The Official New Mom Thread Part 2

[Alice28]

A random Disney question for you all:

Which Disney resort that you have stayed at is your favorite so far?

Which resort do you hope to stay at someday?

Which resort do you really have no desire to stay at?


For me: I think the WL wins it for the one that's my fave so far. The ambience is killer. But I sure loved the size of the CR rooms, and the fact we could walk to the MK. And the monorail. It's a close second!

I hope to someday stay at the Beach Club! And maybe the Poly.

I really have no desire to stay at All Stars. Or Caribbean Beach.

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

Which Disney resort that you have stayed at is your favorite so far?
Contemporary

Which resort do you hope to stay at someday?
All the Deluxes, especially the Poly and the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Which resort do you really have no desire to stay at?
I've stayed at Pop Century and All Star Music so I have no desire to stay at a value again. I've also stayed at CBR and hated it. I have no desire to stay there again.

 

[Alice28]

Warning VENT ahead:

Long story short, my BIL and SIL are divorcing (he's my DH's brother). She is a crazy maniac who was abusive to him. He has learning disabilities, which she claims he 'hid from her' while they were dating. Cripes, you can tell my BIL has learning disabilities from the first two sentences that come out of his mouth. He is just slow, especially socially slow, but still can hold down a job, etc.

He decided to leave her last April when a job he had with the USPS didn't work out- he just wasn't quite fast enough. SIL blew up. They have triplet 7 year olds. (A whole other ball of wax). He left for MIL's house. MIL is pretty well off, and BIL and SIL live in one of her rental homes. SIL still lives there with the children, and the kids are with MIL and BIL 3-5 days a week. BIL works for $8 an hour at Target.

SIL didn't flip out too much at first; I think she got a little scared because she lives in my MIL's home and every car they've had since they've been married has been a hand me down from my ILs. But today my MIL called- my stupid, idiotic SIL wants a court order banning my MIL from all future court hearings! ***!? She is literally biting the hand that feeds her. She wants spousal support from my BIL and her atty fees paid by him. And she wants some court order that he get a better paying job. (He worked for Motorola when they first got married and was making $15 an hour or so- but they got bought out and everyone got laid off....and the tech industry isn't what it was in the Bay Area). She is just crazy, in her own little world.

My BIL has NO ASSETS. I think he has a retirement fund from motorola, but other than that, nothing. No house, no savings, nothing. He already gives her almost half his check every month for the child support, and 1/4 goes to his health insurance.

I hate her. DH is talking on the phone with his mom right now talking about coming down to San Jose for this court hearing in Sept. My MIL could be seen as meddling, but my BIL needs help. My MIL has said a thousand times that if SIL was loving and supportive of my BIL, she wouldn't have had a problem with her- but from day one, she's been a controlling, mean, hateful bi*ch, and basically just wants a piece of my in-laws money. She is so lucky she has my MIL, or she and my nephews and niece would be living on the street.

ETA- she only has to pay my MIL $400 a month for a 3 bedroom home in SAN JOSE.....it would easily go for $1,800 a month. Half the time she doesn't even pay all of it. I just cannot believe her GAUL.

 

[Hillbeans]

Which Disney resort that you have stayed at is your favorite so far?
Animal Kingdom Lodge

Which resort do you hope to stay at someday?
The Beach Club, Poly, BWI, WL

Which resort do you really have no desire to stay at?
AS, POP, OKW, Grand Floridian

It's funny about resorts - i've always liked the look of the GF, but i've never wanted to stay there. To me, it just seems overpriced for what you get. I'm sure to many people on here that it's the resort they want to stay in most. I guess that's why there are so many choices so there's something for everyone!

Ok Alice and SL - what's wrong with the Caribe. Beach? I am seriously considering staying there next year because the only week my DH will give the green light to a trip is one where my son won't miss one minute of school - so that puts us in one of the busiest weeks of the year. Our plan was to stay at the BC or BWI but the cost of staying there that week for the room only is double the cost of a moderate. I got a quote yesterday to stay from friday March 30th departing Good Friday 4/5 at an AAA rate of $1407 for a water view room, which I thought was pretty good. Is there something wrong with CBR? We stayed at POFQ and liked it, but it wasn't as fancy as the AKL which we really liked. DH wants to stay at the Wilderness lodge, but that's going for $2400 for the same week. I really want to get to WDW next spring, so getting to go at all will be a real treat for us.

Alice - i'm sorry to hear all that's going on with your DH's brother's wife.

I'm sorry I don't have more time to update tonight but i've got pages of posts to read first and I want to catch up with everyone, so i'll talk with you all tomorrow at some point.

Good night ladies.

