Mingos in the Watah! What in the Wuhld?

[vamassey1]

I always love your early morning pictures of Pop. I love the bright colors too. The pictures make really great scrapbook pages too.

Shopping is fun too. Soo much to look at. The picture of Bella is sooo sweet. Even before I read you caption, my first thought was "she looks like a big girl now". They do grow up too fast.

I'm praying that you have a great year this year. I know those kids are very lucky to have you. I hope you have more parents that want to get involved and help encourage their kids. Danielle came home from the first day of school with homework for me from one of her teachers. I had to write a paragraph describing my child. She also stated that she like to have lots of contact with her students parents through email. Each student whose parents sent her an email before the next class go extra credit. The kids can earn up to 50 extra points per grading period for email contact between the parents and teacher. I think I'm going to like this teacher. Danielle already likes her, she's fun and she likes Vera Bradley.

 

[disneymomof1]

subbing, now to start from the beginning !

 

[<3myfamily]

LOVE the cake... nice job! How did you make the "sand"? My DD is the baker in the family and she loves Phineas & Ferb, so I'm sure she'd love to give this a try!

 

[StephaniexMarie]

Ok, I'm all caught up! Here I go......
Brooklyn through the years was great. That one of baby Bella on top of her was so precious!
Your Pop pictures are the best. They really do make me feel like I'm back there again, even though I've been gone for a little over a day now.
I was in the 60's building you took a picture of! Building 5, 2nd floor, corner room, facing the Hippy Dippy Pool. All of my requests were fulfilled.
Bella's outfit is so cute! She is getting so big!
Your classroom put all of my elementary school classrooms combined to shame. Can my 10th grade classes look like that?! It'd make going to school a whole lot more fun.
Great Fantasmic! pictures. I love that show. We saw it two times on our trip. We wanted to add in another, but we were just too tired.
And last but not least, that Phineas & Ferb cake is super cute.
Woooo that was a lot!

 

[*dreamit*doit*]

Early morning Pop pictures are the best!! Well, early morning Pop pictures with a cute little girl leading the way are even better!!

Nice cake, Jill!

Oh MeMom, I wish you and all the other teachers a most wonderful school year!!

I know exactly what you mean, I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but, though I don't teach now, I am a teacher, too. It really upsets me when I see all the unfair treatment and unrealistic demands placed on teachers. It REALLY upsets me...it's the one thing I just won't keep my mouth shut about. Anyway, just wanted to say that I know it can be frustrating, but please don't be discouraged from being the awesome teacher that we all know you are!!

 

[twob4him]

I have these silver Mickey heads and love them. Wear them almost exclusively. But I must say I really like these sterling silver Tinks. I may "need" them too.


[

I have them too Cathy! Great Cathy's think alike


Enjoying the beautiful POP pics Memom! And the shopping pics! I've got myself a new ticker to worry about so I gotta keep my eyes open to any and all shopping opportunities! I just can't get over that pic of Bella getting on the elevator...she looks just like Brooklynn...wow! Glad she stopped for Mr. Squirrel...lol!

I made the mistake of peeking into Power School this evening. (that's our online gradebook) We don't start school until Sept 6th. As of today I have almost 150 students That's a lot of grading! Wish me luck!

 

[MeMom]

That bag is really cute!! (Have you noticed that I have a fondness for handbags...)

Bella is getting so big! I can't believe it! I love those sweet little pigtails

I like Disney bags, too, although I look more than buy. It's too much trouble to transfer all my junk from one bag to another, so I don't change bags a lot. Hardly ever, actually. Disney World does have cute, cute bags, though, and I am happy taking pictures of them to share with others.

Looks like they didn't waste any time in putting preasure onto you at school.

I'm sure the Disney trips will help to keep you sane.

In trip news:
We got our Magical Express stuff! Very excitting first for us!

I bought our SeaWorld tickets yesterday..very excitted about seeing Shamu.

Added a bkfst at Boma to our ADR's for September.

