I Sincerely Apologize

I have severely neglected this blog.  And for that, I apologize.  I could tell you that I have been soooo busy with school, that work has been taking all my time, that Katy has entered the terrible twos early, and while that's all true, that's not the reason I haven't blogged.

Truthfully, I never really felt like writing.  I didn't have anything to say.  I couldn't think of anything creative, unique, funny, interesting.

But I've been feeling the tug lately.  The blog has been beckoning me.

I don't want to give you one HUGE entry updating you on everything.  Who wants to read page after page of what's been going on in my life?

Instead, I plan on starting fresh, pretending (almost) as if I never left.  I may do an update here or there, but mostly so we're on the same page.  So really, only if it pertains to a specific post.  Know what I mean?

So, while we have a lot of exciting stuff going on in our lives here, I'll try to keep myself focus.  Bear with me?

How precious is this?!

I think you can in Europe ...

10 points to the person who can identify the movie.  Of course, points won't get you anything.  Besides bragging rights, I suppose.

I realize it has been a very long time since I have posted.  And I apologize for that.  But I have been crazy overwhelmed.  Like whoa.

Between working part-time, going to school full-time, and taking care of Katy and Mike (yes, hubbies need to be taken care of, too), I am exhausted.

The good news is that my express class will be finished as of about 11am on Friday.  That's when I should be done with my final exam.  I am incredibly stoked about this.  Beyond stoked, even.  Ecstatic.  Joyful.  Beyond description (even though I kind of just described it - but those words simply do not do the feeling justice).

The bad news is that I think I may end up with a B.  Oh, boo hoo, a B.  You know what "B" stands for?  Big Baby.


Yes, I know.  A B certainly is not bad.  However, it mars my 4.0 GPA.  And I suppose I can deal with that.  But it's a disappointment.  I was hoping that I could maintain my 4.0 so I could get into a great 4-year without any trouble at all.  I still don't think I'll have trouble, but a B casts a shadow of a doubt.  And I don't want people to doubt me.

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In other news, we have some exciting prospects on the horizon.  For one, I'm beginning a new blog.

Whoa, what?  You can hardly keep up with this one!

Yes, BUT the new one will be treated much more like a job because, well, I'm hoping it will help me get one.  

I've always wanted to be a writer.  I write a little bit (short stories, beginnings of novels - seriously, I think I've started like 20 novels in the last 5 years), but I want to make writing more than just something I'm taking a stab at.  I want it to be what I do (besides be a teacher, of course).  So this blog is going to be writing exercises and short stories and whatnot.  (Of course, if you follow this blog fairly well, you already saw one writing exercise - that was before I realized I shouldn't integrate the themes of the two blogs).

So watch for a post about that blog - of course, you could theoretically head over there now, but I don't recommend it.  You won't be impressed.

Exciting news number two is that Mike and I are toying with the idea of me quitting work.  It is something we have been praying about and, if you're the praying kind, something that I'd like to request that you pray about as well.  We don't really know if I should quit, but it's something that's up in the air.  The main reason being that between everything that I'm doing, there's bound to eventually be some failure somewhere, especially once school becomes quite serious.  And, in all honesty, the two areas that I refuse to fail are with Katy and with school.  Work is simply work.  It puts a little extra money in the bank account, but really, that's about all it does.  Some days I feel like it's sucking my soul straight out of me.  Other days I quite enjoy it.  So that's on the table as well.

Aaaand I think that's about all I have for you today!

I'll leave you with these totes adorable pictures of Miss Katy!

 Someone needs a haircut, no?

Rockin' on her dinosaur - that she rides around on backwards.

Throat Slasher

Yesterday, something horrific happened.  I cannot believe the tragedy.  I'm still in shock today.

Deep breath, Chrissy, you can get through this.










I slit my throat.





On a bagel.




Don't laugh at me!  Okay, you can laugh.  After all, I did.  Once the sheer terror of a scratched esophagus left me and I began begging people at work for something to numb my throat.

When one coworker in particular shied away from me thinking I was sick (she's a slight germaphobe, that one), I had to explain that I was not, indeed, sick, but rather had scratched my throat on my breakfast.

The embarassing part was the bagel.  Who scratches their throat on a bagel?!

As Gracie said, only me.

Weekend Warriors!

Head on over to Living on Trees, grab the link from Joy, and let the world know how you're a Weekend Warrior!

This weekend is a sad one.  It's my last weekend before school starts, so I'm hoping to get all out of it that I can.

