Come to the Dark Side...We Have Cookies...(updates 4/3)

[momabaarjo]

I LOVE THE PIXIE DUST....parade and Chewie...love it!

 

[lovethattink]

On my phone so this is going to be quick. Today is Grump's Disney interview! We are back at the resort. Heading to Epcot so we're out of the house when it takes place.

 

[WDWRids]

Good luck on the interview!! I'm so excited for him!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I can't seem to keep caught up lately. Tell Grumpy that I hope the interview goes well!

 

[annmarieda]

Hope the interview goes well!!!

 

[lovethattink]

I LOVE THE PIXIE DUST....parade and Chewie...love it!

Thanks. This truly was the best SWW ever, especially for JJ.

On the interview front, Grumpy doesn't know how he feels about it. He was under the assumption that it was going to be a skype interview. He was dressed to the 9's, shirt, tie, and even under shirt, and dress pants. He had a fresh new hair cut and as his boss said the other day, he looks like he's going to attract all the girls.

He unplugged the house phone so it wouldn't ring during the Skype interview. He turned his cell phone to vibrate. Which is why he missed the first call on it. When he did notice his phone vibrating he saw it wasn't a 407 number and he almost didn't answer it. Thank goodness he did, because this was his interview, over the phone not Skype.

This threw him off a little. He had his portfolio with him of pictures of all the dishes and desserts he made at school. He said the change in mindset from Skype to phone threw him for a little loop and he wasn't at his best. He wishes he would have answered a couple of the questions differently.

If he were to get this internship it would be over the fall semester. On one hand it would be an honor and he'd love doing a Disney internship. On the other hand it would mean summer school, and Bright Futures Scholarship doesn't pay over summer so it would be full tuition.

He will find out either way over the next week or so. He's praying that whichever way it goes that it will be for the best. He knows that when a door of opportunity opens he takes it and when it shuts with a no, it's because there is a bigger yes coming!

He knows he definitely needs cooking experience. He loves his job at the aquarium store and is very knowledgeable about all the fish. This interview showed him that he has so much more to learn in the culinary field and that an internship or culinary job is what is best for him and is very much needed for his future endeavors.

Good luck on the interview!! I'm so excited for him!!

Thanks!

I can't seem to keep caught up lately. Tell Grumpy that I hope the interview goes well!

Thank you!

Hope the interview goes well!!!

Thanks much!

 

[Alysa]

Love the Chewbacca pixie dust! Sound like it's been a wonderful adventure for JJ. Are you still doing one more week?
Glad things went well in the interview (minus the two questions) - sending prayers that it all works out just the way Grumpy hopes!

 

[blessedmom4]

Sorry Grumpy's interview didn't go as planned/expected...I could write a book on that the past year with Christian. I love that he knows God has the right place for him and it will work out in HIS timing!

THRILLED for JJ and his special fun at SWW! I hope the hard rain is over for a while. We have had our share as well, shorting out our electricity as you read. SO excited for him to be part of this theater experience! Give him some love from us!

 

[lovethattink]

Love the Chewbacca pixie dust! Sound like it's been a wonderful adventure for JJ. Are you still doing one more week?
Glad things went well in the interview (minus the two questions) - sending prayers that it all works out just the way Grumpy hopes!

SWW is over. I have to say I had enough SWW to hold me over to next year. JJ did not. He wishes EVERY weekend was a SWW.

We checked out yesterday and hung out at Disney Quest until we knew the interview was over.

Sorry Grumpy's interview didn't go as planned/expected...I could write a book on that the past year with Christian. I love that he knows God has the right place for him and it will work out in HIS timing!

THRILLED for JJ and his special fun at SWW! I hope the hard rain is over for a while. We have had our share as well, shorting out our electricity as you read. SO excited for him to be part of this theater experience! Give him some love from us!

I have a feeling the question he is most concerned about was a question to measure experience for placement. I'm sure those that exhibit a good amount of experience get placed at signature restaurants. Any amount of experience he gets will be more than he's had thus far. He's had 1 baking class and 1 culinary class. All the rest have been general education and food and safety courses. Next semester is when he gets into the meat of it. (Pun intended.)

Thank goodness your electric shorted out. The alternative is frightening since you already went through that once already.

 

[lovethattink]

Dress rehearsals are all this week. Poor JJ is getting bullied by one of the big kids in his dog brigade. He came home from rehearsal Monday and cried and cried, hysterical crying. To top it off, it was raining when he got out of rehearsal and he fell going up the steps.

So last night I parked myself in the green room. There was no bullying there. However, JJ went to the restroom. It took him forever to come back to the green room. I was ready to send out a search party. At home I asked him what took so long and he said that a kid shoved him in a closet in the men's dressing room and wouldn't let him out. So tonight I will make sure he goes before we leave home, then again before dress rehearsal. I will station myself right outside that men's dressing room, and if I have to, I will go inside.

