Another day, another heat wave...

With one week of summer school down, I decided to go to Muncie this weekend to help take care of the grandchildren so my daughter could have more time to try to catch up on her online workload.  She had been sick.  Nathan took up the slack with the children as best he could, but not much gets done with two little ones to take care of...so, Gwamma to the rescue.

Of course, both grandchildren are sick.  Ryan came down with the heebie-jeebies first, but since his circumstances seemed complicated, he got a trip to the doctor earlier this week.  Robin just came down with a fever yesterday (complete with nose problems, etc.).  She peaked at 102.3 yesterday afternoon.  It slowed her down a bit but didn't put her out.  Medicine helped.  She was fairly normal today.  Both kids were pretty good this weekend, with some lapses into abusing each other. 

It was too hot to play outside, so Nathan drew an oval race track in chalk on the floor of the 2 1/2 car garage so the kids could do tricycle races.  (Very ingenius!  He's a good daddy!)  Until it finally got too hot in the garage, too, the children raced each other "awound and awound and awound".  Aside from the pleasure of watching the children do something cooperatetively, I soon became amused.  I watched as they silently figured out that if they drove up quickly behind the other, the other would be in the lead.  They both stopped on opposite "straightaways" trying to psych out the other to see if he/she would move to catch up.  (Anyone who is naive enough to think little children know nothing of competition had better think again!!)  It reminded me of Easter, two years ago, when we were so pleased to watch Robin put eggs that she had found into her little brother's basket.  Awww...how sweet!  UNTIL we noticed that the eggs she was giving him were the hard-boiled ones.  She kept the plastic ones that had candy and money in them!  And she was only two!!!!

Meg is having her offending wisdom tooth extracted on Tuesday.  Nathan's mother is going up to help with the children, in case Meg is out of whack.  She will be spending the night--something that Grandma Judy has never done.  (She is the married grandmother.  She doesn't get pushed around as much as I do!)  I am praying that the extraction will be uncomplicated. 

Have I mentioned that it's hot?  It is 11:00 PM, and is still 82 degrees outside, with 77% humidity.  Meg's AC isn't doing the trick at their house.  I think it's hotter here than in Muncie...but my little house-on-a-slab is comfortable, so far.  (Frodo is asleep in the bathroom in front of the vent.  She knows the cool spots!)  I don't look forward to summer school.  There is AC in my classroom, sort of, but it never helps much.  I'm sure our outside activities will be limited.  Just five more days of that!

I'm tired and in need of the bath tub.  Stay cool!

Ugh!

My daughter JUST got to feeling good again when the tooth business hit.  She has a broken tooth that was bothering her, so she went to a dentist.  She was given Vicodin and antibiotics and told to come back next Tuesday to have the tooth pulled.  (It's a wisdom tooth.)  Meanwhile, during the night last night, pain developed, and she has been miserable and in tears all day.  At the same time, little Ryan came down with a fever, etc...so he stayed home from school.  Nathan took him to the doctor and waited well over two hours just to get him seen.  While there, Ryan threw up twice, but we don't know why because he doesn't act sick!  I was talking to Meg on the phone this evening when Robin came dashing into the house saying, "Ryan got hurt real bad!"  She was breathless and all excited.  Ryan got stung by a bee.  Robin saw the bee(s) and ran, but Ryan didn't.  More tears.  More anguish.  More of Mommy wishing that she didn't hurt so much so she could handle it all!  More of Grandma feeling bad because she can't do a single thing to help except listen on the phone!

Summer school is going well.  Almost done with the first week....then another week, then a week off.....then school starts for real.  I wish I could say that it was a productive summer for me, but it just wasn't...again.  I guess I need to get back to the routine just to save me from myself!

 

Well, poop!

The "well, poop!" comment used to be my contribution where "Oh, s---" would have sufficed...except this time, "poop" is the better word!  For reasons known only to God, my grandchildren have decided to use the potty when piddling is the mission, but choose to do the poop thing in their collective clothes.  It is frustrating, at best.  I went to Muncie on Friday for the weekend, and in short order, had to clean up major "accidents" in toilet training.  It's just nasty!  I am somewhat convinced that Meg's illness of last week was connected to proximity to dirty children's clothing...

