My Big Laughs for the Day

When I came home this evening, Robin started working me for snacks.  Her mother stood right there and told her no...that it was time to go to bed.  So she turned to me and said, "Well...CAN I have a snack, Gramma?"  I told her that her mother was the boss...and she informed me that I was the boss of her mother because I am her mother's mother!  In other words, Grandma has more power than Mom!  They sure do figure that stuff out young, don't they?

Only minutes later, Ryan brought a little Matchbox car to me and said, "This guy just made a home run!"  I said, "He did?"  Ryan said "Yes"...then said, "What's a home run?"  It just struck me funny... 

I Don't Feel Done!

Somebody get a fork and check me for doneness!  Today was the last day of school for the students in our district.  For those of us who teach eighth grade, it was a marathon with no breaks.  First and second periods consisted of the awards program (with parents).  Third period, we gathered the kids in the Media Center to see the end of a movie they had been watching in math, as well as a homemade video (Power Point) of the school year for this year's class.  Fourth period, during all three lunches, we had a pizza party in the gym for the eighth graders.  (That was 1 1/2 hours.)  Fifth, sixth, and seventh periods, the kids retired to classrooms to watch movies they had signed up for.  Popcorn and pop were provided.  The teachers didn't even get a break at lunch, although I did sneak out for 10 minutes...

At 6:00 this evening, I was due at Eagle Creek Corps (of The Salvation Army) for a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner, with some of my friends from SATERN.  It was nice, but I didn't get home until nearly 9:00...and the grandchildren were still up.  I hate to sound like Scrooge, but after the kind of day that I had, I really didn't want to deal with the young'uns.  God bless them: they are good children.  It's just that the house is in such disarray, and they are such whirlwinds, that sometimes I just want to flop instead of deal with them.  (I know their mother feels the same way, but they are HERS!)  I haven't been getting quality sleep this week because Robin has been thrashing around in the night.  Sometimes she is sleeping upside down in the bed and kicking me in the ribs.  Sometimes she is on my side...or rolling over with the blanket rolling with her.  Right now, she is asleep on the floor on her side of the bed (a very narrow space) with the comforter all balled up around her.  I'm going to have to wake her up just to get her back on the bed...

Tomorrow is "records" day at school.  Have to get my grades in--and I'm not nearly ready for that.  There is my desk to clean off...Papers to file...Things to turn in...  Textbooks to account for and put away...  I would feel good about being off the hook for the summer if there weren't still so blasted much to do!  We are apparently getting new software for grades and attendance.  There will be a training session for that this summer...plus I am on a curriculum committee that will meet a couple of times.  The show much go on!

The Heavens Opened...

...and the lawn took a long drink.  The rain we received yesterday was much needed.  We haven't had to mow in two weeks.  Maybe now!

The kids at school have been nuts.  I can hardly wait for next week when they will be nutsier.  The school year has lasted about two weeks too long for me!

This morning, my alarm rang at the usual time, and again 15 minutes later.  I kept telling myself that I didn't want to get up...and then my brain realized that it was Saturday.  Yay!  Robin rolled over to my side of the bed and asked to "snuggle".  She likes that!  We can't normally snuggle on a weekday. 

Meg drove the children up to Muncie today.  I didn't accomplish much in their absence.  She and I went out shopping later.  I wish I could say that I was thrilled about that, but I just don't like seeing myself in mirrors!

When we got home, Meg noticed immediately that our mailbox was gone.  (Neighbor Fred and I have shared the same post for years.)  Apparently, someone mowed it down  with a car just a few minutes before we got home.  That will be a Monday project for him.  I will help.

I don't have any excuses for not getting things done.  I'm not going to the race.  I don't have minor children. 

Meg is supposed to report with her father for the 500 tomorrow.  As Scarlett O'Hara once said, "Afer all, tomorrow IS another day."

Time for bed here!

 

Lightling!

When my former stepdaughter was little, she talked about "lightling" whenever the sky lit up during storms.  Well...the sky lit up in my back yard tonight.  My first lightling bugs of the season!  The children will be so happy!

How Did This Happen?

Both grandchildren needed baths tonight.  Ryan got his and Megan put him to bed...but Robin, who is always late staying up and fighting going to bed, got quiet and said she was too tired for a bath.  I washed her down a little and put her to bed...and she went right to sleep!  No video, no arguments, no playing the jumping around game!  Ahhhh...  It's so peaceful having what's left of the evening to the adults!

On that note, I fell asleep on the couch at 4:00 this afternoon, and didn't wake up until the family got home around 5:40.  Guess the weekend finally caught up with me.  I actually have some energy now!

My classroom is hot.  The maintenance guys have been fiddling with the AC in my room but haven't been able to get it to cool the place down, yet.  Consequently, I've had trouble staying awake in the afternoon, and I just leave to come home at the end of the day, even though I have a TON of stuff to do in my room.  Ugh!

Guess I'll go do some laundry.  It's a never-ending task around here!

Dayton

The big Dayton bash is over for another year, and I have had today to somewhat recuperate.  (I have been doing housework.)  Took advantage of the day off to get my brakes fixed, so I've killed two birds with one stone!

