January 2009. . . Calling all Snowbirds ~ Part III !!!

[Mndisneygirl]

See, now, to me, this does not classify as procrastinator! I'm a "wait until the night before a big trip to pack" kind of procrastinator!

You guys are totally freaking me out. I leave for the US for 7 months in just 35 days...and I haven't even begun to pack! Which means I haven't given even one iota of thought to what to pack for Disney!

Should I be skeert?

You are going to spend 7 months in the US? Wow!! How does one pack for that? Will you be settling in somewhere prior to going to WDW or do you go there first with EVERYTHING? Yikes! I would have to start now if I were you!! Good luck!

 

[pamouselover]

Hi Snowbirds! It is monday again! Only 7 more mondays till I am in DISNEY WORLD! Least I think I counted right!

I was surprised when I called WDW dining yesterday to change around some of our ADR's that I got everything I wanted just 10 weeks out!! I added on Chef Mickey's for our arrival night (since we added an extra night ) and asked for something between 5 & 6 and got 5:30! I also changed the Plaza from lunch to dinner on a Saturday, no problem. We decided on Beaches & Cream for the night we originally had Chef Mickey's scheduled. So I can't make an ADR for that. After I got off the phone DH told me that I should have made an ADR for Big River Grille for that night and then we would have somewhere to go if the wait at B&C is too long! I wish he would have mentioned that when I was on the phone because it is actually a good idea!!

That is great. I tried calling last night and tried switching my Kona ADR for 12/31. No luck. I needed a ADR not in a park since we are just resort hopping that night. No luck. So I am going to do Beaches and cream, that way we can get the kitchen sink. DS is a big ice cream eater. It should be fun.

Ok... so luckily I am now within business hours (I think my first e-mail was at like 7pm on Friday) so she got right back to me.

Dear Rebecca,

Thank you for your quick reply.

It sounds like this is an issue. I will definitely forward this to our IT team.

I will e-mail you back when I have some news.

Best Wishes,

Amber
Disney's Honeymoon Registry

So true.

Becca I hope it works out for you. Are you going to share your wedding pictures with all of us?

I pack food items, small toiletries, first aids, tiny laundry detergents, anything like that in 2 medium sized boxes and ship it via FED EX. Call your resort and get the exact address---tell them you are shipping your family a care package, or whatever. Attention:your name. I do this usually on the Mon or Tues before our Saturday flight. The resort holds it in the luggage room and ask for it upon check-in. This usually has stuff in it that's all consumable, so you shouldn't have to repack and bring any home.!!

Thanks! Since we are leaving on a Wens. do you think I should send it the week before. I am worried with christmas and everything.

 

[coffeehousemom]

Thanks! Since we are leaving on a Wens. do you think I should send it the week before. I am worried with christmas and everything.[/QUOTE]



I would when we did UPS outta the shop they absolutely refused to gurantee delivery near the holidays. So I would give yourself a couple days leeway

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Hey Birdies!

Hope everyone has had a great weekend! We woke up saturday morning to a gentle snowstorm! Yup we finally got some snow here in NW Ontario! It didn't stick uch, only a tiny bit stayed along the edge of our driveway! I'm so glad! Anyway, SHELLY, can you update my resort info on the next list, pleae? I will be doing a couple changes to our dining in the next day or two so ....... THANKS! Later Birdies!

 

[glo]

My mom doesn't have the grandma or mom gene either. Yesterday was my daughter's birthday she turned 18. My mom DID call, but since my daughter didn't pick up, she didn't wish her a happy birthday and said she would call back. She never did. Yesterday was also the 5th anniversary of my grandmother's death and there was a Mass and she conviniently forgot to tell me. She goes Christmas shopping at the Dollar Store and that would be ok if that was all she could afford, but her and my Dad are well of. We ask her to go places with us and she always says no...but always shows up at my brothers house. It is sad, that my MIL is a better grandmother. She is always happy to see them (my oldest isn't even her blood grandchild but you would never know it). She always volunteers to watch them when we have something, my mom always says NO....sad

Those whose mom's are like this, does it still sting? It does for me, and I would think by now I would be used to it

 

[crzyred]

Thanks For the support guys!!

