The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

[Gabe1]

It danced right around me last night.

We came out on the lighter than most end of the storm. I had a bucket on the deck and it had about an inch in it this morning. The evening portion swung south.

 

[Gabe1]

That is pretty. I'd love to be in the bubble at WDW this particular 4th of July for obvious reasons. This is my idea of celebrating America.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Home. Here are some clouds and stuff:

 

[donaldtoo]

I know raising kids can be very rewarding but doing it properly is incredibly hard work. I'm thankful for all the parents that are raising the next generation but having kids is just not for me.
That being said, I'll happily look after Emmy for an hour on so to get some cuddles.

Awwwww...
You seem like a very sweet person, so I’m sure she would love that too...!!!

The word cuddle always reminds me of this scene from the movie “Raising Arizona”...!!!!!



Raising kiddos is definitely work, but, it is the most rewarding “job” I’ve ever had...!!!!!!!

Things are different for every family, and sooo many unexpected things can come up.
Just 2 examples of our parenting “fun” from back in the day...and this doesn’t NEARLY encompass all of it...!!!!!

DS (our middle child) was born at 1lb. 4oz. (approx. 567gm) and got as low as 1lb. 2oz. (approx. 510gm) before he started to gain back weight. He spent 4.5 mo. in the NICU before we could bring him home. He came home with an in-case-of-emergency oxygen tank, and a heart/apnea monitor that we hooked him up to every night for the first year of his life at home.
As he would grow his heart rate and breathing would slow, so the alarm would go off more and more often during the night before each monthly recalibration time. During my lunch break, I would run the monitor to a place down the road for downloading and the recal. Rinse and repeat every month for that first year after he came home.
It would sometimes go off every 15 minutes or so (no joke) towards the end of that month of time. But, even though he never had an “event” through all of it, there was no way we were ever gonna’ disconnect him from the monitor, no matter how crazy it got for us.
We could have never forgiven ourselves if we had and then an actual event happened.

Also, at one point, DWifey quit her job (we both agreed it was best) at the insurance company she had been working at for several years.
This was at the time oldest DD was entering K and DS was entering Pre-K at our local elementary school.
DWifey had gotten a job at a daycare center at the same time, and had to be there at 6a.
So, she took youngest DD with her to her daycare job, and I got oldest DD and DS up and ready for school every morning and drove them to school just down the road a few blocks away.
Once youngest DD entered K I was getting them all up and ready and driving all 3 of them every morning.
No matter how well we prepped the clothing and such the night before, it was almost inevitable that a shoe was missing by morning...shoe gnomes or something...!!!!!
I waited with them for the school doors to be unlocked every single morning, and walked all of them to their classrooms. I was a well-known parent, as was DWifey, all over that school (and middle and HS) and damn proud of it...!!!!!
We both used much of our vacation time over the years to break away from our jobs to attend mid-day award ceremonies, plays, choir concerts, etc., during all that time, and right up until they all graduated from HS.
I used to show up a bit late at the firm every morning in those early years, but, the partners understood ‘cause they were raising their own families at the time, too.
Also, I would go to the school on every Half-Day Friday to help out where I could, and then bring the kiddos home with me. I also used to bring my guitar and play and sing for them sometimes...!!!!!
Yes, I/we could have sent them off walking, or on a bike to school, but, it was all just more bonding time that we cherish to this day...!!!!!!!
All the kiddos would be dropped at the daycare that DWifey worked at after school while they were still in the elementary school, but, once they hit middle school they would just walk across the street to their grandparents house after school...!!!
Again, none of it was “easy”, but, in deciding to have a family, we already knew it wouldn’t be...BUT, to see the way they have turned out as adults makes it way more than worth it...it has been an honor, a privilege, and a pleasure to have been blessed with such beautiful children, with such beautiful hearts and souls...!!!!!!!!!!

But, in saying all of that, I am in no way disrespecting your decision not to have children. That is your personal decision, and nobody else’s business. It is just as valid as any person(s) that decides to have children.

Anyhoo...
Just some more (I know, long-winded ) wonderful, beautiful, cherished memories that we have...!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Gabe1]

Raising decent human beings is such hard work and takes real commitment. I agree with you that some people shouldn't be parents or perhaps should have waited a few years before becoming parents. Luckily I think they are the minority and most families are working hard to do right by their children. I'm sure your kids appreciate all you have done for them.

Thank you. Appreciative they are, they know what we didn't indulge in ourselves to so they could have every opportunity to succeed. The brightside is they are now my anchors in life, beyond supportive of the things I am doing and becoming. It is a great place in life to be.

