ª"˜˜ª¤.¸Team August 2013 Thread! (Part 2)¸.¤ª˜˜"ª&#9733

[Mrs. M. Mouse]

So.. does everyone have plans for their kids to keep them busy this summer?

I thought I did. But as the end of school looms I realized there were big gaps in the summer with nothing to do. My son is a doer. Sitting around will not go over well.
We have him in 2 weeks of basketball camp (holy expensive!!). I just looked up a day camp at a local conservation area that looks promising too. He'll go see Nana and Papa for a few days here and there and we'll walk to the library for their programs, go swimming, drive in movies and such.

I do daycare and will have weeks with lots of kids for him to play with but most of my clients also use their grandparents in the summer to alleviate daycare costs. I get it.. but it's a pain. I never did contracts and I've had these families for years. It's always worked itself out but with a trip looming I was hoping to have more hours. Oh well.

I have a few busy busy weeks and a few weeks of nothing.

My kids will be spending alot of time at the neighborhood splash park I'm sure and of course they're spending a week in day camp and a week camping with their nana out at a lake in bc. Other than that I'll keep them busy with crafts and day trips to the zoo. The Calgary stampede starts soon and we have tickets for a day there already, of course my mom will take them another day as well. My sister likes to have them around to help with her younger kids too so I'm sure that should fill up the time until we go on vacation!

There sure was alot of activity here today! I left to work this morning at 7 pgs and when I came home we're at the end of 10! yikes

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

So.. does everyone have plans for their kids to keep them busy this summer?

I thought I did. But as the end of school looms I realized there were big gaps in the summer with nothing to do. My son is a doer. Sitting around will not go over well.
We have him in 2 weeks of basketball camp (holy expensive!!). I just looked up a day camp at a local conservation area that looks promising too. He'll go see Nana and Papa for a few days here and there and we'll walk to the library for their programs, go swimming, drive in movies and such.

I do daycare and will have weeks with lots of kids for him to play with but most of my clients also use their grandparents in the summer to alleviate daycare costs. I get it.. but it's a pain. I never did contracts and I've had these families for years. It's always worked itself out but with a trip looming I was hoping to have more hours. Oh well.

I have a few busy busy weeks and a few weeks of nothing.

Jake was like your DS.....he LOVED to be busy. And especially because he is a "lonely only", summers were a whirlwind of different camps. He always went to the one-week basketball camp hosted by the city rep club, then the athletic department at our local college also offered some excellent sports camps for 3weeks as well (volleyball, basketball and multi-sport). We always took a couple of weeks of family holidays, then the balance of the summer he would go to the YMCA camps (which were awesome because they offered daily swimming, a weekly offsite trip, hot dog Fridays, and the gamut of athletics from ball hockey and soccer on down).

Now, he works in the youth department at the Y, so he'll be spending his summer running their various themed camps (drama, sports, etc.) for kids anywhere from 4-12. Funny how he has come full-circle! But he loves it and he makes a ton of money over the summer, which helps as he's entering his senior year this fall and college is just a year away. So I will throw in a shameless plug for you parents who are looking for something neat for your wee ones to do while school is on break.....send your kids to a YMCA camps for a week.....they are fun and affordable! (at least in our area!)

I must say, I don't miss the days of co-ordinating child care and daytime activities during the summer months. One benefit of having older kids, I guess.

This is going to be a very exciting summer for Jake. He got his G2 on June 11th (for our American friends, that's the classification of license here in Ontario that lets you drive alone....the next step up after your learner's permit). Let's just say I haven't seen much of my car for the last week . And now every time I *do* get to drive it, I have to adjust the seat and the mirrors that were moved by my long-legged offspring.

Time for Mom to get a scooter!

 

[cinnderly]

So.. does everyone have plans for their kids to keep them busy this summer?

