Gnomies Gone Wild

[Charleston Princess]

Good luck, Jen! That's fantastic about the job fairs! I predict some very discerning school will snap you up!

Happy Friday, Gnomies! Anybody heading to see Alice in Wonderland this weekend? The kids and I are very excited to see it!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Morning Gnomies!

I don't know if we'll get to see Alice in Wonderland this weekend...I want too but we still have so much to do. We'll see.

You know what I'm really excited about?? Princess & The Frog comes out on DVD on March 16th. I can't wait to see it again.

 

[MegansMom]

I would like to see Alice, but after Megan totally got freaked out by the cover of Johnny Depp in full Mad Hatter ensemble on Entertainment Weekly last week....I'm thinking we will have to pass for now. Speaking of that issue.....they did this neat 4 page-cover of Johnny with some of his most infamous looks---Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, and Willy Wonka I think, but who do you think they left out?!?!!?!?!?!? The BEST Johnny Depp character of all?!?!?!?!?!?! THAT'S RIGHT!!!!!! That beloved Captain Jack!!!! For SHAME EW!!!! FOR SHAME I SAY!!!!!! I needed something to drool over.

Tomorrow is Tom's birthday, so Megs and I are quite excited, but we can't seem to get any response from him about what he wants to do! Frustrating!!!!

Okay Gnomies, I need some help.......on our West Coast trip, we want to fly out and drive back. Here is the issue----not many rental car companies want to rent us a vehicle for our cross-country trek home. I'm not sure what to do.......any advice or suggestions?!?!?!?!?

 

[Lady Lallie]

I looked into one way car rentals before and they were SUPER expensive.

I can't believe they left out the Captain Jack look out. That should be illegal.

 

[MegansMom]

I know....when I didn't see CJ, I was like "REALLY EW?!?!!? REALLY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" What were they thinking. It was surely one of the first times I wanted to write into a magazine to complain!!!!

I don't know what we are going to do about the trip. I don't like this snafu, because I seriously can't feel my way around this one. I am stumped for sure!!!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

On DVD already? Seems like it just came out. I'll be interested to hear what you guys think of Alice. I'm not generally a big fan of Tim Burton films...

Jen, the job fairs sound great. Good luck!!

Hope everyone has a great Friday!!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Jen, plan something fun for Tom without his input. That's what I have to do with Charles because he is so anti-birthday when it comes to his. Sadly, I have no advice on the cross-county conundrum.

LL, I am very excited about Princess and the Frog as well! I keep thinking I should save it for part of the kids' Easter, but I don't know if I can wait that long.

C, I have mixed feelings about Tim Burton movies -- some I really like and others I don't.

 

[kschafer]

Hey girls!

I'm a bit frustrated this morning. Frustrated may not even be the right word, nervous may be more accurate.

You know I have applied for a job in the town where we live. I'm nervous about returning to teaching. I have liked my subbing days at the middle school in town but subbing is very different from teaching!

Things are very up in the air right now about exactly what is going to happen at the MS. It has been flagged by the state as a persistantly low achieving school and has signed up to be a part of an improvement program by the government. Basically they will be eligible for improvement money if they agree to certain changes. One of those change options is to replace the principal and this week his retirement was announced (I question how much was voluntary but this way he gets benefits) So things are up in the air and there is a strong sense of uneasiness over what is going to happen next. I'm not sure I feel up to that pressure!

Greg has also had a very bad week at the high school. He feels like the administration keeps growing yet continue to push even more responsibility on the teachers. We live in a town that has a high proportion of ELL students which takes a lot of the personnel resources and a high proportion of FRL students which takes a lot of the financial resources. I hate to sound prejudiced but these 2 groups tend to place a lower value on education. So while the government expects the schools to meet a certain level of success, the kids do not always choose to step up to those expectations and that is beyond the schools control!

I have been trying to convince Greg for years to move to a different town (our town has a very unusual demographic for Iowa). He will get frustrated at school and start talking about moving then a month or 2 later, he reverses he opinion. Greg likes being in a position of authority and does not like the idea of being low man on the totem pole!

