Disney window decorations

Today, if all goes as planned we are at Disney's Hollywood Studios. This is usually a half day park for us because Eve doesn't like to watch shows (neither do I, really), so who knows what the afternoon will hold for us!!

Back in July when school was out and I was off work, I started working on decorations for our windows. If you remember, I have 2 value resort rooms for my 5 people so I have 2 windows to decorate.

In the past, we have bought Disney Halloween window clings to decorate the windows but I wanted this year to be something special. I scoured Pinterest and found some great free printables for window banners. Pinterest has so many choices. It was hard to narrow it down and not make the banners too busy.

To start, I will tell you that I printed everything on card stock except for the initials on our banners. If not for card stock these would all be floppy.

Up first is the banner. I got the banner pieces here and cut them out (obviously). There were pink ones for Minnie Mouse but I wanted mostly everything to be red and Eve doesn't like pink. I personalized them with our first initials, not full names because that's not safe for children, by typing the letters on Word with the font "Minnie" that I downloaded free online. I made them pretty big (175 size, I think) and printed, then cut them out. I glued them on the mickey head with just a glue stick. As for the bow for the girls, I got it here, cut it out and glued it on with a glue stick. 

The "girls" got these cute balloons. The boys didn't get them for 2 reason, one is that my boys don't really care for balloons and the other is that they were a b**** to cut out!! I even left the white in the middle because I was done cutting by then. I had to trace the strings with black Sharpie because they were kind of light. 

Girls also got Minnie Mouse circles that I found here.

The boys got these cute Mickey circles. One polka dot and one stripe for each boy.

I thought "body parts" would be cute. So, I searched on Pinterest and found Mickey ones here. I had a hard time finding the Minnie "parts" but finally found them using Google images. I searched "Minnie body parts." When I clicked the link, Minnie's parts weren't there, so I right clicked on the image on Google and saved it to my hard drive. I then printed it from there. 

The next images came from a sticker page that you can print at home. They are kind of tiny but super cute. They were meant to be printed on sticker paper but I printed them on card stock and cut them on the gray lines that surround each pic. I got the images here.

The last two items are Halloween themed. We will be going in October so we like to decorate for the holiday.

The first one is candy corn with Mickey Ears that I got here. These print blank so you have to color them in yourself. For yellow, I used a yellow permanent marker that I got at the Dollar Tree and the orange is from my daughters Crayola Markers. Black ears were colored with a black Sharpie. I am not very good at coloring, so you can see the lines but I really don't care.

The last one came from a Disney licensed poster. I saved the poster to my computer and then cropped out everything else but the pumpkin. Again, the poster is Disney licensed, here it is:

Here are the pumpkins:

And here is the final product. Aren't they super cute?

How to Pack the Perfect Disney Park Bag

Since this is my Walt Disney World travel week, I have decided to post only about Walt Disney World. Today is day 2 in the series. 

Yesterday, I talked about picking the perfect bag for Walt Disney World, you can read it here. Today, I will be helping you pack that perfect bag.

Packing the perfect bag depends on the person and/or family. I do not have small children so you will not find diapers, bottles, extra clothes, etc. in my bag. I believe in traveling light (to the parks anyway) because you don't want to be weighed down all day. The only thing that will accomplish is making you exhausted with the extra weight you are carrying, no fun in the Florida heat and long park days.

So, if you are a family, couple, or a single these are the best things to have in your bag:

1.  Cell Phone. I list this first because you are going to need it to view reservations, take pictures, change FP+, etc.

2.  Gum. DISNEY DOES NOT SELL GUM. If you are a gum chewer, like I am, then buy some at home before you leave and make sure you have it in your bag.

3.  Maps and time guides. Pretty self-explanatory. 

4.  First Aid Kit. You don't need much besides a few Bandaids. I carry a small tin (directions to make here) with Bandaids, Neosporin, and some Advil. Very lightweight.

5.  Wallet. I'm not sure why people seem to think that with the introduction of the MagicBand that you don't need your wallet anymore but this certainly isn't true. Why would you ever go anywhere without your drivers license? I carry a super small wallet with my ID, a credit/debit card, $40 or so in cash, and my insurance card. MagicBands fail, some vendors/carts only take cash.

6.  Snacks. I understand that we get 1 snack per day with the dining plan but I certainly don't want to waste perfectly good credits on pretzels when you can get cupcakes, ice cream, and candy. For this reason I order groceries from Garden Grocer and get pretzel sticks, peanuts, and Cheez-its. I then make everyone a snack baggie in the a.m. and they can eat whenever they need a snack.

