Christmas Eve 2013

The boys are in bed...sort of.

They were sent to bed at around 8:45.

Kaleb was up at 8:55.

Zac was up at 9:10.

Kaleb was up at 9:15

It's been almost 15 minutes since we've seen either of them.

It's past my bedtime...I liked it when they were babies and I could put everything out early and go to bed.

Our saving grace is that the boys have yet to wake up early on Christmas morning...in fact we normally have to wake them up at 10 or 11 because WE are getting bored waiting.

Cabo San Lucas

So I don't think I mentioned our trip for summer 2013...

In January I asked my parents to borrow their time share so Jerry and I could take a 10th anniversary trip, they said yes so we booked a trip to Cabo San Lucas...with the boys. Honestly I don't know what I was smoking that night when I booked the trip but in my defense Jerry didn't stop me from booking the boys to go with us.

We drove to California 1st.  We left Oklahoma on a Thursday and got to my parent's house on Friday afternoon.  Our flight left mid morning on Saturday out of LAX, hate that airport but it saved us over $1000 to fly out of LAX rather than Oklahoma or even Texas.  The resort was beautiful.  Infinity pool, swim up bar in one pool BOGO free drinks from 3-5 in the pool and 5-6 at the restaurant...oh yeah, we had the boys with us....

Our big ticket item to do on the trip was snorkeling off a pirate ship. You literally had to jump off the side of the ship to get into the water.  Zac did fine.  Kaleb freaked out. Finally got him in the water but he didn't want to snorkel so I had to tow him in to the beach then when it was time to leave had to tow him back...nice little work out for mommy.

The boys did great on the trip, really all aspects of it. They really enjoyed it.  It was really a once in a life time trip cause we'll never be able to afford it again.

The boys' favorite spot, the hammock on our back porch

one of the infinity pools

Infinity pool

Kaleb CAN swim without a float...Kaleb will NOT swim without a float

Swim up bar!

How we had to get to the beach from our resort

Swimming back to the pirate ship...I towed both back

New pirate swag

The very rocky beach...there were tons of fish right there but it was very cold water and too dangerous to swim with all those rocks

It's the Holidays again! Christmas is when?!?!?

Seriously a week and a half?  

Where the hell did fall go?

I am so behind this year.  I did finally finish my gift shopping the other day but then I had a wonderful idea to make a whole art center for Kaleb (and Zac, but really Kaleb will be the one using it all.the.time.)  It won't take much to do it because we have most of what I need, it's just organizing and arranging the stuff after they go to bed so "Santa" can make a surprise for them.

So, catch up time again since I slacked big time in posting...
I finished my 1st semester back to school and now have an AAS in police science to go with my AA and AS...also in police science.  I was forced to retake 2 classes I had in the academy so I could get into the BT program...whatever.  Put me 1 semester behind where I wanted to be but oh well.

I now work at Lowe's.  I applied for 'phone operator' which is what I was hired to do but I mostly work customer service and 'also answer phones.'  Again, whatever. I get paid the same either way.  I do enjoy working there.  Got a great discount on a new washer and dryer that will be here by Friday!  I've had my current washing machine for nearly 15 years!

I applied for a dispatch job at the local police department (also dispatches fire) at the end of September.  I know I'm first on the list and they are currently doing the background check.  They tried contacting someone from the DAs office but everyone I worked with is gone, it has been nearly 7 years!  For whatever reason they are stuck on talking to someone at that place even though they could contact Lowe's, which is where I currently work (and applied and was hired in October, within a week of turning in my application), and Scholastic which is the next more recent place I worked and the police department I worked at for 7 years.  I'm at a point I'm not holding my breath for them to call back.  I enjoy Lowe's so I don't mind staying there especially since I registered for 12 hours of classes next semester!  

On to pictures!  In no particular order cause I'm too lazy to organize them...

Halloween 2013, Zac is the scream thing and Kaleb is a zombie western Sheriff...and the mom's group kiddos

Oh yeah!  The boys joined Cub Scouts and I'm the tiger den leader...15 6 year old boys in my den!  Kaleb is 3rd from the left here

Still one of my favorite pics :)

This is in the summer some time...Kaleb discovered he LOVES wings!

Kaleb playing catcher...next season he'll be starting catcher.  If he played his age group it would be his first season this spring in Machine Pitch, since he plays up to be on Zac's team it's his 3rd machine pitch season!

