Mutlitasking World

Surprise!

2011-03-30T15:22:00.001-07:00

I haven't told anyone yet, besides the direct family of course, but as I don't think anyone actually reads this that will spill the beans to early for, I have a big surprise!

My back in December, I think I'm pregnant but not really never went away. AF was MIA for months. Multiple blood HCG tests all came back negative so I went to the doctor on the 21st prepared for some awful shot or something to make AF reappear. Imagine my surprise when the Dr tells me a HPT they had me take came back positive! I'm going to have a baby after all and I'm bouncing off the walls with excitement. But that also means since I had no LMP to go by, I have no idea how far along or when I'm due. The Dr tried doing an early U/S but couldn't see anything yet so I'm waiting for our next appointment and see the heart beat. I want to know how far along I am and to know for sure that there is a real baby in there before I go telling everyone. For now, I think I might be due in November, probably near the end. Maybe the beginning of December, but I'm hoping for November. Two more weeks, and I will know for sure!

Tests and Toddlers

2011-03-02T07:28:00.000-08:00

So I have no incredibly busy! And that also means I haven't been to the gym in over a month, of course. I'm swamped with homework and just keep repeating to myself that it's my last semester. It's full, time consuming, everyday of the week, and I only have 10 weeks left. I had a physiology test yesterday, reading for my senior seminar tonight to still get done, and I need to write up my butterfly report for my biology education class. And... Tuesday and Thursday I'm tutoring again after a brief nothingness. I got used to having my evenings back, but I'm grateful for the bit of extra money right now. I'm not longer tutoring the kids though and instead I'm tutoring the Mom to help her get through the math education class. Math is such a struggle for most people.

Tuesday I also went to the DMV and I officially now have title to both cars, free and clear. I couldn't be happier and it's one less bill every month! And Thursday.. Malcolm gets his cast off. Yes, I said cast. He 'broke' his leg last week. The joys of toddler mysteries. He woke up last Thursday and wouldn't put any weight on it (the day of my biology test). I rushed to school, took my test early, and then took Malcolm to the doctor. 3 doctors later and xrays, we really aren't sure if it is broken or not, I've been told both things by each doctor, but either way he needed a cast. I'm so grateful that it was only a 2 week cast and can't wait until he gets it off. Normal baths again, letting him get into the mud and puddles outside. He's miserable, so we'll all miserable. Although he still runs, jumps, climbs, and races with ease! Nothing slows my boy down. Even before the cast, he never said it even hurt. Boys... Toddlers... I'm not really sure what to accredit it to.

Roar!!

2011-01-17T14:23:00.001-08:00

This past week has just been busy! I've managed to get to the gym twice after class, we've had sick children, and 'sick' Mommy. I ditched class this past Thursday but I sure did need that little bit of extra rest. I'm thankful that this next week Malcolm doesn't go to school and my MIL will be watching him instead. If lets me sleep in a little more or get there a little earlier to prepare, either one is a plus.
The weekend was very busy too! On Friday, Malcolm got his first big boy hair cut in a 'real' hair salon. He was so good and didn't cry or fidget to much. Saturday we met Andrea and Kyle at Irvine park and had a picnic in the park, walked around a little, and went to the little zoo they have there. Malcolm enjoyed getting to run all over the place. Afterward, he even got to feed the ducks because Mommy finally remembered to bring bread with us when we went! Although he was a little mad when we were all out.

Sunday was the fun day out. We drove down to San Diego to go to the San Diego Zoo for the first time. My MIL came with us, and of course Daddy, so we had a lot of fun. Malcolm really liked watching the gorillas. There was a baby gorilla that was on the other side of the window from him and whenever Malcolm put his hand up to the glass the baby gorilla would bang the glass between them, twirl in circles, and beat his little chest.

Monday, a holiday, meant everyone was home today too. We went out early and did some errands and Malcolm got to play at Lemon park. He also got new clothes (from Mommy, and later Petitee) and, as I write this on his way to get new shoes! It's been a very busy weekend.

And, now it's time for me to buckle down as I have some alone time and get ready for yet another Tuesday morning test. But, I also have a presentation on Wednesday morning, and a final test on Friday since it's the last week of my three week long intersession class. Almost done! And I start all over again on Monday with the Spring semester and five new classes!

Today is the present

2011-01-11T16:44:00.001-08:00

Test today at school. I think I did well, but he promised to have them graded by the latest, Friday, so I'll know for sure soon. The class seems really interesting, but today I just couldn't focus. I kept zoning out thinking about babies, and losing weight, and moving, and Malcolm (who has been sick with a fever the last two days but is doing better now).

So, today when I got home from school, after lunch and nap time, I put Malcolm in the stroller and we walked briskly around the neighborhood for a half hour. If I can do that for the next 2 weeks of the intersession class and then go the rec center at school and work out there for the Spring semester, I'll be doing really well. I also had a spinach salad for lunch today and pot roast with peas and no butter for dinner. I'm going to start working on losing some weight because I think it will help me with the baby fever I have right now. I know I should have done it months, or years ago, but today is the present and I'm starting now.

Dr. No

2011-01-10T19:48:00.000-08:00

So, I had a last minute doctors appointment with an NP in an OB office. I'm grateful I did, but I'm also a little sad. She informed me that my blood HCG levels were... less then 0. It's good and bad news. The good news, I don't have an ectopic pregnancy, which was a concern of mine. The bad news, I'm not pregnant at all. I'm sad, but relived to know that nothing is wrong. Besides the fact that I still feel pregnant, which is annoying. She scheduled me for a second blood test the beginning of February if AF still hasn't shown up, but I hope that isn't the case because that means it's that much longer until I can start trying again. I'm ready for a new cycle and a new possiblity.

On the plus side, because I'm just one of those people who always looks at the postitive, this gives me time to try and lose some weight which I know I desperately need to do. I've been eating healthier since I thought I might have been pregnant so I'm just going to keep it up. I did a little work out video while Malcolm was napping today. It would be great if I could keep that up. And, if DH agrees, I'd like to try and go back onto nutrisystem again. I did it a few years ago and lost 40 lbs. I would be in heaven if I lost 40 lbs again and it gives me something to focus on besides babies.

Well, that and school of course. My first test for my intersession class is tomorrow. It seems really easy so we'll see how it actually goes. Wish me luck!

Life goes on...

