Preparing for Our Trip to "The Happiest Place on Earth!"

Today is a much needed recovery day from our week long vacay to Walt Disney World. This was our second trip to see Mickey Mouse and his friends, its amazing how much difference a year makes! Since I didn't share many details about our first trip, I hope this post makes up for it. In this blog post, I will talk about how we prepared for our trip.

When we decided to go to WDW again, we knew we would be staying at the Shades of Green Resort. For those of you unfamiliar, this is a military only resort. It is owned by the DoD but its on WDW property. You get to take advantage of "Extra Magic Hours", but no meal plans. You can have merchandise from the parks sent back to your room. They have bus transport to all the parks plus you are a 10 minute walk from the monorail at The Polynesian Resort. 

They run specials almost year-round and base the room rate on your rank. Last year, we went at the end of February and they were running a "Leap Year" special so we paid $93/night as an E5. This year we went 2 weeks before Easter so there weren't any specials going on and since we are now E6, we paid $123/night. No taxes! The price difference was still well worth it though! I have stayed at other resorts on WDW, mainly the value resorts. While the rooms are nice, they don't compare to what you get at Shades of Green. The rooms are the LARGEST rooms of all the WDW resorts. You get 2 queen sized beds plus a queen sleeper sofa. All very comfy. The bathroom has double sinks separated from the large shower and toilet. You also have a mini fridge in your room. Both trips, we have stayed in the Palm Wing which is the newest portion of the resort. The rooms overlook the property surrounded by golf courses or you can get a room overlooking a pool. There are a handful of restaurants at the resort, a mini-Exchange, ticket sales counter, car rental, swimming pools, a spa, an ice cream shoppe, and many more amenities.

View from our room last year

View from our room this year, 1st floor

We booked our room almost 8 months in advance, spring break season fills up the resort quickly. Last year, it was a slower time of year so we booked barely a month ahead of time. You have to pay for one nights stay up front, and as long as you cancel 30 days in advance you will be refunded. You can book online or call over the phone.

We waited until we checked in to the resort buy our 4 day park hopper passes. Since we are military, we were able to take advantage of Walt Disney World's Armed Forces Salute. For $156, we were able to purchase 4 day park hopper passes! I could've bought these tickets at any ITT office on base, but I decided since we were going to be at the resort I may as well wait. Once you buy the tickets, you have to "activate" them at guest services on the first day you use them. You just have to fill out a small piece of paper and show your military ID to activate the tickets purchased. So do NOT expect to be in the park immediately after rope drop on the first day.

Since we still have a little one, we always bring our stroller. She still rides in it alot plus this gives us storage for snacks. We always pack snacks and bottled water. Its a great way to save money at WDW. At the parks, a bottle of water costs $2.50! Every day, I packed a large bag with water, snacks, sunscreen, and coloring books (for entertainment for Little Miss). Last year we even packed PB&J's to eat for a quick lunch. Do not pack things loosely in the stroller, always keep them in a bag. When you enter the parks, they check your bags. When you get on the buses and a few of the ferrys, you have to fold up your strollers. Having your stuff in a bag just makes it all easier. I have a nice big bag from 31 Gifts that has lots of pockets along the outside.

Speaking of saving money on food, we brought our own breakfast to the resort. I made a dozen muffins that we munched on. I used the coffee maker to make hot water for instant oatmeal every morning. We also brought our own coffee, filters, creamer, and travel cups to brew coffee every morning. My mom brought milk, cereal, and bowls for my dad to have every morning. She also brought yogurt too. This saved us both time and money at the parks.

To save money on souveniers, I purchased quite a few things before we even made the trip. I found lots of cheap glowsticks, wands, and rings for Little Miss to play with at night in the parks. At the Dollar Tree I also picked up coloring books and colors for her to stay busy while we waited around at the parks. Since Little Miss loves her princess dresses, I packed a few of them with us. We did splurge for a princess makeover so we just slipped on one of her dresses from home, saving us at least $100 because we didn't buy one at the park. I also made an autograph book at home with scrapbook paper and had it laminated & ringed together at Office Depot.

What also came in handy: my mom bought nice rain panchos at WalMart for $6 (I couldn't find any at Dollar Tree). There was one day where it was drizzling on and off, having the panchos saved us from having to buy them at the park. At the park, they cost $8.50 and I do not think they were reusable.

So preparing in advance for your trip will save you $$ when you get there. Also, make your reservations as far out as possible. We booked 2 character meals and a makeover at Bibbiddi Bobbiddi Boutique only 4 months in advance and didn't have many choices for reservation times.

Next blog post I will talk about our fun time at the parks and what we learned!

 


 

Recipe: Creamy Crockpot Ranch Chicken

Slow cookers have to be one of the top 10 inventions of all time, seriously. Did you know that you can hook up your slow cooker to one of those timers you use for your Christmas lights so it will turn on and off after a certain amount of time?!

I have not been feeling 100% lately and the last thing I want to do is stand in the kitchen preparing a meal. I love that I can throw all (or most) of the ingredients into the cooker then walk away for a few hours. So I wanted to share my favorite slow cooker recipe with ya'll!

A friend shared this recipe with me about 2 years ago and my husband still requests it. I actually had a friend email me a few weeks back and ask for the recipe too!

Creamy Crockpot Ranch Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 8oz. package of cream cheese
1/2c. chicken broth
1 (1oz) packet of ranch dressing mix
1/4tsp minced garlic
1 dash paprika (I use lots!)
1/8 tsp dry oregano
1/4 tsp dry parsley flakes

Wash & dry chicken breasts and place them evenly in the crock pot. Sprinkle with paprika and ranch mix. Drizzle 1tbsp melted butter over chicken. Cook on low for 4 hours. Melt remaining 1tbsp butter with minced garlic and saute lightly. Add cream of chicken soup, cream cheese, chicken broth, oregano, and parsley. Stir until smooth. Add mixture to crock pot, cook on low for 1-1.5 hours. 