And yes some should not be parents and some way too young but I also believe it should be a choice to become a parent, some for many reasons just don't want to be parents and huzzah for them too! I have a friend that recently moved from here and is annoyed by the audacity of being pointedly asked when are you going to start having a family? She just now says NEVER. She no longer offers an explanation. I love her and her husbands spunk.
Babies are not every persons calling and that should be OK.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Took my brother to see Spiderman. Really enjoyed it. After Endgame, it was nice to have some lighter Marvel fare.

For those seeing it, stay through the credits. I promise you need to stay. It's not Captain America explaining the value of patience this time.

 

[Gabe1]

I got a TV for my bedroom when I was 16 or 17, for my birthday. It was a really small, black and white TV, and I couldn't get all the channels because it wasn't connected to the box where you could switch to extra channels like Disney that weren't included in standard cable where we lived.

We also convinced my dad to buy us cheap phones and enough cable to run them from the main line to our rooms...I think I was probably 14 or 15 then, and mom was MAD, because she didn't want us to have phones in our rooms, and my brother just asked my dad and didn't tell him mom had said no. His thinking was that if dad had already bought the phones and the cable, she had no reason to say no. Oh was she ticked, but it really was kind of necessary because if the phone rang, we had to run all the way to the other end of the house to answer it, and especially when we were sleeping, that was annoying. She finally agreed it had been a good idea. It was a good idea my brother pulled that stunt and not me, because she never would have agreed if it had been me.

I bought my own car when I was 17 and had my license...I paid for most everything myself by about 13. New clothes, my letterman's jacket, my prom dress senior year (Junior year's was my birthday present)...I got money for my birthday and Christmas, I babysat, I did timing/scoring at ball games, I tutored, I worked during the summer from the time I was 15 and all that money went to things like clothes, and buying my car, insurance, all that stuff. My mom had worked at a Savings and Loan for years before marrying my dad, and she was EXCELLENT with money. She taught me a lot of financial lessons, and I remember when I was in 7th or 8th grade, the homecoming dance was a "semi-formal", so I had to have a dress, but the only things I had were hideous old-fashioned things with ruffles and bows that had been hand-me-downs. So my mom took me to either Sears or JC Penny in the next town over, and I had plenty of money, but I was so cautious about money, and there was this blazer and skirt combo that I fell in love with, but it was $65. In the late 1980s, that was a LOT for a 13 year old girl. I went back and forth....should I? Shouldn't I? And my mom finally told me that while it's good to be frugal, it's ok to splurge once in a while, and hoarding money does no good if you are never going to spend any of it. If I really wanted the dress, this was probably a good way to treat myself. So I bought it, and never once regretted it. I wore it until I couldn't squeeze myself into it anymore and then I passed it on to a friend who wore it for years after.

I bought my own boombox in 4th grade....a lavender one. It was small, but so pretty, and it did the job. I used it all the way through college, even after CDs came out.

And we've continued the tradition of buying things yourself with our kids. DS saved up his own money and bought a Nintendo Switch, and both kids saved their money to buy their phones. If they want something, they have to save. They have chores and get an allowance, and they can ask for money for their birthdays and Christmas instead of presents. So they have to research how much the item costs and if they want something before they have enough, we remind them that buying that means it will be longer before they can afford X item. If they want to go with friends to get ice cream or something, it comes from their own bank accounts.



I do wish we had airco though....

My kids were never given an allowance but they had chores and responsibilities. What money went into Bank Accounts didn't ever come out. For the most part we bought them their clothing etc. They did get a chunk of money for Birthdays and holidays along with various graduations. They often saved for big things I wasn't ever going to purchase, offen my folks would chip in and help them along.

I bought my first car new, I loved her. After my son was out of college he bought #2 car for himself a Chevy Cruze. My DD will move onto to #2 car soon, was trying to wait until she was done with Grad School but it isn't far off and the current one needs 'help' It is an older car but someone with mechanical talent will love to put the time into the little things it needs like brakes as an example. Some can do that, not us though. The car only has 50k miles on it, no dings, no rust. She is really looking forward to her first new car though. Can't blame her.

 

[donaldtoo]

Credit to our awesome forum friend @Cesar R M ...!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Gabe1]

Took my brother to see Spiderman. Really enjoyed it. After Endgame, it was nice to have some lighter Marvel fare.

For those seeing it, stay through the credits. I promise you need to stay. It's not Captain America explaining the value of patience this time.

Duly noted. Thank you.

 

[Gabe1]

So today was possibly/probably the last time I'll see my Grandma. She's much worse than the last time I saw her; she can barely put words together. It was like listening to a baby try to talk for the first time.

I'm very grateful to be well into my 40's and she's still here. She was still completely instrumental in my life until a few years ago. (When Grandpa died, she went downhill.) She has been literally *the* most important and consistent person in my life from day one.

But after a few minutes, she did recognize me. She was able to give me a kiss before I left. I said, "I love you" and she said, "awww" and smiled and nodded.

