Secular Confessions

[Ky'sMom]

How was it for you? Didn't it first hit near where you are? (relatively speaking) The wind did pick up some, but it's not the 50-60 mph winds they feared might happen. I don't know how to judge wind speed, but I'd just call it consistently breezy. Of course it's still raining so I'm really not in the mood to take care of some much needed house cleaning.

We got nothing here except low humidity. We rarely get the effects of hurricanes in N Central GA unless they come from the south, like from the gulf or something. During Katrina and Dennis and another one I think right after Dennis though years ago we got a bunch of rain and the tropical depression storm. Lots of downed trees, but nothing this time. It was pretty nice outside, that's it.

I know even the rain from the storms can be devastating. My old boss at the bank I used to work for during Dennis had his house detroyed by the rains and flooding. Because we aren't in a flood zone he didn't have flood insurance and had just bought the house a month previously. He had to take out a loan to build the house all over again.

Erin

[Smplyme89]

L thanks for that. I guess I always just remember that someone out there has/had it worse than me. Plus, it gives me alot of insight what NOT to do when raising N. I am horrible with names too! I need to add my name back into my siggy again (Christina)

OK I am SO glad you ladies explained the first world problem. I was SO lost and a little embarassed to say so

[missychrissy]

I had the same FWP, solved by enabling the wi-fi on my phone and, when that still wasn't strong enough, putting in a wi-fi repeater. Now I can chat with you girls horizontally.

Funny 'cause I've already been researching them online. Fully in the plan of things to do!!

Mandy-that's terrible about your niece. What the heck does her mom think she'd do if something happened to her? And does she plan on making all her decisions for her the rest of her life?

I guess I am aware of some people that have to talk to their adult children each and every day and they never hesitate to give their opinion about what they think they ought to do in any given scenario. I always wonder how those adult children can tolerate it. I'll discuss things with my parents, but unless I specifically say, "What do you think I should do?" I don't want them telling me what to do. With my dad, if I asked him he'd answer, "That's up to you." anyway!

I know even the rain from the storms can be devastating. My old boss at the bank I used to work for during Dennis had his house detroyed by the rains and flooding. Because we aren't in a flood zone he didn't have flood insurance and had just bought the house a month previously. He had to take out a loan to build the house all over again.

Erin

Oh how awful! My opinion is flood insurance should be included at least at a basic level for all homeowner's insurance. One never knows when a house could get flooded.

[Bridget]

OMFG She did it! Savana made it down the hill without falling!
Pedal,brake. Pedal, brake. Pedal. brake.

Oh if y'all could have seen her. When we got to the flat part she was pedaling like crazy and siging her little heart out!!

[missychrissy]

Wonderful Bridget!!!! It really didn't take that long once you two focused on it. She should be so proud of herself!!!

[Ky'sMom]

So happy for her!!!! That is so great and I bet she was so proud!

Erin

[Gwenn]

Go, Savana! That's awesome!

[girlwonder]

[demigraf]

OMFG She did it! Savana made it down the hill without falling!
Pedal,brake. Pedal, brake. Pedal. brake.

Oh if y'all could have seen her. When we got to the flat part she was pedaling like crazy and siging her little heart out!!

Super awesome!!! That must have felt amazing for BOTH of you.

[demigraf]

L, I have to confess that even though it registered with me earlier today that those first world problems you listed weren't yours, I still had a mild panic moment doing dishes tonight over the fact that I never got around to wishing you a happy birthday today.


ETA: On the end table front, I still have to do a mosaic on the table top of a secondhand end table I got specifically for that project. If you ever feel like doing the same thing, I could show you how (if you don't already know) and we could do the project together. It would be good motivation for me to start on that project. Plenty of white tile out there for your table. I actually have to do the end table AND a coffee table.

[AmeriBrit]

That's awesome, Bridget!

Myles, i'm jealous you live so close to L! Why don't y'all come over to London and we'll have a secular convention?

[AmeriBrit]

Dp

[missychrissy]

L, I have to confess that even though it registered with me earlier today that those first world problems you listed weren't yours, I still had a mild panic moment doing dishes tonight over the fact that I never got around to wishing you a happy birthday today.