Here is the nutshell version of my Dayton Hamvention weekend:

Thursday--raced around after school to get ready to go.  Left at 4:30--for the first time on the same time as Dayton.  Near a rest area inside the Ohio border, the traffic slowed way down.  In short order, I could see why.  On the westbound side of I-70, there was a car in the middle of the passing lane, sideways.  The driver's side front quadrant of the car was destroyed.  Other vehicles had stopped and people were milling around on the pavement to help.  I saw no other wrecked vehicle, and the emergency vehicles hadn't arrived yet.  Traffic was rapidly backing up behind.  (The eastbound side was a gaper's block.  We moved, but slowly.  There was some debris on our side.)  At a glance, I noticed that there was no one being tended to on the ground, so the victim must still be in the car...but there was no one tending to anyone in the car.  In fact, those who had stopped to help were mostly milling around behind the car at a safe distance, waiting for the emergency vehicles (which were at least five minutes away, based on the ones I saw heading that way as I moved eastward).  That meant that the driver was still in that messed up car--and deceased.  (I learned later that the interstate was closed due to that accident, and that there had, indeed, been a fatality.)  There is something very sobering about passing a site where a human being lost his/her life just moments before in an instant of whatever it was that caused the accident.  I said a prayer and moved on....slowly.    

I was able to get in touch with "the gang" on simplex radio as I got close to Hara Arena to help set up the booth.  The booth was largely set up.  Some of the Chicago guys left for the University of Dayton dorms in order to check us all in.  Major Pat (SATERN's National Director and a good friend of mine) was at the arena waiting for me.  We were also looking for our Kansas forum speaker who wasn't answering radio calls nor her cell phone.  Where is June??

After awhile, we left for the U of D, and found out via simplex that June was at the dorm already.  We all scouted out a place to eat and hit the sack as soon as we could.

Friday:  We met up with all contingents for breakfast at Bob Evans before heading to the Arena.  There was a MAJOR stream of people at our booth virtually all day.  I did my meager hamfest shopping which kept me out of the booth much of the day.  At the end, Patrick and June and I went to a Chinese buffet where Pat tried out his Chinese on our waitress.  She was tickled!  June was in bed by 8:00.  Pat and I talked a little longer, then crashed.

Saturday:  Our SATERN forum was slated for 8:00 AM, with June as the main speaker.  Well!  That little lady went into Command Mode because she was nervous.  All Pat and I could do was obey!  Suffice it to say, we were on site on time.  June did a fine job.  (Her program blows me away!)  There were more people in attendance than any of us figured on, due to the hour.  I think we had 31 attendees.  Not bad!  We spent the rest of the day tending to the booth and talking to people who came by. 

Sunday:  June, who finally decided to sleep in, was awake and on the road to Kansas by 6:30!  Patrick and I packed the vehicles and endeavored to find the place to turn in our dorm keys.  That task took at least 30 minutes, and didn't happen until I had involved the Dayton police and the university security people!  By the time we got breakfast and got to the Arena, it was almost time to tear down the booth.  When that was done, we all departed to our various destinations.  Pat and I caravaned to Indy.  He stayed over at the Comfort Inn here before heading to Chicago this morning to see his former associate who is ill. 

Upon arrival at the homeplace, I'm afraid I wasn't a very good hostess to Major Pat.  I wanted to take advantage of the absence of grandchildren, who were up at their father's in Muncie.  While he lulled in front of the TV, I washed my bed linen and asked him to help me set up the bird bath/fountain that I had purchased days before.  (I'm glad we got that done.  Robin apparently talked about it all the way home.  It was up and running when they got here.)  I had an appointment to get my car's brakes fixed Monday (a personal day off from school).  Pat agreedto follow me to the repair place to drop the buggy off, then he retired to his motel room, probably dead tired. 

Monday (today):  Meg was up and took the children to day care.  I got up when they did and launched into silly little things like laundry and dishes.  (You can't tell that I did anything!)  When Meg came home for lunch, I took her back to work so I could have her car to go grocery shopping.  The mechanic called not long afterward to say that the car was ready.  I drove to Meg's work to pick her up, then went to get the car so she could go back to work.  It's so nice to have brakes again!!!!! 

The folks at Kelly Services are doing a tap dance trying to come up with arrangements to keep her after she gave them notice that she has accepted a job with IUPUI.  Unfortunately, they weren't able to come up with a firm enough offer...so Meg will start her new job the Monday after Memorial Day.  They came up with a nice raise but couldn't come up with benefits or promises to keep her locally.  (Other Kelly locations are on the north and east sides.  Nasty commutes.)  Her new job won't be a huge paycheck, but it does include benefits, paid time off, free tuition for coursework, and an informal work environment that doesn't require more clothes.  Plus, it isn't a big commute.  This has been a big boost to her morale. 

For the last two evenings, Robin and I have had late-night talks on the patio.  The topic of choice (hers) has been reptiles.  She's pretty sharp.  The first week of June, the day care gal will go on vacation for a week, so the children will be with me. We are trying to plan some fun things to do.  (God help me!)

I will be in court tomorrow over an old issue with my ex.  I don't expect him to show up.  That is a whole other post...

Now, to get done with the school year...

Whatever...

Gas--$3.40 a gallon.

Desperately needed brake job on my car--$500+

Time needed to be ready to be gone from school for three days--another 5 hours.

Money needed for the Dayton Hamvention--$200, at least.

Eight days left for me to the end of the school year--priceless!

Late Night; Early Day

Picked the grandkids up from "skoo" because Meg was running late from work. 

Ran the HCARS meeting tonight, which included a vote on a change of venue for our Field Day location...to the Hendricks County Fairgrounds.  Skipped the social hour.

Came home to find Meg wanting me to pick up prescriptions for Ryan.  (Didn't have my cell phone on.)  Ry has some eye irritation that makes him cry, sometimes.  Not pinkeye.  Allergies, perhaps.  Poor little guy...

