The New Kinder, Gentler Me - The Rubber Chicken is Loose!! Pg 19/#283!!!

[Lauralee131]

Now will Jack be a traveling companion in August?

Yepper...Jack is like my American Express card...I never leave home without it!!!

 

[Lauralee131]

THAT was worth waiting for!!!

Now I'm going to change MY "big girl panties" because I think I peeeeeeed myself laughing so hard!

I know...I had forgotten all about how absurdly funny it all was until I was cleaning it up at lunch time, getting ready to post it and I was re-reading and laughing and my friend, who by the way - thinks I'm insane for talking to "invisible people" on the computer and even worse yet...meeting these same strangers in public!! - asked me what in the world I was doing...

Trip report, I replied.

OH...still on that, huh?

Well, this is the latest one...Did I tell you the story about the rental car? And she was rolling as I was telling her...made me feel a bit better about the whole thing than I initially did of course! Can't make this kind of stuff up...

The pain killers make everything funnier, so when it made her laugh, I figured it was ready to be posted!

 

[disney-super-mom]

my friend, who by the way - thinks I'm insane for talking to "invisible people" on the computer and even worse yet...meeting these same strangers in public!! - asked me what in the world I was doing...

The pain killers make everything funnier, so when it made her laugh, I figured it was ready to be posted!

Well, I'm probably one of the few that you met in person BEFORE becoming "invisible" computer friends.

I hope you're feeling better. I can't say that I know what you're going through because I've never had so much as a cavity (yet...knock on wood). My husband, on the other hand, has been there many, many times. OUCH!

I do remember you describing the pain like "labor", which I have experienced.....twice! That pain was bad enough down there! I can't imagine what it would be like in my mouth!

 

[DisneyJo]

Hi invisable axe murdering friend, I've decided I need to get funnier before August you and Tracy are just hilarious, the way you tell your TR is just great, only you could end up finding it all funny. Can't wait until you actually get to Disney!

 

[Lauralee131]

Ok, so where was I? Ah yes, fat and happy…

So it was a mere hop, skip and a jump to Saratoga Springs from Red Lobster and before we knew it, I was at the guard gate being welcomed in. I drove us up to the check in parking and we strolled up to the front desk. The grounds were lovely the day we took our tour here a year ago, and even now, at night, they were lovely. It was a beautiful, clear, chilly night with the sky filled with stars. The air was quiet, yet relaxed and happy, if you can picture that. The guys went off exploring while I checked us in.

Welcome Home, Lauralee131! The lady who checked us in was lovely. Friendly, knowledgable and helpful when I had questions. I booked a studio – initially as I thought it was just going to be Michael and I, but I didn’t bother changing it since with DH with us, Michael could sleep on the pull out sofa. No sense in using all the extra points for a 1 bedroom, especially when they were “weekend” points. We were going to be staying in the Paddock, just across the street from the Congress Park bus stop. First floor, water view. Sweet.

We were given our check in package and were on our way in no time. She’d given us easy directions, but it wouldn’t have been hard to find anyway, even though I’m pretty much blind as a bat driving at night. Makes the trip more interesting, that’s all!

We found our room very easily and were eager to settle in for the night. DH doesn’t travel well. He morphs into this nasty monster when he travels. It stresses him out. Driving in Saturday traffic here in Greenville stresses him out. Traveling by air, rental car and strange highway turns him into a maniac. And he wasn’t even the one that was driving! So, the best thing to do when he gets like this is to get him to the room and put a clicker in his hand. STAT!

Our room was nice…very clean and in good shape. And was thoroughly inspected by my guys, as evidenced in this picture. DS checks the rooms for "cool stuff" and DH, well, being a perfectionist-carpenter that he is, looks for faulty or shoddy work. And he checks everything folks. Visible signs of caulk, which is a huge pet peeve of his, whether or not the sliding door slides smoothly, the general construction of the place. It's kind of comical. Boy you should have seen the once-over he gave the house I picked out when we got relocated. He still hates it!

Sadly, the “new, kinder, gentler me” is not a picture taker apparently, as there was so much room left on my memory card that I swear I’d heard an echo upon our return home!

We did have a little towel animal in our room, which, by the way, I left there for others to enjoy.

