The DDA Trouble Free Zone Part 29

[Tinkaroo]

I am with you on the shoe thing! Kathrin and Kristin will probably wear shoes to die for... but I will go for comfort and ease of getting all the food and drink I want! Right now I am leaning toward a pair of dressy crop pants with a lace top. It might change if I keep losing weight though. Kathrin may wear a vintage dress she just bought, and Kristin will probably wear something a little... hmmmmm.... different than we do! We will keep in touch about this. But definitely plan on comfy shoes!

Good to know! I will probably choose my outfit based upon the weather (how warm and wet it is). The one thing I was so thankful for on Friday night is that I was wearing my Croc Mary Janes - I was the only one whose shoes didn't have to dry out overnight!

If everyone could spare some prayers for us, I would appreciate it. We are leaning heavily towards moving to CA in the near future. Under the family circumstances and since we are not very tied down here, we think that it may be for the best. While it is nice being near my family, I also know that they have a better chance of being around for a lot longer. I am just praying that the right situation/timing presents itself so that we know the direction meant for us right now. As it is, it looks like Phil will be staying in CA for about a month now instead of the two weeks. I was not surprised at all though as I kind of expected it to be 3-4 weeks. Our visit will still fall pretty much in the middle though so that is good.

for clarity as you ponder if this is the best move for your family.

And one last prayer request that I needed to save for last as it will make me cry again...

I have a friend Mimi from our CA playgroups. She woke up yesterday morning to find that her husband had died overnight. He was young (mid-30s) and healthy and this has come as a complete shock to us all. A cause of death is not yet known. They had been married just 2 years, though together for about 5 before that. They have a baby daughter together who is not quite a year old and he was in the process of adopting Mimi's 9yo daughter Catherine.

I can't even imagine what they are all going through right now. Doug was a wonderful man and will be missed by many. I am waiting to hear on memorial service plans on the chance that I will be there to go.

Thanks everyone.

That is so, so incredibly sad. Your poor friend and her family. Lots of coming their way!

I still can't decide which design I want for the Halloween party The days are gonna fly by now!!!!!!!!!!!

I forgot to mention (and didn't get the opportunity to take pictures of) that Disney has several general Halloween-themed t-shirts out that are different than the MNSSHP party design. We saw all of these in the YC gift shop.

One is a pumpkin orange s/s t-shirt for women with small felt cut-outs of an orange jack-o-lantern, white ghost, and black bat on it (those are in a line straight across the chest), and then I believe it has Happy Halloween 2007 on it in black as well. I know it does also then mention Halloween 2007 in black on one of the sleeves. (I really liked this t-shirt, but that particular color orange was NOT a good luck on me, so I had to bypass it.)

Another women's shirt we saw was black s/s with a screenprint of Tinkerbell on it (in her witch costume that is purple and green), and she was flying over a Halloween scene (can't remember exactly what it was), and it metioned Halloween 2007 on it, too.

There were also 2 mens shirts (although I saw several women wearing them). One which I really liked was a white/black ringer tee that had a sketch of a classic Mickey Mouse dressed as a pirate, and it said "Pirates of the Scaribbean" on it, and then something about Halloween 2007 in small print underneath. The other was all black, had a screenprint of a variety of characters, dressed in costumes, in front of the Castle, and said something to the effect of "Give Us Candy."

Just wanted to let you guys know that there were some other shirts out there! If memory serves, the 2 women's shirts were about $28.

I just got a phone call from Kathrin. Her procedure went off without a hitch and she is having very little discomfort. Seems her last PAP smear was abnormal and after a biopsy and a pulposcopy she was diagnosed with "moderate to advanced" displasia. Meaning they needed to get those cells out of the cervix and checked very carefully. She will get the report back and goes in for a follow-up in 2 weeks.

She opted to not tell me because she knew I would drop everything and go to be with her. She wanted to handle this one on her own and it seems she and Sara are doing so. I truly understand her need to be a little more independent since she has always lived close enough for us to help when she needed it. I never had that luxury so she was very careful with my feelings on this. I am happy she took the initiative!

So, now we wait. Thanks for all the good thoughts, everyone. :

for continued good news for her!