L, it's your birthday? Have a happy one!!

That's awesome, Bridget!

Myles, i'm jealous you live so close to L! Why don't y'all come over to London and we'll have a secular convention?

Wait for me!!!

Here's to a happy week, huh? I really need one.

[3andMe]

Chrissy, my birthday is on Valentine's Day. Mylah was panicking momentarily because that was one of the first world problems on the list (about not being able to get birthday wishes because of the hurricane), even though I keep claiming that those aren't my particular problems.

Mylah, I have done mosaic on table tops before. Here is the beginning of one I did for my balcony in my condo, to go with my red deck chairs. I actually really enjoyed it, and have thought from time to time about doing it again, but I don't ever have that kind of time in a well-ventilated area away from the children. I wish I'd taken a picture of it when it was done.

[missychrissy]

D'oh, I got it now. Man I can be slow sometimes!! Oh my goodness!!

[AmeriBrit]

I forgot to mention to y'all about the other day. The family (that's me, DH, our 2 boys, FIL, MIL, BIL, SIl and their 3 kids) went to an old estate to walk around the gardens and just have a nice day in the sun. Any how, near the end of the day, the boys were running around out in the big open orchards. There were benches for people to sit on and picnic tables, too. We'd ordered scones as a treat, so as the adults finished up, all the boys went racing around (including Cash who thought it was hysterical trying to chase the older boys). My FIL and DH went and chased the boys a bit and interacted with them. My BIL sat there with his Prada sunglasses on with his arms crossed and just watched. I said to SIL, "Does BIL not exercise much these days?" She sort of laughed and said, "Can't you tell with that belly of his?" So, she called him over and told him he should be running around with the boys....and his response was, "I'm not going to run around with all these people sitting around watching me." I just thought to myself, 'wow, he'd rather protect his businessman image than play with his kids.' No wonder their 2 boys don't listen to him!

Any how, that's my rant of the day. I told SIL there was no way we'd be able to afford the cruise next year and my MIL actually said, "I wish there was some way like maybe if you could work in the kitchen while on the cruise to pay your way." LOL. Some times the woman makes me laugh with the silly things she says. She didn't mean it in a malicious way; she is quite "simple" in the things she says a lot of times. I told her the only way we'd be able to go is if we tied a little row boat to the side of the ship and sailed along side them. Bwahaha.

[demigraf]

That's funny. M'be you could go tandem - you on waterskis and DH on a raft. That way you could take turns when one of you gets tired. Do you enjoy cruises? To be honest, I'd much prefer to be staying put and exploring one region. I find them a little claustrophobic. You'd probably find me on one of those rafts! Talk about wakeboarding!

L, ooooh, shiny! Do you still have that table? Do you still have your condo for that matter? I'm not sure I ever shared this in here, so forgive if this is a repeat, but this is the mosaic work I did on our patio at the house down in Southern Cali. It took 2 years, and I thought it would only take a couple of weekends!!! Bwahahahaha!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/luluwag...7600367183276/

[missychrissy]

Ash! That soooo sounds like something my maternal grandmother would say too!

And oh my goodness Myles. That's gorgeous! I'm in awe! I can't believe you thought it would only take a weekend though! I'm glad you shared it because if you did previously, I missed it.

[Bridget]

I cannot believe your mil said that! Hilarious. I love that you are able to laugh and shrug it off. Sometimes old ladies are just goofy and that is what I have figured out with dbf's mom too and I don't let the things she says bother me. I know she means no harm.

Speaking of vacations. My dad just got back from going to Disney world with my older brother and his 4 kids. After talking to my dad I told dbf that I don't care to ever bring my kids there. If they really want to go of course I will consider it but it just seems like those places are so stressful. You have to go ALL day to make it worth your time and money and it's so much waiting and junk food and usually really hot. I'd rather take my kids to the ocean and skip the craziness.

