The DDA Trouble Free Zone Part 29

[my3princes]

Here ya go...

The brownie cake that we made to commemorate the beginning of school.

My SIL made that cake too. She saw the recipe in Family Fun

 

[my3princes]

AnneMarie. I'm glad that you guys made the best of it. It looks like you still had fun. Our P&PP experience had no rain, but it still wasn't up to Disney's usual standards.

We will be camping the weekend of the 14th and 15th. It is our annual Halloween camping trip. We are starting to plan the menu. I think that Friday night we'll just do pizza since we will need to set up camp and get in line for the haunted trail. I want to do a fun menu for Saturday. I'm thinking I can make Fried eggs look like eyeballs and maybe sausage for fingers. I know, not very creative (this is where all the talanted cooks can chime in )
Lunch is up in the air. For Dinner I'm thinking that I can make bread sticks with pepperoni cut for fingernails and stick them out of a cup of pizza sauce with melted cheese (blood and guts). I saw a photo of some opened faced hamburgers with the cheese cut into jackolanterns before melting it on the burger. They were cute. I was also thinking of making the marshmellow fruit dip and making melon balls (eyeballs) and grapes (also eyeballs) and maybe coming up with some other body parts. I can probably make short pigs in a blanket with the pig hanging out a bit. They should look like toes. My kids really like Kraft Mac & Cheese. I was thinking maybe food coloring (but what color) and adding some cooked orzo at the end to look like maggots (I maybe color those green). Desert is up in the air I was going to make a kitty litter cake, but that is huge and I really shouldn't eat the leftovers so maybe I'll make something else.

Ideas People...I need Ideas.

 

[marcij]

Evening everyone,


I have a prayer request for a local couple here. The woman is a teacher at the school my daughter teaches at. Yesterday morning her DH left to go to work with their 9 month old baby girl, who he drops off at daycare everyday. For some reason he forgot to stop at the daycare and went straight to work, the daycare called her later in the day to ask why the baby was not there, she in turn called her DH at work, that is when he found her, sadly the baby had died from the heat. I can't even imagine their pain.

I'm going to call it an early night so that I can get a fresh start in the morning and hopefully get everything done.

Have a great weekend,

Debbie

Prayers for them. Sorry I missed getting to wish you a Magical trip!

Here are the slideshows I did of Lucy's 1st and 2nd months...

Fabulous slideshow -- I love the one where she has on the outfit with the elephant and is sitting beside the bear. Her smile is adorable!

Marci & Robyn - I remembered that I can't do Monday the 9th for dinner. Religious Ed. starts that night at 6:30 and I volunteered to be an assistant this year.

Not a problem -- I didn't have a lot of notice about this trip. If it doesn't work out, we'll try the next time I'm in the area.

I DON'T ITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i just talked to my friend whose due date is monday to she if she had had leslie and she said she arrived 4 days ago. she was 6lbs (i forget the oz) and 20 inches long. she said she will email me pictures soon. within the next 2 weekends I think we might go see them

I'm glad you are feeling better. Congrats to your friend! I hope the telethon party was fun.

Does anyone buy the entertainment book. DO you think its worth it?

I know you got lots of feedback on this, but if you remember to use it (and I usually don't remember to have it with me, or forget which coupons it has) then it's a great deal. The boys have it as one of their school fundraisers.

Does anyone know where to get a fan for the strollers. I remember reading about them somewhere but don't remember where. I want to get one or two before next summer. I want to take Olivia to the Zoo in Fort Worth and Sea world next summer.

I don't know if they still have it, but The Right Start is where I got mine about 5 years ago.

Anne Marie -- I've been enjoying your TR. The upgrade to concierge must have saved you a lot in breakfast alone! I've made friends with someone on the IPO staff at one of the hotels and he managed to get us access to the lounge before our cruise this summer, and we saved a ton!

Deb -- the deck looks great and I think the furniture goes really well together. Thanks for posting the pictures.

Tammi -- your pics are so cute of the first day of school. Every time I see a pic of Alyssa she reminds me of a china doll and Nicholas is really growing up!

Kim -- the pics of your boys are darling as well. I'm long gone when the boys leave for school, so Randy always takes the boys pictures, and he always does it by the door to the garage, too.

I hope all the kids that started school today had a great day!

We took a quick trip to Sea World -- our annual visit over Labor Day. I didn't get to go with Randy and the boys last year, since Mom had emergency surgery the day we were leaving, so the trip was even more special this year since I got to share it with my boys and Randy. It was a lot of fun and I'll try to post a couple of pics later.