We bought a mustang convertible (not this one), it's a 1998!  Only 60,000 miles on it!  We just needed a second car after 4 years without one.

Look how many teeth Zac has!  Right now he has more space than teeth.

2nd trip on and airplane, 1st he'll actually remember

1st trip on a plane

In Cabo San Lucas getting ready to go on a snorkeling trip on a pirate ship!

In the water off the pirate ship.

The beach at our resort...left a lot to be desired, very rocky.  Good thing they had awesome pools!

Doing something while we were in California, wore one out!

Grandma and Grandpa in California (this is the house I grew up in)

Loving Sophie!

Sophie loving back!

Sophie likes company!

Magnet

Filmstrip Fun Magnet

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Magnet

Filmstrip Fun Magnet

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New School Year / Boot Camp

Zac's teacher finally called just before lunch on Monday.  Kaleb's teacher didn't call until nearly 2 in the afternoon.  This is the first year our school is calling parents instead of posting class lists.  The teacher found out who was in their class on Friday last week.  Some people were called over the weekend, I was not, I hate to wait.

Last night we met the teachers.  Found the classrooms and dropped off supplies.  Friday is the first day of school and I can't wait!

My first day of school is Monday.  I can't wait for that either.

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I've been going to boot camp since August 1st.  I go twice a week and then walk 3 days a week with Sophie.  We walk for between an hour and an hour and a half.  The only downside is I have to get up at 4:30 every morning to do this.  I'm still trying to decide if I want to continue with the boot camp after September 1st.  I'd like to but it's a total money issue so we'll see after I complete bills at the end of the month.

Kim finally finished! Declutter/Clean/Make space

So I, uhm, Kim, finally finished contacting the neighbors on our street and submitted the info to the Neighborhood Association president.  Whew! It's about time.  But Kim is forgiven because she brought home some wine from one of the neighbors.

The boys and I spent most of today cleaning out closets and drawers in their rooms to get rid of some of the clothes they have.  I've never seen kids with so many clothes.  I don't buy them.  They are either gifts or hand me downs from my nephew.  By the time the clothes go through Zac to Kaleb there are just so many it's mind boggling. I went through my closet as well and all together we donated 3 bags of clothes to the local church closet.

Waiting....

So, this year the school district decided not to post class lists on the front of the schools and instead the teachers will call the families of the children in their class.  Sounds ok, right?

Wrong.

The teachers found out on Friday who they had in their class.  Some parents got calls on Saturday.  Some parents got calls on Sunday.  I haven't gotten any calls.

I hate to wait.

I hate surprises.

I don't even like not knowing what is in a wrapped gift for me.

This wait is killing me!

Especially since all my neighbors who have kids the same age as mine got their calls already.

Since we still haven't gotten a call, that narrows the field down to 2 possibilities for Kaleb and 4 for Zac.

Have I mentioned I H.A.T.E. waiting?!?

Tornado Dog?

So I was thinking when I took Sophie for a walk the other day that maybe she is a dog displaced from the tornadoes in May.  Her tail is docked, not normal for a true stray.  She is very, very well mannered.  Housebroken.  Walks on a leash very well.

When we got close to some sprinklers that were on Sophie did not like the sound.  If you think about it, the sprinklers sound like a storm, wind and rain.

So I started thinking about the paperwork we got with Sophie.  Her intake date at the shelter was 6/10/2013.  About 20 days after the tornado, well, one of them, about a week after the other one hit that area.  I really think she was either lost or ran away or her home was lost during the tornado.

I know the shelter posts animals brought into the shelter to attempt to find their owners before being put up for adoption.  I know the Moore Animal Shelter was packed with animals so it's conceivable that whoever found Sophie either was asked to take her to the OKC shelter or did just knowing Moore's was so full.

We adopted Sophie on 8/5/3013 so she had been at the shelter for just shy of 2 months.  I think she was just days away from being euthanized.  That's sad because she is such a loving dog.

It's only been a couple of days and Sophie is so attached to me.  She is always right next to me.  She still doesn't care for treats or toys, just wants to be loved.  She does enjoy her rawhide 'bones'. She will hide them several times a day, just moves it from one room to another.  When she goes in her crate at night she gnaws on it finally.

We did have some pretty strong thunderstorms last night and still not a peep from Sophie.  Doesn't mean she wasn't scared but she didn't make noise about it.

