I had very bad bus driving dreams last night..."It was my first day on the job and I drove my highschoolers to school but then I went to get back on my bus for my middleschoolers and my bus was gone! Three hours later and no bus....I go home to ask Mike to help me look for it, as we go outside it is parked in front of the house. Great, now I can go get the kids to school. However, somehow it is already night time and I am driving my bus aimlessly, without any passengers, through teeny tiny country roads. I am lost. But as I radio for help, I am told that I left my kindergartners at school!" and then Mike wakes me up to tell me Loki is making weird noises..... can anyone interpret that dream? Please post all your interpretations on the message board...thank you.
posted by Melissa 12:56 PM
Monday, August 27, 2001
I PASSED!!! I am a school bus driver....
posted by Melissa 12:36 PM
Saturday, August 25, 2001
Well Mike and I just went to the movies alone for the first time since Emma was born. While I enjoyed the movie, it was very hard to have a good time since my heart was beating a million miles an hour worrying that Emma was screaming her head off. I know Emma was in good hands though so I started to relax about half-way through the movie. We saw Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. It was very funny, a little too much bad language and a not-so-good plot. The baby-sitters reported that she cried for a while before falling asleep and had just woken up when we got back. I guess that is all I have say for now...I have to go pay attention to Em since I left her for so long!!!!!
posted by Melissa 3:05 PM
Thursday, August 23, 2001
My extensive 10 hours of driving behind the wheel is done. Now I just have to pass the DMV driving/pre-trip inspection test. Luckily it is administered by the same guy that taught us in class. I don't think I will have any probs with the driving; I have gotten pretty comfortable behind the wheel believe it or not. My trainor, Donna, was saying I was a good driver...I asked her to please call my husband and tell him that. The pre-trip inspection involved checking your vehicle over for any leaks, cracks, vandalism and the like. I don't have any big problems until I start to check under the hood and I have to identify the air compressor, alternator, water pump (which you can't even see because it is blocked by the fan, yet they make you say you are "checking" it!). I also need to locate the springs, shocks, steering box, slack adjusters and u-bolts. I guess those are the only things that give me a hard time but when you have never even looked under the hood of your own car much less tried to learn what it is you are looking at, things can get kind of complicated! So from now until Sunday Mike and I are going to practice. I have going to visualize the couch being my bus and I have to name all the parts I need to check. Ok, we have to get going, I need to get some sleep....Emma has been depriving me of sleep this whole week! TTFN.
posted by Melissa 9:54 PM
Wednesday, August 22, 2001
What a week! I have had so much fun learning to drive a bus. I was so scared Monday morning, but after driving for a few miles I feel into a groove. I have been driving these huge buses on these teeny, tiny old country back roads for the past two days. Today, Wednesday, I took out the "transit" bus, which is the huge flat front bus (like a Metro bus I guess). Today it was just myself and the trainor on the bus and we drove for about 3 hours. We drove all the way down to Lake Anna and the roads were pretty decent there. It is very scary though because no matter which back road they take you on there are always big dumptrucks and tractor trailors barreling down the opposite side of the road so you kind of just grip the steering wheel real tight and hope they don't blow you off the road. There seems to be construction everywhere down here so these big trucks are always coming to and from new housing developments....In other news...Emma is starting to stand on her own. She stood for a couple of seconds a few times now but starts to wobble and then sits down. Today, after I got home and was standing in the kitchen Emma crawled past me and started going up the stairs. Luckily I was standing right there watching her because she took on off up the stairs! She was halfway up the second stair she was going so fast! So we are heading out to Walmart to buy some baby gates! I have to go now, you'll have to pardon me if I am sounding like a red-neck but after spending the last week and a half with these good ole' country folk I have started saying things like "I reckon," "ain't," "kin," and "roundabout."
