neither here nor there.

{the continuation, finally, as promised.}

once again, i've become that really crummy blogger who a) doesn't post much any more & b) doesn't respond to comments.  i want to apologize to each & every one of you.  life has sort of taken over.  who knew that i would be as busy, if not busier, than i was when i was working?!

grad school started on august 30th.  i'm taking three classes this semester - that's a full-time graduate school load.  my classes are in the afternoon, three days a week, at two different campuses.  so far the work load has been okay - lots of reading & article reviews.  the semester will get hectic, i know, especially once i start doing my observation for the semester.  i'm happy to say that i've been placed at a local elementary school to do my 30 hours of observation.  the fun part has been trying to contact & coordinate this with the teacher.  also, lis {she and i attend the same university!} & i joined delta sigma lambda which is a group for returning women students who are over the age of 25.  it's not affiliated with the greek network on campus, but still.  our induction is next weekend.

bonus:  i'm not the only returning student & i'm not the only "older person" in any of my classes so i'm happy.

the kiddos went back to school on september 7th.  as if graduate school wasn't enough, juggling the demands of a 2nd grader & a 4th grader has been fun {and it will only get better from here on out}.  and, even though my days are free, i still find that i need to manage my time well, very well, because i am the school bus.  {m & a go to a school that is out of our neighborhood's zone; therefore, the city does not provide transportation to & from school.} 

on a semi-exciting note, this is the first year in a very, very, very long time that we have not relied on child care.  i'm sure come tax time we'll miss not having a full year of child care payments to claim on our taxes, but it's not like you really got much back in return.  at any rate, it is nice to have the children home right after school.  and, considering our oldest has been in some form of child care {whether full-time or part-time or after school only} for nearly eight years - and she's only nine years old - well, this is huge.

i've been listing things on eBay like a mad woman.  i actually made a decent profit last month & put all of that money towards paying off a credit card.  my goal now is to get most of the kids' leftover clothing listed & i have a couple halloween costumes that i need to get rid of, too.

one day i'll work on revamping my etsy shop.  it needs to be overhauled & resurrected.  i'm not sure which direction i want to go with it or if i even want to keep up with it at all.  decisions, decisions. 

did i mention that i had a birthday this month?  september 18th came and went, but thirty-three is here to stay until next year.  i don't feel any different.  and, surprise, surprise, i'm okay with the fact that i'm almost seven years away from turning forty. {i'll post pictures of my birthday night soon...promise.}

lastly, i've made the decision to find a part-time job.  part of me regrets quitting the one that i had, but the logistics of keeping that particular job just didn't make sense.  i need something stress-free & easy on my already demanding schedule.  good thing there are so many retail places near my house to choose from! 

what's new with y'all?