Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Shake it Off
When the stress from moving/holidays/packing gets to you... shake it off, shake it off!
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
A lot can happen in 20 days
It turns out, in just three short weeks you can...
-get orders
-get on the housing wait list
-confirm preschool enrollment
-decide back and forth if you are going to move yourself, or have the army move you
-arrange for a POD delievery
-pack away "non-essential for 18months" things
-rearrange plans/cancel some really fun things in order to pack
-have your mother-in-law fly up and rock out some POD packing
-decide on a property manager and sign your house up for rent
-finish Christmas shopping (because your house will be packed up by then)
-and have knee surgery to boot!
Life... its not boring right now
-get orders
-get on the housing wait list
-confirm preschool enrollment
-decide back and forth if you are going to move yourself, or have the army move you
-arrange for a POD delievery
-pack away "non-essential for 18months" things
-rearrange plans/cancel some really fun things in order to pack
-have your mother-in-law fly up and rock out some POD packing
-decide on a property manager and sign your house up for rent
-finish Christmas shopping (because your house will be packed up by then)
-and have knee surgery to boot!
Life... its not boring right now
Monterey Bay Aquarium: where real ocean tide pools become exhibits
Tuesday, October 07, 2014
We have RFO!
RFO= Request for Orders
Nothing can happen (movers scheduled, get on the wait list for housing in California, etc) without orders. Geoff got his RFO today so hopefully in a few days we will have orders and get things hoppin'
If all goes according to MY plan (you know, because the universe bows down and goes out of its way to accommodate ME) we will be packed up the week before Christmas and house will be magically rented out to someone who happens to need a place at Bragg for 18months starting Jan 1. We want to live in on base housing out there- we've heard the on base school is not so great but because Monterey is prime real estate, places don't like renting to people with dogs and we've heard utilities can be sky high.... so hopefully the wait list won't be too bad and we can cut out a few headaches.
I'll leave you with my mental sanity picture. If you don't know, I have a love affair with waterfalls- always have. In 3 months I'll be able to see this in person, and its the light at the end of this crazy tunnel!
Nothing can happen (movers scheduled, get on the wait list for housing in California, etc) without orders. Geoff got his RFO today so hopefully in a few days we will have orders and get things hoppin'
If all goes according to MY plan (you know, because the universe bows down and goes out of its way to accommodate ME) we will be packed up the week before Christmas and house will be magically rented out to someone who happens to need a place at Bragg for 18months starting Jan 1. We want to live in on base housing out there- we've heard the on base school is not so great but because Monterey is prime real estate, places don't like renting to people with dogs and we've heard utilities can be sky high.... so hopefully the wait list won't be too bad and we can cut out a few headaches.
I'll leave you with my mental sanity picture. If you don't know, I have a love affair with waterfalls- always have. In 3 months I'll be able to see this in person, and its the light at the end of this crazy tunnel!
(McWay Falls along CA route 1 in Los Padres National Park)
Saturday, October 04, 2014
Extra! Extra! read all about it
We learned yesterday that we are headed to Monterey, California this winter for the next 18month!
Its a crazy fast move but we are excited for some west coast adventures. We know we'll need to keep all of our east coast (and everywhere else for that matter) friends up-to-date on our happenings and here just might be the best way to do that....
stay tuned!
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Saturday, July 06, 2013
Harrison DAVIS Childs
Sweet Davis decided he couldn't wait until July 1st to get the party started, he came a bit early on June 26th. 8 lbs 1oz and 20 inches long (bigger than Grant, smaller than Carter) his surgery and apgar score were both near perfect, a welcome change from the others. I told my mom "third times a charm and we're ending on a high note". Both of the other boys are thrilled and are so sweet with Davis... blessings abound!
Sunday, May 05, 2013
Sunday, March 03, 2013
One Week= Start Packing
One week until we head down to Disney! Officially time to start packing and get even more excited than we thought possible--
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Woohoo! A New Loo
Calling all moms of babies/toddlers: PAY ATTENTION, you are going to want this!
The realization that baby #3 is on the way and Carter is still in diapers had me panicked- I know from Grant that he'll get it when he gets it but right now he freaks when I try to sit him on the potty and he doesn't have enough fine motor skills to deal with trying to balance a second seat on top of it- I bought this on a whim and it is AMAZING, a regular ole toilet seat with a toddler seat built in. The best part that I wasn't even expecting is that the toddler seat sticks to the lid with magnets so the "default" when you open the lid is a regular old seat- and Carter can easily pull down his seat.
