Sarilas' O-fficial Pre-Trip Report (a.k.a. Vacation, Take TWO!) - Jan. 30-Feb. 8, '09

[Sarilas]

Just wanted to say HELLO! Your kids are adorable and you are very pretty.

Maybe we will run into eachother on our January trip.

Awe, thank you! (Your family is absolutely gorgeous.)

I am so mad (about Kyle's situation) that I don't even know what to write right now. Did you hear from the school yet? Please let us know when you do.

Girl, don't I know it. I haven't heard a peep yet. Not one word. It's nearly 2 pm now.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Lexi is such a drama queen!

The teachers have their hands tied a lot of the time, and I know that, but this VP KNOWS the background with all these kids, and he read the report saying Kyle was the victim... I'm annoyed not just for Kyle but for all the kids who get bullied and are punished because of it. It leaves a very bad mark on their psyche that I'm trying desperately to counteract!

And thank you!

I agree about the bad marks of psyches!!! I hope watching the princesses tonight makes Kyle feel a little bit better!

Oh, and I meant to ask you over on the Lapu thread -- has Kyle ever watched Blackadder? That was always my favorite British comedy.

 

[Sarilas]

I agree about the bad marks of psyches!!! I hope watching the princesses tonight makes Kyle feel a little bit better!

Oh, and I meant to ask you over on the Lapu thread -- has Kyle ever watched Blackadder? That was always my favorite British comedy.

Kyle had a BLAST last night. I don't think he's ever watched Blackadder though - I know it used to be on BBCAmerica but I haven't seen it in a while - is it still on?

I finally called Ky's principal after 4:30 yesterday afternoon. Suffice it to say she did NOTHING all day. They didn't talk to the kid who witnessed the incident, nothing. In fact she says the VP told her KYLE started the fight by hitting one of the boys with a book, when it was the other way around! Kyle had the mark on the back of his NECK where they hit him. But they didn't bother to corroborate the story the bullies gave, they just went with it. I'm so torqued.

 

[Sarilas]

Last night was the opening night of Disney On Ice here in NashVegas - we took all the kids and had SO much fun! I'll tell you this though, Lexi was C-R-A-N-K-Y after about two hours of confinement. Note to self for Disney World in January! (I think she would have been okay in a stroller or something, but she didn't like the stadium seats and walking back and forth in our aisle only works for so long...)

The show included Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy, the characters from Cars, Lion King, The Little Mermaid and what will be the Tinkerbell movie! In fact the Tinkerbell portion took up the entire second half of the program - it was a great preview of what the storyline will be AND we got to hear what Tinkerbell will sound like! I captured a little snippet of video during that portion of the program... it's uploading now (and hopefully I can figure out how to post it- you can hear what Tinkerbell sounds like. Sort of. As much as a point and shoot camera allows for anyway!).

Without further ado...

Disney On Ice!

Mickey and Minnie's car breaks down...

They call for help!

Look who arrives!

The cars get Mickey's car going again...

...on to the Little Mermaid!

Ariel gets legs!

Eric kisses her...

And transition to... The Lion King!

Intermission time! What's that I see? Fairy cotton candy?! MUST-HAVE!

...and wear the flower as a hat. (Tatiana with her Tinkerbell mug and Ariel light up wand musical thingy)

And a hat. (Lexi, on my lap.)

And... a hat. (Kyle. 13 going on THREE!)

Stasia on DH's lap, playing with her Tinkerbell light up twirly thingy.

On with the show!

In the beginning... Tinkerbell is BORN! She wears a white gown, and her hair is down instead of being up in a bun... (hard to see, sorry!) She is introduced to all the other fairies by the Fairy Queen. Each fairy is blessed with a gift... light, water, speed, flowers, etc. Tinkerbell must discover her talent.

The guy everyone is facing, the one skating with gold wings is the keeper of the pixie dust!

Tinkerbell discovers she's a TINKER fairy! The Tinkers are the inventors, the makers of all the things that allow the other fairies to do their jobs and to bring Spring each year to the Mainland (our world).

Tinkerbell meets the other Tinker fairies...


Tinkerbell wants a different talent and confides in pixie dust holding guy.

There's a naughty fairy, I don't have a good pic of her but she's got black hair and wears black and purple. She's very stuck up and gets Tink to do something bad that will keep the fairies from being able to bring Spring to the Mainland.

The Fairy Queen and the boss lady of the tinker fairies...

Tink comes up with a way to fix what she's done and she saves the day!

Spring WILL come!

And we lived happily ever after.

 

[Lady Lallie]

Ooooh! I so want to go to Disney On Ice now! I might have to buy tickets for this winter. I love the fairy cotton candy, how cute!

Any word from the principal yet?

 

[Charleston Princess]

Too cute!!! I love all the Tinker Bell stuff!!!

Kyle wearing the flower hat cracked me up!

