Snow & Sitter

 We survived another epic snowstorm. Thursday morning Marc went to work and I said why don't you stay home they thruways are shutting down at 4pm.  We both didn't really think the forecast would be correct.  Unfortunately, it was, the snow started around 10pm and when I awoke there was 3.5 feet in our driveway.  Well, he was gone, so it was up to me to clear it out.  I felt like superwoman when I was the only woman in the neighborhood clearing the driveway.  When the snow is that high you have to do small sections and knock it down before you can snow blow it.  It was 3 hours before I came inside.  I had to keep heading out every hour or two to keep up with it.  We received 80 inches!  My entire body hurt from clearing the snow, my hands were so sore from holding down the handles.  

The amazing part is Marc made it home Friday night and finished the edges of the driveway and the top that I was too exhausted to do.  The plows came through on Saturday am.  I was really anticipating it would be Monday or Tuesday.  We ended up with Friday, Monday and Tuesday as snow days.  Luckily the snow stopped falling on Saturday.  The driving ban ended Monday am.

Sara started babysitting for a neighbor.  They have twin 3-year-old girls  and a 5-year-old bot.  She has made almost $150 this week!  A far cry from the $1.25-$3 I used to make.  We decided she could spend her first week and then start saving from here on out.  This family needs a sitter constantly, so hopefully Sara will keep busy.  

Wednesday, we went to the mall and my friend Andrea, and her daughter joined us.  The girls went off and shopped on their own.  It was so nice to not spend anything! We went for lunch to Cheesecake factory, but we were all too full to eat any cheesecake.   Its Saras birthday on Sunday so I had already purchased gifts but was sure she would find something.  Amazingly she paid for her own clothes and came home with a good chunk of cash.  

I really like this because some weeks I feel like an ATM machine.  Evans soccer consisted of trips to the convenient store, Tim Hortons or the hot dog stand on Lake Erie before practice many days.  His homecoming dance, football games, and movies with friends are a constant handout from us.   Sara loves to find a friend and head to the village to the coffee shop, Starbucks, and 7/11.  I don't mind giving them money but when its week after week it gets expensive.  Sara is super helpful and will do major cleaning for me.  Evan is a battle just to clean his own room. 

I would really like for Evan to get a part time job in the spring and something for the summer.  Most places pay $15 per hour.  I'd love for him to have some spending money but save the majority of his money.  His goal is to eventually purchase a car because he hates to ride the bus.  Riding the bus means leaving the house at 7:10 with me.  He gets out at my school and waits outside until his bus arrives.  This doesn't sound horrible unless its rainy, snowy or very cold.  He then takes a bus to his school that takes 5-10min.  On the way home he takes the shuttle to my school and then takes the bus home.  He usually gets home 10-15 minutes before me.  He will be eligible for his permit next February and his license the summer before his junior year.  

Back to school

 Wow.. that went fast.  Its been a busy summer of soccer practice, cottage life, and family.  Marc's Dad had a stroke right before we left for Florida for 10 days.  He will be in rehab until at least 9/8 and then we are hoping for 20 more days following that.  

Evan has been busy.  It started with Soccer and conditioning training.  He tried out for the soccer team, knowing he would make the Freshman team.  Well since there weren't enough kids for 3 teams, he tried out for JV.  Evan has only played soccer at school in the past.  He loves it but hasn't put in the same amount of time in playing that his friends have.  I was so nervous for him the team was cutting 5 players.  Well, we had great news, and he made the team!  So now its super busy, 3 games a week and practice 6 days a week!  Yikes!!

The kids officially start school on Wednesday after Labor Day and I started on 8/31.  This is year 22 for me.  After sharing my room for the past 4 years, I finally have it to myself again.  I am ecstatic!  Switching rooms every period was not easy. 

End of 8th Grade

 I just published 2 posts that I had written a long time ago.  If they were awful its because I hit publish without looking at them.  

Next week Evan graduates from 8th grade.  I can't believe how quickly time has passed.  He is headed to the local Catholic High school.  Evan took 9th grade Biology and Algebra this year.  I'm so glad  he is done with them.  Next year its geometry and Chemistry.  The public school I teach at does Chemistry junior year... so this should be a challenge.

