Thursday? Really? Already?

I know, I suck.  I totally missed Random Tuesday Thoughts.  How about I make it up to you with some random Thursday thoughts?  Alrighty...

**I spent almost $10 on pacifiers last night because Baby Girl had to have one just exactly like the one the dog chewed up yesterday.  Apparently, change isn't her thing.

**I am exhausted.  Baby Girl was up at 12:30 last night, middle kiddo was up at 3:30 and then it was time to get up at 6:30.  I slept like poo last night.

**Did you see that we found a place to live?!  Yay!

**I have been horrible at commenting this week.  I'm sorry.  I'm sure the blog police are coming to get me any minute now.

**If it makes you feel any better, I have been really horrible at school work this week too.

**Oldest kiddo got sent to the principal's office for the first time ever this week...he flipped a pencil across a desk at a girl in art class...wasn't really a big deal at all, even the principal said so.

**My totally awesome friend works at Old Navy and sent me a friends/family discount coupon for this weekend.  I'm totally stoked.  I love Old Navy.  Plus, the older kiddos are gonna have to wear uniforms at their new school so I gotta stock up on khakis and polo shirts.  Yay.

**Do you sometimes feel like you do everything around your house?  Like you're the only one who knows how to fold laundry, make dinner or sweep the floors?  Yeah, me too.

**Middle kiddo has his first loose tooth.  Oldest kiddo is reading a book that is probably 5th or 6th grade level...he's in 2nd grade.  Baby Girl is taking lots of steps on her own...shhh, don't tell her but it's called walking.

And I'm out.  I'm going to take my exhausted brain to do some homework now.  That should be interesting!  Hope ya'll have a great day :)

**I totally forgot this little gem:  A few nights ago, middle kiddo was going to demonstrate for us how Daddy fell asleep on the couch.  But before he could start, he ran around the living room looking for the remote.  When I asked him why, Middle Kiddo replied, "Because to start, you have to pretend I just changed the channel."  Hubby and I died laughing because I always accuse him of changing the channel then falling asleep.

Yeah, Yeah, I'm a Little Behind

I have been a very bad blogger the last week.  I'm very sorry.  I would like to say that I'll be better, but with the move coming up I just can't promise that.  I will, however, try :)

So, I know you're all expecting some randomness, because it's Tuesday and that's what we do around here on Tuesdays, so here it is...

 

**I got myself an iPhone...oh yeah...it rocks!

**Apparently, oldest kiddo will now be riding the same bus as middle kiddo...found this out today when oldest kiddo didn't get off the normal bus and hubby called the school looking for him...I couldn't call because it's hard to speak coherently when you are hyperventilating.

**Baby girl is starting to take more little steps on her own.  She would still rather crawl though.

**Oldest kiddo is going to be 8 on Friday!!

**We are officially on Transportation's list to get moved later this month.  I'm glad that's scheduled.

**I'm reading a book called Taking Sides: Religion for a course I'm taking this semester.  It is really interesting.  Controversial issues are argued in "Yes" and "No" essays.

**Currently, I need a good 4-5 quiet hours to catch up on my school work...yeah right, there are no quiet hours around here.

**I made some cupcakes today...Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcakes...OMG they are fab!  Recipe coming soon.

Well, dinner is about to burn and the kids are losing their danged minds (neither of those things are new around here...), so enjoy the rest of your Tuesday!!

Reading with Kids

Anyone who has been a parent for longer than 10 minutes has heard how important it is to read to your children.  I know there is tons of research out there in regards to exactly what the benefits of reading aloud to your child are.  For example, research has shown that children who are read to regularly have larger vocabularies and are more likely to become strong readers as they grow up.

For the past few months, I have been working with oldest kiddo's 2nd grade class.  Mostly I read aloud to one little girl and help her through story maps and that sort of thing.  I also work with some of the other students as they read stories and fill in worksheets about the stories.  Story maps vary a lot, but one constant is a spot for the kids to fill in the setting of the story they've read.  For the most part, the students are always able to identify characters, problems and solutions in the stories.  However, they have difficulty identifying the setting.  This got me to thinking.

