Tuesday, September 30, 2008

EOD

End of Day.

We have a new living room.  My friends Mark and Beth came with a pickup truck to take away our living room furniture.  Meg and Grandpa Phil...plus a ham friend, Travis...and both children...went to the storage unit to bring home Meg's futon and futon chair, plus an end table.  The vibrant colors really warm up the room!  The futon furniture is big...probably too big for the room...but we like it.  Tune in later to see how much we like it later.  Still have adjustments to make.

Meg is quite stressed.  She doesn't know how to separate things into small steps.  She has things to do for classes and things to do for work...and she joins that with the usual mother-guilt of not spending enough quality time with the children (she thinks) and the messy house.  We work full tilt.  She doesn't quite get it that the children will and do survive quite nicely, thankyouverymuch.  Hey, Meg...does that mean I have THREE children??

Part of her stress is that the children will be with us this weekend.  That means no time to do homework for her classes, and no real time for me to catch up on laundry.  I'll keep working on that.  'Tis a "forever" job. 

Life goes on.  We will have Meg out of her storage unit by the end of the month...and maybe we will be ready to have a "reveal" of home changes by Ryan's birthday in mid-November.  I'll just keep pluggin' on that!

Ack!

Just got an email from AOL indicating that AOL Journals (my blog) will be shutting down permanently at the end of October.  <sigh>  I know it is totally self-serving to have a blog, but it helps me to have a forum to express myself.  Apparently AOL is offering an alternative.  Will be looking for that. 

Stay tuned!

I'm Running as Fast as I Can...

...just to stay in one place!  I took the day off today.  Had to go to school to take my lesson plans in.  I left early.  Got back home about 8:15.  Launched into cleaning the living room furniture so my friends could come get it today.  You simply can't believe how much junk I found under the cushions!!

The first thing that happened before Meg and the children even left home this morning was that Meg closed her bedroom door firmly.  The doorknob has been failing...so we couldn't break back in.  I tried.  Finally called one of my dear ham friends to help, which he did.  Got in the door and replaced the knob with a new one I had purchased.  Thanks, Santa!  (Inside joke.) 

I also worked at sorting laundry, picking up the children's bedrooms, cleaning the main bathroom (which has been out of control for a couple of weeks, doing dishes, etc.  Can you tell the difference?  No!  But I still feel good about what got done.  There is plenty more!

As I type, the living room is nearly empty.  I have arranged for Grandpa Phil's truck and another ham to help move other furniture out of storage.  It will be a big change, but I hope everyone will feel good about it.  It will give me an opportunity to redecorate.  Love that!

More later...after the transfer.  Amazing how unstressed I am when I'm not just getting home from work!   

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Aaarrgghhh!

Okay...so Meg and I spent most of yesterday at a scrapbooking event.  We didn't have the time to spend, but it was nice just to be able to reconnect with a heritage scrapbook that I have been working on for four years.  I enjoyed it.  Then came home to a day missed in the process of laundry and cleaning.  Meg missed doing homework.  Oh well.  We'll both get by...I think.

My friends Mark and Beth, who are taking our living room furniture so I can get Meg out of her storage unit (long story) came by so I could take them to the unit to see if they wanted a desk in there.  They followed me.  I had Meg's slider card to get in.  Huh?  There was no place to slide the card.  Whatever used to be there was replaced by a keypad...and we had no magic numbers.  A quick call to Meg indicated that she had no clue, either.  Hmmm...  We squeezed in through the gate so M and B could see what was in the unit.  They took TV tables, but didn't want the desk.  No harm, I guess...except that if this had been moving day, we would have been SOL.

When I got home, Meg had a meltdown.  She is feeling overwhelmed.  (So am I.)  The children will be with us next weekend, so we need to compensate each other somehow so she can do homework and I can do laundry.  Whatever.  We'll git 'er done.  (Meg, unfortunately, sees the huge mountain to be overcome rather than the smaller steps to get to the top. It has been ever thus.)

