Removal Of The ALBATROSS!!!

I have had an albatross on my back that I would estimate weighs approximately 50 lbs for the past two weeks. And as of 10 minutes ago, I removed it.

My Intro to Law Instructor is apparently under the (mistaken) impression that his is the only and by far, the most important class that anyone is taking. Well, let me tell you now, Mr. Lawyer Professor sir....you are dead wrong. I have three other lawyer, professor ma'ams that also expect me to spend at least some time on their classes as well. If I were already a lawyer or a paralegal working in a law firm, the billable hours I would have accumulated in the last two weeks would have me rich already. I mean, for cryin' out loud dude....this is an INTRO class. Let me clue you in.....we are not yet in the legal profession!!! (Although, I will give you this....after this assignment, I do feel ready to write a resume and go job searching, so in that respect, you have done your job....).

Due to one measly assignment, I have had little to no sleep, lots of stress, loss of eye sight due to the seven case laws all in legaleze and in 10 pt. font I have had to read, no time to relax, no free time to spend with my kids and I think, just think, I may have just cornered the market on Folger's Coffee and International Delights French Vanilla Coffee Creamer. My eye is twitching....and my legs....you can't see it, but they are.

But, with three minutes to spare, I submitted that ridiculous albatross and for maybe a period of 12 hours, I can put away the coffee, lose the twitchies and get some sleep. If I can remember how. And assuming my children will afford me that little pleasure.

Tell ya what....it had better be worth it. I'm sure it is, but right now, the only interest I have is my pillow, my blankie and my bed. So......g'night.

Care Bear's First Conference

This is going to be a grossly, braggy, Mommy post. So if you hate grossly, braggy, Mommy type posts, click away now. You've been warned.

It is an understatement to say that Care Bear looooooves school. I knew she would, but it's so refreshing to have a child who loooooovvveees school and who dives into her (albeit minimal) homework the minute she gets home from school and tells her friends she can't play until she does her homework.

I really like Care Bear's teacher. She is new to our school this year and is very young and has young children herself. She reminds me a lot of Ramona Quimby's kindergarten teacher and awhile back I actually did a comparison between Ramona Quimby and Care Bear. The comparison is more evident than ever now. (Except that Care Bear does not cause the problems Miss Ramona did).

Anyhoo.....Care Bear received a glowing report from her teacher. Her report card consisted of all 3s and 4s (Kindergarten equivalent to A+ and As). 3s mean she is performing at expected grade level and 4s mean she exceeds expected grade level. By the end of this quarter she was supposed to be able to count to 25. Yeah. She was counting to 25 before she was 3. Feisty can count to 25. She knows all her letters, capital and lower case. She can write all of her letters--capital and lower case. She knows and can write all of her numbers. She knows her phone number, her mommy and daddy's first and last names (which apparently, some kids don't know--hmmmmm). She can use scissors, glue, crayons and all other art accessories properly--she should be able to considering the monumental hours she logs in using these items at home. She can hop on one foot, skip, run, do hop-scotch, etc....She finishes her centers so quickly she wanders around the class aimlessly until her teacher pulls her over and has her read books to her. Care Bear read five books to her the other day. Her teacher adores her, which means I adore her teacher. She can not get over her artistic ability.

Go throw up now because the bragging is not over yet.

On the way up here today (today is a non-kindergarten day so she goes to the Early Childhood Center which is here on campus) she asked me if I would like to hear how far she can count. Of course I said I would love nothing more. She got to 200 and then I decided that we could go on like this until she got to infinitiy and beyond so I quizzed her on other things. I asked her our phone number, which she knew. I asked her who she would call if something happened to mommy or daddy and there was an emergency, and she knew (except she was concerned about the fact that she can't reach the phone--we might need to find another location). Then, just for kicks I thought I'd ask her some math facts. I asked her 5+5, 2+2, 4+4, 10+10 and she answered all with no hesitation. That actually surprised me a little bit. My kid is a freakin' genius. She really amazes me and her capacity of knowledge surprises me every day. How she innately knows the things she knows is unbelievable to me. I hope she always relishes learning and school the way she does now. I hope nothing ever deters her from it.

