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(his toy box, which housed pans when we moved)

Higher Education….

 

So, today I decided to call the college and see where I stood.

 

A little background:  two years ago I started college for the first time.  At age 39.  (I took a wee lil break after high school)   A month after started I found out I was expecting…very unexpectedly.  (since we had been told we wouldn’t be having more children)  I had some complications and was put on bed rest.  Three of my four professors were awesome.  I did most of my work from the internet.  I had to go into my math class only for tests.  The fourth professor though… well, lets just say he really thought a lot of himself.  According to him “there would be no way you would pass my class with out attending my lectures.”  So, I had to drop that class.  Which meant I owed back the money to the school.  Which they wanted in two weeks. (ha ha ha). 

After two weeks they sent me to collections.  The collection people called and asked me for a payment.  I told them I had no problem what so ever paying them $30.00/month because at that time that was all I had to spare.  (actually, I really didn’t have that to spare).  No worry though.  The rude person on the other end refused my $30.00!!  They said they needed 67 and some change, no if's ands or buts.  I said “so, you are refusing my money?”  When they said “we can not accept less than 67”  I said “Ok, well thanks for calling” and hung up.

I let a few months go by of them calling and me not answering.  Finally I answered one day, prepared for the same rude Neanderthal on the other end but it was a very nice lady named Shan.  I explained to her that I had offered payment and they had refused to set it up for the lesser amount.  She had no problem setting up my monthly payment of $30.  So, for many months I have been paying down this debt but still had a hunk left.  I could not reenter college with out getting this paid off.

Skip to yesterday.  I paid it off.   I want to get in school next month.  Time is of the essence.  I asked Shan if the school would be notified immediately.  She said no, notices only go out at the end of the month but to call the school because sometimes they will take a printout from the website.

So, today I called the college.  Explained the situation.  The nice lady on the other end informed me she would make a call and verify it was paid in full and lift the hold on my registering.  Sigh of relief… then she said “but”… “you have to be pre paid for the next two semesters, how do you intend to pay?”  I informed her I already had my financial aid award letter from them and that would cover me both semesters and then some.  She then said something that made me wonder about these institutions of higher learning… “before I can lift your  hold you have to bring your award letter in here for me to see.”

Seriously?  I seriously have to drive 45 minutes to show you a letter YOUR school SENT to ME????  Ok, I had other things I needed to complete there any how so I started gathering paperwork.  A trip two weeks ago gave me a re-entry form and an affidavit of Florida residency, which the gentleman informed me I had to SHOW two of the listed items as proof of residency.  As we recently have moved finding those items with the new address had me in a tizzy today (wow…tizzy is a real word! spell check didn’t red line me…) back to the story at hand…I gathered all my paperwork and out the door I went at 4 p.m.  They close at 6. 

I got to the cash office to show them the letter they sent me.  The girl informed me. “Ok, you have to do this same thing next semester too.  Your hold is lifted until Monday in the system so you have all weekend to register for classes”.  Sigh of relief on my part…. THEN… I went across the hall to turn in my re-entry form and affidavit.

First the guy informed me I needed to fill out more info.  I don’t vote so I can’t give him what he wants there.  I then hand the form back with the proofs the said were required.  You know, the ones I went into a tizzy finding today.  He shoved them back at me and said “I don’t need that.”   Deep breath.   “I was told to bring these you needed them.” 

“No, I don’t”.   ( I’m sure they’ll call next week and ask me to drive those papers out there)

He staples the two papers together and says “Ok, these should be processed in a week for you to register”

Yikes.  Here we go again.  I explained I had the weekend to register until my hold went back on.  “Get in line and see an advisor”

So…. after a 20 minute wait I get to the advisor.  She informs me I indeed have to wait the week.  Then pulls up my records to inform me: “if you had come in four days ago you would not have to take your CPT again but since you did not you have to take the English part again.  Wow!  You scored excellent on it last time.”

So…. then I had to go to the testing center to get an appointment on August 3rd to retake my CPT.  Oh, and since it is more than two years old for financial purposes it is no longer considered a “retake” and I have to pay the regular $10 fee instead of the reduced $5 fee for “retakes”.  

No wonder people say college is hard!

Semi-busy day...