Thursday is parent/friend preview night. Each cm may bring two guests. Friday is the first performance with others following on Saturday and Sunday. All the private shows have been cancelled except for Tuesdays. I'm working backstage both of them and Saturday night.

Last night I came home to a puddle of water in the garage. After investigating, we found out that it's the air conditioner unit. Thankfully it is still working, but dh has to get in there and check it out. It's been several years since they told us we would have to replace the whole unit soon. The owner of the place we used to patch it up said that his patch job would last about a year. It's been at least 5 years.

I am working on the photopass pictures from SWW. There are over 2000 PP pictures. Many of them are because I learned a lesson the hard way and now I am wasting too much time deleting pictures of people we don't know. I added the PP the photographer gave us for the JTA and the parade. They contain all the kids. I should have gone to the photo center and had them delete the ones we didn't need. Online it's taking so much time to do this. I'm hoping to get it done this week and edit the pictures I want to keep. I'd sure love to have the cd in hand when I start the TR, but I'm not sure how long that takes.

There is the last dress rehearsal tonight. There is one parent assigned to the green room and 1 to the back stage. I will be sure to give them the heads-up about JJ since I won't be allowed back there.

 

[WDWRids]

Hate to hear the interview did not go as expected for Grumpy! Sounded like he was so prepared and ready. Shame they were not clear that it was phone only and not Skype. I pray that if it is to be that he will get the internship and it will advance him that much further in his learning. What an amazing young man!!

It disturbs me to hear the bullying taking place. Actually breaks my heart!!! I am sure if someone put those kids in a closet and would not let them out they would not like it too much!!! Hoping the final dress rehearsal and the shows this weekend go great - please post pics of your actor!!

I'll post pics of my disney finds this past weekend tonight. Also found a great 1940's ceramic Donald Duck planter. He is dressed up as a cowboy. It's so cute!!! I had no idea that Disney did those pieces but sure enough it was stamped Walt Disney on the bottom. Gonna sell this piece but the mug is all mine!

Have a great day - hope all goes will with the AC. We've been given the "you'll need to replace soon" talk as well but hope we can get a few more years out of it.

 

[lovethattink]

I cannot post pics of him on stage due to copywrite laws. But I can take pics backstage.

The air conditioner dilemma worsens. The room behind the unit is wet too. Part of the wall, the floor, etc.

 

[addictedtonostalgia]

Sorry to hear about the air-conditioning and heat issues, I know they are hard on everyone, especially JJ.

I wish Grumpy's interview had gone better, but maybe it will have gone better than he expected. I'm in a similar position to him; I need a lot more job experience in my field, but it's impossible to find a paid internship. I'm doing an unpaid one this summer and I really enjoy it, but it would be nice to get paid.

I can't believe someone is bullying JJ. Hope you manage to get to the bottom of it.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I was popping over to let you know that the package arrived and we loved every single thing you had for us! Tell JJ that the soaps and the Chewy tissue box cover are now in Hunter's bathroom and will be put to good use. He did an amazing job on everything!

Now, on to the bullying......urrrrrr.....that makes me so mad! Why are kids so mean? I know that, back when we were kids, there were bullies but I don't remember them being as mean as they are now-a-days. I hope that you are making everybody aware of the situation so that they can keep an eye out. Poor JJ, he doesn't deserve that at all.

I sure hope that the air conditioning system problems get worked out sooner rather than later. I hate it when stuff like that happens and there's no easy way to fix it.

 

[panda8899]

I have been following along since the beginning of this thread and just realized I recently started working at the same place your husband works. I had no idea until I thought a picture he has up looked familiar. I went back to look at some of the pictures and realized it was JJ in the picture. It really is a small world.

Amanda

 

[ladylyons]

Hope things go the way they need to for Grumpy.

Poor JJ! I really hope the bulling can get stopped soon.

Been busy around here with this being the last week of school!! Sarah finished up Pre-K yesterday (and I cried ). I can't believe my baby girl is going into Kindergarten next year!!! Jeremy's last day is tomorrow but today they had their Kindergarten Moosical (and I once again cried . I'll probably cry even harder tomorrow). It was a really cute show and then afterwards we presented a #1 cake to the kids that said "Welcome to 1st Grade!!" It turned out very nice!! So ready to be able to start getting about an extra hour of sleep since I've been having to wake the kids up in the mornings for school and on days we just let them sleep and wake up on their own it's about 8:20 am when then wake up instead of 7:00 am. But we do have lots of plans so will still have some pretty early mornings which works too. Got to tire them out!!

