Karli’s Comments (group member since Feb 23, 2010)

Karli’s comments from the Busy as a Bee Books group.

I'm about halfway through and it took me forever to get to this this point. I've read several of the series at this point, and I'm not sure if this is a pretty lifeless installment of the series or if I'm just to the overdose point. However, 1/2 way through I'm interested again.

ARGH - this is the cold and flu season from hell! Tonight Kasia started throwing up. So, another day off work tomorrow, weekend plans down the toilet, and Mike has the whole weekend booked with work and his model car show, so I'm pretty much single Mom-ing it to boot. HMPH!

Congrats on all of the awesome sounding crazy! Good for you!

How is your little guy?

Cuts are everywhere. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we don't end up furloughed this year, but it's not looking good. Scary time for all of us.

Sweet!!!! Thank you Elizabeth!

Do we have any Bees familiar with Phoenix, AZ? Our family is doing a vacation down there in June to visit some cousins. Any bookstores I can't miss? Looking online I think the Arizona Science Museum looks like a can't miss for the kiddos. My sister said to wait on the Grand Canyon til the kiddos are older, so I'm going to take her advice there.

When I asked my expert friend while we were shopping, this was his reply: (we ended up with the 15" MacBook Pro. LOVE)

You looking for advice on size, speed, stuff like that? If so, best to know what you plan to do with it. I'd definitely lean more towards the Macbook Pro line, they come in 13", 15" or 17". You probably have no reason at all to consider the 17".

The 15" starts around $1800 I think, but it's probably more machine than you need. If you're just looking for an everyday machine, I think you're probably looking at the 13" Macbook (starts around $1000) and the 13" Macbook Pro ($1200).

The extra $200 is worth it. It's made of aluminum instead of plastic which makes it stronger (and actually lighter), which is no small thing when it comes to laptops. The sturdier the better, especially with kids around. You also get double the RAM, which is probably worth the extra $200 all by itself.

So if I were you, I'd be aiming at this:

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs...

Hope that helps!
Apple - MacBook Pro - Technical specifications of the 13-inch.
www.apple.com

Looking online at ticket prices for Universal Studios and Sea World for a couple side trips while in Florida, and someone needs to tell them we're in a recession! Good grief, if I want to do a couple days in those parks it's going to add $1000 to my trip! Ack! Any savvy folks who have tips for me?

@Angie - I love that approach. That's the one I use rather unconsciously when I know I have the time to sit and read for an hour or more. I'd never really thought of it before, but that is hands down when I get in my best reading time.

This is for all of you teachers...


Are you sick of highly paid teachers?
Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or10 months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - babysit!
We can get that for less than minimum wage.

That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and plan-- that equals 6 1/2 hours).

Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach in a day...maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day.
However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.
LET'S SEE....
That's $585 X 180= $105,300
per year. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).

What about those special
education teachers and the ones with Master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an
hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year.
Wait a minute -- there's
something wrong here! There sure is!
The average teacher's salary
(nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days
= $277.77/per day/30
students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student--a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids!) WHAT A DEAL!!!!

Marly - we went with the 15" Macbook Pro, and I adore it - I have a friend who is an IT Consultant and he recommended the 13" to save a little money, but the 15" has a bigger processor and more memory. The Pro has the aluminum case rather than plastic, which does make it a bit heavier, but it's a safer package, and the product isn't cheap!

It sounds like we'll be splitting our time between the Animal Kingdom resort and the Boardwalk. Our friends belong to the WDW Club so we just do what they tell us. :)

Kasia's birthday is also the night of the Daddy/Daughter Dance, so she'll have a good reason to change them. We went to the Aesthetics Center in our local clinic for the piercing, and their selection of earrings was really, really basic - but, I'm much more comfortable with it being done in a clinical setting. However, Claire's had a super cute pair of pink flower studs that I think I'm going to buy her for her birthday. I have a metal allergy, and part of having her get her ears pierced - other than the "my mom didn't let me until I was nearly 11 and I'm still mad about it!" is actually that with her being this young I can still be pretty dictatorial about what earrings she wears. I'll keep her in starters for a couple years and hopefully she won't end up with all the problems I had!

Gabe got a badge tonight, and we got the tithing speech and ended up writing a check to support the boyscouts. Oh well, good cause.

And...I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD! :) I decided that we should make a return trip this fall, so we'll be in Florida October 17 - 27th...providing I don't end up with a forced furlough from work. The government is currently operating under a Continuing Resolution, and it's up on March 4. So...if they can't get their acts together, I may end up with some time off unpaid. :( And big family vacations don't fair well on smaller budgets. I will know by the end of next week what the scoop seems to be, keep your fingers crossed I stay working!

Big news...Kasia got her ears pierced yesterday! :) She's so cute, and so excited. No tears, she just blinked her eyes when each ear was punched, and said it didn't hurt. We should be able to change her earrings now for her birthday on April 2nd.

Tonight it's the Boy Scout Awards Banquet - I made 6 feet of sub sandwiches after work tonight...

I was there too - I had a bowl full of M and Ms that I used specifically to throw at the screen if there was something I disliked. My sister and another friend were on speed dial so I could dish as I watched...and yeah, it's been about 8 years (aka, Gabe's age) since my Oscar night crazies. And it's so much harder to get into the ceremonies now because I'm terribly informed. Most of the movies I get in now are the ones with the kids.

Very Yay! :) I'm thrilled, it's so much easier to hear that she's doing well. I have a much easier time relaxing knowing that it's good or better in the classroom. I don't know what the levels look like, and her struggles are apparently nothing at all to worry about. :) I feel better.

Oh my - what a lot is going on for you, Tara! Hopefully the swim rep stuff isn't terribly time consuming and Delaney decides that if Mommy's working at it, so will she. Good luck to her and her reading/presentation! It sounds so exciting!

I'm so sorry to hear of your grandmother's news. We dealt with something similar in 2008. Take as much time with her now, absorb the stories and wisdom she has and treasure the remaining time. Having a diagnosis like that is hard - but it also gives everyone last months to say what the want and love all they can. Hugs!

Oh my - I hope they have a good solution for you. Bottom line is the miracle baby is worth it, but Mama deserves to feel good while gestating. :) I hope they can give you something helpful!

One of the things I do is go to the Giveaways section, read through new books and enter for all the ones I think look good. It eats a ton of time for me that I would normally spend reading, so when I'm involved in a good book I hardly ever go to that section cuz it sucks me in for so long. But usually after I've done that I'm jazzed about reading again. :)

I agree with Loretta - and Amy, I know you've got twins, so I have to say sometimes going to a movie by yourself...choosing the seat, hogging the popcorn, choosing what soda you want and being by yourself for a couple hours - it's a mini-mom vacation! Go and treat yourself!