DDA Chapter 14

[bear74]

Thanks gals!! She called her dr and is on her way to the hospital, they are going to check and monitor her before making a decision. My dad is taking her and my mom will meet them up there. As soon as Eric gets home I am headed to the hospital. My mom is not one to handle her anxiety well so I want to be there as a buffer. All I can remember is my mom hysterical crying as I was delivering Emma. I understand the anxiety but she has to keep it under control.

ETA: I just realized that today is the 12th. My grandfather died on the 12th 11 years ago, at the same hospital, so I can imagine that will stir up emotions as well for everyone.

PD for all of your family today!

 

[marcij]

Today has certainly been busy. We had a 7:20 am teacher conference for Colby. He is doing really well other than he is a bit chatty when he should be working individually He is progressing very well with his numbers, letters and drawings. Hunter's appointment was yesterday afternoon. He is doing well other than acting tired. I asked her if she was challenging him as he is very good at math and spelling. She has not been challenging him, just giving him the same as the rest of the class No wonder he looks tired, I'm sure his mind is elsewhere. We discussed the SS missing work and his primary teacher said that she did not remind him that he had SS work missing as she wasnt' aware. That means that the SS teacher is full of well you know what. The primary teacher is going to talk to the SS teacher. Otherwise all is well.

After the conference I came home and paid bills, typed up a letter to parents as I'm organizing the Thanksgiving lunch for Colby's class, got my Oriental trading order which had the crafts and table clothes for the lunch, dug out the plates and napkins and still had time to get to the post office to mail our ornament exchanges and the AAA diamond cards

I also received the light up rotary bases that I had ordered for our crystal cubes. Our old base wasn't working properly and I needed a new one for the crystal that we got this summer with all 3 boys in it. I also needed on to give to my parents with the crystal that I bought them.

So the teacher wants a nice sit down lunch for the class. She wants the kids to dress up. They will learn how to properly set the table then they will all sit down for lunch. We think finger foods will be easiest, but are trying to stick with Thanksgiving type foods. So far parents have said they will bring tater tots, fruit and fruit dip, little dessert tarts and I will make cranberry corn muffins (maybe some plain corn muffins too). I'm hoping to have the kids make their own butter for the muffins. What other finger foods can you think of? I'm hoping that some other parents will think of creative things. If not we will probably do ham and turkey mini rolls. I was thinking mini pizzas with turkey or ham toppings? (not to Thanksgivingy, but the kids might eat them )

I was able to get Thanksgiving table clothes that have multiple scenes on them. The kids will have from tomorrow until the 25th to color them in during their free time.

I'm glad the kids are doing well in school. It sounds like you are off to a great start on the Thanksgiving feast. I think finger sandwiches would be easiest (no heating) and probably less messy than the pizzas, but my kids don't really eat sandwhiches. Maybe small pieces of turkey for those who don't eat sandwiches?

Good job, Deb!

 

[PNO4TE]

Today has certainly been busy. We had a 7:20 am teacher conference for Colby. He is doing really well other than he is a bit chatty when he should be working individually He is progressing very well with his numbers, letters and drawings. Hunter's appointment was yesterday afternoon. He is doing well other than acting tired. I asked her if she was challenging him as he is very good at math and spelling. She has not been challenging him, just giving him the same as the rest of the class No wonder he looks tired, I'm sure his mind is elsewhere. We discussed the SS missing work and his primary teacher said that she did not remind him that he had SS work missing as she wasnt' aware. That means that the SS teacher is full of well you know what. The primary teacher is going to talk to the SS teacher. Otherwise all is well.

After the conference I came home and paid bills, typed up a letter to parents as I'm organizing the Thanksgiving lunch for Colby's class, got my Oriental trading order which had the crafts and table clothes for the lunch, dug out the plates and napkins and still had time to get to the post office to mail our ornament exchanges and the AAA diamond cards

I also received the light up rotary bases that I had ordered for our crystal cubes. Our old base wasn't working properly and I needed a new one for the crystal that we got this summer with all 3 boys in it. I also needed on to give to my parents with the crystal that I bought them.

