Sept. 2009 @ WDW! Be a Pop Tart 2009~come share your(Bounce Back or NOT)Dates !!!

[SlightlyGoofy]

Ang, I am sooo hearing you. You have almost, verbatim, quoted me. Please tell Mr. William that I will miss seeing him at DW if he does not get his act together. He will be far too busy trying to earn enough to pay for an efficiency apartment, bus passes and ramen noodles on a non HS graduates wages to be able to even THINK about saving up to go to DW.

My dsil is all perplexed at my oldest grandson's recent behavior. I fear the boy done got that from my side of the family, although I would never admit it. My poor dd is beside herself. While she is getting a taste of her own medicine I would never wish this on her at all. I feel that my dgs is far less stubborn than his mother ever was and will come back to reality soon. I hope.

JM, I have the same problems as your mom, hearing. My family is not nearly so forgiving though. My friends are used to me and forgive me often and we all have a laugh about it. Something sad about having the money but not the time to go get new hearing aids.

Ants and M&N, thanks for the congratulations. It confirms something I have long thought about WHO the Tag Fairy is though. I know who I was talking to when I acquired those tags. Hint, he is very tall and kind and will be at DW when I am.

Gotta go, a few last minute things to do before the deluge starts. I am prepared for 400. Let's see how well I did. It is going to be very cold and possibly rainy so that might affect the crowds. Someone pranked me last night. I plan to getting them back tonight though.

SG

 

[jmskinner]

Angela, reading your post it sounds like I am reading about Jacob. He has started writing notes to us also.

Ended up letting Jonas go to the car show and Jacob and I went to see the concert. Great music. I would have enjoyed just listening to the music and not seeing the clips. Wish I could play like that.

 

[angwill]

Well Will's silence lasted about an hour before he cracked and then blamed it on me asking him a question. lol

DH asked him if he was ready for him to go to school tomorrow to help him understand how it's done. DS begged him not to and promised he was ready to change but DH didn't answer so we will see what happens tomorrow. We did make the decision to hold off on his taking drivers ed because he just isn't mature enough. I feel it is my responsiblity to make sure he is going to be a safe and responsible driver and I feel when he is responsible at school that will be my sign that he is ready to drive. He actually agreed with it. He also has to earn back his privileges one at a time.

Melissa, keep those notes you may need to read them back to him at some point. Mine is hanging on my cork board because it promises that he will do his work to the best of his ability and turn it in on time from now till he graduates. I have to remember to get him to sign it too.

So glad you enjoyed the concert and too bad Jonas missed a good time. Did he win at the car show?

Linda,
There is no way I can take Will out of school for vacation while in High School. He just can't handle it now. His loss.

Hope everyone enjoyed Halloween.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

I am so lucky in that my grandchildren are much easier to raise than my children were. I had one that was scary. Austin is basically a good kid but his parents cannot figure out why he is not more responsible. Might it have something to do with the fact that everytime dd puts her foot down dsil lets him get away with stuff? Ummmm. I am the mil so I keep silent on that subject as well as all others. I raised mine and the grandkids belong to their parents to raise. I just try to help when asked. Luckily the boy did not inherit the mean gene from my side of the family so I have faith he will be fine and there is no way that he could stop talking to anyone.

Ang, my dsil told me that he regrets letting Austin get his driver's license when he did because it has all been downhill, education wise, since then. An age is a number and not an indicator of abilility. He did get good grades in order to get his license so he is capable. I was referring to the fact that if Will does not get a good education he will not be able to afford Disney vacations when HE has to pay. You are right about not being able to take him out of school if his grades are not good. Funny, us parents have to suffer right along with the kids. Life ain't fair!

JM, keep those notes in a folder and then some day, when Jacob is having trouble with HIS kids you can give them back to him. I finally burned my daughter's a few years back. She is not the type to find the humor in the situation and I am loathe to remind her of her dark past. I am just relieved that she got over it. Mostly.

I am getting out my Christmas books today. I love the holiday and since I will be at DW for two weeks I will have few opportunities to share them with the kids. I have loads of fold out books that the kids love. They also love the fact that I can 'read' "Twas the Night Before Chirstmas" without looking at the book.

SG

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

I plumb forgot to report on Halloween. I had over 350 folks here. Lots of my CC kids, past and present, and many stayed to visit a bit. One kid I used to take care of brings his kids back here every year and I am touched by how much he seems to like me. I love kids but I swear it took all my control not to kill him when he was young. He was that awful! I like him now too though.

I will post a picture of how I dressed when I get a chance. It was a dress rehearsal for how I plan to dress if I should have to take Austin to school. He came by and I told him this. No phone calls for a ride this morning.

