A precious gem of a weekend!7/23 Finished! link to new TR

[MEK]

I'm in, too! Just noticed your TR in your siggie!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

A course I'm taking (towards becoming a reading teacher specialist) ends tomorrow with one last big assignment.



Why do they always do that? Have a big assignment due the last day?



As I have not yet finished the assignment (I'm not going to mention that I haven't actually even started it yet ) I find myself procrastinating this morning and spending too much time on the boards as opposed to said assignment.

So after I respond to everyone here I am not allowing myself to come back on the boards until I have finished. I'm declaring this so that if I should slip up and pop back on you can all yell at me to

"GET BACK TO WORK!"​

I didn't know this had started!!!!! Going back to read!

I just realized yours had started too!

Grabbing a chair, making a sandwich, pouring a jug of sweet iced tea and settling in for the action.

We call it plain old "ice tea" here in the north. Come to think of it I started a cup of tea (Hot tea to you in the south) about an hour ago and I left it on the counter. Guess it's cold tea now.

Hey girl, hope you are well. I am so happy you're doing another TR, love reading about your adventures.....seriously though, we need to consider a girls only trip....maybe in a year or two???

No bickering....now that's Disney Magic at it's best!!!

Can't wait for more my friend......

It was a much more magical romantic trip than even our disneymoon was.

Let the good time roll. He! He!

Hey topdog! I'll try not to be too embarassed by my lack of photography skills. I really enjoy your pics.

Yippee another TR. I know it will be as exciting as the other ones

Thanks for your vote of confidence. You must be getting excited for your upcoming holiday trip.

We love your TR's oh yes we do!!

Don't you just make a girl blush!

Glad to have you "Pop" back in again.

We were there March 16-21. Stayed at French Quarter.
I look forward to seeing what was going on for you at the same time we were there but in different places.

Sounds like your husband is a keeper.

We've stayed at POR before and played at POFQ. Loved the beignets! We thought it was lovely and I almost booked us there but I wanted to go somewhere new.

I'm in!

Glad you could join us. Hope it doesn't take too much time away from your planing backup plans for backup plans for backup plans (LOL just kidding!)

I'm in, too! Just noticed your TR in your siggie!

Welcome! I must warn you I only have like two or three of the MNSSHP parade. I may have to direct people to your trip for pictures of it.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Good luck with your assignment. If you teach "sight reading" can you please help me. They are teaching my DD's class sight reading and don't want them sounding words out. It's driving me nuts. No direction from the teacher how we are supposed to teach them to memorize words without sounding them out.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Good luck with your assignment. If you teach "sight reading" can you please help me. They are teaching my DD's class sight reading and don't want them sounding words out. It's driving me nuts. No direction from the teacher how we are supposed to teach them to memorize words without sounding them out.

This is how they taught kids here, too. They put words on a ring and have the kids go over them again and again until they know them by sight. The teachers keep adding words until the ring is practically full. It's most of the really common words we use. It went better than I thought. What was worse was the teaching them to spell things by they way they sound. I have the worst spelling kids on Earth!

 

[ellajeansmom]

Hi there I read your report from your last weekend trip but never posted as you were pretty much wrapped up before I started reading! It was a great report - I laughed right out loud several times and my DH kept asking what are you reading?!

Anyways, I am looking forward to hearing about your recent trip and I'm very jealous that you've managed to have two get-away-without-the-kids weekends and both to WDW no less!!

 

[portocall]

Yay! Another one, I just finished reading your last one last night. My dog ate my laptop cord so I am at the whim of my DH as far as getting any computer time these days. I can't wait for more, and hope that your assignment is finished.

 

[Disneymoon09]

I'm in

 

[Queenofallthings]

Good luck with your assignment. If you teach "sight reading" can you please help me. They are teaching my DD's class sight reading and don't want them sounding words out. It's driving me nuts. No direction from the teacher how we are supposed to teach them to memorize words without sounding them out.

Just wanted to jump in here and say a good bottle of wine helps the mama too while learning sight words

 

[portocall]

Good luck with your assignment. If you teach "sight reading" can you please help me. They are teaching my DD's class sight reading and don't want them sounding words out. It's driving me nuts. No direction from the teacher how we are supposed to teach them to memorize words without sounding them out.

That is the worst program in history in my opinion and I would, as a parent, supplement with phonics at home.

 

[Diamondintheruff]

I interrupt this report to bring you some news.


1) My apologies for being MIA. Sorry about that. Lots of reasons. Noen interesting. But most have them have finished and won't be taking my attention away again.

