Praise the Lord!

Got a call from Major Pat (National Director for SATERN) this afternoon.  He underwent major, major surgery last Monday--repair of an aortic aneurysm and a heart valve replacement.  (They didn't know about the heart valve until they got in there...)  He said he doesn't have much pain and is going home tomorrow--one week after surgery!  The doctors are amazed at his recovery.  So am I!  Two of my friends have now cheated the Grim Reaper.  You go, guys!

Everyone slept late this morning.  I got up when the bed got crowded.  Had Robin, Ryan, and the dog.  Robin mentioned that all we needed Mommy to make Snuggle Time complete.  Ack! 

We went errand-running this afternoon.  Haircuts for both children and shopping for bedding, shower curtain, etc.  This is all part of the remodel project to come.  God help me--it will be even MORE chaotic around here until we get everything done!  I'm going to need a LOT of help!   I was thinking the other day about the fact that, when Meg and I moved into this little bungalow in 1992, we didn't have much...but it worked.  Since then, much more has been added.  We need to de-clutter, big time!  I am trying to get the recipients of some of the larger stuff to get with the program and get it out of here...but not having a lot of luck with that, so far.  If money were no object, it wouldn't be a problem.  Unfortunately, money IS an issue.  The price of gas alone is strangling.  'Tis ever thus!

Another day, another dollar....hopefully!  Ciao.... 

 

Would You Like Cheese with the Whine?

I'm not usually a complainer.  (Okay...so I am.  Do you have a problem with that??)  Let's look at the week since Easter:

Meg was still in back pain, so she spent the weekend basically lying down.  The children had a nice Easter.  We had dinner with the other grandparents, Nathan and his friend, and Nate's brother and wife.  Very pleasant.

Monday morning, Meg called off at work because she had something going on with her throat.  I took the children to day care which made me late to school.  Robin threw up late in the day at day care, and the gal said she couldn't come back the next day unless she ate a good supper and kept it down.  She ate a good supper.  So far, so good.  Then the two of us went to the grocery store in the evening to get some things for Meg's birthday (Tuesday) but she coughed so much that she threw up in the parking lot.  Aborted that trip and went back home.  Robin was then slated to go to Grandma Judy's on Tuesday.

Tuesday morning, I found Meg on the couch with severe abdominal cramping.  She called off work.  This time, I needed to take the children to TWO places...Robin to Grandma Judy's and Ryan to regular day care.  Only five minutes late to work this time.  Grandma Judy called Meg to say that she thought Robin needed to see a doctor because of the coughing.  They went.  Ear infection and sinus infection.  Medicine prescribed.  We had planned to go to Olive Garden for Meg's 29th, but she wasn't up to it....so I cooked an impromptu supper to try to make the day a little special.  Whoop-de-doo.

Wednesday, Meg went to work and both children went to day care.  We FINALLY got to celebrate Meg's birthday by going to Olive Garden for dinner.  It was nice!  The children were good as gold (hallelujah!).  We did enjoy our time there. 

Thursday (my last day of school before spring break) started out normally...but then I got an email from Meg saying that she had a fever and chills and was heading home from work.  In the evening, I took the children to pick out rented movies, then fed them frozen pizza.  Meg was out of commission all afternoon/evening.

Friday (today) Meg was again on the couch and called in sick, still with a fever.  I was up at the usual time.  I let the children sleep in before finally delivering them to day care.  I did some dishes, some laundry, and cleaned the bathroom--also replacing the toilet seat/lid.  Nathan called off having Robin this weekend, so I girded my loins!  Picked up the children early and did some errands.  They were good, so I took them to Burger King for supper.  Fixed a thing or two for Meg to eat/drink.  She hasn't had much...still sick with a fever. 

The entire evening was spent watching videos.  Thank God for videos! 

I am aware that I have a month's work to do in a week.  I'm tired.  I have been on "vacation" one day.  It is 11:25 and everyone is still up.  Care to bet how tomorrow will be????

 

 

Three Nails

Meg and I weren't exactly balls of fire today, but I attempted mega-laundry while she rested her back.  Along about 12:30 this afternoon, I figured I'd better begin to think about what to do about the flat tire.  I called Good Neighbor Fred across the street to see if he has an air compressor.  As it happens, he does.  He inflated my left rear tire so I could limp to Goodyear (close to home), with Meg behind me.  Guess what?  Goodyear is no longer open on Saturdays!  On to Walmart.  I waited in line for the attendant to get to me, telling her about the nail in the tire.  While she was standing there taking my information, she pointed out TWO nails in the left front tire.  Huh??  Okay...so rather than patching two tires, I decided to buy new ones and have them put on the front.  (Probably due, anyway.)  Of course, there was the issue that Walmart didn't have any more of their cheaper tires, so I had to buy the $80 ones.  It's only money!  As for where the nails came from, I can only suspect a construction site on our school's campus.  I left an email for the Superintendent, just in case...