Well, I accomplished a few things today but now all I set out to accomplish. 

Apparently Aiden is teething and was just having a ‘Mommy hold me’ kind of day.  Sometimes I start to get frustrated when he is like that…then, I take a deep breath and realize that my other kids are all older and way past that stage. (they are in their late teens/early 20’s) So, I put whatever I was working on off to one side and hold my baby.

So, laundry did not get finished.  I got my small book case moved and the books around.  Got the floor vacuumed and dinner cooked.  Did manage a trip to $ general and dropped Em and work and picked her back up.  So, it wasn’t TOOOO bad.

I almost got our study table cleaned totally off.  I will try to finish that first thing in the a.m. if Aiden is still asleep when I get up.

My son showing his “Driver” temper. 

With an Uncle Like Sam…..

Well, I have spent the last couple of weeks redoing my blog.  Tweaking themes and moving things around.  It’s still a work in progress and the process is slower than I had wanted as my little helper has learned to walk and is into everything!

Today I opened my mailbox to find a thick envelope from the IRS.  Just seeing IRS on the return address of something in your mailbox is enough to give you a minor heart attack.  What was in the envelope didn’t give me a major heart attack but did confuse us majorly.  They are saying our 2008 return was incorrect because we failed to report $900 of income.  Immediately I began thinking that maybe one of our companies made a mistake on one of our W-2’s because we have claimed what was on those.  It stated for further details see page 7.  On page 7 I got more confused.  I stated that a debt had been forgiven (for my husband) from a bank that we do not deal with.  (we have been together 10 years and never dealt with them).  

I called hubby at work to ask if he had an account there previously.  He said no.  Awhile later he called and said that he had an account there way back in the 70’s but nothing since then.  If he had owed them money they should have been sending bills?  Shouldn’t something have been on his credit report about the debt?   So, tomorrow we will be calling them to find out what in the world is going on.

A friend on facebook stated tonight that he is in the middle of an audit and that the IRS has far too much power.  I am beginning to think so too… I was surprised that this letter came direct to my home.  My NEW home… the one we have been in not quite two months…. I haven’t even filed a tax return with this new address on it and THEY KNOW WHERE I LIVE! 

Other updates from the last couple of weeks:

We have saw some more neighbors:   there was a large black bear at the school bus stop one morning and the next day we saw a good sized bobcat one road over.  Not too sure that I care for these neighbors.

Hell… errr… ok… summer seems to have arrived in FL.  We have figured out quite quickly that there seems to be an issue with the air ducts to the master bedroom.  Our bedroom is closest to the air handler and closest to the air conditioner and should therefore be the coolest room in the house… it is not.   So, the land lord is working on getting someone out here to check it out so our electric bill isn’t too bad.  (I know it will be bad.  We are in FL after all)

I will try and blog more regularly now… and my goal is to get all of my kids in the photostream at the top of my blog.

Tomorrow’s post… my rant on the Pampers issue.

Riding with teens

Even though I have a 26, 21, 20, 18 and 16 year old and three have driver's licenses today is the first day I rode with one of them that has a restricted (aka learner's permit). My son bought a 1971 Ford Torino 500 a couple months ago. He will get his license next week. He has been hounding me to ride in the car that he absolutely LOVES. Tonight I took the plunge. It wasn't TOO bad. I only squeaked one time when he got a bit close to the edge of the road... ok... so I kinda shouted "Lewis! Get OVER!". I lived. I don't think I got any more gray hair. Next week I might even ride with my daughter... slow... in the driveway.... on Sunday....

Lew's Car:




Lew is very proud of his car. He worked for and earned every cent that bought "her". He is working on slowly restoring her. He spent ALL day Friday sanding and priming about 1/3 of the hood so eventually "she" can have a nice new paint job.

After riding in his "baby" I have found it is a tank. My husband had told me not to worry about him but to worry about what he hit if he was ever in an accident. Now I know why. It took me not one, not two but THREE tries to push the heavy door shut!

I liked it so much better when the emblem on his car said "Little Tykes" Those days are gone.

So, is this a BAD thing?

So, my son decided to pull and all nighter again after two weeks of being on a semi-normal schedule. I crawled into bed at 4:33 a.m. (not that I was paying attention to the time or anything) I vaguely remember at some point in the a.m. getting up to get him to nurse. I KNOW I changed his diaper... do I REMEMBER changing his diaper... heck no! Is that a BAD thing to be in automatic mommy mode???

