Update

I am happy to say that summer session is out, I am done with my first two classes AND...drum roll please...I got an A in each.  The timing of the class was most unfortunate because it coincided with the time I was down a person in my department and struggling to find a good fit for the job.  There are many a night when I wondered what I had been smoking when I decided this would be a good idea, but on the other side, both with school and with work (extended a job offer on Friday that was accepted), there is a renewal of will.  I know that my blogging has suffered in reliability but with 60 - 70 hour weeks on top of school, writing...well...anything falls to the bottom of the list.  The list falls to the bottom of the list.  It is survival mode, exhaustion and random spontaneous bursts of tears.  Last weekend everything culminated with 40 hours worked between Friday and Monday but this weekend I am home, thinking only minimally about work and more about how much crap I bought at Target.  *yells with fist in air* TARGET!!! 

As we head towards August, we head towards Joshy entering Kindergarten and us trying to figure out how to catch up on our 30 hours of volunteer time we are backlogged in owing the school.  I am planning yet again to start working out this Monday after an insane four months have left me greasy inside and 10 pounds heavier.  Isn't there some rule that says every 12 hour day demands a chocolate shake?  Sometimes it is easy to forget that Joshy is only 5 and when I am asked politely in the morning if he can play his DSi, I am reminded of what a good boy he really is.  He speaks so pragmatically to Benjamin that it cracks me up.  Instead of forcing him to do something, Joshy "convinces" him to do something through persuasion and I have started to wonder if that is the better or worse of the two.  Force Ben would eventually tire of but persuasion will have Ben doing all sorts of crazy things, thinking it was his own idea.  Ben loves his big brother and everything Joshy says or wants, we hear a two year old echo saying or wanting the same thing.  Getting to play in Joshy's room lights Ben up and no matter how much he mimics Joshy and follows him around, Joshy never seems to get aggravated.  All their fights are generally about toys or someone poking the other.  Stop touching me.  I'm not touching you...Joshy says with his hand a few inches from Ben's face.  Let's remember, this is the boy who at two, when told to not say no one more time, looked at me with fire in his eyes and mouthed the word NO in defiance without any actual sound coming out of his mouth.  Ben is different because as soon as he gets in trouble, there are instant apologies and I love yous gushing from his mouth.  Joshy is not going to apologize come hell or high water.  I have no idea what parent he inherited that from... *crickets sound while I look incredibly innocent* 

John is still working at the State and busy with changing staff and projects of his own.  He has been such a good sport with my work load leaving the boys much on his shoulders.  We have finally signed with a construction company to come fix the damage from the hail storm.  It amounts to a new roof, siding, windows and shutters.  Also something about air conditioning rudders and a roof for the shed.  Too bad insurance doesn't cover landscaping.  It wasn't damaged but is just out of control.  Our backyard is like a jungle and with each passing summer, increasingly hard to maintain.  We really need to invest in a swing set...but unfortunately my Target doesn't sell it...so its unlikely as a spontaneous buy. 

In the evenings John and I have taken up playing Modern Warfare 2 in the hopes to hone our skills and beat my coworker I have been talking smack to which I completely cannot back up.  I am so glad I am not the bar type because I would have long ago gotten myself killed.  I have become quite addicted to diet coke and at any moment, you can find 4 to 5 large sonic cups scattered about my office.  Add the ones I drink at night and I am fairly certain the coke has replaced my body's water.  That's me.  Blood, chub and diet coke.  Reminds me of a t-shirt I saw that I want to get.  "I drink diet coke so I can eat regular cake".  Amen to that brother.  Amen to that. 

Jessica is about to pop and while over yesterday afternoon was starting some heavy breathing from time to time.  I told her to get her butt home because I was not delivering her baby.  She was here picking up the computer that John had modified with new RAM and perhaps a processor.  They were also testing out skype and as I walked in from the store, all I see is my mom's head on John's computer talking.  I understand the point of video chat, but it is a little creepy when not specific to a conversation.  It is like a floating head or an "ignore the man behind the curtain".  The upside will be that Jess can see the boys and we can see Hadley more often than if it was only during trips to Tulsa or them to OKC.  Technology is crazy.  The other day I was driving to lunch and an old school rap song came on and I remembered buying it when it first came out on those cassette singles you could get for $3.00 with only the one song on it.  Making your own compilation tape involved waiting for the song to play on the radio and quickly hitting record.  Now you can just sit with no wires attached and download songs for $0.99 from outer space. 

I hope this ridiculously long post finds everyone else well.  I so wish I could see many of you more often. 

Take care, L