The DDA Trouble Free Zone Part 4

[tinknme]

My favorite is Cape May Cafe!

What is everyone's favorite place for breakfast? I am trying to decide what to do for our last morning. Since I don't know when our flight will be I was thinking an early seating (8am) so that we can either hit a park first or head for the airport depending on our ME pick up time.

 

[tinknme]

They look great!

Kevin is giving me a tutorial on posting pictures as he watches JoJo's Circus with Alyssa...hope it works!

This is a picture of all of Alyssa's shirts and my "little squirt" shirt, originally designed by Queen Kate, but modified slightly by Kevin.

Amy

 

[Eeyorecln]

I just talked to the nicest CM ever! Delano and I spent 30 minutes on the phone tonight and got all of our ADRs set. He was very knowledgeable and a big Disney fan himself. I love having CMs like that who really know what they are talking about. He was full of recommendations and good words on many of our choices. Of course, once TGM comes out with his best days I may end up changing some of those, but I just HAD to get started. So...the plans are:

9/29 - Chef Mickey's (dinner)
9/30 - Le Cellier (dinner)
10/1 - Princess Storybook Breakfast
- Mama Melrose Fantasmic Dinner Package (may drop if we don't end up arriving on 9/29)
10/2 - Crystal Palace (breakfast) - deciding with dinner or maybe both
10/3 - Boma (dinner) - I am so excited to try this!
10/4 - Hollywood & Vine (breakfast) - if they have a new character meal
- Crystal Palace (dinner) - deciding with breakfast or maybe both
10/5 - Liberty Tree Taver (dinner) - we're at 4:20 too Eyorecln
10/6 - 50's Prime Time (dinner)
10/7 - 'Ohana (dinner) - I've been dying to try this one too
10/8 - Kona - thanks for the recommendation Marti!

Hmmmm...maybe since I ended up with two Crystal Palaces I'll drop the dinner and do Whispering Canyon after all! Plus, there is that little detail of having more meals than credits, but we'll see. If my grandma goes then we'll end up splitting some meals anyway so the credits will go further.

Alrighty, I am off to email Disney about the wonderful CM they have in Delano and then I am off to bed.

I have been hoping for the H & V character meal, but I'm not sure if they'll have it worked out by then. Hopefully we'll bump into you at LTT. I think your ADR's look good.

 

[tinknme]

Kristine I think your shirt looks wonderful, great job

I think I am officially retiring from trying to make these darn shirts...it's hard to see the mickeys on the sleeves....this was my best effort:

FRONT

BACK

 

[Eeyorecln]

And now since I'm such a picture-posting-expert, I will post some birthday party pictures!

The dessert table...cookies, cake, and cupcakes.

A close-up picture of the three ring circus.

Two of the games: I was really impressed with Kevin's hard work! Unfortunately I did not take "before" pictures, and the tape destroyed some of the "Pin the Nose on JoJo" game.

I think Alyssa took one bite of chicken, but this is a good picture of the bib Kevin made her.

More to come...
Amy

Wow looks great. How did you do the bib with a transfer? Did it iron on the material OK?

 

[tinknme]

Amy your cookies look yummy!

Cookie tutorial continued...

My cookie samplers.

The elephants and lions are ready for fondant and sugar!

I use a pastry/BBQ brush to apply the fondant.

And Kevin quickly adds the sugar before the fondant dries. He's a patient helper!

All done! I'm really going to miss my counter!

Amy

 

[Eeyorecln]

Okay guys - I am in need of some DDA PD (or just kind reassurances that I will get through things...)

Within the span of 1 week at work, we have seen a 4-person department dwindle to 2, leaving just my director and me. We had to fire an assistant that only had been on the job for 5 weeks because she was just a walking disaster (that was last Tuesday - and was a big relief when all was said and done), and then Friday afternoon my assistant who has been with me for over 2 years closes my door and tells me that she has been enticed literally across the street to another firm to perform a job function that she has never expressed interest in! This is a girl that has professed her love for legal recruiting ad nauseam, has wanted all these opportunities to take charge of things (which I've been giving her), and now has left me high and dry, holding the proverbial bag, with less than 6 weeks remaining before I have to shepherd 28 interns through a 14-week summer clerkship program. I won't bore anyone with the details of what all this entails, but basically (particularly now w/o knowledgeable, seasoned help) I will be working 80+ hours a week as a glorified adult babysitter, while all the time keeping a smile pasted to my face.