 

[Alice28]

Hillbeans~ I don't think anything is wrong with CB. Heck, I've never even seen it! The reasons I don't want to stay there are: I'm not keen on the Caribbean theme; it looks very laid out- like a long walk from some of the rooms to the food court, etc....I like my refillable mug, what can I say! From some trip reports I have read, it's an older moderate, and it's not as updated as POR. I'm sure it's fine, just not what I would want in a resort....I'm not too enthusiastic about CSR either for the same layout reasons, but I like the looks of the pool.

I am not wanting to stay at GF either. It's just toooo fru-fru for me. I would feel like the Clampetts or something. Did I ever tell you guys this story? When we went to WDW in 2003, we ate at Ohana one night. Josh was only 20 months at the time, and was a real pill at dinner. When the pineapple came, he finally lightened up and just ate piece after piece. We took a napkin full with us, and got off the monorail at the GF just to walk around, look in the shops, etc. Well, as the rest of us were in that main shop on the second floor, DH took Josh to the balcony overlooking the lobby. Josh had a piece of pineapple in his hand as he was gnawing on it....there were some little girls in their fancy princess dresses sitting on sofas down below, and DH says, "Look Joshie, look at Cinderella!" And then Josh LOBS a piece of pineapple down at the girl and IT HIT HER! OMG! DH fast-walks in the store and says, "We need to leave- they're going to kick us out of here- Josh just threw a piece of pineapple at some little girls in their fancy dresses down below!"

Back to the SOG wing of the Contemporary we went!

I hope you are able to go! DH FINALLY 'talked Disney' with me, after we talked about Vegas and Hawaii for a bit. I just told him what I wanted to say about the possibilty of a Shades overflow rate next time, and adding the dining plan if we can.

I just ate half a bowl of guacamole that I made myself. Yum, yum. I did eat it with half carrots, half chips. Now DH is making fondue, and I'm afraid I'm full....I'm sure I can stuff some down!

 

[gottalovethem]

Hi Ladies. I hope everyone is well. I, for some reason, am feeling very emotional this evening. Maybe it's because I just saw "Remember the Titans" and it reminds me what a crazy world we live in and how grateful that I can lived in a mixed household with so much love. I am also feeling extremely grateful for my three little ones. As much as they drive me crazy, I love them even more and feel so blessed to have three healthy children in my home this evening. I'm also grateful to have found this thread and all of you great women. thank you for being so accepting and supportive.

OK, enough mush The kids and I had a playdate with a mom who just found out she's pg with #4! I am very excited for her. Then, we actually went on a small outing with DH today, that doesn't happen often. It was nice to do something as a family. I think he really needs to see the kids in action to understand who they are. He seems to think kids should be still and silent like statues He has a lot to learn. But we will take small steps

justhat - I've been thinking of Henry today. I hope his bili levels are doing ok and that he is continuing to eat well for you. We have some wonderful weather here with lots of sun and not hot at all, I hope you have the same so Henry can get outdoors. Sorry to hear about the hypospadias repair, I had never heard of it before but just checked online to see what it's about. That sounds stressful to go through as a parent, but luckily with the right dr. it will be taken care of and if done while a babe, Henry will never remember it.

Love the pics of Henry, and Madison too!

lissawynn - hope you are feeling well today. I'm so sorry to hear about your student. I think a donation to the library in her name is a GREAT idea!

Crazy about the neighbor. That is so darn rude I'd be mad. I hope all went well with the bank. I think I need to see your plans. It sounds like you are having done something similar to what I'd like done with our house.

Robin - after here I have to check the BB thread to see what's going on, a redo on the HOH? I can't wait to see all about it. Hope the house cleaning went well. My kitchen looks like a tornado swept through it. Shopping, cleaning, making $ on ebay, painting..you go girl! You are way on the ball!! Sounds like lots of fun at the shopping areas, wish we had some cool places like that. Sorry SIL is such a PITA. I hope MIL can kick her out.

Gretchen - you left today, I hope you have a great trip!

zalansky - HI!!

Hillbeans, bellacam and all other moms, Hello. I'm posting before I lose this.

FF - we all have those lack of motivation days, just enjoy the down time, chores will be there when you are done Good luck to your family on the meds and the court case.

J&D - Hello. I hope you are doing well. Is "going to school" one of the books you have? Would you mind sending me a link so I can look at it? We did pick up a couple books at the library and she seemed to be slightly better yesterday, as she asked for us to play at the playground at the new school (she wouldn't even play there the day before). So hopefully we are moving in the right direction.

Tasha - hi. So you start school Tuesday. I'd be so mad about the paycheck too, we need every dime we can get! I hope it gets worked out quickly. And yes, sending kids to school/daycare is a lot easier when they are driving you crazy

nucpharm - hello. I hope you are doing well and getting settled. How do you like the new house - minus cable?

ginamarie - hope the b'day party was good. When's your b'day? How old (if you don't mind sharing). Leif's one year is sneaking up on me and I know I need to get something planned! Wow about your family WDW trip. That must have taken lots of patience!