Then the children came home.  OMG!  They had been to a parade and some kind of carnival.  They had two bags of candy and goldfish that they had won.  Goldfish?  Excuse me?  Ryan wasn't in the house five minutes before he had a major kicking tantrum about a bag of candy.  And then we had to deal with the goldfish.  One was DOA.  Four others are still kicking.  I could kill Nathan!  We have no fishbowls.  We have no aquariums.  We have no place to put the fish except in Ball jars.  We have no fish food.  We DO have softened water.  Don't know if fish can live in that...  Ryan came home overtired and unreasonable.  He had three tantrums that put him in time out before we'd even had a chance to say hi.  Both kids were tired and hungry and with fish.  Happy Sunday!

If I followed Nathan's logic on this deal, I should pick up a stray dog on the way to Muncie and let him know it would be there for him to take care of when we arrived..."for the kids".   Look...I love animals.  Too much, maybe.  I took in Frodo the Wonder Dog when the kids moved to Muncie and couldn't keep her in a rented place.  You see how that worked out! 

Sunday evening finally settled down a little bit, but the issues of the week are still with us.  Quaker Day Parade is Saturday.  Robin's Daisy troop is marching in it...and she wants to try it.  Two-and-a-half miles.  <sigh>

I'm looking for a day off...    

 

Friday, September 26, 2008

I Spoke Too Soon...

Maybe it's a good thing that little Ryan only has one more soccer game.  Tonight, only four of their six players showed up, so all four had to play the whole game.  Ryan did well, athletically...but there were a couple of incidents where things didn't go his way, so he got angry with the coach's kid (Andrew) toward the end of the game and had a bit of a meltdown.  When the kids were coming off the field at the end, I was cheering, "Yay, yellow team!"  And here came Ryan, charging me in pure rage.  Had I been in a chair with a higher center of gravity, he could have knocked me over.  I was wondering what kind of logic was going on in his toady little brain.  Later, in the car, Meg tried to evoke an apology from him.  He said he was mad at Andrew.  I said that I wasn't Andrew and that all I was doing was cheering for him and his team.  His response?  "I didn't hear you.  Next time, yell louder!"  So it was my fault...as usual.  I took it personally.  (Never mind that he's four.)  My feelings are still a bit dented...

Okay.  I'll admit that I never raised a boy, and I flat-out don't understand them.  I remember my own brother at four.  He drove me nuts.  When I picked the children up from Grandma Judy's today, I took them to McD's for supper.  (McDonald's has a Play Place.)  Before I was even away from the counter with the food, Robin had come to me twice--the second time in tears--that Ryan had hit her.  I warned him.  We ate.  In short order, he found a boy to play with.  I watched while Ryan pretended to be Darth Vader and was hitting the boy like Kung Fu Panda.  The boy said, "I'm not playing with you anymore.  You play too hard."  (Ryan claims to have no memory of hitting him.)  Okay...so we continued with our meal, with intermittent playing.  I gave the kids a 10-minute warning.  With three minutes left, one of the children in the Play Place started crying...and suddenly Ryan appeared to me for protection.  I asked what he had done.  He said he didn't want to tell me.  One of the other children blabbed that Ry had hit a kid on the chin.  The little boy appeared in tears.  I made Ryan apologize to him, just as his grandmother showed up and asked what was wrong.  I told her that MY grandson had hit HER grandson...that he had apologized...and that we were leaving due to bad behavior.  (It was time to go, anyway.)  She was very understanding, mumbling something like, "The shoe was on the other foot, this time."

As we were leaving, I told Ryan that his behavior was embarrassing...that he didn't even know the little boy was that he hit.  Robin commented to him:  "You did a lot more to me than you did to that little boy, and you KNOW who I am!"  Good point!  Did it get through?  Doubt it.  I am praying that the Angel of Little Boys visits me to give me insight.  I keep trying to get it.  So far, I don't!     

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Chuck E. Cheese

I got to come home over an hour early today because our in-service got done early, and I bailed.  There is plenty to do at school, but there is also plenty to do at home.  I hoped for a nap but opted for a leisurly bath, instead...sans children.  Ahhhhh....

