Decorating the Christmas Tree!

Jacob, Elijah and I spent the day decorating for Christmas! Jacob helped me get all of the boxes and the Christmas tree out of the attic. He then got the box of ornaments that we keep in his room. Grandma Linda made him this box back when he was a baby to keep all of his ornaments in. After Elijah was born, we started keeping his ornaments in there also! These are the ornaments that either my mom or another relative has given them. Some of them are the ornaments they have made over the years. Both boys like hanging their ornaments, along with the other ornaments we have collected over the years. Whenever we travel, I look for ornaments. We now have a "Blue Bell" ice cream ornament from Brenham and an ornament from the birthplace of Texas; Washington on the Brazos!

One of my favorite ornaments is one I made when I was in the Girl Scouts in 1976. It is a ceramic gingerbread woman! I painted it and it was put in a kiln (I think that is what it is called) and finished, so it has held up nicely over the years. I also have some ornaments that my mom actually made when she first got married. I have ornaments from Fredricksburg, Texas and Gulf Shores, Alabama. I have ornaments that friends have sent me. I have a group of 10 women I have corresponded with for about 18 years and we do an ornament exchange each year. I love finding these ornaments.

The three of us had a really nice time decorating the tree. It was nice to see that both boys enjoyed it and didn't consider it a burden. They enjoyed finding the ornaments they had made in school. I told both of them that when they are married and have their own families, they will get to have some of these ornaments, and that they will begin their own new memories!

Teaching Elijah to Tie His Shoes

Elijah is 15 years old and up until yesterday did not know how to tie his shoes. How could this happen you wonder? When Jacob started kindergarten, we were told part of the curriculum was that he would need to learn to tie his shoes. We practiced at home and he practiced at school. He learned to tie his shoes and that was that.

When Elijah was born, there were other things to worry about and the least of my worries was him learning to tie his shoes. He spent four weeks in the NICU and then four weeks in the special care nursery. He came home on oxygen and stayed on oxygen for the next seven months. I spent the winter keeping him healthy and alive. From that point on the focus was on his lungs and his deafness. I was constantly taking care of him, Jacob, my husband, trying to work and trying to find answers on how to help Elijah.

Elijah started school at three in a deaf education preschool classroom in a district that was not in the city we lived in. He started in a signing classroom and then moved to an oral classroom. He had been implanted at 18 months and then in the middle of his second year of pre-k he got his second implant. My focus was still on his lungs as he could get sick quite quickly and on him learning to listen and speak.

Elijah started kindergarten in another district to receive services from a deaf education teacher in a deaf education classroom. Learning to tie his shoes was not on the curriculum and I didn't have time to teach him. This may sound like I was lazy, but that is far from the case. I had been taking him to auditory verbal therapy from the time he was 18 months old through 1st grade once week. His dad took him for another visit each week.  We needed time for therapy at home, homework, my prep for teaching and to hopefully have some fun in there somewhere. When Elijah was in 1st grade he started with occupational therapy for some fine motor issues. Learning to tie his shoes was not a priority. When we couldn't find Velcro shoes I bought LockLaces to uses in his shoes. He also gets frustrated really easily so it was just easier to use the LockLaces.

What has changed and why does Elijah need to learn to tie his shoes? Elijah wants to be in the ROTC this coming school year when he enters high school. Once he is fitted for his uniform he will be required to wear it once a week, and this means dress shoes. Thankfully, all of this is provided by the school at no cost, but he will need to know how to ties his shoes. I will leave in the morning before he is quite dressed and ready and my honey doesn't want to be tying the shoes of a 15 year old boy each morning who isn't always the most cooperative on a good day.

Elijah and I spent about 30 minutes yesterday working on him learning to tie his shoes, and me having to really refine the steps as I tie my shoes without even thinking. He stuck with it and by the end of the 30 minutes could tie a shoe with some prompts from me. We practiced again before he went to bed, again this morning and once again this afternoon. He can now tie a shoe but it still requires a great deal of concentration on his part. We will practice every day for the next three weeks and even after school starts. I am proud of him. It didn't take as long as I thought for him to be able to complete the steps and tie a shoe. Now he just needs to get it more automatic and refine his methods.

Oh and he is a lefty, so I had to tie a shoe using my left hand as my dominate hand....well that gave me some perspective, because I really had to THINK about how to tie the shoe when I was using my left hand.

