Tara's a girlie girl. She would wear a dress in the shower, or out in the mud if I'd let her.

I just found ten bucks in an old purse. That rocks. :)

getting ready for school

New backpacks

Backpacks that are full of new stuff.

Emily's Smartie art

Ooooh I love to shop for school supplies. It is so fun getting a new notebook and crayons and all the other stuff. The kids and I came home and labeled everything and put it all in their new backpacks. They ended up choosing the same backpack just a different color. I think they inherited my joy in school supply shopping. I heard on the radio that a lot of people find shopping for school supplies stressful. It's funny what is fun for one is a chore for another.

I know there will be more trips to the store when the official supply list comes home on the first day. By then it may not be as fun. But today was great! I had a near flat tire coming out of the store, which hampered our further shopping for shoes and clothes. There's always tomorrow!

Done

It is so surreal to be finished with my assessment class. It seemed like it would go on and on forever. Now I am down to one class until the fall semester starts. Woopeee! I don't know what to do with myself!
The assessment prof cancelled the final and just gave us the points. I think he did it on a whim, although he said he planned it this way. But we came into class the day before and turned in our HUGE HONKIN 40+ page project and he started telling us how to study for the final. Then he said he'd email it to us. Then he just cancelled it!

I am not kidding when I say that I grinned all the way home. I am still in a partial perm-a-grin. Some other classmates were ticked that he cancelled it, thinking he shouldn't have strung us along. I, however, am not looking a gift horse in the mouth.
Now, just as long as I get a good grade on that final paper, I'll be one happy grad student. :)

I am looking through a haze of a virus filled head, listening to 'Who Wants to Be a Superhero' on TV.
I am finished with the project. I had numerous e-mails and calls from classmates with questions. None of us is confident in our project. I just want to give it to him and have it in HIS HANDS. No more second guessing how I did it. Then Thursday is the LAST DAY! (a final and turning in a project tomorrow and a portfolio separates me from FREEDOM!!!!)

Then there is the group work in another class, which isn't going particularly well since we aren't sure to what to do in there either. But at least it's not assessment. It's all relevant to assessment these days.

I've been reading your blogs about retreats and vacations and fun and merriment this summer. I say....sniff....sniff.... I want to go too .....Pity land is so easy to go to! No lines, no waiting, just come on in to pity land and start complaining. Hee hee.
Good night I say through my stuffy nose fog.... :) :)

Balloons, Bible and Lost Tooth

First a quick update on my mom: She is home and on oxygen. She is a bit tired but otherwise great. I am so proud of her! She's a trooper and a half.

We went to church tonight, where Tara earned enough tickets to get her own Bible.

Emily actually gave Tara a couple of her own tickets to get it. The tickets are won by bringing their Bible to class, filling out a homework thingy, etc.. Tara was so excited.

Then we went out to eat and there they both got balloons. Tara's tooth pulled an Exorcist, twisting around and around but not quite falling out until we were at the restaurant. It seems she needs to be in public to lose her teeth.

Emily looked at her toothless sister, turned to me as serious as a heart attack and said with her hand on my shoulder, " They grow up so fast, don't they?" Jay nearly spit out his water with laughter.

Mom, NWMC, Project

The family

She couldn't wait to be free to run around. Sitting in the meeting was hard for her.

Matt. S.

Listening to the speaker

The three muskateers

Tara was not interested in the speaker so she colored.

Kirk and Jay

Mom is doing better. She may even go home today. She will have to have oxygen 24/7 for a while. She has about the same function as after the stroke when they performed a swallowing test. This is good news. This means that she can continue to eat a little by mouth but no ice cream says Mom because it melts and goes down the wrong tube. My dad has caught something. He is on antibiotics but he feels awful and is coughing a lot.

On the night that Mom got so sick, I was first at NWMC. We had fun and I wanted to show some of those pictures.

I have a final project due early next week, which is huge and daunting. I am pretty much going to hunker down and do it all weekend while taking care of Em and Tara.