This afternoon/evening, Van Buren Elementary (Robin's school) had a fundraising night at Chuck E. Cheese.  Meg considered not taking the children because it tends to be expensive so it is reserved for special occasions...plus the fact that she gets home from work sufficiently late that it would make for a late evening for everyone.  The children, of course, love it.  BUT, since things have been going better around here, and since I was home from school early, I decided I would take them right when I picked them up from Grandma Judy's.  That way, they could have their time to play, and we could be back at a decent hour.  Meg maybe got an hour of peace after a trying day at work before we hit the door.  The kids were told that they were going because they had been getting up nicely in the mornings, and bedtimes haven't been quite as chaotic as in the past.  They were good as gold, so it worked out nicely for everyone.

I have at least four pairs of glasses.  Do you think I can find ANY of them tonight?  Nooo...  I hate when that happens!

Meg and I are spending all day Saturday at a scrapbooking event.  We haven't done any scrapbooking for well over a year.  I have a heritage book that I've been working on for years.  Neither of us can really afford the time...but you know what?  We enjoy it.  We haven't had the time to do anything creative in a loooong time, and we don't indulge ourselves often...so it will be a welcome retreat, even if it will take us half the time there to figure out where we left off!

Tomorrow is one of Ryan's last soccer games.  He has pretty much been a star.  Don't know what we will replace it with.  He likes the attention, and it is good for him to know that at least one thing in life is specifically his--without perceived competition from his sister.  (She has no interest in sports, she says.)  God bless the children.  They keep us busy!

 

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Good News...I Guess

I received the title for my car in the mail today, which means that the loan is paid off.  Neato!  However, the buggy has over 140,000 miles on it, and all of the press that I've seen/heard indicates that it will be tough to get loans after this.  I have a number of bills in collections due to my aneurysm deal.  I may have to work forever to get through this.  At least I know that the car is now "mine"...

Because of problems with Ryan, Meg has instituted some new behavior management procedures.  For now, they are working.  Things are better here.  Meltdowns are less common, and we seem happier here.  Yes!!

The next two days are half-days with students due to in-service, of which I am a part.  Help! 

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Coats for Kids at Lucas Oil Stadium

I've written about this event before, I'm sure.  Channel 13 in Indy partners up with The Salvation Army and Tuchman Cleaners to collect and distribute free winter coats for needy children.  Channel 13 does the advertising and provides the TV "celebrities".  Tuchman Cleaners cleans all of the donated coats.  Salvation Army provides the volunteers and elbow grease to get the coats sorted and distributed (on October 11th at the State Fairgrounds).  For several years, the Indianapolis Colts organization has provided a venue for collecting coats from home-game-goers for one game in September.  SATERN (Salvation Army Team Emergency Network) has provided communications for several years now.  I am the SATERN Coordinator for Indiana, so I was there...with a team of four others...to help get the job done.  We took in 1,263 coats at the game today.  (More come from other sources.) 

We were at the new Lucas Oil Stadium.  Whoop-de-doo!  It really was easier working around there than at the RCA Dome, but I probably walked a couple of miles today.  My folks worked hard.  I really think TSA doesn't know what unsung heroes their own radio communicators are.  They needed us but didn't ask.  (I called up the team.)  Not sure how things would have gone had we not been there...  We will also work the distribution in October. 

The REAL hero for the day is a ham named Jacob KC9OAD, who has only been licensed since July.  Two weeks ago, he checked into our weekly net and heard me looking for volunteers for today.  He mentioned that he would be parking vehicles at Indianapolis Welding Supply on McCarty Street, close to the stadium, and essentially invited us to park there.  We showed up and met him.  He/they were furiously parking cars for $25 a crack.  My team took up two spaces and didn't pay a cent.  It makes volunteering a whole lot sweeter when it doesn't cost a fortune to help!  I owe the young man a thank-you note, at the very least.  He saved us many steps and some $$.  (Last year, I think we parked at least a mile away.)  

Before I left shortly after noon, Meg (who had professed to being overwhelmed today) was desolate because the children were on the way home already.  She didn't have all of her homework done, and I was going to be gone.  Thankfully, when I returned, all was peaceful.  (Sometimes, Sunday evenings turn into horrible events!)  In any case, we got everyone fed and bedded without too many problems.  Tomorrow is one of the Monday evening deals where both children have to be in different places at the same time...so we will have to split the difference.  Plus, my friend Patrick is coming to town.  I hope I can accommodate him without too many dented feelings all around.

