Free at Last, Free at Last!

Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last!  Working on a new (cheap) keyboard here, so I may make major typos...

So...I got everything done at school yesterday in time to be out of there by normal dismissal time.  For the first time in several years, I don't have to go back on my own time to finish up.  Is it pretty?  No....but it is far more organized than the mess here at home. 

The major issue today was the fact that the central air conditioning wasn't working.  One of my ham friends used to be in the heating/cooling biz, so I called him first.  He lives about an hour from here, so I worried about asking him to help....but he did.  He fixed the unit (capacitor again) with stuff in his truck...and didn't charge me much.  Thanks, Tom! 

Meanwhile, the main issue at home is "where do we go from here?"  Meg used an  online service to do a floor plan...which was really helpful.  I THINK we have come up with a plan that will work.  But now, we are trying to decide if I should keep the waterbed or take her full size bed, just to save space and problems.  She is considering taking a twin bed for her room..  We can't change things until we decide.

Meanwhile, Nathan and his girlfriend have proposed a three-week visitation in Muncie for the children.  That is written into the divorce agreement, but it worries me some.  I'm not sure that the children are ready to be away from Mommy for three weeks, although they love Daddy and Daddy's girlfriend...but since he works 10-hour days during the week, they won't see much of him.  We have already signed the children up for swimming lessons, etc.  Have to look at the calendar and see how things will work...or not. 

I'm glad to have the central air working and hoping that nothing else goes south.  The dishwasher isn't sounding good these days... 

I have a new bedroom that I haven't moved into yet.  This is my chance to have everything fresh and new, but I don't have the funds to do that.  So here we go... 

Done!

Yesterday, the carpet went in my new garage bedroom.  Except for a walk-through and removal of the dumpster, the room is done.  Now the fun begins!  There is so much to do that I can hardly be joyful about it.  Have to get through the school year first.

Some years, the eighth graders rise to the challenge of becoming freshmen on the last few days of middle school by behaving almost maturely.  Not so this year's crew!  Their behavior since before spring break has been atrocious, and this week was no less so.  Today, we had a pizza party for them in the gym for all of 4th period (1 1/2 hours).  I really wanted to go get the high school principal and invite him over to get a look at his incoming freshmen.  They chased each other around the gym and otherwise behaved in ways that were loud, hyper, and out of control.  When I left the gym, my ears were ringing.  Then I get to come home to my second full-time job...

Today was Robin's last day of Kindergarten.  She wants it to also be her last day of day care.  She knows that I will be out of school soon and doesn't understand why she can't stay home with me.  I haven't had the heart to tell her, "Because I can't get anything done with you children at home!"  How did my mother manage??  There will be days that we will go to swimming lessons and days that we will go to Splash Island, etc.  It's not like they will be tortured, poor children.  Both Robin and Ryan were out of sorts when they walked out the door this morning...and so was their mother.  Doesn't make for a good start to the day...

I need major help to get everything done.  So much to do...so little time!

 

"Remorial" Day

In spite of a forecast of rain and storms with up to an inch of precip, Meg and the children and I headed out to Putnam County to do the cemetery tour of Meg's ancestors, to put flowers on their gravestones.  It sprinkled on us in the beginning, but the rain stopped and there was no more of it for the rest of the day.  Weathermen don't know everything!

Believe it or not, the children seem to like these cemetery ventures.  They put flowers on the graves and dance around looking at bugs and other treasures.  We trekked to nine cemeteries--Stilesville, Mount Carmel, Fillmore, Old Union, Farrow family site, Old Greencastle, Something-Hill in Greencastle, Deer Creek, and New Providence.  We had a picnic under a tree at the Fillmore Cemetery and generally enjoyed the day, although the children were beginning to get bored at the end.  Time to head back to Hendricks County.  At the last cemetery, the children ran off to play around a playhouse thing, and Robin came back with something spilled all down the front of her play dress.  What?  Did you throw up?  She said she had...but the drips down the front were orange.  Whatever did she eat that caused that?  Well...that's when little brother ratted.  She had found a robin's egg and held it just a little too tightly...  She hadn't thrown up at all! 

