There’s No Turning Back Now! 7/23 - Link to my new PTR!

[-Hope-]

Thanks Erin... I'm off to check out thinkgeek right now!

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

The Phineas and Ferb toys were on an end cap in Target along with Agent P/Perry and Dr. Doofenschmirtz. All of the other toys were plushy, though, so I knew Coy wouldn’t want those. I’m hoping they get more Phineas and Ferb stuff in soon. The t-shirts were a real find! I found them on thinkgeek.com and the kicker was that they participate with My Points, so I earned points for shopping on there for Coy’s birthday! Score! They have all sorts of geeky stuff on there like games, toys and experiments – so I’m going to be shopping on there a lot more often

I forgot about P & F - they're great! We loooove them at our house! A great addition to anyone's goodie bag.

Two things: man, you really know how to throw down, to borrow from my PTR! Will your family adopt me, at least for birthdays? Everything looked great, and I love it when another parent is soooo plugged into their kids. It shows by your actions and your choices and it's such a fantastic thing for the children to experience.

Second: we WERE separated at birth! (and by a few years, I'm not ashamed to admit ) One of our favorite catalogs is thinkgeek - it's always a happy day for Robert when one shows up in the mail!

Can't wait to hear more of your planning!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Thanks Erin... I'm off to check out thinkgeek right now!

Alright, but beware, there's a TON of great stuff on that site! Don't get addicted like I am now

I forgot about P & F - they're great! We loooove them at our house! A great addition to anyone's goodie bag.

Two things: man, you really know how to throw down, to borrow from my PTR! Will your family adopt me, at least for birthdays? Everything looked great, and I love it when another parent is soooo plugged into their kids. It shows by your actions and your choices and it's such a fantastic thing for the children to experience.

Second: we WERE separated at birth! (and by a few years, I'm not ashamed to admit ) One of our favorite catalogs is thinkgeek - it's always a happy day for Robert when one shows up in the mail!

Can't wait to hear more of your planning!

Thank you so much, Candee! I tend to go all out for birthdays and holidays. I just like to see people, especially my kids, enjoying themselves

I'm starting to find a lot of long lost relatives on the DISboards! I guess we're all just super cool! Thinkgeek is definitely a favorite of ours now too!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

This past weekend, the forecast was for rain and thunderstorms. Since it was also calling for thunderstorms in Hershey, PA, we didn’t go to Hershey Park this weekend. It was OK, though because we still had a great weekend. It all started on Friday, Earth Day, when I had to come up with something for the kids to do after I got off work. A coworker mentioned that pansies were on clearance at Home Depot, so I decided that the kids and I would go there to pick out flowers. That sounds like an Earth Day type of thing to do, right? Also, I wanted to look at paint chips again. You’ve probably noticed from my pictures that the walls in my living room/dining room are totally bare! It’s almost shameful LOL but the reason is because I’m a frustrated Interior Designer. I hate the shade of yellow on the walls now (the house came that way) and until I can find the perfect color to paint that room, I’m not doing a thing in there, gosh darnit! I also truly despise the two tables that I initially put in there to hold everyone for Thanksgiving but they have somehow managed to stay in there. But…no new furniture, no decorating the walls, no nothin’ until I paint that room a color that I love. I might do a brighter yellow on the staircase going upstairs, but that is a different story…

When I got home from work that evening, it was already pouring buckets. That gave Coy the perfect excuse to not go with me to Home Depot – but who are we kidding? We all knew he was going to stay home to play video games! LOL So True and I braved the rain and went to the store. Our first stop was the paint aisle. True loves the paint aisle almost as much as I do. I even love the smell of wet paint! I guess it’s not really good for you to inhale it, is it? But I don’t care! Haha! Well, the paint I’m getting is either Low or No VOC, so I guess I won’t be smelling that great smell when I paint. Moving on…

True made a bee-line for the Mickey Head paint samples. I have trained her well! LOL! I asked her to pick out a few colors for a project for us to do on another day. I haven’t told the kids yet, but we’re making a countdown calendar for when we get about 30 days out from the trip. I don’t want to make it now because it will inevitably inspire the question, “How much longer until we go?” and I’m not ready for all of that now! It defeats the purpose of a countdown calendar! LOL! So True picked out several paint chips of EACH color! Here’s her haul:



It’s embarrassing to look at that! I mean, taking 10 or 20 0r even 30 paint chips seems alright, but taking this many feels a little like stealing! Not that I discouraged her or anything I know, bad mommy! But realistically, who would say anything about taking free paint chips to a little cutie like this?:



After getting enough paint chips to do a 100 day countdown calendar, we headed outside to the nursery. The rain was only sprinkling at that point, but the sun had gone down, so the temperature dropped quite a bit. The nursery only had a covering over half of it, so True and I tried to look at the plants in the uncovered area first, but it was just too cold. We made our way back to the covered area and even though we were still outside, it was much more bearable since the covering kept most of the rain off of us. I kept trying to find those pansies my coworker told me about, but I couldn’t and I figured they must’ve been on clearance at the Home Depot near her house. As I was trying to find something else for us to plant, I passed by some Disney themed seed starter kits. I willed myself not to look at them because I felt I was getting obsessed with Disney merchandise! LOL! As if on queue, True exclaimed, “Mommy! Look! Disney plants!” OMG, I have trained this girl too well! I said something to the effect of, “Yeah, that’s nice. Let’s keep looking,” and tried to walk away. Well, it was as if True was in my head because she started making her case using reasons I would have used, “Mommy, we HAVE to buy these. These are PERFECT for Earth Day! We can plant vegetables and flowers…Look! I can get this one ad Coy can get this one!” Well, who could argue against that? It wouldn’t surprise me if she grew up to be a lawyer. She has a way of delivering her argument – even at only 8! Not that I needed a whole lot of convincing So she picked out this one for herself:



It had cherry tomato seeds and zinnia seeds, Then she picked out this one for Coy:



It had regular sized tomato seeds and cucumber seeds in it.

When we got home, we showed Coy what we got. He thought we were pretty weird to get so many Mickey Head paint samples in addition to the regular paint chips I got! LOL! He was very excited though to get to work on his seed starter! So much so that I had to ask him to wait before tearing into it so that I could get the pictures above and these below:





















When they were done, the put their greenhouses on our window seat in our kitchen:





Then they got to work on their Earth Day packets that I printed off of familyfun.com:





Here’s Coy, trying to push my phone away because he said I was taking too many pictures! Haha!







Even though the rain kept us from being outside on Earth Day, we had a fun and silly night inside!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

“Mommy! Look! Disney plants!” OMG, I have trained this girl too well!

PERFECT Earth Day-with-Disney-tied-in-activity! Those are so cute!

 

[-Hope-]

I love the seed starter kits! They are PERFECT.

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

Sounds like you guys had a blast despite the weather not cooperating! I love the pictures of your kids "tolerating" you taking pictures - you know they secretly like it. That last one of Coy with an unguarded smile is precious - you're going to have your hands full, cuz he's going to be a gorgeous teenager, just prepare yourself!

I miss my kids being the age to do stuff like that. These days when I try with Robert, I get silence and blinking - and I swear I hear that cartoon blinking sound.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I LOVE those starter kits! I soooo do not have a green thumb but maybe we could do these? Very neat. I also love your kitchen's window seat. How cute and homey!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

PERFECT Earth Day-with-Disney-tied-in-activity! Those are so cute!

I really didn't intend to make Earth Day "Disney" themed, but True forced me to do it, I tell ya! She forced me!

I love the seed starter kits! They are PERFECT.

They are pretty cool! The kids have been taking care of them every day

Sounds like you guys had a blast despite the weather not cooperating! I love the pictures of your kids "tolerating" you taking pictures - you know they secretly like it. That last one of Coy with an unguarded smile is precious - you're going to have your hands full, cuz he's going to be a gorgeous teenager, just prepare yourself!

I miss my kids being the age to do stuff like that. These days when I try with Robert, I get silence and blinking - and I swear I hear that cartoon blinking sound.

