Hello again.

Tap....tap, tap, tap...HELLO?  Testing...One, two...three.

Is this thing on?  (cough)...(cough)...Wow, it sure is dusty!

Ok, is it bad that I forgot my password to my blog?  I wish I were kidding.   I haven't been on here in a very long time.  About a year, to be exact, and I almost gave up trying to login because I could not remember the password! Ha!

Since there is no way for me to cram an entire year into one post, or even a couple, let's just say that lots has happened.

For starters, the kids and I are a grade higher than the last time I was here.  In a couple of weeks, I will officially have two high school-aged teenagers.  I kept back-spacing because I really did not want to type that.  Because if I  type it, then it is real.  Make sense?  I want time to slow down just a little because my kiddos are growing up so fast and I'm not liking it.  Not one bit!  Marko will be a sophomore and Gabriella will be a (gulp!)...freshman.  This just boggles my mind.

This year is also my senior year as an undergrad.  (How did that happen?!)  It's both exciting and kind of scary.  This personal goal of mine of earning my bachelor degree is becoming more and more of a reality every day (obviously), but it also will mean that the only life I have known for the last three years will change, and I don't do well with change.  This is probably because I bounced around so much as a child, that I just do not do well with it now.  I was talking to my husband about the fact that this is the first time in my entire life that I have began school somewhere and actually finished the school year in the same school.  Actually doing this was completely foreign to me.  The fact that I have done this for three years now just amazes me.

Somewhere during the last year I also decided to apply for grad school.  I am even entertaining the idea of a double major and I plan on meeting with my advisor to discuss this further.  This is definitely not set in stone.  Yet. (:
I was recently blessed with an amazing, very much sought-after scholarship that will make this year completely stress-free as far as tuition, etc.  I also made the honor roll.  These are two things that I am proud of because I seriously work my butt off on this crazy educational journey, and it is kind of satisfying to see that all my and my family's sacrifices are not in vain.

My hubby recently decided he was ready for a change also and started a new job!  God is amazing, and His timing is always perfect.  I am confidant this was the perfect decision for our family and I know that hubs will be very successful.

There's not a doubt in my mind (: 

Final final

Today I will take my final final and I can't tell you how happy happy that makes me!
I think all of this studying for finals has really fried my brain.  I actually had to backspace in the last sentence because I wrote brian the first time.  Then I looked at it for a second because it had the red squiggly line underneath it and I actually went back to capitalize it! ha!
I wish I were kidding.

Oh, Happy day!!
I hope your day is just as great (:

I believe I believe (:

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned that of all the classes I could possibly ever take or have taken, history and science just were never my cup of sweet tea.  And they never will be. 
I am taking a history of Mexico course this semester and let me tell you it has seriously kicked my butt!  And I'm not talking about a little scuffle either.  I'm talking about a knock-down, drag-out, no mercy, beat me to a pulp kind of beating.
I've stressed about this class and I'll even admit that I've lost some sleep worrying about any tests in this class, especially the big ones like the midterm I recently took or the final that is quickly approaching.
I have to mention how I have so much respect for anyone that was, is, or plans to someday major in either of these subjects. I really admire them big-time.

Well, today as class was ending, my professor handed back our midterms.  We took them a few weeks ago in "blue books," and the whole midterm was 3-intense parts.  The whole class took the whole hour to do the test and it was really challenging for me.
Before this midterm, I seriously had never heard of these blue books.  For those of you that don't know what it is:  it is basically just a blue book.  It's 4 sheets of loose-leaf paper stapled into a blue folder and they cost 25 cents.  I suppose some professors prefer those for tests so there is no way to cheat.
Anyway, I got mine back today and I started to shove it into my backpack without even opening it up.  I noticed the disappointment in some of my classmates' faces as they saw their grades, so  I planned to take a look at my grade in the privacy of my car, but my professor came up to me and gave me a high-five (!)
I really didn't understand why he would do that, but he told me to open it up and I did:

Telling you I was shocked is a gross understatement!  At best, I really did NOT expect anything higher than maybe a C.  I mean, this is a history class, for crying out loud!
I am proud of my work, of course, and I should probably learn to stop under-estimating myself.