Meg has a pretty good job at Kelly Services.  They like her enough after a month to give her a $1 an hour raise...but she has no benefits and no real answers as to her longevity there.  She has kept her options open.  Today, IUPUI hired her to work in the Bursar's office.  She will make 16 cents an hour less than at Kelly, but she will have benefits, including insurance, pension, paid time off, and free tuition for coursework--which she intends to take advantage of.  It is a casual work environment, which means no need for new clothes.  It will be a longer commute in an iffy vehicle, but this is what she wants...and God will provide!   I am so proud of the way she has taken over her life.  She is certainly not financially ready to live on her own--and she knows it--but at least she is taking care of business.  We still have to have a talk about the balance of housework...

The rest of the world can happen without me.  Time for bed! 

Mommy's Day

Praise the Lord...we all slept in!  Robin woke me up a time or two and said, "Let's just sleep a little bit more."  Uh...yeah.  Good idea.

Before breakfast, I was out on the patio when I saw a strange young German Shepherd in the neighbor's yard, then heard someone calling and whistling for a dog.  Hmmm...  Meg had clothes on, so I advised her.  In short order, she had lured the dog out of the neighbor's yard.  We grabbed it and she put a leash on it, then walked up and down the neighborhood looking for the owner.  It took a few minutes, but the owners were found about two blocks down.  The dog jumped the fence and escaped.  Time to get a new fence!

We had a nice breakfast.  Robin presented me with a pot of tea roses, saying, "Your daughter wants to give you these for Mother's Day."...or something to that effect.  The children gave their Grandma Judy and their mommy an orchid corsage.  Grandma Judy wore hers to church today...  Meg will wear hers to work tomorrow.  Aside from the roses, I got nice cards (that made me cry) from Meg and the grandchildren.  Then we launched into chores.  At one point, we decided to go to Wal-Mart to buy a birdbath/fountain that I had seen there, but there didn't seem to be any left...so we drove to the Avon Wally. Worse!  No sign of ANY fountains there...  It was disappointing.  Maybe God is trying to tell me something...

To assuage our depression over the fountain, we drove to Ritter's where Meg treated us to ice cream.  (We should have had lunch...but that WAS our lunch.)  Upon returning home, it was as if everyone needed their own space.  The kids, individually, did their thing...as did Meg and I.  (Well...not so much.  Meg took a nap.  I did laundry.  I wanted a nap, too!  Had the kids been obnoxious during this time, I would have been ticked about Meg's nap.  As it was, I only had to contend with Robin coming in from the patio to lie about her brother, trying to get him in trouble.  Aargghh!)

I never was grandkid-free for any of their waking moments all weekend.  Meg seems irritated if I act too much like a mother than a grandmother, but we are all here together, so it is to be expected for me to be the bad guy, sometimes, if she is otherwise diestracted.  (I envy Grandma Judy!  She doesn't catch the flack!)

Meg fixed a nice supper, then mowed the lawn.  I continued with the laundry, realizing that there is way too much to do between now and the Dayton Hamvention next weekend...   And then the children launched into the usual late-afternoon insanity.  Ryan is now asleep, as is Megan.  Robin...well...she was awake just a few minutes ago.  Ugh!

Time to finish up what I can and go to bed.  This will be a busy week!

 

 

The Circus AFTER the Circus

It was a busy day.  Everyone was up fairly early, so as soon as we did the assembly-line shower deal with the grandchildren, I took off with them to do haircuts, and Meg took off to do shopping.  The children and I did pretty well, although Ryan gets a case of the "gimme-wants" every time we are out.  The main considerations are:  strapping into car seats for the trip, wherever we are going; unstrapping and making sure that no one bolts into parking lot traffic; going through a store without any shoplifting on the part of the 3-year-old; strapping back into the car seats and hoping for the best.  Largely, the children were okay through haircuts and Mother's Day shopping...but we made four stops.  You do the math by multiplying the strapping in and unstrapping..

When we got home from our excursions, I fed the children some lunch.  Meg didn't get home until an hour before we needed to pick Gramma Judy up for the circus excursion.  Meg took a short nap.  I needed one!

We picked up Gramma Judy.  When we pulled into Pioneer Park in Mooresville to indicate that we were at a circus, Robin got very animated.  She was happy!  A circus!  Yay!  That was pretty much the beginning and the end of it.  As long as the children were eating or drinking something (Sno-Cones worked best), we could count on appropriate behavior...after that, however, things went downhill.  They were ready to leave at intermission time.  By the end of the circus, their behavior was atrocious!  We paid money to have them bounce around in the jumping castle...but when it was time for them to get out, they ignored both their parent figures AND the dude in charge.  They were out of control and horrible.  Both grandmothers and mother were wondering why we bothered!

It didn't get better on the way home.  They were egging each other on.  There was crying and screaming and cajoling and threatening...and nothing seemed to work.  We dropped poor Gramma Judy off at home.  After that, I used my best teacher voice and yelled at the children.  That seemed to settle them down, some.  They were warned that they were going straight to bed when we hit the house...and that is what we did.  No food, no treats.  A sippie-cup of milk, and done. 

I was summoned to my own bedroom twice by Robin...but both children folded pretty fast.  Robin is asleep on the floor at the foot of my bed.  Oh, well!

Tomorrow is another day.  Maybe it will be better??

The Attack of the Plastic

It started innocently enough.  The local grocery stores started putting my purchases in plastic bags.  They're tough, I was told...and would save trees...and were recyclable.  Okay.  We'll see.  But now, the planet is being overrun with the insidious things!

I started saving the bags to reuse.  I put them inside one another and placed them on the floor of the pantry.  But they started reproducing.  The longer they were in there, the more there were.  They have taken on a life of their own, growing and taking up more and more space, sucking the oxygen out of the air in my kitchen...More and more and MORE!  The local grocery store stopped accepting them for recycling.  Still more bags!  And now they are eating cans of food.  My daughter dropped a can into the midst...and it simply disappeared from view...never to be found.  More bags!