 

[MegansMom]

Thanks for sharing---it looked FABULOUS!!!! I think I want to take Megan now!!! I know it is coming in October sometime---must work on Tom to take her!!!!! YES!

 

[MRYPPNS]

Was that Rosie O'Donnell I spied in that video????

 

[GeminiAngel]

Have you talked to the police?

Get a restraining order against these boys.
Its outright assault. These boys should have been expelled by now, given the history.

Schools doing nothing, get an attorney and get some advice.

 

[Sarilas]

Ooooh! I so want to go to Disney On Ice now! I might have to buy tickets for this winter. I love the fairy cotton candy, how cute!

Any word from the principal yet?

It was SO much fun! Yes, talked to the principal. They stand by the punishment of Kyle because he was INVOLVED in the fight. Nevermind he was the VICTIM and had no CHOICE. Nevermind the other kids had malicious intent - he was INVOLVED so he receives punishment as well. I'm done. I registered him as a homeschool student yesterday. He was so happy he CRIED.

That said it all for me.

Too cute!!! I love all the Tinker Bell stuff!!!

Kyle wearing the flower hat cracked me up!

Thanks for sharing---it looked FABULOUS!!!! I think I want to take Megan now!!! I know it is coming in October sometime---must work on Tom to take her!!!!! YES!

Oh Megan would LOVE it! Everytime a new character came out the whole stadium just erupted in roars and cheers - it was so much fun!

Was that Rosie O'Donnell I spied in that video????

Why yes, I do believe it was!

Have you talked to the police?

Get a restraining order against these boys.
Its outright assault. These boys should have been expelled by now, given the history.

Schools doing nothing, get an attorney and get some advice.

I have an attorney on retainer; trust me, reports have been filed. This has been an ongoing battle over the course of four long years - I'm just done. I'm choosing to remove him from the situation. I honestly don't have the stamina to fight it.


On a personal update, my Dad (who lives with us) check into the hospital on Thursday morning for a scheduled procedure (as I think I mentioned before). His kidneys went kaput, and they put him onto emergent dialysis. So no waiting till the end of the month or October - he's going to remain in the hospital till Tuesday at the earliest and he's been receiving dialysis in small amounts each day. By Tuesday he should be receiving the full four hours, and then he'll have four hours a day, three days a week for the rest of his life.

Have I mentioned I NEED A VACATION?!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Skittle hugs for Lara!!

I am curious, how does homeschooling work exactly? Is it overseen by the state or school district? I am just curious.

 

[GeminiAngel]

You really need these.
Yea for Kyle!!! Time to learn without interruptions.
I will probably home school my daughter Nova when she
reaches Middle School. Those kids are like packs of wolves!
The neighbor boy home schools and loves it.

 

[Charleston Princess]

L-a-r-i-s-s-a,

How is your dad doing?

How was Kyle's first day of homeschooling?

Are you holding up okay???

I got all the ingredients to make your cake (except for the mints -- Connor doesn't like mint flavors) this week for Connor's b-day!

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

Lara, just a bunch of these, all for you:

 

[Sarilas]

Skittle hugs for Lara!!

I am curious, how does homeschooling work exactly? Is it overseen by the state or school district? I am just curious.

Homeschooling is governed by each individual state; some are more lenient than others. Essentially you have to register with the state, either with the school district or enroll in an 'umbrella school' (which is what we do) who will notify them for you. I enroll him in the umbrella school, pay them a flat rate and they maintain all his records for me - transcripts, attendance records, etc. It's SO much easier.

You really need these.
Yea for Kyle!!! Time to learn without interruptions.
I will probably home school my daughter Nova when she
reaches Middle School. Those kids are like packs of wolves!
The neighbor boy home schools and loves it.

Pack of wolves is pretty close to it. Kyle's best friend has had straight A's forever, and this year (7th) his grades are dropping miserably. He can't hear a thing going on in class and their poor teacher spends all morning dealing with disciplinary cases rather than teaching. Granted it's not this way at all schools, but we happen to be in a district with a history of such problems.

L-a-r-i-s-s-a,

How is your dad doing?

How was Kyle's first day of homeschooling?

Are you holding up okay???

I got all the ingredients to make your cake (except for the mints -- Connor doesn't like mint flavors) this week for Connor's b-day!

His first day was a cake walk (pun intended!) since I discovered he's got poison ivy and is blistering out from head to toe! He's under strict instructions to keep AWAY from the babies! (He's just doing lots of reading and some generally light work till we can get into the full swing of things.)

I'm hanging on to a frayed rope, for sure, but you know... this too shall pass.

Lara, just a bunch of these, all for you:

Thanks for the love, girls. I need all the positive energy I can get!

 

[Sarilas]

Mini update!

It truly is chaotic around here right now, and I'm allowing myself to live in the chaos through the end of the month. By that time I am DETERMINED that the universe get its act straight and chill OUT!

