2009????

OK, so it is common knowledge around our house that I will graduate from my current masters program in May 2009. In fact, it is something I have to tell myself several times a day, as a reminder that there is an end to the madness of homework. So, Wednedsay night I was tucking Jake into bed. I had spent the entire evening working on reading summaries and a group project, so I had spent no time with the boys. I was explaining to Jake how I missed them when I was busy with homework, and that it would get better. Jake said, "Yeah, in 2009." Ouch! While it was a little funny, it was a profoundly painful statement to hear. Yes, I am neglecting my family so that I can continue my education. I am negliecting my family and the end is two very long years away. When I said it would get better, I meant that at the end of the semester, I would have more time. How can I come up with more time? There just are no more hours in the day.

Ahhhhhhhh.....

That is the sound of me sitting down on our couch. Why is that such a big deal, you ask? Two reasons:

1. This has been the busiest spring break on record. Friday night our dear friends, the Jensen family an Dale, joined us for a weekend of fun. The Jensens have two boys, so it was just like one big slumber party. However, I was gone all day on Satuday for seminar for my masters program, so I missed part of the fun. After they left on Sunday, the boys and I packed up for a few days at Grandma and Grandpa Hogan's house. Well, they were staying there while I ran all over the Chicago area observing various deaf and hard of hearing programs as part of my masters program. While I really got a lot out of it, I was absolutely beat by the time we finally arrived back home on Tuesday night. Wednesday and Thursday brought more observations, this time in town. Thursday afternoon and evening was taken up with a meeting and class at ISU. So, here we are on Friday...the first day I've actually had free. Naturally, I have a bad head cold and can't really enjoy it, but I am resting none the less.

2. Our almost-brand-new couch and chair had to be taken back in for repair. The company picked them up on Monday to replace the cushions, which were already beginning to break down after only a few month's wear. They finally delivered them today, all puffy and comfy. After the busy, exhausting week, and only having folding chairs to sit on, I am so happy to have my couch and recliner back. I may not get up for a long, long time.

Basket Case

So, I stole this title from Alan's blog, but it fits the picture. He posted a picture of his young daughter Alice sitting in a clothes basket, playing with a doll. I had just taken this picture of Jake days before. Here he is, in his own clothes basket, devouring yet another Judy Bloom book from the Fudge series....

Copied from another blog....

I got these prompts from another blog on the ring, so I thought I'd share my answers....

1. ) Five Minutes to Myself. How would I spend them? Sleeping

2) Five dollars to spend right now. How would I spend it? iTunes....for my new iPod

3) Five Items In My House I Could Part With Right Now? this is a hard one, since I tend to throw things out pretty easily....1. old pots and pans from my old set. 2. rugs in my bedroom, I think they need replaced. 3. flowers on my hutch...I'd like to replace those too. 4. valances in kitchen and dining room, I'd like to replace those too....wait, I am seeing a trend here.... 5. all of the mcdonalds toys the boys ahve accumulated

4) Five Items In My House I Could Absolutely Never Part With? 1. scrapbooks 2. laptop 3. the boys' baby pictures 4. our wedding pictures 5. my palm pilot

5) Five Words I Love 1. love 2. Jesus 3. grace (the concept, not the dog, LOL!) 4. spring 5. Spring-Break

Parent Teacher Conferences

Last Thursdayand Friday was parent/teacher conferences for the boys. We met with the boys' teachers Thursday before I had to practically fly to Normal for my midterm (see below). Both boys received an excellent report from their teachers. While DH and I both know they are great kids, it's always nice to hear it from someone else.

Due to conferences, the boys did not have school either Thursday or Friday. Friday was easy, DH was off work. Friday was a different story. We went out on a limb and decided to allow the boys stay with Anwen, the older sister of Josh's best friend. She has babysat for them before, but never for the whole day, and never when Jack (her brother and Josh's best friend) was around. All three boys are terrific kids, but the more boys you get together, their orneriness multiplies exponentially. So, after a long lecture with the goal of putting the fear of God (or the fear of Mom, whichever is worse), we decided to give it a try. Thursday evening, Jack's mom called to ask if a mutual friend could take the whole gang to the Engineering Open House at the University of Illinois. So, this brave dad and Anwen took 6 boys out for quite a day. A link to his blog and the whole story is below:

http://order-horizon.net/


And, as mentioned before, I had a midterm on Thursday night. Let's just say that it was NOT the highlight of my week. As a way to ease the sting left fromt the test, I stopped by the mall to pick up my new Disney Crocs.....too cute!

