I had something to blog about....

But I forgot what it was. Don't you hate when that happens? :D

The Guest from HELL!!

So, Christmas is over, and I'm slowly getting my house back into pre-holiday shape. Today, we all slept in and then I spent most of the afternoon sitting in the chair, watching a Project Runway marathon and thinking how I really needed to clean the house. Finally, around 6 PM, I got off my ass and started putting away all of my Christmas decorations and taking down the tree. Then I cleaned another room. Then I cleaned another. Then I sorted the mountain of laundry (7 people in the house + no laundry done for 3 days = mountains). I still have a bunch of stuff to do, but I at least got some of it accomplished tonight.

My youngest sister is in town this week. Originally, she was supposed to come down and stay the day of Christmas Eve. She waited until she was here, with all of her stuff packed in the car, to "ask" me if she could stay here until Friday. Let me just say that I don't mind her staying here, but she's a lousy houseguest. Not to mention she pretty much invited herself to stay at my home. We already have my mom staying here for a little while, so we are kind of full anyway.

The biggest thing that bugs me about her staying here is that she doesn't want to help out in the house at all, pick up after herself or help clean. Keep in mind, of course, that if she was an invited guest I wouldn't expect her to clean, but that's not the case, now is it? On the evening of Christmas Eve, my mom, Darrell, Shelby, Maggie, and I were all in the kitchen baking pies, making cookies, etc. I asked S if she'd help us out. She actually had the nerve to tell me that she has to cook supper and wash dishes everyday, so she wasn't doing anything. I asked her if she thought we only ate on Christmas. Miss "cooks for two adults and one baby", wah wah wah. Hello! We have 7 people in this house to cook for and clean up after. I have my mom here to help me now, but that's still 3.5 people apiece. Heh.

Luckily (for her), she went to stay with my older sister tonight and tomorrow night. She'll just be coming back down here Friday when her boyfriend comes to pick them up to get the rest of her things that she left here, and to say goodbye.

So anyway, enough of my bitching and moaning. Overall, our Christmas was a good one. The kids loved all of their presents. We got up super early (thanks, Mackenzie!) and opened gifts. Then Darrell started falling asleep on the loveseat, I dozed in the recliner, and my mom slept on the couch while the kids enjoyed their new toys. We ended up sleeping until noon, so our typical Christmas lunch turned out to be Christmas dinner. It was just a great lazy day. The kids were great, no arguing, and the adults sat around and watched tv. I cooked the dinner and my mom cleaned up.

I hope everyone else had a good day, and now it's on to the New Year! My sister and her clan are coming over for NYE, and I plan to get shitfaced. I'm going to buy some vodka this week sometime and get completely smashed that night. I haven't done that in forever, and I'll have at least 3 other adults in the house that won't be drinking, so I won't have to worry about the kids. :D

Merry Christmas to all!

This will probably be my last blog entry before Christmas, so I wanted to wish you all a wonderful holiday, if you celebrate. :) I know I don't have many readers, but that's okay. I enjoy keeping this blog (finally!), so I'm fine with having only a few readers. :)

Yesterday, we did the Christmas party I mentioned in another post. I had a really good time. I got to see all of my aunts and uncles and cousins that I don't see regularly. There was some good food, too! Tonight, we took the kids and drove around for a while looking at Christmas lights. I planned it for after supper and baths, and since Maggie hadn't napped all day, she was asleep by the time we got home. Yes, the plan worked!

Tomorrow, I'm going to finish cleaning the house, bake a bunch of pies and cookies, and get ready for Christmas. I'm planning cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning, then we're having ham and turkey breast for dinner. I have a couple of gifts to wrap yet, but I guess that will wait until tomorrow night. And of course, we have to drag out all of the gifts from Santa and the stocking stuffers. Mackenzie is getting a bunch of bath stuff, make-up, and perfume with a locking case; Hunter is getting a PSP and game, and Shelby and Maggie are getting a combined Santa gift this year. It's a bunch of doll furniture, a few dolls, diapers, toys, bottles/cups, & clothes. We did so well this year, we only spent around $300 for all of the kids' presents. We found a few awesome deals, so I'm glad about that!

I hope everyone reading this has a most wonderful, joyous, and peaceful holiday. I'm glad to have all of you to vent to, commiserate and share my joy with, and lucky to consider some of you my very good friends. Merry Christmas!

I passed!

Yay! I got a B in the dreaded Art class. It looks like she didn't take any points off for my absence. I got As in both Spanish and Lit, which I was pretty sure of. Here's the proof:

Undergraduate Course work

CRN	Subject	Course	Section	Course Title	Campus	Final Grade	Attempted	Earned	GPA Hours	Quality Points
80001	ART	1030	A	Intro to Visual Arts	Main Campus	B	3.000	3.000	3.000	9.000
80234	ENGL	2010	I	Intro to Literary Genres	Main Campus	A	3.000	3.000	3.000	12.000
80035	SPAN	1010	B	Beginning Spanish I	Main Campus	A	3.000	3.000	3.000	12.000

I knew y'all didn't believe me. :p I wish there was a way to know what I made on my finals, they should put that on the website, too.

Now, to rest up over the next 2 weeks before I start back, with one more class than I had this semester. Hopefully, without the Professor from Hell, it won't be as stressful. I'm not looking forward to 4 months of Algebra, though.

We are officially selling cookies now. Well, technically not for 9 more days, but I have the order forms. They do that in such a weird way. We don't have GS meetings while school is on break, so we have to hand out the order forms at the last meeting before the holidays. But the girls aren't allowed to start selling until the 29th. They should either let us start selling as soon as we get the forms, or have us wait until we all come back in January. The holidays are a prime time to sell, too, so you'd think they'd want us to start selling as soon as possible. Oh, well. Not much they do makes sense, so I shouldn't be surprised.

We have our family Christmas party Saturday afternoon. It should be fun. I like getting together with my extended family, it's always a good time. And that's not sarcasm, people! Heh.

Radio City Christmas Spectacular

Last night, Mackenzie's girl scout troop went to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in Nashville. We went last year too, and it was so much fun. I took Shelby with us this year and she absolutely loved it. I was so glad I took her, it was fun just to watch her reactions to the different shows. All of the girls had a great time. Next year, we're going to try to go see the Nashville Ballet. I can't wait for that!

This year, the troop decided to sponsor a local family and buy them some gifts for Christmas instead of having a party. So last week, we wrapped all of the gifts we got them. The family has three kids, and we got each kid two outfits apiece, and one toy type of gift. I also had them make Christmas cards from construction paper last week. Monday, the troop leader and I are going to deliver the presents to the family, and then on Tuesday, the girls are going to deliver the cards they made to the nursing home and maybe sing some carols. After that, we're done with meetings until after the new year.

Cookie sales start December 31! If anyone reading this is interested in buying some cookies from Mackenzie, let me know! We have a cookie meeting Monday for the leaders, and I've been told there are two new cookie flavors this year. A chocolate chip (sugar free), and a lemon sandwich cookie. We'll get to taste them, so I can tell you how they are. :) The troop leader, L, asked me if I'd handle all the meetings during cookie season, so I've got to start getting some plans together while I'm off school, so I won't have to worry about planning when I get back to school.

