On the road again....

Tomorrow we leave for another busy week on the road. Monday, I have class in Normal, then DH and the boys will pick me up. We will drive to the in-laws house, where I leave the men in my life behind. I then head Monday night to the Chicago area to stay with others from my grad program. Tuesday's class is in Des Plaines. Tuesday after class I head back out to the in-laws. We'll hang around there Wednesday, then head up to Wisconsin on Thursday to visit with the Jensen family. We will be heading home on Sunday.

Sounds like a very busy week, yet managable. Would be more managable if I have not (possibly) torn a ligament or tendon in my knee! How? I have no idea. ALl I know is that my knee started hurting yesterday. It was so painful this morning that I went to convenient care. The doctor thinks that there is either a torn ligament or tendon involved. Recommendations are to stay off the leg all together (HAHAHAHA!) use a knee brace to stabilize, and to use crutches (yeah, right). I'm ok on the brace thing, but crutches--you have got to be kidding me. You think I am a clutz on two feet, just hand me a pair of crutches and watch me take gracelessness to a whole new level!

I will have to follow up with my regular doctor, and probably an orthopedic doctor, when we get back. In the mean time, my knee brace is really sexy! Poor DH will not be able to resist, LOL!

Quiet night at home

OK, DH and the boys are in Peoria at a baseball game. I have the house all to myself. I cleaned a bit this afternoon, so the house is somewhat in order. I have a big project to finish for my class on Monday (ok, the truth is that the project is not actually due until next Friday, but since we are leaving for "vacation"--a few days at the in-laws then a few days with friends in Wisconsin) I really need to finish it this weekend. So, what did I spend the last hour doing?? Cleaning the laundry/scrap room. Is that getting my project done??? Nope. Why am I procrastinating?? There is absolutely no reason. So, for the next hour, I shall work non-stop. Maybe I will get far enough into it that I will be on a roll.

Psst...

(the grout is done...and it is SO pretty!)

Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee

that's what I am going to call Josh. He made lunch today. I have been wanting to teach him how to do a few things in the kitchen. So, today I coached him through making Kraft Mac & Cheese. He did really well, and was very proud of himself.

A side note: the grout is half done! That was about all my hands could handle. Maybe we will finish tonight. It looks so good! Getting closer :)

A few updates....

Class update:
I have 2 more days of class!!!! I have one big project to type up this weekend and a final essay next Tuesday, but, all in all, I have survived! I was a bit apprehensive entering this summer's classes, considering how stressed out I was during the practicum. It turned out to be quite tolerable, and I have learned a lot. I feel much more confident than I did a month ago.

Next week, I have class as usual on Monday, then the last class on Tuesday is in Des Plaines, where the large majority of our class is. There will be regular classes, then a "reception" of some sorts to celebrate our group's completion of the program. I am feeling a bit ambivalent about this part of the program ending. As of Tuesday, I will have my Graduate Specialist Certificate in Auditory/Oral Development. While I am happy to be done with this leg of the journey (I still have quite a bit of time before my master's degree is done), I am reluctant to leave behind a bit part of what has defined me for the last year. Something to ponder.....

Bathroom Update:
All of the tile is up!!!! I will be grouting this weekend, so that it can cure while we are gone on our trip to Wisconsin. When we get home, I will have to seal the grout, put in the trim, and add the finishing touches (towel bar, toilet paper holder, etc.) and it will be finished! It has been such a LONG process, but it is so beautiful that I do not regret the decision to remodel. I just can't wait to shower in there again!!!

Miscellaneous:
The boys are doing well. While they won't admit it, I think they are ready to go back to school. I sure know that I am ready for them to go back! Josh in particular has been more moody than usual. As I look back, the same thing happened to him last year at this time.

Thank God for our dear friends Beth, Kristen, Mary, Jeannie, Christie and Tracey, who have really been a blessing watching the boys while I have been in class. We could not ask for a better group of friends. You know when they say it takes a village to raise a child, it's true. I am so blessed to have such a supportive village around us.

The men are home

from their visit with the grandparents. Grandpa has made it to the nursing home to recouperate a little before going home. Apparently he looks like his old self...much improved over the last time I saw him.

We are plugging along with the tiling. It should be complete before leaving for Wisconsin. I am hoping and praying we can get it done.

I can tell that I am stressed...my joints are aching. I haven't had such pain in a long while (probably since the week from he*#...oops...I mean spring break). I don't know how I will manage to sit through class tomorrow. Prayers are definately in order.

