2006 DVC Member Cruise - SSMC06 - October 22, 2006 Part 4

[RRBB]

Ok, a mouse with opposable digits? Weird that the package was "opened" rather than gnawed through. Usually we can tell right off if a mouse has been into something with all the nibble marks.

Not a very smart mouse either.....hmmm....cracker or cheese? crack or cheese?? What ever happened to the whole mouse-cheese relationship? Now they are going for crackers instead?

Must have been a mouse with discerning taste; preferred real cheese, not processed. Guess it really doesn't matter now though. RIP little Mickey.

 

[WDWLVR]

Great, so at $20 each bag will be like a bargain to you!!

All jokes aside, I was thinking about listing them on ebay as 4 bags for $10 and including a gift tag for each bag. What do you guys think? I don't even know what I should charge for them.

Diana - that sounds like a fair price to me. How many bags can you make out of a 12 x 12 sheet of paper? You want to figure in paper and other supply costs and then some labor as well.

 

[cgcw]

Are you for hire????

These would be SO cute for the gift cards we give Mike's sister's for Christmas!!

It wouldn't be the first time.

I commissioned Diana to make a diaper cake for me when my daycare client had their baby last March.

Come to think of it, Diana, I have another Mom who's due in October. Interested in making some cruise money?

 

[WDWLVR]

Oh I remember that diaper cake - it was sooooooo cute!

 

[cgcw]

Update on job prospect...well it looks like the job opportunity is on again. Sheesh. I still have to pass a physical though on the 12th so we'll see. I'm not even sure I can put that many hours in (52/wk). At my age I was hoping to cut back not increase But maybe temporarily I can handle this. I will have to most likely cut back on computer use and hire someone to clean my house (awww, darn it). I'm most concerned about vacation time though going from 5 wks / year (which I mostly banked though) to 2 wks is tough.

Good luck, Ilene. I hope everything works out the way you want it to work out.

 

[WDWLVR]

Did some surfing on the DIS at lunch and came across a post on the DVC boards back from booking day. Saw many names on that thread that booked but i don't think ever made it over here. I gave it a bump and posted a link back to here. I hope some of them show up and join us. The more the merrier!

 

[cgcw]

Chatty group again this morning!


Funny story: We keep DD's Costco snacks out in the garage because we have lack of food storage inside the house. About a week ago DD went to go get some cheese and crackers from out in the garage. There was an open package with 1 cracker missing. She said it wasn't her so we decided it was a neighborhood kid who helped themselves. Well, this week I had an unopened new box of these crackers. DD went out day before yesterday to get more crackers. Guess what the new box had been opened and more crackers had been opened with just one cracker missing. Again DD said it wasn't her and we thought a neighbor kid again. DH put the box of crackers up on the freezer so the "kids" could not get to them. Yesterday morning DH went out to get a granola bar for breakfast and there was a mouse on top of the box of granola bars! YUK! So, I went and bought some traps. DH set them with peanut butter and this morning there was baby "Mickey" dead in the garage. Keeping the traps out because usually there are more than one! Sorry "Mickey" rest in peace.

So, don't blame the neighbor kids until you catch them red handed.

Maybe it's the family we found in our yard this year, and they moved west. We only caught one in our trap. Having seen them twice in less than a year, I'm almost tempted to get an outside cat. Seriously, can an outside cat stay outside all the time, even in the cold Chicago winters? And, how does it know to come back home?? Don't tell my kids I'm even thinking it, or we'll have one here tonight. It's not like we have enough animals around here --- several hermit crabs, 2 frogs, fish, 2 rabbits, 1 dog. Here's the kicker, I'm not really even an animal person.

 

[cgcw]

Great, so at $20 each bag will be like a bargain to you!!

All jokes aside, I was thinking about listing them on ebay as 4 bags for $10 and including a gift tag for each bag. What do you guys think? I don't even know what I should charge for them.

At $10/4 count me in for some -- even if they are more than that. They would make excellent gift bags for the teachers gift cards!

I remember you saying you wanted to find something to make some money at home, while still being with the girls. Maybe this is a perfect little side business to do during nap time and all.

 

[Diana Lyn]

At $10/4 count me in for some -- even if they are more than that. They would make excellent gift bags for the teachers gift cards!

I remember you saying you wanted to find something to make some money at home, while still being with the girls. Maybe this is a perfect little side business to do during nap time and all.

As long as I do it at home, I can ignore all those child labor laws, right? I can't make a small fortune with the girls helping me out!

Wow, I'm quite the comedian today.

I think maybe I'll play around and work on some Christmas-y ones now that you guys are getting me in the holiday spirit!

The diaper cakes are really easy, Cindy--you can make it yourself. I'll make another one, no problem, but I'm sure you can do it!

 

[RRBB]

Maybe this is a perfect little side business to do during nap time and all.

Nap time? What's nap time? I CANNOT get Ian to take a nap in his bed during the day. He'll just scream and scream and scream, for an hour or more if I let him. So we take lots of afternoon rides in the car, or at least go out to the car and get ready to leave. Often Ian will be "out" before we even get out of the driveway so I'll just sit there with the A/C running while he sleeps. Yesterday I did bring a laptop out and DIS'd in the driveway. But no way can I get any housework or crafting done during that time. Too bad too, but oh well.

