feeling sluggish this morning

good morning!

I finally caved in and made myself a cup of coffee this morning.  I am just too tired from the weekend!  We went to a friends house for dinner on Saturday night, and when it started to snow, we stayed late and let the kids play outside before heading home.  Sunday we had to go out do a big grocery shopping trip and we were up late moving the chickens out to the garage (I cannot even tell you how immensely happy I am that they are not in the house anymore!  And they seem happier without the kids in their faces all the time, too!).
Monday the kids and I left a little after 8am to catch the Kingston ferry.  We went and visited my sister and then headed down to see Angela and Eli and Amber.  The kids really did great with all that driving - there was just a little bickering between the two of them on the way home, but not too bad.  But packing them up and moving them from place to place to place gets tiring.  I was so happy to be home!

I had such a nice visit with everyone!  I had not seen my sister since Christmas, so we had a nice time chatting about all the random things we talk about.  And Angela - Eli looks sweet and adorable in his pictures, but he is absolutely perfect!!  I had such a nice relaxed time there - I love that my kids are so comfortable there, and I don't feel like I have to worry about them too much.  And AMBER I want to know how that crazy weird hip thing I made works!!  ha ha.

I planned on making a quick dinner and getting the kids right to bed when we got home, but Jeremy's parents happened to be watching Tim's (Jeremy's brother) kids, so we piggybacked on the babysitting and ended up going out on a date!  Totally unexpected and wonderful, even if the kids have been tired and cranky the last few days.  We went out for Pho, which I have not had in a super long time, since I always just make it at home now.  We also got a thai coffee, a very guilty pleasure.  Some long time family friends were finishing up their meal as we got there.  Later, our waiter told us they paid for our dinner!  I was so surprised.  Not only did we get to go out for dinner, but it was free! ha.  After that, we went to central market and got a tiny carton of ice cream to share.  I haven't bought ice cream since summer either, since we try to only eat organic dairy with no additives...and that stuff is sooo expensive normally.  so another yummy treat!

It's funny, because normally when we go out, we don't tend to have a lot to talk about.  We are just happy to enjoy being with each other and have some quiet!  But this evening, we had a lot to talk about.

One thing that is sort of exciting is that I may be going back to school.  I have talked for a while about  going to Bastyr University to do their three year midwife program some time down the road (like 10 years)...but Jeremy thought now would be a good time to start pursuing it, since we are able to live so simply and he has a lot of time in the fall and winter to be home and help with things anyway, I would have time for homework. Since it's a bachelors program, I have to go back and finish my AA first.  I already have quite a few college credits toward it and the midwife program only has 8 pre-reqs, most of which I would have to do to finish my degree anyway, so it shouldn't take me too long.  Since I would be working on a degree and have never taken financial aid before, it looks like I will easily get approved for it now, but we're worried if I waited another 5 years or so, it might be a little harder to get that aid.  I would have to work on quite a few scholarships to be able to afford Bastyr, but it looks very feasible.  The class schedule is really reasonable also, because you only do intensives once a week each month, and the rest is local practicums and online work.  So...in 2 years I could be transfering to Bastyr to start working toward my midwifery license!!  It may take longer than that, and that is fine, but it is really crazy to me, because I never really thought about it as something that could become a reality, and especially not this soon.

Its all in the dream and still looking into it stage right now.  I am hoping to meet with a counselor this week and finish my application...I'm just so excited about the possibility, I had to share it! :)

Anyway.

The house is kind of a mess right now.  This morning I got to deal with an all out screaming tantrum from Shea.  He was going to get to play Wii today, but he lied to me this morning, so I took it away.  Of course, in his 4 year old brain, if he screams at the top of his lungs, he thinks I will cave and let him play again.  Yeah, nice try.  So he sat in time out and thankfully decided to obey in time for breakfast, because I love to have everyone around the table at breakfast time.  The rest of the morning has gone much better.  The kids both colored and worked on mazes and letter pages at the table (I had to tell them no more, because Shea kept asking for more!) while I did dishes and made some granola.

My morning and the mess that is my house.  Actually, I have cleaned the kitchen since I took this, but still have unfolded laundry and a cluttered counter.  Just keeping it real.  Oh and the family picture is because Angela made me that framed art with our names!  Love it!)

Now Shea is listening to a Magic Tree House story on CD, Hailey is looking at books, and I am taking a coffee break!  I am trying to get motivated to complete my to-do list for the day.  I have some new bags, headbands, and mini hand warmers to take pictures of and list on my store and I just need to catch up on the chores around the house.  We also have youth group tonight.

Happy Wednesday!