Hi -

First, I'd like to point out to everyone, if you haven't heard from me in a while or as frequently - I'm not dead, or mad, or on a spaceship to Mars.  Just busy.  Really really busy.  Second, I'm sick.  I have been sick for 7.5 days and counting.  I would like to thank Parker for infecting me, and the kid that infected Parker thus allowing him to bring home the nasty germ.  I'd also like to thank my cheapness for refusing to go to the dr to get an antibiotic.  See I made it!  I am gradually getting better.  Each day symptoms/ailments disappear (but it does seem like something new shows up in its place.  Right now, I have a painful throat (it's more than just sore) and I have the accompanying stabbing pain in my right ear.  Plus my gross coughing up green chunks cough has turned into a dry annoying, cough.  Sometimes, usually at night, I get coughing so hard I can't breathe and I get all red and I feel like I just might pass out.  Oh and by the way, I don't have H1N1.

School is in session - for everyone.  I'm in 4 classes now, Bill's semester started, and Stewart is a first grader with spelling words!  This is an example of our schedule:

• 5:00am - Tuesday and Thursday Bill wakes up and gets ready and leaves so he can be at the GMU campus for a 7:30 class.  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I wake up at 5:30 to go to the gym so I can sweat and burn calories and feel like I am on the brink of dying in spinning class.
• 7:00am - take the kids to daycare.  Stewart catches the school bus there and Parker stays all day.
• 8-5 - work.  blah.  Bill could give you details about his busier schedule because there are days that he has to leave work early to go to a class at GMU  Tuesday nights he has a class from 7:10-10:00pm which means he doesn't get home until at least 11.  (Remember that on Tuesday's he also gets up at 5am because he has a 7:30am class at GMU.
• 5-5:30 go pick up the kids and go home and make dinner, feed the kids, feed the fish, try to clean up a little bit of anything around the house - which is usually a waste of time.
• 6:40pm Tuesdays Stewart has cub scouts from 7-8.  As you can see Tuesdays are busy and tricky.  This one our cub scouts meeting means that we need to get home earlier so we can have dinner and get to cub scouts - but we also have to find time to do homework and practice Stewart's spelling words.
• 8:30pm - the kids are in bed.  They might not be asleep but they aren't running around my room doing the wild rumpus.  This is when I get some quiet time to try to do my homework.

I'm almost finished with school.  I'm starting to sound like a broken record - but I really am.  I only have 8 classes left, 4 of which I am taking right now.  One class I can't take until I have completed all of my other classes (pooh) but I am now on schedule to be finished around March.  I decided to take the month of December off - but I might change my mind.  The notion that I could actually be finished with my bachelor's is very exciting.  I'd like to start working on my Master's in Public Health Administration but I may get finished with my bachelors and be so excited and so not motivated for more school.  But i also don't like feeling limited to being an admin.  It's such a boring job.  I want to be doing more things.  Better things. 

Parker is starting to be very vocal.  He has such a sweet little voice.  I remember Stewart had the sweetest little voice too.  Last night it was close to his bedtime and he was starting to get fussy, so I asked Parker if he wanted to go to Parker's bed.  He shook his head no and very clearly and firmly said, "Nooo."  It was really cute.  He had a checkup last week - but Bill took him so I'm not sure how much he weighed (22 pounds and something) and the doctor said he was up a little in height but still low in weight. 

Stewart is doing really well in the first grade.  He is very enthuiastic about his spelling words and is excited about cub scouts.  (Get your wallets ready.  I'm gonna hit you up to buy some popcorn.)  Between Stewart's elementary school, the day care, and the cub scouts - we have 3 fundraisers going on right now.  THREE.  It's annoying.  This year, I am chosing to only participate in the Cub Scouts fundraiser.  I am tired of the schools sending home the catalogs for the same old boring stuff that they sell every year - gross candy, expensive wrapping paper, candles, blah blah blah.  This year, it's popcorn. 

So that's that.  Nothing too exciting going on here.  Just really busy.