'Twas the Night Before the End of the Semester

*35 books read for my 3 classes

*30 academic articles

*15 books consulted for papers

*20 2 page papers

*10 3-5 page papers

*150 student exams graded

*1 10 page research paper

*1 20 page historiography paper

*Brain full of new theories and the occasional weight of the world on my shoulders when I dwell too much on the negative aspects of what I am learning and the intellectual responsibility I feel.

My first semester of my history grad program ends tomorrow and I am thrilled to have a month off! If you would have asked me how things were going in October I would have told you they were not going well to say the least. It was so hard to go back to school after a 6 year break. Doing homework every night instead of lying around watching TV or reading for pleasure was a major change in my life. Writing papers (3 per week on the 3 books per week) really taxed my rusty writing skills, and my initial grades were not to my liking. My advisor, and teacher of 2 out of my 3 classes was giving me Bs and B+s and I was freaking out.

But as I am literally writing my last page and half of my final 20 page paper (due tomorrow) I am reflecting on how happy I am now that I am back in school. I really needed something else in my life; another outlet. I complain all the time about my workload but I honestly feel so much better about myself now. I finally got an A+ out of my grades-way-too-hard advisor, I have a thesis topic in mind, I LOVE class discussions, I finally feel like I know how to approach my homework, and I even have more history nerd friends now so I can talk about post-modern, new social history, and structural racism to my hearts content. I even got to read another book about the Dust Bowl.

I could not have made through one week of school without Joe supporting me around the house and with the kids. I also could not have done it without my mom who had a couple of "Grandma days" with Hayes and Madison during the week so that I could go to class. I also am amazed about how well the mom/student life is going. At the beginning of the year my dad gave me a blessing telling me that the time I devoted to school would be productive, and one day it hit me that this truly happened. I finished a lot of my homework in a shorter amount of time than my single, childless classmates, and got the same or better grades. This was definitely a blessing beyond my own abilities because I am definitely not that smart.

As an undergrad I would be really stressed right now because I have all this work to do to finish up for tomorrow, but right now I feel really blessed to have found a career (in the loosest sense of the word) that I love and the opportunity to pursue it!

All right, now I need to finish my paper.

*Snow Day*

Hooray! None of us had school today (except Joe). I was going to spend all afternoon reading 15 articles for class tonight and thankfully it is the end of the semester so we don't have to make them up! It has been snowing like crazy here. After Thanksgiving in Sandpoint it feels like it has been snowing almost all day, every day. We had some fun this afternoon making a snowman and playing in the snow. I will not be sad if there is no school tomorrow either.

Birthday Boy

Joe's birthday is today...and lucky for him he is spending it at the hospital on a 30 hour shift. So, the least we can do is give him a little blog shout-out.

I have been thinking lately how lucky I am to have him around. Here is a list of things that he has done lately to make me like him.

1. He cleaned out the microwave..2 times.

2. He rents chick-flicks I have wanted to see even though he hates them.

3. He makes dinner more than I do lately, and is probably the better cook.

4. He does most of the grocery shopping; a chore I detest.

5. He always takes the kids to do fun things so that I can get my homework done.

6. He makes me hot chocolate (my favorite) when I am cold.

7. He is thoughtful, fun, and supportive.

We'll keep him! Thanks sweet-ums, have a happy birthday...at the hospital!

Thanksgiving

This year we went to Sandpoint, Idaho at my aunt and uncle's house. We had such a great time. It snowed the entire time and it was so pretty.

We had an awesome time catching up with the family. We had a gingerbread house building contest Thursday night that was super fun. We all came out with some kind of prize.

Last night we went on a sleigh ride through the woods in the snow. We sang carols and finished at the lodge where we had dinner together.

Little Tough Guy

Last night Hayes slipped and fell, breaking his elbow.

We went to an orthopedic surgeon today who set him up in a awesome Bronco Blue and Orange cast! He is probably going to have to wear it for four weeks along with a sling. We have to keep going back to get x-rays because if it doesn't set right he will have to have surgery to have pins inserted or have it re-broken.

He has been so good (and is on liquid Vicodin...which may be why). He hasn't complained at all. Yesterday, a couple of hours before the accident he said "Mom, when I grow up I don't want to be a wuss." I think we can say for sure that he is not going to be a wuss!

Toad for Sale...

Things Hayes has done in the last month to totally drive me nuts:

• Washes his toy trucks when we think he is in bed sleeping with his water bottle...and hand soap...on the carpet.
• Pour grape cough syrup into his lotion.
• Pour grape cough syrup into Madison's hair spray bottle (only discovered this one after I sprayed her with a fine grape mist).
• Dumped an ENTIRE bottle of shampoo into the bathtub to create a bubble bath.
• Turned off the water heater and the pilot light (discovered after a particularly cold shower).
• Coated his clothes hanger's hooks with lotion, and then hanged them back up in his closet.
• Absconded with all of my make-up, which we discovered under his pillow in a pile while he was sleeping.
• Put Madison's tooth brush inside a huge bottle of hand sanitizer, which we had to fish out.
• Squeezed a ton of toothpaste into a bathroom cup.
• Spilled syrup all over the kitchen floor.
• Opened his own Capri Sun all over the kitchen counter and floor.

Things Hayes has said to redeem himself:

• "Mom did you sew my name in the bottom of my socks?" (HANES)
• "Mom I want to snuggle with you."
• "Mom is my girlfriend."
• "Mom, why do I have such cute cheeks?"

Blue Halloween

Halloween came faster than I was planning this year. We did have some fun activities this time! We did a trunk or treat at the church, and went to my Uncle Jan's house Sunday night for scones and hot chocolate. Madison was a cheerleader and Hayes was an "oil changer," or a member of the pit crew.