The DDA Trouble Free Zone

[disneyeveryyear]

Gosh you guys have been chatty.

KATE -We completely understand if you need to take a little time to de-stress. Hopefully tapping into your creative energy will help relieve your stress. I am so sorry to hear that Julia and Nick had a bad weekend. I hope they start to feel better soon. It is so nice that your DH supports you in your quest to run the 1/2 marathon. Sounds like your vacations are set for the next couple of years. Sounds like fun. I cannot believe you did not tell us that Julia had starred in those tapes. My kids had all of them. Beach party was a big favorite here. Obviously your MIL doesn't get the "magic" of Disney and the characters. What a pain in the butt.

PAUL AND MARTI - Oh my goodness, what an awful weekend. Marti, if you use the aloe with lidocaine, it may help your burn. Paul, sorry about your back. A bad back seems to make everything else hurt too.

KRISTINE - I am glad the Dr. could help your daughter, and glad our fellow DDAers could help you find some alternatives for her patch.

GLYNIS - Congrats on your anniversary trip to DL. It is nice that your DH is starting your understand your obsession even if he doesn't share it.

KIM - I am sorry to hear about your strep throad. I hope the anti-biotics kick in quickly. I also think you have had an unfair advantage in the weight loss thread!

BETH - We have always enjoyed POR. I love the foliage. So calming. We will also be there in August. The 5th - 11th. When are you going?

TIA - Sorry you couldn't make your laptop work. For contemporary fiction, I would suggest Janet Evanovich's One for the Money..Two for the Dough...etc. Stephanie Plum (heroine) is a kick.

CLARE- I am sorry you have had such a terrible headache. I hope you start feeling better soon.

MEGAN - Welcome aboard. We would love to see your designs when you finish them.

DEB - Sorry to hear your house has been under siege. Hope everyone starts feeling better soon.

JEN - Thanks for checking in and of course we miss you. Have a great time on your cruise! What critter is that in your sig (your egg)?

TERRY - Congrats on your milestone. Sorry I wasn't here to share with you.

BRENDA - Any extra disney stuff could probably be sold for a good amount on E-bay. We have a couple of places locally that will sell it for you.

JUNE - I am so sorry to hear about your Computer problems. I hope the recovery disc can fix it for you.

MAZDAUK - Welcome back!

Well, I am going to submit this now. I lost the whole thing and had to recreate, so I don't want to take any more chances.

 

[Glynis]

Wow. 16 years that is something to celebrate. When's your anniversary? We went in August and it was so much more cost effective to convert our 5 day to an AP in case we were able to get the stepsons this summer. We would like to take them on a vacation with our family for once. We actually had to drive all the way to IA just to get to see them last summer. So since we had an AP anyway, DH agreed it would be nice to see DL at Christmastime. It really was neat to see all the decorations. So, we're getting 3 trips to DL for the 50th celebration. Now if I could just convince him on DVC so we could go to WDW every 2 instead of 4 years. I'm slowly wearing him down, our trip in 2007 he agreed to stay on-site. We just need his company to make a huge profit so he can get a partner distribution and I could probably sell him on the DVC idea.

Our anniversary is May 26. My sis and I had a double wedding, 18 months later, she's divorced and all my wedding pics have my ex-BIL in them. Oh well. At least I married a keeper.

I'm hoping I can convince DH to upgrade to annual passes, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[bethbuchall]

BETH - We have always enjoyed POR. I love the foliage. So calming. We will also be there in August. The 5th - 11th. When are you going?

We have the time share for August 12th-19th and then would like to add a little more time to the end (I'd like to add at least a week...doubt that is going to happen!)

Beth

 

[bethbuchall]

Poor Julia! My DD's preschool teachers did this 2 weeks before our Feb '04 trip when she was 4.5 years old -- and then denied it to my face. I posted on the Family Board for advice and was met with a lot of "We've never lied to our children about Santa, the Easter Bunny, or the characters." OK, not very helpful. I wanted her to keep believing in the magic, and DH came up with a great idea to help. It undermined the teachers' authority a little bit (but ONLY in the area of all thing WDW), so you may not want to do it and risk her losing respect for your MIL, but it worked in our case.

We had dinner at 1900 Park Fare the night we checked in. Beth said, and not too quietly either, "Why do all these other kids think the characters are real? My teachers say they're just people inside costumes." OK, well we can't have her saying that in front of other kids at WDW, can we? DH suggested that we chat with the Fairy Godmother on the way out.

