Thanksgiving-Sarah Style

Do you happen to notice the SMILE in the pictures? Sarah LOVES school this year. It's a huge difference between this year and last year. Yes, I got teary eyed during their little presentation today. And they weren't "this is my youngest child who is growing up too fast" tears. The tears were tears of joy. Sarah has progressed SO much this last year. Do you remember the multiple anxiety attacks she was having each day last year? Oh that's right. I forgot to blog about that. Anyway, trust me. She is doing MUCH, MUCH better.

 

 

 

 

Memories

Remember that time when Tino refused to acknowledge my presence . . . oh from the time he was born up until about last year? Well, he has made MAJOR strides. He actually thinks it's cool to have a mom now. And yes, he will even talk to me in public. Anyway, I have an interview for a position at his middle school today. And he is actually O.K. with it. (This is a major change from when he attended the same preschool/kindergarten at the school I taught at years ago). If I've gotta go back to work, why not be in the same environment as my oldest?

Cut and Color . . . Getting ready for Winter

The first picture was taken on Tuesday at Tino's Student of the Month breakfast. Do you remember last year when I attempted to "go red" for Cristian and it ended up bright orange with hot pink stripes? It has taken almost one year to fix that mess. This time, I think it worked out a lot better.

It's All About the Karma . . .

Karma. Are you a believer that what comes around goes around? I always have been. And now that my children are in school that karma has come to bite me in the behind. All of those years of me being a teacher and completely "not getting it" have come back to HAUNT ME with a vengeance. Remember all of those mission projects, book reports/book projects, decorate the (fill in the blank) . . . that I thought were so cool assigning to my students or in many cases parents of my students? This weekend we were slammed with TWO projects. Actually, Sarah's project was supposed to be turned in on Friday. But it so WAS.NOT. And Mateo's was a weekend project.

Sarah had to do a "I am thankful for . . ." collage. Sarah is thankful for lots of things. I would be thankful if I could learn how to upload/download and/or print off the hundreds and hundreds of pictures that live inside of my digital camera and/or memory card. It would make projects like this a whole lot easier. Mateo had to do a "Decorate/disguise the turkey so it doesn't get eaten for Thanksgiving" project. Do you realize we wandered aimlessly . . . AIMLESSLY . . . up and down the aisles of Joann's for a good 1 1/2 hours this morning? (And yes, you read that right . . . this morning . . . which means one child may or may not have been taken out of school 1 hour early and one child may or may not have gone to school at all). I know that Joann's has one million and one great project ideas and crafty things to do said projects. BUT, if you are not a project doer, Joann's to me is what Home Depot, Costco, or Magic Kingdom is to Sarah . . . hell on earth. Anyway, I just spent $20 on a bunch of nothing. But Mateo and Sarah are in the other room entertaining themselves and working on their family projects. Family= Sarah and Mateo right? And since I was the one that drove them to Joann's and Cristian is the one that is at work right now earning the money we just finished spending and since Tino is about as crafty as me so why even bother . . . This is a family project right? O.K. Thanks. Now I can cross that off my list. WHEW!

Now I can gear up towards making a board game for English Language Learners. I get to look forward to that tonight at school. Terrific! Can I get any more excited? We were told to bring supplies and materials we might need to create our board game. We won't know until we get to class who is in our group and which theory our game has to represent (constructivism, nativism, cognitivism, or behaviorism). Do you wish you were me right now or WHAT?

Back to the karma. For the last month I have had major swelling from the left knee down to my ankle. It doesn't matter if I elevate, hydrate, stay off of it or continue with my normal everyday routines. Cristian gave me the "will you please go to the doctor and find out what is going on" speech the other day because he was getting really worried about me. (Or maybe he is just embarrassed hanging out with his wife that is waddling around like a 90 year old woman). Just for the record, DO NOT . . . I repeat . . . DO NOT consult with WEB MD on a weekend. You will most certainly diagnosis yourself with the deadliest disease out there. What I thought was some kind of cardiovascular issue or diabetes . . . was not. I've got some major ligament damage in my knee and all the fluid is pooling there instead of properly going where it needs to go. Why is this karma? Well it's the same knee that I messed up when I went skydiving 20 years ago. It's the same knee that when I went to the BYU Health Center I told a little lie and said that I messed up my knee by tripping down the stairs at the dorm. (My health insurance at the time did not cover skydiving . . . and my parents did NOT approve of my skydiving activities. O.K. actually I think I waited until AFTER the fact to tell them I had jumped out of an airplane AND messed my knee up). So there it is. Maybe if I would have just come clean 20 years ago and told the 99 year old doctor working at the health center that I was clumsy because I didn't know how to properly land after jumping out of a plane instead of clumsy because I don't know how to walk up or down stairs . . . I might not have been cursed with this problem today.