Val - I don't know if any of her preschool friends are in her class, none that I know of. A neighbor friend (whom I thought was moving before school is now not moving for at least a month) is in the same class, so that's awesome and will probably help. Hope the lunch on the lake went well.

Diskim - I'm glad you are feeling better about your hairdo. I know I always have to redo my hair too, and I don't even have curls I have to drive 1 hour to civilization! Though we did finally get a Target and Home Depot about 2 years ago. They've been teasing an Olive Garden for years now, but it's never been built. . . Have fun at WDW

disneyphd - oh my about your friend, that is so exciting! I'm glad the baby came along and babe and mom are doing so well. Question, do you know anything about Maumee Bay in Ohio? We are headed there later this month and I saw you say something about Cedar Point, so I wondered if you were in that vicinity.

Ryan - hope you were able to get your car fixed

jill - hope you have a nice weekend trip. At dd's school there is a new student tour with the school principal (he knows me because I used to work for the district, and still freelance for them). So we will be sure to do that and visit a couple times too. Her teacher is supposed to be awsome, so I am hoping all will be great. I can't say anything about kids throwing fits in public as mine have thrown their share

bnb - glad robert likes school. yes, we will visit the school and the playground a few times before school starts, just to feel more comfortable with it all. We are out of time the week before school starts, so I hope that doesn't mess dd up more. . . ugh, all we can do is try our best Havea great trip, I can't wait to hear the details!! How cute about Jocelyn

SL - Hi. I hope all is well!

Gems - We miss you!

zalansky - i've been craving a glass of wine lately, I'd love to go out

Disney Questions: I've only stayed at CBR. Would love Animal Kingdom (a room overlooking the savanah) and WL. Not interest in All Stars or Pop.

 

[zalansky]

I am playing because DH and I just got home and I am buzzed! BAD GIRL I AM. I KNOW.

Which Disney resort that you have stayed at is your favorite so far?
Wilderness Lodge - love the theme and that is the most we could afford. Get back to me in 3 weeks after we stay at Boardwalk.

Which resort do you hope to stay at someday?
Grand Floridian.

Which resort do you really have no desire to stay at?
All Stars We stayed at Pop once and that was enough! With all the cheerleading events and smaller rooms, no thanks.

Okay so we just got home and I had 5 drinks. 5 Appletinis in 5 hours. HELLO??? That is alot and DH is whining right now that I am online and not getting ready for "bed." WHATEVER. We had so much fun! Dinner was great....but I need to be honest, I would get pulled over (internet police) if a cop saw me typing right now so I am saving you all and going to bed. howl at the moon was a blast! So much fun and now I do want to do Jellyrolls in a few weeks.
Off I go. Goodnight ladies.

 

[Ginamarie]

Floridafam- Great news about the computer! I think we had a power source problem with one of our computers once now that you mention it. Sorry you had a spat with your DH

Lissawynn- Sorry to hear about the indigestion. Hopefully it wont last long!

Alice- Great Questions! Here are my answers:

Which Disney resort that you have stayed at is your favorite so far?
Poly (the monorail is awesome) and POFQ

Which resort do you hope to stay at someday?
Wilderness Lodge and the Beach Club

Which resort do you really have no desire to stay at?
All Star Sports and CBR(my least favorite of the moderates)

That stinks about your SIL. I hear the most unbelievable stories when people are getting divorced. Everyone thinks they’re getting the short end of the stick, etc etc. I can’t see how there’s any chance a court is going to order your BIL to “get a better job”, and I’m not sure what kind of spousal support she thinks she’s going to get. People are so greedy

Hillbeans- I’m with you about the Grand Floridian. I love the look of it, especially at Christmas time, but it seems so overpriced! It would probably be higher on my list if it didn’t cost so much. We loved the Poly though (the only monorail resort we’ve stayed at) and I know the GF would be just as convenient.
CBR was our least favorite of the moderate resorts. If you thought POFQ wasn’t fancy enough I’m not sure you’d care that much for CBR either. Compared to the other moderates, the rooms seemed older, there was a lot of walking to get to the food court and we had an average to below average experience with the buses. We also had less than stellar housekeeping on that trip, but I know that varies with whatever CM you get.
We liked that POFQ was so compact so that everything was nearby. Coronado Springs was also spread out, but they seemed to have more buses. They also had a much nicer food court area. Just MHO, but I wouldn’t pick CBR over the other moderate resorts.

