Getting Ready for Mickey! - Part 4

I've been having so much fun making things in preparation for our trip to Disney World this fall. I'm reeaaallllyy excited about this trip and even though I know it'll be an amazing time without my help, I'm doing what I can to add a little extra magic here and there!

 

~Final Countdown~

You can read more about this here.

 

~Pacifier Clip~

I wanted to make Juliet some little crocheted flower hair clips, so one day I decided to learn how to crochet. (It's easy peasy, btw!) Then, a funny thing happened: As I crocheted little circles for the flowers, I began to see a hidden Mickey emerge in my hands!  Next thing I knew this little Mickey head pacifier clip was born!  I purchased the actual clips on Etsy and hot glued them onto the back of the mouse head.  Juliet only likes the Soothie brand pacifiers, and this clip is just perfect for them as they simply loop around one of the holes on the pacifier.  I may or may not have gone a little crazy and made several in different colors. :)

 

~Disney Family Nights~

We've been having a DFN just about every other weekend now that our trip is drawing near.  Since my last GRFM post we've enjoyed a Snow White night, a 101 Dalmatians night, and a Toy Story night.  I have yet to post about our Finding Nemo night, our Beauty and the Beast night, and our Mulan night, but be sure to check back in September to find out more about them!

 

~Mickey Mouse Mini Unit~

It was time to bust out our Mickey Mouse mini unit once again.  James hasn't used this in months, so it was a treat for him to work with it again.  Lots of fun stuff in here.  We also filled out this grammar activity.  It's a lot like mad-libs. James LOVED this!

 

~Learning About US Presidents~

We are patriotic bunch here, so naturally we have lots of USA learning materials around the house.  Knowing that we want to visit the x in Disney World, we've been looking through our US Presidents Fandex just to familiarize ourselves with some of the prominent faces we'll be seeing in the attraction.  (Yes, I'm one of *those* homeschooling parents - you know, the ones who can't go anywhere without trying to slip in a little school). :)

~Calendar Cards~

Available for download in this post.

 

~Pillowcase~

This wonderfully cozy flannel pillowcase will decorate James' pillow nicely while we're in WDW.  We're staying at the Beach Club Villas and since they have a more subdued look to their rooms, we thought this case would jazz things up a bit!  And psst... one of you will get to win this (and other fun prizes!) in my upcoming Grand Giveaway!!

~Special Event Invitations~

There are a couple of surprise events (character meals, parties, parks) we have planned for James while we're in Orlando and so I decided to create special invites that will magically appear under our door the morning of said event. For most of the Disney related events I used the pages found here (heads up, you'll have to dig for them!).

~photo credit~

~Tinkerbell Swim Coverup~
I just *love* this little cover up!  It has small wings on the back, too.  So cute and comfy!  I purchased it from this Etsy shop (note: the shop is closed and there's a looong wait list).

We've also...
:: Talked about height restrictions for rides (so there's no disappointment at the time), and what to do if one of us becomes unintentionally separated from our group.
:: Booked a babysitter (so the Hubs and I can enjoy a little kid-free date night at Le Cellier!)
:: Looked through friend's WDW trip photos.
:: Watched character meet-greet videos on YouTube (James hasn't been a fan of large, costumed characters in the past, so I wanted to give him an idea of what to expect.)
:: Read LOTS of Disney books, watched movies, and listened to our Disney playlist (about a thousand times).
:: Made a list of addresses for people we'll be sending postcards to.
:: Ordered groceries for our villa.
:: Added all of our confirmations to our Tripit! app.

My current fav. Disney planning sites:

WDW Prep School - the 20 Unique Disney World Souvenirs post, the Peek Inside My Disney Binder (with 100's of free downloads) post, and the How to do WDW with Geeks post are my faves.  The Ultimate Packing List is also a must read!

Party Crafting & So Much More has an awesome post on Cheap & Free Disney World Souvenirs.

Disney Done Right has some great tips on Packing for the Parks.

You can also view my favorite ideas on my Disney World Vacations pin board.

