Disney Countdown Archives - Journeys Are My Diary

No more weeks! Florida here we come!! (Disney Countdown – Days 9 to 1)

April 1, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Yep, that’s right! No more days till holiday! In fact, we’re on holiday right now. Not technically in Florida, but away from home at least!

This morning we set off from home, just before 10am. We headed to my mum’s, where we would swap all of our stuff over to her car and then head off down to London. Since I was up till 2am last night, sewing Megan’s final dress, I was exhausted and actually managed to sleep for some of the journey. We stopped not long after midday though, for the toilet and to eat lunch. After that we headed to a car park where we’d parked once before (for LFCC) and headed into London on the tube. We made our way to Leicester Square where there was a “pop-up” Cinderella Exhibition, that I’d booked us tickets for.

Though we did have to queue for about 20 minutes, in almost rain, we got inside fairly easily and wandered around the exhibit. It was relatively simple but lovely nonetheless. We bought a souvenir programme and were given some Cinderella postcards for free. I took loads of pictures and it was so nice to see the props and costumes up close. The highlight was most definitely walking into the side of a pumpkin and coming out of a carriage! All in all, the Exhibition took about half an hour to go round but I’m really glad we took the extra time to do so.

After Cinderella, we took a walk to Covent Garden and the Disney Store but sadly it was closed due to an underground fire nearby. Instead we took a wander around nearby, doing some shopping using the money off vouchers we’d found at www.voucherbin.co.uk. When it got near to dinner time, we caught the tube to ASK Italian, where we enjoyed a lovely dinner, using up some ASK vouchers I’d gotten from Tesco ages ago.

Finally we headed back to the car and then drove to the Travelodge we were staying at. That’s where I’m typing this from, winding down and getting ready to call it a night. Tomorrow we head off to the airport and fly away to Florida – I can’t wait. My scheduled posts begin tomorrow too, but I’ll hopefully find time to check in now and again. I’ve left Saturday, Sunday and Monday free for impromptu posts!

Today is the last of my Countdown posts, all the way from 120 where we started to day 1 (yesterday). I skipped doing it on Sunday as there were only 2 more days left after that and instead have combined all 9 days into this post.

Monday (9) – March 23rd – Make or Draw Disney
Tuesday (8) – March 24th – Play a Disney game
Wednesday (8) – March 25th – Watch Hercules
Thursday (6) – March 26th – Read Disney
Friday (5) – March 27th – Dress Up Disney
Saturday (4) – March 28th – Watch a random Disney movie – Cinderella (motion picture)
Sunday (3) – March 29th – Make Disney food
Monday (2) – March 30th – Read Disney
Tuesday (1) – March 31th – Make or Draw Disney

On Monday the girls had a long day and didn’t have time to make or draw (they both had homework and a class to prepare). Instead I took over the task as I’d been making loads of Disney clothes anyway. I completed my favourite dress to date which is the Queen of Hearts one for Lily. On Tuesday it was play a disney game and both girls got this done but not with Tsum Tsum for a change. I think Megan played on Disney Infinity while Lily was on Frozen Theater. Wednesday was watch Hercules but we actually completely forgot because we were planning a class about Harry Potter for Lily to teach the following day. Instead we caught up on Thursday, watching Hercules AND reading chapters 7 & 8 of the Never Girls book. Friday was dress up Disney and Lily was feeling too ill to dress up so Megan just wore her dress that I’d completed that day. I was pretty pleased with her Ariel mermaid dress too. On Saturday we were set to watch a random movie and luckily I’d booked tickets for the new Cinderella at the cinema. We all thoroughly enjoyed it, as well as the Frozen Fever short. On Sunday the girls headed off to their dad’s and we just didn’t have time to make any Disney food – or the inclination to be honest. For the first time ever we just skipped it completely but I can assure you that none of us had a Disney shortage. On Monday it was read Disney and we finally finished off book 4 of the Never Girls. I’m looking forward to purchasing and reading some more when we get home. Tuesday was the last one and it was Make or Draw Disney. Megan persuaded me into making her another dress so we classed that as our task. We also watched Pocahontas though!

