January 2009. . . Calling all Snowbirds ~ Part V

[letthewookiewin]

Sheree, Mike is a homebuilder. We are working in 2 subdivisions right now, plus a few more here and there around our area. We are pretty close to lots of refineries, which are always hiring people from out of town---so right now we are having a very healthy real estate market.

Groceries are ridiculous. I put us all on fat free milk about 2 or 3 years ago, and it just keeps going up! Gracie doesn't drink milk, but the rest of us love it. We use about 3 gallons a week---the milk we use is about $3.89 for just a half gallon--and we go through almost 6 a week or so. ( of the half gallons)I keep telling Mike it would be cheaper to buy a cow!!!! Yes, our organic stuff is unbelievably higher than regular stuff. And I wonder how much better for us is it really? If we are all gonna be sick from reg food--why keep selling it, and why not make it affordable to buy organic? I don't know. I know the gas hike last year did make a difference, but mercy!!!! Chicken is high also.And of course, we are big chicken eaters! Hardly buy beef anymore--we do turkey.

My mom is north of here-closer to Dallas, and the job market there is not so good. She is having a hard time just making ends meet.Especially with her health insurance---it's through the roof as well.

Sheree- I guess me and you are the only Dec 'birds!!

We live in the Dallas Fort Worth area and my DH has been told that the job market is getting better (at least in the IT field). He's only been looking for a job for a couple of weeks, and has gotten tons of responses. He's an IT guy, so companies are always going to need that. He lost his job in like January/February after he 1. turned in his manager for racist comments that he repeated nearly all day long even in front of his manager's boss and 2. got hurt at work. He didn't really hard core look for a job, b/c he got unemployment and he wanted to focus on his last class for his degree (which he got a 100 in).

 

[Monny2AE]

I'm so glad I didn't read all of your scary ghost stories before I went to sleep last night!

Our grocery prices are just as ridiculous here too. I buy 3-4 gallons of milk a week and at least 2 boxes of cereal. We don't buy much meat either. Chicken nuggets, boneless tenderloins (buy them frozen or buy a big pack and freeze them yourself and they save you a little) or the occasional pound of ground beef and that's it. At least my groceries are somewhat tax deductible since I use them for day care kids too. It's a very little savings but it helps. I usually hit Food Lion or Walmart for the dry goods but I go to Martins/Giant for my meats. I've had issues with my lunchmeat and meats from the cheaper stores. DH kept telling me a while back to spend less so I made him go with me once just to look at the current prices. He had no idea prices were that high.

 

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

I understood it when the gas prices went up, groceries went up. But then gas went down dramatically and grocery prices continue to rise! I was very thankful that soda was still on sale this week! Hubby drinks alot of Diet Pepsi, and I can't really buy in bulk, because the more I buy, the more he thinks he should drink, plus Drew hands it out to the neighbor kids! I love the holiday weekends because everybody competes to put it on sale. Yesterday I got two cases of Pepsi for less than $5 each.

 

[coffeehousemom]

Don't get me started on grocery prices!!! The main reason they are up is ALL the trucking companies now charge not only a gas charge for also a handling charge. So if you order $200 worth of stuff to be delivered they charge you whatever their normal gas charge is plus either another fee or a % of your total cost of your order. Its ridiculas trying to get stuff in.


Ceral we buy the Malt O Meal in bags. Same stuff that is name brand but double size for half. My kids love their version of Lucky charms (marshmallow maytes). You can get them at most grocery stores & Walmart for sure.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Good Morning Girls!!! We went to see UP last night. Not gonna tell anything, but bring some Kleenex. I could have used them about 4 different times.But, ya'll know what a sap I am, so keep that in mind. My oldest even sad "Dang, that was sad"!
It's hot and sunny down here! You can tell school is out here---lots of kids runnin' and hollerin' and happy to be out!!! Mike took the kids out for breakfast this morning. So I think while he's got them for a while I am gonna get on the Disney Phone and get some prices for rooms. Have any of you stayed in the BCVillas? Was is worth that extra $$$$?