Yeah, my kids are pretty hilarious! They usually realize that they're glad I took pictures after the fact Yeah, I know Coy is a handsome little fella and I sure hope I'm raising him right or he could be a serious heart-breaker!

I'm trying to soak up all of the "little kid activities" while I still can because every once in a while, my kids will give me that BLINK BLINK BLINK when I ask them to do something too. Looking like Tom & Jerry!

I LOVE those starter kits! I soooo do not have a green thumb but maybe we could do these? Very neat. I also love your kitchen's window seat. How cute and homey!

Oh, trust me, I don't have a green thumb either! I think my kids inherited their's from my mom and they are solely responsible for caring for these plants! I kill plants! If they can't tell me they need food or water, they don't get it! I've only had success with aloe plants, but that's because it's virtually impossible to kill those! I'm trying to learn, though

Thanks for the compliment on the window seat! It was one of the things that sold me on the house. I love it, but I didn't love that green checked curtain at first (another thing that came with the house). But then when Winter rolled around, it looked so Christmas-y and homey, like you said I'm about to paint the kitchen a deeper red, so the curtain won't go with that color anymore, but I'll probably still pull it out once a year for Christmas LOL

 

[Victoriasmom98]

I too love your Earth Day activities. When I saw those Disney greenhouses I thought I HAVE TO HAVE THOSE, but really, I already have a seed starter kit and all my seeds, so to spend $10 just because it's Disney??? I just can't do it.....maybe if True were MY child, things would be different!! My next goal is just like yours ---- Mickey heads from Home Depot to do my countdown chain with......busy, busy, busy!!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I too love your Earth Day activities. When I saw those Disney greenhouses I thought I HAVE TO HAVE THOSE, but really, I already have a seed starter kit and all my seeds, so to spend $10 just because it's Disney??? I just can't do it.....maybe if True were MY child, things would be different!! My next goal is just like yours ---- Mickey heads from Home Depot to do my countdown chain with......busy, busy, busy!!!

Yes, True is a very persuasive child...not to mention a thief! Maybe I should send you half of those Mickey Head paint chips so that I can stop feeling like such a criminal!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

It looks like the Easter Bunny is a Disney fan too because look at what my kids got:









The cookie cutter/kit, the cupcake kit and the puzzles were too cute! It must’ve been hard for the Easter Bunny to pass up! I just wish Walgreens didn’t plaster the price all over the packaging. Tacky. At least, I assume the Easter Bunny went to Walgreens. Ahem…moving on…

The kids enjoyed eating too much candy before breakfast and doing the puzzles.



I was planning on having a lazy day at home since the weather finally broke. It was gloomy most of the day on Saturday and I was a little worried that I made the wrong decision about cancelling the Hershey Park trip until I saw that it was raining and thundering in Hershey that day. On Saturday, we just ran errands, read and caught up on things we DVRed the past week. I was content doing that again on Sunday but it was a beautiful day and True wanted to go to church. So she talked to my mom and went to church with my parents and my brothers. I’m not quite sure why she decided to go to church since I don’t take my kids, but I’m glad she had the opportunity to go. I was raised Catholic and I haven’t been practicing for years because I have found that I am more of a spiritual person than a religious person, but I’m not going to force that on my kids. I know, I know, religion and politics are taboo subjects. I won’t go into it any further, but I’ll just say that if my kids are interested in any particular religion, I’ll take them to that place of worship so that they can learn and make their own choices about religion. I still have a lot to learn about theology myself, so I’m not going to force my beliefs or my ignorance of a subject on my kids. Along those lines though (and then I PROMISE to stop LOL) Coy and I had a very intellectual conversation about how Easter has shifted focus for a lot of people from the resurrection of Jesus to the Easter Bunny leaving candy and hiding eggs. It was very interesting to hear how Coy’s mind worked while discussing this. He really is a curious young man. Anyway, before I spark a heated debate on my PTR, let me change subjects because I just remembered that Coy helped me hide the Easter eggs early that morning. He was so good at it that he forgot where he hid some of them when he went looking for them later with True Eventually, they found them all – but thank goodness they were plastic eggs and not hard boiled!