 

[Glynis]

The kids did great this morning. Alyssa was up at 7:30, before I even woke her. Nicholas was up shortly after. So we were on time without having to rush around. Alyssa was excited but nervous. She was ready and willing to go. Nicholas however got more nervous at the bus stop. He did shed a few tears, but I think it was just the newness of going to a new class, new teacher, etc. I'm sure he's fine now that he is there. I was able to hold my tears until the bus pulled away. Then it hit me. Here are a few pictures.

I'm so glad all went well! I love the picture of the 2 of them together with Alyssa's head on Nicholas's shoulder. What a keeper!!!

Tell your kids, that my kids are also Eagles!!! Alpine Elementary Eagles!

 

[mommykds]

8/25
Well since we didn’t get to bed the night before until 2am we slept in today until 10am & was in Epcot by 11am. We FP’ed Test Track (return time was 3pm) Had lunch in Sunshine Seasons & it was very good. The turkey & cheese sandwich was very yummy & so was the Asian chocolate cake. My kids got to make cookies at the Nestle baking area in the Land. In all our years at Disney we never got to do this & the kids enjoyed it so much.

After the cookie baking we rode the Land. There is a prerecorded voice now, no more human guide.

We waited for a Visa meet & greet picture at Innoventions. The line was over 40 minutes. Dana took them to play “Play It Safe” while I waited. They love that game.

Then Dana ran to get a FP for Soarin which was for 5pm. I am still amazed at people that stand in line for over an hour for the rides when there is Fast Pass…Why do they do that? We had ongoing FP’s in our pockets all day. It’s the only way to go when its crowded . I love FP!

Katie loves Figment so of course we had to ride that. The kids sat in front & Dana & I sat behind them. They were singing “One little spark of inspiration is at the heart of all creation!...Imagination, Imagination!, Imagination!!” together, it was so cute.

Hidden Mickey on Test Track

World showcase was next & dinner at Le Chefs de France. This was such a wonderful dining experience. We had a very nice server. The food was exceptional. We ordered the cheese plate, flatbread with wild mushrooms and four cheeses (yum), & French onion soup for appetizers. Dana got the seared tuna & I the duck. The desserts were fabulous! I ordered the “Tarte au chocolat, banane et noix de coco, sauce pralinee” - Chocolate tart with banana and coconut, praline sauce with chocolate ice cream. Dana had the assortments of sorbets (the pear one was heavenly) & Katie (as an adult) had the blueberry clafoutis, with red berry sauce and sorbet. We have added Chefs to our “must do” list every trip.

While we were in France we decided to see “Impressions de France”. Right before the movie started the host asked Sophie to come up & introduce the film. He told her to say “Bon Film” & she said “Bon Jour” & then she said “Bon Film”.

It was now raining & the Epcot crowd was thinning out. We got an awesome spot on the bridge by the International Gateway to watch Illuminations. We walked back to the resort & a stop at the lounge for some mini desserts & drinks. The kids watched the TV & we just relaxed & then we called it a night.

 

[tinknme]

We knew you would

I got a lot of administrative stuff out of the way this morning and had a wonderful time teaching my first class at 10:00. So I am back to being excited about teaching again. Now, that didn't take too long, did it?

 

[tinker1bell]

Did anyone else wake up thinking of June this morning?

I have been thinking of her the whole weekend

 

[tinknme]

Great picture Kim!

We plan on getting a group picture here in Oct.

Here's the last picture that I took at our trip to Disney. I saw the bench and ran over to it and plopped the boys down thinking that it would be a great picture. That was before I realized what the significance of the bench was.

Although I didn't know June, she was obviously loved.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Anne Marie I am so enjoying your TR. Your pictures are wonderful!


Tammi I know it was hard to see them go this morning Love the pictures, they are growing so fast!

I agree, on both counts!
The bus would be my undoing. We live too close to qualify for bus service, and walking would be a suicide mission so DS gets dropped off and picked up every day.

I got a lot of administrative stuff out of the way this morning and had a wonderful time teaching my first class at 10:00. So I am back to being excited about teaching again. Now, that didn't take too long, did it?

Glad you are back in the groove, Elin!

Oh, Elizabeth! to you. It's really tough, isn't it? I went through the same thing with Katie, but luckily, she remembered her homework yesterday afternoon, so we didn't have too much of a scramble. I feel for ya! Hopefully, he will get this whole homework thing figured out soon!

Thanks, Glynis! I am not as angry today. Hopefully he won't make that mistake again.

Anne Marie - I'm sorry your P&PP was a bust. But it sounds like the kids still enjoyed it. The girls look simply royal all BBB'd up!

