You're Livin' the Dream, Mater Boy! *Aug 2010*(WE'RE HOME and HAD A GREAT TRIP!!!!)

[wdwgirl03]

Bummer about the job not working out for your DH but atleast the trip is still on so that is some consolation.

We saw Toy Story 3 on Friday and it was amazing. We loved it!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Bummer about the job not working out for your DH but atleast the trip is still on so that is some consolation.

We saw Toy Story 3 on Friday and it was amazing. We loved it!

We can't wait to see it! Planning to go this weekend with the kids!! Should be fun!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

I had a great morning here today - it was rainy and dreary outside, so while McQueen was at his summer morning class, I worked on the Countdown Calendar and managed to get it almost done!!! I am so happy with how it turned out, I just love it.

My idea was to use the Home Depot paint chips (yes I took the easy way out!!!) for the countdown part so they are each numbered, and under each one is a picture of something we will see or do while down in Disney World. I thought this would help get the kids an idea of some of the stuff we'll be seeing and doing down there. I choose a lot of rides that I knew they's be into, pix of the hotel, pool, buses, but mostly pictures of rides or shows we'll be seeing. So each day when we pull off the tab, we can talk a little bit about the rides and stuff and get them familiar it a little bit.

So, with all that said, here are the pix:

Here is a picture without the paint chips on, showing the pictures:

And here is one with half of them covered:

And here it is done:

YEAH!!! I'm so happy to have this done!!
Karen

 

[wdwgirl03]

Awesome job on the calendar...I love it! How cool to have a picture underneath.

 

[Charlefours]

CONGRATULATIONS on finishing your first 5K! What a great time!

Your to do list looks great--I know it is intimidating having it all down, but it makes me feel better! Are you going to put the kids outfits in bags in the suitcase? I am trying to decide if that is what I want to do or not.

yay for being under two months!!

What a great countdown calendar!!! SO cute and I bet they will get so excited to see the things they will be able to do and see while down there.

The iron-ons that everyone raves about here on DIS is amymickeydotcom (replace the dot with a .) in case DIS blocks the URL I will pass next: http://www.amymickey.com/ironontransfer_page.html

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Awesome job on the calendar...I love it! How cool to have a picture underneath.

thanks Sarah! I'm really happy with it and really just glad to have it done!! One less thing to do! I was hoping to keep it hidden and suprise the kids with it, but I had it laying on my bed and McQueen walked in and saw it - he was excited - I let him peek at it for a second - but I'm anxious to start showing them some of the things we'll see down there!

CONGRATULATIONS on finishing your first 5K! What a great time!

Your to do list looks great--I know it is intimidating having it all down, but it makes me feel better! Are you going to put the kids outfits in bags in the suitcase? I am trying to decide if that is what I want to do or not.

yay for being under two months!!

What a great countdown calendar!!! SO cute and I bet they will get so excited to see the things they will be able to do and see while down there.

The iron-ons that everyone raves about here on DIS is amymickeydotcom (replace the dot with a .) in case DIS blocks the URL I will pass next: http://www.amymickey.com/ironontransfer_page.html

Thanks! The 5K was fun!

I do like having a list - helps me organize and get stuff done - I am a huge list-maker!! I don't think I'll pack the kids outfits in bags - when we travel or camp I usually just pack their outfits stacked together. I'm usually the one to pull out the clothes anyway, so I know what is meant to go together. DH will now even ask me "what do you want them to wear today?" since he's pull out the wrong outfits on occasion and I have them change!

Thanks so much for the link to the iron-on transfers - that's the one!!! I'll have to go out and take a look at them. First I need to decide how many shirts I'm going to make and figure out how many transfers I need!! Ahh - still so much to do!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Karen:

Love the calendar! You did a great job! The boys will have such fun counting down each day.