Disney Countdown – Days 16 to 10

March 23, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Monday (16) – March 16th – Read Disney
Tuesday (15) – March 17th – Play a Disney game
Wednesday (14) – March 18th – Dress up Disney
Thursday (13) – March 19th – Make or Draw Disney
Friday (12) – March 20th – Watch The Incredibles
Saturday (11) – March 21st – Make Disney food
Sunday (10) – March 22nd – Watch a random Disney movie – Cars

This week has been a busy one but we’re almost there now! This is days 16 down to 10 – yes 10! On Monday we had to Read Disney which was a nice calm start to the week. We read another couple of chapters from the Nevergirls book and we’re over half way now. On Tuesday it was play a Disney game and luckily we all play Tsum Tsum most days as it was a “daddy day” meaning the kids weren’t back till late. Wednesday it was Parent’s Evening and the girls’ went to mum’s while I went to see their teachers. This meant it was late when we got back and they didn’t actually dress up till Thursday to do Wednesday’s task. Also on Thursday we had to Make or Draw Disney and so the girls worked on their Tinkerbell fashion books. Still on Thursday, we also caught up with The Lion King from last week (finally) – Thursday was a very busy day! On Friday we came home from school and watched The Incredibles. Saturday was make Disney food and as we were looking for something easy we made Baymax faces on Marshmallows and toasted them. We also watched Cars in the afternoon as we knew we wouldn’t get time on Sunday – and that was Sunday’s task, watch a random movie.

Only 10 more days and 10 more tasks till we go on holiday. This week is the last week of school for the kids and their dad is having them over the weekend. Hopefully we keep on track and get all our tasks done, before we jet off to Florida, a week on Thursday.

Disney Countdown – Days 23 to 17

March 15, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Monday (23) – March 9th – Play a Disney game
Tuesday (22) – March 10th – Make or Draw Disney
Wednesday (21) – March 11th – Paint Anna peg doll
Thursday (20) – March 12th – Read Disney
Friday (19) – March 13th – Watch The Lion King
Saturday (18) – March 14th – Dress up Disney
Sunday (17) – March 15th – Make Disney food

What a busy week! Monday was play a Disney game and luckily we all play Tsum Tsum daily – otherwise there would have been no time for anything! Tuesday was make or draw Disney and as the kids were with their dad/at Grandma’s they filled in their activity books. On Wednesday it was Paint the Anna peg doll and that’s now all of them complete! Thursday was Read Disney which was great as we really needed an easy and not too time consuming task. We read Chapter 3 & 4 of our most recent Never Girls book – from the mist. On Friday we were supposed to watch The Lion King but it was Lily’s murder mystery party so we didn’t get time. It was penciled in for the weekend but we still didn’t get around to it so hopefully one day this week instead. Saturday was dress up Disney which Amy’s daughter Liv was also here to participate in. Megan and Lily were Tinkerbell and Silvermist and Liv was Tinkerbell too. A whole heap of Disney Fairies! Finally came Sunday and the task was make Disney food. The day was so busy because I had to take Amy to the train station and my mum came for Mother’s Day lunch, meaning we really didn’t have time to do extra baking. Instead we cheated a little and used Amy’s birthday cake as our Disney food task!

I’ll be back next week with another 7 days of tasks, leaving only 10 until we go on holiday. I can’t believe it’s come around finally – it’s going to be here so soon.

Disney Countdown – Days 30 to 24

March 9, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Monday (30) – March 2nd – Make or Draw Disney
Tuesday (29) – March 3rd – Read Disney
Wednesday (28) – March 4th – Watch a random Disney movie – The Princess Diaries
Thursday (27) – March 5th – Lily’s Birthday
Friday (26) – March 6th – Watch Sleeping Beauty
Saturday (25) – March 7th – Play a Disney game
Sunday (24) – March 8th – Dress up Disney

This week has felt a little hectic at times and so with regards to the Disney tasks we’ve had to keep one step ahead! Monday was make or draw something Disney and the girls fancied making another hair bow. As such we made The Queen of Hearts as she was one we’d been wanting to do for a while. On Tuesday it was Read Disney and so at bedtime we started a new book which is the 4th in the Never Girls series called “From the Mist”. The girls’ dad had also swapped from Tuesday to Wednesday and so we preempted Wednesday task which was to watch a random movie, and did that on Tuesday instead. The girls picked to watch The Princess Diaries which was fine by me as I love a good chick flick. On Wednesday we obviously didn’t technically do anything Disney but Megan and I were still working on Lily’s cake each night and that was Disney Tsum Tsum themed.