 

[lovethattink]

I'm waiting for the air conditioning repairman now. I have a neighbor who's friends with them and he came over yesterday and sucked out the water from the system with Grumpy's help. The water damage in JJ's play room isn't too bad. He had some paper things (magazines, stickers, etc.) on the floor and the paint from those things stained the wet carpet.

JJ did have a seizure in the afternoon. It didn't last long. We got the hand held airconditioners out for him. Shortly after that happened our neighbor called with instructions on how to turn on the air conditioner. He had turned a switch and the unit didn't go back on afterwards. So he had me fiddle around with some things and it started working again.

As I type the repair guy is here. And now he's gone already. So I guess we're good to go.

Grumpy's plan is to travel up north for the month of July and visit family. Now that he knows he will either start school again in August or the internship, depending how that all pans out.

Last night the theater felt so nice and cool. JJ was not bullied last night. However, he got a collar for his costume and it was too tight. There are red marks on his neck. My friend who was backstage with him was holding it. She texted me to bring a pin to extend it longer. Instead, I asked the costumer if she could make it longer. Hopefully she will make it quite a bit longer to fit around his neck better. If not, I have 3 large safety pins in my purse to extend it.

Tonight is family night at the theater. We will get to see a preview of the show. Each cm is allowed 2 guests. JJ will only have me. Both DH and Grumpy are working tonight. They'll see the show on Saturday night.

I got a picture sent to me of JJ getting his make-up on last night. Once I figure out how to get that on photobucket I'll post it.

Sorry to hear about the air-conditioning and heat issues, I know they are hard on everyone, especially JJ.

I wish Grumpy's interview had gone better, but maybe it will have gone better than he expected. I'm in a similar position to him; I need a lot more job experience in my field, but it's impossible to find a paid internship. I'm doing an unpaid one this summer and I really enjoy it, but it would be nice to get paid.

I can't believe someone is bullying JJ. Hope you manage to get to the bottom of it.

Thanks. Thankfully we have air and are good to go.

Hopefully this unpaid internship will pave the way for a paid one to open up. And that's great that you enjoy it.

I'm sure the question that Grumpy is most concerned about was the measure how experienced he is. I'd be willing to bet it's for restaurant placement. To know who should be placed at a signature restaurant, who at a table service and who at counter service. ANY experience they will give him is more than he's had so anywhere would be great!

I was popping over to let you know that the package arrived and we loved every single thing you had for us! Tell JJ that the soaps and the Chewy tissue box cover are now in Hunter's bathroom and will be put to good use. He did an amazing job on everything!

Now, on to the bullying......urrrrrr.....that makes me so mad! Why are kids so mean? I know that, back when we were kids, there were bullies but I don't remember them being as mean as they are now-a-days. I hope that you are making everybody aware of the situation so that they can keep an eye out. Poor JJ, he doesn't deserve that at all.

I sure hope that the air conditioning system problems get worked out sooner rather than later. I hate it when stuff like that happens and there's no easy way to fix it.

I'm so glad the package arrived. I will tell him. I know there was no note, but he said the tissue box was Hunter's birthday present for him. Dh did most of the work on Chewy. JJ helped with the ironing of the hats, and the soap was all JJ.

Oh I know, and I was backstage then too. Last night one of my friends from the special needs theater group was backstage and she kept an eye on him. Everything went fine from that standpoint. No bullying last night.

The air conditioner is fixed!

I have been following along since the beginning of this thread and just realized I recently started working at the same place your husband works. I had no idea until I thought a picture he has up looked familiar. I went back to look at some of the pictures and realized it was JJ in the picture. It really is a small world.

Amanda

It is a small world after all! How cool that there is another Disney fan at work. Everyone back with him, thinks he is crazy to go to Disney so often. I will definitely tell him.

Hope things go the way they need to for Grumpy.

Poor JJ! I really hope the bulling can get stopped soon.

Been busy around here with this being the last week of school!! Sarah finished up Pre-K yesterday (and I cried ). I can't believe my baby girl is going into Kindergarten next year!!! Jeremy's last day is tomorrow but today they had their Kindergarten Moosical (and I once again cried . I'll probably cry even harder tomorrow). It was a really cute show and then afterwards we presented a #1 cake to the kids that said "Welcome to 1st Grade!!" It turned out very nice!! So ready to be able to start getting about an extra hour of sleep since I've been having to wake the kids up in the mornings for school and on days we just let them sleep and wake up on their own it's about 8:20 am when then wake up instead of 7:00 am. But we do have lots of plans so will still have some pretty early mornings which works too. Got to tire them out!!

There is less than a week to go and Aristocat Kids is done. That's both happy and sad.

Congrats to your children on their graduation. I still have Jeremy's package here. And a package for Trevor. Both have been sitting on the dining room table. Jeremy's still has one more thing to go and it's ready. Unless we just mail out the other later.