I have read to my kiddos since they were babies.  I always ask them questions about what we're reading.  I'll ask them who the main character is or what the problem is in the story.  I'll read a few pages and then stop to ask them what they think is going to happen.  But I cannot remember having ever asked them questions about the setting of the stories we read.  I think it's something that I just take for granted.

Part of the reason I'm working with the kiddos is as part of my internship for school this semester.  So this issue with identifying setting is really perplexing me.  I definitely want to figure out more about it as I prepare to write my final paper about what I've observed.  Plus, as a future teacher, I just want to know more so I can better understand my students.

So here are my questions for you guys...

• Do you ask your kiddos questions about the stories you read with them?
• What sorts of questions do you ask them?
• Specifically, do you ever talk about setting of stories with your kiddos?

If you've got anything else, feel free to add it too :)

Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday!

Ya'll know Tuesday is my favorite day of the week!  I get to be my completely random self and have a good excuse for it...

 

**I'm multi-tasking...I'm listening to a lecture for one of my classes and writing this blog at the same time.  Go me!

**I made myself a schedule for the day so I could catch up on my school work.  I got a little behind, but I'm very proud to say that I have stayed on task all day and made good progress.

**Yesterday I faxed off the application for the job I posted about last week.  Now I'm waiting.  The deadline for applications is Friday, so I kind of don't expect to hear anything this week.  Fingers crossed, though, that I will hear something soon!

**See over there somewhere ----> I have a little link thingy for MyLikes...middle kiddo, who is in kindergarten, has been playing that CarrotSticks math game and is rocking it!  He's adding big numbers like 392 + 129...I'm amazed and oh-so-proud of him.

**The volunteer work that I do with oldest kiddo's class is also counting as my internship for college...which totally rocks...as I go through it though, I think of all sorts of questions.  I've been researching for answers, which is great, but I also want some real world answers.  So, I think sometime in the near future that I'm going to post a blog with the questions and see what all you moms (or not moms, I know, some of you aren't moms but still have experience with teaching kiddos) out there have to say about them....

**My little dog snores louder than hubby.  Seriously.

**The snow finally melted!  But it's still cold and has been cloudy for the last few days.  I'm so ready for spring.

**Baby Girl's birthday party invites came in the mail yesterday.  They are super adorable.  Now, I just need to get them addressed and mailed before the movers come and pack them up.

**The movers won't be here for another month, so you'd think I could manage that...

**Movers will pack everything.  I'm not even kidding.  We've opened boxes to find that they packed the trash cans with trash in them.  I've heard of them packing up snacks left out for the kids.  And if you aren't careful, they will pack your luggage which let me tell you is no bueno.  (Yeah, they did that last time and I made them unpack about 4 boxes looking for it...no way was I going for the next 3 weeks with only the clothes on my body at the time...)

Anyways, I've gotta go get the kiddos off the bus.  Head on over to The UnMom for more random fun and have a great Tuesday!!

Finally Friday!!

I know, I've neglected you guys the past couple of days.  I have lots of excuses, but you know what they say about excuses...Anyways, I don't really have much to chat but I thought I'd write a few lines about nothing :)

**Hubby and I got to go to lunch today by ourselves.  With no kids.  It was awesome to sit at a table and not have to tell someone to quit coloring the table or to leave their shoes on or to stop wiping boogers on your brother's plate.  Awesome.  Then we went and got him a new phone.  Hubby joined the modern era and got a Blackberry.

**Thank you all for the support on my last post!  I'm working on my resume and letter of intent.  I plan to fax it on Monday.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!!

**I have a load of reading to catch up on for school.  Yuck.

**Just for the heck of it, because I love ya'll, here's a picture of me and my daddy from waaaay back in the day...

 

**I'll post a picture (as requested) of my new haircut just as soon as I find time to do my make-up and look like a real person and not someone's sleep deprived mom...should be soon.

Have a great weekend!!

My Brain Works in Random Ways

It's Tuesday!  You know that means it's time to get random.  Read my randomness, then head on over to visit Keely and enjoy some more randomness...


**Baby girl has moved into that stage of life where she wonders around stealing food off plates.  She also puts everything off the floor in her mouth.

