's on the DIS so Hello... I hurried my children to bed tonight so I could read your entire report in PEACE, I am SHOCKED it worked. I am SOOO sorry that you have had such a rough glitch in the world of Electronics... I so have walked MILES in your shoes How AWESOME to have such great DIS friends to pull together and bring back some pixie dust!

I cannot wait to continue reading about your trip!

 

[Leonsmom]

Thanks to everyone who did designs for us. I love them all. And thanks to everyone in my cheering section. And thanks especially to Lynn. You guys are all so awesome.
It's been a busy weekend! Friday, Ron and I went to the principles office to talk about Leon's behavioral issues. Boy was it enlightening. I didn't realize how bad things were. He can't sit still, he can't stay in his seat, he can't stop talking, he can't stop touching everything in sight, he can't keep his hands to himself, and he can't control his impulses. I say "can't" instead of won't because that is the reality of it. His brain won't let him do the right thing. And he is struggling with this so much. Things are so bad that he can't keep up academically with the rest of the class despite how smart he is because he gets so distracted by his impulses and hyperactivity. He gets off the bus everyday with the longest face. His self-esteem has suffered tremendously. The good thing about this meeting is that Ron has now finally come around to agreeing to try him on medication. I myself had been very hesitant, but seeing my son suffer so much from this neurological disorder emotionally, socially, at home, and now in school made me realize that meds may be the answer after all. Ron and I had been having a lot of disagreements over the past couple weeks about what was best for our son. I made appointments with the psychiatrist, the social worker, and our pediatrician, so both Ron and I could discuss his ADHD and meds. With two down and one to go Ron had been coming around. This meeting at the school sealed it though. We decided to keep the appointment with the pediatrician that day anyway because aside from asking him about the meds, we wanted to talk to him about Leon's chest pains and rapid heartbeat. Well the pediatrician heard a murmur and was concerned about Leon going on ADHD medication if he had heart problems. So he called in a favor with a Pediatric Cardiologist and got us an appointment for the same day. I love our pediatrician!!! Apparently there is a 6-week waiting list to see this cardiologist. Anyway the cardiologist did an EEG and an eco-cardiogram, both looked fine, but because Leon had chest pain coupled with a racing heartbeat at the time the Dr was concerned he may have an irregular heartbeat. If that is the case then Leon cannot be on certain meds for ADHD. So then he told me Leon had to wear a heart monitor for 24 hours. OH! Okaaaay...? It was kinda cute though, Leon thought he was a robot for the first few hours, but then he hated it, and was glad to be rid of it the next day. It was a good weekend though. On Saturday we went to pick pumpkins on a Cub Scout trip. It was a lot of fun. I got some really great pictures.