We had our leader Christmas party tonight. It was at L's house, and we had a great time. The kids all played together, and we visited and ate for a while. We just got home about an hour ago, actually. Tomorrow I've got to clean the house and, well, that's about it! The kids have school Monday, and then Tuesday is an abbreviated day. They go back on January 4th, and I start back on the 8th. I get my grades from this semester on the 21st of December, so I'll let y'all know how I did! :)

Finals? Are Ovah!

Halle-freaking-lujah!

I think I did well on all three of my finals. If my calculations are correct, I'll have an 84 average in Art. I hope like hell that she doesn't take off the 5 points for my absence so I can be clear of that class. If she does, it'll drop me to a 79, which will have me retaking the class. Not with her, though, that's for damn sure!

I need to nap now. :D

Final Exam Hell

I have two more classes (next Tuesday and Thursday) before my final exams and the end of the semester. Yahoo! I am so glad to be finished with this semester. On the other hand, of course, that means I have to study for final exams. Of which, two are going to be hard. In the current Spanish lesson, we're learning about a billion verbs that have stem changes. For example, querer. It means 'to want'. It's an e:ie stem change, but two of the forms when conjugating them don't have the stem change. So conjugating that verb looks like this: quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, queréis, and quieren. There are also verbs that have an o:ue stem change, e:i stem change, and there is one that has a u:ue stem change. So, I have to memorize the meanings of all the verbs, what their particular stem change is, and still remember the conjugation rules for the different endings: -ar, -ir, and -er. Spanish has come easy to me this entire semester, but this is by far the hardest lesson, and I'm feeling very anxious about this test.

I don't think Lit will be too awfully hard. The final in that class is over poetry (tone, word order, word choice, alliteration, assonance, etc.), A Midsummer Night's Dream, and A Farewell to Arms. We had the test over A Farewell to Arms yesterday. I didn't know we were having the test since I wasn't there Tuesday, and I hadn't read the entire book at that point. Hopefully I didn't bomb that test. Luckily for me, that teacher does her grading on an 800 point scale, instead of averaging all the grades, so it shouldn't kill me. Plus, all my other grades in that class are As.

Art is an entirely different story. We have to do things like trace the development of the human form in Art History, talk about Pagan prototypes in Christianity, and list a shitload of information on different monuments when we are shown the picture of each monument on a slide. For each monument, we have to memorize the name of it, the place from where it came, it's time period, the approximate dates it is thought to have been made, and it's current location. In a few cases, we have to know the names of the architects that designed the work. I am working my ass off in that class, and only pulling a C. This teacher is impossible to please, and I MUST make a C in this class, or I'll have to retake it. Hopefully I made a decent grade on my paper, but she hasn't graded them all yet, so I don't know when I'll find that out. I can say one thing, though. If I do end up having to retake the class, it will NOT be with this teacher. No freaking way.

So, anyway, my stress level is pretty high right now. I have a ton of studying to do over the next week - week and a half. If I disappear for a while, that is probably why. If I'm not back by December 14, come looking for me. ;)

I'm a dork

I spent much of Saturday getting all my research in order and starting to organize my Art paper. Today I began typing it all up. I had almost four pages of notebook paper handwritten. I started typing and got towards the end, and realized it was only about two pages long in Word. I told my mom that it didn't appear to be as long as I had thought, when she said "Are you supposed to double space?" Duh! This paper has me so rattled that I forgot to double space! Once I did that? Voila! Now I have 4 1/2 pages to my paper. I shall finish it up tomorrow to be ready to turn in Tuesday.

Yes, I am a dork.

It's the most wonderful time of the year. . .

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Those that celebrate it, anyway. :) These past few weeks have been extremely stressful for me, with Shelby having some troubles at school. It's still not completely cleared up, but hopefully it will be soon.

We had a great Thanksgiving. I cooked dinner and it was delicious, if I do say so myself. We went down to my grandparents' house to visit after we ate, as we always do. We missed most of the family though. Apparently they ate and ran. My psycho ex-neighbor ended up being down there. Gag. She didn't say a single word to me, and I just acted like she wasn't there. Crazy bitch!

That night, we watched Home Alone, as is our annual Thanksgiving night tradition. It kind of kick starts the holiday season or something. On Friday, we set up the Christmas tree and decorated the house. Hunter put up all the outside lights, so we are all decorated up. It's finally feeling like the holiday season to me. Thanksgiving sneaked up on me so fast!

Mackenzie's girl scout troop is going to be in the Christmas parade this year (Dec. 6th), and this year it's a whole family affair! Darrell is going to pull the trailer with his truck, which he is more than happy to do so he doesn't have to stand out in the cold. Shelby and Maggie are going to ride with him and throw candy. They'll probably sit in the back and eat the majority of it. Heh. My mom has been pulling out decorations and fabric to help get the girls costumes and the trailer ready for decorating. Me, I'll be walking alongside the float during the parade, which I am not happy about! Hopefully, it'll be warmer than last year's parade, though. It was all of 7 degrees or so last year at the parade. I'll get my mom to take pictures, if she doesn't ride with Darrell, and put them up after the parade.

My Art paper is finally due Tuesday. Shelby is starting counseling that day, so I have to drive to Columbia just to turn my paper in that morning and then come back home for her appointment. School is quickly drawing to a close. I have only 4 more classes until final exams. Wow. I don't think I actually realized that. I was able to register for my classes almost two weeks ago. While I didn't get the ones I really wanted, I got a pretty decent schedule. I'll be taking Monday/Wednesday classes in the Spring, and I'm taking Spanish II, Sociology, & College Algebra. I'm also taking Speech as an online course; I'm pretty curious as to how that works.

Okay, this was pretty boring. ;p

I am about to lose my mind

I swear to god that I cannot take one.more.fucking.thing. I am so fed up. I need a vacation.

Migraine Hell

I woke up this morning feeling good. My mom had got up with the kids, let me and Darrell sleep in, and started cleaning the house. Woot! Shortly after I got up, I started getting the telltale aura in my eyes. It lasted about ten minutes and then the headache started. It wasn't very bad at first, but the more I sat there, the worse it got. I was trying to do research on my paper, so that probably didn't help, either.

Eventually, I started getting sick to my stomach and finally went to lay down in my room. I fell asleep and slept for about 3 hours. So I pretty much wasted my day. I got up around 5 this evening, and my head felt much better. Since then, I've had just a small headache. It hurts, but it's manageable. I made homemade chicken noodle soup for supper, and homemade biscuits. It was yummy, and everyone ate some; even Hunter, who is my pickiest eater. It was full of those gross veggies, you know. ;)

Tomorrow, Mackenzie is going to be in the Veterans' Day Parade with her Girl Scout troop. Since I'm the coleader, I'll be up there walking with them. There is school tomorrow, so we have to get all the girls back to their classes after the parade. I have to try to work on my paper some more, and do a review for Spanish class Tuesday. I have my Art paper and a Lit paper due the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, and I really don't want to be working on them over the holiday. So, can I really completely write two papers in just over a week, especially when one has to be 5-10 pages long? Stay tuned!

I'm pissed off!

