Favorite Scriptures

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
John 14:27 (NIV)

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29: 11-13 (NIV)


These scriptures have been on my mind a lot in the last couple of days. They have both been of great comfort to me in the past as I faced the death of my husband and many other major changes in my life. Now as I consider other possible changes I find myself meditating on these again especially during the times when I struggle with fearing those changes. I am so thankful for the promises of God and for His wisdom and guidance. I know without a shadow of a doubt that God does have a plan for me - I don't see the entire plan but I know that it's a good plan and I can trust Him to lead and guide me.

Fall Break

I promised my sister I would try to update this morning. It's been a week since I wrote last - wow. We really enjoyed fall break overall. Both boys did fight a fair bit but that's pretty normal for a long weekend. They don't do overly well when their schedules are disrupted and we stay home. The potential trip to Chicago fell through due to illness and finances. I was glad to not have the pressure of leaving and it did allow me to get some outside work done. However it would have been good to see family. I was able to get my irises replanted - still have some to do but got most done. I also did some weeding around my strawberry plants and perennial flowers. The exciting thing about that is that I haven't broken out in poison ivy bumps!!

Friday I got a much needed massage - yeah! From there I went and cleaned B's place then brought his son home with me. He only had a half day of school both Thursday and Friday. My boys enjoyed having a playmate. B came over for supper Friday evening - we just grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. It started raining later in the evening.

Saturday was a TaeKwonDo tournament that I'd promised Son2 he could compete in. It meant for an early morning as we had to drive to South Bend and be there by 9:00 am. Opening ceremonies seemed to last a long time - and it almost seemed even longer until Son2 got to compete. However there were over 20 different "rings" with competitions going on in most of them so there was plenty to watch. Watching the Extreme TaeKwonDo demonstrations was a lot of fun as was watching the black belts. Son2 was in a group of other color belts that were 11-13 years old. After the belt rank and age grouping was done the kids were grouped by size. That way there wasn't really small ones competing against much bigger ones. Son2 was up first to do his form - he ended up doing really well and placing second. Guess that's a really unusual combination. He was able to get his trophy signed and meet some of the higher ranks, etc that were there. We got home around 5:00 pm and spent a quiet evening at home.

Sunday was church in the morning. After lunch and a short nap we headed up to B's for the afternoon. The younger boys spent time on a paddle boat on a lake while B and I took a canoe around. Son1 opted not to do the paddle boat thing - he got tasked with going the half mile back to the house to find transmission fluid for the truck. He was able to drive a 4-wheeler back to the lake - he enjoyed that. After the first lake we dropped the boys off back at the house and went to another lake to spend more time canoing. That was most uneventful until we didn't tie the canoe down onto the truck for the ride home. It ended up falling off in the road - doing 360's before coming to a stop. It brought the nearest home-owners running out. The funny/amusing thing about that is that one of them turned out to be one of my former students from my career center bus route. He was a pretty good kid but chose to hang with some not so good influences. Anyway...I recognized him immediately so stayed in the truck (yes I was being a coward!). B mentioned my name and I could tell that the kid remembered me. His reaction was funny to watch as he spun around away from me and said something to his girlfriend and mother. I very much doubt he remembered me with fondness.

Monday we were still off school - I actually got to sleep in. The boys and I stayed home all day - that was very nice. We had a bonfire, burned leaves and trash. I also did my irises mentioned above - am still wanting to move some crocus bulbs and put in some tulips. Inside I did laundry and worked on some cleaning and organizing. Son1 cleaned his room thoroughly - it looks really nice at the moment. Son2 cleaned off his dresser top so he has a nice place to display his trophy from Saturday and previous ones he's won.

Enough rambling for now. I am very thankful that overall we had a good weekend and decent weather. Sunday and Monday both were beautiful - sunny and clear.