7.  Ponchos. Buy from the dollar store, you never know when it will rain in Florida.

8.  Sunscreen. Even if it's raining, the sun in Florida is harsh.

9.  Anti-bacterial hand gel. Public bathrooms are gross, even the ones at Walt Disney World.

Also, some extra recommendations: Hair ties (try finding non-princess hair ties for a 10yr old girl with thick hair at DTD and you will understand why I add this), jacket (we go in the fall and the mornings are chilly), camera (we use our phones and Memory Maker but some carry cameras), and baggies (to keep phones dry during rain). 

What do you like to put in your Disney park bag?

How to pick the perfect Disney World bag

This is part 1 of a 2 part series. Today is how to choose the perfect Disney World bag. Tomorrow is how to pack the perfect park bag.

Not sure how I would function at Walt Disney World without a good bag. I have read that people purposefully don't take a bag because there is nothing they need, especially with the introduction of Magic Bands. I couldn't handle this. First of all, my pockets would be full of junk (maps, money, ID, phone, etc.). Not sure I could handle that. I am a girl and I don't wear huge cargo shorts like men do.

I heard people argue that Disney has everything that you need. You can get free ice water at counter service restaurants, Bandaids at the Baby Care Center, and that your Magic Band does everything.

Here is my argument to those people:

Yes, I get the free ice water but I am also a dining plan person. Usually with my breakfast counter service meal I will fill my free mug up with soda or coffee and then get a bottled water or soda as my drink that comes with my meal. I then save that bottled drink for the park that day. I like having something with a lid if I am in line for a ride or if I am making use of Disney's free transportation.

Yes, Disney provides Bandaids, Tylenol, and whatever else at each of their parks. BUT what if I am getting ready to get in line at Space Mountain and find that I have hurt myself and am bleeding? I would have to traipse all the way over to the Baby Care Center to get a Bandaid and then go all the way back over to Space Mountain (probably missing out on a short line). If I had my tiny First Aide kit that I made here, then I wouldn't have to miss my short line, I could patch myself up and then ride!!

Yes, my Magic Band does everything. Yes, it is fabulous. The problem is this, to purchase some things you have to have your ID, as well. Also, there are some things that just require cash (balloons, food carts) and not something linked to my credit card. Because of this, I carry a small wallet to keep everything together and tidy.

Now on to my perfect Disney bag. I always have a bag. My kids are also told to carry bags because I will not carry their stuff. This may sound harsh but I am not Hagrid, I am not the keeper of the keys. If you want to bring it, you carry it. That includes your phone, money, maps, time guides, pressed penny money, etc.

Don't you just love Hagrid?

In years past, I have tried out several different bags. I carried a Vera Bradley backpack, which was great but was bothersome to put on/take off for rides and such. I have also used a cross body purse, which left horrid tan lines when I went one year in July and it doesn't hold much stuff.  I have used a tote bag, one of those Disney World spend ______ amount and you get the privilege of buying this item at this price (I am a sucker for those deals), and the tote bag seems to be the best option for ME. My mom prefers her backpack because the weight of what she is carrying is easily distributed on her back. My kids use those string styled backpacks (Xander has Adidas and Eve now has Thirty-One).

I used my Mickey Mouse bag last year but it is black and hard to find stuff that falls into the bottom. I liked having a tote, though. If we were riding a big ride (think Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey) the kids could put their backpacks into my tote bag and then my mom would only have 1 bag to watch and it would be easier for her to meander around with 1 as opposed to 3 bags.

In 2010, I spent $20 so I could buy this cute bag for $19.95.

This summer I tried out my new Thirty-One Retro Metro Fold-over bag at the Indianapolis Zoo. I loved it. It is light colored and I can see things easily if they fall to the bottom. What is also nice is the 2 outside pockets, I used one for my phone and one for my water bottle. It is a cross body which like I said before leaves nasty tan lines but it also has tote bag style straps, so it can be worn either way.

 

I have decided that this bag is the best for me. I highly recommend it. It comes in several colors and you can have it personalized. 

When choosing the right bag for YOU make sure you try it out before your trip. Take it grocery shopping, to the zoo, or on a field trip with your kids. If it is easy to carry, not too heavy, you can find stuff easily, and doesn't make you crazy, then you found the best bag for you.

Thursday Three

Haven't done a Thursday Three in awhile so here ya go...

1.  Feeling: Lazy. I guess blogging takes too much effort!!

2.  I love fall because of sweatshirts, campfires, pumpkins, Halloween, and changing leaves. I hate fall because it's  too close to winter!!

3.  Quote by Me this week: "Those are the mommiest mom jeans I have ever seen." 

Ispy Glambag October 2014

I got my October Glambag yesterday. This months theme was Beauty Candy.

I LOVE the the bag this month. It is so cute, the only thing that could make it better is if it were pink or purple, but I will live with the pretty teal color.