Counting the Days

I am counting the days until Summer break. I have 5 1/2 more days with students and then 1 1/2 work days. It will be a busy summer. I am planning on doing some mystery shopping in June and my mom and I are taking Elijah to Alabama to visit the family. My grandmother turned 89 this month and I really want to see her. It has been two years since I have been back home. Jacob is down in Waco for his summer semester at TSTC. It is a full 15 week semester, not summer school which moves at a much faster rate and is only about four weeks. He has already texted me to tell me he needs some help with math when he comes home this weekend.

I got some good news this week! I received a $7,000 scholarship for graduate school. It will cover my summer class that I am taking that starts July 7th and my Fall semester classes. I am going to call Texas Tech and cancel my school loan! This will cover tuition, books, and any other supplies I need. I plan on quitting mystery shopping come July 1st and focus on school and the family. It will be hard to give it up, because I love the thrill of getting good shops and extra pay. Next Fall is my last semester in grad school and I will graduate in December. I will be completing my internship for my certification as an educational diagnostician, so it will be a tough semester, but I know I can focus on school now and still be able to focus on the boys, my honey and the rest of my family! It is really wonderful that this happened, and I feel blessed!

We really aren't doing much except for the trip to Alabama. I have one two day workshop in June and Jacob's girlfriend is going to watch Elijah for me. It is close enough that I will drive back and forth each day. I plan on taking a few days here and there to go to the movies, visit some museums and plan some other activities with Elijah. We are also planning on joining the rec center here in town. It is a good price and I like to go walking there. The library is right next door, so Elijah and I will go and walk and then go to the library. Once my class starts, it is a good place to work and let him hang out in the teen room. He also likes to check out books and read. I want to have him read to me this summer.  Hopefully, my honey will be able to join us on a few of these days when we go to a museum or go shopping!

Update on Us!

We have had a busy few weeks. My honey and I took Elijah down to the weekend Tourette Syndrome camp back in April. He had a wonderful weekend and we had a great time shopping in Brenham. He is so much more social when he is there and seems to get along with everyone just fine. He can't wait to go back again next year. We both have four more weeks of school left and then it is SUMMER TIME!!


Jacob has been home for the last week, but goes back to school tomorrow. He and his girlfriend are going to PROM tonight! I can't wait to see them all dressed up! He starts his summer semester on Monday. It is a full 15 week semester and he should be graduating in May of next year!!


I finished my semester of grad school on May 3rd, but I had already turned everything in by April 10th. I got an A in both classes and will take one class this summer starting July 7th. It will be 13 weeks of a class crammed into about four weeks, but it is doable.  I then have two classes next Fall and will graduate in December.


Elijah will be a freshman next year and wants to join the ROTC. I am going to let him join and see how it goes. Both Jacob and my brother Alex were in ROTC and really liked it. I think it will be good for Elijah and hopefully teach him a lot about responsibility and how to get organized. We shall see!! Changing schools is always a huge transition for any kid, but really seems to be huge for Elijah.


We don't have any big plans for the summer. My mom, Elijah and I are going to travel to Alabama in June. I have a two day workshop in June also. My niece is going to stay with us a few days in June and that will be fun. Jacob will visit during the summer and we will all enjoy the time off.


I am truly counting down these last few weeks of school. I have enjoyed my year teaching at the elementary level, but am ready for the change that is coming next year. I will fill y'all in on that later! It isn't a huge change, but it is a change! The next few weeks will be hectic with a few field trips, a field day (I hope I survive that), and some high school students visiting us at the  elementary school. I am sure it will all move too fast and summer will be here before I know it, at least I hope that is what happens!!

I'm Hungry!

Elijah seems to always be hungry. I guess it is part of being a teenage boy and he will be 15 in just about two weeks. However, there are times that I know he is NOT hungry! Last weekend, my honey and I took Elijah, Jacob, Jacob's girlfriend and my mom out to eat for my birthday. We went to BJ's restaurant and my honey brought a cake from the "Nothing Bundt Cake" store. They make some awesome cakes and she got me a white raspberry cake!