We also decided her birthday is May 5th.  The paperwork says she is 2 years 1 month at in-take so that makes it May...I don't know how they figure age but May 5th, 2011 is as good a day as any.

Sophie

Here is a better picture of Sophie.  She has been wonderful.  She slept all night in her crate without a peep.  She came for a fast walk with me for about 3 miles and did awesome.  She is still exploring the house and yard but did really good in her crate while I was running errands.  No mess, no accidents.  Now if the boys would just leave the poor dog alone for 3 seconds!

Back in school...

I'm now enrolled in school. My financial aid is back. I only go to classes on Monday and Wednesday. Unfortunately the last 8 weeks I have to go to a class on M/W from 8:15pm - 9:45pm...that's past my bedtime but my only other choice was M/W from 3pm-5:30pm during the 1st 8 weeks which created a problem of what to do with the boys. This is in addition to the classes I have from 8:30am-12:45pm.
The crazy thing is that 2 of the classes I'm taking I've had in the academy but because Norman PD just put "Norman Police Academy" and a block of hours I can't prove I've taken them.  Oh well, should be easy A's.

Things Happen for a Reason

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am NOT super religious. Never have been. Organized religion never lines up with my beliefs so I do my own thing. Anyway, this post isn't really about that.

2 things in the last week which when going through it I thought "it's got to be happening for a reason but what reason?"

1.  The financial aid fiasco at school. I really want to take sign language but it's just not in the cards right now.  But I NEED to get a Bachelors degree.  So the financial aid stuff sort of forced me in that direction.  I'll find out today if it all works out...fingers crossed!

2.  Dog search.  Tried 2 more local shelters and ended up having to drive, literally across the city.  I kept thinking while driving how much gas we were using getting there. I'm cheap and don't like to waste things, like expensive gas.  We found the perfect dog.  Had someone been at the Mustang shelter or answered the phone at Pets and People we would have looked and maybe gotten a less perfect dog.  Sophie had been at the shelter for over a month, her time was short. I can't believe no one took her home before us. She is so exceptionally well behaved.

I know things happen for a reason, but I'd still like the fast forward  or sneak peak button to see why things are happening a certain way when they aren't working out how I think they should be.

Our New Family Member : Sophie

Sophie in the "get to know you room" at the shelter

Sophie finding a favorite spot to lay beneath my feet

Sophie taking it all in

Sophie is wore out!

It was almost spur of the moment...I've missed having a dog but didn't want a shedding, yappy, peeing in the house dog.

We first went to the Mustang Animal Shelter...no one was there.  Well, 4 other people wanting to go into the shelter were there but not employees. We waited about 30 minutes, no one came. We left.

Next I tried to call Pets and People in Yukon.  No answer. 

Ok, fine. I'll drive 30 minutes to the OKC shelter and have a look.

So we drove through the really bad area of town to come out on the other side at the shelter. I asked to see the dogs and the blue vs white card was explained to me.  And using the 'get to know you' rooms.  So we went in search of a dog.

First the boys saw a small white yappy dog. Male, 1 year old. It was a short hair chihuahua.  Very friendly.  But not quite what I was looking for.  So we continued.  Near the very back was a black and brindle medium size (though she actually fits into the large category somehow...I don't understand that since she is 25lbs, might get to 35lbs if we over feed her and I once had a dog that was 120lbs, that seems large...she seems more small to medium to me *shrugs*)

Her blue card said her name was Sophie.  She is 2 years old. Has been in the shelter since June and came in as a stray.  Another sheet was posted with her picture and some notes from the staff which said she was a favorite of the volunteers to walk, might be house broken.  She was also already spayed.  So we took Sophie to the 'get to know you room' and she didn't bark.  Didn't jump all over.  Came over for loving and gave kisses.  She did bark once when the yappy dog in the next room just.would.not.stop.

$30 later we brought her home. I walked her to the car and she jumped right in and sat down on the rear floorboard and that is where she stayed the whole ride, remember 25-30 minute ride.

Got her home and she explored the house and yard. I put water out for her and the boys and I went to Target to get food, bowls, leash, etc.  $88 later we came back home.  She stays very close to me.  Not sure if it's because I'm female or that I'm the one who took her out of the shelter and into the house.

Jerry got home and she was shy at first but eventually warmed up to him.  So we ate dinner and got her in the car to take her to PetSmart to get a harness and crate.  She did wonderful in the store.  Only barked once when a HUGE dog came suddenly around the corner. She was protecting us.  Got all her stuff plus a dog tag.  $120 Sophie should have everything she needs.