I could really just use any prayers that you've got lying around that I can get through this, while also not losing my sanity. This part of my job is also an extreme sacrifice on my DH's part, as he rarely sees me during the summer, and I'm concerned about putting him back in this position again.

ETA: And, as inconsequential as it seems, we are also slated to celebrate my Dad's 64th b-day with him in early June at my parents' timeshare in Kauai. I may have to cancel that trip because of all that has happened/is happening, which has upset EVERYONE in my family greatly. I'm not really supposed to take vacation during the summer because of my responsibilities (my director will be in Europe for 2 weeks at the same time!), but when we booked this last summer, it was no question that the 2 assistants could have manned the ship for that week...

I'm having some anger management/pity party issues!!!!

Your father's birthday isn't inconsequential if it's important to you. I hope things turn around for you at work. Prayers for a solution.

 

[Eeyorecln]

Amy - keep them coming - I love the pictures! What a nice job you both did on decorating and party planning. Kate was right, you should be a party planner!

Matt's play was so much fun. It was just his class and the play was called "Character Matters" and it featured all characters from fairy tales. The idea behind this musical was to teach the kids its not good to lie, accept responsibility for what you've done and that bricks are the responsible way to build a house! Some of the kids were just like they are in class - but others surprised the heck out of us. The pain in the neck child that has trouble focusing in class was the hit of the play! He was a narrator and his comic timing was impeccable (sorry Amy - I don't have spell check). But my favorite play person was Matthew; and he was adorable!!!! He made sure the other three pigs spoke when they were supposed to and pointed where to stand - he really enjoyed the spotlight quite a bit. We were very proud of him. If we have a good picture, Paul will post it in the am.

Yay for Matthew, on his way to being a director sounds like.

 

[Eeyorecln]

Well, at least you won't have to wait long. When I interviewed for my first teaching job, I interviewed in early June, right after school had let out. I didn't hear that I got the job until early August. I had all of a week and a half to prepare myself for my first teaching job. Talk about hectic. I got to the school, found my room, and walked into a great big empty!!!! No desks, no books, no supplies, etc. It seems that after the old teacher announced her retirement, the other teachers cleaned out her room. I had to scramble to find stuff for my students. Ugh! Be glad you only have a week to wait!

OMG I was like when I read this. Why would they take the desks? What did they expect the kids in that class to sit on?

 

[Eeyorecln]

They did the play yesterday and this morning for other second graders, and tonight was the parents performance. At the end of the performance, the teacher got a card and flowers from the class.

On a sad note, this was the first outing for my friend Gail, who is officially a widow. I sat with her and helped out with her daughter, but it was just sad. When Marissa (who played Goldilocks) came out to sing her song (La, La, La I'm so Sorry) I think I saw Gail crying. I knew it would be hard for her, but I found it very difficult for me too. The three kids seem to be doing well, but Gail didn't look great. She only lost Rusty two weeks ago (today) and this was the first time out in "public". She's far too young to be a widow.

I will say a prayer for her tonight. The "firsts" are always hard.
How is Paul feeling?

 

[tinknme]

Amy looks like you all had a great time. You did such a nice job on the cakes & decorations, thanks for sharing!

 

[Eeyorecln]

Amy I had the nausea and dizziness when I overdid it this weekend. I know you want to have your house perfect, but you need to take it easy too.

We thought about going for the free dining, but decided it's too much for us to travel with a newborn and we're not leaving it behind! Besides Christopher's birthday has never been the same week as Mardi Gras, so he's out of school the whole week. We think a trip then will be more special for him. We celebrated my mom's 70th birthday at WDW last fall and he keeps asking when her birthday is because he thinks we're going to do that every year . He'll be thrilled when he realizes this time we'll celebrate his birthday there!