We didn't get home until 7:30, and then there were baths to take, etc.  All in all, "Remorial Day," as Ryan calls it, was a busy day.

Gorgeous Race Day!

Once again, Meg had an opportunity to go to the 500 with her father who has come up from Florida in his motorhome for the race.  She wasn't sure she wanted to go for various reasons, but she did.  I drove her to the airport Holiday Inn this morning to meet him...and though I was poised to go pick her up after the race, he brought her all the way back.  (I had no contact with him.)  I think she had a good time.  It was an absolutely beautiful day for the race!  She had a good time...and it's good for her to go.  When you have little ones, you don't get out much!

I miss going to the 500.  When I was divorced, I couldn't get custody of two of the four tickets we had because they weren't in our name.  For a couple of years post-divorce, I scrounged to get tix and went twice...but both times, the seats were unsatisfactory.  (I had been spoiled.)  So I gave up.  Then my radio club took on working the race for club funds and I got to at least be there; however, this year, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway required that each individual in a non-profit "volunteer" group sign some kind of "hold blameless" waiver that was worded in such a way that it even fouled up Medicaid or other insurance if someone got injured at the track.  We voted to give it up.  Just as well.  The last time I worked the race for the club (two races ago), it got so hot that we were dropping like flies.  I said then that I couldn't do it anymore.  (I was supposed to work the Brickyard 400 last summer, but the brain aneurysm put the kabosh on that.)  I listened on the radio (because it is blacked out in Indy TV).  Still, I'm delighted that Meg can go.  It is a fantastic experience!

Yesterday, Meg and I went to Menard's, still on a search for blinds for my new room.  Ack!  Still no sizes that would work!  Then Meg noticed that they could be trimmed to fit.  I knew you could get shades trimmed, but not blinds.  Sooo....we left Menard's with blinds cut to measure.  I got them put up today.  Perfect fit!  I don't have to undress in front of the neighbors after all!  (No comments from the Peanut Gallery, RDO!)  The carpet goes in on Tuesday.  Then I can move in--God help us all!  The whole moving process just scares me to death!

The children came home about 7:00 tonight.  Our plan is for a Memorial Day cemetery tour in Putnam County to put flowers on the graves of Meg's ancestors, but the weather forecast doesn't look real good.  We will have to play it by ear.  Maybe our picnic will have to be in the living room!

I didn't get much done today.  Honestly, I meant to...  OH!  Meant to mention my dumb-butt trick of the day.  Robin managed to break a glass on the corner of the patio a couple of weeks ago.  I put a table over it until I could get it cleaned up.  Did that today.  Picked up the big pieces and put them in a plastic cup.  Got down on my hands and knees with a little brush and a little dust pan to get the tiny pieces.  Brush, brush, brush....then put it all in a bunched-up garbage bag that I had in my hand.  I walked over to another place on the patio and decided I should un-bunch the bag before I accidentally dumped it...but I grabbed the wrong end and dumped it anyway!  I don't mind doing a chore the first time, but when I have to do it AGAIN just because of stupidity, I hate that!

 

   

Ahm Tard

'Tis Friday, and I am pooped.  Normal for this time of the week and the activities of the last two weekends.  Next week should be busy but not ugly.  The worst part of it will be getting my classroom ready for summer departure.  I'm not even a little bit ready!

After Meg left for Muncie with the children, I went to Wal-Mart looking for blinds for the new bedroom windows.  No luck.  I need an inside mount measurement of 69 1/2 inches.  The closest thing that comes to that is a 71-inch blind that only adjusts down to 70 3/4ths inches.  I'll keep looking.  At present, I'm measuring the room to determine where the furniture will go when I can start moving in.  What LOOKS like a big space will get smaller real fast when the furniture goes in.

My students were okay today.  I think it is dawning on them that their days in middle school are numbered and that they will be in high school soon--and also that their teachers are tired of messing with them!  I keep telling them, "You're going to miss me!"

