The Latest....

I realize that I haven't posted in about a week, and the reason for that is that I have been busy. I finally decided that I would no longer put my education on hold. Its far to important to keep procrastinating and wasting the days away when I could be working towards a degree. My very first day 'back to school' was last Wednesday. I was a bundle of nerves, but I was also really excited. I've always liked school and learning new things. I am trying to get a Bachelor of Science in Health Science. I haven't exactly figured out what I want to do with it, but obviously it will have something to do with the health field. I am going to school 100% online with a great university. I needed an online school because....well, because I have 3 kids. Do I really need another reason? lol. Between taking Taylor to school; spending 5 out of 7 days a week at the baseball fields; cleaning house; spending quality time with the kids; cooking; grocery shopping and taking a shower everyday; I don't exactly have the time of day to spend going to a traditional school. I can't imagine sending my kids off to a sitter or missing a game because I had to go to a physical school. Therefore, online is best for me, especially since we are possibly moving to Florida. Keep your fingers crossed. So, anyhow, I am going to a great university, and so far it has been great. The professors have been awesome and they have so many additional resources to help you out in pretty much every subject imaginable. One of my first two courses that I am taking are Academic strategies for the health care profession. This is basically a class that will get me accustomed to attending school online and it will teach me what is expected from me. It also goes over ethics and things like that. My second course that I am taking is Chemistry. Yikes! It isn't that bad. My book is confusing as all heck, but all of the videos I watched pulled it all together. Tonight was our first seminar, in which I have to sit at my desk for one full hour and participate in class. Since I had done my 'homework', I knew what the professor was talking about. About half the class didn't watch any of the videos or read anything, so naturally they were all lost. I at least knew what the teacher was talking about. Now, the equations, well that's something else. lol. I'm not good at math. I stink. Taylor is probably better at math than I am. I know that's sad, but hey, I'm being honest. After figuring out the problems, it really wasn't so bad. I received a 70% on my first self assessment that I took. Not bad considering I still feel pretty confused. I can take the assessment numerous times to better my skills, and I plan on doing that. So, that was my spiel on school. Yay me! I'm very proud of myself for finally taking the plunge!
The boys are still doing baseball. They don't have any practice for the rest of the week. They both had practice today. Taylor's coach took my suggestion I gave him last week and turned it into reality. He said that he wanted to have a fun practice where everyone could just goof around and have fun. I suggested he bring water balloons and tell them to catch...thinking they would be catching a baseball and then just smack them with the balloon. He liked it and okayed it with the other parents. The kids had fun. I had fun watching, until one kid tried to throw a balloon at his dad, missed and hit me in the neck, therefore soaking my entire right shoulder and torso area. Yeah, and of all days, I wore a white t-shirt. HAHA, laugh it up. You couldn't see anything; obviously since I am not a trashy woman who goes around bra-less. lol. Austyn is still having fun with baseball. He definitely needs to move up to the next level. He hits about 7 out of 10 balls that you pitch to him. The kid has an arm from hell. Not only does he throw hard, he throws fast and accurate! Watch out! lol. And then there's Ryeigh. That girl has more attitude than a high school cheer squad. haha. She cracks me up though. She is getting so much better about being around strangers. She actually will approach a stranger and say hi. She doesn't run away screaming when they look at her either. She has come a very very long way from her stranger induced anxiety days. I'm happy for her.
Mark is out on the ship...again! He'll be home in a couple of weeks before its bon voyage for deployment. We still don't know anything about the Blue Angels, but we are keeping our hopes and spirits high. He is very confident with the way his interview went, and I'm very confident in him as well. As one of our acquaintances said, "Pfft! Mark's going to get it. That guy can charm the pants off of anyone!" Well, that's definitely one way that he has never been described. lol. He is very charming, personable, friendly and likeable, so I get what the guy was saying. Other than that, not much else is going on over here.

It went too fast!

