BUSY BUSY BUSY

Sooo to catch up.........

The morning after my husband brought home the roses, I was being selfish. I wanted more baby's breath in them, so I ran to the floral dept. at the grocery store. The young girl working behind the counter couldn't get her scanner/label maker to work. They had baby's breath by the stem for 1.99, but if it was wrapped up in a cellophane package it was 2.99. When I compared the two, there wasn't anymore in the wrapped package than there was on the single stem, so I asked if there was anymore not wrapped, she said no, but she would unwrap some packages for me and relabel them. After waiting almost 30 mins and 3 people later, no one could get the label made. I suggested that I just scan one of the labels 5 more times when I got to the check out! I know, I'm brilliant......LOL. The florist advised that would be fine. So I went to the self check out, advised the attendant of the problem and finally got out of that store... What should have been a 10 min errand took me almost 45 mins. I had left the kids at home, cause it was gonna be a "quick" errand, so I was sure they thought something had happened. Anyway, I was about 2 blocks from home, and speeding up the hill and I got tagged by the police for speeding. They had set up a radar trap at the elementary school, you can't see them until you are right up on them.... They weren't there when I left, but they were there in full force now. So I got flagged into the parking lot. I knew I was speeding, so I just pulled over and started getting my registration and insurance card out. I also knew that my license was expired, I was a little nervous about it, but I figured it was my own damn fault. I had been too lazy to go get it renewed. It was one of those things that everytime I thought about doing it, I had a million other things to get done first, and then I would forget about it. I never use it for ID, cause I never need to show ID for anything. I never go out to the bar, and where I buy cigarettes, everyone knows me.... Anyway I told the officer that it was expired, and handed her my registration and ins card. She ran my plates and everything came back fine with that. The other 3 people who got pulled over right after me where all on their way with tickets in hand. I was getting a little nervous by this point. The officer came back and asked me why I hadn't gotten my license renewed and I told her. Part of the reason it wasn't such a big deal to me was that I was no longer working in the field anymore, I used to work on an ambulance for years, and always had to have a current license, well it's been almost 3 yrs that I've been out of the field, that I really didn't have the same urgency about it.... Anyway she looked at me and told me that not only was my license expired, but that it had been suspended in 2002???? I was totally shocked. I asked her why it was suspended, and she said that I must not have paid a court fine or ticket. I haven't had any tickets in years and years. I was involved in an accident in 2000 while working. But I never got a ticket, and everything was settled by work's attorney. Anyway, the officer asked if the reason I didn't renew it was because it was suspended. I told her I had no clue it was suspended. She told me that I would have to leave the car there and walk home. I was only about 2 blocks away. She then asked me if she could search my car, I said yes. I told her that the back driver-side door wouldn't open. I asked her why she was searching my car, and she replied that she has the right to search the vehicle of anybody who was under arrest. I just about passed out when she said that. She must of noticed that I had turned completely white, she then said that driving on a suspended license was an offense that I could be taken downtown and booked for, but she believed that I didn't know it was suspended, so she was giving me a ticket to appear in court. She looked in the glove box and the middle console and that was it. I parked the car in a stall and got my baby's breath and walked home. The kids asked about the car, and I told them that it overheated and was parked at school. I didn't want them to get scared. I called my hubby at work and told him what had happened. He was just as shocked as I was and asked if I was ok. I said yeah, I guess it could have been worse. The lady could have been a real B*tch and taken me downtown.