Erika

 

[Cory's Gal]

AWESOME countdown calendar Karen!!! It is almost too beautiful!!! Can you make mine next time too??? It must feel great having it all done!!!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Karen:

Love the calendar! You did a great job! The boys will have such fun counting down each day.

Erika

AWESOME countdown calendar Karen!!! It is almost too beautiful!!! Can you make mine next time too??? It must feel great having it all done!!!

Thanks you guys!! It was really so easy to make - once I went and got the 31 paint chips!!! That was probably the hardest part!

I didn't have any posterboard so I used 4 sheets of 12x12 red scrapbook paper and taped them together on the back. I didn't like the seams so I started covering them with 1/2 inch white strips which grew into the grid pattern spaced around the paint chips, I just spaced them to fit appropriately over the seams. I didn't really know what I was doing until I just started doing it, and once everything was placed I stuck them all on with some double sided scrapbook adhesive. Added the pictures that I had previously printed out, a few stickers, some punch-out letters and voila...calendar is complete.

 

[Charlefours]

Thanks! The 5K was fun!

I do like having a list - helps me organize and get stuff done - I am a huge list-maker!! I don't think I'll pack the kids outfits in bags - when we travel or camp I usually just pack their outfits stacked together. I'm usually the one to pull out the clothes anyway, so I know what is meant to go together. DH will now even ask me "what do you want them to wear today?" since he's pull out the wrong outfits on occasion and I have them change!

Thanks so much for the link to the iron-on transfers - that's the one!!! I'll have to go out and take a look at them. First I need to decide how many shirts I'm going to make and figure out how many transfers I need!! Ahh - still so much to do!

I am a list maker too. DH checks with me too normally before he dresses my DD so I don't think I am going to do the bags either.

I thought that was the link you were looking for--not sure if DIS would block it or not but apparently they are not right now. I hope you share what you create!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Yesterday we went and saw Toy Story 3!!!

We all loved it! Yes, I got teary and sad and couldn't help but think of my 2 little boys and them growing up so quickly! Time just goes by so quickly...

In other news, I have all of my June To-Do's done except for the autograph books. I wasn't able to work on them today, McQueen had a doctors appt. so we were gone all morning, and tomorrow morning I have a training for work, so I am hoping that Wednesday morning I can finish up the last few pages - that is the plan at least!

We have a super busy week this week, especially with the 4th of July coming up - we'll be heading out of town Friday to go camping for a long weekend. So between now and Thursday there is a lot to get done, I need to go running a couple of nights and get my workouts in, plan all of the meals for the weekend and grocery shop, do laundry and pack for camping, kids have t-ball, McQueen has summer school classes, and we have some maintenance being done on our house. We also have someone interested in our camper what we're trying to sell so we have to set up a time to show it and hopefully we can make the sale!!

Looking forward to the 4th though, it is always a fun weekend. Anyone have plans for the 4th?

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Hello everyone! I hope everyone had a spectacular 4th of July!! Our weekend was fun, we got a little rained out camping and came home a day early, but we still had a lot of fun. Managed to get to a parade, got to the beach, had a great cookout with family. We skipped the fireworks one night since we were all pretty beat, then they got rained out the next night, so we didn't get any fireworks in this weekend. But they are having some at my DH's hometown next weekend, so we are planning to go to those instead.

I can't believe it is July already!!!! The only thing I didn't get finished for my June To-Do's are the Autograph books, and I'm hoping to work on them this week (I know, I say this a lot) but I do WANT to get them done.

