Those who've moved from CA to TX (Dallas, Austin: mortgage, relocating)

[Kellypink]

Originally Posted by rb4browns

Churches
Education/Child Care

Those are 2 I came up with quickly. I'm sure in there are 1 or 2 that fit the bill, even something "community based," i.e. taxpayer funded. Regardless, it's a small town, not Dallas. Why would you move there and then complain about being bored and nobody to pay for your mommy and me classes?

I don't mean community based as in the community pays for it... I meant usually the community offers classes such as: workshops of various activities like, photography, ceramics, book clubs and Mommy and me, and I don't think anyone in Texas knows what a mommy and me class is... you gave me a list of all these places I can drop off my children. I want a place that I can go to with my children and do activities with other moms, arts & crafts, playtime, snack time, reading etc.

If anyone out there knows what a mommy and me is then please send a message. It is simply a place where mother and child go to meet other moms in the area and socialize while their children play together. It is structured with play time, snack time, outside play, story time, share time, craft time and a mothers discussion session.
I guess I have come up with a good business Idea for Texas...

[lpepping]

Originally Posted by Kellypink

I don't mean community based as in the community pays for it... I meant usually the community offers classes such as: workshops of various activities like, photography, ceramics, book clubs and Mommy and me, and I don't think anyone in Texas knows what a mommy and me class is... you gave me a list of all these places I can drop off my children. I want a place that I can go to with my children and do activities with other moms, arts & crafts, playtime, snack time, reading etc.

If anyone out there knows what a mommy and me is then please send a message. It is simply a place where mother and child go to meet other moms in the area and socialize while their children play together. It is structured with play time, snack time, outside play, story time, share time, craft time and a mothers discussion session.
I guess I have come up with a good business Idea for Texas...

My sister is a mom and has groups like this in her subdivision but she lives up in McKinney. I do not know what it is called but they meet up with other moms and kids and have planned activities. I really don't think you should keep referring to Texas in your posts and maybe should start referring to the Midlothian area in your posts. Just a suggestion.

[mysterymachinebl]

Originally Posted by RobertsGirl

About those tornadoes: I know that they are not all that frequent, but what do you do if there is a tornado coming? Most homes I've looked at don't have basements. Just curious.

Since most houses here don't have basements, just pick a room in the middle of the house, on the ground floor, that has no windows....usually a closet or bathroom. The news is really good about telling you where to go and what to do during a tornado, and also gives advanced warning if a tornado has been spotted or is forming. Some years we have several warnings in the area, some years not. This past spring/summer was the first time in 7 years that the tornado warning sirens have gone off in my area. So, it's really nothing to constantly worry about.

[momof2dfw]

Your idea is nothing new. There are TONS of Mommy & Me kinds of activities all over the metroplex. Just because there are not any offerend in YOUR small city w/ a limited Parks & Rec does not mean we don't have them in Texas. I've done Mommy & Me swim lessons w/ my kids here in Garland. My sis did it in McKinney w/ hers. Just about EVERY city around offers them IF they have the facilities. Find a city near you that does since Midlothian does not. Our Parks & Rec even offers all kinds of other Mommy & Me kinds of classes be it for "excercise", arts & crafts, etc. Waxahachie is not far from you and I found two groups of Mommy & Me activites there on meetup dot com:
Meetups near Waxahachie, TX - Meetup.com
There were also Mansfield Moms meetup clubs. They are out there you just have to find them as they are not going to come knocking on your door.

There are also MOPS groups close by (Mothers of Preschoolers). I've been involved in MOPS when my kids were preschoolers and it is great. It is faith based and offered thru the local churches. Fees are very small and include:childcare for the kiddo's, moms craft time and a speaker that talks about things important to moms and women. You can find them at mops dot org.
MOPS International - Mothers of Preschoolers
There are 5 MOPS groups close by
Group Search

Instead of wasting time saying that there is NOTHING to do here as there obviously is use the time to be productive instead of so negative. You found this site so you should be able to locate these other sites.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by lpepping

My sister is a mom and has groups like this in her subdivision but she lives up in McKinney. I do not know what it is called but they meet up with other moms and kids and have planned activities. I really don't think you should keep referring to Texas in your posts and maybe should start referring to the Midlothian area in your posts. Just a suggestion.

I agree. Just because a place like Midlothian that is small and about 20 miles min. from the very southwestern edge of the Dallas city limits does not have a Mommy & Me class does not mean that the entire area does not. These classes have been around in Dallas and Texas for over 15 years.