After that we went shopping. I didn't find anything for myself but we did pick up new sneakers for Ron. All in the name of Disney! Ron isn't the only one who needed new shoes. I hadn't planned on buying new shoes until my absolutely favorite pair of walking shoes started playing peek-a-boo with my big toe a few weeks ago. A tiny hole turned into a big one. I went all over trying to find the exact same pair of NIKE sneakers but being that I bought them 2 years ago I had no luck finding them. Until...... I saw the neighbor girl wearing the same pair at Leon’s bus stop. I practically accosted her. "WHERE DID YOU GET THOSE!!!!” She is 7 years old, she has no idea! Then on Thursday she tells me that her mom said they came from the Nike Factory store at the Tanger Outlet. Well that did it, Sunday; I packed the van up with my mom, my sister, my niece and Leon and took the 1-hour drive to the outlets all for one pair of sneakers. What made these Nikes so special was that they were slip ons, (I really don't like laces). We had a nice time, but I was disappointed to find out that this particular shoe only comes in girl’s sizes now. However in the name of Disney, I did find new shoes ...Plural!
Yep, some how I came home with 3 pairs of sneakers. At Nike I could not decide between two pairs, so I reasoned that 2 pairs would last me longer than one, even though they had laces. So I bought them both.
The third? I found after I bought the first two. They were Sketchers and they were laceless. But I resisted, I did not buy them. (I liked the look of the Nikes better.) After we closed down the place, my mom surprised me with the Sketchers. So that's how I ended up with 3 pairs. I actually am pretty proud of myself. I didn't buy any thing I didn't need.... um ....well.....except the extra pair of sneakers. But I actually did feel guilty about them when my mom gave me the third pair and considered returning one of them. But that faded pretty quickly, it helped that the stores were all closed at the time too .
Monday was busy too. I was exhausted from the last two days, but Leon had off and needed to be entertained. We went to the doctor to return the heart monitor and then we went shopping for a bit. I got a bunch of stuff for Halloween. I love Halloween! Yesterday was busy too, Leon was still off but I managed to get a bunch of stuff done. I am chairing two committees for the PTA and was falling behind, but I managed to catch up annnd I even managed to put together 25 Halloween treat bags for Leon’s Class, 10 treat bags for my friend’s kids who come to our house and Trick or Treat every year after a small pre-party, 10 more treat bags for the neighbor kids, & 5 Boo Bags for friends and neighbors. Did I mention I Love Halloween! It's been a loooong tiring weekend but it was a nice one. Unfortunately though I did not get a chance to post. So here I am .... Hoping Victoria (the 3 year old I baby-sit for) naps for the full 2 hours while I roll my 8 month old niece back and forth in the stroller with one hand and type this with the other hand in an effort to catch up on my PTR.

So here we go, are you all sitting down? I am actually going to write something about my trip….

Did I mention about getting an extra day in Disney yet? Hmmm. I don’t remember and I don’t feel like back tracking cause who knows how much time I actually have left so if I am repeating my self I am sorry. So anyway Jet Blue sent me an email telling me that my flight to Orlando was cancelled and I had been rebooked on an earlier flight. I responded to the email that we were all right with the change. Sometime after that I got a call from Jet Blue, they informed me that the flight I had been rescheduled on was now over booked and would I be willing to make another change. I said it depended on when I had to change to. She said she had the same day for later in the afternoon. I really did not want to arrive in FL at 8pm. To me that is a waste of a day. She then said she could give me the day before at 6am. Annnnd that we would get a $75 voucher for each person if we changed. So after consulting with Ron we agreed to do it. Ron’s mom knows and isn’t thrilled but what can I say, except we are going to Disney for 10 whole days!!!!!
So, needless to say some changes had to be made. And here they are starting with the days leading up to “Day 1”:

Thur. Nov 20 (AKA 7 days till Disney & my “sister’s birthday”), we will no doubt go out to celebrate, while my mind swims with everything I need to get done for Disney. I may try to get a cake with both my sister and Leon’s name on it if I can’t get everyone to come to my place on Saturday.

Fri. Nov 21 (AKA 6 days till Disney & my “SIL’s birthday”), yet again something else we will get in trouble for missing, because my mom got 3 tickets for “Disney on Ice” for Leon’s Birthday! I will probably try to get some stuff done while Leon is at school.

Sat. Nov 22 (AKA 5 days till Disney)- Either go to the in-laws to celebrate SIL B’Day, and hopefully Leon’s as well since we will be away for his actual B’Day or have them come here, Which I prefer, this way I can invite my mom and my sisters family and get it all done in one shot.

Sun. Nov 23 (aka 4 days till Disney)- Get a little crazy over getting the house cleaned before we have leave, do our last minute shopping for the trip & start throwing things to take to Disney in piles to be organized and packed during the week.

Mon. Nov 24 (aka 3 days till Disney)- Volunteering at Leon’s school for Picture Retake Day for 6 hours. If I had it my way I would not do it but since I am chairing this committee I have to be there for it!! Then go home and get Leon off the bus, rush him through his homework so we can get to his Karate class in time. After that freak out about how I’ve been on my feet all day and I need to get packing.


Tue. Nov 25 (aka 2 days till Disney)- Really freak out because I will be babysitting two kids from 7am until 5pm, and at the same time I plan to have everything packed for the trip as if we were leaving the next day. I do this as a precaution, because I never know when my Fibro is going to Flare!