While True was at church, Coy and I played around on the computer using Word, Paint.Net and GIMP. Sure enough, he was able to teach me quite a bit! (Side note to Karen and Hope: He was able to show me where to find and how to use the glow feature on Paint.Net and GIMP! I practiced that as well as some other editing tools on the pictures I took with my friend’s DSLR. Too much fun!) Anyway, he was able to help me create that “Happy Easter” design of Pooh and friends that I posted on Easter. It was really cool to work with him on that and he was proud of his mama! Eventually, Coy fell asleep and I let him take a little mid-day nap because his sleep pattern was completely off from being on Spring Break the whole week before. Then one of my sisters called me and said they were coming by! What??? It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see them, it’s just that I was getting into the groove of a lazy day They asked if they could bring anything, which was very considerate – my house has become the party house for all special occasions! I like that though, because as I said before, I like to be the one to spread the pixie dust! The only thing was, I didn’t really have “party food” I just had breakfast/lunch/dinner food for the week. I asked them to just bring themselves and maybe a bottle or two of soda. Then I texted my mom and told her that Huey and Dewey were on the way and asked if they could pick up something to grill. True, my mom, dad and brothers were at my house within about an hour, but they didn’t bring any food! I sent my mom and dad back out (with my credit card ) to get some hamburger meat etc., and my sisters arrived shortly after with sodas, chips and dip. Now THAT is how you show up at someone’s house! My brother Louie started heating up the charcoal in the grill while my sisters and I chatted.

Oh yeah, Coy was still asleep though all of this! Right there on our couch! LOL That boy can sleep through anything! He woke up after a while, but he clearly needed that nap! So my parents got back with the ground beef and got to work on making the burgers. Eventually, the conversation between me and my sisters turned to what else but our trip to Disney next year! I didn’t want to overwhelm them with info, so I just started showing them pictures of the vacation houses I had been researching and gave them a breakdown of the cost of each option. We agreed that splitting up the cost of the house per room was the fairest option. OK, one thing settled! Then our mom caught wind of what we were talking about and long story short, she didn’t want our brother David to go with us. One thing I should clear up is that David is mentally disabled. The thing is, he is just barely on the cusp of being mildly retarded. It was the result of loss of oxygen during birth and he is very highly functioning, but our parents baby him to the point that he is very dependent on them. He lived with me for about nine months a few years back and I didn’t baby him and taught him how to do several things on his own. It was a necessity because I had to work and I wasn’t home to take care of him constantly. He did extremely well back then and could continue to do well now if our parents would let him. I guess I shouldn’t judge because I have been blessed with two healthy children, so I don’t understand what it is like to have a child with a mental disability, but at the same time I know that my parents are doing him a disservice by coddling him. Sorry, I know I said “long story short” but you all know how long winded I am. Anyway, my sisters and I tried to reason with our mom. Louie busied himself with the grill, probably because he didn’t want to get involved in the conversation. She stood by her decision. David was disappointed and tried to convince her too about going. At this point, the only option I could see would be if our parents went too, but they can’t afford it and we can’t afford to pay for airfare, park tickets, accommodations and food for two more people. It really makes me angry. What do they think will happen to him if he goes on a vacation with his brother and sisters? Also, I’m going to feel bad that I’m planning a vacation for all of my siblings EXCEPT for him. Part of the reason I want him to go is that I’m trying to build a relationship with him. If I’m going to be honest, I didn’t get along with him very well when we were kids because I didn’t understand why he seemed normal but he didn’t act like other kids I knew. I created a distance between us and I would like to bridge that gap as adults. Last year, all five of us siblings went to Hershey Park for Coy and True’s birthdays and that was the first trip David and I had taken together since we were teens. Granted, that was a day trip, but still. Anyway, I tried talking to my mom about this again and she was still against it. I’m going to keep calm and try to talk to her rationally a few more times, but if I can’t convince her and my dad by July (which is when I want to put down deposits) then I guess David won’t be going