Oh what excites me in life these days!
We got ours off Amazon : http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00596IFBG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i04?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Disney World Prep: Dining
starting to follow our Disney planning process? read this post first
At this time we stood with 2 options, Caribbean Beach Disney Hotel room and dining plan for 6 days : $1899 and Shades of Green without any dining included for $800
We took a look at the dining plan to see if it was really worth it. For Geoff, Grant and I (that would be a refillable mug for drinks, a snack, quick service fast food type meal, and a table service sit down meal EVERY day. Meals include a drink, entree and dessert. (thats 2 desserts and a snack everyday, you can't trade one for an appetizer or anything) You don't have to use each everyday but our family would have 18 snacks, 18 quick service and 18 table service credits to use over our week there.
With either lodging option we'd either be letting Carter eat from our plates or buying him a seperate Kids Meal out of pocket so for this decision he didn't really "count" (though I have to tell you, the thought of him seeing the Disney magic at that Pirate pool was almost worth $$ to me)
$1,100 difference in plans to cover food/6 days= $183 a day on food (we figured this to be $72 a day per adult and $36 a day for Grant)
Now we had already decided that we were going to make memories this trip and one of the ways that the Disney Dining plan really makes sense is character meals or big buffets. A meal with the Fab Five or an all-you-can-eat Seafood Buffet is still a table service and takes the same credit as any other restaurant meal. We knew that Carter would get a kick out of meeting Oso, Handy Manny, and the Little Einsteins so that character meal was a "must". Grant was more interested in meeting Mickey, Lilo and Stitch so he chose that meal over the breakfast with the Fab Five that we were also considering. Both of those Character Dining experiences are $15 for Grant and $36 per adult. We also had made reservations for the all you can eat seafood buffet at the Cape May Resort for my special Birthday meal with the family and Rory. That runs $36 for Grant and $60 for us... so $330 total for the special meals we knew we were going to do regardless.
Would we spend $770 on the other meals/ $128 a day? If we ate the most expensive things on the menu maybe, if we were actually going to be buying sodas maybe, if we were going to "buy" the equivalent of 3 snacks a day to go along with our desserts after lunch AND dinner maybe, but that isn't us.
I'm fine with packing fruit snacks and nabs for the morning snack then "splurging"for a rice crispy mickey head in the afternoon, Disney snacks are so big I know the boys can easily share. We all need to be drinking water, not soda, so I bought the boys these to clip onto the stroller, and the adults each get these. Water is free. I'm pregnant and the boys don't know they have options :) I might have a steak dinner one night but have a feeling that a big ole salad will feel refreshing some days, on the Dining Plan that would be a waste...
So for us, it is not a savings. So Shades of Green and paying out of pocket it is!
I know one of the main "perks" of the Disney dining plans is that it is "all included and you don't have to think about it, you don't have to carry cash or worry about the bill"! so we have a solution, and one that saved us a bit of money. We have stocked up on $700 worth of $50 Disney gift cards and plan on carrying around 3 a day ($150) I don't think we'll use it all but I think mentally it will be easier to swipe the disney card than pay cash or give them our credit card. We got the cards as gifts at Christmas and at Target, using our one credit card, a Red Card that gives you 5% back off of each transaction and yes, $100 worth of cards was only $95. Plus any remaining balance at the end of the week can cover part of our $800 Hotel bill!
good website resources: here,
edited (Feb. 9th) to add: we JUST were quoted a military rate at Pop Century with Dining Plan for the week for $1500 but I think we're committed to Shades of Green now.
At this time we stood with 2 options, Caribbean Beach Disney Hotel room and dining plan for 6 days : $1899 and Shades of Green without any dining included for $800
We took a look at the dining plan to see if it was really worth it. For Geoff, Grant and I (that would be a refillable mug for drinks, a snack, quick service fast food type meal, and a table service sit down meal EVERY day. Meals include a drink, entree and dessert. (thats 2 desserts and a snack everyday, you can't trade one for an appetizer or anything) You don't have to use each everyday but our family would have 18 snacks, 18 quick service and 18 table service credits to use over our week there.
