As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Gack. What a situation!
You are definitely doing the right thing. Keep your chin up.
You poor mother needs to grow a spine. She is the one bringing this upon herself, really, by not putting her foot down.
In reality, it would probably be better if neither of you brought your children to her. She's not getting to be "Grandma", she's being their daycare provider who just happens to be their grandma and not getting paid for her time. I'm sure she enjoys being with them, but it's not the same as just being "Grandma". I'm sure when she took in the first grandkid, she never envisioned ending up caring for four young kids at the same time. And since she doesn't seem to know how to say NO, she's been stuck in this situation for years.
I have many times suggested that I send my kids to daycare. And my mom's exact response: "Over my dead body! I don't want strangers taking care of my grand babies." I do sometimes think that she is missing out on just being "Grandma", but I try and make sure that we spend time with them when she does get to just be "Grandma" and have fun with the kids. And even though she watches them all the time she still gets to spoil them plenty. Plus if they're not at her house for a few days she starts calling me to come and see them. I swear she hates when I take vacation days! She just gets exhausted. She still seems to love it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GATechGal
I respectfully disagree. My mom kept both of my kids when I went to work, and to this day (my kids are 20 and 17) she still says that it was the most wonderful time in her life and she fondly remembers getting the chance to cuddle and love her grandkids. Granted my mom only had 2. But if your mom is getting some help, maybe she will have some time to have that one on one.
Good to hear that your mom remembers her time with the grand kids fondly. My mom gets quite a bit of one on one time with my kids. She only has the two of them on Mon and Tue and also in the mornings on Wed, Thur, Fri. She has mentioned that she doesn't feel like she got to spend as much quality time with my nephew when he was a baby because she had my son, my niece and my nephew. My son is 4 1/2 months older than my nephew so she couldn't snuggle him as much.
Mary Ann - I think you had a good situation. For the OP, the situation is not what the grandma can handle according to the OP, Being a person that can't say NO to anyone, I fully believe that she's doing more than she expected to ever be doing. I applaud her for asking for help and I hope she gets it. I think she's overwhelmed and can't enjoy the kids like she'd want to. Does that make more sense?
I do believe that is part of it. She is overwhelmed when she has all 4 kids. That is for 3 hours 3 days a week. She told me just yesterday that when she only has mine (which is M-F 7-3:30) it's fine. We're getting her help for when she has all 3, which is what she says she can't handle. She definitely has problems saying no. Which is why I always insist on not offloading my kids on her outside of the hours that she has agreed to. My sister on the other hand...
Come fall my son will be in preschool and my niece will be in all day kindergarten so she will mostly have my daughter and nephew (1 and 3 years by then) . Should be more manageable. I think it's a combination of 2 active boys in the terrible 2's and the baby being so demanding (she's an easy going baby, but even the easy ones are a lot of work).
We'll see what happens. If hiring my mom some help doesn't seem to be helping with my mom being overwhelmed I'll put my kids in daycare even if she doesn't like it. It might just be the best thing for her. But she's completely against it and has instead asked for help so I'll go with her wishes for now.
A couple of things.
Explain to your sister you are hiring someone to help with your kids=tp provide enrichment to them and then work with the helper to do extras (crafts, games, and enrichment) with your two.
Consider enrollling your son in pre-school a few hours a week (mine went two days a week, for three hours when they were three). It will be good for him and your sister has no say. I also hope her 5 year olf will be in school this fall. Your son is also old enough to do swimming, story hours, etc.
And finally your mother needs to deal with your sister directly-you are enabling her to not do so when you let her complain to you. You will need to tell your mother that when she complains to you about sister, it is unfair to you and creating too much conflict. She needs to tell your sister. You can offer support to your mother like being there or taking them both out for coffee or lunch but your mom needs to be the one to express her concerns directly to your sister.
I would also talk to both your parents about a fence. I would let them know they can pick it out, it does not have to be the entire yard and you consider it essential for your children's safety. Pre-schoolers do not have impulse control. They cannot and should not be expected to put on their own brakes and even if your son knows to stop, in unusual circumstances, he could easily forget.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Linear Mode
