We got our immigration fingerprinting,or biometrics if ya wanna be technical, appointments- 9/18/12 at 8a.m.!
Friday, August 31, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
so much...so soon
School orientation, pre-school transition, graduate school, graduate assistantships, taekwondo, bike riding, engagement parties, melt downs, adoption #2 prep, mom visiting prep OH MY!!!!
so previously i mentioned having some other job prospects and being put in a weird/difficult position with the veterinary clinic that i just started working for like 3 weeks. I was contacted a little over a week ago about a position that was newly created to be a graduate assistant for a political science/environmental studies course and a GA for a green leadership initiative with an organization, based out of the University of South Carolina, called Sustainable Carolina. It would be for 20 hours a week, and include my graduate tuition. I was more than eager to learn more. After two interviews, I was fortunate to be offered the position. I am super thrilled to be working with a great group of like-minded people, be able to get back into sustainable activism and be able to be a TA for a pretty awesome class at USC. The interdisciplinary organization has a wonderful mission and value system http://artsandsciences.sc.edu/greenquad/
I will be joining the curriculum project team and be the experiential learning manager for the green leadership project team. I had the first part of orientation today, will have some office hours to help plan components of the course and such in the next few days. I am working a few more days with the veterinarian, but will sadly have to leave my position there :( In three weeks i have learned so much!
GABE- gabe has bee excited about returning to school- he is the oldest in his class, and being at the top of a Montessori class is a big deal, being that three grades are all together. However, Gabe is facing some challenges at home with me and Sam. He seems overwhelmed with emotion from one moment to the next- hes super excited about playing with Sam and riding his bike or jumping, the next moment he is crying and screaming about some wrong done to him by Sam and how gabe doesn't "even want to play with him in the first place, he needs to just leave me alone!!!" - stomp up stairs...slam door....Or he will flip out over a long term project type assignment, which he has had experienc doing, - yet he totally shuts down and cries about it. His father and that side of the family has had some pretty challenging issues with bipolar disorder and I really really fear that these extreme mood swings gabe is having may indicate something. His moods tend to be very intense and then switch on a dime. I guess it will need to be something i monitor and possibly seek outside help in the next coming months. He has also opted to not continue taekwondo, after months and months of loving it. I dont think that is related to any psych issues- its mainly due to his new found love of his brand new bike. Understandable....but these classes were pretty expensive....so i am frustrated about it. I feel conflicted between letting him choose his physical activities and teaching him about follow-through
SAM- Sam has been attending a local pre-school, that is very play-play-play oriented. I fear the transition to his Montessori 4k program. John took him to the 2 hour orientation, in which Sam was left in the class with the teacher and other kids, while the parents completed paperwork. Apparently john returned to find Sam with out his braces or shoes, trying to throw them across the room and take his clothes off. I have no clue what will happen- the teacher seems a bit sketchy in some respects (despite her being a national board certified teacher and having a masters)- she hinted that Sam would need a 504 plan (an education plan that is developed for students with special needs or learning delays) the very same day as the orientation, sighting that Sams inability to balance well enough to carry a lunch tray is a reason....WTF?! The more i think about this, the more livid i get. Which has, of course, lead me to authoring a letter in which i felt the need to throw my nerd-graduate-school-doctoral-candidate-in-education-curriculum weight around at her....in a tactful way. He is a spirited, highly impulsive child, with sensory issues- so there is a strong possibility that we will seek a 504 plan for him. However, for her to jump to that label after meeting him less than 2 hours before and deeming him in need of services because he can't carry a lunch tray from the cafeteria all the way to her room is really not grounds for such a thing. We just received a really cool weighted blanket from LEAH ANN! so cute
ENGAGEMENT/BACHELORETTE - i have two friends getting married in the next few months...a girl-friend get-away in Asheville, NC is being planned- i am way excited :) we will behave.
ADOPTION 2- well we have a good bit of our dossier done, but some pretty big things to still complete. I got the confirmation email today that our 1600A was received.....so i hope we get biometric dates soon to start the visa process. We also have to do a background check with the FBI- which will require finger prints. Those will get done on Friday. We have birth certificates all in, except mine which is in the mail (got the shipping information today). We have official/ certified marriage license on the way and i will be picking up an additional certified copy of my divorce degree - i am not sure they will accept copies, so i may as well go get the certified one. Bank letter will be procured tomorrow or Friday. That leaves our home-study and POA to be apostilled and a new form for our doctor to fill out. I hope to have it all done by the end of September....well maybe. No further updates on K- we were hoping for a more in-depth medical eval, since the last one seemed more psycho-social. We have a fundraiser yard-sale/ bake-sale planned on September 8th ~! I have been collecting items and trying to get things organized for that. I ordered a nice Africa shaped cookie cutter to make nice cookies for the bake-sale. (it would help if i were a better baker)- we will also have snow-cones!
