Pay It Forward

I stumbled upon Swistle's blog, and I LOVE the idea of the Pay it Forward contest! I was a little hesitant to host one of my own since I just started blogging, but I got over it and here it goes!

How it works: I will hold a contest until noon on July 4th. To enter just comment on this post and I'll randomly choose a winner to win a prize from me. In turn, the winner will Pay it Forward by having their own contest complete with a prize and condition to Pay it Forward.

The prize: A SURPRISE! (Mostly because I can't make up my mind!!)

To enter: Leave a comment telling me your most vivid childhood memory. Or, just say hi!

Live and Learn

I have a real "live and learn" method of parenting. I tend not to follow much advice, and just learn by doing. A very kinesthetic approach if you will.

But, sometimes I wish I would listen a little more. Like tonight. My mom has already told me that K. is old enough to understand what is going on when we watch TV. K. doesn't really watch much, except for Dora, but even then all she does is sing along while playing with something else.

Tonight, H. was watching some show on the Discovery Channel. I have no idea what it was because K. and I came in after it started. I sat down and made a comment about the cute mice on the show. K. mimicked "cute, cute!!" and pointed. I should pause to say that whenever we go to any pet store she stops at all the little critters and laughs and says cute. She LOVES them!

So as the show goes on, I realized the group of guys were actually exterminators, and that they were "taking care" of a mice problem. After a brief discussion of what type of trap works best, they show a mouse being caught.

Of course, K. looked at the TV just in time to say "cute!", followed by a shriek and a few tears. I don't think she understood that he was killed, but the snap and the um, movemKents of the mouse seemed to scare her.

Needless to say, we went back in her bedroom and played with her Hokey Pokey Elmo. She got a kick out of me doing the hokey pokey and forgot all about the mouse.

As I said, Live and Learn.

Postpartum Depression/birth story

I really haven't talked about this to anyone I know, so this is going to be my "letting it all out." For the record, there is a birth story included (not detailed partially for lack of space, and also because I really don't remember much).

When I first went to the hospital when I was in labor, I was excited. I woke up around 8:30 am and my water broke almost immediately. I was feeling no pain and no contractions, so all i felt was excitement. For most of the day I didn't feel any pain at all, then all of a sudden it hit. I was given IV drugs that put me to sleep immediately.

I didn't want to do an epidural, but I really don't know why. Later on (I have no idea of the time frame at this point) I decided to go ahead and get it. After the epidural was put in place, I felt NO relief. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I knew something wasn't right. The nurse didn't believe me at all though. Still later (probably midnight by now?) I had no relief, and my blood pressure was going up. The anesthesiologist came back, and realized that they had missed my spine by an inch. Apparently I have a very slight case of scoliosis that had gone undetected. They fixed my epidural (and did a spinal, unsure why), and all was well again. I became human, and even got some sleep. The nurse had to wake me up to tell me that it was time to push. I felt NOTHING at all.

I don't remember much about the pushing and about her actual birth. I think it was all the pain drugs (the reason I didn't want them to begin with), but the only thing I remember thinking was that I couldn't see anything because someone took my glasses off. I had a horrible time recovering (episiotomy) and barely got out of bed the entire time I was in the hospital. Once again I thought something was wrong, but was told that its normal, and some women take birth harder than others.

We were released from the hospital (I could barely walk, dunno why I was released), and the next morning I woke up with a 104.1 degree fever. Went straight back to the doctor to find out I had an infection in my uterus, and that I would be hospitalized if the shot of antibiotics didn't take effect immediately. I spent the entire first full day of my daughter being home in bed, throwing up because of the intense medication, and shivering because of the fever. I was given 3 weeks worth of antibiotics in pill form.

The entire point of the birth story was to show how much I don't like doctors. I have a pretty good idea about what I'm supposed to feel (although I had never experienced childbirth, so I tried to just trust them). Every doctor (my own, and the one who delivered K. because mine was on vacation) along with the multiple nurses told me I was just fine, when in reality something serious was wrong.