2011-01-10T07:32:00.001-08:00

I saw a blog (through a message board link at Ivillage) this morning, and it made me realize I haven't even thought about this blog in a year, let alone wrote in it. I would like to say that so much has changed, but honestly, it hasn't. Life moves on and I know I'm in a bit of a rut. I'm still going to school full-time, but I know that time is about to end. Come May, I graduate, walk, and have that little piece of paper in my hand that says 'she came to class'. Whether I actually learned something or can apply it to my life remains to be seen. I started off with the ambition to become an elementary school teacher. I changed my college path a little by adding a minor of natural sciences so I would be prepared to become a middle school science teacher, if I wanted to be. I love science and its an in demand, short changed area where in other areas teachers are being laid off.

But change is in my future. We decided to move this summer, depending on when we find a house. So I won't be entering the teaching program here in California at all, which means no teaching. In Florida, it's built into the bachelors program so I would need another two years of school to teach, but would come out ahead with my Master's degree as well. I don't mind school, I really like it. But I'm not sure I want to spend another two years to study for something that I don't think I'm actually going to do. I just want to stay home with my little man. But practicality is ingrained in me and I know if anything happens, I need to have something to fall back on and get a worthy job out of. So, it remains to be seen what will happen there.

Speaking of my little man, Malcolm just had his 2nd birthday. I'm amazed how fast he's growing. He's walking, running, climbing, falling, kissing the girls at school, and starting to talk. We have two word sentences, but he's my strong silent type and still doesn't say to much if he doesn't have to. We went to the park yesterday and he got to play with two just turned 3 year olds and I'm looking forward to the year ahead in amazement again. They spoke clearly, played together easily, including my son into their game and asking him to play with them. They even helped pick up our sand toys as we were leaving. The next year will be full of little milestones and, when I look back on it, will be shocked by how much was accomplished.

And since I know nobody reads this blog anymore, it's been over a year, if your still checking I'm shocked, I do have a secret. We think, think, I might be pregnant. It's really up in the air. If you had asked me Friday, I would have been 90% sure but now not so much. TMI, my period is late and my bb's are sore. I have on and off again headaches, and have to go to the bathroom three times as much as before. So where is my doubt? 5 negative urine tests I've taken at home (waiting a few days between each) and over the weekend, a negative blood test. I don't understand it, but I'm still going to make an appointment with my OB and hope for the best. Do I want to be pregnant? Absolutely. Malcolm gave me three negative tests before I got a BFP, so I'm hoping this time, the baby is just a little more stubborn then my stubborn little boy. Fingers crossed, I'm calling to make an appointment this morning in the hopes to get in as soon as possible. I just want a yes, or an explanation for no.

The all new Homeschool Classroom

2010-01-04T20:55:00.000-08:00

So the Homeschool Classroom just changed websites and has an all new look about it. It's very cute and they are running a contest now to celebrate! You have to check it out, some of the prizes are just awesome and very useful.

Not me Monday!

2009-10-05T14:39:00.000-07:00

So I found yet another cute new weekly blog post I thought I would try out. It is all about the things I don't do. So, without further delay.

I don't tell my husband I'm doing homework and he needs to watch the baby, and then proceed to read blogs for an hour.

I don't wait until the last minute to actually do my homework either. I never procrastinate.

I don't spend hours planning out how I'm going to homeschool my son, starting at least 4 years from now. I would never remember or keep track of it in that time period so I definitely don't do that.

If you want to join along with the Not Me Monday, just go here to MckMama and sign up. She's even randomly selecting someone to win a cloth crown! Wouldn't that make the cutest 1st birthday crown for Malcolm? :)

First steps!

2009-09-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Malcolm was practicing standing on his own, a lot more then normal. He managed to stay up for 10-15 seconds before losing interest and grabbing to hold on. I told DH that Malcolm would be walking in the next week. Not real walking of course, but his first steps.

He showed me! Only two hours after that statement, Malcolm took his first two steps to Daddy. And I totally missed it :( But still, he stepped, he's standing (wobbly but standing) and I'm sure before long I'll see some of his early steps too and there will be no stopping him.

I'm a little afraid of what new and scary things he'll be into now. He already tries to climb the bookshelves. My little man is growing up so fast!

Growing up

2009-09-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't posted recently because 1) School is super busy and our first BIG test is on Monday. Ekk! and 2) DH has been home during the day the last two weeks and that ALWAYS throws my schedule off. I love him, but sometimes he just messes up plans :)

So, Malcolm has gotten really close to outgrowing his infant seat, in height, not weight. I find that hilarious because my husband and I aren't very tall, but Malcolm seems to be growing height wise, very quickly. DH says he did the same thing when he was little and just one day, stopped, so we will just have to wait and see how tall Malcolm gets.

That is one reason why we finally decided to go and buy the ultimate 'big boy' car seat this last week. The other reason? I was getting VERY tired of my MIL keeping the infant seat in her car, forgetting to take it out, going to work, and finding out at the last possible second, that I can't take Malcolm to the doctor, or the park, or DH can't drop me off of school. I think the fees alone for last minute cancellations have totaled up to about $50. I didn't see any reason to delay making the purchase.

So, I now own the Britax Boulevard in the Barrington print. It is huge, and I have no idea how to fit it into my little compact car, nor have I attempted it yet so wish me luck. But I LOVE it! Malcolm actually smiled when I put him in it! That hasn't happened since, well, ever! Not to mention I can keep him rear facing in it until he's 35 lbs which is great (if it fits in my car anyway). And forward facing goes until 65 lbs! Those of you who have no idea what that means, most forward facing seats only work until 40 lbs so I'll be able to keep Malcolm in a car seat (which is safer) instead of a booster seat for longer. I may be really expensive, but it will last for YEARS.

Anyway, I'm just excited and had to rave a bit. Now, its back to study for the giant test on Pre-Socratic Greece.

The end of Reading Rainbow

2009-09-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

I was blog hopping today and stopped when I heard about Reading Rainbow being canceled. I'm so sad this won't be a show Malcolm will be able to grow up with. I'm hoping they will show old reruns at least, but the story on NPR really didn't touch on that at all. If you want to know more, including why they are canceling the show, go to http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112312561 .

