The Meanest Mother in the World--A L-B TR, 5/05 *DONE. p.65, with one last pic*

[talicskai]

I am really enjoying your report! Subscribing..........Teresa

 

[horsegirl]

Doug was following the girls back and forth between the butterfly pavilion and the Sky Climber. This was what we needed to banish the grumpies.
She found her beautiful smile. All is well.

Awwwww Kim, what a sweet tale this chapter is. So this is where the children find their smiles? What will all the families do the rest of the year when this display is not up?

Love you and your family! This is going to be the longest trippie report in the world! And this is good. As I love reading your words.

 

[KarenP99]

You so never told me about The Incident. Glad he's okay...and the shiner doesn't show in the pictures so it won't jog the memory 20 years down the road... You're all good.

I can't decide if I prefer the shorter, but more frequent chapters...or waiting for a long, whole cuppa coffee, installment....

 

[WeLoveThePoly]

Your trip report is a blast to read! I love when trip reports include stories that really show the family's personality. And I like all your other observations too - too funny!

Can't wait to read more!!

Debbie

 

[AshClan]

No -- I think you watch just enough TV. The quote is from Cheers, the line recited by the estimable Dr. Fraiser Crane. Thanks for playing!

Darn! I knew that and Chappie beat me!

Still great Kim. Keep 'em comin!

 

[BeverlyJ]

Gosh, thank you, thank you, thank you! Absolutely loving your reports.

Psst! Can I tell you a little secret? Only the MEANEST mummies get such super duper care on Mothers Day, that's how we can tell how mean we really are!!!

Thanks again!

Just for Connor, some slightly more 'exotic' models:

2003 Land Rover Freelander (metallic red)
2004 Renault Grand Scenic (metallic grey) (hubby is soooo boring)
1972 MGB Roadster (tartan red)...my original baby!

 

[gracer9977]

Love this report but I have to go for now. Can't wait to read more tomorrow!!!!

 

[i'dratherbe@wdw]

What a great TR!!!! You inspired me to stop lurking and start posting.
I hope my DD thinks I'm the meanest mother in KY.
Can't wait to read more. opcorn:

 

[kpk89]

coachyo -- The only scars he has are emotional. From having me as a mother. Dropping him on his face at DISNEY world, for gosh sakes. Oh there is the one he got from trying to take the cat in the bathtub with him. Lesson learned. Bygones.

shellynn24 and welovethepoly -- Thanks for stopping by!

talicskai, gracer9977, and i'dratherbeatwdw -- Welcome!!! Thanks for joining in. Glad to have you here.

horsegirl -- Heck if I know. I think there is a huge supply of lost smiles at Disney -- that's why I go there. To find mine. Some people find theirs at the Cali Grill during Wishes, the summit of Splash Mountain, or in the Adventurers Club or Jellyrolls. Mine is in the SpectroMagic parade. The best part is that you can always find a smile even if you HAVEN"t lost one. You can just find a bigger, wider, toothier version of the one you've already got.

KarenP99 -- Did toooooo! And just for fun, I'm telllllling!

Chapter 11 -- You're good. How about "Parents are conditioned to accept a few mishaps. A broken vase, some spilled milk on the floor... There was a kangaroo in my living room." And AshClan, thanks for playing anyway.


BeverlyJ and everyone else who is sharing their cars with Conor, thanks. He's getting a kick out of it. His car obsession had subsided (this trip was a year ago, benember?) to just a fascination, but thanks for getting that pot stirred up again.

 

[Chapter 11]

Chapter 11 -- You're good. How about "Parents are conditioned to accept a few mishaps. A broken vase, some spilled milk on the floor... There was a kangaroo in my living room." And AshClan, thanks for playing anyway.

Geez, Kimmie, at the risk of being somewhat OT -- Family Ties -- Steven Keaton to Alex, after he rented out the house during homecoming week and was running a bed and breakfast. Loved that show. Now, get back to writing your TR, woman. Hop to.

 

[kpk89]

ok ok you're right. Any further OT chit chat will be relegated to PMs. soooory.