Fast forward a few months. I loved being a mom. I was a little stressed (she was born in the beginning of Aug, at the end of Aug I started a new job, plus I was taking 12 hours of classes, although they were all online), but everything about her made me happy. I got super excited when she did something new, to the point of annoying people around me. I was/am a very proud mama. I am still not sure if I had/have PPD. All of my problems/negative feelings were toward H. I love him, and knew it then, but I would get extremely mad at all of the little things he did. They were so stupid and un important that I can't even think of an example now.

I didn't go talk to my doctor, which was probably a mistake, because of the way they thought I was wrong before. I didn't go because we don't have health insurance, and I couldn't justify the expense to anyone. At the time we were barely getting by, living paycheck to paycheck.

Things are so much better now. I am more patient with K. than I have ever been with anything in my life. Things with H. are better too, but I'm still not the person I was before I got pregnant. Just today I got really upset with him. We were just talking about our high electric bill, and he had mentioned that leaving the doors open when we go out, even just for a min, needs to stop. During the next hour or so after he said that I started pointing out that he was the one to do it all the time - he did it 4 times. He told me I was being annoying, and I jumped all over him. Its stupid little things like that that make me extremely mad.

Could this still be postpartum depression? I mean, its been almost 2 years, and while its gotten better its definitely not gone. I'm worried that if I go talk to my doctor he will laugh at me (not literally), but possibly blow me off again. We still don't have health insurance, but are in a much better place financially then we were 2 years ago.

I've created...

A mini-me! Since I've had a lot more time at home lately, I've noticed that K. acts JUST LIKE ME! For example - the other day she looked at the fish tank and said "Fish (feeeesh) eatin'." Eatin'!! So then I asked what Buddy (the yellow lab) was doing - and she said "Buddy eatin'."

When H. came home from work that day I was excited to tell him about her new word/sentence. I was all "Guess what! K. said fish eatin'." I got a strange look, with a reply "You mean eating?"

Isn't that what I said? I never realized I said it like that, but I guess I'm used to the Texas accent.

time off

I just found out, this morning to be exact, that H. has the next 2 weeks off. Since he works for the school district, the year starts over on July 1st. He had 5 vacation days left that would have been lost on July 1st, so he is taking next week off to use them. The week of the 4th of July the entire department is shutting down. So from now until July 7th H. will be at home. Driving me nuts.

I really do love him and love spending time togther, but I like my alone time with K. I don't get much of it during the school year, so this is great. Oh well, maybe our kitchen will finally get painted. It been partially painted since the beginning of May.

Oh and the one day he is going in (to make sure everyone has things to do while he's gone) is the morning of our wedding anniversary.

Where, oh where has my little baby gone?

For the first time EVER I had to tell K. to stop talking and eat.

This was huge for me. She hardly ever talks, and chose tonight at dinner to be louder than you know what. And for the first time it was with actual words, not just babbles.

She was making these weird growling noises, which she told me was a baby isard (lizard). "Baby isard talk, mommy!" Then when H. started making them back she made a really weird face, looked at him with the corner of her eyes, and said, "Mommy, Daddy silly. Stop Daddy!" We laughed hysterically (of course, what else are you supposed to do?) and she took that as a hint to say that everyone in our entire family, plus all the dogs were silly.

I should havelearned my lesson by now: any action that results in a reaction from Mommy and Daddy results in a repeat of said action.

Party time!

K.'s birthday is Aug. 2, and we are having the party the same day. Until today I just assumed that I would have a Dora party for her, obviously since she is obsessed with the cartoon. We went to the party store today to see what types of decorations they have (and how much it was going to cost). She quickly paused at the Dora section, then went off running. I let her go, just to see what she was going to get into.