Great Conference!

Thanks to everyone who helped out, I was able to completely enjoy the ITHI conference. It is so refreshing to spend time with like-minded professionals, learning new techniques. I always head back to school rejuvenated after a good conference. I am actually looking forward to work on Monday.

Upcoming conference

OK, boring title, I know, but I am pressed for time. See, I put in to go to a conference over a month ago. The conference is this coming Friday and Saturday. When did they finally tell me I could go? TODAY! Not like I needed any time to make hotel reservations, make arrangements for the kids, etc.

So, that left me scrambling to get DH to change his work schedule (thanks Rebecca!), find someone to take the kids ot school on Friday (thanks to Sandy at the Before Care Program), someone to watch the boys Saturday afternoon AND take them to a birthday party (thanks Christy!) and a place to stay Thursday and Friday nights (thanks Suzanne and Scott). Believe it or not, I was able to get it all arranged pretty fast. Once again, God was on my side :)

So, on Thursday, I will leave work to go to class, then will head to Suzanne's house. They live only about 15 miles from the conference center, so that is saving me from paying for the hotel. I get back Saturday in time to give the kids dinner. Bye!

Finally, a birthday party for Josh

OK, so if you remember, we had planned to have Josh's birthday party on Feb. 4th. Jake got sick, so we had to postpone it a week. Then, Josh and DH got sick, so we put it off two weeks. Finally, today was the day. Josh had not been himself for several days....lethargic, complaining of being cold and tired, not eating. DH and I were pretty concerned, since he was not what you would consider typically sick. We are concerned that it was something more serious. So, when he tried ot eat this morning but threw up immediately, we decided that we should take him to the doctor. DH took him to Convenient Care while I took Jake with me to church (I had to interpret, so I couldn't go with them). The doctor there said that they could not do blood work and that possibly he just had a virus (why do doctors always say that?) So, if we wanted blood work done, we'd have to wait till Monday and take him to his pediatrician. Since neither of us believed he was sick in a traditional (contagious) sense, we decided to go ahead with the party.

Josh really perked up during the party. For the first time since Thursday, he had color in his cheeks and actually ate a little bit of cake. He continued to feel fine all evening, so we are cautiously optimistic that he is on the mend. He ate dinner, his first meal since lunch on Friday. What a relief! He is already a really thin kiddo, so he can't afford to lose any more weight.

On another topic, Jake got a Webkinz for Valentine's Day. Josh was enjoying playing with Jake's on line monkey that I suggested to one of the moms who asked what he wanted for his birthday that Josh would like one as a gift. He got a dog (who he named Bob) and has already logged on to set up his room. Thanks to the ladies on SBA (specifically focadima (Lisa)) who first told me about Webkinz!

Check out their site:
http://www.webkinz.com/

My birthday present...

One month after my birthday, I was finally able to enjoy my gift from DH and the boys. My gift was two tickets to Mark Schultz' "Broken and Beautiful" concert. David Klinkenberg, a fiddler, started off the evening, followed by the opening act, Big Daddy Weave. Then, after a short intermission, Mark took the stage. He was incredible!!! I enjoyed the evening even more than I had anticipated. He was suffering from a cold, which made it hard for him to sing, but his voice was still awesome, in spite of it. Tears poured from my eyes during several of his ballads. I just can't seem to find the words to describe it all.

here is a link to his site....

http://www.markschultzmusic.com/

Enjoy!

Ten foods I hate...

Got this prompt from another blog....

10 foods I hate:

1. Tomatoes- I like tomato products, like catsup and spaghetti sauce,but don't ask me to eat an actual piece of tomato.....reminds me of an autopsy!
2. Mushroom- they're fungus, nuff said
3. oyseters- too slimy
4. mayonaise
5.potato/macaroni salad- when it is made with mayonaise
6. tuna- can't stand the smell
7. liver
8. beets
9, pickled pigs feet- used to make me nauseous to watch my mom eat those
10. okra

Don't eat yellow snow!