We also had the new H2O soaps/shampoos in our room. It was odd to see as I’ve grown so accustomed to the black/white/red “Everybody Neat and Pretty” stuff.

These, by the way, came home with me!! They now reside in the basket of towels and soaps I keep in our spare bedroom for guests.

We put Michael to bed, put some coffee on for DH and I went on my usual quest to find the ice maker…a Jack & Coke needs ice, right? Off I go…

Now flash back several weeks to our journey and you will recall that the NFL championship games were on. The Bears vs. the Saints and the Patriots vs. the Colts. DH swore, upside down and sideways, that he was going to watch these games. I don’t care what we do, or what you have planned, but I’m going to be watching football. Somewhere.

Ah ha. Shows how little he’s been paying attention. My plan, my friends, was that I had no plan. Yep. Me. No. Plan. But – a little voice inside my head said, but wait…I’ve got a plan! We can put Michael in the Sandcastle Club and go over and watch football at ESPN! Yes. It was a plan. A darn good plan. And one that DH loved. Mark your calendars….he loved my plan!

Ok, then, it’s settled. We have a plan.

So much for the kinder, gentler me, eh?

So DH and I sat outside, enjoying the night.

Ok, my pictures aren't the best, but can you get a feeling of how peaceful this place is at night? Ahhhhhh.....

What’s up for tomorrow, he asked. I don’t know, I replied. I have no plan.


Ok, we’ll just wing it.

We called it an early night and the next morning, surprise, surprise I was up and wide awake at 5am.

I made some coffee and sat outside enjoying the quiet. Eventually the sun rose and it was looking like it was going to be a beautiful day!!

Now look at this little fellow...I thought he was an eagle, but I'm not so sure...anybody know? Sure was beautiful. And wow - if you could see this bird fly...very graceful and a HUGE, HUGE wingspan!!

By 7:30, I still had no plan and DH was awake. Coughing and sneezing. Oh no. Not again…

He was a trooper though. We let Michael decide where to go today. He decided that today we needed to go to Animal Kingdom and go on the safari ride. Ok. Sounds like a plan to me! Let’s go. We were all up and out the door and at the bus stop by 9am. Shocking. And with no plan.

As we waited for the bus, I shamefully admitted to DH that the last place I wanted to go this weekend was Animal Kingdom. Why? No clue. So I did what every selfish, non-Mother-of-the-Year would do. I tried to talk Michael into going somewhere else. Nope. He wasn’t having it. It was Animal Kingdom today. End of discussion. We compromised. We’ll spend a half a day at Animal Kingdom, come back to the room and (gasp) take a nap and then we’ll go to Epcot for the night. See? A nap? The new kinder, gentler me. This was something I don’t recall ever doing, let alone letting the words come out of my mouth. What? A half day in a park and come back and take a nap?

What can I say? Something about Saratoga Springs made me want to spend more time here. Let’s come back and take a nap. Refresh a bit and then go back out. Wow. Never thought I’d even contemplate such an action. Wasting valuable park time. I never even took a mid-day break when I stayed at hotels on the monorail. Why in the world would I do it now? I dunno. But, it seemed like a good plan.

We arrived at Animal Kingdom a short bit later – maybe around 9:30 and crowds were a bit heavier than I’d expected, but really, not bad. Just the bottle neck at the security tables really.

As per DS’s request, we headed immediately toward the safari. He was happy and upbeat, while DH, although feeling pretty crappy, was trying to be happy and upbeat too. It was a beautiful day.

Up next...what is THIS FACE for?? And look...up in the sky...it's a J...it's an E....

 

[disney-super-mom]

Uh oh, what's with the face? It's so interesting because even though I've only seen your DS's face a few times, that LOOK is so familiar. Hmmmm, I wonder why that is, because my two little nose pickers would never have a look on their faces like that. (yeah, right)

I have to say, that bird looks like a bald eagle to me, but I'm no expert.

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Up next...what is THIS FACE for?? And look...up in the sky...it's a J...it's an E....[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

OMG! Look at that little puddin' face! I just wanna squeeze him!!!

Let's see... J.... E.... is it Jell-O?

No? I know...it's got to be Jesus.

We saw Jesus in Disneyworld, too.

Well, not IN Disney World, but in sky above Disney World.