The Colts lost.  :(  Still, it was a good day.  I could have spent the time here at home, but what we did was for a good cause.  I don't ever regret that.  God leads.  I try to follow.  And He is leading me to bed now.  I'm pooped!     

 

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Yay!

Weighed in this morning.  Down a total of 11.2 pounds.  It's slow going, but I am excited that I got my second star.  (We get a star for every five pounds down.)  It took weeks to get there because I have cheated, which only goes to show that if I remained totally "legal," I could lose a bunch more.  I commend myself for sticking with the program when I would like to give up.  I commend my daughter for losing TWICE what I've lost in the same amount of time.  I'm just going to keep plugging.  I don't make the best choices all the time, but at least I'm still losing.  Yay!  One step/ounce at a time!

When we left the weigh-in this morning, we went grocery shopping.  Meijer had a sale on some medium-sized frozen shrimp.  I looked at the nutrition information and discovered that I could have 12 shrimp for 1 WW point.  You better bet I snapped up that bag.  May go back for more.  What a treat!

Am working on my bedroom, at present...and laundry.  My room has been a depository for everything that has no other place to be.  Time to stop!  Next weekend, Meg and I are spending all of Saturday at a scrapbooking event, and I haven't worked on that stuff in forever!  Have to find it all...and try to do a little advance work so I don't spend my time just figuring out where I left off at least two years ago...maybe three.  Judy (Grandma Judy) will be joining us for some of the time.  It will be a nice creative release.  I need that.  Actually, we all do.

Back to work here.  I love Saturdays.

 

Thursday, September 18, 2008

But Officer, I Wasn't Speeding!

I was talking on ham radio and enjoying my commute home this afternoon when I went past a State Police car in a hiding spot on the interstate, running radar.  I looked back (as I always do), only to see him turn on his lights and follow me onto the exit ramp in Plainfield.  Ack!  I had been speeding, just a little, prior to running into him...but only to pass a bunch of semis so I could change lanes to exit.  By the time I saw him, I wasn't speeding, though!  He pulled in behind me.  My little heart was going pitter-pat in nervous anticipation.  What did I do???  I watched him put on his Smokey-the-Bear hat and get out of his vehicle to approach mine.  At that point, I recognized Mr. Smokey as my former student and ham "brother" Daniel.  He had been listening to me on the radio in his cruiser and decided to stop me, just to say hi.  I told him he just about gave me a heart attack!  (Okay, Daniel...we're even for my reporting you to the football coach for acting up in class, way back when.  Now don't do that again!) 

I'm certain I have written about Daniel before--probably when I returned from his Police Academy Graduation a year or so ago.  I am extremely proud of that young man!  (Not so much for giving an old lady palpitations, but for what he has accomplished.)

Today was the last day of ISTEP testing...until spring.  I can FINALLY get back to regular curriculum and sink my teeth into content.  Yeah!

More later... 

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Another Day in Paradise

After school yesterday was a busy time.  Robin was to go to the Anderson Orchard with Daisy Girl Scouts at 4:30, and Ryan had a soccer game at 6:00.  The McNary grandparents were going to pick up Ry and take him to supper pre-game.  I was elected to pick up Robin from school--she doesn't get out until 3:35--take her for supper, then to the orchard.  We still were back in time to go to Ry's game.  Robin got in trouble with her mother so didn't get to go out with Mom, Ry, and the McN grandparents after the game.  She came home with me and did homework.  Then it was bath and bedtime for all of us.

Today, our district started ISTEP testing--Indiana's version of competency tests.  For three periods of the day, I had my homeroom in a testing situation.  For the rest, I showed The Miracle Worker--the original B & W version, with Ann Bancroft and Patty Duke.  They quickly got into it.  'Twas a fairly non-stressful day...for me. 

One of my ham friends dropped a bomb on me last night.  Long-time bachelor is getting married!  He has room in his life for love and companionship...and he deserves it.  Best wishes, Mike!  It's never too late for happiness!