NO she is not going with us. I will not cut our trip short for her & Chuck says he IS NOT paying for her. SHe not only doesn't have the gramma gene she doesnt even have the mom gene. It hard for me because my mother is with my kids everyday & if she doesn't see them she calls them. Mil hasn't even talked to them since Sept. she only lives 20 minutes away!! She hasn't seen a single DD basketball game this year, didn't call about report cards or trick or treat. My other sister who lives in DC even called them about that stuff plus her 2 grown kids!! My niece that lives in Baton Rouge textmessages my DD at least 2x's a week to chat. HOnestly I swear I'm done venting!! BUt between this situation & my hysterectomy on fri I am about ready to jump outta my skin.

Aww. It's her loss then. At least your children do have people in their lives that care for them enough to be very involved, even if they don't see them a lot, they still talk and know things about them.

 

[crzyred]

I love how my ticker says 1 month!! hehehhehehhe.... I love it!

Well I'm off to overload myself into scrap booking. I have 2 of them to get done in 58 days!!!

 

[sharadoc]

OUCH that's mean what on earth could a 7yr old do that was that bad to not get a Christmas present? If MIL ever said that to me I'd tell guess what don't bother coming over then. WOW you have my sympathies

Thanks - apparently she stuck out her tongue. Which my mother has done to her! I think that's where she learned it - she never sticks out her tongue at me. Believe me, it breaks my heart. I actually cried over it. I would absolutely tell her to not come over, but I don't want to cause trouble for the kids - they do love their grandparents and if my mother has a problem with me, then she will cut off the whole family. Spoiled brat is what I say.

 

[sharadoc]

I'm not sure which is less stressful!!

In - laws for sure. At least codes are only for a limited time!

 

[BellaSoleil]

I'm sorry to everyone with in-law troubles.

G's parents are very sweet people, but don't really have anything to do with us, either. They were suprised to see that Belle could walk (she's 19 months old). They are very close to his 3 sisters, but rarely speak to us. G makes alot of the effort. They are really nice people, I just don't understand why they don't care more about their only son's family.

They even left our wedding because we had drinking and dancing. Let me tell you... we are a wild group of heathens!

My parents on the other hand are AMAZING! Growing up, my dad was such a work-a-holic and had nothing to do with us. Now he sort of has a second chance with Belle and spends nearly every bit of his free time with her. She makes his world go round. It is really healing for me and my dad and I finally have a father-daughter relationship.

 

[Dancegrl624]

Thanks - apparently she stuck out her tongue. Which my mother has done to her! I think that's where she learned it - she never sticks out her tongue at me. Believe me, it breaks my heart. I actually cried over it. I would absolutely tell her to not come over, but I don't want to cause trouble for the kids - they do love their grandparents and if my mother has a problem with me, then she will cut off the whole family. Spoiled brat is what I say.

I know that kids shouldn't stick out their tongues....but it happens! I don't think sticking out a tongue equals getting a present taken away. How awful! Kids do mimic adults, so if she learned it from your mother, it's her own fault, isn't it? So sorry!

 

[sarbah77]

Sorry about you MIL situation. I have a similar one. My In-Laws are retired and could care less about spending any time with their grandchildren. Very frustrating.

We're here for you.

My DH and I are concerned that his parents are heading this way... they announced months ago that they had no plans to see their first grandchild until Thanksgiving, when they would be out that way already. But I think they're grumpy with my BIL's wife's parents (who jump to do whatever when asked... but are also quite pushy and obnoxious!).

Like, Easter last year. BIL asked his parents if they'd visit for Easter. IL's hemmed and hawwed. BIL asked HIS IL's if they'd visit for Easter, too. They said yes, bought plane tickets, and made arrangements. By the time my IL's said "okay, we'll come", they were told they'd have to stay in a hotel... so they flat-out refused to go.

We're all afraid that they're just not going to visit their grandchild because they'll have to stay in a hotel. Or that Jen's parents were there first. Or something equally as insane.

Now, my DH is running his THIRD marathon. We got final absolute confirmation that my ILs will NOT watch him run. We invited them to the one in Detroit; no go. We invited them to the one in Toronto; absolutely not (but my dad came!). Disney? DISNEY NO WAY NO HOW IT IS DISNEY!!!!