Had my first day of summer school today.  Aside from the FOUR fire alarms that occurred during the first period, and the fact that my 8th graders had gym for their activity period with no balls or other equipment, it went well. 

After school, I went to help a friend sort and pack and pitch stuff preparatory for a move.  I envy them not!

Life goes on.  Day Two of summer school coming up!

There Goes the Summer...

Had a summer school meeting with the principal at school yesterday, for planning purposes.  I'll be teaching both 7th and 8th grade language arts, and since summer school only lasts 10 days, I am trying to come up with a 10-day lesson plan that will cover a lot of skills in short order.  I notice that a number of the students who have been recommended are special needs kids.  That makes for more work from me!

Spent some time in my classroom.  It is pretty obvious that nothing has been done in there all summer.  Everything is exactly as I left it.  The paper towel dispenser still hasn't been put up, and the LCD projector still hasn't been turned to face the projection screen!  The classroom felt cooler than the hallway, but the longer I was in there, the warmer it felt.  I may have to come up with a fan.  The problem with that is that ALL of the electrical outlets in the classroom are on the back wall--at the BACK of the room, where the students aren't.  That means stringing extension cords, etc...which I really don't want to do.  Anyway, I am gearing up for that, while feeling discouraged about the summer...again. 

Every garbage day, I take more yard trimmings to the curb from the back yard.  I could have gotten the last of them tonight, but I didn't have any gloves and was down to the wild raspberry canes.  They have thorns!  Next week, I'll have it all gone, for sure!

I will go back to school tomorrow, briefly, then will head up to Muncie.  Meg was sick for a number of days last week, so she is behind in her online work.  I figure if I am there to help entertain the children, it will give her a little more time to catch up.  Will return to Plainfield by noon on Sunday.  (They are all going to Cloverdale, so I can escape!)

One of my ham friends and his wife are packing to move to a condo.  She called to ask for more help next week, so I will go over after school a day or two to lend a hand.  They have 30 years worth of "stuff" to clean up, pack up, or get rid of.  (She tells me they are on their second dumpster!)

The dog has a new trick.  Lately, she has been going to bed ahead of me, lying on MY side, sideways--and last night, she snored loudly.  It was like being married again!  Sheesh!

We are beginning to make plans for my granddaughter's fourth birthday.  Last year, we asked her what kind of cake she wanted, and she ordered strawberry cake, blueberry cake, and watermelon cake.  Guess what?  Her mother and I were up until the wee hours baking two of them.  (Watermelon cake recipes exist, but we were doing WAY too much as it was!)  This year, we will be more sensible.  (We will, won't we??)  Robin will be 4 on August 6th--a birthdate shared with my mother and another of my mother's granddaughters.  Pretty special!

I did very little today.  Had planned to go to school, but didn't get the job done.  I DID take the garbage out.  Does that count?  Daylight is already about 30 minutes shorter.  There goes the summer...

Sidetracked!

I have fallen into the summer habit of staying up late and sleeping late.  (Thank you Daylight Savings Time!)  When I get up, I generally lounge around in my robe, doing nothing but sit in front of the computer, until noon.  I finally nudge myself to get busy until it is time for Dr. Phil on TV.  Heh heh.

Today, I was sorting and organizing the usual crud around here, when I got a call from my niece's husband, Danny, who is a trucker.  I was totally shocked to hear from him.  "How far are you from Brooklyn, IN?"  Not that far!  Laurie and Danny live near Springfield, IL.  Neither of them has ever been to my little house-on-a-slab.  Danny was looking for a place to shower (for free--but more for a chance to visit), and asked if I had someplace to park a semi.  Uh...no!  After some discussion, I directed him to the Flying J on the south side and told him to call me when he got there.  I met him for their buffet, then brought him to Plainfield to a book store (because he needed reading material), then drove him around my haunts, and stopped at my house for his shower.  He seemed to want to go back to the truck right away because he has to be on the road in the wee hours of the morning, so we went back to the Flying J.  There went my evening!  It was good to see Danny, but I wish I had had enough warning to do a bit more cleaning.  Oh, well!