This week Evan was awarded a $500 scholarship for high school.  He has applied for $2200 more in scholarships so I'm hoping for another one.  Evan is reading and writing at 11.8 grade level.  This is from his high school entrance exam test.  His vocabulary is amazing and he is very gifted with writing.  Math not so much, he could be very strong but has had a weak teacher without high expectations.  

I don't have many things on the summer schedule for him, he has aged out of most sports camp.  I would love him to pick up a lawn mowing or dog walking job.  Sara had her first job walking job a few weeks ago and it went well.  She has been approached by a few neighbors about babysitting.  I would love for them to earn some outside cash each week.  With the rise in prices everywhere and the kids wanting to have some independence, I feel like an ATM machine.  The kids have been walking the village after school and going for Pizza, ice cream, slurpies, and to the local coffee shop with friends.  I feel like between the Catholic school and Covid they haven't been exposed to managing cash and having outings with friends.  I have a hard time saying no to these outings,  although this week it was 2 days in a row for Evan but I think he only spent $15.  Sara spends every dollar and some of her own money.  Fortunately my kids were not spenders up until now so they have some thick wallets.

I'm eagerly awaiting the end of my year.  The juniors I have had this year have been a huge challenge.  Covid was not helpful for these kids.  I really feel like they missed a big maturity milestone and have very entitled, disrespectful behaviors as a result.  The parents are just as bad.  I've received more emails this year than I have my entire teaching career. 

 I did volunteer to teach a Cash for Crafts class this summer for 8 mornings.  I received a Cricut machine from Donors choose along with supplies.  When I figured out the pay it was a big help with the upcoming tuition bills.  My school is not very generous with funds.  They offered me $50 for supplies for 75 kids.  So I decided one week I'll have the kids bring t-shirts we can bleach dye them and apply something from my Cricut machine.  I'm thinking lots of Bills, school logos, and whatever they like as decals.  I also picked up black plastic cups from target for $.50 so we can do a decal on those.  I think we will do a wooden sign with a stencil.  A friend made grateful ones earlier in the year and used inexpensive wood.  Finally I have a friends daughter with a Etsy bracelet business that had sales of $60K, she started a business when she was 12 and it has grown tremendously!  I'm hoping she can come in as a guest speaker and another student that has a successful t-shirt business will come in too.  

We have our trip to Florida this summer for 10 days.  We have never stayed that long so I can't wait!  Hoping car rentals go down over the next few weeks.  I have found the rates tend to drop a ton at the end of August.  We have no real plans the beach and pool.  Evan has a few places he would like to visit and Sara will want to do some shopping.  

One Year of this

Its been so long since I have updated this blog.  Its been one year in to the pandemic and as I reflected on the past year I realized I needed to write.

Last March I was on a field trip to Universal Florida and we were watching the news and getting a bit nervous.  Prior to leaving on the trip I stocked up on a few cleaning items and toilet paper.  I had been watching the news and tend to be an over-preparer.  Evan and Marc say when I pack for the day or send them somewhere they have everything they need for a Zombie Apocalypses.  

Well I went to Florida Thursday to Sunday.  We had a staff development day on Friday, returned to school to pack our classrooms on Monday and then were not allowed to return until the end of June.  Its crazy when I think back on the emotions and the fright we all faced.  Early on a friends 84 year old mother passed away and a gentleman that was a guest speaker in my class.  I didn't use Instacart but definitely limited my trips to the grocery store.  I'm one of the rare people that likes to grocery shop.   I tried to shop for two weeks and also shopped for my Mom.  We still saw my mom, who lives in our neighborhood but didn't enter one another's house until the end of April.  

I remember only being able to buy a dozen eggs at a time.  Easter I was struggling to find some to color and luckily I had egg coloring kits remaining from last year.  I found Target online was a great way to order cereal, dry goods, detergents. It seemed like a part time job searching multiple places for food.  We finally gave in and picked up a pizza, and then Chik-fil-a.  I made the kids reheat it in the microwave to kill off any germs(now it seems really silly).  I was leaving my packages on the porch and wiping down my mail and constantly running to the sink to wash my hands.  As soon as I would return from an shopping I would strip off my clothes and coat and wash them.  