A quiet evening at home

DH and the boys headed up for a couple of days withthe grandparents (grandpa is finally out of the hospital!), so I am left with a perfectly quiet house. Too bad I have all of this homework to do :(

I did manage to spend a little time shopping for things for the bathroom. The tile is very close to being done, and I can definately see have the grout done by the time we leave next Monday. Once we return, all we will have to do is seal the grout, and we will be DONE!

I only have five more days of class left. It is bearable, but the changing of assignments makes me crazy. One assignment was eliminated, which means less work, but I do not think that my fellow students have realized that now all of our other assignments carry more weight for our grade. Then, to be emailed more reading on Saturday night is crazy. The syllabus should be set before the class begins. Don't get me started about my case study. It is supposed to be a project done with a partner, but since there is no one else in this part of the state, I have to do mine by myself....what the heck?!?! Not fair!

Ok...no more whining, back to homework.

Progress...

has been slow, but I have accomplished a lot in the past few days. The tile tub surround is about half done. Once all of the tile is up, we will still have to grout, wait for it to cure, then seal it before we can use it. While all of that work is still looming, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I have finished five days (of 13) of my summer classes. I have to finish a midterm essay tonight, but am well on my way to getting it done. I guess I had better get to work.

Oh, to be the mother of boys...

means listening to a conversation about who's feet stink more. To get to the bottom of that answer, naturally, they must smell each others' feet, then describe the smell ("It's like 5 day old rotten eggs," Jake said). Now, this conversation wasn't just between my two children. Keep it in the family? Oh no...you must involve the neighbor boys from down the street. If their mom only knew, she'd never let them come back!

Now, you not only can use the toilet...

you can wash your hands too!!! I put in the vanity, sink, faucet and vanity light, and DH put in the cabinet and mirror when he got home. Now, the to do list consists of....

• tiling the tub surround (the biggest job)
• sealing the grout
• staining and installing the trim
• choosing and installing the towel bars, etc.

We're getting there...

Day 4 (of 13)

I survived one more day. I carpooled with another student and it sure made the day go faster.

I exchanged the bathroom faucet and have installed the new one. I will have to connect the water lines and drain pipe tomorrow. In between doing homework, naturally.

Jake has been acting like he is completely exhausted all evening. I hope he is not getting sick.

I've been tagged

Cheri on SBA tagged me with this question:

If you had the opportunity to do a 1-year internship in a company or field completely unrelated to your current career or specialty, what would be your top 5 choices?

1. Photographer- I love to take photos.
2. Medicine- probably an ob.
3. Writer- maybe a nwespaper reporter.
4. Chef- I like to cook, and would love to be able to create like a real chef.
5. Contractor- I enjoy home improvement projects...I'd love to have the right tools and know-how to really do a big project.

I guess that's it. Pretty diverse list. Thanks for the tag, Cheri. It's my first!

Day 3 (of 13)

Well, actually it is the morning of day 4. Today it was much harder to get up. I dropped the kids off at Beth's at 7:00 and hit the road to Mahomet to pick up Kari. I finally have someone to carpool with!! Yesterday went well, and I got home in time to work on the bathroom sink. Naturally, there was a broken piece in the faucet box, so I couldn't complete the job. I'll have to head out to Lowe's tonight.

Well, class is starting, so I gotta go.

Do you hear that?????

It's the sound of my toilet flushing!!!! We installed the toilet tonight! WOO HOO! No more running to the basement just to go potty.

Today was much quieter than yesterday. We went to church this morning. We went to the early service since I had to interpret. After church we headed home so that I could do homework. I kept falling to sleep, so I got up baked DH a cherry pie to welcome him home.

I am fading fast tonight. It is early, but I feel exhausted. Think I'll head to bed. Good night.

Sometimes, you just can't make this stuff up!

What a day! So, if you read the last post, you know that the boys and I successfully grouted the bathroom floor. After such a successful accomplishment, I felt like they needed a little reward. So, I planned with Tracey that we would take all the boys to see Ratatouille--4:50 p.m. showing.

Gracie was in desperate need of a bath, so I made her an appointment at PetSmart for a bath (since we still cannot use our tub and she's too big to bathe her in the sink or shower.) About 3:40, we all climb in the car to take Gracie to her appointment. Once I got in the car, I realized that I did not have my house key. We were locked out of the house. Which would not be a big deal if DH was not out of town. So, I figured I really did not have to worry about "breaking in" to our house until after the movie, I just put it in the back of my mind. Something to deal with later.