After saying hi to a life sized Hannah Montana poster, she made her way to the luau section. She said hi to "Nemo" (it was just an orange fish) and tried to wear a few leis. She wanted everything that included fish and flowers, so I guess this is our new theme: backyard luau. We were already planning to play in the pool and grill, so this works out perfectly.

I have gotten absolutley no where in planning the baby shower for my SIL. I do know that there will be 10-15 people... but NO idea who. I am about ready to tell her to plan it herself, or let my MIL do it. She called with all kinds of requests, and everything was really, really expensive. And on top of that... she wants to do it around the first weekend in August - which is K.'s birthday. I basically told her that if she wants it at that time then I won't be the one planning it. K's birthday is more important to me, and I will have my hands full with that. We don't do huge parties (she's only 2), but all of my side of the family will be there so it will be a little stressful for me.

Since I don't have much experience with baby shower's, is it normal for the mom to be to request everthing done her way? I assumed that was the job of the person giving the baby shower. Or, maybe I'm just a little too much of a control freak and should ease up and let her have her way. After all, it is her party...

My little flirt

When I was younger my parents used to tease me about boys, to the point that I didn't dare look at them when in public. Well, at least not noticeably. From our trip to the store tonight, I can definitely tell that K. is not taking after me. I should mention that I call everything cute - cute shoes, cute puppy, etc. and she has picked up on it.

We went to rent a movie at the store for a nice evening at home after K. went to bed. As we were walking through the aisles of new releases we passed a man and his young son - probably 3 or 4 years old. As we passed them, K. kinda dragged along. I turned to see why she was trying to stop and saw her with her head turned looking at this little boy. I mean obviously staring. As we passed she said, "Mommy, cute!!" really loud. The dad laughed it off and walked in the other direction.

What a way to start K.!

Neighbors

I have only lived in my current house since November. I love almost everything about it because we pretty much gutted it when we bought it. I chose all the colors and styles. Well, everything except the kitchen, but that's another story. The house is a little small, but it is only for the 3 of us and the HUGE backyard makes up for anything the house is lacking.

One of the things that has really been bothering me about being here is the neighbors. We chose this neighborhood for a reason - it is in the boundaries of one of the best elementary schools in town. It is a higher income area (which is why we have probably the smallest house in the neighborhood, but again we made sacrifices in that area). All of our neighbors are really, really nice but it seems fake.

We have a neighbor directly across the street from us who has race cars. When I was growing up my dad was a drag racer so I understand and even have a little patience for the HORRIBLE noise that comes from these cars. What I don't understand is why it has to happen at midnight. And again at 2 am, and again at 6 am. Do these people not sleep?? But he always says hi to me, and talks to K. Except when I ask him to keep his dog from chewing up my flowers in the front yard.

The couple next to us on the right has 3 kids. Their yard looks like a great place to play with all of the toys. She always waves to us and asks how we are doing. I saw a friendship for awhile, until we started talking more often. She is MEAN to her kids. She leaves the 3 and 4 year old inside the front door crying so loud I can hear it from my yard - just to talk on the phone (and I don't mean an important phone call, I mean gossip about who slept with who last night - she talks really loud I can hear all of that too) and smoke her cigarettes. Every time they are outside she tells the kids to not bother her. It really just bothers me.

There is an older lady across the street and a few houses down that just seemed a little strange to me. It may be a medical condition, I'm not sure. We had a garage sale in March and she stopped by to say hi and tell us HOW MUCH SHE LOVED GARAGE SALES. Seriously, she said it like 20 times. The weird part is when she took a baby doll and covered her up with a baby clothes and told her she would be happier there. THEN, she had the nerve to start pulling the 'weeds' in my flower garden. The weeds she was pulling - it was some type of plant (I am not an expert on plants - I can't even identify flowers really) that was just beginning to grow back. By the time I noticed, she was getting up and leaving. OMG the NERVE!