Seeing my hard work pay off totally made my day and I may or may not have behaved like Jim Carrey in this clip:



When I got to my car.
Hahaha!

Until tomorrow!

Traditional v. Non-traditional woes

O.k...so you know how I'm going to school as the most non-traditional student EVER, right?  Yeah, that's what I'm called.  And yeah, it's just a nice way of stating the fact that I'm...ahem...older than traditional students right out of high school.  (:
Anyway, this "non-traditional" title was never more evident than this week.

My classmates and I were sitting in one of my journalism classes waiting for our professor to walk in and start the class and we were discussing among ourselves an assignment that was due that day.  It was something we had to get from the internet.  Well, two of the students kids (a boy and a girl.  And yes, I am calling them kids because they are literally only a couple years older than my son, Marko!) ended up printing the exact same picture and they weren't too happy about this coincidence.  Had that happened to me, as an old a non-traditional student, I would have simply explained to the professor that it was merely a coincidence...right?

HA!!

My jaw about hit the damned floor when they immediately started their Rock, Paper, Scissor bullshit!!

Oh My Gaaawwd I literally felt the grey hair oozing out of the pores in my head!!

Are you kidding??!!

You know how I've told you that my kids started a new school back in February?  Well, everything has been fantastic for the kids, except for one thing.  The only negative thing that has happened since starting there was Marko's Ipod was stolen by this kid in Marko's PE class.  Marko got it back, the kid got into trouble at school and everything has been good, and forgotten.

Until today.

During PE today, Marko and his friend were listening to Marko's Ipod (remember Marko's injured foot?  He has been excused from participating in PE until it heals.)

Anyway, the kid that stole it in February had the nerve to ask Marko: "Dude, can I use your Ipod again?"

Marko: "What do you mean, can you USE my Ipod?!  The last time you HAD my Ipod was because you STOLE it!"

Wow......REALLY??!!

Sticker time!

My math professor handed out our graded tests today and here's mine:

Apparently, gold stars are used at university levels. HA!

There were two parts to the test, the first part was worth 200 points and the second was worth 300 points, plus there were a couple extra credit problems.  I was very pleased with the A on the test, but I was even more pleased with the "progress report" we received showing where we stand in the class for the semester:

I may or may not have given myself a little pat on the back (:

Hope your day has been awesome as well.

WTH??

Today's lecture in my journalism class touched on law and ethics as a reporter, the First Amendment, etc.  It was a pretty common lecture for that class.
From your very first journalism class your professor will start pounding Responsible Journalist "rules" into students' heads, such as what is legal vs. illegal while reporting and also what is ethical and what is not.
The professor mentioned (again) how ethics aren't "laws," but rather "what you ought to do."  She used the classic example of how unethical it is to yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater.
I seriously thought I was in kindergarten again when one student raised their hand and said "You mean you can't yell 'Fire!' in a crowded theater?"
There were giggles as the professor said "No."

The professor continued with her lecture and the same student again raised their hand and said "Umm.........So......I can't yell 'Fire!' in a crowded theater even if there IS a fire?"

GA!!

I wish I were kidding, but unfortunately I am not.

I hope your day has been better than mine.

Student of the Week!

Ok, I'm back.  I have NEVER posted this many times in one day, but I could hardly contain my excitement on the drive home after picking up my kids from school.

You know how I've posted of how my children are doing so wonderfully in their new school?  And how they are FINALLY being recognized for the wonderful, smart, respectful children I know they are?  Honestly, the kids continue to tell me horror stories of that "jail" they used to go to "school" at.  Thank God I got them out of there!

Things are so different now.  The kids come home every single day excited about their day and their wonderful teachers at their "real" school.

Marko brought this home today:

It is a "Power Pass" and he was named "Student of the Week."  Marko was one of a select few who got to have a pizza party for lunch with one of the awesome teachers.  My handsome son had a wonderful, perfect day.  So that made my day pretty wonderful and perfect too. (:

Oh, and in case you haven't noticed....it is AFTER 3:30 p.m.  You know what that means!  Yes, that means it is now Spring Break!!!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!
One proud mama (:

Reporter FAIL

This clip from CBS This Morning caught my attention because, as you know, I am currently a journalism major at my local university.

