Halloween Pillows

So Easy

Buy $2.99 each

Open side seam

Stuffing

and more stuffing

Stitch up

And enjoy your savings of $24 from the price of pillows from Target.

These placemats were$2.99 each and I recycled a pillow from home for the stuffing. 

We all should have a needle and thread. 

These look awesome and are larger than the ones for sale at Target for $14.99 each in the same print. 

Are you too old to have a mattress on the floor?

Most of us are, but simply cannot afford to purchase the type of bed we really want or lack the space.

Well, I needed to solve this problem and create storage at the same time. Space was a HUGE issue for us and I refused to purchase a bed frame for this tiny space that I would feel stuck with for years to come.

Cost $35
Items needed
Large fabric to protect floor
18 rectangle milk crates (Queen Size)


Can be done with square crates from any store but purchasing the milk crates from a farm stand will be far cheaper and they are made sturdier.

First begin by having a clear space.

Add a layer of material to protect the floor. 

$1.00 fabric from Ikea

Depending on the size you will need to align the crates doing the sides first.

Fill in the center with additional crates. I do not have a box spring and need the center supports.

Not too pretty so far, but that is not a problem.

Zip ties are fantastic for holding the crates together, this is needed only because when you put the mattress on they will shift if not secured. Anything you have will work, even dental floss. 

Bed Skirt

Mattress

And make pretty!

I use the storage for my shoes, and the other side we use for hunting gear. 

This is an excellent way to make a room look put together on a very small budget. The bedding is not included in the budget, but I purchased the whole set for $30 at Target including sheets, shams, skirt, comforter. 

If you are someone who moves often this is a great way to do it cause each crate can be used to hold you belongings while moving.

Summer is here

Yes, that is what the calendar says. Summer.

Well the temperature still lingers in the 70's and taking a walk may still encounter a brief rain storm, my child has been out of school for a few weeks now and the summer dull is setting in.


She has become a home body, which is great for me getting things done around the house, but I worry about her being lonely.

If you are looking for a few low cost or free ways to get out of the house make sure to remember some of the special summer programs local businesses offer.

http://www.regmovies.com/summermovieexpress/

This program is a fantastic way to let your child enjoy a movie without a huge expense. The movies listed are from a year ago and as close as just 4 months back. I was very surprised to see the movie Journey 2 showing on the first week.
Just in late February my daughter chose this as her party movie and to the tune of $150 in just tickets for the guests...it was our last movie party.

Regal Cinemas also offers free pass for people assisting individuals with disabilities. This is such a wonderful way to support people with the need for an assistant, since they are also paying that person an hourly wage just to take them to the theater.


There are several Kids Bowl Free programs across the country that also offer a summer family pass for less than $30. We all know a trip to go bowling with a family of 4 can easily cost that much in just 2 games.

by doing a google search you will be able to locate a program in your area offering free access for kids.

We are already members of several places like Omsi and the Zoo, these places offer discount days. If you see a place that looks fun, call and ask if there is a discount day or coupon available.

We love to visit places around our home state of Oregon. This state has so much to offer and sights like Groupon and Living Social are a great place to grab discounted hotel rooms for short overnight trips.

Some deals end up being less than $70 per day for a multi night trip.

Enjoy your summer, before you know it the back to school sales will be reminding you it is time to get back to work.

Disney Wonder Activites

and we are back.....

Lets begin with our arrival to the Seattle Port. After the drive though the downtown area, very exciting, I mean panic inducing anxiety, we finally found our way towards the cruise dock. I have to admit when we turned the corner and the ship came in to view I teared up a bit. It was stunning and I felt sure this was the trip of a lifetime.
My tears of joy quickly turned to tears of frustration when I discovered that there was no accessible shuttle from parking back to port. (as I was told when I called to make special arrangements for us to get from the lot to the ship.) No one had any clue what to do, security told me to leave her with the luggage and ride the shuttle back alone, same with the shuttle staff and the lot check point.
(Disney was extremely sorry about this and made certain I had a ride back to my car when we returned.)
For future use, the protocol for this to be avoided is that you call ahead and the shuttle service is arranged via a wheelchair accessible taxi at no cost to the guest.