Next door to us, on the other side of the mad mom, are two old women. They are sisters, and moved in together when their husbands passed away. They are quiet enough, but still really get to me. I like to keep my business to myself (well at least in real life - this doesn't count) and they are really NOSEY! When we first moved in the one lady informed us that when they moved into their house they held an "open house" so the neighbors could see what they did with it. She said this as she was trying to look in the curtains of our home. I politely declined, saying how busy I was (ahem school, work, etc etc). She seemed a little ticked off. A different conversation led to a conversation about religion. She asked me what church we went to (we don't go to church) and was a little disturbed when I told her that. We live in a very religious town, where 2 churches can be found next door to each other.

Without getting into too many details, I was raised to believe in God and certain other aspects of religion, but we did not go to church. This was partially because my parents were 2 different religions, and partially because my dad has no trust in churches. When he was younger his family was very involved with the church and all of the activities. When my grandpa got sick (had to have multiple heart surgeries, and had a heart attack) they turned to the church for support. They did not need monetary support, just emotional help and someone to pray for them. They asked the pastor to come to the house and sit with my grandpa and when he refused because they hadn't been attending church (they were in the hospital) my dad lost all trust in churches. What makes it worse was the fact that this man had been a close family friend from the time he was a child.

Anyway, back to the story of the neighbor. I did not feel like I should have to explain my beliefs to her and told her it was time for K.'s nap so we went inside. A few weeks ago she told H. that we should go to church, and that he shouldn't let me run things so much because it wasn't normal. She said the devil was real and tried to kill her brother once and the same thing would happen to us if we didn't accept Jesus. We stopped having so many chats with her, but just looked at it as someone who was set in her ways.

But now I'm just mad. When we were outside playing in the pool she was peeking out of the window and shaking her head. She told us little girls (K.) shouldn't wear bikinis and that we were headed down the wrong road with her. Um hello she's 2! And it had Dora on it!! She sent her grand kids out with bread shortly after and told them to feed it to my dogs. I asked her not to feed them because they had just eaten, and she said she will do what she wants because OBVIOUSLY I didn't know how to care for my dogs; they are WAY too skinny. Which they're not. I have no idea what to do about this lady. I'm at the point of spending the money to install a privacy fence and trying to do everything to avoid her. She even had her son come over to talk to H. about the way we kept our yard (our trees weren't trimmed to her liking and we had cut our grass too short, had NOTHING to do with her).

Hopefully things start improving.

Things I would have done differently

I love my life and wouldn't change what I have now that I have it, but every now and then I start thinking about what I would change if I had a chance.

*I was a brat in high school and I regret every minute of it now that I'm a little older. If I could change things I would be a little nicer to my parents and stop trying to grow up so damn fast.

*Speaking of high school... I would change most of it. Starting with the fact that I had the same boyfriend throughout. Most of the time it was just a label (we were going out) and I still flirted around with other friends. I wasn't myself around him, and I think I would have had a lot more fun if he hadn't been in the picture for so long.

*Majoring in engineering just because someone said I would be good at it. Yes, I could handle it. I was even good at some of the aspects. But I think a 1.9 GPA first semester of college (when taking mostly intro engineering classes) says that I didn't enjoy it. I suffered through a year and a half as an engineering major before I stopped thinking about what others said. I changed my major to education and luckily I have raised my GPA to a 3.8. I'm very proud of that, even though I'll be graduating a year late.

*Getting married just because I was pregnant. This is a long story that I'll tell later, but for now let's just say that when I told my parents H. and I were having a baby they refused to talk to me until a wedding date was set. I love H. and couldn't imagine being married to anyone else, so this has worked out for the best.

*Not having an actual wedding. I agreed to just go to the J.P and have a small wedding with our immediate families on the account that a big celebration was going to happen when the baby was born. Its been 2 years and I'm still waiting on that celebration. I really think that the only thing I regret was not being able to get all dressed up and have the pictures to prove it.

*EVER agreeing to live with my inlaws. We lived with them until K. was about 3 months old. It wasn't THAT bad, and they did their best to make me feel at home, but it just wasn't HOME. I was never really comfortable and felt like a permanent visitor.