Tried spaghetti squash tonight.  In spite of overcooking (according to Internet directions) it was still crunchy.  I haven't given up on it.  Yet. 

Hope the rest of the world is ducky.  I'm just hanging on...

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Weekend Ramblings

Meg and I skipped the Saturday morning weigh-in because the Westside Church of the Nazarene (up on 10th Street in Indy) was having their semi-annual Kids Resale shop.  It is a church sponsored rummage sale that has, for a year now, netted us change-of-season clothing for the children...and it is a popular deal.  It opens at 8:00.  Be there or be square!  We left with $65 worth of clothing at garage sale prices.  Not a bad haul. 

After that, we made a Sam's Club run for bulk things.  By this time, I was starving, so Meg offered to buy my brunch to make up for some things that I had purchased.  We came all the way back to Plainfield's Bob Evans because of crowded conditions at the one in Avon.  I enjoyed my brunch!  (Of course, I hadn't weighed in, so I could do that!)

A number of other things on Saturday cut into my dedicated "work" time, but I considered that we had done a big stroke of business by then.

Today, of course, reality set in.  It's Sunday.  The entire week's laundry still awaited me plus the new clothes that we just bought.  The children would be home earlier than usual, and I hadn't even touched the "to do" list.  You get the picture.  Okay...so I didn't get to work on my bedroom or the patio... and haven't graded papers that are big-time overdue...but we survive.  Yay!  (For the curious, Meg cooked and did her course-work.  She has no other time but the weekends to do it.  I want her to get as many credit hours under her belt as she can before I croak and things get complicated for her, so we trade off.  She mostly paid for the garage remodel project; has put 100% of the money in the kitty for getting the kitchen floor replaced; and is largely funding the Christmas Florida trip.  No, she is not rich!  She is just better at shielding funds than I am.  I need to learn from her!)

The house is finally quiet.  Both of the grandchildren weren't ready to go to bed at bedtime.  It is always a struggle.  I didn't sleep well last night...having fallen asleep on the couch and finally crashing at 9:30...which means I'll be awake half the night.  Still, we are all home and in bed, with lunches made for tomorrow.  All's right with the world!

 

 

Friday, September 12, 2008

Bambi

Forgot to mention that we had a pot-luck at school today during B lunch.  One dude brought chili.  The rest of us just brought the fixings.  (I was up late baking corn meal muffins.) 

During lunch today, I was aware that the chili tasted "different".  I kept wondering what he did to it to make it taste that way.  It wasn't bad...just wasn't good.  I found out later that it was "deer" chili...made with venison.  Ptooey!  Everyone else seemed to know.  As usual, I was the last "man" out...  To make matters worse, nobody ate my muffins!  I haven't died yet, so I guess I am none the worse for wear.  My parents used to subject me to rabbit and squirrel and beef heart and tongue, so I'm not a rube.  I just don't happen to like venison.  (Or rabbit, squirrel, beef heart, and tongue.)  I'm still alive, thankfully.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

September 11th, Times Seven

Meg and I have been riveted to the History Channel tonight, watching footage of the 9/11 tragedy.  It is like reliving the whole event.  It still makes us cry...  My students were in Kdg. and 1st grade when it happened.  They don't remember much more than their parents' reaction to it, which was to come and pick up their children but being met with a lockdown situation. 

I showed my grandchildren a flag at half-staff today and told them why it was that way.  Had talked to Robin about it before and she remembered.  Apparently it was mentioned at school and she understood.  I told my students today that they would be able to tell their grandchildren someday that they were alive during the worst tragedy in our nation's history.  I equated it with President Kennedy's assassination.  I've been alive for both...