And now, the wicked plastic things have burst through the pantry door and are spilling out into the kitchen, slowly inching their way across the floor.  It's only a matter of time before one of them grabs me by the ankle and pulls me into the....gulp...  No!  Not my face!  Don't get over my face!  <struggle, struggle)...GASP.  Help!!!!!!!!!

Yaawwwwwwwwn....

It's Friday.  I'm tired.  End of story!

This is the last weekend before the Dayton Hamvention.  I'm not ready!  I have to lay out lesson plans for three days, do laundry, find things for the SATERN booth, pack, etc.  But the week will be busy before that.  HCARS meeting on Monday night, etc.  I'm weary just thinking about it all!

Meg and the children and I went to Snack-and-Craft night at church tonight.  Babysitting is provided.  It's kind of like a ladies' night out to work on their crafty things.  Grandma Judy was there, so the children got to see her.  Grandpa Phil isn't going to the circus with us tomorrow.  I wonder if he understands how much one little 3-year-old boy adores him...

Sleeping in tomorrow will feel great, but there is a fairly big day planned.  Somehow, we'll "git 'er done"!

Hmmm...Don't Know What to Call This Entry!

Should it be "Obstacle Course," or "What an Ordeal"?  Both would apply!

School wasn't all that obnoxious today.  I've been showing a movie for two days (The House of Dies Drear) from a book by the same title...about a black family who bought a house that had once been part of the Underground Railroad.  In spite of its obvious production in the 70s, the kids like it because it has scary parts.  That has kept the classes somewhat under control, along with the fact that some of my disruptive kids were in In-School Suspension from the previous day's escapades.  So I came home tired, but not irritated. 

It always used to be my routine to watch the remainder of Dr. Phil upon returning home...then Oprah...then take a nap...then whatever.  With my family here, I've had to re-vamp a little.  Now, I watch the remainder of Dr. Phil, then try to get a nap from 4:00 to 5:00, so I can get dinner going thereafter.  It works best if dinner is on the table when Meg and the children come home, sometime between 5:45 and 6:00.  For the last three days, a company responsible for the children's health insurance has been trying to reach Meg.  The gal has called at 4:15, right on the money, each day....just as I have nodded off to Nap Land.  (Meg has called her back a number of times but can never get her.)  Okay...so today, I took all the woman's information, sent it to Meg in chat, then tried to go back to my nap.  Again, just as I had nodded off, the woman called (4:45) to say that she had just missed Meg's call....  I went back to the computer to give Meg the information to try her again...and ONCE AGAIN, I laid down to snooze but figured it was useless to try.  Well...I didn't wake up until Robin came bursting through the door to scream me awake.  (She thinks it's cute...)  Needless to say, supper wasn't ready.  Everyone was STARVED, so we went to Burger King, which has a playground. 

Never mind that the children have played all day in Miss Shelly's back yard, complete with trampoline.  Never mind that Mommy and Gramma have things to do.  The kids want to PLAY.  So they did.  Eating was only a part of the picture.  Understand that getting the children clean enough to eat after playing in the dirt and pea gravel all day is a major undertaking.  When my own daughter was little, I used to see mothers with their dirty and bedraggled youngsters out and about and wondered what kind of mother would allow her kids to look like that.  I understand now!  The only way to prevent my beloved grandchildren from looking like urchins would be to chuck them both in a shower right after preschool, and change their clothes.  Do you know how much laundry that generates????

After BK, Meg wanted to get the grocery shopping done.  Since the evening was already shot, and we were all together, we drove to Meijer in Camby.  Well!  Meg paid a buck for a "TV car" for children.  The TV didn't work.  She went to the service desk to ask for another.  She was told that they were ALL out of order...so she got her dollar back, but kept the cart.  It was okay with both children in it for awhile.  They loudly shouted "BEEP, BEEP" throughout the store...but inevitably, the children began to fuss with each other.  Robbie bit her brother (not much of a bite) on the cheek...so that ended her car trip.  She was put in her mother's cart while Ryan stayed in the car.  Hmmm...this story is getting long.  Allow me to shorten it.  The rest of the day included:  Robin crying loudly for Gramma for fifteen minutes because she had been misbehaving, throwing things out of the carts, etc.and Mommy was fed up; Robin shutting the front door at home on Ryan, bonking his head and sending him flying on his bottom...more tears; Mommy and Gramma out of patience.  No baths.  Just bed. 

The "obstacle course" part of the proposed title has to do with the fact that we cannot walk more than five steps in this house without having to step over something.  The most frustrating thing for me is that the dog always seems to be in front of me.  Wherever I need to walk, there she is.  Chaos!  Perhaps I am just sensitive because we are all tired.  If ANYONE tries to tell you that he/she can maintain a job, a house, and quality time with two combative preschoolers, in an organized and orderly fashion, he/she is LYING!  We put the children as the priority.  The housework suffers.  'Tis ever thus. 

There were two funny spots in the evening.  Robin came out of the bedroom tonight, long after Ryan was in bed, to announce that he had bitten her today.  There it was on her arm...a fresh bite mark...with the teeth upside down.  Self-inflicted!  What a little turkey!  Also, as we were, once again, trying to get her in bed, we told her "Don't let the bedbugs bite."  She said bedbugs weren't real.  I said they were but that we didn't have any here.  She asked if there were any in South America.  I asked what she knew about South America.  (She's 4, for Pete's sake!)  She wanted to know how far away South America was.  Do we live in South America?  I told her we live in North America, and that South America was hundreds and hudreds of miles away.  She then decided that it would take the bedbugs a long time to get here, so she was safe.  Geez!!!