Surgery presents

2009-08-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

Malcolm had surgery on his little boy part on Monday, the 17th to fix his birth defect, hypospadia. Be careful if you google it, there are boy parts shown. :)

He did wonderfully well and that night was back to his normal self. Of course, I am still giving him plenty of Tylenol and Motrin to help with pain. He is a little over 18 lbs and 27 inches now!

Right before his surgery, I finally broke down and spent money we really didn't have on an extra wide baby gate to fit the large opening in the office/play room. To many times I've run after him as he quickly reaches the stairs and starts to climb up! And I have to say, the baby gate was in the top 10 things I have ever bought for Malcolm! (Baby monitor will never be dislodged from #1). The gate is study, metal, has a gate that actually opens so you don't have to step over it, but still allows Malcolm to see out and the dogs to see in unlike the little one I put in to block off the kitchen.

Also bought on this trip... Little Tikes ride on car and walker. He's still a little to little for this yet, but DH insisted he needed it :) I also got him some blocks to play with. Nothing is as popular as the box the ride on car came in though! Gotta love this age :)

The nurse at the hosptial gave him the choice of a little stuffed frog or skunk. He picked the skunk of course! :) And his great grandmother gave him some teething toys, one is a turtle and the other a snail.

It was almost like a little birthday instead of out patient surgery! My little man is very spoiled, and very loved!

No, I will never sleep!!!!

2009-08-12T20:43:00.000-07:00

I have begun to wein Malcolm. He no longer nurses during the day, only in the middle of the night. Because of this, he can't nurse himself to sleep like he is used to. This has resulted in harder then normal nap and bed times. He screams for a long time, trying to suck on my arm, in denial. Malcolm almost always gets his way because, living with his grandma AND great grandma, he gets his way a lot. They can't give him that though!

So, yesterday I noticed the crying stop, and I go up to check on him. He fought sleep so hard, poor little man. He normally gets at the very edge of the crib, stands up, and just screams. Obviously, he had gotten so tired that he had to sit at the edge of the crib, still holding onto the bars, screaming. And well.... then the screaming stopped, the head slumped and.... he could fight it no longer. I laid him down and told my MIL and husband what he had done later that evening. They both said the exact same thing.. "Did you take a picture?"

So, today I took a picture. This one is from his morning nap. I have one on my cell phone that is from his afternoon nap, very similar. The afternoon nap has his hand gripping the very top crib instead of the bars. I honestly can't help but laugh. I know this phase will pass soon enough and I'm glad my husband and MIL prompted me to get photos of it.

Encouragement Blog Hop

2009-08-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

So every Tuesday is a McLinky blog hop and this week is encouragement.

My encouragement? This too shall pass.

There are a lot of things about my past I don't write about, for a reason. Lets leave it to say that for a few years, it was a VERY hard time for DH and myself. We moved around a lot, didn't have steady jobs, and basically no choice in where we lived, what we did, or pretty much anything. We're almost past that in our lives now and it has gotten a LOT better.

During that entire time, I kept telling myself that it would get better. Nothing lasts forever and if you give anything enough time, something will change. And it did. Little changes and big, some for the better, some for the worse, but always something different. And if I just gave up because things were just to hard? I wouldn't have my son right now. I wouldn't be going back to school. My life would be completely different.

Curriculum Clean-Out giveaway!

2009-08-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

The Curriculum Clean-Out giveaway is currently going on now! What is that? The giveaway is for people who have old resources from their home school that are still in good condition and no longer being used and want to pass them along to others.

Since my little man is still so young, obviously most of these resources I can't use for awhile. However, Jolanthe @ Home School Creations is giving away a Toddler Pack! It's great from birth to 3 years of age and includes 2 baby estiein DVDs and a book full of baby games, songs, finger plays, and more. I would love to win this giveaway.

To see what others are giving away, the main page for the give away is HERE!

My Dog Skip

2009-07-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

I saw this movie on HBO tonight. At the end of it I was in tears. It's a very sweet story based on the autobiographical book My Dog Skip by Willie Morris.

William Weaks "Willie" Morris (November 29, 1934 — August 2, 1999), was an American writer and editor born in Jackson, Mississippi, though his family later moved to Yazoo City, Mississippi, which he immortalized in his works of prose. Morris' trademark was his lyrical prose style and reflections on the American South, particularly the Mississippi Delta. In 1967 he became the youngest editor of Harper's Magazine. He wrote several works of fiction and non-fiction, including his seminal book North Toward Home, as well as My Dog Skip.

--Wikipedia

I'm originally an English major, with a love of American Lit. I think that's one of the reasons I liked this movie so much. It's not the most important though. The movie is about Willie as a very young boy, growing up from a child, into a boy, into a young man in Mississippi during the 1940's with the war going on in the background. There are some really cute scenes where Willie trains Skip to become a one of the war dogs he saw in the movies and Skip helping Willie run with a football. I think as I watched it I imagined my own little boy growing up surrounded by his dogs and just remember the love a child can have for a pet. Inevitably, Willie grows up and I'm sure you can guess what happens in the end to Skip as most books and movies about dogs do end up. But nevertheless, it is a very sweet movie and I do recommend it. I'm actually going to try and track down the book for myself. I love good books to add to the library.

Pears make me sleepy

2009-07-24T13:57:00.000-07:00

I stuck Little Man into his high chair while I made lunch for Nanny and myself. He, after about 5 minutes, starts to scream like normal. He hates to be confined! :)

So, after serving Nanny, I grab a jar of pears out of the fridge and start to feed him. When there were only a few bites left I noticed he was just staring off and opening his mouth whenever the spoon got near him, but not really paying attention. I tested my theory when we ran out of pears by placing the now empty spoon on the tray of his high chair. He always reaches for the spoon when I do this and happily play feeds himself while I manage to eat something for myself. This time however, he totally ignores it and the next thing I know the eyes are closed and his head is cuddled into the side of the high chair. It was one of the cutest looks :)

So, I picked him up, carried him upstairs, and stuck him in his crib, grateful for the lack of screaming that normally is associated with nap time. Why can't he fall asleep on his own more often!

Stairs!!!

2009-07-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

I swear, everyday Malcolm is doing something new. Sometimes that's a great thing, and sometimes it makes me run after him in a panic!

