Safely Home

Well we are safely home - exhausted but safely home. It rained most of the way home which made driving interesting. And we left way later than we should have - but it was worth it. We arrivied home at about 4:30 am this morning. Then I did an Amish run - then slept for about 4 hours - then back to finish the run. So....now I'm going to go to bed. Unpacking, laundry, processing, etc will wait until tomorrow. And i will be boring and will not wait up for the New Year to come in.

Travel Plans

Well the decision has been officially made to not leave on our trip until very early Thursday morning. Hopefully it will save us $ in that we won't be staying in a hotel on the way down. Also hopefully it will mean that I'm a little less stressed. We will likely still do two "sit down" meal stops - fast food just doesn't cut it when I'm driving. I'm still doing laundry and trying to clean. The frustrating part is that Son2 has been exceedingly difficult this week - refusing to go to bed, refusing to do chores, pitching tantrums....the list could go on. During these times he creates much more work which is not something I need when I'm trying ot get ready for a trip.

I wonder if some of Son2's behavior issues are related to the fact that we haven't been back to OK since we moved a year after Hubby died - we will hopefully be seeing friends that we haven't seen in some time. I know that I have some nerves about it - am anxious to see friends but also abit nervous about it. I don't really know what to expect in "undealt with" issues and memories. I'm very tired again tonight - and having odd dreams so not sleeping overly well.

He Made Clothing for Them

I just recently started a new devotional study called "Women of the Bible". The study is written by Ann Spangler and Jean E Syswerda and literally is a 52 week study - Monday to Friday. Anyway....I've had the book for awhile now and finally decided that I would never start it at the beginning of the year so would just start it - and take as much time as I needed with each lesson. So yesterday I was working on day 3 on Eve. One of the questions asked was "What is the first thing God does for Adam and Eve after He declares their punishment?" The Scripture to go to for the answer was Gen. 3 :20-24 which I guess I'll quote below.

"Adam names his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever." So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life."

It said that "the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them." Wow this really stood out to me - the first thing that God did for Adam and Eve - after he had declared their punishment was to provide clothing for them - and likely, though we are not told this - food also. It brought to mind just how much God loves and cares for us - He has promised to provide all we need. This is something I need to remember - especially when I stress over finances and getting things done.

Ok...I've probably repeated myself enough but it was a new insight for me. I need to scoot - this day is not a overly productive day here at home - I've gotten a haircut and done an Amish run which I need to go finish. Tonight we have grief group - our only time this month and I have some shopping to do in "the city". Tomorrow I need to have my gift bags for my kids on the bus finished as well as do another Amish run. Then there's packing, jam to make (to take with), gift wrapping and all the other things to take care of that's required before one takes a trip.

Monday

Ok....I only have a few minutes to type this. I spent most of the morning mixing up cookies and actually baking most of one batch. I got one load of laundry washed and into the dryer, the other one is still in the washer. Dinner is in the crock pot - I'm trying a new recipe that is supposed to be oven baked. However I've read/heard somewhere that most things that need baking can also be done in the crockpot so we will see how it turns out. I did remember to decrease the water the recipe called for - and left out the veggies. I will serve those on the side. I've also folded laundry, made a dentist appointment - to get my broken, very dead tooth looked at, and chatted on the phone. So...it's been a pretty productive morning. I needed to take time to work on the Bible study I've started - guess I will take that with me tonight when I go to watch a friends' little ones. My boys will stay home - hopefully reading in bed by the time I leave and I shouldn't be out really late.
In the meantime snow is coming down again - jsut flurries but it's extremely cold. Son1 wants enough snow to sled down our hill. Son2 would enjoy sledding but says he doesn't want the snow. That makes me laugh as one can't have one without the other. Friends in OK are out of school for the 3 day simply because the roads are still too icy and unsafe. On the one hand, it would have been nice to have a snow day this week (or last) ....on the other hand, I'd be going absolutely stir crazy if we were all home due to snow.
Better go - got to leave soon for bus driving this afternoon. AT the moment I'm not really looking forward to it but at least it's not pouring rain.

