Surprise... It's Someday!! A Dec 2010 PTR!!

[ladybugmom]

GREAT update!! I am part of the MOPS group at my church as well--have been since Ally was little. And I just LOVE your creativity!! Your creations are adorable!!

 

[stephielela]

I loved your super creative ideas!! I am doing gifts for Jack each day of the trip, since we aren't really doing Christmas at home this year, so maybe I will incorporate your ideas! I was already planning on packing Disney gummies in his treat bags. I got him some Toy Story brown paper lunch bags and Toy Story and Montster's Inc. ziploc bags and it worked well for our last trip. I made one for each day and he just snacked on the stuff in there all day. Almost everything I have gotten came from the dollar section in Target, so it's pretty affordable.

 

[Tinker_Tam]

Glad to hear your little guy is doing alittle better.

I like you party favor/ treat ideas I once used a popcorn bucket ( the round ones you get at a movie theater) and I filled it with yellow easter grass, added a couple microwave popcorn packages & candy pakages, and put in a gift certificate for a local movie rental place. I also wrapped it up with that clear cellophane basket wrap with a nice bow.

I think making something for disney would fun and cost efective!

I've lost posts before now I copy before I submit, or I type it up in Word, and then copy, paste it over here.

Carey

That is a great idea for Easter. I love the plastic pop corn buckets. I got those at Target in teh $1 spot! I may have to pick up a few more!

You came up with a really awesome idea for your MOPS group - I *love* it!!! If I weren't already doing so many things that I need to finish I might consider making some of those for the 8 kids that will be going on our trip. Who knows - maybe last minute I'll decide to do it anyway, now it will be nagging at my mind! LOL GREAT JOB!!!

I think I am doing them for the kids. They were super quick to make. I did the 5 in less than 2 hours. Glad I was able to get your mind stirring!

Great idea!!!! You are so crafty, I am not.

I love to do crafty things. It is a huge stress relief for me!

Those are great. When you get a chance, PM me instructions. I swear it looks like those cookies are defying gravity. LOL!

It will be a day or 2 till I get things PMed to you. I am really dragging lately. Just super tired today.

Love those ideas. They are awesome. I have been brainstorming something fun to have in the rooms for the kids too. I was thinking of having Dan sneak in before we do while we are the pool on our first day, and then maybe one morning before they get up have something there for them, but I am not very creative. I get the ideas in my head but can never seem to make them happen.

So how's the little guy doing? I hope he's starting to feel better.

I do think we are going to sneak those in the room. Or have them there when they wake up one morning with a note from their favorite character.

Gavin seems to be a little bit better. Each day seems to be some improvement. Keeping my fingers crossed for Monday.

Love the ideas, Tam...very cool (and smart to have one without chocolate too!).

Thanks! They were a huge hit yesterday! We used them as door prizes for the meeting and everyone wanted to win one!

glad to hear Gavin is on the mend- does it look like a go for Monday?

love your little arrangements- so cute!!! and great idea to us what you have.

I think the baskets and stuff you can order are so cool- but i hate the huge price tags- so overpriced. i wish i had a picture of it- i'll try and find one- but we did a basket for my mom for a trip we did back in like 2001. We stayed at POR and my parents funded much of the trip. So my sisters and I got a huge basket and we filled it with goodies ourselves. things like sunscreen, sunglasses, rain ponchos, disney umbrella, lanyards, pins, snacks, just cool stuff to use on the trip. even an autograph book and pen. some stuff i purchased locally that was disney themed, other stuff i had purchased on a prior trip that year when i had a business trip to orlando- so i stopped at DTD to pick up some stuff. now you can order some park stuff online at disneystore.com even like autograph books. Anyhow- it was a huge basket. we used that cellophane you buy at a craft store and 'blow dry' to make it tight- so it even looked professional. they loved it and it was much cheaper than buying one. we shipped it to POR and it was ready at the front desk when we checked in and they opened it right then and there!

Gavin seems to be improving a little more each day. I am currently waiting for the hospital to call with the time of his surgery on Monday. Hopefully, things will go as planned. The sad part is they are making us drive the 2 ours to the hospital to tell us for sure they will do anything.

I would LOVE to see a picture of your basket!

GREAT update!! I am part of the MOPS group at my church as well--have been since Ally was little. And I just LOVE your creativity!! Your creations are adorable!!

I do love MOPS! It has really made a huge change in our lives. This was not our original church but we were so happy with the other people that we give them a chance and we found our home church. I have been on the steering committee now for 2 years. It really does keep me super busy sometimes but I love it!
Thank you for your compliment. I love getting crafty!