 

[LibertyLover]

This is a great trip report. I can't wait to read more. If Conor is still interested in cars, DH and I have a red Jeep Liberty, a silver Honda Element and a red Mini Cooper S.

 

[M&M's]

I believe this is my fourth TR subscription since joining this excellent site. All four TR's are currently active, so checking my e-mail is becoming an hourly exercise!

Interestingly, your report helps to quell the excitement of my upcoming trip, but at the same time, it kindles the fire. Is that even possible?

Thanks for letting us in on your fun!

 

[allonte]

subscribing!! I want more!!

 

[GeorgiaAristocat]

Kimmiepoo -
Fabulous latest TWO installments that were posted while I was away!

Poor Conor - glad it was only a shiner. My daughter has had two already (and she's only 3) - a slide incident and a Tonka Truck incident. I had portraits planned EACH of the weeks those two happened. I no longer make portrait appointments - too dangerous.

Amy

 

[flipflop]

waiting, waiting, waiting

 

[kpk89]

But first -- Conor seriously wants to say to everybody. Here he is:

I love Toyota Scion XB's, but Dad hates them. He thinks they're really stinky, worse than a Honda Element. But I love them. My favorite car right now is the Dodge Dakota and the Scion. Thanks for your reports of the cars!

Liberty Lover: we are a Jeep family too. Love 'em! And thanks for reading.

M&M's -- Only 4? Which ones? I hope you've checked out 1000thhappyhaunt, ZZUB (all of them), LaLa, Horsegirl and Hucifer. Vettechick's is great as well but seems to be stalled at the moment. She'll be back soon. These I would all put in the "saga" category. There are also tons of good, shorter and to-the-point reports that are very informative. Check out the "Favorite Trip Reports" thread for links to even more good ones.

allonte & flipflop -- I appreciate your subscribing and waiting posts. Helps keep the report from falling into obscurity on page 72 while I work on the next chapter.

and GACAT!! Welcome back. I hope your time at the beach was splendid. Missed you!!


I just have to get the pictures ready and then the next chapter is on the way.

 

[M&M's]

You, 1000thhappyhaunt, Horsegirl, and Hucifer are the four (so far)! Since these reports are so long (which don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy!), it takes me a while to get to the next TR. I'm absolutely positive I'll have dozens by next week. Thanks for the help!

Oh, and to stay (somewhat) on topic, you can let Conor...I love the name having only one n by the way; unique!...anyway, let him know I drive a 2003 Hyundai Tiburon, which I love, and I also like tC's. I have a similar affliction with cars as well. To really test his skills, have him start naming makes and models of cars at night. You'd be surprised at how good he'll probably be based just upon how the headlights project.

 

[kpk89]

Chapter 13:

I’ve been to Epcot before. More than once. Every trip of my semi-adult life … except for the Grad Nite trip where our chaperones helped us sell our Epcot tickets so we could go to the newly opened Studios instead. That was a slight miscalculation on our part.

My point is that it shouldn’t have been a problem to find Soarin’. It was a new attraction, but it was in the Land pavilion, which I’ve been to before.

For some reason, even with a map, we went back and forth from the Living Seas (which was closed) to the rose gardens near the walkway to World Showcase. A couple of times. We’ll blame it on the heat, the crowd, and the roses. Seems we were stopping to smell them, while consulting the map – again.

At last we parked the double ride at the Land and went on in to get FP for Soarin’. In the 3:00 neighborhood. Drat. Not that I mind waiting, as we’ve got a PS (that’s what they were called then … remember?) at Marrakesh coming up real soon. But we also have our PS at 1900 Park Fare at like 4:30ish. I had hoped we’d be out of Epcot in time to go back and get freshened and prettied and feeling like princesses. Us girls, anyway. But our princes, especially the little one with the shiner, could use some freshening too. A clean shirt perhaps. Already.

We won’t think about that now. We’ll think about that tomorrow. For now, off to Morocco!

Did I mention that it’s crowded today?