Meg had a hair appointment this evening, so I decided to take the children for haircuts when I picked them up from Grandma Judy's...then take them to Chick-fil-A for supper.  That part went pretty smoothly.  Everything fell apart after that.  I will spare the details except to say that I totally lost my cool with my grandson.  The child has anger issues.  (Apparently so does Grandma!)  When he threw one of his soccer shoes across the room and knocked a glass chimney off an oil lamp, and hit me with a toy monkey, I gave in to anger and spanking.  (He was deliberate with the monkey thing--a brand new toy that I had just bought for him at the haircut venue.)  I told him three-four times that if he hit me with it, it was gone.  He finally connected.  BINGO!  Truth be known, he and I were BOTH out of control.  I am not very proud of my part of the whole deal.  I'm the adult...but he sure does know what buttons to push!  Everything ended okay, but I'm still shocked at my behavior...and his.  (Update:  Ryan just woke up, crying.  His bed is wet.  Big surprise!  The dear child is still sick.  Hard to remember when he is throwing tantrums...)

I have a friendly neighborhood baby 'possum living in my back yard.  I want him to relocate!  He has scared me two nights in a row on the patio.  I would say that he's cute, but I hate the things.  He will grow to be a BIG 'possum someday.  There is no food, little guy.  Move on!

All I want out of life right nowis a little sleep.  So why am I still up???  Nightie-night.

 

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

One of my students had that on the front of his t-shirt today.  I know how he feels!  Last night, I was whining that I had the Coats for Kids distribution date wrong, and blamed The Salvation Army for not informing me adequately.  (Actually, they didn't inform me.  I found out via an email for another event.)  In any case, I went to school today, and there on my desk was a piece of paper where I had written the dates correctly.  Somehow, my brain changed the date.  As my mother used to say, it's hell to get old!

Ryan apparently was a wild man at Grandma Judy's today.  She looked totally frazzled when I picked the kids up, and Ryan was still big into misbehavior.  When we got home, he fell asleep in front of the TV, waiting for Meg to get home for supper.  We tried to wake him up, but it didn't work.  He's in bed now.  Wonder how long that will last...

Methinks we will all crash early tonight.  I'm tired!

 

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

SSDD

Same "Stuff", Different Day.  You know the drill...

When I got up this morning at 5:30, Ryan was in the living room watching TV.  Apparently, he was up at 1:30 crying that his ear hurt and never went back to sleep.  Meg made a pediatric doc appointment for him.  He has a double ear infection and strep throat.  She stayed home with him the rest of the day...which helped Grandma Judy just a bit.  GJ has an illness, too.  (Probably related to Ry's.)  When I got home at the end of the day, both Meg and Ry were asleep on the couches.  I picked up Robin to make a short grocery run and come home.  Apparently Robin's homework took WAY too much time this evening because she was reluctant.  So we have a sickie and a tardy one.  And so it goes!

I ran the HCARS net again tonight.  Can't seem to get any takers on running it.  For two weeks now, I have been enlisting SATERN volunteers via the net to work the Salvation Army's Coats for Kids collection and distribution.  Tonight, I got notice from one of the volunteers that I had the distribution date wrong.  HE had received some kind of flyer about it.  I--the SATERN Coordinator for the whole state--got nothing!  I felt like an idiot.  I believe in The Salvation Army's mission, but I sure don't appreciate not knowing what's going on for any given event.  This has been going on for eight years.  Perhaps someone else can get something out of Divisional Headquarters.  I've tried, but I don't get anywhere for long.  Maybe it's time for someone else to give it a shot... 

The house is quiet.  Time to go to bed!

 

Monday, September 8, 2008

Monday Again??

School was school today.  Had a faculty meeting first thing this morning...then business as usual.  This is Homecoming Week, so every day, we are supposed to wear something different.  Today was 80s day.  I totally forgot!  (Missed the 80s anyway.  My daughter was born in the spring of '79, so I was too busy being a mommy to care what I looked like.)  Tomorrow is Western day.  Maybe I can scare up something Western-looking.  Surely I have something, somewhere...

Daisy Girl Scouts was called off this evening, so my conflict with radio club didn't have to be.  I just didn't find out about it soon enough.  Soooo...I went to Ryan's soccer game.  His other McNary grandparents were there.  (Poor child is so under-supported!)  Ryan made nine goals, all by himself.  I think the other hot-shot on his team made three or four.  A young lady on the opposing team might have made three or four.  You get the picture...  We talk to Ry about playing fair and appreciating the efforts of teammates and kids on the other teams.  Not sure how much of that gets through.  While he is out playing soccer, his sister is galavanting on the sidelines with the siblings of the players.  What she once declared as "boring" has now become fun.  There is no competition with her with soccer.  She lets Ryan have all the glory.  She has NO interest at all in playing sports.