Well, not Jesus, Himself... but Jesus the word. In the sky.

I'm tired. I have to stay up until 3 am to call in my ADR's. Or do you think I should go to sleep and then wake up at 3 am? Either way, I'm tired.

 

[Lauralee131]

We strolled through AK, with me doing my best impression of a non-commando no-plan-having Dis’er, intent on making our baby happy and riding the safari. As we crossed the bridge, we stopped at our usual “butt stop” before venturing any further, and DS did his usual impression of a Power Ranger-slash-Pirate on the cannon there.

And then the child, that so sweetly hugged me in the airport yesterday and told me he loved me was gone. In his place, was a male version of Veruka Salt, demanding the safari. Yeah, yeah, we’re going. Give us a minute. We always stop here first. It’s our routine. It’s what we do. Flame me. Whatever.

As we finished our break and started walking again however, we saw these guys in these beautiful costumes had just started playing music. We stopped to check them out for a few minutes. Well, what do you know. The Veruka Salt boy still following us around. Demanding to go on the safari. He looks like my kid. Wearing the same clothes. But who is this demon child? Normally, me and Michael will have a good time when music is playing. We laugh and dance like no one is watching. Well, not today my friends. THIS little boy didn’t like music today. Nope. He came here to do ONE THING. And one thing only. This was a deviation in the plan. He didn’t like it. One bit. He threw himself into a chair, pouting and demanding to go. Now.

So of course, Not-So-Mother-of-the-Year that I am, decided that an attitude like that wasn’t going to ruin my day, so DH and I ignored this little flippie fit and enjoyed the music. Before we knew it, they had drawn quite a crowd and had pulled several people up to dance with them and play music.

More than once they tried to get DS (which now apparently stood for Demon Seed) to get up and he rudely refused and continued to pout. This now angered me.

I looked at DS, noticed others looking at him and pointing and whispering and I smiled at them, bent down to my little boys ear and HISSED in his ear a warning. If he didn’t knock it off and have a good time, I will bring him back to the hotel and LEAVE HIM IN THE ROOM while Daddy and I enjoy the safari and everything else here WITHOUT HIM. I ever so gently reminded him that he should consider himself lucky to even be here and he better perk up and smile NOW or ELSE.

I got up, smiled at our onlookers and DS gathered his thoughts and the 3 of us made our way to the safari ride, without any further “issues” like this occurring the rest of the trip.

And let me tell you folks. The Safari Gods were smiling at us today…and Little Red, of course, but you all probably know that already, wink, wink.

Our guide this day was Donna and she’s probably the best we’ve had. She really was enthusiastic and believable, and she took the time to let us stop and look at the animals and take lots of pictures. And boy - were there lots of pictures to take! Even Donna commented on how lucky we were to see so many animals in one trip!

At one point we came around a bend to see this little guy, right above us!

We'd never seen the rhino or ostriches out here before either and there they were, all together! Sadly, I was so busy ooh-ing and ahh-ing half the time that I forgot to take pictures!

DS was really enjoying saving Little Red and cheered like there was no tomorrow when we ensured that he was safe and sound, but his only complaint, and it really wasn’t a complaint, was that he couldn’t see much because he couldn’t sit at the window side of the truck.

That disappointed him, but he still thoroughly enjoyed himself. And we saw lots of animals we'd never seen before...like these guys!

At one point, there were so many animals walking together that it was like a scene from The Lion King at Pride Rock when everyone comes to see Simba for the first time. Very cool!!

After we saved Little Red and all was right with the world again, we took a minute to try and come up with a plan. What do you want to do? Hmmm…well, what do YOU want to do? We considered going on Rafiki’s Planet Watch train ride – which we have YET to do, for some reason. But then the subject of food came up and we had a plan. Or did we?


What do you want to eat? I dunno. What do YOU want to eat? Finally a little voice said Hot Dogs!! Ok, fine. Hot dogs it is. So yet again we ended up bypassing Rafiki. And, yet again, we ended up at Restaurantasaurus. AGAIN. We have yet to eat anywhere else inside this park. What about Flame Tree? What about....? Ah, just forget it. This place has hot dogs. And so....

We ate. A lot. Again.