I'm a proud mama. Sorry to brag shamelessly this way--I just can't help it. I burst at the seams over my Care Bear (I do with all my kids, however I just had a glowing parent/teacher conference with Care Bear's teacher so my seams are currently bursting over her).

To shamelessly steal from Karen: Ilovehermadly!!

Decision Made

Thank you all so much for your thoughts, opinions, and pieces of advice regarding my decision as to whether or not I should continue to take class this fall. After much thinking, and after discussing it with the hubster (yes, I came to my bloggy friends before my husband....is that bad or what?!), and after speaking with some "real life" friends at home, I decided that I'm going to go ahead and "drop" (I hate that word.....it sounds like such a failure) my course that I had enrolled for this fall. I may or may not re-enroll in the spring depending on what time the class is offered and if it works any better with my schedule right now. But for now, I'm not going to stress about it. Actually, this decision takes at least one load off of my shoulders: I don't have to worry about finding someone to watch them on Thursdays, I don't have to pay for babysitting, I don't have to miss out on my kids' life and I don't have to spend my evenings (the only time I would ever be with them) studying. Oh, and tuition.....who could forget tuition.

I feel at peace with the decision and the fact that no one is looking at me like, "You're dropping out again?!" Not that I should be concerned what other people think about me and what I decide to do with my life, but, you know.....

I was able to take a class this summer that showed me that yes, this is what I want to do, that I can still study after being out of school for at least a decade and that I can still manage to get decent grades. I enjoyed the class, and I'm sure when I do get around to going back again, I'll enjoy the rest of them, too. But for now, I just need to be with my kids and focusing on them.

Last night, I told Care Bear the news that I would be staying home with her this semester instead of going to school thinking that she would be thrilled. Instead, she got a concerned look on her face and said, "But Mommy! You have to go to school! I don't want you to get in trouble!" I had to make sure my heart was still in tact because I could have sworn that it melted right out of my chest.

ADVICE NEEDED: Life Dilemna!

(NOTE: My Wordless Wednesday is below this post. Check it out, too!)

I'm not doing a "Works for Me Wednesday" this week because, well, I couldn't think of anything for this week, and I really need some advice about something. Good, honest, no holds barred advice about the future of my schooling.

As most of you know, I recently decided to go back to school and took my first class (an online one) this summer. I really, thoroughly enjoyed it and have no doubt that this is the path I want to take. This fall (which starts in a mere two weeks) I am also planning on taking a class. This one is in an actual classroom, and I arranged it to where I could take the class to not interfere with my work schedule so I wouldn't have to go through the unbelievable pain of trying to figure out when to make up work time. But this is where the problem lies: While the class does not interfere with my paying job, it seriously interferes with my time with my children. The class is on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. Almost 3 hours. My current work schedule is Tuesday afternoons, all day Wednesday and all day Friday. Care Bear goes to pre-school this year on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. So, here is what my schedule would look like this coming semester.

MONDAY: My day off. No class. Care Bear has preschool from 12:30-3:00. I would see her in the morning and see Feisty all day. (Anakin is in school all day every day).

TUESDAY: Class in the a.m. for me (3 hours). I would reach home approximately 11:15 and have to turn around and go back to work at noon. Care Bear has pre-school in the p.m. Tuesday evening I have praise band practice. Essentially on Tuesdays, I would see my children for a mere half hour the entire day until 9:00 p.m. (at which time they would be going to bed).

WEDNESDAY: My full day at work. Don't see kids all day until 5:00 p.m.

THURSDAY: My day off, however have class in the morning for 3 hours. Arrive home at approximately 11:15 and have to take Care Bear to preschool at 12:30. Would not see Care Bear most of the day (until 3:00 when she gets off pre-school) but would see Feisty in the afternoon.

FRIDAY: Work all day. Don't see kids until 5:00 p.m.

Essentially, I would see Care Bear on Monday mornings all week and that is it. I'd see Feisty a little more, but not the amount of time I see her now.

It has been years and years since I graduated from high school. Life circumstances have distracted me from attending school for years. I finally decide to go back, get started, get excited, but now I am realizing that (at least this semester) I will be sacrificing major amounts of time with my children to take ONE CLASS. Considering Care Bear will be going to Kindergarten next year and time with them is absolutely flying by, I don't know if I'm willing to give up that much time with them when before I know it they will all be in school and I'll wish I had this time back.