[missychrissy]

I'd take my kids but the girls are much older and I think we could manage to have a good time. That's only based on our experience at Cedar Point (in Ohio) last year. My sil, niece, Sydney and I hung out all day, the teen girls (my 2 oldest daughters and sil's oldest daughter) stayed to themselves, and Rich took Conner. Rich isn't into rides at all so he didn't mind staying in the kiddie section with him. When Conner got tired, Rich took him back to camp and started dinner.

I can't imagine it being much fun if they were all little though.

[Ky'sMom]

I am soooooooooo jealous that you went to Cedar Point last year. I used to go every year when I was a kid and loved it but thought that once I left Ohio I would go to much better theme parks. I was sorely disappointed and haven't found any yet that surpasses Cedar Point in my eyes. They have great coasters and I just love that place. DH has never been so I may plan a trip there in a couple years.

We are going to Disney for Ky's 10th birthday. I have never been and don't feel that it hindered me in anyway in my childhood. Even with all the crap I went through as a kid I still think I had a fun childhood because I did and all without any amusement parks except Cedar Point and we only went there because my mom got $5 tickets from her job. I will admit though I yearned to go to Epcot center because way back in like 85 Michael Jackson did some special movie that only played at Epcot and I so wanted to go when I was 6 or 7 LOL. I used to wonder what the movie was like and my brother and I would act out imaginary scenes. I wonder if they still have the movie there?

I already think Disney won't be worth the money but it is something that Ky wants to go see and I can afford it so I figure he can go once in his childhood. I may take Elle when she turns 10 as well and Ky said he hopes so because then he will get to go again.

It is way to freaking expensive though. Ky wants to go the Magic Kingdom and one of the parks at Universal Studios and each one of them is nearly $100 for each person even those 3 and up are $90 so I would have to pay that much for Elle too. I figure I will just tell them she is 2 though and cross my fingers and hope nothing horrible happens to me because I just cannot see paying $100 for her to go to an amusement park when I know she won't do hardly anything but hang out with MIL. The parks costs more than a 4 bedroom house for the week though. It is ridiculous. And I just found out from my cousin (which I hope is not true) that they do not allow you to bring in any outside food. When we went to Cedar Point we always brought our own food or we got a stamp on our hand and went out to the car for lunch, which we brought in coolers. It is just all to much for a frugal gal like me and I wish I hadn't told him we were going otherwise we wouldn't go just because I know it will more than likely be boring to me.

Erin

[Gwenn]

Erin, I went to Disneyland once as a child because my aunt planned a trip and convinced my parents to go. My dad is a lot like you and I think the prices made him wince the whole time. I went again a few years ago when we went to LA for a wedding. It's actually a neat place - but they price gouge horribly. Everything is ridiculously overpriced, but I do think you'll enjoy yourself.

When I went to FL last year for DH's yellow ribbon thingie it was at one of the Disney hotels. I'd never stayed in one before because my dad would never have paid for one. This one was on the military's dime so we paid nothing. It was very neat, but everything was fake. It was like a computer generated version of reality, not real life. We were right next to Epcott but we were too broke to afford tickets so we just walked around outside. I would like to go to Epcott someday but that wasn't the time.

[Cosmosmom]

Speaking of vacations. My dad just got back from going to Disney world with my older brother and his 4 kids. After talking to my dad I told dbf that I don't care to ever bring my kids there. If they really want to go of course I will consider it but it just seems like those places are so stressful. You have to go ALL day to make it worth your time and money and it's so much waiting and junk food and usually really hot. I'd rather take my kids to the ocean and skip the craziness.

Oh No! I love love love Disneyworld. Best vacation I have ever had and I cannot wait to take our child there (course it would be only one and not three or four!). I want to go when toddler age and again later once tall enough for all the rides.
My parents first took us when I was 7 and my sister was 2 and I don't think that it was stressful at all. Course they had a lot less parks back than!
what we did when we went in 2006 was planned it for a week trip and just knew that we were not going to see and do everything. Granted we were all adults but I can be a bit of PITA on vacation getting tired and hungry. What we did was eat breakfast at the house....we rented a house with a pool about 1.5 miles away and ate lunch at the park. Sometimes dinner or sometimes dinner at the house.
And biggest thing of all was NOT going in the summer. We did end of April and even that was a bit hotter than I would have liked. Next time will be early April I think. Great weather plus the lines moved very quickly and there was interesting stuff to do a lot when in line to see. Very different from Six Flags!

