May 23, 2009 (5/23/09) E. Caribbean w/Tortola

[jeanneg]

Hey it sound like our first meet and greet!! Everyone bring little bottles and we just have a blast. Now who has the biggest room for event? LegalBriefs are you lurking somewhere? I know you have a suite of enormous size
Lets Party

The Man

Oh my goodness, I totally forgot that Ron is supposed to be on this cruise also! Ron, Ron, are you still with us.....and if so, why are you hiding?

 

[Poppins2000]

Hi everyone,

I probably haven't posted since November; have been slammed at work and then the holidays and then DH and I just got back last weekend after a nine day trip to WDW - staying at the Villas @ Wilderness Lodge. It was wonderful, although quite chilly and can I say crowded for January. Unfortunately there were a lot of sick people around us and no matter how often we washed our hands, we still got the bug. DH got it first and spent 5 days in bed, yesterday was his first day back to work! I went to work Monday for 6 hours and today is my first day sitting up, haha! I'll be back to work on Monday with double the load since technically I've been gone since the 15th. I guess people @ work has got it pretty bad too - my boss was out for several days, two people were hospitalized with this crud and several other have spent 4-5 days home sick as well. And it's suppose to be 44 here tomorrow morning...HELLO, I live 30 miles SOUTH of Miami!!!!!

ANYWAY, made my final cruise payment this morning
Got to catch up my reading on the boards and figure out what cruise excursions to take over the weekend. Hope to be more active on the boards now that our cruise will be here before you know it! WOO-HOO!

 

[goofygal1975]

I can't stay off Ebay. If I don't quit, I'll have enough FE stuff for the entire ship!!
Time is passing so quickly, before you know it, it will be time to pack. Of course, I start to gather a month out. Now to be able to cram it in one suitcase. And a very large carry on.

LOL...i was busy buying on ebay before the holidays (gave some cruise things as gifts) We've already got a bin out in our alcove area...a BIG bin that already has quite a few things in it for the cruise!!

Worth repeating ... ... can't believe we'll be doing this in 3 months ... !!!

Ang

I know...all of a sudden it seems to be coming up very quickly!!

Yikes that is a lot of tagging but I guess I can give it to Tarryn to do during spring break - guess it beats

I didn't even think about tags!! I'd better get working!! lol

 

[goofygal1975]

Hi everyone,

I probably haven't posted since November; have been slammed at work and then the holidays and then DH and I just got back last weekend after a nine day trip to WDW - staying at the Villas @ Wilderness Lodge. It was wonderful, although quite chilly and can I say crowded for January. Unfortunately there were a lot of sick people around us and no matter how often we washed our hands, we still got the bug. DH got it first and spent 5 days in bed, yesterday was his first day back to work! I went to work Monday for 6 hours and today is my first day sitting up, haha! I'll be back to work on Monday with double the load since technically I've been gone since the 15th. I guess people @ work has got it pretty bad too - my boss was out for several days, two people were hospitalized with this crud and several other have spent 4-5 days home sick as well. And it's suppose to be 44 here tomorrow morning...HELLO, I live 30 miles SOUTH of Miami!!!!!

ANYWAY, made my final cruise payment this morning
Got to catch up my reading on the boards and figure out what cruise excursions to take over the weekend. Hope to be more active on the boards now that our cruise will be here before you know it! WOO-HOO!

9 nights at Disney sounds like fun!!! Sorry to hear you both got sick once at home. I hope you get to feeling better soon!!

Congrats on paying the cruise off!! isn't that a great feeling?


I was going to look at the dollar tree yesterday for FE gifts, but had mom with me so DH and I may go look later today. We have an appt at the School with the principal today! UGH...ds has missed school too many times and we have to talk with the principal about it. Over half the dates have dr notes, one day the nurse had sent him home the day before because of his high blood pressure and he stayed home the next day due to the same signs and symptoms. So now, we have been told on the phone that any days he misses will have to have a dr's note. I feel like this is WORK....it really ticks me off! I shall make this known this afternoon at our meeting. DS gets VERY bad sinus infections ( i get them the same so know how he feels). Fun fun today!!

 

[JMTStone]

We have an appt at the School with the principal today! UGH...ds has missed school too many times and we have to talk with the principal about it. Over half the dates have dr notes, one day the nurse had sent him home the day before because of his high blood pressure and he stayed home the next day due to the same signs and symptoms. So now, we have been told on the phone that any days he misses will have to have a dr's note. I feel like this is WORK....it really ticks me off! I shall make this known this afternoon at our meeting. DS gets VERY bad sinus infections ( i get them the same so know how he feels). Fun fun today!!

