Dont want to watch nephew anymore...

[dana1003]

Yes we have told the girls any souvenirs would come from the $ they have saved and my dad knows how hard it has been for us and that is why he wanted to take us all. He also had open heart surgery awhile back which was very unexpected and he is feeling like he got a second chance. Low income families are allowed to vacation also.. We just have to do it differently and not be extravagant. My dad wants me to plan nice meals while we are there and is kind enough to pay for all. This thread has completely floored me.. I never " hid" that I was going on a trip? Anyone who's been on here long enough can find anything .. If I was trying to be devious I wouldn't have been so open about our snap info?.. Allot of people on here are nice but there's some that want to bring people down. I have been on here a long time and will no longer post. I will still listen to the podcast cuz I find them funny and entertaining but don't need to be felt like scum here. I have enough stress in my " normal " life- don't need it in this " virtual" one..to all who post ,beware. God bless.

 

[nym4588]

Yes we have told the girls any souvenirs would come from the $ they have saved and my dad knows how hard it has been for us and that is why he wanted to take us all. He also had open heart surgery awhile back which was very unexpected and he is feeling like he got a second chance. Low income families are allowed to vacation also.. We just have to do it differently and not be extravagant. My dad wants me to plan nice meals while we are there and is kind enough to pay for all. This thread has completely floored me.. I never " hid" that I was going on a trip? Anyone who's been on here long enough can find anything .. If I was trying to be devious I wouldn't have been so open about our snap info?.. Allot of people on here are nice but there's some that want to bring people down. I have been on here a long time and will no longer post. I will still listen to the podcast cuz I find them funny and entertaining but don't need to be felt like scum here. I have enough stress in my " normal " life- don't need it in this " virtual" one..to all who post ,beware. God bless.

What a wonderful gift, I hope you have a great time. We really struggled when I was a kid and something like this would have meant so much. I'm really happy for your family!

 

[okeydokey]

My Mom shares babysitting duty for my niece and nephew with the kids' other grandmother. They do it for free. The other grandma has said that it is too much for her now and she can't continue. My SIL is annoyed, but really, she has been given a great gift for these last 4 years. OP, you don't owe anybody this service, paid or not if it is not working out for your own family. Especially where you are giving them so much notice to make other plans. Please don't feel badly about saying no.

Good luck with the job search. I worked half time when mine were younger and it was such a great thing for the family.

 

[chryscrazy]

- See more at: http://disboards.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=47594974#sthash.ZvhBObXr.dpuf


So your father is paying, or you saved for 5 years?

 

[LisaR]

I have a part time job that pays more than $600/month with flexible hours. In fact, I work nights and weekends, so I can be home with my girls during the day. When my husband needs to be away, I ask off or switch shifts with someone to cover. It's not impossible. And guess what? I even LOVE my job.

The OP has already stated that she claims the income from watching her nephew, so can we puh-leeze stop beating that awesomely dead horse?

So because this is how your job works, that means the rest of the employed people in the universe have the exact same options? I don't know too many people who can simply switch shifts on a whim multiple times a month when their spouse has to suddenly travel for business. And this will obviously come as a huge shock to you, but some spouses actually travel on nights and weekends. Amazing, isn't it?

 

[ilovemk76]

- See more at: http://disboards.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=47594974#sthash.ZvhBObXr.dpuf


So your father is paying, or you saved for 5 years?

I fixed the link for you.

http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=47594974&postcount=19

"Sooo glad I'm not the only one.. We go in August and I plan / change something everyday. It makes my ho - hum life just a little brighter everyday I'm actually worried about what happens when we get back?? Will I be depressed? What do you do to feel better? Planning another trip is not an option. It took us 5 years to save for this one "

 

[fortwildernessishome]

I figured it was a gift trip, but that doesn't mean it's completely free. There will be still be expenses ... a mickey bar here or a flashy light thingy there and you'll easily spend a couple hundred dollars over a week. Maybe you can move up the time that you'll stop watching your nephew so you can bring in more money and transition off of SNAP before the trip.

While this is true for many, it is not true for all. I remember about 2-3 years ago, there was a lady who wanted to go to Disney with her six children and her husband and they only had 300.00 to go. She posted on the budget board and basically got blasted out of the water for even suggesting such a thing. She then moved over to the camping section of the Dis where she was warmly received and given ideas.

She went on the trip. Her first vacation her kids had ever been on. When she returned home she wrote and posted a trip report.

She stayed under her budget and her kids had the time of their life. They camped at Fort Wilderness for four nights. That is where the bulk of her budget went. They went into the Magic Kingdom for one day and used passes they had gotten free for the volunteer promotion. They never bought one food item at Disney......not one!

One day, they toured the resorts and used all the different transportation. The Mom, made sandwiches and carried them until lunch time.

They played at Fort Wilderness and watched the movies there at night.

Would the average kid have had fun on this trip? Probably not. But these kids probably dont have much to begin with and for them it was the trip of a lifetime.

I wish I could find her trip report and add a link. She had lots of photos and it was easy to see that her kids were in heaven on their trip.

So, while I agree that most would need a few hundred even on a gift trip. Not all do and we have no way of knowing what families may need it and what families are like the one I posted about.

.

 

[ilovemk76]

While this is true for many, it is not true for all. I remember about 2-3 years ago, there was a lady who wanted to go to Disney with her six children and her husband and they only had 300.00 to go. She posted on the budget board and basically got blasted out of the water for even suggesting such a thing. She then moved over to the camping section of the Dis where she was warmly received and given ideas.

She went on the trip. Her first vacation her kids had ever been on. When she returned home she wrote and posted a trip report.

She stayed under her budget and her kids had the time of their life. They camped at Fort Wilderness for four nights. That is where the bulk of her budget went. They went into the Magic Kingdom for one day and used passes they had gotten free for the volunteer promotion. They never bought one food item at Disney......not one!

One day, they toured the resorts and used all the different transportation. The Mom, made sandwiches and carried them until lunch time.

They played at Fort Wilderness and watched the movies there at night.

Would the average kid have had fun on this trip? Probably not. But these kids probably dont have much to begin with and for them it was the trip of a lifetime.

I wish I could find her trip report and add a link. She had lots of photos and it was easy to see that her kids were in heaven on their trip.

So, while I agree that most would need a few hundred even on a gift trip. Not all do and we have no way of knowing what families may need it and what families are like the one I posted about.

.

The bold would be the part that made this possible. This is not a common thing.

 

[nathalee81]

I'm sorry, I really try not to be judgmental-but this kind of thinking just baffles me.

If you do not have enough money to feed your children, that should be your FIRST priority. Children need to eat, the do not NEED to go to Disneyworld.

We cannot afford to go to take a vacation right now. It is not in the budget. So, I don't understand how someone who doesn't make enough money to feed their children thinks they DO have the money to go on vacation. Even a gift trip means money for getting there, eating and taking off work (which means loss of valuable income).

I'm sorry, I just don't understand how logic escapes some people...

 

[crashbb]

The bold would be the part that made this possible. This is not a common thing.

Not making any comments about whether the OP should or should not go to WDW, but the above post also ignores loss of income.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

OP is probably long gone, but I meant it when I said I wasn't going to judge since I didn't know if it was a gift trip or not. As it turns out, it was a gift trip.

Unfortunately I think we all know at least one person who is taking advantage of the government and it makes us suspicious. We all lose a huge chunk of our paychecks to taxes, and the idea that we are "paying" for someone else's necessities so they can have vacations and smartphones while we do without is enraging That doesn't make it right, but that is just the way it is.

I'm trying my best not to judge posts without knowing all the facts, but it is hard. Especially on topics like politics, religion, money, and parenting.

OP was pretty upfront with the situation. I'm impressed that she claims the $600, because I know people who wouldn't. I read her other posts about moving to another state to give her family a better financial situation, so I do believe that that being on SNAP is a temporary setback, not a permanent way of life for that family.

Good luck OP. seems like you have a lot of family pressure trying to control your life. You have to do what is right for you, DH, and your kids first. If your extended family truly loves you then they will accept that.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Plenty of grandparents pay for family trips, including travel, food, souvenirs, etc.. If her family has the opportunity to go, there's no reason to turn grandpa's generous offer down.

 

[nathalee81]

Plenty of grandparents pay for family trips, including travel, food, souvenirs, etc.. If her family has the opportunity to go, there's no reason to turn grandpa's generous offer down.

And if it is so important to grandpa for the children to go to Disneyworld, why is it not important to make sure his grandkids are eating properly? Wouldn't it be better to use that money to help this family get back on their feet? Or, god forbid, put away for their education.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I was one who mentioned that she would have to claim a PT job and that might change her food stamp allowance IF she wasn't claiming the $600. I didn't make that statement to accuse the OP'er of anything. I also didn't assume she wasn't claiming it. I simply said the reality of it is that many people in that situation do not claim that type of money. It may not be legal but it is reality for a large percentage of people on public assistance.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insinuate that you were claiming anything. Many had stated that she would have to claim any part time job income and each time I read it, I kept thinking, "but she is already claiming her babysitting income, anyway." I thought it would be pertinent to point that out and your post just happened to be the last one I read and so it was the one I quoted. I didn't intentionally single you out in my comment, but I wanted a reference as to why I was posting what I was.







As far as whether or not she should be taking a trip, who is paying for it, and all that jazz, I really don't see how that is really pertinent to the conversation. On top of that, I really don't see how voicing our opinions on such a topic will be able to be done in a positive, constructive manner. I can assure you that just about everyone has an opinion and they will vary depending on the poster. OP is taking a Disney trip. Technically, that has nothing to do with the original intentions of this thread which is solely about her deciding to no longer care for her nephew and start a new part time job.

 

[chryscrazy]

She stayed under her budget and her kids had the time of their life. They camped at Fort Wilderness for four nights. That is where the bulk of her budget went. They went into the Magic Kingdom for one day and used passes they had gotten free for the volunteer promotion. They never bought one food item at Disney......not one!

One day, they toured the resorts and used all the different transportation. The Mom, made sandwiches and carried them until lunch time.

They played at Fort Wilderness and watched the movies there at night.

Would the average kid have had fun on this trip? Probably not. But these kids probably dont have much to begin with and for them it was the trip of a lifetime.

I wish I could find her trip report and add a link. She had lots of photos and it was easy to see that her kids were in heaven on their trip.

So, while I agree that most would need a few hundred even on a gift trip. Not all do and we have no way of knowing what families may need it and what families are like the one I posted about.

.

I actually think most kids would have fun on that trip. Most of the kids with parents on this message board? No. But most kids do not get to go to Disney World or take elaborate vacations. When I was young, most of our vacations were camping. We went to MK one day once when I was 6 and visited my mom's friend in FL. I had to choose Epcot or MK, and while I wanted to do both of course, I was happy to do one and had fun. I had no idea until much later in life that people go for days.

 

[nathalee81]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insinuate that you were claiming anything. Many had stated that she would have to claim any part time job income and each time I read it, I kept thinking, "but she is already claiming her babysitting income, anyway." I thought it would be pertinent to point that out and your post just happened to be the last one I read and so it was the one I quoted. I didn't intentionally single you out in my comment, but I wanted a reference as to why I was posting what I was.







As far as whether or not she should be taking a trip, who is paying for it, and all that jazz, I really don't see how that is really pertinent to the conversation. On top of that, I really don't see how voicing our opinions on such a topic will be able to be done in a positive, constructive manner. I can assure you that just about everyone has an opinion and they will vary depending on the poster. OP is taking a Disney trip. Technically, that has nothing to do with the original intentions of this thread which is solely about her deciding to no longer care for her nephew and start a new part time job.

It was pertinent enough to mention food stamps in her original post, so how is NOT pertinent enough to mention in our responses?

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

Plenty of grandparents pay for family trips, including travel, food, souvenirs, etc.. If her family has the opportunity to go, there's no reason to turn grandpa's generous offer down.

It is a very generous offer. The money Grandpa is paying for the trip might be better spent taking care of things at home, however.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

And if it is so important to grandpa for the children to go to Disneyworld, why is it not important to make sure his grandkids are eating properly? Wouldn't it be better to use that money to help this family get back on their feet? Or, god forbid, put away for their education.

We don't get to choose how others spend their money, or give away their money. While I think it would be great for family to give them money for food, or put it away for college, if grandpa wants to take them on a trip that's his choice.

I also feel that travel is important for kids to experience, at least once. Staying at a hotel, dealing with getting around, seeing all the people from all over, etc., is imo a valuable experience for kids. It let's them see a different world from where they live, and know there's more out there.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

It is a very generous offer. The money Grandpa is paying for the trip might be better spent taking care of things at home, however.

Grandpa may not want to give any money towards things at home, people have different ideas of what they want to spend their money on. It's grandpa's choice. Even if she said no to the trip, that doesn't mean he's going to hand them cash for food.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

It was pertinent enough to mention food stamps in her original post, so how is NOT pertinent enough to mention in our responses?

There was no mention of Disney World in her post. She mentioned food stamps as one of the reasons she would like to get a part time job and bring in more income for her family.