Early Morning Bedtimes

My son is continuing his pattern he set before he even entered this world.  His "awake" time is from around 11:30 pm till around 2 or 3 a.m.  Once he finally goes to sleep he will sleep for about six hours or so, get up and nurse and sleep another two or three hours.  This is great that I can sleep IF I have nothing else to do in the a.m.  The next three weeks, however, I have to be up and driving my daughter to school to take a driver's ed class.  We have to leave no later than 7:30 a.m.  It is now 2 a.m.   I just got Aiden into his crib and am praying he stays asleep.   I usually give him a few minutes before I go crawl into my bed because I hate nothing more than getting comfy and cozy and having to get back up, I'd rather stay up. 

If anyone knows any tricks on getting kids to change their patterns when they have their days and nights mixed up...please, by all means, share your wisdom.  I might even be willing to pay!

He's so darn cute I can't complain!  :)   This was taken the day he turned six weeks old.

 

Here is one of him and his niece who is now only two weeks old.  Kiarra Amaya.  Her tiny lil self makes my six week old look six months old! 

Starting Over.... thoughts and concerns

At this point in my life, age 40.  I had not planned on becoming a mommy again.  In fact, I have been enjoying  being Nana/Nanny these last several years.  Spoil them and send them home. 

As the days before Aiden's arrival have dwindled to VERY few.  Last night hubby voiced his concerns.  Many that I have been having.  Not so much concerns but you tend to wonder "now that we are older are we going to be able to keep up?"  , will we spoil this one?  Will be be even better parents now that we are older and wiser? 

Never did I imagine having a child at my age.  I wanted one when hubby and I first got together and I was 30.  When it didn’t happen we had tests and was told it wouldn’t be happening for us with out expensive doctors and treatments.  We decided to be happy with the children we have after all, between us, there were five to raise. 

We have had quite the time raising them.  They have broke us in and put us through a ton of things we didn’t expect to face.  We had a daughter who dealt with teen pregnancy and moved out before graduating high school.  She did go on to graduate but stress… oh the stress.  Another daughter moved out as soon as she graduated and moved in with a boyfriend and now has a 16 month old son.  We worry about both of them as the relationships they are in are not the best.  In total, so far, I have witnessed five grandchildren come into this world.  One grandchild was stillborn and that was about the worst experience of my life.  We knew before the  birth the child had passed but even though we knew it was still a devastating thing to witness.  I blogged about it HERE

We have had a son that was in a horrid car wreck.  We got one of those middle of the night calls that no parent EVER wants to get.  BLOGGED ABOUT HERE  I can honestly say that whole month he spent in the hospital and then back in for a follow up surgery for a broken ankle they MISSED before releasing him was nothing but chaos.  It didn’t affect me until about 2-3 weeks after getting him home and I totally lost it.  I couldn’t remember normal things, I was a mess.  I ended up having to go on some meds for ppl with ADHD to get me through that rough patch.

We have always faced the unexpected united and prayerfully.  We are facing the birth of a new son the same way.  We are prepared for him equipment wise.  Crib, changing table, clothes, diapers, wipes etc.  Emotionally it still does not seem real.   Even when I feel him kicking and moving inside it is hard to believe that with in two weeks I will be holding another son.   There are many things I want to change about the way I parented my other children.  I want to be sure to raise this one knowing and loving Jehovah God.  I really want to home school him.  I wanted to home school the other ones but caved to family opinions since I was so young.  I was a big shocked at some of the reactions from family already when I mentioned I wanted to home school Aiden.  According to them we’ll just ruin him that way.   Have they not watched the news lately?  Middle school and elementary students bringing hand guns to school, teachers being pedophiles, kids graduating that can not read , the drugs and sex… how can we do any worse by protecting him as much as we can from these things?  I have already bought a couple of books to  help me see what is the best methods and will it work for us.  The one I am reading right now that I highly recommend is

So You're Thinking About Homeschooling: Second Edition: Fifteen Families Show How You Can Do It (Focus on the Family)

This book gives you the perspective of 15 very different families and their reasons and methods of homeschooling.  It shows that  you do not have to be a “typical” home school family.  I am enjoying the way it is written.