We ordered two appetizers and Elijah did eat quite a bit. He ordered a small pizzas for his meal and ate three of the four slices. We all finished our meal and the waiter brought some plates for the cake. Elijah got his piece of cake and then told us that it didn't taste right. I told him he didn't have to eat it and he seemed fine with that. He then looked down at me as he rubbed his forehead looking quite sad. He says "I am hungry" with a tone of despair. My mom chuckled and I tried not to laugh. There was NO way he was hungry. He wanted one of the desserts from the restaurant. They have hot cookies with ice cream and that is what he wanted. I told him we were NOT ordering desserts because we were having cake. He sighed and just sat there looking all forlorn. He looked at my mother to see if she would get him something and she avoided eye contact. We all ate our cake and talked. He then looked down at me and said, "Can I have my cake back?" I gave him his cake and he ate it. My honey and I have laughed about this all week, because it is a running joke that Elijah is always hungry! In this way, he is a very typical teenage boy!

Jacob: Life at College

      Jacob started his second semester at Texas State Technical College in Waco in January. He only has three more semester until graduation with one of those semesters being over the summer. He has become more independent each day. Today he texted me that he was having some issues with his car. He said it was "sputtering" and the check engine light was on. I called him to get more information. One of the other staff suggested he take it to Auto Zone and let them run a diagnostic. I searched the web and found one close to him. I told him to ask them for a suggestion on where he might take the car to be checked over.


       He called me a little later and said Auto Zone suggested a garage and I looked it up for him. He was still at Auto Zone. I gave him the address and he found it. He then called me back and said that he made an appointment to take the car back on Friday morning for them to check it. It could be any number of things. They also said they would give him a 10% discount since he was a student at TSTC and many of their mechanics come from the school. I reminded him to call me with a quote prior to approving the work and I told him how proud I was of him for handling all of this. It is a learning opportunity and he did well!! I am VERY PROUD of him. He listened and handled the situation and made some decisions all on his own. He still has some growing up to do, but he is on the right track. Life is a journey!

Turkey Bacon

When Elijah was very young, I worried the child would be TOO skinny. He just never seemed to gain any weight or to grow taller. I took him to an endocrinologist and he was behind the curve when it came to growth, but the doctor thought we should wait and see if he would catch up to his peers. He did and is finally growing TALLER.

 Unfortunately, many of the medications the takes for Tourette Syndrome, OCD and ADHD have cause him to EAT, and now that he is 14 he is really EATING. We got him walking over the summer and started counting calories, and he lost 10 pounds. Overall, he is doing well and we monitor what he eats. However, when he is very hungry he eats and eats whatever is around. He has been known to eat a whole package of luncheon meat or a package of pepperoni in the fridge. We recently bought a small box to lock up a few things in the refrigerator, for two reasons. He cannot just EAT all the time, or he will really gain weight and he has to learn some self control. We also keep the freezer in the garage locked.


Some of you may think I am a mean mom! Well, my honey found an empty package of TURKEY BACON in the fridge today. There had been about 3 slices left two days ago. He stated that he had eaten it. Upon further questioning, I learned that he ate it RAW. OH GROSS....that is all I have to say to that. Later tonight I was putting clean sheets on his bed when I reached down between the bed and the wall to grab a few stuffed animals. I found two bowls, several dried up orange peels and CHOPPED PECANS. We found the empty bag in the fridge when we went to look. Somehow he had grabbed the bag of pecans and spilled all of them between the wall and the fridge. We had not even noticed they were gone, because we use SO many pecans during the holidays for baking that we can't keep track of them between us. I found a LOT of pecans under his bed and we are going to flip the mattress off tomorrow to see what else we can find. Pecans are expensive, and he didn't even eat them, he wasted them. I also don't think he is hungry most of the time, but thinks he is hungry due to the meds. The doctor told me kids like him on these meds will eat trash out of a trash can. I didn't really believe him, until Elijah ate RAW TURKEY BACON! YUCK!

And So it Begins.......

Elijah and I started back to school last week on January 5th. Jacob was home for a few more days and then returned to Waco to get ready for his classes that started today. Grad school starts for me on Wednesday, and hence the title of my blog AND SO IT BEGINS! Unfortunately, I may only get to PEEK at my classes come Wednesday, since I will be teaching my students, but hopefully I will have some time during my lunch.


Elijah has had a good start back to school. I have an ARD (IEP) meeting for him at the beginning of February and we will be talking about him going to HIGH SCHOOL next year. Where hast he time gone. So far there have been no issues and he seems happy. Work for me has been crazy, but by next week it should calm down some. I love the people I work with and that makes it worth it. I love the kids too and they are working so HARD!