I emailed my TA today to talk about DME and deluxe dining - Jose's getting his bonus check next week (God willing) and I want to pay off what we owe the TA (room and regular dining), and add on DME because if Southwest keeps offering such awesome ding fares through the next couple of months we very well may be able to fly down rather than drive that looooong 13 hours! (I got ding fares recently up through November for about $75 one way... times 5 people round trip and that comes out much better than the $1800 we were looking at a couple of months ago!) I also wanted to find out about how soon before we take off for the actual vacation can we wait to upgrade to Deluxe dining, because that will be adding another $1000 onto our vacation bill and I want to wait till Jose's next bonus in December to pay that. She says it'll be no problem, and we can change the dining plan as late as 1 to 2 weeks before we leave! (She did tell me that at one week out she's had some clients run into glitches, but nothing dramatic.) She says we can add on DME now and just contact them later with our flight info (again... GOD WILLING). I'm SO EXCITED!

We're trying to pay for this entire trip in cash, no credit cards, so juggling around the funds as t hey come through has been interesting, to say the least! Oh, and I'm going to buy our park tickets (and my AP) either through AAA or a discount site in December as well. (Every penny counts when I'm planning on going souvenir CRAZY for the six of us!)

116 Days, people! You know what that means, right?

100 day party in just over two weeks!!!!

 

[MegansMom]

Oooooohhh!!!! Can I be the first to RSVP for the 100 Day Party!!!!!! I'll be there---boogeying the night away to DOUBLE DIGITS!!!!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Pack of wolves is pretty close to it. Kyle's best friend has had straight A's forever, and this year (7th) his grades are dropping miserably. He can't hear a thing going on in class and their poor teacher spends all morning dealing with disciplinary cases rather than teaching. Granted it's not this way at all schools, but we happen to be in a district with a history of such problems.

Middle school can be like an episode of Wild Kingdom or whatever that show was called where the lions were always eating zebras.

His first day was a cake walk (pun intended!) since I discovered he's got poison ivy and is blistering out from head to toe! He's under strict instructions to keep AWAY from the babies! (He's just doing lots of reading and some generally light work till we can get into the full swing of things.)

In October, I always do a huge Edgar Allan Poe unit -- I bet Kyle would enjoy reading some of his stuff if he hasn't already.

I'm hanging on to a frayed rope, for sure, but you know... this too shall pass.

Luckily those crazy times do pass eventually, but they sure do bite while they are happening!

Mini update!

It truly is chaotic around here right now, and I'm allowing myself to live in the chaos through the end of the month. By that time I am DETERMINED that the universe get its act straight and chill OUT!

I emailed my TA today to talk about DME and deluxe dining - Jose's getting his bonus check next week (God willing) and I want to pay off what we owe the TA (room and regular dining), and add on DME because if Southwest keeps offering such awesome ding fares through the next couple of months we very well may be able to fly down rather than drive that looooong 13 hours! (I got ding fares recently up through November for about $75 one way... times 5 people round trip and that comes out much better than the $1800 we were looking at a couple of months ago!) I also wanted to find out about how soon before we take off for the actual vacation can we wait to upgrade to Deluxe dining, because that will be adding another $1000 onto our vacation bill and I want to wait till Jose's next bonus in December to pay that. She says it'll be no problem, and we can change the dining plan as late as 1 to 2 weeks before we leave! (She did tell me that at one week out she's had some clients run into glitches, but nothing dramatic.) She says we can add on DME now and just contact them later with our flight info (again... GOD WILLING). I'm SO EXCITED!

We're trying to pay for this entire trip in cash, no credit cards, so juggling around the funds as t hey come through has been interesting, to say the least! Oh, and I'm going to buy our park tickets (and my AP) either through AAA or a discount site in December as well. (Every penny counts when I'm planning on going souvenir CRAZY for the six of us!)

116 Days, people! You know what that means, right?

100 day party in just over two weeks!!!!

We always pay for our trips in cash -- I guess that's why we plan them a year in advance...

I am truly looking forward to your 100 day party because I know it is going to be absolutely fabulous!!!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Your trip is going to be here before you know it! I am so excited for you. Have you settled on a resort yet? I can't remember.

 

[MegansMom]

Middle school can be like an episode of Wild Kingdom or whatever that show was called where the lions were always eating zebras.



In October, I always do a huge Edgar Allan Poe unit -- I bet Kyle would enjoy reading some of his stuff if he hasn't already.

I TOTALLY second that first remark about teaching middle schoolers!!!! for sure!!!!! I did my time for two years, and then went back to the high schoolers, but I know all teachers truly have their niche!!! God bless you CP!!!

Hey---I always did an Edgar Allan Poe unit in October with my Sophomores too!!! I LOVE his stuff!!!

Lara---I would HIGHLY recommend ANY and ALL Poe for Kyle---he would LOVE it!!!!