brrrrrrrrrrrr....it's cold here!  It's a normal Saturday here at my house.  Mark is very upset as he got a call from the school stating Dale has pulled himself from school.  hmmm next week is finals and I am sure the kid thinks that with a progress report full of D-'s and F's he will not pass his finals or his classes.  Mark's ex never called, emailed or let him know what was going on.  I am sure she feels it's not his business as Dale is 18, which is fine by me.  I have finally gotten the concept that God is the only one who can change anybody and if you're 18 and you have the choice of living at a home full of rules and you can't have you 15 year old girl friend in your bedroom while you're home alone, and you have to go to work on time everyday and you have a curfew or the other one of doing what ever you feel like doing,, which one would you pick???  Personally I am tired of having to deal with this kid, he told us he's 18 and want's to have his freedom so have it.

Mark's doing better now we had a gift card to Home Depot and we had bought a gallon of paint yesterday and he started painting...which got his mind off his son.  I thought the color was a clay pot color but it was really really orange soooooo back I went and found the perfect color in the oops bin and it's perfect ... all for 5 bucks!  He's watching football now so he's happy.

My father called to tell me that the grown son of some family friends of ours was killed in a snowmobile accident.  This guy has put his family through hell, drug dealing, running from the law, getting caught, serving time...his parents nearly lost their home getting him out of trouble and now this...I think he was doing better too...that goes to show you that you never know when it's your time...that you need to enjoy and be happy everyday.  And that no matter how much your children get into trouble you have to love them, but you must realize that they are not you...they are themselves.  They have to learn their own lessons in life...no matter how much it hurts us to watch.

I know I had to do what I did to get where I am...there are days I wonder if I made some kind of pact with devil when I got sober...I know, I know I should be happy to be sober, happy to have been blessed with a good relationship after years of horrible ones, but everything else seems to be going nuts...but then I realize this...that life is hard, sometimes things just happen...but in the end result the alternative is to not be here.  And as for all the rest ... this too shall pass...

Love you all...

the other shoe fell

Well the other shoe fell as they say and first it rained then it snowed.  Big whoop...I am tired tonight as all this stress driving has pooped me out.  After work we had a meeting with our 'big' boss and it seem our wonderful town has gotten too big for it's school budget. With 3 new grade schools opening in the fall with  no budget to run them.  Guess where they want to cut??  Us, yep we are a school run bus service and they want to cut us, along with upping all the athletic, parking fees, drivers ed would be optional and cost $300, cut extra circulars, (everything my daughter loves, show choir, drama, plays), cut the band (yes the one that went to the Rose Bowl would be gone), art, gifted and talented, kids that should be expelled and on and on...I saw this coming as I have seen the growth here...way to fast for this little farm town.  It feels like we in this town are being blackmailed...give us your money or we hold your kids hostage...maybe this is a sign!  Mark's stepmother has a beautiful ranch just sitting empty in Missoula Montana...the price?, me taking care of her (eeeck!!) and besides I don't think I could drive a school bus in the mountains...but it is an option...

I think though that the tax hike will pass, after all we are now a town of yuppies and you know they only want what's best for susy and joey.  We shall see....

Time for me to take Liz to the Park District run tryouts for her upcoming play...thank God they can't take that from her!!!

it's 60 degrees!!!

It's 60 balmy degrees here today...we even had thunder last night!  We had horrible fog and of course a lot of the drivers out and about did not have their headlights on...for God's sake people put your lights on!!  But the other shoe will fall when we get down to 5 degrees on Friday!  Gotta love the midwest!

We had a nice evening last night.  Jeremy (son 1) and Matt (son 3) were bowling and Justin ("adopted" son) was even there.  Tracy was relaxing as I think it was her first night out after the baby.  After about beer number 3 she began to put her guard down and oh my!  I asked her how things were going with the kids and Mark's ex...(who is very overbearing!).  She said don't ask ... a little later...she says, oh she's over everyday...Jacob is such a brat when he's with her...I simply smiled and said, "well dear remember you are the mother".  And left it at that.  Of course my dear hubby couldn't leave it at that...and at the end of the evening he asked Tracy what she would name a child if she had a girl someday, and then he said his ex's name...oh boy that man can't just leave things alone can he??

I feel bad for them they certainly don't need a meddling mother-in-law doing their parenting duties.  Matt's future mother-in-law is already trying to decorate the home he is building...where do these woman get the nerve???  I have better things to do then run my kids lives...I am married right??  And I actually like my husband.