I got through security very quickly after my 2 hour parking issue. It is amazing how quickly a manager comes when you get snippy at the metal detectors. They fast tracked us in front of the first class line.

Now back to the ship.

Our cruise on the Disney Wonder had endless opportunities and activities, too bad for us that we were unable to gain access to some of the sections. The areas were ADA accessible, and from what I saw of them they were really cool.

We were not permitted in unless it was "open house" programming. All other times were considered secure programming where only children within the specified age limits would be allowed to enter. It was very secure, kids over 12 were not permitted in the youth areas, teens past 18 were not allowed in the teen lounge. Very strict rules and for good reason, parents want to ensure that their children are safe. The Disney executive I spoke with has already started a dialog on how to make these areas more available to children with medical needs, while also making sure that people without the need do not try to take advantage of the accommodations.

In the past people with needs like Jazmine would have been able to bring on a helper at a discount but due to program abuse they had to stop allowing it and charge the same rate for everyone.

Prior to my purchase of this vacation I spoke with the Disney staff regarding the special needs issue and sharing the details of possible medical intervention. I asked for accommodation and was informed that my request would be arranged. Once on board I found out that I was given false information regarding the accommodations available.

(Disney management on board helped arrange for some special activities for Jazmine and offered to have the programming manager work with her 1 to 1 during special activities, but I declined to leave her for safety concerns)

Even with this hiccup, we stayed busy. The daily schedule had options for character meets, tea parties, comedy shows, and movies. Lounge areas were kid friendly and many areas had games to play. Adults had different activities the spa, cash prize bingo each day, special programming on wildlife and glaciers, fitness activities, plus large areas dedicated to 18 and over for enjoying views, relaxing and nightlife events.
(I regret not trying to sneak Jaz into these places, she certainly is starting to look old enough)

The live theater shows were 5 star all the way. I have been to Disney on Ice shows and the on board entertainment was SO much better. Toy Story the Musical and Disney Dreams were so amazing that Jaz opted to skip the sit down meals and see the shows twice. (since there were 8 other places to get meals it was not a problem). They did not allow any photos during these shows, but they were so good that you didn't want to miss a second of it fiddling with your camera. Seating in the Walt Disney theater was always available and staff was on hand to fetch a chair for the companion.

Shopping on board was limited, but offered everything at regular price you would pay on land. I did not visit the duty free shop for smokes or booze, but they had a price list in the room and it seemed like totally regular costs to me.

We had a wonderful tea party with Ariel and Tiana, a private meeting with Goofy and every character greeted Jaz by name and made a few extra minutes to chat with her whenever we saw them in route. (which was A LOT). The characters are everywhere on board. They have time to be playful with kids, do photos and autographs.

Even with the false information we were given, it did not sour us on Disney Cruise Line for vacation options. (15 night Hawaii cruise? one can dream)
Mistakes happen, and now I have the contacts and experience to plan for the future...

Look for another share on the activities we did on land in a few days.

Tour the Disney Wonder

This spring we took a trip to Alaska aboard the Disney Wonder.

Let me show you around ship!

We will start with the ADA accessible room. Our room was one of the interior ADA rooms with no view or balcony. It was not by choice or to help the budget, but because these rooms are limited and this was the last one.

The room was big, much bigger than I thought 250 sq ft would seem. The doors were plenty wide for the wheelchair, however I got a peek at the regular rooms and the bathroom entrances had a step and were very narrow doors. (If traveling with a person needing mobility aides the regular rooms may be a big challenge.)

A view from the your front door. The area where the wheelchair is parked had the option to be either a couch with pull out bed or a set of bunk beds. I preferred the extra floor space and did not ask to have them down. Plus, my "host" was so nice I did not want to make extra work for him.

    

 Beds were extremely comfortable. Supportive, fluffy pillows, silky soft sheets, and made everytime you came back to your room.

The "ever important" shower seat. I personally found it to be adequately sized but the placement of the grab bar took away from the space and comfort of the user. 

This would be better placed in the corner. If you need any additional supports in a shower chair then I would recommend bringing your own items. We were able to use this but not while at sea, the boat movements were slight but why take the extra risk?

Lets head outside the room. (We found all the open deck doors to have a very challenging bump to navigate, it was approximately a 2 inch lip and our wheels got caught. There were extra wide doors with push button opening on each deck for accessing these areas.)

