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Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Tuesday, March 31

5:10 a.m. -  Yesterday was a battle.  The pool project didn't get done because I the sand filter sand didn't go as hoped.  Now I'm waiting on some parts to arrive.  Then I went to put the hot tub up, and the power box gave me some problems.  It really needs a new electrical outlet box, but I found that a ground wire had come apart from its connection, so I reattached that, and closed up the box and gave it a try, and it worked!  I don't know if it's still working out there, but it was working when I went in the house.  So from early in the morning until late in the afternoon, I was working on crap.  I needed to get it all finished, though, because the weather isn't looking so good the rest of the week.

And on to today.  Well...I'm not really sure what I'm going to be doing.  Now I'm wondering if I should pull the camper over to West Lake campground.  I'll go visit my parents maybe?  

Things to do for School 

  • renew my teaching license can start doing it on April 1
  • make a  daily contact with Mrs. Sywassink and document
  • update attendance each week in SDS
  • send any IEP notices to Mrs. Saey
  • Mar 25 - PTO meeting at ICE at 6 p.m.
  • Apr 22 - PTO meeting at Andalusia 6 p.m.

OTHER THINGS

  • use Dick's gift certificate
  • a hood light switch for the Ford
  • April 1 - 1:45 p.m. - ORA Moline - MRI
  • April 6-10 - Walk in labs at Genesis Silvis or maybe not
  • April 15 - Dr. Wang pre-op physical (surgical clearance)
  • April 28 - 9:40 a.m. at ORA Silvis
  • April 28 - Dentist 8 a.m. - CANCELLED
  • April 30 - 10 a.m. - Milan Optical
  • May 4 - surgery on left knee at Trinity Moline
  • May 6 - 9:20 a.m. - ORA physical therapy
  • May 8 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA physical therapy
  • May 11 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA physical therapy
  • May 13 - 8:45 a.m. Post-Op Appt Hussein; 9:40 a.m. - ORA physical therapy
  • May 15 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA physical therapy
  • July 3-5 - Possible Trip to Bear Creek Cabins near Decorah - https://www.bearcreekcabinsia.com/store-campground
  • July 19-27 - Trip to Branson, MO (and Strawberry, AK) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D3BB0_IuwRs0WDKqm1Euor9WUH84SeF1DIwKi7OWeS4/edit?tab=t.0
  • July 28 - Bus Refresher Course
    Things To Do for History Page
    • What/Where is South Buffalo Prairie School and for that matter West Buffalo School and East Taylor Ridge School?  ugh.
    • Friday Tidbit on the RR History Network Page

    Knee Surgery Dates Completed
    • March 11 - 10:25 a.m. - ORA Moline - Consult

Monday, March 30, 2026

Monday, March 30

5:57 a.m. - Yesterday was not a day to get a lot done around the house, but it was a fun day.  All the Kiddoo family was at the house in the morning for food, Easter Egg hunt, and Brinley's birthday.  (I ate too much food, and today is a day I need to start getting my eating back under control.)  Then I took a little snooze and watch Michigan pound Tennessee.  We then went to the casino, and of course I lost.  While there, Duke somehow lost their game.  The final four is now set - Illinois, UConn, Michigan, and Arizona.  That's a pretty good group of teams.  I've got Illinois winning it all, and I hope it happens.

Today is supposed to be the best weather day of the week, so it's a day to get things done around the house.  I need to get the pool up and running and I think I'm also going to work on getting the inflatable hot tub set up.  That's easier said than done.  The worst part is checking the sand level in the filter of the pool.  That task sucks.  

I'm a bit troubled today because Cole is heading west again to Los Angeles.  I wish he could have found life here in the area, but for whatever reason, that's just not the case.  As a parent, we can only try to do our best - there comes a time, where/when the kids must make their own decisions - forge their own direction.  We parents know that, but it's still hard and worrisome.  I just hope he reaches his goals and stays safe.

I really wish this week would have featured nicer weather to get the camper out but cold and rain doesn't make for a very good camping experience, so I'm going to keep the camper here and hope for better at the end of the week.

 Things to do for School 

  • renew my teaching license can start doing it on April 1
  • make a  daily contact with Mrs. Sywassink and document
  • update attendance each week in SDS
  • send any IEP notices to Mrs. Saey
  • Mar 25 - PTO meeting at ICE at 6 p.m.
  • Apr 22 - PTO meeting at Andalusia 6 p.m.