Booked our rental car. I wanted to get the convertble like Declansdad but I decided to save the money instead....for shopping.

I booked our Park n' Fly hotel for the night before. We are 20 mins. away from Red Robin so there's no surprize where we are having diner that night.
A nice diner, swim and relax in the hot tub should lend itself to an early night...I hope. (I may be too excitted to sleep.)

I'm trying to cross things off my list because it will start to get busier at work. Believe it or not we are starting to get Halloween in.

My sister comes for a visit on Monday.

This week I will need to make our 30 day countdown callendar.

I'm enjoying the shopping pics!
I have that white & black Mickey handbag.
Love the dinerware! Those plates may need to come home with me.
I already bought the 40th Mickey pin with the rhinestones. Didn't want to take the chance that it would be sold out.
Those tees are awesome! I wonder if they come in plus sizes...will have to go looking for those too.

Have a great weekend off! You must love it when Friday comes!

I have to pick DMom from the airport this afteroon. Boy, did I miss her!
I'm hoping she come home with big bag of wild blueberries.
i'm going to take her out for some lunch and then I work tonight and tomorrow.
In between all that get the house tidy, get groceries and do laundry...sounds excitting doesn't it?

It's fun to read about your trip planning.

Glad you have your mom back.

Friday at 3:15 is probably the best time of the whole week.

I guess by the end of the year we'll know if I pass for being a teacher or not. That dream of working at Animal Kingdom could come true before I thought.

Thanks for taking us shopping!

Declan picked out a couple of pins he liked. The pics helped him decide what pins he'd like to collect this time.

The black sterling silver Mickey Head Earrings- I bought those on our last trip They are very comfy and go with everything


Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Don't spend too much time on lesson plans

I had schoolwork out on the kitchen table all weekend. I'd do a chore or two, do some schoolwork, DIS a little, then repeat.

Does Declan like the MK 'land' pins? You guys have loads of fun being there and picking out all of your Disney souvenirs!. It's time for you to go!!!

Seems like you were posting a new update at the same time as me.

I may need a pair of those earings...you really do know how to enable the shopper in me!

Oh I forgot the colorful bag!

...the cookbook was already on my list!

Oh no! I didn't want Lexi to see all that Duffy stuff at Everything POP!
She will deffinitely want to get him and start collecting his outfits. Cha- ching!

Bella does look more grown on this trip. She is just darling with her cute outfit and pig tails.
Where is Bella leading us to? Which park will it be?

Brooklynn is entitled to her beauty sleep!
She is in the wrong family if she thinks she can sleep in though...you are all a bunch of happy rope droppers!

I will say, Brooklynn did very well at getting up this whole trip, in spite of her not being a morning person. She kept getting confused, though, when she would take her naps. When she got up from a nap, she would think it was breakfast time.

I thought I might buy a new pair of earrings on this trip, but I didn't. I wear gold instead of silver, and I have most of the gold ones that i want already. I need them to come up with some new ones.

Bella calls her little sprigs 'tigtails'.

Gosh, Bella is looking so grown up! How did that happen?

I looked at all the 40th anniversary stuff at least 100 times, I just couldn't decided what I wanted. I wanted all of it and ended up with just an ornament.

I thought I would get a 40th ornament and a hat, but I only got the pin. Jill surprised me one day with the 40th laptop case, and I was thrilled, of course! I love it! Nobody else at home has a Disney 40th anniversary laptop case, so I will never get mine mixed up with anyone else's.

Uh oh! I'm looking at your shopping pictures this morning and I told hubby, I think I'm going to be spending some money this time. He didn't say a word. Don't know if that's good or not! :


I really like this bag. I think I may "need" it.


I have these silver Mickey heads and love them. Wear them almost exclusively. But I must say I really like these sterling silver Tinks. I may "need" them too.


I love this picture of Bella with her hands in her pockets. So cute

Thanks for the pre-shopping fun. Now I really can't wait to get to POP! Oh and hubby thanks you too.

