School Days Again

Busy busy busy...We are a full week into school and overall it's going fairly well. I can tell the students are getting much more comfortable with the bus and the school year as I'm having to spend more time at my RR crossings waiting on them to get quiet. High priority needs to be getting my seating chart done and posted. Problem is that while I love the results of having a seating chart...especially when I can use magnets to post the names - I hate drawing it up. Oh well I will get it done...earlier this year than I did last year.

I have the same route basically as I did last year. That's a huge yeah...made the morning route really easy - no new roads and most of the new kids were in town. My first pick-up was terrified to be riding the bus - she climbed on clutching her older sister's hand. Her mom and dad followed the bus the entire route and met her at school to escort her into the building. This afternoon going home I got a goodbye wave and an agreement that she'd see me in the morning. Now a week later she is doing much better. She is still afraid to walk to her classroom alone...and couldn't find my bus by herself this afternoon. However she is willing to walk with one of my older students into the building and to class. That's an improvement and a sign of growth. And I'm getting a real wave and smile when she gets off the bus in the evenings.

Today was Dipstick's first day of school for the year...the joys of juggling two different school schedules. He was kind of a mess this morning but hopefully had a good day. B left a few minutes ago to go get him from football practice...something new for all of us. (Squirrel and Stretch are doing cross country again this fall).

I'm sure there's plenty more to write about but in all honesty I'm tired tonight and my thoughts are scattered. The good news is that Stretch is feeling MUCH better than he was yesterday - I had him into the after hours clinic last night and he's on antibiotics for possible MRSA. Judging from the rapid response of his body they are doing their job thankfully.

Pictures Finally..and stuff

Well...the house is very very quiet at the moment...all the guys are gone camping for the weekend. Stretch and Squirrel will probably be back tomorrow evening as they usually only go for the one night and the canoeing on Saturday. However B and Dipstick traditionally stay over until Sunday afternoon making it a full weekend. They are on a Father/Son camping trip headed up by one of the men from our church though it's not a "church-only" event. It tends to be more of a friendship building/outreach type event I think. I don't look forward to this trip all year long but usually when it comes around I get excited about having the house to myself for a bit - and maybe having the chance to work on a project that I don't usually have time for. Having said that...my time tends to go all too fast and I rarely get as much done as I hope to. Tonight I'm away to a home-party - that will be interesting I think though it was booked off one I held. Tomorrow I know that I have to go out to the butcher shop to pick up some meat I ordered. Other than that...I'm either going to work on scrapbooking or start sewing strips together for quilt tops provided I can get the sewing machine working.

To update on the end of our trip...the passports were received by 11:00 am Friday morning. That was a huge relief. We spent Friday visiting a hobby store (very large collection of farm toys)...lots of fun. We also went to a Farmer's Market and spent some time realizing how vast Lake Huron really is...we weren't really even on the lake but on a bay. (Somewhere during the week I saw a 3D display that really showed how deep the Great Lakes are). Pictures were plentiful. Saturday we headed home...took the scenic route that gave us glimpses of the lake. However being as it was a holiday weekend in Canada traffic by the lake was very heavy and the trip took at least two hours longer than it could have otherwise. We were all pretty tired when we finally got home. Sunday was church and beginning to get unpacked.

Monday was our beginning of school meeting for the bus drivers - this time it seemed very long. The good news is that my bus route is basically the same as it was last year...I'll have new kids of course but also will have many of the same ones I had last year. I hope that will make the adjustment period easier as they will already be familiar with my rules. (I just got off the phone with a "new" family who's moved into town.)

Other than that...this week has mainly been a catch-up week - and time spent getting re-organized after our trip and ready for school. Hopefully this time I can get some pictures to upload to post.

Dumb Idiot Award

Well I get the dumb idiot award for the week...we are now at my sister's place...arrived here late last night. It's a 3-4 hour drive from Toronto where we were at Mom and Dad's. We arrived here about 5:00 pm last night..and 30 min or so later I realized I had left our passports in Toronto! Thankfully Dad was able to find a place to ship them from where they are guaranteed to be here by 5:00 pm today. Delaying the return home was not an option as I have to be back for training on Monday morning early. I could have driven back to Toronto to get them and done a turn-around trip but was not eager to do so.

Today is planned to be a quiet day (relatively) visiting...allowing the kids to have time with their cousins...catching up with my sister. Later we are going to a hobby shop that has tractor models..and there's plenty of photos to take.

I'm looking forward to being able to post pictures and update more - and catching up on blogger friends. Am very thankful to be spending the last full day of our vacation back in the countryside. Think we all experienced some major culture shock in the city.