 

[RRBB]

As long as I do it at home, I can ignore all those child labor laws, right?

Sure. And we won't report you either, as long as we get a discount.

 

[RRBB]

BTW Diana, your cute little bags inspired me so I went searching last night on various sites dedicated to Wishblade and other cutters. I was on a mission to see if anyone had already created files to cut some. (I figure why reinvent the wheel if someone else has already done it.) I think I hit the mother load because I found a zip file with over 100 bags, baskets and boxes. There were also over 50 cards and tons of other cute foldable items in the zip. I can't wait to try some of them out.

 

[cgcw]

As long as I do it at home, I can ignore all those child labor laws, right? I can't make a small fortune with the girls helping me out!

Wow, I'm quite the comedian today.

I think maybe I'll play around and work on some Christmas-y ones now that you guys are getting me in the holiday spirit!

The diaper cakes are really easy, Cindy--you can make it yourself. I'll make another one, no problem, but I'm sure you can do it!

I think I'd just rather have you make me one. After all, I can claim your fee as a deduction through the daycare, I can't claim my time in the same manner. And, I'm sure you'll do a better job than I would anyday.

 

[cgcw]

Nap time? What's nap time? I CANNOT get Ian to take a nap in his bed during the day. He'll just scream and scream and scream, for an hour or more if I let him. So we take lots of afternoon rides in the car, or at least go out to the car and get ready to leave. Often Ian will be "out" before we even get out of the driveway so I'll just sit there with the A/C running while he sleeps. Yesterday I did bring a laptop out and DIS'd in the driveway. But no way can I get any housework or crafting done during that time. Too bad too, but oh well.

Robin, he will learn to fall asleep in his bed if you allow him to learn. As long as your driving him around, he's never going to master this very important skill. What you will find is that one day, he may scream all the way through nap time. So, as long as he's not hurt/hungry/in need of a diaper change, he will either fall asleep or not. The important thing for him to realize is that your not coming back.

The next day, he may scream again.

And maybe the next.

But the day after that, he'll finally fall asleep. He may not sleep for an entire nap, but he should sleep.

And, the day after that, it will be even easier.

And, easier and easier.

I have one right now that I'm teaching to fall asleep. Trust me, I've been there, several, several times. And they do get it and turn out to be great sleepers.

I took care of a little boy from 10 weeks until 5 years old. He learned to sleep at my house and did so for all those years. I truly believe that he had the best "quality" sleeptime at my house. At home, he wouldn't sleep in his own bed, would get up when he chose, fall asleep where he did.

It will be much harder on you than on Ian. And you might find that within a week or two, you truly have some down time to your self.

 

[Diana Lyn]

BTW Diana, your cute little bags inspired me so I went searching last night on various sites dedicated to Wishblade and other cutters. I was on a mission to see if anyone had already created files to cut some. (I figure why reinvent the wheel if someone else has already done it.) I think I hit the mother load because I found a zip file with over 100 bags, baskets and boxes. There were also over 50 cards and tons of other cute foldable items in the zip. I can't wait to try some of them out.

Ooh--fun!! I'd love to see some of the stuff you make!

This cartridge here makes some really cute boxes too. I need to try to make some different things, I really like those little shopping bags, so it seems like that's all I every make!!

 

[RRBB]

Robin, he will learn to fall asleep in his bed if you allow him to learn. As long as your driving him around, he's never going to master this very important skill. What you will find is that one day, he may scream all the way through nap time. So, as long as he's not hurt/hungry/in need of a diaper change, he will either fall asleep or not. The important thing for him to realize is that your not coming back.

The next day, he may scream again.

And maybe the next.

But the day after that, he'll finally fall asleep. He may not sleep for an entire nap, but he should sleep.

And, the day after that, it will be even easier.

And, easier and easier.

I have one right now that I'm teaching to fall asleep. Trust me, I've been there, several, several times. And they do get it and turn out to be great sleepers.

I took care of a little boy from 10 weeks until 5 years old. He learned to sleep at my house and did so for all those years. I truly believe that he had the best "quality" sleeptime at my house. At home, he wouldn't sleep in his own bed, would get up when he chose, fall asleep where he did.

It will be much harder on you than on Ian. And you might find that within a week or two, you truly have some down time to your self.

Thanks for the advice. We have no problem getting him to sleep at night so I've never really worried too much about nap time. I remember reading that at night to let them scream but during the day no more than 1/2 hour. I guess I just went with that philosophy. And except for the horrible heat we had over the summer I haven't minded sitting in the car. It's actually given me a chance to get caught up on some reading, or better yet, take a little nap myself. On days when Ian's in school he konks out on the drive home and sometimes I'm actually able to transfer him to his bed without waking him. But the days he doesn't have school, I try to plan our outings around the time I think he'll fall asleep. Unfortunately with this construction going on I have to be home more. Speaking of which, GRRRRR!!! The tape & bed guys were supposed to get here nearly 2 hours ago and they still haven't arrived.