So those are my two stories for the day. Now I better get back to what I was supposed to be doing . . . finishing up my homework for tonight's class.

Mr. Mateo

I figure since it has been OH SO LONG since I have blogged, I better give an update about everyone. Mateo has changed from a very outgoing individual to being very SHY. I think that after years of being Tino's spokesperson (who is so painfully shy he would rather crawl under a rock then look you in the eye, shake your hand, and say "hello") and for doing all of the talking for speech-delayed Sarah, he just threw in the towel. I've never known a person that will say "I AM SHY." Mateo can not control Tino's baseball performance nor Sarah's ups and downs that go along with her seizure disorder or sensory processing disorder. However, Mateo has learned that he can control how much he does or does not talk and interact with others.

Although he chooses to be "shy", he has developed an ability to write. He writes ALL DAY LONG. I have scraps and scraps of paper scattered throughout my entire house with notes he has written. He might not be on speaking terms with you, but he has no problem writing a note. (I just did a major house cleaning/note throwing away session yesterday. Give it another day or two and I will scan some of his notes.)

Some of my favorites: "Mateo is an excillent lisener." "Heidi, I love you so much." (He crumpled up that note because Tino told him it wasn't respectful to call your mom by her first name). "Mateo is a car rider on Monday. Heidi Ramírez." (Um, I didn't learn to write notes to the teacher/school until I was in the 9th GRADE. I had to explain to Mateo that he would get into very big trouble if he wrote notes to the school AND signed my name. He has now left the signature part to me.)

Some of my not so favorite notes: "I don't like you any more Tino. You are NOT MY BROTHER!" or "You are STUPID Sarah." Last week Mateo was on a naughty note-writing streak. I CALMLY went into the office and wrote Mateo a note. I didn't address it to him, I just set it next to his stash of paper and pencils. My note said: "Santa visits children who are NICE. Kids who write NAUGHTY notes will not be getting any presents this year." I think Mateo got the message because he let out a big giant SIGH and then went running into his room CRYING big alligator tears. He then was yelling from his closed bedroom door "But I didn't know. I didn't know. I will be nice."

Out of all three kids, Mateo is the most challenging. He is my super sentimental/gentle giant on one hand, but then has these uncontrollable fits of rage and breakdowns that come OUT OF NOWHERE. I anxiously await the day that his maturity level can catch up with his intelligence. There is a huge discrepancy and it frustrates him to no end. Lately I have noticed him reverting back to how he was last year when he started talking about life and . . . death. I am TRYING to help him find his niche. I am TRYING to help him be happy. I am TRYING to give him special one on one time so he doesn't get lost in the cracks between Sarah and Tino. All I can say is . . . I am TRYING. I hope he knows how much I do love him . . . naughty or nice.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Last week report cards got sent home. And last week we also received an automated voice mail message from Tino's principal saying if we'd like to schedule a conference, call the school. This morning was a first for all four of Tino's teachers. His teachers have been teaching anywhere between 10 and 24 years. This is the first time his teachers have received a conference request for a student who is getting straight A's. I have a split personality. I know, hard to believe right? I have a difficult time drawing the line between the "teacher" part of me and the "worried mom" part of me. Whenever Cristian mentions he is concerned, I know that it is time for "worried mom" to take action. As we all assembled around the table, the facilitator of the conference said "Let me guess, you are here because Tino is getting straight A's and he is bored. You want to know what else we can do for him, right?" Wow, well, yeah that was the reason for the conference but I was going to make it a little more fluffy and not quite so to the point and direct.

Bottom line is there really isn't a lot they can do for Tino. Unfortunately, Tino is going to be the student that falls through the cracks not because he can't master grade level expectations . . . but because due to the lovely No Child Left Behind , the teachers are pretty much forced to dumb down the curriculum so that EVERYONE can be successful. (And those were not my words, they were the words of two of his teachers.) Teachers don't have time to focus on the students that are excelling and doing well. Differentiation? Yeah, right. I guess the one good thing that came from the meeting is they are going to move him into Algebra. That will at least give Tino more of a challenge in math and he will be getting high school credit at the same time.

