Day Seventeen... the schedule is filling up!

Oh my goodness, sometimes I wish I didn't have a calendar. Looking at my calendar and watching it begin to fill up is a little scary! It is a little tough to not let it stress me out even just a little bit. Tomorrow is a staff party after work, Saturday is a wedding of a good friend, next week is the last week of school, and we have family that will begin arriving that following Monday. Oh dear! I have so much to do! I have been pretty good at balancing my time between things and have even found some time to relax a bit. I think I am starting to get a good grip on this balancing life business. Just in time for everything to start going away... Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday! Bring on the weekend!

Day Sixteen... Wrapping up...

Man, what a crazy day! My kids are getting "summer brains" (as I like to call them) and are not as willing to work. We still have three more days before my grades are due, so I still have lots to get done. It has been challenging for sure! We can do this! I keep telling them that if they work their tails off this week, next week will be a chance for us to enjoy each other's company. We have lots of fun activities planned for the last week, and I know I (as much as they are) am looking forward to spending this last week enjoying it.

6 days of school left, 17 days until the wedding!

I can't wait to see my family and friends!!

Day Fifteen... a much needed day off!

This has been quite a relaxing weekend! Got a few things accomplished, but the biggest thing I accomplished was RELAXING! I slept quite a bit, got some homework and some shopping done, and my house is relatively clean! Only 2 4-day weeks of school left before summer vacation (it makes me sad to hear about those who are already done), and 2 more weeks until my family begins to show up for the wedding. I wasn't going to do homework today because of my "Monday/Wednesday" being wedding planning days, but I am trying to figure out what to do next with my wedding planning stuff. So, in the meantime, homework it is...

The countdowns are getting a little nerve wracking!

Day Fourteen... Three weeks and counting!

Leave it to Montana to have rain and crummy weather over Memorial Day weekend... This led to nothing too exciting happening, but lots of movie and t.v. watching. Three weeks until the wedding; maybe I should work on stuff for this? I figure I will get homework done first, then work on my wedding stuff. I am getting so excited to have everyone together to help Scott and I celebrate our big day! I think we are pretty much done with everything, except the few minor details. It is a little frustrating that out of the 100+ invitations we sent out, we have only received about 40. I guess maybe I'll get to work on that. Hope everyone's weekend is more exciting than mine!

Day Thirteen... nothing too exciting

Well, we are getting to a point in our school day that we are wrapping up much of our curriculum. This is exciting because now we are able to put more of our focus into fun projects. We are working on an immigration report, social studies postcards, and letters to the upcoming fourth graders. This has been really fun and the kids really like working with technology.

My happy note today: In October, we started collecting pop tabs for Pull Tabs for Charity. We set a school competition and as a class, we decided we wanted to raise a million tabs for this organization. Well, the competition ended today. We rounded up all the tabs and with the kids around school collecting and the help from around the community (we even have other schools collecting for us!), we have reached about 500,000 tabs (maybe more, but we are not done putting them together). This has been incredible for only collecting for 8 months! We will continue with next year's fourth graders because we would really like to reach one million. Then, I might approach the district and see if we could do a school competition with our schools around the district. My kids have loved this project and have taken great pride in what we have done!

Day Twelve... Rollercoaster riding...

Why is it that things can be going well and seeming to fall into place, and ONE bad thing happens that seems to ruin it ALL?! It is easier to focus on the negative rather than the positive for sure! Things are going well at work, I am doing well balancing my time between things in my life, and I am excited for upcoming life-changing events. In the midst of it all, we get some news that could potentially ruin our chances of getting the house we want and could really make the joys of being newlyweds a little less enjoyable. The sad part is that it is other people that are doing it (not naming names, but exs truly SUCK!!). Back to the drawing board for plans...

Because of this, it is difficult to focus on other things right now.

It can only get better from here, right?! There is a plan for us!

Day Eleven... Another day in paradise

Another busy day at work, another few hours on the computer doing homework while my son is with his dad. I have definitely been putting my best foot forward with this class. I am pushing myself to try and be productive EVERY night. Before, I'd only be online during the weekends, but now that I am working (almost) every day, I am feeling like I can enjoy my weekends a little more, though they are still busier than ever.