2) This report got filed in the completed trip report boards. So even when I wanted to add on I couldn't. IT took me a while to figure out why I couldn't post on it though.

3) I'm heading back to Disney in July. I should have my ticker up soon. My older two kids are competing in a dance competition at Disney in early July. I'm in the really early stages of planning. It's at Coronado Springs. Right now it looks like my Mom will be joining Eeore (DS 11), Cindy (DD9) and I.

Okay back to the report.

*******************************************************
On day out of the blue Dh announces “You know, I really enjoyed getting away without the kids. I think we should make it an annual thing. No scratch that maybe even semi-annual.”

“Really?” I asked. “Well I’ve got my parents on set to go in January so we can head up to the cottage alone.”

“Yeah, but I liked actually getting away. You know somewhere warm.”

“So you don’t want to go to the cottage in January?”

“Why wait till January?”

“You want me to book my parents for a weekend this fall?”

“Keep January. I still want to go in January. I just want to go away with you before that. How about Vegas?”

“You know how I feel about Vegas.”

When I was 20 weeks pregnant with #1 we took an extended weekend in Vegas. We stayed at the Flamigo. My Grandparents recommended it. Maybe years ago when they went it was lovely but by the time we got there it was in desperate need of an upgrade. Most of the time I stared out of resort window longingly across the street at Cesar’s.

It all started to go downhill on the flight. Normally I love to fly. My Mom (before her retirement) worked for an airline. So growing up I have had plenty of opportunities to fly. Mostly flying standby which lends such a spirit of adventure to a trip that it just increased my love of flying. As a matter of fact, these tickets were standby and donated by my Mother. However, we had checked the passenger lists and knew that it was pretty empty so we were feeling pretty sure of getting on the flight. In fact if we didn’t get on, that wouldn’t have bothered me. I was used to that. It was how my newly pregnant body reacted to the flight.

I was unprepared for my own body to betray me like that. I totally swelled up with my fingers looking like sausages around my way too small at that moment wedding band. Even my tongue felt swollen and I Dh says I spoke with a sort of lisp. He thought it was endearing. I just found it painful.

I had the most incredible heartburn and gas on that flight. Mostly the burping kind of gas but embarrassingly enough there were some mighty downward gas explosions too. My oversensitive pregnant body didn’t seem to be able to handle the assault that was cabin pressure change. I thought it was maybe something I ate because I didn’t want to admit that my body might not like flying. But when the same thing happened on the way home (and subsequentually every other time I flew while pregnant) I have had to admit defeat. It was a horrible flight. A precursor to what would be a horrible weekend.

The worst was when we went to go get our luggage from the carasol. It never showed. As I mentioned we were flying standby and the rules and regulations that govern missing luggage such as the airline will pay you a fee so you can buy some new underwear and a toothbrush don’t apply to flying standby on an employee’s pass. Our luggage did finally show. Four hours before we left on the morning of our departure day. By that time I had already hit the stores. JC penny was having a sale on maternity wear. Before you feel too sorry for us, I should mention that we did know about the great possibility of being separated with our luggage. It’s one of the downfalls of standby. So I had packed a stacked carry-on luggage complete with bathing suit and a change of clothes. I always do. It’s become a useful habit. Especially when using magic express.

But back to Vegas, so as I’m entering the famous Flamingo for the first time, all puffed up and forlorn as I’m without my suitcase. I can’t help but notice that everyone is smoking. Like everywhere. Especially at the slot machines. And you have to pass the slot machines to get to the elevators, which is necessary when you are on a high floor. The front desk had given away our non-smoking room because we were late (filling out forms for our luggage) and wouldn’t have another one available until later. Which never did happen even though we called almost hourly.

I left Dh to argue out a new smoking room rate with the desk clerk and thought it would lift my spirits to check out the birds this place is named after. They looked sweet from afar. I’m not sure what they did to the actual flamigo birds but those birds sure did smell. The stench was overpowering. I almost threw up every time I had to walk by them. Which was every time I wanted to go to the pool, or gift shop, or the lobby or the well, you get my drift. I had to walk by them to get anywhere.

But before I even got to the flamingos I had to walk through the smoke cloud, which was the slot machines. At least I think that’s what they were. It was so overcast in there I could barely tell. By the time I had checked out the birds, and been through the smoke cloud there and back all I wanted to do was go home.

The weekend didn’t get much better. It rained heavily and therefore the pool was ruled out. We had blown our budget on clothing ourselves so we had to limit ourselves food wise.