Socially Tino's teachers report that he is doing just fine. And two of his four teachers HAD.NO.IDEA that he was 2 years younger than his peers. I have followed the recommendation given by Tino's elementary school principal a couple years ago when he didn't pass the Gifted testing. She said to get him involved in extracurricular activities. We have done that. In fact, we . . . I mean Tino is extracurricular activitied out. There is only one day per week that Tino doesn't participate in baseball, boy scouts, or barritone . . . and that is on Monday night when I have class.

Anyway, that's the update on Tino. And I am still waiting for someone to tell me how to get the pictures off my camera phone. Then I will be able to do a Halloween post.

Don't Get Too Excited . . .

I am going to try . . . keyword TRY and be better at updating my blog. Starting today. Now if anyone can tell me how to get the pictures from my phone to my computer I would be greatly appreciative. I can't find my crackberry user manual. And by the way, the crackberry isn't nearly as fun when you don't have internet access. It's just another phone.

Timpanogos Cave

One of the things Tino wanted to do while on vacay, was hike Timp. Since his mother is absolutely 100% NOT a hiker, we decided to compromise. We hiked to Timpanogos Cave instead. My sister Heather (the picture stealer) and I did a marvelous kid-swap. I took the three kids that would not whine and cry while on a 1 1/2 mile straight up the mountain hike and she took the three kids that most likely wouldn't even be able to get out of the car without help/assistance. It was a win-win situation.

As you all know, Heather is SUPER-MOM. She's the kind of mom that every mom wants to be some day. She's fun, super spiritual, great cook, a project do-er, birthday party planner . . . well you get the idea. She's also the mom that writes cute/lovey-dovey letters and sneaks them into her kid's lunch box. She's also the kind of mom that writes an inspirational note to her child and sticks it in her shoe the night before the BIG HIKE. Do you see this picture of Abbie? Is it not the CUTEST? I can't remember the exact wording of the note Heather wrote, but it had something to do with "I am proud of you for doing this hike, I love you, etc. etc." About every 20 steps of the hike, Abbie wanted to stop and rest so she could read the note. Her entire face lit up and she would do the cutest ever giggle. She then told me :"Aunt Heidi, do you know why I'm reading this note my mom wrote so much? It's so I can be brave and keep on going on this difficult hike." What a cutie. LOVE that girl! And of course, LOVE my sis. She's a great example to me.

P.S. If you want to see pictures of my Sweet Sarah on a pony ride or to see the expression on her face when the ponies in front of her stopped to pee or poo . . . please visit Heather's blog for her post about Day at the Farm. Oh yeah, that's right. She forgot to take her camera . . . so she probably won't blog about it.

My Sister, The Picture Stealer

So I have the greatest sister in the whole planet. She is smart too. Every time we went on one of our adventures this summer, she conveniently forgot to bring her camera. I always had my camera with me. But . . . there are two major problems. #1 My camera SUCKS (excuse that word mom and dad . . . please don't wash my mouth out with soap.) and #2 I do a great job of taking pictures, but definitely need improvement in the area of POSTING pictures via blogger or Facebook. Anyway, Heather has been having a lot of fun doing blog posts with MY pictures. She knows I will never ask for the pictures. At least they are SAFE so the next time my computer crashes, I won't lose everything. I can just ask her for all my pictures that I think are "lost", but really aren't because she has them all.

When you get a chance, please leave a comment and ask Heather to post the pictures from our trip to San Francisco. She wasn't with us, but I bet she can leave a witty and/or snarky commentary about our SF pics. Have you ever been to J. Dawg's or has your kid ever been the FIRST kids to take a little ride 110 feet up in the air? I mean who needs Disney World, Sea World, or Universal Studios . . . when you have the Lehi Fire Department? My kids were DEFINITELY impressed.

Maybe if Heather is NICE to me, I will post pics of her kids when we went to Jordanelle Reservoir or when we hiked Timpanogos Cave. I might even have some other good pics on my camera of her family . . . or other cousin fun.

All Stars 2009

As you know, I am going on vacation . . . . in about 4 hours. Since I can't sleep, I figured I would upload some pictures from my camera. I will format the pictures and write about the All Star game when I get to Palm Desert because I think Anne has her laptop with her.