And so we've *finally* reached the point when our Disney World trip is just around the corner (eee!!!).  It's been a looong time coming!  Alas, this will be my last "Getting Ready for Mickey" post. (Either you're VERY happy about this, or you're like me - a little sad.) :(  But, if you're new to my blog or feeling nostalgic for Disney posts, click here to see other parts to this series. :)

~Thank you for your comments!~

Calendar Cards: Disney

I made some new calendar cards in honor of our upcoming trip to Disney World.  They do include Disney images, but since I'm not selling these, I *think* I'm allowed to share them with all of you. :)

Click here to download

Please keep in mind that I format these myself, so they're not perfect, but they'll certainly get the job done. : ) Also, as with all of my printables, these are for your personal use only - please do not sell or offer them in a giveaway. Thank you and enjoy!

~Thank you for your comments!~

Disney Family Night: Snow White

One of the (many) things we're doing in preparation for our big trip to Disney World is to have a Disney Family Night about once a month until we leave . In short, we pick one of our favorite Disney movies and then create a themed night around it. It's a fun way to bridge the long wait!

One our recent movie nights featured Snow White and the Seven Dwarves...

 

Did you know Snow White takes place in Germany?  Or at least that's the country associated with this movie.  Strange, though, because I really see no German connections in the movie, do you?  Anyway, I went with it and followed a German theme. :)

Activities

:: We mined for gems.  I used one of our empty sensory tubs, filled it with plain rice and buried lots of acrylic gems within it.  James used various "tools" (small fish net, slotted spoon, spatula, tongs, etc.) to excavate the gems.

:: We cast coins into our wishing well. I added some small pebbles and water to a medium sized metal bowl, and gathered some coins in a small basket. I created a sign that said "I'm wishing... Throw coins into the well and make a wish".  James LOVED this activity and threw all 40 coins into the well (one by one) and made a wish each and every time.  So cute.  The metal bowl makes a satisfying "ting" kind of sound whenever a coin hits it. :)

:: We looked at the German items from our Europe Continent Bag.

:: We played "Guess the Dwarf" by acting out the various characteristics of each dwarf.

:: We listened to songs from the movie while prepping dinner.

:: We watched the movie (of course!).

Food

 

Keeping with the German theme, here's what was on our menu:

Appetizer: Gold Mining Sticks (mini pretzels sticks with melted cheese {aka gold} for dipping)

Dinner: Forest Berries (mixed berries), Sneezy's Sausage (grilled bratwurst), Grumpy's Potatoes (German potato salad)

Desert: Snow White's Sweet Apples (sliced apples with a bit of drizzled caramel)

Beverage: Witch's Brew (root beer) - for this I removed the label and since it's a dark beverage it really does look a bit sinister. : )  James was actually a bit nervous until he tasted it!

Decor

I decorated our place settings with the typical red, yellow, blue color scheme of Snow White.  I also  bought a big bunch of apples and arranged them in an apple picking basket, I gathered some of our woodland forest animals, and I set a large mirror near the table (think: "mirror mirror on the wall..."). 

~Our little Snow White~

Overall a very easy and enjoyable evening!  We also had a Finding Nemo night, which was a blast - I hope to post about that soon! Click here to see our other Disney nights - more to come!

~Thank you for your comments!~

Final Disney Countdown!

Our trip to Disney World is just around the corner and as such we are in serious countdown mode! We're still using this countdown I made, but I decided to create something fun for our final countdown...

I made 35 little envelopes and put a note inside each one. (The envelopes were made with basic cardstock folded in half and stapled on either side. I added a little Disney-themed washi tape to the outside and numbered each one.) Each day, James will find the envelope that coordinates with the number on our other countdown and remove the note inside of it.

