The votes are in.....

and my grade for my practicum is an......



A!

now, back to regularly scheduled programming.....

OK, now the story of the rental truck...

I mentioned a few posts ago that we had picked up the bathtub since we had the rental truck. Here is the backstory on life throwing us lemons, and how we made a little lemonade....

I took Thursday off to study and work on practicum assignments (ok, I called in sick...shhhh!) DH was off as well, and decided that he would go get the oil changed in my car. That sounded like a great idea to me, since it would get him out of my hair for a while. About 10:15, he called and asked if I was dressed. The answer, of course, was no, since studying is best done in pajamas. He requested that I get dressed and head to Wal-mart to pick him up, since my car needed to be towed to the dealership for repairs.

WHAT!?!?! Yep, once again, Walmart (during the last oil change) had overtightened the plug to the oil pan. Last time that happened, I just had to take it someplace else to have the plug removed and replced. This time, however, in their effort to remove the overtightened plug, had completely stripped the threads on the oil pan, which meant that the whole pan had to be replaced. Walmart's insurance would completely cover the cost of the tow and repair. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that I had to be at ISU for my final, and DH had to get the boys to their baseball games that night. And now we were down to one vehicle. Well, as luck would have it, Walmart's insurance would pay for a rental car, too. Great!

One problem....it was U of I's graduation weekend. The insurance would only cover $30 per day. There were no cars in Champaign-Urbana left in that price range, due to the large number of people coming to town for graduation. After waiting at Walmart for 1 1/2 hours while the manager tried to find us a car, they finally decided to upgrade us and pay for the difference. We were sent down to the airport to pick up a car, which ended up being a Ford F150, which has the perfect sized bed to haul home a bathtub. Therefore, we would not have to rent a truck to haul one home for our future bathroom remodel.

So, that is my story of making a little lemonade...

**A side note: Walmart went out of their way to be helpful and, while they may have an emplyee who apparently does not know how to tighten oil pan plugs, they took care of everything 100%.

A plan for a blissful weekend...

This is the first weekend since January that I have absolutely NO HOMEWORK. And to add to the specialness of the weekend, DH is off. So, I am hoping for a weekend of pure bliss!

Tonight: retirement party for a co-worker, whic meant that I got home too late to fix dinner and DH had ordered pizza; planted some glads out beside the house; planning on heading to the scrap desk later

Tomorrow: sleep in(!); take Gracie to the vet; cook out for lunch; send boys off to Corwin's birthday party in the evening; dinner out (a date!) with DH; shopping at Lowe's for our new vanity and tile for the bathroom

Sunday: church, scrap, clean, work outside, etc.

So, now that I have a lovely plan for my weekend, what do you think will go wrong?!?!?! Stay tuned to find out.....

Grades are in.....

for my Thursday night class, and I got an



A

As for my practicum, the jury is still out. There is some discussion on what kind of points are being given, what counts for credit and what does not. Since this is the first time this program has been offered, there is no precedent set for grading. Hopefully, the grades will be available soon. Right now, my supervisor says my work is A work, but she is not sure that she can give me credit for everything I completed. Unfortunately, now is a little late for me to find that out, since I cannot change/complete alternate assignments. We'll see how things will work out.

Happy Days are Here Again!

OK, so, after a little retail therapy, a movie night with my boys, and a good night sleep, I am definately recovering from the post tramatic stress of the semester. After consulting with my dear friend Tracy, I took her suggestion of retail therapy. The boys were somewhat tolerant of my plan, especially since I bought them ice cream at the mall.

I had promised the boys last week that we would rent Night at the Museum this weekend. We set aside Sayurday night for the movie. It was really cute. Much better than Everyone's Hero, which we rented last weekend. I missed about 15 minutes of the movie, however, when I choked on a piece of candy. I was terrified that I would not be able to get it out on my own. I was about a minute short of telling the boys to call 911 and go get a neighbor when I finally was able to breathe again. Now my chest, ribs, and back are sore from all of the coughing, but at least I'm alive.

Mother's Day was a fun, simple day. We went to church, then met Tracy and her boys at Red Lobster for lunch. Ken was working, so it made perfect sense. Tracy finally gave me my birthday present (yes, my birthday is in January, LOL!), but I am so glad she waited. It was a Red Lobster gift card (the irony, I know) and the new Jodi Picoult book. As she pointed out, now that the semester is over, I have time to read it! After lunch, the boys and I bought flowers and groceries, and spent the rest of the day working in the yard, cleaning the house, and just hanging out.

