DDA Chapter 14

[babytrees]

Heidi- congrats on the ticker

Jennifer & Amy- those kids are awfully cute!!

 

[Blueeyes101817]

i got my luggage! They called at 1030 and said it would be here by 1am and asked if i was staying up--NO!! I told them I had authorized them to leave the suitcase and asked if they needed directions...
Next thing i know, they are calling me at 1am becasue they are lost--it was so frustrating but at least i have my luggage...now its 8pm and i am aboslutely exhausted!

 

[Tammi67]

Got a new ticker.

We debated between Jan. or Dec. 2009
Dec. won out as we would be able to stay POFQ, if we went in Jan. we would have to stay Pop and John was not happy about that. Also we love all the decorations and the Christmas party. But the biggest reason for Dec. is John is determined to stay Contemporary once, so we have longer to save for it.

for the new ticker. What are your dates?

 

[tinknme]

Well, their not trip pics yet, but I did upload some things this morning....

Nice pictures Tia, Terra has grown so much!

 

[Tammi67]

i got my luggage! They called at 1030 and said it would be here by 1am and asked if i was staying up--NO!! I told them I had authorized them to leave the suitcase and asked if they needed directions...
Next thing i know, they are calling me at 1am becasue they are lost--it was so frustrating but at least i have my luggage...now its 8pm and i am aboslutely exhausted!

I'm glad you got it. Too bad for the wake-up call though.

 

[Mommy2EmMoLu]

Heidi- for a new ticker!!

Jen- for luggage.

Amy & Jen- OMG, the cuteness factor was high in Cincinnati today

 

[PNO4TE]

I went back and found the photos. I like your hair! It takes a little while to get used to a change (even a good one).

Thanks, Beth! I had one student tonight say (in a very loud voice), "Mrs. H... did you dye your hair red???"

His mom said, "And it looks VERY nice, Mrs. H. Right, Andrew?"

She said it three times before he caught on.

I told him I didn't dye it, my hairdresser did, and that it was actually purple and the class said,
































"COOL!" rotfl2: )

 

[mommykds]

Hi from North Carolina!

Went house hunting this weekend. Also went to the school district admin building to get all the info on the schools & special programs for Daniel. I was very content with what they told us. We found a couple of homes that fit our bill. We took the kids to play mini golf this afternoon so they could have a break from being dragged from house to house & sitting in the car most of the day. We took Katie to the HS we are looking at for her & she was thrilled at the acting & dance classes that they offer. I think that made things feel better for her. She is sitting her writing little notes on the school in her notebook.

to everyone!!!

 

[mommykds]

Heidi,

for your new ticker!

 

[tinknme]

...

Nah, she always has those circles!! She got a lot and more, over $200 in gift cards. A diaper bag, pack and play, and lots of cute little boy clothes and other little necessities

She is not alone, I have always had dark circles under my eyes. Without make up, it is very noticeable! Sounds like her shower was a success!
.



The cake was awfully chocolately. Chocolate cake, with cheesecake filling and chocolate icing.

Sounds very rich & yummy!


I agree that we are a pretty lucky bunch. Afterall, we have each other here when we need them most sometimes.

Yes we are I can't tell you all how happy I am that I found you!

 

[lovesdumbo]

I finally got to feel our baby kick tonight, normally she doesn't cooperate

So to compound Katie's misgivings about the impending move, she came home in tears yesterday. She hurt her arm at the cheerleading tryouts & did not perform as well as she wanted. Last night we found out she did not make the cheer team that she has been practicing for weeks for. I felt so bad for her. This has been a very crappy week for my baby.

Poor Katie!

DS had a year like that. He was asking for all sorts of things he saw in vintage comic book ads or something - it was NOT GOOD. I can't remember what we did get for him - he was happy - but he was SURE Santa could get all of the things he wanted.

I'm sure they'll be happy it is just rather stressful for Santa.

Wish I could bottle up some of Peanut's movement and send it along. He's the most active baby I've had! Alan and I just love to watch my stomach roll and pitch. Mary thinks it's magical, and spends a lot of time with her mouth to my belly, talking to him. He recognizes her voice, too, as he really starts to jump around! I wouldn't think there was enough room for him to move as much as he does, but he manages!

My coworker who had a baby recently had a very active baby. We all loved it when she wore her polka dot dress so we could watch the dots roll around. The poor girl has to come back to work on Wednesday. I remember how hard that was.

I went to book club last night, and imagine my surprise to find myself the guest of honor at a surprise baby shower! It was so much fun! Peanut is going to be the best dressed baby!

I got up early this morning, because I woke up suddenly thinking about my dad's Christmas stocking. Mom always took care of that, and I know he won't think about doing it for himself. So, ladies, I'm going to take care of it. Ideas, please. What should I put in there? I know there will be a Barnes and Noble GC, but what else? All ideas welcome!

Shower sounds nice!