Thankfully, Meg sounds better.  She has been pretty sick for a week.  I was worried about her.  She didn't even get to enjoy her time sans children last weekend because she was flat on her back...and Nathan spent most of HIS non-kid time sleeping.  Nothing got done at their house in the children's absence, but maybe that's okay.  Sometimes a do-nothing weekend is just what the doctor ordered!

Tomorrow, I have a meeting at school to plan for summer school which starts next week.  I guess I am ready for summer to be over because I am just floundering on my own time.  Kind of depressing, actually...

Bedtime!

Okay...So Why Am I Crying??

After church and meals and general hullabaloo, I drove the grandchildren home to Muncie.  They slept practically all the way.  They were tired babies!  They seemed genuinely happy to be home and excited to see Mommy and Daddy...and Mommy and Daddy seemed genuinely glad to see them.  Happy ending to an exciting weekend.  So, why am I crying?

The answer:  I wish I knew!  Traffic was light, round trip.  I talked on the .700 repeater both ways, so I had company along the way.  The dog was happy to see me.  Dead tired, I walked into my quiet little house--and burst into tears. 

I am not a weeper.  (I could explain why, but it would take too much time and space for anyone to get it, if even then.)  I do not allow myself the luxury of self-pity or tears, generally.  If I get to the point of tears, the weight of the world comes crashing down, and I have trouble getting control again.  I couldn't wait to get back to my solitary life this evening, but I missed my grandchildren the minute I walked in the door!  They are so cute and so open and honest, but they are exhausting for an old lady!  I'm sorry that I can't be everything my family needs me to be.  I'm sorry that I can't help my daughter more.  I'm sorry that being with the grandchildren is so labor intensive that it takes TWO sets of grandparents to tame the toddler beast within them.  I"m sorry that little Ryan didn't get to ride in Grandpa's big blue truck.  I'm sorry that I run full tilt only to stay in one place, spinning wheels because I am too busy to be lonely, and too lonely not to be busy.  So tonight, in the absence of anyone to know any better, I cried.

I called my sister to talk through my thoughts.  We haven't talked in awhile, but I always feel better when we have touched bases.  It helped.  Now, if I could only wave a magic wand to make some of the things going wrong around here to disappear, I could feel even better.  We won't go into those!  I choose not to make myself feel worse tonight!

Poor me!  (Do you feel sorry for me yet?)

The Great Weekend Kid Trade Experiment

For the year since my daughter and family moved to Muncie, we often have what Little Miss Robin calls "sleepovers".  I frequently spend the night there when I visit.  Once in awhile, Meg and the children will spend the night here.  What we have never done, because of the young age of the children, is have the children sleep over for a weekend without their parents.  Although it was my idea to try it, I honestly haven't been willing to take both children for two nights by myself.  The other grandparents, who also live in Plainfield, agreed to try it with me...and this weekend was chosen. 

At issue were:

1.  Could the children survive a weekend without their parents without getting homesick?  Apparently so.  Ryan was the only one that exhibited any homesickness, but not much.

2.  Would the children be able to sleep in "strange" surroundings without a major disrupt to their schedules?  Yes...and no.  Robin has slept with me a number of times in the "bumpy bed" (waterbed), but won't go to sleep until I hit the sack, too..  Ryan has never slept in the waterbed, but he made a nest for himself (snack, sippy-cup, nightlight, and Dora video) and eventually conked off on his own.  Neither of them has been to sleep on schedule, however.

3.  Could the two grandmothers manage to keep the children entertained without wearing ourselves out?  Ask me tomorrow! 

The short course is that Robin would sleep here with me on Friday night; we would do activities together today; and tonight, we would trade children, with Ryan sleeping at my house.  So far, so good!  Because it was too hot for the grandmothers today, we decided against the zoo; and because Black Expo is in town, we figured the Children's Museum would be overcrowded--so we took the kids to see a "moozie:"  Cars.  It was cute, but way over the kids' heads.  Still, they behaved well, having been plied with popcorn and Twizzlers.  After that, we took them to Cookie Cutter for haircuts and playing on the in-store slide.  Then, at Robin's direction, we went to McDonald's in Plainfield (with the indoor play area) and fed them supper--or tried to.  They were too busy running around to eat much.  All in all, I'd say they had a pretty big day!