Ran into a former student and her family in Wal-Mart this evening.  I had their older son in school quite a number of years ago when I was teaching elementary school.  Had their daughter last year.  I understand that there is another that I will have next year.  I'm sure they are thinking--"Gosh...she was old so many years ago.  She's still teaching????"  Oh, well!

I look forward to a peaceful weekend...and our proposed cemetery tour picnic on Monday.  But for now, ahm tard!

A Key!

Had to run some errands yesterday afternoon.  One was to take something to KB9RDO who works for a Chevy dealer in Brownsburg.  While I was there, I thought about my non-working remote car key.  Guess what?  They had one!  They are a little pricey, but I decided to bite on the bullet and purchase one.  (Okay, so I indulged myself!)  In a matter of five minutes, the key was working and I was on my way.  Yay! 

I sent two boys to the office today.  These fellows are not "bad", per se...but they are sneaky and constant.  AND, when I collar them on their behavior, they are NEVER guilty.  I'm tired of it.  They have been warned many times over.  I don't know or care what happened to them when they got to the office.  I'm done with the kid gloves routine!   I bend over backwards for students.  A kid really has to push my buttons to get exiled from my class--and they know it.  Yesterday, I hauled one out to the hall to tell him that I was working to keep HIS nose clean for the remaining week of school.  I am convinced that eighth graders don't get it.  They are totally impulse-and-hormone driven.  The "Stupid Stuff" goes on and on...

I am to be Meg's "designated driver" for race day.  She will be attending the 500 with her father.  Meg isn't a drinker, but she probably will imbibe that day...so I will be a good girl and not imbibe, myself...just so we can get her home safely.  Wish I were going.  I always get Track Fever this time of year...

Meg gets emotional when she considers that next week is Robin's last few days of Kindergarten.  Since I teach, I can't relate.  Come on, summer!

 

Slow Motion

Is it me, or are the days counting down to summer break really, really slowly??  Maybe it's just because everything is such a wreck at home that I just want summer to be here so I can finally get started on getting moved into my new bedroom.  The whole process scares me to death because of the waterbed and the radios.  We are talkin' a major project, boys and girls!  The first purchase for the new bedroom will have to be blinds because I have these two big windows right in the front of the house...looking out on the dumpster, at present.  

We have already talked, as a family, about respecting each other's space once everyone has his/her own room.  Ryan gets the short end of the stick because he will have the smallest bedroom (really small!), but Robin has to share a bedroom with Nathan's girlfriend's daughter when they are in Muncie, so I guess it all evens out.  We will make do!

This weekend's plan is for the children to go to Muncie for Saturday and Sunday, then on Memorial Day (if weather permits) we will all go on a cemetery picnic trip to put flowers on the graves of Meg's ancestors in Putnam County...and there are a bunch of them!  My grandchildren are quite at home in cemeteries because of all of the genealogy trips we have taken, looking for graves.  A couple of years ago, we were changing diapers on the gravesites!  We've come a long way!

One of my dear friends is going to the hospital tomorrow for a "5-day minimum" stay in order to try some new medicine and re-jumpstart his heart in order to get rid of some fibrillation.  Please keep Mike, KB9RDO, in your prayers.  Will look forward to hearing him on the radio when he gets out.  Godspeed, Mike!

Dayton Comes But Once a Year

Let's see....where did I leave off?

I was to leave for Dayton on Thursday after school, but I wasn't packed yet by Thursday morning.  I hoped to race home at the end of the day, throw some stuff together, and head out.  But the best laid plans of mice and men go oft astray!

My students decided to spend Thursday being whacko.  During fourth period alone, I had to deal with two (count them: 2) major discipline problems before I could even start class.  The first was one of my autistic boys who sat in another student's seat and refused to move.  I had to call in the troops for that one just to keep things calm.  (He is quite volatile because his classmates taunt him unmercifully.)  Then, one of my young "ladies" reached out with her foot and moved a desk from under a boy who was in the act of sitting down.  He fell to the floor and hit his head on the desk.  Had to walk her to the office and send him to the nurse to be checked out.  Sheesh!  So...I had to stay after school to finish my lesson plans since the kids didn't afford me any extra time during classes to get that job done. 

