Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Two More Weeks!

I can't believe there are only two more weeks in this semester. It can't come fast enough for me! I have a final for both my classes, plus a lab practical left to take. I have been in school almost non-stop since June 2nd of last year, so I am really looking forward to this break. I start my nursing summer course July 27th, which means almost three months of not having to study.

As usual, I have big plans for the summer. We'll buy pool passes for the community pools, Zach is doing a two-week art camp at the community college, and I hope to get to spend some time in Louisiana. Besides that, I plan to read as much as possible, and finally get my house clean. That hasn't happened in a while, and there are lots of things that need to be donated or thrown away. Just looking under my bathroom sink makes me cringe. I keep thinking if I get it clean, then it will be easier to maintain.

I'm also looking forward to just being a mom for the summer, and hanging out with the kids. No place that we have to go every day, and maybe just spending time together at home. Of course, I'll be going nuts by the end of June, but I won't be working this summer, so the goal will be to spend as little money as possible. For me, that means not leaving the house. I'm glad we've got so much stuff to keep us entertained.

On a completely different note, Zoe started walking on Sunday. We were all in the den watching TV, and she decided that she wanted my cereal bowl. She had been taking a few steps here and there, but on Sunday, she just stood up and walked. She'd go about ten steps, then fall down, and get right back up. It was really cute! She walked a circle around the downstairs for over an hour, then took a great nap. I videotaped her, but the memory on my laptop is too full for me to upload the video. My desktop computer has been at the Apple store since Sunday, but when I get it back, I'm going to install the new version of iLife on it, so I can upload my videos.

Anyway, since Sunday, Zoe has been walking like crazy, and it is so cute! She holds her arms up, and still wobbles from side to side. She has great scrapes on her knees from falling down, but she gets back up every time. She waited so long to walk that she doesn't need to pull up on things to get up. I am sure she'll be running soon, and I will not want her walking, but it will be nice to not have to hold her all the time.

Zach gave himself a haircut Sunday, which was strange. We noticed that his bangs were missing a section in the middle, and he acted like he had no idea that he had cut his hair. He said he was waving scissors around. When Darren went upstairs to investigate, the missing section of hair was in a clear plastic box, and Zach said that he was collecting his DNA. Not sure what he plans to do with that, though.

We're heading to Lafayette this weekend for Festival International, and Darren and I can't wait! Zach's not too thrilled, because he was invited to four parties this weekend that he has to miss. We haven't gotten a party invitation in a while, and they've all come at the same time. Hopefully there will be others soon. We're not missing Festival this year. We have plans to spend the day out there on Saturday, and then attend the Nitecaps reunion Saturday night. Nitecaps is a bar that we used to hang out in during college (and I went there twice when I was still in high school and underage). We won't have kids for the night, and Darren turns 40 at midnight. Hopefully the hangover on Sunday won't be too bad, since we'll have to drive back to Houston!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Check out my Flickr photos!

If you look at the little box on the right side, I posted a bunch of pictures from our bluebonnet photo shoot to Flickr.

I Got In!

It's 1:00 in the morning and I should be sleeping, but I wanted to post this.

We came to Louisiana yesterday to spend Easter with my family, but I suspected nursing school notification letters would come in the mail. I left the mailbox key with my neighbor, with the instruction to call me if we got a letter from the college, and we did! I didn't get into my first choice school, but I am okay with it. It's not my last choice, either, and the commute will be fairly long, but it's manageable.

I have orientation in June, immunizations, a physical, and CPR certification to get, summer school for three weeks beginning in July, then school starts August 24th. What have I gotten myself into?

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Losing motivation

With less than a month left in the semester, I am having a very hard time staying focused on schoolwork. There is always something else to do, whether it is play with the kids, cook, or clean up the house. I hope that I don't have to take a class this summer; I need a break to go back to being a wife and mother. I want to have time to watch TV or read a book without feeling guilty, or go to the pool with the kids.

It appears that my fate will be revealed sometime in the next week. Letters for nursing school acceptance were supposed to arrive by the 10th, but there's been a delay with getting the letters from central office to the different campuses in the college system. I am just so ready to know either way, so I can decide whether I am going to return to public school next year, teach at my preschool, or just stay home and keep Zoe home. I am such a planner and control freak; this is driving me crazy!