For once, the weather reporters weren't kidding. Everytime I hear that there will be a snow storm, I laugh because it never results in more than a dusting. This time, we got over a foot of snow. Naturally, it happens when DH is down with a strained back and can't help with the shovelling. The results were two snow days for the boys, three for me, and lots of fun for Gracie. She loves snow, and watching her helps define the word "frolic". She definately frolics in the snow!!

I think the flu is finally gone!

Wow! after Jake recovered from the flu, DH got it. He missed almost a week of work. Well, not all of that was from the flu itself. A side effect of all of the coughing was a strained muscle in his back, which resulted in a strained back muscle, an ER visit, and some muscle relaxers. He's finally feeling better, what a relief!

Oh, and poor Josh still hasn't had his birthday party :( He started running a fever on Saturday, and we decided to postpone again. We are trying for this Sunday (3 weeks from the original date).

Oh, and, as Jack (Josh's best friend) said when I told his mom that Josh was sick, too, "and Deborah is the last one standing!" I did not get the flu!

Mother-Son dance

Josh and I had a wonderful time at our 7th annual Mother-Son Dance put on by the Urbana Park District. What about Jake, you ask? Well, he was home sick with daddy. This is the second dance he has missed :( He threw up Friday morning (good thing there was no school--DH was already staying home with the boys). Then, by the time I got home Friday, he was running a moderate fever. He felt a bit better Saturday, due to ibuprofen. But, he was still running a 102 degree temperature this morning. So, not only did he miss the dance, we had to postpone Josh's birthday party and cancel our get-together for the Superbowl. Josh was pretty disappointed, but understood that locking his sick brother in his room so that his friends could come over really wasn't appropriate.

So, for the Superbowl, we watched the Bears lose :( as we munched and snuggled on the couch. Hopefully, Jake's fever will break soon and he'll be back to his ornery old self.

Ever have someone pee inyour cheerios?

Well, not literally. I heard this phrase somewhere. I think it is something like raining on your parade. Well, after the kind of day I have had...someone did more than pee in my cheerios...they took a big ol' dump in them!

First, I had to get up and wrap Josh's birthday presents AND type a letter of support for work. Let's just say that I do not have extra time built into my mornings to allow for this kind of extra stuff. That, along with the cold that smacks you inthe face when you leave the house does not make for a good beginning to the day. I did not have time to pack my lunch....keep this in mind. It is important later.

Next, I get to school and get started with my day. At 9:30, I am told that have to prepare paperwork for a 3:20 meeting...ACK! My class leaves at 11:10, I have a staff meeting at 11:20-11:30, a 30 minute lunch, then the next class arrives. Add an itinerant student on top of that, and you get no time to complete the paperwork! Remember that lunch I didn't pack? Well, that means I have to come up with something else. So, I tell my student teacher to skip the staff meeting to go get my lunch. I scarfed down a cheeseburger while going through files to prepare the paperwork.

So, I sit down to complete the paperwork. The laptop computer that my co-teacher and I have the share (which is a whole different gripe all together) is not working, so I track down a computer in the library to use. When I try to log into the file I need, someone else is on it. So, I have no time, and no access to complete the paperwork. I was so frustrated since everyone else had weeks to prepare their paperwork, and since they left it till the last minute and I couldn't get it done.

So, we have the meeting. It lasts almost 2 hours, which brings us to 5:20 p.m. Tonight is when we have been planning to go out to celebrate Josh's birthday, since I have class on his actual birthday. So, now I am running late, stressed out, and pissed off.

As I am getting my papers ready to leave the meeting, I extend one more pleasantry to the mother of the little girl we were meeting about. She says, "Some of her therapists have told me about you....they say you're the best teacher around." She just ruined a perfectly pissy mood, LOL!

Then, I pick up the boys at school and run into both of their teachers, who confirm that my boys are pretty cool kids. We went to Steak and Shake for dinner then came home to open presents. Josh loved his gifts and was too cute when he would say "sweeeeeeet" after he opened each one.

So, I guess now that I have finished my homework and paperwork for school, I will have to suck it up and admit that all in all, it wasn't such a bad day after all!

FOUND MY PALM PILOT!!!!!!!