Zac saw the dog tag which has our last name on it and said "You're officially part of the family now."

Sophie sat nicely all the way home and sat with us in the living room as we were winding down for the night. I turned on the tv and she started looking for the sound...it dawned on me that she has never been in a house before.  

Sophie slept all night in her crate without a peep!

I took her for a walk this morning, around 3 miles. She did awesome!  She tried to protect us from our shadows when she looked behind us at one point.  It was hilarious.  We came home, she did her business outside and has been sleeping since.  

It's wonderful to not have to house train her.  She is such a good and sweet dog.  We did buy her a couple of toys but she has no real interest in them yet, she just wants love :)

Hi, my name isn't Kim

In May I went to the 1st Neighborhood Association meeting there had been in 3 years.  I got voted Vice President...still not totally sure how that came about.  "Kim" received an e-mail which asked her to get the names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mails of about a dozen neighbors on my street.  The person in charge wanted them by June 1st.  Well tornadoes, storms, baseball and life got in the way and it never got done.  Now the person in charge (I'd say president, but it's the president's wife who is bed ridden so she doesn't have a title but is very involved) sent me an e-mail reminding "Kim" to do this little task.  I e-mailed back, not correcting her about my name, I had in the past and she still calls me Kim, and told her I would get on it ASAP.  She replied that there was no hurry.  Well, Kim is quite the procrastinator...she still hasn't completed this task.  If Kelly had been asked I'm sure it would have been done by June 1st.  I keep telling Kim to get off her ass and do this but another week has gone by and it's still not done.

Boot Camp

Why?  Why on earth did I decide to buy the groupon to do this boot camp?!?  I am so sore and it's only day 2.  I feel good and accomplished that I finished 2 days in a row but holy cow I can't walk!

Going Back to School...Probably...

Right after Justin's wedding I decided I wanted to go back to school.  I mean the car ride home from the reception I had this idea.  So I enrolled in the Sign Language Interpreting Associates program at OSU-OKC, applied for financial aid and got my classes all lined up.  A PELL grant was awarded in June, enough to cover books and tuition; awesome!  I went back up to the financial aid office to decline the loans they also approved me for and asked if everything else was taken care of and set for the semester.  They said yes and that I just needed to wait until August 5th to charge books to my account.

This last Wednesday I get an e-mail from the school saying there is a problem with some paperwork and my financial aid may be suspended.  WTF?!?  The next day I get an e-mail that says my grant was in fact suspended and that I have to pay $1,000 for the classes I'm signed up for.

I went to the school today to find out what the heck is going on.  The financial aid office said I have too many hours but I can appeal that.  Fine.  She asked if I already had a degree and I said that yes I have 2 associates degrees.  She said I can't appeal then.  She did say that if I go for a Bachelors Degree I can have the grant money, so I asked if there was a bachelors degree that related to Sign Language Interpreting; Of course not.  The only one they offer is in Emergency Responder Administration.  So I asked if they had scholarships available.  She said I'd have to talk to the Department about that.  Fine.

I drive across campus to the department...the guy literally left for lunch 1 minute before I walked in.  Wonderful.  So I wait for an hour.  While waiting I picked up the degree information for the Bachelors Degree and it actually looked interesting.  I figured with the 2 degrees I have I should be able to get into the program.

The Advisor gets back and I explained to him about the grant being suspended.  I also said that I was interested in the Bachelors degree (he is an advisor for that degree as well).  He looked at my information and said that I needed an AAS in Police Science to get into the program.  Well, shit.  So he continues saying that it was designed for students who had completed the COPS program.  Well I did!  So I told him.  Apparently since I graduated 13 years ago, the COPS program is now an AAS, when I went through in the first class it was an AS.  So he looks at my transcripts and since I'm a certified officer he figured I'd just have to take a couple of classes to satisfy the AAS part and I could start the Bachelors.  As he was going through my AA/AS degrees he realized I'm done with the AAS as well.

So now I will have a 3rd Associates, all three in Police Science, and AA, AS and AAS.  I graduate with the AAS officially in summer 2013, yes, it's already passed.  Then I will enroll in the Bachelors program and be able to use the PELL grant and should start as planned in mid August.

I still really want to take sign language and I will when I'm done with the Bachelors.

Financial Aid b.s.