I loved your super creative ideas!! I am doing gifts for Jack each day of the trip, since we aren't really doing Christmas at home this year, so maybe I will incorporate your ideas! I was already planning on packing Disney gummies in his treat bags. I got him some Toy Story brown paper lunch bags and Toy Story and Montster's Inc. ziploc bags and it worked well for our last trip. I made one for each day and he just snacked on the stuff in there all day. Almost everything I have gotten came from the dollar section in Target, so it's pretty affordable.

Thanks! Let me know if you need me to PM you how I did them. I have been hitting the $1 spot at Target too. They have so much fun Disney stuff!


**************************************************
Going to try to get another Disney day posted tonight... Once the kiddos go to bed. I am just dragging today! Its getting pretty cold here and we are supposed to have snow flurries in the morning. UGH! I guess Winter is almost here! Maybe that is why I am dragging lately.

Also, I had a good laugh today. Brenda's teacher approached me today for dates for our trip. She wanted to see if Brenda was going to be there for the Christmas party. Remember that she only goes Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So while we were talking, I discovered that Brenda will only be going to Preschool 3 days in December. Luckily, she will be able to make her Christmas party. On the way out the door, it hit me... I will have to get the Christmas tree an decorations up in the next 2 weeks!! I keep complaining that it is taking so long for our trip to get her but I have TONS of things to do... maybe I shoul go make another list!

 

[20thingamabobs]

Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I got my Mickey Mail yesterday containing my confirmation packet! You should have yours to!! 25 days!!

 

[nebo]

Hi Tammy, you have an adorable family, they seem a little too normal for my taste, but that's just me. You're a lucky woman.
I'm starting to get a bit nervous, we haven't gotten our vouchers and stuffage package yet, I called Disney and they said basically, chill, it'll be there. I mean, how can I not use the sea raycer voucher if I don't have it?
Anyway, see you at Pop

 

[Tinker_Tam]

Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I got my Mickey Mail yesterday containing my confirmation packet! You should have yours to!! 25 days!!

Thanks for the heads up. I have a feeling our mail has stopped earlier than we planned... like 3 days ago. UGH! Jon put the paper in with the date to stop the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Well, we haven't gotten mail since. I have to call the post office on Monday.

Hi Tammy, you have an adorable family, they seem a little too normal for my taste, but that's just me. You're a lucky woman.
I'm starting to get a bit nervous, we haven't gotten our vouchers and stuffage package yet, I called Disney and they said basically, chill, it'll be there. I mean, how can I not use the sea raycer voucher if I don't have it?
Anyway, see you at Pop

Me and the kiddos are normally... and well, the jury isn't back on Jon just yet! I try to remember everyday just how lucky I am. I have an amazing family.

I think our hotel stuff could be sitting at the post office. UGH! Ticks me off! You would think our post office could get SOMETHING right... than again, that may be asking a lot from out little post office!

 

[Tinker_Tam]

I know, I know.. its been a while since I have posted anything about the trip. Life just seems to be slipping by lately. Each day seems to be over before it has really started. So, this should bring me to day #7!

At this point we have made it to each of the parks so plans could always change. Our day was origially going to start with RD at AK. But, after I got to thinking about things. That might not be such a good idea. We will have been at the party till very late the night before. Jon and I have decided that we are staying till the end... even if the kids fall asleep in the stroller. So, that means that it will be super late by the time we get back to Pop the night before. I don't think we will be up to an extra early morning. So... We are going to sleep in!! Hopefully, the kids will sleep pretty late. We will still head to AK... when we get around. The other thing this will help with is, if the kids sleep in they will be less likely to need a nap. This was going to be another one of those hopping from here to there days.

Ok, back to things! We are going to start the day off at AK. We will spend as much time there as we can... or want to. Then, this is where I become a bad girl.. I have 2 ADRs. I know, I know. that is such a huge debate but I am so up in the air about things and I am going to cancel just as soon as I figure out what I want. The 2 are close to the same time, only 20 minutes apart. We are either hoping over to HS and having dinner at Mama Melrose... or we are hoping to DTD and going to Reglan Road. I am so up in the air about this. Any advice on this would be so helpful! No matter which restaurant we decide on we are then headed to MK after dinner for EMH! MK is open till 1 am. I know the kids won't last that long, but they are usually pretty good at falling asleep in the stroller as long as they have a blanket or something... I just hope that continues till the trip! If the kids do crash in the stroller that will be a great time for Jon and I to hit some of those grown up rides. If they are super cranky than we will head back to Pop. The other thing we would want to make sure we see is Wishes and the electrical parade. I know that we may have already seen them, but the kids may be excited about seeing them again.

