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

[jmskinner]

Linda, so sorry to hear about your friends son. I'm sure it is especially hard being this time of year.

Ok, I know I keep saying you remind me of my dear Grandma, but you did it again. We use to be up at 1:00am playing Scrabble or Rummy.

It was so nice to meet you. Had a nice little visit. Oh, and I just remembered that I need to send those pics to you. I tried that next day and the email popped back, so I will try again today.

M&N, for your DSIL getting the position. And do hope you make it to WDW next year. Ok, I've said I wouldn't go the week after Christmas, but if you make it I will make a trip that way just for you.

Last Friday while working at media center at the school I saw the saddest thing. They brought in a little boy to play on the computer because he wasn't allowed to participate in any of the holiday celebrations. The teacher said he even asked, "I can't even have a candy cane?" I found it more sad that they didn't have a plan for him. Seems with a school with 960 students, there would be more and maybe they could do something with just those students.

I've been playing on FB more and more and not doing the Dis, but I am trying to get back on the Dis. I sure do miss it.

Just in case I don't post again, hope you all have a Merry Christmas, but I plan on being back.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Recipe for Fruit Cake

You'll need the following: a cup of water, a cup of sugar, four large
brown eggs, two cups of dried fruit, a teaspoon of salt, a cup of
brown sugar, lemon juice, nuts, and a bottle of whiskey. Sample the
whiskey to check for quality.

Take a large bowl. Check the whiskey again. To be sure it's the
highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Repeat. Turn on the
electric mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add
one teaspoon of sugar and beat again. Make sure the whiskey is still
okay. Cry another tup.

Turn off the mixer. Beat two leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in
the cup of dried
fruit. Mix on the tuner. If the fired druit gets stuck in the
beaterers, pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the whiskey to
check for tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of alt. Or something. Who cares? Check the
whiskey. Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one
table. Spoon. Of sugar or something.
Whatever you can find.

Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. Don't forget to
beat off the turner. Throw the bowl out of the window. Check the
whiskey again and go to bed.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Melissa, you're so sweet! I messed up - what I meant to say is that I am going to call between Chritmas and New Year's to make a reservation for the week after Thanksgiving 2010!

Sooo..who wants to come along??

 

[thunderbird1]

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! Hope everyone who wants to be ready is ready, and everyone who likes to shop on Christmas Eve has good weather in which to do so!

S/G--(((hugs))) for your friend on the loss of her son. I'm glad you're home safe and sound (well, as sound as you ever were ), and glad your grandson is keeping you on your toes. Like Melissa, I have fond memories of staying up late playing card games with both my grandmas, so I know how lucky he is.

M&N--pixie dust for your SIL's new job, and I think I'm going to try making your fruit cake today. I'm not sure I have enough dried fruit, but from what I can tell, that's not necessarily an essential ingredient, lol!

Ang--Pooh! Too funny! But it's so sad to see you without a ticker. Hopefully the deals are better than just gift cards and you can get back again next spring or summer (or whenever Will has a break from school and manages to get up out of the hole he dug himself). My dd did manage to get herself back on track through lots of "encouragement" from her dad and I (mostly her dad).

Melissa--Do we need to do a FB intervention? Like that wouldn't be the Dis-addicted pot calling the kettle black, lol. My dh forced us all to sign up for Twitter yesterday, so now I'm getting inundated with texts about useless stuff. I'm not sure I'm ready to take on another social networking site. I always feel sad for the kids that can't participate, too, but I have a funny story. I was going to one of dd's school holiday party many years ago (don't remember which holiday), and I passed a room with 2 kids sitting out in the hallway doing some activity (the non-participants). One of them was one of our neighbor's kids, and it seemed strange because, as far as I knew, they celebrated all the traditional holidays. When his mom arrived, she asked the teacher why he was in the hall, and the teacher said it was because he wasn't allowed to see the holiday movie because of their religion. Of course, he was, and when his mom asked him why he lied to the teacher, he admitted it was because he didn't want to see the movie again, and the kid in the hall got to do something more fun! We all got a good laugh out of that one.

Hi also to anyone I've missed, and hope all your Christmas wishes come true!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!!!

 

[jmskinner]

Jennifer, that is too funny about that child. Kids sure are smart.

M&N, glad you are booking the week after Thanksgiving. Suppose to be the perfect time to go.

I had hoped to go this week, but haven't felt too good, and didn't want to be sick over Christmas. The hubby has been sick all week himself.

Just tried to go out and mow our yard, but noticed the neighbors had every window open and thought it would be ruder to throw dust in their house than to have the yard that looks awful.

Hope you all have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Oh, I'm sorry you're not feeling well, Melissa. Hope you feel better as the day goes on, so you all can enjoy today and the rest of the Holiday (today through New Year's).