Bus Route Changes

The past two days have been much better on the bus. Monday afternoon I was so discouraged I was about ready to resign. Yesterday afternoon I refused to leave the school until the students were quiet - completely. Then I told them I expected the quiet to continue for 10 minutes - the consequence for talking or noise before that time was an additional 5 minutes added on. We ended up having a silent bus until I had only 2 stops remaining - and even then I'd told the students we were starting off this afternoon the same way. Today the silence was not quite as absolute - I did add on a total of 10 minutes before we were done. However once I was half empty the time was up and I allowed the students to talk quietly. I don't kid myself that my challenges are completely resolved but I am encouraged that I'm making progress. I did still end up escorting one student into the office this morning - I had just turned in a conduct report on him yesterday and he was breaking rules again this morning. (Probably my most absolutely strict unbreakable rule is silence at the RR tracks - until we are completely across. Just because my door is closed and I'm moving does not mean it's ok to talk or make noise yet - the silence has to continue until the radio comes back on.) If all my students ride in the afternoon I'm pushing 70 students - that's including the 4 newest riders. I would be over-full if I hadn't had 3 students transferred off.

On a different note - this weekend is fall break. We are out of school Friday and Monday. I am rather looking forward to the long weekend though our plans have changed. I had thought about going to the City for the weekend as we'd be almost half-way there as a result of Son2's tournament on Saturday. However due primarily to some unexpected expenses this week we are not going to go. Instead I am anticipating being able to get some yard work done. I would like to get my irises replanted, do some other transplanting and trim some trees. Hopefully the weather will be nice enough to allow me to work outside - I would like sunny and somewhat warm.

Last night the sunset was absolutely glorious - all reds, golds, pinks...the colors were amazing. I wished I had my camera handy to take pictures. Son1 had a Gospel Choir concert at the high school so I didn't have time to run home and grab the camera either. The concert went well I think though I could tell he was much more nervous than he is when he does special at church. I am rather hoping for something similar tonight but it's pretty overcast at the moment. Anyway...those colors make me so thankful for the beauty of God's creation. The leaves are turning - they seem to have more color this year than they did last year - that's fun.

Another Weekend Recap

It's a beautiful sunny morning this morning - cool but not too cold. The sunrise was gorgeous - reds and pinks. Of course that made me think of the old saying "Red sky at night, Sailors delight; Red sky in the morning, Sailors take warning" Forecasters are predicting rain for this afternoon so we will see. Before the sun came up, while I was waiting with the boys to see the bus come I saw at least two shooting stars - that was cool. Son2 saw one that I know of. The boys get on the bus while it's still very dark out - just 15 minutes or so later when I actually leave the sun is starting to come up.

The weekend was overall a good weekend. I missed church yesterday morning - dropped both boys off where they needed to be then went home and back to sleep. I slept until 1:00 pm so must have really needed the rest. I felt like I could sleep some more when I did get up but knew that if I did I wouldn't sleep last night. I was still in bed and sleeping by 10:30. I'm awake now - weary still but that's normal. Yesterday afternoon we went to B's - he started teaching Son1 how to change oil, filters, spark plugs on the car. The spark plugs had never been changed - that was wild - they needed it really bad. The oil change was also overdue. We had dinner there and watched a movie - the kids finished it, I only saw part of it as I spent time visiting with B. We also took care of getting the corn he burns for heat - that was fascinating to me. I'm realizing again how much I love living in the country - I am definitely NOT a city girl.

Saturday Son2 and I had lunch with a friend from Grief Group - we hadn't seen each other all summer so it was good to get caught up. From there we went to watch the Semi-State Cross country meet - that was a lot of fun. We were late getting there - missed the start of the girls race. However due to the fact that I was willing to "run" we saw them run past the first mile marker - I enjoyed the run though I probably paid for it later. None of our girls progressed on to the State Finals but as we have a young team overall and this was their first time there they did excellently. We picked up Son1 from there and headed on home. I had a date with B that night - we went to a bonfire and a late movie - had a good time - spent some excellent time talking and just enjoyed being together.

I'd better scoot for now - have a lot of cleaning and catching up to do since we were gone most of the weekend.

Another One?!