So the award for the best helpers in this CrAzY families PTR is all of you for helping me decide on which ADR to keep!

 

[KatMark]

I would pick Mama Melrose. First, we have eaten here five times and never had a bad meal. Also, if you aren't driving, the buses going to DTD and from DTD are absolutely HORRIBLE.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Goodness, I was so far behind! First, congrats on the party tickets!!!!!! DISers are the kindest people, aren't they? Tracy, you and Bill are truly a gem!

Love all the pics of the kiddos, they are simply adorable. Feel free to share as many as you want!

Your plans are looking great...I second Mama Melrose, we had a very yummy meal there this past trip! It has a great atmosphere too.

 

[smidgy]

As I promised I am going to go ahead and post a second installment tonight.

I was so excited! We had a date. We had a resort. At this point I was still lurking on the Disboard. I had yet to join so I had no one to share my joy with. The kids did not know...nor would they. We still had not officially booked because I didn't realize we could make payments. I thought I had to pay in full when we booked. So Jon and I decided that we would start letting the family know. We would also stress to each of them that Brenda and Gavin were not supposed to know. In an ideal world the first person I would have run to would have been my mom, but she passed away in 2003. We (Jon and I) traveled a lot with my parents. So I knew dad would be excited for us. When I tried to call him he wasn't available so we moved on to the next person on the list...Jon's parents. Yes, we had made plans involving them and never cleared it with them. We both knew they would be fine with things. They would love showing me and the kids around their hometown.

When we told Jon's parents we got a chilly response. The only part of the trip they were looking forward to was the part that took us to NC. Jon's mom was concerned as to wither we were wasting our money because the kids would "NEVER REMEMBER ANYTHING". Wow! That was so not what we were expecting to hear. So we explain our reasoning with her. She was still undecided when we hung up the phone. Oh well! We weren't going to let it get us down.

I am VERY close with both of my 2 Aunts that live nearby. One is my mom's sister and the other is my dad's. They have taken the place of my mom in the kid's lives. They live the kid's as if they are their own. One aunt has no children. She was never able to have any and the other has a 37 year old daughter that has a very nice girlfriend and no hope for any children. So I guess Brenda and Gavin are treated as if they are grandchildren for my aunts. The kids in return love them very dearly. I got pretty much the same response from them. They were concerned about spending the money. They were a tad grumpy with me about our decision to take the kids away. I was even grumpier later to find they had been talking about Jon and I, to each other, behind our backs. I was ticked off!

A few days later we got in touch with my dad. I thought for sure that he would be supportive of us. I should tell you that my dad is now a very different man than the man I grew up with. He had been married to my mom 28 years when she passed away unexpectedly. It took him 7 months to meet a new wife, and move from PA to MN. He completely changed...and I should have kept that in mind when I was telling him about the trip. I heard a sentence from his mouth that I had NEVER heard. "You are a complete idiot!" That is a HUGE smack in the face. He went on to tell us that he has no idea how we are affording this trip. How it was a bad idea. Only bad things would come of it. We should take the money we would spend going to Disney and go to MN instead! And there we have it...the real answer. We had been to MN before and I was so bored, other than the Mall of America. To expect us to give up the happiest place on Earth to go to the Frozen tundra of Dec in MN...NO Way. I think that is when I got my backbone. He had hurt me to the point of being in tears on the phone. I just couldn't take anymore from my OWN DAD. So I stopped him. I told him that all my bills are paid on time, I never ask anyone to borrow any money and we get by without an help from him. I then told him that when he could treat me like a person, and except the decision we made he could call me. And then I hung up. He called back a few days later. He has never apologized and we don't talk about Disney.

In the meantime Jon's mom had talked to others that had taken children younger than Brenda and Gavin to WDW. They explained things to her and she is all for the trip now. The most supportive. She is even making Brenda some costumes. Jon's mom has her own shop and is a professional seamstress so they should be awesome. We will have final fitting and pick up the dress on the way through.

My aunts have also chosen to keep their opinions to themselves. They "waste" their money their way, and I can spend mine my way. I do mention things about Disney to them...Things I want to do with the kids and they always seem interested. My dad's sister even lived in Orlando for a while and she tries to give me tips here and there...I don't bother to tell her that Dis gives me all the info I need!

So the award for biggest JERK when told the news in this CrAzY family goes to my dad!!!

Up next: Gavin breaks the news!

people get flack about taking their kids when they're "too little". we get flack about going WITHOUT kids!!! OUR kids just groan when we say we're going again. (they're 28 and 31)! so last trip we didn't even tell anyone till after we were back!

ok, going back to keep reading. I'm way behind!