Gottalovethem- I turn 28 next Saturday. Normally I get pretty excited about my birthday because we have a big party celebrating my birthday (the 19th), my grandfather’s birthday (the 15th) and my grandparents’ anniversary (the 14th). It’s going to be very low key this year though because I don’t have the energy or the extra money to be throwing a party just one week before Olivia’s Christening and two weeks before the closing! Plus my brother and his fiancé and my SIL and BIL are going to all be out of town. We have way too many things happening all at once.

Zalansky- Glad you had a nice night out!

BIL’s birthday party was ok. The weather was beautiful and there was plenty of food. We found out that BIL and SIL decided to change their plans about going to the UK this week because of the terror scare. They’re talking about going to Vegas instead, but it’s all last minute to be making changes like that. I don’t want to imagine what kind fees they’re going to incur. We wound up leaving before the cake, because it was getting late and Olivia (and DH) needed to get to bed. MIL had to take off Olivia’s pooh socks as soon as she saw them.

FIL was very pleased when DH said we probably wouldn’t be vacationing much if at all next year. He started in about how now we’ll just take vacation days to enjoy the house instead of “flying off to Hawaii.” I have never flown off to Hawaii of course. We’ve cruised to the Caribbean a couple of times and once through the Panama Canal, but apparently that’s too much traveling! I know that travel is expensive, but I guess that’s my vice. I don’t drink or smoke or gamble. I try to control my shopping expenses and always use coupons, but if I want to take a couple of vacations a year, I think I deserve it! This year we can only afford the one vacation (to WDW) and that’s fine with me, but if I had the money I’d be spending some of it on another vacation and he knows it (and he hates that). I don’t know why this bothers him so much. I could vent more, but I think that sufficiently released my frustration over the situation.

 

[nucpharm29]

Hey all!

Well, I think DH finally got fed up with our pseudo internet yesterday. He had been telling me for the past few weeks, that "it's not so bad" Yeah, for him it's not, b/c he can run to the office and use his work computer that's super fast, while I'm stuck here in the stone age, using slower than dial up service. So, he's supposed to be calling the cable company again today and find out what's up. I'm ready to call SBC myself and set up DSL and Dish network b/c this is ridiculous!!!!!!

anyway, I had a nice day yesterday. I used my spa gift cert. that my parents got me for my bday for a massage, mani and pedi. And then had my haircut--but then after all that relaxation coming back home was like walking into a war zone--at least I got a few hours of peace and quiet!!

zalansky--sounds like you had a fun night out! Too bad I won't be able to meet up with you at BW--sounds like we could've had a fun girls night out!
Maybe you can talk your DH into letting you come meet up with me in April!

WEll, DS is now in my lap, so I better go before he gets into any trouble up here! Have a great Sunday all and I hope to check back in later!

 

[vald1977]

Hi everyone,
My DSL went down about 10 minutes after I posted yesterday and just came back now. I don't know how you all can handle no computer for weeks. I was going after one day and I wasn't even home the majority of the time! There is nothing on tv on Sat. and dh always crashes before 8 p.m. since he works Friday night so my computer keeps me company on Sat. nights .

Lissawynn,
I meant to say how sorry I am to hear about your former student. I think a donation to the library is a lovely idea.

Which Disney resort that you have stayed at is your favorite so far?
We haven't ever stayed onsite before - I'm deprived

Which resort do you hope to stay at someday?
Boardwalk, Contemporary, WL, AKL, Beach Club

Which resort do you really have no desire to stay at?
Pop, All stars (except for the family suites - those look neat), CBR, CS, GF for pretty much the same reasons as you all listed, Poly - don't stone me I just don't like the look of it

The reunion was really fun yesterday. I got to hold a 2 week old baby .

Sorry to not do a proper catch-up but dh is getting restless with the baby. I'll be back later .

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Good afternoon, gang! I have a few minutes before I get back to the grind--I better not get used to having some casual time, because it's going way, way away once school starts. I was just looking in the paper and found a dance school with evening "dance camp", for just three days (1 hr/day) next week, where Jocelyn can go to learn hip-hop. This school also teaches ballroom, which she's interested in, so I'm on the hook for their open house next weekend as well. But she loves it, and it's great exercise.

Favorite Disney resort: Poly--we keep going back. Beach Club would be my favorite if I didn't have young children.

Someday Disney resort: AK Lodge (my dream "parents only" spot)

No interest in: Grand Floridian, Pop Century, All-Stars. I agree on the GF--my MIL took my nieces to stay there once. They were all the way by the lake (she probably paid extra for lagoon view), so it was a schlep just to get to dining and the monorail. For all that money, they should be carrying you in a litter, IMHO! I also agree on the frou-frou aspects. Not horrible, if you're into that, but (a) we would also look like the Clampetts, and (b) even if it were just DH and me, and we looked respectable, I wouldn't want to have to pay all that money to deal with other people's bratty kids tearing through the place. I mean, you expect kids at Disney, but to me, it just wrecks the whole "look" of the place to hear a kid's temper tantrum int he middle of the Victorian splendor. and BTW, Robin--ROFL about the pineapple! I could so see Robert doing something like that!