The notes indicate various activities- here are a few examples:
:: Dance around to "I Wanna Be Like You" from the Jungle Book
:: Only 3 more weeks until we leave for Disney World! Have fun looking through our Mickey Mouse mini unit!
:: The Tramp takes Lady to dinner one night... what do they eat? Have that for dinner tonight!
:: Is the shoe a perfect fit? Pretend you're Cinderella and try on Mom and Dad's shoes!
:: It's your un-birthday today! Enjoy a cup of tea just like Alice!
:: Merida is from Scotland - find her country on a map and then read the story on our iPad!
:: Today's the day!! We're off to Disney World! Put on your new Mickey Mouse shirt and LET'S GO!!

There are sooo many ways to create a Disney countdown. Pinterest is full of inspiring ideas! One way that I was really considering is the simple paper chain. It brings back all sorts of good memories from my primary school days, but in the end I decided against it. The chain is something we already do during the Christmas season, and I want to keep that separate and special.

What kind of countdown do all of you Disney goers create?

~Thank you for your comments!~

Disney Family Night: 101 Dalmatians

One of the (many) things we're doing in preparation for our big trip to Disney World is to have a Disney Family Night about once a month until we leave . In short, we pick one of our favorite Disney movies and then create a themed night around it. It's a fun way to bridge the long wait!

James' (current) favorite Disney movie is 101 Dalmatians. He's really into puppies right now, and was ecstatic that we were going to spend a whole night focusing on puppies!

When I plan these nights I have four main "departments" in mind - food, decor, music, and activities. So, for decor, I try to lightly transform our kitchen/family room into that theme. I don't go ALL out, but just enough to give James a sense of being a part of the movie we're celebrating. He gets *SO* excited and filled with anticipation when he knows I'm decorating the kitchen, and I often catch him peeking through one of the windows to catch a preview! :)

For our 101 Dalmatians night, I printed off lots of little paw prints, cut them out, and taped them all over our kitchen & living room! I also arranged several of James' stuffed puppies in various places - hanging out of cabinets, sitting atop the counter - so it'd look like they were climbing all over everything. :)

I made some "puppy ears" for James. They seriously took me two minutes to make. I used one of my headbands, cut out two dalmatian ear-shaped pieces out of black felt and paper-clipped them to the headband. Easy peasy!

While dinner was cooking, we played a few games. One was "Find the Bone" - I bought (and later donated to our neighbor's dog) a real dog bone and hid it somewhere in the house. James put on his puppy ears to "listen for clues" on where to find it. I also printed off some activity sheets from here, and made a puzzle out of an image I found on Google Images. In an effort to add an educational twist to the night (I'm a teacher, what can I say?!), I created and printed out a little blurb about why dalmatians are fire dogs.

For dinner I tried to keep the movie's locale in mind - England. Here's what was on our menu:
:: Rolly's Chew Sticks (aka large pretzel rods)
:: Perdita's Pie (aka shepard's pie) - this is actually a long time favorite in our house. I know we don't make it quite the way the Brits do, though, and I'm sure it's very Americanized. It's super yummy - crumbled hamburger, gravy, and peas, topped with a thick layer of mashed potatoes and sprinkled with a bit of cheddar cheese.
:: Pongo's Punch (aka milk with tiny chocolate chips) - in the movie, the puppies are directed to a farm where they receive fresh milk. I was glad to be able to offer James milk with his meal and still keep in theme with the movie! :)
:: Lucky's Biscuits (aka bone shaped sugar cookies) - these were our dessert and were yum-may!
:: Patch's Pupcorn (aka popcorn) - we used the kind that has salt and pepper seasoning because it gave the popcorn a subtle dotted look. :) We enjoyed this halfway through the movie.

Click here to see our other Disney nights - more to come! Next up is Finding Nemo!

~Thank you for your comments!~

Disney Family Night: Toy Story

One of the (many) things we're doing in preparation for our big trip to Disney World is to have a Disney Family Night about once a month until we leave . In short, we pick one of our favorite Disney movies and then create a themed night around it. It's a fun way to bridge the long wait!

Last weekend we celebrated Toy Story!