**I have a little crush on Kevin Costner.  I love him in Bull Durham (my fave movie of all time).

**I think Sean Connery is the greatest bond, followed closely by Roger Moore.

**I got crafty today and made a present for my niece and my nephew.  I'm considering posting pics and maybe a how-to.

**I should've been doing homework instead of being crafty.  Oh well.

**I really am a dedicated student.  I just spend as much time complaining about homework as I do actually completing homework.  I am sure it's one of my more unattractive traits. 

**One time when I was in 3rd grade, I watched the news and they said it would be 65 degrees the next day.  I thought that was really hot and meant I could wear a skirt.  After many hours of trying to talk me out of this, my dad finally gave up and let me pick my own clothes that day.  I wore a skirt and froze my butt off at recess.

**I took the Jeopardy test online last week.  I don't actually expect to ever get on Jeopardy, but it's fun to say I did it.

**I am still in love with my fancy pants Nikon D3000 camera.  I am also still learning how to use it.  I'm having fun with it and don't expect to be fully proficient for quite some time.  I'm taking it slow and enjoying the learning process.

**I totally adore Diet Coke with Lime.

**We are moving in 6 weeks.  6 weeks!!

**I'm thinking of a new comment system...any suggestions??

And that's the randomness for today folks.  I'm off to put Baby girl to bed then watch NCIS do some homework.

Another Book Tossed From the Curriculum

**So, I totally had this little rant planned, then saw that my bloggy friend Cheryl posted about the same thing, so click here to go check out what she had to say too!

Parents are at it again.  In their quest to protect their children from all things bad, some parents at a school in California have managed to get the dictionary banned.  Yes, you read that right.  Apparently, the dictionary contains a definition for "oral sex".  I'll wait while you finish gasping...Oh, you might want to go ahead and gasp over some other words in the dictionary...shit, damn, breast, penis...

I can remember reading the dictionary when I was younger and giggling over a few words.  I'm pretty sure all kids do.  (Even these parents who have deemed it inappropriate for their children)  I turned out alright.  As a future English teacher, I'm concerned that at the rate parents are yanking books from schools I'm going to be left with nothing to teach.  I already know I can't teach about Harry Potter (kids might think they are wizards and attempt to fly broomsticks around campus) or any book that gives them any information about sex (well, Shakespeare is ok because the kids are too dense to get all those sex jokes, right).  Now I'm going to be left without a dictionary too.

What is it with parents?!  I mean, I am one but I still don't get it.  Sex is not a bad thing.  Teaching our children about sex and responsibility is not a bad thing.  Telling a kid that sex is shameful and something they shouldn't do is only going to accomplish two things: they're gonna do it and they're gonna lie about it.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm not going to be encouraging my kids to run out and sex it up.  But I am going to encourage them to wait to experience the wonder of it until they are in a committed relationship with someone that they deeply care for.  In the end, our children are going to make their own decisions.  All we can do is give them the information and tools to help them and hope they make the right decisions for themselves.  Removing dictionaries from a classroom or prohibiting a book that talks about sex from a library is not going to stop a child from growing up.

Winter and I Aren't Friends! And Other Random Tuesday Thoughts...

Welcome to a wintery Tuesday!  Let's jump into the random thoughts I've got floating around today.

**Winter and I aren't friends!  This morning we had some slicker than snot snow (lovely image, huh?).  I took the boys to school and attempted to take the baby to daycare.  I slid on the crap no less than a dozen times.  Finally, I decided to just bring the baby home and see what the weather did.  It's warmed up a bit and the slick factor has gone down a few notches, so I took her to daycare a little bit ago.

**My family hates having their routines messed with.  Baby girl was seriously cranky because of it.

**Why is it that kids can't seem to take their socks off without the socks ending up in little balls?  Yesterday, I was doing laundry and it took me 15 minutes to unroll socks.  I know I've told them a million times to unroll their socks, but they must be physically incapable of it, because my kids always do what I tell them to...

