And on Monday

I woke up with a sore throat. It seemed the kids germs are already getting me maybe. I sucked in as much Vitamin C and water as I could. I don't usually like peanut butter that much, but it felt good today and I just ate it by the spoonful. Tonight, I think I might have won. I feel just a tingle in my throat, better than last night.

Today the troublesome kid was in rare form. I was afraid he would cause some injury today, but everybody made it thru the day safe thankfully. The little one that cried ALL DAY on Friday, only cried a few minutes today. Yippy!

I don't know if I mentioned I had a flat tire last week. Well, to get my van up to have the tire patched, I needed to inflate it. My neighbor provided the air compressor. In my stressed moment I unplugged the deep freezer to plug in the extension cord for the compressor. (You know where this is going right? ) Yep, I did not plug the deep freeze back in. I just noticed tonight. Damn, that was stupid! Thankfully I didn't have a bunch of Social Supper meals in there. Guess we will be having a big trash day this week.

Have I mentioned that my neighbors are awesome? Well, they are! I have great people all around me. I noticed that there was something wrong with one of the guinea pig's eye. I read that sometimes a little piece of the hay they eat can get in the eye and cause problems. I figured and hoped that was all it was, but as I am not a Vet, how would I tell. Guess what? The lady across the street IS a Vet. I asked her to take a look and she happily agreed. I wasn't sure if all Vets treat guinea pigs or not. She said she doesn't, but another doctor in her office does. (By the way, I thought this was cute--they call small pets like this "pocket pets")

She thought I was right and there was something in the eye. She said she couldn't fix it though. Then she went way above what I would have asked and she called her partner (who treats the guinea pigs) and asked if she would treat this for her. So today, my neighbor took my--I mean Bridget's little piggie to her office, her partner treated him, and then she brought him home. THEN, there is more! She forgot the eye drops and antibiotics he needs, so the tech from the office brought them to her and she came over and showed us how to administer them. Yep, she rocks!

So I have the neighbor behind me that just helps with everything all the time. In the cul-de-sac we have the Veterinarian, a Pediatric Nurse that works at Children's Mercy, and a Police Office on the corner. Good people to have around I tell you!

We made it through the first week

Both girls had a great week. Becca is doing fantastic in her class. Bridget is making new friends and already really likes her teacher. She went to all her specials this week and like them all. She told me that Spanish was boring. Since she doesn't know any Spanish I was confused by her statement. We talked about things being boring and she decided that boring wasn't really the right word, it was actually cool.

Friday, after school, she did not get off the bus. I started to panic when the driver called out for her and she still didn't appear. Then I asked Abby to get back on and go look for her. She was there and apparently very busy with a conversation. Whew!

I guess the warning on Monday about not forgetting to get off didn't sink in.

My week went pretty smooth. After I got home one day my tire went flat. I was annoyed, but grateful that I noticed before morning. Becca was amazed that tires really go flat. She thought that only happened on tv. Too bad that isn't true!

The teacher I work with is amazing! She is so, so, so patient. You can tell she just loves these kids and they love her. I am trying to mimic her and do things her way. Honestly, there are times that I have to check myself because her way is not my first reaction. I hope she thinks I'm doing okay. We don't get time to chat much, so I need to find a moment to ask her. Most of the kids in my class are sweet and good. There is one that is a huge challenge for me. I hope this one settles into the rules and procedures very soon (but I'm not holding my breath ).

The pictures are the rest of the first day of school that I couldn't get loaded the other day. Bridget getting on the bus and not looking back. My neighbor said that is a sign of a well adjusted child--she is confident. I guess that is good, but a wave would be nice. Becca with her teacher. Then Bridget at her desk (courtesy of my neighbor).

What a Day!

Today was the first day of school for Bridget, Becca, and ME! I'll just be honest and say I have been FREAKING out about sending Bridget on the bus. She is so, so, so excited about it. He excitement and my anxiety were probably equal.

SO after all three of us were dressed, it was first day of school picture time. The girls were good sports about it. Then it was time for Bridget to catch the bus. I was practicing my deep breathing at this point. She gets on two houses down. There is a nice 4th grader that waits with her, so that is nice. This girls reminded Bridget that the most important thing about riding the bus is remembering to get off on the way home. That made me laugh. It seems she forgot a couple times last year. But she said, not to worry, the driver comes right back and gets them home.