I am in a bad fucking mood, lately. I don't know what it is, but I am more confrontational than I have ever been, and just about everything is pissing me off. My kids' teachers, my husband's boss (which also happens to be his father), my husband's brother (who thinks he is the boss), my college, random people on the internet. Heh.

Spring registration for currently enrolled students starts Monday. They have the schedule up now, so you can view it and pick your classes. I can't get any.thing. to match up. The classes that I had planned to take are not available on the same days, the times don't work out, and it's all pissing me off. I think I've got it figured out now, thank goodness. Speech as an internet course (although I'm not sure how that works), Essentials of American Government and Politics, Spanish II, and College Algebra. I had only planned to take two of those courses, but the other two aren't available in the times/days I need them to be. I was planning to take an 8:00 AM class, so I could get home earlier, but I can't because they are wanting to change Darrell's hours at work to start at 7 AM, and he couldn't be able to drive the kids to school. I would have to leave by 7:15 at the very latest to make an 8 o'clock class.

Darrell's brother suggested today that they start working Saturdays. Every Saturday. And working 7-5 everyday. That is 60 fucking hours a week. Even if he got a raise with this shit, it still wouldn't work out to be very much per hour, compared to the current hours and pay. IF he got the raise he wanted, he'd still be making $3.75 less per hour than he is now, and be working 20 more hours per week. He's salaried, so increasing his hours doesn't increase his pay necessarily. It's a ridiculous notion, and it would take me all night to explain the history with his family, and the reason we are so pissed about this. Nevermind the fact that he has a wife and small children that he likes to spend time with, nevermind that he has things he likes to do on the weekend, nevermind the fact that his back is getting worse all the time and he needs the weekend to at least somewhat recuperate from the workweek and let his back rest. They just want to get the work out faster so they can make more money.

Then his brother has the nerve to tell him that sometimes we have to "make sacrifices". What the FUCK does he know about sacrificing anything? He's always been taken care of by their dad, while Darrell gets the shitty end of the stick. He's always gotten extra money, back when they worked on commission. If he didn't make at least $700 each week, their dad would give him more money to go on. There were weeks, when Hunter and Mackenzie were little, that Darrell would barely clear $100, but that was just fine. But we didn't need any help. I think we've made plenty of damn sacrifices in our marriage. We don't have new vehicles, we don't have a nice new house, we don't go and drop hundreds of dollars on things just because we want them, their dad didn't go and finance a home for us in his name. I'm in awe of the kind of nerve it takes for HIM to tell US that sometimes you have to sacrifice.

So, anyway, that was way more than I intended to type about that particular situation. I'm just stressed with school, and I think it's causing my inner bitch to come out. I'm usually so easy going, but I'm at the point where I want to break bad on somebody's ass here lately. Heh.

My (not so) spooky spooks

The kids had a blast on Halloween. Hunter was dressed as a punk rocker, Shelby was Snow White, and Maggie was a witch. Mackenzie was a devil, but she was very last minute on going, so I don't have any pictures of her. Anyway, we live out of town, so we have to drive into town to trick or treat. We met my sister, her fiance, and her kids in a neighborhood near the park and walked around with them. My younger sister and her baby went with us, too. There were tons of people out this year, way more than I've seen in the past few years. We walked around for about an hour and a half, then picked up supper and came home.

Hunter:

And the closeup:

Shelby & Maggie:

And my niece, Kyra:

Crazy week

I have been so busy this week, it's making my head spin. My mom moved back to town last weekend. She's staying with us temporarily until she can get things in order. My sister and her almost 10 month old daughter were here from last Saturday until this evening, visiting. I've had school and everything I normally have going on. I was up until 1:30 AM the night before my project was due, getting it finished. I think I did a pretty decent job, but then I thought I nearly aced the test we had and I made an 89 on it. Heh.

I only have 9 classes left until the end of the semester. Yay! I can't wait. I get to register for my spring classes on November 12, and I'm going to try to take an easier load next time. I don't think this semester would have been so stressful if I hadn't taken Art under the instructor that I have. At this point, I'm thinking I will be fine as long as I pass the class. I am doing the best I can, but I'm not an Art expert, I'm not even an Art major, and I think she asks too much of her students.

Anyway, my current plans are to take Spanish II, College Math, Intro to Education, & an American Gov./Politics class that I can't remember the exact name of right now. :) Hopefully I'll be able to take those classes. I'm worried about the Intro to Ed. though, since it's a class for my major, and they're still saying I need to take Dev. Reading. But if I can't take that I'll pick something else. I need to go ahead and do my Biology and get it out of the way, but I'm dreading it and putting it off as long as possible. I am totally not a science person. Plus, there are separate labs with science classes. I've got to go to the doctor one day this next week, hopefully, and get my MMR shot so that I can register for more than 3 classes for the spring.

I got to talk to a friend of mine that I haven't talked to in forever tonight. She found me on MySpace the other day, and sent me her phone number. We met online at a parenting forum in 1998, and talked on the phone almost daily for the next two years or so. She and her husband came over and visited us a couple of times, too. We lost touch there for a while, then she looked me up online and found me. It was just like we had never been out of touch. I'm glad she looked me up! :)

I've got to get to bed now. I've got some pain meds in me that are making me sleepy. Well, that, combined with the fact that I've gotten very little sleep this week!

Overwhelmed. Again.

I don't know how I'm going to get through the next 5 semesters of school. This one is kicking my ass. I just had midterms on Thursday and today, so there was lots of studying to be done. (I made a 94 & 89 in Spanish and Art, respectively) My Art project is due a week from Thursday, and I have barely started on it. I'm supposed to go to Nashville Sunday to the Frist Center, and then I have to write that damn paper, which I'll then have three weeks to write and perfect. I'm just feeling very overwhelmed, and I'm not sure how I'm going to do it all. I wish like hell I had not taken Art this semester, it's killing me. Oh, and I have to figure out some time to take the placement test, so I can get out of taking Developmental Reading. AND, next semester I have to take the Praxis I, which is required before I can get into the teaching program at the university I plan to transfer to.

I just want to scream. And now I have to go cook supper and clean up before Mackenzie and I have to be at her Girl Scout meeting (did I mention I signed on to be a co-leader?). Then back home to get kids ready for bed and try to fit some homework in. It's neverending.

Yes, boss

Maggie has started telling me "yes, boss!" If I tell her to do something, she says "yes, boss!" If I tell her to stop doing something, she says "yes, boss!" I have no idea where she got it from. It's cute, but I'm just waiting for someone in public to ask me why I make her call me boss.

Operation Potty Train: Day 2

So, I've decided to go ahead and try to potty train Maggie. I had originally intended to wait until I'm between semesters (mid-Dec. through the first week or so of Jan.) to try, but my friend Dawn, who babysits Maggie, said she wouldn't mind keeping it up when Maggie is at her house. That's why I had decided to wait, I didn't want to be inconsistent, with me only being home every other weekday, and I didn't want to ask Dawn to help train her.

Monday, we bought her some new underwear while we were shopping. I quickly realized one pack would likely not be enough and bought another. Yesterday morning, she did fabulously, no accidents at all. She did have to wear a diaper at lunchtime, because we went to have lunch at Mackenzie's school. When we got back home, she put underwear back on. Then we went and picked up the kids from school. As soon as we got home, she had an accident. She was very upset about it, and I reassured her that it was okay.

