Go to your Room and Play with your TOYS!

A few Saturdays back, my family and I had a special outing that we had been looking forward to for a few months, maybe even longer. I had had heard rumors of two of our family's favorite films were to be re-released in anticipation of a new sequel and then a few months later I saw a blip in my Disney Visa rewards guide it was coming soon!

YAY!

I ripped out the little blip and placed it in my date book for the first week of October...

Toy Story and Toy Story 2 were being re-released from Disney/Pixar together for a limited engagement to be show in 3D! We couldn't wait! We have a special love affair w/ these toys, especially our son Michael. We did not see them when they were originally released to the show, but have fallen in love w/ the characters of Buzz, Woody, Ham, Rex, Jessie and Bullseye. When Michael was around 4 1/2 he got his own room and the theme was Toy Story! My husband and I diligently painted his room a brilliant blue and hand-painted over 50 yellow STARS on the walls as a homage to Andy's Room (in the 2nd movie). Michael had pictures from the movies on the walls, plush characters on his bed, a Buzz Blanket (which he still sleeps w/) and a growing collection of toys and friends from these two movies. Since that room, we moved and he changed his room to a Safari theme w/ a huge mural on the wall, but his love for the Toy Story films lives on!

In our basement there is a special corner w/ his collection:

Buzz Lightyear "dolls", a talking Woody doll, a Mr. Potato Head, Etch n Sketch, Slinky-dog, various figurines, ornaments, cars, etc w/ the Toy Story Characters on them and a collection of Plush characters: Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Bullseye, Ham, Rex, Wheezy, Zurg...

What is it about this fun child's film that keeps our attention, that we watch in the car on just about any road trip, that we planned months in advance to go see again on the big screen?

Magic!

A child's joy!

Laughter and smiles!

The wonder of it all!

So back to that Saturday afternoon....Matt, I, my Mom and the 3 older kids hopped in our van and headed off to the show, w/ our tickets and 3D glasses already in hand





(Matt picked them up earlier in the morning). We arrived a half hour before show time and stood in line for our mini rope-drop...just like Disney huh? Michael even dressed for the occasion w/ his new Toy Story t-shirt from Grandma:



The theatre was opened and off we went:



Grandma bought us some big bags of popcorn to share (we bought her ticket) and we found some great seats! We settled in for our 3 hour long movie fest and got ready to remember, laugh and smile!

After the first show there was a 10 minute intermission and they had a fun trivia reel running inside the theatre:



Here are the twins and I awaiting the next show...


After it was over, we enjoyed the blooper reel during the credits then headed home for dinner. Our conversations in the car ride home and over dinner were all about the movies. Our favorite parts, things we liked the best and things we had forgotten about, well mostly me.

I never made the movie to movie connection of Dino-co before between Toy Story and Cars...and I don't think I knew at the end of 1 in the car "Hukuna Matata" was playing. So even after seeing theses movies many time in bits and parts, it was great to find some new magical secrets!

My favorite parts were:

In 1, when Buzz realizes he is not a real Space Ranger and is having tea as Mrs. Nesbit and of course when the toys come alive and freak out Sid. In 2, I love when Zurg tells Buzz he is his father and the blooper reel at the end!

We can't wait till next summer when Toy Story 3 comes out and see what new adventures the toys get into and what new magical memories are waiting!

Julie

A Child's First Disney Trip Book Completed

So as you may recall, my first Julie's Mickey Memories and More project was the Child's First Disney Trip Memory Book. I decided to start here, for various reasons:

* Idea stemmed from my friend's upcoming trip back to WDW w/ her 2 children next summer.

* The majority of people who travel to WDW/DL are families and are taking young children.

* Everyone wants a special and unique way to capture and remember those wonderful "FIRST" memories of their child. Even though I am a huge crafter and love preserving memories, I know first hand how busy one can be and time may fly away, months after that special moment or trip.

The basis of this book is to give Mom, Dad and Child a way to re-live those special first moments in a bold, kid friendly little keepsake book. The book you will see I specifically designed for a child between the ages of 1-6, but the design can easily be tweaked for an older child who may be going for the first time or for a child returning to Disney for the 10th time!

This book is my template...which gives me an idea of what works and doesn't and allow me to prepare to make more versions in anticipation of selling. Each future book will not be a carbon-copy of the previous and all will be a bit special in their own right. Which I think adds to the personal touch of preserving memories.

The next step is to create a little girl's version: to include more pinks and pastels and Princesses. Then I hope to create a stock and begin the selling process.

Come see my Child's First Disney Trip Memory Book:

"Do you remember the first time you saw the Castle walking down Main Street USA? or how about the first Disney character you took a picture with? or what about that first magical flight on Dumbo and seeing Mickey Mouse or Sleeping Beauty for the first time?

Keep those treasured Memories of your child's First Trip to Disney in this special lovingly handmade keepsake book"

Inside you will find 4 fun-filled sections, one for of each of the main parks at Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Epcot and Animal Kingdom. There are special places inside for journaling, pictures and more, making each page full of your child's magical First Memories!"

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Here are some more of the pages and tabs inside the book:

DHS tab:


DHS Journal/picture pages:



AK tab:


AK Safari page:


Hope you enjoy this preview....back to preserving more Memories!

Julie

"On the BLOG again..."

Do you have the good 'ol Willie Nelson tune floating in your head now?

Sorry to keep my friends and followers hanging for quite some time. As most busy Moms, Dads, and just about anyone knows, sometimes the regular life stuff can creep in like a landslide and it takes several days to un bury yourself. Well, that is kind of what has happened to me lately, plus being sick, that didn't help much.