My current professor for my journalism class is pretty tough, really smart and gives great lectures.  I've learned a lot in her class.  She worked as a reporter and a copy editor before earning her doctorate and becoming a professor many years ago, so she knows her stuff!

Anyway, take a look at this clip and the epic fail on this reporter's part:



After watching this poor reporter slam into the pole and end up with a concussion (true story), I wonder if my professor will add  "Watching Out For Poles While On Assignment" to our syllabus (?)

Spring Break (:

Not that I've been keeping track or anything, but Spring Break officially begins this afternoon after my last class, which ends at 3:30 p.m.  That means:

Nine glorious days of me time, yes, that's nine days (if you include the weekend before AND after, which I totally do.)
If I choose to do nothing but lounge around in my pj's until 2 p.m. and then shower and put clean pj's on again...that's OK!
If I choose to do a little retail therapy all day long...that's OK also (!)
And if I decide to spend a whole day working on a wonderful project I pinned on Pinterest...yep, that's also OK!
Can you tell I'm just a little excited?!  That's probably becauses I've been SLAMMED with homework this week.  I think there's a conspiracy going on at the university amongst the professors to dish out as much hw as possible to make you eArN those 9 days of vacay..Sheesh!

Just in case you're wondering, 3:30 p.m. is only 5 hours and 19 minutes away.  Or 319 minutes  away....you know, in case you need to go pick up your kids from school..because I'm really not keeping track or anything..

The A-Team

You might remember one of my posts this last week was about the kids and I doing Highs & Lows every day (You know, where I ask them what the best and worst part of their day was) and I told you that ever since the kids changed schools recently (and I'm seriously talking from Day 1 at their new school) the kids happily tell me that their "High" was SCHOOL.  That's right.  Their entire days are perfect.  This of course, makes my day perfect.  My kids have not had a "Low" since the hubs and I made the best decision of our lives in switching the kids' school.

The only "Low" they had was Monday after school when THIS happened with those damned trolls.

Well, I had class today until 8 p.m. and today was also the kids' parent-teacher conferences.  But it just so happened to be the hubs' day off.  So he took the kids to the conferences and I drove as fast as I could right after taking my test to get there in time for at least some of the conferences.

All of the teachers told us how impressed they were with Marko and Gabriella because they were both doing so awesome and every single teacher commented on how respectful the kids were.   Did I mention the fact that Marko has 104% in Life Science?  Yeah..that's my boy.

I got to meet his math teacher who also kept telling the hubs and I how she loved having Marko in her class because he is so smart and respectful.  I've always known that about my Marko, of course, but I let her go on and on (:

After that, the hubs took Marko to meet with another teacher while Gabriella and I walked into her Social Studies class.  Her teacher just couldn't stop praising her for her work.
Gabriella's math teacher said that she will definitely be placed in advanced math classes in the fall.  I'm not suprised in the least.

The kids and I were bummed that I wasn't able to make it to all of the conferences.  I just couldn't help it with my class running so late.  Oh, and did I mention that it was snowing hard when I left the university?  Yeah.  Driving on two wheels was not an option tonight.  But I made it in time to meet with a few of each of the children's teachers and for that I am very grateful.

The teachers love the kids and my kids love every one of the wonderful teachers also.  Within 5 minutes of meeting them, I clearly understood why school is the kids' "High."

The kids' self-esteem is off-the-charts and they both have so many A's, I think I'll just call them the A-Team (:

Oh, and just in case you're wondering...my "high" today was seeing the look of satisfaction, extreme happiness and pride on my beautiful children's faces.
Thank You God for all your blessings.

(One proud mama)

Loss for words.

Disclaimer:  This is actually an edited version of my original post.  I'm still angry, but I will refrain from name-calling.

Ok, I am majorly PO'd and I believe I have good reason to be.  If you prefer, come back tomorrow when this blog goes back to it's regular programming, because today's topic sucks.