And the only pictures I have from the wedding we went to tonight are the pics of Sarah. First is with her shirt on underneath her dress. When she saw her teachers from school had their "backs and shoulders showing" . . . she wanted to have her back and shoulders showing also. So right after the ceremony and before she went into the kids reception area (where she wouldn't be seen by ANYONE other than the two ladies babysitting and the rest of her friends) . . . I let her take the undershirt off. I know. Bad mom. But this was a case where I just had to pick the battles. I will not let her shoulders show once she gets into Young Women's . . . or even once she turns 8. Don't worry . . . I won't lead my child down the wrong path.

Good night! Now I think I can go to sleep!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yeah, so I had a birthday . . . about 3 weeks ago. And it was lovely. It all started out with a birthday party at the gym . . . with my favorite Silver Sneakers friends. Whenever it's party day, we have a quick 30 minute cardio-workout so we can get straight to the most important part of the day . . . the food.

My best Florida friend Shannon joined us in time for the food and birthday cake. (P.S. If you ever run into Shannon, please don't tell her I posted this picture on my blog. She doesn't let anyone take her picture when she is pregnant). Cristian also slipped away from work during his lunch break so he could enjoy the party.

After the Silver Sneakers party, Mateo told me he wanted to go to Wal Mart so he could buy me some flowers for my birthday. He made me close my eyes while he was picking out the flowers. When we got to the checkout line, he told me I would have to pay for the flowers because papi wasn't with us and he forgot all his money.
We then went and picked up Tino (because you see he is too "cool" to go to the gym these days) and we went to Sea World. I know that most of you are thinking Sea World on your birthday? What kind of a CRAZY idea is that? Out of all the parks . . . Universal, Disney, etc. Sea World is my absolute favorite. And since it was "my day" I got to choose what kind of activities we did at Sea World. We went to my favorite show, saw the new aquarium exhibit next to the new Manta ride, and ate dinner with the sharks. When it was getting late, we headed over to the other side of the park next to all the kiddie rides. The kids had that whole part of the park to themselves because everyone else in Sea World decided to hang out with Shamu.


Birthday Weekend was spent with Cristian at St. Augustine. I told him that all I wanted for my birthday was 24 hours ALONE with him. I think we got almost 28 hours. It was fabulous. I also got some new workout shoes . . . which I needed. And, I bought myself some personal training sessions since I packed on 20+ pounds over the last year and need some help getting that extra weight off. Happy Birthday to Me!

And don't forget to PLUG YOUR NOSE!

Every year we get the same phone call from Orange County Health Department about two to three days before school lets out. It's a friendly community reminder about a killer single cell amoeba that thrives in hot, fresh water. Once exposed to the human brain through the nasal passages it is almost always fatal.

At first people exposed to the amoeba, naegleria fowleri, suffer from flu-like symtoms. Soon afterwards, the symptoms worsen. Coma, abnormal movements of the eyes, and then parts of the brain start to die.

My kids are HORRIFIED of fresh water lakes. I am horrified because of the gators that lurk among the fresh water lakes. My kids have an intense fear that the amoeba will eat their brain if they don't plug their nose while swimming . . . which they never do. We have decided to err on the side of caution and we avoid fresh water lakes altogether from June until about October or November. But this year we will be going to California and Utah for almost one month. How do I start prepping my kids now that it will be o.k. to swim in a lake there?

Mateo's Big Day

This morning Mateo graduated from Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten. I have to laugh at the word "voluntary" because according to the lady from the Early Childhood Coalition, it is Florida's goal to get all of the four year old children "off of the streets" and "into school". I can understand where this would be a priority with some children, but really "off the streets"? Do they have to be so dramatic? Think of all the millions of dollars they could SAVE if they would just get their act together in the public schools. Then Florida children wouldn't need one extra year of schooling to make up for what everyone else in the nation can crank out in grades K-12.

For those of you that know me, you know what a complete joke I think all of this preschool graduation and kindergarten graduation stuff is. For reals? Do these kids realize they are going to have another 13+ years left of schooling? What are they really graduating from anyway? I do have to say that I almost was moved to tears this morning as I watched Mateo walk across the room in his cap and gown. My little baby is not a baby anymore. What happened to the time?

