Eastern Michigan University

I was accepted into EMU!!  Their nutrition program is very different then anyone elses.  Normally, you get your BS in Nutrition, then you do an internship and then go on to an MS if you choose.  EMU's program includes the internship in either the bachelors or masters program.  I was fully prepared to enroll in the bachelors program when one day I had an epiphany.  Why didn't I contact Wayne State University and find out if I could graduate from their and get my BA in Biology and then I could apply to the nutrition program for my masters?  After one quick phone call I found out it was perfectly doable, I just needed to find a school that offers the one class I need, and then I can graduate from WSU!!  This will shave 2 whole years off my program!!  I contacted Texas A&M and while they do offer the class, I have to apply and be accepted into A&M as a transfer student.  I missed the deadline for both summer and fall, so the soonest I can apply is August and the soonest I can take it is Jan 2014.  This does push me back a year, I was hoping to apply for the nutrition program in Jan 2014, and now I'm looking at Jan 2015, but I still have a few pre-req's to take and this will give me more time to do that, and not feel rushed or pressured to complete all those classes too fast.  As much as I'd like to go to school full time, I do still work full time and have 2 children, so that's not as doable right now.  I am very excited about this new route I'll be taking.  For now, I'm taking the summer off while I figure out how to take all the classes I do need, and I get my financial aid switched to EMU, but I am not walking away for long, I am too committed now!!

ADHD meds

Well, we did it, we started Garrett on some ADHD meds.  After a few very difficult weeks and some major temper tantrums at home, I had a serious meeting with his teacher, and then his pediatrician.  Matt was still on the fence, but with the kids insurance running out we decided to try it.  There was only 5 weeks of school left, so we thought let's see how he does, he won't take it all summer so we can think about the best options over the summer.  The Dr. agreed, and suggested 2 doses of Vyvanse, , only because the meds are expensive and without insurance he didn't want us to have to pay cash.  He made me promise to try the lowest dose for 2 weeks before I went to the next dosage.  The first day he did better but could not stop talking!  The first day he took it was a Friday, so he didn't take it over the weekend.  Monday, he did ok, but Tuesday was horrible!  So, I called the pediatrician back, and he just said give it time.  Well, Wednesday and Thursday were fantastic days, but Friday, and Monday and Tuesday were not.  Wednesday was good, but Thursday wasn't.  I called and talked to his teacher rand she agreed she could see some change, but not a lot, so we decided, on Friday to try the higher dose, and it worked!  He is now reading much better, writing so much better, behaving so good, the teacher admitted she forgot he was there on Monday!!  On Tuesday, he not only finished all his work, but even offered to help another child with his!  This has never happened.  Mrs. Sowell said he is just doing SO good!  I was glad we both were able to see her Tuesday night and Matt could hear her rave about his behavior, he needed to hear that to put his mind at ease for doing the meds.  I think it did.

She did tell me that he needs to be reading at a level 2 to graduate kindergarten and at Christmas he was reading at a level 4, but they retested this past week and he's now at a 10!  A 10 is required to graduate from first grade, so starting next week, he'll start reading at a second grade level!

Tonight, he did not argue or fight with me, and he choose to color pictures for Mrs. Sowell and Mrs. Brewer rather then watch tv, this has probably never happened, and at bedtime, he picked out a book and wanted to read it himself!  He had started really fighting us on reading.  So for everyone who says "don't put your kid on meds", I argue, look how much Garrett has improved in such a short amount of time!  I am very pleased with our choice.  I do still worry about long term side effects and i hope someday I don't regret this decision, but to see him do so well at school makes me feel so much better about my choice.