Your husband is probably in the other room hiding the credit card right now.

I can picture him standing at the door of Everything Pop - let's have declansdad standing there with him - while you and Ma are in there filling baskets. Somehow I can easily bring that picture into my mind.

 

[MeMom]

Bella looks adorable with her little pigtails and her hands in her pockets. What a big girl! Your Pop century pictures are making me very heavy hearted. I loved staying there on our 2009 trip. We would have booked there again in a flash, but we chose french quarter ,purely because of free dining.How i wish they would offer us free dining at the values. Saying that, we enjoyed staying at FQ in 2007, so we will be fine Looking forward to your next installment. Hope the lesson plans go ok and that the laundry gets done

I ended up doing a lot of laundry. I did school stuff and chores, school stuff and chores - pretty much all weekend. I got in a little DIS time, but not much.

You'll like French Quarter. We have stayed there. If you get a chance, take the walk along the river over to POR. It's so pretty and peaceful there.

I know we all have standards we have to live up too, but at the end of the day when kids I taught 6 years ago track me down on FB to let me know the great things they are doing in life...well that is when it is worth it all!!!!!

Have an amazing school year!!!

Jill, saw the very cool cake on FB...do you deliver LOL!!!!! What a great job you did!!!!!!

It is always nice when former students come in to see me. I don't always remember who they are, but I love it when they say they remember something fun we did. I just hope my groups today can find something fun to remember.

Gosh, I'm so sorry they are putting so much stress on you at school so early. it sounds so intimidating! It has crossed my mind that maybe I should consider teaching high school (I used to teach at the college level), when Everett gets bigger and goes to school himself, but I'm sure sure I could handle all the stress that comes with public school teaching. I'm really glad that there are dedicated people that are willing to look past the bureaucracy, and still teach our children.

I love more shopping pictures! I have a pair of Mickey earrings I got on a Disney trip while I was in High School that I still wear for every trip to the World. I like the chandelier type, they are very cute!

Bella looks adorable with her little pigtails. I love the photo of her and the squirrel! So funny!

Maybe you could get on at a private school. I don't think things are quite as crazy there. You can't beat the hours and holidays that come with teaching. That never even used to be a consideration for me, but the way things are now, it is what I console myself with.

That squirrel got a whole lot closer to Bella than he was in that picture. I am guessing he would have taken something out of her hand if she had had food. He was just inches from her shoes, so I went ahead and moved her on in case he decided to take a sudden leap into her arms.

I love the pictures of Bella in the last update! She is so cute with those pig tails!

Poor Brooklyn. I can sympathize with her. I'm not a morning person either. But isn't it funny how siblings are usually so different?

Bella's tigtails are pretty cute. In those pictures, you can really see she is getting to be a big guhl, of which she is very proud.

I wish I could make myself sleep in sometimes. I yawn all day long because I don't get good sleep.

I wanted to show you guys what I found at Big Lots yesterday...... do they have Big Lots in TN? Anyway, they were marked $5.00 but on sale for $2.50 so I snagged a few. They had sized 2T - 5T.

I thought they were cute!

They are cute. Good bargains! Walmart also carries a lot of cute Disney stuff.
We did have a Big Lots, but I don't know if we still do. It's not close to where I live, so I'm not sure.

I am so grateful to you and your trip reports! You provide so much information and the pictures are amazing! I know that you will be an awesome teacher and that you will touch the lives of your children for good. I leave for the World on Tues and I can't wait to take shopping pictures of my own!!!

We like to help other people not only enjoy 'being there' through pictures, but also learn new tips and tricks and get new ideas for making their own trips go better.

Enjoy your trip! Maybe you can have some DIS meets. There will be several DISers there this week.

Jill, you are so talented with cake decorating. Please show us a picture of the Phineas and Ferb cake.

Here it is!

Here ya go! Nothing super fancy.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I love that picture of Bella and her sweet little pigtails. Too cute!!!