OTHER THINGS

  • use Dick's gift certificate
  • a hood light switch for the Ford
  • April 1 - 1:45 p.m. - ORA Moline - MRI
  • April 6-10 - Walk in labs at Genesis Silvis
  • April 15 - Dr. Wang pre-op physical (surgical clearance)
  • April 28 - 9:40 a.m. at ORA Silvis
  • April 28 - Dentist 8 a.m. - CANCELLED
  • April 30 - 10 a.m. - Milan Optical
  • May 4 - surgery on left knee at Trinity Moline
  • May 6 - 9:20 a.m. - ORA physical therapy
  • May 8 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA physical therapy
  • May 11 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA physical therapy
  • May 13 - 8:45 a.m. Post-Op Appt Hussein; 9:40 a.m. - ORA physical therapy
  • May 15 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA physical therapy
  • July 3-5 - Possible Trip to Bear Creek Cabins near Decorah - https://www.bearcreekcabinsia.com/store-campground
  • July 19-27 - Trip to Branson, MO (and Strawberry, AK) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D3BB0_IuwRs0WDKqm1Euor9WUH84SeF1DIwKi7OWeS4/edit?tab=t.0
  • July 28 - Bus Refresher Course
    Things To Do for History Page
    • What/Where is South Buffalo Prairie School and for that matter West Buffalo School and East Taylor Ridge School?  ugh.
    • Friday Tidbit on the RR History Network Page

    Knee Surgery Dates Completed
    • March 11 - 10:25 a.m. - ORA Moline - Consult

Sunday, March 29, 2026

Sunday, March 29

5:50 a.m. -  Yesterday was a productive day.  I didn't really want the start we had, as Amber had me join her to go grocery shopping and pick up Kollyns.  When we got back home, I finished a book, and then I decided to go get some chlorine and a haircut and get some diesel for the truck.  For some reason, driving the truck always help me feel better, and that effort in town jumped me into getting some things done around the house.  But sheesh, the trip in town was expensive, especially with the diesel.  Freaking diesel is $5.00 per gallon...thank you President Trump and your wonderful oil friends who are making a killing right now on the war with Iran.  Demand is higher which means all the existing oil producers are making more on all the oil they are producing without production really costing them much more.  I didn't fill the main truck on the tank, but I did not fill the auxiliary tank.  After getting home, I set out to "de-winterize" the garage.  That meant moving the Blackstone grill and the gas grill to the deck, which meant pulling in the slides on the camper, which meant installing the new paper towels holder first and checking to make sure the furnace was working.  (In the meantime, Amber loaded up the fridge.)  After relocating the griddle and grill to the deck, I worked on reorganizing the garage and cleaning it.  Nope, still wasn't done.  After that, I installed the 5th wheel hitch.  Well I guess before that I raked some leaves from the east side of the garage and burnt them along with the stick pile I had made last week.  Nope, still wasn't done.  After that, I worked on the pool motor - installing new seals in the motor so it's ready to be installed.  Now I just need to do some work on the sand filter and the pool will be ready to open up.

After all that stuff getting done around the house, I was ready to go inside, and eat some pizza that Karrigan had brought, play with Kollyns a little more, and then watch the Illini.  AND THE ILLINI WON!  They beat Iowa to advance to the Final Four in Indianapolis next weekend.  HELL YA!  They played will after getting off to a slow start.  I then watched Purdue vs. Arizona (Purdue lost), and then I went to bed.  

And on to today!  Today is a day for family - particularly Amber's family - as we will celebrated Easter and Brinley's birthday.  That means I have to hide a lot of eggs, have to cook some food on the Blackstone, and apparently I'll also be cleaning my bathroom.  Beyond that it's eat some good food, and then depending on the afternoon, I may just be taking the Eagle to the campground over at West Lake.  That all depends on how the day goes and what the forecast is like for the next few days. 

Things to do for School 

  • MEET MRS. HALL at bus barn at 6:45 on Friday, Circa morning in the morning
  • renew my teaching license can start doing it on April 1
  • make a  daily contact with Mrs. Sywassink and document
  • update attendance each week in SDS
  • send any IEP notices to Mrs. Saey
  • Mar 25 - PTO meeting at ICE at 6 p.m.
  • Apr 22 - PTO meeting at Andalusia 6 p.m.

OTHER THINGS

  • use Dick's gift certificate
  • a hood light switch for the Ford
  • April 1 - 1:45 p.m. - ORA Moline - MRI
  • April 6-10 - Walk in labs at Genesis Silvis
  • April 15 - Dr. Wang pre-op physical (surgical clearance)
  • April 28 - 9:40 a.m. at ORA Silvis
  • April 28 - Dentist 8 a.m. - CANCELLED
  • April 30 - 10 a.m. - Milan Optical
  • May 4 - surgery on left knee at Trinity Moline
  • May 6 - 9:20 a.m. - ORA physical therapy
  • May 8 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA physical therapy
  • May 11 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA physical therapy
  • May 13 - 8:45 a.m. Post-Op Appt Hussein; 9:40 a.m. - ORA physical therapy
  • May 15 - 8:20 a.m. - ORA physical therapy
  • July 3-5 - Possible Trip to Bear Creek Cabins near Decorah - https://www.bearcreekcabinsia.com/store-campground
  • July 19-27 - Trip to Branson, MO (and Strawberry, AK) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D3BB0_IuwRs0WDKqm1Euor9WUH84SeF1DIwKi7OWeS4/edit?tab=t.0
  • July 28 - Bus Refresher Course
    Things To Do for History Page
    • What/Where is South Buffalo Prairie School and for that matter West Buffalo School and East Taylor Ridge School?  ugh.
    • Friday Tidbit on the RR History Network Page

    Knee Surgery Dates Completed
    • March 11 - 10:25 a.m. - ORA Moline - Consult