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Hi all! I read a great review of Up in our paper yesterday. I can't wait to see it now! It said it was "moving", which to me means tear-jerker.

When does everyone else's schools let out? My kids go until June 9. I only have one more Friday where I'm off work and they're at school! Of course I volunteered to help out for "play day" that afternoon. Oh well, I'll go have a nice mocha in the morning!

Never stayed at a villa of any sort. Would like to - especially for a longer visit where I'm doing laundry and might spend more time in the room and want to eat etc. Someday... I didn't like hanging around the laundry room on our last trip. So I'd just be trusting and throw in the load and go shop at the gift shop or get food while it ran.

 

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

Drew was out of school last Friday. We were lucky that they only had 2 or 3 snowdays this year (2 of them were when we were in WDW). Since it's a small private school, they don't have busses, so they don't have to worry about putting those big busses on the road when they're slick-just the parents and kids!

We buy the Malt-o-Meal bags too. Andy doesn't like them because some of them are HUGE and don't fit in the pantry very well (like he puts them away anyway!) He keeps saying he's going to buy containers to put them in but never does.

I've never stayed in the villa's but would LOVE to. We've batted around the idea of renting points but I'm a little nervous about it. Plus, once we go Deluxe, I'll never want to go back to value.

 

[Dancegrl624]

Good Morning Girls!!! We went to see UP last night. Not gonna tell anything, but bring some Kleenex. I could have used them about 4 different times.But, ya'll know what a sap I am, so keep that in mind. My oldest even sad "Dang, that was sad"!
It's hot and sunny down here! You can tell school is out here---lots of kids runnin' and hollerin' and happy to be out!!! Mike took the kids out for breakfast this morning. So I think while he's got them for a while I am gonna get on the Disney Phone and get some prices for rooms. Have any of you stayed in the BCVillas? Was is worth that extra $$$$?

Thanks for posting this Shawna! We're going to see "UP" later this afternoon. Madison is super sensitive, so I'm guessing there will be tears from her. I'm glad that I know this in advance!!!

As far as schools getting out...Madison's last day is June 23rd (the day before we leave!). That seems so late compared to what others are posting. We always start school the Wednesday after Labor Day and get out in late June. I'm not sure when the high school graduation is, but when I graduated it was on June 23rd. It's always on a Friday evening. HS has it's last day around June 10th I'd guess and then they have exams.

 

[letthewookiewin]

Good Morning Girls!!! We went to see UP last night. Not gonna tell anything, but bring some Kleenex. I could have used them about 4 different times.But, ya'll know what a sap I am, so keep that in mind. My oldest even sad "Dang, that was sad"!
It's hot and sunny down here! You can tell school is out here---lots of kids runnin' and hollerin' and happy to be out!!! Mike took the kids out for breakfast this morning. So I think while he's got them for a while I am gonna get on the Disney Phone and get some prices for rooms. Have any of you stayed in the BCVillas? Was is worth that extra $$$$?

Thanks for the warning. I am a total sap, and my DH teases me about it all the time. You know the little digi animated thing they show before Disney movies with the castle and fireworks? Yeah even that gets the misty eyes going on me.

My DS's don't get out until June 4th. However all next week, they only go half days every day. Basically they are just there long enough for them to be counted as being there and then they go home. They used to get out in May a few years back. School would start the first Tuesday in August and then we would get out about May 20th. Then they got a week off in October, a week of in November, a couple of weeks off in December, and two weeks off for Spring Break. Then got had several other random days off.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Meghan, down here we start earlier than ya'll. Most public schools seem to be starting earlier every year. My Sr. year in HS we started around Aug 9. The last couple of years, they have tried to push it back--I think last year it was around the 24th. Which to me is so dumb. They start on a Wed, then the next Mon they are off for Labor day. I think they should wait til Sept anyway--they have really short summers. Besides it's so hot here sept is still scorching.