 

[MeMom]

Love the cake! So cute! Bella is so adorable. She is growing up so fast. My Blake is too. He is so big! Love the pics of Pop in the morning. So peaceful! Good luck at school. My MIL was telling us about the standards too. She was hit with it the first week also. Hang in there.

You have to hear the groaning at home and here, too. I bet we're saying some of the same things. I'll try not to gripe too often. I want you to enjoy coming here.

I am dreadfully far behind but trying to catch up a bit before the rest of my family wakes up (we had better start working on this or going back to school next week will be a shock!)

Anyway...I saw this picture and you brought a HUGE smile to my face

I'll do some more DIS kid names on things when we go in October. SOme are easier to find than others, of course.

Have a good week at school. I would say great, but I don't know that that is possible any more.

Great job on the cake!
Mmmm...it looks so yummy!

I can't wait to see what you come up with for Brooklynn's party.

My DMom is home safe & sound and she did bring several ziploc bags full of wild blueberries with her.

Brooklynn's party is going to be very low-key this year. Since she has just started school, Jill didn't think it would be good to immediately bombard new people with a party invitation, so she is just having a few close friends. It will still be cute, but with all that is going on with everyone with work, it's just going to be a laid back grill out with friends more than a big party.

Blueberry cobbler coming up?

Ahhhhh....pictures of Pop and retail therapy on a Sunday morning. What could be better? Well...actually being there would be better...but since I'm not this will do! I love the bright colors of Pop!

Bella is just too cute with her hands in her pockets and those little pigtails!

Sending lots of for a great first week back at school!

The first full week is always so draining. Even though we've been back in meetings for two weeks, it's not the same as having the kids. Our numbers are high, too, so we'll have a lot of people pulling at us all week. We always do a lot of staying later after school the first week, too. I will be glad to see Friday.

Yes, being there at Pop to take a walk and get out shop on would be a good thing.

Bella, as always, is too cute for words!! Precious!!

Jill, the cake is so cute!!! Darling!!

I hope everyone has a GREAT Sunday!!

She's a sweetie. I am dying to see her and Brooklynn. Friday can't come quickly enough!

Fantasmic is just the BEST!!! My favorite part of that boat is that Steamboat Willie is driving...I love that little touch!!

Yep - it makes it even more meaningful to Disney 'geeks' like us.

Hi there!
Catching up after our week at the beach. Loved the Fantasmic pictures. That is my favorite nighttime show in Disney. I don't think I have ever tried taking pictures because I am so busy watching. I love the boat filled with characters too!

Glad to hear that Brooklynn is enjoying kindergarten. I hope that your class is manageable this year. I agree with everything you wrote about education today. Hardly any schools in our district made AYP this year (97% of school districts in VA did NOT) so we are in for more paperwork and more testing. In fact, I have to go to school tomorrow for a meeting because I am on the leadership team. I am dreading it because I am trying to enjoy the last two weeks and I know this meeting is just going to make me start thinking about it all..

I know that you don't care for snow globes, MeMom, but do Brooklynn and Bella like them?

Enjoy your Sunday!

I guess that like them okay. I hope they don't inherit my claustrophobic tendencies, because it is really not fun to be that way.

Tennessee is supposed to be in the process of seeing if we can get out of NCLB. In our county, as things get worse, our higher academic families are fleeing to private schools and surrounding counties, which just makes our scores even worse. It's a no win situation, and it is extremely frustrating.

Fantastic job on the cake!

She's a good cake maker girl, isn't she?

Hi Memom! I haven't had time to catch up with the trip report yet - but I will soon. I just wanted to post to say I started my trip report. It's in my signature!

I will be there, if not today, I will get there tomorrow. if I don't, remind me again.

I think those cookbooks are calling to me. Probably next to attractions, dining is the next best thing at Disney, in my opinion. And I'm pretty sure those cookbooks are hiding some of that dining from me... I will have to buy those next time I go.