Still feeling a bit in the yellow on the sick meter, but today is a new day right? RIGHT!

So I am back on my BLOG again....yee-yaw!

There is plenty to catch up in my little Disney fun-filled-scrappin-memory-making little head, but where do we start?

* Music Time- Michael says "put that in your Mickey Memories"

* Paper Purses- who knew?

* Buzz and Woody in 3D!!!!!!!!

* A Child's First DISNEY Trip Memory Book- is done!

* Let's Go back in time w/ ZURG- one example of a Custom DISNEY Memory Book

Please stay tuned....

Julie

A Disney Wish List...

OK raise your hand! How many of you have some sort of Disney/Vacation Wish List?


I do!

Even w/ money being tight for us and most of the country...it's always wonderful to dream and wish right? and what better place to dream and wish about than Walt Disney World!

As a child, some of my fondest memories are Family Vacations. Every year my parents would take us on some sort of trip, some were small just driving a few hours North into Wisconsin to visit my Dad's Sister and family who loved on a lake and some were large like our only plane trip to WDW and Orlando attractions.

I consider myself quite lucky that my parents invested their time and money into making wonderful family trips a reality for my 2 siblings and I. My sister who is married and has a son, feels the same way as me about vacations, big or small it is such a joy to plan and pick a place to get away from the usual hum drums and stresses of daily life and enjoy some real family time! Now her and I are not alike at all in our planning styles...I am crazily organized down to a T and she is the more plan only what you have to and the rest is going by the seat of your pants...to each their own huh? We giggle at each other and luckily my parents appreciate each of our styles since they frequently now travel w/ us and our children.

One of the reasons I do plan so meticulously is that my son Michael lives w/ HFA Aspergers Disorder. He thrives on structure and routine, and knowing what is next. Even though he is a typical Sensory Avoider, trips to the beach or up to his Grandparents' Lake house in Michigan are not as relaxing as they sound. It is too open-ended for him and can become more of an anxiety than relief. At home he has his own space and expectations of what he can and likes to do, but outside this normal comfort zone can be quite daunting. A trip that is full of stuff to do to a point w/ things to do that are scheduled that can help keep him focused on each new thing is actually the vacation he thrives in and luckily we have found this outlet in WDW! I'm not sure how this Magic works, but it does! and it helps that we all love Disney!

Michael and his twin sister have recently been working on homework assignments of a poster board outlining the Cultural Universals of our Family...and they both included Disney...hehehe

so back to this Disney/Vacation Wish List....what is on ours? Here is a little peek:

2010: WDW November to celebrate Mae and Margaret's birthdays plus Thanksgiving

2011: WDW May to celebrate my husband Matt and I 15 yr Wedding Anniversary

2012: Washington DC Summer and WDW ?? a solo trip for me

2013: WDW ?? the next Family Trip

2015: WDW May to celebrate the twins' (Michael and Aldine) 16th birthdays

Julie

Are we Going?

No this is not a reference to are we going to WDW...but are we going Potty?

unfortunately, Margaret & I have not quite been successful and have already fallen off the PT wagon....

We were real persistent that first day Monday (no tink in the pot yet), but then it kinda went downhill. Poor Margaret has several food intolerances which cause her little belly to be easily irritated. We shall try again tomorrow to get back on track and basically for her just to get used to the routine will be a good thing!

New Segment....Adventures in Potty-Training...

So to borrow a phrase either from some cheesy '80's movie or really from my good friend Kathy..."Adventures in....."

I think it would be helpful and somewhat laughable (i hope to be laughing here) to share the "Adventures in Potty-Training" of my youngest Margaret....she is 34 months and 1 day old....and I have had high hopes of training her earlier and faster than my other children....I am just done w/ the whole diaper changing thing.

My first crazy high hopes attempt was last February, thinking "oh what joy it would be to have her potty-trained before our Disney trip (last March)" well that didn't last a week....

Then I thought oh this past summer would be a great time to train her...yeah right! That also never happened.

So now that the older 3 are in school, schedules have calmed down a bit, this is the time, right?

well we'll see. I really think after being sick and having icky diapers she is icked out by doing the business in a diaper. I'm not too sure how this will work...but my goal for now is baby steps, but to stay persistent and not give up!

Step 1) Start today! We will go "potty" every hour and sit on her little seat for at least 2 minutes w/ a kitchen timer. Wearing a Princess pull-up we hope not to make the little hearts disappear!

Step 2) well I haven't thought that far yet...ha

Ok wish us luck and I'll let you know how it pans out as we go along....

Julie

Monday's Update...

Sorry Everyone I got a bit behind in my Monday updates.....


between having a nasty stomach bug rotating thru our home over the last 2 1/2 weeks and who knows what else, not much excitement has been brewing....and I have not had much time to work on my projects....but this is the week to get caught up!

The minor Disney what-not's that have been going on are:

*closed up my trip report from our bounce back Spring break trip from last March on the Disboards

*tweaked this BLOG and added some fun things....have a few more things I hope to do!

*helped my husband prepare a slide show for his parents 50th Wedding Anniversary (that we celebrated this past weekend) and that included some pictures from our '05 trip

*sang "Just Can't Wait to be King" in the car w/ the whole family....it has become a bit of a tradition now when we go up to my in laws Michigan Lake House, when we are almost there, we belt out this tune all-together!

*and of course the movie choices for the kids for the car ride to and from were both Disney films (Bolt and Who Framed Roger Rabbit?)

Have a Great Disney Week!

Julie