Wed. Nov 26 (aka 1 days till Disney)- This will be the real packing day because no matter how much pre packing and prep I do in order to avoid this situation on the last day before the trip, it always turns out the same. As I’ve said before I am one of those people who NEEEEDS to see everything laid out in front of me. So I will do the whole pack and re-pack thing –at LEAST 3 times before a trip, and I will of course be up well past midnight doing it. About 2 or 3am. I will finally listen to Ron and go to bed. But wake up every 20 to 30 minutes in the night looking at the clock because I am afraid of over-sleeping and missing the flight and then the alarm will go off at 4am.
And then the adventure begins:

Thursday. Nov. 27 - Thanksgiving– DAY 1​

4:00 am Wake up all excited, despite only 1 hour of sleep, because today we are gong to Disney! Nudge Ron, Get Dressed, Nudge Ron again, double check my lists, yell at Ron to get in the shower NOW! Once Ron is dressed, pack any last minute items into the car. Carry Leon from his bed to the car and hope he stays asleep. Yeah right!!!
5:00am Make sure the cat is in; lock up the house, and head to the airport.
5:30am Check-in the bags while Ron parks the car
6:01am Panic because Ron is still not back from parking the car (He is parking it in the employee parking lot at JFK – which he estimates should take him 30 minutes to do and get back)
7:00am Take off for MCO and hope that Leon will fall asleep. Wishful Thinking.
10:30am ARRIVE IN MCO!!! Start taking pictures immediately, take our first monorail and find baggage claim.

Then find Alamo car rental.
Jump into the rental and head to DTD for lunch and to pick up my DDE card. Maybe stop at a nearby Disney outlet I read about on Mousesavers and then head for Wally-World (Wal-Mart). Get some groceries, maybe pick up some souvenirs and have mixed feelings over not being here on Black Friday. All on the way to our hotel. Unfortunately I could not add a day to my discounted reservation at the POP. Being Thanksgiving Day, all rooms on property cost more than double what we paid for a day.
3pm - Check-in at the Comfort Inn. Shower, rest up by the pool, and maybe nap.


5:30pm - take the car to Fort Wilderness look around the resort, check out Christmas decorations, and check in for the show.
7pm Have a bucket of Ribs for Thanksgiving Dinner at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue, which was originally scheduled for Nov 28th.
9pm Go back to the hotel and pass out!!! DOH!

Friday Nov 28th – Day 2​

Okay this gets a little hairy here. And in all likelihood will not work out the way I’d like it to. With that said and with Ron’s cooperation I still want to TRY. I want to TRY to get to MK for Rope Drop! But before we go to MK, we need to check out of the hotel, drop our bags at POP Century, and return the rental car. Okay stop laughing!

This is what I am aiming for:
6:30am get up, shower, dress, and pack for the park.
7am Check out of the Comfort Inn and head to Pop Century
7:30am Check ourselves in and leave the bags in storage room. Originally I had wanted to drop off the bags at the POP on the day before, keeping only a small carry on for the Comfort Inn, but I called to see if that was possible and they said the earliest I could leave my bags to be held was at 7:30am on the same day my reservation started. They would check me in at that time and hold the bags till the room was ready
7:45am (seriously, stop laughing!) Return the car to Alamo at the Disney Car Care Center and hop a bus to MK.
8:30am Get ready for Rope Drop!! PLAY!!!!!
12:30pm take bus to POP, see if our room is ready, have lunch, take a dip in the Hippy Dippy Pool, unpack some things, decorate the window and door with widow clings and magnets, thanks to all the wonderful DISigners, and maybe, dare I think it, take a nap.
3:30pm Back to MK to Play some more.
8pm Watch Spectro Magic followed by Wishes. Then head back to the resort.


All right I will stop here, Kiera is stirring and I have to have a bottle prepared or there will be howling heard the world over.