On Thursday it was Lily’s birthday and we had no specific task. However there was plenty of Disney to go around (no surprises there). Friday we were going to my mum’s to dinner, as she’d been away for almost two weeks. As such we didn’t remember to check the Disney task and couldn’t complete it. When we got home we found out it was to watch Sleeping Beauty but it was the girls’ bedtime so instead we just put it on the list for the next day. When we got up Saturday, we had plenty to do but we did fit in watching the movie. We also had to play a Disney game – which since we play Tsum Tsum most days, was no problem. Finally it was Sunday and we had dress up Disney. Lily was keen to wear her Silvermist costume that Megan bought for her birthday and Megan was stuck with Elsa yet again!

Disney Countdown – Days 37 to 31

March 1, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Monday (37) – Feb 23rd – Play a Disney game
Tuesday (36) – Feb 24th – Read Disney
Wednesday (35) – Feb 25th – Watch Tarzan
Thursday (34) – Feb 26th – Make or draw Disney
Friday (33) – Feb 27th – Watch random Disney movie – Aristocats
Saturday (32) – Feb 28th – Paint Rapunzel peg-doll
Sunday (31) – March 1st – Watch Cinderella

Despite the kids going back to school this week, the Disney tasks don’t seem to have been too much of a hassle. On Monday we had play a Disney game, which to be honest is most days anyway. Both girls and certainly me too, played on Disney Tsum Tsum at least once and on top of that, Lily is obsessed with the new stuffed toys being sold at Clintons. On Tuesday it was read Disney which is a fairly safe bet for a Tuesday as the girls usually go to their dads. We read Chapters 7 and 8 of the Never Girls third book, as we’re trying to finish one each month. On Wednesday we down for watching Tarzan. I actually hadn’t seen the movie myself for years and years, the girls never having seen it at all. The three of us all enjoyed it and I’m so glad we added it to the “to watch” list. Thursday was make or draw Disney but the girls had school disco after school and it made for a busy evening. Luckily I spent all day working on my Florida planner, which is for the most part Disney, so we used that as our make Disney task. On Friday it was watch a random movie and after some debate we settled on Aristocats. Lily has started loving Marie (I’m sure its to do with buying the Tsum Tsum) so she was keen to re-watch Aristocats again and Megan agreed. Saturday’s task was paint Rapunzel and Megan got her done with very little grumble this week. I believe she found her particularly easy, especially with the amount of yellow for her hair. Finally came Sunday and the task was to watch Cinderella. I have to admit I quite like this routine we seem to of had for the last few weeks, settling down to watch a Disney movie on a Sunday afternoon.

We’ve now hit the 1 month mark and not including today, we’ve only got 30 more days left of Disney tasks. I personally will be quite glad to see them finish as they’re dominating our life a little, but I think certainly Megan feels an element of disappointment at the thought of not doing them any more. I’m really glad I came up with the idea of this Disney Countdown as its had exactly the effect I wanted and I seriously can’t wait for 30 more days to pass!

Disney Countdown – Days 44 to 38

February 22, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Monday (44) – Feb 16th – Make or Draw Disney
Tuesday (43) – Feb 17th – Play a Disney game
Wednesday (42) – Feb 18th – Dress up Disney
Thursday (41) – Feb 19th – Paint Merida peg-doll
Friday (40) – Feb 20th – Watch random Disney movie – Belle’s Magical World
Saturday (39) – Feb 21st – Make Disney inspired food
Sunday (38) – Feb 22nd – Watch Monsters Inc.