Toy Story is one of my favorite Disney-Pixar movies, and it's a classic in my book. I remember being amazed by how fluid and life like the images were. And I'm a huge Tom Hanks fan, too. Anyway... we had such a fun night with this theme. Here's what we did:

To set the tone, I printed out some posters from here and here, and I arrange various books and toys around the room. We happen to have a Mr. Potato Head, some green army men, an Etch-A-Sketch, and a Barrel of Monkeys on hand. We also had the soundtrack to Toy Story (the 1st) playing in the background.

We prepared dinner together - here's what was on our menu:
:: Make Your Own Planet Pizza - I bought mini Biboli crusts and set out a variety of toppings for us to make our own pizzas. James loved this and said, "Finally, I can make my pizza the way I like it!" which meant adding about 100 pepperonis to his pie. (Mommy vetoed 95 of them.)
:: Lotso's Strawberry Salad - this one is a family favorite. Baby arugula, blue cheese, candied pecans, and strawberries, topped with balsamic vinegar dressing. Y-U-M.
:: Galatic Goo - this was our dessert. It was purple grape jello with star sprinkles on top. Ridiculously easy to make and a HUGE hit with James!
:: Alien Juice - this was our beverage. Crystal Lite lemonade made with sparkling water and a few drops of green food coloring (to give it that alien color). :)

While the pizzas were baking, we played a few games. James received a Toy Story memory game as a birthday present, so we played a short round of that as well as a few turns of "Find the Moon Rocks". For that game I placed a chocolate Hershey's Kiss inside a small piece of tin foil and then gently crumpled it up to resemble a moon rock. I hid these around the house and James went in search of them. :) I also created an activity with the Etch-A-Sketch where we all took turns trying to make certain shapes. James and his dad also made chains out of the monkeys from our Barrel of Monkeys.

I also put together this little guessing game - "Guess How Many Army Men Are In the Jar?" James took one look and - no joke - guessed the correct number within 1. Even my sweet Hubs was off by 5!

Our favorite game was "The Claw Game". I assembled a mystery bag full of Mr. Potato Head parts and created a checklist to go along with it. James had to reach his "claw" inside the bag and without looking, guess which piece he was holding. He checked off the pieces as he went along and afterwards created a finished Mr. Potato Head. Let me know if you're interested in the printable I made for this game - I'm happy to share it!

We didn't use these resources, but I ran across them while planning this night. I thought maybe some of you might like to use them: Toy Story Pre-K Pack & Toy Store Fun Book. And of course there are TONS of ideas on Pinterest and DisBoards.

At the end of each Disney night, James randomly selects the next theme from a basket. Coming up:

101 Dalmatians!! (Awesome movie tickets from here!)

Click here to see our other Disney nights - more to come!

~Thank you for your comments!~

Getting Ready for Mickey! - Part 3

I've been having so much fun making things in preparation for our trip to Disney World this fall. I'm reeaaallllyy excited about this trip and even though I know it'll be an amazing time without my help, I'm doing what I can to add a little extra magic here and there. :)

Here are a few new things I've done:

~Color Book~

Seeing this idea on Pinterest and thanks to my friend at The Adventures of Bear, I put together this little color book for Juliet to look at on the airplane. I used those free Disney paint chips found at Home Depot and adhered the word of each color on the back of the chip.

~Postcard~
I wasn't able to get an actual postcard from Disney World, so I made one myself! SO easy! I took a regular ol' postcard (from Bermuda) and double-stick taped a Disney image on the front. I used Disney stickers to cover up the Bermuda photo descriptions on the back of the postcard. I wrote a cute little message "from Mickey" and popped it into the mailbox. James checks the mail each day and what a treat it was for him to find a postcard from Mickey! (Btw, he didn't even notice my faux postcard switcheroo). :)

~Autograph Book~
This isn't an official autograph book, it's actually a Disney encylopedia. It's awesome. Full of color and fun descriptions of most Disney & Pixar characters. We'll be focusing on penny pressing for this trip, and since this book is a bit heavy we'll bring it along only to the character meals. Another fun keepsake!

~Disney Family Nights~
These have been a HUGE hit at our house. We ALL look forward to these theme nights. Since my last Getting Ready for Mickey post we've had a Three Caballeros night and a Lion King night. Up next is Toy Story. So much fun!