**I'm making pork roast in the crock pot for dinner tonight.  I love my crock pot, in case you missed that memo.

**This morning, middle kiddo had a bad dream.  I got him calmed down and on his way back to sleep, so I went back to my bed.  A few minutes later, I hear him yelp and running to my room.  Apparently, he was almost back to sleep and he saw something flash outside.  He was convinced that a monster was taking a picture of him.  Is it just me, or does this seem weird?

**I have a housework vs homework conundrum...whenever I'm doing one, I feel guilty for not doing the other...so I just end up doing neither and watching Wife Swap reruns on Lifetime and playing Zoo World on Facebook.

**Baby girl has started refusing to eat the 3rd stage baby foods.  She is fine with the pureed fruits and desserts.  But other than that, she wants nothing to do with baby food and steals table food from everyone else.  I'm fine with this, but it does worry me just a bit that she's not getting the nutrients from the baby food that she needs.

**On the topic of baby food, does anyone know what the deal is with these 2nd formulas?  You know, the ones like Good Start Gentle Plus 2?  Baby girl is old enough for them, but they are a whole new thing to me.  Back when the boys were babies, there was just the one version.  So this stuff is confusing me.  It's cheaper by a few dollars, but I don't wanna make the switch without more info on them.

**I have decided that when I finally do graduate from college I will be qualified for at least two jobs: governement employee or chick who jumps through hoops at the circus.

And that's about all the random I can muster up today.  Hope you all have a great, warm Tuesday!

Aww Memories

I have been friends with April from A Labor of Love in real life since we were in 4th grade! There are some really embarrassing pictures of us with too much blush and lipstick on somewhere out there. Recently, when I sent out the call for questions to lift me out of my bloggy rut, she came back with one asking what my favorite school memory was. Well, other than getting the heck out of there (which was my first answer), I wasn't sure. I gave it some thought. I came up with some pretty awesome memories. Allow me to share :)

• Senior Prom: April and I met up for pictures before hand. Then we put in an appearance at the actual event. It was pretty lame, so we left early and went to the movies all decked out in our prom dresses. We probably had more fun than anyone who stayed behind in the overcrowded, hot, stinky gym.
• Bus 8: From 3rd grade through 5th grade, I rode Bus 8 with April and a bunch of other kids like us who lived in the sticks. Our bus driver was a cantankerous old man named Dutch. Dutch probably smoked a pack a day and had skin like leather. Once he kicked my sister off the bus for chewing gum. In spite of the cranky old man, we had fun on the bus.
• FFA: I loved being in FFA. I learned a lot about life (I know that sounds odd). My senior year, I wanted so badly to be president. But I'd had a falling out with some of the more popular people and didn't get the position. I ended up being Vice President and rocking it. I learned that even when things don't go our way we still have to give our all and trust that things will work out.

I really did love school. (Still do) But I have to say, I would not go back if given the chance. I'm blessed to have some wonderful memories from those days and wonderful friends to share them with.

**I'll add some pics to this post later, but right now they are in the closet in my sleeping baby's room :)

More Random Tuesday Thoughts

It's time for some more Random Tuesday Thoughts. Sit back and enjoy!

**We got the baby a big girl car seat yesterday. I figured since her feet were hanging over the end of the carrier and she's nudging up against that 20 lb weight limit that it was about time. She loves it.

**Oldest kiddo lost another tooth last night. He was crying and screaming while hubby was trying to pull it. The minute it came out he starting dancing around cheering about how he was gonna get more money.

**The tooth fairy is gonna be broke real quick if that kid doesn't stop losing teeth.

**I'm gonna be an auntie again.

**Why do husband ask 50 times if you are ready for bed, but don't lift a finger to help out with all the things you have to do before going to bed? I mean, if they washed the bottles or picked up the 2000 miscellaneous shoes around the house, we might could get to bed a little earlier. Sitting there playing with your Facebook zoo and asking me when I'm gonna be ready for bed doesn't get us there any quicker.

**Ever notice how people drive like morons in parking lots (well, that's not really limited to parking lots...) and then blame everyone else. If someone comes inches from backing into you, it is certainly not their fault. Sure, they didn't look before backing out of that spot, but you shouldn't have been driving down that aisle. Duh.