That's enough.

Awe.

Big {{{HUGS}}}

 

[wdwfan4ver]

What I know is tonight could be very bad for watching the lakefront fireworks including on tv. Fog is supposed to come in before fireworks start.

I don't expect the lakefront fireworks to be delayed to tomorrow night. The last time their was fog before the lakefront fireworks started, fireworks were shot in the fog.

While the tv station had fireworks coverage during the fog, you could not see the fireworks at all. The thing that made me shake my head more is one person made the comment they had no problems seeing the fireworks at all.

This year, there was enough sense to delay the lakefront fireworks by 15 minutes. What happened was fog came in, left, and came again. The fog was not as bad after 15 minute wait, but I could see the fog was pretty bad from the setting area close to the lake based on what I saw on TV. Some views were bad, but some weren't from a fog standpoint.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Took my brother to see Spiderman. Really enjoyed it. After Endgame, it was nice to have some lighter Marvel fare.

For those seeing it, stay through the credits. I promise you need to stay. It's not Captain America explaining the value of patience this time.

I saw it today too and really enjoyed it. There were some good chuckles in the material.

 

[donaldtoo]

Every time we arrive back at the hotel these musicians welcome us.
View attachment 385980

Wow...!!!!!
We really need to schedule a trip to Bali at some point...sooooooo much of the rest of the world to see...!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Gabe1]

 

[donaldtoo]

Alrighty gang, I’m a goner for tonight, and the 4th of July neighborhood parade starts at 8a...so, pics to follow...!!!!!
See y’alllllllllllllllllllll...!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Gabe1]

We have new neighbors down the road and across the alley. Boy is about 8 years old. They have a Puppy that I've been dying to meet, he looks about 10 months old, fully grown in height but still has sea legs and chest spreading to go. I see him playing in the yard of a home they have rented, they have a stake in the ground with a very long lead, long enough to play tennis ball. The home is on the corner catty-corner to this building. There are only three homes per block, each lot about 300 feet wide and about 180 feet deep. Lots of land for a Pup to Play. Several acres.

Story:
I'm on the deck having my coffee this morning watching the boy and Pup play ball. Pup slips his collar and FREEDOM. I watched for about 5 minutes and the dog is running around 3 homes. Front and back yards as nobody is allowed fences (another story) When the boy would almost reach him Pup would bolt again to the opposite end house. The Mom came out but she was useless. GET HIM isn't a useful suggestion to a boy running in circles and the Pup is enjoying the freedom and fun of being chased. I was reliving my memories of my Walter Pup and son chasing my Walter Pup around our fenced yard and repeat many years ago now. (for those of you unaware Walter passed a few years ago, my heart and soul)

Finally I get up and walk to the property line and watch the boy tiring and not the Pup. Mom still yelling get him. When Pup was about 50 feet from me but even I squatted down and the Pup spied me and in my best Ditsy voice I could invent I said Hiiiiiiiii and continued to talk to the Pup as he stopped running and I said come here pretty pup. And he did. Petted his head and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. The boy was so grateful thanking me over and over. I ask him what the Pups name is. Walter he said. My heart just melted.

 

[Songbird76]

So today was possibly/probably the last time I'll see my Grandma. She's much worse than the last time I saw her; she can barely put words together. It was like listening to a baby try to talk for the first time.

I'm very grateful to be well into my 40's and she's still here. She was still completely instrumental in my life until a few years ago. (When Grandpa died, she went downhill.) She has been literally *the* most important and consistent person in my life from day one.

But after a few minutes, she did recognize me. She was able to give me a kiss before I left. I said, "I love you" and she said, "awww" and smiled and nodded.

That's enough.

I'm glad you got to spend some time with her, and sorry she's not doing well. That must be rough for you.

 

[Songbird76]

Smithsonian is the best part of DC. Though honestly, I've never understood why people who aren't from here are so infatuated with DC. Out of the cities that I've been to, it has the least amount of character. The history and the architecture are neat, but you don't need to spend more than a few days there. I personally like Philly much more, and I'd love to do NYC.

Well, we had less than a full day there, so we didn't get to do much. We stayed with friends in...New Jersey? and took the train in, got there late morning, and a lot of the museums had already reached capacity and were no longer letting people in. We got to see the lobby of the Holocaust museum and that was it. We saw the Lincoln and Washington monuments, and the lobby of the holocaust museum, and were allowed in the door of Air and Space to take a picture, and then we got back on a train. So I'd like to actually SEE something there.

 

[Songbird76]

Yeah....besides aulani, I'd have to do some research on the best places to stay

My best friend says that as far as accessibility goes, Europe and Australia are good, SE Asia is not great...she said there wasn't even accessibility for baby buggies there, and the streets were narrow and twisty.