Describe "aggressively"

So I'm coming home from "the city" on a major east/west highway in pouring rain that's beginning to look like freezing rain. The lights are all green as I'm going through town - as long as I stay in the left lane. As soon as we are past the area where semi-trucks have to stay in the right lane I have a large red semi pull out into the left lane behind me and starts tailgating me. He continues to crowd me all the way out of town (until I turned off the highway to go home) - even flashing his high beams at me trying to get me to move over to the right lane. My thoughts were that it was raining too hard and there was too much traffic to my right for me to get over - especially as my turn-off was on the left - and I was doing the speed limit as it was. As I turned left and he sped off I was able to get his liscense plate and words off the side of the cab to call in. I get ahold of the sheriff's office and the dispatcher says "describe aggressively" after she hears part of my tale. She also asked how fast I was going - 60 mph. Once she heard that she thanked me for calling it in. So I won't ever know if the truck got pulled over or not but I figure I did my part to attempt to avert an accident. In the meantime I'm amused at the dispatcher's questions and very very thankful I was able to make it safely home.

Naps and Bus Routes

I took a much needed nap this morning - had a stack of stuff I needed to get done but realized that a nap was much more important. I fell much better now - and have actually got one coffee table straightened. I certainly won't get everything done that I needed or wanted to get done - however I fell better about life in general after that nap. I've not been sleeping well nor have I been getting enough exercise - I know it's affecting me severely mainly in my emotions but also with my weight. I'm not sure how to better organize myself and time to help resolve those issues. It seems like one of those endless circles.

My bus route went well this morning - we only saw 4 deer. That's got to be a record low number - especially as they were all in a group together. I know there had to be more out but it was fairly dark this morning and misting so the roads were abit slick, etc. However I had everyone except 2 of my regular morning riders so that was good. I was able to get down that "closed" road to get my stops down there so I should also be able to get them home tonight. I still wish the county guys had put the signs further apart but on the other hand it's very much a fun challenge to snake the bus through and not hit anything when there's not enough room. I'll be glad when the road is officially opened though - it's not a road I could back out of and there really aren't any good turn-arounds except the one I use.

OK...better scoot to get abit more done and get cleaned up.

So.......

....those 6 kids I picked up this morning - apparently the regular driver waited at that stop for 7 minutes and they didn't come out. She has time issues with the daycare lady on a regular basis. So she's now upset with me for completely screwing things up. I'm thinking if that was the case it would have been nice for someone to let me know - I unwittingly would not have walked into that situation. My afternoon did not start off well.

Then on my route there's one road that supposedly was being closed completely - transportation did not know. One family took care of getting their kids picked up but the other two did not. And we did not have good phone #'s for either one of the later. So I had to squeeze between 2 road closed signs that barely had one bus length between them and deliver these kids. I feel really bad for the family that took care of picking up their own kids - they didn't have to do that if the proper communication had occurred. And to make matters worse - apparently the work was not done at all today - it's supposed to be completely closed tonight. So....I have no idea what to expect in the morning.

Different Day

Wow....what a morning. I feel discombobulated again.....we had a 2 1/2 hr delay this morning due to teacher inservice - the only thing extra that got accomplished was a little extra sleep and 3 of the 4 boxes of Christmas "stuff" got back out to the shed. And to top it off - as I'm coming home I see 6 students that apparently all missed their bus so I picked them up and drove them all the way back to school. They were all daycare kids - and apparently their daycare person had a dentist's appointment so she left. There was apparently someone else supposed to be in charge but I'm guessing that person didn't know what time the bus was supposed to come. Anyway it meant that instead of 3 hours or so at home I've only got 2 1/2 or less.