Our big night out is something I still use as ammunition against Dh. I wanted to go see Cirque du Soleil. He choose a hockey game. Not even a NHL game (cause they don’t play in Vegas) but a minor league game. That was our big splurge. We took a taxi there from a fast food place on the strip. I wish we had gone to get a taxi in front of our hotel or really any hotel in that matter because I don’t think we were in a real taxi. You see, the guy let us out in an alley abruptly. He charged us a number that didn’t correspond with the meter and got out of his seat to open our doors and basically pull us out. First I was shocked and then I was terrified. He told us he couldn’t take us to the door of the arena because he didn’t have an arena license. The arena was a couple blocks away. We asked the taxi drivers waiting there if you needed a license to pick up and drop off at the arena. They laughed. I figure he just didn’t have his taxi license.

I didn’t enjoy the game. I’m pretty sure Dh realized it. It could have been during the hour-long pity crying session I had later that night that tipped him off. To his defense, he agreed to break the budget and pull out the credit card to buy tickets to see a magic show the next night. Lance something or other. It was good. Dh was forgiven. That and the sale at JC Penny were the highlights of the trip.

But Vegas still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Which is why I told Dh “No” to Vegas when he brought up Vegas as an option.

I let Dh research some possible vacation options.

I’ll admit it.

I never had any intentions of going anywhere else. It was Disney or dust.

I think he realized that. He relented pretty easily when I pointed out that Disney was cheaper than any of the other options he was bringing up. Mind you at the time I was giving him the rates at POP and we didn’t end up staying there but I’ll get into that later.

So it was early September when I realized I had some four-day weekends coming up in October that Dh agreed to take me to Disney. Just the two of us. Just because. Isn’t he just the sweetest?

I had $140 credit on southwest that would expire in November to use up. Southwest had a $64 seat sale to orlando and that clenched it. Of course we didn't end up actually booking any $64 flights. They weren't a good time for us. Ours ended up being $92. So the figures I gave him ended up being a little inflated. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's just revel in the joy that is when you first book your Disney trip.

Woo hoo! I called up my TA and booked us at POP for three nights October 16-19. I also ordered tickets for MNSSHP on the 18th. The plan was that we would go to a water park one day, downtown disney another and finally attend the party on the 3rd night. We were going to eat OPPs and keep the cost down. Could I stick to the plan? Not in your life.

The foodie picture in my first post is from Wolf Gang Puck's. It was a Pumpkin Ravioli.

 

[Charleston Princess]

I love how you lured DH right into agreeing to the fall trip to Disney. Well done!

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

I love it when you give us the back story...I used to live within 4-5 hours of Vegas so made a few trips there (back in the day) & would like to go w/ DH one day but I really hear you about the casinos the smoke etc etc and Disney is such a better trip!! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[praisehisname]

Love the backstory! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Oh my...I totally get why Vegas left a really bad taste! Sounds like it was a horrible weekend!

I'm so glad he agreed to let you go to Disney again!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Welcome back! Your Vegas trip reminds me of the first two days from my Honeymoon! I can't wait to see how the WDW trip shapes up for you!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Let me start by stating that we live in Canada but have chosen to fly out of the States (mostly for monetary reasons) so we like to leave for the airport the night before and stay overnight. Now you may ask “Is it still cheaper to fly out of the states when you include a hotel stay as well?” and my answer would be “DEFINATLY!”

So when I say we were leaving for the airport I want you to know that we don’t actually get there until the next day. I should probably change the title to read “Leaving for the Hotel by the Airport” but I won’t.

I had to work today. I’m a teacher. I only work part-time and other years I have shared classes with teachers but this year I am what is called a “Prep Teacher”. Meaning I go into other teacher’s classrooms and take over their classes so they can use that time to prepare their lessons.

We have a medium sized school (around 400 kids) and I get to see all the English stream kindergarten and grade one classes. They’re my favorite age groups so I’m pretty happy with it. But although they are my favorite they can be particularly tiring. Which was the case today. Many behaviours were popping up today. I was pretty pooped out by the end of the day.

But I had Disney to look forward to. I also had a staff meeting. So I had to sit through that. DS11 had a piano lesson after school but I had to farm out my other two children to friends because Dh was working late and my parents weren’t arriving until after dinner.

By 5 pm the kids and I were sitting at the table eating my fallback I’m too busy to make a real meal of egg and soldiers. Otherwise known as soft-boiled eggs with toast and in our house it comes with a side of canned pears. Not the best meal in the world but it is quick, the kids all eat it (can’t say that about many other meals) and served with a glass of milk it provides all the four food groups. But where was Dh?