This past weekend we did some research online and discovered that one of the towns I have always mentioned as a place I would like to move to, is in the process of building/remodeling a couple new schools and in 2013, will transition from having 1 6/7 building, 1 8/9 building and 1 10-12 building to having 2 of each. This of course means they will need to staff those schools. Greg really likes the idea of trying to get into that district (for now at least)

On top of wanting a better district to work, we feel like this is not the place we want our kids educated. I feel like they are fine now at the elementary level and with some "insider" help, we could make sure they take the path we want them to as they transition to the higher levels but I don't like the idea that that's what it takes to get a decent education in this town!

So I am feeling very nervous about even entering the education field again under these circumstances. And if this is what we want to work toward it leaves a question about moving this summer. It doesn't make much sense to do that just to move again in 3 years but at the same time I fear losing out on the house we really like to have Greg change his mind yet again! Keep in mind we have lived in this town 12 years and have said over and over "in 3 years we'll do this or that" yet here we still are.

Bless you if you actually read this entire diatribe I maybe wrote all this just to get it out!

Have a great Friday gnomies. Anyone with fun weekend plans?

 

[Lady Lallie]

Whew Katie! You have so much going on! I don't really have any advice, Marc is kinda like Greg in that he doesn't want to disturb the status quo, which is why he still looks at houses in the South and talks about them yet we don't ever do anything to actually move down there. I wish I had some advice but I'm here whenever you need to vent!!!

I'm not always a fan of Tim Burton movies either but this one looks really good. Anne Hathaway and Johnny Depp....??

 

[julezdisney]

Morning Gnomettes! I'm SOOO MAD that I found out this morning there was a midnight showing of Alice @ one of the theaters here in town and I TOTALLY DIDNT KNOW! I soooo would've been there! I love Alice and I LOVE Tim Burton and I LOVE fantasy-based movies and I can't wait!!!

So... I'm not doing a PTR because I believe they are a jinx so I'll bore you here with my plans so far-

Arriving Wed., May 5th @ 10:20am
Leaving Sat., May 8th @ 8:25pm

Staying offsite because we're too short on time for me to be patient and wait for bus schedules- renting a car through Priceline. Gonna be about $10x.xx @ $19/day bid.

Chosen Best Western Lakeside according to Tripadvisor reviews and the great rate through their internet-only rate on their website. Gonna be $120.xx for the 3 nights. Very centrally located, shuttles if we choose to use them, and a great pool (3 actually) w/cabana bars (yay!)

Magic Kingdom on the 6th
Blizzard Beach on the 7th
Animal Kingdom on the 8th

DINING:::::..... nothin'. And I dont' know if I wanna schedule any or not because I feel like I'm packin' in a lot and I don't wanna spend money on meals too much 'cuz Rachael AND my friend Amber both eat like birds so why bother really?

Souvies: Pins off ebay and I can't WAIT WAIT WAIT for shopping @ TrenD and the new store that's like it that will be open then.

Special plans:
*The balloon ride @ DTD. I know it's short but hey! I've never been up in a balloon so that alone will make it a neat-o experience!

*A water-mice rental, probably on arrival day- never driven one and I reallly really really want to! It's different and fun

So far, for arrival day, our plans are to kick back @ the hotel pool upon arrival and drink! LOLOL. But I do have Gatorland tickets leftover from when we didn't use them in '08, so we'll see if our flight arrives earlier then scheduled and if we feel up to it.

I'm excited, but what stinks is that I can't do the major uber planning and trip binder stuff I did last time because Rachael can't know anything! lol

Hope you all have fantastic Fridays! xoxoxo

 

[MegansMom]

Katie---so sorry about the big dilemma you are facing. I wish I had beautiful words of advice that will help ease your mind, but unfortunately, I don't! Give it a few days, let your mind unwind---meaning no more thinking about it---and then come back and make a pros/cons list of the whole situation when you are thinking more clearly and less emotionally. This advice is what my very stable and sane hubby always gives me when my emotions take me on a very unfun rollercoaster when trying to make important decisions. Go with your gut and your heart----they often won't lead you astray!!!! I'll be thinking of you and hoping you get the answer you need!!!!