We are at a time now when things have changed for our family.  We only have two children left at home, one of which will graduate high school in about six weeks.  After having lost my job last year my unemployment has run out so things are getting VERY tight financially.  I am using this time now to learn how to coupon, shop frugally, meal plan and get debts paid off and live on ALOT less than we have been.  This is the longest I have been without work in our married life but thankfully, until now, the unemployment helped.  Now that has stopped I want to find every way possible to save money so I can be a stay at home mom.  One book I purchased to help us learn to budget and save is this:

America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money: Your Guide to Living Better, Spending Less, and Cashing in on Your Dreams

I am enjoying this book and we are at the point where hubby and I are about to set down for the first time in our nine years together and make a budget.  I will be posting about the ups and downs of this.  He is horrid and dealing with this.  I can tell him “do not use your debit card there is only xx amount of money in there” and it won’t be an hour and he is using it!  So, this might just be a struggle. 

Learning to deal with a newborn full time is going to be stressful but so is trying to cut WAY back due to loss of around 900.00 per month in income is stressful also.  I have found MANY helpful websites that I am learning from.  Last night my trip to Winn Dixie using coupons and their sales saved us 35.00 on groceries.  I am just now getting the hang of using the CVS extra bucks system to save a ton of money.  A couple weeks ago I got 2 large packs of huggies diapers, 3 large refill packs of wipes, maxi pads and a couple other items and it cost me a total of $14.00 out of pocket.  I am learning.  This website HERE is great to show you actual scenarios for using CVS.  You can do the same at Walgreens but I haven’t started that yet! 

 

Well, I am going to cut this post short and share more concerns later on.  I didn’t get to sleep until 2 last night and was up with the alarm at 5 this a.m.  I am not having to take my son to his college classes today so I shall nap. 

One of the best weekends in a long time

The weather was absolutely perfect!  If I could find a place that the weather was like this year around I would pack tomorrow and head there.  It was about 70 and breezy and sunny.

We were supposed to head to our grandkids'  t-ball game yesterday  but hubby woke up with an upset stomach that had him running for the  bathroom frequently.  Since it is about an hour and half t0 two hour drive we didn't find that a good idea.  Our daughter posted some great pictures on her myspace for us to see and told us the funny stories of their "plays". 

We hung around the house and puttered.  I got my desk cleaned off.  My coupon binder now has coupons in it. 

Here is a photo of my desk area.  You can see to the left that Aiden's crib is also in the room.  Our master bedroom is now an office, master bedroom and nursery all in one. 

 

You can see I was busy today catching up on reading favorite blogs.  The one on my screen is Copperswife from Xanga. Her posts inspire me, and many times are very calming and relaxing to read. 

Today I have been organizing here and there.  I took out all the cereal from the cereal cupboard.  Old stuff that had been there awhile got pitched.  New stuff I took out of the boxes to save space.   I used a clip on the top of open ones and each new one got a clip

on the top of the bag in order for them to know how to close it when they open it.   I used the extra clips from my office supplies instead of having to purchase "bag clips".  I love re purposing things.   I labeled each back with a sharpie then I made a list of what is in the cupboard to hang on the door.

The nesting instinct seems to be kicking in once again.  I have so many organization ideas floating in my head that I want done yesterday!  I just want things in order and ready when Aiden arrives so there won't be mass confusion when we add a baby to our already busy household.

Yesterday I did get all of our laundry washed, dried and put away.  I have yet to get hubby to put up my clothes line.  He doesn't want it in the front yard and the back yard is NOT the place for it as the dogs are out there a lot.  Basically I want a place to dry my towels and blankets to get the good fresh air and save us a bit on electricity this summer.   Our bill always rises in the summer because of the air conditioning.  We like a cooler house but we hate having the big bill! 

Tomorrow's agenda is to organize another cupboard and maybe hubby's tools that have taken over a buffet that is tucked under a bar in our living room.  If I can get them all out of there it will free up more space for baby things.  :) 

Technorati Tags: organizing,cleaning,budget,life,preparing for baby

Yet another interesting week....

Maybe March will be better???