On another note, we had a wonderful time on the Cub Scout camping trip this past weekend. Zach did not win in the Pinewood Derby, and he wasn't too disappointed. We hadn't done anything to his car since our pack's race in January, so he probably would have done better with a little graphite. We had beautiful weather for the weekend, great food and conversation, and I got to sleep in a tent all by myself. Even though I was only in there for six hours, it was so nice to listen to the quiet and just relax. Of course, I came home with a sinus infection from the campfire smoke, but I think the stress that I am already under just enhanced that.

I have a pharmacology test that I have to take for my online class tomorrow, and I don't feel ready in any way to take it. We are leaving to go to Louisiana for the weekend on Friday, and the house is a mess, and there are no clean clothes. Darren will be gone tomorrow evening, so it's up to me to get things in gear and get us ready to go out of town. I sure hope I feel better tomorrow!

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Here's what's going on in my life: I am constantly tired, never studying enough, and never feel like I get ahead on housework and laundry. It's time for the semester to be over! We're going to receive notification of nursing school acceptance sometime between now and April 10th. I can't wait to finally know what's in my future. I applied to four community college locations in the area, plus one local university for a BSN. I'd prefer that one, and it wouldn't be that much more time, but the tuition and driving would be bad. I could do a lot of my classes at the local college, but would end up driving into the Houston medical center for clinicals.

Plan B, if I don't get accepted anywhere, is to teach preschool four days a week next year, take Zoe with me, pay for a month of preschool what I am paying for a week of daycare this year, and retake A&P I for an A. I'd reapply next year, and maybe take some other classes toward the BSN. I do plan to go on and get my Master's, so it would make sense to take as many classes as I can at the lower tuition price of the local college.

There have been rumors that summer school has been canceled, or classes have been reduced for this summer. Fine by me! If I get into the nursing program, there's a two-week class that I am supposed to take this summer. That would mean paying for childcare for both kids, and since I won't be working this summer, ouch! I would love to take the summer off and hang out at the local pools with the kids. I think Zach is going to do some art classes at the community college, a week of Cub Scout daycamp, and possibly a VBS session or two (we do various religions each summer). I would love to do Kindermusik with Zoe, as well. All will be decided in the next week or so.

April is always a crazy month for us, and I feel like I scramble to stay afloat. This weekend is our Cub Scout camping trip, and Mom and Dad are coming in to babysit Zoe so I can spend the night Saturday night. I'm looking forward to it. Next weekend is Easter, and we are heading to Mom and Dad's for the weekend. My sister will be there with her family, and we have plans with our oldest friends and their kids. I hope that Zoe and Carter cooperate with each other! We'll be celebrating his first birthday (where did the year go?), too. Carter is walking, but Zoe still is not. She takes a few steps here and there, but would rather crawl or walk behind one of her toys. She's fast, and can get into things like you wouldn't believe. Everyone keeps telling me that I should be glad that she's not walking, but I don't know what else there is for her to get into. At least I wouldn't have to carry her everywhere!

Back to our crazy month...the week after Easter, I have a dentist appointment, my annual well woman check-up, pokeno night, and Scout Fair that weekend. We are supposed to throw a birthday party for Darren that weekend, but no plans are in place yet. The last weekend in April is Festival International in Lafayette. We love this festival so much, and it's so much fun to walk around downtown Lafayette, listen to the bands, look at the art, eat all the yummy food, and catch up with old friends. This year is especially meaningful, because a bar that we liked to go to in college is throwing a reunion party that Saturday night. And...Darren turns 40 at midnight that night!

I take my microbiology final May 5th, and preschool ends for the year on May 22nd. It'll be here before I know it.

I have hundreds of pictures trapped on my camera, but no time to upload them. My laptop, which has a newer version of iPhoto, is full. The iMac has an older version of iPhoto, but a much bigger hard drive. The large size of my pictures crashes iPhoto most times, so I don't mess with it. I'll get there soon.

My husband just told me that I need to quit playing and work on schoolwork, so that's where I'm headed. One of these days, I'll talk more about our lovely Spring Break week, and the fact that we no longer have a cat.