Robin--Sorry to hear about your SIL being such a b*tch. She's definitely biting the hand that feeds her by messing with your MIL. She's going to wind up with much, much less than she had when she was married. Such a shame that she has to be like that. I hate hearing about divorce, esp. with kids involved.

Well, yesterday I was out shopping, and I picked up a Sesame Street bounce house for 50% off at Wal-Mart. They had been $299, and I thought they were cute, but not that cute. Well, I sprung at $150. It can hold 200 pounds, which means all 4 kids can go in it (for now, anyway), plus our rec room is big enough that I can even set it up inside on snow days and so forth. So, we'll get a lot of use out of it. Also, last night DH camped out in the tent with the older three. It got down close to freezing, believe it or not, but they made it through. I think we need a new tent, though, as this one is just decaying. We tend to set it up in the backyard and leave it up all summer. The kids got to see the Perseid meteor shower. It's the stuff memories are made of, even if they were cold enough for hot cocoa at 6 this morning!

FF--So glad to hear you didn't have to replace the entire computer.

Are we taking bets on whether zalansky got lucky last night? She seemed a tad tipsy when she posted. I hope she's not hung over...

Oops, time to run!

 

[Alice28]

GLT- so glad you got to have some family time yesterday! We love you too! I'm glad we are all here for each other too. We have an A+ group of ladies here.

Z- your post made me laugh! I had 2 drinks for the first time in ages last night- you certainly topped me! I vote that, yes, you got lucky. Can't wait to hear about your adventures at the Boardwalk!

GM- wow, you went to Panama? I imagine someday we will go there; my FIL grew up in the "Canal Zone." His father was some sort of mechanic for the locks and there was a whole American population down there in the 20s-60s.

Nucpharm- I'm so glad you go to go to the spa! How nice! And I hope your cable is fixed ASAP.

Val- I would die without my computer for more than 6-7 hours too...I have had ours die and found myself at the library signing on just to check my email! That was when DH was overseas though, so I wasn't totally pathetic.

BNB- score on the bounce house! That will be so fun for the kids! How fun that your kids camp in the backyard. I think I might get a tent next summer so the kids can do that. They're old enough. They did sleep on the porch last night with their kitties.

Well, we about got the upstairs unloaded. I'm tired! The boy's room is almost put back together already downstairs- their beds and most of their clothes anyway. The toys will stay put for now. DH is at the dump with the stuff we don't want....I made another monstro Goodwill trip awhile ago. Got about another hour's worth of work ahead of us and then we can go crash at my parents. I see some liquor in my future! We have to back here at 8 though, in case the carpet people actually come then. My window is 8-11. I hate that.

I went to a bday party for nosy neighbor's daughter- awkward. We have spoken twice since I blew at her 3 weeks ago. There were a ton of people there- mostly family I guess. A former neighbor was there, and she and I were kinda close- she's a really sweet girl and she's who nosy neighbor used to barge in on all the time....when she moved, I got the priviledge. Anyway, I said, "I'm sure you heard I blew my top....I just couldn't take all this neighborhood garbage anymore, and somehow she always seemed to be at the root of a lot of it." She said, "Yeah, she was so confused at why you were so upset, and she said 'I guess C overheard me saying some stuff about Robin to the other neighbors, and that's how it got back to her." Gee, ya think! And old neighbor told her, "Yeah, that's exactly what Robin was probably upset about- just the random gossip that gets filtered around." Ding-ding-ding!

Her DD acted like the most spoiled brat- I mean, not tantrum throwing bad, but her mother brought her this chair to sit in (we were at a park) and her friends all brought the gifts to her (like 15+++ gifts) and she didn't say a word after opening any of them. My kids know to say, "THANK YOU JOE" or THANK YOU GRAMMA after opening something. She would just open it, and immediately hand it to her mother. It was odd. She is 5. When her mother used to come over here all the time, one of her frequent complaints was that her DH thought she was spoiling the DD to death and he couldn't stand to see his DD turning into such a brat. And the mother just couldn't see it. And then her mother instructed her to say thank you everyone at the end, and she just mumbled it. Those are the kinds of things that get under my skin.

Anyway, I guess I don't know much else. I wish my parents had a pool or hot tub! DH and I are both going to be sore!

Have a good evening all!