...way to make your son feel appreciated (not). At one point (before they waffled, some), they said "Well, we'll go to Florida when you're there, but if you want to see us, you'll have to come to us." I think DH said "...no." My parents are, on the other hand, going to be there. This is my dad's second trip to watch my DH run!!

(I'll let you know what my parents are like when MY brother's wife gets pregnant... but, in the meantime, my bro's FIL has turned out to be a decent human being, to everyone's surprise - he called one day and said "I've been laid off for next week. I'm going to come up and do household projects for you guys" and then did so! He put down a new kitchen floor, made new cabinets, and chopped down three trees... in THREE days!)

Thanks For the support guys!!

NO she is not going with us. I will not cut our trip short for her & Chuck says he IS NOT paying for her. SHe not only doesn't have the gramma gene she doesnt even have the mom gene. It hard for me because my mother is with my kids everyday & if she doesn't see them she calls them. Mil hasn't even talked to them since Sept. she only lives 20 minutes away!! She hasn't seen a single DD basketball game this year, didn't call about report cards or trick or treat. My other sister who lives in DC even called them about that stuff plus her 2 grown kids!! My niece that lives in Baton Rouge textmessages my DD at least 2x's a week to chat. HOnestly I swear I'm done venting!! BUt between this situation & my hysterectomy on fri I am about ready to jump outta my skin.

Wow, a full hysterectomy!! They didn't waste time with that!! I'll be thinking of you! No, you don't needed the added stress of family weirdness. But I often think all families are weird, we just manefest it all differently! My family is very clingy, which makes me nuts, and my DH's is too hands off, which makes me nuts!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Anyway, SHELLY, can you update my resort info on the next list, pleae? I will be doing a couple changes to our dining in the next day or two so ....... THANKS! Later Birdies!

Already got it!

 

[peach3es]

It makes me so sad to read how many of you have trouble with either your own parents or your in-laws.

I'm thankful that my parents and my in-laws are super involved in the lives of their grandkids, even across an ocean. They shower us all with gifts, call frequently, and my MIL writes notes to each child personally once or twice a year. They love getting their special Mam-mam letters in the mail! And when we were still living in the US, we saw them many times a week. They visited, we visited, and they babysat or just took the kids overnight. Super involved. I'm so grateful.

Though it makes being away a little harder.

 

[jenjolt]

I guess I'm really lucky because I adore my in-laws and I have seen them with smaller children and I know they will be great grandparents as will my parents. Especially my dad after the childhood he had in his home.

I'm so sorry to hear about the familial situation some of you find yourselves in especially around the holidays. However, I know each of you are great moms and I know your kids are surely blessed!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Aren't families crazy? It is true that nobody's is perfect, just that some are better than others!

My DH has to put up with a lot from my parents and brother, they live near us and spend more time with us and the kids. His mom and most of his sisters are on the east coast and the one who lives here is an hour away so we don't see her much. Thankfully, everyone is "relatively normal" and no one is mean or spiteful. Just kind of annoying personality traits and dumb stuff that we mostly can overlook. I sympathize with those of you who really have tough situations, it's so hard with young grandchildren involved, you can't explain it to them and they are usually the ones who suffer for it. Kudos to those of you who can deal with it and keep your family happy!

I hope everyone can still have a great WDW trip, in-laws, parents, or not!!
We are going with one SIL and MIL, and I've already told my DH - there will be NO discussion of politics and what terrible things are going to happen because of our new president! I will NOT let them interfere with my happiest place on earth!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

It makes me so sad to read how many of you have trouble with either your own parents or your in-laws.

I'm thankful that my parents and my in-laws are super involved in the lives of their grandkids, even across an ocean. They shower us all with gifts, call frequently, and my MIL writes notes to each child personally once or twice a year. They love getting their special Mam-mam letters in the mail! And when we were still living in the US, we saw them many times a week. They visited, we visited, and they babysat or just took the kids overnight. Super involved. I'm so grateful.

Though it makes being away a little harder.

You are very blessed to have such great parents and in-laws.

