Dean's List

Tonight I was honored for my hard work last semester.  I made the Dean's List with Distinction.  I took a total of 16 credits and maintained a 4.0.  This was my first semester that I transferred to UAS.  I never in a million years believed I would have achieved this.  I started this process almost 4 years ago in hopes I would "smart" enough to keep up with everyone else.  Turns out that there are so many older people who are going back to school.

There is no way I would be able to be this successful without the help of my husband.  He has picked up what I cannot do.  A huge part of that is making dinner almost every night.  I've gotten so use to it and afraid that when I'm done I will probably have to start doing that.

Day In The Life

I just love the projects that Ali Edwards creates.  I have participated in many of them, but I never fully complete any.  This year, I decided that enough is enough and I want to have something that my own children will be able to relate to.  

This project is Day In The Life.  I have participated in the past, but have never gotten past the actual photography part.  This time, I was determined to not just take the photos, but to actually post them and eventually get them into an album.  I have always had a love for photography and scrapbooking.  My kids are use to me taking photos, but they still ask what I'm doing.  I love that every photo I took was intentional and showed what the day looks like.  My life is full, busy and exhausting, but I also know this is just a season in my life right now.

6:10am - I am not a morning person and morning comes way too soon for me.  I try to make sure I'm awake so that Gabriel is up and moving for school.  Now that we rely on cell phones, I usually text him to make sure he is up and moving.  Then, I close my eyes for a few more minutes before he makes his way downstairs.

6:27am - I still can't get over that this boy has to shave now and again. I'm glad that hubby reminds him to do this because it's something I rarely think about.

6:35am - I'm so proud of my boy.  He gets himself up 99% of the time and out the door on time to get on the bus.  I miss our morning drives and hoping that will start again after work settles down.

6:38am - I usually make sure that the bus comes and he gets off to school ok.  There's still a part of me that someone will take him even now that he's in high school.  

7:01am - I love the mornings that I can actually watch GMA.  Today was my morning off so I was able to crawl back into bed for a bit.

7:07am - This is usually what my alarms look like on a typical weekday morning.  I hate getting up, so I always have to make sure I have a couple set to ensure I get to work on time.

7:11am - I always check my calendar in the morning to see if there is anything specific I need to take with me.  I usually have one day off a week for observations, but it's testing week.  Instead, I have filled my calendar with appointments that I usually have to take time off from work for.

7:41am - I have finally pealed myself from the bed, got dressed and put my makeup on.  While I love doing my hair, I also love it off my face.

7:43am - My poor husband puts up with all my beauty products.  But today, they are even a bit much for me.  I have got to find a way to get it organized where I can still use it.  And, I must stop buying it!!

7:45am - My mornings always start with my Greens.  I put very little juice in and let the powder dissolve.  It's my morning power shot.

7:47am - This girl is the slowest moving in the house. I turn into Father Time in the morning to keep her on track. Her comment today is, "You're not working today so I can take longer to get ready."

8:13am - We finally get out the door.  You never know what these two in the back will be talking about on our way to school.  They have grown so close over the last year.  I don't know what Lillian is going to do next year.  Victoria will be off to high school and it will just be me and Lillian on the way to school.

8:27am - I just love this view.  I love the wide open spaces, the morning clouds and how fresh it all looks.  I never tire of the scenery.  

8:28am - Dropped the girls off to school.  I work in the same district and some days I'm at their school and other days at different schools.  The one thing that drives me crazy is people walking on the rocks.  And of course, my daughter has to be the one to do it.

8:30am - The view back home is just as wonderful.  There's still a very small amount of snow left on the mountains and hoping we get a little more.

8:45am - Our house as you walk in the door.  Life has been so crazy and overwhelming lately and our house shows it.  I would really love if we could keep this room clean and ready for anyone to stop in.  

8:53am - The plumber is finally coming to fix the kids' bathroom.  They were told to clean it the night before.  I went up to check and wouldn't you know, they picked up, but nothing more.  I quickly found some wipes to clean the counter and sink.  The one thing I couldn't find is the windex so the poor mirror has weeks worth of toothpaste on it.

9:16am - My masseuse is a miracle worker.  I have some horrible sciatica issues that she keeps in check.   Today though, the issue lies with my neck and shoulders.  She claims it is from all my computer work.  I left feeling AMAZING!!!

10:07am - Finally, their bathroom will be in working order and I can kick them out of mine and the half bath.  

10:14am - Making my list of items to talk to my advisor about.  I tend to go in thinking I will remember it all and that never happens.

11:07am - Meeting with my advisor.  Since I only see her at registration, my list of points was a mile long. We have my fall schedule figured out, talked about placement for student teaching and what I would like to do and asked about student council position. My honors thesis is what is scaring me so I'm hoping she will find some answers on the whole process.  I cannot believe that I only have one more year left!!  It has been a long and exhausting road.  Don't tell my hubby that I really want to jump into my masters next.