GT Expo

I don't remember if I posted anything about Garrett being chosen for the gifted and talented program or not.  It was right before Spring Break, I believe, his teacher approached me and said she thought he should be tested, we decided it wouldn't hurt anything and he was accepted!  The crazy thing is, most ADHD kids have a learning disability too, so this was a surprise to me.  Basically, the GT kids thing outside the box, it doesn't mean they are exceptionally smart, most of them are not geniuses, but they arrive at the answer differently then other people do.  It also means more time doing things he considers fun.  The Kindergarten class has 7 kids that tested into the program, I believe it was 7, and they each had to spend time researching an animal, Garrett choose a Cheetah, they were allowed extra library time, and computer time and art time.  They had to research their animal and answer certain questions about it, make a poster, then make a clay animal, they also had to do a presentation in front of their classmates and then Tuesday night, Bowen had an Expo where all the GT kids had their projects on display.  I was amazed at how well Garrett did!!  He wasn't the best artist, Rijo definitely wins that category, but Garrett made an antelope that was laying on the ground and a cheetah running towards it, he was the only one who thought to have his predator and prey on display.  He knew every fact there was to know about the Cheetah, but he also learned so much from all the other kids.  I'm telling you, this was right up his alley.  He had a blast telling everyone about his animal and at one point was answering peoples questions about the girls project next to his because she had gone to the bathroom, lol!  Needless to say, Matt and I were very proud of him!

School Denial

I knew that I would not be able to graduate from Kaplan, if I wanted to be an RD, so from day one I have been researching schools and chatting with others so I have a game plan in place.  The two schools that offer an online BS in Nutrition are Kansas State University and Eastern Michigan University.  Their programs are quite different and KSU is my top choice, but I went ahead and applied to both schools.  I have been exchanging emails with the Nutrition advisor at KSU so I knew my Chemistry would be an issue and it was.  What I wasn't expecting was to not be granted admission to the school at all, I figured I would be accepted to KSU but have more difficulty getting into the Nutrition program.  I received a C in both Chem I and II, sadly prior to 2013, this would have been acceptable, but now they require at least a B, so I am now researching my options to retake those two classes.  I quickly looked at Blinns schedule, but I do not think it is doable for me.  It is not online, and each is offered for 4 weeks from 4-8 every day, Mon-Fri, I just do not see how for 8 weeks I could leave work early and then go to school for 4 hours, when would I study, or see the kids?!?!  That is too much.  I am inquiring as to whether the Chemistry that Kaplan offers is acceptable, if it is, there are two terms left before Fall semester at KSU starts, but since I was not admitted to the school itself, I do not know if I can take those and still start in the Fall.  I have emailed my contact at KSU and am waiting to hear from her.  I am not letting this stop me, nothing will, at this point.  I am just trying to find out if I may need to delay admission to KSU until January 2014 or if I can still get started in September 2013. 

I have not heard anything from EMU yet, so that is not ruled out yet. 

Spring Break

Personally, I was dreading Spring Break a bit, from a financial standpoint.  Not only was I paying our normal daycare expense, in March, but I would also have to incur an extra weeks expense and I was FREAKING out.  It would be one thing if the daycare didn't charge for the week they weren't open, especially since the same daycare was offering a spring break camp that my kids could go to, for $240!!!  I could not afford to take a week off work and neither could Matt.   I don't have any family close enough to watch the kids and asking Matt's family to do that would be a lot to ask for an entire week.  I then asked at Payton's school if any of the teachers were off and might be interested in making a bit of extra money, 3 of them were!!  I told them I could only pay $30 a day, but needed them from 7:30-3:30, none cared.  Monday Matt was able to take the kids, so that saved us some money.  Rhonda ended up watching the kids Tuesday and Wednesday and she was AMAZING!  Made the kids lunch, from scratch, baked brownies, took the kids to the park, played with them outside, had Garrett practice his reading while Payton napped and did all the dishes they used, by hand!  Plus had the kids clean up, so I came home to happy kids and a clean house.  Thursday and Friday Reagan watched them.  Reagan has watched the kids before so I knew she was an amazing sitter too.  She also took the kids to the park (for a picnic lunch), played a ton outside, made a fort for her and Garrett to read in while Payton napped, and ordered pizza on Friday so they could have a little pizza party.  She also UNLOADED my dishwasher!  Everyday, my kids were worn out and they had a blast.