I was vacuuming the house this morning. Today is trash day so I try and get all the dust and gunk out of the vacuum and gone the day the trash comes. I had finished downstairs and was working on the stairs themselves, keeping an eye on Malcolm the entire time of course. He was crawling around after the dogs and various toys and, when I was about halfway up the stairs, I noticed him sitting at the very bottom of the stairs looking up at me. I smiled at him, turned around, and 10 seconds later heard a thump, looked back and he was on the 1st step on his knees reaching for the 2nd step!

At first I had no idea how he managed it but an hour later he was back at the steps and I got to observe his process for myself. He pulls himself to standing using the step and then just lays his body across it. It's very easy for him to pull his feet up at that point and then he just pushes up to his knees and is ready to start the whole process over again.

The more and more he's able to do, just leaves me in terror for when he starts walking! I seriously need to get some baby gates soon :)

Crawling Sensation

2009-07-22T09:35:00.001-07:00

My mother-in-law works for an adoption agency. She does a lot of their legal paperwork and is very proud to tell everyone that she is the one that fixes all the problems.

Yesterday she got a call from a couple who adopted a baby back in December who is a little tiny bit older then Malcolm. They told her he wasn't crawling yet and my mother-in-law held in the fact that her 7 month old grandson was already crawling. When she got home she very excitedly told me this whole story which makes me giggle a bit. She is so proud of how early he learned to crawl, sit, and pull to standing.

Little Malcolm crawled around EVERYWHERE yesterday getting into whatever mischief he could find including dumping over the dog water bowl (a favorite of his), pulling one of the dog leases off of the rack, and pulling all his books off the lowest shelf on the bookcase. At the end of the day, his poor little knees were all red.

On a positive note, he is starting to learn boundaries, at least when he knows I'm watching him :) He tries to crawl into the kitchen but stops right at the doorway and watches me. He will just sit up, look back at me, and glance into the kitchen. So, he knows he isn't supposed to now, but does it anyway if he thinks he won't be caught. Oh, the joys of parenthood :) And yes, I do realize this is just the beginning.

Dances faster then...

2009-07-17T13:57:00.000-07:00

My husband's grandmother lives with us. Actually its quite a full house of us and the baby, his grandmother and mother, our dog, and his mother's three dogs!

But anyway, Nanny, as we call her, is 81 years old! She isn't very strong and can't lift Malcolm by herself. Today she has started helping him to stand up infront of her though by grabbing his hands. Malcolm thought that was such great fun that he started dancing! It really was the cutest thing I think I've seen him do yet. The feet were flying every which direction and he was bouncing up and down. I was actually a little nervious she might not have him and he'd go flying the way he was throwing himself around :)

But the greatest thing about the whole incident is Nanny's reaction. She has repeatedly told me with the biggest amount of pride I think I've ever heard her use:

He dances faster then Michael Jackson!

HP Friday

2009-07-17T08:13:00.000-07:00

So DH and I both actually have the night off and, baring anything unexpected happening, we get to have our date night! We're going to go see the new Harry Potter movie, The Half-Blood Prince. I know a lot of people have said its not that good but I am honestly excited. I love Harry Potter (the books much more then the movies) and can't wait until Malcolm is old enough for me to read them to him and to read them himself.
I honestly think that Harry Potter did a great thing by getting so many of our youth into reading and keeping them into it for years as the books really grow with the kids as Harry grows up in the story.
So, in honor of the new Harry Potter movie, here's a cute background I created. BTW, I'm trying to do it so it doesn't violate copyrights so it won't look like Harry Potter :)

New Projects

2009-07-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

So, I know a lot of people actually make money from their blog, but I'm just not that dedicated to do something like that. In honest, this blog is all about what's happening in my life. Not a way to make money :)

I've been thinking, for months now actually, that I want to be able to do something to bring in a little extra money but stay home with Malcolm and not have to get a sitter. I'm staying home anyway, but money is TIGHT. If I could just make enough to pay for gas and food, that would help a lot. So, partly inspired by my Mom who recently opened up her own etsy shop, I started exploring and came up with an idea of my own.

www.Anliena.Etsy.com sells 5x7 photo prints for a lot cheaper then some of the other competition. The stock isn't huge right now but I'll be adding more daily as I get the time to write up the descriptions, add watermarks, and all that fun stuff. So please, check it out and let me know if there is anything there that you like. That way I at least know I'm on the right track :)

3 Things You Didn't Know About Me

2009-07-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

So I found this great new thing called a Blog Hop hosted by MckLinky. Every week on Tuesday you can particpate in the blog hop and this week is 3 things you didn't know about me. So...

#1 - I love photography and have a wish to get a nice SLR camera some day so my pictures will really pop then! I'm even going to open up my own etsy shop to sell my pictures to maybe help save up for that SLR camera I want :) www.anliena.etsy.com !

#2 - I read to my son almost everyday (sometimes things get a little hectic and I don't get to it but I always try). Malcolm LOVES storytime and wants to 'read' the books himself by sticking them in his mouth. This is something I'm very proud of those because I really want to instill a love of reading in my son. Why? Because I love to read too!

#3 - I'm a Sagittarius which means I'm impulsive (although I'm planning more and more lately) and usually always happy! And my son is a Sagittarius as well.

We have movement!

2009-07-07T17:34:00.000-07:00

I have no idea when it happened, but all of a sudden Malcolm has made the leap from tiny infant to a bigger baby almost overnight. He's now a pro at crawling and can sit up by himself for as long as he wants to and has no problem balancing himself. Malcolm is also trying to pull himself up to standing off of anything he can reach (sometimes resulting in a fall), and Ben actually saw him standing up in his crib a few days ago.

And when he's fussy what's the one thing that always makes him smile now? Letting him walk around the house by holding onto my hands. He takes quick little steps and flys along with a giant grin across his face.

Needless to say, it's been a busy few days. I keep telling myself in a few years when he's really zipping along as a toddler and I have another little baby, it'll be so much harder and I'll be wishing for these days again :)

Toddler Story Time

2009-06-24T15:22:00.000-07:00

One of the local libraries near me has a story time for toddlers (birth - 2 years). I've been meaning to check it out forever but school always got in the way. I finally remembered about it as I was trying to come up with some free fun event to do with Malcolm every week so we checked it out.

I was amazed at how many young children were actually there. Malcolm wasn't even the youngest baby like I thought he would have been. There was a 2 month old little girl all the way up to a 4 year old boy, totally about 15-18 children total, including my little man. We ended up getting a seat near the front of the semi-circle and I set him on my lap.

