*SIGH*

Well, it has been a week and a half already, but it is only Thursday. Ever feel like that? It has been the longest 3 days. Everyone at the office is having a hard time getting motivated, I think. There is so much crap to wade through besides doing our regular, everyday jobs. I am having a hard time getting up and coming in every morning. Part of me does wish that one of the jobs that I sent my resume to would have panned out and I could have just exited with apologies. But so far, I have received a couple of "due to the economic climate, we are no longer hiring for this position..." letters and an interview for something, that after talking with the person about the position, I do not even want to do.

I had been planning to start back to school at University of Oklahoma this January, but I am starting to feel so overwhelmed with everything else, I am thinking of post-poning that until the summer or fall. Jenn doesn't want me to, but I just don't see how I can have the energy to do it right now. I am just so down. Plus, she is trying to get into Oklahoma City University for January, and I want to make sure that we can afford for her to go there and I don't know if we can if I am also going to OU.

Blech. I cannot believe I am voluntarily going to attend OU. LOL

Go Pokes!

First Day of School

I cannot believe we have a 1st grader and a 2nd grader! OMG! How did that happen! They went to their first day, today. I sure hope they are having fun! It is wet out, so they weren't going to go out for recess, so E was already bummed about that. Hopefully, they got to play in the gym or something.

Scholarships

Jennifer has been VERY fortunate to have received multiple scholarships and grants to help her go back to school. I have been really proud of her. She is getting a scholarship this coming semester from Phi Theta Kappa for being an officer (she is the Vice President of Service). It will pay for 6 credit hours this fall and 6 credit hours next Spring! I am really proud of her.

I would encourage ANYONE to go back to school, if it is a dream of yours to go. It has been a bit of a financial struggle in the beginning, but she recieved FAFSA at the very start and as she took classes and made good grades, she began applying for more financial assistance and began receiving it. Her grants and scholarships have gone above and beyond paying for her classes and go to help with books, tutors and luckily, she has been able to have some money left over for living expenses.

Check out your local community colleges and jr. colleges. Find out what kind of assistance they offer and what kind of training programs, certifications and associates degrees they offer. After I finished my Associates degree, I was able to go back to my old job and make more money than I had been previously. I hope to go back in the Fall of 2009 and finsh my Bachelors.

Already a LONG week

We had a break in at the office this past weekend. They ransacked our offices. So far we haven't found anything that was stolen, which is good, but it has been a chore trying to sort through all the paperwork that was dumped.

On top of trying to put the office back together, Jenn has had mid-terms and her Biology class is just getting really hard. She is getting really stressed out. I ended up taking us all to Golden Corral for dinner last night, because I didn't think she would be up for making dinner after her crazy day. She had a test in Religions of Mankind and then her Biology lab quiz was very hard.

I am glad that my nephew's birthday party is this weekend, because a little trip down to Dallas may help us all.

The boys are excited to go and also to stay in a hotel with an indoor pool, so they can swim. LOL We will probably take them to Dave & Busters, too. I want to take the boys to The Purple Cow for a burger at some point and Jenn wants to go to Pappasitos. It is her favorite place.

It should be a fun weekend. My parents will be down, too and so we are hoping the whole family can hang out together a little bit.

Stuff

Cool stuff has been happening at the Pub. Jenn bought the new vbPlaza software for the board. It is going to be so cool, once it is installed.

I have been working a lot and playing around at the Pub too. The boys are having a great time at school and Jenn has been invited into Phi Theta Kappa!! I am so proud of her!

Linwood Lions!

There was a terrific article in the recent OKC Gazette about Linwood School and Mrs. Parker's class (K's teacher). I don't think the entire article is online, so I need to go pick up a copy of the Gazette today!

I am just so proud and glad our boys go to Linwood.

Has it been a month??

Wow! I guess it has. E went to his dads for two weeks. Jenn and I spent a week on vacation while he was there. We got back okay. Got back into a routine and school started this week! Whoa! Jenn and the boys all in classes. Both the boys are full day this year! Wahoo! Jenn doesn't have class on Fridays so she is home today trying to put the house into some semblance of order!

I have been busy busy at work with getting the new fiscal year started. I think I am finally finished up with FY 2007 stuff and have FY 2008 in order and going. Yay!