 

[smidgy]

When I come back to Jon and the cart of kiddos Brenda tells me that she isn't getting any Littlest Pet Shop. Her exact words "Mommy, I am making a grown up decision and saving that money for Disney".


She turns and looks and me and asks "Mommy, can I get this for Gavin for his birthday using my piggy money?"

So the award for the most giving daughter in this CrAzY family goes to Brenda!

wow! kudos to you for taeching your children about money. and see how it paid off?

your daughter has a heart of gold!! that was So sweet of her!

 

[Tinker_Tam]

I would pick Mama Melrose. First, we have eaten here five times and never had a bad meal. Also, if you aren't driving, the buses going to DTD and from DTD are absolutely HORRIBLE.

Oh! Hmmm... I am so glad you said that. I thought I had read that the buses to DTD and back were good. I must have that confused! Thanks! I hate to have the whole day ruined because of the buses.

Goodness, I was so far behind! First, congrats on the party tickets!!!!!! DISers are the kindest people, aren't they? Tracy, you and Bill are truly a gem!

Love all the pics of the kiddos, they are simply adorable. Feel free to share as many as you want!

Your plans are looking great...I second Mama Melrose, we had a very yummy meal there this past trip! It has a great atmosphere too.

Thanks! We are so excited to be going to the party now! I am sure if you stick with me in the TR side of things you might just get tired of Gavin and Brenda!

I was originally leaning toward Reglan Road but now I am starting to move to the other side of things.

people get flack about taking their kids when they're "too little". we get flack about going WITHOUT kids!!! OUR kids just groan when we say we're going again. (they're 28 and 31)! so last trip we didn't even tell anyone till after we were back!

ok, going back to keep reading. I'm way behind!

Welcome Smidgy! I am an avid follower of Nebo's TR so its like I already know you! Isn't it amazing how so many people think they get a say in how our money is spent. For use this is a once in a lifetime trip... or well, if not once in a lifetime at least not again for a long long LONG time. I think a lot of the family is starting to understand why we are going with the kids being so little. The other day my aunt, who I am close with, asked me if we could move the trip up... she is tired of hearing my kids talk about Disney World!

wow! kudos to you for taeching your children about money. and see how it paid off?

your daughter has a heart of gold!! that was So sweet of her!

I have a feeling once we get to Once upon a Toy or World of Disney my lessons with money will be thrown out the window. Probably for both of us. I picked up her piggy the other day and I was soooo surprised at how heavy it is. She has really been saving but has also slurged off and on for a few Littlest Pet Shop. She sometimes has buyers remorse once she has bought one out of piggy money but I try to explain too that every once in a while we need splurge too or we go crazy. I really think she has over $100 in that pig right now.. which I think should be MORE than enough... but I could be wrong there too! My aunt has talked about sending the kid's Christmas money with me and having me use it there to get there Christmas things. So I am sure the kids will get more than they need!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Oh, no worries on getting sick of the kids in the TR. You see how littered mine is with Henry, right? Sometimes I think, "Goodness, do I have any pictures WITHOUT him in it? Or a story not revolving around him?"

 

[100acrewoodsfan]

I am going to agree with the suggestion for Mama Melrose. Even though I haven't been to MM it's a matter of transportation. The buses don't run from the parks to DTD or back. It's to keep people from parking at DTD for free and catching a bus to a park. So you would have to take a bus from AK to a resort then catch another bus to DTD. Same thing to get to MK that night. That many transfers with a stroller could be a nightmare.

 

[jenseib]

I have not eaten at either place, but I agree with Moma melrose. I have never had a fast bus ride to DTD, from ANY resort.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

I haven't been to either place but Mama Melrose sounds good. Hopping to three of the four parks on the same day sounds fun to me too!

 

[Tinker_Tam]

Just hanging around and killing time tonight. The kids are playing here and I am just trying to keep myself busy. I am just stressed tonight, as you can imagine and thought I woul read some TR and go to my happy place... at least in my mind.

If you are the praying type please keep Gavin in your prayers. He is not to have surgery till 8:30 in the morning. Usually he is first at 5 AM. So it will be rough as he loves his breakfast but can't eat or drink after midnight. Its about 2 hours from here to there so hopefully he will fall back to sleep once we drop Brenda off. We won't really know till we get to the hospital if he is oked for surgery. We hope so because we have seen a goo improvement in the sinus infection but the final decision is up to the anesthesiologist.

OK, I will stop babbling tonight. Will post tomorrow and let you all know how things went.

 

[mrsksomeday]

Gavin is in my prayers, I hope he can have the surgery tomorrow .

 

[smidgy]

prayers from me for Gavin (and all of you).

 

[stephielela]

I am keeping your family in my thoughts!