Welcome To The Caribbean, Love ~ Updated 5-27 P52

[TarzansKat]

A few days away from the Dis and I miss the start of your PTR.
I'm in for this one. Now I have to grab a cup of coffee and catch up

Welcome aboard, girlie!

 

[Native NYer]

Welcome aboard, girlie!

Thank you

The start of the school year is such a busy time. It takes me a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of things, including making time to DIS

 

[TarzansKat]

Thank you

The start of the school year is such a busy time. It takes me a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of things, including making time to DIS

Believe me, I can now honestly say I understand. This is my first start of a school year with a child in school, and it's a whole new world for us. Putting him on the bus every day, timing Squirt's feedings and naps around that, trying to make sure everyone's getting what they need...I can only imagine what teachers must go through as they prepare for all those kids, I only have one kindergartener to deal with, eh?

 

[eandesmom]

What a beautiful family you have

I think, honestly, 5 is tough even without all that loss and change. Evan went through some similar life changes at that age, not the same but equally impactful to him at the time in similar ways and it was tough. Don't be ashamed to admit it's exhausting. It's only exhausting if you are doing it right. I found the school to be an invaluable resource to me at that age for both E's, providing nuggets of insight that profoundly impacted how we parent each of the E's. Things I couldn't know or understand, not because I was doing a poor job, but because I didn't have the years of experience that those angels did.

I am glad Squirt is bringing joy, and in his own way, a little peace and calm. A respite to the other storms.

MJS....

 

[TarzansKat]

What a beautiful family you have

Thank you.

I think, honestly, 5 is tough even without all that loss and change. Evan went through some similar life changes at that age, not the same but equally impactful to him at the time in similar ways and it was tough. Don't be ashamed to admit it's exhausting. It's only exhausting if you are doing it right.

I want to thank you so much for writing that. It is exhausting. It's hard to admit, but it is, and it's nice to hear that it's not just me, and not just my child. Even though in my heart I know that, sometimes I just wonder whether I can do anything right.

I am glad Squirt is bringing joy, and in his own way, a little peace and calm. A respite to the other storms.

Squirt is a blessing. He's straight from God, that child.

Please remind me of that when he's 17 and wants to borrow the car to take his girlfriend out, would you?

MJS....

 

[eandesmom]

Thank you.



I want to thank you so much for writing that. It is exhausting. It's hard to admit, but it is, and it's nice to hear that it's not just me, and not just my child. Even though in my heart I know that, sometimes I just wonder whether I can do anything right.



Squirt is a blessing. He's straight from God, that child.

Please remind me of that when he's 17 and wants to borrow the car to take his girlfriend out, would you?

It's not just you, it's not just your child. You can't do anything right so get over it now. seriously, there is an element of truth there.

And I swear there is a funny dymanic with siblings. One will be pure joy at any given moment and 1 is giving you a major run for your money and the grey hair is breeding and multiplying (ok in our house it's 2 and 2) but still there is an interesting yin/yang element for me where one is sustaining me, one draining. And it's not always the same one (s) on either side. I guess that's called balance.

The good thing about 17 and the car is that it can (theoretically) be a REALLY effective source of punishment when they decide, oh I don't know, to do something like blow off a Kaplan course that you paid $500 for.

The important thing is to see the light at the end of the tunnel, the silver lining, the humor and when you can, seize and embrace the moments. Create the moments. Cuz the other stuff just isn't always fun.

 

[brookelizabeth]

I can't imagine putting myself in the shoes you are filling right now - all that, plus no sleep with the newborn! Thankfully you have your MJS (great name!!!) as your rock. Hugs to you and your family!

And LOVE that tank - great colors!

 

[TarzansKat]

It's not just you, it's not just your child. You can't do anything right so get over it now. seriously, there is an element of truth there.

And I swear there is a funny dymanic with siblings. One will be pure joy at any given moment and 1 is giving you a major run for your money and the grey hair is breeding and multiplying (ok in our house it's 2 and 2) but still there is an interesting yin/yang element for me where one is sustaining me, one draining. And it's not always the same one (s) on either side. I guess that's called balance.

The good thing about 17 and the car is that it can (theoretically) be a REALLY effective source of punishment when they decide, oh I don't know, to do something like blow off a Kaplan course that you paid $500 for.

The important thing is to see the light at the end of the tunnel, the silver lining, the humor and when you can, seize and embrace the moments. Create the moments. Cuz the other stuff just isn't always fun.

You're right. I know you're right. And again, thanks for sharing. It's all about seizing those in between moments and creating moments as well. I think I'll include that concept in my next post as we've been creating some family moments quite purposefully since Mom passed.

And yikes on the $500 course!

I can't imagine putting myself in the shoes you are filling right now - all that, plus no sleep with the newborn! Thankfully you have your MJS (great name!!!) as your rock. Hugs to you and your family!