So the teacher wants a nice sit down lunch for the class. She wants the kids to dress up. They will learn how to properly set the table then they will all sit down for lunch. We think finger foods will be easiest, but are trying to stick with Thanksgiving type foods. So far parents have said they will bring tater tots, fruit and fruit dip, little dessert tarts and I will make cranberry corn muffins (maybe some plain corn muffins too). I'm hoping to have the kids make their own butter for the muffins. What other finger foods can you think of? I'm hoping that some other parents will think of creative things. If not we will probably do ham and turkey mini rolls. I was thinking mini pizzas with turkey or ham toppings? (not to Thanksgivingy, but the kids might eat them )

I was able to get Thanksgiving table clothes that have multiple scenes on them. The kids will have from tomorrow until the 25th to color them in during their free time.

You have been very busy today, Deb!

What about chicken tenders or nuggets?

 

[tmfranlk]

so what all do you have planned?

Let's see... We have Rachel's school play, a craft fair, Thanksgiving dinner at church, Chase's birthday party, Rachel's choir concert, a trip to Oklahoma over Thanksgiving, a Christmas candlelight walk at one of the historic town areas, breakfast with Santa at Kassie's school, a cooking class for Terra and Kassie, Kristi's birthday dinner, Christmas Music Concert and Tasting Party at church, going to see one of the big Christmas light displays, the Living Nativity at church and then finally we leave for CA (which brings its own busyness).

Plus, Kristi will almost certainly have surgery on her arm somewhere in there so we'll have to work in helping her out as she won't be able to drive for a week or so, plus can't lift kids, etc. Her doctor appt is tomorrow as her new insurance kicked in this month. She's already told him that he could pencil her in for surgery so we'll see what he says tomorrow.

 

[tmfranlk]

Bowne. Have you heard of them?

Yup! I worked for one of their biggest competitors (RR Donnelley) and my old boss left to go work for Bowne.

 

[tmfranlk]

Does Terra already know that he is coming? It would be so cool if he showed up on Christmas morning in a Santa suit or at least a Santa hat Her reaction would be sensational



Hopefully it is nothing.

That's a great idea! We might have to do that. She doesn't know yet and part of me is hesitant to tell her in case something happens that he doesn't make it (weather, etc).

 

[bear74]

Let's see... We have Rachel's school play, a craft fair, Thanksgiving dinner at church, Chase's birthday party, Rachel's choir concert, a trip to Oklahoma over Thanksgiving, a Christmas candlelight walk at one of the historic town areas, breakfast with Santa at Kassie's school, a cooking class for Terra and Kassie, Kristi's birthday dinner, Christmas Music Concert and Tasting Party at church, going to see one of the big Christmas light displays, the Living Nativity at church and then finally we leave for CA (which brings its own busyness).

Plus, Kristi will almost certainly have surgery on her arm somewhere in there so we'll have to work in helping her out as she won't be able to drive for a week or so, plus can't lift kids, etc. Her doctor appt is tomorrow as her new insurance kicked in this month. She's already told him that he could pencil her in for surgery so we'll see what he says tomorrow.

wow
We have my nephew's birthday, we broke down and got season passes to six flags and if you bought them early it came with a free ticket to see the Christmas stuff this year. so on a Sat or sun we will do that, then Schliterbahn is having one that is reasonable. The Bass pro shop has Santa and stuff for the kids, their are several small towns around us that have Christmas light trails so will try to do a couple of those.

 

[Tammi67]

Can you all send some pixie dust Sara's way, please. She had another ultrasound yesterday and it revealed that her fluid is high again. The report went into all this detail about the possible complications (of which included stillbirth) and it has stressed her out beyond belief. She is very concerned that she will not come home with a baby.

I hope everything is okay. I don't blame her for being stressed.

 

[Tammi67]

I need some advice for a hometown friend, and thought I would ask you guys first instead of on a specific thread because I know you guys and trust you.

A teacher and her kids, plus in-laws are headed to WDW December 5-13. I think she's been before, but it's been a while, and they've never been at Christmas. She has done her ADRs, but I don't think she's looked at a best days chart. Anyway, she asked me my opinion about MVMCP and if it is worth the extra money. I told her that I had great experiences at the two parties we attended, but I would ask friends what they think. Keep in mind they haven't been at Christmas, and probably won't get to again for a long time, as she's taking off from school to do this. (and has never taken a week off before in the school year, so this is a big deal.) She just doesn't want to do this if they can get the same experience during the day. I told her that I loved the special events, and that I think it's worth the extra money. What do the rest of you think?

Also, she asked about Universal. They have planned a day there as well, and she had heard there was a shuttle that could be picked up from Downtown Disney. Is that correct?