This was one crazy weekend. Friday night Taylor had a game. They played the Astros, with whom they were tied for the #1 spot thus far in the season. He played an amazing game. I swear, each time I watch him play, he improves. He's getting a lot better at hitting, and his fielding skills are immaculate. The game went really good until there was a mix-up in the batting order and the other team caught it. Our coach's wife should have caught it since she was the one keeping score. No big deal, right? Oops, we screwed up, that's a 3rd out, you guys are up, lets keep playing....right? No! Next thing you know, she rips her (Yankees) hat off of her head and throws it onto the field. (Where's the respect for the team lady?!) Then she storms off, grabs her stuff and walks away...pissed. Someone asked her what happened and her reply was, "I got fired....because I quit!" I'm not really too sure how that makes sense, but whatever. So, then the game is going to continue on but she comes back and screeches her son's name. She wanted to take him with her. Her husband (the coach) says to just leave it, and go home and instead of just doing what he suggested she yells, "No, this is bullshit and you know it!" So then our coach calls the game....because of her! I was a upset. Not only did she show poor sportsmanship, but she also showed poor judgement and poor leadership, while breaking the parent code of conduct. No one offered any explanation as to what happened or why the game was canceled, much less an apology. Today is Monday, and we have yet to get an apology from anyone. The kids were robbed! All they wanted to do was play baseball, and that was taken away from them for something that wasn't their fault. I hope that today they offer an apology, and she should not be at the next game (per the code of conduct.)
Saturday morning, Austyn had a game at 8:30. I love those early games. haha He played awesome, as he always does! It just sucks that Mark wasn't there to have seen him play. This is the 2nd year in a row that Mark will have missed every single one of his games. Its such a shame too, because I think he would really appreciate and love the way Austyn plays the game, and to see how much he loves the game! After the game we hit concrete heaven for about 6 hours. Mark was on his way from Pensacola to San Diego. This was our last chance to see him for the next month. He had a friend pick him up at the airport and we arrived shortly after he did. We pretty much all just hung out and recovered from our traveling adventures that night. I also got my Mother's Day gift from him that night. He gave me some bath stuff, ie. shower gel, body butter, lotion and stuff like that from a place called the Body Shop. The stuff was made witth Florida Oranges. It smells amazing and it left my skin feeling like a baby's behind. lol. It was a very sweet gift, and I'm sure that everywhere I went, people were wondering who smelled like oranges. =) I loved it. He had to do his own shopping in FL, since he didn't have any other chance to do it.The next morning, we woke up and Taylor brought me his gift that he made at school. This was the sweetest, most hilarious, most awesome best gift ever! I've never laughed so hard in my life. I will keep this book forever and I will show it to him when he is grown. I'm sure he will get a kick out of it too. Mark also gave me a card that morning that was pretty sweet. We had planned on going to breakfast at Denny's that morning, but the Denny's we found was packed full of people that looked like they possibly ran across the border. There wasn't even space to wait for a table. So, we opted for the next best thing....McDonald's take out. It was actually my first suggestion for breakfast, so I didn't mind at all. We were lazy and hung out all day until Mark needed to head to the ship. We took him to the ship and then had dinner with Elvis and his family. After that we headed home. We didn't get in until after midnight, but we made it safely!
All in all it was a good weekend, but it didn't last long enough. We always seem to be longing for more time with Mark. He won't be back until June, and then he'll be home for a little over a month before its sayonara for deployment. Oh, the life of a Navy wife. Anyhow, I thought I would share Taylor's book with you all. I really enjoyed it and I think that you guys will get in some good laughs as well. So, here goes: His answers are in bold and my feedback is in italics.

This is the front cover of the book!This is all about ME:
Her Name is Stacie
She lives at Viking Street
She is 26 years old.
Her Birthday is September 25. (he says he forgot when my birthday was, so he just picked a day instead. Gotta love it.)
Here are five words that tell about her
1. Crazy (I can see that) 2. Shopping Freak (I am not!) 3. Oprah fan (It looks like it says Oprah fart, but he insists that it says fan!) 4. Fancy (that's cute) 5. Math (I HATE MATH!)
My Moms Favorite:
Color she looks best in purple. (I don't think I have anything that is purple!)
Animal she likes crab. (does anyone even like crabs? My favorite animal is a turtle!)
Ice Cream Flavor vanilla. (That's sort of right)
Sport she likes to play baseball. (I think I'd be ousted from the family if it were anything different!)
Day of the week Saturday
Things to wear earrings. (I'd say flip flops)
Food to eat salad. (Really? Do I eat salad that much?)
Place to visit Las Vegas (I've only been once!)
Song she likes to sing Boom Boom, got to get that. (I don't even want to know what his teacher's response was when she read that! It's the song by the Black Eye Peas..Boom, Boom, Pow.)
Love
There are many ways my mom makes me feel loved. Here are some ways....
She calls me bling bling boy. (I don't think I have EVER called him that!) She buys me video games. (I thought it said she bugs me!)She helps me cook. (He loves cooking in the kitchen!)Things to remember
The nicest thing I ever did for my mom was....Gave her breakfast in bed. I cook for her. (He's so sweet!)
The nicest thing my mom ever did for me... Let me play video games. (something tells me, I've done more than just let him play video games! What am I....evil?!)


Three Wishes
If I could give my mom three wishes, I would wish her:
1. I hope you get colored gold. (apparently I want to be gold and didn't know it!)
2. I hope you get one million gold bricks. (That would be something!)
3. I hope you give me a smarter brother. (WHAT?? Austyn isn't smart enough? This one cracked me up beyond belief!)
And last but not least, a Picture of my Mom. The jet flying over my head is carrying a sign that says I "heart" MEN! I am shown wearing a blue Yankees hat with my hair sticking straight out, and my shirt matches the sign!! I asked him why on Earth he would put that on a sign and a shirt and he said because he couldn't remember what any of my shirts said. For the record...I don't own ANY shirts that say I "heart" anything! I have a bag that says I "heart" recycling!! LOL. Anyway, this was by far the best gift ever! It was hilarious, and I cried from laughing so hard. I'm going to keep this and show it to him when he is grown!