Nathan hasn't called to talk to the children this week, so far.  I worry about him.  He isn't my problem anymore, but I'm not sure how well he is doing.  The children love their daddy.  They aren't hearing anything bad about him here!

Time for bed.  If you are reading this and your mother is still living, God has blessed you!  Don't forget Mom this weekend! 

 

They Think We're Stupid!

Okay...so I got to school all keyed up this morning to get my lesson plans in place, etc.  My sub didn't show up, so I started first period with my class.  One young lady whose locker is just outside my classroom door had a bottle of Gatorade (against the rules) but said she was sick.  (She was also tardy.)  The principal was right there, so she (the principal) took the bottle of Gatorade.  The principal asked me if the young lady was "on something."  Huh?  I hadn't had a chance to notice.  She did look pale and complained that she thought she was going to throw up....so we just put a wastebasket by her seat and went on with business.  We did the Pledge and the morning announcements.  I was by my desk when the special ed. aide that is in my class that period said, "What's up with those girls?"  She was looking out the window.  Another huh?  Sure enough, there were two middle-school-aged girls hiding behind a tree at the back of the property.  (They apparently thought that they were invisible to the six classrooms full of students in rooms with windows the full length of the building.)  I watched for a few seconds, then instructed the aide to go alert the principal.  Apparently someone already had.  Just about the time the girls bolted to wherever it was they thought they were going, the principal stepped out the gym doors and the athletic director showed up in a golf cart.  Busted!   Turned out to be sixth grade girls.  (I can hardly wait to get those!)  Meanwhile, the Gatorade bottle that was confiscated had alcohol in it, with rumors that there were more such bottles in the building somewhere.   I also heard a rumor that someone was caught smoking...  I didn't have a chance to find out because the special ed. aide watched my class until the sub came so I could go to my meeting.  I miss all the good stuff!

The young lady with the alcohol was also caught smoking in the rest room early last winter.  The time that elapsed from when we smelled the lingering smoke to when someone ratted on her was probably no more than two minutes.  You'd think they'd figure something out!

I packed a small picnic and met Meg and the children at Hummel Park for supper.  They played.  We ended up throwing away Ryan's socks because they were too filthy to salvage after a day of playing with no shoes on! 

We are going to the circus this weekend!  The children don't know.  It's a surprise! 

Have to get the Bean out of the bathtub.  She has WAY too much energy for this time of night!. 

It's Late...

I just found out this morning (Tuesday) that I have an all-day meeting tomorrow, so am still up working on lesson plans.  Ugh!

The good news is that Rebecca, my tutoring student, who volunteered to go first on the college-level assignment (for a Sophomore) that we were working on, got a B.  We'll take it!  We didn't have nearly enough time to work on it, but she really gave it the ol' college try.  I'm content with that.  I think she is, too!

I found out this morning that the elementary and middle schools will NOT have summer school this year.  Pshaw!  I was counting on that money!

Meg came home late and stressed.  She had had NO lunch break....in fact, no breaks at all.  When she took the kids to the day care gal this morning, Miss Shelly wanted a note from a doctor indicating that Ryan's red eye (from being poked) isn't pink eye.  At the end of the day, she said that could wait...but there was another problem.  Ryan bit another kid today.  He didn't break the skin, but he left a pretty good welt.  (The other kid threw a tricycle at Ry.)  The message, however, was clear:  Ryan will be kicked out of day care if the biting continues.  That would not be cool!

I fixed braised round steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans for supper (plus fruit for the kids), but since everyone was late getting home, it wasn't a great suppertime.  The pattern seems to be that the children come home crabby and hungry.  So does Meg.  After we eat, things settle down a little bit while the children lobby for things to do.  What they don't understand is that by that time, it's bath and bed time!  Meg had an online training session of over 100 pages to read and respond to...so I did the bath and bedtime routine with the children.  They are at least clean! 

I got a 15 minute nap this afternoon before the phone rang and woke me up.  Attempts to go back to Slumberland after that just didn't work.  Some hapless salesman showed up at my door at the beginning of dinner.  I'm afraid I wasn't very polite...  Do I care?  No......

The Dayton Hamvention rapidly approacheth.  My dear friend Patrick told me that he is being primed, after tests, for heart surgery to repair an aortic aneurism.  He can thank his pneumonia for their finding that!  He is scared out of his mind...and I don't blamehim...but he has been checked for so much over the last year that there can't be too many more surprises. Depending on the timing of the surgery, I plan to be there.

I am way overdue for bed.  Good night, dear friends! 

 

 

 

Arrrrgggghhhh!

I totally lost my cool with a student today.  During a do-nothing ungraded class (don't get me started!), he apparently took the contents of the electric pencil sharpener cup and dumped it into the quilted lunch bag of a student who wasn't even in that class.  He thought better of it and dumped it into the wastebasket...but there was graphite dust all over everything...including the little can "cozy" that the other student had crocheted himself and was proud of...

I came unglued.  I screamed at him, "What gives you the right to do something to someone else's property?  Wipe that grin off your face or you are out of here!  Who died and made you God so that you have the authority to mess up something that is important to someone else?  Is it cool?  Did you do it because you thought you could get away with something?  Are you showing off for your friends?  Is it mature?  Perhaps you don't think anyone else is as cool as you are!  Get out of my classroom!  Go to the office!

I marched down to the office after him to explain to the principal why he had been sent.  While there, he teared up.  He was made to clean up the lunchbag and apologize to the owner of it.  I told him, finally, that I was not going to write him up.  He tearfully thanked me.  Why didn't I write him up?  I think he had been raked over the coals enough.  After I was done with my tirade, I actually felt sorry for him!  This isn't a bad kid, but he sure hasn't put much into his middle school career.  I hope the other kids figured out that I am done with Stupid Stuff.  It sound easy but is actually exhausting!

