A Few Great Things

No trip to "The City" would be complete without a stop at Costco.  

Along with the 12 other things we didn't really need, I picked up some of these:

I've never tried No Slip hangers, but I am now a fan!  I wish I had bought more (my local store only had a pack of 35).  Not only are they no-slip, but the slim design really does cut down on space.  Leaving room for more clothes!  My husband will be thrilled...

I've also been enjoying my Kindle more than I guessed I would.  Nothing will replace the feel of a book in your hand, but you can't beat the sheer convenience of the Kindle.  I try to keep a few dollars in my Amazon account so that if I see a Daily Deal that piques my interest, I can jump on it.  A few months ago I picked up this: 

I don't mind a supernatural theme, and I have found this series oddly compelling.  There are 7 books, and they are light, quick, and the characters are mildly endearing.  I would classify these as "beach reads"(if I was anywhere near a beach).

Finally, I upgraded my phone recently and am still getting everything back in order, including my music.  When I found myself at the gym with no music to run to, I turned to my trusty podcast list.  This is a particular favorite:

With topics as varied as Hessians, New England Vampire Panic, Building Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, The Nazca Lines, Boudica, etc., it is a fountain of information in 30 minute segments.  

Reflection

2013 was a good year for us.  

Nothing earth-shattering happened.  

We didn't win the lottery.  Or swim with the sharks in Indonesia.  Or complete an Ironman.  

But in its own quiet way, 2013 was really good to us.  

My job was renewed for another 2 years.  J started kindergarten.  We enjoyed a fabulous vacation in Florida.  Husband completed all his professional licensing.  Everyone stayed healthy all year.

All good.  

Specific to me, I had surgery to fix my wonky ankle and am now back to my normal activity levels.  I comfortably wore a bathing suit in public.  I completed several moderately rigorous exercise programs (Chalean Extreme, Body Revolution, C25K).  I read for pleasure more than I expected to.

2014 is looking to be a good one, too.  

I have a handful of personal goals I want to accomplish, and it's looking like there are a few things on the horizon that could be significant for us as a family.  

For me, the following is on my Goal List:

1. Remodel the Kid's Bathroom.  Floors, paint, light. 
2. Caulk & touch up all the trim in the house.
3. Buy & install new pantry doors. 
4. Run a 5K race. 
5. Organize the laundry room. 
6. Replace all the doorknobs. 
7. Organize the kid's schoolwork/ artwork. 
8. Go through each room of the house, organizing and purging.  (This is the one that is most needed, and least likely to get done).
9. Buy 4 new bras.  
10. Read at least a book a month.  

Wishing you a joyful and prosperous 2014!

  

Stuff I Made

It only took me 12+ months, but I finally finished J's quilt.  Although I once again thought "Why did it take me so long?!", it was all worth it in the end.  It's all flannel with a handsewn binding & 'wonky crosshatch' quilting.  I even napped under it last week, and it earned 2 thumbs up.  

This is a twin sized quilt, and my machine is just not made for something this size.  I think I'm retiring from anything bigger than a baby quilt.  

J helped me make cookies......

I found THE soft caramel recipe!

Tried out a Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread recipe. 

Verdict: Good!

And made crock pot caramel with apples for neighbor gifts.  

Whew!

What am I going to do with all my free time in January?! 

(good thing I have a handful of new books waiting in my Kindle)

Licensing

One of the MAJOR things that has happened this year is that we have gotten Husband's licensing DONE.

This. Is. Major. 

Licensing is important because it allows the Resident the option to begin moonlighting.  And because it's a kick-butt addition to a CV when you start looking for a j-o-b.

Before we started the process, I knew nothing about all the hoops we would have to jump through.  But I can tell you that I now feel like a bit of an expert.

Is it time consuming?

Yes.

Lengthy?

Check.

A lot of Hurry-Up-and-Wait?

Indeed.

Here's how it goes (this is specific to Ohio, so if you are a Resident from another state, the process/ paperwork will vary a bit).

Let me begin by saying that the whole process can easily take 6+ months to complete.  And that's if everyone is on the ball & all forms are completed correctly.  Add in some incomplete forms or a busy time of year, and you may be looking at 9 months. Plan accordingly & DON'T start this a month before you want to start moonlighting.