Lindsay,
If you have enough can you send me a MNSSHP map too? TY!

I will absolutely send one your way!

I thought I would post a couple of pictures of our costumes for MNSSHP.

Here are mine and DW's costumes. We even have the little propeller hats to go with these! No pictures of us modeling them though! I am sure that there will be plenty of pictures taken while at the party that if and when I am brave enough I will post us modeling them then!

My brother Tim is going to be the "Mad Hatter" and his wife is "supposed" to be the Queen of Hearts, but she is a little unsure of it right now! We'll see!

Those are so great, Tom, and Leighanna makes the perfect Alice. Did you make your brother and SIL's costumes, too, or are they going to have to try to live up to your family's costumes?

 

[tmfranlk]

I know that you love living near your family and it has been wonderful for Terra. I understand Phil's concern for his Dad, but please make sure that it is what is best for "your" little family. It sounds like you have a lot of friends in CA so maybe the transition wouldn't be too bad That you can make a clear decision.

Thanks for the reminder, Deb. That is the main reason the decision isn't clear yet. We do have really good friends there and, better yet, ones who homeschool as well, so those are real benefits. The hard part here is that I find myself struggling to fit in with my family anymore and it makes it hard at times. On the other hand, I enjoy being with them more often than not and would miss that. Phil and my best friends are both in CA so that adds to the pull. I'm just praying for the right opportunity to make the choice clear to appear.

 

[Tinkaroo]

Not at all! Really though, I think this will be my last trip to the World for at least 4-5 years. Scary, I know! So yes, I'm excited to be going and spending it with such wonderful men and women!

I certainly hope that's not true!!! We will make every moment in October count, though, just in case!

I needed to come on here tonight to talk with Disney Literate people. My family is absolutely clueless. They are planning 9 nights give or take a day depending on flights. My SIL says that they will only do the parks for 5 days. One each at MK, Epcot, AK, MGM and a day at a water park. I had to explain that water parks are not included in the basic tickets and it would be cheaper to buy a water park ticket at the window then spend the $45 to add the option if they are only going one time. I also tried to explain the dining plan...notice I said tried. They haven't been since Summer was 9 months old and that was over 7 years ago. First of all they cannot do each park in one day. They have no idea of the cost of food. I told them to go to allearsnet and check out the menus and prices and go from there. They probably won't do many table service meals so maybe the dining plan isn't for them, but they should at least consider the option. Does anyone know how many meals I can use the DDE plan on. There will be 11 of us. We can do one check, but can I get the discount for all of us? I mentioned setting up a grand gathering for us, but I don't know enough about it to give them any information so now I need to do the homework.

Deb, I feel your pain. I, thankfully, haven't had too many problems (yet) with my family, as a good portion of them get it, want to get it, or just know that they should follow my lead w/o question. We'll see how that actually pans out in the parks, though!

On the other hand, my mom's BF that I was attempting to help is clueless, has misrepresented some suggestions I made to her to my mom, hasn't thanked me for any of my time, etc. Needless to say, I made sure my mom saw all the e-mails so she could see that her friend is not accurate in her recap of the advice I gave her, and washed my hands of the situation. Oh, to be a fly on that wall next year! She'll be broke before it's all over, as she's spending over $2000 this Sept. for 3 nights at the BWI!

The DDE will cover up to 10 people. I'm hopeful for our bigger meals in Dec. (15-16 people) that since we're all going to be at separate tables close to one another, that they can still split the checks up, and Jonathan and I will be able to get our discount, and maybe extend it to whomever is being nice to us that day. We'll see how well it works, as I really don't like the DDP.

And I've set up a Grand Gathering for this trip - it's very easy. In fact, since you're going through MS, just call them and tell them you need a GG #. They coordinated with that dept., and had mine set-up for me in no time!

Mickey says HI and he is wishing you a wonderful day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY


Stephanie,

Knowing you for these past 18 years have been so great. We have met every challenge with strength. We have laughed, cried, and fought and won the worst and the easiest battles. You are my twin, my soul mate. It has been a blast. I am honored to be your friend. Hal is honored to be your "Hubby Too".