~Goodies Straight From WDW~
Some friends of ours visited Disney in the spring and being the sweethearts they are, they brought us back some goodies - maps, an Epcot passport book, a 3D place mat (James loooves this!), a sweet book about Duffy, a portfolio for our pressed pennies (yay!), and a "1st visit" button! The park guides were total Disney planning candy to me - I loved getting a sneak peek at the schedules.

~Dresses~

Whilst taking my daily stroll through the lovely land of Etsy, I ran across these a-dor-a-ble Disney-inspired dresses. Needless to say I ordered a "few". ;) (Psst... stay tuned because I'll be hosting a giveaway for this shop next month!)

~Stroller & Stroller Tags~
I went back and forth about our stroller for Disney. We have a MacLaren, which is good and has served us well, but it's not ideal for theme parks, imo. I read this post about the top 10 things you'll want in a stroller and I decided to buy a (red) City Mini stroller for our trip. Two words: LOVE IT. Best stroller ever. I just found out it's actually the same one the Orlando stroller rental companies use! As for the tags, one tidbit of advice I received from a friend is that after you come out of a ride it's easy to lose sight of your stroller in the veritable Sea of Strollers at Disney World. I saw this idea via Pinterest and came up with something for our stroller. To make these I just used some scrapbook paper, ribbon, and a letter sticker on the reverse side of the tag. I laminated them to keep them dry and intact. Sure, we make look totally dorky. And maybe the tags won't help. Or we may be those folks who spot their stroller right away. We'll see!

~Guide to the Magic For Kids~
I'm currently hosting giveaway for this awesome guide book. Click here to read my thoughts on it and to enter to win. Two thumbs up!!

my little mouse

~Mouse Ears~
These were super easy to make. A bit of felt, a bit of ribbon, two snap clips, and a glue gun.

~Brave Sensory Tub~
Have you seen the new Disney movie, Brave? It is sooo good! James and I loved it and of course I had to make a sensory tub. :)

That's all for now! I'll have one more "part" in this series and TWO more Disney giveaways this summer! Click here to see other parts to this series.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Disney Family Night: The Lion King

One of the (many) things we're doing in preparation for our big trip to Disney World is to have a Disney Family Night about once a month until we leave . In short, we pick one of our favorite Disney movies and then create a themed night around it. It's a fun way to bridge the long wait!

Last weekend we celebrated The Lion King. (cue the music: "...it's the circle of liiiiife and it moves it us alllllll....") :D

Here's what we did:

While dinner was grilling, we listened to The Lion King soundtrack and looked through the contents of our Africa Continent Bag.

~photo taken by Mstr. James, Up and Coming Photographer~ :)

James and The Hubs also enjoyed a few rounds of "Find the Lion Cubs". They took turns hiding James' little stuffed animals around the house and went on "safaris" to find them. :)

For dinner I decorated the table with some straw mats and giant placemats shaped like leaves. I've had those leaf mats for YEARS (like, over 10!) and this is the first time they'd been used! I also created little cards for each food item.

Here's what was on our menu:
:: Savannah Salad (mixed greens with various veggies)
:: Zazu's Chicken Legs (grilled drumsticks)
:: Pride Rock Potatoes (roasted rosemary potatoes)
:: Broccoli Tree of Life (steamed broccoli)
:: Timon's Grubs Under A Log (aka ants on a log... you know - celery, peanut butter, and raisins. I turned the celery over to give it the "under a log" effect. :D)
:: For dessert: Rafiki's Banana Pudding (instant pudding with a few animal crackers on top)
:: To drink: Jungle Juice (I used this recipe from Disney World's Animal Kingdom Lodge - YUM.)

Since our menu was so large, I only made a little of everything. And we still had left overs. (Score! No cooking for me the next day!)

After dinner we had a look through the Africa pages in our favorite Children's Encyclopedia.

Then we watched the movie. And what a good one it is, too. I created a game for us to play while we watched: I selected and printed out various memorable quotes which we all had to listen for. If one of us heard a quote, we'd "steal" the crown from the last person who heard a quote. It was fun and a neat way to really listen to the movie and the message.