 

[vald1977]

Robin,
I'm glad you were able to get so much accomplished. I'm sure the rooms will look great once they are all back together. Hope you have a restful evening at your parent's.

Sounds like nosey neighbor is bringing up a spoiled brat . Unfortunately I know a few of those types.

BnB,
What a sweet story about Jocelyn telling Robert all about "her house" as a baby .

GM,
I would be annoyed with the IL's telling you how to spend your money too. Hey, if you want to take vacations then what does it hurt them? Isn't it so fascinating when babies start exploring more? Olivia sounds like a darling .

Nucpharm,
I hope you get the issues settled with your service soon. I would be going crazy by now .

GLT,
I'm glad you had a nice family outing this weekend. The brat eating contest was on again on ESPN and I was thinking of you .

Hi to everyone else !

Lee is finally home with his parents. Apparently he kept them up all night last night. First time parents, they won't know what hit them . They rescheduled the baby shower to Sept. 24th but we will be in Disney then so I just sent him a gift through Children's Place.

I watched Brokeback Mountain the other night. I must be the only person who didn't think it was that great of a movie. I mean, it was okay but just seemed really loooong to me. I have the The Family Stone to watch with SJ Parker but I don't know if I'm in the mood to watch a movie. Maybe I'll work on Katrina' video montage. I finally got some footage of her walking to add in. I really would like to order it soon.

TTYL

 

[gottalovethem]

I didn't get to see BB yet because DH is home and he's watching some scifi show (not my cup of tea) but it gives me time to catch up on posts, check my ebay stuff and maybe even begin working on a couple articles.

OMG - get this, I felt like horrible mom today. The day started and I thought we were good on time. I get a call from a friend and tell her we are going to early church, she said, "you are? It already started" EEks, we ran out and went to church (luckily it's just across the street). Then we get home, eat and get everyone rounded up to do DD's last parade. It's in a town that I really haven't targetted before and didn't look at directions. Well, long story short we were a good 30 miles away from where we should have been and then had to drive another 30 miles another direction to get there, by the time we did the parade was half done and I couldn't find out where to go.

Amazingly though, I pull down a street and there is her group!! I pull her out of the van and run her to her group (cop was watching me and the van and wondering what in the world I was doing) and then tredged around finding out where to meet her. I'm glad she was able to participate, even for just a few blocks adn then we watched the rest of the parade, which was really good. It took over 1 hour to go someplace that should have only taken 25 minutes!! What a waste of time and gas $$, but I am so thankful we found it, as I was feeling horrible (plus I was mad, at myself and was getting really angry).

Whew, confession over.

Val - ESPN is never on in my home, I like sports more than DH Glad you were thinking of me

Robin - the way my kids behave at times, I don't think I can even comment on the neighbor, I'm embarrassed to say. I try so hard with the manners and behavior, but I don't always get what I expect. Just today we were outside with two other neighbors and their kids -- one neighbor has kids that are perfect and expects that from all others, I know she gets irritated with mine - and apparently my kids tackled a boy and started hitting him, along with the other kids hitting him too. He is older by a few years than all the other kids, and his mom says he's fine, but holy sh**. I couldn't believe they hit him. They were two houses away, just off the sidewalk when it happened and I didn't have my glasses on, so I couldn't see what they were doing. Perfect mom punished her kid and sent her to bed right away, I was a bit delayed in the talking/punishing and most was done at home, but I'm sure I looked like I let my kids get away with all that stuff . . . sometimes I just have a hard time making sure they behave.

Glad you are getting everything done for the carpet. It's getting installed tomorrow, correct?

bnb - the bounce house sounds like fun, and to be able to do it inside when the weather's cold rocks! We need a room like that

nucpharm - be sure to let us know if you get service soon! I would be insane without Noggin for the kids and the internet for myself.

zalansky - hope you were feeling okay today, glad you and dh were able to go out. I had myself a glass of wine this evening, which was nice.


ginamarie - wow, you have a lot of activities going on in such a short timespan. Did you find out if you have to have another survey done? Sounds like you have taken some great vacations. Before I got married I would travel once a year, now, our WDW trip earlier this year was the first real vacation I've had in five years!! But now I want more again!

Have a great night.

 

[justhat]

I actually typed out a response to a lot of people about 2 hours ago and then I hit this button on the side of our mouse that acts like hitting the back button on a website so that was the end of that post. We've only had the mouse about a monthsince the batteries exploded in our old mouse and killed it so I'm not really used to it yet. It was very annoying to say the least cause I feel like it was my first chance to really catch up.