**Hubby is a Vikings fan. I'm a Cowboys fan. It was a rough weekend around here.

**The kiddos brought home their school pictures back around Thanksgiving. I still haven't sent them to the grandparents.

**My 10 year high school reunion is this year. I'll probably miss it though because all the people who still live back there think it's a good idea to have it after school starts.

**Speaking of high school...I'm amazed at how many people never left. We were a big class (600+) and from what I can tell on Facebook, many of them are still there. Not that it's a bad place...I plan to move back when hubby gets done playing Soldier, but I just thought more people would go away...maybe that was wishful thinking...

Alrighty, well, the randomness has been fun, but I have to catch up on homework now. Go visit Keely over at The UnMom for some more brilliant randomness.

Homework Can Wait...RTT Can't

Hooray for Tuesday! I love me some randomness, so let's get to it...

**I should be doing homework.

**To avoid hubby's blah-blah-blah about how I should be doing my homework, I am staring at my screen with a confused look, sighing heavily and shaking my head...He thinks I'm doing my homework, hehehe...

**Zoo World is a bad, bad thing....my zoo is worth over $22 million...if only I had that kind of money in real life!

**Why is everyone acting all shocked and appalled by the fact that Mark McGwire admitted to using steroids? Was I the only one that caught on to that back in the day?

**While I'm on a sports roll...Why do some people insist on bashing Michael Vick? Yes, he did a horrible thing. However, the man paid his debt to society as determined by our great justice system. Let him be.

**My favorite color is yellow.

**I think you should all go visit my fave cousin at her blog.

**I want some oreos...not just regular ol' oreos, I want some of those white chocolate dipped ones that they have at Christmas time. I didn't see them this year and I can't get over it.

Ok, I give up...I have to go do my homework. Enjoy the rest of your Tuesday and go visit The UnMom for more random fun!

It's Tuesday and I'm Feeling Random

Yay! It's Tuesday! I've been out of the loop for the last couple of RTTs because my schedule was completely thrown off by Christmas break. But, I'm back! Yay! Let's proceed with the randomness...

**I should only read the articles that I click on when I'm surfing the net. Reading the comments always makes me mad because people are so rude. I know this about myself, yet I never seem to remember it.

**I have managed to get completely sucked into that stupid ZooWorld game on Facebook. Seriously, it could turn into a major problem. Is there one of those Annonymous groups for that?

**I begin my final semester of college tomorrow!! I can barely contain my excitement!

**I'm a little nervous about the whole getting a job thing after I graduate.

**One of my dogs is standing on the side table in the living room looking at me. Not sure why she thinks it's ok to stand on the table. Maybe it's because I never make her get down...

**Oldest kiddo like the Disney channel because it's "shows all for kids" unlike Nick which is "shows for kids and grown ups because they have George Lopez"...those are his words, I'm not sure where he came up with that...

**My Christmas decorations are still up...Hubby did take down the outside stuff so people driving by don't see what rednecks we really are...I can guarantee that the decorations will be down by Easter though so we're not too redneck.

**We're moving in late March which is probably the only reason I feel comfortable making that guarantee...

**I keep all of my notes and papers from school. At the end of each semester, I make a file for each course I took and put them all in a box. My problem now is that the box is full and the files from this fall semester won't fit in it. Guess I need a bigger box.

And that's it for today's random thoughts. I have to go check on my Zoo. Didn't get enough randomness here? Go check out the UnMom for even more random thoughts! Have a great Tuesday!

What I Plan to Do This Year

(Yes, I realize I'm into this dorky-4th-grade-essay title thing lately, but, hey, I'm a dork and that's how I roll...)

I really try to make goals for myself rather than resolutions. I believe that resolutions are all about changing behavior and, honestly, how often do we do that...about as often as a leopard changes its spots. For 2010, I have a few goals. In no particular order, here they are:

**Read 52 books.
**Graduate from college.
**Get into the Alternative Certification Program and get a teaching job.
**Limit my daily soda intake to 2.

So, I think that last one borders on being a resolution so let's not hold our breath on it, but the rest are totally doable with a little hard work (and possibly a little luck on the job thing, given the current job market in most places).