Last night we had our second major fire in this area in the space of a week. This one was a livestock barn just a mile or so down the road from where we live - I could see the glow in the sky from behind our barn. It started sometime after dark and crews were on the scene until around 2:00 am. There were 3 fire departments, the local sheriff department and EMS that responded. Sometime this morning it re-ignited and it smoldered pretty much all day. During the day the owners were chasing down their cattle that had wandered off after being released from the barn. At one point they chased 5 cows across our place - I wish I could have seen it. Instead I saw someone on a 4-wheeler go behind the house and someone else go in front of the house. Something to be thankful for is that the owner's home did not burn and there were no injuries.

I certainly didn't get much sleep last night - between the fire engines, the traffic on our normally relatively quiet road and then a power outage. I would be very interested to know what the cause of these fires was.

This morning is a gray, gloomy, rainy day - it would be perfect for staying home inside in pajamas all day. But it's a school day so I don't get that privilege. It's the kind of day I really enjoy on the weekends - at least when I don't have plans to work outside in the yard. However I'm having a hard time getting motivated to accomplish much of anything inside today.

Yesterday turned into a busy day - felt like I accomplished a fair bit. I got a start on dinner for tonight (due to a change in "menu plans"), got to dig in the dirt for a bit - went out and started weeding one flower bed and worked on clearing space for another one. I have plans to put some of my irises just outside the dog run along the fence. The grass grows really long in that area - it's relatively easy to pull out and I think it would be better to have perennials along it. Last night Son1 and I went to the middle school to hear the 7th & 8th grade choir concert. I was able to catch up with his girlfriend's mother to find out how things were going since the fire. They have been blessed with an abundance of clothes to replace what they've lost. The outpouring of love and support has been amazing - and she is rejoicing that they are able to have a witness through this of the goodness of God. There are still needs there but I know they will also be taken care of.

Other than that not too much is going on - it's time for me to go make a phone call so I'll write more later.

Peace

So far this morning has been an emotional morning for me. Last night Son1's girlfriend's home burned to the ground - it's totally destroyed. She called me and thankfully I was able to go see if I could do anything to help. She ended up spending the night at our house - Son1 gave up his bedroom for her. I was able to be strong last night but this morning has been rough - probably partly due to fatigue and the fact that I know I'm still sick - can't shake the cough that I've had for about 3 weeks now. I've got a doctor's appointment for that this afternoon. I'm taking the afternoon off my bus route as well as my kindergarten shuttle off. Anyway...

I took a few minutes this morning to have a cup of coffee (3 or 4th) and read my Bible.

The reading was from Matt. 6:31-34. So do not worry saying "What shall we eat?" "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" . For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own."

When hardships come, a person's heart is prone to feel anxious and unsettled. But believers do not have to feel this way; we can be at peace even in the worst of times. The Bible says that God loves us and will be our rock in a constantly changing world. (Ps. 18:2) This means we are not left alone to face our painful situations. When we trust the Lord's assurances, we can be calm, no matter what the situation may be.

To lay claim to God's assurance, we must put our faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, because we cannot know peace if our eternal security is in question. Once we have become believers, it is vitally important that we make a regular practice of confronting, confessing, and turning away from our wrongs. Otherwise sin will disrupt our fellowship with the Lord. (Ps.66:18) Sin and peace cannot inhabit the same heart.

Similarly a heart cannot hold both anxiety and peace, which is why Jesus encouraged His followers to be concerned only with the needs of today. (Matthew 6:31-34). Worrying about a troubling situation and seeking a solution apart from God leaves us in a state of unease. But when we focus on the Lord and trust in His provision, anxiety and doubt fell. "The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because He trusts in You." (Isaiah 26:3).

Early light: A pure restful heart is a valuable asset in this crazy world. Situations will arise that shake us up and cause grief. But Jesus is close by to soothe the soul, quiet the mind and bring peace to the heart.

This was taken from "In Touch" the October issue on today's date. It really struck me - both on this issue and others that I'm dealing with currently. I'm so thankful we serve an awesome God - there is no peace without Him.

Where I'm From

I first saw this on my sister's blog several months ago and have been mulling it over ever since. It was fun to do - to think through but also much harder than I thought it would be. If any of you readers decide to do the same leave me a comment so I can come read it.

Enjoy.

Where I'm From

I am from flip flops, from Ovaltine and elephants.