The bus pulled up, the door opened, and off she went. The bus driver was really nice and he told her his name, asked hers and HE had time for a wave to me. Bridget found her friend and sat down. She did manage a short wave as they drove off. More deep breathing.

I was feeling a bit panicked, but I had no time to dwell. I had to get off to drop off Becca and start my job. Becca was the first one there and she jumped right into work. Becca's class and mine have recess and lunch together. It is refreshing to see her in this setting. She wasn't distracted with me. She was too busy being all big.

I felt out of place all morning, but once I figure out timing and where things are it will be all good. I enjoyed the day, but I felt a little more panic when I was left alone with a classroom of children for 30 minutes. Today, tomorrow, and Wed. are small classes as the returning students from last year don't come back until Thursday. That is a very good thing.

Becca's teacher told me that Becca took great notes from Bridget on the classroom because she was a leader for the other kids all day. Way to go Becca!

Bridget made it home fine. She had a good day. Her favorite part of the day was recess (of course!). She was happy to see a montessori friend and they had lunch together and recess time. During afternoon snack time Bridget and a few other new first graders had a tour of the school. She informed me that she wants to take her lunch tomorrow. I hope I can sleep better tonight knowing that the school and bus driver didn't lose her today.

Oh and thanks to my neighbor. She followed the bus to school and got a few shots for me.

I have more photos to add, but Blogger is not cooperating and I'm heading to bed. I'll fight with this later--check back.

Been busy this week

It's a good thing though. I had a lot to do before school starts next week. I have gone to CPR training, Child Abuse Awareness training, New parent orientation, and meet the teacher. It's sort of funny that the kids and parents ask me things and seem to be under the impression that I have a clue. I wish I did. I'm making this up as I go. It seems to be working so far.

I have asked Mrs. Trask to make me a list of things she wants from me during the day. So far, it sounds like I'm just there to be a second set of eyes. That is fine, but I'm sure I have some other duties. I'd like to have a clue.

Becca got to meet her teacher today and meet some of her classmates. Poor little girl was worried last night that the other kids wouldn't want to be her friend. Awwwwww. I'm sure that is a normal fear. Once we got in the room she didn't seem worried any more.

Bridget went with us and she showed Becca how things work in the room. Bridget was happy because she got to hang out at the school all morning. She got to see teachers, friends, and have lunch. I was relieved the girls could hang out while I went to be met by the students in our room.

The school has a lot of international students and I am stressed about learning these names and the parents names. Yikes! They are hard.

Tomorrow I have a staff meeting and lunch. After that, Bridget has an open house at her school and we find out her teacher. Exciting stuff!

Happy Anniversary to US!

Twelve years ago today Schaun and I got married. We celebrated by spending the night on the Plaza and having dinner at the Melting Pot--our favorite! It was great that my mom came to our house and stayed with the girls (and the dogs) so we could do this. The weather was soooooo nice! We were able to walk the Plaza without dehydration issues. The hotel offered complimentary hors D'oeuvres in the early evening, which was good because dinner wasn't until 8:00. Dinner was great as always. We had the s-mores chocolate and that is now my favorite by far! We drank a little (hahahaha) and we had some fun taking photos of us!

It was a great night. It's good to get out and remember where we started and how we got to today!

Sweet Moments

Awwwww! How sweet is this? The girls wanted to watch the Olympics opening on my little tv in the scrapbook room. So they gathered blankets and pillows and promptly fell asleep. How perfect, Bridget likes to hold things while she sleeps and Becca likes to be held. Awwwwwwwww! (Did I already say that? And yes, Becca has ice cream all over her face.)

It's funny how things work sometimes

Today started with my decision that this was the day Bridget needed to return to the doctor's office for the second to last shot she needs. Once again they tried to push all the shots on us at once, tried to tell me that we must have two chickenpox shots...blah, blah, blah. We got the one shot and left. This one was a little more "stingy" than the last. There were a few tears shed, but she was trooper for the most part. I told the girls that we would go swimming after the shot and lunch.

At home, I called the indoor pool at the rec center for the hours today and they informed me the pool is closed until the 22nd. Bummer!

So I offered to take them to Deanna Rose for the afternoon. That was almost as good. You don't get to use your new goggles there, but they were happy to go.