Otherwise everything is nice and quiet...let's keep it that way...PEACE!!!

glad it's over

I am glad today is over...first I was hoping for a snow day as we were supposed to have freezing rain last night ... we didn't.

Mark will be home for the next 2 weeks and will not receive unemployment...he was self-employeed during that period.  He was in a rant last night when I got home...He almost applied for a railroad job online, as he got laid off a few years back from the Union Pacific and loved that job, but he had to be gone too much, I hated it.  He finally calmed down when I came home and told him that God had plan for us and this is part of it...enjoy being home...I sure am...he cooks, he cleans when I tell him what to do...what else can a woman ask for??

I am NOT too worried about the money...that's God's department...I have everything I need today.

We are going to the place where 2 of Mark's kids bowl tonight...It's Jeremy's 30 th and he wants us to come out for awhile.  Mark's ex has the kids, as usually, but I'll be with HER  kid.

Speaking of his ex, she still is enabling Dale, as everyday we get more reports from school regarding his absences and tardys...I guess the school knows he's living with her so they are calling her.  My hand are clean now...if that kid fails it's her doing.  Besides as I said before Dale is God's job...we did what we could. 

I best get ready...take care...

friday

We got our snow but not as much as the 10 inches that they predicted.  We got more like 6 and it just made for messy roads, whiny high schoolers and a wet bus.  Hubby is still home and he has become quite the House Hubby.  He does dishes, vacuums, cooks, and shoveled, even remembering to shovel around the mailbox, which we have to do or we get no mail.  The Village used to plow around them, but now they have to pay for the ones they run over...so they just don't do it anymore.  Hubby cleaned the garage and is going to start moving furniture around as we are going to start painting this old house...the kids are beginning to move away and will be back for awhile next spring .. but then they hope to find a place to share on their own.  We are going to move upstairs, and it's about time.  The room is bigger and this place needs paint.  Actually it needs carpet but that will come in due time.  Also, my wonderful husband is learning how to live the TODAY!!

It's a difficult concept, but he's getting it!!

I 've just been busy working, I have a trip tomorrow...so it will be a short weekend, but that's ok...work never hurt anybody.  til later...~rose

here comes the snow

  

 The weather forecast is for anywhere from 8 to 10 inches of snow we've been lucky here in the southern burbs of chicago as we are so called to have really skipped out of any major snowfalls for many years. I remember years of big snowfalls as a kid, of course as a kid everything seems big  

          

 When I was throwing papers as we used call our job when I was delivering newspapers I remember staring at the weather channel praying to God that there would be NO major storms during the night.  my little dodge neon had very low clearance and I barely made it down even the highways. when the plows would come out we were always in each others ways...many customers didn't understand why their newspaper was not delivered on time OR worse yet delivered on time and under the snow at which they would chop it up in their snow blowers or they would blow away. such was my life as a paper boy...365 days a year I went over 1600 days without even a day off...nor rain, nor sleet, nor dark of night...blah blah!  thankfully I now longer do that job   And tomorrow I don't worry, my routes are close and will be plowed. Mark was told at work that they have work for him when the weather get better...we had a lot of rain and now this snow...I have come to NOT believe in the weather reporters they are usually wrong.  He did sign up for unemployment ... you can do that online now...(wow soon we won't have to leave our home for anything!!)  and he will have that for when it gets slow.  It's nice having him home though, he cooks, he cleans up, he's in a good mood! I have a sports trip on Saturday so that will help also...   But I will stick with my old belief...I am taken care of today...I have all I need today... Thank you God!

Rose Bowl Parade/you go Oswego Band

Oswego High School Marching Band did us PROUD~~

 

Band: Oswego District 308 High School Marching Band (#62)
Location: Oswego, Ill.

Oswego District 308 High School Marching Band celebrates its 70th year of bands in Oswego, Illinois. Some band members are grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those who marched in the very first Oswego band. Once a small rural town, Oswego is one of Chicago’s fastest growing suburbs. This year’s marching band features music that represents every state that Route 66 passes through on the way to the Rose Parade--the historic highway starts in Chicago, ends in California and even runs along Colorado Blvd, the Rose Parade route.

This marching band does not compete yearly in marching competitions; under the direction of Margene Pappas, it achieves a standard of excellence through focusing on serving the community, entertaining athletic crowds and teaching principles of leadership to all students. The director's husband, Peter Pappas, retired band director, took the Glenbrook South High School Band to the 1979 Rose Parade. Through Oswego’s first appearance at the Rose Parade, the Pappases may be the first husband-wife band directors to have taken two different schools to the Rose Parade.

Our local Marching Band did us Proud!!!!  Love you kids!!<3