And OH MY GOSH! I'm pretty sure Bella looks almost exactly like my youngest sister when she was her age. Same hair, same outfit, almost same everything. Wow! Just a random thought there, but I really just noticed that in these pictures.

Can't wait to read more!

I have to get over and comment on your report, too, along with Stephanie's. I love that you younger Disney fans enjoy writing reports about your travels.

back from Canada and all caught up! I love your classroom!
We made our tie dye cake for my nephews birthday! It turned out really good and the boys had a good time mixing their colors!

Do you have a picture? I know it turned out great. I am still lamenting the too light colors of my last creation, and I am ready to make another brighter, better one!

 

[xoktenox]

Hope your weekend was good, MeMom and Jill!

Everything Pop has soooo much great stuff! I love all the 40th anniversary memorabilia. I picked up a bunch of those things when we were there.

I can't believe how big the girls are getting. I feel like I've "known" them both for years now and watched them grow up!

It's gross and rainy here again today but I hope the weather is better down there for you guys. Happy Monday!

 

[MeMom]

I always love your early morning pictures of Pop. I love the bright colors too. The pictures make really great scrapbook pages too.

Shopping is fun too. Soo much to look at. The picture of Bella is sooo sweet. Even before I read you caption, my first thought was "she looks like a big girl now". They do grow up too fast.

I'm praying that you have a great year this year. I hope you have more parents that want to get involved and help encourage their kids. Danielle came home from the first day of school with homework for me from one of her teachers. I had to write a paragraph describing my child. She also stated that she like to have lots of contact with her students parents through email. Each student whose parents sent her an email before the next class go extra credit. The kids can earn up to 50 extra points per grading period for email contact between the parents and teacher. I think I'm going to like this teacher. Danielle already likes her, she's fun and she likes Vera Bradley.

I hope your kids have a fantastic year with incredible teachers. This could be such a great profession, really - working with young people, exploring new things, doing it in a fun and exciting way.... It could/should be a career to envy.

subbing, now to start from the beginning !

Welcome to the group!

LOVE the cake... nice job! How did you make the "sand"? My DD is the baker in the family and she loves Phineas & Ferb, so I'm sure she'd love to give this a try!

The sand was crushed up butter cookies. She got the figures at Target, I think she said.

Ok, I'm all caught up! Here I go......
Brooklyn through the years was great. That one of baby Bella on top of her was so precious!
Your Pop pictures are the best. They really do make me feel like I'm back there again, even though I've been gone for a little over a day now.

I was in the 60's building you took a picture of! Building 5, 2nd floor, corner room, facing the Hippy Dippy Pool. All of my requests were fulfilled.

Bella's outfit is so cute! She is getting so big!
Your classroom put all of my elementary school classrooms combined to shame. Can my 10th grade classes look like that?! It'd make going to school a whole lot more fun.

Great Fantasmic! pictures. I love that show. We saw it two times on our trip. We wanted to add in another, but we were just too tired.

And last but not least, that Phineas & Ferb cake is super cute.

Woooo that was a lot!

I don't know why high school rooms can't have some Disney touches, too. Seems like we all need them.

We've never been right on the Hippy Dippy Pool. We've been right on the Bowling Pin Pool before, ground floor, and it was nice.

Hope you make an easy transition back into the real world this week.

Early morning Pop pictures are the best!! Well, early morning Pop pictures with a cute little girl leading the way are even better!!

Nice cake, Jill!

Oh MeMom, I wish you and all the other teachers a most wonderful school year!!

I know exactly what you mean, I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but, though I don't teach now, I am a teacher, too. It really upsets me when I see all the unfair treatment and unrealistic demands placed on teachers. It REALLY upsets me...it's the one thing I just won't keep my mouth shut about. Anyway, just wanted to say that I know it can be frustrating, but please don't be discouraged

We'll muddle through somehow. And hopefully, we'll have a few minutes of pleasure along the way. It's just getting harder and harder to do that. I can't say that I am not looking forward to retirement more than ever.