It all started with a song, If you are happy and you know!. All the kids and moms were singing and hand outs had been passed out earlier in case a Mommy didn't know the words to the songs we would be singing. Malcolm had just woken up from his nap about 5 minutes earlier, was a bit confused, and then all these strange people started singing and clapping. He didn't really like it and started to cry. I faced him towards me and he clutched on to me and buried his face into my shirt. Now, I know this sounds so sad that he was afraid, but at the time I was just so happy because that was honestly the first time he really clutched on to me when something was bothering him. Awwww... how cute :)

So, all set to leave early with him and try again in a few weeks, the librarian pulls out the first book she's going to read. Before I could even get up, Malcolm has straightened out and is intently staring at the book in the librarian's hands. My little boy is such a reader! He watched her read the entire book and sat through 3 other songs, another book, and a felt board story the librarian told. He didn't cry the rest of the time and at one point pushed himself up to stand in front of me holding on to my fingers during the last book.

I'm so proud of my little man right now. We are definitely going to make Toddler Story Time at the library a weekly event since it seems like he thoroughly enjoyed it. Next Wednesday we are going to sign up for their summer reading program and check out a few toddler/baby books for him to read during the week. All ages are welcome and they are giving out prizes based on how much time you spend reading. I'm just so glad Malcolm seems to really like to have stories read to him. I've been around other small children who only seemed to want to get away and couldn't focus. Now, who knows what he'll be like when he's a little older, but for right now I'm going to enjoy it :)

Health Insurance

2009-06-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

So, every July my health insurance seems to feel the need to change what a pay. It went from the low 400s, to the mid 500s and now, its going to be in the high 600s. Who can afford this stuff??? We had to take my husband off of it before the baby was even born so that we could afford to cover the baby. Now, we can't even afford that. I'd change plans right now except Malcolm's surgery is planned for August 22nd, and the insurance company has already approved it and everything is sechduled. I'm worried switching plans will derail that entire process and it took me 2 months in advance to get the August date. I don't want to wait until he's a year old to get this done if I change over. So, the plan is to switch plans September 1st, after all this is over with. Until then we get the pleasure of paying over 600 dollars for 3 months.
Oh, and the kicker. In the letter they sent me the reason my dues keep rising is because of everyone else who DOESN'T have health insurance. Excuse me, but shouldn't the hospital be the one hurting from that, not insurance companies. I'm a little pissed it's costing me so much money to make sure my son stays healthy because other people don't care enough to pay ANYTHING for health insurance.
Sorry for the rant... bills are already stretched so thin its hard to think how I'm going to be able to come up with even more to pay for the next few months. Not to mention that, even though I thought we had great insurance, I'm still paying for even I gave birth to my son 6 months ago. Arg! I hate insurance companies!

Flylady

2009-06-18T12:15:00.001-07:00

I'm sure most of the people here have heard of FlyLady but I just had to write about her anyway. The website is www.flylady.net for those who want to go catch it out. It's basically a system to help you declutter and keep your home looking as perfect as possible.

I need things to be organized. Flylady is great in that it helps me to pick certain days to work on certain areas, breaking it up into smaller parts instead of letting the mess get out of control. She creates 5 zones to work on in your home, each zone taking approximately 1 week. Currently, she is on zone 3, the bathrooms and one extra room. My extra room is my office.

I jump on and off the flylady band wagon all the time. Obviously, I just recently jumped back on. I need to get back into normal routines. Not only is it good for me, but its good for Malcolm too. So, without even knowing what zone it was, I tore apart my office, organizing everything as much as I could, hanging my white board FINALLY, and making it generally baby friendly. Now, there's a place for almost everything and, although parts of it may look cluttered, that's mainly because all my stuff is crammed into just 2 rooms since we're sharing the house with my MIL and her mother. It looks so good that I was finally able to write my weekly to do list out on my white board, have my daily to dos written next to it, and even hung a binder clip that I put all the different zone print outs on so that I can easily change the page to see what still needs to be done, without it becoming clutter on my desk that slowly disappears. Because you see, that's what my desk is all about, clutter. And flylady will hopefully stick this time and help me keep the clutter off my desk.

Here's a happy flybaby, basking in the organized goodness of her office.

Summer at last

2009-06-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

I would love to tell everyone how incrediably busy I've been, but the truth is that school let out for the summer, my tutoring job ended, and I'm only working weekends now. It's so nice to enjoy the summer that I've spent most of the last week and a half just cuddling with my son.

I have also decided two things. I'm not going to continue tutoring next year. I loved it but it ate up a lot of my time in awkward blocks that were hard to plan around. Also, I'm going to take the summer off to focus on Malcolm and myself.

I've decided its finally type to kick my not so little behind into a real diet again to finally lose these baby weight. Who knows, when I lose enough maybe my husband and I will have another baby. But that is a long ways from now considering how much I want to lose :) I'm also going to try awfully hard to catch up on my scrapbooking. I finished up a page this morning of my son's first day home from the hospital, 6 months ago now! It's actually a little nice being so far behind. As I look at these pictures of him I realize just how big he has gotten in so short a time. It helps me remember what those first few weeks were like when I was worried about every little detail. Not that I don't worry now of course, but I no longer fear him sleeping to much :)

Oh, and if anyone is curious, it looks like a possible move to Florida has been vetoed. So, we are just going to look to see what houses we could possibly afford around here that aren't next door to a cow farm. It really didn't smell all that great, but it sure was a beautiful house :)

Far and Away

2009-05-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

It's looking more and more as if our local move this summer is going to turn into a move across the country. My husband has family in Tampa, FL and, considering how expensive it is to live in southern California, it looks like a move to Tampa may be in the works. We can get a nicer, bigger house for less rent then we are paying now. Homeschooling laws in Florida seem to be a lot easier to deal with. Even though I'm a few years away from that, I know its something I want to do. And, Malcolm will get to spend time with his uncle and namesake.

The downsides? Because there are ALWAYS downsides... Florida is just hot and humid. I've never been a fan of humidity. I would also have to suspend school for a bit because I can't afford to pay out of state tuition. Although maybe I'll go to a community college and putz for a bit until I have state residency. I'm a little sad to be putting my schooling off, but my orginal purpose was to become a teacher and the more and more I learn about public schools (at least in California) and homeschooling, the more I'm leaning away from teaching anyway. At least other peoples children.