As we came outside we decided to hit Dinosaur. We grabbed a few fastpasses and walked around a bit, relaxed a little. Tried to let our lunch settle and then we heard someone say “What’s that?” We looked up and saw a plane sky-writing over Dinosaur. But WHAT?

First we saw this….

And then this….

I immediately thought…oh – how romantic…I betcha someone’s proposing…

I was wrong. It was a different kind of proposition….

Apparently this had been done over Epcot the day before as well. And I don’t want to spoil it, but we’ll see it again tomorrow too…Someone is spending an awful lot of money to let us all know that Jesus Loves You…

Unfortunately for them, by the time they'd spell the next word, the rest of it was blowing away....

So we did the only thing we could think of on this lovely warm day…let’s get Mickey bars. We’ll kill some time till we ride Dinosaur!

I know, I know. We just ate. Like pigs actually. But come on. There’s always room for Mickey bars!

Ok, gang...I'm giving up for the evening....enough catching up for one night for me!!

G'Night everyone!!! LY/MI!!!

 

[disney-super-mom]

WOW - you guys saw lots of cool animals on the safari. I have to say that we didn't see that many when we went on the safari. Oh well, we still had the BEST TIME at AK!

So your little angel was acting a bit like a........grumpy 5 year old huh? Good thing he's cute, because being where you were at, you could have fed him to the lions - on the safari no less!!

Now.....GET TO BED!!! Goodnight, sleep tight. I'm turning the lights off now, and I want to start hearing some Zzzzzzzzzzzzzs.

 

[princessjv]

I looked at DS, noticed others looking at him and pointing and whispering and I smiled at them, bent down to my little boys ear and HISSED in his ear a warning. If he didn’t knock it off and have a good time, I will bring him back to the hotel and LEAVE HIM IN THE ROOM while Daddy and I enjoy the safari and everything else here WITHOUT HIM. I ever so gently reminded him that he should consider himself lucky to even be here and he better perk up and smile NOW or ELSE.

You totally sound like me! It is just that special mom hiss that is sometimes needed to remind them of their fortunes...at least it makes us feel better!

First we saw this….

And then this….

I immediately thought…oh – how romantic…I betcha someone’s proposing…

I was wrong. It was a different kind of proposition….

We saw them too! We were in Epcot enjoying WS, when ds yells, "MOM, The sky is smilling!" We too thought it was super cute, then came the J then E, several people were stopped in their tracks saying wow, someone is proposing to to a Jessica... BUT I KNEW it was going to say something about Jesus...just knew it! just call it esp!

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

I looked at DS, noticed others looking at him and pointing and whispering and I smiled at them, bent down to my little boys ear and HISSED in his ear a warning. If he didn’t knock it off and have a good time, I will bring him back to the hotel and LEAVE HIM IN THE ROOM while Daddy and I enjoy the safari and everything else here WITHOUT HIM. I ever so gently reminded him that he should consider himself lucky to even be here and he better perk up and smile NOW or ELSE.

But did you put on your "Angry Eyes" first? Like you and Jack... I never leave home without them, baby!

I was wrong. It was a different kind of proposition

Yippeeee!! I just knew you saw Jesus, too!

 

[Lauralee131]

But did you put on your "Angry Eyes" first? Like you and Jack... I never leave home without them, baby!


Yippeeee!! I just knew you saw Jesus, too!

Oh yeah, baby...."Angry Eyes"... "Squinty Eyes", and my personal favorite, "Rolling Eyes"

I like to keep them handy at all times!!!

And I honestly thought I was going to read SOME kind of message OTHER than Jesus Loves You...But, it's nice to know that someone would go out of his/her way to tell ME that! I was beginning to wonder...

 

[Lauralee131]

OMG! Look at that little puddin' face! I just wanna squeeze him!!!

Let's see... J.... E.... is it Jell-O?

No? I know...it's got to be Jesus.

We saw Jesus in Disneyworld, too.

Well, not IN Disney World, but in sky above Disney World.

Well, not Jesus, Himself... but Jesus the word. In the sky.

I'm tired. I have to stay up until 3 am to call in my ADR's. Or do you think I should go to sleep and then wake up at 3 am? Either way, I'm tired.