I hope you all have a wonderful 2010. Stick around and see how far I get with my goals/borderline resolution. You are guaranteed a few laughs and maybe even an insightful moment or two :)

What are your plans for the year?

Another Semester in the Books

I know I've been a bit slow about blogging the last couple of weeks. I have been busy finishing up this semester. Today I took my last final of the semester (and feel about a thousand pounds lighter). I am super excited to have a few weeks off. Next semester my classes are all online, so I will get to hang around the house and do some volunteering for the kiddos' classes. I am really happy that I won't be commuting for two hours every day to school. I am also super excited that it will be my LAST semester. Then I'll officially be a college graduate! I am still wrapping my head around that one. I love learning and being in class, so I'm a bit frightened at the thought of no longer being a student. I am also a little nervous about how all my plans will pan out. Hopefully, next fall, I will be the teacher rather than the student. That's a whole other bundle of nervousness that I won't subject you to for now. For now, I'm going to go enjoy the fact that all my Christmas shopping is done and I can focus on reading whatever I want! I just started Breaking Dawn and am really anxious to get into it and see how the story ends.

Woo Hoo for the Randomness

**I was up until 2 am this morning working on a paper.

**This fact means that I am too exhausted to come up with some witty introduction.

**My hubby is surfing internet coupons. He might be driving me crazy.

**He's only coupon surfing because he traded his vehicle in for a truck last week and our payment went up.

**I may be too exhausted to come up with random thoughts.

**Ha ha, last night, I was proofing something for my sister. This morning we were talking about it and I told her that I had moved a word. Then I told her I couldn't remember where I moved the word to, but I was thinking that I might have put it in the witness protection program and moved it to Phoenix...um, it was funny then...maybe you had to be there?

**The pistachio commercials crack me up.

**I think I'm gonna go take a warm bath and go to bed early.

For the lowdown on RTT and more randomness, check out The UnMom.

TGIRTT

Thank goodness it's Random Tuesday Thoughts!! It means I get to be completely random, which, let's face it, takes far less brain power.

**I could totally leave for school early this morning and possibly not spend a decade looking for a parking space, but my daughter just quit crying! I didn't have to pick her up; she just started entertaining herself. This is a major dealio...

**Yes, I said dealio...

**My beautiful daughter is currently in that stage of life that requires her to cry anytime she's not being held. It is not her most attractive quality at the moment, but I love her anyways.

**The boys still have Halloween candy.

**I have to go to school tomorrow; everyone else in the house (the hubby included) is off for the day.

**Since my last post about what books I've read lately, I have blown through books 4 and 5 in the Stephanie Plum series. Today I'm starting book 6. They really are hilarious. If you like a good fluffy mystery series, these are totally for you.

**I ordered some stuff online recently. When my package arrived, one item was missing so I emailed the company. They emailed back and wanted me to call them. What was the point of emailing them if now I have to call them? I'm annoyed.

**I made pumpkin bread this weekend. I love pumpkin bread!

**I also started reading The Witches of Eastwick and still need to read Eclipse.

**Ok, I suppose I'm done for now and should head to school. But I totally reserve the right to add more randomness later today :)

Have a great one!

No Creative Name Today

Woo hoo! It's Tuesday! That means it's time to get random, so let's get this show on the road...

**I needed 4 things from the Commissary today. I managed to remember all 4 things. Yay!

**I was doing so well about drinking water for months after my daughter was born. Then I quit pumping for her and have slid back into my coffee/soda guzzling ways.

**I'm extremely annoyed with a certain college at the education center here on post. I need to take one course through them to transfer into my university in order to graduate. The course is a sophomore level British Literature course. Freshman Composition is a pre-req for it. I've received credit from 2 large universities for the courses because I took the CLEP exam and my current university gave me credit for the courses based on a huge writing portfolio I turned in. I've proven my writing abilities. Not to mention the fact that I'm an ENGLISH major and have taken numerous upper level courses. But, nooo, this freakin' tiny school won't accept those credits, so I can't take the course I need to. Oh, but they will award my hubby about a zillion hours of credit for "life experience".