SOMEONE got up during the night and urinated on the rug in the bathroom.  No one fessed up.  Methinks it was Ryan, too much asleep to realize he wasn't close enough to the toilet.  We will never know...  More laundry.

The quest of the week at home is to somehow manage to keep up the progress we made last weekend so we don't undo any of it...and if I'm lucky, get some laundry done so that there isn't so much to do next weekend.  Just trying to stay ahead of the game.

And speaking of staying ahead of the game, it is time for me to hit the sack.  Morning comes early! 

 

 

Saturday, September 6, 2008

A Progress Kinda Day!

Meg and I were up somewhat early to go weigh in this morning.  I lost basically what I gained a week ago...so I am STILL .2 pounds away from ten pounds lost.  I gotta tell ya, it doesn't come off easily!  Meg continues to out-lose me.  It's not a contest...but the fact is that she doesn't cheat and I do!  (She also gets more points than I do...so it is easier for her to stay on track.)  That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Since she doesn't have an assignment due on the immediate future, Meg spent today working with me on the house.  What a difference it makes to have TWO of us attacking the piles of junk!  She is a bit of a task master, though.  I'd be busy doing one thing, then would hear her say something like, "What are we going to do with the living room?"  It's not just a cleaning question.  It's a total-redecorating question.  Her mind races far beyond what we are trying to accomplish at the moment.  I told her to go do her homework!  Seriously, we made enormous strides in getting stuff sorted today.  For example, we found a pair of Ryan's gym shoes that have been missing for weeks.  (They were muddy, which is why they were buried by the back door.)  There is still a lot to do--mostly in my bedroom now--but much was achieved.  

Both of us had The Craves today.  Since we had already weighed in, I made a pot of goulash, which I have been wanting for awhile now.  Meg got creative and made some dee-lishus potato soup that amounted to only three WW points per bowl.  It was great!  I demanded that she write her experimental recipe down for future reference.  Good stuff--and filling! 

We are still up and working on things...but not much longer.  The children will be home tomorrow.  Meg has homework to do.  I am still working on the week's laundry.  I feel somewhat more optimistic than I have for awhile because we made a big dent today.  Yay!   

Friday, September 5, 2008

Dear Lord, Deliver Me!

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

Yesterday, one of my students and her siblings were all sent home with headlice.  Haven't had that happen since I taught elementary school in the early 90s.  It is just a reminder that we can't give up vigilance on the problem.  I can hardly wait until my grandchildren come home with bugs...

Also yesterday, I got an internal IM from a special ed. teacher saying that one of my former students...a Senior now...wanted to come see me on her free period.  It seems that her beloved grandmother died suddenly of a ruptured brain aneurysm.  The dear girl didn't know that I had suffered the same malady just over a year ago.  I tried to comfort her by assuring her that her grandmother probably didn't suffer long...and gave her some advice on how to get through her grief.  "First, you cry."  We talked.  We cried together.  Then it was time for us both to get back to class.  For everything, there is a season...

I am trying desperately to understand my 4-year-old grandson.  It seems that I can't do anything right these days.  This afternoon, I went to pick the children up from Grandma Judy's...and was met by a temper tantrum from Ryan the minute he saw me.  (He apparently wasn't ready to go yet.)  I piled the children in the car and took them to McD's for supper.  He behaved miserably...telling his sister he would "kick [her] butt"...and called her an idiot...all in the play area where I couldn't reach him.  We could have stayed to play longer, but I was done.  I packed them up to go home, threatening that he wouldn't be able to go to soccer if he didn't shape up.  He DID shape up for a bit...but it was all marginal. 

Meg met us at the soccer field, as did Grandma and Grandpa Heffelman.  God bless Ryan...he scored six goals.  (No one else on his team scored any.)  The opposing team may have scored three.  He shows great potential at age four.  On the field, he shines.  Off the field, he is a semi-monster.  I wish I knew what we are doing wrong.  Some of it, I'm sure, is perceived competition with his sister (who absolutely provides no impediment to his sports desires at all)...and the rest may be his age.  I just don't know about little boys.  Never raised one.  Help!