To prepare her, I asked Beth, "Who do you think knows more about WDW, your teachers or the Fairy Godmother, who lives here?" (Luckily she still believed in the face characters.) She admitted that Fairy Godmother must know more about it. So then we asked Fairy Godmother together if her teachers were correct or if the characters were in fact real.

Fairy Godmother played along so well. She told Beth that the characters were real, and that if she ever noticed that some of them -- like Perla and Suzy Mouse -- were bigger than they were in their movies it was because she herself had made them bigger with her magic wand. And the magic was preserved! 2 trips later, she still believes.

Perhaps a chat with (or a letter from) "your" Belle will help?

Anyway, I feel your pain. They're only little for so long, and I hate when someone tries to spoil any innocence they may have.

I remember reading your original post (or someone else who had the same thing happen with a preschool teacher). I wasn't one of the ones who responded that they didn't "lie" to their children. We believe in a lot of magic here!

Sorry that your MIL had to tell Julia that!

Beth

 

[mgkkgdm]

Hey Kate - can you adopt me? and then I can go on the cruise with you!!!

Sounds like you have a great year planned..... and some really good motivation for training! Good luck!

Like you don't go to Disney enough...

 

[julia & nicks mom]

That is so funny that that was your post - I almost didn't post it b/c I remember you getting flamed on there!!

I didn't say anything about it to my DH yesterday but I broke down and discussed it with him today - he told me to tell her his mom was wrong and that she must not believe in magic

Julia and I just talked about it and she told me that she knows they are costumes - I asked her who is in the costumes - her answer Mickey Mouse is in the Mickey Mouse - etc. I asked why they wear the costumes and she told me it is so they are soft and cuddle!!

But Belle is really Belle!!!!

 

[Glynis]

Like you don't go to Disney enough...

Does anyone REALLY ever get to Disney enough? Is there such a thing?

 

[bear74]

Hey Skunka Hunka how is your back feeling.
We had our morning song with out you.
Bye the way I like your badge sherrif.

 

[Glynis]

That is so funny that that was your post - I almost didn't post it b/c I remember you getting flamed on there!!

I didn't say anything about it to my DH yesterday but I broke down and discussed it with him today - he told me to tell her his mom was wrong and that she must not believe in magic

Julia and I just talked about it and she told me that she knows they are costumes - I asked her who is in the costumes - her answer Mickey Mouse is in the Mickey Mouse - etc. I asked why they wear the costumes and she told me it is so they are soft and cuddle!!

But Belle is really Belle!!!!

She is SOOOOOO smart!!!!

 

[bear74]

That is so funny that that was your post - I almost didn't post it b/c I remember you getting flamed on there!!

I didn't say anything about it to my DH yesterday but I broke down and discussed it with him today - he told me to tell her his mom was wrong and that she must not believe in magic

Julia and I just talked about it and she told me that she knows they are costumes - I asked her who is in the costumes - her answer Mickey Mouse is in the Mickey Mouse - etc. I asked why they wear the costumes and she told me it is so they are soft and cuddle!!

But Belle is really Belle!!!!

she is way to smart. watch out Kate.

 

[tmfranlk]

All right you guys... You really have made me feel welcome after a very rough week. I am testing the waters right now... but I will keep this handy in case I need it.

Better late than never, but welcome back, Tom. Hope you'll stick around without need for your preserver.

 

[ksoehrlein]

Thanks, Kate and Beth, for not being among the flamers on my previous Family Board post. I really thought most other DISers would understand. I was a bit shocked by some of their reactions, but grateful to those who stuck up for me!

I'm so glad to hear that Julia has it all figured out about the characters. Too cute!

 

[eeyore45]

That is so funny that that was your post - I almost didn't post it b/c I remember you getting flamed on there!!

I didn't say anything about it to my DH yesterday but I broke down and discussed it with him today - he told me to tell her his mom was wrong and that she must not believe in magic

Julia and I just talked about it and she told me that she knows they are costumes - I asked her who is in the costumes - her answer Mickey Mouse is in the Mickey Mouse - etc. I asked why they wear the costumes and she told me it is so they are soft and cuddle!!

But Belle is really Belle!!!!

What a wonderful solution!!