And LOVE that tank - great colors!

I wouldn't wish my shoes on anyone.

Especially the heels I usually wear with my Elizabeth dress because after a night of walking around the MK, my feet hurt.

And thanks for the compliments on the tank! My favorite colors, pretty much, blue and green.

 

[shannn]

I'm not trying to pimp my pretrip report or anything, but when you have a chance I'd love for you to go and read what I wrote about my mom. Things kind of gelled in my mind yesterday and I think you were very helpful with that process. Again, I can't thank you enough for sharing.

 

[TarzansKat]

I'm not trying to pimp my pretrip report or anything, but when you have a chance I'd love for you to go and read what I wrote about my mom. Things kind of gelled in my mind yesterday and I think you were very helpful with that process. Again, I can't thank you enough for sharing.

Dude. Pimp away. I just love that you used the word pimp.

I'm definitely heading over now.

 

[that's nice]

Finally here...

Page 4.. not too bad. I guess?


It seems that there is a lot of loss in our/my DIS 'group' lately. Thank you for sharing your feeling with us.

MJS... you couldn't stop at MJ? I guess that would be a little weird referring to your DH as MJ. Plus there is only 1 MJ.

 

[TarzansKat]

Finally here...

Page 4.. not too bad. I guess?

Page 4 is not bad at all!

As a matter of fact, it's lovely.

It seems that there is a lot of loss in our/my DIS 'group' lately. Thank you for sharing your feeling with us.

Yes, there has been. Just a remainder from the man upstairs that loss is part of life, no matter how much we wish it wasn't.

MJS... you couldn't stop at MJ? I guess that would be a little weird referring to your DH as MJ. Plus there is only 1 MJ.

No. There is only 1 MJ.

As there is only 1 MJS.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Especially the heels I usually wear with my Elizabeth dress because after a night of walking around the MK, my feet hurt.

But you look good, sometimes pain is worth the fashion.

 

[TarzansKat]

But you look good, sometimes pain is worth the fashion.

And you know what, I'm so not that kind of a gal normally, but for a costume for MNSSHP, I'll do it!

 

[heathers4um]

WOW...

*catches breath and wipes away tears*

Hi, I'm Heather

You and your mom remind me of me and my mom...from the mom and daughter and best friends thing, to her love for Disney and the connection she has had with my only son. He, also, calls her Mimi.

What a ride you have been on...and will undoubtedly continue. First, my sympathies for losing your mom. I cant imagine.

Second, congrats on baby squirt! It is said that when we lose one, room is made for another. So totally bittersweet and unfair, but it just seems to happen that way sometimes. At least in my life.

I am so happy you decided to go to you and your mom's happy place. It may not seem it now, but I bet anything being there will bring you such comfort.

I'm in for the ride...

 

[TarzansKat]

WOW...

*catches breath and wipes away tears*

Hi, I'm Heather

You and your mom remind me of me and my mom...from the mom and daughter and best friends thing, to her love for Disney and the connection she has had with my only son. He, also, calls her Mimi.

What a ride you have been on...and will undoubtedly continue. First, my sympathies for losing your mom. I cant imagine.

Second, congrats on baby squirt! It is said that when we lose one, room is made for another. So totally bittersweet and unfair, but it just seems to happen that way sometimes. At least in my life.

I am so happy you decided to go to you and your mom's happy place. It may not seem it now, but I bet anything being there will bring you such comfort.

I'm in for the ride...

Hi, Heather! Thank you so much for joining in, and your kind words! My mother's initial intent was to be a Grammy (she had a Grammy), but when my son started talking, he called her Mimi. We could never figure out why, he just did, and it stuck, and she absolutely loved it. Loved that he named her, so to speak.

Their relationship was such a blessing, as was mine with her! I'm lucky for what we had even though I would have liked more.

 

[TarzansKat]

Crush: Okay. Squirt here will now give you a rundown of proper exiting technique.
Squirt: Good afternoon. We're gonna have a great jump today. Okay, first crank a hard cutback as you hit the wall. There's a screaming bottom curve, so watch out. Remember: rip it, roll it, and punch it.
Marlin: It's like he's trying to speak to me, I know it.
[to Squirt]
Marlin: Look, you're really cute, but I can't understand what you're saying. Say the first thing again.

I have to admit that it's taken me days to write this post. Every time I've tried to start it, either children or emotions have gotten in the way. The first day I intended to post, I looked at my countdown calendar and it was five months, five days.

My mom was 55 when she died. I couldn't bring myself to post on that day. I guess that's one of the hard parts too, that she was so young. Death is never easy, but when my granddad (her father) passed, he was in his seventies, and so although it was unexpected, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. I'd always viewed losing mom as out of the realm of possibility.