SG

 

[jmskinner]

Ang, keep us updated on the school and Al & Will situation.

SG, sounds like a great turnout. Again you remind me of my grandmother. Her piano students would show up on her doorstep many years later so their kids could meet her.

And you mentioned a hearing aid for my Mother. I told her we both need to get one. It's not the cost of one because you don't even want to know what she spent on veneers for her teeth. Not to make them look good, but because she likes to eat candy and cokes. Dentist said she could save her teeth if she gave that stuff up and Mom said to go with the veneers. I have lots of good memories driving her home all drugged up. She repeated the same three stories the 30 minutes it took to get her home.

Oh, and Jonas didn't win anything at the car show. There are lots of great cars here, and he has too many hobbies to spend the money needed on the car. Maybe he will give one up soon, but I don't see it happening.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

JM, it is a rare thing for a daughter to accept her mom, foibles and all. It is nice to hear about. I am not myself around my daughter as I am well aware that I embarrass her. She tells me so. Not that I see her all that often. I hate the holidays when we sit in the same room and do not communicate. I listen and keep quiet. It is totally against my nature not to cut up and laugh and is very stressful for me. I even find excuses to not be home on minor holidays just to avoid it all.

However, I am still friends with all of her friends who spent time here, even the ones that she no longer talks to. Go figure.

Hooray for your mom to spoil herself, even if she is being naughty. I spent far too many years doing without basics and am now making up for lost time, in some ways. If I think of something that will make my life better and I can figure out a way to afford it I get it. I am a woman of simple wants and needs luckily.

A woman who sacrifices too much is walked all over and never noticed. It is better to be the burr under the saddle.

Jonas did not deserve to win anything. That is what he gets for not going with his family.

The pop up Christmas books were a bit hit, as usual. Many lessons can be worked in with those books. When I left two were sitting in the hall working on behavior problems. I stopped to talk with them a bit and gave them the, old but true, talking to about knowing what they did wrong and working on being better so that they will be more 'grown up'. It is the same speech I give my husband.

Finishing the painting today, I hope.

SG

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

I had been sort of wondering why it was so hard for me to get my work done and yesterday confirmed what I had thought. My heart is messed up again, the a fib is back,with a vengeance. Anyway, I will be having another reboot on next Thursday. I hope this one lasts longer than the last one but from I understand a year is not bad. Anyway, my doctor assures me that I will enjoy DW much more AFTER the procedure. I love a doctor that knows the value of quality of life!

Hoping it does not take the curl out of my hair or the smile from my face.

SG

 

[angwill]

Linda,
Oh no I wish you had better news like the procedure was still working and would stay like that forever. It does sound like you got a good year out of the first and that was a good sign. May the next procedure last even longer.

I am sure you will retain the curl in your hair and the smile on your face. I can't imagine you with straight hair but I bet you would go for a perm if that happened. As for the smile I think that is carved there and can not go anywhere.

Let us know when you are going to have the procedure.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Ang, folk always want what they do not have and I always wanted straight hair. Now that I have come to terms with, and even enjoy, my curly hair I figure it will go away.

As far as the cardioversion goes, many folks only stay in rhythm for mere hours, weeks or a few months. I have been out for some time but trying to soldier on which I am being told is not a good thing. The next try might last longer or not. Then we will have to go to the next step from there. Many folks live their lives with this condition as long as they do what they need to do. It is a bit unsettling and nerve wracking but not overly painful. Could be far worse.

I have to go for a blood test today and if I pass it (I stayed up all night studying) the procedure will be at noon on Thursday which is perfect. I can get my bil to come and pick us up and drop me at the hospital and then take Tom bowling and then they can come pick me up afterward. No fuss, no worry. Much better than me having to worry what Tom is doing. Anything off schedule throws him for a loop and then he 'does things'. I would rather not see anything. It is all about ME.

How is Will doing on filling that hole? Can he see above ground level yet?

SG

 

[angwill]

So does that mean that if your hair goes straight I should have no pity on you for wishing it upon yourself.lol I dated a guy when I was in my teens that had stick straight hair and when I ran into him a few years later his hair was curly. It just natually turned curly so it can happen.

I am glad Tom's brother takes him for you so you can relax while you have these things done.

As for Will his hole is getting closer to hell than to heaven, unfortunatly. I have made him do the work that is missing but he is then going to school and choosing what he wants to turn in and what not. Tonight he is redoing 2 math assignments that he didn't feel like turning in when he re did them last week. I told him he will do them over and over till I send him to bed and he has a half day of school. I told him he will then redo them every night till I see online that he chose to turned them in.