After dropping Gracie off, we ran to Walmart for a few things before going to the movies. We arrived at the theater about 20 minutes early, so we did the bathroom thing and hung out in the lobby, waiting for Tracey. The boys used the restroom, then headed to the arcade games. While they were hanging out, I took my turn in the restroom. Once finished, I re-connected with the boys then noticed Tracey and her crew had arrived. As I made my way over to them, I realized that I had left my wallet laying on the toilet paper dispenser in the restroom. I ran to the restroom, checking the stall. It was gone! I ran back out to the main desk and asked if it had been turned in. Nope. By this point, I was shaking, not sure what to do. Tracey convinced me to at least call the police to report it missing and possibly find out where to call to alert the credit card company. I told the group to head on into the movie, and I would rejoin them after making a few phone calls. I found a lady who looked like she might be a manager and said, "My wallet has been stolen. May I use your phone book to get the phone number for the police?" She told me to wait a minute, that maybe it had been turned in. She asked me to describe it. She then went in the back and came out carrying my wallet! I started to cry and thanked her repeatedly. I wish I knew who turned it in so I could thank them.

OK, so the movie was really cute, and we picked up Gracie and headed for our locked house. I figured that there would be at least one unlocked window that we could get into. It took over windows to finally find one that was unlocked. Finally, we were in the house....long enough to make a grocery list and head to the grocery store.

Now, as I sit here and reflect on the day, watching Gracie lay there with that ridiculous bow on her collar (she is so not a bow kind of dog) I can't believe how bad my luck was today. Then again, I cannot believe how incredibly lucky I was today...everything worked out! Then again, luck has nothing to do with it. God was watching out for us today, and kept us safe, in spite of myself.

Think I will sign off now...I have some prayers of thanksgiving to work on....

Good night.

It's so pretty!!!!

The boys and I have finished grouting the bathroom floor!!!!! It looks so pretty. I just keep walking in and looking at it, thinking...I did that :) DH was at work, and I wanted to surprise him with the finished product when he came home at lunch. The boys were amazing helpers, changing the water and rinsing the sponges. From beginning to end, it took 2 hours. Not bad. I am treating the boys to a movie tonight for all of their hard work.

Sorry for the short post. Just had to share!!!

Day 2 (of 13)

Two down, 11 more to go!!! Today was kind of fun, since the girls from up north were here. It was nice to re-connect since we have not seen each other since May. You know how they say that you bond with people with whom you have shared a stressful, tramatic experience with? That is definately the case here. The practicum can definately be described as a tragic event in my life, LOL!

On another note, DH's dad continues to struggle. It seems as if every few days, something else goes wrong, and no improvement has been seen. Slowly, he is deteriorating. I don't know if the doctors will be able to find the answer, if there is an answer. I am so sad, but I can't imagine how DH's mom feels. His parents have been married for almost 45 years. They are so much in love and are just the cutest couple. Please pray for his health and her strength through this ordeal. Thank you.

DAY 1 (of 13)

I survived the first day of my summer classes. Like last summer, I have one class in the morning and one in the afternoon, 3 hours each. It looks like there will be a lot of homework. As an "ice breaker" (btw, I hate those things!) we had to describe one stategy we planned to use to get through the month. Going for a little humor, I said that I was planning to pay off my boys so I could do my homework. However, that may not be so much funny...it just may happen!

One of the major challenges I face is not the homework, it is finding people to watch the boys while I am in class. Tracey took her turn today, and Kristen will have the boys tomorrow. Next week won't be bad, but I still have to find coverage for Monday afternoon. Beth is planning on taking them on Tuesday, and DH is off on Thursday. So, you can see the balancing act is challenging. At least the boys are pretty well-behaved, so they don't wear out their welcome too soon.

As for the bathroom, things are plugging right along. The tile on the floor is all laid, and it looks great, and we haven't even grouted it yet! We will grout on Sunday, then seal maybe on Wednesday, and put in the toilet and sink next weekend. Things are slowly coming together. Considering the length of time this has taken, I have decided a different approach to planning and scheduling our next project. When I figure how much time it will take, I will multiply it by 10, since that is probably how long it will really take. Then, when I figure the cost, I will then double that, because it will cost at least that much more :)

The bathroom floor...

We are getting closer to getting the floor tiles down. We got back from our weekend on Monday about lunch time, and started on the floor. DH worked very hard on it most of the afternoon and evening. I helped, but had to pick up the dog, take the kids to swimming, etc.

Today, my goal is to cut the last two ornery tiles (very complicated cuts) and adhere the rest of the tiles. We'll see how that all goes....