Last night I got to thinking of going down for 4 ngts Jan 3 - rates are great...but airfare has been the challenge. Know a few board friends who will be there the same time, so would not likely have to spend loads of time alone. Should check to see what Christmassy things, if any, would still be going on.

 

[bonzarella]

Long time but not gone. Wishing all my D-board friends a very Merry Christmas & may God bless each & everyone of you.
Bon

 

[angwill]

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Years and all that good stuff to all my friends.

What a winter we have snow on the ground but now we are getting lots of rain so I fear we will have no snow when we wake up Christmas morning but we may have lots of ice.

M&N,
Here I thought you didn't want to move. Well then may you move to a new location with your own space. I hope your trip works out well for you next year.

TB,
If my DS doesn't get his head out of his butt he won't be going back to Disney till he pays for it himself. He did make up all the work he was behind on but then continued to not turn in work when it was due. The only thing he seemed to turn in was the easy stuff and anything that took some brain power to do he would try to get away without doing it. He would then get caught and have to do it and turn it in for the F they give for late work. His final farewell to the half year semester was to not do his math presentation or turn in the math final review sheets and got 0's on those. To end it off with a real bang he got a 56 on the math final. He is trying to claim that the teacher forgot to give him the grades on the two papers (yeah right) and that they did not provide him a quiet place to take the final so he was distracted. All the encouragement and/or consequences in the world don't seem to work for him. It is something he is going to have to want for himself and hopefully one day he will realize he is tired of all the bad grades. I keep hoping that day will be really soon. The saddest thing is that he can get A's without much work on his part. All we ask of him is that he try and turn in the work on time.

I am happy to hear that your daughter got on the right path at least.

Melissa,
So sorry to hear you are feeling under the weather and I hope you feel better soon.

Bonz,
Miss you. Hope all is going well with your move.

Ang

 

[Minnie&Nana]

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Melissa, you are so thoughtful to NOT mow. I am sure you really, really wanted to. I am sorry you are not feeling well. Hopefully it is a 24 hour bug and you are in your 23rd hour.

Bonz, hey there stranger! Take that any old way you wanna.

Ang, please tell Will that any future employers are not going to stand over him and tell him what to do and when so he had better get his butt in gear or he will be living at home his entire life and have to do what YOU tell him. That ought to get him in gear.

M&N, I cannot figure out when you are thinking of going again. If it is right after Thanksgiving we may see each other as that is what I have in mind, along with a summer trip to FL to check out some living situations. I am hoping for a hefty room only discount and will just skip the DP, free or not. I hope you get some good news this next year and if you move it is somewhere to all your likings AND you get some private space to yourself, with a separate entrance and good lock on the door.

Since I got such a, not so gentle, nudge here is my abbreviated TR.

Resort - nice and well landscaped. Room too far from anything other than the parking lot. Only room problem was one drawer that refused to stay closed. It held my undies so maybe fresh air was needed????

Parks, not too crowded. Not nearly as much decoration as usual. What they did have was nice. Might not have been noticed by folks who do not go often though.

CM's nice and friendly, one grouchy one last day at food court but hey, it was early in the morning and I was not at my best either.

DH only threw two fits. I left him alone at AK one day and he was good to go for several days more and the next time I left him in the room to 'rest'. He claimed he had been sick but there was no evidence of such and his appetite was sure healthy enough. Have noticed he has been a bit more helpful since our return. i. e. he got the paper from the front porch one day. Hey, you takes what you can get.



Food, was such that I lost 5#'s. Only good thing I can say about most of it. Pretty bad when the best meal you had was a hotdog in a pretzel bread bun. Bringing my own next time.

Bus service was pretty good but then I scheduled our trips when I knew it might be. Most of the time we had dedicated buses for just our resort so getting a seat was not difficult. One time a lady in a wheelchair gave up her seat for me. It must have been one of those days when dreams of a walker were dancing in my head.



Weather, most days just wore a light jacket, a few days required a heavy sweatshirt also. One day had Indiana winter coat on and it was such a cold rain that we near froze to death and our coats were completely soaked. Luckily we did not get sick though.

Ran into many friends, many from this thread, had a lovely time visiting with them but far too brief. Met several potential new friends and was given many email addy's and such so that I can forward every single piece of junk I can find. NOT!!! Many want us to visit their places and potential move there. I guess you can fool some of the people some of the time!

Did not get to do many things on our list but did many other things. Sort of went with the flow and was sorely glad of the 4 days without park plans.

Will we go back? Yes, if prices do not go up too much but will not spend as money at DW as outside.

Slightly Goofy

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Yep, that's the way to do one - hit the highs and lows and it's covered!

Oh, gee, you mean my convoluted explanation of when I hope to go was not clear enough? It was so confusing, think I confused myself!