I have no clue what his problem is but he is not communicating it to me and it came on suddenly. His only answer is that he hates school and homework and he is tired of doing it. I told him I was tired of cleaning up after him, washing his clothes, cooking for him, etc. etc. Could I stop doing that too? He said sure as long as I get off him about doing his homework. He says he only goes to school to socialize with his friends. He is really determined to make his future harder for himself. I am determined not to let him.

 

[jmskinner]

Ang, Will and Jacob are so alike, are you sure we aren't related somehow? Jacob is the same way about homework and schoolwork. I'm hoping one of these magnet schools will work out for him. Maybe this math program he is now in will interest him. I worry about him being disruptive.

SG, you crack me up. Hope you got some sleep after studying for your test so hard. I hope the procedure goes well today and Tom is good for you. Seems so shocking to me for them to go bowling while you are having this done and then just pick you up.

I have comic books up to my armpits at the moment. Jonas had some old boxes that really needed replacing and some books that needed bags. I then got the bright idea to organize them.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Ang, straight hair is so versatile. I am stuck with my short Afro. When my dd cut her waist length hair she ended up with curly hair as well. Guess all the weight was keeping it from frizzing up. When I was young Twiggy was what everyone wanted to look like. With my hair and rounded figure (24 inch waist) I sure looked nothing like her. Frankly only the paper dolls I used to play with looked like her.

Boy, I hear you on trying to keep your kid from falling off the cliff into the abyss. You are a good mom and the more he tells you that you are the meanest mom in the world the prouder you should be of yourself. I wish I were there to make it a stereo act. I would ya know.

JM, what is shocking is a man who drops his wife at the hospital when she is losing a child, calls every couple of hours to tell her where he is eating and then forgets to pick her up when it is time to be released and she has to call her new in laws and ask them to come get her. AND that was back when I was a brand new wife and he still liked me. Having been married before to a man who would have made the front pages of the National Enquirer has helped me deal with my present situation. I would like it to be better but it is not. My doctor is also a friend and the mother of one of my readers so I am not alone. I have lots of friends who would come too but I am ashamed to tell them of my circumstances.

I love the idea of magnet schools, competition is wonderful and not every teaching style fits every child. I honestly think our educational system needs a major overhaul. Why in the world my oldest grandson should be taking calculus instead of learning to balance a checkbook, which would come in handy someday, I have no idea. I like a buffet of classes in the early grades so that children can try things and see what interests them and then, about seventh grade, they could split off into assorted learning environments based on their inclinations and interests. The basics MUST be learned though. I can spout the year the Battle of Hastings was fought, still remember some of my algebra etc. but have never needed those things in my adult life. It is not what you know but how you use it that counts and there are a great many occupations that are more needed than English Lit majors. I are one. Comic books huh? I am an advocate of kids reading what they like and then the rest will follow. I liked Mad magazine when I was younger, along with classical literature. I was an odd kid. Surprising, huh?

Going to finish up the yardwork for the winter tomorrow. I have to compact my chores as I will have less time to get ready for DW.

SG

 

[angwill]

Ang, Will and Jacob are so alike, are you sure we aren't related somehow? Jacob is the same way about homework and schoolwork. I'm hoping one of these magnet schools will work out for him. Maybe this math program he is now in will interest him. I worry about him being disruptive.

SG, you crack me up. Hope you got some sleep after studying for your test so hard. I hope the procedure goes well today and Tom is good for you. Seems so shocking to me for them to go bowling while you are having this done and then just pick you up.

I have comic books up to my armpits at the moment. Jonas had some old boxes that really needed replacing and some books that needed bags. I then got the bright idea to organize them.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

I think what kills me most is that Will used to love going to school and learning. 6th grade was the first time he said he hated school and honestly I can't blame him because it was an awful experience at that school. He did better in 7th and 8th grade in a special needs classroom the only problem being that all the kids in there were the kids who are always in trouble and he used to say he couldn't learn with them disrupting all the time. He was in there for his learning issues since the regular teachers didn't want to be bothered with any kids who didn't fit in the box. KWIM So it was regular classrooms that would leave him behind or smaller classroom with kids that disrupted. I felt he learned more in the second senerio.

Now he is in a good school and till a month ago he loved it and was getting A's and B's without much effort. I am just miffed by his change of attitude. I think there is something else that is bothering him but he is not talking and he is a talker who usually tells me everything.

I did realize yesterday that his hot button was taking away his communication with the girl he likes. I am now wondering if he might be having problems with her. He wants that privilege back so badly that I think it might stop the homework issues. We shall see.

