School

Well, it's official, I'm back to school!!  I had my first "class" last night.  I decided to go ahead and enroll at Kaplan.  I won't be able to get my degree from there and be an RD, but I can go there for a year and get my GPA up and finish researching which schools I want to go to, and I can apply in the spring and transfer in the fall, I should only have about 1 year at whatever school I go to, so this seems like the best choice.  I did lose a lot of core classes, my maths and sciences because I've been out of school for so long, but because all my electives transferred in, it still means I'll have about 2 years to go to get my bachelors, then I'll do an internship and my masters or my masters and then my internship, I haven't worked all those details out yet.  I'm very excited, but also very nervous.  I haven't been a student in well over 10 years and I've never done online classes so this is very new to me.  I'll take 2 classes every 10 weeks, with one week off, so I'll do 4 terms a year, at Kaplan, it may be different when I transfer.

The format at Kaplan is you have one seminar time a week, where you log into a virtual classroom and have a lecture for one hour.  Then you have one discussion post that has to be done by Saturday, and then you have to reply to 2 students discussion posts by Tuesday, the end of the week is Tuesday at midnight.  There are also some quizzes, some projects and some exams.  All the quizzes and exams are open book.  The discussion posts have to be about 100-150 words and include references, so you have to do research on the topic, not just bs your way through it.  One of my classes has a book and part of our assignments are reading, but the other class does not.

I'm taking Intro to Health Science, this is where I will research my degree choice and really see if it's a fit for me, how much will I make as an RD, what classes do I need to take, etc.  I wasn't sure what this entailed but now I think I'll enjoy it, I think it will help clear up some questions and help me decide where I want to focus my electives on, I"m thinking pediatric, but we'll see.  The second class is Food Safety, I'm pretty sure I'll be scared to ever eat out again or even at any ones house, but it's a required class for me, so I have to take it, lol!

I talked to Garrett about it a bit and I think he gets the general idea, that sometimes Momma will have to be on the computer and he and Payton will have to play by themselves, but both of my seminar times are at night and Matt should be home for those times.  My goal is to get my homework done while they are at school, that's why this job has turned out to be the perfect fit.

So, wish my luck there's no turning back now!!

Matt's Birthday

Matt's birthday was June 25.  For those that don't know, Matt, his mom, dad, brother and Father's day all fall in the same month.  It's kind of like a repeat of February!  Poor Lindasy, her birthday isn't until July :-(  But, because Matt's birthday was on a Monday, and we both had to work, we ended up having his family come to dinner.  I tried a new recipe for spaghetti in the crockpot.  I had to work until 5, and for some crazy reason, we ended up not leaving work until 5:45, it is the latest I've worked since going back to work, and it had to be on his birthday!!  Thankfully, dinner was in the crockpot, and all Matt had to do was make the pasta.  We had a record high of 106, so needless to say, our poor a/c unit was struggling, it was SO hot in the house.  The heat doesn't usually bother me and I was dying so I'm sure Mat's family was not enjoying it either!  It took forever for the water to boil for the pasta because the a/c was blowing right on the pot.  I think everyone enjoyed it.  I think it could have used a bit more spice, but honestly, it was very good and super easy.  For Father's day we had gotten Matt some new shirts, which he desperately needed, so for his birthday, we got him a new bedside lamp, which he's been asking for forever, a star wars tshirt and a new bathing suit.  I think he had a good time.  Funny how our lives have changed, no going out for a crazy, late night out of drinking and celebrating, I'm pretty sure we were in bed by 10, lol! 

We were lucky enough that Mat's parents watched the kids on Saturday night for us, and we went out to eat and had a couple drinks.  Matt wasn't feeling great and we were both exhausted, so we didn't stay out late, it was just very enjoyable to have a meal where I didn't get up 3 times to take someone potty and I could eat my meal while it was still hot and I didn't get heartburn from inhaling it.  Happy 36th birthday Matt!

Hunny's Birthday

I am WAY behind on my blog!!  But, on June 21, it was Matt's moms birthday, or as she's affectionately called around here, "Hunny".  She decided she didn't want to go out to eat, so we drove out to her house to join her for dinner and desserts.  The kids got her a really cute ladybug statue for her garden, nothing much, but Garrett & I loved it in the store and she helps Payton catch ladybugs, so we thought it was the perfect little gift.  We had a great time, and I think she enjoyed herself too.  Payton didn't quite get the happy birthday song part, she thought everyone was singing to her, lol.  So, Happy belated birthday Hunny!