1. FCVS On-line Application  
1. This is your federal credentialing, and must be done prior to your state license application.  
2. You have to send them a certified birth certificate or your passport.  If you send your passport, it's an extra $25 to have it sent back to you. 
3. Time to process is 6-8 weeks.  Husband's took 6 weeks to complete.  
4. Cost: $400 total - $350 for the application, $50 for your transcripts. 
2. Criminal Background Check
1. FBI, BCI, fingerprints. 
2. Must be done in person; lots of locations to choose from.  
3. Everything gets sent to the state medical board. 
4. Time to process - about a week or two.  Everything gets linked to your state application, so you don't have to wait on anything. 
5. Cost: $66
3. Ohio Uniform Application
1. Print out the application - all items must be mailed back unless otherwise noted.  
2. A portion must be notarized.  Our bank did this for free. 
3. You need at least 2 RECENT passport sized color photos.
4. The AMA physician profile can be completed online. 
5. 10-12 weeks to process.  Husband's took 4 weeks.
6. Cost: $335, paid by check.
4. DEA License
1. Can't apply for this until your state license has been approved. 
2. Application is online. 
3. 4-6 weeks to process.  Husband's took 1 week. 
4. License is good for 3 years.  
5. Cost: $731

We began the process at the beginning of June, and completed it last week.  Because we didn't know how long it would actually take to process everything, we allowed ourselves LOTS of time before he would "need" his license.  We fully expected everything to take longer than it did - especially the DEA portion.  We did not move immediately from one step to the next.  Once the FCVS was done, we spent about a month+ on the state application.  Some of this was because it wasn't urgent, and some was because portions have to be completed by other people - specifically the Residency program, and the certificates of recommendation.  

Anyway, we are DONE with this, and it feels like another gigantic box checked off.  Whew!

Remiss + Christmas

My Husband pointed out the other day that I have been very much remiss in keeping up with my blog.

"Well, I just feel like I don't have much to say these days.  Stuff either doesn't feel important enough to share, or it feels a little too important to share, ya know?"

But again, he wisely reminded me that my original blogging intention was to be sort of a family journal.  And in that, I admit I have failed lately.   And I have plans to catch up and do a bit better in 2014.

Here goes.

First, we bought a real tree this year!!  We haven't had a real tree since we left Oregon.  Our apartment in Iowa didn't allow real trees (fire hazard), and since then we've either been tight on space or money, so we continued to use the fake tree I bought in 2007.  In last year's post-Christmas frenzy I picked up a sturdy tree stand, and have been plotting since then.

On Dec. 2 we went out as a family and chose our tree.  Back in Oregon, we used to do the tree farm, cut-your-own deal.   But this year, instead of Making Memories (aka calling everyone I know in the area to try and figure out where to go, then driving out, getting lost, tromping through the freezing mud, choosing an average tree & paying a heart-stopping amount), I chose to take us all down to Tractor Supply and randomly pick a tree from the stack out front.

And It. Is. GLORIOUS.  

That, my friends, is 7 1/2 feet of pure Christmas joy.   

We put it down in the family room, and it's so big that there is no room for a star, angel, or giant bow.  

Every time I walk downstairs, I smile.  

The smell is amazing.

And at night I like to turn off all the lights and just bask in the soft glow.

Best $20 I have spent in the last seven years!

And of course I had to get some silly Santa pictures in front of the tree.

Merry Christmas!

Freezer Paper Tshirts

When we were prepping for our trip, I brought up the idea of making special Disney shirts for the kids. To my surprise, Husband was on board with the idea, and suggested we make them for all of us.  

OKAY!!  

After scouring Pinterest, I decided to try out Freezer Paper Shirts.  I had seen these for years, but never believed they would turn out well.  Fortunately, I was wrong!  They were really easy, and we all loved the finished product. 

Supplies needed: shirts, freezer paper, exacto knife, cutting mat, fabric paint, foam brushes. 

First, I found an image we all liked, and I sized it for both adult and kid shirts.  

Next, I taped it onto a cutting mat, then taped a piece of freezer paper over it (shiny side down).   I traced the design with a pencil, and then hand cut it with an exacto knife.  

Here is the finished stencil:

Then, I ironed the stencil onto the shirt, shiny side down (prewashed the shirt, and ironed it so it was nice & smooth). 

Finally, I applied 2 coats of black fabric paint with a foam brush and let it fully dry. I made sure to put a piece of cardboard inside the shirt so there would be no chance of the fabric bleeding through onto the back.  I actually cut up a frozen pizza box - the wax coated paper was the perfect layer to prevent bleed-through.  

