Special Individuals, A Class That Gets You Thinking

I just printed off a bunch of materials for my classes (forms and such that need to be signed) and I swear I have a few dead trees sitting in front of me... I feel like a bad person :(

My class, Intro to Special Individuals, was interesting today. We watched a movie with a teacher trying to explain to adults what it feels like to have a learning disability. Most of these people in the video were not LD but after he went through the elements of F.A.T. (frustration, anxiety, and tension) it made me see how even someone that's not learning disabled could be discouraged in a classroom. The man took the lesson quickly, gave no praises for "students" that got answers right, dished out rude remarks and sarcasm when someone had a wrong answer, and had most of the people not wanting to answer. I could see this as something that occured throughout high school in classes I attended. When the guy started explaining why these methods of teaching were wrong and gave the point of view of the LD child, I started thinking, have I been like this in a classroom or with kids? I sure hope not, I would feel like a complete and total jerk if I did... He gave options on how to avoid that teacher behavior and encourage LD kids to come out of their shells and feel successful. He also explained the differences in perception between the kids and the teacher. The teacher has had more experience so just because a child doesn't know the answer to a question, it doesn't mean the teacher is more superior and the child is stupid. Everybody needs help some time.

Anyway, enough about class! I'm excited about a number of things at this moment

• I'm blogging! No slobbing around today!
• I got the Apex space for the wedding
• This is a double edged sword though... Not only does it cost a lot already, no one has been around to take my check for the past week... How am I supposed to pay if there's no one to hand teh check to??
• My Business Math class is the easiest class in the world. It's easy to the point of insulting to my intelligence. Thank God I can get an A in something.

Cael is starting to get some sickness :( It involves him waking up coughing and coughing throughout the day. It's a wet cough but it's not "productive." Hopefully it goes away soon... Brad and I have been having sore throat problems and I have a weird cough that comes and goes but neither of us are too ill.

Well, I have to cut off here so i can drive home and pick up my baby boy! Oops sorry, big boy ;)

Back To School, Back To School

Well here I am, sitting in the SFCC computer lab, not doing homework again! ;) Just kidding, I have no homework to do yet and all of my necessary forms to turn in are located on my laptop.

It feels extremely weird being back in an actual school setting. I've gotten so used to the online thing that I almost totally forgot how to act in a classroom lol most of it's easy to remember though. I think I've made a few friends in my MW class. They're pretty nice to talk to. One is the same major as me, the other is majoring in Nursing and hoping to get off the waiting list for UCM. I hope she does! It sounds like she's overly qualified to be in the program.

Yesterday was super entertaining. I got to play Bunco with the ladies I work with. This is my second time going and it has been fun each time! Plus it's a game where everyone wins something. I seem to have the knack for getting picked last for prizes lol but that's cool with me. I love spending time with my coworkers outside of work. They are so funny!

Cael's class has been having a bug going around and I think it finally caught him. He had two super runny diapers within a short time period so he went home with Judy. I don't think he minded being with Dede at all :) I just got a text from her saying that Cael took a long nap and hasn't had a fever or anymore loose diapers. Good, I don't like it when my baby is sick! We've also been through pink eye recently. Poo on eyedrops.

Wedding plans are in full swing now. Brad and I have decided on FBC in Warrensburg, but only if we can use the Apex as our reception space. I'm currently waiting for the call abut their meeting to decide this. The fee for non-members is $900, half paid ASAP and the other half paid after the engaged couples' class ends. If we can't get the Apex though, our budget will be reduced to very little if we stay with FBC. a second option in the Presbyterian church that Judy is a member of. They have a really pretty sanctuary (from the outside at least; it has a beautiful stained glass window) and a small  reception space. We also have to pick out a pastor but since all the pastors from FBC that Brad knew have moved away, we're unsure who to pick. Brad's doing a lot of "I don't care" but I think that's because I always catch him at a bad time.

It's also been hard to pick out bridesmaids/groomsmen. Neither of us is sure who we're going to pick (other than the obvious siblings and such). I'm basing the number of bridesmaids I have on how many groomsmen he picks but Brad doesn't know who to choose for the roles. He's got a lot of options! I'm not sure who my bridesmaids will be even when he does decide on his groomsmen. It's a tough decision :S