How about snack type things-chocolates, nuts, candies... I always put a Farmer's Almanac in DH's stocking-takes up a bit of room. A magazine perhaps, CD, DVD, sox, gloves, tool, flashlight...

So I have been thinking about the "special deal". If you were staying in a value resort for $49 per night you would only save $150 getting 3 nights free. We would spend WAY more than $150 on food over the 3 extra days, so WDW wouldn't be losing anything. And you have to pay rack rate for the first 4 nights, right? So the first 4 wouldn't be $49, they would be more!

I read a post yesterday saying the OP was going to save almost $2000. That means their room would have to be nearly $700 per night. I bet those rooms aren't being offered for free. Maybe they had more than one room booked. I didn't pay that much attention. I just don't think most people are going to save walloping amounts of money. You save some, just like with free dining. It sounds fabulous, but if you really look at the numbers you don't save as much as it sounds like you will.

Our '06 and '07 August trips were identical as far as the packages, but our '07 package was NOT the full cost of the dining plan cheaper than the '06 trip because we lost the room discount. Same logic here. You do save some money, but not THAT much.

Now I don't feel like I am missing something spectacular.

This deal isn't that great for a value resort. It wouldn't have been as great if I hadn't been able to change my January flights to do the 7 nights. We are arriving late (7:30pm at MCO) but I would have stayed at Logan if we kept the early flight the next day and now we can be at the parks at opening that day. I couldn't get the 7 for 4 deal at AKL CL which wasn't so bad as Lizzy didn't want to stay there anyways. I have already decided that because I am not likely to do a family trip I might as well do the trips I am doing in style. By booking Poly GV room I saved $1,198 over rack rate, $779 over AAA and $442 over AP. Plus I get the $200 gift card for that stay and unlike the birthday gift card this one can be used on food. I "ignored" the fact that I had to buy park passes because I know I will use them in the future.

For my May trip with Joe at AKL CL I saved $1,367 over rack, $888 over AAA, and $611 if AP is similar to Jan's. I called a few weeks ago and I couldn't get AAA so I was so surprised I could book this deal. I don't think I could have ever gotten AP on this room so I'm very happy with this deal even though I'm not getting the $200 gift card on this one. I will get the birthday card.

Lizzy is SOOOOOOO excited to be going back to the Poly! We haven't been since 2005. I am pretty excited too. I had toyed with the idea of booking Lagoon View but I just couldn't justify the extra $$$$.

Good Morning DDA!

Well, we didn't save that much with this HUGE deal.
We did book an extra night, and I figure the $200 GC will help pay for food that extra day. So, for us I guess it was worth it. Now if they would had added free dining to the deal, then we would have saved more! Wishful thinking!
We decided on Pop too.
With Christmas, Birthdays, and other expenses coming up we thought the value was the way to go on this trip. We don't really spend that much time in the resort anyway, so why pay for the extras.
I think Leighanna will love the theming at Pop, and I am just happy to be going!
I think that we are driving too.
Leighanna is older now, and I would like her to see some of the states that we just normally fly over.
We always drove to Disney when we were kids, and I remember some really fun times and neat sites that you just don't see flying.
Plus it will be nice to have a vehicle while we are down there. We might take a day and drive around. Leighanna has always said that she wants to go to the beach and see the ocean.
We lost a whole day last trip because of a cancelled flight, so at least I know that I won't start off my trip waiting for hours in an airport.

Glad you were able to book the deal. Hope you love Pop-I really do enjoy it there-as do my kids.

I forgot to tell you all.... one bright spot last week was that I was accepted as a host to the Pre-Holiday House party...so I get to have a party next Saturday. I am going to put up my little tree with an animal theme (thanks Elin!! ) and have a really, truly legitimate reason to start listening to Christmas music 24/7. I also get to bake goodies.

It sounds like an amazing party pack that is coming to me this week.

That sounds like fun!

I forgot to tell you all about a conversation that the kids and I had last night as we were drivng to football practice. My little man is getting quite knowledgable about government with all this election crap. As we passed a taxicab:

ALYSSA: Is that a taxi?
ME: Yes, that is a taxi.
NICHOLAS, in his I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT voice: Our new President Obama wants to raise taxis.

This is when I almost ran off the road from laughing.

 

[PNO4TE]

Randy will be at a printing company today with some people from his company, as well as auditors from two firms, lawyers etc. as they print and edit their 192-page document. And he could possibly be there all night in to tomorrow. He said these places that print these kinds of projects have beds, showers, pool tables etc. so that you have something to do in between edits/printing. He was originally hired to work for the spin-off of his company, but has been asked to work for corporate now. That's a great thing for him. It would mean more job security (if the spin-off doesn't work out) and it's boosted his ego. Not sure about money yet -- they haven't talked details, but it would be no less, so I'm happy for him and very thankful he is employed!

I agree with you whole-heartedly, Marci. For the past two years Bob has worked long, hard hours to be the only certified designer in his office and to renew his Quality Assurance certification too. The girls and I have hounded him about asking for more money from the beginning of this because he is actually doing the work of two people since he is the only QA person in the company. But he has consistently refused to do so.