I guess she decided it was fun, because after that she had one accident after another. She didn't get back on the potty at all after 3 PM yesterday, and dirtied up an entire package of underwear. Today, she's just sitting around with no clothes on. She went to the bathroom to poop two or three times, but never did. She told me she didn't know how. That's kind of pitiful. I tried to help her, but you know, there's really not a lot anyone can do to help in that area. Tomorrow, she goes back to the babysitter, so we'll see how she does. I'll pack diapers and underwear, and let her lead the way. We'll see how it goes!

Parent teacher conferences

I had PT conferences this week with the kids' teachers. I didn't schedule one with Mackenzie's teacher, because her grades are good and we haven't had any behavior issues. Shelby was having some behavior issues at the beginning of the year, so I wanted to see how she was doing. Her teacher reported that she is doing better, especially since he separated her and her little friend. Heh. He also said she is one of the few students in the classroom that can already write her name. I was surprised!

Hunter's conferences were on a first come, first served basis, so there were no appointments. I went over after I finished talking to Shelby's teacher. I had only intended to talk to his Reading and Social Studies teachers, but since I was there I went ahead to all of his classes, except his PE teacher. And? He's not doing so well. Out of the 6 classes I went to, the highest grade he has coming on his report card next week is an 85. He has that grade in both English and Social Studies. His other grades are far worse. Let's see: 77 in Math (C+), 76 in Science (C-), and a 70 in Reading (D). He actually had a 75 in Science, but it was like two hundredths away from being 76, so his teacher curved him. Not like it made a lot of difference in the whole scheme of things, but anyway.

It appears that he is not turning in all assignments in most of his classes. His English teacher has them do all work during their class period, so he has to turn in all of that homework. But in every other class, he is not doing all of his assignments. His test grades are sucky, too. Like F and D sucky. Those pull his grade way down, as did his 9 weeks tests in most subjects.

So, starting next week (no school this week), he is grounded for two weeks. I am copying all of his assignments from his agenda book each Monday, and he is expected to bring material home to study when he has upcoming tests. He is also expected to do and turn in all homework assignments from here on out. Some of the things he didn't turn in were so easy, too. In Science, for example, his teacher gave them the opportunity to make three 100s if they did some vocabulary. All he had to do was write out the definitions. He didn't do it, so he got three zeros instead.

He is also going to start going to an after school tutoring program the school started this year. It's optional for all students, but I got a sheet last week saying he had been recommended to go, and I signed off on it. So 2-3 days a week, he will be staying after school until 4:30. They only cover Math and Language Arts, but that's better than nothing. I'm not sure when it starts though, hopefully soon! I also told him that if he backslides and starts not turning in homework or not bringing stuff home to work on after he's off of his grounding, he will go right back on. He still has three more 9 week periods, so he has plenty of time to turn it around and get back on track.

Par-tay!

So, I'm drinking a little tonight. Whiskey. I haven't drank whiskey in probably oh, 12 years. I have been nursing a very, very mild drink, but I am totally feeling it. I'm surprised I am typing coherently. Or at least I think I am.

We just watched the wildest fucking movie, or maybe it was just wild because I'm tipsy. It was Bug, with Ashley Judd. I had this idea that it was a horror type movie, but no, it's just about paranoid, delusional people thinking they were implanted with bugs by the government. I might think it was sad if parts of it hadn't cracked me up. Like when Ashley Judd stood up and yelled "I am the super mother bug! I am the super mother bug!" Seriously though, if you get the chance to watch the movie for free, you can, but I really wouldn't spend money to rent it.

We had a bonfire with the kids tonight. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and made s'mores. We had a nice time, and the kids absolutely loved it. Maggie fell asleep shortly after we came in, she hadn't napped all day. We had to go feed my SIL's dog for her today, since she and her husband were out of town today. We had to go over at 12 and at 5, and feed the dog both times. With a fork. Yes, folks, I am completely serious. For starters, it's a 3 year old dog, it doesn't need to eat three times a day. That's why he's so fat. Secondly, with a fork? Are you fucking kidding me? A fork?! I knew she fed the thing with a fork, but I had no idea she really expected us to do that. Geezus, it's a dog. And she had to call us twice to check on him and make sure he was okay. Yeah, he's fine. He stays home alone all the time while you're at work, dumbass. If you were that worried, then etake him with you or stay home. I understand some people just really love their pets, so maybe this is totally normal for them, but it's a foreign concept to me.

I'm going to stop typing now. Y'all have no idea how many times I'm having to hit the backspace button. Hee!

That Art class again

I know, it's always something with that class. I guess because most of the class is 18-19 years old, I don't know. Yes, the instructor is quite picky, and she doesn't always make sense, but really it's not that hard to get everything together. For instance, she told us we have to do an experience report, which is basically going to a museum or an architectural work and writing a paper on it. Alternatively, if anyone is unable to do those things, they have option C, which has some different guidelines and expectations. It's not a hard concept to grasp, unless you're Boy A in that classroom. He seems perpetually confused, unable to understand even the simplest details. I don't believe there is anything wrong with him, such as a learning disability, I think he's just dim. And he doesn't pay attention in class. Yeah, you might miss some things if you DON'T LISTEN! He wasted almost our entire class period yesterday, asking her to clarify and clarify again a very simple concept. If this class is too hard for you, then drop it and take it later under another instructor. It is not rocket science. You have choices!

Boy B is a brown noser to the nth degree. He's also a know it all. He thinks he knows all there is to know in the art world, when really he's just talking out of his ass most of the time. He regularly interrupts the instructor (which is just rude) to interject his own comments and points of view. Like we care, dude! He also starts talking religion at the drop of a hat. I know there is a lot of religious art, and some of it is in the book, and when analyzing it, you do have to understand the belief system behind the painting. I have no issue with that. There are also Chinese paintings featured in the book, and a lot of them reference Buddhism. This guy will almost start preaching when we get on the subject, though. Highly freaking annoying.

A couple of weeks ago, she was lecturing, and asked a question about something she had told us in the previous class. This guy starts answering, but he's going around in circles, and not giving her the ONE WORD answer that she was looking for. So when he stops talking, I said the correct answer. No biggie, right? Well, I guess I offended the poor fella, because he had it out for me after that. Everytime I answered something after that, he had to correct me, even though I was not wrong. I pay attention, I take notes, and I know what I'm talking about (and if I don't, then I just keep quiet). He even corrected the order in which I read a list of items off, like that matters! He corrected me about 3-4 times in just that one class. Apparently he doesn't like to be wrong. I felt like standing up and asking him what the fuck his problem was. I'm not going to sit there and not participate to soothe his fragile ego.

In other news, I had my first Spanish test last Thursday. I got it back yesterday, and I made a 97! Woot! I actually made a 95, but I got a couple of points extra credit for turning in all my labs on the day of the test. Funny, I thought the labs were mandatory. Besides, they are helpful, and some of this Spanish language stuff is complicated! I need all the practice I can get. I'll leave you with what I learned how to say yesterday: Me tomo tres clases: el espanol, literatura, y arte. :D

Adios!