WOW! I am SO happy! I love my palm pilot...I live by it. It ended up missing during Christmas break. I was so unhappy. I have still been using the computer based calendar and printing it, but miss my palm. I was actually considering buying a new one if I ended up with enough birthday money. Now, I won't have to! I was sure that the last time I used it was while sitting in the recliner. I had checked in, under and around the chair, with no luck. Today, I was cleaning and happened to look under the chair again...there it was, laying on the floor. It is really scratched up on the back, but it still works! My baby has come home again! Now I just need to find my stylus.....

OK, on to other things......

Here are my boys at their basketball game--which they WON! 17-13 :)




Here is Jake.....










And here is Josh.....



I love to watch them play. Josh is such a good athlete and really has a good head for the game (any game, for that matter). He is very sweet, helping Jake and the other young players to know what to do on the court. Jake is really trying hard. He is usually the smallest kid on the court, but he is getting really good at setting picks and running plays.

Today is better...

Since I decided to stay home from work. My head is throbbing, my throat hurts, and I am ready to curl up in a ball. So, I will do nothing today and hope I feel better tomorrow. At least I can avoid interacting with others, which will decrease the chance that my cruddy attitude will offend someone.

GRRRRRRRR!

I am in a BAD mood! I have a headache; I had to go to class tonight (which means a 2+ hour round trip); the professor spent an hour and 15 minutes reading the syllabus to us (I can read, you know!); then she made us do an ice breaker (I HATE those stupid things!); I'm all crampy and bloated; Jake came home from school sick today (DH was home, so he took care of him, but I HATE it when my kids are sick). GRRRRRR!

OK, thanks for listening....back to regularly scheduled programming.

My student hat is coming out of short-term storage

I start back to class tomorrow night. Last semester, I was nervous, like a little kid on the day before school starts. This semester, however, I am just dreading all of the work, driving, and loss time with the family. Tonight was so wonderful, with my boys curled up onthe couch with me. We were watching the Illini game, but it didn't matter to me what was on TV. All that mattered was that my boys wanted to be with me :) Now, with classes starting, that is less time to spend with them :(

Jake is fighting a head cold. He is stuffy and has a red nose from blowing it all day. He is sleeping fine, so hopefully it will not interfere with his day too much.

Josh is excited about his upcoming birthday. I can't believe that he will be ten years old! I hate that they are growing up, but they are turning out to be such wonderful boys. That makes it a little less painful.

With such a long day ahead tomorrow, I should head to bed. I stayed awake last night sorting scrapbook paper until almost midnight (guess I forgot to mention the huge sale at Hobby Lobby, LOL!) and had a hard time getting up this morning. Goodnight everyone.

Cyber Crop...among other things....

A huge thanks to Kathy M at Scrapbook Addict for hosting a Cyber Crop this past weekend. With the motivation from all of the scrappers involved, I completed 3 more layouts for our Disney album. I really liked all of the challenges....helped me to think "outside the box". See the slide show above for my layouts. Here is a link to SBA: http://www.scrappertalk.com/bbs/index.php

The boys had their first basketball game on Saturday. It was awesome! The score was pretty close in the first half, but the opposing team began to pull ahead in the 3rd quarter. Our team rallied in the 4th and tied the game 18-18. At this age, there is no overtime, since there are other games immediately following ours. Both boys played really well, and I had a great time watching.

OK, so life is not very exciting right now. Darn dishwasher acted up again today, but it required the same intervention. If it happens again....I am calling the repair man. Yep, life's really exciting when I am writing my second post about the diswasher, LOL!

Back to the old grind....

Last Wednesday, the boys and I headed back ot school. I think Jake was the most excited...he even thanked God for school so he could see his friends again. While it was only a three day week for us, it seemed so long. This week will seem like it lasts forever, since we go all five days.

After church today, I was trying to clean up the kitchen. I started the dishwasher, but it did not fill with water. Dang! Last thing I need is a broken dishwasher. It is not even two years old, so I knew it could be fixed. Stubborn mule that I am, I decided to check it out myself. After checking through the manual, I tried a few different things. Finally, I decided to "clear out" the control panel by shutting off the power for thirty seconds. When I turned the power back on....WOW! It worked! I am woman...hear me roar!!!!

Since I have been scrapping a lot, I am going to attempt to set up a slide show like I have seen on other blogs. Sounds like a fun way to spend the afternoon.