My Jake goes to the town camp in our area. All of the town camps are hosted at various schools in the district depending on what grade they are entering in the fall, and this year he gets to go to the middle school for the first time. They swim at the town pools everyday, do all sorts of sports, games, crafts, activities, music, etc, and once a week they go on cool trips. This year they are going to Dorney Park (in PA), Six Flags (Jersey), Lake Compounce (in CT), and an to our counties minor league baseball stadium for a game and activities. The camp is six weeks, and the first and last week they don't do the special trips.

After that he goes to theater camp for 2 weeks. That ends on 8/16, and then we have our DW trip! Typing it all out makes me realize how fast it's going to fly by...

 

[pigletto]

Gina, Jake sounds like such an awesome kid! I think I told you last year that I worked Y camps for years too!
Excellent memories!

DD is dog sitting. It's turned into dog sitting for FOUR dogs that she has to walk separately. It's for 2 of my sisters and my parents. So she gets paid, gets to eat their food, gets exercise and has the pool all day. Not too shabby!! It's only $100 a week but it's pocket money for her so that's nice She is so very kind with animals and so good with them all so it's a nice fit for her.

Ben is a really sweet boy. It's not like he is any trouble for me ever, but he literally rolls around on the floor complaining that he is bored. Or wanders around the house giving these big heavy sighs. He just wants to learn and do and see things all the time. So I will make sure we keep him busy!

Mrs.M.Mouse.. I remember going to the Calgary stampede as a little girl!! My Aunt used to live out there. So much fun!!!

 

[pigletto]

I get this. The little one I watch is home with his mama for the summer. She's a teacher, so no income for me for a while. His parents went to Las Vegas last week, and I kept him overnight on Thursday. That was a nice $100 bonus, but I have yet to receive payment. That's a whole other story.

Oh boy .. I know that story. I've been doing this for ten years and some are waaaaayyyy better than others at giving me their schedules and payments.
I don't mind late payments if we talk about it. I get that things are tight sometimes. But when it's 3 or 4 weeks late consistently it gets really tough.
I have a pretty good group now though

 

[cinnderly]

Any one else feeling like their world was rocked a bit from the news about James Gandolfini?

 

[amomma23]

Any one else feeling like their world was rocked a bit from the news about James Gandolfini?

Out of the loop...What happened?

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

Any one else feeling like their world was rocked a bit from the news about James Gandolfini?

Yes, shocked because he was relatively young. Understandable, though, if it was related to health issues as they are reporting.

 

[pigletto]

Out of the loop...What happened?

He had a heart attack and died in Italy today

Very sad indeed. He was only 51.

 

[jaz0308]

Any one else feeling like their world was rocked a bit from the news about James Gandolfini?

Yes, mine was. First of all he was very young. But also he holds a special place in my heart for reasons I won't go into but very sad to see him gone.

 

[amomma23]

He had a heart attack and died in Italy today

Very sad indeed. He was only 51.

Oh, that is sad.

 

[cinnderly]

Yes, mine was. First of all he was very young. But also he holds a special place in my heart for reasons I won't go into but very sad to see him gone.

I keep thinking it must be mistake, because he was so young. Very sad, especially for his children.

 

[TaraPA]

I am so shocked at his passing. RIP Tony Soprano!

 

[Koh1977]

Hollywood and Vine - lunch or breakfast ADR?

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[Megs114]

Hi Everyone!!

I know it's been a while since I posted (couldn't get DH to figure out when exactly in August we were going to go). But we FINALLY figured it out!! We are going August 16-23 and staying at Pop for the first time! Super excited!!! Now to just find airfare lol. I think we are going to wind up flying out of LaGuardia into Tampa, renting a car, and driving to Pop. It makes me a little sad because we won't be taking ME, but the airfare from around here into MCO is just ridiculously priced. We'll see what happens.

I also have 1 ADR booked so far (more to come I'm sure). We will be at Marrakesh 8/19 at 5:00. We tried it for the first time last year and loved it!