We get there, park, and start walking to the entrance. Then this white van that I recognize pulls around the corner. It is my sil and all my nieces and nephews. What are the chances? So we enjoyed the day with them walking around and playing. Max said that Bridget was his best friend and Kynzie told me about her crazy dream. Bridget and Becca led the pack of us around. Dennis and Daniel slept almost the entire time. Dennis was awake a little more, looking around and sucking his thumb--so cute!( I hope I have the right name with the proper twin) I had a really nice time and was glad the pool was closed. Tonya told me why they were over in the area here, but I forgot. Weird that neither of us planned this outing!

(I cannot get the captions with the photos! So annoying!)

Bridget and Becca leading the way.

Cute bunnies. Look--they put out ice packs for them to sit on.

In the school house.




Playing in the water is always the best part!





Delainey being thankful she didn't have to push a stroller :-)

Daniel in his awake moment.

Dennis sucking his thumb

Van update

Yesterday I did a lot of reading about the ABS warning light problem in Windstars. It seems to be a common problem in 01-03's and it seems to be aggravated by heat. I have noticed that I don't have any problems with it all winter. I kept telling the service people that it was heat related. That is a real trigger for the lights.

Ford issued a recall for a similar problem in the Escape because it was causing fires. There have been a few fires with the Windstars, but I guess not enough. There doesn't seem to be s simple fix. Some people have replace the ABS module and the lights come back on. What I was reading though, they determined that the 40W fuses #101 & 102 should be pulled. It will cause the lights to stay on. They feel this is the cause of Windstar fires.

So I went back to Shore yesterday. They were impressed with my research and promptly did what I asked. Plug the ABS system back in and take out those two fuses. Now, the lights are on all the time and this makes me feel better about reducing a risk of a fire. This does not disconnect the ABS system though. I still have the thumping noise which is my ABS system kicking in while I drive. Ugh!

I'm going to read a little more and try and find out if the ABS can be disconnected without losing speed controls. That would be ideal. It seems a lot of people are just so annoyed by the lights they go to all this trouble to make them shut off. I can live with the lights--I have been for the last year. I do not like the thumping.

Now I'm looking forward to cooler days so this will just go aways for a few months.

I hate driving and I hate cars

I have always said that if horses were our mode of transportation, life would be easier. I have been having an on-going problem with the ABS and Brake light on my van. They come on randomly. Sometimes they stay on, sometimes not. They almost always reset when the van is turned off then back on. I had it checked last year, they said it was just a weird thing, that it could be the fluid level sensor could be floating around and hitting something.

This summer, when the light comes on (always when the a/c is turned on btw) I can feel a thumping under the pedals. So to solve and ignore the problem, I have not been driving with the a/c on. Yep--we have been sweating! So enough is enough. I take it in yesterday to get this solved. I drove it all the way over to Shore Tire because they have always been very honest with me. The diagnosis was the van has a bad ABS module.

Okay, how much to fix that? The guy tells me that only the dealer can do this because it is a computer thing that needs special programming. That sucks! So I call the dealership and I get this "advisor" on the phone. He proceeds to tell me that the ABS module is $800 (not including labor). Then he tells me that really I don't need the ABS and to tell the repair shop to simply unplug it. Really? I give him my thanks and call Shore.

The Shore guy says yep he can do that. He didn't suggest it because that is not the safe thing they are suppose to tell people. I say go ahead and unplug it.

Soooooooo, you know this doesn't end that simply right? I pick up the van and notice the ABS and Brake light are lit up. I call inside Shore and ask about this and am told they will stay on since it is unplugged. Okay, cool. I can live with that. I'm on my way home, happy that I had this free fix. Then I notice that my odometer is all dashes. There are no numbers there--ummmmmm that could be a problem. Then I notice the O/D Off light is flashing. Oh man!

At home I google my problem and find this stupid ABS module is a huge trouble maker in the Windstars. I went and drove the van around the block hoping that all this would just disappear. No luck. Then I notice that my speedometer doesn't work either. I'm sure it didn't work on the way home from Shore, I just didn't notice at the time with the dashes and the flashing.

This morning I spoke to the nice guy at Shore. He asked me to call the dealer back and ask them some specific things. I have a call into the "advisor" I spoke to. Now I wait, but I know I have another day of waiting for repairs ahead of me.

I guess if I don't care how far I drive or how fast I am going to get there--the van is fixed!