Anne Marie, did you guys get any sort of "rain" voucher? Somebody on TPAS said they were handing out one day passes to MK as compensation for the rain. I guess that was at the turnstiles as people were leaving about 11 PM. You might try contacting Guest Services and tell them that you understand there were passes issued to attendees but you didn't receive any.

Yes, I did. I was sad for a minute, then I thanked heaven for being allowed to know her, and all of you. You've all blessed my life more than you will ever know!

I wish I had known June! All of you who had the pleasure of chatting with her are in my thoughts today.

I called the attendance office this morning and the lady said it is up to the teacher to correct it. I sent a note with DS to the teacher, so we shall see.

Dadboss said he is taking Princess out of town Oct. 19. That's the weekend of the DDA meet. I don't know if that means I will have Friday off, but if it does, I would love to try to fly out and meet everyone. The details are what's messy. It would be easier for me to bring DS and fly out Thursday night. Otherwise I will have to get him to school on Friday before I can go to the airport and we will have to find somebody to look after him overnight Friday and Saturday. I know everyone else is "kidless" that weekend, but maybe we could still find time to say hello even if we can't do everything else with the group. The other issue is airfare, which is WAY too high. I had a DING but I didn't pay any attention and now the fares are close to $300 round trip. GOOD flights are $500. No flights available with miles (well, I am 15,000 short for those) so we'll just see. I haven't even looked at hotel. If it works out great, if not, I didn't think I would be able to go in the first place!

I survived swim lessons today. Just 17 more to go! I kept my face out of the water, so that made it better.

 

[Glynis]

We will be camping the weekend of the 14th and 15th. It is our annual Halloween camping trip. We are starting to plan the menu. I think that Friday night we'll just do pizza since we will need to set up camp and get in line for the haunted trail. I want to do a fun menu for Saturday. I'm thinking I can make Fried eggs look like eyeballs and maybe sausage for fingers. I know, not very creative (this is where all the talanted cooks can chime in )
Lunch is up in the air. For Dinner I'm thinking that I can make bread sticks with pepperoni cut for fingernails and stick them out of a cup of pizza sauce with melted cheese (blood and guts). I saw a photo of some opened faced hamburgers with the cheese cut into jackolanterns before melting it on the burger. They were cute. I was also thinking of making the marshmellow fruit dip and making melon balls (eyeballs) and grapes (also eyeballs) and maybe coming up with some other body parts. I can probably make short pigs in a blanket with the pig hanging out a bit. They should look like toes. My kids really like Kraft Mac & Cheese. I was thinking maybe food coloring (but what color) and adding some cooked orzo at the end to look like maggots (I maybe color those green). Desert is up in the air I was going to make a kitty litter cake, but that is huge and I really shouldn't eat the leftovers so maybe I'll make something else.

Ideas People...I need Ideas.

You can make mummy dogs (hot dogs wrapped in bread stick dough and baked. I pipe eyes on the mummie with black icing gel). Use some premade pie crust and cut out halloween shapes (2 per shape; 2 tombstones, 2 bats, etc.), fill them with taco meat, top with the other shape, seal closed and bake. You can paint them with egg yolk paint if you want. You can also make English muffin pizzas, and let the kids use pepperoni, peppers, cheese, to make jack-o-lantern faces.

For dessert, decorate pre-made cupcakes to look like scarecrows. Make jell-o with gummy worms in it. Make any kind of pudding that you like in clear cups (can be done ahead of time). Just before serving, put some Cool Whip in a pastry bag (or Ziplok baggie with a corner snipped off), and pipe some "ghosts" on top of the pudding.

I like to make orange jell-o in one pan, and grape jell-o in another. Flake them up with a fork, and spoon an orange layer into a clear cup, then a purple layer, then an orange layer, etc. Before serving, pour 7-Up or orange Kool-aid over it. Add a straw and you have Goblin Goo!

Somewhere I have a recipe for chili cooked inside a pumpkin. I'll look for it, if you want. I've never tried it, so I can't vouch for the taste, though.

 

[tinknme]

Me too, on both counts!

I am so glad you guys are coming in October! I am looking forward to some grown up time thats for sure.

 

[tinknme]

The cake looks good! Thanks for sharing your back to school pictures Hope the boys had a good day.

Here ya go...

The brownie cake that we made to commemorate the beginning of school.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Kim - What a yummy cake! Cute pics of the boys, too!

Janet - I like your new signature!

 

[mommy2emmersNmo]

I can't believe it's been a year since June passed. Heidi, that was a perfect quote. Thanks for posting.