In addition to that, I don't even yet know who would watch them on Thursdays. I have someone for Tuesday, but the person I was hoping could watch them on Thursday can't do it. So if I'm going to do this, I have a very short amount of time in which to find a Thursday sitter.

So, what do you all think? Honestly. For real. Will I ever actually go back if I once again "drop out"? Will I ever get my "real career" going before I'm 40 if I keep delaying? But do I really want to miss these precious years with my kids? Your opinions please. I appreciate it mucho!!

Making The Grade

I got a "B" on my second test. Hmmph. Right now I have a 92% in the class. A little too close for comfort for my taste. Guess I'd better do a kick-butt job on my last project and on my final if I want to keep that A!

I knew it wasn't going to be as good as my first test. I could feel it in my bones!!

Second Test...

was hard. I breezed through the last one. I wasn't nearly as confident when taking this one. I'm nervous to find out how I did.

Just had to "publish" my angst!!

Sabattical is Over!

I don't think I've gone a whole week without posting since I started blogging regularly. I feel so detached from my blog and from everyone else. I hope you all haven't given up on me and taken me off of your favorites! As I mentioned last week, my schedule was really weird last week and I've been away from my computer for 5.5 days now. I haven't been down at my mom's at all either to use hers. I missed you all! Did you miss me?! :-)

Hmmmm....what do I have to tell you since last we spoke? Well, Care Bear had a pretty big weekend. She had her first sleepover at the next door neighbors house on Friday night. I had suggested to her that she have "Blondie 1" over to sleep at our house that night, but apparently Blondie 1 is too scared to stay at any house other than her own, so Blondie 1's mom (Barbie....remember her?) invited Care Bear to stay overnight there. "What?!" I thought to myself. "You are inviting my child to come to your house?!" Well, needless to say, Care Bear was more than thrilled at the prospect. Barbie asked me to give her a little time to take a shower and get something to eat and then she would come over and get Care Bear. About 1/2 hour later, the doorbell rang and when I answered it, there stood Blondie 1 and Blondie 2 in their jammies to pick up Care Bear. I walked her over (and of course Feisty had to come, too) and when I opened the door and let her in there, I asked Blondie 1 to give Barbie our phone number in case she needed to call me. Blondie 1 then informed me very loudly, "My mom is nekkid, but I'll give it to her." ROFL! Care Bear barely even said goodbye to me as she pretty much shut the door on my face asserting her independence. As she shut the door, I heard her announce to Blondie 1, "You don't have to be scared. I'll sleep in your bed with you." I choked back a little sob as I realized how quickly my "baby" is growing up. Feisty was less than thrilled that she had to walk back home with mommy instead of being included in the fun; but mommy knows best, right??? You'd think so. But apparently not. At 12:45, Feisty woke up. At 1:00 a.m., I got a call from Barbie telling me that Care Bear was really upset and wanted to come home. Hubby wasn't in bed, so I went downstairs to see if he was still up so he could go get Care Bear since I was dealing with Feisty. Lo and behold! Hubby was gone. Where? I don't know. But that's beside the point. I had to grab Feisty and haul her next door to get Care Bear, who of course, also wanted to be held. There I am in the middle of the night with two unhappy little girls, carrying half my body weight across the neighborhood to home. And getting my feet soaking wet in the process from wet grass. FUN!! My girls got crappy sleep, I got crappy sleep, and Care Bear woke up in the morning sick. Woo-hoo! In hind-sight, I believe I would not have condoned a sleep over for my 3.5 year old daughter. Sometimes mommy doesn't know best. In my defense, I had no earthly clue that Barbie would allow them to stay up until 1 a.m. without forcing the issue of sleep! What is that?!?! So, the weekend pretty much was a crapper. Total crapper! At least she seems to be feeling better now, and Blondie 1 informed me yesterday that Care Bear wants to have another sleep-over soon. Yeah. Right. That'll happen in this millenium! Not unless Barbie and I have a talk about what is appropriate sleeping time for three girls ages 2-5. I'm not having another weekend like that one.