I called my sister later that day and explained to her what happened and asked her and her husband to pick up the car and drive it to my house so it wouldn't get broken into. I ended up calling the attorney on the following Wed. I explained to him that I got pulled over for speeding and it turns out that my license was suspended. He was looking things up, and told me that he couldn't find any reason why it was suspended. He verified that it had been suspended since Dec 13, 2002, but other than that he would have to make a few calls. He called back and asked if I had paid a ticket in April of this year. I advised him I had not, and hadn't had any traffic issues other than the ambulance accident, in at least 12 years. The funny thing is, I got a speeding ticket in the same exact spot. I know it was more than 12 yrs ago, cause I didn't have any kids. I'm not even sure I was married yet, but I can't remember. I was on my way to my sister's house to watch her kids so she and her husband could go out for her birthday, and I was running late. I was speeding down the hill, and the cop was sitting in the schools parking lot.... The attorney said that there was some kind of ticket issued in 2002 and that it was paid in April of 2006. I advised that it wasn't me, but I needed to get my license un-suspended so I could drive again. He advised to send a money order to the Dept of Motor Vehicles in Lincoln and they would send me a re-instatement letter. As soon as I get that letter, give him a copy of it and he would take it to prosecutor and get this ticket dropped. So I mailed off the money order and am waiting for my letter. I will go get my license renewed and make sure that I NEVER let it lapse ever again.

I've been walking my youngest to school everyday since. I'm to scared to drive. It would be just my luck that I would get pulled over by the cops, and this time I would go downtown. My car has a cracked window on the back driver's side. Some kid thought it would be funny to shoot it with a BB Gun, so it's all taped up with clear tape. I haven't gotten it replaced yet cause it's too expensive, and It hasn't been a priority. It's a foreign car, so it's more expensive to fix. It's also tinted which raises the cost. It's not the kind of car that just blends in the crowd right now....

I've found myself being a "Becky Homecky". I've cleaned, conditioned and polished all of the wood floors.... I've needed to do that for a long time. I've kept all of the laundry cleaned, I sorted through toys and gotten rid of a bunch of things. I've been baking and cooking all the time. Ruby and I put up the Halloween decorations yesterday. I gone through a lot of stuff that was just sitting around. I made some curtains for the girls room. I got all the kids TV's, VCR's and DVD players hooked up the right way so everything works together... I've been playing games with the kids, playing outside, raking leaves and jumping in the piles. The kids are loving the fact that Mom is at home.

My oldest son has been trying our patience lately. Yesterday morning I went through his back pack and came across a note from his teacher. Apparently there was a problem between him and another boy and Nathan hit this other kid in the head with a folding chair. Nathan in his "ultimate" wisdom, thought he could forge my signature. Well, if I was smart I would have let him try to get away with it, called his teacher and let her know what was going on, and then he would have really shit his pants when he had to call home from the principals office. Instead, I woke my husband up, showed him what I found. He's better at dealing with Nathan than I am. I loose my patience with him. He's a very smart kid, but he's lazy. He always in a hurry to get things done so he can go play his video games. He's also a HUGE smart ass. I have to admit, he can be extremely funny, but it get old when it's all the time, or when it's really not appropriate at the time. Anyway, he never seems to learn from his mistakes. He's tried to forge my name on a note before, and got caught. You'd think that he would have learned from his mistake, but no... Not Nathan. Anyway, his dad sat him down and asked what happened and of course Nathan says it was an accident..BALE BLAH BLAH... Nathan's teacher is really a neat and laid back lady. She's not the type to over react. I was sure this wasn't an accident. Pat asked Nathan several times to tell the truth... Pat drove the boys to school that morning as usual when Nathan has band on that day, except this time, Dad parked in the parking lot and told the boys that they would have to walk to the side of the building where they go in for breakfast. He said the look on Nathan's face was priceless... Nathan knew that Pat was going in to talk to his teacher...... BUSTED! It turns out that Nathan and this boy were having issues. Apparently this boy had been teasing Nathan about liking some girl and Nathan got angry and hit this kid with the chair, after he tripped him. It also turns out that Nathan has 2 missing math assignments, and told the teacher that I took them and wouldn't give them back. Pat was furious. Nathan was lying again. Pat and the teacher talked, she told Pat that Nathan was getting a 3 in math because of the missing work, and that there is absolutely no reason that Nathan should have anything less than a 1 in any of his classes. Nathan is very smart, just doesn't want to put forth any effort. He is always looking for the easiest and fastest way to get things done.