12:03pm - On my way home I stopped at Culver's for a snack.  Don't tell anyone though because I really don't need to be eating junk.

12:25pm - I had a quick chat with hubby.  We spend our lives running around that our conversations are quick.  He works nights and sleeps during the day.  I've grown accustomed to it after 14 years and kind of like having the bed to myself.

12:29pm - Trying to sneak in some homework on this jam packed day.  I have two big papers due Sunday and I am not prepared.

12:37pm - Good thing that I have a hair appointment today because the grey is coming in. I don't think I will ever be comfortable with it.

1:53 - Finally getting the grey hair gone.

2:41pm - I love my stylist.  She is amazing and I won't let anyone else do my hair or the girls'.  She has been cutting my hair for about 8 years now.  She just opened her own salon and it is doing so well!

2:51 - Back in the car to head to the track meet.  I asked a friend to bring Victoria home because I would not have made it there and to the meet.  This also means no swim today, but I think they will enjoy the day at home.

4:51pm - I made it in time to see her first race.  The sun may be out, but it is deceiving.  We had to wait a long time before her next race and the poor girl was freezing.  Dad decided to be her ear muffs.

5:13pm - Finally it's time for her second race.  And just in time as I have to head out for a meeting.  She came in second place.  I don't understand why she loves to run.

5:25pm - Driving AGAIN.  I was selected to be part of a 5 week committee for the SVPSD.  It will be interesting to see what this is all about.

7:39pm - I am exhausted and ready to crawl into bed.  The meeting was very informative and the district is hurting just like ours for money.  We will be coming up with some ideas to bring to the board at the end of our time together.  Not sure how we will be getting the money though.

7:47pm - Late ending means fast food - very bad food choices today.

10pm - I'm back at my desk working on homework again. I have two major papers due Sunday. I'm finding I'm always here or in the car.

11:48pm - forcing myself to stop for the night. My sleep schedule is so messed up after years of late homework nights. I could probably keep going for another hour or so. But I pay the price come morning so I try to stop as close to midnight as possible. Some nights include a glass of wine and I've decided to deal with little sleep until I'm completely done with school.

Looking back over my day, I spend a lot of time away from the house or doing homework.  My word for the year is balance and while I am learning to do that, I can see that I still have a lot of work to do.

OLW 2016

     As we embark on a New Year, I cannot help but reflect on the past year.  There were some very big milestones in my life and lots of craziness.  My life is very chaotic with a family, working, going to school and volunteering.  But as I of the chaotic life, I have realized that parts of my life are out of balance.  

     Of course I have resolutions of items that I would love to accomplish, but in order to do those things, I need to adjust my life.  There have been some years where I've chosen a word that I think about all year.  This year, my word chose me - BALANCE.  

     I want to ensure that whatever I am working on whether work, school or being with my family, they have the best of me.  And in order to do that, I must have balance.  I found this quote and I feel like it sums up what I need to do in order to achieve balance in my life.  

Time......

     I found this photo on Instagram and it sums up how I feel lately.  I have always been into photography and have albums full of photos.  When I was pregnant with my first child, my photography was put into high gear.  Photography then morphed into scrapbooking because they go hand in hand.  I enjoyed the time I would spend matching photos with paper and stickers.  Then, I would journal about the photo, how I felt, etc.  This continued as our family grew and I found time for it even with three toddlers running around.  When my youngest went to school, I had all these dreams of the time I would really be able to devote to scrapbooking.  That just did not come to be as I started volunteering in classrooms and enjoyed doing other things.  My crafting time would be in small spurts, usually when the kids were off from school and we weren't running around all the time.  Years went on in this way until I decided to go to school.  It's been three years and I cannot tell you the last time that I held photos in my hands and made a layout.  I still take tons of photos, but now they end up in folders on my computer waiting to be printed out. 

     I still cannot pass up some gorgeous supplies and kits in hopes that one day I will have time to create something.  I even went as far as buying into the stress-free way to scrapbook where you add photos and cards into pre-divided page protectors.  There are cute kits where you record your entire week and journal about your daily life and what happens in the small moments that no one else sees but you.  I have the kit, I took the time to take all the photos, now it's a matter of printing the photos and putting it all together. 

     Like the photo says, "I just want to make pretty things and get enough sleep" is what I really feel deep down.  I know all this coursework will lead me to a place where I will again be able to do those two things.  And I love my classes and learning new things, but there is still something wonderful about how good your body feels after several days of good sleep.  And there is something magical about creating a keepsake you can look back on.  I just need more time in my days........