DH and the boys gave me a gift card to Christopher and Banks, which I will have the time to spend this weekend, when Ken is off, and I have no homework to do! Are you seeing a trend here? Also Saturday night has been set aside for bathroom remodeling shopping. The boys are going to a birthday party, so DH and I will be having dinner out, then buying the vanity, tile, etc. for the bathroom. The demo begins in just a few weeks. The bathtub is already in the garage; we picked it up while we had the rental truck. Now that is a story for another day.

The light at the end of the tunnel....

I am finally there. I have arrived to the official end of the semester. I have been working feverishly for the last few days to complete the assisgnments. I just emailed the last one off a few minutes ago.

I thought I'd be giddy, jumping up and down for joy. So, why am I sitting here, with a major headache, coming down from the rush of cranking out the work. I have no desire to move, much less go out and celebrate.

Hopefully a few hours of relaxing will help my mood.


But, the important thing is...

It's over!

My Final is OVER!!!

One more thing to cross of the to-do list!

Now, to finish my practicum requirements.....

Baseball

Here are a few pics from Josh's recent baseball game....





At second base...



At bat....

Isn't he cute?

Soccer Updates

Soccer season is soon to come to a close. It is by far my favorite sport to watch them play, so I am sad to see it end. Here are a few pics from recent games....

Here is our wonderful photographer, Alan.

Jake as goalie...with those gloves, looking a little like Mickey Mouse.

I included this picture to show you where we play...on the park district fields, right behind he county jail (hence the fence and barbed wire)

Jake and his friend Rosie.

KICK!

Run, Josh, Run!

It's DONE!

While it may not be the last assignment I need to finish this semester, my huge project for my Thursday night class is......


DONE!

And, before 2:00 a.m. on the day it is due!

On to the next item on the to-do list....

Do you hear it?

Chug, Chug Chug, up the hill I go....

I think I can, I think I can....

I can almost see the top of the hill....

A beautiful Sunday Morning

and what am I doing? HOMEWORK :( DH and the boys went up to visit his family, but I had to stay behind to finish all of these overwhelming projects. I made good headway yesterday, and hope to be pretty well finished with my big one today. While I wish I had the chance to spent the weekend with the family, the peace and quiet has helped boost my productivity. Two more weeks, and classes will be over.

I feel like the little engine that could....


I think I can.....


I think I can......


I think I can......

Two words.....stomach flu

Nuff said :(

baseball pics...

I was not able to be at Josh's game until the very end, since I was at Jake's game. I snapped this pic as we were waiting for Josh's coach to arrive. He had 2 hits and a walk. The team won, by a lot, but I didn't catch the score.....




I was able to see all of Jake's game. They lost 9-11 to St. Joe. Jake was 1 for 3, hitting a single midway through the game. He made an awesome play at pitcher, too.

My AHA! moment

or my DUH! moment, depending on your perspective. I have misplaced the cord that links my camera to my computer. So, I have not uploaded pictures in a while. (Alan has enabled me by supplying his). So, now that baseball season has started, I thought it was time to remedy the situation. So, I searched all over last night to no avail. So, I headed out to Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. to see if a replacement can be purchased. It would have to be ordered directly from Kodak, was the answer I got. But, another option, a card reader, seemed reasonable. Then, the Circuit City guy said something that made me take pause.....his computer has an integrated card reader! Heck, my laptop is less than a year old, maybe it has one, too! So, I headed home to check it out. Sure enough.....I have an integrated card reader! Problem solved! DUH!

So, the next post will include a few pics....

One more thing crossed off the "to do" list..

That's really how my life is structured at this point. One big "to do" list. I survive by crossing off one thing after another, watching the list dwindle. Yesterday, I crossed off my last seminar up north. Today, the boys and I crossed off another item on the list...

SELLING 80 CANDY BARS FOR LITTLE LEAGUE!

OK, I had already sold about 15, so 65 were left. In one hour, twenty minutes, we got them all sold. Actually, it wasn't hard. How could someone say no to those two cuties. Plus, when Mom goes along and stands in the road while the kids sell, how can one turn away a $1 candy bar? No, I don't go along to guilt people into buying; I'm there for safety. But, if it helps the candy sell, so be it.

OK, on to some homework, the next thing on my to do list....

Back from Chicago...

My last trip to Chicago for seminar is finished! It was such a beautiful day, and being cooped up ina car and in a conference room with no windows was not what I had listed for fun today. Sure, the first really nice day of weather we have for a soccer game, and I miss it. But, I got the report from DH and it sounds like both boys had a good game, each scoring a goal. The final score was 7-1.