However, but

This is what my Art teacher says all.the.time. However, but. At first I thought it was just a one time thing, she must realize they mean the same thing, right? But, no, she has continued to say it repeatedly at each class. And she says it all together, like it's one word. It's especially funny, because she is such a stickler about pronunciation and such. She'll correct us if we say Renaissance incorrectly (or incorrectly according to her anyway. I'm not so sure we're the ones saying it wrong). Every time she's lecturing and says "however, but" I want to laugh out loud. So, yeah, that's the highlight of my Art class. Sounds really fun, right?

Mackenzie told me yesterday that she tested on a book at school for AR and got a 60. Then a few minutes later she says she has to walk all of her recess period on Friday, as well as during the free recess they usually have. I asked her why, and she said it's because she made a 60 on the AR test. What.the.hell? I meant to write her teacher a note and ask her what the hell kind of policy this is, but I forgot. I'm going to write one today and get it to her tomorrow. I think that's insane, and I'm not having it. AR is not optional, the top 5 grades of all the books she reads in a 9 week period count for 25% of her Reading grade. However, but (haha!) I don't put it on the same par as homework, especially since I know Mackenzie reads well more than 5 books in a 9 week period. If she can have five 100s to account for the 25%, then what's the big deal if she occasionally screws up and doesn't do well on an AR test. She told me it took her from last Monday to read the whole book, during which time she also read another book. So, most likely she either took too long to finish and couldn't remember certain details, or the book was possibly just out of her comprehension level. She told me it was nearly 300 pages, but she couldn't remember the grade level.

In any case, I will be talking to the teacher, and letting her know it is unacceptable for Mackenzie to walk during recess on Friday, for that reason anyway. I'll let you know what happens!

At least the first two weeks were easy

I'm on my third week of school, and the pressure is mounting. I got lulled into thinking it might not be so bad, so hard, during those first two weeks, but uh, yeah, it is. I have so much to do, I need to start my first paper in Lit, which I'm terrified of doing. My first Art test is coming up, and I know it's going to be killer just from what she's already told us we need to know. I have to do a project for that class, as well as visit an art exhibit and write a 5-10 page paper on two pieces of art that I see. I am behind in my Spanish lab, too.

My house was a wreck today, so I've been cleaning today until just now, and of course this evening I had to cook supper and get Shelby & Maggie ready for bed, plus take Kenzie to church and go back and get her. So now, here I sit, when I should be reading "The Fall of the House of Usher", Chapter 5 in my Art book, studying how to tell time in Spanish, and catching up on my Spanish lab, blogging. With it being this difficult taking only three classes, I don't know how I'll manage the 5 I plan to take next semester. Argh, stress!

Happy Birthday, Maggie!

3 years ago today, I gave birth to my baby, my precious last child, my namesake! I so wanted to hold on to her time as a baby, knowing just how fast it goes, and I did, but it still went by far too fast. Today, she's a rambunctious, chattering, smiley, laughing, hilarious, sweet, affectionate, loving, adorable little 3 year old. She melts my heart when she says 'I love you, mommy', and irritates me beyond belief when she says 'I don't have to!'

I have her all to myself for one more year, before she goes off to pre-school, then Kindergarten, and out into the big, bad world. It won't go by slow enough, and before I know it, she won't be my little baby anymore, my little Maggie May. But for now she is, and I will enjoy every single day of it, even when I'm cleaning up the 3,000th mess of the day, or listening to an infamous toddler tantrum. Well, okay, I may have to refer back to this post during some of those times. ;)

Happy Birthday, my sweet little Maggie.

[sappy post over. please return to your regularly scheduled blogging.]

A little cheese, please...

To go with my whine. I'm sick. :( The kids have ever so thoughtfully shared their cold with me. I feel like crap today. I'm congested, barking like a dog, dizzy, and just feel rundown. My back is hurting and now my tongue is numb. I've just been laying around the house today, but my house is an utter disaster and tomorrow I have to get it completely cleaned up, and grocery shop, since I have school Tuesday. I had planned on getting it all done before now, I wanted to do some yard work too this weekend, but that's not going to happen now. I hope I feel better tomorrow. *whine*

What does the airplane symbolize?

So, I had my first week at school. It went well, although now I'm quite a bit older than most of the other students. Heh. I'm liking Spanish, that is going well, although it is hard. I am not liking Lit or Art. I'm not a big fan of analyzing everything to death, and that's pretty much what we're doing in both classes. "What does the airplane symbolize?" Who cares? I read mostly for entertainment purposes. I do read non-fiction, and it does make me think, but I don't want to pick a story apart. Luckily for me, we only have to write two papers in that class, and a friend of mine has offered to help if I get stuck. So that's a load off.

I think I'd like the Art class more if I had a different instructor. The one I have is very old-fashioned, even recommending that we consider dressing professionally to come to class. Okay, I'm not going to trek across a campus in a business suit, sorry. When I finish school and start interviewing/working, then I'll dress appropriately for my chosen career. She also likes to show DVDs, which so far, I have found incredibly boring. With her, it's pretty much read chapter X, and watch a DVD. I don't think it'll be too hard, it's just difficult for me to get interested when she makes it so boring.

Well, that's it in a nutshell! It's going good, but I will be glad for the semester to end. I only have 28 days of classes (plus final exams), so I know I can do it. But still, think good thoughts for me. ;)

Back to school - for me!

Tomorrow is my big day, I start school! I'm nervous and excited all at the same time. There are still a few things to be done, which irks me. I thought getting my financial aid stuff filled out back in April, and my admission application in June would leave enough time to get everything squared away before the first day. But, no. I have to go in early tomorrow and make sure my tuition is charged to my financial aid, get my parking permit, and check on book prices. I wasn't planning on buying any books until after my first day of class, but my friend ever so helpfully said "What if they give you homework on the first day?" That's a way to bring my anxiety level down, friend. Heh. I'm going to go ahead with my way of doing it and hopefully it will work out. From what I remember, you just get the syllabus, book list, etc. on the first day anyway.

So, I leave as soon as I drop the kids at school tomorrow, and I'll be home in time to pick them up. I'll try to post tomorrow night about how it went. Wish me luck!

Put yourself on the map!

I added one of those buddy map things to my blog, so please add yourself! I'm not so arrogant as to assume I have a lot of readers, but I thought it would be fun to do. It's at the bottom of the blog, so please add your name. :)

The Tooth Fairy's coming!

Shelby lost her first tooth tonight! I had no idea she even had one loose, she never told me. She ran up to me this evening and said she had a loose one, and it was just hanging on by a thread at that point. She pushed it around with her tongue for a few minutes and it popped out! Everything is happening at once with her. She just finished her first full week of school, and now lost her first tooth. The one next to it is pretty loose, too, so I figure she'll lose it within a few days.

Anxiety, lots of anxiety

I've suffered from general anxiety for over 3 years now. It was triggered when our friends were murdered in 2004. I suffered with it for a while, went on Lexapro briefly and then back off it. I don't like taking daily medication, and I've always been able to handle it pretty well.