Keep your fingers crossed that I don't get too overwhelmed with it all! My OCD can be a real hindrance at times, but it does motivate me to get ahead in my classes! Now, if it would just warm up a bit. I am really tired of the cold!

Everything is Awesome!

I don't know that I would say EVERYTHING is AWESOME, but things are going pretty well. I selected this title because Elijah has been walking around singing this song from the LEGO movie for the last hour. Elijah has always enjoyed music, but he never really gotten into music. This changed about two months ago, when he realized he could find songs that I had on my iTunes account. He has several songs that he likes, but this is his favorite song right now. In fact, he just stood up to go to the kitchen and started singing it AGAIN. After another few days, I may be sick of it, but right now I think it is cute. It also amazes me still how well he does hearing with his cochlear implants. They are amazing devices.


He is acting like a typical teen more and more everyday! However, he still likes to sit with me on the couch and watch TV and holds my hand when we go for a walk. In fact, I am going to go and sit with him right now and watch the LEGO movie! I guess it is better than another episode of Myth Busters or Scooby Doo!

ARD Meeting

We had an ARD meeting for Elijah yesterday afternoon. I feel blessed to have such a great group of people working with and advocating for Elijah. The behavior specialist is going to come in and observe him to give the teachers some ideas on how to handle him. The LSSP is going to complete an evaluation on Elijah to determine if he is eligible for counseling. We discussed his medications and changes we have made in dosages and in the times he takes the medicine. We also discussed the STAAR test! We have a new test this year....the STAAR Accommodated, which will be on the computer. Elijah will take this test, but we are still waiting on guidance from the state on how it will really work. The staff at the school all agree that Elijah is a great kid, but that he is having a rough time right now. Hopefully we will figure out a way to support him better.

We will meet again after January! The school gets 45 school days to complete the assessment and then so many days to have the next ARD meeting. We can also discuss the STAAR-A some more and discuss plans for high school. OH MY DID I JUST TYPE HIGH SCHOOL. Oh what does the future hold for Elijah. I really don't know. He is such a smart kid, he just has to mature more and learn to think before he acts. Hopefully we will get a good plan for him and also a good plan for his future!

Camp, Grad School, and Jacob

We have been busy the last few weeks! My honey and I took Elijah down to camp a few weeks ago. This is a camp for children with Tourette Syndrome! We drove down on Friday and arrived in Brenham around 12:30. We made it down in time to tour the Blue Bell Creamery Factory and see how they make their ice cream. I spent about $100 in the gift shop buying some Christmas presents and of course a shirt for me! The tour was awesome and we got to have a HUGE scoop of ice cream at the end. We got to chose from 16 different flavors. Then for another $1.00 we could get another scoop if we wanted. Well, of course, Elijah and I had to sample another flavor, so we each got another scoop!




We checked into the hotel and then took Elijah to camp. He was SO ready to be there and didn't even look back when we left. My honey and I had an awesome dinner that night and then crashed at the hotel. We spent the next day shopping in Brenham and at some other places between Waller and Brenham. We visited our first Buc'ees gas station. We ended up there on two different occasions and dropped some money there! It really was an interesting experience!




We picked Elijah up on Sunday and participated in the closing ceremonies. He had an awesome time and can't wait to go back in March. Jacob had come up to stay at the house that weekend while we were gone, but we didn't get to see him. He had actually come home the weekend before and we enjoyed his visit. He is REALLY liking college and I think he likes being on his own. His financial aid FINALLY came through this week and we were able to figure out how much he will have between now and January. I was able to put some money back into his savings account and pay myself back for the books and other things I had fronted him the money for. I think we were both relieved to finally have the money arrive! He is coming home next weekend. I do think he misses us and I know he misses his girlfriend AND the cats!




Grad school is going well for me. I am staying at least one week ahead if not more! I have even turned in two large projects that aren't due for at least another month. This time next year I should be doing my internship and preparing for graduation! That is really hard to believe. I am ENJOYING being back in the classroom and the kids are awesome. One of kids told me that I am a FUN teacher and he likes learning. That really made my day!

