Found a Peanut

Anyone who spends time with children can tell you that kids ask tons of questions. My girls are no different. In fact, there are times that Leia asks enough questions for 3 or 4 kids. I have always tried to answer them as honestly as I can while still trying to maintain their innocence. For example, if you ask them how a baby eats while it is in the mommy's belly, they will say "through the "um-belly-cal" cord" :) But ask them how a baby gets in the mommy's belly..."Jesus puts it there" (not sure there could be a more accurate answer to that one)♥ There are some questions I avoid (female related) and there are some that I try too hard to answer and leave them more confused than before. I have answered questions about bugs, heaven, mud, germs, their bodies, the radio, and even about the "people that live in our tv". And for the most part, I do pretty good with the constant curiosity!

But regardless of how good your track record is, it only takes one "game" to ruin your whole season! Leia walked into Kason's room during a diaper change the other day and demanded that he "stop touching with *his* weiner"!!! OMGosh! What did she just say?! "Weiner"??? Well, this cool headed, tell-it-like-it-is mommy about flipped!! Don't get me wrong, I knew this was coming. I knew that eventually we would have to come up with a word for "it" but to be honest, that has been total taboo for me! I have racked my brain for months to think of a term I could deal with and hadn't been able to find one. I told Leia not to say that and that "weiner" was not what "it" was called....but Leia doesn't give up that easy. After she had asked about 3 times what it was really called, I finally gave up and just told the truth. "Leia, it is called a penis. But most people don't call it that so don't go to school and say something about little boys having a penis." Ok....there....I said it. It wasn't exactly my term of choice but if we have to use a term, it might as well be a correct one, right?!

My mind was still reeling and I was working as fast as I could to get a new diaper on Kason when I heard Macy say to Leia... "Did mommy just say Kason has a PEANUT???" YES!!! Yes you did Macy! Kason does have a peanut ;) ~insert sigh of relief~

And to think, we haven't even gotten to the hard questions yet!

Listening

Several years ago, a frustrated quality inspector was having lunch with a friend and blowing off some steam (aka, ranting). Somewhere in the midst of the 20 min, one-sided conversation, the quality inspector said something like "I wish they'd just come in and shut this place down so I could go back to school and be done with all this crap!".
Fast forward a couple of years... a single mom (who happens to work as a quality inspector) is told to help gather everyone up and meet outside in the parking lot for a meeting. "The parking lot???", she thought. "This can't be good". Once everyone was outside they were joined by a very weary looking plant manager, a tearful HR manager, and a "big wig" who looked like someone had ran over his dog. The single mom could only process bits and pieces of the meeting..."closing", "December", "sorry"... All the other words were drown out by the panicing voices in her head. "You are going to lose your house!" "You can't make ends meet NOW, how are you going to provide for the girls with no job?!" Tears were all she had for the next few hours.
But later that afternoon... A stubborn little redneck girl (aka: quality inspector/single mom) got MAD! There was absolutely NO way she was going to let "some little sawed off yankee" come in there and knock her down like that! She would show them! She would show all of them! She would go back to school, get her degree, and never allow someone to walk in and pull the world out from under her again!!! So she called the plant manager and said "if you need me, I'm in my office using the company's internet to get the ball rolling for school". The pm's response "Good girl! Use anything you want." :)
Everything happened quickly after that. There was a whirlwind of faxes, applications, tests, meetings, and finally orientation. She drove to the campus that morning feeling all the things a 30 something would feel when going back to school. But her excitement was taken away by an "advisor" who told her to change her major. "Nursing school is VERY hard to get into. They ONLY accept 70 students a year and right now we have 1900 students that have nursing down as their major." :( Wow...70 a year, based on GPA :( This girl wasn't dumb by any means, but she was never a straight A student. But instead of being discouraged, she got MAD again! "Who does that woman think she is?!?! If I want in nursing school, I will GET in nursing school! It may kick my butt in the process but I'll do it!". (the girl in this story is a little spunky if you couldn't tell)
Time marched on and true to their word, the plant closed on December 16th, 2009. It was such a sad day. The plant manger who had now become her best friend/father figure helped her pack up her office and carry everything to her car. They both cried and he talked about how worried he was for her but how proud he was that she was had already designed her budget around her unemployment check and the way she had taken everything. They were talking about how long she would draw unemployment and the single mom told him "if I can just draw long enought to get into nursing school then I don't care to get a job. But holding down a 4.0 gpa with 2 kids is going to be hard! Once I get in I will be able to concentrate on a job".
June 29, 2011: The former quality inspector/single mom (of 3 now)/redneck/college student went to the career center to see about getting into the Alliance for Business and Training program to help pay some of her nursing school expenses. In the past 2 years, the career center had been a little less than helpful and it was a visit she was not looking forward to. She decided to run in, get the information, check on the status of her unemployment, and get out. Little did she know that morning that God was getting ready to open a cloud and pour even more blessing out on her! By the end of the day, she learned that she did qualify for assistance with AB&T, and SHE was 1 of the 70 people who had been selected to join the nursing program!!! Not only did she get in and was she going to get help with some of the expenses...her unemployment was extended for an additional 20 weeks!!! Not only did she get to draw long enough to get into the program, she will get to draw for the majority of her first semester!!!
As the walking-on-air woman went to bed that night, she laid awake in total awe of everything the Lord had done for her. HE had taken what could have been a horrible experience and turned it into something that could only be described as amazing. HE had listened to her every wish and made them all come true for her. HE showed her that she CAN do all things through Him. HE even thought to include two new best friends that are good christian woman to walk through nursing school with her!! And most of all HE showed her that even when she thought she was just ranting...HE was always listening :)