Two nights we also were able to go to Stefani and Joe's lake house, that was SO much more fun this year now that Payton is a bit older.  Tuesday night, we fished, I almost got a hook in the throat, but other then that, we all had so much fun.  Thursday night, the hot tub was set up, so the kids "swam" in it for hours, then we took a boat ride.  I am hoping we can go there a lot this summer.  Payton is looking to be as much a water baby as Garrett so it should be a lot of fun.

I'm Back! I Hope.....

I can't believe how far behind I am on posts!  I want to blog, I think about it, but then I never get time in front of the computer.  I've tried doing it from my phone, but the posts end up in cyberspace somewhere and not on here, so I give up on that.  Let's see if I can do a quick recap of the last 3 months.

Christmas - we drove, yes, drove, to my parents house.  Overall the trip wasn't bad, Garrett got sick about 15 miles outside of town, but other then that the drive was pretty uneventful.  Once we arrived in Michigan, Matt got terribly sick and we ended up at Urgent Care on Christmas Eve and the ER the day after Christmas.  Turns out he had Type A Influenza and some other infection I can't even think of the name of right now.  His Christmas vacation involved a lot of laying on the couch feeling miserable :-(  The kids, on the other hand had a blast!  We saw as much family as we could cram in and then drove home.  We celebrated Christmas with Matt's family on New Year's Eve that was also fun, especially for the kids.  Matt was still feeling pretty miserable on New Year's Eve so we laid on the couch and did nothing.  That's ok tho, after the whirlwind trip we had, hanging out relaxing was just fine with us!

January was rather uneventful, or as least as I remember it, lol.

February brought a few birthday's and an anniversary to the house.  Garrett turned 6 on Feb 1, Payton 3 on February 16, Matt and I celebrated 8 years together on February 12, and I had a birthday on February 18.  This year I was just not into planning a party at the house, so we opted for two parties on the same day.  In the morning we had all the family over and Matt made some of his famous chili, then in the evening we had a swim party at Aerofit.  This worked out great!  The grandparents were able to enjoy the kids and see the joy on their faces from the gifts they received, and there weren't a bunch of kids runnning around.  In the evening, the kids could be loud and crazy and Matt and I got to visit with our friends and not feel bad about anyone getting splashed or worrying about who can and can't handle the stairs, etc.  The kids had a blast, of course!  The swim party was a huge hit and I think that theme may be revisited one day.

The business is hanging on, it has it's ups and downs, being gone for Christmas hurt us but we are back on track now.  School is going great, I am still maintaining an A average, so I'm very excited.  I've just applied to both Kansas State University and Eastern Michigan University.  I'll need to transfer for my senior year, then I'll take my licensing exam and go on for my masters, but that's still a ways off.

Payton is doing great!  She is such a happy kid, we still haven't hit the terrible 2/3/4's, I know it will hit, but she's still just an easy going kid.  Her newest thing is to wake up and climb into bed with us, Garrett never did this and Matt and I both struggle with putting her back to bed.  Lately she's falling asleep on her floor, not sure what's going on with that, but I just go in and move her.  We are constantly struggling with her and her hair, she just does not like it pulled back, so we've "donated" a lot of hair ties and clips to Powersports.

Garrett is doing great as well, we are trying all kinds of new things at school and home to help keep him focused and on track.  His big thing is he hates his glasses, so that is a big struggle for us, but what would life be with a kindergartner without some sort of struggle!  We are so proud of him though, he was recently tested for the Gifted and Talented Program and was accepted!!  I'm not entirely sure what all this will entail but we are so proud of him!  Yesterday, I was able to go on a field trip with him to Blue Bell and that was so much fun!  I'd never been before, so that part was pretty fun, but getting to spend the entire day with just him was just what he needed.

Ok, I don't want to make this too long, I just wanted to do a quick update and I am making a commitment to myself to post at least once a week.  The whole point behind this was so I could remember my kids as they grew up and I'm already forgetting things from 3 months ago!!