Thanks for your help!

I would recommend them doing the party as well. It's just a different experience at MK then, with a different atmosphere. I love getting the cookies and hot chocolate, watching the Christmas events. The kids like to go to the dance in Fantasyland. If this is a rare chance for them, I say do it!

As far as the US question, I don't know.

 

[yellowfish78]

I need some advice for a hometown friend, and thought I would ask you guys first instead of on a specific thread because I know you guys and trust you.

A teacher and her kids, plus in-laws are headed to WDW December 5-13. I think she's been before, but it's been a while, and they've never been at Christmas. She has done her ADRs, but I don't think she's looked at a best days chart. Anyway, she asked me my opinion about MVMCP and if it is worth the extra money. I told her that I had great experiences at the two parties we attended, but I would ask friends what they think. Keep in mind they haven't been at Christmas, and probably won't get to again for a long time, as she's taking off from school to do this. (and has never taken a week off before in the school year, so this is a big deal.) She just doesn't want to do this if they can get the same experience during the day. I told her that I loved the special events, and that I think it's worth the extra money. What do the rest of you think?

Also, she asked about Universal. They have planned a day there as well, and she had heard there was a shuttle that could be picked up from Downtown Disney. Is that correct?

Thanks for your help!

Not sure about the Disney one - but Mears will pick you up for $15 RT from your hotel. So it might be cheaper to rent a taxi/towncar for all of them if $15 per person is too high. There isn't a pickup from DTD...

 

[Mommy2EmMoLu]

Thanks again for keeping Sara and the baby in your prayers.

I talked to my mom and right now Sara is hooked up to the monitors and there is a heartbeat. So that's good!! Sara said she will not be leaving the hospital until the baby is born. Now I don't know what the Dr. thinks about that yet but she doesn't want to go home and continue to worry.

 

[yellowfish78]

Tammi - your check went out today. Thank you!!!

 

[Tammi67]

Thanks again for keeping Sara and the baby in your prayers.

I talked to my mom and right now Sara is hooked up to the monitors and there is a heartbeat. So that's good!! Sara said she will not be leaving the hospital until the baby is born. Now I don't know what the Dr. thinks about that yet but she doesn't want to go home and continue to worry.

When is she due?

 

[Tammi67]

Tammi - your check went out today. Thank you!!!

Thanks!

 

[Mommy2EmMoLu]

She is due the 3rd of Dec but was/is going to be induced this coming Tuesday night the 18th. They will not let her go to due date because of what happened with her first DD, which today was her original due date too.

When is she due?

 

[bethbuchall]

I added a day to our "Out West" TR:

I am finally back with a little more to share! Have you noticed that this TR is turning into more a photo slide show than a report? There are so many sights that I can't begin to do justice to with my words. My photos don't really capture it well either. You'll just have to make the trek for yourselves some day.

Day 7: Grand Tetons to Yellowstone (Who Stole the Mountains?!)

Even though we had a fairly late night, I woke up as dawn was breaking. Everyone else was soundly sleeping, so I quietly slipped into some clothes and crept out into the morning. It was getting dark by the time we pulled in the night before, so I really hadn’t had a chance to see the splendor of Grand Tetons National Park.

This little guy greeted me as I walked away from our “cabin.”

I think I mentioned before that the chipmunks in the West were the largest chipmunks that I’ve even seen. Well, the squirrels were the smallest. The light was still a little dim for my camera to get good shots of this guy, since he was in constant motion. (I haven’t figured out a way to pull a dSLR from dh’s wallet yet. I’m working on it.)

The sun was quickly rising over the pines, so I headed off in search of the mountains.

I was absolutely awed by these mountains. They were simply stunning, beautiful, gorgeous, impressive beyond compare…I’m out of words. I couldn’t stop taking pictures, but they can’t begin to do these sights justice. I was also fascinated by the herds of elk and the sounds that they were making.

Finally, I tore myself away, because I had to get the rest of the family. I took a few photos along the way.

Here is our “cabin.” They are attached units, not freestanding cabins. We didn’t hear our neighbors, though, so they are fairly well soundproofed.

Dh was awake by the time I went back, but the kids were still sound asleep. Dh and I decided to let them sleep a bit longer and take a walk together. I couldn’t stop telling him about the amazing mountains and the beautiful views.

We finally arrived at the back of the lodge, and this is what we see.