Our movie theater and bowling centers have free stuff for kids over summer. Do yours?

 

[ladylyons]

There is less than a week to go and Aristocat Kids is done. That's both happy and sad.

Congrats to your children on their graduation. I still have Jeremy's package here. And a package for Trevor. Both have been sitting on the dining room table. Jeremy's still has one more thing to go and it's ready. Unless we just mail out the other later.

Our movie theater and bowling centers have free stuff for kids over summer. Do yours?

Glad to hear your a/c is fixed! We went with out ours last year for about 3 days because it went out and of course it was the hottest days of the year!! It was in the 100's those days! Talk about miserable!

Hope the show tonight went great!! Sure it'll be nice to have one less thing to do but at the same time sounds like a great group! Glad no more bullying the other night and hope it continues.

Thanks! It's still amazing to think they started school 9 1/2 months ago (I couldn't wait for it to end) and now here they are done with Pre-K and Kindergarten!! I was looking at Jeremy's memory book tonight and got tears in my eyes with how little he looked at the beginning of the year and how big he looks now. Also couldn't believe how much his handwriting has improved over the last year. My babies are growing up!!

No worries. He doesn't know it's coming so I don't have him asking me when it's going to get here. Either way is fine.

I just got a flyer in Jeremy's school folder about our bowling alley having free games for the kids so we may be using that and I've already got lot's of play dates set up for the kids both here and away. Got to keep them busy!! Need to look into the movie theatre again. But James doesn't sit still long enough so that might not work out right now for us.

 

[lovethattink]

Last night was opening night of Disney's Aristocats Kids. I wish I could say it went off without any gliches. I gave the backstage moms my cell phone number. My vibrate doesn't work on my phone so at intermission I checked my phone and sure enough there were messages from one of the moms that JJ was having problems. As I was walking from the back of the theater to the front, I saw a policeman go back. He was talking to someone about seizures. My heart sunk. I got to JJ, checked his o2 sat and heart rate and it was just a little off. I took his dog collar off him and quickly moved him to another room. He was overheated. The Green Room felt like a sauna. It had to have been in the 80's in there.

JJ had been afraid to take off his collar because they were told they had to stay in costume the whole time. And we all know how important rules are to him. He was very concerned when I took it off. He's going to be even more concerned when he realizes I left the collar in the green room overnight.

We cooled him off in front of the air conditioner in the ladies dressing room. Another care for concern, that he was where he wasn't allowed. It took some persuasion for him to stay in front of the air conditioner vent in there.

He cooled off enough to go back on stage for his reprise and final bows. Then I pulled him. Told the stage manager we were out of there, and took him home. A couple hours later he was much better. But this morning he threw up. He is sleeping now. I have to have him back at the theater at 12:30 for a 2pm show. I will be staying with him. And I'm assigned back stage for tonight anyway. Goofy and Grumpy will be attending tonight's show. I have a ticket for this afternoon's, but unless he's 100% better, I will be listening to it from backstage instead.

I will come armed with the two handheld air conditioners and bottles of ice water. I talked to one of the members of the board who is also backstage working and he will try to get the airconditioners turned on back stage before the actors come, and we'll keep the curtain between the girl's dressing room and the Green Room open to keep it cooler in the Green Room.

By the way, in case you were wondering. The policeman was not called for JJ, he was called for another person. Just happened that both things happened at the same time.

Glad to hear your a/c is fixed! We went with out ours last year for about 3 days because it went out and of course it was the hottest days of the year!! It was in the 100's those days! Talk about miserable!

Hope the show tonight went great!! Sure it'll be nice to have one less thing to do but at the same time sounds like a great group! Glad no more bullying the other night and hope it continues.

Thanks! It's still amazing to think they started school 9 1/2 months ago (I couldn't wait for it to end) and now here they are done with Pre-K and Kindergarten!! I was looking at Jeremy's memory book tonight and got tears in my eyes with how little he looked at the beginning of the year and how big he looks now. Also couldn't believe how much his handwriting has improved over the last year. My babies are growing up!!

No worries. He doesn't know it's coming so I don't have him asking me when it's going to get here. Either way is fine.

I just got a flyer in Jeremy's school folder about our bowling alley having free games for the kids so we may be using that and I've already got lot's of play dates set up for the kids both here and away. Got to keep them busy!! Need to look into the movie theatre again. But James doesn't sit still long enough so that might not work out right now for us.

Congrats again to the kiddos!

I hope you have a fantastic summer with them.

 

[mommy2mrb]

sorry I've been MIA here was a crazy couple of weeks with Megan's schedule!

sorry about the a/c issue, happy you got it fixed!
poor JJ having a seizure and overheating during the performance, hope tonight will be cooler for him and everyone else!