Mateo was so excited about his special day. He reminded me yesterday that he needed to get a haircut and a very handsome outfit for his graduation. Thank goodness he reminded me. I seriously don't think I would have gotten him a hair cut, let alone a handsome outfit. So we went to Target and WalMart and I watched him walk through the clothing department. (If you are wondering why I didn't just go straight to Children's Place, it's because I have a huge order IN TRANSIT that should be coming in the mail ANY DAY now . . . but I digress). Mateo then looked at me and replied "Nope Mommy. There's nothing handsome here. We're going to have to go and check out Kohl's." So check out Kohl's we did. The second we got to the boy's department, he gravitated right over towards some checked shorts and picked out a shirt to go along with it. "There mommy. This is the handsome stuff I was talking about".

He has been practicing for a little over one month for his part of the cultural presentation. He was supposed to dance the merengue with another little Dominican girl in his class. Yeah, not so much. Stage fright got the best of him. And of course as luck would have it, my memory card got full the SECOND the merengue started playing. I was trying to go through and delete pictures off the memory card to give me enough space to record a little bit. I will see if I can get him to dance again this afternoon. Maybe he will do better doing a solo.

Here's the only family picture I got from the day. And do you wonder why I never get any more family pics? Can you sense the ATTITUDE vibes? Of course, I won't mention any names.

Cristian's Graduation

Cristian graduated from UCF! Did you know that UCF is the fourth largest university in the United States? I didn't. Did you know that 4th largest universities also means 4th LONGEST graduation ceremonies in the U.S.? Cristian was on the second row on the right hand side, about 4 people in from the center aisle. This means he walked about 25 minutes into the 2 hour and 30 minute ceremony. By that time, the kids had eaten their popcorn, nachos, and drank all there was to drink. Once they heard his name called and did the cheering thing, they were ready to go. They were not too happy when they found out we had to stay for the entire ceremony and that Papi couldn't sneak out and meet us at Outback Steakhouse. There were 1500+ that graduated, but I really think it was more like 15,000.

We are very proud of Cristian for this great accomplishment. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pre-graduation ceremony pictures. The kids are hot, sweaty, tired, and SO OVER IT in all the pictures, but I wanted to record this for posterity.

For future reference and note to self . . . arriving 45 minutes prior to the graduation ceremony beginning IS NOT ENOUGH LEAD TIME. We were the 4th row from the TOP . . . definitely in nose bleed territory. Too bad we didn't bring any binoculars. Mateo and Sarah were amused for about 15 minutes. About 45 minutes into the ceremony, I had to take Sarah out to roam the halls. I am NOT brave like some of my blogging friends. I wish I could have captured the photos of people that were shooting her dirty looks or the looks shot in my direction that seem to say "what kind of a mother are you and why aren't you paying any attention to your kid that is having a meltdown"? Sometimes I think when Sarah and I go out in public we should have matchy matchy bright neon shirts that have messages ironed on like "My daughter has sensory integration disorder and YOU are freaking her out" or "My mom is TRYING to listen to all the advice that my behavior therapist, speech therapist, occupational therapist, neurologist, pediatrician, etc. have given her to IGNORE this negative behavior. Please don't REWARD my tantrums with offering me balloons, candy, etc."

Meltdown Moments/Outback Steakhouse

Tragic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom

Mateo, Sarah, Tia Millie, and I went to the parks on Saturday. Tia Millie just got a full-time job offer working over at Tragic Kingdom. She didn't want to show up on her first day on the job without ever visiting the place. So she took us there on Saturday. I showed her all the ins and outs of Tragic Kingdom. And yes, it was TRAGIC. I thought that with age, Sarah would outgrow her meltdowns every time she enters a Disney park. Wrong-o Bong-o. It was a terrible experience for her and for us. In fact, Tia Millie said she will never ever take her to the parks again. That's o.k. I am not going to try taking her there again until she's at least 8 years old. It's just not worth it. For kiddos with sensory integration disorder, the place is too much. Talk about sensory overload.

After going to Magic Kingdom, we headed over to my favorite park in the planet . . . Animal Kingdom. It was wonderful . . . once we convinced Sarah that if she stopped crying she would be able to see the real animals. I had never seen the Lion King show and finally got to see it on Saturday. It was incredible! I loved it! And believe it or not, Sarah did too. We have always gone on the safari ride the very first thing when we walk into the park. On Saturday, we waited until 20 minutes before the park was going to close. It was THE BEST! There was absolutely NO LINE and we were able to see some of the nocturnal animals as they were coming out.