Down to 10 days at work. Hump day of our last full week is tomorrow. We still have so much to accomplish! I am trying to figure out what we are going to do that last week of school since we will be done with everything by the end of next week. I am hoping to start experimenting with some of my technology resources to maybe create a fun end of the year project that the kids will remember.

Wedding planning is going slowly but surely. I got my nails done today, and my friend who does them reminded me the next time I will see her will be the day before the wedding. THAT kind of freaked me out. Sure enough, the wedding is THREE weeks from Saturday. I will definitely start prioritizing my days and weeks. I might have to downsize the amount of time on the computer and try to get most of my stuff done Tuesdays, Thursdays, and the weekends. Mondays and Wednesdays will be designated for wedding stuff and possible house cleaning. All I know is, after June 16, I am not going to know what to do with all my time. :)

Day Ten... We really need a bigger house

Today is such a beautiful day. However, we really need a bigger house! I don't know if I have already shared this, but we live in a 2 bedroom 1 bath house. Every other weekend, we get my fiance's kids, so that makes 2 adults, 4 kids, 1 dog, and 1 cat in our 660 square foot house. Needless to say, we need a bigger house! We are in the process of looking, but until I sell my house, we cannot do much! It is so difficult because we are on top of each other! I have to go in my room and lock the door if I want any piece and quiet to myself. The kids do not have their own rooms, so they are constantly arguing and fighting about who watches what movie and who won't share their toys.

I don't know what it is like having a blended family, but this experience has definitely been trying. My fiance and I tend to argue more when the kids are here because we are not yet on the same page about what parenting will look like. As much as I try not to, I know I treat Andrew differently sometimes. He is only three and has never had siblings before, so this has probably been the most difficult for him. Scott's kids have two other siblings at their mom's house, so this hasn't been much of a change for them. It is hard to explain to a three year old that we are all in this house together and that we all need to share and be nice. He is adjusting, but now Scott's kids can be hard on Andrew at times. They don't like sharing their toys with him, but they will share among themselves. This is frustrating for me. We have definite disagreements on what is acceptable and what is not. Any advice on parenting a blended family would be much appreciated! This definitely adds to my stress, and can sometimes make the weekends enjoyable with all the fighting and arguing going on.

All I can say at this point is that I CANNOT WAIT TO GET A BIGGER HOUSE!!

Ciao for now!

Day Nine

I am finally finding time to post for today. We had to go to Helena this morning because my two stepdaughters had recitals. Made it home at about 6. It has been a long day, but I knew I needed to get on and work on homework. Everything is going okay, but with three weeks until the wedding, I am having to put more focus on that. Hopefully I am able to maintain a little bit of sanity. Once the wedding is over, though, I think everything will calm down.

Still counting days...

Day Eight

Wow! For once, I don't have too much to share! It has been a pretty normal day. Just working through frustrations with my dear friend Jody. :)

We got our first wedding present today. It is like Christmas; I really wanna open it, but probably should just wait until we open the rest of the gifts after the wedding. Oh well! Got lots to do in the meantime.

Day Seven... LIfe goes on

Another busy day at work. The kiddos are getting summer brains already, and it is definitely becoming more difficult to keep them motivated. I got a great idea from Scholastic on Facebook. I had the kids brainstorm 30 things they wanted to do for the last 30 days of school. I blew up 30 balloons and put the 30 things in them. Each day we pop a balloon and they get to have whatever is in the balloon the next day. This has definitely helped keep momentum in my class. If you are not friends with Scholastic on Facebook, I highly recommend it!

Got Andrew and came home. We played for about a half hour. I want to play longer, but I need to get some more homework done. My mom asked why I just don't do it when Andrew goes to bed... I am SO exhausted by the time he goes to bed that I head to bed when he does. I just wish I had enough energy to stay awake later like I used to!

Exactly one month to go until the wedding and 15 days of school left. I keep telling myself I can do this!

Day Six... Home from work

Andrew and I missed stayed home today. Poor little bug threw up last night and has spent the last day and a half with a fever. He seems to be feeling better, so hopefully we are over it. I am not complaining because I got dinner in the crockpot this morning. I didn't get laundry done like I would have liked, but I still got to spend some much needed quality time with my boy. It was difficult because he didn't want me to leave his side at all today. We played and watched cartoons and even took a nap today. It was a wonderful day spent with him. Now I need to work on homework. I am a little stressed about what I will create my podcast on, but I am sure the thought will come to me while I am sleeping or something.