Who stole the mountains?! In the five to ten minutes that it took me to walk to the room and bring dh back, a thick blanket of fog had rolled in front of the mountains. You could not even tell that they were back there. The fog was actually much thicker than this photo shows. In fact, the entire foreground was blanketed as well. There were no mountains; there were no elk. Dh wasn’t completely sure why I dragged him from the nice warm bed. I didn’t start taking pictures again until it started to clear. I was too flabbergasted and too busy trying to convince dh that there really were mountains there and that I had seen them just a few minutes before. I showed him the photos that I had taken, but they didn’t look particularly impressive on that teeny, tiny screen. I was happy at this point that we had decided not to wake the kids. I think there may have been a little riot on my hands if I had. We decided to take a short hike, and the fog did slowly clear.

We decided to head back to the room to see if there were any signs of life yet.

We all showered, dressed, and ate something really healthy (NOT!) for breakfast in the room. Then we grabbed the binoculars and marched the kids in the direction of the mountains. I was silently hoping that there were still there.

Even jaded teenagers can be awestruck by the views that we had! We took turns using the binoculars to marvel at the elk and search for moose. Girl really, really, really wanted to see moose on this trip. There were others around us telling us that we were seeing moose, but I’m pretty sure all we saw were elk.

This photo would be the start one of the little running jokes of the trip.

I just loved the look of the green trees against the bright blue sky. I found it so beautiful! This time there was even the moon. I often heard, “Look, mom, green trees, blue sky!” followed by a few giggles. It’s ok; they love me and most of my little quirks.

We could have stayed in that area all day, but once again time was our enemy. We checked out of Jackson Lake Lodge cabins and headed toward Yellowstone. We considered backtracking to the Jenny Lake area, but we really were limited on time. We did stop at the Colter Bay Visitor Center and Indian Arts Museum.

The museum is small but interesting, and we enjoyed wandering around taking in the exhibits. There was no flash photography allowed inside the musem to protect the items on display. I took a few photos, but none turned out good enough to share.

Once again, my family felt a need to be fed. Yes, it was lunchtime already! We went to the grocery store in the Colter Bay Village area and bought everything we needed for a picnic lunch. I think that the deli meat was even less expensive there than it is at home. We headed down to a picnic area by the lake and had a quiet lunch.

Here’s another “green tree, blue sky” photo for you!

And some of the beautiful flowers.

We were sad that we didn’t have more time to devote to Grand Tetons National Park but excited that we were heading up to Yellowstone National Park.

Next up: Day 7 continued (Yellowstone at last!)

 

[bethbuchall]

7th grade is absolutely kicking my butt.

DS has that Science Fair rough draft due tomorrow, final draft due next week. He hasn't started it.
His election notebook is due next Friday. He has TONS of articles, fliers, pamphlets, whatever but he hasn't organized any of it. He also has to write a paper explaining why he chose to support his candidate. At least that paper is more of his own opinions and thoughts as opposed to research that requires a bibliography. I detest bibliographies.

I am working late Thursday night, I have Princess starting at 6 AM Saturday until noon Sunday so this weekend is shot. Ugh!

I totally agree with you! Here they call the "works cited" pages, and I would rather write 50 pages on my own than have to complete the works cited page! It seems like no matter how careful they are, there is always something wrong on the works cited sheet.

 

[bethbuchall]

I still don't have any offers AT ALL. I guess they don't want me to book an additional trip to help them recover some of the $150 million they lost. Fine. I will stay home.

My offer is completely unusable for us. That's almost as bad as not getting an offer, right?

 

[bethbuchall]

Oh, did I not share those?!!

I love your Halloween photos! You did an amazing job on the costumes!

Did anyone post oatmeal recipes yet? I really like the "Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies" from Quaker Oats, especially the bar cookie version with chocolate chips.
http://www.quakeroats.com/qfb_Recipes/recipe.cfm?recipeid=474

I also use 1/2 c. oatmeal in my regular chocolate chip cookie recipe. That is basically the Tollhouse Chocolate Chips recipe from the bag except it's 3 c. flour instead of 2-1/4 c. and add the 1/2 c. oatmeal.

Apple crisp is good, too, and has oatmeal in the topping.

 

[bethbuchall]

Jennifer - I just checked out your videos. Those girls are going to be walking before you know it! I can't believe how well they are doing!

Jennifer, I too enjoyed those videos!