Random Updates

I wanted to update some of my summer plans now that I only have 2 1/2 weeks left before school starts back up.

In June, I said I wanted to complete some tasks during my time off….you can see the post here.  Well, I haven’t done a whole lot of them, but here are the results so far:

• Finish entry floor –  Completed
  
• Finish painting the entry walls  –  I’ll be completing this in the next couple of days
  
• Finish making hanging coat rack for entry  –  Hoping to get this done this weekend
  
• Finish the main area of the kitchen floor  –  Feels like a hopeless case!  Still waiting for hubby to fill in cracked and uneven areas with liquid concrete…I may give up and do it myself!
  
• Finish painting the kitchen walls  –  This is what I’ll be working on after the entry walls…hopefully in the next week
  
• Finish painting the hallway walls –  Completed
  
• Finish spray painting the outlet covers –  Completed the ones I’ve removed
  
• Write out at least one book outline  –  Put this off…still thinking about it
  
• Work on book already outlined  –  Put this off…not sure I want to continue with the book or change it up
  
• RELAX…take breaks with the boys, take mini vacations with the family –  I’ve done a whole lot of this!  And we took a mini-vacation to Ft. Walton Beach/Destin!  You can see some pictures here.

In addition to this I also said in June that I was going to try to not do a big grocery shopping and use up everything.  This did not include quick trips to the grocery store to buy produce, milk, or very good deals we stock up on.  While I still have some of that food left, there is too much I need now to keep on considering my next shopping trip a “quick trip”.  I’ll be spending significantly more so it’s a regular big grocery shopping trip.  You can find my original post here.

Other than all that there’s not much more going on.  I got my school volunteer badge renewed.  The first one was for three years and the new one is for five years.  So I won’t have to renew again until my boys are finished with the 11th and 7th grades.  That really puts things into perspective!  Their only going into the 7th and 3rd grades now!  Yikes!

What has everyone else been up to this summer?

Summer Term Grades

I got my grades for the two summer classes I just finished on Friday.

Victims and the Criminal Justice System — A

Sociology of Law — A-

Basically I got A’s, but one was a 91.32% so the professor figures that’s an A- I guess.  That’s fine with me because I was really confused for most of that class!

Summer 2010 Classes

My two 6-week summer classes officially started yesterday.  There is definitely a lot of work to be done in a short amount of time since they are essentially 16-week courses cut down to the 6-weeks.  But with a little organization, they shouldn’t be too bad!

As long as I stay on schedule!

The Victims and the Criminal Justice System class is broken up into three 2-week sections.

• Module 1 is due by May 30th and includes chapters 1-4; one multi-paragraph sourced assignment w/two replies to other students; and a quiz
• Module 2 is due by June 13th and includes chapters 7-13; one multi-paragraph sourced assignment w/two replies to other students; one discussion question w/replies; and a quiz
• Module 3 is due by June 25th and includes chapter 5 and 16-18; one multi-paragraph sourced assignment w/two replies to other students; one discussion question w/replies; and a quiz

The Sociology of Law class is broken up into three due dates.

• The first half of the work is due by June 5th and includes Modules 1-6; chapter 1, sections I, II, and III; chapter 2, sections I and II; multiple websites and law cases; 3 discussion questions; and a 2-part exam (one w/multiple choice and one w/an essay)
• A research paper is due by June 14th
• The second half of the work is due by June 25th and includes Modules 7-12; chapter 2, sections III and IV; chapter 3, sections I, II, III, IV, and V; chapter 4, sections I, II, and III; multiple law cases; 3 discussion questions; and another 2-part exam (also one w/multiple choice and one w/an essay)

Needless to say I’ll be very busy the next 6 weeks, but I’ve tried to leave time in the schedule so I won’t feel overwhelmed.  From yesterday (May 17th) through June 11th, I’ve scheduled out the work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  This leaves the weekends open for me and the family, and Tuesdays and Thursdays open for my volunteering schedule.  Starting on June 14th, I’ve schedule school work Mondays through Fridays.  The boys will be out of school by then so I’ll no longer need days off for volunteering.  At this point in time, I’ll only have 2 weeks left of classes anyway.

Here’s hoping I don’t get too bogged down once I really get into the classes and get behind in the work!

Orthodontist News

My 8-year-old son had his first consultation with the orthodontist today.  Normally it’s a little early to start going to the orthodontist, but in his case it’s right on time.

He was born with a cleft palate, which was fixed at 10 months old.  Even with that we still do not know if his teeth problems are due to the cleft palate, or if he is just unlucky enough to have these problems that need to be corrected so young.

He has several issues, some of which will not actually be fixed until phase 2 when he is a teenager.

Right now phase 1 will include:

• a spacer attached to bands around two of his top teeth that will be used to stretch his palate.  This is needed to fix the left side of his teeth, which have one type of a crossbite, where he has an underbite.  He could have this in for up to 6 months!
• a couple of weeks to a month after the spacer goes in, he’ll need to have some braces attached to the top four front teeth.  He has a few issues that this will need to correct.  The first is a gap in his front teeth.  The second is a different type of crossbite, where his teeth meet and not overlap.  The third issue is an adult tooth that we are waiting to come in that is coming in sideways will need to be turned around.

If more of his adult teeth come in during the treatment, then she said we could fit in a correction for them as well and not have to deal with it later.  He does have an area where we had a baby tooth pulled out (we had three teeth pulled in the back when he was 5 years old due to problems with them) and apparently there is an adult tooth missing where that baby tooth was that we didn’t know about until now.  She said that may not be a problem in his case and she can use that space.  He has a lot of teeth up top that are coming in on top of each other.