However the Christmas tree is up and decorated! Yeah! This year we are using a 4 ft tree instead of a 6ft or taller one. It made it much easier to decorate - I had the kids choose 10 ornaments each to put on it - and then I chose a few from my collection. Unfortunately I wasn't able to put any of the heavier porcelain ones on it - that's disappointing because a few of those are ones that about the meaning of Christmas - One shows baby Jesus in a crown and another shows Him in a half globe. I forget the titles though. Anyway it sure was nice to be able to put the lights on by myself and then have the kids do "their" part in 30 minutes or so. And I think taking it down will be much easier also which will be nice. The ornaments I did put on the tree are mostly ones that were handmade and/or gifted to me by kids off my buses or friends.

Today thankfully is nice and sunny and unseasonably warm......it's supposed to cool off but I think tonight I'm going to try to have the kids help me get some branches gathered up so we can use them for firewood. In the meantime I guess I'd better go write a couple of emails and then get the kitchen cleaned and the pantry picked up. I would like to finish the little bit of Christmas shopping I have left to do this week also.

Counting

30 deer this morning while I had students on the bus and 4 without.....I love it. Some of my riders asked me what my highest one day total was - 39! And to make the morning extra pretty - the sun was shining, the sky was pink (red sky at night.....red sky in the morning, sailors take warning!) and everything was covered with hoar frost. I wished I had my camera with me and the time to take pictures. As it was I ran late - oops - too much time slowing down to count. Oh well it was fun.

Have got to finish my shopping list so I can run to the bank and do the grocery shopping. Hopefully soon I will get some additional Amish runs.

Strange To See....

That round yellow-white ball in the sky. It's something we haven't seen for way too long - wonderful to see the sunshine again. It's supposed to be partly cloudy, then mostly cloudy later today - hopefully the forecast is wrong. However the sun is supposed to come back later this week.

Son2 was complaining about the fact that it was snowing last night - not heavy but still coming down. It was cold enough this morning to have heavy frost on the bus and still some snow on shaded areas. I really don't mind the snow - if I could have it without the cold!

Priorities

I feel very discombobulated today....like I truly don't know where to start. I felt like I accomplished alot yesterday - then the mail came! Long story short - I got a letter saying that the receipts I had sent in to get the money from my Flex Spending Account weren't acceptable. So I - disagreeing with their reason - went looking for all of my old paystubs - most of which were in the same place - and my medical bills and bank statements - which weren't necessarily. Now I still have piles on my bedroom floor again and my "to shred" pile is huge. I have one child who got sick on my school bus yesterday - his mom doesn't have a telephone so I can't call to see how he's doing. Therefore I really would like to go by his house to check on him. I also need to get some duct tape and return some movies. So....do I get myself together and go run errands? Or do I stay home - take care of my shredding and continue with slowly getting control of this house? Which is going to be more important in the long run and which is going to be more satisfying? I'm also keeping in mind that I won't be home this evening and much of tomorrow which means very little housecleaning getting done.

Ok....just got a call from the FSA company and got good news!!! They will pay the full claim I sent in and supposedly I still have a bit more I can send for! So....I guess that means I go run errands as I have to make copies of receipts that I can send in to get the rest. That means it will be convenient to return the movies and stop and buy duct tape. So....I guess I will go get laundry going, get ready to go and get going.

Train Up a Child

Train up a child in what is right and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Prov. 22:6

This Scripture has been running through my mind lately. And I struggle with the question - How do I train my child? I have two hot-tempered sons, one of whom is also exceedingly stubborn and a perfectionist. So far I've found very little that works with him as far as discipline goes. One minute he can be the sweetest little (growing up too fast) boy who snuggles and cuddles and wants to be helpful and obedient. The next he's a complete terror - rebellious, doing his own thing, kicking, hitting, yelling, refusing to co-operate, refusing to do his chores.....Hopefully you get the picture. Taking things away doesn't seem to help - nor does restricting him to his room.....It's very frustrating and I feel at my wit's end at times (sometimes more than others.)