With either lodging option we'd either be letting Carter eat from our plates or buying him a seperate Kids Meal out of pocket so for this decision he didn't really "count" (though I have to tell you, the thought of him seeing the Disney magic at that Pirate pool was almost worth $$ to me)
$1,100 difference in plans to cover food/6 days= $183 a day on food (we figured this to be $72 a day per adult and $36 a day for Grant)
Now we had already decided that we were going to make memories this trip and one of the ways that the Disney Dining plan really makes sense is character meals or big buffets. A meal with the Fab Five or an all-you-can-eat Seafood Buffet is still a table service and takes the same credit as any other restaurant meal. We knew that Carter would get a kick out of meeting Oso, Handy Manny, and the Little Einsteins so that character meal was a "must". Grant was more interested in meeting Mickey, Lilo and Stitch so he chose that meal over the breakfast with the Fab Five that we were also considering. Both of those Character Dining experiences are $15 for Grant and $36 per adult. We also had made reservations for the all you can eat seafood buffet at the Cape May Resort for my special Birthday meal with the family and Rory. That runs $36 for Grant and $60 for us... so $330 total for the special meals we knew we were going to do regardless.
Would we spend $770 on the other meals/ $128 a day? If we ate the most expensive things on the menu maybe, if we were actually going to be buying sodas maybe, if we were going to "buy" the equivalent of 3 snacks a day to go along with our desserts after lunch AND dinner maybe, but that isn't us.
I'm fine with packing fruit snacks and nabs for the morning snack then "splurging"for a rice crispy mickey head in the afternoon, Disney snacks are so big I know the boys can easily share. We all need to be drinking water, not soda, so I bought the boys these to clip onto the stroller, and the adults each get these. Water is free. I'm pregnant and the boys don't know they have options :) I might have a steak dinner one night but have a feeling that a big ole salad will feel refreshing some days, on the Dining Plan that would be a waste...
So for us, it is not a savings. So Shades of Green and paying out of pocket it is!
I know one of the main "perks" of the Disney dining plans is that it is "all included and you don't have to think about it, you don't have to carry cash or worry about the bill"! so we have a solution, and one that saved us a bit of money. We have stocked up on $700 worth of $50 Disney gift cards and plan on carrying around 3 a day ($150) I don't think we'll use it all but I think mentally it will be easier to swipe the disney card than pay cash or give them our credit card. We got the cards as gifts at Christmas and at Target, using our one credit card, a Red Card that gives you 5% back off of each transaction and yes, $100 worth of cards was only $95. Plus any remaining balance at the end of the week can cover part of our $800 Hotel bill!
good website resources: here,
edited (Feb. 9th) to add: we JUST were quoted a military rate at Pop Century with Dining Plan for the week for $1500 but I think we're committed to Shades of Green now.
Disney World Prep: Lodging
If you HAVE to turn 30, you might as well do it at the Happiest Place on Earth. When I turn 30 I want to be at the happiest place on earth surrounded by some of my most favorite people on earth.
So we're doing it!
Geoff and I are packing up the mini-van and the boys to head down to Orlando. We'll hopefully get to have dinner with Chuck, Lisa, Jenny, Katie, Jim and Reese who will happen to be in town and then we get to spend a week with Rory, Dagny and even Joe and Frankie for a few days as we celebrate all things fabulous, whether thats Buzz lightyear's lasers for Grant, 'Queen for Carter or the princesses for Dagny (and Rory... and me!)
We are determined to make our week long trip to Disney (T-32days) filled with memories but without breaking the bank, so I'm going to document costs and all since I know a lot of people want to do the same. usually finances/costs/money in general is not a topic that I like to talk to anyone about, so personal! I have had a number of people ask just how much a Disney vacation costs or the best ways to do it and while I certainly don't have all the answers, I can at least write down what we spend on our week.
We are not going as cheap as possible. We are not saying "money is no object". We're trying to balance having a great time with being smart about the money spent... we'll see how it goes.
The ONLY thing we knew before starting to plan the trip is that we were going to get the Military Salute tickets because Disney rocks and has an awesome deal for service members and their families. A 4day Ticket with Park Hopper option (you can visit more than one park in a give day) for $156 each. -usually for this exact ticket Adults would be $256 each and Grant would have been $239, Carter under 3 is free-
I called up Disney and asked about a week at a Disney resort in March with Military discounts.