I stayed late after school to work with a Sophomore who has a major English project due tomorrow.  We probably needed another week to work on it, but such is life.  Good luck, Rebecca!

I arrived home not too long before Meg and the children.  It seems that they are all ready to eat, no matter what the stage of food preparation!  Each day, one or the other of the grandchildren arrive home in a bad mood.  (?)  After dinner, things tend to settle down.  BOTH kids needed baths tonight.  They come home filthy from the day care! 

Robin and Ryan both establish their own bedtime routines.  Neither wants baths or bed, but both need the attention.  We manage.  The children do get a nap atMiss Shelly's, so I don't feel TOO bad when they get to bed late.

There is a circus in Mooresville this weekend.  We are going!  Have only told the children that it's a "surprise."  Grandma Judy may join us. 

Time to hit the sheets.  Nightie!

Long Day

Today, Meg was scheduled to drive up to Muncie to get "most" of the rest of her things.  (There still seem to be a lot of stuff that hasn't made it back to Plainfield yet--her Kindermusik supplies, her soapmaking supplies, etc.)  In any case, we borrowed Ryan Holly's "big brue van" again.  I stayed home (because I wasn't welcome).  Before she left, Meg and I moved a wagon seat trunk that my father made for me back in 1969, from the computer/radio room where it was under a table and unusued, to the foot of her bed.  We stashed a lot of stuff in there...but there were killer cobwebs and general mess under the table where the wagon seat had been.  Got that cleaned out, and even did a little spot cleaning of the carpet.   

While Meg was gone, I continued the never-ending business of getting the laundry under control.  We don't do much laundry during the work week, so I try to get it all done--washed, dried, hung/folded, and put away--on the weekends.  It's a tall order.  The putting away is the hard part because there are so few places to put everything.  I have cleaned out two dressers and a closet for everyone's clothes.  (I also keep a "donate" bag going as we run into things that are outgrown, out of style, or just plain not worn.  Amvets, the DAV, and Goodwill have all been recipients of the stuff!)  It would probably be a better idea to do a load or two of laundry during the week, but with work, dinner, bath/bedtime routines for the children, and Meg and my general fatigue, no one seems particularly anxious to take on more chores!

I also mowed the back yard, put away Easter decorations (!), and took a run to Wal-Mart to get a garden bench and two weeks' worth of dog food.  (The two-week dog food supply deal is something I started a year or two ago when I had expenses that cut very close between paychecks.  I didn't want the poor puppy to starve just because the bank account was slim!)

And speaking of puppies...it appears that my soon-to-be-former-son-in-law has a dog at his house--"Gracie", according to the children.  Huh?  What's the deal with that?  The dog that now lives at my house was Nathan's.  He HAD to have her.  Couldn't live without that cute little puppy.  No one bothered to housebreak her...then the babies came along...then the original move to a rental house in Muncie.  Frodo couldn't go.  Nathan cried and cried.  I relented and took the dog, even though I warned them years before that she wasn't a welcome guest because they hadn't done right by spoiling her and not training her.  (It seems that I take in all of Nathan's strays!)  I've worked with Frodo for two years now.  She is better, but they didn't want her back.  And now this?

When Meg got back, she indicated that Nathan had apparently not had a good day with the kids.  When she got there, Ryan was locked in his bedroom, and Robin was shut in hers.  Nathan was in a bad mood and announced shortly after Meg got there (court ordered to get her stuff), "Could you just leave?"  Uh...no.  Apparently he told Meg that HE spent more time with the kids than SHE did.  Well...HE was the one who wanted the kids every weekend, even though the state visitation requirement is every OTHER weekend.  

When Meg returned, we drove to the storage unit to deposit the things that she brought back, then went to dinner before returning the van.  The children have new beds in Muncie...bunk beds (separated) that Grandpa Phil built eons ago.  Over dinner, Meg asked Robin if she slept in her own room like a big girl.  She said she did.  Then she said, "No, I'll tell you the truth.  I spent all night in Daddy's bed with Daddy and Kendra (Nathan's girlfriend) and there wasn't much room."  Kids say the darnedest things!  Meg and I were not amused.  Meg had some conversation with Nathan on the phone thereafter about that.  His comment was that it wasn't "right", but that Robin woke up and came in.  Meg's response was, "Then you should have taken her back to her bed."   He's been warned. 

Call me old-fashioned, but I figure a man who has found Jesus, as Nathan has professed, would know better than to expose his children to this nonsense.  What he does in his personal life is his affair...but it wouldn't hurt if he would first be divorced from his children's mother before he did it, and then use some common sense where the children are concerned.  He wasn't raised the way he is acting.  And everyone needs to understand that **I** am the bad guy because I stood up to him when he called my daughter an "f-ing bitch" in front of thechildren...and me...back in February.  Because I yelled back, he doesn't like me around.  The insanity abounds! 

The rest of May is gangbusters.  The children will be with us next weekend (Mother's Day) and we plan to go to the circus in Mooresville on Saturday.  Weather cooperating, maybe the zoo on Sunday.  The weekend after that is the Dayton Hamvention. 

I am so proud of Meg.  She is doing all she can...as I am...to make our situation livable.  I will do better with it all when the school year is over.  Come on summer!

  

Mini-Marathon, Mega-Deal!