*Having a child before I graduate from college. One of the things that I struggle with daily is whether or not I have enough time with K. I schedule everything around trying to spend as much time as possible with her. I actually cried when I couldn't fit my classes into two days a week last semester. There were more tears when I realized I had to go five days a week this fall. It wouldn't be so bad, except for the fact that I drive an hour each way to campus, and on T and Th I will come straight back just in time to go to work. I won't even see her on those days until 6:30 at night and it kills me. I love my job and what I do, but it is a little heartbreaking to think that I am passing an opportunity to spend time with my daughter in order to take care of someone else's kids.

I realize that I wouldn't be who I am, or where I am for that matter, if it weren't for these events. Everything has worked out and I am happy with my life. But that doesn't mean that when I am disciplining a toddler or wiping up the table after dinner that I don't think about how different things might be.

A growing child

K. 4 days old.
K. at a marching band competition. She was around 3-4 months old, and REALLY wanted those nachos.
8 months old at the Ft Worth Zoo. She thought it was a puppy.
Carefully eating her cake at her first birthday party. Notice the fact that there is no mess, and she is using a fork. Is this normal??

I have more pictures from her second year, but they aren't on this computer. I still look at her as if she is my little 4 day old baby, sleeping in my arms while in reality she is an almost 2 year old child, who is becoming more and more independent every day.

Any ideas?

We had a great father's day. We spent the day lounging around the house followed with a nice barbecued ribs dinner. K. and her aunt C. (who is 8) played in the sprinklers and the pool, while we all sat on the patio swatting away mosquitoes and dogs. All in all - a good day.

I'm planning a baby shower for my SIL, who is due at the end of August. While I don't have a guest list yet, I have been informed that the guests will be anywhere from about 18 to some who are the age of my grandparents. I have no idea what to do that will encompass the age group. Should we play games? Prizes for the games? Favors?? I have only been to 2 baby showers in my life - mine and a close friend. Both were pretty informal, just a get together with friends, so I really have no idea what to do.

I hope its just allergies

K. has been kinda, well, snotty since we got back from my mom's house. Yesterday she began to cough just a little bit, but nothing too horrible. Today has been a different story. She woke up just fine this morning. She sneezed a bit more than normal, but still ran around like a wild child. She volunteered to take a nap (WHAT??! My child??) around 2:00, saying "Night, night mommy." I walked in her room about ten minutes later to see her laying in her bed asleep, so I covered her up and went to do some reading for my class.

When she woke up (2 and a half hours later; again - not normal for my child) she was extremely warm and coughing a lot more. I had fallen asleep reading my text book (that's perfectly normal) and she woke me up by climbing on me saying "Baby hot. Mommy cold, baby hot." She calls herself baby all the time, its cute. I found out she had a 101 degree temperature after fighting her to take a temperature. A little Tylenol and a drink of water was all it took, because by the time H. got home she was running crazy again, at least until bedtime. If she's not better I'm going to take her to the doctor in the morning. The fever out of nowhere scares me a little. I'm a little hesitant because she has only really been sick 3 times in her lifetime - twice turned out to be a small cold mixed with possible allergies; the other was a stomach flu. We have been really lucky in that sense, especially since H. and I both work around a lot of kids and people every day. On the other hand, I'm still really nervous when she even hints at being sick. I'm like the new mom who rushes her newborn in for every symptom. Or... maybe I'm just paranoid.

On slightly better terms... K. has made up a new game (When did she get old enough to do this??!). She uses my legs for a playground when I am sitting on the couch. She sits on my feet when they are on the floor and says "Swing Mommy", meaning she is pretending they are a swing. So far they have been a swing, a slide, and a ride - meaning a car. I am still amazed at her imagination and capability to invent things to play. My degree is going to have an emphasis in early childhood development so I have taken a TON of courses directed solely towards early childhood (by TON I mean 21 hours so far). It is so fun to read and learn about things that children do, and to know the logic behind some of their actions, but at the same time every time K. does something new I'm mystified. I know its supposed to happen at some point, but I'm still going OMG when did my baby start growing up?? She will be two in less 2 months, when did that happen??

