The kids and I had what is becoming our annual 'trip' away this weekend. We didn't go to far, and thanks to priceline and a lot of freebies it didn't cost a lot. It was a very happy time.
We are doing well.
William is trying to finish up finals for this semester, so in a few days he will be able to take a deep breath. Levi is getting discharged from speech therapy in two weeks. Ezrie has just two more weeks of school and she is done. Just today I got all the paperwork filled out for Jaiden to start preschool in the fall. Next school year both Levi and Ezrie will be in all-day school and Jaiden will be in preschool Monday - Thursday from 8 - 11:30. It seems so crazy.
I am really trying to do all that I can so that as soon as possible I can do some part-time work. Bar results come out in two weeks, four days, 2 hours, 41 minutes. Not that I'm counting or anything .... I suppose I'll have a better idea of what to expect the next few months after the results come out.
I am getting up even earlier and working harder to prepare myself for all possibilities. I don't think I will be content to do too much relaxing until I am a licensed attorney in the states of California and Washington, and am capable and competent to be a court interpreter in Spanish. I feel like when I have achieved those goals, I can rest assured that I can adequately provide for my family should the need arise. Well, and then there is the practical experience that I'll need to gain lots of ..... I really do feel like I started a never ending path a couple years back, leaving behind a life that I really took for granted.
There are some things I really miss. I miss having the regular option of being able to stay up late. I miss netflix! I love my movies. I used to watch a couple of movies a week at night after the kids were in bed. I've had one on top of our TV for the last 6 weeks that I just can't get two consecutive hours to watch. I miss the relaxed life I had when I was just a part-time student. I miss having lots of time to spend with friends socializing - a lot. I miss having the time to organize and have families over for dinner, to have games nights regularly.
But - there are also things I really don't miss. My whole new crazy need to have the house clean and organized brings so much peace to my life. We lived in utter and absolute chaos. Lots of times I think about how our household runs now and how it used to run and feel the analogy is accurate to compare it to losing a lot of weight - you just never want to go back to that lifestyle. I never want to regularly wake up to dirty dishes or a messy living room. To toys overflowing every part of the house. To everything being as crammed full as it could be and not being able to see anything.
(PS to the neat freaks out there - how come you never told us slobs that walking into a clean house all the time is like Valium for the soul? It's such a great feeling! And totally legal and guilt free!)
I don't miss the lack of direction I had in my life. Having such a clear and present sense of purpose is extremely fulfilling.
I don't miss the feeling that I was floundering as a mother. It has been so interesting for me to see how the skills and discipline I've had to learn for my studies have crossed over into my role as a mother. This last round of bar study has particularly left me in a 'humm, this is a problem, how can we solve it ?' about various things I run into in household management.
I love the schedule I've gotten into the last couple of months, which allows for scripture and Spanish/legal study time, exercise time and meal preparation time daily. Things that I have scheduled in on a weekly basis are: housecleaning (minimum on that day: clean bathrooms, change all sheets and towels, vacuum the bedrooms, empty wastebaskets), service, menu planning, grocery shopping (I only go ONCE a week - that's it!), scheduling/paperwork/bill paying, kid outings, family time, cleaning out the car and my purse! Having a clean van is another one of the perks of my crazy clean streak that I've gotten into.
So - this had kind of been a random post, and now the kids are ready for our Funniest Home Videos watching, so off I go!