Conversation with a 5 year old

I picked the kids up from school today and I asked Garrett how his day was.  This is what he said:

"I was super, duper good.  I took a nap.  Jeremiah pushed Payton down and made her cry, so he had to sit in time out.  Claire had peace signs on her bows and skirt, she tried to kiss me.  I'm not going to marry Claire, I'm going to marry Keira."

Lol!!

Garrett's eye exam

Last year Garrett failed the 4 year old eye exam and we went to see an eye Dr.  The apt was miserable, he cried a lot, we were there entirely too long and then, not having insurance, I broke down in tears when they told me how much glasses were going to cost.  What a difference a year makes!  We had to go to a different office, since the other Dr doesn't take our insurance, but I think it worked out great.  We went to Greene Eyes, and even though they told me they'd have to dilate his eyes, it turns out he's matured enough that he was able to do all the tests and she feels she got a good reading on him, so no drops were needed!  What a relief to me and him.  Turns out the exam was completely free and while his rx did change a bit, our insurance will cover the regular lenses and $75 towards frames.  We found frames we liked for $95 so it would only be $20, but I really want him to have the transition lenses like he has now and that will be $115.  So I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet.  She did tell me they are getting a much bigger selection of youth glasses in on Monday, so we decided to wait and talk it over with Matt and then see what new frames they have next week.  We discussed reusing his existing frames, but they are terribly bent and if they break, we'll have to buy frames and lenses for full price.  If we get new frames and lenses, we have a replacement warranty on both, one time for the frame and twice for the lenses, so that seems pretty worth it, we just need to decide on the transition part. 

Payton at the dentist

I really need to learn how to post pictures from my phone on here!

I finally cracked under the peer pressure and took Payton to the dentist.  Everyone was telling me she needed to go at 1, but we didn't have insurance so I just figured I'd wait until she was 3, like I did with Garrett.  But my dentist, the dentist I work for and Payton's pediatrician were all pushing for her to get checked, so since it's covered under her dental plan and it wouldn't cost me anything I figured I'd give it a shot.  I wasn't sure what to expect, she's not the calmest child ever, and she's a bit shy.  But, she surprised us all and did great!  I called on Monday and got an apt for Tuesday, so we talked about it Monday night and Tuesday morning, then when I picked her up from school she just kept telling everyone "I go to the dentist", sweet child has no idea what a dentist was, so it was just too cute!  She announced to the receptionist that he was there to see the dentist too, which got us quite a few "she is the cutest thing ever".  I knew she wouldn't get any xrays and I remember at Garrett's first apt he just cried, so the Dr was able to get a good look at this teeth.  Payton climbed right up in the chair and opened up real big.  The dentist checked and she has all her teeth except one molar, which is almost in.  Then she brushed a fluoride treatment on her teeth and we were done.  I'm pretty sure it took Payton longer to pick out her prize then the actual apt did.  I'm not complaining, the Dr did not rush us at all, but there isn't much to discuss when your 2.5 year old has no issues.  The only thing I was surprised about was they want to see kids between 1 and 3 every 3 months, so they can put that fluoride treatment on and help prevent cavities.  So, we'll go back in September, then when she's 3, they'll attempt x-rays and a real cleaning.  She was so proud and announced to both Daddy and Stefani that she saw the dentist.  She's getting too big too fast!

Father's Day

I think Matt enjoyed his father's day, unfortunately, it ended up being a "working" day for him.  He decided to invite his family over for dinner, this was not my idea, it was all his, but it meant he had mow the front and back grass.  He also decided to change the oil in both our cars, this was all his decision.  I cleaned like a maniac Saturday evening so we could do whatever he wanted on Sunday, but he opted to wait.  We ended up running to Koppe Bridge for a quick lunch and then everyone dozed off for a few before his family arrived.  He made pulled pork, bbq sandwiches, it was SO good.  We kept it super simple and just served coleslaw with it.  Then had a cookie cake that Lindsay brought for dessert.  Afterwards, we hung out with our neighbors for a bit.  We got Matt some new shirts, Payton of course picked out orange, and Garrett green.  Unfortunately, the sizes I got were a bit too small, and when I went to exchange them they didn't have any more orange.  I don't think Matt was too upset, he's always been anti orange, but he loves Payton too much, I think he would have worn it for her.