We could write a book on our travels, they were just too much fun.

We have offered advice the other has taken or (not) We have been truthfull when answering that all important question 'Do I have anything in my teeth?'

Here is to the next 18 and more years of friendship.

How beautiful!

I was actually thinking myself of not going next year. I will just have to wait & see

I went to Lizzy's open house tonight. Her teacher seems great. I asked her if she had Lizzy's ICAP (Individulized Cirriculum Accomodation Plan) and she said no. She said there is a new school psychologist this year but that she would be sure to go find Lizzy's plan.

I told her about our November trip and how I was thinking she'd only miss 2 days but now she'll miss 3 because they don't have the Friday off. The teacher didn't realize they don't have that day off. I bet Lizzy won't be the only one missing that day. She said she'd give Lizzy a little bit of work but would rather have Lizzy do a presentation about her trip when she got back. I told her to tell Lizzy her homework was to try new foods at the food & wine fest.


My 5 photopass CD's came today. They put the photos into folders of 20 photos each so it took a while to get them on my PC but I did get them all on. I'll have to upload some of those and think about doing a trip report before Tom does his.


Elizabeth-your new computer must have a DVD drive right? I'm sure I can fit all your pictures on 1 DVD but it would take a few CDs.

Sounds like a good report on Lizzy, and I'm glad her teacher is understanding about your Nov. trip!

I'm so encouraged, too, to hear that you got so many CD's for the Photopass price! I will definitely have to do this with my family this year, particularly if there isn't a limit on the # of CD's you can receive for the one price!

Maybe a guidebook would be a good idea for my family. I could add it to the t-shirts at Christmas. Maybe a kids guide for my DN. I knew you guys would give me great ideas

The guidebooks are a great idea. For our big family trip, everyone got something related to Disney as part of their gift last Christmas, and kicking off our year of anticipation. We gave our BIL/SIL copies of the 2007 Unofficial Guide, and my DB got a copy of Lou Mongello's WDW Trivia Book, Vol. 1. We gave all our nieces and nephew personalized name sweatshirts (thanks to Maria for the designs!), and we got personalized Mickey head ornaments from WDW for each set of parents that said something about "2007 Family Trip." Everyone loved what they got. Jonathan also wrote a pretty lengthy poem about all we would see and do, and read it to everyone before they opened their gifts.

All the kids also get a small gift each month from us, leading up to Dec.!

ETA: Oh, and I heard about a great guidebook for kids on one of the podcasts I listen to - it's called "Guide to the Magic for Kids" and can be ordered at www.guidetothemagic.com. It would be great for kids that can read, and want to journal, have scavenger hunts, etc. Great pictures, too!

 

[UP Disney]

I hope that the rest goes smoothly and that you have some time off soon. You need some down time

Thanks Deb. There is a project of 10,000 machines being upgraded in the next 6 months. We have been doing pilot sites to see how many people are needed, what issues arise, etc. We are putting together the schedule in the next week based on our findings and my life should settle down again.

 

[tmfranlk]

Debbie I enjoyed every word & picture from your TR, thank you for sharing!

Tom I love the outfits, I knew they would look awesome And you know we will all want to see pictures of you from the party

Ditto! They look great!

 

[Tinkaroo]

I don't think it is won't listen as much as can't comprehend. I find that non Disney people think of WDW as a group of amusement parks, like 6 Flags. They think that you just go for a day and do what you can. They don't get that there it is so much more than an amusement park. They don't understand collecting autographs or pin trading. Taking time to watch the shows and parades. Of course they will notice the crowd levels and length of lines, but that is a 6 flag issue too. They are also talking about doing other things in Orlando though "other" hasn't been defined

So true. Jonathan was just saying this weekend that a doctor that he calls on just took her family to WDW for the 1st time. She told him that she was really shocked when she got there, as she expected it to just be like a Six Flags, with some hotels and restaurants grouped around it.