[Cosmosmom]

Erin, I didn't think that the food prices were too bad. They do not let you bring in food. I even had to buy my water bottle for the day there but really it was MUCH cheaper for us to get food there than it was in Vegas on the strip or when I have gone to places like NYC. And being so hot out, I was shocked at how cheap the water was. I also thought parking was really pretty reasonable.

The worst was when we ate at the Italian restaurant in Epcot...and my sister ordered a plate of plain noodles (no sauce at all) and it was $13. I have that receipt in my scrapbook from the trip! LOL At least they were VERY good noodles.

But when I do travel, I don't eat all that much because I don't want to spend the vacation in the bathroom or feeling sick.

[Gwenn]

When we were at the Disney hotel near Epcott, and DH and I had very little money, we found it extremely difficult to eat on a budget, and that wasn't just the restaurant in the hotel but all the restaurants along the boardwalk nearby where everything was run by Disney. I thought everything was overpriced.

[demigraf]

I remember when kids were $11 @ Disneyland. It's a shame they hyped it up to be inaccessible to so many people, since kids really do love it. Well, I think they might still do "local residents $40 for 2 parks" if you show ID a couple months out of the year, but then there's parking and other add-ons.. I have quite a few friends who grew up in Orange County and took jobs at Disneyland every summer. Some of the stories... just be wary of letting your kids hug one of the costumed "cast members" (that's what they call the people walking around dressed up as characters). There was a funny article about how the guy who dresses up like Jack Sparrow has a following of groupie moms and he gets A LOT of action. Lol. We are planning to take Bodhi next spring, as my cousin's wife works for Disney and gets free tix, Pixar DVDs etc. Come to think of it, I worked for them (their video game division) for a day before I left for a better offer. I totally forgot about that. Ha!

[missychrissy]

Doesn't Disney have some packages that include meals? I've researched them and saw one where we could have stayed 4 nights, including meals, for under $6,000. Maybe it was a deal of the century (it was a couple years ago) but I thought that was a good price for a family of 6.

[Bridget]

Good morning all. Chrissy, why the sleepless night? Saw it on facebook. Hope everything is ok.
I really need to change my sleeping arrangement. Right now I'm between Savana and Sawyer on a mattress on the floor and it's getting worse every nice. Everyone is getting bigger (except me thank goodness) and I'm getting whacked in the face and kicked everywhere all night long. Plus with my headache/neck issues I just can't sleep any old way. I have to do some brainstorming here.
Over the next couple of weeks my daycare is going to be full to the max. Like, people taking even the random spots I have open during the week. That is great for us but I'm not going to lie, I have really enjoyed these few weeks of just me and my kids. I have this one last week where I'm just taking care of one baby part time and then back to long crazy days!

[Bridget]

Oh and I didn't even factor in the cost of Disney in my thoughts of never wanting to go there. Boy could I think of better things to spend that money on!
We are safe so far. When dbf sent a picture of him with Mickey and Minnie while he was in NY, the kids said, "Who is THAT?"

[missychrissy]

I hope you can figure out a sleeping arrangement that gives you some relief Bridget. I honestly don't know how you do it. I bet it was awfully nice having just your kids for a while.

I haven't slept well in weeks. I have too many ruminating thoughts. I'm really going to have to go to the dr. Today isn't so bad, but yesterday I felt sick/anxious all day long. I'm not sick-sick. It's purely nerves. The bright side is I've lost another 5 lbs

Erin-I forgot to mention that we did the same thing at Cedar Point with our food. We left it in coolers in our cars and went out to the parking to to eat. The one drawback on that entire day was we didn't know it had to be a certain arm that had to be stamped and the gate keeper kid actually grabbed my sil roughly and jerked her hand to him. I actually stopped and yelled at him for that. She wouldn't have said anything. I was very tired at that point and had hungry kids or I would have demanded to talk to his manager. Something tells me he won't ever do that again though 'cause he totally had the deer-in-the-headlights look on his face.