I've been reading but my head feels as if it's about to explode. I've felt something coming on for a while now and thought it was just allergies but it finally hit me Sunday night. I have very little voice and it seems when I do talk it sends me into a coughing fit.

I love all the pics- back to school, trip reports and home improvements!


and 's all around!!

 

[tinknme]

Anne Marie sorry it rained so much during the party. This happened to us during the Halloween party in 2005. We were lucky though & it stopped after a couple of hours. Looks like you all still had a good time & the girls look beautiful!

 

[tinknme]

Glad you were able to get away & enjoy time with your family

We took a quick trip to Sea World -- our annual visit over Labor Day. I didn't get to go with Randy and the boys last year, since Mom had emergency surgery the day we were leaving, so the trip was even more special this year since I got to share it with my boys and Randy. It was a lot of fun and I'll try to post a couple of pics later.

 

[my3princes]

I'm so glad all went well! I love the picture of the 2 of them together with Alyssa's head on Nicholas's shoulder. What a keeper!!!

Tell your kids, that my kids are also Eagles!!! Alpine Elementary Eagles!

My kids are Wildcats...Hartland Elementary Wildcats Maybe I should have bought them Wildcats shirts at MGM, but then again Nick hates High School Musical and our colors are blue and white.

You can make mummy dogs (hot dogs wrapped in bread stick dough and baked. I pipe eyes on the mummie with black icing gel). Use some premade pie crust and cut out halloween shapes (2 per shape; 2 tombstones, 2 bats, etc.), fill them with taco meat, top with the other shape, seal closed and bake. You can paint them with egg yolk paint if you want. You can also make English muffin pizzas, and let the kids use pepperoni, peppers, cheese, to make jack-o-lantern faces.

For dessert, decorate pre-made cupcakes to look like scarecrows. Make jell-o with gummy worms in it. Make any kind of pudding that you like in clear cups (can be done ahead of time). Just before serving, put some Cool Whip in a pastry bag (or Ziplok baggie with a corner snipped off), and pipe some "ghosts" on top of the pudding.

I like to make orange jell-o in one pan, and grape jell-o in another. Flake them up with a fork, and spoon an orange layer into a clear cup, then a purple layer, then an orange layer, etc. Before serving, pour 7-Up or orange Kool-aid over it. Add a straw and you have Goblin Goo!

Somewhere I have a recipe for chili cooked inside a pumpkin. I'll look for it, if you want. I've never tried it, so I can't vouch for the taste, though.

The mummy dogs sound alot like the monster toes, same idea just a different look. The Goblin Goo sounds good, I may try that one. I'm thinking maybe little cups of dirt for dessert that way I can make just what we need and not have temptation for the next few days. I think I'll pass on the chili as Chris is the only one that will eat it. Whatever I make I want to make it ahead and just heat and serve. I know that we will be busy. The kids have already requested mini golf and a trip to the corn maze while we are there. I hear the corn is 13 feet high this year

 

[tinknme]

Looks like they had so much fun doing this! I never got the chance for the boys to make cookies, now I am sure they are to old

Sounds like another great day!

8/25
Well since we didn’t get to bed the night before until 2am we slept in today until 10am & was in Epcot by 11am. We FP’ed Test Track (return time was 3pm) Had lunch in Sunshine Seasons & it was very good. The turkey & cheese sandwich was very yummy & so was the Asian chocolate cake. My kids got to make cookies at the Nestle baking area in the Land. In all our years at Disney we never got to do this & the kids enjoyed it so much.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Marci - Sea World sounds like fun! We need to go there one of these days. I had done some poking around a couple of years ago to see about going over Labor Day but we never went.

Robyn - Take care of yourself! I hope you feel better soon!

Deb - That's some serious corn! Scary!

 

[Glynis]

My kids are Wildcats...Hartland Elementary Wildcats Maybe I should have bought them Wildcats shirts at MGM, but then again Nick hates High School Musical and our colors are blue and white.



The mummy dogs sound alot like the monster toes, same idea just a different look. The Goblin Goo sounds good, I may try that one. I'm thinking maybe little cups of dirt for dessert that way I can make just what we need and not have temptation for the next few days. I think I'll pass on the chili as Chris is the only one that will eat it. Whatever I make I want to make it ahead and just heat and serve. I know that we will be busy. The kids have already requested mini golf and a trip to the corn maze while we are there. I hear the corn is 13 feet high this year

You are going to have a great time!!!

If you want something really fast, you can always make Chili Cheese Chips. Chili and cheese piled up on top of Fritos corn chips!