Overall, I'm exicited about a move. As my husband put it, "we are in a rut", and a move to Tampa is bound to change at least some things. The only thing left to do is to make sure jobs are lined up in advance. Wish us luck!

Journey into Solid Foods

2009-05-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

Alright, so I admit I didn't exactly follow my doctors orders. I started giving my son solids before he was 6 months old. He still isn't 6 months old. I justify it to myself because he refuses to take a bottle and I needed a babysitter during the day when I was at school. He screams all day I'm gone when my husband watches him, I wasn't going to let a babysit deal with that, right? Deep down, I know its just because I wanted that 'first food' milestone and to see how incredibly cute he is with food smeared all across his face.

So, at almost 5 months exactly, Malcolm had his first 'bite' of rice cereal. The first look of bitter ewwwiness is priceless. Since then I've received that same look with bananas, which he loves, and sweet potatoes, also a quick favoriate. This morning Malcolm had his very first taste of avocados, but there was one thing missing. He must be getting used to the texture of 'solid' food because I didn't see that face he makes.

Everyday I look at him and realize how big he is getting. Before I know it, he'll be driving, going to college, and even getting married. But for now, I'll be content to look for the ewwwie face he'll give me for other new foods we'll try.

Multiple Intelligences in Education

2009-05-27T16:58:00.000-07:00

I realize this post is going to be extremely long but I thought I would share the research paper I wrote in my education class that deals with MI theory in education. I think a lot of this already applies to children who are home schooled because their parents are already aware of their learning styles and try new things that help them learn more then you can in a public classroom.

Teachers need to use a variety of all eight Multiple Intelligences while teaching in order to effectively teach students with differing intelligences. Howard Gardner first introduced Multiple Intelligences in 1983 in his book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. The theory is that people are gifted with more then just one intelligence or IQ, but rather 8 different intelligences. Gardner defines intelligence as a means of problem solving or the creation of a product that society or communities value (Gray.)

Linguistic intelligence has to deal with the meaning and order of words, spoken or written. Logical-mathematical is about the ability to handle long chains of reasoning and pattern reorganization. These two are the most common in schools today. The other five intelligences are often ignored in today’s classrooms. They include: musical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist.

Historically, intelligence has been viewed as a number from the IQ test. Students who did not excel in school were considered below average or failing and not intelligent. People have always believed students needed variety to help them learn, however, even as far back as Plato said, “Do not then train youths to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.” It has only been recently, when we have developed more information about cogitative development ranging from savants to autism, that we can really understand how it all works and are able to put a name to it (Gray.)

A person can be proficient in more then one type of intelligence and still use the other types they might not excel in to help with learning. One example would be a doctor. A doctor has to use interpersonal skills to get information from patients, logical skills to find a diagnosis, and bodily kinesthetic if he needs to perform surgery.

Gardner, in fact, did not mean for multiple intelligences to be used for education, but rather for psychology. His background was always in psychology and he worked with the human brain and stroke victims before setting out to write his first book on multiple intelligences. He wrote, “it was educators, rather than psychologists, who found the theory of most interest” (Gardner, 5.) His theory did not have to do with education, but rather how the human mind functioned. “No direct educational implications follow from this psychological theory; but if individuals differ in their intellectual profiles, it makes sense to take this fact into account in devising an educational system” (Gardner, 6.)

There are many critics of multiple intelligence theory in education and the biggest voice of these is that no research has been provided to prove they actually help. Mandy Geimer and others wrote a paper called Improving Student Achievement in Language Arts through Implementation of Multiple Intelligence Strategies. In 2000 in Chicago, IL, the teachers chose two schools in which to do their testing. They divided Language Arts up into three parts: grammar, spelling, and reading comprehension. Teachers at these schools also express their concern over students daydreaming, not paying attention in class, and general lack of motivation. Geimer and her peers believed that low-test scores were due to students not being involved in the learning (Geimer.)

By using the multiple intelligence strategies, the teachers saw a marked improvement in the test scores for grammar. Reading comprehension improved for most classes, and spelling stayed about the same, however, in all the classes with all areas being recorded, students turning in their homework rose dramatically. Students also responded with surveys favoring the multiple intelligence approaches, and since the students were more engaged during lessons, the teachers enjoyed class more as well (Geimer.)

Janet Bednar and peers repeated this in 2002, focusing on math instead of language arts. Taking 4 classrooms, kindergarten, third, fourth, and fifth grade, teachers compiled information based on chapter test scores, standardized tests, limited work completion, and class participation. The teachers decided to use multiple intelligence strategies to reach the students in order to engage the children and show them how math is used in the real world and not just in a classroom. Their theory was that it would improve motivation and if the children were more engaged with active learning, they would retain more of the information (Bednar.)

Different methods included dressing up while acting as various mathematicians, working on math-oriented puzzles, and even songs. During the 2009 Santiago Canyon College Future Teacher Conference, the guest speaker was The Rappin’ Mathematician, who demonstrated that his students learned better when he made up rap songs dealing with the concepts with which the students were having comprehension issues. The students also played a lot of different games that helped them understand the math concepts (Bednar.)

At the end of their experiment, all the students showed a marked improvement in participation. The kindergarten class improved the most dramatically, although all the classes showed improvements in their grades as well. The number of students with an “A” grade at the end of the class increased, while those with an “F” decreased. This shows a positive trend with the use of multiple intelligence strategies regarding students learning and motivation (Bednar.)

Lastly, in 2003 Margaret Cluck and Diane Hess wrote a paper entitled “Improving Student Motivation Through the use of Multiple Intelligences.” Dealing mostly with reading and ESL classes, they used multiple intelligence strategies to help with student motivation in the classroom. They thought that students needed to be taught to value intrinsic rewards rather then extrinsic. From what we learned in class, intrinsic rewards are those that are based on emotions or intellect, while extrinsic rewards are more physically based. Cluck and Hess believe that if students are motivated by intrinsic rewards rather then extrinsic rewards, the students are more likely to be better life long learners (Cluck.)

At the end of the 16-week research project, both Cluck and Hess found that motivation greatly increased for the days in which they used multiple intelligence lesson plans. The students were excited about school on those days and were disappointed when the class was interrupted (Cluck.)