The children's pool seen here is a shallow pool with the two separate sections, water features and a slide long enough to be fun but not too fast for the little kids. The other have far bigger pools, but hey we were heading to Alaska. None of the pools on the Disney Wonder would be accessible without transfer from chair. 

This pool is deeper than the kids pool and has extra seating and had surrounding quick food options with fun character themes and funnel vision. 

Funnel Vision...we just loved! It is shown here from Deck 10 and can be viewed from Deck 9 either at the pool or the surrounding areas. The sound quality was fantastic and picture did not disappoint. This screen had programming listed in the daily guide which included classic Disney movies and a showing of Tron Uprising.




18 and over only!
The Disney Wonder had many places for the adults aboard to enjoy kid free areas.

Hope you have enjoyed this quick zip through the Disney Wonder. 

Look for a follow up post regarding our ups and downs on this trip including some highlights from our shore visits. 

Surftides at Lincoln City

We recently spend a fake weekend in Lincoln City (Sun, Mon, Tues) staying at the Surftides Hotel. 

Upon check in Sunday at 6:30 pm, we were told our accessible room had been given away earlier in the day. This struck me as odd since when I booked the room I made certain to specifically reserve the accessible room and had a whole discussion on how we would be arriving later in the evening and wanted to be certain our room would not be given away. The staff at the Surftides was very apologetic and showed me that who ever took my reservation failed to note that we could not be moved to another room. At this point we were offered an upgrade. (?) Our upgrade consisted of the standard room with only a fireplace in it. Once in the room we found our daughter's chair did not fit in the bathroom or on the balcony. 

Room Service was available from 8am to 9pm. This was a bit more like delivered take out as our dinner arrived with only a few plastic forks, no napkins or plates. The menu in the room did not include accurate descriptions of the food offered and my french dip came with cheese even though it was not listed on the menu. We had breakfast in the diner both mornings and found it to be a great value and so tasty that there were no leftovers, even though the portions were quite large. 

  

Stunning views from all rooms!

We chose the Surftides in Lincoln City entirely because they offered wheelchair access to the beach.

(lesson learned, always ask if the hotel staff ensures that the access is clear of drifts)

Aside from the huge sand drift, this accessible ramp was quite steep and someone able to self propel the wheelchair would need assistance getting up and down this ramp. 

We did not let this large sand drift stop us from enjoying some beach time. Our old push chair has been outfitted with mountain bike style tires to navigate the sand. This was our first time using the modified tires and found them to be significantly easier than regular wheels, we still have to do a tip back to push in the sand since we have not made a large front tire yet. (summer project?)

This beach had a large stretch to enjoy but in both directions there was rock barriers impeding us from taking really long walks. 

Off to the Newport Aquarium!

 I just love the Newport Aquarium, we buy a membership each year since it is a tax deduction and if you visit just twice per year it pays for itself. The Newport Aquarium is a fully accessible area with so much to see and do.
Seals and Sea Otters are always active and playful. The staff to feedings and demonstrations at 1030am, 11am and 1130 am. There are many outside areas to explore that are covered with very fine, hard packed gravel  making push chairs and power chairs easy to use. Inside there are a multitude of rooms with varied tanks and ever changing exhibits. One room offers a touch tank, my daughter is not at all interested in touching starfish and other squishy sea life, so we have never spend much time here. This display is accessible for people in chairs to experience but children in lower set chairs would need to be lifted up to reach in.

Making the most of our non-weekend trip, we also headed down to the historic district in Newport to visit Ripley's Believe it or Not! 

This exhibit, like the Wax Museum are both wheelchair friendly activities. There is a second aquarium and admission to all 3 places is discounted, however this aquarium has 40+ stairs to enter so we have never been. 

Ripley's and the Wax Museum both offer one assistant pass to families with a person with a disability to offset the price since purchasing the discount ticket is not an option. 

Lincoln City historic district has a large paved area with some historic information displayed and a semi-accessible pier for viewing the wild life. I say semi-accessible because the pier is very old and in our power chair we were not able to get out to the last stretch of it. However, if we were using a push chair we could have easily navigated the half step to gain access. This areas is full of drift wood and there is a long flat path that at first glance looked like a way to get to the beach. But the farther I walked the more rocks were in the path and the options to the beach became more cluttered with drift wood debris. I would not recommend this area for beach access for people using a mobility device. 