Still in Ontario...having an overall good visit with Mom and Dad. It's hard to see how Mom has changed - even since March when I was up here for the weekend. Dad is trooping along...staying strong. We will be here until Thursday after lunch then visiting with my sister until Saturday morning. From there it will be the drive home.

4H Fair

Well I haven't written as often as I'd have liked recently...still haven't gotten to that promised reunion update. The local 4H County Fair has been going on since last Friday...I've been up at the fairgrounds every day and late into the evenings...and that's without any animals to care for. In between it's just normal life and preparing to head to Ontario to visit Mom and Dad next week. I can't at the moment remember how to upload photos so that will have to wait until the boys get back from running. Today will be another day of catching up around home and preparing for our trip. B and Dipstick won't be going this time as they've not got their passports yet.

Decidedly discombobulated this morning...No Lil Bit (new nickname for Baby) today - her dad Ornery got laid off yesterday afternoon. I slept in until 7:30 - was soundly asleep when B woke me telling me Squirrel wanted to be at TKD by 8:00. I left with no coffee and no food at all...dropped him off and went to my coffee friend's house to visit and eat. B called just as I was about to leave there to tell me that our builder Bob (Yes we had Bob the Builder doing our addition) was at the house finishing up stuff so we could pass final inspection and we needed another smoke alarm. That necessitated a run to the nearest larger town west of here to get that and some stuff for my chickens then home to start dinner (mid-day meal). Being as you can't make a watched pot boil I'm attempting to relax and get my head screwed on straight. This afternoon basically it's a bit more running and book-keeping to be done.

One thing that's been made abundantly clear over the last couple of days is that mice...even "cute little field mice" make me climb on things. When Squirrel and I went to mow the other place there was a mouse nest in the JD mower - complete with very new-born baby mice...including one the mama was attempting to deliver as she ran frantically around trying to escape the monsters. We left...until the mouse nest had been removed and I was certain that the mouse was also gone. The mowing did eventually get done...but I was still rather jumpy.

Time to go for lunch...

Quote and Partial Update

"Writing begets writing and not writing begets not writing" (quoted from the article "Baby Steps" in Writing Basics magazine)

I don't write to get published - usually I write to process stuff and just to keep a log of what's going on in my life. However that statement really resonates with me because I've not written recently - at least not here - and every time I think I'm going to write I back away because it seems like there is too much to write about and too little time to do so. So...I'm going to attempt to discipline myself to spend a few minutes every day here or with my handwritten journal (which I've not used either) - not just when I'm upset about something. (Though I had to just stop this, deal with an issue with Dipstick and make notes about it...ugh!! Guess that's part of being a mother and grandmother)

I've been watching Ornery's daughter "Baby" since end of last week. She is 4 years old now. We are finishing up potty training (she's in pull-ups when she arrives in the mornings) and learning about making sure to tell an adult where she is going - even if it's only from the shop to the house or back. Overall she's done quite well - is quite the chatterbox and seems to enjoy "running" with me. This morning we went and had coffee with friends in town (I can't decide how to refer to them as we started out as school bus driver and parents...now we are friends. Usually I refer to them as my "bus moms" - I truly never expected to be such good friends). One of them has a home that is the neighborhood gathering place...we sit outside when the weather is nice and visit. When the weather is nasty the visiting goes on inside. Anyway...Baby quite enjoyed that as there were different kids for her to play with and she got rather spoiled. I will only be watching her until the end of next week - by that time Ornery and his wife are to have full-time childcare arranged for. I rather hope that that will also involve preschool - she is one little one that needs the structure. (I think I need a better nickname than Baby...any suggestions?")

This past Saturday B and I drove back to Erie, PA to meet Dipstick's sister to pick Dipstick up from his 2 week visit out there. We drove appoximately half-way and they drove approximately half-way. Our drive was rather challenging as it was pouring rain and many thunderstorms pretty much all the way out there. However thankfully God protected us and we made it safely there and home again. I think Dipstick had a very good time. He's had a bit of a challenge adjusting back to "home schedule"...hopefully that will happen soon.

4th of July weekend was my high school reunion - 25th. B, Stretch, Squirrel and I drove to Chicago for the weekend. Stretch and Squirrel got to spend the weekend with their aunt and uncle and cousins - we met at a Bass Pro shop to drop them off. That was the first time I'd ever been in one of those so it was very interesting to walk around and check things out. From there B and I went to the resort where we had the reunion. I'll have to write more about that next time as it's time Squirrel and I went to the old house (which still hasn't sold or been rented) and mowed the lawn.