I am from the house of windows overlooking the ocean waves and the cargo ships coming in out of the harbour.

I am from the hibiscus, the bougainvillea, mangoes, red mud, sandy beaches, ocean waves, heat and desert.

I am from wringer washing machines, line-dried clothes and running outside when a storm threatened to bring the laundry in.

I am from 5 times daily calls to prayer, rugby, boiled water and windmill produced electricity.

I am from the Equator where the length of the days and nights stays the same year round - where within the same country you can visit the ocean and be 7000 feet above sea level.

I am from lamp post Christmas trees and blond hair, from Bakers, Millers and Benefiels.

I am from perfectionism and poetry.

I am from a belief in Jesus Christ as my Savior and no other way to heaven.

I am from Somalia, Ireland, England and Germany, from mangoes, custard apples, chai and goat meat.

I am from the Dad from Canada who went to Africa as a single missionary to meet the Mom from America as one of the line of single women he had to meet - both following God's call to ministry.

I am from love, loss and love again.


Here's the link to the original template - I found it helpful to know what types of things I was filling in the blanks with. Where I'm From

Posting, Sectionals and Stuff

I started a post yesterday morning then got too sleepy to finish it. Instead I ended up taking a very short cat-nap before I had to run out the door to do my trip. I drove the cross country team to Sectionals last night - it turned out to be a fairly late night - we didn't get home until 8:45. So once again today I was sleepy. However I lay down for about 30 minutes this morning and it did seem to help. So far today I've done laundry (one load in the dryer, one in the washer), found Son2's jeans for this fall, cooked lunch (I usually just reheat something), run my shuttle route, made a grocery list and disposed of one of our kitties that was killed in the road last night. Unfortunately it was the "tamest" of our toms so he will be missed. Tonight I have a dinner date with B - I'm looking forward to that. We won't have a whole lot of time as I need to get grocery shopping done and he has to get home so he's home when his son gets home.

Sectionals did not go overly well for our teams. Son1 did not run as he's not one of the top 7 runners on the team. Instead he got to video tape the runners - he found that almost as much of a work-out as running would have been as he didn't get to stay in just one place. The boys team did not place at all - that was a big disappointment for them as it means they are done for the season. The girls did place 3rd so they will be moving on to Regionals this weekend. (Only the top 15 runners and 5 teams get to move on - the 15 runners don't have to all be on one of the 5 teams I don't think). If Coach takes the entire team this weekend they will need a bus - if not they won't. I'm waiting to hear if I will be driving or not. I almost would rather not as I'm running as it is. However the extra income is always nice.

Son2 did not go with us yesterday. He was able to stay and attend elementary cross country practice followed by TaeKwonDo. A girlfriend picked him up from there, fed him and brought him home about bed time. That was a huge help to me and a load off my mind.

My little "seat belt student" is doing better - at least he's no longer fighting wearing it. I could tell that he hadn't had to wear it yesterday afternoon. But he did put it on this morning - even if it was a bit slowly. We will see how this afternoon goes. I just about have a seating chart finished - I'm thankful for that. Will try to get it implemented tomorrow.

Other than that, not much is going on. It's cooled off dramatically today - this morning the sunshine against the colored leaves was just glorious. I wish I could bring my camera on the bus some days. I really do miss all the deer I got to see last year - I did see 3 this morning on my way home.

Bus Route

This morning went much better on the bus - the route went smoothly and my "seatbelt child" wore his seatbelt without argument. This was in stark contrast to yesterday where he was "quietly defiant" and absolutely refused to put it on. I wasn't really willing to put it on him myself as I wasn't sure how he would react to that. I had another chat with his mother last night - she says he is to wear it for the rest of the year. That will be something to possibly reconsider at a later time but for now he will wear it. I did end up calling a couple of other parents as well - for other students who were unable to sit down and keep their hands to themselves. This route is very very challenging - some days I struggle with feeling like a complete failure.

Today is Son1's last cross country meet of the season - we will be going to it as there is an early dismissal this afternoon. It will be a long day though.

