luminousone Posted October 11, 2013 Author Share Posted October 11, 2013 Tomorrow there is no school since it is a state wide in service day. Presumably the teachers are in training or workshops all day. My son is happy because he has no homework for the weekend. He is studying Geometry and has a test on Monday. He has a self paced course and is doubling up the assignments and will likely finish the course in a few months. Then he will take Algebra II. The more he can do before high school, the better. It will save him money when he goes to college. They were originally going to have him walk over to the high school to take the math class but I didn't want him wandering around during the day, plus I didn't want him to miss classes at his own school to fit the high school schedule. So this works out. My old roommate is coming in from out of town and she and another old roommate are getting together with me this weekend- fun! They are both vegetarian and one is vegan so I will be eating healthy this weekend for sure. I spent the day going through some old clothes that my sons had at their dads. Apparently they used the drawers for storage of clothes that they forgot they had and then grew out of them- what a waste! They would do their laundry and store the clean clothes in a pile on the floor. Sheesh! Wish I had known this all along, but I couldn't very well go snooping in my ex's house... So all of these perfectly good clothes were too small for them and I washed them all today (they were dirty and smelly) and will donate them to our church's charity room. Link to comment
Silverbirch Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 I keep trying to post here but losing my posts! Link to comment
Silverbirch Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Oh, I had a long post typed here, but it got lost I haven't heard of Behr but will look out for it. I know that Bunnings (big hardware chain) over here have lots of free courses aimed at selling their products and certain they would have tiling. Yes, I will have some more expenditures next pay, but it has given me some confidence and incentive to keep trying harder. Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 12, 2013 Author Share Posted October 12, 2013 Ugh I caught a cold- first one in three years... Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 12, 2013 Author Share Posted October 12, 2013 On a more positive note my son got all A's on his assignments this week- yes! Link to comment
Silverbirch Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Congrats for your son and hope you feel better son. Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 14, 2013 Author Share Posted October 14, 2013 Still sniffling, but getting better. I went out of town this weekend to stay with an old roommate and another housemate flew on from another state for a visit. We had such a great time together, despite the fact that I came down with a cold on my visit. I sure hope I didn't infect them! Anyhow my old housemate is visiting various people around the state so she will be driving to visit me too this week. So fun! I took my son back to his dads tonight but his dad moved in with his girlfriend this week, so I had to drive about 15 miles out in the country to drop him off. My ex showed me my son's bedroom and when my son tried to use the dresser to unpack his things then we realized there was stuff in almost all of the drawers. Turns out my ex needed room for his clothes and left only a few dresser drawers for my son's stuff. Then my son thought he would use the dresser in the closet but that one was totally full of his dad's stuff too! Then my ex showed me how he has all of the rest of his stuff in the other guest room- computer, video game, bookshelves, etc. but no room for a dresser. It was crammed full of stuff. I didn't see the master bedroom but it made me sad that they made little room for my youngest son and NO room for my oldest son. So starts a new era... Link to comment
Silverbirch Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Sounds like a deadbeat Lum. Sort of thing my ex-ex would do. Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 I went for a walk today despite my virus and it was a chilly fall morning- the trees are beginning to turn so it was so beautiful! My friend and her dog were there too so we walked and talked. So she pointed out that since my ex's things are delegated to my son's room then it seems like neither my ex nor his gf are fully committed to their relationship - interesting thought. Whatever, I don't care about that but I do care about my sons' well being. It is a slap in the face that they didn't make room for either son to have their things there. Back to my walk- saw many flocks of geese getting ready to migrate, practicing flying in formation. I also saw about four great blue herons today hanging out at the pond and the river. Saw a kingfisher too. So gorgeous! Came home and slept all afternoon to try to kick this virus. Link to comment
Silverbirch Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 LOL, I saw a spiny ant-eater here yesterday which is a lot like a porcupine! Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 I looked up images for a spiny anteater and it does seem to look like a porcupine (not that I've ever seen one of those either). link removed Link to comment