That afternoon, when the kids got home from school, I asked Nathan if he had homework. He did, but nothing in Math. I advised him that his father spoke with his teacher this morning, and that we knew about the missing homework. I asked if he had brought his math book home. NO. I made him call his teacher at school to make sure she would still be there and tell her he was coming back to get his math book. HE WAS FURIOUS!!! but he did it. When Pat got home last night he and Nathan had a LONG talk ( about 1.5 hrs) When they were done, Nathan came to me and asked to talk to me in MY room. He apologized about his behavior and his lying. I told him that I know he thinks we are too hard on him, but that we are hard on him because we love him. We don't want him growing up thinking that he can do whatever he wants when he wants. We want him to grow up being responsible and dependable and honest. I told him I accepted his apology and that I loved him.

This morning I went to the DMV in town and got the renewal stickers for my car. I drove my husbands vehicle so I felt a little easier about driving. I wanted to get the stickers before the current ones expired. I'm so paranoid now it's not even funny. I guess it's cause I know my license is suspended and now I feel like I'm doing something wrong...

Oh yeah... I filed for unemployment the week of my birthday. I was told that someone would be calling me on the 21st at 8:15. I had all the kids out of the house except for Maggie and was ready to explain what happened and why I quit. NO CALL. I though maybe I heard wrong and that the call was supposed to come at 9:15 so I waited. I called them at 9:25 and explained to the lady who answered the phone what was going on. She put me through to the "Diane". I told her that I had been waiting and wanted to make sure the call was supposed to happen today. She said I called and got your voice mail, so I went ahead and processed your claim with out you. I told her that my phone didn't ring, and that there was nothing on my caller ID. I also told her that I don't have voice mail. She got really snotty then. She insisted that she called and that they "don't leave messages, so I processed it without you." She told me she already spoke to my former employer and got the resignation email I sent. She read it to me and I confirmed that I had written it. I tried to explain further, but she was very hostile towards me, and kept saying I should have talked to someone the day I had gotten the emails blah blah blah... I couldn't get her to understand that I didn't work a Mon- Fri type of job that it was 3 days one week and 4 days the next and so forth, basically she said I had no grounds to quit and it was not due to anything the employer had done. I just kept being pleasant to her and when she was done being snotty I wished he a good day and a fabulous weekend, and I wasn't being sarcastic about it. I'm sure that really pissed her off, and that was my intention. I got a letter from them on the following Monday that said I was assessed a 12 wk waiting period for quitting. That was fine by me, I had planned on waiting 12 weeks anyway. I figure that it would kick in just in time for X-mas shopping... LOL..... I have to make 2 contacts weekly, which I do via computer. I've been applying for jobs that I'm not really qualified for, that way I have no chance of getting a call back. I figured my employer screwed me over, I'm just returning the favor!!! I did get a call from someone I don't remember applying with, so just to be safe I'm going on an interview Monday, but trust me- it's easy to blow and interview. Besides it's for a financial institution, I've worked nothing but medical for that last 10 yrs. I told the gentleman calling that I'm not a salesman. I'm not good with selling anything. He said that he would still like to meet with me and go further into depth with things. I figured that if he was that insistent, then he probably got my name from either someone at the unemployment office or my former employer, and I had better at least show up. As long as I don't turn down an offer for employment I'm ok. I figured that by the time I'm done with the interview he won't want to offer me a job.

Well that's about it....I think anyway. I'm truly enjoying myself at home. I love being here when my kids get home from school, I love making home cooked meals, I love to iron clothes, I love being able to just sit back with my feet on the coffee table and watching a soap every now & then. What can I say. I love being a stay at home Mom. I am going to check into taking some online classes for medical billing and transcription. I can do that work from home.