2nd time today...

I wrote this for a class I'm taking and thought it would make a decent (maybe a little boring) blog post. Its supposed to be an informal discussion on my family's culture, compared with a family of a different culture. Don't be too harsh - I'm not a great writer. And it is a little long, sorry.

My husband and I have been married for almost 2 years. We are still working to adapt different parts from our own culture into our new family. We grew up in two culturally different homes on different sides of the United States. Our marriage has allowed me to look at both of our families’ cultures and see the similarities and differences.

Before I went to college I spent my entire life in Killeen, TX, which is near Ft. Hood. My grandma was from Japan and moved to the United States in the late 1960’s after she met my mom’s dad. My mom was born into a military family in Germany. They eventually settled in Killeen, in the same house where my parents still live. My dad was born and raised in Northern Kentucky. He joined the Army after high school and was stationed in Ft. Hood, where he met my mom. My parents continued to live in Killeen in my grandma’s house. She had recently gotten divorced and had a large house to herself. Growing up my mom did not work; she stayed at home at took care of my brother and I. My grandma was also always there after work and on the weekends, so it was a like having a second mom at times. She would tell me to clean my room, or to put my toys away and take a bath, just like my mom did. She taught us a lot about the Japanese culture.

I did not realize it until later, but many aspects of her Japanese culture were instilled in our every day lives. We were not allowed to wear shoes inside the house. We had a choice of rice or potatoes with almost every meal. She used Japanese words with us to express feelings such as here (when something was handed to someone, as in here you go – hai) be quiet (Urusai), let’s go and many others. When my grandma passed away about a year ago I learned about more Japanese traditions that deal with death and mourning. The day after her funeral we had a Japanese dinner at her friend’s house. We ate nori maki and sukiyaki, and as we ate a small plate of food was left on the table, for my grandma’s spirit. My grandma’s friend, who is also Japanese) visited the grave twice a day for a certain period of time as a ritual of mourning. I was expected to be studious and make good grades. Part of my dad’s culture that was enforced in my upbringing was that children were to be seen, not heard. I was taught not to interrupt an adult for any reason, and to be quiet in public.

I have lived my entire life in Texas so when I was younger I spoke what is sometimes referred to as “Texan.” I stopped saying “fixin’ to” once I realized it was not correct English, but I still often say “y’all”. This is in great contrast to my husband’s family. My husband, Heath, grew up in Kalispell, Montana. He grew up in a small town in a valley with natural lakes and mountains all around. One of the biggest differences in our families’ cultures is pronunciation of words. The cost of living was much higher in Montana, so when he was younger both of his parents worked. His dad is very involved in his kids, and took part in raising them. My dad views that task as a woman’s job, and left most of it to my mom. Until recently he did not cook or clean much either, while Heath’s dad routinely helps out around the house. I say yes or no sir or ma’am to just about anyone who I should show respect to. The first time I did this around his family they were surprised. I later learned that it was because where they are from saying sir or ma’am was generally seen as a sign of mockery, and was considered rude not respectful. Another big difference is that my family celebrates all holidays and occasions with a big get together or party. He grew up without any family near, and now lives on the opposite side of the country from his family, so holidays were normally small with only immediate family members present.

Although my husband and I grew up on opposite sides of the country we are still working to bring together two cultures into our family. I still say y’all, and our daughter is repeating it. She is being taught to say yes ma’am and no sir, and one day when she is old enough we will travel to Montana so she can see where her daddy grew up.

Lazy summer days

I love lazy summer days. No work... a single class... and plenty of time to spend with K. I have been working out for 30 minutes every morning and I already feel amazing. I have so much more energy.

