It was the children's first week back to school and now the week is almost gone.  So much for relaxing.  On Monday, my first day of freedom, it was ruined.  For some reason, which I'm sure that I did not vote on, the parent group at the school decided to do a FREE lunch for the entire school.  We made chili with a bun.  But still, the first day back and I had to spend it at the school, making the chili all morning, them washing dishes and cleaning all afternoon.  I don't mind the concept of giving the kids a free lunch, we do lunches every Monday and once a month we try to make one free.  However, I strongly suggested that next year, on their first day back we should n't have any lunches.  The parent whose idea this was went and quit the parent group, but the newsletter had already gone home so it was to late to cancel.  I managed to get home a whole 20 minutes before the children.

 

On Tuesday I did manage to get to hand out 2 resumes, it's not much but its a start.  I'm hoping that tomorrow I can get a few more out, that is if my van is fixed.  The bearing and strut on the passengers side went.  I'm not sure where it went but my hubby says its gone.  He got the parts today and plans on fixing it tomorrow morning.  So if all goes well I should have my van back tomorrow afternoon.  I absolutely dislike not having a vehicle, even if it is only for a day.   I had to get my friend to take my son to Timmy's to meet his ride so that he could go to cadets tonight.  Oh well, I've taken her son several times, but not having a vehicle and having to phone around to make sure that he had a ride (with someone that I would trust to drive my child) is a lot of bother.

 

Then this afternoon I had a disagreement at the children's school with one of the teacher's.  I believe that we settled it though.  Generally I believe in backing the school but this time I told them that in my opinion the child was right.  The school, four years ago labeled him as learning disabled.  He has a lot of problems with reading/writing, and the school here is excellent with helping kids.  When he was diagnosed as having problems they gave him his own computer that follows him in the school.  It has several programs in it to help him, one of them is when he speaks the computer prints out what he says.  Now this is a excellent tool for him, but I have on several occasions objected to him having that much help.  I have expressed that he should know how to write, even if it is sloppy and illegible, then let him put it on the computer.   There are days where all he is expected to write down is the date.  So the problem was that he misbehaved, and he was in the wrong, so as a punishment he had to write lines.  They apparently don't want to make him feel awkward among his peers and if one of his peers had misbehaved then they would have had to write lines.  I told them that if any of my children were to misbehave then I would expect them to deal with it.  But deal with it fairly.  To another child writing lines would be boring and not fun but to Jonathan writing lines is torture.  So anyway when I left, they were going to have him dictate to  the resource teacher a sentence saying why he was wrong then he was going to copy it.  It was not among one of my suggestions for a suitable punishment but he said he could handle that. 

 

I am amazed at my Christmas Cactus, it is blooming.  I know that they are supposed to bloom every year around this time but mine never has bloomed for me before.  It was my Grandmother's plant, and she passed away in 1989, after that my aunt took all of her plants.  My aunt said that in all the time that she had the plant it only bloomed 3 times.  Then two years ago my aunt passed away, but before she died she was in hospital for a year so she gave all her plants away.  So I've had this plant roughly 3 years and this is the first time that it has bloomed for me.  There are 4 large pink flowers on it a about 4 more buds.  I am watching them, I check up on the half adozen times a day.  I'm curious to see how long they will bloom.  My mom used to have hers start to bloom in September and go through to Easter.  But she had a green thumb, which I did not inherit. 

 

Cheers all

One more week until the kids all go back to school.  So far so good, everyone is still in possession of all their original limbs.  Tonight (other than Christmas and Christmas Eve) is the first time I've not allowed them to have friends over.   One night here I had 12 kids  (including my own) sleeping over and during that day there was 17 kids running around.  Tonight I needed a break, sent them all home.   Right now I'm being petty and hogging the computer, but I told them that I also require quality time with my computer.  I'm sure that it misses me.

 

When they finally go back to school it is going to take a full week to clean the house properly.   I'm thinking that I should be holding seminars around here, for example; how to return dirty dishes to the kitchen and shock your mother by actually placing them in teh dish washer.  Or another one could be how to place your dirty laundry in the laundry room, they seem to think that if they stand at the entrance and toss that it is good enough.  So there seems to be this mountain of laundry in the short hallway going into the laundry room.  I really don't understand why they cannot walk an extra 3 feet and toss.  It baffles me.   Or my really, really big seminar (that is if i can figure out how to fit them all in the bathroom)  will be called; How to wring out a wet face cloth, instead of dropping it soaking wet on teh floor for me to step on in the middle of the nite.  I figure I have seven days left before they go back to school maybe i can cover seven topics between now and then.

 

Does anyone make New Years resolutions?  I generally don't but this year I think that I'm going to.  I want a job.  I started to seriously think about this in September because my youngest started grade one so they are all in school full time now.  I have been taking a few courses so that I have something to offer.  I've taken WHMIS, First Aid, and Smart Serve plus I have my name down for a Food Handlers coarse.  I went to a couple of interviews but unfortunately they never called me back.  And since it is a small community the feedback that I am getting is that I lack experience.  Which I don't know how to fix that until I actually get a job.  That is my problem, most employers have trouble with the fact that I am 36 and have never had a job.  So that is my goal for next year, I want to get a job.  And to start that I handed out a resume today, so I have my fingers crossed.

 

I'm done rambling for now.

Happy New Years all.

Cheers

Wow, it is hard to believe that it is already the day before Christmas and I am still sane, lol.   I think that I have got everything ready, I'm just now finishing up the last two batches of caramel popcorn.   Anything else that I may have forgotten is just not going to get done.

For the last week and a half I have been wrapping presents like mad.  I have wrapped 44 presents for my kids to be from their parents;  100 small stocking staffers (because i let my sister talk me into it, she said it was more fun); 10 presents from Santa; 2 presents for my adoptive son and daughter (not really mine but they manage to go home for maybe 5 minutes a day); 11 presents for the table; 2 presents for my sisters; 2 for my aunts;  5 presents for hubby; as well as a few more presents for various relatives.  I am done!

Actually this year I got lazy, I usually make home-made presents for all the kids teachers, which would have been 6 sets of doilies this year, instead I made them a staff gift.  I bought a tray and loaded it with different teas, coffee's, hot chocolates, and goodies for the staff room.  So that was a few less presents that I had to oversee the wrapping to.    Now I am making the caramel popcorn to put into container's to give out as family gifts, I need four and have 2 left to make. 

All in all. I'm not feeling to much Christmas spirit.  

Oh well, there is still tomorrow, it is always a joy to watch the kids open there presents and to have family come to the house. 

Merry Christmas all

Cheers

 

My son, for grade 10 English has gotten a assignment for over the Christmas holiday's.  He is to create a blog as well as post on it at least 3 times over the next two weeks.  So while he was busy complaining about the unfairness of the assignment, I mentioned that it can't be that difficult.  To which he responded that I should give it a try.  Lucky for me I'm not going to be graded but I thought that I would give it a try.  I have read a few of the blogs here and on other sites and they seem to be interesting bits of different people's lives.  So hopefully I can also come up with a few interesting tid-bits and not totally bore everyone.