We just went through this with DD16. She had mono and was out of school from the end of October until January 5th. She had bilirubin elevations and her spleen was quite enlarged. It was horrible. I've been back and forth with the principal since she made up most of the work but some teachers gave her 0 (zeros) and others excused her for missed work while one of them just ignored any work she turned in because it was over 2 weeks old. So the teachers that gave her 0s, her grades were crappy. This is her Junior year. The most important for college applications. We can't afford this. She's smart. Its not going to help that I'm going to take her out of school for days for our DCL vacation. But its the last week of school. All they usually do is hang out.

Hang in there and stick to your guns!

 

[JMTStone]

ANYWAY, made my final cruise payment this morning
Got to catch up my reading on the boards and figure out what cruise excursions to take over the weekend. Hope to be more active on the boards now that our cruise will be here before you know it! WOO-HOO!

I'm glad you're well enough to think of the cruise now!!!! Get well soon.

 

[sklimuck]

Gosh, now I don't feel so alone. My husband died 3 weeks after school started this year. Kaylah(16) missed well over a week before because we spent 10 days in hospice with him. Then a couple of more days after he passed away and the day of the funeral. Then a couple of weeks later she came down with a nasty case of bronchits. It was heart breaking for me because she was so very close to her father. Then for the next month or so, her heart just wasn't into school. Her school did the exact same thing. Some teachers let her make up the work, but she was so far behind, it was hard to catch up. Other wouldn't let her even make up the work. What's with these schools. I personally went from class to class with her to talk to her teachers about what was going on. They all said the same things about being so sorry, but it looks like in reality, they didn't give a hoot. So her semester grades are a diaster. One of the teachers was mad at the class & was telling them how easy they had it these days. Then he proceded to tell them that not one of them had ever suffered, how not one of them was even aware of heartbreak, how he had even had to watch his father die. Then he looked up & saw Kaylah crying & apologized to her. But...he was one of the teachers who gave her a 0 for missing work. Sometimes I wonder....

 

[goofygal1975]

I'm sorry to hear about everyone's school frustrations! I really don't let my ds stay out of school unless he is sick...and believe me he has been sick. (we did take him out for 2 days in December to go to Disney...but that was a mental vacation...it had been a hard few months since my father passed).

Brandon's grades are good for the most part...two classes he is not doing great in. One time he was out a week...and it was like pulling teeth to get make up work. I did go up to the school one day and get his books/folders so he could at least do his homework that was listed online. One teacher brought up worksheets, other assignments to the office for me. I emailed all his teachers MANY times to keep up with it all every time he was out.

So far, they wanted to let us know that he had 2 more days of being out that we could use a parent note. After that we have to have a dr note for each day he is out. After so many days, we might would have to go to court and possibly be fined $100 and the parents will be made to do 90 days hard labor.

We were going to take him out of school on the last day...but now I'm not so sure we'll be able to do this.

I hope everything works out for the both of you...what a mess!!! It's not like we are just letting our kids skip for the heck of it.

 

[goofygal1975]

We did more cruise shopping today!! We just bought some little things (powder, aloe, dramamine, travel size tylenol, toothbrush covers) and we bought a magnetic dry erase board to use inside our stateroom.

The over the door shoe holder at walmart was almost $9.00 So we are going to look at the dollar tree to see what they may have. If they don't have one, we will just do with out. On our first cruise, ds and i did just fine without one! Any little bit we can save now will be better spent ON the cruise!

 

[itdjbw]

We did more cruise shopping today!! We just bought some little things (powder, aloe, dramamine, travel size tylenol, toothbrush covers) and we bought a magnetic dry erase board to use inside our stateroom.

The over the door shoe holder at walmart was almost $9.00 So we are going to look at the dollar tree to see what they may have. If they don't have one, we will just do with out. On our first cruise, ds and i did just fine without one! Any little bit we can save now will be better spent ON the cruise!