Daughter finally got out of hospital but still has the blood clot in her leg.  She has to give herself 2 shots of blood thinner a day and is on crutches because of the pain in her leg.

My grandson had appeared to be recovering but on Thursday took a turn for the worse again and ended up back at the ER.  Pneumonia had cleared up in the one lung but was started in the other one.  UGH!

Late Friday night I was lying in bed (only for brief times because of having to P so much!)  my son was doing laundry and I started hearing gurgaling.  The septic is backed up~~~~!!  

We called the landlord Sat. a.m. (hubby and son ended up having to disconnect drains under the house to the tubs to empty the yuck out of the tubs).  When we called the land lord we found out...he was out of town till today.  So, we have been unable to do our laundry.  We try not to make frequent trips to the potty (try that when you are seven months pregnant).  It makes for a miserable weekend.

Tomorrow a.m. I have to call the septic people and find out if they will let the landlord charge to his card and come pump out the tank.  If they won't I guess I will have to find another reputiable one that will.  He wants it charged to his card instead of us paying and them taking it out of our rent.  I think this will end up being expensive as last time they came about six months ago they said the drain field was not working properly.

I go to the doc on Tuesday at 3:30 in the afternoon.  I should find out some test results and find out if they will change my due date.  The last ultrasound showed baby was quite a bit larger than he should be at 27 1/2 weeks so we will see if she moves it up or just goes with the original date.  Looks like he may be a big baby like his brother.  (my son was 9 lbs 9 oz and 22 1/2 inches long).

Perfect Weather, Even for Monday

I got to sleep in this morning because high school classes were not in session due to President's Day.

It was nice to sleep in even if it only was till 8 a.m.  I got up and ate and then crawled back in bed to surf the net on my laptop and watch tv in comfort.  I am waiting now for my son to finish up his laundry so I can wash my bedding.  After being sick with a cold the last few days I want to get it all nice and fresh again.  I wish I had a clothes line up so that I could hang them out to dry in this beautiful weather.  It's only about 70 out with a slight breeze.  It is so nice.  I have the windows open and the back slider that leads to the screen porch. 

If I could find some place that the weather was like this year round I swear I would move there.  :)

Yesterday I finished all our laundry other than our bedding.  I set up the hamper and diaper pail we picked up at a great little resale shop we found on Friday.  I will definitely be visiting there again. It is awesome and the prices are great.  The hamper is a wicker type hamper with a removable plastic liner that you can carry to the laundry room.  It is in like new condition and was only $7!  The diaper paid was only $5.  I was also able to get three maternity tops for $3 bucks each.  The other shop we had been going to was very expensive.  The clothes I bought there I only got when they were half price because she was charging like 10 bucks per shirt and I even saw some for $15.

Yesterday was the beginning of week number 27 of my pregnancy.  Baby was very active and busy yesterday when I would set down. 

I remember from my earlier pregnancies towards the end having the "nesting" instinct and cleaning everything.  I seem to have started very early.  It seems every week there is a new idea that pops in my head and I go to organizing or cleaning something.  I think hubby is enjoying this phase. 

Technorati Tags: saving money,baby,cleaning

I finally got it.

Unfortunately it's not something I wanted.  After two weeks of the kids being sick I finally caught it.  I have the head cold and sore throat.

Yesterday I took the elderly lady we help care for to her dentist appointment.  She is 81 and is really getting to the point where she is losing it.  She wanted to go to dinner afterwards at Red Lobster so we went.   When the waitress placed her salad in front of he she snapped at her "can't you cut it up for me?".  I told the waitress to go ahead and leave and I would take care of cutting her food.  Makes me wonder who cuts it for her at home!  Today she called to tell me the dentist owes her 700 bucks because she never did anything to her tooth.  I explained to her that she did a root canal a few months ago and this was just a follow up and the money she paid her a few months ago was for the root canal. 

Today I went and helped another friend get her internet email set up.  She changed providers and the new one just left her hanging.  Her and her hubby have only been "online" about a year and are still quite a bit clueless when it comes to certain things.  I got that all set up for her.  After I finished that I had to come back and pick up Lew and take him into work.  He will work until 10 tonight.