I remember the first time I wore a mask.  I went to Wegmans and ran into a former student who laughed and told me I looked like a duck!  Not everyone in the store was wearing a mask and 

Starting the summer Bucket List

Thursday night, Evan and I ran to Target and Kohls.  Evan hates shopping with me and usually I wait until Marc is home or if I am just running close by I leave him home and check in with him.  My Mom lives down the street so if I get delayed she will come over.  He requested popcorn from Target so we picked that up.  As we were checking out he saw the display of Coke bottles with names on them. His quest last summer was to find his name.  The closest we found was Evans.  Well today the first bottle I picked up was Evan and then we found a second.  Well we purchased both.  Evan is definitely my child that rarely asks for anything except take out food!  I always ask before I head to the store to see if the kids or Marc want anything special and Evans requests are Cheese-its, goldfish or Wegmans frozen pizzas.  He also picked out a 75% off Sabres hoodie.  We declared the Coke bottles the official kick off to an amazing summer.  Although we still have almost a month of school left.

This morning we headed to Fort Niagara.  The weather was very overcast and Marc was at work.  Evan argued about going and did not want to leave the house this morning.  Luckily as soon as he was in the car his attitude changed.  There is lots of construction going on and we had to take a longer route from our house.  We made a small wrong turn and ended up overlooking the rapids and the powerplant below the falls.  The kids thought this was great and hopped out of the car to follow the stone wall overlooking the gorge.  We watched a jetboat go by with lots of tourists.  We discovered a hiking trail that would take you down to the bottom of the gorge.  We did not have proper footwear on for that.  So I promised to return this summer.

We finally made it to the Fort around 10am and caught the tail end of the informational video.  We entered the Fort and the kids were amazed there were soldiers set up from each era along with their camp and attire.  At 11 there was a special event where they explained each weapon and then shot the weapon.  Evan was in his glory.  He is a huge history buff and is very interested in WW2.  Sara was not impressed.  The even did the Air raid warning and showed the bombs that were dropped all over Europe during the war.  We stayed until around 1:00 and could have stayed much longer if the kids were not so hungry.  There was  a small shop that had a few snacks and burgers but the kids wanted to eat at the Outlet Mall.  We went for lunch and purchased a few things at Oshkosh and headed home.  I asked the kids to rate the day and they both gave it a 9 out of 10.

It was  the perfect morning and we lucked out with the special event day that wasn't to busy.  Next day trip is either the Lockport Locks the Cave of the Winds or Niagara Jetboat.  There is also the Niagara Power Station where you can enter and see overlook the gorge but the kids declined that experience.

First Holy Communion

On Saturday we celebrated Sara's First Holy Communion.  She woke up so excited that today was the day she made her first communion.  She confided it me she wanted to take the wine but didn't want anyone to know.  She later told me she likes the wine.

She made it along with 44 other children, 12 from her school and the rest attend the parish.  Evan was an altar server during the mass.  She truly was a little princess.  We met with a photographer early in the day and she told her its paparazzi time!  I ended up having it catered by a local restaurant which was very reasonable and now we have a ton of leftovers!  No cooking for a few more days.

The light at the end

I think we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  When Sara was diagnosed with mono.  I truly thought she will be tired for a few weeks and she will be back to normal. I never imagined the number of Dr. Appointment and stress is would create for the entire family.  We have been to neurologists, had sleep deprived EEG, MRI, a visit to the ER, 2 different eye exams, and count less visits to our Peds.

I had slept with Sara or on her floor from the  first week of January until last Sunday.  She stated out very anxious and needy, then had vision issues Mycropisia (which isn't quite gone yet), 6 days of a high fever and she wasn't herself.  We are finally seeing happy, sassy Sara again.  There have been many times in the past 3 weeks when Marc and I have looked at one another and said "She's  back".

Poor Evan has been a trooper.  Last night I told him I miss him coming into Sara's room to cuddle me at tonight.  He has played way to many video games as a result of her mono.  Last week we picked up a basketball hoop for the kids.  We went to Dick's and ran into a former student and she gave us her discount!  April was a month of many expensive purchases including a new dishwasher and a new laptop.

Sara had Daddy Daughter dance on Friday and will make her first Communion this Saturday.  Evan and I went to the Avengers movie on Friday and it was not my favorite movie.  Very long, non-stop fighting and just not my type of movie.  Evan said it was ok just way to long.  

We have been running around for Track the past two weeks.  The kids had 2 track meets this weekend.  They each received ribbons but it was in the 30's for both meets and very cold.  Our weekend was filled with play dates.  Play dates have become so easy.  We have passed the stage that they need me or that they argue.  Hopefully it stays that way.