Baseball season has begun. Jake's team had a practice game on Friday night. They won! The first official game for both boys is on Monday. Jake plays in St. Joseph and Josh plays at home. Life really gets crazy when baseball games start, since the boys play on different teams. Hopefully we will be able to pull it off. Thursdays will be especially challanging for DH, since I'll be at class. Hopefully, we will be able to pull this off, without losing the children...or our minds.

Thursday was my IEP day at work. I had 8 meetings that day. I was at school until 11:15 the night before,making sure all of the paperwork was just right. I have one more meeting to schedule, but that one should be an easy one. Therefore, the most stressful part of the spring semester is over for me at work, which will allow me to concentrate on college stuff.

My last trip....

to the Chicago area for my graduate seminar is today. Yes, I should be in the shower getting ready, rather than blogging. I just felt the need to log on and share my happiness! I do have seminar in May, but that one is in Normal.....a little more than a one hour drive. Doesn't compare to the three hours to Chicago. So, if I find the time tonight, I'll check back in and let you all know what's going on.

A few pictures from the soccer game

Again, thanks to Alan for his great photography (and his willingness to share)...

Here are a few of the many great moments Josh had yesterday...

One of his 4 goals...

and one of his break-aways...

Thanks again, Alan!

The soccer game from he@#!

What a morning! The ground was damp when we woke up, and the rain had only begun. We bundled up with multiple layers, grabbed our umbrellas, and headed out. Josh was wearing so many layers that he looked like he was wearing football pads (too bad he wasn't; more details on that below). I made a hot cup of coffee, hoping that would warm me from the inside out. By the end of the first quarter, it was ice cold, just like the rain that steadily fell throughout the entire game.

Thanks to the wet grass, Jake had a hard time staying on his feet. He had mud on his backside even before the game began. Of course, he probably would have been on his feet more had sliding across the grass not been quite so much fun.

Early in the game, Josh scored the first goal. A short time later, Josh took another great shot, but it was caught by the opposing side. Fortunately for us, it was not the goalie that caught it, which granted us a penalty kick. Josh let Jack take it, and he scored. Not too much later, the opponents scored against Corwin, who made a great effort to block, but the wet grass interfered

Throughout the game, there was some tension among the parents, as a result of some rough play by one of the opposing players. He had been called with a foul in the first half, but that did not end his unsportsmanlike behavior. When he went head to head with Ali, he kicked her pretty hard. Shortly after that, she came to sit along the sidelines for a few moments. When I asked her dad if she had injured her ankle, he told me that Ali had been upset that the boy had laughed at her when she was on the ground holding her leg. She needed a moment to gather herself. The rough play continued, with growing concern from our team's parents. There seemed to be no effort made by the official or the opposing coach to remedy the situation.

In an attempt to regain feeling in my frozen legs, I started to pace the sidelines. Josh had an incredible breakaway, against the goalie and a couple of defenders. He made an incredible shot, right in the goal! Score 2 for Josh! Play continued until, once again, Josh took command and sailed another right past the goalie! Then, as he was heading back down for another try, the boy who had taken Ali down shoved Josh to the ground, hard. Josh lay there, writhing, holding his head. Julian, our coach, rushed onto the field to Josh's side. I stood there, not ableto breathe, trying to keep myself from running on the field. Julian was trying to get a look at Josh's head, but Josh had both arms up holding it. It was sickening to watch him lay there. So many terrible thoughts ran through my head....concussion, stitches, emergency room. Julian picked him up and got him to his feet, and helped him toward the sidelines. I could not stop myself from meeting them half way across the field. Once at the sidelines, I removed his stocking hat to see if there were any visual wounds. I couldn't see anything. He looked at me and said, "I am going back in." I could tell he was mad! I looked him in the eye and said, "Make him pay, but play fair...score one more." He went back in and....

scored one more!

Final score.....5-1 Josh ruled the field today!

My heart rate was still racing, even hours after the game. Seeing Josh laying there was terrifying. The boy was taken out of the game after that, but, the damage had been done. Had the official been doing his job, that boy would have been taken out early on, preventing several injuries. Just by watching the opposing coach and the parents from the other team, it did not seem to be the way this team was coached. They were good, but fair. It was just this one boy.

While my heart has finally slowed down, I'm still not completely calm. Josh has developed a headache, which has subsided with ibuprofen. I am curious to see how he feels when that wears off. I pray that it won't return. Thank God my baby is ok.