Here's my favorite quote:

Ah yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see, you can either run from it or learn from it. ~Rafiki

At the end of each Disney night, James randomly selects the next theme from a basket. Coming up: Toy Story!

Click here to see our other Disney nights - there are more to come!

~Thank you for your comments!~

Summer Sensory Tub - Brave

"I'll be shooting for my own hand!!" My favorite line in my new favorite Disney/Pixar movie, Brave. I took James and his buddy to see it last week and we all three gave it two thumbs up! And I'll admit... I cried a little in certain parts, too. But then, I'm an emotional kind of gal.

Anywho, after seeing the movie I was most inspired to make a Brave sensory tub and on my way home began creating it in my mind. Here's what I came up with...
James was on pins and needles waiting for this tub. He was really cute about helping me design it, too. He was very specific about what he wanted included, the magic cake being at the very top of the list. :)

Here's what's inside:
:: Blue/green aquarium rock (the color of Merida's main dress)
:: Orange ribbon (think of Merida's crazy locks) - I "corked" these myself using this tutorial.
:: TONS of teeny tiny arrows - I bought these on Etsy to use in making a Brave hair clip for Juliet to wear during our stay in Disney World. I only needed one, but they came in a pack of 50! Good thing after all!
:: Black bears from Safari Ltd. (supposed to represent the three bear cubs in the movie)
:: Two large wooden bears (representing the two large bears)
:: Pieces from our tree blocks
:: Blue acrylic gems (these are the wisps)
:: A Tiny castle
:: Small trees (in the movie, they spend some time in the forest)
:: Horse (Merida's Angus)
:: A "magic cake" (really just a play food donut with a flat-back gem jammed into the middle!)

I really do love this tub. I suppose that's because I really do love the movie and this is a way to keep the memory alive a little. Can't wait for it to come out on DVD!

To go along with the tub, I made a couple of activities too...
I made an archery target (in Word), punched holes around the outer perimeter, laminated it, punched holes again, and then found some soft (faux) leather string to use for lacing. I also printed out a list of words used in the movies and put some alphabet tiles (in the little green jar) so James could spell out the words.

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Disney Family Night: The Three Caballeros

One of the (many) things we're doing in preparation for our big trip to Disney World is to have a Disney Family Night about once a month until we leave . In short, we pick one of our favorite Disney movies and then create a themed night around it. It's a fun way to bridge the long wait!

Our first DFN movie was The Three Caballeros. Here's what we did...

We decorated with homemade paper flowers, a FIESTA banner, a photo of the 3 Cabs. While we made dinner we listened to Mexican & Cuban music and later we had a little dance party with our maracas (which are actually from Mexico!) while listening to the movie soundtrack.

And what's fun without learning something in the process?! :) I gathered some materials from our North America & South America Continent Bags, bookmarked a few pages in our Children's Encyclopedia, printed out a map of Mexico, and put together a list of common Spanish phrases for James to learn. He particularly enjoyed the Spanish phrases since he L-O-V-E-S anything to do with foreign languages.

While dinner was cooking, we played "Donde este Donald?" (where is Donald). I hid a rubber duck as we don't have an actual Donald duck. :) James had lots of fun with this and we all took turns playing and telling the seeker if they were "hot" or "cold".

For dinner we enjoyed some Mexican fare. Chips & dips for appetizers, tacos for the main course, and Dulce de Leche (ice cream) for dessert. Oh and I found some imported Mexican juice in the ethic section of the grocery store. Hubs and I may or may not have splurged on a margarita (or two). :) I made little signs for each food "station", and we used special drinking glasses and place settings.

After dinner we watched the movie during which we made sombreros. SUPER easy craft and even my non-crafty boy had fun making it!

(BTW, for our banner and dinner signs I used fonts from here.)

We had an absolute blast during our Disney Family Night and we're excited for next month's fiesta!

Click here to see our other Disney nights - there are more to come!

~Thank you for your comments!~