I don't know what's wrong with me lately, but it's gotten bad and I'm not handling it well. I'm sleeping a lot, I feel nervous the majority of the time, I've started having headaches at least 4 times a week, and I have a lightheaded/dizzy feeling a lot of the time now, too. I am thinking it has to do with me starting school. The closer it gets, the more nervous I am. I start in 5 days, and I'm excited about it, I don't dread it or anything. I guess the reason it's making me anxious is I'm worried about going to school, and caring for my children and my home at the same time. I had a breakdown Sunday night, I just started crying while I was folding a load of towels. My whole body felt like it was shaking uncontrollably, but I wasn't shaking at all. It came and went pretty quickly, and I didn't identify it as anxiety until later.

I should probably go to the doctor, and get put back on meds, but I just don't want to, and I'm not really sure why. I guess I want to wait until I start school and see if it goes away, or at least back to the tolerable level it was a few weeks ago. I will have to do something if it doesn't ease up soon, though, I don't know how much longer I can handle this.

White Light, Black Rain

I just finished watching a documentary on HBO called White Light, Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I have always been interested in World War II, so I tivo'd this the other day when I saw it on. It made me incredibly sad. I just keep seeing the pictures and images they showed. The survivors they interviewed were so young when it happened, mostly small children, and it hurts my heart to think of the things they saw and endured.

I really recommend watching it if you get the chance, but be warned, it shows graphic images of the injuries people sustained, and of the aftermath.

Scissors + 5 year old = Emergency trip to salon

I forgot to mention when I posted last night, Shelby got a haircut! Apparently her new school scissors were just calling her name, and for some inexplicable reason, she cut her hair. Up to her ear on the left side. Shelby, the child who has handled scissors for at least 2 years now, cutting paper and doing crafts, finally cuts her hair when she's 5 1/2! Luckily, the salon was able to get us in that afternoon, and now she has a pretty short, but very cute, layered bob:

Before:


After:

Busy week!

The kids had their first week of school this week, and I've been trying to get everything lined up for my school, so I've been pretty busy. Hunter and Mackenzie started out with a full week, and since Shelby is in Kindergarten, she's on a staggered schedule and only went one day this week. All of them like their teachers, and the year has started off well. Hunter was extremely nervous about 6th grade, switching classes and all, but he absolutely loves it. I figured he would, and I'm glad he does. Shelby was looking forward to it until she found out that her teacher is a man. But she had a good time on her day last week, and she says she likes her teacher, now, which is a relief. Here are some pictures of them:

As for me, I've been getting all kinds of frustrating surprises from the college. First of all, the website was saying I had holds from the library, so I couldn't register my classes online. When I called the library to have them removed, they couldn't find any record of me in the computer.

I finally got that worked out, and got online to register. Then I found out I can't take more than 11.999 hours per semester unless I show proof of 2 doses of the MMR vaccine. The thing that pisses me off is the only reason I have to show this proof is because I received my GED. At this school, if you graduated between '78 and '99, you only have to show proof of one dose (which is what I have). But if you graduated after '99 OR got your GED, you have to show proof of two doses. I was supposed to graduate in '97, but actually received my GED in '96. So I really fail to see what the fact that I got my GED has to do with how many doses of a vaccination I got when I was a kid. Did they give me a different dose or something, knowing that 17 years down the road I'd get my GED instead of graduating with a diploma? It's insane.

So, for now, I'm registered for 9 hours. I'll go on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and take Intro to Visual Arts, Intro to Literary Genres, and Spanish I. Those weren't my first picks of what to take, but there wasn't a whole lot left by the time I was able to register.

I also found out that when I took the placement test for the college back in 2000, I was deficient in the Reading portion of the test, along with the Math portion. I fulfilled the Math deficiencies (Elementary and Intermediate Algebra) when I went in 2001, but no one ever told me this. Plus, the fact that I was deficient in two subjects, requires me to take a class called Learning Strategies. This also pisses me off, because I could have finished these classes already if I'd known I had to take them, but the main thing that makes me mad is that I am an excellent reader (not to toot my own horn)! I really don't understand how I could have failed the Reading portion. I can pay $20 and retake the reading portion the next time they have the placement tests, and if I test out of it this time, those two deficiencies will be removed and I won't have to take those two classes. I plan to do that, because I'm sure I will test out this time. I'm wondering if there wasn't some kind of mess up, seeing as I was never told about those developmental classes before. The college changed computer systems recently, so it makes it suspect.

I just hope nothing else comes up before school starts. I'll start on August 28, so just over two weeks. I qualify for some financial aid, but it won't let me accept the award on the website. I've got to call the Financial Aid Office on Monday and see what's up with that. Since I'll be a student this fall, I'll have priority registration for spring, so hopefully I won't have a bunch of bullshit to go through when it's time to register for spring. And I will definitely finish this time, because no way do I want to go through the whole enrollment process ever again!

Back to school

Back to school time is always fun, right? Shopping for school supplies, backpacks, lunchboxes, clothes, shoes. A fun time is had by all. Until it's not. I always start out the annual shopping day with high hopes and spirits. Until we hit the first store. Three kids scatter across the store grabbing what they need and/or want, yelling at Mom to come help them find this or that. It's about ten minutes into the first store that Mom starts to get a headache, starts to lose her patience, and get a little irritated.

Needless to say, we did some shopping over the weekend. We just went for clothes and shoes, since I don't have supply lists yet. We went to the shoe store first. I thought ahead for once and had Darrell take Maggie to another store while the rest of us got shoes. Maggie has a thing for shoes and she would have had a classic 2 year old tantrum if she had been in there with us and not got shoes. Then we went to Ross, which is sort of like a Big Lots for clothes. They have good name brands for a fraction of the retail price. You can get excellent deals there. We got Hunter everything he needs to start the year off (he'll need more winter clothes later). Darrell ducked out of that store shortly after we got in there, but he took Maggie with him again, thank goodness. Shelby stayed with me to whine about wanting toys, which I had already told them we were not buying.

Next we went to TJ Maxx to look for Kenzie's stuff. We found her everything she needed there, which was pretty much just shorts. I made Shelby stay in the truck with Darrell, but took Maggie in with me, under the condition that she had to ride in the cart. She was just fine in that store, while it was Hunter who was bugging me for non-clothes.

At that point, we still needed to swing by Wal-Mart for socks and underwear, but I was already worn out. We'd been shopping for about 2 1/2 hours, and I was wiped. Shopping with the children is hard work! So, we stopped by a friends house and visited for a little bit and came home. I'm glad to have all that finished, and the only things we have left are the incidentals, and of course supplies.

Today we did absolutely nothing. I decided to be lazy and stayed in bed until 2 PM. I cleaned on the house a little bit and did some laundry, and cooked supper late. Tomorrow, and all week, we're supposed to all get up early so that we can ready ourselves for school starting next Monday. I always have that plan, but it never seems to actually happen. We usually go up to the day before school starts sleeping late, and then we have to adjust ourselves the first few days of school.

I got all my transcripts and things sent to Columbia State, so hopefully I'll be hearing something from them within the next few days. Wish me luck with that!

Today has been so lazy. The kids went out and played in the kiddie pool, and other than that we've done nothing. We all slept until around 11 AM, so we haven't even been up that long.