Tomorrow Emily goes on a field trip to MOSI (Museum of  Science and Industry) in Tampa.  this is what she will be seeing

I made a quick easy dinner tonight of sausage gravy and biscuits.  We like to have breakfast for dinner once in awhile.  Usually it's pancakes though but tonight biscuits and gravy just hit the spot.

The baby has been very active today.  I drove Lew to his drop off point this a.m. about forty minutes there and back and the whole time he was kicking and rolling.  He is awake now nudging me.  Letting me know he is in there growing like a week.  I just seem to be growing bigger over night.  This Sunday I will be in my third trimester.  That is so hard to believe. 

Finances are about to get very tight and tough and with a new baby it will make it even worse but we will get by.  I might have to cut the cable down to next to nothing, cut back the speed on the net, and we will definitely be cutting our dining out and groceries down to next to nothing.  We will plug away somehow.  We always do.

 

My friend is planning a baby shower and I look forward to it and to see what nice gifts we get.  She said I have bought too much and left nothing for others.  We knew that my unemployment would be running out so we got what we could when we could.  There is still plenty I will need.  I told her today even if everyone buys me only diapers it will be a blessing and a help! 

Well, I am going to go make something to hopefully soothe my throat.  I just can not decide if I want something hot or cold.  Maybe I'll freeze it first then chase it with a hot chocolate.  :)

Technorati Tags: baby updates,friends,helping others,kitchen,life

Updating

I am going to try and update here more often and get to the point where this is where I blog most of the time.  I have had my xanga for almost five years but it's time to move on.  Just wish I could figure out how to bring it over here.  My xanga is at www.xanga.com/juejee 

I am feeling a bit better now that I am in the second trimester.  I am still a moody moody woman.  I guess being pregnant for the first time in 16 years will do that to a person.  I am trying to keep up with the college work, the house work and bills but my mind just seems so muffled. I guess that is how you would describe it.  I can't seem to concentrate anymore at all.

I found out last night my step daughter is pregnant with her fourth child.  This is not good blessed news that it should be.  Her husband does not treat her well at all.  He cheats on her all the time.  She left him last month and went with this other guy then got back with her hubby.  Needless to say this baby is not her husbands.  Such a mess these kids make of their lives these days.  No matter how much I talk and tell them they need God and he can fix all things they don't listen.  Who suffers for it... the children.  

They are all living here with us.  This house is small for the four of us and there are nine living here now... my nerves are shot.  I have to figure out how to feed us all on the small food budget we have.  Over the years I have gotten good at stretching things but this really takes the cake.  

Tomorrow hubby is taking me to the flea market.  We will go to the huge produce section to get our produce.  On most things we can do better there than anywhere else.  Today after I finish up some school work I will check the sales at all the local supermarkets to see what is on sale where.  I will then go through my coupons and see if there are any we can use.  The last couple weeks I have been shopping at the new local Aldis.  It is a discount grocery and you truly can save a good amount of money.  Butterball Turkeys are 8.99.  The turkeys are 11 pounds so that works out to .82 a pound which is great for down here. 

Well, I better get to work!

First Post About My Crazy Life and Family

So, I have been blogging for years... over four now at Xanga.  I need another blog like I need a hole in my head, however, my life is taking a turn I never expected at almost fourty and I think I shall start anew here, blogging about how life sure can sping you in a whole new direction.

I have three kids.  Kait is 20, Lew is 17 and Em is 16.  I have two step kids.  Shannon is 25 and Ryan is 21.  My hubby and I have been together for eight years and married seven.  (this March it will roll over to nine together and married eight).  Hubby is 47.  

We are expecting a baby in May.

We have moved a lot over the years.  With five kids you are always trying to find a bigger place.  Once they started moving out we started down sizing.  We are now in a small three bedroom mobile home.  At first we thought:  time to find a bigger place.  Then, in today's economy we thought, we can make this work.  HOW we are going to make this work should be interesting.  

This blog is going to be about our learning to get on a strict budget.  I am no longer working.  I was laid off in March and unemployment is about out.  I want to stay home with this baby for at least the first five years.  A month before I found out I was pregnant I started college.  Due to some complications I am now doing classes from home.  This is not what I had planned but it will work out.  I am hoping next semester to do online classes from home then in a year I will pick up and finish my last year of my degree.

I will also post recipes, funny stories, and mom stuff.