Tonight I started thinking that maybe my mom doesn't like Madison that much and then she basically said it to me. I feel horrible and actually cried about it. She's been here since the 4th and is leaving tomorrow and I can't tell you how ready I am for her to go, especially now. Don't get me wrong, I in no way think Madison is a perfect child, but I don't think she's the terror my mom does. She has always had a challenging personality, but I guess my mom just can't deal with that. I was a very easy going kid and Madison simply is not, so in my mom's opinion this means she's a bad kid and I'm a bad mom. For example, Madison's got a thing with her socks, she doesn't like to have the seam on her pinkie toe. For me it's not a big deal, I know that so I just make sure her socks are on the "right" way. To my mom that is ridiculous and she should wear the socks however they are put on and she knows I'll cater to her stupid demands so that's why she does it. But then Madison will ask for something and my mom will say no, Madison will cry for a half second and my mom says "okay, here it is". So then when I say no to her she cries and cries and my mom's response is that she knows I let her get away with anything, though I'm the one who is saying no and she's the one giving in. I explained that and she said it's not her job to discipline. My feeling is that no, ordinarily it's not, but if she's in charge of a situation, like she was when I was in the hospital, or if I'm not there or whatever, then it's her job to have some sort of rules. She refuses to have any sort of rule that will make Madison cry, but of course that just perpetuates the situation and I am blamed. Earlier tonight Madison asked for milk, water, and yogurt, which I told my mom not to give her cause I knew she was full and wouldn't eat it. My mom said she was not telling her no cause she'd cry so she gave it to her, then when she didn't eat it she told Madison that she was naughty and mean. Right now she's still up cause my mom insisted on keeping Madison downstairs with her, but she won't just put her to bed, so she's letting her watch DVRed Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I wanted to put her to bed myself but my mom fought me on it, insisted on doing it, now she'll tell me tomorrow how she shouldn't stay up that late, 2yos should go to bed sooner, that she needs more rest, etc., And aside from knowing that she gets whatever she wants from my mom the past 9 days, she's going through a big adjustment so I'm sure that's contributing to her heightened emotional state. Ugh, sorry to complain like that, but it was just so upsetting to hear her rant on and on about how bad Madison is, what a disservice I'm doing to her, she's going to be a terror, etc. And I can't call anyone to complain cause then my mom would hear me.

GLT, I consider what you did to be characteristic of a great mom caue I know I would have given up on that drive (and church for that matter). Hey, we haven't been to church since Ash Wednesday and we used to be really good about going every week.

BnB, that story about your kids when you brought Robert home is so cute. It's interesting to see how they react to a sibling, and it sounds like Jocelyn welcomed him right away.

GM, I agree with you on the vacations. And honestly, unless you're asking FIL to foot the bills I'm not sure why he cares. People amaze me. We actually took out a higher loan amount last year to pay for the vacations we took simply cause we knew that once my husband started work we would not get the chance to go on vacation nearly as much. I think they're really important to my sanity and just feel like I need a break from being home.

Robin, congrats on making so much progress with your bedrooms today! And on your halloween costumes sales too! I bet it will look so nice once your carpet comes tomorrow.

Gretchen, I think I forgot to wish you a great vacation! I think you left now, but if not, have a great time!

Henry's rousing to eat then hopefully we'll both go to sleep. He's been pretty good about sleep so I can't complain there, but he's been eating eating 1.5 hours since 6pm so I'm ready to get in bed.

 

[gottalovethem]

Justhat - I'm so sorry about your mom. That is one of those no-win situations. Just remember, you cannot control other people. My therapist would say to set your boundaries and stick to them without fail. Dealing with family can be sooo difficult. I am sure it's not that she doesn't like Madison, as if she did, Madison would have been in bed a long time ago, it's just that she's not used to dealing with kids and the energy and questioning they exude. I know my kids overwhelm my parents. And if you read my post above to Robin, you can see I don't have the angels many would wish for.

Hang in there and enjoy time with your wee ones after Mom has gone

I am glad I stuck out the drive and did find the parade, that made me feel so much better, I was feeling awfully angry and guilty prior to that. . .so seeing her group made me soooooo happy.

 

[Alice28]

justhat- I'm really sorry your mom is driving you crazy with her weird way of dealing with Madison. Like you need the extra stress right now. to you my friend.

GLT- I don't want to sound like my kids are so perfect- they are the first to just start ripping open gifts without reading the card; I guess just what bugs me is this little girl has this air about her that says, "I'm the center of the universe" and it bugs me. I love my children very much, but they have never been treated by me like they are the end all to be all, and that the world revolves around them. My parents were VERY careful with me as an only child to make sure I understood that- and I want to do the same by my children. Of course I love to buy them things and indulge them, but I just can't stand that expectant attitude.

I'm sorry your kids did what they did....all kids pop off, even the good ones. One time my sweet Sam screamed the F word at a neighbor kid cause he was teasing him (nosy neighbor's stepson)....I was stunned. You just never know!