Vandalism

Ok.....I know kids can be mean and cruel but why must they vandalize their school bus? Even in "minor" ways? Today while I was checking the bus after my route I found additional writing on one of the seat backs - "whor....=bus driver" "lol - true". Also someone peeled my seat patch off. I know that generally kids don't always like me because most of the time they think I'm too strict - I insist they sit - facing forward, keep their language reasonably clean and be reasonably polite. I don't tolerate kids calling other kids' names (when I catch them) or getting physical with other kids. Basically I don't let them do whatever they want to do on the bus. And I've gotten used to being considered a witch with a capital B. But this really bothers me - and I can't honestly pinpoint why - whether it's the name they chose or the fact that it is vandalism and I don't know who's doing it. I am better than 90% certain that it's some of my shuttle kids that I drop off at a trailer park - I make them sit in the front half of the bus and my regular route kids sit in the back half. The shuttle kids don't like that either because they think that I'm not being fair. I figure it's easier because I'm on a major highway when I drop them off so I don't want to be stopped there too long. And I only have them in the afternoon so it's much harder to get to know them - they are all middle school students - 6-8th. So....the question becomes how do I handle this? I figure by the handwriting it's likely a girl but not sure how I can possibly figure out exactly who's doing it. It's really difficult to do a seating chart because I still don't know all of these kids (shuttle) - there's about 20 of them alone. I do know all my regular route riders...and I have issues with them trashing the bus - leaving candy wrappers, etc in their seats. There is a trash can up front so they could use that. We will discuss that tomorrow afternoon - after I have all my regular route riders on.

Seriously SHE

OK.....so now I know for sure that I'm a totally serious Side-tracked Home Executive! This morning I'm on the computer checking email and getting ready to place an order for some Christmas gifts. But to do so I need my charge card.....which the last time I can remember seeing is beside the computer. I know that that's the last place I used it. After pulling off several different stacks of paper and scanning through them I can't find it. Next stop the Family room - where I look in a drawer then decide "oh I'd better start that load of laundry". While the washer is filling I fold clean laundry and collect dirty to put in the washer. Then another quick scan through a drawer then on to my bedroom where I go through my bedside table drawers....by which time it's time to leave for my haircut. And I still haven't found the card or finished placing my order! Now that I'm back from my haircut and have successfully bought milk - and a few extras - I will finish lunch then go back to searching. I think I will set my timer for 15 minutes though - work in one area for that time then move on. And hopefully sometime today I will get my birdfeeders filled....they've been sitting on the table waiting for several days.

FlyLady's email reminders and routines are slowly slowly beginning to sink in. For more information check out www.flylady.com

Down again

Well MKPlanet is down again tonight.....guess that means I will be heading to bed early - or at least earlier than normal. I'm glad it's not just my computer but still.....There doesn't seem to be much to write about tonight - am still fighting this upper respiratory bug so get tired easily. I don't feel like I've accomplished much around the house the past few days - and tomorrow likely won't be any better. However tomorrow I will be out part of the day - in addition to work - so that will give me more reason to not get stuff done. However I finally get to get a haircut - yeah!!

I love my job

Well I tried to post last night and the phone rang....I never got back to the computer after my phone calls. Then I started towards bed earlier than normal after that. My voice is still shot - scratchy. But at least my throat doesn't hurt - unless I cough. I'm quite certain I got the germs from Son1 - who is hopefully on the mend. However I'm going to wait until Monday before calling the Dr......I want to be sure it's not a virus. Anyway enough about this.

It's pretty funny to try to drive a school bus without much of a voice - I discovered this afternoon that I currently am unable to yell loud enough to get the attention of a child in the back of the bus. I'm limited to having the child to my right get the attention of who-ever I need. It made me laugh - especially when they said "use your PA system". I don't have one on this bus! And really hate to use them even when I do have them available.