Okay...so I left Plainfield about 5:30 for the two hour trip to Dayton.  It sprinkled on me along the way, but the real rain didn't hit until I approached Dayton and had to follow cell phone directions to find my crew.  I was in uncharted territory and visibility was bad.  Major Pat kept joking with me on the phone, but I was beginning to get impatient when I wasn't finding them per their directions.  Finally did.  Hooray!

I stayed at a University of Dayton dorm with Major Pat, my dear friend, and a soft-spoken Salvation Army officer from Canada.  (I'm just one of the guys!)  Another SA Canadian officer came with his wife...so we all, plus the contingent from Chicago, broke bread together at the end of each day.  We ate too much, stayed up too late, slept too poorly, and stood too long each day, but we had a good time.  SATERN has come a long way from the first couple of years of our booth at Dayton.  In those days, we were hearing from people who said, "I didn't realize The Salvation Army had a radio group."  Now, people look us up to meet the National Director and sign up!  (That's a whole other blog topic!)

As happens at almost every Hamvention, I had to take my lumps.  The remote key to my car hasn't been working, so I've had to use it manually.  Saturday at breakfast, I got a cell phone call from one of my friends from home (also staying at the dorm) saying that KC9HNS had my car key.  Huh???  How does he have my key?  I had left it hanging from the trunk in the parking lot at the dorm.  The guys grabbed it, then went to breakfast at McDonald's where they overheard another group of radio operators commenting that they had seen someone's keys dangling from a car trunk.  Thereafter, every time I saw my guys, they asked if I had my keys.  <Sigh>

Got home Sunday afternoon about 2:30.  Patrick followed me and stayed at a motel near the interstate.  We had supper on Sunday and breakfast on Monday before he headed for Michigan.  (I took Monday off.  I have done this for the last three years post-Dayton.  'Tis a mental health day!) 

Meanwhile, the garage project is near completion.  It appears to me that the only thing left to do is the carpet laying...and that is scheduled for next Tuesday.  Then the fun begins!  Meg and I haven't been able to keep up with the house...with the children here the weekend before Dayton and my being gone this past weekend.  As soon as school is out, I can concentrate on finding places for everything.  Right now, however, we are just biding time.  The house and yard are total disasters, which is embarrassing because the guys doing the remodeling are family.  I can only imagine what they are thinking about how we live!

I saw "Uncle Jim" from Summit Builders--my former brother-in-law--for the first time in many years the other day.  He looks really good!  (Unfortunately, I don't.  God bless him for not saying so!)  He has to be mortified at how bad things look here.  Hopefully, the new room will change some of that.  We still have much de-cluttering to do, but at least we keep our priorities straight.  All we need is time!

I'm thankful that Meg isn't taking any classes this summer.  Lots to do! 

 

 

A Little Bit of Mother's Day Paradise

Not unexpectedly, I overslept this morning.  We needed to be at church along about 10:45, so we were moving right along.  Of course, it was cold, rainy...and later, windy...so yuck!

The children did well with their Kinderbells performance.  They wore little white stoles with felt bows over their clothing.  The sanctuary was packed, due also to Confirmation. 

After church, we went to Judy and Phil's (the other grandparents) for brunch.  We had suggested going out for a meal, but they were convinced that the restaurants would be packed.  (Probably true.)  It was a pleasant time, although the childrren didn't eat much.  We didn't stay long after because the children were acting squirrely.  Meg and I declared "nap time" when we got home.  Meg, Ryan, and I napped.  Robin--who should have been the most tired--didn't.  I had put a roast in the crock pot earlier, so we had some supper after naps.  The kids ate well.  Go figure!