 

[Leonsmom]

I know I am late, but I am just discovering the world of TR's on the DIS so Hello... I hurried my children to bed tonight so I could read your entire report in PEACE, I am SHOCKED it worked. I am SOOO sorry that you have had such a rough glitch in the world of Electronics... I so have walked MILES in your shoes How AWESOME to have such great DIS friends to pull together and bring back some pixie dust!

I cannot wait to continue reading about your trip!

Welcome to the Drama!!
Glad you joined.

 

[Leonsmom]

Ok Jill I miss you! Please come back and see us. Did you get your package from Mickey yet???

I just checked the mail and it arrived today!
I can't wait ti see what's inside. I feel like it's for me
I left it in the mail box so Leon can get it.
I'll tell you his reaction when he gets off the bus and opens it

You are the best

 

[mickimousemama]

Yeah for the update and WOO HOO for the extra day!!!!

 

[lmillercrew]

Sorry to hear about your son's troubles. I hope that you are able to find something to help him.
Your Disney plans look great. You did tell us about the extra day, just not the plans. I didn't know you had to rent a car and stay off property, so that was an update. I'm not laughing at your attempt to hit rope drop. When we first started going to Disney, we went commando because we never knew if we would be back again. This will be the first year that I don't feel like I have to be in the parks ALL day and night. I'm glad that you're going back to the hotel and relax a little. I plan on doing that on my next trip.
I loved the picture of Ron with his "pumpkins" It must've been cold that day
So glad you're back with us and in planning mode!! Can't wait to hear more. Keep it coming girl

 

[newtodis]

How did I miss this update yesterday????? It was busy at work yesterday and today so I guess that's how. We're selling pink fire dept t-shirts for breast cancer awareness month and they've been popular-we've already ordered over 1000 and still have people coming in for them! This was certainly not anticipated at all! Plus they're cleaning my office floor starting tonight so I had to pack everything and move it into our conference room... Thankfully, we have cute fire fighter boys to move heavy things

Anyways....back to Jill!

WELCOME BACK!!!

I'm glad Mickey's package arrived!! Sounds like he just loved it! I'm so glad Mickey chose the right things to send to him!!! Now he's got lots of things to help you plan with that's for sure!

Thanks for the update-our trip plans sound a lot alike!!! It'll all work out in the end...really it will! You will all have an amazing time and the 10 days will fly by!

Let me know if there's anything that I can do to help with Leon. Thankfully they looked into the possible heart problems before putting him on meds. Do you have "file of life" things there?? If you do, you need to get them for you and Leon. If not, we do use them here and I'll send you a couple of them-I'll get your address from Mickey! They're files that you put on your fridge to alert fire fighters/EMTs about meds and health conditions if they ever have to come to your house. Might be something good to take with you in case something happens (God forbid) while you're traveling.

If there's anything else I can do to help out-please yell! I'll do whatever I can!!!

I LOVE the pumpkin pictures!! Leon and Ron both looked like they had a good time!

Alright...I need to get something for the boys for dinner yet. Have a great night and we can't wait to here more!

 

[joelp]

Catching up ... (well - all caught up ...)

To make things easier on your Day 2: What time do you have to take the rental car back before they'll charge you for another day?

If it's later (or you're already paying for the day ...), why not just drive to MK, park, and then drop off the car after you leave MK ? - one less thing to do before the rope drop ...

I would expect the buses, etc. to be very crowded on "Black Friday", so you need to have some leeway in your morning schedule ...

Waiting for more ...

 

[Leonsmom]

Catching up ... (well - all caught up ...)

To make things easier on your Day 2: What time do you have to take the rental car back before they'll charge you for another day?

If it's later (or you're already paying for the day ...), why not just drive to MK, park, and then drop off the car after you leave MK ? - one less thing to do before the rope drop ...

I would expect the buses, etc. to be very crowded on "Black Friday", so you need to have some leeway in your morning schedule ...

Waiting for more ...

Very good point, Joel. I hadn't thought about the crowds on the buses. Unfortunetly the car needs to be back at 11am. It might just be worth it to pay an extra day. Hmmm gotta think about that.

 

[newtodis]

Hi Jill---Yes I'm officially stalking you!

Hope you're having a great Monday!