I've started a new blog! I decided to keep my weight loss stuff separate, so I made a new forum for it. It's called My Weight Loss Journey. I am putting it all out there, and am really only looking for support. I know some of my eating habits aren't all that great, and my water intake is sucking so far, and exercise is pretty much nil, but I'm just working on small things at a time, so I just need support, not criticism, even the constructive kind. I am very sensitive over my weight issues, so it was a huge step just for me to do this, and I'm feeling kind of fragile and exposed.

Shelby stayed up all.night.long last night. Like I've said in earlier posts, her sleep schedule has been messed up ever since she had her surgery. Last night, Darrell fell asleep on the couch. About 1:00, I went to bed, and I just let him sleep because he was wore out from work yesterday, and he was sleeping deeply. I told Shelby (who was still up at this point), to come into my bed with me and go to sleep. She did, but at around 1:30, she decided she wanted to sleep in the living room with Darrell. I told her to go in there and lay down and go.to.sleep. Next thing I know it's 4:30 AM, I hear a loud noise from the living room, so I go in there, and she's still up!! I do not take well to getting woke up in the middle of the night over nonsense, so I wasn't a happy camper, and neither was she once I got in there. I don't know what I'm going to do with that kid. I let her sleep for 6.5 hours, and then made her get up when I did. I had intended to make her get up by 9 AM, but since I was so tired, I didn't wake up!

We're getting a new bed tonight. Woot! My SIL's boyfriend bought a brand new queen size bed for his son, and for some reason they aren't using it, so they offered it to us. I am SO glad. I have no problems with our current bed really, but Darrell hates it. But this way, we're going to give Hunter our bed, and his bed will get passed to Kenzie, whose bed will go to Shelby. It's musical beds! ;)

Weight update

I went ahead and weighed this morning, just for the heck of it, and I've lost 4.5 pounds! Woot!

I've been busy over the weekend, and not so much this week, but I haven't had much to write about. I got a letter from the college on Saturday that I had to send my high school and GED transcripts to them. I called on Monday, because they should still have that stuff, but found out that they purge all those records after 5 years. So I called the high school on Tuesday and had them send that transcript, and had to go to the Technology Center today in person to have my GED transcript sent. There's also a form about Hepatitis B that I have to mail back. I need to do that tomorrow so they'll have it by Friday.

I've been getting the kids some school stuff together, a bit at a time. We bought Shelby a backpack with detachable lunchbox on eBay the other night. It should get here by the weekend, I'd think. She wanted the type where the lunchbox attaches to the backpack for this year. It'll be easier to carry, too, and one less thing to hang on her hook at school. They had a general supply list in the newspaper, so I went ahead and got her a folder, crayons, glue, school box, scissors, and markers. I think the only thing I'm lacking for her is a nap mat, and then the requisite hand sanitizer, Kleenex, etc. I went through clothes today, and she has enough clothes to last her the whole school year. I got her some stuff on clearance a few weeks ago, and I had a whole tote full of size 6 clothes in the shed, complete with three jackets and a coat. Score!

I won't know what Mackenzie will need until we get the list from her teacher. She wants to start buying stuff so bad, but I'm not going to buy stuff we "might" need, and then not need it. The Intermediate and Middle schools have an open house on August 2nd, so hopefully we'll find out her teacher and maybe even get her supply list that night. We should have the tax free weekend that weekend, as well, so that'll be nice. We're going this weekend to finish getting clothes for Hunter and Mackenzie, and shoes for all of them. Hunter and Kenzie are using their backpacks from last year since they're still in good shape. I do have to get Hunter another lunchbox, though. I didn't really like the one he used last year. Mackenzie eats her lunch at school.

They also had a general supply list for the middle school at Wal-Mart. It wasn't very big, really. It was stuff like a 3" binder, enough dividers for 6 classes, loose leaf paper, and a calculator. I think there might have been another thing or two, but I can't remember. I think I'll just wait until the open house for that, too. Hopefully we'll get Hunter's supply list at that time, as well.

Well, my house is destroyed once again. Okay, not destroyed, but definitely not as clean as it was last week. My niece was here yesterday, I watched her for my sister while she worked. She's spending the night tonight so I can watch her again tomorrow. I am really not fond of babysitting, but I know she doesn't have a whole lot of options for childcare, and I want to help her out where I can. She has been applying for nursing school, and today she got the letter that she got in! I am so excited for her. She's been a CNA at the local nursing home for the past two years. She'll go to the local Technology Center for her classes, starting September 4. She'll be done next August and she'll be an LPN. And, she'll be making almost double what she makes now. The nursing home she works for is paying for her school, minus a few things that hopefully she can cover with scholarships and grants. She'll have to stay there for 1 year after she finishes school, and then she's free to look elsewhere if she wants to. I am just so happy for her, she deserves this.

I made a decision Monday to get back in shape (again). I went grocery shopping and got whole wheat bread, low fat yogurt, and healthier snack type stuff. Snacking is my downfall, so I got several 100 calorie pack type snacks. 100 calorie cookies and popcorn, Weight Watchers muffins and carrot cake snacks, and Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches. I had one of those tonight and man, are they good! I hid them in the bottom of the freezer under the broccoli, so no one should find them there. Ha! I have yet to get back into the exercise groove, but I will. I want to take this slow and one step at a time this time, and make it stick. I will probably work more on getting my food under control, and then start incorporating exercise. I'm setting small goals to start with, my first being ten pounds. I even made a little ticker, that I'll probably keep up with here.

Well, I think I've talked enough for one night! This will teach me to wait nearly a week between posts! Goodnight!

I'm a cleaning fool!

For some reason, I got it in my head that my whole house needed to be cleaned from top to bottom, so I've been working on that this week. I've got a lot of it done, but I've been leaving the major rooms for last. Those being Shelby & Maggie's bedroom, and my & Darrell's bedroom. Those will probably take me a good two full days to do. Between that and taking care of Shelby, I haven't carved out any time to blog this week.

Shelby is doing good. She was great over the weekend, and then on Monday morning she started having pain again. She seems to be worse early in the morning, I imagine her throat hurts worse first thing in the morning. She's had to have pain meds upon waking up for the past three days. Yesterday she was feeling yucky all day, until around 5 PM. I hope she'll start feeling better again in the morning.

Mackenzie is coming home tomorrow, two weeks early. I'm glad, really, I've missed her. She isn't ready to come home, but my niece is homesick, so my sister is going to get her. I'm just having Mackenzie ride back with Amy, so that's all taken care of for me. My mom asked me if we could wait until next week, and she would meet me halfway, but I'm ready for her to come home now. School starts in about 3 1/2 weeks, so we have stuff to do to get ready for that. I want her to go through her clothes and see what still fits and what doesn't, so I know what I need to buy. We're going to let my niece use the clothes she doesn't fit into anymore, to help save my sister some money. She has so many clothes that only her favorite things really get any wear on them. The stuff I like the best I will put up for Shelby. :)

I checked my application for school on Monday, and it is now showing as processed. So I'm hoping I'll get a letter by the end of the week. I don't think there'll be any problem being accepted. For one thing, it's a community college, not a private university. I was a student there before, and my grades and everything are in good standing. My GPA from my three semesters there is a 3.450, and that includes an F that I got when I dropped a telecourse I took the semester I was pregnant with and then had Shelby.