I know too that I will be going through a very similar quandry over the next few months. As I said before, I am going back to work---but where and doing what is still yet to be decided. Like I said earlier, I have heard from my old school, but that position is not a full-time teaching one. I would be teaching the Journalism class, and then working the rest of the time running the Learning Lab (where the students take online self-paced courses) which is only a classified position. Obviously I have NO idea what the salary would be yet, but you and I both know that it isn't going to be the same as a full-time teaching salary. I also was approached by Megan's Kindergarten teacher today about putting in my resume because they are going to need a 7th/8th grade teacher for next year---I would be doing all the English/Language Arts---um Jackie......you KNOW I would be calling on you for help my dear!!!! ANYWAY, we send Megan to a private, parochial school. Even though she and I BOTH would love it if I taught at the same school---same hours, same breaks, etc., etc.---I KNOW their salaries are MUCH less than the public ones that I am putting out resumes for. The problem is, I really don't know HOW much less---I can't find their salary scale online ANYWHERE!!!! Money doesn't really matter to me, but I know it will drive Tom NUTS if he knows that I could be making MUCH more at one of the other schools--not to mention, I won't get to pay into my state retirement fund at her school. Now, right now this is all a hypothetical quandry situation because I haven't even been offered anything, but I am pretty sure it will become more real over the next few months. The BIGGEST ringer that will get thrown into my situation, is that the public schools I am trying to get into, will undoubtedly NOT post openings for SEVERAL more months. For some reason, they tend to give their teachers a VERY long window for resigning their contracts, and usually don't end up hiring until the end of summer. I would hate passing up on one of the other opportunities, only to wind up with no positions to apply for at one of the county schools.

Wow....didn't mean to go into all of that either, but I guess it does a woman good to get out her thoughts on pressing issues. Thanks for listening gals!!!!! I really love ya!!!

 

[julezdisney]

Yikes! I'm glad I don't have all these job "quandrys" right now. We got enuf to handle with our bills right now and still getting to know our house.!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Are my gnomies having a good weekend, I hope? Spring-ish weather is visiting us in New England for this weekend, at least and I am enjoying it. Hope you are all having fun too!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Aside from my oldest adding to my gray hairs and driving me to drink, we are having a lovely time here.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Aside from my oldest adding to my gray hairs and driving me to drink, we are having a lovely time here.

Oh is that all??? Yikes! Hang in there, Jackie!

 

[Lady Lallie]

This gnomie is having an okay weekend. I was really stressed out today with everything I still have to get done for the big move this week.

 

[kschafer]

I was feeling crappy yesterday and Greg was catching up on sleep so not a darn thing got done at our house yesterday except for watching basketball and some napping (oh, and I happily invited the boys over to the neighbors to play for a couple hours too )

I'm feeling a tad bit better today and there is "kidsfest" in Des Moines this weekend so I think we will take the boys. By the time we get ready, drive the hour, go to kidsfest, grab something to eat, probably stop a couple other places and drive home...this day will be shot too. Oh, and I have to sub tomorrow so I guess laundry will have to wait a couple more days

 

[sunny_stace]

Morning Gnomies - From the sick Canadian household! So far, everyone in this house is sick but me! Just dreading it....

I went and saw Alice last night, and it was good, but it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. It didn't seem to be quite as epic as I thought it would be. But Johnny Depp was great - well, all of the cast was great! And I know she's the baddie but I loved the Red Queen! She's hilarious! But for those looking for a live-action Alice In Wonderland, they aren't gonna get it!

Sorry to all of those Gnomies who are frustrated. I know how you're feeling. I am amongst the ranks. I hope it's sunny where you all are too so you can feel a little better!

 

[MegansMom]

We had a good weekend here celebrating Tom's birthday...so we were busy, busy, busy!!!! I am just hoping our warm weather sticks around this week!!!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Morning Gnomies!

I wore short sleeves to work today and didn't wear a coat! Winter better stay away.

So official move in is this weekend. We are spending the night at the new apartment starting Thursday. Our bigger furniture will be moved on Saturday with the help of Marc's cousins. We are in the home stretch. Phew.