<First, I want to clarify that my kids were NEVER disciplined for any mean, disrepectful behavior. EVER.  The choice to move the kids to another school was a decision my husband and I made ALONE and only WE decided when to move them.  My children were never expelled from school or anything of that nature.>


You might remember how I posted a couple weeks ago of switching my children to another school?  And how I hated the way certain "teachers" mistreated not only my kids, but other kids?  For example, their math teacher would make one little boy go to the front of the class everyday and lift his shirt up to show that he was wearing a belt.  There were times he missed the belt loop at the middle of his back and he would send him to the bathroom to fix it.  And he would humiliate the boy.  Well, in spite of all of this, my kids absolutely
L-O-V-E-D the French Teacher there, Ms. Anderson.  In fact, the day the kids were going to their teachers to sign off on their withdrawal paperwork, Ms. Anderson hugged both of the kids and told them she really enjoyed having them in her class, she would miss them, and to stop by to see her whenever they had a chance.


The kids' new school day starts and ends way after their old school does, so they never had that chance.

Until today.

Today was an early-release day and the kids were excited for today so they could stop by their old school and say hello to their beloved French teacher.
I had to get to class at the time the kids were released from school today my mom picked them up.  They asked her if she could stop by their old school for a few minutes so they could say hello to Ms. Anderson and my mom said yes.

My blood boils at what happened next.

The kids walked into the school and the receptionist runs around her desk and points to the door and yells <in front of EVERYONE, mind you.> "Get off school grounds!"

(I'm not kidding!!)

Then she said "You no longer go to this school, you must LEAVE NOW!"
My poor kids were shocked, humiliated and confused for a few seconds before Gabriella said "We just wanted to say hello to Ms. Anderson."
Then she told my kids: "You know what, wait.  You need to go to the principal's office first."
So the kids went in there and she told the assistant principal "Marko and Gabriella are here and I told them they aren't allowed on school grounds."  He agreed and then he said to my kids "You guys can't be on school grounds!"
Marko said "Ms. Anderson invited us to come see her."
The AP said "I don't care.  You can't be on school grounds."  "Leave."


My kids were so upset all afternoon.  And I felt horrible for them.  And the hubs and I were so upset all afternoon.
Ms. Anderson called my husband and apologized for the way the "professionals" at her school treated the kids.
She told my kids that she didn't realize the protocol for students that previously attended that school was that they weren't allowed back. (?)
Then, she made plans to pick up my kids during Spring Break to hang out with her and maybe go to McDonalds.


She is wonderful and I am grateful to her for helping make my kids' day a little brighter after the nightmare they endured after school.


My kids go back to visit their kindergarten teacher (at yet another school) every year at Christmas time and it has always been a positive experience for them.  They really look forward to the yearly visits to Mrs. Molander and always excitedly wrap the gift they chose for her.


Ms. Anderson was another teacher just as special to them as Mrs. Molander.


Thank God I got my kids out of that horrible place .
How dare they hurt my children like that!

I find it to be in VERY BAD TASTE for two adults to literally gang up on two defenseless kids.  Shame on You Union Colony!  This is the worst case of BULLYING ever.


If you are reading this, please give me some feedback. Have any of you ever experienced or heard of anything this crazy?

Oh, and if you read my original post...I apologize.



Just call me Toucan Rosi (:

Those of you that know me personally would automatically know that I am very sensitive to smells.  And I don't mean a little either.  No siree!  I could probably bet money that you have never dealt with anyone as annoyed pissed off as moi when I get a whiff of some disgusting odor.And I am not talking about smells such as toilets, dog poo, a sick child's vomit or anything yucky like that.  Nope, I'm talking about supposed "good" smells, such as lotions, some cleaning supplies, laundry soaps, etc.  I promise I am telling you the truth when I say that I would never work in the laundry soap aisle of the grocery store.
Not even if they paid me one billion, gajillion, fafillion, shabadubaludshakilamazookdfkdijfidu-illion dollars. (What movie is that from?) HA!
Not kidding.  I dislike can't stand HATE it that much.  The only smell I can tolerate in things such as PineSol is the lemon one.  That is my ONE must have for cleaning the house.  It cleans everything from toilets, sinks, floors, I mean everything.
My kids and I have exzema, so for years, I've used these:

Yep, our laundry soap AND Downey are free of perfumes and dyes.  Our skin has never been happier!  Or my nose!  Another plus to using these laundry necessities has to be that when you do put lotion or perfume on, guess what?! You only smell the perfume! It's awesome.