Better yet, she could START ONE IN MIDLOTHIAN! WOW! What a novel idea. When I had my 1st we started a small playgroup of lil ones in our neighborhood. There were 10 of us that had a baby w/in 6 months of each other. So we got together in ones house every month (organized) and had lunch and played and shared time w/ each other. Of course since we all lived in the same neighborhood we saw each other all the time and the kids played w/ each other almost daily.

[New2Keller]

KellyPink, you obviously hate TX and no one is trying to talk you out of that, but come on! Your exaggerations are a bit much.

I was ready to be stuck in the house all year, the way people complain about the weather. It's been great weather! We go out almost every day to the park! I know Californians are spoiled with perfect weather, but I've been comparing our weather to my OC family's back home and ours has been nicer!

Also, bugs... I have seen more garden spiders than I did back home but that's about it. We get those little knats in our backyard. You know those teeny tiny little guys that are always at parks and near ponds and lakes? They were in CA too. I didn't see one mosquito last summer, which suprised me a lot. We did see a ton of dragonflys which I absolutely loved! Wasps are a problem though. Those guys bother me. i know they are in CA too but I lived in the city back in OC so we didn't have many. Anyways, yes there are bugs but seriously who cares? People from CA who come here and complain about bugs or humidity just make it very obvious that they haven't traveled much in their lives and have never left their CA bubble.

As far as mommy and me type classes or playgroups, there are tons! I'm not really sure where you live though, never heard of it. That must be the problem. One of the things I love about the entire DFW area is the many things there are to do! Every library has several storytimes per week, most with crafts. There are bounce house type places, churches that have free playtimes in their playrooms/play structures , water parks and playgrounds galore, museums, zoos, I could go on and on! We just took our kids last sunday to the Amon Carter museum for "kids day." They had free art projects, snacks, and giveaways. My daughters loved it!

Every city has a rec center with at least a few classes for children. N. Richland Hills and Hurst have a TON for super reasonable prices. I'm also in several mom's groups that meetup for playdates. There are also MOPS and Moms club, just like in CA.

If anyone is complaining that there is nothing to do for cheap or free with their kids, then they aren't looking very hard and must not have internet or ever leave their home.

The y'all thing I can agree with a little. LOL If you are from the east or west coast it sounds strange. I don't mind it one bit EXCEPT that at my daughter's school, the kids get in trouble for using incorrest english (ain't, et'c) yet the TX native teachers use y'all. That bothers me!

[CallMeLaura]

Originally Posted by RobertsGirl

About those tornadoes: I know that they are not all that frequent, but what do you do if there is a tornado coming? Most homes I've looked at don't have basements. Just curious.

Tornadoes *in the area* are common in the spring and less so in the fall. It can happen in the summer or winter, but usually doesn't. (High pressure sits over us all summer, keeping it from raining.)

The thing about tornadoes is that they're relatively small. Straight line winds cause damage over a wider area, but it's still not the range of an earthquake or blizzard.

Keep the TV or radio on if the weather looks threatening. Get one of those weather alert radio thingies if you're really concerned.

Go to an interior room with no windows, if possible. Bathrooms are good because of the plumbing. Stock some bottled water, flashlight, battery powered radio, a first aid kit, and some shoes (you can make it as elaborate as you'd like. The shoes are for the broken glass and other debris that'll be on the ground, if you are hit.)

Personally, I don't head in there unless I hear sirens. Meteorologists have gotten very good at recognizing the conditions favorable to tornado formation and the signs of an actual tornado. Quite a few tornadoes touch down in sparsely populate areas, too. So, you can have a dozen tornadoes and never remotely be in danger.

I'm 35 and the only tornado actually near me formed overhead my grandparents' farm in Missouri. I've lived all but two years in Tornado Alley (and there were plenty of tornadoes in Wisconsin PLUS blizzards...) The only people I know ever hit by a tornado lived in Nebraska. They can be devastating, but the risk really isn't as high as everyone (outside of Tornado Alley) makes it to be.

[ladysrodgers]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

No, I do NOT want to be YOUR shadow. I was just making sure to those that have never been here that they actually had FACTUAL information.

Yes, we have certain freeways that are "Loops". LOTS of other cities have those too. We also have Interstates that go North/South and East/West. Pretty easy actually. Um, and your not making sense with, "you can not just get off the freeway and go left". Can't do that in anyother place either except at the designated spot that goes over or under the freeway. The service roads are actually a GREAT ASSET as I've said before.

