Single Digits to Disney World

Disney World.

Some parents cringe at the sound of it. Some parents tolerate it for the love of their children. Then there are the category of parents like I am in. I live for visits and trips to the Happiest Place on Earth. And our countdown to return to this magical place just hit single digits!

Hot on the trail of our last Disney World trip (March 2013) I began making plans to return with some good friends of ours. They have a little girl the same age as The Short Chic and thought it would be awesome to go as a group so their daughter would have someone to share the experience with.

As we began planning and decision making (on property vs off property/ driving vs flying) my husband suggested we reach out to a friend who has a Disney time share. He had offered us some time in the past. Not only did he agree to sell us some points he also agreed to go with us.

That is how we became #DisneyPartyofTen !

Slowly we have observed milestones in our countdown. We customized our Magic Bands. Six months ago we made our dining reservations. Ninety days ago we made our Fast Pass selections. We have ordered tickets. We have even purchased our dining plan.

This is the first trip were we will actually stay on property. This will be our first experience with the Dining Plan. We will be attending Epcot's Food and Wine Festival. We will be attending the Not So Spooky Halloween Party!

This past weekend I completed every single pre-Disney craft project on my to-do list. What kind of pre-Disney craft projects did I have? Well, let me share them with you!

Halloween Costumes:

Since we are going during the Not So Spooky Halloween Party, halloween costumes were in order. Our three youngest members are dressing up like Princesses thanks to Bippity Boppity Boutique. The rest of us will be Crayons. I made a total of 7 costumes: Green, Yellow, Blue, Purple, Gray, Maroon, and Fuschia. Yes, we have hats to match!

Group T-Shirts

Honestly, this started off with a simple idea. How fun would it be to have matching t-shirts to wear on the trip down to Orlando. They were so cute and easy to make it just kinda snowballed. In the end we each have five matching shirts to wear during our seven day stay.

Shirt one:

Girls have polka dots and bows. Men have chevron strips. Names on the back in Disney font.

Shirt Two: We call him "Fancy Mickey". How cute is he!!

Shirt Three: Zebra Mickey. Girls will have red bows. We will appropriately wear this on the day we are at Animal Kingdom!

Shirt Four: Camo Mickey. The group wanted to wear him to Animal Kingdom but I did not want the animals to think we were hunting them. Of course that assumes they would be able to see us! :)

Shirt Five: FrankenMickey. I love this shirt! We will wear him the day we are at The Magic Kingdom for the Not So Spooky Halloween Party.

Okay, non-Disney people. Yes, we will look dorky. Maybe a little corny. But we will look like a group and have fun doing it. Besides, anyone want to place a bet we are not the only group there with matching t-shirts? Okay, and another huge benefit: half of our packing is done!

Autograph Books:

The minute we told The Short Chic we were returning to Disney World she has been dreaming of meeting Queen Elsa and Princess Anna. She can't wait to get their autograph books. We made cute autograph books using cardstock, brads, and a sketch book. Autograph books inside Disney can cost up to $20.00. We made ours for a fraction of that.

Princess Purse:

Inspired by Queen Elsa herself, the two little girls can carry their autograph books around in a purse. Easy to make with a half of yard of material, some trim, and a glue gun!

American Girl Wear:

I know The Short Chic won't travel without her American Girl doll, Isabelle. So on a pure moment of crazy, I made her doll and her friend's doll t-shirts with iron on decals that match our shirts. Okay, then I decided they needed skirts too!

There you have it. Pre-Disney crafts. Finished. The only thing I have left to do is pack. And clean house. I really need to clean my house since I have spent so much time crafting!

My Weekend Project: A PVC Camping Lamp Post and Flag Holder

I have seen a few of these around campsites and I knew I would like to have one. The only problem that I had is The Husband. He already thinks we drag too much stuff with us when we go camping and if I had told him my desire to have a PVC Camping Light Pole he would have shut it down quickly! So, that leaves a girl with only one choice: Figure out how to do it by herself. I did some internet searching and found a few road maps on RV forums. They seemed easy enough! I visited the local hardware store for the supplies: An exterior post lantern light 2 inch PVC pipe (I used 5 feet but had to purchase a 10 foot piece) A 3 inch toilet flange A 3 inch to 2 inch Reducer PVC Glue A 12 foot electric cord kit 2 - 3/4 inch PVC Caps I also used a few supplies we already had on hand: White Spray Paint 3 1/2 foot - 3/4 inch PVC Pipe Drill Bits (1 inch and 1/2 inch) Tent Stakes The first step was preparing the lantern light. I could only find black i

Tonsillectomy (Warning Photos!)

The Short Chic came down with a pretty nasty case of strep throat back in April. So, when The Boy started complaining about his throat hurting about 12 days later, I was pretty confident that he had inherited his sister's strep. Instead, The Boy was diagnosed with a peritonsillar abscess growing on his right tonsil. We had to immediately see an ENT Physician who took a needle and drained the abscess. He removed about 5.5 cc of puss from The Boys throat.and then told us that once you have a peritonsillar abscess you were high risk to keep getting them. The Boy's tonsils were now compromised and needed to be removed. We were told to plan for a two week recovery so we worked a surgery into our summer plans. Between family vacations, summer sports, and the beginning of school The Boy had his second surgery. A tonsillectomy. Pre-surgery prepping went well. It must be nice to be young and have healthy veins for an IV! The Boy had lots of pre-surgery visitors. My

Liver Cheese: A Family Tradition

Today is an anniversary date. One of those dates you wish you did not have to remember but there is no way you can forget. Fifteen years ago today,two days after his birthday, my father died of lung cancer. He was a lifelong smoker and his cancer was aggressive. His battle was short. He fought for six short months after his diagnosis. He knew the chemo was not working and that his time was limited. When he came to this realization he became the best dad in the world. In the days before my father's passing, my family shared some memorable moments. One of those moments centers around the deli meat: Liver Cheese.I would not be surprised if you have never heard of it, or even never tasted it. But I was raised on it as it was one of my Dad's favorite things. What is it? Well, it is a German food that is actually called Leberkase. It is bacon, corned beef, pork, and onion that is ground together and baked. It comes with a

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