I know now that one reason he is fairly safe (never say never) is because of those certifications. He has made himself extremely useful (dare I say indispensable??) and he said last week that he knows they would be in trouble if they had to let him go.

The more Randy can work into those other aspects of his company, the better off he is, I do believe. Best of luck to him!

 

[tinknme]

I think they will be fine with it. Disappointed, yes, but they will adapt to the idea, especially knowing that they are going in August. I feel strongly that kids need to learn how to deal with disappointment, and know that there are things that don't or can't have. Even in one's own family. One child may not get what the other child gets, and vice versa. I try to make mine focus on what THEY GET, not what OTHERS get. And having Mom and Dad go to WDW ONE TIME without them, in the grand scheme of life, isn't that bad. Like in Bernadette's family, where she takes one child. I'm sure it's hard for the others to say goodbye but they know their time will come. I think that is wonderful. I'm hoping to be able to do that someday. So I think this is good for your boys, Janet, as well as good for you and Gary.

Very well said Tammi & I totally agree

 

[PNO4TE]

So Emma's birthday party is this Friday. Her and I decided on the sleepover. We've invited 7 friends and I know that 2 will be here only for the party. 2 of the other moms are staying with me to help out and one will probably spend the night as her DD isn't comfortable leaving mom home (the friend from scouts whose dad was in Iraq).

She decided on Tinker Bell for the theme. I found at AC Moore a pack of 8 pillowcases that the girls can color, that will be their favor. I found some green sparkly nail polish and Tinker Bell decals so we'll do their nails too. I also plan on making fairy cakes and then once every is in their pj's we'll watch the new movie.

Eric will be spending the night at his parents. And my mom and aunt have offered to keep Mo and Lucy for the night.

Sounds like a great night for you girls, Robyn!

 

[mommykds]

Fly-by picture post.... gotta feed girls and get to the grocery store

CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tinknme]

Good morning all!!

The big boss is back from his sabbatical and I already feel like I've been thrown under the bus (learned a new phrase last week) because of what frustrated me so much on Thursday. I made a resolution yesterday that no matter what December 31st is my last day here....I've got to have something to look forward/hold on to.

 

[Mommy2EmMoLu]

This GS stuff is going to push me over the edge. I got a phone call from a dad of girl that attends the school we used to meet. He wanted information on our Brownie troop so his daughter can join. We aren't technically a troop yet and I have parents calling us. I had to politely tell him that until we are official there isn't much I can do at this point. I think he thought I was a total idiot as I bumbled my way through the call.

Not to mention I told the girl at council that I wanted our troop closed. We didn't want any new members. I felt bad because I am not going to be the official leader for the troop. Since there are only 5 of us we are all taking the training and being certified as leaders. I can't make that decision by myself.

I also want to know who gave out my number. I'm pretty sure I know who it was but want to know for certain before she gets a piece of my mind.

What a mess. It's harder than anything I've done trying to get someone to call me back from the council to get things rolling.

 

[PNO4TE]

Hunter's appointment is over. He ended up coming home with me as his eyes were still very dialated and he couldn't read anyway. The doctor found a significant change in his eyes. Hopefully that explains the headaches. We are moving him back to yearly appointments instead of every 2 years in hopes of catching changes sooner. After the appointment we went and ordered a new pair of glasses. We also left one of his old pair that are still in great shape and we will have the lenses changed in those. The doctor said that his current glasses cannot even be used as a backup pair because of the significant changes. I really hope that once the new glasses arrive he will be headache free

I hope so too, Deb!

 

[tinknme]

Randy will be at a printing company today with some people from his company, as well as auditors from two firms, lawyers etc. as they print and edit their 192-page document. And he could possibly be there all night in to tomorrow. He said these places that print these kinds of projects have beds, showers, pool tables etc. so that you have something to do inbetween edits/printing. He was originally hired to work for the spin-off of his company, but has been asked to work for corporate now. That's a great thing for him. It would mean more job security (if the spin-off doesn't work out) and it's boosted his ego. Not sure about money yet -- they haven't talked details, but it would be no less, so I'm happy for him and very thankful he is employed!

Wonderful Marci, congratulations to Randi!

 

[tinknme]

I am confused on the stupid Science Fair stuff. The packet that was due last week VERY CLEARLY stated that a "research plan" was to be attached. It is an outline/overview of what steps you plan to take to complete the project. Hmm. OK, fine. But the teacher e-mailed me and said no, she just needed to have the signed packet returned - no research plan. The original packet (which is the same thing we got last year) says you must have a research PAPER, as in, a paper where you research some aspect of your project and write about it. These are NOT the same thing. The research PLAN and the research PAPER are completely separate entities with completely different descriptions, but the science teacher is new and I think she isn't seeing the distinction. Something is due Wednesday, but I am not clear on WHAT.

Hope you get the science fair stuff figured out Elizabeth!