Word from Muncie is that Robin hasn't been throwing up anymore but has the "runs".  My poor Beanie!

As Meg was heading for bed tonight, she discovered a huge wet spot on her bed.  Hmmm...the door was open today.  (She never leaves it open!)  We suspect the dog urinated on it.  A change of sheets and bed pad later, she is finally in bed.  And, by the way, anyone who says that dogs will not soil their bedding places or food places is full of bull-loney!  Frodo the Wonder Dog used to have a nice bed, but she kept pooping on it, so it went to the trash.  And now, the bed that she used to sleep on all the time was a target.  Meg thinks the dog was getting even for the closed door.  Could be!

And now, in the late hours of the evening, I am thinking over the day and the days to come.  It isn't lost to me that three nails played a part in my day, with tomorrow (today now) being Easter.  It was three nails that changed the world over 2,000 years ago.  May the risen Christ bring you spiritual rebirth and hope forever!

 

Exhaustion

I think I am burned out, or in need of spring break, or something.  The house is in total chaos.  It affects everyone's mood.  The weekends aren't long enough to get everything done...so I am counting on my week off (coming up) to help. 

As I was leaving work today, getting close to I-70 on SR 39, someone was honking and trying to get my attention as I entered the on-ramp.  Huh?  I don't know you!  I didn't have a clue, so I went my merry way.  Got home in good order.  When it was time to go pick up the children, I noticed that my left rear tire was nearly flat.  Mystery solved!  I drove home on the interstate with a very low tire.  God was watching over me!  Fortunately, Meg was home so I took her vehicle to get the kids.

Why was Meg home, you might ask?  She hurt her back yesterday picking Robin up.  Today, she could hardly move...so she went to the doctor and got some drugs.  He didn't think she should drive anywhere much over 15 minutes at a time, so she convinced Nathan to meet me halfway with the children for their weekend Muncie visit.  If all things were equal, they could have gone up tomorrow with Grandma and Grandpa Heffelman, but Meg and I really needed them to be gone tonight.  I met him in Fishers, Indiana.  He called a few hours later to say that Robin had thrown up three times since she had been with him.  Oh, great!  She showed NO signs of illness before that.  In fact, she had been obnoxiously UNlistless all afternoon.  <sigh>  Life with children...

My own belly doesn't feel all that great tonight.  I am dead tired and really need to hit the sack.  Now I think the whole house needs to be sterilized!

Catch-up. (Ketchup?)

I can't believe it has been five days since I last posted on here.  Where does the time go??

The big news today is that it looks like the authorities have found AB9JD (Brad) who disappeared a couple of years ago.  They pulled his Jeep out of a retention pond just four blocks from his home last evening.  There appeared to be human remains inside.  Sad.  Stay tuned for the ultimate details...

This past weekend, the grandkids couldn't go to Muncie on Friday because Nathan had to work...and in fact had to work on Saturday, too, but his girlfriend (who had been sick) agreed to watch one child.  There was a miscommunication about that.  Meg and BOTH kids left for Munchie about 11:30 AM on Saturday.  Meg called 30 minutes later after talking to someone up there to say that she was bringing Robin back.  (Robin didn't mind.)  By the time she headed back up and came home, it was 4:00 PM--no real time to work on her homework.  Sunday, the children were scheduled for a portrait at the JC Penney studio late in the afternoon.

Grandma Judy had provided a cute little sailor dress for Robin for Easter and the pictures...with a teddy bear dress that matched.  She even provided the teddy bear!  Meanwhile, we had to wait for Nathan to bring Ryan back to get him dressed for the occasion.  Meg was in a snit because she hadn't had the time to write a paper for her class, and things were chaotic the minute Ryan came in the door.  Judy was going to meet everyone at Penney's.  I planned to stay home.  One of the last things I told Robin was not to forget the teddy bear.  Minutes after they all left, I got a call from Meg asking me to bring the teddy bear to Penney's. 

THREE hours later, they still weren't home.  I guess the kids behaved miserably and uncooperatively, and the whole experience ended with Ryan throwing up twice all over the photo studio.  They got home finally.  Ry was sick a few more times.  I just went to bed as soon as it was possible.  I'm betting that Grandma Judy, who was already late to her Bible study, was glad to get that whole experience behind her!

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day.  I fixed us a corned beef and cabbage dinner and tried to make the day a little special for everyone.  (The children had green milk!)