Now I need some advice. Our 2nd anniversary is on the 13th and since it's a Tuesday and we'll both be working, we'll be celebrating in WDW again! Last year, we ate at Artist Pointe and loved it. This year, I'm at a loss. We've eaten at Jiko, Narcoosee's, and Artist Pointe in the past. I wanted to try California Grill, but of course it's still going to be closed. DH has a weird thing about eating italian food in WDW so that leaves out a few options. We won't have the funds for V&A (that'll be a retirement meal lol). Any suggestions? I'm thinking about going back to Jiko since it's been a few years but I'm open to trying new things.

Thank you all in advance!

 

[msyjoa]

So.. does everyone have plans for their kids to keep them busy this summer?.

I teach, so I am home with my dd, age 4, during the summer (with the exception of tomorrow when I have a training, and a week in July when I have more training).

To keep my sanity, she has already done one week long VBS, will do twirl, tap, and tumble camp the first week of July, visit her Gigi for a week in July, and a few random weekends with "Coach" (her name for my dad). We swim 3 times a week, do lots of play dates with friends, and try to have 60 minutes of structured school time every day. I did this same routine with her last summer, but she seems to be 4 going on 14 so we will see how well this plan staved off boredom in a month!

 

[Disneyforus]

64 Days to go!
I just checked out touring plans and park hours and have a tentative idea of what we'll be doing...I think.

8/22 Arrive at AoA early afternoon, swim, Quest and Contemporary to see Water Parade
8/23 Typhoon Lagoon, MK in evening, Dessert Party 9:00
8/24 HS rope drop, swim in afternoon, ?park in evening
8/25 MK rope drop, Family Magic Tour 10-noon, Swim, MK evening
8/26 Epcot rope drop, Swim, AK, MK BOG 6:40
8/27 YES Classes at HS and AK, Swim, Quest Evening or Fantasmic
8/28 Blizzard Beach, Mini Golf?/Beaches and Cream/Boardwalk
8/29 Leave

 

[DisMom1981]

Hi Everyone!!

I know it's been a while since I posted (couldn't get DH to figure out when exactly in August we were going to go). But we FINALLY figured it out!! We are going August 16-23 and staying at Pop for the first time! Super excited!!! Now to just find airfare lol. I think we are going to wind up flying out of LaGuardia into Tampa, renting a car, and driving to Pop. It makes me a little sad because we won't be taking ME, but the airfare from around here into MCO is just ridiculously priced. We'll see what happens.

I also have 1 ADR booked so far (more to come I'm sure). We will be at Marrakesh 8/19 at 5:00. We tried it for the first time last year and loved it!

Now I need some advice. Our 2nd anniversary is on the 13th and since it's a Tuesday and we'll both be working, we'll be celebrating in WDW again! Last year, we ate at Artist Pointe and loved it. This year, I'm at a loss. We've eaten at Jiko, Narcoosee's, and Artist Pointe in the past. I wanted to try California Grill, but of course it's still going to be closed. DH has a weird thing about eating italian food in WDW so that leaves out a few options. We won't have the funds for V&A (that'll be a retirement meal lol). Any suggestions? I'm thinking about going back to Jiko since it's been a few years but I'm open to trying new things.

Thank you all in advance!

We just changed to these exact dates at POP! It is our first time too. However we have kids in tow so no romantic ADR for us! Also, we are driving bc even the flights out of Laguardia are ridiculous for 4 people!!!!

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[DisMom1981]

Hollywood and Vine - lunch or breakfast ADR?

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We are doing breakfast before rope drop. Never been before so I don't know if this is good or not lol.

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[DisMom1981]

Started showing my 4 year old DS YouTube videos of WDW attractions to try to pre- teach him not to be scared, that there are lines and waiting and to have fun, but feel like I'm ruining the magic of the first visit!! He has asked to see them again so I'm hoping it will be a success- my parents keep telling me how all we did our first visit was ride the MK train bc we refused to try anything else!

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