Tonight, both children were bathed and Meg spent a lot of time working with Robin on her "popcorn words" since Kindergarten evaluations start tomorrow.  Ryan was whacko all during this.  He had watched a cartoon video with Yosemite Sam saying, "I'm gonna blast your head off."  Well...that was the saying of the day.  Please, God...tell me that this is normal for little boys.  I never had one, so I just don't know!!

We start the week behind the 8-ball.  Laundry isn't done and things continue to be a mess.  Meg is discouraged about it.  I am, too...but I can't let it get to me because there is much to do this week before I leave for the Dayton Hamvention on Thursday afternoon.  I just see it as something to get through...  We'll survive, Meg.  Keep the faith!

Happy Mother's Day!

To my grandmother, deceased since 1975:  You were a huge influence in my life.  I loved you then; I love you now.  I admired the daylights out of you for your wisdom, strength, dignity, and beauty.  You are gone but certainly not forgotten.

To my mother, deceased since 1986:  I declared on the day you departed this plane that it would never be over for me.  It still isn't.  I'm 61 years old now, but I continue to miss you every grateful day of my life..  Thank God you are ever present in our lives here!  One of your grandchildren and one of your great-grandchildren--neither of which you had the pleasure to meet--share your birth date.  No one will ever convince me that that is an accident!

To my sister:  God bless you this day!  Mother of two, grandmother of five, great-grandmother of three--your tribe doth increase!  I hope they all appreciate you.  You have bent over backwards for your bairn through the years.  They will come to know how much you love them all!

To my daughter:  No one ever said motherhood was easy!  I am so glad you are in my life.  I am equally glad my grandchildren are here.  We have had our challenges, but we always come out on top.  You have forever been my life...but when my grandchildren were born, it gave a new dynamic to everything.  We are both blessed with the best children/grandchildren in the world.  When you get tired, imagine life without the little rascals... 

To all of the other mothers in the world:  God bless you!  Motherhood never stops.  It's not like you can say, "I'm done." 

Happy Mother's Day to all you "mothah's:.  I love you!

Peg 

 

Well, Duh!

Robin woke me up early this morning, in tears, saying her head hurt.  She felt a little warm, so we went to the living room to find the "thermonitor".  Slight temp, but otherwise okay.  She snuggled up in the rocky chair, and I re-crashed on the love seat.  Re-got up sometime just before 10:00--which is really late for me. 

Meanwhile, KA9HJP called to say he was on his way to check on the central air conditioning.  He got a meter and determined that there was no power to the unit.  He then checked on the breaker, which was OFF!  I felt like a total idiot!  I mean, every good ham operator knows to check fuses before declaring a radio dead.  What was I thinking????  Apparently the builders turned the breaker off while working on the garage project and didn't turn it on again...and I didn't check that.  DUH!!!  He wouldn't take any money for his gas, so I owe him one.  Thanks, Jim! 

After brunch, I worked on the kitchen while Meg and "Mike Rowe" (from television's Dirty Jobs show--really grandson Ryan) worked at picking up the front of the house.  Since the day was getting away from us, we decided to take the kids and run errands.  Lesson #1:  Never assume that preschoolers will be happy with your decisions.  We went to Splash Island to sign the children up for swimming lessons this summer.  They informed us that they KNEW how to swim.  Lesson #2:  Don't promise hungry children something you can't deliver.  Ryan has been bugging us to eat at the new Red Robin burger place in town, so we were going to go there...but had no idea the place would be packed, with a 30-minute wait, when we arrived.  Ryan had a near-melt-down when we decided to go somewhere else.  (They really were hungry and tired...and semi-cranky.)  Meg parked the car in order for us to decide about it.  Ry finally conceded that it was okay to go somewhere else.  Sheesh!  Lesson #3:  Don't run errands when there are so many other things to do!  We are pooped, and not all that much got done around here!

The children are playing Kinderbells at church tomorrow, then we are having brunch with the other grandparents for Mother's Day.  The lawn needs to be mowed and the laundry remains undone.  Ugh!  I can't wait for school to be over so I can tend to biz at home...