Friend Mike KB9RDO is still in the hospital with heart problems, and Patrick WW9E will be having open heart surgery next week sometime to repair an aortic aneurysm.  Please keep them both in your thoughts and prayers!

Bomb Threat?

Got to school this morning and in short order noticed that the admin was shuttling "extra help" students to the cafeteria.  One of my team members pulled me aside and said there had been a bomb threat called in to the principal's voice mail.  We were to start checking rooms, which we all did.  Nothing out of line.  The kids were in class before the start of school this morning.  No harm, no foul.  Before noon, it came out on the grapevine that the call-in culprit had been discovered.  'Tis a high school kid that I had a LOT of trouble with three years ago.  I expect this will put an end to his high school "career".  We'll see. 

It occurs to me that students frequently think they are smarter than everybody else.  We had a young lady who smoked in the girls' bathroom last year, between classes.  As the bell rang for the next class, we already had her nabbed.  Why?  A 7th grader ratted on her.  This time, my guess is that the "bomb threat" student didn't figure on phone records that can be obtained in a big hurry.  Oh, well!

Meg and Robin are out shopping for a birthday present and new shoes.  Ryan and I just had a fire in the patio burner, in the rain.  He's watching TV now but will hit the bathtub shortly. 

Just another day in Paradise...

Another Day in the Salt Mines

This is the end of the grading period at school, and I am so buried in work that I can hardly see straight.  The kids have been largely misbehaving.  All I want out of life right now is Spring Break!

Grandson Ryan spent the day at the other grandparents' today because he was sick.  Grandma Judy took him to the doctor.  Strep throat.  He'll be there again tomorrow.  Robin has a cough and some congestion, too, but is not sick enough to stay home.  She was invited to a family gathering for the birthday celebration of one of her classmates and Daisy Girl Scouts--daughter of the troop leader--on Friday.  They said Mariah could invite one friend, and she chose Robin.  This is a first!  Well...the first thing out of Robin's mouth at supper tonight was, "If I got a 'red light' at school today, would I still be allowed to go to Mariah's?"  Hmmm...  It seems that Robin and another girl were pushing elbows with each other (Robin downplayed it, of course) and both of them got a "red light".  Meg had to sign a paper...and we had to talk about consequences.  Robin figured that the consequence would be losing out on the get-together with her friend.  Meg let her sweat for a bit, then we declared that she needed to do some cleaning in the living room for her punishment.  It probably wasn't harsh enough, but taking away the special event for something as minor as this sounded didn't seem appropriate. 

Friend Mike is still in the hospital for heart complications.  He's not out of the woods yet.  They did the shock paddles on him to defibrillate his heart, but the bigger problem is that his blood pressure isn't coming up to normal.  Do keep KB9RDO in your prayers, please.  Oh...and a dear, dear friend of mine is going to undergo surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm.  Could sure use prayers for him, too!  Please mention Patrick WW9E as you are talking to the Almighty. 

Trying to bring some order to the house before I go to bed.  Big job...and it AIN'T gonna happen tonight!

 

Toofers!

We got a call from Robin last evening, from Muncie.  Her two (very) loose teeth finally came out.  (Don't know if they had any "help" or not.)  She was all excited saying that she would get DOUBLE from the Tooth Fairy!  She also called Grandma Judy with the news, and when I talked to Judy later, she indicated that Robin's cousin in Georgia had lost his first tooth just the day before.  Both children are only five years old.  Guess they lose teeth early in the Heffelman clan!

Meg and I went shopping yesterday, ostensibly for groceries.  We spent over three hours at Wal-Mart!  By the time we got home, I had lost my momentum to work.  I stayed up too late, fell asleep in the computer chair, and ambled off to bed sometime in the wee hours--only to find out that it was an hour later than it should have been when I got up.  Daylight Savings Time!

Will be heading to the hospital today to visit a friend.  At least the sun is shining!  We dodged a major winter weather bullet on Friday/Saturday.  Ohio got socked with twenty inches of white stuff.  Southern Indiana got some of that--mostly to our south and east.  We got a dusting.  It would have killed my Positive Mental Attitude to be dealing with that stuff this late in the season!

Come on, Spring!  You can do it!

There IS a God!

With the prospect for yet ANOTHER big snowstorm to start today and not end until tomorrow afternoon, I envisioned another weekend with the grandchildren here instead of with their father in Muncie.  Don't get me wrong:  I adore my grandchildren.  They are my raison d'etre.  HOWEVER, I am so pooped when I come home from school by the end of each week that the only prospect of recovery--for me and the house--is for them to visit their daddy for a couple of days.  The fact that Nathan hadn't been returning Meg's calls all week didn't help.  As of late this afternoon, there was still no word if they were staying or going.  As it happens, there is enough of a weather window tonight, and Nathan is available--so Meg and the children are on their way to Muncie as I write.  I don't think either of the children feels all that well, but it's all the same.  They can be sick at Mommy's or sick at Daddy's.  They get plenty of TLC in both places.