El fin se acerca

Cristian has been going to graduate school for about 6 1/2 years . . . but who's counting? He has taken one class at a time . . . with sometimes a semester or two off in between. He is in the graduate program at UCF studying Spanish Literature. Last week he had his comprehensive written exam. Today he had the oral exam where all the professors in the program drilled him on his knowledge of anything and everything Spanish Literature . . . early 1300s to present day 2009. He passed both exams with flying colors. What does this mean????? He will be officially finished with school in less than one month. Graduation is on May 8th. Congratulations Cristian!

La visita

This is an entry for posterity purposes. A couple of weeks ago, Cristian went to Baltimore, MD to visit his biological father. He has had only a handful of brief interactions with him since he was three years old when his parents got divorced. Juan Carlos' health is not that great and Cristian has had a feeling he needed to get up to Baltimore to visit his biological father and to get closure. He spent the weekend with his biological father, two half brothers, and their families. All in all it was a very good weekend for all. I am so happy he was able to spend time with Juan Carlos and to learn more about his life. Although my children will most likely never meet him, we now at least have some pictures to show them of their long lost tios, abuelo, and primas.

One class down . . . only seven more to go.

Last night I finished my first class. Saturday I finish my Spanish 501 class. Then it starts all over again next week. I'm only going to take once class at a time from here on out. This five week per class is INTENSIVE! I can't believe I just completed an entire semester's worth of work in five weeks. I thought I could handle two classes at a time to crank it out quicker, but there is no possible way.

Funny how when mommy's go to school and work almost full time, they still have cooking, cleaning, homework help, baseball practices, cub scouts, and everything else that is expected for moms to take care of.

You must have figured out by now that your Christmas cards are STILL sitting on the desk in Cristian's office. Maybe I'll just hold onto them for a few more months so it looks like I'm really on top of things when you receive your 2009 Christmas card with the 2008 newsletter and picture of the kids the end of November.

Back to writing my 15 page paper . . . in Spanish. UGH!

Sick Sarah

So Sarah is sick today. Let me rephrase that. She has a fever which keeps her out of school, but she seems to be absolutely fine. This is a little recap of what my day has been like so far.

10:00 a.m. Sarah: Mommy, we gonna pick up Mateo now? He done with da school.

10:05 a.m. Sarah: Mommy, it's gonna be night time. We gotta pick up Mateo.

10:06 a.m. Sarah: Mommy, I don't have anybody to play wif me. Who gonna play wif me? Mateo misses me. We have to pick him up.

Do you see the pattern here? And today was supposed to be the day where I stayed home and did homework all day long. In peace. With no kids. No interruptions. Yeah, what was I thinking???

New Year , New Me!

So I had all these end of year posts planned . . . and the Christmas and New Year's festivities posts planned . . . but now I might as well save it for next year. (Kind of like I'm thinking about saving my 2008 Christmas cards that still haven't been sent out).

Anyway, tomorrow I go back to school FULL TIME. And if you want to know where I am going, you can visit their link here. The program is ACCELERATED. Five weeks per class . . . four hours class time per week . . . approximately 10 hours outside class time preparation/homework per week . . . TIMES TWO. I failed the Spanish entrance exam (for NATIVE SPANISH speakers) . . . so I have to take SPANISH 501. Five stinkin' percentage points more and I would have had 80% on the test and would have been exempt from taking any more Spanish classes. I am also taking a Curriculum Design class. I could care less about all the different teaching philosophies (my philosophy is the only RIGHT one) . . . and I'd rather leave the curriculum design up to someone else. Let me teach and I am one happy camper. But, it's a required course. So I will . . . TAKE IT.

Anyway, Turabo University (that's what it's called in English) is taking 15 semester units of my 102 semester units of graduate course work I completed in California. I should have that little piece of paper that says I have my Master's degree within 6 to 8 months. And please, don't give me any grief about why didn't I finish up my Master's the first time around. I know, I know. Now I know. But 10 1/2 years ago I could have cared less about finishing up my thesis. I was going to be a STAY AT HOME MOM for the next 20+ years of my life. Funny how Heidi's plan for Heidi and Heavenly Father's plan for Heidi are always a little bit different. Who would have ever thought in a million and one years that I would be attending a PUERTO RICAN University? Not me.