Work Day

     You know your coworkers feel the same about surviving the day when your Starbucks order is bigger than anyone else's.  Since I take my oldest to zero hour at the high school, I go right by the Starbucks.    As everyone texted me his or her orders, I always feel bad for the girl taking my order.  And I feel bad for the people behind me because I know they want their morning coffee fix as well.  I know a lot of people feel that Starbucks is frivolous and expensive.  While I'm sure it does fit into those categories, for me, it's worth the money.  I cannot duplicate that same cup at home and having someone else make it for me is the icing on the cake.  

     The Starbucks here are only inside other stores like Target and Fry's.  I really wish that someone would open a stand-alone building with a drive-thru.  The one nice thing about going inside is I can also shop for other items as well.  While it really isn't a big deal to walk inside and get my coffee, there is something nice about sitting in my car in my slippers and not having to get out.  

    I also love when the seasons change because the covers on the cups change. My favorite one so far is the fall theme.  The other one I really like are the holiday cups.  In the end, it doesn't matter if I have to walk in or drive in my car; a nice, hot Starbucks is a nice comfort.

Another Race

     After all the years I've sat watching my kids race, it never gets old.  I love watching the anxious swimmers warm-up, always afraid that the water is going to be ice cold.  My view usually includes a gorgeous mountain backdrop.  This weekend, we had the added rain in the forecast.  Thankfully, it was very small amounts or rained for short periods of time.  

     Up until a year ago, it was just Victoria that I had to worry about dragging out of bed and driving over an hour to compete.  But now, Gabriel also swims.  It's a good thing they are older, throw clothes on and climb in the car.  Most of the time they pass out as soon as get out of the driveway and it's just me and the radio.  

     On Saturday, Victoria was not herself.  She added time to her events and just looked out of it.  I was very worried that she was getting sick.  Gabriel on the other hand dropped time from all his events.  He has improved so much in the year that he has been swimming competitively.  

     Victoria did much better on Sunday for her events.  I think that she just didn't get enough sleep before her races on Saturday.  She just amazes me because even after each lap, she still has enough energy to turn it on for the last leg home.  

     I think that our favorite part is after the meet.  We get to stop at Eegee's before heading home.  We don't have one where we live, so any chance to get one we are there.  Lucky Wishbone is also one of my favorite places to eat.  If only I could have all these places at my fingertips. 

Technology Era

All the years I spent playing around on my parents' computer has prepared me for this digital age we live in. I could spend all day on the computer and love teaching kids all about it. But all this preparation could never have prepared me how to stay 10 steps ahead of my own kids. I want them to enjoy having all this information at their fingertips, but not at 11:30 at night. There are many days when I wish they wouldn't have so many options and had the non-digital age I grew up in. But then I realize that they must learn how to handle all this so they will have the tools to raise their own children. 

Softball

I was so against adding one more sport to our list. But my youngest kept insisting she wanted to play softball. Of course she loved it and took to it like a duck to water. It's been two years and she has grown into an amazing player. Our weekends now include hours of watching her so her thing on the field. 

Summer

What a year it's been. And by year I mean school year. There's been many ups and downs and all the while learning that I cannot plan as much as I would love to. I work at my kids' school and love every minute of it, but I think this was the hardest year yet, emotionally at least. I'm so glad I can close that book and reflect on how things can be better next year, but also to not worry about it. Summer started off with sleeping in which we all needed especially after date night ended at 1am lol. Today is about cleaning up and trying to get our minds and house ready for some purging so there can be relaxation. I'm looking forward to us being home together and slowing down just a little bit.

Being A Mom Is Tough!!!

I truly believed that as my kids got older, being a mom would get easier. Oh, how wrong was I!!!!  I love my children dearly and many times I look back and am amazed that God changed the plan I thought I had for myself.

On my very first date with my husband I told him I didn't want children and maybe a boyfriend. Just over a year later we were married and expecting our first child.  Soon after baby number 2 followed. We did our pro/con list and decided we were done. Again, God had other plans and our last bundle of joy was born.

I remember have a 3 year old wanting to read, 2 year old potty training and trying to nurse a new born all with tears streaming down my face. In those moments all I wanted was to speed up time. Now I've got one entering high school and two in jr high.  These three play every sport known to man and keep me employed as their taxi driver. They are also testing the waters in what they can get away with. Now my days are rushing everywhere, decoding data papers to see who created a Facebook account without permission and longing for the days when we would all take a nap together.

As my summer is quickly coming to an end and the new school year looms ahead, all I pray is that I'm equipped to lead them to become Godly men and women who are seeking God and prepared for the real world. And everyday I just want to freeze time where I can remember every smell and memory because I know this mom thing isn't going to get easier, and I need the good thoughts to get me through the hard days.

These are the smiles I want to memorize forever!