Last weekend we got to spend some time with my side of the family. We stayed at my mom's house from Friday till Monday, because my brother graduated at 6:00 Sunday night. Friday K. stayed with my mom while H. and I went to the eye doctor. I have yet to find a decent eye doctor in my area that doesn't ask for an arm and leg for payment. I had been having pretty bad headaches and thought (from past experiences) that it was from my eyesight. Turns out my prescription had been too strong, but I have really bad astigmatism. Luckily these new contacts have fixed everything. H. wasn't wearing glasses or contacts, but it turns out that he needed to.

While we were at the eye doctor K. got spoiled beyond my control. She LOVES to eat, and always seems hungry. She tries to eat ALL the time - to the point that I asked her doctor about it. She is around the 40-5oth percentile for weight though... and has been consistently since about 6 months old so the doctor wasn't worried about it. He basically just said to feed her regular meals with a few snacks, and to ignore the rest of her requests for food - just like I had been doing. My mom must have forgotten this, because K. ate all afternoon, with NO nap. My child is a pain in the butt if she doesn't have a nap. So Friday night was miserable. Around 10:30 we finally got to go to bed (we were sleeping on an air mattress in the living room, and K. on the couch) and K. decided that it was play time. She was over tired and over cranky, and so was I. I think we finally went to sleep around 1:30, just to get up at her new normal time of 7:30.

Saturday and Sunday were just fine. She behaved like the normal little girl I know. Sunday she fell asleep on the way to the graduation and slept through part of it. When she woke up she was very well behaved and sat through the entire thing. She even made it through dinner later on. I'm so glad that she is finally at the age where she can (sort of) sit through things patiently

A little more good news - my dad said he would help paint my car. I have an 01 Mustang (H. got the brand new car...but I don't care b/c I've always wanted a Mustang) that is black with gold accents. It has a stripe on the bottom of the car that is gold. My dad used to paint cars (even went to school for it) and I asked him if he would spray all of the gold stripes pink. He agreed to do it next time he was able to visit.

Is this a compliment?

A recent conversation between H. and I -

Me (after opening a suspicious looking envelope from TSU): Guess what?!

H (staring blankly into the TV): Hmm?

Me: I GOT ACCEPTED INTO THE TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM!!!

H: What? Is that all?

Me: ...

H: Well, duh.

First of all, who says duh?? Second, should that be taken as a compliment?? Either way, I'm extremely excited and relieved. Next step: Application for student teaching. Yay!

Update

I'm still here, just enjoying my week off. This week I have absolutely NOTHING that I HAVE to do, besides the usual mommy job. The sad thing is that I'm already feeling like I've been locked up in the house too long. I guess that is what happens when I'm always on the run.

We are leaving in 2 days to go to my brother's graduation. We're going to have a lot of family around so it will be nice. The only downside is that he graduates at 6:00 pm Sunday. There are so many high schools in the area that all use the same facility, so graduation runs from Friday to Sunday, almost back to back. This wouldn't be a problem, except my 2 summer classes start the next day. I'm taking concepts of elementary math (BLAH!), and an early childhood class.

Last weekend I received a letter in the mail from my university. I was really nervous - to the point that I wanted to puke. You see, I applied for admission to the teaching program this past semester. We were basically told that if we didn't hear from them, we got in... but if you get a letter from the office of academic affairs, then you might have something to worry about. Well that letter from the university came from the office of academic affairs. After a brief PANIC, I opened it. The letter was a congratulations for receiving the title of "Distinguished Student; one of the highest honors TSU confers on students." Needless to say, I was relieved.

On the parenting front - I need some suggestions for potty training. K. is almost 2 - will be in August. I really feel like its time to start potty training. She seems to understand when she has to go. When we rush, or are already in the bathroom she makes it to the potty on time. She loves to sit on the potty, wiping, and flushing, but she hardly ever goes. Does anyone have any tips/tricks?