Adventures in the Men's Restroom

'Tis Friday, and the children are with us this weekend.  We go out for fast food (usually McDonald's, Chick-fil-A, or Burger King) on Fridays because they have play places for the kids.  Tonight was McD's.  At one point, Robin said she had to go potty.  There is a restroom in the play place, but it was occupied.  We gave her permission to go to the adult restroom since she "really had to go".  Soon, Meg went to check on her.  Hmmm...no Robin.  Meg came back to the play area, thinking Robin had returned without checking in with us...but nooo...  Next, it was my turn to go look for her.  Two little girls came out of the women's room...but no Robin.  In desperation, I asked a 20-something young man at a nearby table if he would do me the favor of checking the men's room.  "I'm missing a little girl, and I'm wondering if she could be in there."  He said he felt a little awkward looking for a girl in the men's room, but he checked and said there was someone in the stall and it looked like it could be a little girl.  Since there were no other "patrons" in there, I stuck my head in the door and said, "Robin?  You're in the wrong restroom!"  By this time, the diners at the tables behind me were chuckling.  I got Robin out of there in a hurry--at least before anyone else needed to use it!  She hadn't been confused.  She KNOWS which restroom symbol is the right one.  It's just that the stalls in the ladies' room were full, and she reiterated that she "really had to go"...  Since I teach eighth grade, nothing embarrasses me anymore...but this episode came close!

Garage remodel update:  the wallboard went up today.  It isn't taped or mudded yet, but 'tis up (and tracked all over the house).  The window hasn't come yet, so I am thinking that will be the biggest obstacle to getting things done faster.  I think I have to buy an overhead fixture for the closet ceiling, but everything else is here!

Interestingly, on the day that the construction guys started putting in wiring, the central air conditioner quit working.  It was humming, but the fan on the condenser unit wasn't coming on, so I shut it down and asked the builder to check on it.  He wrote me an email today saying that it didn't have an electrical wire to the breaker box.  Huh??  He was suggesting that someone might have stolen it for scrap, but that didn't make any sense to me...  One of my ham friends is in the heating/cooling business, so he is coming over tomorrow to look at it.  Since the breakers were being thrown in construction, etc., he seems to think it could be a blown fuse at the unit.  I'm hoping it's that simple...and he's a dear for taking time out of his weekend to check on it for me.  The weather has been quite cool so no need for AC now...but it IS mid-May...

Tonight, Meg has been doing genealogy work on her computer, the children have been watching rented videos, and Grandma has been vegging in front of a monitor.  Need to find the kitchen table for the weekend...and do endless laundry.  Three more weeks of school!!

Contruction Progression

Here we are:

Everything in the garage has been demolished.  Plywood on the walls is gone, as is the drywall on the ceiling.  The front window has been framed in.  So has a door (should I ever want one), the air conditioning unit, and the walk-in closet.  Electrical boxes have been put in place.  A pull-down ladder for attic access has been installed.  Aluminum siding on the front has been torn down, with outside insualtion put in place. awaiting the end of the project. 

Tomorrow is Friday.  My students have been from hell.  The grandchildren will be here this weekend.  We will all be tired.  I look forward to summer!

To my dearest friends Patrick and Carmella who face a move, you can do this, because you have to!   God provides.  And Peggy loves you.  (There ya go!)

See you all at Dayton!

And God Sent Angels...in the Form of a Dumpster!

Okay...so Ray's Trash Service did...but who's counting?  I don't why it didn't occur to me that the garage project would require a dumpster, but when I found out that one would be delivered this morning, I breathed a sigh of relief.  Just think!  All of the fencing leftovers, antenna leftovers, garage and house trash that has been in the back yard for years, threatening the well-being of the grandchildren when they play back there, now has a place to be!  In the dumpster!  Out of the yard!  Once and finally for all!  Hallelujah!  (Can you tell I'm happy about it?) 