Tomorrow, Ryan and I will meet the other grandparents and Robin at church for Sunday School and worship, then will decide how they are to get home.  (It hasn't been decided if Meg and Nathan will come up to get them, or if grandparent(s) will take them home.) 

What have I learned?  The weekend deal worked for just that--a weekend.  The children, collectively, aren't ready for longer (nor are the grandparents!).  And I think both the other grandparents and I agree that, except in an emergency, we aren't willing to take on both children at one home, alone, for an entire weekend.  (Perhaps when they are less attention intensive!) 

What else have I learned?  Robin functions fine without her baby brother, although she talks about him when he's not around.  Ryan seems more lost without his sister.  (When they were reunited today, they dashed into each other's arms in a mutual hug that was really cute!)  Robin, who generally favors me because she sees me more, can shift to the other grandmother with no difficulty at all.  Ryan, who adores Grandpa Phil, had a little trouble leaving Grandpa to come to stay at my house tonight, especially when Robin was getting to be there... 

One of the things I am extremely proud of is how well I get along with my son-in-law's family, which is good for the grandchildren.  Judy and I have different styles of parenting/grandparenting.  She is the "softer" grandmother.  She does crafts and thinks of all kinds of special little things for the children.  Softspoken and loving, she is a detail person.  I, however, am the more practical grandma, with a tougher skin.  I see the children more, because I am single.  If there is ANY hint of jealousy on the part of either of us, I simply don't see it!  When the Heffelman grandparents do something fun with/for our grandchildren, I see it as an advantage for the kids.  Judy and Phil have included me in their holiday family occasions, and I have done the same with them.  They have accepted my daughter as their own and are good, honest, Christian people whom I respect.  Robin and Ryan are a couple of lucky kids to have so many people who love them.  It makes all the difference in the world!

The little dude is asleep in the bumpy bed.  I should join him soon.  Last night, there were three in the bed--Robin, me, and the dawg.  Guess who was squashed in the middle??

(Whenever I talk about the bumpy bed, I am reminded of John Denver's song, Grandma's Feather Bed.  I sang it to Robin last night.  She said I was silly, but that was just before she told me, after getting out of the bathtub, that she was a "big glob of slippery soap"...and I said SHE was silly!)

Good night!

Another HCARS Monday

I didn't get much accomplished at home today, but this evening was our radio club's monthly meeting.  It was just a business meeting; nevertheless, it is always good to be among the faithful!  We recapped Field Day and some other old business...and voted in a VP to take the place of Dave Dostie, who retired to Alabama. 

I am looking at the end of summer vacation.  I will be teaching summer school at the end of July and trying to arrange a weekend to take the grandchildren (along with the other grandparents) without their parents.  We'll see how that works!  I'd like to go see my sister, my niece Lisa, and Majors Pat and Carmella...and a cousin in LaCrosse, Wisconsin (who can take me to ancestral sites).  Can I do it all?  No!   Do I want to?  Yes! 

Life goes on amiss.  I'm still hanging in there!

Air Conditioning Plainfield

I started out great guns today, trying to work some more on cleaning out my radio/computer room of several years' worth of paper stacks, dust, and excess radio accessories.  Then I got involved in helping with a project...and then my grandchildren showed up.  With all of that, there was enough in-and-out of the doors to air condition the whole neighborhood surrounding my house!  I let the dog out back to do her "business," but she doesn't shut the door when she comes back in.  My grandchildren have learned to open doors.  Ryan, in particular, enjoys just standing, holding doors wide open while the bugs go in and the cool goes out.  More than one lightning bug has ventured into the house through the adequate cracks in security!