Super easy, I usually have the ingredients on hand, and it tastes great! I serve it over rice and Hubs is in heaven. Of course I usually try to keep it healthier by using low sodium/fat free broth, low sodium cream of chicken soup, and fat free cream cheese. Shhh don't tell Hubs!

  
 
 

My Path to Acceptance

A few weeks back, I wrote this letter to my brother on my blog. Posting that letter was very cathartic for me and I feel like I have finally accepted that I have a brother in jail. For a very long time, I was very ashamed and embarrassed to have a family member incarcerated. 

Why?

For many reasons, but there is one that stands out more than others: I didn't want small-minded people judging my entire family based on the errors made by one. 

"Oh, her brother is in jail? Their parents must be a real piece of work if one of their children ends up in jail."

I had an AMAZING upbringing. I never remember being left wanting anything essential. We ate homemade meals every day, rarely eating fast food and we always ate around the dinner table as a family. We had routine, structure, and lots of love. I never doubted that my parents loved me wholeheartedly. They kept us safe and led by example morally. We took family vacations every year and participated in endless extracurricular activites. There is not ONE thing that I can think of that my parents could have done differently to affect the outcome of my brother's life. We were a very typical middle-class family. The reason my brother is in jail is because of HIS decisions. He made them as an adult, outside of my parents home.

"If her brother is a criminal, I bet she has some sort of record too. Usually this stuff runs in a family."

I have never been arrested. I have had ONE traffic ticket (thanks to my husband, I totally blame him for it he is bad influence!). I have never done any sort of illegal drugs, I have never even smoked a cigarette. Yup, I am a total goodie-two-shoes-thank-you-very-much. 

I was so terrified of these thoughts by people who obviously don't know my family or me, that I kept it very quiet for years about my brother. This was re-inforced when I did trust this secret with a very close friend who betrayed me. It was not her secret to tell and our friendship ultimately ended as a result of this. That is how much I wanted to keep this "secret" kept that way.

I don't know what made me finally accept that my brother was in jail. Maybe I finally realized the thoughts of small-minded people that I don't even know shouldn't matter to me. Maybe I realized that no matter how embarrassed or ashamed I felt, it wasn't going to change the situation. Maybe its a combination of many things!

So like I said, posting this letter on my blog was therapeutic. Even after I posted it, I was not sure when I was going to actually send it to him. I love my brother but its hard let myself get emotionally invested in him when I have been let down so many times. And since the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, his track record isn't stellar. Fortunately for me, my Dad stepped in and mailed a copy of my letter to my brother. I am glad he was able to do what I didn't quite have the guts to do. 

My brother wrote back a very nice letter. But once again I am hemming and hawing about it. I received the response on Valentine's Day and I still haven't replied. I have to let myself be in a vulnerable place so I can be totally honest and real with him. I am not going to waste my time pretending to be okay with him, but if he is really being accountable for his actions then I can take the time to work on our relationship. But his response was very touching and I hope he was being honest with me.

I still have the daydream that after this stint in jail he will finally clean up. That his daughter and my daughter will be able to grow up together, be pen pals if we live far apart or be friends if we live close enough. It kills me when my daughter asks about seeing her cousin. When she names all of her friends, she always lists her cousin. But at the same time, I am afraid to expose my daughter to my brother if he is not being a good role model. Yes, he has made mistakes. But what matters most is if he learns from those mistakes and takes the steps to not make them again. I realize no one is perfect and I do not expect perfection from anyone but myself. I would just like to see his future mistakes be on a smaller scale, like forgetting to take out the garbage on trash day. 

I just hope he has as much faith in himself as I have in him because I truly believe he can change if HE wants to and he does it for HIMSELF. While changing for his kids is very admirable, the change won't stick if he doesn't realize that he must do it all for himself first. 

 

Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Pockets

I have seriously been craving some buffalo chicken this week so I scoured my Pinterest board of recipes to find one to try out. Since I had alot of crescent rolls laying around, I decided to make a Buffalo Chicken Ring.

Yum. I *almost* ate all the filing before wrapping it in the crescent rolls. 

Of course Hubs brings the leftovers to work with him, and again I wanted buffalo chicken. Back to the Pinterest board. 

Since I liked the filling so much from the Buffalo Chicken Ring, I decided to make it again. But this time I wrapped the filling into "pockets" made of rolled out biscuits!

They were oh so yummy! They were super easy & quick to make too, which is a good thing when you are trying not to eat parts of your recipe...
 

Here is how I did it:

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 packet ranch powder mix
Diced celery to taste
Buffalo wing sauce to taste
Diced/shredded chicken, cooked (2-3 chicken breasts worth, or 1-2 cans of canned chicken)
1 can Pillsbury Grands biscuits
Ranch dressing for dipping (optional)

Turn your oven on to 375~
 

 
In bowl #1, mix together the hot sauce, cooked chicken, and diced celery.

In bowl #2, combine the cream cheese (soften it in the microwave about 30secs) and 1/2 ranch seasoning packet.

Combine both bowls together, mix well.

 
Next, open up your can of Pillsbury Grands Biscuits. Take a biscuit out and roll it out flat, about 6 inches in diameter.

Place your flattened biscuit on your baking sheet (I use my PC stoneware!). Put a dollop of your buffalo chicken mixture onto one side of the biscuit. Make sure you leave room around the edges. Fold over one side of the biscuit over the buffalo chicken mixture, then pinch the edges together.

Put them into the oven at 375 for 9-15 minutes, until they are golden yummy brown!

Did I say YUMMY yet?