OK......on to the real reason I have been thinking about bus driving. I am so incredibly blessed to have a job that I really truly enjoy - it has me outside rather than cooped up in an office. I have the chance to impact people for good or bad - and possibly for eternity - simply by how I greet them in the morning. If I bother to learn their names the kids learn that even though I'm strict I truly do care about them. And learning their names really isn't that difficult - just takes time at the beginning of the school year. It's really neat to be out in public doing something and having a kid recognize you and wave or say hi or even come up and give you a hug. Or to have a child get on in the morning and always stop and tell me something about their morning or life - whether that it's cold outside or the name of their rooster! This is a job that I don't dread getting up to do....though sometimes I don't enjoy the "getting up" part.

But there are drivers in our school district that really do not enjoy kids or driving a bus - they are in it just for the money. That honestly baffles me - the money really isn't that much for the responsibility we have. Actually I can't imagine a worse job for someone who thinks most kids are "evil" or doesn't like kids because of what she/he perceives as bad behavior/personalities. I would hate to have a job where I dreaded work because I really didn't like the people I hauled. I know that every job has it's drawbacks but I really think that if I was miserable at my job I should be finding a different one.

None of that probably makes sense but I don't know how to word it better. The kids are getting ready to want the computer for awhile and I need to figure out what to serve for dinner as Son1 ate the leftovers I was thinking about.

Just for fun - Two by Two

This is a "just for fun" quiz that I found in a scrapbooking magazine - "Scrapbook Shortcuts". Eventually I intend to get back to my scrapbooking and want to use some of these quizzes as part of my journalling.


"Two by Two"


1) Two Everyday things I couldn't live without: My journal and my camera. (Had an awful time just picking two things!)

2) Two of my favorite songs : Because He Lives and If You Could See Me Now by Truth. This second one talks about someone who's died and gone to heaven - how they are so much better off than they were here on earth - even though they are missed. "Because He Lives" is a hymn that I remember singing as a child - I've loved it most of my life.

3) Two things I want to do before I die: Ummm.....this one is hard. I guess one would be to travel and the other definitely would be to have the boys raised.

4) Two things I worry about: Money and probably school violence

5) Two stores I shop at: Walmart and Barnes & Noble (bookstore).

6) Two things that scare me: I really try not to think about things that scare me.....

7) Two snacks I could eat every day: Home-baked brownies and white chocolate.

8) Two people I'd be lost without: Jesus Christ (without whom I'd be eternally lost) and my sister.

9) Two nicknames I've been given: "Reddy" due to my tendancy to blush and "Goldilocks" due to the color of my hair - years ago.

10) Two Places I want to go on vacation: Australia and back to Kenya. Being as that is unlikely to happen - definitely not "next" - Yellowstone and DisneyWorld would be other choices.

To Post or Not

I'm debating at the moment whether or not to post this -have wanted to do just a light-hearted fun post for awhile. However have just learned that my sister's father-in-law is not doing well at all - her husband is flying overseas to be with them. He will be gone for about a week depending on what happens. Please be praying for travelling safety for him, for my sister at home with the two little ones and for a miracle for his dad.

On a praise - another friend's father just accepted the Lord. He's recently been through major surgury and this is the result. Her mother knows the Lord already.

Bullying

Wow.....I learned something last night....definitely not a pleasant experience. I drove Son1's last middle school cross country meet last night. The students were wild on the way in - to the point that I actually pulled the bus over to teh side of the road for the safety of the students. I'm not generally as strict on a field trip or sports trip as I am driving my regular route. However nor will I allow students to sit in the aisle or on the top of seats - or to do backwards somersaults in their seat. So I pulled the bus over and had a couple of students change places so they were no longer sitting together and no longer sitting in the back of the bus. I'm comfortable doing that - though on a field trip or sports trip I would prefer that the coach handle discipline.