Mom and I would talk about losing Nana. My Nana is in her eighties now, and so again, that worried us, and my mom especially. If you think she and I were close, she and my grandmother were even closer. I used to have these conversations with my mom about the fact that she had to emotionally prepare herself for the fact that Nana wasn't going to be with us forever, and my mother would absolutely refuse to talk about it. It just COULD NOT happen.

Do you know how much it kills me that I never took my own d*** advice? That I never thought I needed to prepare myself for losing my parents.

I don't know how many of you were with me for my pre trip report of the Sept / Oct 09 family trip. It was in celebration of my 30th birthday. Which I agonized over. I had such a hard time turning 30, and I feel really foolish about it now. Honestly, it's just a number. It means nothing other than the fact that 30 years ago I was born. And on October 9th, I'll turn 31. And you know what? That's just a number too.

Just like 55 is a number. A number that I didn't really think would have any significance. And now all I can think to myself is, if all I have left is 25 more years, I want them to be d*** good ones.

You know?

So let's move on to talking about Disney a little bit. Even though I think it's safe to say that pretty much all of these posts are going to include some reference to Mom, there's still a trip to talk about, and I know she'd want me to talk about it, just like she and I used to.

So let's get into the details, shall we?

Obviously, it wasn't hard to pick dates. The Princess 1/2 marathon is on Sunday, February 27, so our trip had to account for us being there to cheer on my girl, Tink. Oddly enough, when talking with Nana the other day, I discovered that February 27 was my Granddad's birthday. Talk about ironic.

Originally I thought we'd go from a Friday to a Wednesday, but when airfare was released, the rates were actually significantly better from Saturday to Thursday.

And let me tell you just how good they were.

It's costing me less for four tickets on Southwest than it did for three last year. Can you believe that? I was pretty much resigned to the fact that airfare was going to run us at least $1000 if not $1200, and to get it for under $800? Well, let's just say I was stoked.

So we're going from Saturday, February 26th to Thursday, March 3. It's nice that we're going until Thursday now because we'll be able to see the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot, which I believe starts on March 2. And that makes me happy because the last time I went to Disney with Tink was for Flower and Garden Festival, so it feels like there's a poetic justice in that.

Now I know that I've talked about where we would stay on my last trip report, because even though I wasn't sure when I would book a trip, I was certainly thinking about where we'd like to stay on the next one.

And I knew that I wanted it to be deluxe. Unless CBR was available.

To make a long story short, this is my first time traveling during peak season in many, many moons. And actually, I've never been to Disney in February, which is kind of nice. I don't have any specific memories tied to this month, just the destination.

So, since it's peak season, the hotel rooms are pricey! This is coming from a woman who's traveled pretty much exclusively during value season and longs with a passion for the days when she used to get a 50% off cast member discount.

No more.

So, although I'd talked about the Contemporary, I just could not stomach the price. Even though I've received a rather unexpected inheritance, I still have a threshold for the amount of money I'm willing to drop on one week. And the Contemporary was above that threshold.

So where do I stay in Disney World when it's just me and my boys?

For those of you that know me, the answer is simple. Somewhere we've stayed before. Somewhere I love, somewhere that feels like home as soon as I pass under the log archway.

Somewhere with interior corridors and a tiny counter service and a 5 minute bus ride to MK and a boat launch.

The Wilderness Lodge.

- (picture courtesy of allears . net)

Home.

Thank goodness Disney released a code for free dining. Let me tell you, I'm not thrilled with it, but I'll take it.

In all honesty, I'd rather not have a dining plan. I'd rather have a room discount, but so far, that doesn't exist for these dates.

I have been thinking of upgrading to an AP and hoping for a discount that way, but by checking Mousesavers historical discount page, those weren't released until January, so we've got a wait ahead of us.

I think that's enough rambling for today, don't you?

So in the tradition of LegoMom,

The TK Clan
In the Wilderness Lodge
For 6 Days, 5 Nights
With Free Dining​

 

[Lady Lallie]

I'm so happy that you are staying at Wilderness Lodge, I know how much you have enjoyed WL in the past. I think it's a very good choice.

 

[pooh'smate]

Hi TK. Now that I am done wiping away my tears, I can comment. I am so missing my family right and while I don't know what you are going through. I do miss that I can't just pick up the phone and call my mom (due to my dad's job they are unreachable for a period of time) or just go visit with her. My mom wanted to be called Mimi but dd just started calling her Nana and it stuck. Sorry to go off on a rabbit trail but what I am trying to say is that your post made me teary for you and your family and a little bit for me and the fact that I am missing my family but my mom the most.

I am so glad you are staying at WL. I remember how you loved it when you were on your Pirates Life for Three trip. I really want to stay there some day.

 

[If U Had Wings]

WL sounds like it's the perfect choice for this trip. Your going to need a sense of comfort even through this.