I worked communications for the 500 Mini-Marathon this morning.  There are 90+ amateur radio operators working in and around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the west side of Indy, for the health and safety of the tens of thousands of insane people--I mean athletes--who ran the Mini today.  This is my third year working the event, stationed at the entrance to the Speedway track, about midway through the course.  The race started at 7:30 AM, and my portion of it was done when the track entrance was closed around 10:00.  Since the day was cloudy and cool, it was just about perfect weather for the race--until just about the time I was dismissed from my post.  Then the sun came out and the runners heated up.  I continued to monitor the event by radio long after I was let go

There are always interesting stories to tell.  Only one radio call sounded serious...someone on the tail-end bus that they were "working on" and would not let the bus go until the person could be taken off the bus and put in an ambulance on the scene--and that took awhile.  Another call was about a National Guardsperson who went down and needed transport to the hospital.  (This person was not a runner!)  There was a fireman in full call-out gear, including air pack, that walked the course.  I saw people of all ages, sizes, and races.  There were several people pushing wheelchairs with family members in them.  (The regular wheelchair participants start the course before the runners.)  One call went out looking for transportation for some parents who needed a trip to the hospital because their diabetic son had been rushed there from home.  Another call went out for a runner looking for another runner.  (?)  And there are always a number of runners who find that they can't finish the course but don't want to wait for the tail-end bus  (I guess they expect special shuttle service to the finish line??)  Lots stopped to take pictures of themselves and their friends in front of the track entrance, and it was not unusual to see runners talking on cell phones.  One fellow--not a runner--tried to enter the track on roller skates!  Oh...and at the track entrance, we had "Elvis" and "Meatloaf" singing to us.  The Gordon Pipers were a little further down the street.  The runners loved it! 

And, of course, we had a radio jammer who got his jollies by mindlessly "kerchunking" the repeater and showed his middle school level IQ by blowing a "raspberry" into the microphone when asked not to interfere with the net.  And since I teach middle school, I know the mentality!

 Once the sun came out (around 10:00), the pit stations were told to put out yellow caution flags so the runners would know to pace themselves.  One medical tent toward the end of the course called in that she had overheated runners spilling out onto the ground all over the place.  Guess they didn't get the message? 

All in all, it was an early day and a successful day.  Of course, the usual runners from Kenya won the race.  (They always are WAY out ahead of everyone else.)  Don't know who the female winner was yet.  That will all be on the news tonight...

I'm still eating soft food.  My jaw doesn't hurt.  I just don't want to disturb the wound where my tooth used to be.  But since I was up at 5:00 AM, I think a nap is in order!!

Baby Teeth All Gone!

A dentist once told my mother that our family was starting the evolution to toothless humans, since all three of us Covill kids were missing permanent teeth.  (When permanent teeth aren't in the gum under the primary teeth, there is nothing to dissolve the root of the baby tooth to make it come out.  Hence, the baby tooth stays until something happens to it...which is what happened to me this time.)  The last of my baby teeth crumbled away until there wasn't much left.  Today, the dentist pulled the remnants out.  All he used was a pick...no pliers needed!  He did dig around in my jaw a little because there might have been some bit of root left in there, but for the most part, the whole thing was over in no time, with no pain.  One of my former students was the dental assistant.  I'm glad she liked me!  I've just been dealing with the numb face and gauze deal.  It should all be over by 8 or 9 tonight.  Right now, I feel like that old Bill Cosby comedy routine, talking about his numbed lip hanging down, etc...

Megan got a raise!  She hasn't even been on the job a month yet!  Yay!

Speaking of raises, our M-GTA (Monroe-Gregg Teachers Association) membership ratified a new contract yesterday.  We got a 2% raise, retroactive to the beginning of the school year.  Over the last few years, my paycheck has actually gone down due to increased insurance costs, and now I will have to have more deducted from my paycheck to come closer to breaking even with the IRS.  But I will look forward to that retro check!!

Will be working the 500 Mini-Marathon tomorrow.  Will be meeting up with one of my former students on the radio tonight so he can talk me through getting tone programmed into my HT.  There will be over 90 amateur radio operators working the event, largely tracking runners to make sure everyone is accounted for.  I have to be at the 16th Street entrance to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 6:30 AM.  My job is to report the first wheelchair, first female runner, and first male runner to enter the Speedway.  It's supposed to rain.  :(

I'm hungry, but half my face--including my tongue--is still numb, making swallowing somewhat problematic.  When Meg comes home, we'll feast on Stouffer's macaroni and cheese--her choice.  The children are in Muncie with their father.  I miss them!

Maybewhen my tongue gets un-numb, I'll be able to talk!

Tooth-hurty?

No...three-thirty!  That's when my dentist appointment is tomorrow to have one (and possibly two) fangs yanked.  I don't look forward to it, but I don't anticipate a difficult extraction.  Primary teeth have short roots.  It should pop right out.  If I weren't such a weenie, I could probably pull it myself!

After school today, I did some tutoring...then came home and picked up the children from Miss Shelly's.  We had promised them Chick-fil-A today, since they will be gone over the weekend.  Meg met us there.  It seems that Chick-fil-A was having some special doin's by way of fundraisers for Sheltering Wings (a shelter for battered women and their families)...and a fire truck, complete with little plastic fire helmets and coloring book giveaways...and a cow on the roof (saying "eat more chikn").  The kids got on the fire truck.  Robin babbled, as usual...but Ryan was awed.  Another grandpa put his granddaughter in the truck and said, "Since you're in there, I guess you'll have to go with them if they go to a fire."  Well!  Little Ryan heard that and didn't want to get out of the truck.  He wanted to go to a fire!  When we finally left, there were a lot of questions from him--like, how old he has to be before he can go to a fire, if his fire helmet will still fit him when he is a grown-up, and why don't we want a fire in our house???