Anyway....we got there in one piece. So I'm walking back towards the bus to sit for a few minutes and work on some stuff when one of the mom's says "I need to talk to you". Long story short - she basically attacked me for encouraging my son to go to the school authorities about some issues involving her son(s). Her son(s) were not the only students involved in either case - and one of the cases had happened over a year ago. That one involved several students playing "keep away" with Son1's MP3 player that he used during off-season running. My issue wasn't with the fact that they were playing keep-away with it but that they were throwing it in other student's lockers. I felt that that was too easy a way to make something look like a setup - that a student could say "oh my.....is missing" and then Son1 would be blamed because he was the last one seen "in" the locker. So we together went to the principal. I knew parents were upset about that situation but didn't know which ones were - and though I cared I wasn't going to pursue it. So the second issue is that a new younger kid on the team has been picked on in the locker room - Son1 has stepped in several times in an attempt to get this stuff to stop and nothing has been effective. So I finally went and spoke to the head coach (who doesn't necessarily come to all the practices but he's officially the head coach) and without naming any names - except the child who was being picked on and my son's - let him know what was happening. I also let teh coach know that I could give him names if he wanted/needed them but I would prefer not to - which he understood and respected. He also said immediately that he had a pretty good idea of who was involved and that since the girls on the team had been fighting also he was aware there was some problems and that he would deal with the situation.
I left it go - put it out of my mind - not even connecting that there were kids from the same family involved both times. (During the team discussion names were not named - this mom learned about my son being the one to say something from another parent who I'd trusted and shared with).

I truly felt attacked - personally and publically and at the time did not have any adequate answers. She likely would not have listened anyway even though I attempted to suggest having a 3rd party listen in so it could be talked out - her words on that were "No I'm not a Tattletale!". I ended up walking away with a "Whatever" then turning back and letting her know that her son was one of the ones involved in the discipline issues on the bus. Now of course - hours later I can come up with responses though not always tactful ones. And I can completely understand why her boys are bullies - locker-room teasing may be "just kid stuff" but now a days it can't be ignored - and when it involves repeated put-downs, etc it is WRONG and is bullying.

I confess I'm still upset about the whole situation. It could have been handled much better and less publically then at a meet. However I am extremely proud of Son1 for standing up for the kids that are getting picked on - he knows the pain of being in that position and he's learning the right responses. And I personally don't believe that my actions were wrong in stepping in - in either of those cases. Unfortunately we will likely have to be involved with this mom for several years to come - and she is a "christian" also.

OK...this is long - and I had intended to not blog the painful stuff again - but any input or wisdom any readers have would be appreciated.

Ponderings

This morning I was thinking - actually I was feeling kind of down about being a single parent and wondering how I could ever demonstrate to my boys how a real man cherishes the woman he loves. Then my thoughs wandered to a friend of mine who is going through a divorce - and is starting over with her life. She recently lost some hours at a job and therefore lost income and she was/is concerned about how she is going to make ends meet. The Scripture from Phil. 4:19 "And my God shall supply ALL your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus." came to mind. I was actually thinking of it in relation to her needs for income. Then I realized that that includes my need for a way for my boys to see how a man truly cherishes the woman he loves - it gave me a sense of peace. God knows this need - I just have to trust Him to supply it. I'm not saying I won't ever worry about it again - that's an on-going thing - but I just need to trust Him.

On a different note - I saw 18 deer this morning during the bus route. 16 of those were while I had students on the bus - including one group of 7. It's so much fun (at least for me) to keep my eyes open to catch glimpses of them - and then to keep track of how many we see. I know that there are likely way more that we don't see because I have to keep my eyes on the road. Yesterday we saw 3 in the road - not sure which way to go - and even when they did cross they ran alongside for abit looking for a break in the fence. And again this morning the light was just glorious - beautiful pink sunrise - then the golden glow of the sun slanting across the ripening fields and the dark storm clouds in the west. The sun is now hidden behind those same storm clouds and we are having more rain and thunderstorms.

Guess I'd better scoot - got to run to the store this morning - have a big field trip tomorrow.