Ok, so I decided to go back to school this Fall. I applied for financial aid.  I've talked with the financial aid people on several occasions.  All my paperwork was accurate.  I had graduated from this school with a 2 year degree 15ish years ago.  It was all there.  I was awarded enough PELL grant money to cover tuition and books for 2 semesters.  Now I get an e-mail that says that I don't qualify because it's been over X amount of time and I already have a degree.  Ok, but here's the thing...I'm going back to school for something completely different.  The government takes a crap load of money from us every pay day, I think they can spare a little for me to go to school.

Now I need to call the financial aid department again and see if this can go in my favor.  I'm so frustrated.

Need to Cook More!

While eating out is pretty convenient and all it costs a small fortune for 4 to eat out.  Kaleb thoroughly enjoyed his wings as you can see.  He'll kill a small forest of napkins for 4 wings but they are good!

I have gotten better with cooking or using left overs instead of running out to dinner.  When we do go out I usually have some sort of coupon so that helps but still $40 at Buffalo Wild Wings is just too much.  But really in the summer I just don't want to cook. But this is also sort of a last hurrah because I start a fitness bootcamp on Thursday morning at 5:30 a.m.  And if I'm going to get up at an ungodly hour to have someone yell at me to work out I'm gonna eat healthy to reap maximum benefits.

My assessment for this bootcamp is tomorrow evening...

May 2013 Tornado

This is May 19, 2013.  This tornado hit Carney, Oklahoma.  Carney is the town Jerry's parents and grandmother live in.  Grandma's house came out fine but mom and dad's house was destroyed.  Everyone was ok and the house is being rebuilt (ahead of schedule so far) so all is good.  This picture was taken by my mother in law before they decided to go to the town shelter, they barely made it.  Every house on their street was a loss, in fact right after the storm my brother in law was looking for them (no cell service) and couldn't get down the street leading to the only entrance to their street because a house was in the street.



On May 20, 2013 the F5 tornado hit Moore, Oklahoma.  Several children were killed at one school and another school down the street was destroyed as well.  Jerry worked day and night for days helping with search and rescue and recovery.  We didn't see him for 3 days. And then we saw very little of him for a couple of weeks.


This is the tornado on May 31, 2013.  I believe this one also got to F5 status and I know it is the widest on record.  This is standing in my drive way looking north.


And here is a panoramic view of the same thing.  This is the storm that killed the storm chasers from the discovery channel. All the people killed in this storm were in a car when they were killed (or sucked out of a car and killed).


We had a storm shelter installed in March 2013, best decision ever.  This pictured storm didn't hit us but another one did touch down about 1/2 a mile from us.  We spent 2 hours in/very near the storm shelter because of 2 hours of sustained 100+ MPH winds.  The tornado that touched down near us was much smaller but there was still a lot of damage.  Our only loss was the boys wooden swing set.  The anchors worked so well that it split the monkey bar supports as the wind was trying to lift it and the anchors was holding in down.

I'm Baaaaaaack! Let's Play Catch Up!

Look at how much they've grown!

Zac is now 8 and Kaleb is 6, I cannot believe it!

They both play on the same machine pitch baseball team, the Mustang Thunder.  Kaleb is a back up catcher and Zac plays outfield, usually 3rd or Left Field.  Kaleb has been playing machine pitch since he was 5 because he plays on Zac's team and there is an age exclusion they fit into so they can play together and make my life a little less hectic.  It amazes me that Kaleb is as good as he is, he only played t-ball for 1 season then moved up with the team so he didn't pick up the bad habits t-ball teaches them.  Technically he should be in t-ball for at least one more season.

Justin (22 year old stepson) is now married to his 22 year old wife he dated for over 6 years.  They are such a good couple!

I actually worked in the spring.  I worked for Scholastic Book Fairs for 4 hours a day while the boys were in school.  It worked out pretty well but I decided I wanted to go back to school for sign language interpreting and I'm so excited!  I actually started the degree when I was going for my Police Science degree but the program at the school I was attending sucked.  They've since revamped it and all new instructors are involved so 15 years after graduating with my 2nd Associated Degree I'm going back for my 3rd!

We finally moved into a new house, and by new I mean brand spanking new!  5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms!  Don't get too jealous, the rooms, well 4 of them are pretty small but the layout works great!  The cul-de-sac we're on has about 15 kids around the boys' ages so they are always outside playing which is such a contrast to the old house.  We love the new school!  I got roped into being Vice President of our neighborhood association, oy vey!