Yep, week after Thanksgiving...have a code, but it's better for mods and deluxe, so a better one might be released - still, best to hold a room with the code I have and watch for something better. Think you mentioned you do get codes? If not, try going to disneyworld.com site, sign in, plan a trip, save it, then answer the pop the-up when closing out, that you did not book b/c could not find the best value etc etc. No doubt you've done this, but if not, it seems to get the system to send a code. I had no idea, but saved 3 different trips (my name, Mia's, and in my 'other' name - using first rather than middle) and received 3 pin codes. Strange, but no complaints here..better get my act together and try to book something soon though.

I've such a headache today. SIL has the TV up soo loud with football..don't know how he can stand it, but I definitely cannot!!

No word on the job - and no email for a 3rd interview, so he may be out of the running for the manager position. Thanks for all the good thoughts!

 

[angwill]

Oh Linda I have said it all to the child. I even have him in therapy. He's got to want it and right now he says he just likes being lazy and not doing his school work which means he likes having no privileges too. I have even been volunteering him for charity work during the holiday season to see if that helps teach him something. He loves doing it but even seeing people with nothing who struggle just to survive isn't sinking in.

He also knows he won't be living at home if he doesn't either go to college or get a job and pay for rent, food, utilities and follow my rules. I watched what enabling lazy teens/young adults does when I watched my mother raise my brothers and it wasn't pretty and won't be happening with DS.

Love your TR sweet and simple is always best.

M&N,

Sad to hear about the job for SIL but let us know what happens in the end. I am so glad I did not marry a guy who loves sports. I grew up around sport nuts who loved it loud so I think that is the norm. My favorite time to go shopping is during the superbowl when there is very minimal traffic and no lines.

 

[jmskinner]

M&N, hope your headache has gone away.

Linda, great TR. Hope I didn't twist your arm too hard.

Ang, sorry to hear DS is having a hard time being motivated in school. Reading what you said, I can just hear Jacob, but all of a sudden he has been doing well the last month or so. So well that the last two weeks on his behavior chart it was noted how good he was doing and nothing to improve on. He got 100 on his science test on Space and also on his little project. I had helped him with the project though, hopefully not too much.

I don't think I ever posted about the awards ceremony I attended for the first nine weeks. Jacob was the only student not to receive an award. I was in total shock. Happen to run into his ESE Counselor who just stood there with her mouth open when I told her. I finally found out that due to Jacob's behavior, he didn't meet the honor roll awards. His teacher is new this year and didn't realize she could make something up, like a Science Star award. I'm still a little miffed that they still didn't give him any type of certificate, but he hasn't said anything about it.

Ok, I meant to be in bed 20 minutes ago.

Good night everyone!

 

[angwill]

As for the motivation it is frustrating because he will get himself almost caught up and then drop the ball again. At the teen stage you start to worry about thier future and how far they will get in life so that is where I am with him now.

I am grateful that we have never had behavior issues only academic. Well I guess not turning in work could be considered behavior in a way. lol DS has gotten in trouble for behavior issues one time for swearing at a kid who was picking on him and got suspended for it. He never earned an award at school for anything either. I don't think most kids really care about the awards anyway unless they get a free ipod with the award. lol When I worked in the school system they seemed to give very few paper awards and only to either the most perfect or the most disruptive kids hoping that would motivate them to do better. Now all the scholarship awards or awards with prizes went to the administrative or teachers children though. Small town living at its finest.

The funny thing with DS is that all his teachers love him and he is a favorite of theirs because he is quiet, acts like he is listening, and likes to help out other kids. He is a very kind and sweet 95% of the time.

I love when I ask about missing work and his math teacher who loves him tells me he is the ideal student and he wished he had a class full of him. That doesn't mean he is learning or getting his work done though. I would hate to know what the other kids do in class if my child if the ideal child and doesn't do or turn in work 3/4 of the time. Because they did not give him an F for every paper turned in late he ended up with a C- in that class. Because he knows they give him the full grade for late work most times he is not learning the consequences of turning stuff in late and feels it is no big deal. Thus the reason they have been on the no child left behind list because they pass the kids through however they can even if they don't understand or do the work.

Oh well this too shall pass or he will be cleaning toilets for a living. lol Hey someone has to do it and it would be making an honest living, right.

 

[jmskinner]

Angela, we have been worried about Jacob and where he will go in life for several years now. When Aspergers was considered all Jonas could think was what Jacob couldn't be when he grew up. More than likely he will never be able to join the military due to the medication he has already been on. It's possible that if we get him off of it and in a few years he could still go, but just don't know.

We've been really fortunate here that the school staff understands he just isn't acting badly, there is something causing that behavior. Usually frustration. They have been working on his tone, and it has greatly improved. I need to spend the day with them to learn what they did to get hiim to change. He does it with me, but will quickly realizes it and apologize.