And what a mom you are for making the parade! I would have given up.

Val- good to hear that Lee is home with his parents! Woohoo! That's great news. I haven't seen either of those movies, so I dunno.

BB was great tonight, wasn't it?

I wonder what Kim and Gretchen did today....hope they are having a ball!

I am up to $29 on Sunshine....I hope I can get one of those $100 prizes at the end of the month! I think I will go buy the kids all new costumes at the Disney Store if I do! Doubt it though...

I am dead tired. I am going to shower and go to bed. We have to be up early to be back at the house by 8; I'm at my parent's house right now because we didn't want to sleep in our house tonight----the house that looks like it exploded downstairs!

 

[J&D]

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I watched BB tonight. I think Janie is a great player, but I think her time (and yucky Howie's) might be up in the coming weeks.

Thanks again to everyone who gave me tips on the cheerleading outfit. I won an auction for one on ebay this weekend. My DH has his first scrimmage game on Sat., so I'm hoping it will get here quickly.

I don't have time to catch up with all of the posts from the weekend, but I just wanted to drop in and tell everyone to have a marvelous Monday.

TTFN!

 

[Ginamarie]

Buzznbelle- the bounce house sounds like a lot of fun!


Alice- Yeah, we took a cruise through the Panama Canal last summer (for our “baby making time”). We got a ridiculous deal on the cruise, because it was a ship heading out of the NCL fleet to its parent company in Japan. So it was an old ship and very small compared to the new ones, but we LOVED it. I read the David McCoulough book about the canal before we went and was really fascinated about everything it took to get it built. It’s amazing that even with all the traffic the canal gets it’s still basically in the same form it was when it was built. It was really REALLY hot though. I was saying to my mom that as much as we thought it was hot this year during the heat wave, it was still nowhere near the heat we had in Panama and Columbia. The humidity down there is crazy.
What a weird birthday party!

Val- I don’t particularly understand my ILs most of the time. I’m sure they mean well and they want what’s best for us, but they have a completely different way of thinking from how I was raised. All part of being married and having family members though I suppose.

Gottalovethem- I ordered the survey on Friday, and have to ask a couple of questions before I sign the contract. Another $600+ dollars down the drain towards this closing. We have had some really great vacations. DH is lucky enough to have pretty flexible vacation time, so we got a lot of last minute travel deals that made it possible for us to get away. Of course, I’m WAY behind on scrapbooking all that stuff, and it’s going to be on the back burner for awhile longer with the baby and move and all.

Justhat- I can’t believe your mom would be so horrible! Of course all kids have their little kinks at Madison’s age. It’s good that she’s leaving soon, because it seems like she’s adding more stress rather than helping you out right now. Vacations help me keep my sanity too! That’s exactly how I feel about it. DH and I both usually work 6-7 days a week, so we never see each other, and it’s always busy busy busy!


It was a slow day today. I did some work and packed about 10 small boxes with dishes and vases and kitchen stuff. It’s amazing how much time you can spend packing and it looks like you’ve done very little! Although you can see the difference when you open the kitchen cabinets now.

OK, it’s 2 am, so it’s about time I got to bed! Goodnight ladies!

 

[llij]

Hi Everyone!

How was everyone's weekend?

My sister and I got back after dinner time last night and we had an amazing weekend. The retreat was a huge blessing and was an answer to our prayers. My sister has had some incredible struggles over the past decade and this really really helped her. For that alone, I am so grateful. I missed my husband and kids like crazy and it was great to see them again last night. The kids had a great time with their dad and they had a fun weekend as well.


Since our trip to Disneyland is on Thursday, I've got to shift gears and get packing and putting the house in order! Dave leaves for a business trip to NYC tomorrow morning and won't be back until Wednesday evening so the poor guy will be coming in from one trip and turning around at the crack of dawn the next day for another trip.

I hadn't had a chance to read everyone's posts yet and I apologize! I hope that you all are doing well!

Justhat - I'm so sorry about what your mom is saying to you about Madison. I thought Madison was a real sweetheart when I met you all at the DIS meet! From what you describe, Madison isn't a difficult child at all, but a normal 2 1/2 year old. Don't listen to your mother at all. Madison is just fine. You definitely don't need the stress of what she is saying and I feel bad for you about that. I hope that Henry is doing better and I am continuing to pray for him.

Robin - Hang in there with the crazy SIL! Divorce is a terrible thing to go through let alone witness. My sister went through a gut wrenching one 10 years ago and some of the things your SIL is doing sounds like what my former BIL did. You all are in my thoughts and prayers. I hope that your SIL realizes that your MIL is looking out for the best interest of her son and grandchildren.

Everyone have a great day!
I'll try to catch up later on tonight!