The 8th grade students in my charge each week have been behaving deplorably over the last few weeks--and we haven't even hit Spring Break yet.  The other core teachers and I stood outside the office yesterday and talked for awhile about what to do.  Personally, I just made up my mind that I was tired of stamping out brush fires with students who know the rules as well as I do.  We have a "no gum" rule at the middle school because the rooms are carpeted.  When I found the second piece ground into the carpet last week, I posted signs on and outside my door:  "STOP!  If you have gum, dispose of it before you enter this classroom."  Then, for a number of days, I would start each period by telling students to get rid of their gum immediately because I would write them up thereafter if I caught them with it.  The chewing didn't stop, even at that.  Sooo...today, I began each period with the following tirade:  "If you went to kindergarten, you have been in school for nine years now.  If you don't know appropriate behavior for school, you are indeed a slow learner!  Every day, I remind you to spit out your gum.  You continue to chew.  I tell you to take your books to your lockers at the end of the period.  The back counter is littered with books you have left.  Every day, I have to tell you at least five times to turn around, get quiet, and start reading for our 10-minute silent reading period.  A number of you are told several times each period to remain in your seat until dismissed.  At this point, I consider you all sufficiently warned.  When the bell rings, you are to be in your seat and ready to begin class.  If you can't be silent for 10 minutes of silent reading, you can be silent for 30 minutes of lunch detention!"  Guess what?  It worked, for today!  Next week will be another issue.  I'm just glad I was able to finish this week on a somewhat calmer note...

The garage remodel project is tentatively scheduled for late in April, give or take a week or two.  Meg and I are both nervous about it from the standpoint of "what if it isn't enough?".  When Meg and I moved here, back in 1992, we didn't have a lot of junk.  I wasn't a radio operator then.  We had no computers.  There were only the two of us, instead of the four that are here now.  We will now attempt to de-clutter and make a four-bedroom house out of this little abode.  We are having to look at things with a jaded eye and decide what we really love.  I am prepared to give up things that I have kept due to their quality and/or functionality.  The only answer to making the place livable is to get rid of things to make more room!  Wish us luck.  It will take some major work, room to room!

I had yet another incident of the car not starting after school on Wednesday of this week.  I got a ride home with another Plainfield-resident teacher.  Meg took me back to Monrovia in the evening, and once again, the car started right up.  One of my friends was going to come over last evening and plug in a diagnostic instrument, but I got stupid and didn't reason that he would be here BEFORE his dinner date rather than AFTER.  Don't know what I was thinking.  My only defense is that he hadn't really said...and my decision for the family to go out for a quick Chinese buffet supper was last-minute desperation.  In any case, we missed each other.  I just cross my fingers each time I am in a pinch for the car to start.  Most of the time, it does...

We missed the bullet with the snowstorm again.  I'm just sick of winter weather.  It has been a long haul.  Three more weeks until Spring Break!

   

Here We Go Again...

Last night, Ryan spiked a fever of 101--caught a cold, I think.  Grandma Judy wasn't available, and Meg took a day off last week due to illness, so I decided to take the day to stay home with him.  Had to get him up and take him to school with me to lay out lesson plans for the sub.  Of course, he's been fine all day.  In fact, he's mad at me because I won't let him go out and play in the slush.

Did I say slush?  Ha!  Along about 2:30 this afternoon, it started to sleet.  I had an errand to run to Belleville, so packed Ry up and went that way.  The roads deteriorated in short order, from just wet to slushy, with balls of ice that really hurt when they hit.  Walking was a little treacherous.  Yesterday, I saw my long-awaited first robin of the season--and now the poor bird has to be hiding out somewhere!  I picked up Robin 1 1/2 hours early, just to have all my babies at home--except Meg, who got caught at work with a phone call and couldn't get away on time. 

Hello?  Spring?  Where are you????

Nice Day!

Seventy degrees!  Okay...what's the catch?  The catch is that we are slated to get a couple of inches of rain in the next day or two.  So much for sunshine!

The highlight of the weekend for me was that Meg took me to Beef & Boards to see West Side Story on stage tonight for my birthday.  It was an enjoyable evening.  The guy who played Tony had a beautiful tenor voice, but he was off key from time to time.  Kinda scary in "Maria".  We weren't sure if he was going to be able to put that one back on track!

I am exhausted.  Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes.  Time to see my first robin on the season.  Late, this year.  Come on, spring!