Playing Hooky

I am playing hooky from my shuttle this morning - another driver is doing it for me. It was a gray gloomy morning and I woke up very achy and tired. I've had a nap, started some laundry, loaded some dishes and am not aching quite so much. It feels really good to be home rather than running out again. At some point this week I want to go to the craft store but guess it won't be today - unless Son2 and I go right after I get done driving this afternoon. Otherwise I will try to go Friday evening - that will depend on what else is going to happen that night.

Tomorrow is Son1's last cross country meet of the season. The Varsity team will be moving on but he will be finished. The team as a whole will be going out to eat after the meet - family included. This should be interesting. Son2 does not want to go but I am not giving him a choice. He would rather go to TaeKwonDo class.

Other than that not much is going on. I did see 3 deer this morning on my bus route - that was fun. None of my passengers saw them though. And my student who can't sit still and keep his hands to himself is not at all happy about having a seatbelt he has to wear. He wanted to not wear it this morning - he lasted all of about 30 sec. before he was up and turned around. So we had a discussion when we got to school.

Recap

It's been almost a week since I've written - wow! It's a gray cloudy Monday morning - we had thunderstorms earlier but those seem to have moved out of the area. Today is supposed to be cooler then it will warm up later in the week again. The leaves are all turning though - and many are already falling.

Last week I dug up one batch of my irises to divide and replant. They didn't bloom well this past spring so I thought this might be the answer. I still have several to replant but am not exactly sure where I will put them. Those are still sitting on my table on the deck. Unfortunately while I was working outside I apparently got into some poison ivy again - am broke out in the itchy blisters. I didn't see any in the main area I was working but guess that doesn't matter. So...I'm not sure what that is going to do for my ability to do yard work - it seems the sensitivity to the stuff is getting worse. That's frustrating because I really do enjoy yard work - I find it rather relaxing to get out and "play in the dirt".

The bus route is going much better overall. I'm still having a few issues but they are decreasing. I did have to walk another student into the office today - he's been in trouble a couple of times already. The principal immediately started talking about transferring him off to a special needs bus - his sister has already been transferred. I told both her and my boss that if possible I want to keep him on my bus - we just need to come up with a set of consequences that will be effective. We may also need to have him strapped in - that is not my favorite option but it's better in my book then having him transferred off. He's very good at admitting what he does wrong - just can't seem to control himself. I would be more frustrated if he denied it - in my book the ability to admit it and therefore realize that it's not a good choice is a benefit. I just need to figure out where to go from there. One person did tell me they used to keep a notebook on the bus - when they had issues they would move the student up front, pass them the notebook and have them write out what they did wrong and what a better choice would have been. I kind of like that option.

Yesterday I had company over after church - we spent most of the day together. I fixed pork chops, baked potatoes and a veggie for lunch. Then for dinner we had pizza. We watched "The Gods Must Be Crazy I & II" - I had honestly forgotten how much I enjoyed those movies. Personally I enjoy the first one more but a friend of Son2's who was here thought the second one was better. Son1 spent the day yesterday with his girlfriend at her home - went to her church in the morning. He didn't get home until after youth group last night.

I'd better scoot for now - got stuff I've got to accomplish.

I've been doing much more handwritten journaling than blog entries recently...I'm not sure why. It has been a bit difficult for me to come up with stuff to write about - I don't even have deer seen on my new bus route to mention.

Yesterday afternoon I drove another cross country meet for Son1's team. Actually this was another joint one where both the high school and middle school teams went to the same place. That makes for a fairly full bus but behavior has been much better this year. It's really been a pleasure driving them - especially the high school. The high school runs a 5K for each race. Son1 ran well - his time was 22:45 - not his best time but most definitely not his worst time. Except for this meet, he's improved his times in all the meets he's run in. 3 meets ago he ran the distance in 23 minutes flat. Last Saturday he ran the distance in 21:20 - so far that's been his absolute fastest. I know he was somewhat disappointed with his time last night but under the circumstances of heavy humid air followed by a thunderstorm he did well. Unfortunately one of the middle school students - who he's had issues with in the past - made fun of his time. That makes it difficult for him. I struggle with knowing what to do to help him deal with it - if I need to step in myself to say something or what. This student is younger than him and likely - even though he is on the middle school cross country team - could not keep up with Son1 in a 5K race. This student is also pretty much a bully and very few people seem to stand up to him.

