Thursday

No training this morning - our session was canceled due to the school nurse being sick. I'm thankful to have time at home - haven't got much done that wasn't school bus related but at least I'm home and able to start laundry and stuff. And honestly I wasn't looking forward to learning how to handle seizures - have been there, done that at home with my husband. I've sent an email to my boss about the over-crowding on the bus - I have middle school students that could possibly be transferred to another bus. That would free up some space for my younger students. Legally I know I'm not over-crowded but so many of my kids are "high need" that having them 3 to a seat makes things more challenging. I have 20 minutes or so of "he/she's hitting/touching/pinching me" or "I'm crowded" or even "my mom doesn't want me to sit by him/her because they....(you fill in the blank)".

We had snow flurries this morning - quite a drastic change from the upper 50's from yesterday and the day before. The ground is still too warm for it to stick but it's still a cold blustery day where I'm thankful to have a heated home and a heated bus. I did get my irises replanted a couple of weeks ago - and some grape hyacinth transferred. I wanted to put in more daffodils, crocus and tulips but so far that hasn't happened. There is plenty of cleaning up outside that needs done but it will likely wait until I have some help.

Other than that, not too much is going on. Son1 ended up not missing any school this week - by yesterday morning he was feeling much better. I am very thankful for that. Just wish I could also have stayed healthier.

And I am an aunt again - as of about 4:30 this morning. My youngest brother and his wife just had their first child. This is exciting - though they live so far away it's unknown when I'll actually get to meet baby.

Better go for now - time to get ready for kindergarten shuttle

Silly Sally Dog

So earlier this evening it's thundering and lightening out - we are under a severe thunderstorm watch and warning (I get those all confused). The wind was blowing hard - trees looked almost sideways and honestly I kept waiting for branches to come down - or a close lightening strike. Thankfully that didn't happen. However we did - again - have a power outage - very short this time but enough to knock all the clocks out, the computer off, tv, etc off. And apparently enough to thoroughly scare Sally - for the next hour or so she was right where I was - and as close as she could physically get to me. She followed me to do the laundry - which she *never* does, dishes, and even tried to climb in my lap! She's so silly! And honestly - while I'm not a huge dog lover I'm very thankful we have her.

Catching Up

Mom and Dad left about 10:00 this morning to head home. They should get in earlier then they arrived because as far as I know they don't have any stops to make on the way home. Hopefully the roads won't be too bad - we've had rain mixed with snow and possibly some sleet again this morning. By noon yesterday we had close to an inch of slushy sleet/snow on the deck. Son1's track meet was cancelled due to the weather. I rejoiced as I wasn't looking forward to standing out in the weather to watch it. No matter how many blankets, etc we packed we wouldn't have been able to stay warm and dry. However I know Son1 was very disappointed.

My tulips are still trying to survive - they bravely lift their heads up in the afternoon after a very cold morning. It's impressive to watch - how often do I not want to lift my head and continue on after a trial?

We have 5 surviving baby kittens - 3 were born Easter Sunday, the other 2 on Tuesday. All are well hidden - though I had to help one of the mama's protect hers from the cold and wet yesterday. (We lost one of hers due to the cold) Eventually I'll get pictures of them and maybe even figure out how to post them. Speaking of pictures - I haven't heard anything back yet on the ones I sent in for my course - am hoping that will be soon. Hopefully tomorrow I will have a chance to work on the next lessons. I'm too exhausted today (mainly due to emotions).

Just made a fresh batch of peach jam - it's cooling on the kitchen counter now. Would love to have some fresh homemade bread with it. However that won't happen just yet. Today's an early release day for the students so the teachers can have a in-service in the afternoon. On the one hand that's nice because we all get done earlier. On the other hand, one doesn't accomplish much around the house those days. Tonight Son2 and I will go to Grief Group. Son1 has an Academic Team competition to go to - it's always on a Thursday evening that we have Grief Group but it's only once a year. He just wants us to get directly home afterwards so that we can be home in time to get him picked up.

Better scoot - I have to leave on the bus in just under a half hour.

To Go or Not to Go

That was the question of the morning. We had ice overnight - 1st service at church was cancelled, 2nd service was not. After thinking it over - and going out and inspecting the driveway and road I decided that I was not going to go out and drive anywhere for at least another couple of hours. Our driveway is ice and slush covered with a majority of it having a solid coat of ice underneath - parts are completely ice. It's just not worth the risk of sliding off the road, damaging the car or injuring myself or the boys. Later I will have the boys go out to shovel off as much of the slush as they can manage to move - we are supposed to get snow again overnight and tomorrow. I expect though that we will go to school tomorrow - we are now out of snow days so I'm sure that it will take alot to have those that make the decisions decide to cancel.

Day Off

They jsut cancelled school for today - due to the freezing fog and black ice. The major east west highway around here was closed for a time this morning due to accidents and there are many others being mentioned on the radio. I'm very thankful I don't have to drive in it. However the bushes, fences, trees and all are beautiful - coated with this layer of white frozen fog. I hope to go out and take some pictures in just a bit. Was just watching a brilliant red cardinal in my white-covered lilac bush - gorgeous! Will refill my birdfeeders when I go out to take pics. I thought I would enjoy my second cup of coffee first.