Yoda (who has requested that I refer to him as Annakin instead of Yoda) was supposed to go to church camp today. He went last year and loved it! He's been looking forward to it for months. Well, Yoda-Annakin caught Care Bear's bug. Annakin is not at camp today. He's bummed. I'm bummed. Good news is, he can catch another session at the end of the month. I hope he'll go for it because that session is in tee-pees instead of in cabins. Annakin is not your rustic kind of kid. Not.at.all. So I'm thinkin' it's gonna be a no go.

I am so thrilled because I finally got grades on most of the assignments I've done and at this point I have a strong, solid "A" in my class. I am seriously considering the option of going back full time next spring so that I can finish quicker and maybe even have a great job doing what I want by the time my kids are all in school. Going back, though, depends on the kind of financial aid package I receive. Hope it's good. I have not yet informed my colleagues that I am considering this. They won't be pleased. It'll be a major life change for me and quite an adjustment. This has been my comfort zone for almost 10 years and going back into the world of academia and leaving my secure job is a little nerve-wracking. But I would really like to finish school before I'm 40. I really would. What do you all think?

I will have another award on Friday. I tried a new recipe last night, so I have one to give!

Still waiting for the female parental unit to download the Ace pictures for me so I can post them and tell you about the night. I don't think she's in a big hurry to do it. It's all good. As long as they don't get deleted!!

Again, I've missed my blogging buddies! I hope you still come check me out and don't give up on me! :-) Have a superb day!!

First Test

Just keeping everyone informed. I got 70 out of 75 on my first test. Now, if I can just finish my assignment.....

I also just realized that my final exam is during the time that I am at a family reunion this summer. Hoping there's an internet connection where I am.

Thanks for the good wishes! :-)

I'll Be Back...

When I just wrote that, I sounded like Arnold Schwarzenneger in my head. Did anyone else hear it?! Anyway, just a quick note to tell you all that this will be a weird blogging week for me. My schedule is all out of wack at work this week because of two horrendously long days of meetings I have to go to today and tomorrow. I've had to totally re-arrange my schedule and so has my mom. So anyway, if you are just dying to see the pictures of Ace, you might just have to wait a couple more days until I have more time to post them. Not to mention I have a humongous assignment due on Wednesday and not a clue as to how I'm going to get it done before then. I see a couple of loooong nights in my very near future here.

I took my first test on Saturday. It was on line, and it was timed. We were given 60 minutes. I finished it in 12. I'm hoping that means I did really well on it and that I knew the material well. Personally, I think I aced it. Ha ha. Did you catch that little pun?! I know. Corny.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great weekend, and I'll check back as soon as possible. Probably Wednesday afternoon! :-)

I Asked For It!!

In the eloquent words of my mom, "You asked for it, Kristen". Yes, I suppose I did. But I can handle it. Really, I can. The question is, can I handle it and keep my sanity in check, and keep from keeling over from complete exhaustion.

I am currently sitting at my desk with a 24 oz. cuppa jo, and a 1 liter bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper. Gross, I know. It's only 8:30 in the morning. But if I plan to sit here all day with a nice, calming breeze blowing through the window and a dead phone, I'd better have something to keep me awake. For real.

My strait jacket finally arrived. It fits. If any of you all are confused, I'm referring to the fact that I have added going back to school to my already crazy filled life. I work in the Admissions Office at a large University, and one day I was sitting at my desk, talking to thousands of students who were applying, getting admitted, excited to start their college education and a slight depression came over me. I'm 31 years old. I have less than 2 years of college under my belt. Circumstances beyond my control prohibited me from finishing my education. I suppose looking back on it now, it's not a bad thing that I wasn't able to finish my education and waste large amounts of my parents money only to come out and never again use what I learned. Really, what 18 year old knows what they want to do with the rest of their lives? Some may, but almost every friend I have has ended up regretting the area they studied in college and are currently not doing anything with it.