On a different note, 2 more students have been transferred off my school bus to a special needs bus. This morning I took a conduct report into the office to speak with the principal about it - the response was "why isn't this student on a special needs bus?" I think it will be better for this particular student - less people to cause him to get agitated. However I do struggle with feeling like a failure at the moment - in the past I've generally always gained control of the students on the bus without having them transferred off.

I'd better close for now - need to go start dinner I guess.

Morning Route

One week ago today I had a disciplinary issue on my bus - phoned the parents of the students involved, did the write-up, walked the students into the office...I never received my copy of the report. I wasn't overly concerned about that until I had another very similar issue with one of the same students as was involved last week - the other student involved was a sibling from the family last week. I had discussed her daughter with her while I was on the phone about her son. At that point it was disclosed that there are some learning issues with the daughter. So long story short - after this morning's incident she will no longer be riding my bus. She's young and unable to sit still. Therefore the decision has been made to put her on a bus where she can be strapped in. That's a relief to me.

The other mother on the other hand is "out for my head" - she's accusing me of screaming at the kids, not being fair...She says I should allow the kids to move around. I haven't talked to her today about this - she actually phoned my boss. Thankfully she also told him that she's told her son to fight back if he's getting picked on - he pointed out that that's unacceptable behavior and he will face consequences if he chooses to fight back rather than letting me handle it. The initial plan was to put a seatbelt in for him - that would have made it easier to keep him in his seat. However mom has now changed her mind and says that's not an option. So ultimately I'm going to end up with a camera on my bus - to keep tabs on "everything" that goes on. Personally I really don't care for that decision but it's not mine to make. Oftentimes a camera does work to protect the driver. However to me it's a frustration because I feel like I am not doing my job adequately if one is required. (Of course I was told that the driver that had this route last year also had issues with it - it's not just me, it's the passengers.)

I will say that I do definitely raise my voice - probably fairly often. However I call the children by name and it's simply to get their attention - it's the only way to do so when one has a bus load of 60 or so children (more in the afternoons I think). I am not one to "cuss out" my passengers - and as much as possible I try to be fair and respectful. I will likely get the camera sometime next week.

Something I want to check into is what a "provocative victim" is and what the characteristics of one are.

Edited to add: I am not sure whether I am more upset over needing the camera or the fact that the mom can stand there, watch her child board the bus, tell me she doesnt' understand how I can drive a bus and then have that much of a fit when it's her child that gets in trouble.

Flexibility Required

Well today in general has been a day to "drop back 10 & punt". After work this afternoon I came home and planned on blanching what's left of the corn that I didn't finish over the weekend, then going out and spending some time mowing the lawn. However after I had fueled the lawn mower it was leaking fuel from a hose. I was advised not to run it due to the fact it might catch fire. So...change of plans involved getting the corn cut off the cob, updating my blog and doing stuff inside. There is plenty of weeding to do outside but I had hoped to catch a couple of friends online.

It looks like I'm not going to be able to give up some of my days driving the kindergarten shuttle - my boss is having trouble finding someone to do it the days I want off. I either have to give up the entire thing or keep the entire thing. I'm more than a little disappointed about that as I was looking forward to being able to do a better job at keeping things up around here and staying in touch with people. The other issue is that I'm still having such a challenging time with my regular route though it is beginning to calm down slightly. And I still really don't want to end up on blood pressure stuff again. I know that's been down the past few days but today was a bit frustrating on the bus and I could feel it.

On a different note - I got to use an electric knife to finish cutting the corn kernels off the cob - wow! That made it so much easier - I was done with that in about 15 minutes instead of a couple of hours! I think I will have to look into getting one of those for myself.

T.G.I.F.

Today I honestly have to say "Thank God it's Friday" - and I'm not driving the bus tomorrow for the cross country meet. The boys are exhausted and managed to get into a fight this morning before we all left on the bus. I hope their days improve rapidly.