The question now becomes what to do with my day and my free time. We won't be driving anywhere due to the fact that I'm having car issues and the car is now parked until it's time to drive it to the dealership to get repaired. (My driver's seat back reclines but will no longer sit up unless it's propped up by something - it's neither particularly comfortable or really safe to drive). I had a amish run scheduled for last night but I called and cancelled it due to not feeling as in control of the car as I like to be. I could really have used the income and I know that the passenger to be was extremely unhappy with me - he asked if that was my only vehicle. However as a local friend pointed out "he will just have to accept that things happen that are out of my control". I will likely work on cleaning, scanning slides and possibly some scrapbooking. I really wish I could get my pictures printed at the photo shop but not this week. Maybe I'll try to figure out how to post some on here - we'll see.

Now I'm rambling - guess that means I need to finish this and move on to something else.

Freezing Fog

Well we are under a freezing fog advisory for tonight and tomorrow morning - they are expecting heavy fog and patches of black ice on the roads. Likely that will mean a 2 hour delay but I won't know that for sure until about 5:30 tomorrow morning. In the meantime I'm exhausted tonight and need to be heading to bed soon.

2 Hour Delay

We are already under a 2 hour weather delay for tomorrow morning. I'm rather glad as I wasn't looking forward to getting out and getting the bus going when it's this cold out. I'm plugged in but that doesn't necessarily mean that I will start. And I am thankful that the blowing and drifting snow hasn't really affected our driveway.

Today was a rather quiet day for the most part. We made church this morning tho I really thought that as sick as Son1 is he should have stayed home especially as he didn't have to sing this week. (He's running a fever tonight and has a major sinus headache). After that I got to take my normal Sunday afternoon nap and then spent some time scrapbooking - finally got page protectors on my 2003 album and for now will consider it done. I still haven't done Jan - Mar. of that year but really can't face handling those pictures. I also went through the last couple of years and pulled pictures from this house - I want to do before and after pictures throughout. That's still an ongoing process as even after 2 years I'm not done repainting and replacing stuff. But....I have a large stack of pictures to go through on this and more to take to update. I have decided that I really miss actually having prints in my hand to care for - since I got the digital camera I don't print my pictures. That's something I really really need to work on - goal for this week I think. (I also miss having changeable lenses but it will be awhile before I can do that.) I also started a puzzle - first one I've tackled in a year. Haven't got far yet but it will come.

Ok...better close for now.

Snow Day

Ok.....last night Son1 and I got the driveway shovelled from the top of the hill down. Overnight we had 4 inches more snow - and it's coming down again! Thankfully we initially had a 2 hour delay - I was about to bundle up to go out and start shovelling again so we could get the bus out. However just before I did that the phone rang - we officially have our first Snow Day of the year. There was much rejoicing in my house. I will still have to shovel but am going to wait until later. Both boys will be allowed to sled (inspite of Son2's cold...how can one deny a child the chance to enjoy the first time there's enough snow to sled??) In the meantime I'm enjoying my second cup of coffee and reading blogs. Will have to go do some chores soon though.

Ooops....just heard the forecast - they are saying 1-3 more inches of snow!

Shovelling and Colds

Ooooh I think I overdid it today!! Winter is finally here for real - it snowed most of the day yesterday and then started up around noon today - big fluffy flakes this afternoon and at least an inch of accumulation on top of what we already had. The boys shovelled this morning before we left for school. Then after I finished my bus route I shovelled enough around the barn to get the car out and limit the amount of ice that caused. Shovelled some more - just a bit - before I went on my bus route this afternoon. Then off to town to do grocery shopping and home to shovel the hill part of the drive again. Son1 and I got it cleared from the top of the slope down to the bottom of the hill. The flat part still needs more work done but that doesn't affect getting up and down. Now.....I'm extremely sore and stiff! and likely there will be more to do tomorrow! But we now almost have enough snow to make good sledding - and there's more forecast I think.

Son2 is down sick - hopefully only with a cold. He was up most of hte night last night - just very restless and complaining of a sore throat. His eyes are sunk in, he's willing to stay on the couch instead of helping shovel.....Last year he didn't miss any school due to illness. I'd really like to see him do that again.

Ok...off to bed after I start the dishwasher, swap laundry into the dryer.....all the mom stuff.

Weather

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny cold day - sunny enough that I needed sunglasses for the first time in what seems like weeks! It was wonderful. We also saw 32 deer yesterday morning on the bus route - after not seeing any the day before! Today it's supposed to be warmer and possibly snow showers. It certainly is already grey and cloudy outside again - we are all tired of the rain around here - everyone I talk to pretty much says they've had enough. I've been running pretty much all week - drove a field trip yesterday - can't remember what I did Monday and Tuesday. However it certainly wasn't staying at home cleaning! I am still praying for snow - and a cold enough spell that is long enough to kill bugs, viruses, etc.

The boys have been doing better this week - Son2 is very excited about the fact that we will have 2 extra boys in the house this coming weekend. I'm looking forward to a more quiet weekend - I certainly won't be doing any Amish runs. Maybe I'll actually have time to scrap or stitch.

In the meantime I'd better go for now - we had a 2 1/2 hour delay for teacher improvement this morning and it's getting to be time to be getting out of the house.