GRAD-SCHOOL- Classes begin for me on Monday- both the class i am the TA for and the class i am taking...Mondays and Wednesdays will be LONG!
MOM: My mom and step dad are visiting the first weekend of September....laser tag is on the agenda, as per a request by Gabe!
Thats a run down of how things are going here....lots of balls in the air, and i am trying my best to juggle, juggle, juggle....hoping not to drop anything
so previously i mentioned having some other job prospects and being put in a weird/difficult position with the veterinary clinic that i just started working for like 3 weeks. I was contacted a little over a week ago about a position that was newly created to be a graduate assistant for a political science/environmental studies course and a GA for a green leadership initiative with an organization, based out of the University of South Carolina, called Sustainable Carolina. It would be for 20 hours a week, and include my graduate tuition. I was more than eager to learn more. After two interviews, I was fortunate to be offered the position. I am super thrilled to be working with a great group of like-minded people, be able to get back into sustainable activism and be able to be a TA for a pretty awesome class at USC. The interdisciplinary organization has a wonderful mission and value system http://artsandsciences.sc.edu/greenquad/
I will be joining the curriculum project team and be the experiential learning manager for the green leadership project team. I had the first part of orientation today, will have some office hours to help plan components of the course and such in the next few days. I am working a few more days with the veterinarian, but will sadly have to leave my position there :( In three weeks i have learned so much!
GABE- gabe has bee excited about returning to school- he is the oldest in his class, and being at the top of a Montessori class is a big deal, being that three grades are all together. However, Gabe is facing some challenges at home with me and Sam. He seems overwhelmed with emotion from one moment to the next- hes super excited about playing with Sam and riding his bike or jumping, the next moment he is crying and screaming about some wrong done to him by Sam and how gabe doesn't "even want to play with him in the first place, he needs to just leave me alone!!!" - stomp up stairs...slam door....Or he will flip out over a long term project type assignment, which he has had experienc doing, - yet he totally shuts down and cries about it. His father and that side of the family has had some pretty challenging issues with bipolar disorder and I really really fear that these extreme mood swings gabe is having may indicate something. His moods tend to be very intense and then switch on a dime. I guess it will need to be something i monitor and possibly seek outside help in the next coming months. He has also opted to not continue taekwondo, after months and months of loving it. I dont think that is related to any psych issues- its mainly due to his new found love of his brand new bike. Understandable....but these classes were pretty expensive....so i am frustrated about it. I feel conflicted between letting him choose his physical activities and teaching him about follow-through
SAM- Sam has been attending a local pre-school, that is very play-play-play oriented. I fear the transition to his Montessori 4k program. John took him to the 2 hour orientation, in which Sam was left in the class with the teacher and other kids, while the parents completed paperwork. Apparently john returned to find Sam with out his braces or shoes, trying to throw them across the room and take his clothes off. I have no clue what will happen- the teacher seems a bit sketchy in some respects (despite her being a national board certified teacher and having a masters)- she hinted that Sam would need a 504 plan (an education plan that is developed for students with special needs or learning delays) the very same day as the orientation, sighting that Sams inability to balance well enough to carry a lunch tray is a reason....WTF?! The more i think about this, the more livid i get. Which has, of course, lead me to authoring a letter in which i felt the need to throw my nerd-graduate-school-doctoral-candidate-in-education-curriculum weight around at her....in a tactful way. He is a spirited, highly impulsive child, with sensory issues- so there is a strong possibility that we will seek a 504 plan for him. However, for her to jump to that label after meeting him less than 2 hours before and deeming him in need of services because he can't carry a lunch tray from the cafeteria all the way to her room is really not grounds for such a thing. We just received a really cool weighted blanket from LEAH ANN! so cute
ENGAGEMENT/BACHELORETTE - i have two friends getting married in the next few months...a girl-friend get-away in Asheville, NC is being planned- i am way excited :) we will behave.