You saw Jesus too?? I thought that was just for ME?!?! Well, I guess this was going to be my only celebrity sighting for this trip. I've seen some big names....Kelly Ripa, Mario Lopez and now Jesus. My nana will be pretty excited!!

Yoooo Hooooo....Are you up yet??? It's almost time to start "dialing for dining!"

I'm too excited to sleep!!!

 

[Lauralee131]

Hi invisable axe murdering friend, I've decided I need to get funnier before August you and Tracy are just hilarious, the way you tell your TR is just great, only you could end up finding it all funny. Can't wait until you actually get to Disney!

Good morning, fellow invisible axe murdering friend!! Are YOU up yet?

Helllooooooo...wow - am I the only one up yet????

Won't anyone come out to play???

 

[Lauralee131]

WOW - you guys saw lots of cool animals on the safari. I have to say that we didn't see that many when we went on the safari. Oh well, we still had the BEST TIME at AK!

So your little angel was acting a bit like a........grumpy 5 year old huh? Good thing he's cute, because being where you were at, you could have fed him to the lions - on the safari no less!!

Now.....GET TO BED!!! Goodnight, sleep tight. I'm turning the lights off now, and I want to start hearing some Zzzzzzzzzzzzzs.

Oh yes, it was the perfect place to feed him to the lions, just a little move I like to call the "Yawn & Stretch" and a little bump and he'd be out the side of the truck on his butt! Ummm...not that I gave this any thought or anything....

 

[Lauralee131]

You totally sound like me! It is just that special mom hiss that is sometimes needed to remind them of their fortunes...at least it makes us feel better!


We saw them too! We were in Epcot enjoying WS, when ds yells, "MOM, The sky is smilling!" We too thought it was super cute, then came the J then E, several people were stopped in their tracks saying wow, someone is proposing to to a Jessica... BUT I KNEW it was going to say something about Jesus...just knew it! just call it esp!

Ah yes...the HISSSSSS.... I had no idea I could even ssssspeak like that until I became a mother. It must've been slipped in with the lovely parting gifts I got at the hospital....Vicadin?...check. Baby?....check....Hiss?.....Check!

 

[Lauralee131]

Ok, judging by the echo in here, I'm guessing you're all still sleeping...I'm going to go and get ready for work...

Chat with you all later!!!

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

You saw Jesus too?? I thought that was just for ME?!?! Well, I guess this was going to be my only celebrity sighting for this trip. I've seen some big names....Kelly Ripa, Mario Lopez and now Jesus. My nana will be pretty excited!!

Yoooo Hooooo....Are you up yet??? It's almost time to start "dialing for dining!"

I'm too excited to sleep!!!

OMG! I'm up.... it's the ungodly hour of 3:45 am.
I
need
coffee!
Ok, so your posts show 1:40somthing AM, but that is EST, right? No way your up at THAT ungodly hour to go to work!?!

 

[DisneyJo]

Sorry Lauralee, haven't you realised that I'm not an early riser yet! I once said to LexMelinda that I'm always up at the crack of dawn and she replied that yes I was but dawn in America.

What's going on with the no plan thing? And Mickey bars before Dinosaur is that a good idea

Had I better make sure I smile alot when we meet so I don't get the hiss too. Have you started sounding like your mother too?

Right I'd better go and actually do something around this pig sty of a house and I'll catch you later for another installment. :

 

[Lauralee131]

OMG! I'm up.... it's the ungodly hour of 3:45 am.
I
need
coffee!
Ok, so your posts show 1:40somthing AM, but that is EST, right? No way your up at THAT ungodly hour to go to work!?!

I wasn't up THAT early....or was I? DH was kind enough to wake me up at THREE FREAKIN' THIRTY to ask me what time it is??!?!?!?

He fell asleep at 7pm last night...last I saw him was at a quarter of 7, he gave Michael a bath and must've let Michael play for a few minutes and went into our room (across the hall to watch tv) and promptly fell asleep...

I heard splish-splashing at 7:45 - GASP!!! Michael!?!? Are you STILL IN THE TUB!?!?!?! YIKES!?!?!

So I went up, got my milky-white-shriveled up baby out of the tub, in his jammies and in bed and then worked on my TR for the rest of the night...DH slept right through...

Oh man....3:30...What time is it? It's time for you to get away from me or be pummelled TO DEATH!!!?