OMG!

So much has happened in the last 2 months, it really makes my head spin! There is a lot that I haven't posted about because there was not time... there still isn't....

Today is my last day of classes! HOORAY!! I worked really hard last weekend to wrap up some projects and last night I stayed up until a little after midnight completing two more. One big project just needed some small revisions, but when I went to open my document I found most of it missing!!!! I guess that I didn't save the right copy or something.. anyway, it meant that I had to retype half of it (this is a BIG document!) Luckily, I had the hard copy to work from, but it was still time consuming. Then I decided to start another project, one on an English Language Learner from my field work. I had done eight assessments on this student to determine his language abilities and then I had to analyze the data and discuss my findings. I did the whole thing last night and went to bed feeling satisfied with my accomplishments. Those two projects are not even due until August 8th, but I set a goal to be done by Friday, the 1st because that is the last day of classes.

I am up early this morning to start my last project, a Literacy Profile. This resembles the ELL profile, but focuses on a proficient reader. I had to collect data and now I will sit down to analyze the assessments and report on my understanding of the information. I am shooting to finish this by 11:00 a.m. so that I can go and watch Ella swim today (she is being bribed to jump off of the diving board). My "drop dead" time for today is 12:30 because I have my last class of the term today at 1:00. The project is not due until 12 noon tomorrow, but I want it done NOW!!!

Why am I blogging then? Because Andy just told the kids that they could watch t.v. until it was time to go and I was finding it difficult to write academically with "We're going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship...Zooming through the sky... Little Einsteins" playing in the background. They are finished now and Andy is taking them to school, so I am going to put my nose to the grindstone and get busy. Wish me luck and tomorrow I may actually SLEEP IN!!!

Earthquake

Yes we had one, yes we felt it. I was on the third floor of the library and boy did it roll. I was kind of freaked out. The kids were evacuated to the same lawn that I was, so I got to see them right away and know that they were o.k. Andy was driving and on his way to pick up Ella, so we were all together and accounted for. Whew.

The house has a crack in the kitchen ceiling that opens and closes with every shift of the house (as all good SoCal houses do! hee hee) and it has now been extended across the entire eating area and is on the openish side. Some wooden letters fell off of a shelf and crashed down onto some wooden statues, but nothing there broke. One picture frame fell and the glass in it broke. Every picture in the house was crooked but that was the extent of our "damage".

Ella was the most freaked out... she said, "I thought the whole world was shaking!". I hope that we can just continue having these moderate quakes that release pressure and that perhaps we can avoid the dreaded "Big One" that is always present in the back of everyone's mind.

Accidents Happen

This is my last week of school. Last weekend was really rough, I put in three solid days of work, sitting at the computer for about 14 hours each day. My projects are almost done...

But this post is not about me and school... it is about Gavin.

He broke his arm today, his elbow to be more specific. I could go and grab his paperwork and tell you the exact bone, but I'm not going to. I was in class and Andy got a phone call from the school. He took Gavin to the hospital and my mom took Ella to swimming and I knew NOTHING about it. My phone was on silent mode, because I was in class. I had a lunch meeting for a group project, so I didn't even check my messages. When my day was finished, I went to call Andy and found a text message that said that they were at the hospital. They were home by that time, so I raced there feeling horrible, that my poor baby boy had broken his arm and I wasn't there, and I hadn't even known it had happened.

He ran to get a big cuddle hug from me when I got home and he told me all about his "adventure". He was playing tag and fell off of the climbing structure at day camp, he landed on his arm and it was his elbow that hit the ground first. He said that it felt like someone had shot him in the arm (?? I don't think that he really knows what THAT would feel like.. but...) He said that it hurt pretty bad and that he couldn't move it. That is when the school called Andy who told me that there was a huge, ugly goose egg on his arm and he made the decision to go to urgent care.

His arm was very swollen and Gavin couldn't move his arm well enough for them to get a good x-ray, but they could see a break. They put a splint on it and hooked him up in a sling. He has to go back on Tuesday for another x-ray and they will most likely put a cast on it then. I am so bummed for him!! He doesn't realize it yet, but he is gonna hate this thing. He is supposed to go to a swim party on Saturday and we are getting ready to have our vacation! We were going to swim, have backyard water play, head to the beach and go to a local water park. We will definitely have to reconsider! Fortunately, he is in very little pain and seems very nonchalant about the whole thing. We are thankful that he wasn't hurt any worse. My baby has now been fully initiated into boyhood.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I cannot wait to be done with this school thing for the summer! I really want to CLEAN MY HOUSE!!! You know how, when you are away from your kids you really miss them? Well, I really miss having a neat house.