As evidenced by these three varying studies in different subject areas, using multiple intelligence approaches to learning helped student motivation. Students were engaged and participated more in the classroom, which helped them retain what they learned during the lessons. “Educators across the world not only continue to discuss Gardner’s theory, but have built entire learning communities using MI as the core philosophy” (Johnson, 10.)

There are three factors regarding multiple intelligence in which critics warn caution. “Intellectual profiles could be misinterpreted to justify racial, ethnic, or cultural stereotyping” (Gray.) Critics believe that using multiple intelligences will stereotype certain groups of students into one category. That is not what multiple intelligence theory is about but rather that every person has some form of all 8 intelligences present in his or her learning abilities (Gardner.)

Another area of caution simply states that using these strategies does not remove cultural bias from the lesson plans (Gray.) A teacher needs to constantly reassess students in order to make sure certain lesson plans don’t involve areas where the students have a lack of experience. This is true of all lesson plans, and not just multiple intelligence strategies.

Lastly, personal stereotyping needs to be avoided as well. Student’s intelligences can change over the course of the year and teachers need to be aware to not simply identify and label one student as simply ‘spatial,’ but keep in mind that all students have all intelligences within them.

Finding curriculum involving multiple intelligence theory can be difficult. Johnson states, “I was unable to find practical ‘day-to-day’ lesson plans or detailed instructions of actual MI-based curriculum for the elementary classroom” (26.) Multiple intelligence lesson plans are few and far between and until more teachers start implementing it and publishing their own ideas, the growth of multiple intelligence strategies in schools will remain small.

There is, however, a book written by Project Zero, an organization that Gardner co-founded to help bring multiple intelligence into the education system (Gardner.) “Multiple Intelligences: Best Ideas from Research and Practice was developed and written by Project Zero investigators and published in 2004. The book targets K-8 educators and is the only publication that outlines clear and concise examples of MI-based instruction” (Johnson, 14.) Educators can use this book for ideas, although, on a day-to-day basis most lessons need to be created by scratch from the teacher.

A creative teacher can come up with ways to plan lessons from scratch. There are many ideas out there. For instance, as stated earlier, the Rappin’ Mathematician came up with math raps for his students to help them learn challenging math concepts. One of his most famous raps, The Itty-Bitty Dot, can be found on “You Tube.” It is a rap about how to add and subtract decimals and, during the conference earlier in the year, he told the story of how his students were singing the rap in the lunchroom the day after he gave the first lesson. The line, “Line up the dots and give it all you got” is repeated over throughout the song so that students will never forget that important detail. This obviously helps students who lean towards musical intelligence and by incorporating it into the video, also helping students who are spatial.

Johnson gave another great example of incorporating multiple intelligence strategies into the classroom. She had children act out the life cycle of a frog by laying on the ground in balls for the egg, stretching out for the tad pole phase, and jumping around as the adult frogs (5.) This brought bodily-kinesthetic intelligence into the classroom and the children had a lot of fun, not only doing something different then the normal textbook reading, but also getting energy out of their systems. Doing bodily-kinesthetic instruction would be ideal for an after break period when the students have a harder time settling down to work.

More great ideas include bringing elements of the outdoors into the classroom to help with those who lean towards naturalist intelligence. A teacher could use rocks, leaves, and sticks to represent different number values in use for addition and subtraction. This would also help spatial learners using visual symbols to figure the problems out.

A lot of teachers already do a lot of intrapersonal and interpersonal type activities as well. Interpersonal intelligences work well in-group settings, not just as leaders but followers as well. Having students work together on various projects bring this strategy to the classroom. Intrapersonal students work well alone. Having them reflect their findings in journals is a good way to let them express themselves as well as work on the linguistic intelligence. Different lesson plans can use several dimensions of the multiple intelligence theory so that students with different strengths can all excel.

There are a lot of ways teachers can incorporate multiple intelligence strategies into the classroom to help students become engaged, motivate them and help these learners focus on intrinsic rewards rather then extrinsic. By using multiple intelligence strategies in the classroom, students who normally fall through the cracks are able to join in the learning. Teachers enjoy the experience as well when the students who become engaged and not struggling their way through the standard learning curriculum.

Multiple intelligence theory may have started off in the psychology field, but it plays a major role in the future of education and our youth. As more day-to-day lesson plans become available, making it easier for new and busy teachers to incorporate these strategies into the classroom, our schools will have a bigger focus on multiple intelligences.

Finally, using multiple intelligence strategies in the classroom is beneficial to student’s motivation, achievement, and participation in class. While some lessons are best taught the traditional way, such as spelling, many other areas can be taught using these tools to engage the student in active learning.

Works Cited

Bednar, Janet, et al.. “Improving Student Motivation and Achievement in Mathematics through Teaching to the Multiple Intelligences.” MA thesis. Saint Xavier U, 2002. ERIC. EBSCO. Santiago Canyon Coll. Lib., Orange, CA. 24 May 2009 .

A research project done over multiple grade levels to determine if the use of multiple intelligence theory improves student motivation and achievement. The project found a high coalition between multiple intelligence strategies in class and student participation and motivation.

Cluck, Margaret, and Diane Hess. “Improving Student Motivation through the Use of Multiple Intelligences.” MA thesis. Saint Xavier U, 1999. ERIC. EBSCO. Santiago Canyon Coll. Lib., Orange, CA. 24 May 2009 .

A research project that studied the use of multiple intelligence strategies in rural schools. The study found that students who were taught with MI strategies improved motivation and classroom participation.

Gardner, Howard. “Multiple Intelligences after Twenty Years.” Paper , 21 Apr. 2003. Harvard. 24 May 2009 .

Paper presented at the American Education Research Association address for correspondence. Howard Gardner writes about his history and how he came upon the MI theory. He talks about current issues with MI and points to where the future where lead.

Geimer, Mandy, et al. “Improving Student Achievement in Language Arts Through Implementation of Multiple Intelligences Strategies.” MA thesis. Saint Xavier U, 2000. ERIC. EBSCO. Santiago Canyon Coll. Lib., Orange, CA. 24 May 2009 .

Research project that wanted to prove that through the use of MI strategies, student achievement and participation in language arts would improve. Study was divided into 3 categories, reading comprehension, grammar, and spelling. Spelling was the only area that didn’t show an improvement with MI strategies.

Gray, James H, and Julie T Viens. “The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.” National Forum 74.1 (1994): 22-26. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Santiago Canyon Coll. Lib., 24 May 2009 .