So, anyway, I was sitting there, all of a sudden disappointed that my life is very quickly passing me by, and I have yet to complete even a bachelor's degree. While I like my job, for me it is simply a way to pay my bills. I have worked here for almost 10 years, I know everything there is to know, there is no opportunity for advancement (unless you have at least a B.A.), and I can practically do it all in my sleep (which is probably good for me today.) I got a crazy idea. "Hey", I said to myself. "I work in the Admissions office. I have the inside track. I can apply without the application fee. I can speed up the process by taking my application straight to a "decision maker". What am I waiting for??" So, I filled out an application that day, and got admitted, that day. Yes, working here does have it perks. For the average joe, the application process takes 2-4 weeks. Yay me!! :-)

So, here I am. I'm almost through with my 2nd week of my first class. Can I just say, that I have forgotten the art of studying?! I wasn't a good studier when I didn't have additional factors such as kids, husband, part time job. But this time I am determined. I will not quit. If it takes me until I am 50, I will complete this degree. As God as my witness, I will never work for minimal pay again!!!

But I am tired. Oh, so tired. My first week of class was fairly simple. She was breaking us in. Giving us a false sense of security. Making us think, "Hey...this Interior Design stuff is a cinch!" Then came week two......As I browsed through my syllabus mentally making note of how much studying I could get away with at work, and how much I could complete in a lunch hour, I began to hyperventilate: four lectures, a 14 page reading assignment in my text, an assignment that requires waching two episodes of "Trading Spaces" and a paper to write comparing and contrasting the differences and similatires between the designers on the show, and the professionals in the Interior Design field. How, oh how, am I going to do this?! And how does any mother actually find the time to take more than one class at a time? I truly admire those that actually go to school full time and have kids.

My paper is due Saturday. I have completed the lectures, completed the reading, and completed one episode of "Trading Spaces". I finished the show at midnight last night. I will finish the second episode tonight, and spend the day Saturday writing my paper. While reviewing with my mom all of the stuff I have to get done by Saturday, she wisely told me, "Well, you asked for it." I know I did. But in the long run, I will be happy with myself for completing a degree, following through with something, and hopefully getting a job I truly enjoy bettering life for myself and my family. So what if I have so much information crammed in my head that it is oozing out of my ears and nose?! One of these days, I'll be glad I did it.

Short summary of my thoughts on AI Wednesday night. Best finale ever. Best season ever. Yay Taylor! It was fun to see Clay, and the nerd who impersonated him cracked.me.up! Now, I am done speaking of this show for the rest of the year. Breathe a sigh of relief, people. ;-) Thanks for putting up with me!

The Strait Jacket is Ordered

And it's on it's way--FED-EX. Because I am certifiably crazy.

Why would I, someone with three kids, and a part time job, do something as insane as deciding to add school to my already unmanageable life? For many reasons I suppose.

• It's always been a goal of mine to finish my degree before I'm too old to do anything with it.
• I've finally decided what I want to do after changing my mind at least 40 times, so now it's worth it.
• I need something meaningful to do with my life that doesn't include the phrase, "a means to an end" after my kids are in school and don't need me so much anymore.
• As an employee at the school, I get a certain amount of free credits, so WHY NOT?
• My chosen major is Interior Design, so I will get to learn how to make my house beautiful, and make other houses beautiful....for money.
• I need to feel like I'm working for something; not always somebody.
• I don't want to spend the rest of my life answering the phone, "Admissions, this is Kristen." (This really confuses people when they are calling me at home and I answer the phone this way!)

I had actually originally planned on going this spring, but there was a hold on my registration because the health center said I didn't have my immunization records on file there. Whatever. I did. But by the time they cleared the hold, the two classes I needed were filled up. I was a little, um, angry. Yeah.

I have my advising appointment scheduled for Friday. I don't have any holds on my account, and I can register on May 1.

Suffice it to say, I'm a little nervous. Not just because it's been 10 years since I've gone to school or studied; I don't even know if I remember how to study. But I'm a little intimidated at the thought of sitting in a classroom with a bunch of 18 year olds. That thought really makes me feel my age. I'm thinking I might wear my "Harvard" sweatshirt, then maybe they will think I'm some brainiac that transferred from Harvard and won't look at me so weird. You think?

In addition, I'm not sure what I've gotten myself into. The class I will take in spring is a sketching class. I am in no way an artist, so I'm not sure this was the smartest decision on my part; but maybe they'll teach me how to draw.

At any rate, wish me luck. I've still got a few months to get the jitters out of my tummy, but the fact that I'll be registering very soon makes it all too real.

Me. A student again. Who'd a thunk? (Better quit talking like that, huh?)