An update

Just to update those who might be wondering, Andy went out and bought a new-er minivan today while I drove the boys to preschool and went grocery shopping (finally-Andy gave the boys PB & J raisin toast for breakfast because we were out of cereal, milk, eggs, butter...coffee too, which I forgot to get-ooo my head is hurting right now). I haven't seen it yet, but the van's a red! Dodge caravan 2003, I think. Our next step will be to find some sympathetic junkyard to take our other minivan off our hands for us.

Marcus seems to be doing fine. No complaints of sore throat, no fever, nothing that I can see down his throat. So, I guess that's that.

Also, yesterday was my final class at IUK. It seems weird to think of not going back to school for class next week. For a while, I've always had the mindset of "now this [project, paper, test] is done, what's next?" I won't have that preoccupation any more (or at least for a lwhile-I could see myself doing grad school at some point). Graduation is officially next Tuesday morning but I am not going. It seems like such a scam to have to pay $50 for a cap and gown. And, I already had the graduation experience at Millikin, so, no thank you to this one.

The perfect storm...

...of events that is. After work on Saturday night, I was greeted at home with 1) the alternator went out on the van, 2) our babysitter was not available on Monday to watch the boys while I went to work, and 3) Marcus might have strep throat. Needless to say, not the best way to be met at the door. Well, because of all this, I stayed home from work Monday. I guess that works out-no $ spent on gas or a babysitter. We're still keeping an eye on Marcus's throat just in case something develops.
We've decided the van is done. We replaced the alternator a few years ago, anyway, and, we have a sneaky feeling that the transmission is going bad too (we have also replaced that once). Now, it's on to hunt for a new-er car. We'll see what we can find.
To top the above off, I got a call from work today saying that effective immediately, graduate nurses have to pass their state boards before they will be allowed to do nursing activities. For me, this means I have to take a Kaplan review class the week of May 12th instead of in June like I had planned. This also means I need to arrange for babysitting for that week-hopefully someone that can take Marcus and Cale to preschool that week.
I realize that many people have to deal with more pressing issues. But, it feels good to write these problems out here-I guess as a stress reliever. Anyway, stay tuned to see what happens...

Bikes for the boys

When we went to buy Andy's birthday presents last week, we also went to Goodwill for fun. Well, we spied 2 little bikes for sale there. The bikes looked pretty new, and they were priced at $7 each and they each had training wheels already attached! Needless to say, we bought them up and shoved them into the back of the Kia. Marcus loves to ride his and has gotten pretty good at cruising around-today, he even rode it to the park and back. Cale-not as excited about his bike-he's content on the tricycle right now.

One day more....

I just finished my second to last day at IUK! A paper and test down, now only a group presentation on Tuesday left. I actually have nothing left to do in any of my classes for the year, or ever! And, to go along with this countdown, I only work 3 more times as a tech in the PICU before I can begin orientation as a graduate nurse (GN). So, that's what's new here. We're just looking forward to what lies ahead...

Andy's birthday, part 2

That pie did not come in until today. It was a strawberry cream pie and worth waiting for. When I brought it home, the Marcus and Cale asked what men we were going to put on it (for their birthday cakes, we usually put little action figures on top for decoration). I said, "Why don't you each pick out a man to put on Daddy's cake." See results below:

This would be 2 spiderman toys from Burger King, a transformer from somewhere, and a Marvel action figure named Angel.

Happy Birthday to Andy, part 1

It's no secret, today Andy turns 30. The big 3-0. And my present to him on this fine day, by request, was to let him sleep in until 9am. That was tough, since I am not a morning person. But, for special occasions like birthdays, I can be flexible.

He enjoyed his extra nap time.

We loaded up the kids and took them to Deals, a dollar store, where they could pick out what they thought Daddy would like for his birthday. As you can see, Daddy apparently wanted an assortment of firearms (and a glitter baton).

The boys had worked out an arrangement in which Daddy would open the present and then share the gift with them.

So far, the day has been good. I am waiting for the grocer in town to call me and let me know that the pie Andy wanted is in. I would love to bake him one, but, I think it will taste better if someone elso made it.

my unofficial countdown

Most people in my class have the days memorized until graduation. Not me. I am counting the days off by the number of times I still have to go to class. After today, it's down to three. Next Wednesday, and then the following Tuesday and Wednesday. I dream about the days when I will not have to hoof it to Kokomo for class and haul the kids to the sitter. Those days can't come quick enough, especially after days like Tuesday, when Ewan screamed the entire car ride home (can we say very short naps!). If only I could wear headphones while I drove....

Poor kids!

The boys, how I found them, after I got done checking my email. They were vegging out to Jimmy Neutron. It's only Tuesday! Poor kids-their sitter ran them ragged yesterday and they played at another friend's house today while I was in class. Then, I took them on a walk after dinner and got them to play outside....and Ewan still didn't want to go to bed...

More room in the boys' room

Yea! to Andy, who, while I was at work a few weeks ago, rearranged Marcus and Cale's beds to create more play space in their room. Since then, I have been helping some of the boys' toys migrate out of the living room to their new nest. So, here are some pics of the room, since some of you may not have ever seen it. Notice, no floral wallpaper on the walls-now those walls are white. I'm contemplating a border of some kind around the top of the walls. Maybe something in red.

Too stinkin' cute!

Ewan just cracks me up! I love that he loves to have his photo taken. There are some words he says very clearly, and one of them is "cheese" when he gets his picture taken. This word has the added bonus of getting him food (cheese) when he so desires it.

The weather was so nice today that we took the boys outside, down to the cul-de-sac, to play "hockey". They got to play "baseball" with a couple of kids that were already down there. I know they enjoyed it, and we got to meet another family in the neighbourhood. (This brings the total # of families we know to = 4-seems low, probably something to work on...)

I'm almost done with school. I finish my management clinical on Tuesday. I have 3 projects left, one for each class. But, it's pretty smooth sailing from here until May. The teachers know that we students have pretty much checked out as far as attentiveness in the classroom. Andy starts classes in May, right after I finish. I think the plan is for him to go to Ball State, in Muncie, to finish the prereqs he needs to apply to medical school. He had planned to take them at IUPUI (IU-Purdue Indpls), but the class he needed was full. Ball St. isn't too far away, just in the opposite direction. Those are the plans right now, of course, subject to change.