On Monday the girls were with their dad as they’d stopped over Sunday night and were doing so again on Monday night. They both drew something Disney and then sent pictures of it back for me to put on Instagram. On Tuesday I picked them up and they both played Disney Infinity in the car on the way home, though I’m sure they both played on Tsum Tsum later in the day as well. On Wednesday, Amy and Olivia were with us and so all three girls dressed up. Lily and Liv were both Sofia, while Megan went for Elsa in her Coronation outfit. On Thursday we painted Merida the pegdoll, now giving us quite a good collection of peg dolls. We also caught up on Hunchback of Notre Dame from the week before, as we’d not managed to squeeze it in until then. On Friday we had to watch a random movie and the girls and I picked Beauty and the Beast’s – Belle’s Magical World as none of us had seen it before. On Saturday we were going out for lunch so we baked cupcakes in the morning and decorated them in the evening. We made Princess carriages which was basically a packet mix I’d picked up from Tesco and honestly they didn’t look much like carriages! Finally on Sunday we watched Monsters Inc on dvd. This was meant to follow on from watching Monsters University a couple of weeks ago but unfortunately we didn’t actually do that and had watched Bolt instead. Perhaps we’ll have time to catch Monsters University before we go anyway!

Disney Countdown – Days 51 – 45

February 15, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Monday (51) – Feb 9th – Read a Disney book
Tuesday (50) – Feb 10th – Play a Disney game
Wednesday (49) – Feb 11th – Make or Draw Disney
Thursday (48) – Feb 12th – Paint Aurora peg-doll
Friday (47) – Feb 13th – Make Disney inspired food
Saturday (46) – Feb 14th – Dress up Disney
Sunday (45) – Feb 15th – ~~Watch Hunchback of Notre Dame~~

So this week has been a bit higgly piggly. Due to us being so busy, we’ve had to switch around tasks depending on where we are and what we’re doing. Majority of the week has been a different day’s task but we’ve mostly managed something at least each day! Monday was read a Disney book which we actually managed. We’re still carrying on with book 3 from the Never Girl series. Tuesday was play a Disney game, which we also managed – despite it being a Daddy day. The girls played on Disney Infinity in the car on the way to school. On Wednesday we were supposed to paint a peg-doll but switched it with the next day as the girls were staying at Grandma’s overnight. Instead on Wednesday they had to make or draw Disney which seems to have become a thing at Grandma’s recently! On Thursday when they were home, Megan painted the Aurora peg-doll, though she seems to be less and less happy with how they come out.

On Friday the kids were due to go to mum’s house overnight and she had planned to do some sort of Disney cake mix packet from Sainsbury’s. However the girls ended up off school for the day and not at mum’s, so I bought a packet mix instead and we made Mallow Minnie’s. On Saturday it was dress up Disney which we squeezed in between about 11.30am and 3.30pm. The girls had to get dressed regularly in the morning as we were going out for breakfast, then come home and change into dress-up clothes, before finally getting changed again as Lily had a party to go to. Finally came Sunday and we were set to watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame. However we had to take Chris to work (leaving around 11.30am), go out for lunch, go to my mum’s, fit in the movie in the afternoon, before taking Megan to a party at 4pm. Unfortunately when we got to mum’s, she had a friend there, who didn’t leave for almost another hour. This meant we couldn’t watch our DVD. As the girls went to their dad’s after Megan’s party, we were unable to watch it later too. As such, its been suspended till Tuesday when hopefully we’ll fit it in.

Disney Countdown – Days 58 to 52

February 8, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Monday (58) – Feb 2nd – Play a Disney game
Tuesday (57) – Feb 3rd – Make or Draw something Disney
Wednesday (56) – Feb 4th – Read a Disney book
Thursday (55) – Feb 5th – Make Disney inspired food
Friday (54) – Feb 6th – Dress up Disney
Saturday (53) – Feb 7th – Paint Belle peg-doll
Sunday (52) – Feb 8th – Watch ~~Monsters University~~ Bolt

This week kicked off with play a Disney game so the girls got in their Tsum Tsum before school on Monday morning. I’m pretty sure they also played later after school too! Tuesday was make or draw Disney and again the girls were with their dad so they dress some pictures at Grandma’s. I believe Megan’s is Minnie Mouse and Lily made a mask of some sort that I think said Rapunzel or something on it (lol). Wednesday was make Disney inspired food but as the girls were with mum, we switched with Thursday and they read a Disney book instead. At home on Thursday the girls and I were tired so our Disney inspired food was toast cut out with Disney shapes. Since we’d missed “read Disney” the night before too, we read a chapter of the Never Girls. We’re now onto Book 3 “A Dandelion Wish”.

