Well, we are now just 9 days away from our big trip to Disneyland. Earlier this week I hurt my back taking Alex out of his car seat. I felt it and heard it at the same time, and my first thought was oh no!!
Well, I waited two days to go to the doctor, just in case it got better. Instead two days later I could hardly walk and was in incredible pain. I was very worried about the trip to Disneyland.
I went to the doctor, and now have muscle relaxers, high doses of motrin, and a much stronger painkiller. So, armed with things that will make me feel better, I realize I can still go to Disneyland, but not be as active as usual.
Then it dawns on me - why not rent a wheel chair? Well a scooter really, because my darling husband is wonderful, but can't push both me and Alex while at the parks, and because with a back injury, I can't use my arms to move the chair without hurting my back.
So, I made the call to Alan's Wheelchairs. I am now armed with information "just in case" I need it. They will deliver a scooter to our hotel, and pick it up, so we don't have to take care of that. I just need to let them know by the 24th so they can have the paperwork done.
Now that that has been taken care of, I feel much better. Yes, Disneyland IS going to be fun, even though I am injured.
So, I wake up this morning, and the first thing I realize is WOW the muscle relaxers have finally taken affect. I can actually MOVE today, and yes, I still have pain, but wow, it is much better and a huge difference. So of course, now I am thinking maybe I don't need a scooter after all? I can only hope, right?
Okay, now you know about what I have been going through, oh and the problem with my back is torn ligaments and pulled muscles in the lower back. But, I have been working on other things since my last update.
Earlier this week, I contacted John at Vacation Planning, and asked him if they had any special baskets for the 50th that were not on the list we have. I was really surprised when I heard back from him that no, there are no special baskets. I was amazed really, because I would have easily spent the money on one. So, after confirming other plans with Vacation Planning, we are all set there. I can't wait to get the Chocolate Lovers Delight Basket. I like the basket as much as the goodies inside.
Alex, my 2.75 year old seems to understand that we are going to Disneyland soon. He is very ready. Twice this week he has gone into our closet and tried to drag out the 4 foot Mickey and Minnie. These 2 plush are almost actual size, and Alex loves them. He cuddled with them, shared his precious blanket with them, and even tried to feed them. When I saw him do that I was reminded of him 'feeding' Pluto last year. After enjoying a meal at Goofy's Kitchen, Alex gave Pluto a cookie, and I then had to remove it from under Pluto's tongue. It was so cute.
I picked up our documents from AAA on the 9th of June. I love looking at the documents, and this year, each park hopper has a different design. A friend of mine got Mickey. Both Andy and myself got attractions. After picking up the documents, I came home and called Frontier to confirm that they had our frequent flier numbers. I was happy to hear they did, and then shocked to find out that our travel agent never assigned our seats! So, I had the agent assign them both directions, and quickly found out that we can't sit together on the flight out. This is not going to sit well with Alex. The good news is that I will be one seat behind him. At least that way I am close.
With our documents came two passes for Mickey's Toontown Morning Madness. These are beautiful artwork and unfortunately we have to surrender them in order to get into Toontown early. These are things I would love to keep and frame. I was also very impressed by the tote bag we get because I used our Disney Visa to pay for the vacation. I was expecting a cheap bag, but instead it looks really well made, large, and beautiful. We will pick that up our first night.
We have also pretty much finalized our first day plans. We will arrive LAX and pick up our car. Head to the hotel to check in, then grab something to eat. After eating, we head to Orangefair Mall and the Disney Outlet Store. This is one I have never been in, and can't wait to go. I have heard that it is much better than the Disney Outlets that come here once in a while.
There are priority seating reservations for Goofy's Kitchen at 7pm that night. We will walk from HoJo's if my back is better. If not, we will drive since we get free parking. Before eating, we will stop at the Walt Disney Travel Company location in Downtown Disney to pick up the tote bag. We will also go to World of Disney to get our lanyards and a jacket for me. I always buy a new jacket at Disneyland. I don't even pack one since I know I will be getting a new one.
I still can't believe I have been planning this trip since this time last year, and it is finally within reach! In 9 short days we will be hoping a plane to go to Anaheim. In 10 short days we will be there when Disneyland opens. Or use our early entry, I have not decided yet.
I still need to Alamo to verify that they have a car seat for us, so will try to do that today. Now that I feel a bit better thanks to the medication, I can sit at the computer a bit longer again. So I will also print out all of our information that I have stored on the computer since last June.
There will probably be one more update from me before we leave. Then, it is off to Disneyland, and the next thing you hear from me will be the results of our trip.
Thanks for reading, as I have enjoyed sharing my thoughts, both good and bad, and what is happening in my life with you over the past year. I have really enjoyed sharing with you the stages I go through when planning a vacation. Oh, did I tell you I am already working on our trip in 2007?? That will be for a 20th anniversary and we are planning to do Walt Disney World and a Disney Cruise. Of course, when I officially being planning, I will let all of you know how I do it. Since I have never been there before, it should be interesting to see my planning stages. Again, thanks for reading, as I have enjoyed writing this. I will try to do one more update before we leave!
Well I made it. I am able to get another update in. I thought some of you might enjoy my OCD habits that I am having a hard time completing with my back injury.
Oh, are you like me in this way? I absolutely will not leave a dirty house. This is true for two reasons. After coming home from a long vacation, I don't want to have to clean house. Secondly, we have a lady to come in and feed our kitties 2 times daily while we are gone. Usually, I begin the cleanup one week prior to leaving. This year, I have hurt my back and can't lift over 5 pounds. Anything other than lying down is very painful. I can't even do so much as load the dishwasher without pain. So, my poor husband is responsible for the bulk of the cleaning this year. I can do counters; he has to do floors and bathtubs. Can we get it all done with him working full time? Who knows, but we will try.
Today I confirmed that Alamo has the right size car seat for our rental car in Los Angeles. Yesterday, I signed up the ESPN Zone MVP club, and printed out the paperwork.
We have also pretty much made the decision that we will rent the electronic scooter even though my back is a bit better. Both my husband and I know that there is no way on earth I will make it 6 days if I have to walk the whole time.
I am a wee bit concerned about how my back will handle sitting in a plane for more than 2 hours on Monday, but since there is no choice, I will just take all my meds, and be prepared for pain. Hopefully Alex will be okay with me behind him instead of sitting between both his dad and me.
So, other than getting the house cleaned up it seems like we are just about ready. We will pack on Sunday night, and hopefully get a good nights sleep before our big adventure begins.