I'm dying to see the pictures!

Take care of yourself. Let us know when you find out about the baby. Pink or blue?

 

[tinknme]

Hope everything works out for you

Okay guys - I am in need of some DDA PD (or just kind reassurances that I will get through things...)

 

[Eeyorecln]

Promise that you'll let us know? It's fun to get excited for other people's impending births. I'm so thrilled for you and for Amy and for Angela, too. I keep you all in my prayers for a healthy pregnancy and delivery. Boy, if you all lived closer to me, you'd have freezers full of casseroles, etc., for after the delivery. I love to help out with new babies. When I was pregnant with the twins, my DSIL threw me a "dinner shower." I had tons of clothes, etc., so she invited everyone to bring a dinner frozen that I could just pop in my freezer and have on hand. It was so helpful! Those first few weeks after the twins were born, I was so sleep deprived that it was nice not to have to think about cooking.

That is such a great idea. I love it. By our 4th boy we had everything we really needed, I could have used meals. I had complications from my c-section as it was a failed VBAC. We lived off fastfood for a month. (DH doesn't cook anything but breakfast items ).

 

[tinknme]

Marti this is so sad, I can't even imagine.

On a sad note, this was the first outing for my friend Gail, who is officially a widow. I sat with her and helped out with her daughter, but it was just sad. When Marissa (who played Goldilocks) came out to sing her song (La, La, La I'm so Sorry) I think I saw Gail crying. I knew it would be hard for her, but I found it very difficult for me too. The three kids seem to be doing well, but Gail didn't look great. She only lost Rusty two weeks ago (today) and this was the first time out in "public". She's far too young to be a widow.

 

[Eeyorecln]

Kate good luck with your Dr. appt. I hope everything goes well.

 

[rosiejo]

All right I have caught up!!

I am sorry I missed posting these on the actual days but I thought of you all:

Happy Anniversary TripleFig Household!!!

Many more happy years!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Alyssa!!

Sounds like the party was a blast!!

I spent quite a bit of the weekend crying...seem to be doing that an awful lot lately!! With my grandpa flooding the basement(third time in just over 2 years) we took this as the straw that broke this camel's back. We are holding on to our ressie's for right now for July for WDW but it looks like we are taking that money and moving out of my grandparent's house instead. So Glynis expect to see my family in UT this summer!! The girls were so sweet and said this way we could meet some of mommy's DDA friends.
We wanted to go to the mountains on Sunday as it was such a beautiful day....we stopped for lunch and by the time we got back from lunch the car had a 5 foot puddle around it. So we had about 5 hours and a dead cell phone before we could get a hold of anybody to come and get us. . Thankfully the car was inexpensive (when they changed the oil they didn't put a plug all the way back in) and didn't happen to us as we were driving it.
Then poor Abi had been contrary all day Sunday and we figured out that she had a bit of Clare's lurgy so she and I stayed home yesterday. She is still home sick but I left her with grandparents as I had to at least pretend to work today.
So ends my tales of woe thanks for sticking with me!!

Sounds like you need some Hope the week gets better

 

[rosiejo]

That's what I thought - so you can still keep them on your shopping list, if you don't mind.

Paul is in bed, sick, so send lots of pixie dust... it takes a lot to get him down!

no worries

and

 

[rosiejo]

Paul is NEVER down - and he's been in bed all day. Here's the bad news: Matthew "debuts" as one of the three little pigs in his school play tonight. When I told him daddy was sick - he had this look of horror on his face. His eyes welled up with tears and he said "Daddy isn't going to be there?!" and I told him it would take a lot more than a little cold to stop your daddy from being at your school play. So the big lug is in the shower now....

what we do for love!

And so he wins Best Daddy award too

How did the play go Marti? Got any pictures?

 

[rosiejo]

I think I am officially retiring from trying to make these darn shirts...it's hard to see the mickeys on the sleeves....this was my best effort:

FRONT

BACK

Kristine - they look pretty good to me