The garage remodeling project began today.  I took the grandchildren to day care this morning, then hustled home to greet the construction crew, which arrived about 8:30..  The four guys helped haul what was left in the garage--quite a bit, actually--to the patio or the yard, then started their "demo" of the inside of the garage.  They took down the garage door and opener, removed all of the plywood that had been on the walls, removed the drywall that had been on the ceiling, and then started framing things in.  The new walk-in closet is framed in, as is the BIG window on the front of the house.  (I'll have a great view of my car with the blinds open!)  The guys also framed in a door that will be covered over with wallboard in the event that a door out of the room will be needed, someday.  Electrical work starts tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I went on a search for an air conditioner and a ceiling fan for the new room.  I dreaded it because I thought it was going to cost big $$, but I came home (after two trips to Lowe's) with an AC, a fan, and a yard rake for just about $250.  The AC will be built into the wall in my new bedroom so I won't have to wrestle it in and out of a window every season.  I have to make some decisions about placement of outlets and carpet and wall color, of course...but I like to do those things!  If money were no object, I'd have the best.  As it is, I'll be happy with what I get!

When the children came home, we had a somewhat meager leftover supper, then everyone launched into working outside.  Things that weren't under cover had to be protected.  Ryan did some "dirty jobs".  Robin managed to break a glass on the patio.  Meg hefted a bunch of stuff into the dumpster--and spilled some of a can of paint onto the driveway.  (We just washed it down.)  I got quickly overheated and impatient (as did Meg) and we snapped at each other a time or two, and at the kids.  But guess what?  The world still turns!

Tomorrow is another day.  We will just keep doing what we are doing and hope for the best!

Work, Work, Grumble, Grumble...

I have spent the entire weekend working on the garage.  Meg tackled some things in the house.  Is the garage totally cleaned out yet?  Nooooo....  I am taking tomorrow off just to try to finish up...and then have to be here Tuesday also, just to direct the beginnings of the project. 

Meg has become a real task master where this project is concerned!  Any time I sat down, she started grumbling at me.  I'll get even!

Another day of work coming up.  Have to mow sometime...

Schedule

Got an email from our construction crew boss this afternoon to say that the garage project will begin on Tuesday.  That gives me one extra day to get the garage cleaned out.  And I'm thinking that I need to be here on Tuesday because Chris (from Summit Builders) and I haven't talked too much about the configuration of the new room--coupled with the fact that I have changed my mind a couple of times about some things.  In any case, that which we have been fussing over for the past few months is about to become reality.  Hallelujah!  We will (eventually) all have our own bedrooms!  It will be an adjustment for the children who have come to rely on having a parent or grandparent with them overnight, but I don't think Meg and I will need any time to adjust at all!  It will probably be well into summer before we can get every room emptied, redecorated, cleaned, and refurnished, but at least the process will now be able to start.  Wish me luck!

Busy, Busy...

My ride to school this morning showed up in the driveway a full 15 minutes before she said she'd be here.  I didn't even have my face on yet!  Took my makeup to school with me so I could at least put it on there.  There was plenty of time because we got there early!

I totally lost my temper with one of my classes today.  It's a combination of attitudes and lack of impulse control that has made this my unholiest class.  I'm an easy person to get along with, but the class has tested my patience for the last time.  Several that I have simply sent to the hall so I can finish class will now be faced with disciplinary referrals.  They won't know what hit them!

Since my car was in the shop, Meg left work a few minutes early to pick up the children from day care before it closes (5:30).  The children were due at church at 6:30 to practice Kinderbells for a Mother's Day performance.  Meantime, the garage had called to say my car was done....soooo...the instant Meg and the kids walked in the door, Grandma served dinner (pancakes and sausage and fruit), then we hit the road for Stilesville to pick up my buggy.  We switched the children to my car in Stilesville and I took them to church in Plainfield while Meg went grocery shopping.  We were only a couple of minutes late...

In any case, the children will go to Muncie tomorrow evening.  Meg and I will tackle the house and garage while they are gone in preparation for the garage project.    It will be a dirty job, but somebody has got to do it!  Wish us luck!