Next came dress up Disney, that was after school on Friday. Megan took the opportunity to try out Lily’s Anna dress and Lily picked to be Alice in Wonderland. On Saturday we had paint a peg-doll and this time it was Belle. It was late on in the day before Megan got around to it but she did a good job. Finally came Sunday and as we’d already planned a movie night (and taken a vote on which movie to watch) we all sat together and watched Bolt. When we finally got around to checking what the Disney task was we realised we should have been watching Monsters University. I guess we switched that out in favour of Bolt, though hopefully we’ll get around to squeezing it back in this week.

Disney Countdown – Days 65 to 59

February 1, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Monday (65) – Jan 26th – Read a Disney book
Tuesday (64) – Jan 27th – Make or Draw something Disney
Wednesday (63) – Jan 28th – Paint Snow White peg-doll
Thursday (62) – Jan 29th – Play a Disney game
Friday (61) – Jan 30th – Watch a Toy Story
Saturday (60) – Jan 31st – Make Disney inspired food
Sunday (59) – Feb 1st– Paint Alice in Wonderland peg-doll

We started off the week with “read Disney” and all of us commented that we were glad as it seemed like we hadn’t read much of our book so far this month. We were less than half way through too, so we agreed to read a chapter every night, on top of our other Disney challenge. Tuesday the kids were with their dad so they drew pictures at Grandma’s house and brought them home. Megan seemed pretty disappointed with hers, though Lily was pleased. On Wednesday we had a lot to do and Megan made a rush job of Snow White. Since the picture, she has neatened her up and added the hair bow. On Thursday the girls were with Nanny but they were ready for school early and so played on Tsum Tsum in the morning. I’m pretty sure they played again after school too! On Friday our task was to watch Toy Story but unfortunately we were out from after school until the girls had to go to bed. Instead we watched it on Saturday afternoon. We also had Saturday’s task to do which was make Disney inspired food and since we didn’t have much in, we made crown/tiara shaped biscuits and once they were cool, the girls decorated them beautifully. Finally came Sunday and the task was another peg-doll because it was the start of the next princess chain. I can’t believe we’re into February now, meaning only 2 months to go!

Disney Countdown – Days 72 to 66

January 25, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Monday (72) – Jan 19th – Play a Disney Game
Tuesday (71) – Jan 20th – Read a Disney book
Wednesday (70) – Jan 21st – Make Disney themed food
Thursday (69) – Jan 22nd – Make or Draw something Disney
Friday (68) – Jan 23rd – Watch a random Disney movie (Peter Pan)
Saturday (67) – Jan 24th – Dress up Disney
Sunday (66) – Jan 25th– Watch Alice in Wonderland

Right now I’m sat with the girls, watching Alice in Wonderland. It’s that time of the week that I round up our Disney tasks, meaning we’re yet another week nearer to Florida. As of today we’re 9 and a half weeks and I still can’t really believe it!

This week we started off with “play a disney game”. As we’d already played a board game the day before, the girls picked an Xbox game, but surprisingly not Disney Infinity. This time its actually Disneyland Adventures which is a Kinnect game which allows the girls to walk around Disneyland Paris. They love it and spent all evening on it – not to mention several other evenings too. On Tuesday the girls were with their dad but when they came home we had to read Disney. We enjoyed yet another chapter of Never Girls, still on the second book. On Wednesday the girls were staying at my mum’s so I’d agreed to tackle Disney themed food by myself. This was largely because I had Olivia’s cake to make and it was going to be Toy Story themed. Sadly I wasn’t very well and didn’t actually manage to make a start on it to the next day. Thursday was make something Disney and since I still had the cake to finish, Megan came to help me with it as doing her task. She helped with the Sheriff badge, the belt and just generally moral support. On Friday, Amy and Olivia arrived. We showed Olivia her finished cake and she seemed pretty pleased with it. We also had the task of watch a random Disney movie and the girls picked Peter Pan, which they all sat nicely to watch together. On Saturday it was dress up Disney (as you may have seen from my 52 Project photo) and all three girls had fun doing that too. In the afternoon they even did some Disney jigsaws, even though that was nothing to do with a task. Finally on Sunday, after Amy and Olivia had left, the girls and I settled down to watch Alice in Wonderland (that’s now). It’s been a good week and I find myself looking forward to whatever the next Disney task may be!

Olivia’s finished “Woody” cake