We were quoted Sun-Saturday at the Art of Animation resort in a family suite (small kitchenette, seperate master bed/bath) with the Disney standard dining plan for $2536.00 SAY WHAT?!?!?!
The same days and meal plan at the Caribbean Beach resort in more of a classic hotel room with just a fridge and 2 queen beds was quoted at $1899.00
Now, the Art of Animation was in a Cars themed room which would have had Carter over-the-moon but he's 2 and we're not rich so that wasn't even an option. The Caribbean beach room would be pirate themed which would have both boys saying "cool"and "arrrrr" all week long but is still a lot of money.
We called up Shades of Green, an MWR facility on Disney property that is only for military. It is a hotel but enjoys the perks of Disney resorts such as Extra Magic Hours (when parks open earlier/close later for Disney Resort properties' guests) and shuttles to the parks. It is a basic hotel room with 2 queen beds and fridge, like the Caribbean beach room but the pool is "just" a pool, not a fancy pirate water park (keep in mind, we're going in March though resort pools are heated) and the hotel itself is "just" a hotel, not filled with Disney magic. The rate for Geoff's rank was $133 a night, $800 total.
So then we had to see if the dining plan was worth the $1,100 difference...
So we're doing it!
Geoff and I are packing up the mini-van and the boys to head down to Orlando. We'll hopefully get to have dinner with Chuck, Lisa, Jenny, Katie, Jim and Reese who will happen to be in town and then we get to spend a week with Rory, Dagny and even Joe and Frankie for a few days as we celebrate all things fabulous, whether thats Buzz lightyear's lasers for Grant, 'Queen for Carter or the princesses for Dagny (and Rory... and me!)
We are determined to make our week long trip to Disney (T-32days) filled with memories but without breaking the bank, so I'm going to document costs and all since I know a lot of people want to do the same. usually finances/costs/money in general is not a topic that I like to talk to anyone about, so personal! I have had a number of people ask just how much a Disney vacation costs or the best ways to do it and while I certainly don't have all the answers, I can at least write down what we spend on our week.
We are not going as cheap as possible. We are not saying "money is no object". We're trying to balance having a great time with being smart about the money spent... we'll see how it goes.
The ONLY thing we knew before starting to plan the trip is that we were going to get the Military Salute tickets because Disney rocks and has an awesome deal for service members and their families. A 4day Ticket with Park Hopper option (you can visit more than one park in a give day) for $156 each. -usually for this exact ticket Adults would be $256 each and Grant would have been $239, Carter under 3 is free-
I called up Disney and asked about a week at a Disney resort in March with Military discounts.
We were quoted Sun-Saturday at the Art of Animation resort in a family suite (small kitchenette, seperate master bed/bath) with the Disney standard dining plan for $2536.00 SAY WHAT?!?!?!
The same days and meal plan at the Caribbean Beach resort in more of a classic hotel room with just a fridge and 2 queen beds was quoted at $1899.00
Now, the Art of Animation was in a Cars themed room which would have had Carter over-the-moon but he's 2 and we're not rich so that wasn't even an option. The Caribbean beach room would be pirate themed which would have both boys saying "cool"and "arrrrr" all week long but is still a lot of money.
We called up Shades of Green, an MWR facility on Disney property that is only for military. It is a hotel but enjoys the perks of Disney resorts such as Extra Magic Hours (when parks open earlier/close later for Disney Resort properties' guests) and shuttles to the parks. It is a basic hotel room with 2 queen beds and fridge, like the Caribbean beach room but the pool is "just" a pool, not a fancy pirate water park (keep in mind, we're going in March though resort pools are heated) and the hotel itself is "just" a hotel, not filled with Disney magic. The rate for Geoff's rank was $133 a night, $800 total.
So then we had to see if the dining plan was worth the $1,100 difference...
Alive and kicking
Did you think the blog was dying a slow, painful death?
me too.
Not much time to sit on the computer and blog. most emails are read off my phone in the preschool parking lot these days. Oh, I can't even imagine how CRAZY life is going to get when we have THREE LITTLE BOYS crawling/toddling/running around screaming like banshees all over the house.
(but I love it)
me too.
Not much time to sit on the computer and blog. most emails are read off my phone in the preschool parking lot these days. Oh, I can't even imagine how CRAZY life is going to get when we have THREE LITTLE BOYS crawling/toddling/running around screaming like banshees all over the house.
(but I love it)
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