I wouldn't call the freeways here dumb, but they can be difficult and confusing to navigate when you're new to an area. As for turning left after getting off the freeway, the poster is probably referring to freeways in CA, where you "do" turn left or right at the end of off-ramps. In otherwords, you don't have to drive a block or two before you get to an overpass/underpass.

I don't mind the frontage roads at all, in fact I prefer them much of the time. Just yesterday I was driving next to 75 going north....whew, the entire freeway was at a dead stand still while I was cruising by on the frontage road, then stayed on highway 5 north.

Don't know where you order "Chow Mein" without noodles but I've never seen it w/o. Maybe the independent owner of THAT particular establishment has a different kind of recipe. I've been to SEVERAL dozen Chinese Restaurants and never seen it w/o noodles.

Humidity: Like I said, don't travel to the Carribbean, Florida (especially The Keys ), Mexico, Belize and many of the northeastern cities in this country. They are ALL much more humid than we are.

When you're not used to humidity at all, it does seem rather humid here. It makes no difference if the places you listed above are more humid. My make-up melted off my face every time I stepped outside last summer ...LOL (I know, scary!) I found I can just buy a different foundation for hotter weather. I'm sure I'll get used to the humidty though.

Fall: Can be a WONDERFUL time of year. Yes, our Fall is short lived but that is the case in the MAJORITY of the country. We have a MUCH longer Fall than MANY states as we don't get hit w/ all of the bad winter weather so early in the season.

Spring: Sweetie, you are in Midlothian. The Tarrant County and western side sees a little more of the "tornadic" action than the other parts of Dallas. As the others told you, this year was NOT NORMAL! I've been here for 40+ years and have YET to see a tornado. So the media in other states hypes it up and freaks people out so your relatives call. That happens with EVERYTHING and EVERYWHERE! The media just wants to sell a story.

My child can send yours some homework. They both get homework and have since Kindergarten (oh, and they have never attended the same school as I have one in a Gifted & Talented Magnet school).

Tubes in the wall......... such a load of crap. Some company thought of something to sell to a builder and they bought it. The buyers bought into it also. I guess if I'd never seen a bug in my life it would be scary. But I've traveled enough all over and have been outside all over this state since I was a wee lil kiddo that a lil o bug does not scare me.

I haven't noticed "more" bugs here, but there are a few that are definately different. lol Two people in my apartment complex have been bitten by a brown recluse since I moved in. I had some brown water beetles ocassionally during the warmer weather too....kinda grosses you out, then again, thank God they're not **** roaches and are easily gotten rid of!

Well, MOST communities, cities, towns, etc around here all have some kind of "Mommy & Me" activities. Our libraries have story time for all ages of kids. Great kids sections too. The Parks & Rec offers "Mommy & Me" swim lessons. The local Parks & Rec Departments offer all kinds of classes and sports for kids as does the Y. Youth sports are VERY popular. Every church offers some kind of program and many are free (VBS in the summer). Your just in the wrong community if they don't offer ANYTHING. It IS out there. Pick up the phone and call your city Parks & Rec Department.

So hopefully y'all will find something to do as it IS out there for y'all to enjoy and get out of the house and see this great big world out there.

Oh, and honey, sweetie, I'll use y'all till the day I die. I don't care what anyone says. One other thing, it is PROPERLY "y'all" not ya'll.

I don't see anything wrong with y'all, but that's just me. After all, "opinions from CA transplants" is what the OP was asking for.

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by Kellypink

I don't mean community based as in the community pays for it... I meant usually the community offers classes such as: workshops of various activities like, photography, ceramics, book clubs and Mommy and me, and I don't think anyone in Texas knows what a mommy and me class is... you gave me a list of all these places I can drop off my children. I want a place that I can go to with my children and do activities with other moms, arts & crafts, playtime, snack time, reading etc.

If anyone out there knows what a mommy and me is then please send a message. It is simply a place where mother and child go to meet other moms in the area and socialize while their children play together. It is structured with play time, snack time, outside play, story time, share time, craft time and a mothers discussion session.
I guess I have come up with a good business Idea for Texas...

I know what a mommy and me class is, thanks. I'm California too, remember? I put those links in as starting points one could call and investigate. Anyways, it's easier to whine and moan and blame an entire state for your problems than to just get off your toosh and do something for yourself, like, um, maybe start a mommy and me group instead of waiting for someone else to do it for you. Just a thought. Good luck back in "Cali!"

[ladysrodgers]

Originally Posted by ladysrodgers

I don't see anything wrong with y'all, but that's just me. After all, "opinions from CA transplants" is what the OP was asking for.

P.S. I've just taken a poll from several southerners.......they all spelled it, "ya'll."