The kids are off from school today. Teacher conference or some such thing. Nick's teacher has set up a website based grading system to keep the parents in the loop. She emailed us all our usernames and passwords so I checked it out last night. He had all A's except 4 F's on his reading journal. Apparently he has been forgetting it at home so he gets an F for the night. That brought his overall Language Arts grade down to a C. I wasn't a happy Mommy when I saw that. Since he has proven that he is irresponsible he will need to run all of his homework by us for inspection each night and we will be watching him put everything into his backpack. He's blown the trust. If he hadn't forgotten the assignments at home (which he says were done) he would have straight A+ right now

Vent over. Now to get something done around here.

Deb

Ugh. I hope the new schedule of things works out for you guys, Deb.

I'm home for a few hours today. I am working an hour away. I got home Monday night for 5 hours of sleep and then turned around and went back. I could have gotten 2 more hours of sleep but I hadn't been home for 7-1/2 days. I've been putting in mostly 16 hour days. I got home last night for 8 hours of sleep. I have a couple of conference calls this morning and then I have to head out at noon for one last night of work.

The pilot sites have been going extremely well. Things are getting set so that everything is in place so I should be able to stop working so hard soon. We have the documentation done so we can get the rest of the managers involved. There has just been a lot of stuff to get in place to make this all happen.

Take care of yourself, Vicki, although I'm glad to hear that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for you.

 

[babytrees]

Thanks Deb. There is a project of 10,000 machines being upgraded in the next 6 months. We have been doing pilot sites to see how many people are needed, what issues arise, etc. We are putting together the schedule in the next week based on our findings and my life should settle down again.

I hope so because we miss you.

 

[my3princes]

I certainly hope that's not true!!! We will make every moment in October count, though, just in case!



Deb, I feel your pain. I, thankfully, haven't had too many problems (yet) with my family, as a good portion of them get it, want to get it, or just know that they should follow my lead w/o question. We'll see how that actually pans out in the parks, though!

On the other hand, my mom's BF that I was attempting to help is clueless, has misrepresented some suggestions I made to her to my mom, hasn't thanked me for any of my time, etc. Needless to say, I made sure my mom saw all the e-mails so she could see that her friend is not accurate in her recap of the advice I gave her, and washed my hands of the situation. Oh, to be a fly on that wall next year! She'll be broke before it's all over, as she's spending over $2000 this Sept. for 3 nights at the BWI!

The DDE will cover up to 10 people. I'm hopeful for our bigger meals in Dec. (15-16 people) that since we're all going to be at separate tables close to one another, that they can still split the checks up, and Jonathan and I will be able to get our discount, and maybe extend it to whomever is being nice to us that day. We'll see how well it works, as I really don't like the DDP.

And I've set up a Grand Gathering for this trip - it's very easy. In fact, since you're going through MS, just call them and tell them you need a GG #. They coordinated with that dept., and had mine set-up for me in no time!



How beautiful!







Sounds like a good report on Lizzy, and I'm glad her teacher is understanding about your Nov. trip!

I'm so encouraged, too, to hear that you got so many CD's for the Photopass price! I will definitely have to do this with my family this year, particularly if there isn't a limit on the # of CD's you can receive for the one price!



The guidebooks are a great idea. For our big family trip, everyone got something related to Disney as part of their gift last Christmas, and kicking off our year of anticipation. We gave our BIL/SIL copies of the 2007 Unofficial Guide, and my DB got a copy of Lou Mongello's WDW Trivia Book, Vol. 1. We gave all our nieces and nephew personalized name sweatshirts (thanks to Maria for the designs!), and we got personalized Mickey head ornaments from WDW for each set of parents that said something about "2007 Family Trip." Everyone loved what they got. Jonathan also wrote a pretty lengthy poem about all we would see and do, and read it to everyone before they opened their gifts.

All the kids also get a small gift each month from us, leading up to Dec.!

ETA: Oh, and I heard about a great guidebook for kids on one of the podcasts I listen to - it's called "Guide to the Magic for Kids" and can be ordered at www.guidetothemagic.com. It would be great for kids that can read, and want to journal, have scavenger hunts, etc. Great pictures, too!

I'll check out that guidebook. It might be perfect for my neice.