On a brighter note about this Summer Sibling trip planning, Dewey wanted more and more info about it, so I decided to broach the subject of tickets with her. I was a little worried I was going to scare her off at this point. Tickets can seem expensive. We talked about getting park hoppers for them since the parks stay open so late in the Summer. We looked at the 5, 6 and 7 day hopper options and she was surprised that adding a 6th or 7th day would only cost a few more bucks each! We also looked at 2 day “hoppers” or whatever they call them for Universal Studios. We all want to go to Universal for the coasters and of course for Harry Potter but the cost of the tickets was a little off-putting to her. So the jury is still out on Universal, but I guess that is good because I have to have SOMETHING to put in my PowerPoint presentation when I make it! We talked about making some dinners at the house and about the car rental scenarios but we didn’t delve too deeply into any of those subjects because I didn’t want to scare her or our other sister off. I knew my audience and I knew that if I gave them all of the info I had already started to collect, it could possibly scare them off! But, Huey and Dewey both said that I could be a Disney travel agent and I considered that to be the best compliment ever!

After discussing vacation plans, we all took turns on Coy’s Kinect and played some games to work off the burgers and chips we ate! We had so much fun! Those games gave us quite a workout too! I really do have to start doing it nightly because I think it is a great way to exercise without feeling like I am exercising! Before we knew it, it was after 9pm and we all needed to get up in the morning to go to work and school, so we called it a night. It was a fun day with beautiful weather and I’m really glad my sisters made me get off of my butt by coming over that day!

 

[-Hope-]

Sounds like a great Easter! I'm glad you're family is asking questions and getting curious about the sibling trip- it's always fun when others are on board.

I used to use paint.net for a local paper I wrote and took pictures for and had forgotten all about it. I've also read great things about gimp. Glad you have Coy there to help you learn the ropes.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

What a fun Easter! Can I just say that I LOVE reading your posts? You ramble on so much (oh yes, you do, I know these things b/c I do it too!) and I just LOVE it! I'm glad you got to talk about the trip and it sounds like you are doing it just right! Don't overwhelm them!

As for the religion stuff, I feel very similar to you, so you aren't alone! No bashing from me!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I just wish Walgreens didn’t plaster the price all over the packaging. Tacky. At least, I assume the Easter Bunny went to Walgreens. Ahem…moving on…

Oh Erin, this made me snort and then laugh. So, so true! What is up with the prices splattered right on the front?

I'm sorry your mom won't let your brother go. Michael has Autism but is very high functioning as well. Before we adopted him, he was very, very babied by his previous foster parents. It was to the point of him being very infantile for a three year old. I have had to be tough with him on some things and it's just a hard situation all around. So, I can completely understand what you are speaking about. I hope she caves so he can come too!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Ok, Erin.....I'm sorry to copy you, but after I saw your Easter post and learned the Easter Bunny shops at Walgreens, I had to go on my lunch hour (well, that is after a little visit with my husband.... making me late for work) but I had to go get the Mickey cookie cutter set!!! And of course all Easter is now 50%off, so SCORE!!!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Sounds like a great Easter! I'm glad you're family is asking questions and getting curious about the sibling trip- it's always fun when others are on board.

I used to use paint.net for a local paper I wrote and took pictures for and had forgotten all about it. I've also read great things about gimp. Glad you have Coy there to help you learn the ropes.

I'm so excited that my sibs really want to do this trip! We are going to have so much fun! With so many people we'll be able to have a different designated driver each night, so you better believe we'll be eating and drinking our way around EPCOT!

As far as Paint.Net and GIMP, Coy has been a tremendous help! He said he'll definitely help me do our t-shirt designs and he's interested in starting his own website now that he's learning so much about graphics. He's really running with this!

What a fun Easter! Can I just say that I LOVE reading your posts? You ramble on so much (oh yes, you do, I know these things b/c I do it too!) and I just LOVE it! I'm glad you got to talk about the trip and it sounds like you are doing it just right! Don't overwhelm them!

As for the religion stuff, I feel very similar to you, so you aren't alone! No bashing from me!

Oh yeah, rambling is my thing, for sure! You know, I really love writing and this PTR gives me excuse to write all of the time! I get to write about two of my favorite subjects: my kids and WDW! Oh, and I'm going to be dangerous once I start adding photography in that mix!

