Time. I Need More Time!

It has been a very hectic week and will only get worse. I have a total of 20 assignments that are due between Thursday & Saturday, on of which is a reflection paper for my university class that is ending on Saturday.

I planned to spend all day Thursday while the kids were at school working on these assignments. Well, plans have changed AGAIN!!!

I have spent some time volunteering at Sammy's daycare when they are in a bind and need an extra hand. I did so on Monday and did not get enough study time for my test that was due that day. Tuesday I was so wiped out that I took a nap before going grocery shopping, picking the kids up from school, and then babysitting for a friend while she went to the dentist.

Today I volunteered at daycare again. I then had to go to a workshop at the unemployment office. Sammy had gone to a friend's house for a play day, so I pick her up on my way home. Grandma picked Makenzie up from school, so they were waiting for me when I got home. Makenzie told me that she had a BIG headache. I felt her head and decided that I needed to take her temp. Sure enough, she had a fever of 102. I guess we will be taking a trick to the doctor's office tomorrow morning.

This is yet another wrench that was thrown into my schedule. Makenzie is usually pretty easy to take care of when she's sick. She'll lay around and watch TV most of the day. So I should be able to get at least the assignment done that are due on Thursday & Friday. That just leaves 17 others to get done by Saturday. Oh, did I mention that I have a family party to go to Saturday late afternoon/evening? So I need to have everything done by about 1:00 Saturday afternoon. Not sure it that will happen.

So, if you have any time to spare, I really could use it! Thank goodness the kids are spending the weekend with their grandparents. Hopefully that will make it possible to get everything accomplished by my 1pm deadline.

School Update

I have reached the mid-point of the semester at the comm. college. That means that I have 2 new classes that just started. The one class that I am taking through the university is ending this week. (THANK GOD!!!)

That one class had me questioning my decision to continue my education. Thankfully the university offers a coach. Steve, my coach, has been great. If I did not have that resource available to me, I probably would have made a mistake by quiting school. I was very discouraged at one point and by taking to Steve & getting some insight to the workings of the university & the experiences of other students to get things into perspective. Steve told me yesterday that he also found inspiration from me. I thought, "Wow. What did I do to inspire this guy? There's nothing special about me." He told me it was my determination (a nice word for being STUBBORN), my ability to handle so many things (school, family, etc.) and my ability to essentially take lemons and make lemonade.

I have tried to be as positive as possible, but there are times that it is very hard. I feel like I have so little time to focus on all the things that need to get done.

School

School has become a bit of a challenge for me. It's not that I am struggling with understanding the work, it's just that I have had a hard time getting into the groove. I have a test that needs to be completed by tomorrow night and one by Monday night. The one for Monday I have not prepared at all for. My third class began this week so I now have several assignments a week for it. Brian said he's ok with me going back to school, but he complains whenever I say that I sent time working on school work. With taking everything on-line, I have to spend more time than the average person does on school work while at home. He just has not grasped that concept yet.

I guess instead of blogging I should really be studying. I better stop now and update after I have finished studying.

Crazy Winter Weather Part 2

It is February 17th in the St. Louis metro area and I have the windows OPEN!!! We are expecting a high in the mid to upper 70's today. How crazy is that????

Please understand that I am not complaining in any way about the beautiful warm day that we are having. I was so ready for winter to be over. This taste of spring is wonderful. I am just afraid of what is still to come.

Crazy Winter Weather

It has been an unusual winter for us in the St. Louis area this year. By this I mean that it is outside of the norm for the last decade or so. The kids have had 9 snow/weather days so far this school year. That does not include the 2 emergency days that Jordan's school took in November due to water main work outside of the high school.

We have been hit by 5 winter storms so far that have caused the kids to miss school. The last one that hit this week was originally being compared to the Blizzard of 1982 when the had about 2 feet of snow and at least 4 foot snow drifts. It pretty much crippled the area. Well, the storm that we got in 2011 was not as bad, at least in my area. We started with rain on Monday that froze to everything. We then got several inched of sleet. They were predicting about 10-16 inches of snow for our area, but since much of the precipitation came in the form of sleet we only received a few inches of snow. And as per the norm this winter the day after the snow arrives we had a day with subzero wind chills, which caused school to be cancelled again. Thank goodness they will be back in school today!

Not only did I have the kids home for 3 days this week, I also had Brian home most of the day on Monday and all day on Tuesday. To make things worse I was suffering with a severe sore throat and headache all week. I finally made it to the doctor yesterday to be informed that I indeed have strep throat. Joy, Joy, Joy. I took my first dose of antibiotics and began to feel somewhat better within a few hours.

I CANNOT Believe It's February!!!!

I have been neglecting my blog AGAIN. I cannot believe that it is February already!! So much has been happening.

Christmas was good - better than I had thought it would be. Our family was blessed by some terrific secret Santas that we cannot thank enough!!! They each received a bike, clothes and some toys.

My job lasted into the 2nd week of January. Brian got a new job right before Christmas that has GREAT benefits & pays MUCH better than his old one. It has been going well so far. Please pray that it continues that way. I applied for unemployment and began school. I have 2 classes going right now, another starts in about a week and 2 others start is March.

The kids have been home more than they have been in school since Christmas break. Our winter has actually been a winter this year. They have had 9 snow days so far. I cannot wait for better weather!!!

Did It Have A Red Nose?

The other night we were driving home. We passed an area where deer have been spotted often. There was on about 2 feet from the shoulder. I asked if everyone saw it to which Jordan & Makenzie said yes. Sammy did not see it, but she asked me "Did it have a red nose?"