Thereafter, Meg went one way to do a little shopping, and the children and I came home to make cookies for me to take to school tomorrow, in celebration of my two kids who passed their radio Tech tests this week.  (Before you get to thinking how domestic I am, understand that the cookies were pre-formed and frozen, from a fundraiser at school.)  The children quickly lost interest in the project and went off to play nicely by themselves.  The only real casualty of the day was Meg.  She didn't change shoes after work while she shopped, and her tootsies were sore.  Then, too, she was pooped to the point of tears.  It has been a crazy week at work for her with never a down minute.  (I can relate.  Until the last kid is shoved out the door at school, I am on stage.  The big advantage I have over Meg is that I get home earlier in the day...but I'm probably just as tired!  Heck...I pointed my finger at a kid today and said, "If you don't pass eighth grade and I end up with you again next year, I'm either going to commit murder or suicide.  I'm not sure which!"  Thankfully, he laughed...)

Both kids got baths and were in bed by 10:00, which is way too late for little ones...but since they nap at Miss Shelly's, they flat-out aren't ready for sleep on our schedule.  The weekends are all too short when they are with Daddy.  I will be working the 500 Mini-Marathon in communications on Saturday morning; will need to spend a couple of hours with my tutoring student this weekend; and then there are the usual weekend chores...mowing, laundry, and trying to catch up on personal time.  Come on summer!!

 

Ouch!

I fixed a decent dinner tonight by putting a roast in the crock pot before I left for school this morning.  We had roast, boiled potatoes and onions, red pepper strips, fruit, and--in Robin's case--spinach.  She ate an entire can of cooked spinach all by herself and relished every moment of it!  I've never met a young'un who eats as "healthy" as Robin.  We should all emulate her food habits!

I took on a tutoring job today.  There is a former student who thinks she needs help in English, so I started working with her after school this afternoon.  She has a 300-point project due on Tuesday, and there is still much to do...so that's where we started.

After supper tonight, I needed a short snooze (which I got, while the children watched a video).  When I woke up, I knew I was in trouble.  I have a broken tooth--a baby tooth, actually.  Primary teeth are designed by nature to last about six years.  Mine has lasted 60, since there was no permanent tooth under it to push it out.  I clench my jaw and grind my teeth at night, which has resulted in this broken tooth.  I have let it go because it didn't hurt, figuring I'd wait until summer to get it yanked out.  But something changed during my nap.  It hurts to bite down on that side.  The tooth feels like it is out of line due to loosening or something...and it throbs.  So I will be seeking out a dentist tomorrow to get it pulled.  Long overdue...  Wish me luck!

Meg really likes her job and is good at it.  She is finding, however, that she is pooped at the end of the day--the same as her mommy!  She continues with her weight loss--almost 60 pounds to date--and is looking really good.  You go, girl!  We promised the children that we'd go to Chick-fil-A for dinner tomorrow, since they will be with their father over the weekend.  (They like the play place.  I like the menu because they have a great fruit cup that the children love, the best chicken nuggets, and great cheesecake.)  The real trick will be getting them clean enough to eat, straight from day care! 

Please welcome new hams KC9LNV and KC9LNW to the amateur radio community.  Now to find them radios...

 

Boring Day

I was in a meeting at the Super's office all day today, listening to a presentation for the Purdue Literacy program.  I've been through a lot of these goal-setting, future-planning sessions this past year.  Most of the time, I do okay.  Today, however, I had gone to bed at 12:30 AM and gotten up at 4:30 AM, so I fought sleep much of the meeting.  It didn't help that my feet don't touch the floor in those plush conference chairs and the blood pools in my tootsies, making it imperative that I get up and move every once in awhile just to keep everything circulating.  Ugh! 

Meg was in Muncie today for a court hearing.  She went back to work when she returned, but because I was away from my keyboard all day, I didn't know how that went.  Apparently all was well.  She asked if I'd pick up the children from day care because she needed to stay a little late at the workplace.  "Miss Shelly" runs a licensed day care center out of her home.  Her garage is a well-supplied play room, and she has a veritable playground in her back yard, complete with toys, jungle gym, slide, and a trampoline with a net cage!  There is pea gravel underneath it all.  The children love it, but boy! do they come home dirty!  After I picked them up, we went to the video store to rent a "moozie" that Robin has been wanting to see.  She was limping in her new sandals.  :(  She said it was the socks that were making her shoes hurt...and I just didn't get it...UNTIL she took her socks off at home by the back door, and several tablespoons of pea gravel came out.  No wonder her feet hurt!  She was walking on rocks!  I told her she had rocks in her socks and asked if she also had ants in her pants.  She thought that was funny.

The days aren't long enough.  I am usually home by 3:30 in the afternoon.  Meg isn't done, if she's lucky, until 5:00, plus minor commute time.  It works out best for me to have supper ready when she and the children get home because there isn't much time between 6:00 and bath/bed time.  The children do nap at Miss Shelly's, so they are still energetic when Meg and I are running down.  Fortunately, Ryan is fairly easy to settle down at night.  Robin, however, is like the Energizer Bunny!

Yesterday, I went back to school in the early evening to have three of my school radio club boys tested for amateur radio licensing.  Two passed!  The third, God bless him, took the test twice and failed to pass it both times, by two questions.  That means that we have introduced five 14-year-old amateur radio operators into the world this year.  I'll work with the sixth until he gets that test passed.  I'm so proud of him for not giving up!!!  In the meantime, many thanks to the VE team that gave up their dinner hour yesterday to be there for my students!  You guys are the best!

Looks like we may have finally settled on a contract.  There is a ratification meeting after school tomorrow.  It is never a significant deal, but since this is LAST year's contract, there will be a retro check that is much needed.  Maybe I can get my brakes fixed...ya think??