Silverbirch Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Yes, a few months ago, there was one on the road, and I was surprised to see that they can scamper quite fast if they are threatened. I used to see wombats here when I first moved here, but now I only sadly see dead ones on the road. They are adorable. Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 A wombat looks like a cross between a rodent and a panda... Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 Had a good checkup at the oncologists yesterday. I don't have to go back for another year, unless my blood work does not check out. In 2 weeks I have my regular physical too. Today I have been cleaning and organizing since I will have out of town company tomorrow. I still have more cleaning to do, but if I get up early then I can get most of it done before she gets here. To top it off, my ex is clearing out stuff from his house since he is moving in with his gf. He brought over 6 boxes of his kitchen stuff to store over here. I almost said no, but the remembered that our older son will be getting an apartment next year so he will probably need it. So my ex put it in the shed. Lol it was a mess in there and when he was taking so long I realized he was reorganizing it all... Sheesh! He also brought by some sheets from the boys' beds which I will also keep for them. But I promptly threw them in the washing machine because they stunk of man smell. He said they were clean but ewwww! He also brought by some queen size sheets that I will never use because I am sure they have seen some action with him and his escapades since we broke up- probably why he didn't take them to his new gf's house. The funny thing is that I think they were from my first marriage. They will be donated to the charity room. Haven't heard from my older son at college this week except to ask for his bank information. It was a beautiful fall day here today- hopefully we will get a repeat tomorrow. Link to comment
Silverbirch Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Really good to hear you have been given another cancer-free bill of health Lum! Your ex sounds so selfish that no relationship will work for him. It's surprising any women have remained with him for any length of time. Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 Went for a walk today- another beautiful fall day! For some reason I didn't see the great blue herons today, but it was still a pretty walk. Tomorrow I have to sub, so I better sign off... Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 19, 2013 Author Share Posted October 19, 2013 Had a great visit with a friend from out of town. I saw her last weekend when I drove to stay with another mutual friend. We went to a Saturday craft market and that interested her since she sells handcrafted jewelry at craft fares in her state. She said the fair was just like hers, same stuff, same types of people. Anyhow I had to come home for the week and she had other people to visit. She asked me if she could drive down to stay with me and explore around here and of course I said yes. She was out of cell range for a few days so I didn't know when she was showing up, but she arrived just in time for dinner in Thursdsy. I had to go teach a class that night so she and I were going to hang out yesterday. In the end I had to sub half a day and she decided to change her plans so she could see some old friends that were only available last night, so in the end she went on her way. I was fine with it- would have loved to have taken her for a hike around here and the fall foliage is quite beautiful right now. I told her she has left many fun things to do the next time she comes to visit! My ex came over to see her and say hi and he brought my younger son, so I am glad she got to see one of my sons! My ex kept talking about his girlfriend which we both thought that was a bit insensitive, but on the other hand I am somewhat relieved that there seems to be more affection there than I had thought. It had sounded like he was just with her for the health insurance... Anyway she and I feel I am much better off without him! So good to see her and catch up and what a beautiful person she is! Yesterday I got to help as a classroom assistant for half a day. It was a good day and I enjoyed getting to know the new students and touching base with the ones I already knew. Ironically I never saw my son all day since I was on a different floor and I doubt he even knew i was there. Today I am going shopping for some baby gifts for a baby shower that I was unable to attend. I found out from the mom to be what things she got and what she needs the most, so I can help her out with that. She needs blankets, so I will get her some cute ones at Target but I will also look for a few quilts at the thrift shop to throw in too (after thoroughly washing them of course). She does not mind gently used items and will be grateful. This is her second child- she has a little boy and she is having a girl now. I have to work on a fundraiser this afternoon for my son's scout group so that will keep me busy. Tomorrow I will see my older son to go shopping for some birthday clothes for him- we never had a chance when it was his birthday in September. I told him to bring his laundry because I was pretty sure he had not been doing it. Lol. He seemed very happy at that suggestion... Well, time to get going on my day now. Hope everyone is having a fabulous day! Link to comment
Silverbirch Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Glad you had a nice time with your friend. You always seem to get so much done! Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 21, 2013 Author Share Posted October 21, 2013 Had a busy weekend with fundraisers and kid stuff and church stuff. Yesterday I had plans with my older son to take him out to buy a new shirt for his birthday which was in September. In the end he had already found a great shirt online so I got him some pants instead. I picked him up and he brought his laundry. He had not done it in 3 weeks! Since he took clothes from his dad's house and from mine then he barely had enough to wear clean things and I suspect maybe some things were worn more than once... Anyhow he did his laundry at my house and then we went shopping. The new shirts he had gotten online were very wrinkly cotton so he wanted to learn how to iron, lol... So he ironed his new shirts and- get this - actually folded his laundry!!! He has been just throwing it in a drawer without