The phone rang. It was he. “He” was running late. Figures.

Dh has a nasty habit of being unavailable and out of the house before a big event like leaving on a trip or having a big party.

In fact I think I will take this time to digress again and familiarize you with Dh’s 40th birthday party. He wanted a party at home. I wanted a party NOT at home. I didn’t want to have to do all the cleaning and preparing needed to host a party. Dh swore up and down that he would DO IT ALL. So I agreed. Actually agreeing is probably too strong a word. I said I wasn’t doing a thing for it or against it.

Now this may seem like hard words. I mean all the man wanted for his 40th was a birthday party at home. Why couldn’t I find it in my heart to help him out with it? After all he went with me to Disney on my 40th earlier in the year. Isn’t throwing this party the least I can do for him?

September is a bad month for teachers. Especially when they just get to move into a brand new school that isn’t even finished on the first day of school. In fact three months later it is still not finished but that is another story. So I knew I was stressed. I agreed to throw a party at another location. I felt I had the energy to pull that together but not to clean our house top to bottom as well as throw a party. Did I mention we had about 75 guests? So we are not talking a small dinner party.

In fact Dh wanted a pig roast. Which is the reason we couldn’t have it at another facility. None of the halls in town would let us roast a pig on the premises. So home it was. And like I mentioned Dh was to do all the preparations.

In his defense he did rent a tent, some jumpy castles, and organize the pig. He even bought plates and napkins and stuff (off a list I gave to him) and he did do some work on the outside of the house and the yard. But did he do anything to the inside of the house? What do you think?

Not a finger was raised. In fact the day before and the day of the party he wasn’t home. He was busy. Our neighbours put up the tent, tables and chairs. He wasn’t home when they arrived.

He made his entrance a couple hours before the party and couldn’t understand why I was pissed at him. He was here doing work wasn’t he? It’s just that I had been doing the work for two days and then some. Not three hours before the party.

Oh yes, our daughter was sick. I had to wait until he got home so I could take her to the walk-in clinic. We were gone for the first two hours of the party. Everyone (that is that really knows us) figures I had enough and had walked out.

The party was lovely, but as I was stuck in between the kitchen and my daughter’s bedroom checking in on her and Dh was stuck cooking the pig we didn’t really enjoy it. Maybe he enjoyed it. I wasn’t speaking to him. I didn’t have anything nice to say so I didn’t say anything.

But here is a pic of the pig.

Okay so I’ve laid down the history. Dh goes AWAL when the house needs cleaning. And since my parents were coming to look after the kids while we were in Disney, I needed to have the house clean. I should be used to him pulling this trick but it still gets me every single time.

So I wasn’t surprised when he called to say he was running late. I knew I would have to do all the packing and all the cleaning and all the arranging of the kid’s schedule for my parents. Unlike his 40th pig roast, this trip to Disney was all my idea. But still I thought it would be nice if we could leave at a decent time.

We didn’t.

There was traffic on the main highway from Toronto (where Dh was working and where my parents live). Apparently lanes were closed and engines were even turned off. I don’t for sure. I was stuck at home waiting for everyone to get here.

My parents arrived first. It was after 9pm. So much for getting to Buffalo before midnight.

First there was the running of the bulls. Or rather the grandchildren. My three kids descend and attack my parents with stories of what they have done since they last saw them and of course ideas for what they can all do together this weekend. It is heartwarming even if it is loud.

Then I went over the rules and the plan for the weekend. There were dance lessons, and birthday parties and such. I’m not sure how closely my parents followed the rules as they have a tendency to spoil the kids but then that’s what grandparents are for.

Finally Dh arrives. Again completely oblivious to the fact that once again I have spent hours toiling to get ready for this while he has skipped town. He did look a little guilty.

By 10:30 we have all the munchkins in bed and even a few asleep so Dh and I slip out quietly.

We hit the highway and zoom it. We make pretty good time.

We have a nostalgic moment as we pass the adult entertainment store we may or may not have stopped in on our last trip. It is closed so there was no chance this trip. I tease Dh about it being his fault that we can’t go in tonight.

“Maybe I’ve already been today and picked a little something.”

“Did you really?” I say as my face goes a beet red.

“You’ll have to wait to find out” he replies.

By the time we are in Grimsby my bladder is talking too loudly to ignore. I thought I could make it to the border (it’s about another 30 minutes away) but I wouldn’t be very “fresh” if we don’t stop now. There is a 24-hour Tim Horton’s rest stop in Grimsby and Dh pulls over.