When the paint was dry the stencil peeled off with no problems and all the lines were nice and crisp!

At the last minute we decided to add the date and the kids' names to the back of their shirts.  I downloaded a Disney-esque font for free, printed out the date & names, and hand cut the freezer paper stencils (be sure you keep the inside pieces when cutting letters/ numbers!!).  

I love how these turned out, and the kids are excited to have custom "souvenirs" of our trip.

Disney World: Logistics

This most recent trip is something we've been planning for about a year.  Because this was going to be a family reunion, with a group of 15, proper planning was in order, and I took that idea and ran with it.  I was glad that we had been once before, and knew a little bit of what was waiting for us.  I think the other people in our group really didn't understand what they were in for.

A Place to Stay: I am a big fan of staying on property.  Can you run to the corner store if you need to?  No.  (OK, you can take a taxi if you have to, but the resorts have most anything you really might need).  Is it the cheapest way to go?  Again, no, but I personally think the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.  The bus system is so easy to use, and the Extra Magic Hours are priceless.  Plus, there is something special about being immersed in the experience.  On this trip we stayed at the All-Star Music resort, and it was perfectly suited for our needs.  We did not spend any real time there except to sleep.  And that was a good thing, because the dining area was swamped.  One of the other All-Star Resorts is remodeling their dining area, so all those guests were using ours.  Crazy!  That was the only real downside to this resort.  Oh, and even though all rooms at DW are now supposed to have fridges, we didn't.  There's been a problem with the compressors in the fridges, and they are in the process of swapping them out, so we did not have one in our room.  A bit of a bummer, but not a huge inconvenience for us.

Transportation: We flew into Orlando, and used the Magical Express Transportation.  It was easy, free, and got the job done.  The bus transportation in the park was just fine.  The only hiccup was Wednesday night when we - and about 9,000 other people - left the park near closing time.  We waited for about 45 minutes for a bus, and that was the longest all week.

Food:  We were fortunate in that we were able to book a package that gave us a free dining plan for all but one of our days at DW.  My family also chose to pay the upgrade to the Table Service plan (1 Quick Service, 1 Table Service, 1 snack), and I booked dining reservations exactly at the 6 month mark.  Even doing so, I was not able to secure a table at all the restaurants we wanted to eat at, BUT we did end up trying a few places that ended up being super cool.  I would highly recommend the Tusker House at Animal Kingdom, Whispering Canyon Cafe at The Wilderness Lodge (particularly if you have kids 10 and under), and we LOVED the Akershus experience at Epcot.  If we had NOT scored the dining plan, I would have placed an order with Garden Grocer & had food delivered to our room.  I imagine this would have taken care of breakfast, and either lunch or dinner.  Most of the meals at the parks are large enough that you can share or have your own & take the leftovers with you.  We have opted for the meal plan for both our trips, and I like it because I don't have to penny pinch and get stressed about who did or didn't eat their food.

Water: Florida water still tastes like pennies soaked in bleach, so we opted to bring Brita water bottles with us.  I paid $16 for 2 bottles that had filters in the lid, so we simply filled them from water fountains throughout the day and snapped them to our backpacks with carabiners.  Easy!

Crowds:  The November crowds were night and day different from the March crowds we experienced in 2012.  Funny thing, when you don't go during Spring Break, there aren't as many people!  We literally did not wait for more than 10 minutes for anything (except the bus on Wednesday night).  Were there crowds?  Yes.  But far, far more manageable for this introvert.

Tickets: This was our only major hiccup.  We were able to use the new Magic Band system which is replacing the previous Key to the World.  Like KTTW, the Magic Bands are meant to be used as your room key, dining plan, park tickets, charge-to-your-room, etc.  Due to our travel dates and the free dining plan package, our group actually had 2 separate reservations - one for the first night at DW, and one for the remaining 5 nights.  Apparently having these 2 back-to-back reservations activates a glitch in the Magic Band, and we had problems nearly every day.  For the first 3 days our tickets wouldn't work, then the room key stopped working, then the dining plan wouldn't show up, then some bands would work & others wouldn't..... it was very frustrating.  And it seemed that each time we had someone "fix" the issue, it would trigger a different problem.  I think this is a neat system, and when it worked, it was very convenient.  But after spending at least 6 hours of my vacation trying to get these issues resolved, I was frustrated.