I am working on making a Mickey Lamp Post for our camper/deck. I finally got up the courage to cut the holes. My question is do the ears look too small? These are 6" which is what was posted in the instructions, but to me they see a bit small on the 12" head. Should I try to find 8" globes or just go with what I've got? I still need to make at least 2 more so I need them to all be uniform. Ignore the tape in the picture as I was just putting the ears on temporarily.

 

[tmfranlk]

Good afternoon everyone! Just a quick pop in to say hi before I've got to take mom to work. not much going on here, just laundry and grocery shopping to get ready for camping and CA. Hope that everyone is doing well!

 

[tmfranlk]

I'll check out that guidebook. It might be perfect for my neice.


I am working on making a Mickey Lamp Post for our camper/deck. I finally got up the courage to cut the holes. My question is do the ears look too small? These are 6" which is what was posted in the instructions, but to me they see a bit small on the 12" head. Should I try to find 8" globes or just go with what I've got? I still need to make at least 2 more so I need them to all be uniform. Ignore the tape in the picture as I was just putting the ears on temporarily.

I think that they look great. 8" might just be too big.

 

[tmfranlk]

ETA: Oh, and I heard about a great guidebook for kids on one of the podcasts I listen to - it's called "Guide to the Magic for Kids" and can be ordered at www.guidetothemagic.com. It would be great for kids that can read, and want to journal, have scavenger hunts, etc. Great pictures, too!

Those books look great! Thanks for posting them Lindsay. I'll have to check them out more.

 

[babytrees]

I think that they look great. 8" might just be too big.

I was thinking the same thing

 

[ButchsLilPrincess]

ok finally caught up for the last ohh 2 weeks or so lol .. everytime i get caught up on everything something happens in the house that i have to take care of/ clean up/ punish/ deal with and i don't get a chance to post.. and then there's another 10 or so pages that i have to catch up on again .. so i have been reading just couldn't post .. To everyone in need of them I know alot is going on in everyone's life , I just can't remember everything right now. ( at least not everything in the last 2 weeks)

Becky glad you're enjoying your trip so far ..

Jen hope the weather's holding out..

Lindsay, i'm sorry your mnssp got rained on and that the rest of your group wasnt in the disney mind set that you were , you totally deserve a re-do .. good thing you're going back in what 28 days now ? woohoo

Debbie, I loved reading your TR and looking at all of your pics .. Brandon's such a lucky kiddle to have you and paw paw for such great one on one trips !! i was truely sorry to see it end.

Deb, I'm glad your camping trip went so well . I think I might steal some of your buffet ideas for RJ's birthday party next month and Congrats on the kid's costumes wining prizes they were awesome!!I truely hope that your DB, SIL and Parents come around on this trip. I really hope that they figure out what all is involved with Disney and Take your advice as not to mess up any plans you might want to make .. Best of Luck planning such a big venture.. I'll be in your shoes next year.. we're doing a grand gathering the week between christmas and new years .. with i think the total's up to 18 now ..

Elin, I'm glad your DD's procedure went well and she's recovering best wishes and prayers for fast resullts. ( I hate waiting )

Robyn, I'm sorry your group was so ... welll horrible at Dutch Wonderland. but I'm glad you all decided to stay a little longer and just have some great family time. Your girls are all just so precious.

Steffy and Deb ... Happy Belated Birthday. I hope you both enjoyed your days and from the sounds of it they were somewhat stress free..

Tia, Thoughts and prayers are with you in theis very difficult time. I hope that you get the sign that you're looking for and make the right choice for you and your family. I'm truely sorry to hear about your friends death. It really does make you look at life differently . many many to you all in this ime of need.

Jen, The pic looks much better now with the corrections. Sorry to hear about SK's conclusions with grandpa. Hopefully they can concentrate on his Quality of life and at least slow down any up coming growth.. I think I might be heading your way on Mon or tues. Let me know if ya already have plans or want to get together while i'm down.

I'm sorry I know there's so much more that i'm not remembering right now but please don't take that as disrespect. I just forgot to keep my notebook open this time around .. again to everyone and have a great rest of a Wed. :d

 

[lovesdumbo]

www.guidetothemagic.com[/url]. It would be great for kids that can read, and want to journal, have scavenger hunts, etc. Great pictures, too!