I'm.....

just hanging out...waiting on my letter

Shewwww....

I love this picture! The position of the arm leads me to imagine this lady walking across the sand, soaked in sweat and loaded down with stress. She finally reaches the chair and "flops" down and allows the waves to wash the stress away.
I am her; this is me. Only my chair is my van and my wave is the image of the school fading in my rearview mirror. I am done (for now)! It is an incredible feeling to know that I have reached the goal that I set for myself (and never imagined I would actually achieve). I have made it through my core classes with a 4.0 gpa and I survived the entrance exam with a score of 91.94. There are still many things that I have to do to be ready to (hopefully) start nursing school in August, but for now...I'm just going to "flop" and soak up the sun for a little while :)

Please pray

This week is National Infertility Awareness Week. Yes, I know... what does NIAW have to do with me, right? Well, a certain loved one (who is now an amazing mother) introduced me to a world that is full of heartache but also full of miracles. To me, infertility is like cancer in the sense that you probably know someone that has dealt with it and it is also very likely that you know at least one angel baby. It is the mother of one of "my" angel babies that I am asking you to pray for.

Drake's mommy is a friend of mine from my life in Kentucky. She is a beautiful girl who lives for the Lord. Her road to motherhood has been paved with heartache. Drake was her first pregnancy to progress past the first trimester (I'm not sure about the number of previous miscarriages). She was SO excited to meet him. He was her first child, the first grandchild, the first great grandson. Her pregnancy went well and was filled with all the preparations of any excited parent, from the preggo photo shoot to the nursery. When she was in her final weeks, the doctor agreed to bring her in on Tuesday and induce her labor (due to Memorial Day, the office was closed on Monday). Everything was set, but when she got to the hospital on Tuesday, the doctors couldn't find Drake's heartbeat. He had passed sometime during the weekend. His mommy has had an understandably hard time since he went to heaven. Many bad things (for lack of a better word) have happened in her life (including another miscarriage).

I learned tonight that she is expecting again. Her due date is December 14th. Please joining me in praying that she will be able to carry her child full term and give birth to a healthy baby. (She said after Drake that God answered her prayers, she prayed to be able to hold him but never asked to raise him) Also remember all of the women who are stuggling in their journey to motherhood and PRAISE GOD for all the beautiful children he has blessed us with!

Love to all

My Fault? Already?!

Macy got into a little trouble at school Thursday for playing with her "boyfriend" when she was supposed to be doing her work. So on the ride home, I was trying desperately to explain why school needed to be priority and she should forget about boys. I rambled on and on for about 5 minutes (which is forever when you are 6 yrs old) and I finished my lecture with my usual phrase "Do you understand?" Macy looked up at me and said "Yes, but Mommy it is your fault that I have so many boyfriends...you dress me too pretty!" How do they learn to pass blame to early?? lol

I also have a quote from Leia to share. I went in the bathroom earlier today and found brown liquid all over the bathroom sink and the plundger sitting in the middle of the floor. I was terrified to even ask but I called Leia in the bathroom and asked her what was in the sink. Her answer sums her up perfectly! "It's mud. I had to wash it off my high-heels" :)

It's Not Hard

Balancing school and three kids is an adventure. My classes are in the morning so going to school isn't that different from working a first shift job. The kids come home from school, we do homework, eat supper, take baths, and then go through our bedtime routine. Usually by 8:00 all three kids are in their beds quietly drifting off to sleep. Not bad huh?! Who wouldn't love to have their kids snug in bed by 8pm, right? But, then comes my study time. This is what sets school apart from working. I never had to bring work home with me and work on it for hours after my kids were in bed. Sunday night I was in bed by 12am, Monday and Tuesday night it was 1am (and I get up at 5:30). Usually by Thursday the lack of sleep is starting to get to me so I have worried all day about how late I would be up tonight studying for my anatomy lab quiz tomorrow. Finally around 6pm it dawned on me that...I don't have lab tomorrow!!! That quiz I was so worried about isn't until next Tuesday!!! So I am very excited to report that it is 8:55pm and I am heading to bed!!!! Yep, "It's Not Hard" to please me :-)