the boys are back in town!

The grand kids spent the night on Saturday.  I swear Dayton's grown a foot and no longer looks like a baby.  He does act like a typical 18 month old.  He has words, but he mostly wags his finger at me and says "stop it!"  He also shakes his head no to every question.   I am sure the 'stop it' is a game is to get a laugh.  He is funny, but a lot of work.  And just so darn cute.

The older two get along great and have a ton of patience with each other.  They love super heroes, Jacob loves Batman, and Dakota's favorite is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but Jacob easily convinces him to play Batman.  

 

Yesterday Liz and I took them to a children's museum.  It's basically an indoor play area, with water tables, bubbles, two stories of educational interactive fun.  We spent 2 and half hours there.   Dakota still was mad we head to leave then.  He threw a bit of a fit and a dad looked at me with that..."oh God I know how you feel" look. 

After raising so many kids and babysitting full time in the past, temper tantrums don't scare this granny.

I love being the favorite Grandma! ;)

 

 

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is it tuesday??

I was off yesterday ... so all day today I thought it was Monday.  I kept asking my monitor J how things were yesterday with her daughter, with Mrs. H ( the older lady we both work/help during the week), she kept saying you mean Sunday, right? Yeah, ok I am senile and I don't know what day it is!  so shoot me. 

Speaking of Mrs. H, she is a wise lady, she told me the herb Rosemary keeps you from losing your memory/mind/keeps you from going senile, she should know she'll be 96 next month and sharp as a tack.  I have fresh bag of Rosemary in my kitchen, now all I lack is a strainer, boil it up, strain it and put in a spray bottle...the stuff is absorbed into your skin. 

I need all the help I can get.  Both my granny's lived to be in their 90's...but their minds went about 70...Dad's mom always thought when I would go to visit that I was bring Mark as a gift to her..."oh Rosie you brought me a man!", she'd say..."no granny hands off, he's mine!"

I am still busy as ever...at work, driving sucked today as it snowed last night.  I even did a donut myself, in my car, NO silly, NOT the bus.  Although kids have tried to get me to 'drift' the bus...it's some sort of crazy trick people, mostly morons I am sure do for fun. 

Nice thing about a bus they don't slide like a car. I had to stop quick at a light (thank God I wasn't going fast) and I could feel my bus slide, not much no one but me noticed. 

Always an adventure, my job....

It's going to be cold again, minus too much, but by weekend  the temperature is expect to be in the high 30's.  Thenit's bye bye to January.   Mentally, I know when February comes is smooth sailing until March...the spring!

Life is going fine...a problem comes up we/I just deal with it....things are better with Mark working.   There will be some decisions to be made in the Spring.  The economy is still really really bad in the construction business.   With the job he is doing now it's hauling mail, mail will always have to go through...construction not so much...my job too, kids will always need rides to school....I am secure with that.

We do what we can, God takes care of the rest...

And yes Florida...sounds wonderful right about now!

Liz in my dad's pool!

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Sunset St Pete Beach, Florida...

This has been an interesting week.  My job is never boring nor normal.  Just when I think I have things under control, some kid will say or do something to tip the balance of the group.  Or the public or weather decides to act up....

For instance------------->

The weather made for some exciting driving...I am always on alert for other people's bad driving....going into a subdivision I was met by a daddy going to fast around a curve during a snow storm...he did a donut in front of me (he was driving toward me) and ended up on the other side of the road facing the other direction...thankfully my four year old student waiting at his stop was not standing at the curb.  After catching my breath, I ask said Daddy how he was...I noticed two little ones in the back seat...properly secured in car seats...all were fine, but I wonder if his wife knows how fast he drives in bad weather    My neck and shoulders are still sore from the stress of driving that day.

Also on tap this week is an 8th grader who is looking for attention.  He has already tried me by eating hot peppers and spitting them out on my bus floor, leaning up against the side of my bus (near the rear tires) after his drop off, then this week he was lighting matches.   Needless to say he got suspended after he did his match trick in the hallway at school.  Please somebody help this kid!

Yesterday a third grader pleaded with me to let herself and her friend take their coats off in my bus...my heat was turned off, and the temp outside was 15 degrees.  "But bus driver, M is going to throw up, she's crying, don't you care that she's crying???!!"

no...and don't throw up it's Friday and I wanna go home...after all it's a three day weekend!

Be safe and stay warm...

 

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it's cold wish I was there....

 

St Pete Beach 12/07

I am not a lover of the bitter cold...ok really I don't like cold weather at all!  The temperature here in Illinois is a cold 10 degrees.  colder by the weekend....

I miss the beach and the sun and the warm and the Palm trees!

 

the dolphin tour at Treasure Island

 

Oh well, reality check time...last week dragged for me as I was not used to being on a schedule so I was so darn sleepy most of the mornings.  I am still trying to find my way through tons of laundry as now I have both summer vacation wear and winter to deal with.   Oh well, it'll be there when I get to it.

It's going to be a long at least two months of cold weather...plenty of time to do housework...

The kids have been feeling the cabin fever too.  It was a very naughty long afternoon bus run...Mrs Strict bus driver will have to rein for awhile...only way to have a sane, safe bus ride.

I miss the grand kids, now that things here a settling down & I have next Monday off, (love working for a school district!!) I think a baby visit is due.

In the mean time I'll get out the long johns, think of our vacation...and think warm thoughts! 

Nice tan Rose!!!

 

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is it really Jan 7th??!!

We came home from our vacation on Saturday morning to 60 degree temperatures!  Making our transition from southern warmth to northern winter much easier.  Tonight we are in the process of having a thunderstorm...weird.

Going back to work today wasn't too bad.  Mark starts his new 'winter' job tomorrow night.  He will be trucking mail from here to Indianapolis Tuesday through Saturday night from 10 PM until around 6 am, he's guaranteed 9 hours and a very good rate of pay.  I am very relieved as construction has been awful so his 'real' job has been slow then early layoff.  We shall see what the spring brings as far as his other job is concerned.  For now this is perfect.  He worked for this company before and they love his work ethic so they were eager to give him this sweet run.  It is coveted by other employees, as it has two days off in a row.  But many of them don't come to work or milk the clock and get too much overtime.  He'll be on nights but I am in and out all day and we have lived under worse work arrangements. 

The vacation was great, much beach time and site seeing...I have lots of pictures to share.  I missed the J-land reunion and am very bummed about that.  But the family was being sort of a pain, each wanted to do their own thing and not enough time so I did not get to visit much.  We will return next year during break.  My father is fine health wise, but my step mom who is much younger misses just having someone around who likes to do touristy things.  But the trip accomplished what I wanted, beach, dad and rest.

I am still trying to catch up on things.....which is normal for me.

In the meantime Christmas with the boys....

Jacob was very unhappy with the lack of toys for gifts, Dakota had to be bribed with a Hershey's kiss to smile and Dayton was just his normal happy baby self...

 

more handsome boys!

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