We opted for the FriendShip launch to get across the lagoon, rather than attempting to push the double through the crowd and drag along the hapless child left standing. Here’s why:

C: I want to ride in the stroller!
P: No IIIIII do!
C: I am SO tired!
P: My feeeet hurt!
((((scufflescufflescufflePOPscuffleOWscufflescuffMOOOOOM!))))

My kids are not typically whiners. Much. Ok not any more so than any other kid. I blame this tussle over the classic “you always want what you can’t have.” It was hot, but it was not even noon and had there not been an empty seat next to Sydney, they both would’ve walked with no problem. No matter, we hopped on the launch and enjoyed the shade while we chugged over to an unknown land.

We (I) chose Morocco because it is a cuisine I’ve never tried. There’s not a lot of culinary diversity where we live. Or any other kind of diversity, for that matter. Here, mandarin oranges are considered exotic. Doug agreed to try new food (he ALWAYS wants Italian, because he’s Scottish. Make sense?) because I told him there would be a belly dancer.

We were wayyyy up on the right side, wayyyyy back in the corner. I think they saw three kids 5 and under and said “isolate these people from the rest of the civilized diners.” That was fine. Like I said, we’re pretty well behaved usually, but being away from other people, the pressure was off. We had, I think, the first seating of the day. So it was quiet in there. We had a lovely lunch, tried some new food, and enjoyed the beautiful setting.

Just before we finished, the belly dancer made her appearance. Doug scrambled for the menu, suddenly ready to order dessert, more drinks, or another entrée if necessary. For the sake of letting him get the most for his money at our upcoming buffet dinner, I assured him that he needn’t order anything. We could just watch, and nobody would kick us out.

As we were in isolation, the belly dancer did not make her way up to our table. But she did wave, and beckon. My boys liked the beckoning. The little man, having gotten a taste for stardom at Festival of the Lion King – or just a li’l smackerel of audience participation, anyway – was on the dance floor in about 2 seconds. Or perhaps he wasn’t driven by his desire to frolic and dance in front of people. It’s possible, just possible, that my boy wanted to get nearer to the pretty lady.

Doesn’t it look like he’s enjoying himself?

After we left the restaurant, we had a drive-by character experience with Aladdin and Jasmine. They ran past us, holding hands and waving, apparently on their way to a whole new world. Since theirs is the DVD we chose to bring with us on this little voyage, we’re bummed we missed them. But, just as my kids don’t know rope-drop from a bump in the road, they also have not been indoctrinated into the world of The Autograph Book. So they are just happy to see AJ flying by us.

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that Disney has carefully crafted its recent films to make sure there are characters at every World Showcase pavilion? I think Aladdin = Morocco is a bit of a stretch, though the whole mid-east thing I guess ties them together. Mulan filled the opening in China, Belle works for France. Do the Brother Bear characters hang out at Canada? I suspect that film was created just to take some of the burden off Le Cellier in attracting visitors to that pavilion. The O Canada movie sure isn’t doing it. Germany has Snow White, and Italy has Princess Aurora (I think?? A little help here?). Norway, though it can probably only rightfully claim the Little Mermaid (barely – that tale was Danish, right?) has somehow managed to commandeer all of the princesses but keeps them locked inside with the food. So by my estimation, the next big animated film should have a hero from either Mexico or Japan, right? (after they get this Cars thing off the ground. I’m a little worried about that one. How good can it be if the trailers are mostly about the OTHER Pixar movies that were huge? ) Yep, the next princess will be Mexican or Japanese. I’m sayin’. Or maybe African. I think Pocahontas is having a hard time keeping the Princess Machine going at Animal Kingdom all by herself. Place your bets, folks.

After lunch, we take a few family photos by that beautiful fountain in Morocco.

And send Sydney in for beer money

And then we wander back toward Soarin’. We still get sidetracked on our way, but this time it’s intentional.

Next up: Chapter 14, In Which Piper Finds Her Own Most Magical Moment

 

[jamal]

Kim, I just got all caught up! Excellent reporting, you meanie!!!
Jami