I ended up having to walk two of my students into the office this morning as one had apparently "karate hit" the other one in the stomach. When I asked him why his response was that the other boy had been picking on him. So I filled out paperwork on both boys and left it to the school to deal with. However I did have to call both parents and speak to them. The one (of the boy who had been hit) was not surprised to hear what had happened - said she had been having issues with him. She had been hoping they would be better this year but don't appear to be. The other mother told me that she had told her son to defend himself if he was being picked on. I can totally see her point of view - and in the past I've also told Son1 the same thing. However I also reminded her that if her son hits people there will be consequences that will have to be faced - and that he really needs to say something to me. She pointed out that if he stood up while the bus was moving to come to me he would get in trouble for that. I said that that was true but he could raise his hand and verbally get my attention - and then come to me when the bus was safely stopped. At that point, she said she would have a talk with him and tell him that - and then would probably go into the school to talk to the principal. So...again I see how much of a challenge this route actually is. And while making a seating chart will help some of my issues it certainly won't solve them all. Finishing that up will be high on the priority list for next week.

On a different note I have 6 dozen ears of corn sitting in my kitchen waiting for me to put them up. I have no real idea what to do with it - have tried freezing it in the past and haven't felt like it turned out really well. I remember eating home canned corn at Grandma's but have no idea how she did it. So this should be interesting. I also want to get some tomatoes and put them up as well - I've done a few out of my garden but would like to do more.

My doctor's appointment went o.k. last night I guess. He's not too concerned about the blood pressures being up - seems to think it's due to headaches from allergies. I guess that's good - at least I don't have to go on blood pressure meds at this point in time. Dropping part of the kindergarten shuttle should help a lot as well as it will actually give me some semi-productive time at home. I'd better get done for now though - have to leave shortly for the kindergarten run and should try to change laundry loads first.

Power Outage = 2 Hour Delay

We are on a 2 hour delay this morning due to an area power outage. It's apparently fairly large as it is affecting two different school districts. If I had got the call earlier I would have gone back to sleep for awhile this morning. Instead I'm trying to get some stuff done - laundry folded, kitchen tidied, etc. Son1 has watched a Star Trek episode this morning - now he's working on the kitchen for me. He still has some homework to finish also. I really want to get some work done in the craft room - tidying it up and getting re-organized again. That likely won't happen today though as Tuesdays are generally my busiest days - and the day I usually try to recover from being up too late Sunday night. I guess though that I'd better get a move on on some of this stuff.

It's Not Broken

It's not broken according to the x-rays I had taken this morning. The diagnosis is a severe bruise - which is absolutely not visible at this point in time. The treatment is ibuprofen, keeping it wrapped and rest. Dr's "exact" words were "try not to use it". I wanted to laugh but didn't - it's impossible to not use it as a school bus driver. Thankfully I didn't have to miss driving my afternoon route and I was able to get the grocery shopping done after school.

It's been a good day overall - though definitely not one in which I accomplished massive amounts of stuff. I made a few phone calls, went to the doctor for x-rays and did grocery shopping after school. B stopped up this evening - that was a pleasant surprise. Now I've got to get boys to bed and get ready for my day tomorrow. Hopefully this week will be a slightly slower week - no extra driving scheduled. That's a good thing. I do still have paperwork to do for my bus route though some of which must be finished tonight.

Another Long Update

I think I really need to be taking a nap. However I'm waiting for Son1 to get home from church - I went to early service, cried through most of it, waited around afterwards to talk to a couple of people then came on home. What initially triggered the tears was one of the songs we sung during worship - "We all need". I left Son2 at home sleeping this morning - he'd been gone most of the day yesterday and was a stubborn mess last night. On the one hand I really struggle with feeling like a terrible mom - I know he needs to be in church, I want him in church but some mornings I simply can't handle the argument - especially when we are both exhausted. I got up this morning feeling like I'd been hit by a truck - have probably had too many late nights, too many long days and it's time I "crashed" for a bit.