• This morning will be a finger-painting session for my little girl.  I can't say baby anymore.  She turned into a little girl this week.  She's finding her own sense of style, exclaiming that "Daddy's still sleeping," and yelling at the cat.  We're going to throw on an old t-shirt, head out into the driveway with our finger paints and paper and do a little artwork.  I'm hoping to get some great pictures of her first "studio" time.
• Tonight is dinner at the in-laws.  More than anything, I'm pretty excited to not have to cook tonight!  And, of course, Katie will have a blast over at YaYa's.
• Tomorrow, I need to work.  BUT this means a Katie-Daddy day!  Then it's perhaps off to church.
• Finally, Sunday is all ours.  We have no obligations, nothing we absolutely need to do.  We can do whatever we want.  Maybe we'll head to the zoo or find a nice, big park.

What are you up to this weekend?

Funkadelic!!!

I've always said that I want my children to be comfortable wearing whatever clothes they want.  I want them to find their own sense of style, whether it be wearing head-to-toe leather (as long as I don't have to buy it firsthand, leather is expensive!) or funky colors and mismatched leggings or a knit hat in the middle of summer.

I think I may have gotten my wish.  For the last two days, my darling 19-month-old has insisted on wearing "a haht mama!"

She wore it all day yesterday and, after waking up at 6:25am (oy, baby, mommy's tired!), she ran out to the living room, found her "haht" and immediately threw it on.  She's been wearing it inside out, flopped into her face, backwards, with the frilly brim flipped upward.  You name it, she's worn it that way.

It is 100% adorable.  It makes me excited to what she's going to choose to wear when she's 5. :)

My Katie

With the last week of summer break upon me, I'm becoming increasingly aware of how much my baby girl has grown this summer.  She is now 19 months and I swear she's going on 19 years.

She terrorizes the cat, laughs when you smack her hand, screeches when she doesn't get her way, yells for her blankie, and cries when we leave YaYa's house.  In all those ways, and more, she's clearly hitting her terrible twos.

But along with those, wonderful traits have developed.  Actual phrases are now being used.  Possessions are being noted.

Yesterday, Starbuck (the new kitty) started batting around some food that Katie dropped on the floor.  Miss Mae looked right at her, shook her finger and said "BuckBuck!  NO!"  It was SO cute, I couldn't help but smile.

But my absolute favorite is her addition of "my" to everything.  My kitty.  My dinner.  My milk.  And, of course, my favorite: my mommy.  She's not doing it in a bratty kind of way - it's more of a sweetness, a sprinkling of Katie Mae sugar over everything.  She's letting everyone know that these things belong to her and are loved by her.

How absolutely amazing is this face?!

Eating her newly acquired taste - cold grilled cheese.  Would you look at those curls?!

I realize that these sweet possessives won't remain sweet forever.  In just a few weeks or months, it will turn into a bratty "MINE!", but until that time, I'm just going to sit back and enjoy every moment of being her mommy.

School of Dreams

This morning started out lovely.  And it has progressively gotten worse.

I really don't like to complain in my blog - I prefer it to be a happy place, full of nice thoughts and whimsy.

Unfortunately, today is not a "whimsy" kind of day.  And at the top of my list to complain about?  School. Not school in general, mind you.  I love school.  I love going to school, learning, helping other students to grasp the subject matter.  I love pushing myself to my limits.

Apparently, so does my school.  For those of you who don't know, I go to community college.  "School of dreams" as my husband likes to call it.  Normally, I have no problems with this school.

However, all that is changing with this semester.  First, they tried to force me to take a class that I took in 8th grade.  That's right, folks, 8th freaking grade.  Luckily, I tested out of it and proved them all wrong.  Things were looking up!  This semester was going to be difficult, but worth it.  A heavy workload this semester means a much, MUCH lighter workload next semester, which is also my last at this school.

I noticed a few days ago that my financial aid award letter still had not come.  So I checked my student portal.  "Your financial aid package cannot be completed.  Please contact your financial aid advisor for further instructions."  Awesome.

Let me break this down for you:

• I submitted my FAFSA in February.  Immediately after completing my taxes.
• I submitted the household verification worksheet that is required by my school in March.
• I submitted in my (requested) proof of Illinois residence in May.
• I re-submitted the household verification worksheet along with the (requested) "Untaxed Income Worksheet" in July.

There should be no reason why my financial aid package cannot be completed.  Oh, but wait - THERE'S MORE!  I called my financial aid advisor today.  She informed me that I needed to bring in my W-2 from 2010, along with Mike's.  That's all well and good, but why?  I didn't need that last year!  "You've been selected for verification.  We need additional proof of you income from last year."  Well, thanks for letting me know!  I am currently registered for 5 classes that comes to $1900, PLUS I have books that are totalling at least $400, if I get them USED!  Oh, and all this is due in less than two weeks.

Props to you, Triton, for looking out for your students.  It looks like I may be paying out of pocket for my tuition and praying for reimbursement.

I am NOT a happy camper.