Cael has been really talkative. Well, he always has been, just more so lately. He is making whole sentences without being fed lines by someone. The other day I was trying to lay down on the couch with him to watch Brad play Borderlands with a friend of ours. We used to do this all the time before Cael would go to bed. I would lay down on my pillow and he would lay next to me on my arm. This night he pushed away from me and said, "No Mommy. No cuddle." Not gonna lie, it crushed me a little. My baby boy doesn't want to cuddle? I have to keep reminding myself that he's not my baby anymore. As he tells me, "Cael big boy." He has also acquired an affinity for Mario. Monday night, Cael saw Brad playing a game on the XBox and Cael said to him, "Please play my Mario" (He says Mario "mon-nee-no" and it's the cutest thing ever. He also likes "wee-gee," or Luigi lol). He also may be the only kid his age the knows the 1960s Batman theme song. Cael sings, "Na na na na Batman!" when we're in the car. He has Batman sunglasses, Batman pjs, and a Batman cape (the cape's at Dede's house; it's Brad's old cape) :) Birthday planning for Cael has been hard for us, mostly because Cael has to choose between Batman, Mario, Yo Gabba Gabba, Bubbleguppies, and Elmo for themes.

Oh, another odd thing that Cael likes: Rocko's Modern Life. You know, that cartoon from the old Nickelodeon. It's pretty funny to see him giggling along with whatever is happening.

And Cael is pottying! We're not fuly potty-training him yet but he goes pee and poop on the big boy potty (he has an Elmo one from Santa)! He likes getting stickers on his daily sheet at school. He has Spiderman stickers :)

Hopefully since I've started classes up again, I can blog more often (yeah, right, like that will happen). I like having a little downtime and not having to work on my schoolwork at home as much!

Oh Winter... Why Have You Come?

You can tell winter is here. Not just from the freaking COLD weather. Brad and I have both been feeling yucky... Brad is super exhausted and aching. I feel like I was hit by a train... I hope that we aren't sick. We were supposed to have date night tonight... But I don't think we will since Brad is feeling bad. I don't want to force him to do something when he's not feeling good. We always have other days. I just hope he feels better soon!
I've done nothing fun this morning... Homework and watching "The Office." Ugh, it feels so slow...

Oh wait, I fixed the wedding invitations. They're pretty cute now. I tried to upload them to Google Docs to share them here but it didn't work :( The guest list is huge... Ridiculously huge. Like 231 people are invited but only about 215 people will actually be able to come. Wow. Crazy.

I didn't really realize how much stuff went into planning. Especially with the little stuff like favors, music, venues, accessories, etc. Holy cow.

Well, I probably ought to get ready for work...

Wedding Things Are Clouding My Brain

Holy crap, has this week been nuts! Between working sporadic hours, homework, wedding planning, house cleaning, and spending time with Brad and Cael, I'm exhausted! I had two midterm exams this week and I'll have two next week as well, not to mention observations and other larger assignments. Poo!
Today was nice though. I made breakfast for Martha (a long-time friend of Brad's and a coworker of mine) and her family when they came over to move her into the apartment across the hall from us. It will be so nice to have a familiar face in the building. She will be living with her friend Caitlin, who's pretty funny. I've only met her once but she was pretty cool lol She also went to school with Martha and Brad. She had to work so she wasn't there this morning.

I was so stinking productive today! I cleaned the kitchen, the living room, and Cael's room. Cael stayed at Judy's house until about 3 when we went to lunch. Cael and Brad napped and I did a crapload of homework and tests. When we got home from lunch, Cael and I vacuumed and got his race track rug to stop sliding around. I put some rug gripping sheets on the bottom and Cael helped me tape them on. He did a really good job! He even taped on the edges of the gripper all by himself! After we finished cleaning in his room (which was trashed two minutes after the rug was put back) we went to Dollar General and Parkers. Currently Parkers is having a promotion where you get dollar amounts punched out of a game card and when all the values have been punched out, you take the card to the customer service counter to claim your prize. Every card has a dollar amount on it from $1 to $1000. I was $32 short of being able to scratch it off today! I have a feeling mine is the $1000 card ;) but I'll be happy with anything.

When we came back from the store, Cael and I played outside with his big red ball for a good 15 minutes. It was great to bounce the ball back and forth with him and see how excited he got every time he caught the ball or kicked it. Once in a while he looked and pointed up at the sky and said, "Stars! Stars!" so we would lay back on the grass and talk about them for 10 seconds. Then it was back to the ball :)

I've been working on wedding stuff ever since Cael went to bed. Well, excluding the time where I made a run to McDonald's for Brad. McRIB IS BACK :D I worked on the guest list some more and I realized that we have roughly 200 guests, assuming everyone comes. That's a lot of people! I think we may have to find a different reception venue... But maybe not. I'm also trying to work out what accessories we need for the wedding (guest book, flower girl basket, bubbles, ring bearer pillow, etc.) so I can tell if I need to buy them or if I can make them. Luckily, I had a little experience with making boutonnieres for my aunt Carol's wedding and my mom knows how to make bouquets and stuff (she did it for her wedding). I think we can make a lot of things to cut down on cost. And most of the non-creatable things will be bought through Oriental Trading so they'll be pretty cheap. It's crazy to think we have less than a year before Brad and I get married!