We have no magnet or charter schools anywhere near us. I think the closest is in Chicago.

Oh yeah, I just got a note that DS's school has been on the no child left behind list for 4 years now and the state is sending in a company to come train everyone and fire the slackers. So far I think all DS teachers this year are excellent so it is sad. I am wondering if they realize that most of the problem stems from the crappy middle school who sends the kids over to the HS without the skills they need. I do think the middle school has been on the NCLB list 4 years too though. I wish they would ask the parents of the students what they think about all of this.

Next years Freshmen are going to have to double up on both Math and English classes.

 

[angwill]

Ang, straight hair is so versatile. I am stuck with my short Afro. When my dd cut her waist length hair she ended up with curly hair as well. Guess all the weight was keeping it from frizzing up. When I was young Twiggy was what everyone wanted to look like. With my hair and rounded figure (24 inch waist) I sure looked nothing like her. Frankly only the paper dolls I used to play with looked like her.

Boy, I hear you on trying to keep your kid from falling off the cliff into the abyss. You are a good mom and the more he tells you that you are the meanest mom in the world the prouder you should be of yourself. I wish I were there to make it a stereo act. I would ya know.

JM, what is shocking is a man who drops his wife at the hospital when she is losing a child, calls every couple of hours to tell her where he is eating and then forgets to pick her up when it is time to be released and she has to call her new in laws and ask them to come get her. AND that was back when I was a brand new wife and he still liked me. Having been married before to a man who would have made the front pages of the National Enquirer has helped me deal with my present situation. I would like it to be better but it is not. My doctor is also a friend and the mother of one of my readers so I am not alone. I have lots of friends who would come too but I am ashamed to tell them of my circumstances.

I love the idea of magnet schools, competition is wonderful and not every teaching style fits every child. I honestly think our educational system needs a major overhaul. Why in the world my oldest grandson should be taking calculus instead of learning to balance a checkbook, which would come in handy someday, I have no idea. I like a buffet of classes in the early grades so that children can try things and see what interests them and then, about seventh grade, they could split off into assorted learning environments based on their inclinations and interests. The basics MUST be learned though. I can spout the year the Battle of Hastings was fought, still remember some of my algebra etc. but have never needed those things in my adult life. It is not what you know but how you use it that counts and there are a great many occupations that are more needed than English Lit majors. I are one. Comic books huh? I am an advocate of kids reading what they like and then the rest will follow. I liked Mad magazine when I was younger, along with classical literature. I was an odd kid. Surprising, huh?

Going to finish up the yardwork for the winter tomorrow. I have to compact my chores as I will have less time to get ready for DW.

SG

Twiggy. lol Isn't it still that way though where all the models are so thin and unrealistic.

I wish you were here to stereo me too. I would sooo appreciate it. Sometimes it is hard having no back up with DH never being here to back me.

You really should confide especially in your doctor and/or nurse friends about your DH. Working in OB there were two different things men did when they brought in their wife/girlfriend. Either they bailed asap or they stayed and saw them through it all. It might seem shocking but I would say about 25% bailed so your doctor/nurse friends would understand. You might also find someone in the same boat as you who would love to have a partner for doctor runs.

I agree with what you feel about magnet schools 100% That was something Obama mentioned at one time but I don't think it is at the top of his agenda just yet. He said he was amazed at the turn around in D.C.'s school system since going with a magnet/charter system and that he would love to see it implemented across the country. There are a lot of great teachers who don't have what they need to teach better and then there are the rotten teachers who are only doing it because they feel stuck who need the push to find another line of work preferably with people the same size that can fight back when they try to bully them.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

There are a lot of great teachers who don't have what they need to teach better and then there are the rotten teachers who are only doing it because they feel stuck who need the push to find another line of work preferably with people the same size that can fight back when they try to bully them.

Ang, as usual you hit the nail on the head. I personally know lots of good teachers who have left the system because of the frustrations of the job. Who better to know what our school system needs than the folks on the front line but are they listened to? No. It all starts in the home and many children have such horrible home lives, revolving door parents (I have children who have 3, or more, sets of parents and their siblings are all over the place, one boy told me that he was the only person in his family that was sober over the weekend.)

You guys on here cannot begin to believe the level of neglect that some children have at home. Sleeping on a couch because they do not have a bed, irregular meals, especially on weekends, no parental interest at all, etc. How do those children do in school with such a poor foundation? Myself I clung to school and the teachers who gave me what I craved so much, attention for doing well. Most children are not that lucky. They show up at school dirty (scorned by the other children), hungry and unable to think properly and convinced of their inferiority so they do not try for fear of failing.