I've been doing a lot of reading and I was disappointed to see that we will be having several closures during our trip - some I knew about, some I just found out about. Here is what will be closed during our trip:

-Toy Story Mania - totally disappointed
-It's a Small World - again, totally disappointed, I was really looking forward to this
-Pooh's Playful Spot - gone - looked cute although we wouldnt' have spent long in there, so not terrible disappointed or anything, just wish we could have seen it before it's gone. I think only Mater would have been able to play in there anyway. Now if Mickey's and Minnie's houses are gone, I will seriously cry...
-Liberty Square Riverboat - again a little bummed about this, although I know it's not probably a huge attraction.
One Man's Dream - I was a little sad to see this being down too, would have liked to walk through (I'm a bit of a history buff and love these types of displays/exhibits)

And even 2 CS restaurants that I was most looking forward to are going to be closed:
-Flame Tree - NOOOOOOOO!!!! After all I've read...no ribs for us!!!
-Cantina del San Angel - AND NO MARGARITAS!!!! NOOOOO!

So, the next thing I am planning to start working on and reviewing is my daily itinineries. I need to go back through them and make sure I eliminate the things that are shut down and make sure I haven't missed anything and see how much time I've alloted for things. So in a week or two I will start posting a detailed itininery for each day and hope I can get lots of good feedback and tips. There are still a few things I'm not sure of for a couple of the parks, so I need to work those things out.

That's all for now! My next post will be pictures of completed autograph books!!!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

This morning I made up my last few autograph book pages!!! I *think* I'm done!!!!! At least done for now - no more pressure and if I feel like adding a few more pages later I can. I finished 28 custom pages to characters, and still have about 30 blank pages at the back of each book, so lots of room for additional autographs.

So, here they are:

Covers and first inside page:

And the autograph pages:

Continued in next post....

 

[MommyMcQueen]

and the last few pages:

So there it is! I'm so happy to be finished, even thought I know there are a lot of other characters we may run into, we can add them at the end and I can decorate the pages after we get back. Thanks for looking!!!

Oh - What's the best color Sharpies to get? I know to get the retractable ones - but what color???

 

[wdwgirl03]

WOW, the autograph books turned out amazing! Very creative and I'm sure your kids will love them.

As for the Sharpies, I'm probably no help. What kind of paper is it? Is it more like cardstock? Because I was going to say maybe use one of the finer tip ones so it doesn't bleed through.

 

[MommyMcQueen]

WOW, the autograph books turned out amazing! Very creative and I'm sure your kids will love them.

As for the Sharpies, I'm probably no help. What kind of paper is it? Is it more like cardstock? Because I was going to say maybe use one of the finer tip ones so it doesn't bleed through.

Thanks Sarah! I'm pretty happy with them, the kids like them and we all can't wait to use them!

Yes, the paper is a heavier cardstock, I don't think it will bleed through unless the sharpie really sits on the paper for a bit, so I'm not too worried about it bleeding through. I didn't know if most people just use black, or if colored ones worked just as well?

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Well, we're down to 6 WEEKS!!!!

Last night we were sitting out on our patio and saw a large a large airplane fly over and I said to DH "6 weeks from right now we'll be down in Disney!" We are all so excited and I can't believe that we are now only 6 weeks away. It is going to come really fast now, especially since kids have been out of school 4 weeks already and it has just flown by!!

I am heading out this morning to go and run my first ever 10K! I am super excited and a little nervous, but I'm sure it will all go well. It is a nice, sunny morning here so it should be a ncie event this morning.

 

[Charlefours]

hey Karen! I cannot believe your trip is only six weeks away!! It will be here so soon.

LOVE the autograph books! They turned out very cute.

I hope your 10k went well!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

hey Karen! I cannot believe your trip is only six weeks away!! It will be here so soon.

LOVE the autograph books! They turned out very cute.

I hope your 10k went well!

Thanks Stephanie! I can't believe it either - wish it would hurry up and get here!!

The 10K was an interesting event, not exactly in a good way. We ended up having to restart after the first half mile - they took a wrong turn on the course and lead everyone the wrong way. It was a pretty hot morning and so by the time everyone walked back and we restarted, everyone was hot, sweating, and thirsty. By the time I got to the first water station at mile 1 they were out! So no water until mile 3, I was very hot, thirsty and getting tired. After mile 4 I fizzled out - needed more water and I walked quite a bit of mile 5 until I got some more water at the mile 5 water station. I chugged 4 cups of water and dumped some over my head - I felt much better after that and was able to finish the last 1.2 miles okay.