I'm ready for October to come closer to an end. This is for two reasons. 1) Brad finds out from KCP&L if he got the meter reading job or not. He's really excited about it too. I hope he gets it because I think he would love the job! And 2) because I can't wait to see Cael in his Halloween costume! He's going to be a UPS man like Papa Shane :) He's really excited about it too! I don't know if I can handle having more candy in the house though... It's tempting enough for me but Cael is ridiculous about his candy. He throws fits if I say no, just like any kid. I just hate the tantrums. Best to avoid them all together...

I can't wait to see what unfolds tomorrow. I'm hoping to get laundry and home work done, plus clean the bathroom. Then all that will be left for this week is our bedroom. Hopefully Aunt Flo doesn't put me out of commission like she tried to do this evening... I felt like I was punched in the gut... Thank goodness for Tylenol, master of OTC pain medication!

Well I'm heading to bed! Good night!

Though technically it's morning... Oh well...

New Developments In A Current Job Are Hardly Ever Good...

I found out from my employer today that, though she promised me more hours in the summer, she is giving the hours to a coworker that normally works in the infant room... This is making me very unhappy, not just because she promised me the hours, but also because she is now expecting me to pay the balance for Cael's tuition weekly, when she knows I get paid bi-weekly and because I decided not to take summer classes because I was promised more hours. I can't pay the daycare when I have no money and I'm running out of savings quickly and will soon have no money for a wedding either. Money SUCKS.

On the view of my summer classes (that I did NOT take because I was promised more hours), I could be closer to finishing my degree if I would've known she was not giving me more hours to work. One of the teachers in our room had to leave the job (hopefully just temporarily) since her spouse is having health problems and she needs to be with him. Instead of just moving the closing teacher (me) to full-time for the summer, my employer takes a new teacher into the classroom. I honestly have no problems with my coworkers and I am grateful that the new teacher has a superb source of unlimited energy, but I kind of new the hours. I'm hoping that if I can get more hours during the summer, I can start helping Brad's mom out with the bills she is currently paying because we are financially unable to take care of (cable, health insurance, car insurance, phone, etc.) and still have some savings to put away. Currently, my bi-weekly paycheck is delegated as follows:

45% --> Daycare costs
25% --> Saved in case of emergency (helping with rent, doctor visits, car maintenence, etc.)
20% --> Gas
10% --> A month's worth of diapers

That leaves me with nothing left to save toward the wedding. Will Brad and I get a wedding? Sure. It will have to be scaled back like crazy, and we may have to ask the wedding party to pay for their own attires, shoes, tux rentals, flowers, etc. but we'll have one. Thank God I got the dress already... And I absolutely refuse to ask for money from family, because they have enough to pay for, both to support themselves and for us. I do not want to add onto their payments.

Someday, I will be married, own a house, then own my own daycare service. I want to be self-employed doing what I want to do. Then I won't have to worry about competing for hours with my coworkers.

Thank God I love the kids I help teach and my teaching coworkers. Otherwise, I might look for a new job in education... Those kids make my job enjoyable (even if they are crazy and bouncing off the walls). The teacher in the two's room is also awesome. I can talk to her about almost anything and she's either had experience with it and can give advice or she just listens when no one else will. She's a great teacher too. She also has amazing energy, is great with the kids, and has all sorts of great activities up her sleeves. I hope to be as good a teacher as her someday :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On another note, my birthday is in 8 days...and I don't really care. It's not like it's a "milestone" birthday, just 20. I'm kind of hoping I can just get the one thing I want (a Nook Color from Barnes and Noble) and that's the end of it. I don't want a birthday cake, especially not one with 20 candles on it. I don't want to be reminded that everything and everyone is getting older and time is passing on. Plus, there are a lot of things in my life I'd like to forget. Each candle represents a memory, be it one I want to remember or one I want to forget.

I am very thankful that I have Brad and Cael with me. I can't imagine life without them. It would be like not breathing. Some days, I might say I want away from them, that I want a break. But it's not true. I love just being in the same room as them. It doesn't matter if we're actively doing something together, or off in separate corners of the house doing our own things. I love being around them. I love watching them, talking to them. I love Brad and Cael <3

Hopefully the next time I post, it won't be as grim and grouchy as this post... *fingers crossed*