 

[pamouselover]

I just wanted to comment about all this MIL/grandparents issues everyone is having. I lost my Mom in Aug. and now my children don’t have any grandparents. They have a great Granpop on Dh's side. But we dont get to see him as much as I would like to. MIL passed away to cancer six years ago at the young age of 52.FIL and MIL were divorced for years before she passed, but we stopped speaking to him not long after MIL's death. Evil SMIL, was speaking unkind of MIL (still) after her death and DH had enough. We also don’t speak to my SIL, because she sided with FIL, even though she had not spoken to him in three years. Aunt Passed and she was promised money was coming to her. She is that type. She has tried to speak again to us, and DH and I have decided that we don’t need negativity in our lives. MIL was never really into being a Grand mom, like my Mom. I thought it was because she thought she was too young. But she treated SIL's DS so much better then my children. One year she bought SIL’s DS a huge tool bench. My DS got a Disney lion king cup from BK, and a color forms. Yeah DH was so upset. FIL and SMIL were buy you grandparents and then holed it over your head. So that they could say oh we bought this and that for them. My Mom on the other hand gave what she could, her time, her wisdom and that my children I am sure will always be thankful for. The have fond and funny memories of my Mom. Try not to let it get to you. I know DH and I let it for a long time. It is not worth it. I myself pledge to be the best nana ever. Take care today everyone!

 

[Lil'Mermaid75]

My mom doesn't have the grandma or mom gene either. Yesterday was my daughter's birthday she turned 18. My mom DID call, but since my daughter didn't pick up, she didn't wish her a happy birthday and said she would call back. She never did. Yesterday was also the 5th anniversary of my grandmother's death and there was a Mass and she conviniently forgot to tell me. She goes Christmas shopping at the Dollar Store and that would be ok if that was all she could afford, but her and my Dad are well of. We ask her to go places with us and she always says no...but always shows up at my brothers house. It is sad, that my MIL is a better grandmother. She is always happy to see them (my oldest isn't even her blood grandchild but you would never know it). She always volunteers to watch them when we have something, my mom always says NO....sad

Those whose mom's are like this, does it still sting? It does for me, and I would think by now I would be used to it

For me, yes it does still sting. My DH and I both are kids of "older" parents and we've both lost our fathers. So, our son doesn't have any "Papaws". Even though my mom is a "remote" meemaw, DS still loves her to pieces. He keeps asking if she's going to be at his birthday, because she's never been there. I will say, at least she remembers his birthday. She doesn't remember mine or my little sisters, but remembers the birthdays of the 4 older kids. She also doesn't remember the birthdays of my little sister's kids. The only reason she's seen our son is because we've made an effort to fly the 6-hours to the west coast at least once a year to visit.

I just wanted to comment about all this MIL/grandparents issues everyone is having. I lost my Mom in Aug. and now my children don’t have any grandparents. They have a great Granpop on Dh's side. But we dotn get to see him as much as I would like to. MIL passed away to cancer six years ago at the young age of 52.FIL and MIL were divorced for years before she passed, but we stopped speaking to him not long after MIL's death. Evil SMIL, was speaking unkind of MIL (still) after her death and DH had enough. We also don’t speak to my SIL, because she sided with FIL, even though she had not spoken to him in three years. Aunt Passed and she was promised money was coming to her. She has tried to speak again to us, and DH and I have decided that we don’t need negativity in our lives. MIL was never really into being a Grand mom, like my Mom. I thought it was because she thought she was too young. But she treated SIL's DS so much better then my children. One year she bought SIL’s DS a huge tool bench. My DS got a Disney lion king cup from BK, and a color forms. Yeah DH was so upset. FIL and SMIL were buy you grandparents and then holed it over your head. So that they could say oh we bought this and that for them. My Mom on the other hand gave what she could, her time, her wisdom and that my children I am sure will always be thankful for. The have fond and funny memories of my Mom. Try not to let it get to you. I know DH and I let it for a long time. It is not worth it. I myself pledge to be the best nana ever. Take care today everyone! : hug:

ME TOO!!! (I'm a few years away, but as hard as we tried to have kids, I just know I'm going to love any grandbabies that come my way!!!

 

[sunshine43]

Happy Monday Snowbirds

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was busy but good. I spent yesterday painting my living/dining rooms and 2 hours this morning at the dentist

On the good side, I have only 56 Days till Disney

and on Friday I bought luggage

robin