We both get a hot chocolate and I take over the driving. We stop again at Duty free. I buy my parents Bailey’s. They have a deal on two bottles. We pick them up and head out again.

We’re free and clear crossing the border. The border guards ask about the car seats in the vehicle and why we’re not taking the kids with us to Disney but other than that he waves us on.

We realize that we are starving and roll into a McDonalds to grab some fries to tie us over until the morning. It is almost 2am.

We check into the millennium hotel in Buffalo. We’ve stayed here many times and know what to expect. This trip we have a deal with breakfast included. I remember glancing at the clock and seeing the time 2:34 before drifting off to sleep.

Our flight leaves around 1pm so we are safe to sleep in. Or so Dh thinks. I have dreams of Target in my head. Can I convince Dh to do some cross boarder shopping before we leave? Find out next chapter. Click here http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34640514&postcount=46

 

[Diamondintheruff]

I love how you lured DH right into agreeing to the fall trip to Disney. Well done!

And yet even another since!

I love it when you give us the back story...I used to live within 4-5 hours of Vegas so made a few trips there (back in the day) & would like to go w/ DH one day but I really hear you about the casinos the smoke etc etc and Disney is such a better trip!! Can't wait to hear more!

I'm sure it is better now.

Love the backstory! Can't wait to hear more!

I'm a little slow but I promise to finish!

Oh my...I totally get why Vegas left a really bad taste! Sounds like it was a horrible weekend!

I'm so glad he agreed to let you go to Disney again!

It was a forgetable weekend. Not the romantic encounter we had hoped for.

Welcome back! Your Vegas trip reminds me of the first two days from my Honeymoon! I can't wait to see how the WDW trip shapes up for you!

I thought I had a reference to your honeymoon in that segment. I must have edited it out but I meant to put it in there. Yes, there are similarities. But we had credit cards to bail us out if needed.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

This is how they taught kids here, too. They put words on a ring and have the kids go over them again and again until they know them by sight. The teachers keep adding words until the ring is practically full. It's most of the really common words we use. It went better than I thought. What was worse was the teaching them to spell things by they way they sound. I have the worst spelling kids on Earth!

Just wanted to jump in here and say a good bottle of wine helps the mama too while learning sight words

That is the worst program in history in my opinion and I would, as a parent, supplement with phonics at home.

Thanks for all the support on the sight words. I hate every last minute of it. We do phonics at home...I don't care what the teacher says. Unless you want to give me directions on how to get them to read words without sounding them out...I get to do it my way. Never thought about adding the wine


Now back to Diamond- some of us have seen your PP pics so we know whether you stuck to the plan. But I don't ruin it for the rest of the readers!

"English stream"- is that opposed to kiddos who take classes in French? How does that work? Do they get to chose?

Glad your octopus/husband eventually arrived so that we can leave- and I'm glad you took a later flight. Now just hoping that you actually make it to heaven (aka Target!)

 

[Lady Lallie]

Wower. Tense, Tense, Tense. I would have been freaking if everyone was so late.

Doesn't your DH know by now that you need Target shopping!?

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Thanks for all the support on the sight words. I hate every last minute of it. We do phonics at home...I don't care what the teacher says. Unless you want to give me directions on how to get them to read words without sounding them out...I get to do it my way. Never thought about adding the wine


Now back to Diamond- some of us have seen your PP pics so we know whether you stuck to the plan. But I don't ruin it for the rest of the readers!

"English stream"- is that opposed to kiddos who take classes in French? How does that work? Do they get to chose?

Glad your octopus/husband eventually arrived so that we can leave- and I'm glad you took a later flight. Now just hoping that you actually make it to heaven (aka Target!)

As a Kindergarten and Grade one teacher you go ahead and teach phonics. Support your daughter's learning however you'd like because not everyone learns in the same way.

Sorry to confuse you with "English" Stream. We are a french immersion school too. Yes, you can choose which stream to put the kids into but you can only enter french immersion in Kindergarten, Grade One or in Grade Five. But the ones that enter in Grade Five only do half day immersion.

I should probably just call Dh Octopus from now on. There are many encounters with his many tentacles this trip.

Wower. Tense, Tense, Tense. I would have been freaking if everyone was so late.

Doesn't your DH know by now that you need Target shopping!?

I stopped freaking everytime Dh was late. I only freak when he is early which is basically well... NEVER!

I like your thinking Target=Heaven.