School!!!!!!

Nine months ago my biggest concern was moving from there back to here. All the packing and stress of cramming to rambunctious kids into a stuffy truck. And of course the long 1000 mile drive thru three states. Getting the kids re-adjusted and settled back in to a slightly crazy house. (Hey large family life is bound to be slightly crazy! lol). Now I am going back to school and the kids are starting preschool. Crazy, I know!

It has been 6 yrs since I was last in school. I am somewhat scared but also so very excited to go back to school. My decision to go back to school was not an easy one or one I took lightly. But I feel it was the best decision. Most ppl in my position, a wife and mom of two, would tell you they are going back because of their children...whether it would be so they will be an example to their kids or so they can better their kids lives. And while my kids will always be a factor in every decision I make, I did not decide to go back for them. I made the decision ultimately for me. (I know, sounds selfish but hey I have a right to be somewhat selfish every once in a while!) I want to go learn, to challenge myself. To enrich my mind. The last few yrs, I have been restless and bored. I know what you are thinking. "What?! How can she be bored w/ 2 kids especially so close in age?! She is totally crazy!" And you are right. Being a stay-at-home mom is not easy by any means or boring since the kids are always doing something or getting into something.

But kids do grow up and they do need you less and less as time goes on. So you find yourself w/ more and more free time. (And let's face it, while the kids are watching their favorite shows/movies for the millionth time, you are totally not interested in it anymore). So you find things to fill your time. Lil hobbies. Reading that book you have had sitting around forever. That is what I did. I read. I just flew threw books. (Fast reader). Soon I was going through series. At one point I was reading seven different series. It was during those times, that I realized I was bored.

Not bored of being a stay-at-home mom or a wife. But in life, yes. I felt like I was at a stand still in a way. The kids were reaching the point where they wanted and needed to start preschool which means I wasn't needed as much. But that was my role...the stay-at-home mom. I also realized I craved knowledge. I wanted to be challenged in new ways. To push my limits (not just the kids pushing them. lol) So I decided I wanted to go back to school and this fall was the perfect time to do it since we had planned on the kids getting enrolled in preschool this fall anyway.

So we start a new chapter in our lives on Monday. I am going to the School of Mines for Electrical Engineering. I have all my school supplies ready to go. Our new desk for our office should be here in a few days. So I will have a place to study w/o the kids. The kids are excited to start school. Lil J has been bugging me about it all summer! lol.

I know that this all will take adjusting to for all of us and that there will be a period of trial-and-error. But that is ok. I also know there might be challenging times ahead but I feel we will get through it all. Just like we have before. What doesn't kill ya, only makes ya stronger!

So here is to my new and exciting chapter in my somewhat insane life!

Oh my!

It is hard to believe it has been 2 weeks since we moved. It seems like we have been here forever. Of course we had everything moved and unpacked before even the end of the first wk. And everything just fell into place. We fell back into our old routine pretty fast. (W/in the first 24hrs of being here, Lil A even fell into the whole running to his room to punish himself when he got in trouble. Lol).

I seriously love my house....and it really is a house. A huge 3 bedroom house w/ a huge yard (w/ tons of trees), a full (and huge) unfinished basement. A deck in the front and the back. The inside of the house is amazing. I have a built-in wine rack and bread box. A built-in spice cupboard. A pantry w/ pull out drawers Microwave above the stove (like my mother's) and dishwasher. Bay windows. Oh and a fireplace w/ a mantle which is currently holding all of my faery/dragon/wizard knickknacks. I have an awesome view of the hills. Totally awesome.

We haven't lived in a house since Levi and I first moved in together 6yrs ago. That house was a 4 bedroom house on the west side but Levi and I basically had our own apartment upstairs when we lived there...bathroom included. (A fact that use to piss off some of my old roommates). So living in house again is kinda weird but totally awesome.

I think the best part of our new house is the fact it is our own house. No duplex or townhouse. Our yard is our yard. We don't have to share it w/ anyone else. And the basement. The basement could be used for both storage (since it has built in shevles in one area) and a room...whether it be a living room or a bedroom. Either way the room would be huge.

The best part of where we live...it isn't the north side. I will never put my kids thru what I went thru growing up. The gang rapes 2 blocks away at a park. The weekly drive by shootings a block away. Ppl being constantly arrested in my front yard at 2 or 3 in the morning. Sirens and flashing lights waking everyone up in the house. The constant threat of violence. Never being able to be outside past 8pm even in the summer for fear of bad things happening. Yeah no thank you! I am very happy where we live.

The kids also love the house and their new room. They almost don't know what to do w/ all the room they have to roam and play. Almost. Lol.

Levi and I also realized just how big and quiet this house w/o the kids. They stayed the night at their grandparents house last night because their cousin was in town. This was the first time they have seen her in a yr and since she moved back. It was kinda creepy quiet and both of us kept thinking we should be checking on the kids. Lol. Ah the life of a parent.

Well anyway my new house is amazing with an awesome view...altho it feels like we have been living here forever. Levi and I are total parents...we need noise to relax because otherwise it is "too quiet!" Kids love the new place and know how to make it a home. So concludes this update of my life.