Meghan-have you gotten all your ADRs that you wanted?
We talked to the kids when we decided to go back for Christmas-just kinda threw out there the option of Dec or jan. They all want to do the Christmas Holiday this time. So, it won't be a secret trip. I am kinda glad---they can pick a couple of things to do in advance.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

We can't start here until after Labor Day. It's a law. Really. The districts have to get special permission if they want to start any earlier. Apparently here, summer tourism is such big business, they can't have summer end any sooner than Labor Day. Plus our state fair runs from about Aug. 23 until Labor Day and a ton of kids work at it. So the first week of school is always 4 days.
I don't mind that it starts then, it's usually pretty hot at the beginning of school, and they don't have A/C in the schools. August would be a sweaty disaster!
Well, I'm off to go turn in our dumb leased van and sign the papers for the new Impala. Whoopee. Hopefully this time it's a done deal. DH called them this morning to arrange it. I just want to get it over with. I used to like getting new cars, now it's a big pain in the rear. Someday I will pick out a really fun, cool vehicle, won't care how much it costs (sort of) and just get it!! Oh well, at least I still get to make most of the Disney decisions!!

Later!

 

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

The last time Andy wanted a new car, I left it up to him WITH restrictions. The payment couldn't be above a certain amount, he couldn't have payments longer than 60 months and our insurance couldn't be any higher. I'd go and sign the final papers when all was said and done. It didn't go that smoothly. By the time they tacked on everything, our payment went down about $5 as opposed to the $25 it was supposed to. Our insurance only went up a few bucks and I think he ended up at 64 months or something.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Sheree~ I cannot beleive you don't have AC in school!! That is amazing! Our kids would be dead the first day!!! Our heat index is still way up in Sept. I know some people were trying to change the law here too, so that school would be after Labor Day--They should do it-makes more sense to me!!

 

[Dancegrl624]

Meghan, down here we start earlier than ya'll. Most public schools seem to be starting earlier every year. My Sr. year in HS we started around Aug 9. The last couple of years, they have tried to push it back--I think last year it was around the 24th. Which to me is so dumb. They start on a Wed, then the next Mon they are off for Labor day. I think they should wait til Sept anyway--they have really short summers. Besides it's so hot here sept is still scorching.

Meghan-have you gotten all your ADRs that you wanted?
We talked to the kids when we decided to go back for Christmas-just kinda threw out there the option of Dec or jan. They all want to do the Christmas Holiday this time. So, it won't be a secret trip. I am kinda glad---they can pick a couple of things to do in advance.

I called Disney dining again yesterday and was able to book Tusker House!!! Madison really wanted to eat there because Daisy is there (at least she better be!). I also was able to move our Sci-Fi to my birthday dinner!!!! We had it on our Saturday around 3:45pm. Way too early for my liking, but I took it because it's all I could get before. I might try to call back again next week to see if there are any opening at LeCellier or CM. If not, I'm very happy with what we have. I actually have to call and cancel Rose & Crown. We only have 4 TS credits and we don't feel like paying OOP on this trip. We'll pay OOP for extra snacks, but not TS.

Sheree~ I cannot beleive you don't have AC in school!! That is amazing! Our kids would be dead the first day!!! Our heat index is still way up in Sept. I know some people were trying to change the law here too, so that school would be after Labor Day--They should do it-makes more sense to me!!

Madison's school doesn't have AC either! It's a very old school and I don't think it's ever been updated. Her school last year (different district) had been recently updated. Actually, the whole district got AC and those white boards (instead of chalk boards). The HS only had AC in one wing when I was there, and now the whole school does. My old HS looks nothing like it did when I went there!

Anyways...we just got back from seeing "UP" and I just loved it! Madison didn't get sad at all, but I sure did! It really doesn't help that I just lost my grandfather a few weeks ago, so that made it even worse. I was so sad for the little old man. The animation was terrific and so realistic! We all really liked it.