I have them too Cathy! Great Cathy's think alike


Enjoying the beautiful POP pics Memom! And the shopping pics! I've got myself a new ticker to worry about so I gotta keep my eyes open to any and all shopping opportunities! I just can't get over that pic of Bella getting on the elevator...she looks just like Brooklynn...wow! Glad she stopped for Mr. Squirrel...lol!

I made the mistake of peeking into Power School this evening. (that's our online gradebook) We don't start school until Sept 6th. As of today I have almost 150 students That's a lot of grading! Wish me luck!

We wish all students, teachers, and parents an awesome school year!

Now, bring on summer....

I love that picture of Bella and her sweet little pigtails. Too cute!!!

Isn't she a sweetie? I hope you get to meet the girls in person one of these days. You get to travel in the off-seasons, though, and we have to travel during out of school times, so who knows when our paths will cross?

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Bella and those pigtails are just adorable! She is really growing up.

 

[kschafer]

Some people think the bright colors of Pop Century are tacky, and that may be, but I like them. I think it gives it a 'vibe' of being alive and happy!

I ended up getting this pin instead of the actual hat that I had planned on getting. It was cheaper and took up less space.

I worried that I might not like POP for that reason but we sure ended up loving it!! What a nice picture That was our building

I got that pin instead of the hat too but I may end up having someone pick it up for me...I'm starting to think I need the real thing too

WHEW!! Caught up now although I had to skip most of the chatter. I hope your school year is off to a great start! Greg and I return tomorrow and the kids have another week. For the first time in many years, I am not feeling stressed out and sick about starting a new year. I'm taking this to mean I am finally in a position that is good for me!!

 

[dekkerdisneydreamer]

I happen to like earrings.

Ooh, I love those!! I may have to find them and bring them home with me.

Sweet little angel!


Way to go on the cake Jill! I hope the little boy enjoyed it!

 

[celeste.]

Hey MeMom! i caught up with your report since i've been gone..I love Bella's hair in pigtails, she's so cute!
& I just got back from my trip to Disney and started my Trip Report yesterday!

 

[Disneychix]

I wanted to show you guys what I found at Big Lots yesterday...... do they have Big Lots in TN? Anyway, they were marked $5.00 but on sale for $2.50 so I snagged a few. They had sized 2T - 5T.

I thought they were cute!

Oh My! I need to check out our BL! Those are adorable!! (and the price is excellent!)

 

[Jillybeaner21]

We will stay in touch and arrange to meet. That's our departure/your arrival day, correct?

Whoa, I miss a few days and have quite a bit to catch up on!

Yes that's correct, I have no idea what the plans are yet. My group is usually pretty flexible so I'm sure I can work around your plans.

Your shopping pictures make me want to jump on Disneystore.com and buy all the Disney Parks merchandise haha. I know I'll be purchasing a few things you showed when I'm back in October.

I hope the beginning of school is going well!

The picture of Tramp with the hot air balloons was sooooooo cool! It really did look like he was looking up at them. And I agree about Pop Century, the vibrant colors are all part of the charm and I wouldn't change them for anything.

Lastly, that picture of Bella with the pigtails at Pop was just so precious! I can't believe how big she's getting!

 

[ClaireW]

I bet you and the little cutie with the pigtails had some fun time exploring Pop as a twosome especially with Bella leading the way just like Brooklyn might have!

 

[TCKK]

I have them too Cathy! Great Cathy's think alike

You are so right Cathy!!! Oh and I see in your signature you have a blog, so I'll be by and check you out.

Your husband is probably in the other room hiding the credit card right now.

I can picture him standing at the door of Everything Pop - let's have declansdad standing there with him - while you and Ma are in there filling baskets. Somehow I can easily bring that picture into my mind.

I have to say, the "picture" you created is cracking me up. I could just imagine that too. But actually hubby is very cool about me spending money while at Disney. It's me who agonizes over every penny spent.

Oh and Bella is adorable in her tig tails!