The schools are so mired in paperwork that they do not have time to see the children as individuals and heaven forbid if a teacher should see a need and try to fill it because they are so structured that any deviation is a fireable offense. Our local teachers are required to attend most every school function and how in the world they have the time for lesson plans, grading papers, let alone any sort of family life, is beyond me. Of course the upside is that they see their students outside the school setting and the great ones are able to interact and give the kids some much needed attention and sense of caring.

I have read that the administration salaries total more than the actual teaching staff. Something is wrong there.

While I am on my soapbox I might add that many subjects are just plain stupid. Unless you are planning on going into very specific fields you will never need that knowledge and in the meantime many useful things are not being taught. With most mothers working outside the home the things that they used to teach at home are not being done. Cooking, sewing, balancing a budget, how to keep a home, maintain a vehicle, minor household repairs etc. These are things that everyone needs to learn.

We have the PTO but it does not function as any really useful way of making change. We complain individually to no avail but our combined voices would have to be heard. As taxpayers we are paying for a service that we are not getting.

We all need to work together, parents, grandparents, teachers and community leaders to take care of our future, our children. There is no more valuable resource.

SG

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

One of the benefits of small town life, Ang, is that my doctors and nurses are also friends. The nurse that took care of Tom yesterday is the aunt of one of my children. Her sister is in abusive relationship and Emily comes to me when things get bad. They have an interest in me, as I do with them. I am not alone.

Tom has a touch of bronchitis and got a big old needle in his behind and some medication. It is good as he only gets this way a couple of times a year and getting it out of the way before we leave is wonderful. Getting my heart in rhythm will be wonderful as well. It sure will mean a better vacation. Maybe I will not have to fret so much over how much we will be able to do although we have already decided that this trip is about the small stuff. I have never seen all the different Santa's at EPCOT.

Sorry for being so verbose but I can rattle on here safely while I cannot back here and besides you all can 'delete' and I will never know.

I hope you are all enjoying a nice Fall day and have all your leaves raked so you can just sit and sip your hot cocoa with a clean conscious.

SG

 

[cherylp3]

Fall?? What is that? We are still in the endless summer here. This weekend its back to 83 degrees.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Poor Cheryl, does that mean that you are surfing? "Endless Summer" was a big movie when I were a teen and it was all about surf bums. Nowadays we just surf the web though.

If you are really despondent about no Fall you are most welcome to come here and help me rake leaves. I am a very sharing person.

SG

 

[jmskinner]

Fall?? What is that? We are still in the endless summer here. This weekend its back to 83 degrees.

Cheryl, I am blown away by this weather. Finally we will have decent weather for soccer on Saturday, but still 80's. And then we might have a tropical storm coming???? It's November.

Poor Cheryl, does that mean that you are surfing? "Endless Summer" was a big movie when I were a teen and it was all about surf bums. Nowadays we just surf the web though.

If you are really despondent about no Fall you are most welcome to come here and help me rake leaves. I am a very sharing person.

SG

Linda, I would love to come help rake leaves. I miss seeing the leaves change color.

Even though Jacob's teacher writes his homework in his daily planner, the boy still manages to come home without it. Guess we will have homework this weekend to make it up.

I always wonder when you hear about cutting teacher salariers, I never hear about the administration. On the other hand, back in TX, one teacher I remember back from high school was teaching one occupational class (one hour long a day) and was making $57,000 a year. There is something wrong there. I can understand that he taught for a long time, but don't think it is right.

Here in Florida they are dismissing kids 2 hours early twice a month to help teachers out, but Jonas overheard one teacher discussing how the school administrations are just requiring meetings during that time.

And the principal that put Jacob in the alternative school with the kids that brings weapons to school etc., is now on a state wide committee to help kids. I know she hasn't changed because Jonas called me just last week asking who to contact because one of his guys had a child at that school and they were having problems. If the child isn't perfect, she doesn't want them in her school. Same teacher was complaining how they would have made 100 on the state wide exam in reading, but one child at Rivercrest Mental Hospital, brought their grade down. Shouldn't the main concern be the fact you have an elementary age student in a mental hospital.

On a lighter note, I forgot to mention this. Ang, maybe that guy you went out with that had straight hair and then curly was a member of my family. I had straight hair until 4th grade, and my half-brother had it until high school. I spend an hour or so straightening mine now.

Hope you all have a great weekend. On my way to pickup Jacob to get his military ID. He needs it, but also thought that would be better than flashing his birth certificate next week at WDW to get his b-day gift card.