16 days of school left, 32 until my wedding... I CAN DO THIS!!

Day Five... and the stress is beginning to escalate

Pretty busy day at school, which I am noticing is becoming more the "norm" as we are winding down the school year. It really frustrates me that I cannot access Ning at school, so I could at least get a bit of homework time in at work during my preps and lunch. But all social networking sites are blocked, so that's a no go. My fiance had to go out of town and won't be back to late tonight, so I decided I would spend some much quality time with my boy. Unfortunately, I realized I forgot to post my blogroll. That's now done- I'm a little upset that it was late though. :( 

So I decided to look for ways to manage my stress. I found this great article: http://www.studygs.net/stress.htm. It says to set realistic goals and change how stress affects you. I decided that I am going to quit worrying about losing points in this class. I am doing everything that is "realistic" for me and my life and there is not a whole lot I can do to change things right now, so i just need to roll with it. I'd be really upset to get a "B" in this class, especially since it is an elective and I am working my TAIL off for it and doing everything I can possibly do when I can do it. 

I guess the most frustrating piece for me right now is the feeling that my family (and my house) have to take the back seat. I get home from work and make dinner, work on homework until it is bath time, then am so burnt out that it is usually bed time when Andrew goes to bed after his bath. I am really trying to enjoy this class because I am really learning a lot through the great discussions, but I am finding it more and more difficult to find enjoyment in this class when it is so overwhelming!

I'd like to take advice from the article and relax or work out, but I am not sure that I can fit ONE MORE THING into my schedule without having a nervous breakdown. Now that I am getting all this out, I am feeling a little more frustrated than I was to begin with. This was supposed to be therapeutic... what's going on?!?!

Day Four... Mother's Day

Today has been a great day! My little boy got to come home early this morning. Cards and presents and now a bit of homework before we go out and enjoy the beautiful sunny day! We found a house that we really like, so hopefully it remains on the market long enough for me to sell mine... fingers are crossed!

Day three... after a day off

Well, I decided to take a day off yesterday. Work was crazy enough as it was. So rather than stressing myself out with trying to get more homework done, I chose to have a date night with my fiance. It was great fun and much needed. Dinner and a movie was a great choice for helping to relieve some stress. I figured I should jump on first thing this morning, since my day is already filling up. We are off to look at about 8 different houses in a couple of hours. Then, more homework, and finally, BUNCO with some dear friends! I am looking forward to these little stress relievers. Only about 36 days until the wedding and 18 until school ends for the year... I can do this!

Day two...

Day two... not right after like I hoped (I wanted to post yesterday), but life doesn't wait around for you to figure out what you are doing. Reheated tuna fish casserole and a beverage, I am trying to rack my brain as to what has happened the last two days. Well, I determined that ex's are NOT fun people to deal with (I guess that is why they are ex's), we are still missing more than half our wedding invites, I still have to figure out songs for the reception, and I have to find a way to teach a unit and a half in the 13 days we have left pf school. I know I said 20 days left on Monday, but we have to have our tests turned in by June 1, even though we get out on June 7. And, I figured out that third grade hormones are NOT ANYTHING LIKE 4th grade hormones!!!! I don't know how much more of the drama I can deal with! I realized today that I feel sorry for my parents and teachers that had to put up with my "hormonal drama". Oofta!!

Day One of Blogging

Well, this is day one of my "therapeutic" blogging... I realized today just how much stress I am under. When I start forgetting important things, like paying bills, then I know I am a little overwhelmed! Only 20 days of school left, 39 until the wedding, and a little longer for master's class one of two to be over. On top of all that, we are working on selling my house and preparing to buy a new one. Add into that a family of four children to tend to (only 3 every other weekend, though) and, oofta, I am spent by 7 at night! But wait, not gonna happen as I have homework to try and bust out an hour a night (though it has taken me about 2-3 hours a night). So, I am considering this my "cool-down" time. Hopefully, I can start to relax by getting my thoughts out and can see my stress prioritizing itself and becoming more manageable.