I was only worried about him not getting the award, which is just a certificate, because every child gets one. He would have at least received one for attendance, but they did away with that due to the H1N1. I think it is crazy they have an award presentation every grading period. Another complaint of mine, they do the presentation before report cards, so you basically know the grades before they even come out. Just doesn't make sense to me. They also have a Terrific Kid for each class every month. I figure Jacob won't get that one.

I know you are doing everything you can for Will. He is very fortunate to have you. Hopefully he understands that or will one day.

 

[angwill]

I don't remember you saying Jacob may have Asperger's. I do know a lot of kids are being diagnosed with it nowadays which is good for awareness as I can only imagine the not so nice things they were labled with by others before. I also know they now know how to help make life better when in the past they just gave up and didn't bother to help.

My nephew has Asperger's and his father (my brother who passed away) was never diagnosed with it but I would make a big bet that is what he had as well. My brother was born quickly and the doctor was nowhere around so he didn't breath for a while at birth so he lacked oxygen. He was always in special needs classes, had dyslexia, and was overall behind both mentally and socially. He was a year younger than me and a year older than my one other brother so we always guided him through school and life. Everyone seemed to like him because he was happy go lucky but they didn't always like or understand some of the things he did and said. He never quite knew how to read peoples faces or moods.

DH is the one who worries about what DS won't be able to do. Like Jonas he would love to see him follow in his foot steps and is dissapointed that DS has no interest in going into business with him. I don't care what direction he goes in as long as there is a direction and a desire. He has a direction in mind but not the desire or drive right now.

I never worried too much about DS's future in the past and figured he would figure that out around high school age and have the drive to achieve whatever he chose. Maybe my lack of concern caught up with me now that he is in high school and has no drive.

I knew when he was younger that the military would only take a person who has not been on meds for, is it one or two years. He has never been an assertive child anyway and hates contact sports so we always knew to forget the military. Besides I could not imagine him or the people around him being safe if he was holding a weapon since he is impulsive. I just want him to suceed at something that he likes and that will help him not have to worry about the necessities for his future. He has lots of potential he just refuses to use it.

I am glad to hear that the school is helping to work on Jacob's frustration. That was what I loved about working in the school I worked in. They accepted the kids for who they were and most staff didn't take the behavior personally. They also worked on the social emotional skills they need to survive. Our public schools here just have very little knowledge of kids with differences and want to force children into the same perfect box which causes frustration for everyone involved.

How can a school give a perfect attendance award or grade award before the kids have been in school every day? What would they do if the kid got sick or stopped doing their work after the award ceremony, ask for the award back? lol

Thanks for your kind words. I know you are a good mother too and Jacob is really lucky to have you. Sadly, not all parents are involved or care. Thinking about what you said about Will realizing he is lucky I really think he does realize because of all remembers he went through the first four years of his life. He is just at an age where he wants to enjoy his social life and friends more than school work and parents.

 

[angwill]

Melissa,
Tell Jacob that Satoshi Tajiri, creator and designer of Pokémon is diagnosed with asperger's. There are lots of very sucessful people with Asperger's. Aspies are typically average to above average in intelligence.

 

[jmskinner]

Ang, I hadn't heard that about the creator of Pokemon. Very interesting. Jacob never has been diagnosed with Aspergers. The school in TX tested him and said he had 7 of the 15 characteristics, at 8 they would have diagnosed him as that and it would be on his IEP. The social issues are what Jacob has the hardest time with. It sounds as though your brother was a lot like Jacob.

Hopefully Will is just going through those crazy teen years. Jonas didn't go through them until college, per his mother. I went through them. Did just enough to pass in high school.

So, how much snow have you gotten?

Everyone else out here, sorry Angela and I have hijacked the thread. Hope you are all doing well. Have a great day!

 

[angwill]

Part of it could be that I didn't go through the rebelious school stage. I fought for my high school diploma since I had to find a place to live, work, and finish high school. Then I had to wait till I was 23 to go to college since my parents refused to give out their financial info for me to apply for scholarships and loans. DH was the same way in that he started working at a young age and put himself through trade school so neither of us understand not doing the work. We don't expect perfection but we do expect him to do the work and turn it in on time. If I didn't keep on him he wouldn't do any of the homework.

As for school special needs testing my opinion is it is a joke and misses a lot. Only a child psychologist can diagnose a child anyway. In my experience the psychologist test for learning disabilities catches a lot more too.

We have had probably 25-30 inches of snow total this year. We had one overnight dump of about a foot. We got a lot of rain Christmas day that melted what was on the ground and then it started snowing again. We are due for about 3 inches tonight. Wish I could send some your way. lol

How much snow for everyone else?