My intolerance to those smells the other laundry soaps have is so bad that I have actually ran back inside the house (many times!) if say, I go outside and one of our neighbors is doing laundry and that God-awful smell impregnates the air outside!

 I also cannot stand to have to walk by someone at a store who smells like they washed with Suave (like every. single. scent. available!), then put on some clean clothes washed in a combination of all of these:

Then proceeds to apply some Musky scented lotion,  and tops it off with Dollar Store perfume.  And I don't mean, you know, just a little squirt from the perfume bottle, I'm talking about the ones that literally douse themselves with it!  GA!
(I am almost ready to throw up now just thinking about it!)
Ok, I had to say all of that to get to the point of this post.  Recently, the Stryker Institute (where I received my awesome scholarship, in case you've forgotten or did not know) hosted a Christmas party for all of the Stryker ladies. It was almost Standing Room Only! Everyone took spouses and kids and we all had a good time.  There was tons of food,  in fact, we gave Golden Corral a run for their money!
I got to see all of the Stryker ladies and it was a lot of fun.  Oh, and we also had a gift exchange. (:  I know the easy choice for most would be to buy a scented candle.  Well, any candle I would gift would literally have ZERO smell, that wouldn't work, so I decided to DIY for the gift I was taking.  And since I've always loved pillows. Big, small, round, square--I don't care, I love 'em all.  So I didn't struggle with "What to take."  Everyone like pillows, right?!   Especially the ones you DIY because those, in my opinion, are the best!
Well, I was on Pinterest a few weeks back and fell head-over-heels in lOvE with this pillow made by Donna from Funky Junk Interiors:

I found her blog by chance, and let me just tell you that you will need something to catch the drool when you see all the beautiful creations this talented lady has!  She is incredible.

Anyway, I wanted that pillow.  Bad.  So I followed her example and used the hand saw to make the buttons.  I already had the twine and the fabric, so the only thing I had to buy was the stuffing-stuff. (:
I made two pillows and here they are:

What do you think?  I am very happy with the results (; The "envelope" pillow is by far, my favorite.  And they were so fun to make!
And since I gifted them at gift exchange, I must now make another set for myself.  And my mom also wants a set for her home.  She said "Only if you have time."
Well, Wednesday is my last final at school before I have a whole month off, so yes, I will have time. Wow, I'm excited!
Today was my final in French (that most definitely deserves it's own post.  This is the professor that HATES me ever since she fell, remember?)

Technically, I set this time aside to study for tomorrow's final, so I will write more later in the week.

God bless! 

Time Capsule!

This semester has been, somewhat stressful.  Ok, let's be honest.  It's been brutal.
Everything was ok until my French professor fell while I was handing in my homework...yeah.  Complete wipe-out!
Well, she's HATED me ever since.  I think she blames me and I'm not too optimistic about passing the class, unfortunately.
Oh well...
So with less than a month left until this semester is over, (Thank God!) I can't tell you how happy I am.  Although I will surely miss the rest of my classes.  I love the others.
Well, tonight, the hubs and I hung out in his man-cave.....(the garage.)
And we put Pandora on.  And I'm lovin' it!!  I set it to Paul Davis.  And it's nothing short of Wonderawesometastic!  (Yes, that IS a word!..just in case you were wondering.) (:
Here's Paul Davis' classic, Sweet Life:




What a beautiful song.  Thank you Paul for bringing me such sweet memories with your beautiful voice.  Rest In Peace...
We may or may not have spiked my Sonic Strawberry Limeaide.  I'll never tell....cause it's a school night and all...
I seriously feel as though I've been placed, very carefully, mind you, in a time capsule and shot straight back to the late 70s and early 80s.  Ahhhh.
We've listened to this:




Yvonne Elliman.  She's awesome.
Here's Randy VanWarmer's hit:




Just When I Needed You Most.  Classic.
 We also heard this:



Samantha Sang.  I tell ya...there's nothing quite like 80s music.  Nosireeeee. (:
Pandora knows what I lOvE and was so wonderful in placing this in the queue:



OMG!!!
We heard some Hall & Oates (of course), The Eagles, Dan Fogelberg, Toto, Billy Joel, Journey, Foreigner, Stephen Bishop,Chicago and of course, REO Speedwagon:



Take It On The Run.  Makes you remember EVERYTHING from your youth...
How about Chicago's Love Me Tomorrow:



Love Me Tomorrow by Chicago.  Wow.
This takes me right back to my early teens.  Best music ever.  I seriously am blessed to have spent my teen years listening to the best music ever made.  Not kidding!

