Weekend Recap

I got a 90% on my first exam in A&P. I feel good about that. So far I have an A in Sociology which I am taking online. We are just starting to get into learning all the bones and I have been drawing like mad in my lab notebook to get ready for Friday's lab. The homework never ends. But I do enjoy it, much to Joe's dismay. He thinks doing homework sounds terrible. I have always loved being in school. I love the challenge. I actually like lab this semester, which amazes me. Of course, we haven't started dissecting yet so my opinion might change. :)
I am busy busy with school, sign language class and property management but I feel like it is doable. I am very relieved the Mary Pearl workshop is over. It was wonderful and I am glad I was a part of it but I am very glad that service work is finished. My favorite thing she said is "manipulation and retaliation are like masturbation, you only screw yourself!". I thought it was so funny and very true. She is a wonderful speaker and she reminded me of Nana so I was especially appreciating that as it made me think of Nana a lot.
Joe leaves tomorrow for two weeks. He will be just outside of Atlanta. We are struggling to rent our condo there and our tenants on the Island still haven't paid there rent. I think I am just too busy to be alarmed. But it is a bit nerve wracking. Being a landlord, from 2600 miles away is not easy or fun. I am just focusing on what I can do today.
Talan has a new thing that he does. He says "blue sky" in the mornings when I open his blinds. Yesterday, he said "no blue sky". It was grey and raining. So we talked about grey skies and rain. This morning he said "blue sky no rain". Which was true although it rained later. At night he says "no blue sky". And we tell him "black sky, time for bed". It is a cute ritual. He is talking so much more.
Joe and I have been through a marathon of Prison Break, finishing the third season tonight. I will not watch an ounce of TV while he is away. I will need to be very focused and diligent with work and school and the boys. Talan is going to a preschool on Wednesdays for a couple of hours so that I can get some serious homework done. I have Missy watching the boys while I am teaching sign language and Kristen watching Talan on Fridays while I am at school. Lots of money being spent on babysitting. Essentially all I earn goes towards that. But, its worth it. When I am out of nursing school in two plus years time, we will have a lot more options. Maybe Joe will be a stay-at-home dad! He likes that idea! :)

Catching up with the blog

I have been so busy I haven't blogged in ages. My parents have come and gone. They were here for 4 days and it was a wonderful visit. We had some nice outings, one to Greenbluff visiting an apple farm and one to Sandpoint to explore the town on foot. My neighbor Missy was awesome and babysat the boys each night so we could have dinner in peace! :) Luxury! It was nice to see them and the boys loved their gifts: a mini trampoline and a huge wooden marble run that we change shapes daily. Talan is jumping on the trampoline as I write this. It has literally provided HOURS of entertainment.

Today Talan had his first day in daycare. For $30 he can be there all day. I had him there from 8:30am until he woke up from his nap at 3pm. Mason is in school today from 9am until 1:30pm as he has a half hour exercise class after school on Wednesdays. I figured this would be a perfect day to do some much needed homework. I got a lot done but not everything that I needed to finish. I primarily focused on Sociology which is so interesting. I am pleasantly surprised how much I like the class. It is about 5 hours of work a week which really isn't too bad considering it is 3 units. Anatomy and Physiology is 4 units and it takes about 20 hours a week (3 hours lecture, 3 hours lab and tons of prep and study time). I have my first A&P exam Friday after my morning lab so I have been focused on that.

Yesterday I started teaching a sign language class at the Post Falls Rec Center. I have 4 students: all boys although really I am teaching the moms. One of the moms is from my Love and Logic class so that made it really easy to get comfortable. It was a good class and while I am a little preoccupied with school I will give it my best shot as they deserve my undivided attention.

Mason seems to be doing well in school. Teacher Pam is pleasantly surprised. She can't believe how much he has changed. That feels good. Although he did get in trouble on Monday for strangling a little friend while waiting in line for recess. Today when I asked him if he had a good day he said "yep, and I didn't strangle anyone". LOL

Joe has started the prep to paint our duplex. We are painting it mushroom, with cream trim and eggplant facia and doors. I am very excited. I am very tired of our prison grey-blue house. I did run it by Megan and she approved. That is comforting.

I have been doing tons of service work for Al-Anon for this weekends upcoming workshop so, while I am looking forward to it, I will be relieved when it is over. I just have a really full plate right now. It is a definite balancing act.

Joe and I have gotten into a rhythm of watching one or two episodes of TV at night after the boys have gone to bed. We finished Big Love. We started Season 3 of Prison Break but the volume we need next is checked out. So last night we started Weeds. We watched two episodes. I am not sure what to think. We are giving it another go tonight. We have the Office as a backup but Joe isn't too interested in it right off the bat. I can't wait for more Lost. I feel a bit like a TV junky but it is a nice way to unwind and spend time together. Usually there isn't a lot of things we both enjoy watching as Joe is such a realty TV fan and I am not.

A New Playground in our Neighborhood

Just at the end of our road, past Barclay's house, is the Kiwani Park which sits along the Spokane River. They just unveiled a new playground this week which is awesome. We explored it today with Missy and Mason Paul. It was a three hour outing! Only because we walk incredibly slowly, hunting for crickets the entire way (both ways). We loved the playground but we loved being in the river more. And you'll see, that by the end we were naked and loving it! Mason walked home totally naked except his crocs. MP borrowed a diaper otherwise he would have been too. Talan had dry clothes so he was not naked. We got some looks but oh well. They had so much fun. And Missy and I did too. I took over a hundred photos today but I have edited them down to about 58. Obviously not all of them will be in here but you'll get the idea.

Morning Walk

Mason slept a record 13 hours last night. He fell asleep yesterday at 6pm after not having napped all day. I carted him over asleep to Missy's house so that she could watch the boys while I went to a speaker meeting. When I came back at 8:30pm he was still asleep having been moved once to a different bed. I grabbed him, put him in the car and drove home. I put him in his bed and he stayed asleep. At some point in the night he crawled into my bed but didn't wake me up until 7am. Amazing! I guess he was either really sleep deprived or going through a growth spurt or both.

With all that sleep I thought it would be best to go outside a let out some energy. We took an hour and a half stroll through our neighborhood, stopping by Missy's for 10 minutes, and then we walked towards Aunt B's house. We saw the kitty Sassy who is a Guiness look-alike. She was friendly but the kids chased her so much that she finally took off. We collected goodies for our color box and then we tried to stop by Dakota's house. He wasn't home but there were some cool cars and toys in the parking lot which we played with for a bit. Of course, no walk is complete without capturing a half dozen crickets. :)