I think there might be a limit as to how many pictures you can have in your account and still have the website work ok for you. I started with 369 photos and added multiple borders to the photos and sometimes cropped the photos and added borders again. I ended up with 1,369 photos and I was definately pushing the limits of the photopass website. I was getting lots of error messages and it was taking forever to save a new photo. I tried at home and my office so it wasn't just a problem with say my Mac at home using Safari as I was having the same issues with my PC at work using Explorer.

I'll have to go check out that guidebook for kids. Thanks for the link!

Thanks Deb. There is a project of 10,000 machines being upgraded in the next 6 months. We have been doing pilot sites to see how many people are needed, what issues arise, etc. We are putting together the schedule in the next week based on our findings and my life should settle down again.

SO happy to hear the end is almost in sight!

I'll check out that guidebook. It might be perfect for my neice.


I am working on making a Mickey Lamp Post for our camper/deck. I finally got up the courage to cut the holes. My question is do the ears look too small? These are 6" which is what was posted in the instructions, but to me they see a bit small on the 12" head. Should I try to find 8" globes or just go with what I've got? I still need to make at least 2 more so I need them to all be uniform. Ignore the tape in the picture as I was just putting the ears on temporarily.

I think it looks great too!

 

[lovesdumbo]

What a day I'm having today. First I'm exhausted because of stupid dreams. I was buying a hot pink stuffed poodle in my dream along with $1,000's worth of computer equipment when someone stole my car and the police refused to help so I got lost and was running around all night long. UGH....I hate those can't get there from here dreams as I always wake up cranky, tired and uneasy.

Then I was looking for something this morning and found that I hadn't paid my American Express bill. It came while we were away and it would have been tough to pay it on time even if I wrote the check the day we picked up the mail but I somehow put it aside after being confused by the way the credit the rewards to my Jet Blue FF account. I'm sure that mistake will be close to $100 by the time I pay my late fee and interest. I did call them this morning to say the check was in the mail and they told me I hadn't lost any rewards but now it will be another 2 months before they get transfered over to my True Blue account. I'm so mad at myself. Time to get control at home again.

 

[lovesdumbo]

I finally updated January's color coded matrix of fun last night and discovered that our first night is the last night of Osborne lights and last day of the Christmas Animal Kingdom parade.

So I can see the first Osborne lights on the last night of my trip with Lizzy and the last night of Osborne lights with Joe.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I think that they look great. 8" might just be too big.

I agree!

What a day I'm having today. First I'm exhausted because of stupid dreams. I was buying a hot pink stuffed poodle in my dream along with $1,000's worth of computer equipment when someone stole my car and the police refused to help so I got lost and was running around all night long. UGH....I hate those can't get there from here dreams as I always wake up cranky, tired and uneasy.

Then I was looking for something this morning and found that I hadn't paid my American Express bill. It came while we were away and it would have been tough to pay it on time even if I wrote the check the day we picked up the mail but I somehow put it aside after being confused by the way the credit the rewards to my Jet Blue FF account. I'm sure that mistake will be close to $100 by the time I pay my late fee and interest. I did call them this morning to say the check was in the mail and they told me I hadn't lost any rewards but now it will be another 2 months before they get transfered over to my True Blue account. I'm so mad at myself. Time to get control at home again.

That sounds like quite a dream!
I got DH's statement for his WalMart card the other day and SURPRISE! we never paid it in August! I never did find the statement, either, so I have no idea what happened to it. It either got lost in the mail or misplaced by DH or our pet sitter (she brings in our mail when we're gone). I was NOT happy, but it's our fault so I can't protest the late fee.

 

[Glynis]

BTW...whoever recommended Julie and Julia, I'm loving it!

Yay! I'm so glad you like it! I thought it was a fun read!

 

[tinknme]

Hi all!

Deb I love your Mickey lamp, I think the size is perfect

Vicki glad to hear you will be able to slow down soon!

Welcome back Glynis! How did the wedding go?

 

[tinknme]

For those going to MNSSHP on the 18th, will you be wearing the design Anne Marie posted or something else?

I am really trying to decide what to do here lol