Right now, there are things scattered from one end to the other. The house is "clean" really, I mean... Andy is doing dishes and all of that, and we do have a house cleaner. It is the clutter! There is a lunch box on the bench, sliffpers on the floor under the kitchen table that have been there for a week, a magazine tossed in the corner that needs to be repaired, doll stuff in the family room, legos on the window seat, 2 sloppy piles of assorted books on the coffee table and two more on the window seat, the couch is covered with toys and books and the pillows have not been put in their proper places for 4 weeks! There are cd's on the entertainment center and today, while helping Ella to "find" a purse to use, I discovered that her entire doll/dress up area has been picked up and just "dumped" into the baskets and bins. Nothing is where it should be. I asked her why she hasn't played dress up lately and her answer was, "Do you think I could find anything in this mess?"

I won't go on to tell you about the other rooms but they are just as bad... it's not a lot and you can see the floor, it's just that I haven't been going around and straightening up. I could be doing that now, but I felt that I needed to vent! Well, the clutter will wait and I will go into a massive straightening up mode when this is done. I have even been having fantasies about cleaning out the garage!

Our roommate told us that she is going to be moving out in November (or so), which is bittersweet. We will miss her, we will miss the extra income, but we will relish the children being able to have their own rooms. I know that I will spend most of the winter, cleaning closets, redecorating and organizing. I am looking forward to it all.

But, for now... I am heading back to the books. I have several HUGE projects due at the end of the term and I do not want to wait until the last minute to try to pull them together. I am doing really well in my classes. I am keeping up with the work and scoring high on all of my assignments. Most of the work comes easily, although there is just a MASSIVE amount of it. I am trying to figure out what my school schedule will be like for next year (and the next) so that we can see how it will all pan out and when I will be able to start teaching full time. In the midst of that, we are still debating about baby #3... we don't seem to be able to let that go. I just don't know if now is the time, but do I really want to wait any longer? So there is a lot going on in my head and in my heart. Prayers for peace and answers are always welcomed.

It has been a summer of growth for all of us here at the Huffaker household and there is more to come... We will find our answers and our right path... maybe it is under that pile of books in the living room.....

The Half Way Mark

I am half way finished with this summer madness! I don't know whether to breath a sigh of relief or to run screaming. There is a lot to do and a short amount of time to get it done. I turned in a mid term today. It was o.k. It was the first academic paper that I have written in 11 years.. so, I was a bit rusty. I actually did not go to my classes yesterday, so that I would have time to do it. I feel guilty, but there are only so many hours in a day! Tonight I am taking a break. I ate pizza and watched the kids swim and hung out with the Arizona Huffakers.
Tomorrow I will study in the morning and we will join them for an afternoon at the Orange County Fair. I will most likely be studying all weekend long.. I will miss a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's... oh, man... hee hee hee....

Off to bed I go, for a sound sleep before a long weekend of mind numbing studying.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Academia

AHHHHH my brain hurts! My neck is stiff and my shoulders have migrated up to my ears. I am on the last day of my 2nd week...only 4 more to go...and enough work to fill up 3 months!

This week, I started my field work which showed me what working full time might be like! I had to be TOTALLY ready for the day (dressed, jewelry and makeup) and get the kids out of the house, dropped off at Gramma and Grampa's house and be at the school by 8 a.m. I made it! The kids were not dressed or fed.. but they did that with Gma and Gpa... It was exhausting beingn in the classroom for 4 hours. I worked with a boy who was having some SERIOUS behavior issues and he has already been asked to leave the summer program. I worked with several students today and the teacher complimented me, saying that I was a "natural". That felt really good!

Last weekend was rough, I worked all day on Saturday and missed going to church with my family on Sunday to take advantage of the quiet so that I could work for 3 hours. Andy and I went head to head over some issues, but now that the pressure has been released, we seem to be working together much better. I am letting go of the house stuff more and more and trusting him to take care of what needs to be done. This is harder than it may seem!

This week I have been tired and overwhelmed with information that has no place in my brain yet. Today, I am taking advantage of some morning hours to work on projects for next week. (oh, and blogging too) I am at the library and have been doing some research on line. I have a lesson to write, some reading to do and journals to compile from my fieldwork.

This weekend, we are making our traditional trek to Chula Vista to my favorite relaxation spot on the marina. We will camp, and relax and eat and visit with friends. We will swim and play and have a great time together. I wish that I did not have so much work to bring with me, but I will look back on this summer and know how much I accomplished. Besides, working in the sun, with an ocean breeze and a fruity drink in my hand doesn't really sound so bad!

Happy 4th of July... celebrate gleefully... we are so blessed to live here, with the freedoms that we have... remember and appreciate... I know that I will!