As soon as the kids' school starts up, I'm going to go up and apply to substitute teach. If I can get my school schedule worked out the way I want it, I'll be taking three classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, and a fourth class online. That will put me only driving to Columbia for school two days a week, and leave three days open for subbing. If I can sub an average of two days per week, that'll have me bringing in around $300-350 extra per month. Nothing major, but it'll help. And on the plus side, it'll hopefully help me get my foot in the door after I finish school, to get a teaching job here. The closer it gets to starting, the more nervous I'm getting. I'm going to have to sit the family down and have a discussion about helping out this fall, and I'll have to get us on a strict schedule so I can keep the house clean, keep up with school, and spend time with my kids and husband. It'll be so worth it when I finish and have my degree. I'll just have to keep that in mind during these next 2-3 years.

What a day!

After only four hours of sleep Wednesday night, I was so exhausted yesterday. I got to be the one to drive to Nashville and back again, so that didn't help anything. Shelby's surgery went really well. She did fabulously for the staff, and in recovery. All the staff at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital is just amazing. I would absolutely want to take any of my kids back there if they need surgery for anything in the future.

She's doing great today, too. Her throat isn't hurting as bad, but her ears have bothered her today. We've still been dosing her with her pain meds regularly, and we'll probably switch to an as needed basis tomorrow. She was able to eat a bit of solid foods this evening, and I'm hoping it'll be better tomorrow. Maggie has been jealous that Shelby seems to be getting more attention today, and she got a balloon and new doll from my SIL. I told Maggie if she has surgery, she'll get a balloon and new toy. Heh. Of course she doesn't understand what I'm talking about.

I've got to get my house cleaned up tomorrow. It was pretty neat before we left yesterday, but last night and today especially it's gotten pretty well trashed. I've been tired, because even though I was so sleepy last night, I was woken up pretty regularly by this or that, so I only got 3 full, uninterrupted hours of sleep from 7-10 AM this morning. The rest of the night was broken up into chunks of an hour or so at a time. I kind of expected that on the first night, though. Hopefully tonight I can get a full night of sleep!

Ready for the "big day"

We are all ready for Shelby's surgery tomorrow. We filled up with gas, got ice cream and popsicles, and all kids are deposited, or ready to be deposited, at the places they're staying tomorrow. I'm nervous, but I know things will go well. We're having it done at one of the best children's hospitals in the country, and it's a routine procedure. Darrell is having major anxiety over it, so I'm trying to not voice any concerns or fears I have. There's no use in both of us being like that, and I don't want Shelby to pick up on any nervousness from us. She seems to view it as a big adventure, and isn't even scared of having an IV inserted.

Nothing interesting happened today, unless you count Maggie's screaming fit all the way through Wal-Mart because I wouldn't buy her any candy. 2 year olds, ya gotta love 'em.

I'll update as soon as I can either tomorrow evening or Friday. Think good thoughts for us!

A Good Sanity Day

Today was a good day. It's pretty laid back around here the last few days. Mackenzie is at my mom's house until the end of July. Hunter goes to work with Darrell during the day, so it's just been Shelby, Maggie and I at home. We slept in this morning, then I and they both needed a shower, so I put them in the shower with me. That was an experience, and not something that I plan on doing again. I ended up shaving my legs in cold water, after getting them both washed up and out of the tub.

We went to Wal-Mart after that and the grocery store to pick up a few things. They played together for a while after we got home and now they're outside on the swingset. Of course, the real challenge with those two will come tonight when it's time for bed. It is so hard to get them to settle down and go to sleep these days. It's those times that I wish they had separate bedrooms.

Tomorrow is going to be fun. Shelby is having her tonsils out Thursday, so tomorrow we have a lot of running to do to get ready. I told her we'd go to the movie store and let her pick out some movies to watch over the weekend, and we have to get some ice cream, popsicles and juices for her to eat and drink for the first day or two. I have to fill the truck up with gas, and get all of Maggie's stuff ready for going to my friend Dawn's house while we're at the hospital. It's going to be a long day, and I'm dreading it, but I know she needs it. I'll just be glad for it to be over. Funnily enough, the thing I'm dreading most is keeping her from eating or drinking anything after midnight tomorrow night. Like I said before, she's very sneaky, so I'm going to have to keep a hawk eye on her, and hopefully get her to bed before midnight. I'm going to let her sleep in on Thursday until just before time to leave so we won't have to worry about her wanting breakfast. We have a two hour drive to the hospital though, so I know she'll be whining about being thirsty and hungry long before we get there.

So, today was pretty boring, but I wanted to get in the habit of updating. I'll try to post tomorrow, and then I'll update Thursday as soon as I can. I'm not sure when we'll be home, or how Shelby will be doing, so it may be Friday before I have the energy.

A New Start

I just realized it's been over two years since I posted anything in this blog. I think I want to start again, but you know me. I've decided to try and take my blog in a little different direction, mostly about parenting, and the craziness that goes on in my house. I affectionately call our house a zoo, it's very loud and chaotic around here pretty much all the time between the hours of 8 AM - midnight.

Since I'm starting anew, I'll reintroduce myself. I'm Paula, 28 year old sahm (stay-at-home mother) to four kids. My husband, Darrell, and I have been married for 11.5 years. I've been a sahm the vast majority of that time. I worked part time at a video rental store from June '06 through March '07. There's a long story in there, but I don't feel like going into it.

Now, for the ones that my blog will mostly revolve around, my children:

My oldest, and only son, Hunter, is 11. He's at that adolescent angsty, full of attitude age. As far as he is concerned, life is so unfair if he doesn't get to do 100% of the things he would like to do. I think he's hitting puberty full on and it's showing. I can let him do 8 out of 10 things he asks to do, and he'll just complain about the two things he wasn't allowed to do. But he does have his moments. He is very sweet, giving and loving. When he wants to be.

My oldest daughter is 10. She and her brother are only 11 months apart, and they were our only children for 5 years. Mackenzie is a pretty typical ten year old. She loves to read, and play with her toys, and fight with her siblings. She is hitting that moody sort of age, where she can't decide whether she likes us or hates us. If we don't let her do something she wants to do, then we hate her. See how that works?

Shelby is 5. She is very hard to describe. She's a very independent, mischeivous, strong willed, sneaky little girl. She and her little sister are the ones that really keep me on my toes. She gets into everything. She's the child you have to watch 24 hours a day to keep her out of trouble. She is also very smart, inventive, and hilarious.

Maggie is 2.5. She's a pretty typical toddler. Shelby is teaching her everything she knows, and they love to tag team me. She's too smart for her own good. She idolizes Shelby and will do anything Shelby asks her to do. Or tells her, mostly. We're currently working on potty training Maggie. I will be glad to have this done, then I can be finished with diapers for good. I think she's ready, it's more dependent on me to take her.

As you can see, I pretty much have my hands full. I will start attending classes at a community college in August, and I'm scared about dealing with regular household things, class, and the kids. I plan to use this blog as a place for venting, and helping me to get through these next few years while going to school full-time and parenting four active children.