My daughter, the international ambassador

So we went to visit my mom Monday night. They now live just down the street from a community park that the kids just love. She also lives a few doors down from a co-worker. This co-worker I have known for a few years; she is originally from Russia and her brother just arrived with his family a few weeks ago and they are staying with her. We pass by their house on the way to my mom's and someone is usually outside to wave at.
Anyway, Monday night we walk down to the park and we see the family from Russia there letting the kids play and ride their bikes. Eventually the young girl comes over to the swings where my daughter is. My child is quite chatty and immediately strikes up a conversation with this little girl. When the girl doesn't answer her, she looks to her grandpa and he says, "She doesn't speak English, honey." Not to worry...my kid knows what to do! She turns to the little girl, smiles and says, "Hola!"

Happy holiday???

Last week, I was very much looking forward to the three day Memorial weekend. My 4 year old had her preschool graduation last Thursday night and we were going to just relax, enjoy some family time and go to a BBQ on Sunday...some much needed R&R.
The graduation went well...it's all on video. All these little kids in their adorable little red caps and gowns, singing their little songs, doing their little motions. The whole thing totally overwhelmed me as I sat there thinking about how big my baby had become and how we are closing a chapter in her life with us and beginning the new and exciting venture of the school years. She looked so small and yet so big up there, all at the same time.
Okay, that was Thursday...what we didn't know was that the "fun" had just begun! That night my poor baby got sick with a stomach bug of some sort and spent the next 30 hours of her life vomiting and dehydrating. I thought we were out of the woods on Saturday morning, but sadly after a few sips of water and a soda cracker, we were back to square one. We ended up taking her to the emergency room, where I knew they would want to give her IV fluids. What I didn't know, or think about, was that she would end up with low blood sugar and electrolyte levels and that we would spend the next two days of our lives in the hospital! We were able to take her home Sunday night and she is definitely back to her normal self, appetite aside.
All I can say is thank goodness for the three day weekend! We actually managed to enjoy our Monday with good food, good company and good/abnormal weather!

Spring cleaning...

...in the summer?!
Better late than never I guess. I was a tad preoccupied this spring and the cleaning just never got done. ( I was hoping for fairies...but they never came...sad. )
If anyone has a great spring cleaning tip, I welcome it wholeheartedly.
We have too much stuff still and clutter and dust are friends, so I need to rid us of the clutter once again. I think my husband wants to live in an empty house right now, but I need to walk in the door and feel like I'm in a home, not a house. I want a homey feel - a lived in, family atmosphere.
Hopefully I can come to a happy compromise between stark and sterile, and over cluttered. Wish me luck!

Mintie

I just got my first MP3 player as a graduation gift from my wonderful husband! It's the mint green nano video ipod. It's so cute! The picture is amazingly clear. The screen is tiny but the image is so crisp that you forget it's so small. I really don't know what the heck I'm doing with an ipod, but my husband LOVES his and wanted me to have one too. I get lost in the itunes store!
I like the fact that I can now carry around current pictures of my kids and that I can start listening to books and podcasts too. I have downloaded a Harvard Business podcast and the 7 Habits. I'm excited...can't let all my school nerdiness go to waste. I wonder if they have a dictionary podcast? :)

The Finish Line

Well, it's all over now. I received my final grades in my classes and I'm happy...I'm trying to be. (Darn that perfection gene!) I got an A and two B's and now it's over.
Whew! What a relief! Now it's just a waiting game to actually hold that stupid degree in my hand!!! I've never been more excited to own a piece of paper! I can't wait; it may have to go on the wall for a while before I file it. I hope it's pretty! :)
(It will be pretty to me anyway.)

I can breathe again

Today was my last day of school. I don't think my head quite believes this yet, but it's true.

At the last minute I decided to walk in the graduation ceremonies tomorrow. I really never wanted to because I started this fresh out of high school and I was embarrassed that I am finally a graduate at 28 years old. I am not finished yet, I want to continue on to get my Bachelor's, so I felt like acknowledging this degree would be like a stopping point. But I have realized that it's actually a reflection point just for me. I need to take a moment and think about how hard it has been to 'keep on trucking' (that one's for you, babe.) over the last 10 years and actually finish this. I have stopped so many times before and you would think that I would be smart enough to just quit while I was down, but I needed to finish this and actually complete a goal I set out to do so many years ago. I could just never let it be. Time flew by so quickly, and other things in my life took priority...good things, bad things, great things; but it was always in the back of my mind and I would just plug away, one class at a time, year after year as I could.

I don't think this moment would be as beautiful or as meaningful for me if I would have done it in less time. Sitting out at grad practice tonight made me really stop and think for the first time about not only what I have actually done, but what I have gone through and what has happened in my life over the last 10 years and that giving up on this would have been like giving up on myself and I didn't do it! I didn't give up...it took me ten years to finish a two year degree, but I didn't give up. I finished it. And I will stand a little taller and hold my head a bit higher for it.

Lifting a ten year weight off of me...now that's breathing.

One down, two to go

It's finals week!!!
Tonight was my last meeting in my storytelling class. I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this class since I don't really like anything related to public speaking. But it's over now and I got an A! Go me :)
It will be the only class I will receive an A in...which would normally bug me. I'm usually very unhappy with any grade other than an A, but I am soooo sick of school and I basically just want to pass these other classes and GRADUATE! With one huge exam and a big presentation to go, this week should be good and chaotic.