My sister called tonight to tell me that our first cousin, David Covill, has died.  He lived in Rosemont, IL.  We have never been close to Dad's side of the family.  Still, I am sad to hear the news.  What to do about it, I'm not sure... 

Shari sounded tired.  She says she always is.  So am I!  Maybe it's our age?  God bless, sister dear!  Get some rest...which is what I'm going to do now. 

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Ahhh...Brother-and Sisterly-Love...

Today was Ryan's first day of preschool at the United Methodist Church here in Plainfield.  He goes three days a week, from 9:00 to 1:00, which includes a lunch.  Thus, Meg took both children out on Monday to buy Ryan his very own lunch bag to match his book bag...and a Thermos, to boot.  He felt so special!  When I got to school today, Meg IMed me from work saying that kids were so cute on their way to Grandma Judy's.  Ryan told Robin that he hoped she would have a good day at school.  Robin, who is a big first-grader now, told Ryan that SHE should be the one telling HIM that he should have a good day at school.  And since it was a happy, special day, apparently both children got out of the van and walked up to Grandma's house, hand-in-hand, with their book bags on their backs and lunch boxes in their paws (instead of the usual screaming/crying/running/"I want to be first" mentality).  Awwww...isn't that sweet?!   (Personally, I'm thinking Grandma Judy has to be rejoicing just a bit that Ry will be occupied three mornings a month.  She is the daytime caregiver.  I know I would be!)

I only raised one child.  That was challenging enough.  I swear I don't know how my mother managed as a Navy wife with three children, all of whom were adversarial.  How well I remember traveling across country, through the desert, to meet Dad's ship on the West Coast...in an unairconditioned car.  Two young girls and a diapered baby--before the days of Pampers.  

My students had a major paper due today.  Less than half of first period turned them in.  That's 50 points down so early in the grading period.  Oh, well! 

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Baby, It's Warm Outside!

Yesterday, we were cleaning out the coat closet and taking inventory of what winter coats will still fit whom.  Today, it's 92 degrees outside.  Hard to think about coats in these conditions!  In three weeks, I'll be working a Salvation Army Coats for Kids collection at the Colts game, and a couple of weeks after that, will be working the distribution of those coats to needy children--earlier than usual this year.  (Which is good because in past years, the families froze in the cold and rain while waiting for the doors to open.)  In the meantime, if the seasons here are true to form, we will be chilly by the end of the month.

Forgot my breakfast this morning...and my lunch...so ate school fare.  So much for my diet!  This has to stop.  I need to get back on track, big time.  It's stupid to say you want to lose weight then do everything wrong...

'Tis radio net night.  Looks like I'll be doing the honors as Net Control again.  We don't have too many people stepping up to the plate these days.  Whaddya want to bet that we won't have many check-ins tonight because everyone thinks it's Monday?

SATERN kept an active net for Hurrican Gustav, but there wasn't much traffic being passed, so it shut down.  Not to worry.  There are a couple more storms to be watching.  Meg and I had to explain to the children that we don't have hurricanes in Indiana.  Works for me!

 

Monday, September 1, 2008

Hello Labor Day...Good-Bye Summer

Labor Day...that last bastion of summer when you try to forget that school is already in session, but it's September already...has come and gone.  The children came home from camping with their father and some friends yesterday afternoon.  Meg took them shopping for things noonish today; I took them to Splash Island for the LAST day of fun at the pool before it closes (today).  Poor underprivileged children...

While we were at the pool, I asked Meg to work on the coat closet.  We had coats, scarves, and gloves coming out the wazoo...some of them ancient.  We have weeded out the garbage and made some order in the closet.  Woohoo! 

The house is still trashed.  Every day, a little progress is made in figuring out what to do with things that have accumulated through the years, but it's not a pretty process.  Who would have guessed it would take this long????  My rule still applies:  nothing new comes into the house unless something goes out.  I just keep telling myself that...