February What?

I realize the end of the month is already gone and it seems like it has flown by. Cory is taking 18 credit hours, I'm student teaching and Madeleine doing her school thing, it is a miracle that dishes get done. We are trying to keep our head above water.

Cory was recently diagnosed with adult diabetes, so we have a new diet and exercise that we have to follow. Cory is doing really well, I do too (except for that one week). But this also means that he has lots of doctors and testing that he has to do too. So far, so good.

Madeleine is doing well. She loves to read and Cory works with her nightly on phonics and sounding out words. It snowed the other day, and she was not happy. The "excitement" of snow has worn off this winter, and I must admit I feel the same way. Tired of the cold, ready for spring. This winter has been unusually cold for Knoxville.

I change placements in the middle of March, if I pass of course.

We All Fall Down

So all those balls that I have been juggling the last few weeks all came down on Tuesday. I had one of those weeks when I feel like another ball is being thrown at me, then another, and another. Until at one point on Tuesday night they all just came crashing on the floor. It is one of the down sides of not being near family and asking someone who is "obligated" to help you when you call with ridiculous requests.

Luckily there is a friend that saved my sanity. She watched a sick Madeleine all day on Wednesday so that I could still make it to student teaching, and Cory could still make it to his classes.

So I have a grasp on my sanity once again... we'll see how long it lasts!

Glorious Food

Cory and I are attempting to get Madeleine to eat more than just crackers and cheese. We get her to try some bites of whatever is on my plate during dinner. When we were going out the other night, Cory said, "Madeleine you will be taking two bites of whatever Mom orders for dinner." Madeleine, "Mom can you order just white rice then?"

Seriously this girl gets her critical thinking skills from Cory, because I would have never thought of such a solution.

TWENTY-TEN!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday season. Cory and I were grateful for a break from our schedules. Unfortunately that will end soon, as school starts back up and I will start student teaching. I think both Cory and I are excited and very nervous about this next year. We both finish our programs this year, which also means that we both will be looking for jobs. Should be a fun year!

And to show my high hopes for this year here is a picture of our little family in the winter of 2004, to show how far we've come... oh wait... we are still students... never mind

A No Dishes Thanksgiving

Since it was just Cory and we are both just exhausted and stressed with school assignments and projects, we decided to go to Golden Corral for Thanksgiving dinner. Granted it was not as good as going to Grandma's, but with us being in Tennessee that really is not an option. But it was good, and hey no dishes, but a little sad in no leftovers. And I will say that the afternoon bunch at Golden Corral is less scary than the crowd we saw oh Friday night a few weeks ago.

I also ventured out on my first real Black Friday experience. I went to Kohls at about 5 a.m. and since it is next door to Old Navy I stopped in there for a few things. I saved more than I spent, so I figure that was a win. And Christmas shopping is almost done, which will be nice since I have finals in a few weeks.

Cory updated my phone, for my Merry Birthday gift. I can actually text now... which means I will finally enter the year 2002.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

(email me your address if you want a Christmas card)

Time Flies When There Is Not Enough Of It

Well between my night classes, Cory's 18 credit hours, and Madeleine in Kindergarten, it does not seem like there is enough time for anything. Cory has been awesome in helping me out with cooking dinners. Him and Madeleine go every Saturday morning to do the grocery shopping while I am in class, which is a great help (even if we do end up with some interesting snacks or meals).

Cory is now in his part of the semester where projects are due, and right after Thanksgiving he will start into finals. By this time next year, Cory will be getting ready to graduate. Which seems soon, especially with how fast this last year has gone.

Madeleine is doing great in Kindergarten. She is excited to go everyday. Today is her first time buying lunch, so we'll see how that goes. Also she has her first loose tooth, and is terrified about it falling out. "I don't want to grow up," is what she tells me at night. I have even told her about the tooth fairy, but she does not seem to care how much money the tooth fairy might leave.

I am in my third quarter of night and Saturday classes. I am exhausted, but I know this tired feeling will be nothing compared to when I am student teaching in January. At this point I am just hoping to survive the program, but as soon as I get my certification, I'll get to worry about getting a job and all the good things that come from obtaining one.

So life is good, but busy. I think over Thanksgiving we will attempt to be lazy and not even make a full Thanksgiving dinner. Madeleine is still a picky enough eater, that really it will just be Cory and I eating dinner. Just means less to clean up... right? Though the thought of no left overs is a bit depressing.

It has been awhile

We did make it to our apartment safely, life has just been a little crazy. Cory went to summer school, I am still in the program to obtain my elementary education certificate. Basically Cory goes to classes during the day and I go at night. We don't see too much of each other. We tried to fit in summer trips where we could with our schedules.

We even visited my sister in North Carolina where we went to the beach. And I think we both realized how much we missed the beach, even though Cory did lose his wedding ring in the ocean. So if you are in the Atlantic and see a titanium wedding band, let me know.

Madeleine has started Kindergarten. She starts going everyday next week. She is very excited, but scarred at the same time. Cory got a 3.6 and a 3.7 on his grades for the summer, so he was very excited about that. Because it also meant he kept his partial scholarship.

We also got another dog, Cassie-o-pea or how ever you spell that. So Cassie for short. So now we have Cassie(-o-pea) and Socrates. Sometimes I wonder why we thought it was a good idea. But Madeleine loves both her dogs, and she tortures them both. We are lucky that they both have great temperaments and put up with anything she does to them. Cassie is definitely more dog, where I think Socrates thinks he is a person.

I am attempting to keep up with classes while studying for the four praxis tests I need to take in order to be certified.

Hope you all are doing well!