Discusses the theory of multiple intelligences theory and its relation to multicultural education in the United States. Plurality of intelligence; Seven intelligences and its assessment; Implications for curriculum design and instruction; Three cautions in the implementation of the multiple intelligence theory; Multiple intelligences and cultural diversity.

Johnson, Marisa. “An Extended Literature Review: The Effect of Multiple Intelligences on Elementary Student Performance.” MA thesis. Dominican U of California, 2007. ERIC. EBSCO. Santiago Canyon Coll. Lib., 24 May 2009 .

Explores the effect of MI based curriculum on student achievement in core curriculum at the elementary school level. Reveals several trends such as schools that have implemented MI have successfully increased student achievement in all areas of the core curriculum.

Kajitani. “The Rappin’ Mathematician Decimals.” YouTube. 30 June 2008. 24 May 2009 .

A short online video of Mr. Kajitani’s rap he created. The music video is about how to add and subtract decimals and place value.

Week before Finals

2009-05-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in a few days. It is the week before finals and while some classes I have stressed upon, others I let fall a little behind so I'm playing catch up. My stress was a huge research paper due tomorrow. It's almost done now except for some minor tweaking to make sure my grammar and citation are done correctly.

Math and Counseling is what I fell behind on. I have 2 sections of notes and 3 sections of homework to catch up on, not to mention a test to study for :) And counseling I have a 1 page paper to write and a 2 page book report, neither of which is hard but I just haven't seemed to find the time to do them. Hopefully I'll get the chance today to do counseling between my geography and math class since I think everything is supposed to be in by today for that class. If I don't get a chance, I'll still have a very high grade so I'm not TO worried about it.

Oh, and Malcolm has officially started to crawl. Very slowly, and inch worm meets army crawl quality, but there is some movement. So, life just got a little more crazy with a moving baby. :)

Friday's Weekly Recap

2009-05-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

I know many blogs have a theme on days of the week so I thought I would do the same. So, welcome to the very first Multitasking World Friday Recap! I know, very existing :)

This week just seems insane and I'm not sure how long this will be so I apologize in advice. School is out in just 2 more weeks. This week saw the end of my silly 1 credit counseling class though. I still have work I need to turn into his box, but now I don't have to sit through the pointless class. When you take education classes, at least at my college, they link them with other classes they force you to take even though you don't need it. That was my counseling class.

Tuesday my husband's grandmother, here by referred to as Nanny, had a pre-op appointment with her doctor. The eye doctor had said her eyelids were starting to turn inwards and rub against the eye. I actually think its hysterical because, if you have ever had Shar Pei, this is a common problem with this type of dog as puppies. So, Nanny has made it into the pack officially now.

Wednesday was the excitement for the week! The babysitter calls me at 6pm, after she had already left for the day, and asks me if I noticed the bump on Zoe's side. I look at Zoe and notice this giant hard lump off of her side. Sure enough, after pointing it out to my mother-in-law, DH and my MIL go to the emergency vet with poor Zoe. 9pm, Zoe makes it make it back home with multiple patches of fur shaved off, stitches in one area, staples in another, and a big rubber tube hanging off her side where the bump was so it can drain. Oh, the joys of dog fights. My dog, Gwyn, has been 'fighting' Zoe, MIL's dog, over leadership of the pack. So far, Zoe is losing. It's a little embarrasing to bring her into the vet because of all the scars and cuts on her. A trucker actually told my MIL last month, "That dog sure has seen a lot of fights." If you didn't know the situation, you would think we were running a dog fighting ring with Zoe as our champ. We're not! Don't call me out :)

Thursday was just depressing because my babysitter tells me she found a job and is starting on Tuesday. My babysitter is my best friend and because she was laid off from her previous job a few months ago, she has become my babysitter. Malcolm loves her and gets so excited when she comes by. There's only 2 weeks left of school so I'm sure DH and I can muddle through that without a sitter (I really only need to find someone to watch him when I tutor in the evenings). But now I'm stuck with trying to figure out what I'm going to do next fall when school starts back up. I'm never going to be as happy with anyone besides my friend or family, and DH has out right said he doesn't want anyone else watching him. I just don't think that's practical to say if he still wants me to go to school though, erg!

Friday, today!! I can't really recap it though since it hasn't happened yet. This weekend should be interesting though. DH works 8 hour days today, tomorrow, and Sunday, and my friend asked him to help her move on Sunday as well. I'm fairly certain I'll be with Malcolm by myself all weekend, without a car, struggling to get homework done and a research paper written that are all due next week. Lucky me.

I hope everyone else has a wonderful weekend!

A Simple Introduction

2009-05-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

While today may be the first day of this blog, I feel like it really should have started months ago. To start off, in March of 2008 I found out I was pregnant and couldn't have been happier. Since then, my son Malcolm was born in December. I never really went back to work because I love staying home with him as much as I can. But, I also thought what better time then right now when work was looming over me, to go back to school. So, in February, I went back. I'm currently majoring in Liberal Studies with the intent to go into teaching elementary school. If everything goes according to plan, which it never does, then I'll have my bachelors in 2 years, and 1 year of student teaching and I'll be done.

But oh, if that were the end of it, it wouldn't be that much of a multitasking world, now would it? In addition to school and baby, money was running tight without me working. So, to kill two birds with one stone, I got a part time job tutoring a 7th grader giving me both money, and experience in the teaching field. I love tutoring but there are days that are just frustrating, days that I barely make it there on time, and days that I am literally trying to come up with us to do. And, just recently, I got another part time job working weekends and this summer, at Best Buy, selling cameras. It worked at Best Buy years ago doing this exact same thing and loved it so I thought why not try it again? Especially since I am 99% sure no one will want a tutor over the summer.

Oh, but there is more! To help save on expenses, our household and my mother-in-law's household have combined. So, I live with my husband, my son, my mother-in-law, my husband's grandmother, and 4, count them 4, dogs. Oh, and my friend is storing her 2 turtles here as well. Talk about a boat load of stuff going on033 everyday.

So, to sum it up in one sentence.... I am a new mom to an almost crawling little man, a wife, caretaker to the elderly, stopper of dog fights, feeder of turtles, full time student, future teacher, tutor of students, and camera seller extraordinaire.

If nothing else, this blog should help make order of this time. Although I don't hold out much hope for life slowing down anytime soon.