School Year 2014-15

The last three weeks have been a little hectic and crazy. Elijah started the 8th grade back on Aug. 25th and so far things are going well. He has settled in nicely with only a few emails needed to keep me informed of behavior. I started back in the classroom on Aug. 25 with grades 3-5! I have five students who keep me very busy and I am happy to say that my sign skills are as good as they were five years ago! I am really loving being in the classroom!

I also started graduate school on Aug. 25th.  Thankfully, the first week of assignments consisted of "introduce yourself" activities and no real work was required. I am happy to say that all of my assignments that are due by this weekend (Sept. 14th) are done and I am working on next weeks assignments! I am liking the material and as always learning a lot.

Jacob started college this year at a state technical school that is two hours away. Elijah and I helped him move on Aug. 30th. Lets just say, IT WAS AN EXPERIENCE! The major issue that day was getting him a key for HIS room in the apartment he shares with three other guys. Once that got sorted out, we got him moved in quickly. It was an all day event though with getting his wireless services set up and waiting in a LOT of lines! I was exhausted when we left, but had two days to recover before heading back to work.

Jacob seems to have settled in nicely. He texts at least once a day, per my request, so that I can make sure he is still alive. He likes his classes, from what he tells me and doesn't seem homesick. I have talked to him a few times on the phone, but I am trying to let him spread his wings! I think he will come home the weekend of the 20th.

I do miss him, but I am happy for him. Elijah has done well with the transition and as always my honey is very supportive! The cats seemed to have adjusted as well. I am curious to see what happens when Jacob comes home for a visit. If it weren't for the cats, I don't think we would see him until Christmas!

I am keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well this year for all of us. It is a big year of change. This time next year, Elijah will be a FRESHMAN in HIGH SCHOOL and I will be in my last semester of grad school! YIKES!

Elijah and his iPhone!

Elijah has taken his iPhone to school each day this week with no problems, that is until today. I got a call from one of his teachers about his behavior. He had to be asked twice to put away his phone and he disrupted the class quite a bit. He ended up in the principal's office. I told my honey this story and so she went on the hunt for an app that I could use to control his phone....and she found one. It is called ParentKit and I installed it tonight. I am going to take advantage of their one month free trial. Here is a link http://www.parentkit.co/

I installed the app on my phone and then added Elijah as one of my kids. The app then gave me a website to go to on his iPhone. I went to the website and entered a code that I got from MY iphone when I was registering him as a user. Once I did that, I then had control of his iPhone. I went to the app on my iPhone and set up his account. I turned off Safari and the ability to install apps or make in app purchases. I then went into the scheduling part of the account and set up very specific times he could have access to the apps on his iPhone. He now can't get to his games during the day at school. I set up his lunch time as a time for when he can access his apps. I then turned them off again and set it for him to have access after school. I am going to let him know that I can take away the lunch time access if he doesn't start behaving, especially since his behavior today occurred after lunch.

I showed him his iPhone with the game app not there. I then turned them back on and let's just say he wasn't too happy. I am sure he won't like me too much after all of this, but parenting is not an easy job and I don't have to be popular.

In a Little Less than Two Weeks

In just a little less than two weeks, Jacob will graduate from high school. Oh, where has the time gone. Time has passed way too quickly for me. In just about three months he will be moving to Waco to start school at Texas State Technical College to pursue an Associates Degree in Computer Maintenance.

 

We plan on visiting the school in July so he can attend a financial aid seminar that he has to attend in order to get his financial aid. He also needs to talk to a success coach to get his classes planned for the Fall and find out how registration works. We also  plan on taking a look at what his apartment will look like, so he knows what he needs. It will be a four bedroom apartment on campus. He will have his own room that he can lock and there will a common area and kitchen for all four of the residents to share. We are going to see what all is in the area near the school and he is also going to look for a job. It will be a busy day!

 

I still can't believe he is graduating and that things will change a lot in the next few months. I hope I can handle it all! here are some pictures I wanted to share.

 

2005

 

 

 

Jacob and Elijah at Disney World 2007

 

 

Jacob 2007

ROTC 2010

 



Jacob 2011

2012

 



2013

2014

 



PROM!

Here are some pictures of Jacob and his date, Nikki! They were taken in downtown Wylie. They are going to the Olive Garden to eat and then on to prom. I have to say they both look  very nice!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slowing Down....A Little

I have spent the last five years rushing through life. In fact, I have probably been rushing through life for the last 14 years, since Elijah was born. Parenting two boys, especially one with special needs, is no easy task. Elijah came home on oxygen and has always needed more attention than a typical child.
I work full time and have been mystery shopping for the last four years, and now I am in grad school.