Enclosed in this months bag was:

1.  Skyn Iceland Glacial Cleansing Cloths. I like cleansing cloths but mostly use baby wipes (if it's gentle enough for baby, it's gentle enough for me LOL).

2.  Doll 10 Highlighter in Champagne. I have never used highlighter but am willing to try.

3.  City Color Be Matte Lipstick in Cappuccino. I love lipsticks and lipgloss but I think I am getting to the point that I have received enough for awhile from Ipsy. I will have to look into how to stop them.

4.  Model Co Volumeyes mascara. I like mascara but I need length not volume, I will use it anyway.

5.  Figs and Rouge Hand Cream in Mango Mandarin. I like hand cream and was hoping for the other scent (rose berry). I don't like the smell of Mango, it smells like cat pee. Sorry if I ruined mango for you, it's a public service really, you don't want to smell like cat pee. Having said all that, this really doesn't smell like cat pee, I tried it and there is not lingering cat smell. It has potential. This was a full sized product.

Overall, this is a good bag, but not wonderful. I got my moneys worth but still not super excited about it.

Elementary school computer lab

I got a new job at school this year. I run one of the 2 computer labs at our elementary school. I was excited for this offer and have been enjoying myself with fixing up the lab. Before I was assigned in the lab, teachers brought their classes in and monitored the class themselves. Because of this, no one took ownership of it and it always looked pretty run down.

The school decided that the kids would be using a reading program (Ticket to Read) when they were with me, unless they are taking tests. I get the classes 2 times per week at 30 minutes each time. We serve 2nd-5th grade and all of the grade levels seem to enjoy it.

The first thing I did was scrub everything. Who knows the last time that it had been cleaned. I also put as much old equipment on shelves that I could, it used to be stacked up along one wall. Unfortunately,  there are a lot of steps to go through to throw something away so I just cleaned as much as I could.

The first week of school I spent time monitoring the students and deciding on where to place them in a seating chart. I needed to find out who to avoid sitting together. I really liked the idea of a seating chart for the students so I could learn their names faster and so it would be easier to keep their log ins together, like at the end of this post. My lab has an awkward set up, so to make the seating chart I used a spreadsheet program and did the best I could to make it look right. 

Then I made some new signs for different log ins for different websites that they are allowed to use during free time and hung them all over the lab. These were typed in a typing program and glued on colored paper. I laminated them and hung them with sticky tack on the walls. I have them all around the room so no matter where the student sits, they can always see the log ins. 

I even made a makeshift bulletin board with paper. I found the words and pictures here:

I found some cute computer lab rules signs here, which I printed in color, cut the size down a little bit and glued onto bright colored paper:

These are windows on either side of my door.

Made this sign for teachers to sign up for extra computer lab time:

And found this sign here:

I also put together a calendar. I found the months here and the numbers here. I printed them on bright colored paper and laminated them so they would last.  I hung a piece of paper and drew the lines with a highlighter and yardstick. I use sticky tack for the numbers and months so I can reuse them month after month.

I got the idea for a computer based word wall off of teachers pay teachers. I found the chalk letters here and the computer words here. 

The last thing I did was make log in cards for each student. I bought the small Command hooks and hung them on the side of each computer. I bought neon colored 3x5 index cards and wrote the students name, teachers name, and any usernames and passwords that the student might need. I them put them on a book ring and hung them on the Command hook. I had found a lot of different cards on teachers pay teachers, however I would have to print about 350 cards and did not want to use that much printer ink. I then decided index cards were the way to go. 

Sorry, I'm only going to show an example.

What do you think?

Ipsy Glam Bag September 2014

Since this is the week of Glam bags I might as well do my September one as well.

I was excited for this months bag because of the Pacifica eyeliner, I wanted black but got brown. The brown is working for me though, especially being waterproof.

This months bag was a dark silver with some studs on it. I must admit, it's not my favorite, it's actually my least favorite yet. I liked what was inside though.

1.  Briogeo deep conditioning hair mask.  Sample size. Much needed!!

2.  Crown Infinity shadow/crease duet brush. Full sized brush. I have already used this and love it! Retails for $6.99

3.  Cailyn art touch lip gloss in Basic Instinct. Full sized tube. Tried it, love it! Retails for $19!!

4.  Pacifica Natural Minerals waterproof brown eyeliner. Sample size. Like it so far.

5.  Nyx eyeshadow in asphyxiation. This is bright blue, not sure where in my quizzes I said that I wanted to try blue eye products but this is the second one that I have received (blue eyeliner here). I would say it is full sized. Retails for $4.50. Not sure when I would use this.....maybe for Halloween.

Overall, my bag was definitely worth the $10 this month with 2 full sized products that retail for $25.99 together. I got some full sized products and I will use most of the products.

Now to try and figure out what to do with my growing collection of makeup bags....