If you were lucky enough to have grown up with such great music, who can forget this classic by Styx?:



Of course, I couldn't post my favorite songs without mentioning this beautiful song by the one and only,Meatloaf:




We also heard The Bee Gees.  I wasn't able to post their videos because for some crazy reason, they are blocked.  Boooo.
Thank you Pandora!  I love you for that trip down memory lane.  Takes me back to that magical era I called middle school, hanging out with my bestest friend Eleanor.

Gotta go....got school tomorrow and it's past my bedtime (:
See?  I told you.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Déjà vu!

You probably know that Colorado was blasted with another snow storm last night...right?  Well, we were.
And you probably remember my post from last week's snow storm...right?  If not, you can read all about it right here.

Last week it started snowing pretty heavily on Tuesday evening, and continued snowing

A-L-L      N-I-G-H-T         L-O-N-G.

We got so much snow, in fact, that it caused lots of schools (and a few universities!)  to declare a SNOW DAY on Wednesday.....which, of course, resulted in lots of kids, and some (cough, cough) adults (cough) pure happiness because we had the luxury of sleeping in (:

Well, here we are one week later, and the snow started up again last night.  Which was Tuesday!  So the kids' school closed again today!  The kids' school closed because of a power outage, and they figured the kids probably wouldn't learn much.....in the dark.  And with no heat.
So even though school is out today because of the power outage, technically today is STILL a snow day because we have tons of snow outside again (which caused the outage) and the kids are home yet again. And it's Wednesday...  Hence, the blog title.

Oh, and the university didn't declare today a snow day; however, they announced to stay home if you "feared your safety"....Uh....HECK YEAH!!!

It was a bummer that even with all of the snow, the hubs still had to work today....boooo.

Oh, well.  I have some homework to do before Monday that I could work on right now.  Naaaaaaaah!.........................I think I'll pop some popcorn and climb back into bed with the kiddos and have a "Back To The Future" marathon! HA!
(:

Have a great day!!

Snow Day!

Some of you, depending on where you lived as a kid, may recall that feeling you'd get when you would wake up to get ready for school, look out the window and see this:

 And suddenly, the thought of heading out in this weather to go to school isn't too appealing??  Especially if you had to walk a couple miles --uphill, both ways--to get to school??  (:

And then you'd find out schools in most of your area were cancelled for the day.  So, you'd go back to your warm bed dileriously happy because you could??


Yeah......I'm feeling THAT this morning!

And yes, I'm posting this from the comfort of my bed! HA!


Thank you Mother Nature for dumping a FOOT of snow in my city......    (:

Happy Snow Day!!

Homecoming weekend!

Last weekend was tons of fun.  It was Homecoming weekend at my university and there were lots of activities!  One, of course, was the Homecoming parade.  I apologize for the terrible quality of the pics.  I packed my camera and took it with me, but didn't realize until I took it out to start taking pics that my memory card was in my computer!  I had to resort to using the Iphone....bummer.

 These are all the Stryker ladies and our families..

 For some reason, Iphones make you look chestier then you really are.  I didn't know that beforehand, or I just might have taken more pics!  HA!  (:

 My hubs and kiddos.  I asked Laura to take Julian and Lynette to march with us, but they didn't make it..

 I spotted this fairy walking toward the parade and I really wished I had my memory card..

 This is me and my Stryker sister, Trina.

 Trina's little boy (:

Even Peditos marched the parade route with us!  He looked so cute with his bandana...Awww.

Later, we were able to catch the amazing fireworks display on campus.  It really was fantastic!  Even the "huge" 4th of July display our city puts on doesn't come close!

 The UNC Bears lost the game, but there is always next year...right??  Even with the loss, it was an awesome weekend!