We ended our trip with a visit to the outlet mall, where the Gap outlet always has the best selection and I always buy more than I should.

Surftides Hotel would have gotten far better score from me if we had not been moved from our reserved accessible room. Overall the hotel was clean and offered comfortable beds, the staff we interacted with was super friendly and one particular clerk was passionate about resolving the access barriers for people with mobility issues and was working on getting the parking spaces moved to better areas and was bringing our complaint regarding the sand drift on the ramp to the manager to add clearing it to the jobs list.

I would recommend this hotel, just make sure to check in via phone to ensure your reservation is still intact.

Update...
We could not figure out why our car got such terrible mileage on the trip, well after our recent drive to seattle we have concluded that someone stole gas from us.

Locking gas cap suggested too.

Disneyland from a wheels point of view?

Disney and Fibromyalgia?

As some of you know I recently visited Disneyland with a group of Moms. No Kids.

First...if some of you feel jealous let me assure you that even though it was fun, the thrill of sharing Disneyland with your child is always better than going grown ups only.

Secondly, and on to my actual post....I rented a mobility scooter for my visit to ensure I would be able to get around for the day. Let me tell you, the walk from the car to the rental site was likely close to a mile and that was with accessible parking.

After an additional 30 minutes in line to rent my scooter for the price of $50.00 with an additional $20.00 deposit, I was on my way in to the park.

Let the dirty looks begin..............

I found throughout the day that people were extremely quick to judge. Smirks, passing comments, and the hopping right in my direct path was something I quickly had to ignore in order to enjoy my paid admission.

Daytime at Disneyland was a snap to drive around. While the first few rides we visited received a bit of damage from my inability to turn the scooter around, the park in itself is quite easy to navigate.

Taking the train to get around is not advised, as they only have one space for mobility needs and it was full for 3 trains that passed.
Shopping was a nightmare. I elected to park the scooter and walk in the shops. Prompting more sneers, but there was zero space in the shops. Dining at the Blue Bayou was a bit strange. I was asked to park the scooter outside the restaurant and was not given any assistance navigating the very dark and cramped seating area. Dining options for those with allergies were minimal and is not advisable based on the high price of the food. 
Once we headed over to the area of fireworks, I became quickly trapped. Pinned in and had to wait out the show, once the show began I had to ask repeatedly for taller people to stop stepping in front of me.

For your children's sake...see the fireworks from anywhere but the viewing area.

Once night fell, It became clear that the Disneyland park was not for those in scooters. One way traffic is a mess to drive though but my determination to beat the rush at the return counter for wheelchairs paid off. After a day of bobbing and weaving, I ditched my friends and at a top speed of 3 mph I raced to the return counter with no line at all. By the time I unloaded the basket on the scooter the line was 15 people deep.


Let me assure you I had an absolute blast. Exiting most of the rides would have been safer with a cane, but my peeps were always there to help me balance back to the chair.

Next....Disney Cruise to Alaska with my daughter.

There will be far more photos for that post

Who says wheelchair = minivan

Well I finally got it!

Yes, Oliver the Element has arrived. We let Jaz choose the car name this time since it is her car and I am completely in LOVE.

Here is a quick pic of the modification in our 2008 Element SC with the XWAV conversion.
It is a drop floor conversion with fully automatic ramp system. This vehicle still has the original back seats that still have full function and the back cargo area is still available. The only real down side to this modification is that it cannot be done on the all wheel drive models.

This vehicle has the person using a wheelchair riding in the front passenger seat so it is not for everyone. Our daughter is 13 and does not interfere with anything while sitting up front. She is also adult sized and prefers to ride next to me since most of the time it is just the two of us.

This vehicle = freedom for me. The amount of transfers we were doing in our previous van with the Bruno Turny was too much for both of us and we found that we just stayed home.

Now we simply drive in and put the tie downs on.
Here I have included the link to the dealer that does this modification.
http://www.fminow.com/

We will be sharing far more adventures now that we have the freedom to go as we please. In the next few months we will be traveling to Lincoln City, Newport, Seattle and sailing aboard the Disney Wonder to Alaska.