posted by Melissa 4:19 PM
Sunday, August 19, 2001
This weekend we had a lot of fun. On Saturday Emma, Loki and I went to hang out with the Fissells. Uncle Gary had a cook-out and cousin Kris was there with her little girl Hanna(h?). Hanna and Emma really look a lot alike espcially when they give their "who me?" expression. Hanna tried to teach Emma how to walk but I don't think Emma was ready to learn. Loki made a new friend with Uncle Gary's dog Lady. He had a great time frolicking with her in the back yard. On Sunday Uncle Greg came down and spent the day with us. We went shopping at Walmart and Uncle Greg bought Emma a pair a blue camoflouge pants. Mike and Uncle Greg had a fun time playing dream cast games against each other while Emma and I took a little nap. Well it's time to go...everyone wish me luck driving the big cheese bus!
posted by Melissa 5:58 PM
Friday, August 17, 2001
I passed!! Now I just have about 2 days of training actually driving the bus and then school starts and I go on routes with other drivers then I get my own assignments! Can you believe that DMV only makes you train on a commercial vehicle for 12hours? All those people driving dump trucks and buses barely have any training! However, they make you take all these written tests so that you know where the air tank is on the bus or that braking while going down a hill makes your brakes hotter. Who cares! Just let me practive driving the 40 foot cheese bus! In other news, we had our 90-day walk thru and we were discussing with the inspector guy how water pools in our front yard and along the side of our house after watering or a storm. He suggested this is why our dogwoods keep dying, because they are basically situated in this trench. Anyway, our yard is going to be re-graded so that the slope is not that bad. I am so glad because that is one of the things that has bothered me since we moved in. Plus, it is really hard to mow the lawn on the side yard because it slopes at a bad incline up to the sidewalk (which is more Mike's problem than it is mine).... that's all folks!!!
posted by Melissa 10:09 PM
Wednesday, August 15, 2001
Sorry I haven't updated in a while but I have been very busy this week! I have started bus driver training classes...that's right...I'm going to try and be a bus driver! Class is only for a few hours in the morning so Mike has been taking care of Emma this week...and he is doing a great job! Like he could do otherwise! Emma is so crazy about him, she doesn't even miss having me around! I have classes next week as well, Monday thru Thursday. Aunt Sara will be here to help out on Monday and Tuesday. I have been staying up very late every night to study for the 4 DMV tests I have to take...I have passed 3 so far and I am sure I will pass the last one on Thursday. I am so tired! But enough about me....duty calls...or shall I say doody......calls.
posted by Melissa 9:55 PM
Friday, August 10, 2001
Emma would like to send a special shout out to her Grandma Nancy who is celebrating a birthday today, August 10. We don't know which birthday it is but we know she looks great for her age!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA NANCY!!! WE LOVE YOU....the eagneys...
posted by Melissa 9:11 AM
Wednesday, August 08, 2001
Emma is becoming quite the little eater. We had trouble with the solids at first so I stopped feeding her solids for about a week. Then I restarted but she would still only eat a few bites and then scream for a bottle. But now it has been about 3 weeks and she loves nectarines, canteloupe, sweet potatoe and bananas amongst other things. Now the only problem is I can never tell when she's full. Sometimes she will eat 3 little bowl fulls of food and still not be turning her head! Last night we were eating celery and we gave her a slice and to our surprise she loved it! She is constantly begging for my food and this morning she tried some coffee cake, which she loved. That's all for now!!
posted by Melissa 10:54 AM
Thursday, August 02, 2001
Last night the Eagneys went to uncle Greg's and aunt Karen's for dinner. We had a great time eating chicken tacos and brownies while watching MTVs 20th birthday party. Although Emma slept a lot while she was there she enjoyed her time there very much while she was awake. On Friday Emma, Loki and I are going to spend the day with Big Mama, or grandma Bobbie, in Annapolis. Emma hasn't decided what she wants to call her grandmothers yet. Grandma Bobbie is hoping she will pick "Diva" but Emma's parents have overruled that choice. If anyone has any interesting picks for a grandmotherly name please feel free to post it on the message board. Thanks!!
posted by Melissa 11:58 AM