The week ended up out pretty good overall. I learned that it's impossible to make coffee without putting water in the coffee maker! Truthfully I knew that already but that's how Friday morning started - Son2 had to come ask me "mom - did you put water in the machine?" Needless to say I didn't have coffee before I drove the bus that morning. Thankfully later in the day I was able to make coffee fine so I didn't cause the machine to break. It's almost as bad as the day I ate "raw" oatmeal and drank 1 1/2 cups of cold coffee before realizing the microwave didn't work - I don't function overly well first thing in the morning. I spent Friday morning between routes with a girlfriend I hadn't seen for almost a month - we'd been meeting pretty regularly on Friday mornings. She had the coffee already brewed when I got there - it was so good to be able to visit over breakfast, see her children and generally catch up on each other's lives. We are going to try to get back to meeting regularly at least a couple mornings a month. I don't feel I can handle more than every other week as I'm on the go so much anyway.

Friday evening I made spagetti, chicken and gravy for dinner - Son1 needed to have a high carb meal as he had a meet Saturday. This was an invitational meet with maybe 10 other schools - there were 7 races held that day - between the middle schools and high schools varsity and junior varsity teams. Boys and girls race separately with the top 7 of each team racing in the varsity races and any remaining members racing in the junior varsity races. I enjoyed watching the races as I knew kids in all of them - mostly from our school system of course but a few from another school. For the second year in a row, our middle school boys took first place as a team - that's exciting. Son1 ran his race very well again - he PR'd by 12 seconds off his time from last week coming in at 23 min. flat for the 5K race that the high school students ran. I drove the bus again this week - it went well though I did "yell" at one of the middle school boys for "hitting" another boy with his warm-up suit. ( I called him by name and told him not to do it again when he looked like he was going to) On the way back we only had both coaches and several high school team members on the bus. The rest had all gone home with parents.

While Son1 and I were at the cross country meet, Son2 had gone to a TaeKwonDo tournament - he wasn't able to participate as a competitor as the budget did not allow that. However he did get to help the judges out several times - recording scores, making sure people stayed in their rings, etc. He came home pretty excited and also exhausted. He is looking forward to being allowed to compete near the end of October.

Last night Son1 and I went to have dinner with B and his son. Son2 was expected to go along but being as he was tired and grumpy I left him home to be grumpy alone. Overall Son1 and I had an enjoyable time in spite of the fact it was too wet most of the evening for 4 wheeler rides. We had dinner, visited and watched the movie "Wild Hogs". It was interesting to watch though there was language in it.

Tonight I have an A run scheduled - going to MI to pick someone up and bring them back. It's funny - I can go for a couple of weeks with nothing then get 2 calls to do runs the same evening. Needless to say I can only do one of these - and the MI one was scheduled first. Thankfully I've not got any cross country meets to drive this week. I don't think any are scheduled until this coming Saturday. Unfortunately Son1 won't get to run in that as he's got a schedule conflict with Gospel Choir.

This week has been a less busy week so far - no weekday meets, not a lot of extra running...Probably the thing that has helped the most is that I no longer have to sit at the elementary school for 30 min. after I finish my kindergarten shuttle - the special needs student I've been taking is having his school day extended so I no longer will be transporting him. He never caused me any problems - my issue with it was the fact that I had to sit and wait for that time period. Today I actually took a short nap after I got home before my afternoon route. That was nice. I'm still weary tonight though. My afternoon bus route was interesting though thankfully fairly calm. I had 3 middle school students (8th grade boys) sitting in the front half of the bus - none have turned in their signed rule sheets yet and that was the consequence I had set up. I rather expect I will have them tomorrow afternoon as none were particularly pleased that I made good on my warning that they would be sitting up front if I didn't have them back. At least today I didn't have the issue of one child threatening to punch another one.

Tomorrow is likely to be a longer day - regular route, cleaning house, kindergarten shuttle, pm route followed by an extra afternoon shuttle - taking football and volleyball kids to the next town over. Friday I don't have much planned I don't think. Saturday is Son1's next cross country meet - we likely won't get home until 2:00 pm or so. Sunday evening I have a run to MI scheduled - that will be another late night as I probably won't get home until 11:00 pm. Monday I'm scheduled to do another late afternoon shuttle run and Tuesday I think I have a cross country meet to drive. Ok...on that note I'm going to close for now. It's time I got off the computer.