FastPass+: One of the extra cool things about the Magic Bands is that you can go online and book FastPasses for up to 3 rides or events each day. This is called FastPass+, and is still in Beta.  I had never used the FastPass system before, but you can believe that I had us fully booked the day I had those Magic Bands in hand.  I liked that you could choose in advance, and you had a set time to return - it satisfied the planner in me.  And I also appreciated that you didn't have to hustle everyone in your party to that particular ride in order to obtain your FastPass.  We were able to easily do some rides/ attractions that had major wait times, such as the new Belle experience in Fantasyland, and seeing the Princesses in Fantasyland.  A 10 minute wait was far preferable to 60+ minutes.

Planning: I spent A LOT of time looking at schedules, Pinterest, wait times, reading blogs, checking the Disney Moms Panel, etc.  6 months in advance I laid out a schedule of what parks we would be in each day, when our reservations were, and any special events we wanted to take part in.  I feel like this absolutely enhanced our visit.  We tried very hard to be at each park at or shortly after opening (especially when there were Extra Magic Hours), and this allowed us to do a few extra things we wouldn't have been able to do otherwise such as participate in the Jedi Training at Hollywood Studios and get FastPasses for Soarin' at Epcot.  We had expected to cut our days up and take a rest in the afternoon at our hotel, but the kids are a bit older now and had better stamina.  But of course, I think we were all wiped out at the end of the day!  

Packing: I was pretty proud of my packing on this trip.  For the kids, I chose outfits each day & bagged them in Ziploc bags with underwear & socks. They each brought Keens and sneakers to trade.  For me, I planned my wardrobe so that I could mix and match almost every piece.  I was extremely worried about how my ankle would do with so much walking/ standing, but everything went great.  I packed sneakers and Birkenstock Gizeh sandals and had NO problems.  I made sure to trade off every other day and I also used Blister Block preemptively.  Here's my best tips:

1. Trade your shoes.  Don't pack one pair of sneakers or sandals and think you will be good.  
2. Use Blister Block.  Lightly coat your feet.  You'll thank me for this.  Pack moleskin just in case. 
3. Pack layers.  It wasn't nearly as warm as we thought it would be (one day was 64 and windy!), and layers were necessary.  
4. Bring a power strip.  We had a handful of devices to charge each night, and it was nice to have them all in one place instead of scattered through the room.  
5. Go to the Dollar Store and buy ponchos to bring with you.  You may or may not need them, but if you do, you will feel good about not paying $9 a piece for them.  
6. If you have more than 2 kids, consider renting a stroller for your trip.  The DW strollers are pricey - $30/ day for a double, but there are several companies in Orlando that will rent you a decent double stroller, deliver it to your resort, and charge you less than it's costing you to park your car at the airport.  You DO have to fold down any stroller to get it on the buses.  (Note: we did not do this ourselves, but we saw many, many rented strollers in the parks).  

Spending Money: Although we are not big souvenir people, with kids and Disney, you know that the "I Wants" are inevitable.  This trip we took a different approach.  We made it clear that whatever the kids wanted to do or buy, they would have to pay for it.  Our kids chose to save their money (including the all important birthday money) and we spent about 9 months talking about ways to earn money, chores, and how much things cost.  We also made the deal that we would match what they saved (up to a certain $ amount). When we got to the park, they knew that if they wanted something, they would have to use their own money.  It was GREAT!  M was responsible for managing her own funds, and we helped J understand how much things cost & how it would take away from what he had saved.  And when he wanted to buy a $12 balloon, Mom didn't have to say No.  Yes, I still cringe when I think of a $12 balloon...... but I will also always remember the joy that beamed out of his face as he clutched his balloon and declared "Mama!  I am So Happy!!!". **See first picture for evidence of a $12 balloon in all its glory.  He named it Red Eye Mickey.**  Fortunately both kids also came home with money left over.  

Park Supplies: I carried a small backpack each day, and Hub carried his empty Camelbak pack.  We filled our packs with cameras, wallets, snacks, water bottles, phones, personal supplies (sunscreen, bandaids, ibuprofen, lip balm, neosporin, blister block, etc.), and lastly - a few things to keep kid #2 occupied.  I downloaded a couple of new games onto my phone, but I also made sure to have a few matchbox cars and a small activity book with crayons.  There were a few times when we were waiting to meet up with people, or standing in line to see princesses, and the activity stuff definitely came in handy.  

Any other tips I should have known about?