 

[letthewookiewin]

We went and saw Up as well today. My DH called on his way home from school and told me to have everyone dressed and ready to go. He was in the mood to go out to eat at On the Border. Since we were next to a movie theater, we decided to go see Up. While me DH and DS11 waited to pay the check, DS10 and I went to get the AC going in the car. A few minutes later, DS11 comes running out telling us that his aunt, uncle, and cousin were there and to come in. Long story made short, we made plans to meet for Up 3D as soon as they were done eating. Since we had 2 hours to kill, we went and got some frozen custard at Sheridan's. I am so glad that I read on here that it was a tear jerker b/c I made sure to have some. I had to use them several times. Even my DH had his "allergies flare up" several times during the movie.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Ellie reminded me of my Granny! I did feel bad for the little old man too!!!
The colors were awesome! It's hard to believe they are cartoons---not like the old stuff!!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Sheree~ I cannot beleive you don't have AC in school!! That is amazing! Our kids would be dead the first day!!! Our heat index is still way up in Sept. I know some people were trying to change the law here too, so that school would be after Labor Day--They should do it-makes more sense to me!!

Well it IS Minnesota - we really shouldn't need A/C after September and before May 15, so it probably wasn't cost-effective! Heat on the other hand, they spent big bucks on!!


We are now the proud (?) owners of a new Chevy Impala. I drove it home - it is nice, nothing I would have picked if it were solely up to me, but the payments are less than the van was, so we'll save a few $ there. It has a HUGE trunk! It's possible I could even fit luggage for a Disney trip in there! We'll see about the insurance. The one flaw that I noticed right away is that it doesn't have a good antenna that my princess ears antenna ball will fit on!! Our other car doesn't either! What's with these fancy new cars? I'll have to get a window cling or something Disney!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

I would much rather try to stay warm than to cool off!! Of course, if I lived up there, I would probably say , not!!!!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

We can't start here until after Labor Day. It's a law. Really. The districts have to get special permission if they want to start any earlier.
I don't mind that it starts then, it's usually pretty hot at the beginning of school, and they don't have A/C in the schools. August would be a sweaty disaster!

Sheree~ I cannot beleive you don't have AC in school!! That is amazing! Our kids would be dead the first day!!! Our heat index is still way up in Sept.

Well it IS Minnesota - we really shouldn't need A/C after September and before May 15, so it probably wasn't cost-effective! Heat on the other hand, they spent big bucks on!!

Same with us! No A/C in the schools! Our summer is sooo short though it would be totally unnecessary! We are just now starting to have really nice weather! The last couple of days have been in the 15-20 degrees celcius range! Very nice! Usually we have our heat wave in the middle of July and by the end of August it is cooling off again! This year will be the first time I can remember that students will go back to school BEFORE Labour Day!

I would much rather try to stay warm than to cool off!! Of course, if I lived up there, I would probably say , not!!!!

Well up here it is much easier to get warmer than to get cooler! I always tell my kids [in relation to winter clothing] that it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it! They know better than to leave the house in winter without a hat and mitts! We are actually very lucky to have Central A/C in our house! We use it only sparingly between the dates of mid June to about the end of August! Heat on the other hand...that gets used EVERY DAY FROM OCT-MAY!!!!!!!!!

 

[snykymom]

Up here in MA, we also don't have air conditioning in the schools - it's not worth the cost. And with the economy the way it is, I'm glad! It would cost a lot, but the uproar from parents if it were to be turned off! - something else would need to be cut. We also start around Labor Day and get out in late June.

And there is a reason why Southern schools start earlier & end earlier than Northern ones. Remember that "summer vacations" started when we were an agrarian society - kids were needed at home for planting, growing and harvesting seasons. Those seasons start and end earlier in southern climates than they do in northern ones. Hence the different summer vacations. And having 2-3 months off is still an artifact of the agrarian society, even though we don't have it anymore!