Meg and the children and I went to Trader Joe's up on 86th Street, then back to Plainfield for supper and a whirl on the playground before it got dark.  We had planned for a trip to Wal-Mart, but it was getting late, so that trek was aborted.  Meg didn't hit the road for Muncie until 9:46 PM.

I'm worn out!  It was a long, busy day.  Tomorrow will be busy, as well.  Nightie-night!

Leftovers

I think it is pretty clear that I cannot be trusted with leftovers!  They are mostly gone, and since there is no one in the house besides me (and the dawg, who helped herself to a bratwurst in an unguarded moment), I have egg (deviled) all over my face!

Yesterday, I dug into my radio room which was piled high with CRAP that has been untouched for, as near as I can figure, two years.  The last papers I discarded had 2004 on them.  You can't believe the dust and filth that I have mopped up!  I'm not done yet, but the "shack" sure looks better!  Have to do this in every room of the house.  I'm working on it!!

Hamfest tomorrow and more of the same on Sunday.  I feel good about what I am getting done.  I just have to make a resolution to prevent the mess from recurring.

I hereby highly resolve....

 

Happy 230th Birthday, America!

In spite of all of the heavy duty preparations for a light duty day, it was fun!  The Fourth of July family picnic was at my house again this year.  The patio looked nice, and I was praying that the weather would cooperate so we could be/eat outside.  It was plenty warm and humid, with sprinkles here and there, but it was generally a decent day.

Meg, Nate, and the children arrived about 4:00, and Nate's parents and brother arrived around 5:45.  I put hamburgers, brats, and hot dogs on the grill, and the rest of the menu was typical Fourth of July fare:  potato salad, relishes, veggies, watermelon, and a couple of yummy desserts.  (I think the grandchildren were hungry.  They ate well!)

After dinner, the children played in the sprinkler (naked, at first!), then we rounded everyone up for the walk to Hummel Park, just down the hill from my house, where the fireworks take place.  Robin sat on Grandma Judy's lap with her ears covered, but her eyes agog at the pretty fireworks.  Ryan sat on Grandpa's lap.  He was a hoot to listen to!  His little arms were waving like crazy!  I'm not sure whether he liked the fireworks or not, but he sure was into the explosions.  "Here comes another one!  Boom!  Here comes another one!  Boom!"  I wouldn't be surprised if he said, "Boom!" for every single aerial bomb and blast. 

When it was all over, we walked back to my house and everyone departed for their homes.  I have always loved the Fourth of July celebrations, but we have an expression in education that when the Fourth comes, summer is over (largely because the rest of the summer just flies by).  I hope not.  There are still so many things I want and need to do this season!

Hard to believe that it's been 30 years since the Bicentennial.  Tempus fugit!

Work, work, sweat, sweat, work...

Bright and early this morning, before the sun had a chance to warm things up, KB9RDO was in my drive, calling me on his cell phone to wake me up!  I KNEW I was going to oversleep this morning!  He brought some tools and some energy, and in short order we started working in the back yard.

I have a privacy fence around most of my back yard.  With fences come weeds that gather there and don't always get chopped off with mowing.  We worked at getting the fence row cleaned up, then tackled a couple of problem areas: one, a fenced-in corner of the yard that used to be a compost area but has become a sprouting place for unwanted trees and weeds; the other, a spot just behind the fence at the gate where the garbage cans normally reside...but other things have built up, along with the weeds.  They are 90% clean now!   I have a lot of yard trash for the garbage folks, but the yard sure looks good!

The other part of the equation today was trekking all over Hendricks County in search of plants, tools, and brick chips.  (Never did find the brick chips, although I bought them in Plainfield once!) 

We had to give up a lot of exertion outside sometime after noon because it was getting too hot to continue.  Still, the yard looks dramatically different than it did, and I am a happy camper!  Just getting the patio cleaned up and pretty does wonders for my morale.  I love to sit back there and watch the birds feed their young'uns.  I think it will look nice for the Fourth of July family affair that is coming this way on Tuesday.

But now that Mike has seen me with sweaty hair, no shower, and no makeup, I'll have to kill him.  It's not a pretty sight or smell.  Sorry Mike....but thanks!