It was hard for me to hold back when I was talking to my sisters about the trip, though! But at least I was able to tell when I was at the point where I needed to calm down before I freaked then out! That is where the PowerPoint will come in handy, because all of them can look through it at their leisure

Oh Erin, this made me snort and then laugh. So, so true! What is up with the prices splattered right on the front?

I'm sorry your mom won't let your brother go. Michael has Autism but is very high functioning as well. Before we adopted him, he was very, very babied by his previous foster parents. It was to the point of him being very infantile for a three year old. I have had to be tough with him on some things and it's just a hard situation all around. So, I can completely understand what you are speaking about. I hope she caves so he can come too!

Yeah, I think that really is a shame when parents don't help their children to be the best that they can be. I know it must've been hard on you to be tough on Michael, I know it was tough on me to not baby David. And I'm sure he was pretty PO'ed at me too but he learned so much in less than a year! I'm going to keep working on my mom about this trip. He hasn't been to WDW in at least 15 years, maybe longer, and that is just unacceptable in my book!

And next year, the Easter Bunny needs to plan better and put stickers over those tacky price tags!

Ok, Erin.....I'm sorry to copy you, but after I saw your Easter post and learned the Easter Bunny shops at Walgreens, I had to go on my lunch hour (well, that is after a little visit with my husband.... making me late for work) but I had to go get the Mickey cookie cutter set!!! And of course all Easter is now 50%off, so SCORE!!!!

How dare you copy me, Ann! Just kidding! So let me get this straight: you got the Disney stuff on clearance AND you had a nooner with your hubs? I'd call that a Double Score! Alright, girl!




Side Note: Who else watched the Royal Wedding? Surprisingly, I didn't cry, because I ALWAYS cry at weddings, but I think it was just because it was too darn early! I DVRed it of course, but I woke up a 6 which was just in time to see the ceremony. I'll admit that I didn't like the dress at first because I didn't like the lacey part on top that looked like a collar. It reminded me of a suit type dress an older woman (like myself) would wear to her second wedding (not something a younger woman like herself would wear). Other than that very minor detail, I realized how gorgeous that dress really was and I saw that it truly suited her. I also loved the halo tiara The Queen allowed her to borrow and the stunning earrings her parents gave her. She looked like a bride. Do you know what I mean? She didn't look like someone who was just going through all of the pomp and tradition of a wedding to satisfy everyone else. She looked like a woman who was happily marrying her real life Prince Charming!

I'm not going to lie: it is taking every ounce of self control I have to not look at the wedding packages they have at WDW! I'm not even dating anyone! That is how sick it is! But I know I will get married again one day and I think WDW is one of the few places where you can really feel like a princess on your wedding day. There is a replica castle that can be rented for weddings in MD - I found it when the last guy I was dating and I were seriously talking about marriage - but I don't think that even at that beautiful venue it would compare to a wedding in Disney. Well, if I'm ever going to have one, I guess I better get some more of that man-catching lotion from Ann's Avon site and put it to good use!

 

[-Hope-]

I love that Coy is so excited and thinking about his own website! Good for him (and good for you momma for giving him the space to do his thing).

I wasn't really into the whole royal wedding but I did catch glimpses of her dress this morning and I agree. It is beautiful but the lace detracts a bit from it.

I have a cousin who got married at WDW and she loved it; gorgeous ceremony with just the right amount of Disney magic. Honestly though I think it has more to do with the couple than anything else. My BIL got married at an actual castle in Germany. It was a beautiful venue, wonderful gourmet food, expensive dress and the wedding was kind of... meh. The couple was a little luke warm and all of the fancy trimmings in the world couldn't save it, you know? On the other hand some of the most beautiful weddings I've ever been to took place in someone's back yard (parents or grandparents of the bride). Don't get me wrong, I think a wedding at WDW would be AMAZING, but only with the right guy.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

You are so right, Hope! That is why, in the 7 years I've been single, I haven't settled for less when I saw a man I was dating wasn't "The One". I know he's out there, though

 

[-Hope-]

Of course he is! Now slap on some man-catching lotion and a smile and you're sure to find him.