We got new windows on the house last week and this week they started residing it! I am so stoked. It is beautiful! I will post a before and after when they finish.`

HB 1309

I am really excited to see that this bill has passed committee and will go to a vote. It is called the "Diabetes Management in Schools Act". It is going to make sure that a diabetes management plan is in place at public schools for each student that has diabetes. It will also make sure that there is a designated, trained person to assist the students with their plans. Like at E's school, the nurse isn't full time and luckily his teacher has been great about learning how to check his sugar and looking for signs of hypoglycemia, but other than the training we have given her and the things she has read, that is all she knows. If he needs a shot, we have to go up there to give it to him.

We have had a lot of great support from E's school on his diabetes treatment, but I think that this is just another step toward making sure that there are trained personnel there to help kids with their treatment.

I was even happier to see that Rep. Winchester had co-authored the bill. She is a family friend. It means a lot to me and my family, personally, but it is a great stride in educating people about diabetes.

Parent Teacher Conference

I had today off for President's Day so I got to take E to school! This week is parent-teacher conferences, so his teacher asked if I could stay for 10 minutes and go ahead and do his then. Of course! I am so very proud of him. He is doing so well, both acedemically and socially. She said that he follows instructions and listens well and she doesn't have any issues with his behavior at all. I could tell that she really likes having him in class and he was beaming when he heard what she was saying about him.

It was a great conference and I am looking forward to picking him up from school. I might get him a little treat for having such a great report card!

K had a great report card too! We are so pleased.

Saturday

Have had a relatively nice and productive day. M entertained the boys all morning and afternoon. They played, watched movies and worked on a art "project". She is so good at coming up with little projects for them to do together. The boys had a blast.

Jenn and I caught up on a couple of QAF episodes while they watched Curious George and then we all had lunch together and played a game. M went home and the boys laid down to take a nap. I cleaned out our closet while Jenn worked on her algebra study guide and then took her test. She made a 91 and I am so proud of her. She is working so hard to get an A in that class.

I even dusted the back room and the fan! UGH!!

I made the boys dinner tonight (chicken strips, fries, apple slices and baby carrots) and then grilled us a couple of steaks, baked potatoes, salad and rolls. It was so good. We have been working on our blogs and laying around talking. I just ran to the store to get milk, bread, bananas, stuff like that and we put the boys to bed.

I am thinking it would be nice to curl up with a movie or play some POGO together. Something like that. We will see what progresses *winks*

Fall Break

I wish that I could take off for Fall Break and spend time with the kids. I am going to take half a day on Friday and we are going to take the kids to the Zoo. It has been so pretty! Jenn has been studying for mid terms and has been really busy with school. I cannot wait until next fall when she will be able to take classes during the day and isn't gone so much. It is hard to find the time to do things just the two of us.

Student of the Month!

Wow! E came home today with a paper that said he was selected from his class as STUDENT OF THE MONTH! They are having an assembly and everything. I am so proud of him! He doesn't really understand, but after the assembly, he will get that it is special. I am so proud of my sweetie!

School is going great!

The boys and Jenn are all doing very well in school. Things are terrific and they are learning a lot. E is writing his name well and beginning to recognize more letters. It is amazing how much he is learning!

We did get some sad and scary news, though. E has Type1 diabetes. It is kind of insane trying to get down a routine and understand what everything means, but I think I am getting it all down. His school is being great with everything and they are really on board with his treatment.

Jenn is wonderful. She is learning how to do it all too and has been at every doctors appointment. And really, E is INCREDIBLE. He is so brave and is just going with the flow. I am so glad that he didn't get sick and that it was just a "fluke" that it was discovered.

Back to School

I cannot believe that it is almost time for school to start. E will be in PreK and K is in Kindergarden. They will be going to Linwood Elementary. They are very excited and E tells everyone that he is going to be in "prek kindergarden". It is so cute!

The only crappy thing is that K is in class from 8:15-11 and E is in class from 12:15-3, so Jenn has to do a lot of running to and from school and then on top of that, she has to study for classes herself, because she is taking 10 hours. It will be weird to have her gone 4 nights a week at school.