 

[Diana Lyn]

Robin, he will learn to fall asleep in his bed if you allow him to learn. As long as your driving him around, he's never going to master this very important skill. What you will find is that one day, he may scream all the way through nap time. So, as long as he's not hurt/hungry/in need of a diaper change, he will either fall asleep or not. The important thing for him to realize is that your not coming back.

The next day, he may scream again.

And maybe the next.

But the day after that, he'll finally fall asleep. He may not sleep for an entire nap, but he should sleep.

And, the day after that, it will be even easier.

And, easier and easier.

I have one right now that I'm teaching to fall asleep. Trust me, I've been there, several, several times. And they do get it and turn out to be great sleepers.

I took care of a little boy from 10 weeks until 5 years old. He learned to sleep at my house and did so for all those years. I truly believe that he had the best "quality" sleeptime at my house. At home, he wouldn't sleep in his own bed, would get up when he chose, fall asleep where he did.

It will be much harder on you than on Ian. And you might find that within a week or two, you truly have some down time to your self.

Now Cindy's a professional , and I'm far from it--but here's some advice from someone who got a crash course in parenting with zero outside support.

Sometimes kids just aren't big nappers or their personality is such that they don't want to nap when you say nap. My girls now at almost 2 and 3, and probably for the last 6 months dont have naptime. We have quiet-time. They both have to go into their room, sit in their beds with a book, a toy and quietly play. (This would work WAY better with 1 kid!) Sometimes, I'll stick Emma in my bed with a movie as a reward. Nine times out of ten, they'll sit and play for like 20 minutes and I'll go back down and check on them and they're out cold. Whenever I said--take a nap, they fought me on it. This way, they are playing, but quietly.

Also, and I've done this since birth. I keep a CD playing in their room while they sleep. It's on very low, you barely notice it, but it's enough to keep them entertained when they wake up or are falling asleep and also enough noise to prevent them from hearing every little sound.

 

[ConleyFam]

Robin, he will learn to fall asleep in his bed if you allow him to learn. As long as your driving him around, he's never going to master this very important skill. What you will find is that one day, he may scream all the way through nap time. So, as long as he's not hurt/hungry/in need of a diaper change, he will either fall asleep or not. The important thing for him to realize is that your not coming back.

The next day, he may scream again.

And maybe the next.

But the day after that, he'll finally fall asleep. He may not sleep for an entire nap, but he should sleep.

And, the day after that, it will be even easier.

And, easier and easier.

I have one right now that I'm teaching to fall asleep. Trust me, I've been there, several, several times. And they do get it and turn out to be great sleepers.

I took care of a little boy from 10 weeks until 5 years old. He learned to sleep at my house and did so for all those years. I truly believe that he had the best "quality" sleeptime at my house. At home, he wouldn't sleep in his own bed, would get up when he chose, fall asleep where he did.

It will be much harder on you than on Ian. And you might find that within a week or two, you truly have some down time to your self.

We had to do that with our DS as a baby. That first sleep is the hardest (on the parent), but it does get easier each time. Now that he is older we can just tell him - go to sleep! He doesn't even cry anymore (now that he is 10).
Good luck
Chris

 

[ohiominnie]

Great, so at $20 each bag will be like a bargain to you!!

All jokes aside, I was thinking about listing them on ebay as 4 bags for $10 and including a gift tag for each bag. What do you guys think? I don't even know what I should charge for them.

I think that sounds really reasonable....as long as shipping is reasonable. I could see spending $2.50-$3.00 a bag, but if shipping is $6 on 4 bags, then you're talking $4 a bag. Ick.

I lost a squishy thing to my iPod headphones last time I went camping. We have NEVER seen them at retail places and Sony didn't carry them on their website (figures) but I found them on ebay. Well, I HAD to have them b/c it HURT to jam a headphone in my ear without the squishy thing. They charged me something like $5.00 for shipping (which I knew about in advance, so I can't grumble) but they ended up coming in a regular envelope with about $0.60 of postage on them. SHUCKS. For THAT price at LEAST give me a padded envelope!!!!

 

[ohiominnie]

Maybe it's the family we found in our yard this year, and they moved west. We only caught one in our trap. Having seen them twice in less than a year, I'm almost tempted to get an outside cat. Seriously, can an outside cat stay outside all the time, even in the cold Chicago winters? And, how does it know to come back home?? Don't tell my kids I'm even thinking it, or we'll have one here tonight. It's not like we have enough animals around here --- several hermit crabs, 2 frogs, fish, 2 rabbits, 1 dog. Here's the kicker, I'm not really even an animal person.

We have an outside cat. He stays out ALL the time.....unless it is bitter bitter cold (you know, wind chills below 0 degrees) He has one of those igloos and it's actually so warm in there in the winter he creates condensation on the inside of the flap.

He is VERY VERY good at catching us things. But....be warned. Sometimes our cat leaves them there dead. No problem. Sometimes he eats ALL of them.....

but sometimes....like the other day.....there was the back end of a mouse.....a trail of nasty guts.....and then about 6 inches away.....the head.

There is usually something out there for us several times a week.