3 Ring Circus: First Day of School

The summer seems to have flown by. This is the first week of school for many, including myself.

I'm making my last and final attempt to get my college degree. I first started going to college fresh out of high school. I got married and moved to San Diego, CA where I went to college there. Then we were transferred to Corpus Christi, TX and although I didn't go to school there, I thought about going, but instead we started our family. Getting out of the military and moving back to St. Louis, MO I attempted to go back to the community college....and...then I got pregnant. After Wyatt was a little bit older I went back to school, completed a few classes...and..then I found out that I was pregnant, again. (I'm starting to see a pattern here..) Quintin is almost 2 years old and I'm ready to try this again and I'm determined to get my degree.

I'm definitely taking college way more serious than before. Maybe its my age or just a point in my life that I'm at, but I want to learn. Ten years ago I didn't want anything to do with learning or going to school. I was way more interested in partying, drinking and hanging out with my friends. Five years ago I could be found making fun of my dad and Eric because they watch The History Channel, Military Channel and TLC non-stop. When not watching educational programs on TV, I can always count on my dad listening to talk radio. I've rolled my eyes countless times because I didn't get to listen to music while riding in the car with my dad.

You can now catch me watching the History Channel, Military Channel AND TLC (especially when Cake Boss is on) I also have found a new fascination or shall I say obsession for Talk Radio. I'm here to tell you, I can't get enough. I tried listening to my Talk Radio while at work. My "career center" doesn't have a door so I had to turn the volume down. I found myself with my ear next to the speaker and not getting any work done..

This year Patrick is starting First Grade and Wyatt is starting Pre-school. I was afraid that since Wyatt has never been outside the care of my mom or any other family member this would be huge transition for him. I have been preparing myself for a morning filled with anxiety, crying and the feeling of abandonment. He's 3 and probably doesn't understand or comprehend that Nana would be there to pick him up later. Patrick & I have cried many of times during drop off at school.

I think the best part of going back to school was of course the shopping for school supplies. Better yet... it was organizing your supplies. I would lay everything out and organize into different piles and categories. I loved getting everything back out to reorganize. I would follow up the night before the school by doing a checklist to make sure all my supplies were still accounted for. Can you say OCD??? Also, the night before school I would layout what I was going to wear including the shoes. It almost looked as if there was a person lying on the floor next to my bed. I hadn't admitted my obsessiveness to my husband, but when we brought home Patrick's school supplies he reiterated the above....a man after my own heart. Eric even admitted that one year when he laid out his school clothes he awoke in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and scared himself half to death because he thought there was an actual person laying on his floor.

I should know by now; that with Wyatt I always get the opposite of what I expect. He had an awesome day!! When he went skipping into the room the teachers both said "Looks like we have a live one here!" (They have no idea) They asked him what his name was and he said to them "My name is Skinny Joe Wyatt!!". That would be the nickname that my dad has given him. Patrick had a great day as well. He doesn't like that he gets up at 5:30 am, but we'll have to work on it. I love that he wears a uniform. No more fighting about what to wear!! I on the other hand had an awesome two nights of classes...I wasn't nervous at first, but the closer I got to campus the more butterflies I had in my stomach. I made it throught both classes entirely without throwing up - YAY!! I also left not feeling overwhelmed.

Here's a few snap shots before I ran out of my parents house: