Having a GRAND time - the NEW Official GF Chat Thread PART 4

[WishesQueen]

What restaurants are you interested in?

 

[Lives4Disney]

hi, guys.....i am getting a lot done. Laundry and cleaning. I hate doing it but feel better when I catch up. We've had too many lazy days here.

Vero is nice....I guess my only bad thing I'd have to say about it is it's VERY LOW key.....I don't know that we could spend a week there. ALTHOUGH, we haven't been in about 10 years though so maybe they've upped the activities....and I am sure the town is much more built up now. There are nice shops/boutiques and cute restaurants. It's a nice charming area.

Deb...I know...spring break is questionable. And seriously I wish like Blue Skies that I had grandma handy. She is in AZ and would probably fly up to stay with ALL THREE kids because the girls are fun for her. DS is off on his own so she'd be bored here. I cannot leave that bad boy home alone. That is a major issue. For our past spring breaks he has stayed with friends....but I just don't feel good imposing on them all the time!!! He stayed with them a few times and they always say he is very welcome blah blah...and are so sweet about it....but THEIR kids go with them on vacation.

I just can't see staying home with these kids. They'd probably prefer it though....they enjoy their down time. But their down time means extra work for mom.

OK....ttyl...off to sort more laundry. Thank God for front loaders ...they are amazing. Just wish I had an Alice to put all the clothes away for me.

Chan

 

[BlueSkies]

What restaurants are you interested in?

I always like to go to Narcoosees, want to go to Citricos(havent been there in a long time),Cape May (I think its the Clam Bake...Deb & Chan recommended this one...never been there) are some of the restaurants we want to book...Oh Kona Cafe too...
How about you??

 

[BlueSkies]

Channing Teens Anyone of us who has them knows... Our kids college and hs schedules dont end up at the same time so we dont go on a spring break trip anymore...and your right when everyone is HOME on vacation mom gets lots more work to do...

Thats why we a need vacation every now and then without everyone right!!

 

[Lives4Disney]

Channing Teens Anyone of us who has them knows... Our kids college and hs schedules dont end up at the same time so we dont go on a spring break trip anymore...and your right when everyone is HOME on vacation mom gets lots more work to do...

Thats why we a need vacation every now and then without everyone right!!

oh ya...teens......

A year ago I would have thought he's a good kid and I can trust him home alone! NAIVE!!!! This past year he has done stuff that I CANNOT BELIEVE......I feel like I don't know him anymore. I used to look forward to when he would be 18+ yrs old adn I could consider leaving him home...omg...I was crazy naive. He's worse now then before.

I am still hoping we are going to CA. Maybe he would go with us there....he is very over WDW. We came home raving about what he missed in DL last time we went. He might go.......

I have my laundry sorted....I am going back to read my book.

TTYL,
Chan

 

[mickeynut1]

Chan.......I hear ya on teens . I'm not quite where you are with DS18 yet as oldest DS is 15 going to be 16 in June ........but he's already getting on my nerves about things . He's been telling me for a year now that he's not going to Disney anymore because we've been going every year for 7 years now so he could stay home.......YA RIGHT......THINK AGAIN ON THAT ONE !!!!! I've got news for him.....he's going to be along on vacations for some years to come whether he likes it or not . But my two kinda want to stay home this spring break just to hang out with their friends and do nothing . They've enjoyed going away the last 2 years but want to go back to staying home again....which is ok with me as it's kinda nice to just hang at home sometimes .

OK.......you're scaring me about teens and them reaching the age of 18 . You'll have to clue me in as to what I'm in for in 2 1/2 years .


BlueSkies.....I'm not looking forward to the year when oldest DS is in college and my other one is in his last year of hs and they're schedules don't coincide . But I guess it will only be for one year and then hopefully once both are in college their time off will be about the same even if they are at different universities . Just thinking about them being in college is sad as it's not that far away .


Deb

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

Chan when is your spring break? I am looking for somewhere to go the 3rd week of April but can't decide...the boys do not want wdw again and the little 2 are going to Washington DC with grammy. I could go somewhere fun!!!
I finally got off my lazy butt today and painted Emily's room. It is a nice spring green color with pink window and door trim. What does bratty child say? "I like the pink but green is yucky." GRRRR! I didn't want to paint the whole thing pink because she will grow out of pink so fast, the green will last many years longer, but still looks nice with all her baby pink stuff. See what I get for trying to do the right thing. (Of course the colors are from the Disney Color collection at Home Depot. LOL)

Ok, back to work...her room is torn apart and I have to figure out where she is going to sleep tonight. UGH!

 

[Lives4Disney]

Chan when is your spring break? I am looking for somewhere to go the 3rd week of April but can't decide...the boys do not want wdw again and the little 2 are going to Washington DC with grammy. I could go somewhere fun!!!
I finally got off my lazy butt today and painted Emily's room. It is a nice spring green color with pink window and door trim. What does bratty child say? "I like the pink but green is yucky." GRRRR! I didn't want to paint the whole thing pink because she will grow out of pink so fast, the green will last many years longer, but still looks nice with all her baby pink stuff. See what I get for trying to do the right thing. (Of course the colors are from the Disney Color collection at Home Depot. LOL)

Ok, back to work...her room is torn apart and I have to figure out where she is going to sleep tonight. UGH!

Hey Shel! Mine is the last week of March...always. I was looking at ditching early 18-25 and SWA air is awesome for those dates.....but nobody is budging here. We get nothing off in April....maybe Good Friday.

I LOVE GREEN!! Tell her it's Channing's FAVORITE COLOR and pink is second!! And that's a fact. I love green and pink! I think you did great.....you can use tons of pink accents.

Jojo's room is "Girly girl" pink. She is a mega pink princess. It's overloaded with pink but she chose it....we just repinked it last year. It was more pale...cotton candy pink..now it's almost Pepto pink with light pink and some lavender. It's super duper sticky sweet.

Deb...brace yourself. It's ugly. He turned 17 and something in him SNAPPED. ...well it got worse after 18 actually. And his attitude is he's 18 he can do what he wants.....leads to lots of issues here.

Chan

 

[mickeynut1]

Deb...brace yourself. It's ugly. He turned 17 and something in him SNAPPED. ...well it got worse after 18 actually. And his attitude is he's 18 he can do what he wants.....leads to lots of issues here.

Chan

I'm in for a real treat then because DS15 has already begun the "I'm 15 I can do such and such" and "I'm not a baby anymore....I AM a teenager" . And alot of his friend's parents let their kids roam and do just what they want.....so I'm working against all that . The joy of raising teens .

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

I LOVE GREEN!! Tell her it's Channing's FAVORITE COLOR and pink is second!! And that's a fact. I love green and pink! I think you did great.....you can use tons of pink accents.

Jojo's room is "Girly girl" pink. She is a mega pink princess. It's overloaded with pink but she chose it....we just repinked it last year. It was more pale...cotton candy pink..now it's almost Pepto pink with light pink and some lavender. It's super duper sticky sweet.

Chan- that green is the color of her walls!!! I love it, it's the same color as my rain coat LOL. I would have done all girly pink, but I was so afraid she would be "over" the pink thing in 2 or 3 years. This way it can last through more years (I hope)

I'm in for a real treat then because DS15 has already begun the "I'm 15 I can do such and such" and "I'm not a baby anymore....I AM a teenager" . And alot of his friend's parents let their kids roam and do just what they want.....so I'm working against all that . The joy of raising teens .

I have that 15yo attitude here too!!! Too bad you can't lock them up for a few years...like until they're 30 or so.

 

[Lives4Disney]

I'm in for a real treat then because DS15 has already begun the "I'm 15 I can do such and such" and "I'm not a baby anymore....I AM a teenager" . And alot of his friend's parents let their kids roam and do just what they want.....so I'm working against all that . The joy of raising teens .

Deb...looking back on it I think our troubles began when DS started High School.....he goes to school with the Bull Valley crowd...and any of you northern IL ladies might know what I mean. There is tons and tons of money...MEGA MONEY....kids raised by full time nannies and they are loaded kids driving their own Hummers and Lexuses to school...they think nothing of putting down a $20 for a can of Monster! So....where there is money and kids unsupervised there is lots of trouble. We keep DS poor.... But still....it is not the best situation.

I just remember when DS was a Freshman....the stuff he told me kids did....SHOCKED ME. I cannot believe what kids think is acceptable these days. And I am NOT really Amish not by a long shot.... ....I was not a perfect teen myself...but I had SUPER strict parents- omg...my dad was outside in his PJs and ROBE one night waiting for me when I came home a couple hours late...I was so busted ...my parents had no problem embarrassing the tar out of me to get me to shape up and I remember that like it was yesterday...among other things .....and they weren't stupid or naive...they were probably bad teens themselves and were prepared. But today it is disturbing IMO what kids do....it does shock me! I wasn't prepared!!!!!

And lots of these kids do not have supervision of parents around....stuff happens. It's just sad...because the stuff he tells me..and the way these kids talk and behave...it is kinda scary.

Chan

 

[princessesrule4]

Hello everyone! I'll admit I have sought you out (WOW - Chat thread #4!) because you have all been so helpful answering my questions and so on in the past. This one isn't WDW specific, and I am looking for ideas from people who love to travel and have been lots of places, so I thought of you. I am also posting this question with the new firends I have met on the Wish Trippers thread, hoping someone out there has a good idea for me. Sorry this is so long, skim away...

As a reminder, my hubby and I are parents to twin boys who are now 10. our son Mark has cerebral palsy, uses a walker or wheelchair and is bright as a spark. We had a fantabulous Wish Trip to Orlando in November - a week and Give Kids the World followed by 3 nights at the GF (thanks again Kelly for all your help, and to you all for helping us get to know Vonnie!)...and I think I am still in Disney Depression mode. We've had a tough fall, with not great health for Mark, moving out of our house for a major renovation, and my mother is slipping quuickly into dementia. Enough said.

So now I have a question for my friends spread over the lovely USA. We are from Toronto, Canada, where we've had a fairly snowy couple of weeks, although yesterday was "warm" and rainy - the snow was melting so fast it created quite a bit of fog.

The last week or two has reminded me that it is so very tough for Mark to get around outside by himself in the winter months. It's a real drag for him, and it does end up affecting his mood and sleep patterns. We do downhill ski as a family (Mark is in a sit-ski with guides), but that is just not enough to get us through the winter. I've also been thinking longingly of our wonderful time at WDW in November, and thinking about all the fresh air and exercise (as well as FUN!!!). Last March Break, I swore never again would we just sit at home. My plan was to take Mark someplace and have Peter take Douglas on a ski trip...but that just didn't get organized.

Which brings me to my question. March Break is coming (not soon enough!) and, as usual, we have no plans. Now this is a rotten year to try and pitch a March Break trip to my hubby, what with renovation expenses and needing to be nearby as we'll be in the last month of inside work then, the economy is terrible and we're being careful with money, Peter is tight on vacation time (guess I shouldn't be so easy to OK that ski trip of his in January!?!) so I'd have to go on my own with the boys, and so on.

However, if I could think of someplace warmish, with easy walking and relatively accessible), fine (safe) and fun for a mum and her 2 10 year old boys, and great value (but still nice enough, we do deserve some spoiling after all, if we're going!) and easy travel (they weren't so good on their first taste of jet lag last year)...maybe I'd give it a try. Of course, the obvious answer is "I wanna go to DisneyWorld!", but that is just not happening. I have a friend with a place in Vero Beach Florida, but I think she'll have a full house.

Anyone have any sugggestions to fuel my dreams?

Thanks to all for always welcoming me whenever I "pop" in with a question/comment. Hope you have all had a lovely Christmas!

Thanks,
Alison

Chan is right - VB is great! If you want to go in March , I would book ASAP as its a DVC resort and I'm not sure how many rooms are left open for non DVC?! Especially being close to Spring Break, although Easter is in April this year.

We go every year for Spring Break and we love it! However, it is not exactly the GF, but its not supposed to be! We still love it! The rooms are nice and large and clean with a beachy theme (we stay in an Inn room) . It is very laid back and family oriented. We always get an Ocean View Inn room and the view is gorgeous!

There is a mini golf course (9 hole) right next to the pool and tons of great activities for the kids - Seashell necklaces, bags, Jr. Chef, paper flowers, bracelets, paint a tile, mini golf tourney, etc. Turtle hatchings aren't till end of May and June. My DS plays basketball the whole week and makes his own friends which is great! DD makes her friends and goes off to the activities and we use the pool as kind of a "base." The CM's are very nice and the Recreation CM's are great! There is a fun campfire,too.

There's not tons to do outside the resort but we usually just stay on property and relax. The resort is pretty self contained except you have to go through an underground tunnel to get to the basketball courts and tennis courts. I love to shop in Vero Beach and we have a couple of favorite restaurants off property.

The 2 things I would mention is that the beach is beautiful with blue- green water but the seas can be fairly rough. We live on the SC coast and my kids boogie and wake board, surf some but they both thought the waves were pretty rough. Also, when they experienced a lot of hurricane damage a few years ago , they put dehumidifiers in every room, due to excessive moisture since the resort is ocean front. I always make sure ours is clean when we arrive and it needs dumped a couple of times during the week. I'm not sure if any of that would pose any kind of problem with your son's health? Just thought I'd mention it. Someone told me before our first visit so I wasn't surprised which was helpful!

One other thing is that during busy times people will save chairs for their whole family and if you don't get to the pool by 8 am, there are no chairs left. One of us will get up early and go down and the rest of the family is usually down by 9 am so we don't have a problem . Not sure if the chair thing will be an issue in March depending on what week you go. I would think early - mid March wouldn't be a problem. We go the week after Easter and the resort is at capacity so we always run into it!

Feel free to ask if you have any other questions.

ETA :Another great thing is that even in the Inn rooms there is a fridge, microwave, etc. in each room. Also, they have a fun character breakfast on Saturdays with Goofy and Donald at Shutters. We enjoyed Shutters for both breakfast and dinner,too!

 

[mickeynut1]

Shel......You know exactly what I'm talking about . Those 15 year olds really know how to push our buttons, don't they . Poor Chan is a little ahead of us but she knows what we're going through because she's already been through those years .....but as I see from her, it gets WORSE .

I like the greens and pinks for a girls room . I bet Emily's room looks great .



Chan.......I'm amazed at some of the things I see here and we live in the boonies ....these kids aren't supposed to know some of this stuff . I just don't see how some of these parents see it as ok that their kids just ROAM and they have NO IDEA where they are and what they're doing . I'm by no means a perfect parent.....but geez.....sometimes I wonder if some of these parents are for real . Either they really don't care or they just have their head in the sand . There isn't an over abundance of LOADED peeps here but there are a select few ......so when you add MEGA MONEY to the mix, it only gets more out of hand .


Deb

 

[princessesrule4]

Sheli- I love pink and green, too! We did DD's room in pink when she was 4 1/2 and she was over the pink walls by age 8! So you probably made a good call. We told her she could do her new room anyway she wanted after we move. I may be regretting that....

 

[mandymommy4]

Morning everyone! I am in a mood!

DD5 had to be back at preschool today..... When I got to her class there was a sub. I asked her teacher /owner of the preschool the Friday before Christmas when they had to be back and she said they had school this week and would be doing curriculum she should not miss. I asked the sub what they were gonna be learning today and she looked at me puzzled and said they are just playing today! I am NOT taking her to school to play I am taking her to learn and get prepared for Kindergarten. DS is out till Jan 7th but her preschool is not???? Typically preschools follow the school calendar around here, at least DS preschool did. Oh, and you know I had to drag everyone out of bed and dress everyone fight with DD just to brush her hair and pull it out of her face and then get everyone in the car and out of the car at the center and drag everyone to the back to Em's class and then back in the car ect..... buckling car seat and climbing in the back of the van 4 times at 8 am is not worth it just so one kid can play for a few hours, that is why we have trampoline and play sets and bikes...... I get to do it all again at 11:30

This has been a horrible weekend for us. We had to get rid of our new dog. Luckily she is real close and we can visit her. She was an awesome dog and it is just not fair to have her have to get used to another family.

Hey All!
I am thinking of doing a New Years card because I never got a Christmas Card out! Whatcha think???
Siobhan

We are doing the same thing....... LOL!

I am so unmotivated but i have a ton of stuff to do..... the laundry is piled up ready to be folded. Lucky me!

Have a great day!

 

[irisbud]

Hi everyone, lots to do today and I am stalling (as usual!).

Mandy, sorry to hear about your doggie. Hope your day gets better!

Have a great day, everyone!

 

[mandymommy4]

Oh I missed your post Shel~ I love pink and green! MY DD'S room has pink walls. DH likes the color and thinks we should paint our room pink..... Wierd!

I found a crib set when I found out our oldest DD was a girl I LOVED in a boutique that was $900! It was a pink and green toile called Hey Diddle Diddle! A few week later at Hancocks (a fabric store) we found the EXACT fabric! It was really expensive so I waited a few more week and got a 50% off coupon for a single cut of material but needed 3 different materials so my sister, my grandma, and I all went each with a coupon from the flyer and we got all three fabrics and I made the crib set. You can buy the foam already formed for a bumper pad and the packaging tells you how to make it and I just took the crib skirt off DS bed and used it as a pattern the make hers. I was able to make a bumper pad, crib skirt, curtains, re-upholster the pads in the glider, and make a cover for the changing pad, and make a few fun accent pillows with DD initials embroidered on it for about $200! My friend Pat suprised me by painting her walls with most beautiful moon looking down on her bed and mother goose and a little blue bird flying with a banner with her name on it! I miss that nursery!

Now we have morphed it into a little Pink poodle room! We kept the walls pink but added like black and hot pink pin stripping! I found a calendar that had really pretty black and white pics from Paris of the Eiffel tower, the river seine, and a church so I framed them! They have a Eiffel tower lamp and I made new curtains and used a projector to project a cute little poodle and painted it on the wall.

Now Em's want a purple room

Thank goodness I am a major do it yourself girl!

 

[mickeynut1]

Morning Gals


I hope everyone had a great weekend . We stayed home all weekend.....didn't go out once.....but it was kinda nice for a change to just hang out at home and do nothing . Although I did wake up with a nasty headcold/headache this morning . Hopefully some motrin/stuffy head meds will chase it away .


Mandy......I'm sorry you had a not so good morning . When my 2 were in preschool they always followed that town's school vacations......kind of weird your DD's preschool doesn't do that and had to be there today . Sorry you had to get rid of your dog . How are the kids doing with it??? I hope your day gets better as it goes on .


Amy......Your day is getting so close . I hope all the last minute details are coming along........it'll be here before you know it .


Have a good day all .


Deb

 

[irisbud]

Mandy: Both rooms sound really cool. I like to do our housestuff myself too. The problem is when I need DF's help...1.5 years later and only the shower is done in the bathroom (supposed to do the floor and wall tile too), and 2 years later all of the hall doors still have no trim around them

Deb: We just got our license application Notarized TODAY! I can't wait!

Ugh, I am getting the pre Disney depression worse than usual this year, I guess with all of the wedding things too. I am looking forward to our trip, but I know it will be over too soon! I guess I might just have to put ouy APs and SWA credit to good use and book another! I am thinking May, is that a nice time to go? I have only been in winter, October, and over the fourth of July that I can remember. I don't know when we went when I was three, LOL. DF hs only been in winter, but he hates heat and crowds...

 

[mickeynut1]

Deb: We just got our license application Notarized TODAY! I can't wait!

Amy, How exciting !!!! This makes it that much closer . I always think of our trips being over before they start .....but the way I solve that is I start planning another one right away . It's never too early to start planning a Disney trip as far as I'm concerned . We've never been in May but we have friends that go in early May every year and they love it . From what she has said, the weather is perfect......in the 80s but not humid yet....and it's not too crowded yet during those times . I'm thinking May is a great time to go .