So I finished in 1:11, which is 5 minutes slower than what I was hoping for, so I was pretty disappointed. But, at least I went out and did it and I did finish, but I really felt like I struggled the entire way. There is a 5K coming up in a couple weeks that I may do, I have to really work on my running, I've been kind of slacking the last 2 weeks. I need to decide if I'm at the point where I just want to maintain the distances I'm running or continue to train for another event...just not sure right now after such a disappointing race...I have to think about it.

 

[MommyMcQueen]

I've been taking a little time off from planning for a few days here, working on getting a few other things done and focusing on my diet/exercise program. Here's what I've been keeping busy with:

SCRAPBOOKING
I spent about 5 days editing all of my family pictures from May, June and 4th of July - so I got those ordered yesterday and have 250+ pictures on their way to be scrapbooked!!!! I am so behind - I have about 20 scrapbook layouts done that I have to go back and put titles and words on and journaling. But I'll just wait until the new pictures are here and do them all at the same time. I still need to go buy albums for all of this years pictures!! I have the layouts done but no albums for them...how sad is that!

RUNNING
After that disasterous 10K I ran on Saturday, I was feeling pretty deflated and discouraged with my running. So, Monday night I went out and had a great run - I did 7 miles in 1:16. I was really happy and it actually felt really good. It was definitely what I needed and helped boost my attitude. Went out again last night for 4 miles, and had another great run. Worked on my speed a bit (since I am slow) and got my time down a bit, under 10 minute per mile for the whole 4 miles, so I was happy. I'm feeling really good about it and thinking about considering a half-marathon this fall. I need to train a few more weeks and increase my distances a bit before I decide if I think I can really do it. It's kind of a scary thought!!!

There is a 5K in a few weeks that my employer is sponsoring so I may sign up for that run too, would be good to do another one and see if I have any improvements, plus something to keep me motivated!

My diet is at a bit of a stand-still, with the running I've been doing I've kind of allowed myself to eat whatever I want, so I really need to buckle down and lose the last few pounds I wanted to try to lose. Ugh, it's so hard sometimes.

ANNIVERSARY PLANS
So Dan and I are coming up on our 9 year anniversary the first week of August. In the past we haven't really ever done much for our anniversary, but I'd like to do something this year. But we are already taking a weekend trip to my cousin's wedding the following weekend (without kids ) so that is kind a get-away for us. We're staying at a really nice hotel and it should be fun to have a night out without the kids. So, it's kind of hard to plan anything else for the anniversary, which is on Wednesday. I'm thinking we'll go out for dinner....but I'd like to do something else too, just not sure what? 9 years is a long time! Anyone have any ideas? We never really have done an anniversary gift, usually we do a night out.

BIRTHDAYS
McQueen's 7th birthday is also coming up, not until beginning of Sept, but with us being gone the last week+ of August, I want to have all his birthday plans and stuff done before we leave. I don't want to be scrambling to get stuff here the week we get back from our trip, which is also the first week of school for the kids and Dan's birthday is also that week. So it will be crazy enough with just getting back and starting school (which reminds me I better add school-supply shopping to my list), I want to have the birthday stuff done early!!! So I have to get busy on that stuff, and try to think of something for Dan's birthday!

So, with all this swirling in my head right now, I haven't been doing to much planning for the trip!!! My main to-do right now is to figure out how many t-shirt I want to make and get the stuff to make the t-shirts. Hoping I can run out this week and pick that stuff up! I swear I need a whole day just to go shopping to get all the stuff for birthdays, school, scrapbooking, and the trip!

I will be back to my trip planning soon! I hung the countdown calendar and we can start counting down next week! Kids are excited and try to keep peeking at it!! Can't wait to start pulling off the days!