My dd is 9, and she is more "creative" than others in her class, and its been hard!! It doesnt help that our ds's are older -but they believe in magic, and that helps!! The whole debate reminds me of the "Yes, Virgina there is a Santa Claus" that's how I raise my dd, right or wrong, I believe it is better to live believing in magic and pixie dust than not... When dd asks me, I always ask her what she thinks!! Right now its dragons - she is obsessed with dragon lore!! But I do think its important to encourage imagination - remember the Santa in Miracle on 34th street? We're Christian, but we celebrate the "miracles" in life, and we use the Miracle of Hannakuh as a time to sit and talk about miracles!!

I'm a substitute teacher, but worked as a preschool teacher, and these subjects do come up, the world isnt perfect, so Ido prefer to communicate with my children - talking helps - - we, the parents, have to be our kids 'safety net' and I do believe in miracles!! I do believe in the magic of Disney!!

Good for the Fairy Godmother - she is a wonderful addition!! She's so good at creating the magical atmosphere!!

 

[eeyore45]

I just realized I stumbled into this thread, I thought I was in the weight accountablity thread...

 

[eeyore45]

Thanks, Kate and Beth, for not being among the flamers on my previous Family Board post. I really thought most other DISers would understand. I was a bit shocked by some of their reactions, but grateful to those who stuck up for me!

I'm so glad to hear that Julia has it all figured out about the characters. Too cute!

Sorry this happened, its like a lot of people that dont believe in magic feel its necessary to thrust their "the glass is half empty philosphy down our throats!!

 

[ksoehrlein]

KIM - I am sorry to hear about your strep throad. I hope the anti-biotics kick in quickly. I also think you have had an unfair advantage in the weight loss thread!

Sorry for "cheating." If it helps to know, I almost always gain illness-related weight loss back immediately once I start feeling better. Don't know why, because I make a conscious effort not to gorge myself, but I guess that's just the way my body recovers. My unfair advantage will probably disappear tomorrow or Wednesday. But you'll see I posted my weekly update on the other thread because I'd still like it to count!

 

[eeyore45]

(PS I cant even remember where I posted yesterday, let alone awhile ago...

 

[ksoehrlein]

Sorry this happened, its like a lot of people that dont believe in magic feel its necessary to thrust their "the glass is half empty philosphy down our throats!!

Thanks. I'm quite over it now; hadn't really thought about the whole thing until today. I don't post much on the Family Board any more because of it, though. I much prefer the way we discuss our family issues here!

 

[WeLoveTheMouse]

Marti and Paul, I hope you both recover soon! And I second the motion that you guys avoid preparing and eating chicken for a while.

Kate, I hope the kids feel better.

With regard to my health, I found out that I have strep throat, which has been great for the diet (can't swallow anything). I got a steroid shot and some antibiotics today, so I'm well on my way to recovery. Now one more pixie dust request: I'm hoping the kids and DH don't get it! I had no idea I had anything that contagious -- my fever had been very low until this morning -- so I spent the weekend cuddling the kids while I rested. Bad mommy, spreading her germs!

Lots of time, the little ones have some built in antibodies to streph it seems. If they haven't caught it before, maybe they won't. My DD was in 1st grade before she started catching it even though she was exposed a lot. Here is some for the whole family.

 

[WeLoveTheMouse]

Julia is watching the Disneyland sing along songs

does anyone have this? There is a little girl about 7 or 8 with super curly hair and Julia tells me that is her and tells me all about when she went to Disneyland to be in the tape - that girl has quite an imagination!!

which is why yesterday I got very irritated with my MIL - we were at breakfast talking about the cruise and Julia was telling her she couldn 't wait and the only thing she didn't like was that Captain Hook was going to be in the kids club (Did I mention we have the cruise DVD and Julia watches it often) so I told her that we would make sure she was not in the club when he was there and then my MIL says:

Julia - you know Captain Hook isn't real - he is just a character - it is someone like Daddy dressed up in a costume pretending to be Captain Hook - characters aren't real

why doesn't she go ahead and tell her Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy don't exist either!! ***??!?!?

then today Julia said to me - mommy - are the country bears real or just in costumes

now I know that someday she will figure it out - but she immerses herself so completely in the Fantasy that I really don't think it was necessary for my MIL to tell her that - I would rather just let her figure it out on her own

I would go insane at an adult that said that to my DDs. My DD4 broke my heart on her own this trip. She told me when we were leaving that the characters were not real because they did not talk. Thank goodness she said that the princesses were real because they talked to her. The first trip we went on she was 2 years and 3 months and that was the most magical thing - that they were all real. My older DD was 5 and 1/2 then & 7 this time and she has never admitted that they were not real. Different personalities completely. It is one thing for them to realize it and another for an adult to spoil it.