In 16 cruises I have never used an over the door shoe holder - I know everyone raves about it but I have just never found the need for one

I have been FE shopping - oh boy I've been on a roll with it too, Aubrey just stood there shaking his head laughing and Tarryn said ' Mom, you are going to make all this stuff and then do something silly like forget it at home'

 

[jeanneg]

I could not cruise without my over the door shoe holder! I hang it on that big knob just outside the bathroom door and use it to hold our key to the world cards, excursion tickets, sunscreen, sunglasses, small scizzors, excedrin, earrings, candy, gum etc..........anything that is small and could possibly get lost, we just stick in one of the pockets. It makes finding things so easy. I think I got mine at the dollar store years ago. I haven't checked there recently. What you really need is one with clear pockets so you can spot things easily. Check K-mart and Target....their's might be cheaper than $9. Even so, I think it's well worth it. We've had ours forever and just keep it with our cruise stuff so we always have it ready.

 

[justmestace]

The over the door holder comes in handy when there are a lot of people in one room. When we've cruised with the four of us (me, hubby, DD and DS) and they've brought friends along, it helps tremendously.
When it has been just DH and I, or DS and I, I haven't needed it.

With three women in the room for this cruise, I think I will bring my smaller one. It probably will be really handy and will save bathroom shelf space.

 

[CajunGirl2]

Well, I'm not an expert cruiser like some of you, but .... we didn't use the over-the-door hanger on our 1 & only cruise. I'm trying to decide if we'll need it this trip since we're in a SPH room & don't think we'll have the steamer trunk.

Heather, I remember looking at Walmart too & thinking they were too expensive. I'll have to check Dollar Tree too.
Ang

 

[CajunGirl2]

Hope you folks in AZ aren't too down today. I was pulling for the Cards last night. At least you can say that your team has been to the Super Bowl. My team, the Saints, have yet to have their chance.

Ang

 

[sklimuck]

I was so proud of our team! I know the Steelers just thought they could go in & plow over the Cardinals. Gave them a run for their money. There is nothing worse than a Super Bowl where 1 team just crushes the other. So boring. This game was anything but boring!!

 

[justmestace]

Ditto exactly what Sharon said!!

It was a really good game to watch...normally I only watch the commercials, but this one was an exciting game. Yes, it would have been more fun if the Cardinals had won...but it was pretty doggone exciting.

 

[justmestace]

Well, I'm not an expert cruiser like some of you, but .... we didn't use the over-the-door hanger on our 1 & only cruise. I'm trying to decide if we'll need it this trip since we're in a SPH room & don't think we'll have the steamer trunk.

Heather, I remember looking at Walmart too & thinking they were too expensive. I'll have to check Dollar Tree too.
Ang

You still should do okay without one, Angie. It gets worse when the kids are teens and then you have 4 deodorants, perfumes, etc....because heaven FORBID if they should share a deodorant or toothpaste tube!!

 

[CajunGirl2]

You still should do okay without one, Angie. It gets worse when the kids are teens and then you have 4 deodorants, perfumes, etc....because heaven FORBID if they should share a deodorant or toothpaste tube!!

Thanks Stacey. Yea, I guess my kids are still small enough that their clothes, etc. don't take up much room. Their shorts, shirts & swimsuits will take up virtually no room in the drawers (& more importantly suitcases).

Ang

 

[wmjivey]

Sharon and Stacy are you sure one will be enough? With no man to keep you girls under control packing I see a room over flowing with gussem-up stuff, you woman like so much.
Gail down loaded last weeks navigator and it sure fun to see what activities are happening on board.

The Man

 

[goofygal1975]

Well, I'm not an expert cruiser like some of you, but .... we didn't use the over-the-door hanger on our 1 & only cruise. I'm trying to decide if we'll need it this trip since we're in a SPH room & don't think we'll have the steamer trunk.

Heather, I remember looking at Walmart too & thinking they were too expensive. I'll have to check Dollar Tree too.
Ang

Yeah, if we can find one at Dollar Tree we'll get one, if not we'll do without. I do have a set my mom got me for my wedding, that I have used a few times. It has one big tote bag, that holds 3-4 little bags that hold, make- up in one, jewelry in another, unmentionables in another...etc. I LOVE them. I keep the make up one hung up all the time at hotels/resorts. So idealy we could use one of the others that I don't use.

It was an exciting game last night! Not any of "my team" but I was hoping the Cardinals would win! They played a great game!!

My dh really got into cruise mode last night! He pulled out the booklet that came in the mail a couple weeks ago. Then I had printed out navigators from a Eastern TR from mid Jan. We both looked over them and even ds looked at them today. Dh was finding things to do and getting pretty excited about it. We decided what days to try to get Palo Brunch and our Spa reservations.

DS will be 3 weeks shy of his 14th bday, and he has decided he wants to go in the 14-17 age group. Not sure of my thoughts on that so far, but he is excited about it.