So now what are the next steps and how much is all this going to cost?

I didn’t want him to have to deal with the rest of 2nd grade and new braces all at the same time.  I’ve requested to have the spacer put in after he gets out of school for the summer so he has some time to get used to it and we can help him with cleaning around the appliance in his mouth.  Plus we’ll need to turn the spacer once a day for the first couple of weeks to slowly stretch out the palate and it’ll be easier to do with him at home.  We have to keep an eye on his palate and make sure it doesn’t tear where he had his surgery.  It shouldn’t be an issue because the doctor that performed the cleft palate surgery did a tremendous job with very little scar tissue, but she said to watch just in case.

He’ll be going in on May 31st for the records appointment.  That’s where they put a file together on him, take an extra x-ray, put bands around two of his teeth that the spacer will fit into, and make an impression of his teeth so they can have the spacer made.

Oh and they’ll need a $400 deposit that day to get everything started.

Depending on the insurance we have at the time, we should get it back.  The cost of phase 1 is $1500.  Our current insurance will pay for everything.  Assuming we have this insurance at the time.  We’ll have to see what happens in May!  Regardless, I’m not worried about the cost right now.  The important thing is that my son gets this taken care of before it’s more difficult to fix later.

At least they have a payment plan/financing if our insurance falls through in any way!

The spacer should be ready to put in around June 14th.  Everything else is a wait and see from there!  It’s really going to depend on how well his palate stretches and how quickly the remaining adult teeth come in.

Is anyone else dealing with braces with their children?

Changing Graduation!

I think I’ve finally made a decision to stretch out my graduation from December 2010 to April 2011.  There are plenty of pros and cons, but in the end it felt better to stretch it out!

Now instead of pushing myself to take three classes over the summer, I’ll only be taking the two 6-week courses: Victims and the Criminal Justice System, and Sociology of Law.  I did some research and Sociology of Law seems to be an intense course already without squeezing it into 6 weeks.  The 12-week course I was going to take, Abnormal Psychology, is now being moved to the Spring 2011 term.

This will actually give me a summer vacation this year!

Before I would have had two weeks at the most to relax before the Fall 2010 classes start.  With this change, I’ll have all of July and plus some of August!  This in itself makes it worthwhile to me!

Since I moved the other class to the Spring 2011 term, I’ll have to add another class to keep my financial aid, grants, and scholarships.  I’m going to add the class I originally wanted to take, Delinquency Control, which has since been renamed to Juvenile Justice System.  The Fall 2010 term will remain the same with The Corrections and Penology, and Crime and Place courses.

Overall I’m happy with this change.  Yes, it’s going to take me longer to graduate, but it’s going to be much more relaxed and less stressful during a time when I’ll be adjusting to having two boys in two different schools for the first time, plus it allows me to have more time to myself instead of being bogged down with school work.

I’ll be enrolling on March 24th at 2:00 PM for all of these classes, then I should be able to check my degree audits to ensure I’ve covered all the courses I need to graduate in April 2011.

I don’t know which I’m more excited about — graduating or having some free time between college terms!

Picking Classes Sucks Sometimes!

Well it’s about that time again to select classes for the next few terms.

And this is going to be my last year!

It wasn’t easy, but it seems I should be able to graduate at the end of December 2010!

My original plan was to take one class during the Summer 2010 term (preferably the Summer C term, which is 12 weeks long), and then take four classes during the Fall 2010 term.  There was no reason to think I would not be able to do this because I specifically left these classes for last because they seemed to be constantly available during the other terms I was enrolled.

Unfortunately that plan did not pan out as expected!

Unless the schedule changes prior to my enrollment date (I should find out when that will be tomorrow), I’ll have to take:

• three classes during the Summer 2010 term — two classes during Summer A, which is 6 weeks, and one class during Summer C, which is 12 weeks.
• two classes during the Fall 2010 term

I also had to change a class I wanted to take called Delinquency Control because the only time it is available is during the Spring 2011 term.  I’m still crossing fingers that the schedule changes and this class becomes available when I need it.

It just really sucks that I have to take three classes over the summer…I was looking forward to having a relaxing summer with only one class this time!  Oh well!  I get to graduate soon! And that’s what is really important!

These are the last classes I’ll be enrolling in:

1. Victims and the Criminal Justice System — to be taken during the Summer A 2010 term from May 17, 2010 to June 25, 2010 — this class is required for my Victim Advocacy certificate and also gives me credits towards my Criminal Justice major.
2. Sociology of Law — to be taken during the Summer A 2010 term from May 17, 2010 to June 25, 2010 — this class is required for my Behavioral Forensics certificate and also gives me credits towards my Sociology minor.
3. Abnormal Psychology — to be taken during the Summer C 2010 term from May 17, 2010 to August 6, 2010 — this class is required for both my Behavioral Forensics certificate and Criminal Profiling certificate.
4. The Corrections and Penology — to be taken during the Fall 2010 term from August 23, 2010 to December 6, 2010 — this class is required for my Criminal Justice certificate.
5. Crime and Place — to be taken during the Fall 2010 term from August 23, 2010 to December 6, 2010 — this class was switched from the Delinquency Control class due to class availability and is counted as an elective towards my Criminal Justice major.

I am so looking forward to finishing up my degree!  It’s been a really long time of constantly going to school (since January 2006!) and I’m totally burned out right now!