**I may have gotten a little worked up on that last point there.

**William Blake's wife, Catherine, was illiterate.

**I actually managed to burn something in my crock pot recently. I didn't even realize it was possible. I've since corrected the problem (didn't cook the meal so long) and the recipe turned out well. I will share it soon.

**The father-in-law is coming to visit this weekend. I'm ambivilent about it.

**The flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz scare me so much that I won't even watch the movie.

**I also have a fear of peacocks.

And that's about all the random I've got in me for today. Go visit The UnMom for more fabulous randomness and enjoy your Tuesday!

It's Like You Know

We all have certain things that drive us crazy. One of those things for me is the use of what I call "crutch words". Crutch words are words such as like, um, uh, you know, etc. that people use when they are speaking. I tend to ignore them and not be bothered too much by them during informal conversations. However, when someone is making a presentation in front of a class, the use of crutch words drives me absolutely batty. Today, I was reminded of just how annoyed I am by these words. A guy was doing a presentation of the illustrations that were part of today's assigned reading. His presentation lasted for about 1/2 an hour. He used the phrase you know excessively. To calm myself, I started keeping track of how many times he uttered the phrase about half way through his presentation. Within a span of 15 minutes, this guy said "you know"...brace yourself...143 times!! I'm still recovering from the horror of it...

Hip Hip Hooray for RTT

I love Random Tuesday Thoughts! Let's just get ride to it...

**Where does ABC find all those crazy families for Wife Swap? And exactly why do the families throw such a fit over the rules change? Don't they understand the concept of the show?!

**I turned in my essay on Blake today. I feel about a million pounds lighter.

**It's raining, yuck.

**Last night's dinner was a disaster. I tried a new recipe. It would've been good if it had been cooked for about half the time. We went to Wendy's.

**Speaking of Wendy's...I have been saying for years that some place should put chicken sandwiches in the kids meals. Finally, Wendy's is doing that! My kids were ecstatic!

**I cut my finger last night. I have no idea on what.

**I have a professor who drinks about a pot of coffee before class, then bounces around the whole class period. It kind of reminds me of my kids.

**There was this really pretty yellow envelop in my mailbox today. I got all excited that someone had sent me a card. Turns out that it's my neighbors mail. Dang mailman!

**I am totally unmotivated to do any housework lately. Thank goodness the hubby isn't opposed to picking up my slack.

**My mom bought my oldest kiddo 3 chapter books on Saturday. He finished all 3 of them by Sunday afternoon. I love my little bookworm.

**My middle kiddo has the smile of a future heartbreaker. I'm not looking forward to his teen years.

**My precious baby girl is pulling up and scooting around the couch. She'll be walking sooner than I care to admit.

Hope you have a fabulous Tuesday. If you want some more randomness, head on over to the originator of RTT, the unmom.

You Don't Have to Be Here

I'm so frustrated and I just have to vent, so please excuse my ranting in advance. I am a full-time college student. I went to college for one year right after high school, then quit for a few years to be married and have babies. When the boys were out of the baby stage and the hubby was preparing for a second deployment, I decided to return to college. As an older college student, I apparently have a whole different outlook on attending class than some of my younger counterparts. In order to pursue my education, I give up time with my children, time with my hubby and huge amounts of money. Therefore, I take going to class and paying attention very seriously. I do not have to be there. I choose to be there. Attending college is a choice. No one has to be there. I'm so sick and effing tired of dealing with people talking during class. I'm also sick of people coming and going as they please with no regard to others. When you register for class, you are making a commitment to attend said class with the goal of learning something about the subject. You aren't saying, "Yeah, I'll come if I don't have anything better to do" or "Yeah, I'll come but I'll have to leave early because my boyfriend wants to do it during his break". You're not there to chit chat with your sorority sisters about last night pre-gaming session and who charmed (term used loosely) her way out of a DUI arrest.

So, basically, the point of my little rant here is this: If you are in college, you should act like an adult by respecting those around you. If you are registered for a class and choose to attend, sit down, shut up and pay attention.

**I'm sure that this doesn't apply to any of you, my dear readers. Thanks for enduring my little rant, we'll now return to the regularly scheduled program :) On, a lighter note, I'm testing out a new recipe and will share details soon if it turns out well.