folding it for years but now he is concerned about his appearance, lol... His dorm seems like a fun place to be- they have social functions every week. They also have sports teams and play against other dorms, so he had a soccer game last night. And some canoe battle in the pools this week (trying to sink the opposing team's canoe without touching it...). He said school is hard because of his ADD but he will get back on his medication this week. I sincerely hope he is able to remember to take it each day... I was surprised to hear that his language immersion hall does not seem to be working out, language wise. They speak English a lot... Maybe they will step up their expectations soon but the core class he was required to take is even in English! Not too happy to hear that, but overall it is a great place for my son. We had a nice afternoon together and I was glad to catch up with him. My other son came home for the week and was cheerful and cooperative until it was time for him to go to bed. Then he dug in his heals and decided that he should be able to stay up as long as he wants, since apparently that is what is happening at his dad's house. This has happened several times, especially on the first night back from his dad's. It is like he just has to challenge the rules to test the boundaries each time. Ack! He has now lost electronic privileges for the next few days. I think I will post a thread on this for advice... Link to comment
Silverbirch Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Well Lum, I recall when my son was a younger child telling myself that children test you out sometimes because they have a need to test out those type of boundaries to feel safe again. I KNOW that is the case with horses. LOL! It's their way of testing out if you are up to being the leader and protector who is capable of making decisions to ensure their safety. Now with teenagers, that's more complicated!! Certainly, there is that in-between time of settling back into Mum's Household which is a very different environment to his father's. He probably also is tired without knowing it from the time he has spent at his father's house. Kid's are smart though - they work it out. Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 22, 2013 Author Share Posted October 22, 2013 Well I had a more rational talk with my son at dinner tonight. I told him why I think sleep is necessary. I also told him I did a poll on a website and most thought he should have a bedtime between 8:30 and 9:30. I also told him that the reason I choosing to enforce it is because I love him and want the best for him, He was miffed at the informal poll I took. But tonight he did not put up a fuss at lights out time. Link to comment
Silverbirch Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 That's good Lum. Have you had any trouble with your teenagers and showers or hygienne. When my son was around 12, I noticed that his socks didn't seem to be in the laundry basket. At that time though, I was very busy with other things and kept meaning to go off in search of the socks. I found out from my son after about a week that he had a bet with other friends of his to see which one of them could keep wearing the same pair of socks day after day longest before their mother's realised what was happening. My son won the bet which made me feel like a dill! Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 24, 2013 Author Share Posted October 24, 2013 That's good Lum. Have you had any trouble with your teenagers and showers or hygienne. When my son was around 12, I noticed that his socks didn't seem to be in the laundry basket. At that time though, I was very busy with other things and kept meaning to go off in search of the socks. I found out from my son after about a week that he had a bet with other friends of his to see which one of them could keep wearing the same pair of socks day after day longest before their mother's realised what was happening. My son won the bet which made me feel like a dill! So hilarious!!! Yes- while they both take extra long showers forever and ever- I did notice that one son had more underwear in the laundry than the other. I asked and I found out that one of them does not wear clean underwear every day even after having showered! Busy day today due to subbing- and the funny thing was that the class was going on a field trip! It was fun and we had beautiful weather! Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 25, 2013 Author Share Posted October 25, 2013 My son has been testing the boundaries this week. This time he came home too late and never told me where he was or who he was with. I was so mad that he missed dinner! I had to run off to a meeting and my anger melted away during that time so I was prepared to discuss it with him when I got back. I told him that he has to call me after school to ask if he can be with friends, to say where he is and who he is with, to expect that I will say no sometimes, and to be home before dinner and before dark. I told him that a phone call is better than texting so he knows I got the message. He has to call me by a certain time or he will be grounded, like he was this week. Today he texted me by that time and was home on time. It is a start! Viruses are going around, so I got called in to substitute again tomorrow. Should be fun. It is only a half day tomorrow... Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 26, 2013 Author Share Posted October 26, 2013 My son has been following my rules - Thank Goodness!!! He has called or texted me and has accepted that I will say no sometimes. Today I was called in to sub in the younger grade classroom, and the day went pretty well. The little kids are so cute! The teacher did a great job- she is new in that position and they chose wisely. Another really nice fall day here. The trees are so gorgeous! Link to comment
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