ADOPTION 2- well we have a good bit of our dossier done, but some pretty big things to still complete. I got the confirmation email today that our 1600A was received.....so i hope we get biometric dates soon to start the visa process. We also have to do a background check with the FBI- which will require finger prints. Those will get done on Friday. We have birth certificates all in, except mine which is in the mail (got the shipping information today). We have official/ certified marriage license on the way and i will be picking up an additional certified copy of my divorce degree - i am not sure they will accept copies, so i may as well go get the certified one. Bank letter will be procured tomorrow or Friday. That leaves our home-study and POA to be apostilled and a new form for our doctor to fill out. I hope to have it all done by the end of September....well maybe. No further updates on K- we were hoping for a more in-depth medical eval, since the last one seemed more psycho-social. We have a fundraiser yard-sale/ bake-sale planned on September 8th ~! I have been collecting items and trying to get things organized for that. I ordered a nice Africa shaped cookie cutter to make nice cookies for the bake-sale. (it would help if i were a better baker)- we will also have snow-cones!
GRAD-SCHOOL- Classes begin for me on Monday- both the class i am the TA for and the class i am taking...Mondays and Wednesdays will be LONG!
MOM: My mom and step dad are visiting the first weekend of September....laser tag is on the agenda, as per a request by Gabe!
Thats a run down of how things are going here....lots of balls in the air, and i am trying my best to juggle, juggle, juggle....hoping not to drop anything
Sunday, August 12, 2012
dolls, barbies and lipstick
Sam has some new interests. He is the leader of all things dolls and babies at his new preschool, and dont try and steal the toy stroller. Apparently he puts as many babies as her can in it and then proceeds to thrash about the classroom, running around wildly, clipping kids in the ankles. He is also quite fond of barbie and her plastic-y yellow butter hair. Additionally, as i was doing my make-up in the car, before letting him out at his preschool, i put on a somewhat vibrant color of lipstick, which delighted Sam. He said "oh- Momma pretty, I want some" Hmmm...so yeah MARRIAGE EQUALITY FOR ALL, because if my little boy ends up wanting to marry a guy, then that will be one sweetly decorated house, and i expect grand kids :)
Monday, August 6, 2012
fuzzy in the head
yes..."fuzzy in the head" and i am not talking about Sams hair!! heheh This last week has been a roller coaster. I intended on going to Florida this week with the boys to see my family. However, I was asked to interview for a Veterinary Technician position last Tuesday and then Wednesday i was asked to start at the vet clinic by Friday. As many may know I have left the school where I taught for the last 5 years.. I am in graduate school for my doctorate and the very high-needs, highly "at-risk" school that i was teaching at was just too much for me to juggle with having Sam and his therapies, plus graduate school and prepping a new adoption. This new job is about 27 hours a week, with a wonderful schedule that will allow me to work on school and adoption deadlines:) As Murphy's Law would have it, since beginning this new job I have been called by two different organizations to interview with them for positions. One is a school and the other an educational organization.....go figure. I would possibly consider teaching again at the middle school level, which is what has called me for an interview. However, this middle school is at-risk and will be a challenge- so I ma just unsure about teaching there at all. I must make sure not to over extend my self....working part time would be ideal. I LOVE ANIMAL....love love love....i wanted to be a vet, and gave that up due to issues with my brain and math (hehehe)...but have always worked with animals in volunteer/pt capacities. So i really enjoy being a vet tech, its something i did years and years ago....but the pay is really crappy...the hours are great, the work is cool...the location of the vet is superb (closest to the boys elementary school and USC!!) Will i interview for the other positions? Most likely- one is really quite a prestigious place. The problem is that i hate constant changes of plans...like if i were offered a great job with a cool education foundation, that has a pretty great reputation and pretty awesome pay- it would be pretty sweet- but i would feel so irritated about having to quit the vet tech job, that i really like. Options create a frustrating position....i know i should not complain AT ALL...i just hate to possibly be in that position. Our financial situation scares me....so i know i must work. As much as John would rather me at SAHM, i have to work....i get antsy if i am not busy and i get even antsier (that is a word, right?) when i am not earning $$ for my family. That sounds superficial, but we are in the midst of another special needs adoption....It would be very difficult for us to do this on one income, especially in the paper-chase phase, combined with all the fun adoption fees!!
Speaking of adoption and fees- our I6001 is off to DALLAS, TEXAS!!
Working on reordering certified copies of marriage and birth certificates. John has is...i am awaiting mine. ....we are on a good start for our dossier. We have the ultimate goal of having our complete dossier in Ethiopia, ready to request a court date when the courts reopen in October :)
Speaking of adoption and fees- our I6001 is off to DALLAS, TEXAS!!
Working on reordering certified copies of marriage and birth certificates. John has is...i am awaiting mine. ....we are on a good start for our dossier. We have the ultimate goal of having our complete dossier in Ethiopia, ready to request a court date when the courts reopen in October :)
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