I just started getting child support again back in January, and I think I can finally slow down a bit and not work so hard. Of course, I will keep teaching and working on grad school. I am slowing way down on mystery shopping. I am finally at a point where I feel like I can slow down and enjoy the boys and spending time with my honey. Time has passed too quickly with Jacob and I want to be sure I can spend time with him and Elijah this summer. I am so used to rushing around and working so much, that I hope I can make myself slow down and smell the roses!

Rite of Passage

"A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's transition from one status to another" as quoted from Wikipedia. Jacob has been experiencing many of these and has many more to come. My brother took him to buy his first real suit two weeks ago. Jacob will pick it up next week. Today I met him at Al's Formal Wear to reserve a tuxedo for prom. Prom will be a HUGE rite of passage for Jacob. I am excited that he is going! Graduation will be another rite of passage and then starting college.

 

I can't wait to see Jacob in his tuxedo. He choose a Zootux, which is similar to a zoot suit. It should go well with the 1920's theme for the prom. I can't wait to post pictures. This is a picture of similar to what he will be wearing, but he will also have a vest. The vest and the tie will be navy blue.

 

 

Mischief

The definition for mischief is--playful misbehavior or troublemaking, esp. in children. This definitely describes Elijah these days. He is not misbehaving to be mean or cause trouble, he is just being a kid and accidentally breaking things or driving me crazy. I think it is a mix of his Tourette Syndrome, OCD, ADHD and being  TEENAGER. I hope I can survive these teen years.

This mischief usually occurs when he is bored and doesn't have much to do. I may be busy with house work, grad school work, or just WORK in general. He has too much time on his hands and I am too busy to notice this mischief. After two days home with him on the weekend, I am ready to go back to work.

One day he will finish growing up and move out (I hope at least) and I know I will look back on these days and laugh. I will not want him to move out and have him be my little boy forever. I guess I should enjoy these times now and be glad he isn't out causing mischief, and is just causing it here at home.

Sometimes the Old Way is the Better Way

As I posted earlier, Jacob has been accepted to the Texas State Technical College in Waco, TX. We completed his FASFA information and then TSTC contacted us yesterday. We need to send in a copy of both of our IRS Income Tax Transcripts for 2013. I called the school to find out exactly how to do this, and the gentleman explained it to me.

Last night, I got on the IRS website and found what I needed. I completed the request online and was able to print a copy of my transcript. I actually was able to save it right onto my computer and then send it by email to TSTC. Before doing this, I wanted to get Jacob's transcript. Well, I completed the form online just as I had done mine, but the webpage said the information didn't match what was on the return. I tried again, thinking I had made a typo and got the same information. Jacob then sat down and did it, and again we got an ERROR message and we were then locked out.

I tried again tonight and the same thing happened. I then searched the web for "irs transcript" problem and found a FORM that you can complete and mail in to get a copy. The form then had a phone number you can call to request a copy. I called the number and it took all of three minutes to complete the request. I was NOT told that the information didn't match what was filed(there was information I had to answer to prove Jacob was Jacob) and we should get a copy in 5-10 business days. I will then scan the form in and send it to TSTC. I still don't know what the original problem was when we tried to request it online, but I am glad I could get it done over the PHONE!

ICED in AGAIN!

School was cancelled again today due to icy roads and unsafe driving conditions. The sleet started yesterday afternoon and didn't let up. Elijah was SO excited to have the day off. He spent the day watching TV and playing with Legos. I did get him to complete a few chores with me that we didn't finish yesterday. Jacob slept in and did his chores late in the morning, but has been on his laptop since then. I even ordered us a PIZZA for lunch to be delivered! I haven't left the house all day.

I walked 10,000 steps while watching the Oscars--OK not all 10,000 at once, but I met 10,000 for the day and will add a few more before bed. I completed one quiz last night and one quiz today in each of my classes. I even watched THE WALKING DEAD today! It was nice to get this extra day off and play catch up with my TV. I am also way ahead in my grad school classes, but I'll keep working. I would prefer to stay ahead then have to start playing catch up.

We are off for Spring Break next week, and then in a few weeks we will take Elijah to a Tourette's camp. He is very excited about that!