Amazing

being a mom and student is AMAZING!!!!  There is no other way to explain it.

Often times it is difficult and there are times I think to myself what the heck am I doing.  Other times I wonder shy I didn't do it sooner and get it done and over with.  But at the end of the day I love that I chose to wait until my children were older.

It is never to late to get your education and I love that I am able to share this experience with my family and show my kids that it doesn't matter what time of your life you are in you are never too old to start your education.

After all the only thing we are going to be able to take with us when we leave this world is our education.

Stresses

sometimes being a student can get the better of you and make you completely stress out. 

there are days you don't want to do anything and you just want to be and not have to worry about anything, especially your homework.
Today has been one of those days.  After a weekend of family being in town to celebrate a huge milestone in my oldest child's life I have not really been feeling my homework today.

However, my husband has been amazing about taking care of the boys (daughter got to go home with grandma and grandpa for a week long visit before school starts) and making sure that they are fed, and not killing each other and just letting me be.  This means mama got to sleep until 10:30 this morning, nap through two movies and just hang out updating facebook groups, pages, and blogs.

It's been great to recover from the weekend of having tons of family but it has been killer on my school needs and what I need to do for my homework.
thankfully I finished up my part of a team project last week and I do not have anything due this week outside of discussion questions. 

I have learned one thing the last several weeks and that is that the Arizona Government and Constitution is just as confusing as all the others because of the way it is worded and I have been able to get through all of this class without buying and of the text books they recommend so I guess its not too hard.
The next few weeks may be a little difficult since the questions are about the Arizona constitution and they would be easier to answer if I had the Arizona Constitution book that is recommended for this course.  I am positive that I can find all of the answers through the schools library as well as the Internet.

Outside of a few hick-up I have been able to get 100% on all assignments thus far making it so I have a little cushion just in case I bomb a report on the Arizona stuff.  The federal stuff was not quite as hard as i thought it might be so that is always a plus, especially since I am not a Poly Sci lover and would rather stay away from that kind of thing.

Looking forward to the next class as it is all about being a teacher how to teacher a specific kind of student.  Only 3 more weeks of this current class and I will be on my way to working out how to teacher and exceptional learner!!!!

A two week break was perfect and just what I needed.  Now it's time to get back in the saddle and hit the books again.  This week starts the beginning of a new class about Arizona and US Government.  A class I really do not want to take as I do not live in Arizona so the class really is not going to do me any good.  However it is on my list of required classes so take it I will.

Among all the chaos of having a two week break and going to Girls Camp I have also been in the midst of a move.  Now that everything is moved I have been busting my hind end for the last 3 days to get that house clean so that they can finally interview someone and get them moved into the house.

Cleaning your house and doing you homework normally with 3 kids running around (one of them is at Grandma's helping in the hay field) is not an easy task and I am having to clean as well as try to entertain 3 kids under the age of 6 in a house with no toys for hours while I am getting our old house clean enough for someone to come right in to and not have to worry about cleaning it before they do.  I've got it pretty dang clean in the time that I have been able to be over there with three kids underfoot and one of them that still is a must nap child taking about 5 hours of the day that I am at our new house to feed kids and put them down for naps.

this morning I get a phone call from my husband saying that his boss thinks I need to do more cleaning before they can pain.  Now they want me to wash all the walls that I have already scrubbed the crap out of.  You would not believe the messes that you find from having three boys after you move all of your stuff out of a place and you can see naked walls.  So they want me to re-wash all the walls before they will paint and try to get out pink stains that are next to impossible to get out.  (side note - never EVER give your kids strawberry crystal lite unless you are camping and it can spill in the dirt.  no matter what you do it will end up on the carpet and in places you didn't think juice could get and it likes to stick it's tongue out at you when you try to get it out.)

So in addition to all of this chaos I am struggling to keep up with my new class and the DQ's as well as the other homework because I have been spending all my time cleaning a house that I no longer live in trying to get it clean enough for them to paint it and so I can get to work on the yard.  Hubs and kids better pick up the slack tonight because mama is on the verge of a mental and physical break down.

Okay end of vent now it's off to wash walls that have already been washed, cleans stains that won't come up, clean out vents that are clean and get the rest of our stuff out of the yard all with out biting someones head off.

working hard

As a mom my job is never ending and I am on the clock 24-7.  It is also one of the most rewarding jobs in the world.  Thus why I want to be a teacher.  It is also a very rewarding job.

Parents out there I want you to know that even if you work full time in and out of the home if you work hard and make the time (all you need is a dedicated 1 hour a day) to get your work done and DO NOT leave assignments to the last minute, get them in in the middle of the week rather than the last day they will be accepted you will do very well.

I just finished one of my educational classes called Cultural Diversity in the Classroom and received an email from my teacher stating:

I am pleased to inform you that you have successfully completed EDU 230. Indeed, you were a “Shining Star” in our class! Your final grade is A.

Your journal was both reflective and summative. One of the highlights of Week 7 was the thought and care that you put into an outstanding job on the final assignment.

I wish you the best of success and enjoyment in your teaching and hope to have another opportunity to work with you again in another course here at Grand Canyon University.

When you work hard and you are able to receive emails like this from instructors whom have never met you other than a bio you post in an online forum, they never see you and you've never had a telephone conversation with them, it totally makes the hard work and effort that you put into your classes totally worth while.

I very strongly believe that we get out of something what we put into it and if we do not put in very much we are not going to get very much out.

Being a stay at home mom people think that I have all the time in the world to work on school work.  The fact is, I have 4 kids ranging from age 8 to two and I go to school year round I do not take the summer off so that I have more time with my kids.  I do have a great time management schedule though that works for me and my family.

I check forums 1-2 times a day which takes about 15-20 minutes depending on if you have to respond to what people have said to you or if you are just reading what they said or if you have to write your post for the week as well as the responses that you have to post.  then I work on a few things that I need for an assignment.

If you know the material it can take 10 minutes tops to write a 200 word journal entry and get it turned it.  then you have time to get the bigger assignment done the next few days.  I find it easiest to work on it for a few hours (usually I do this while my kids are napping so I have more time as they nap for a good 2 hours in the afternoon) then when they get up I get myself to a stopping point and leave it for either after they go to bed or the next day depending on my husbands work schedule (I need time with him too)

In between all of that is when I do the laundry, take kids to play dates, clean my house, do the dishes, play with my kids, make phone calls, run kids to birthday parties, grocery shop, pay bills, and everything else that goes along with running a house.

So I hope you all do not give up on your endeavors and that you strive to be the best that you can be and reach those insanely hard to reach goals because you can reach them.  With a little time management, hard work, and support from family and school staff you got this and you can get to the end of the road with no problem and be proud of your accomplishments as well as wearing those honor ropes when you walk at your graduation.

Best wishes,

moms & student

Breaks

School is an amazing thing.  You get to learn new things, you get to earn a degree, you get to better yourself and find something for you to do.

It has it's ups, it's downs, it's bonus', and it's pitfalls however you have to keep plugging away and sometimes even though you are doing really well and amazing you have to take a break now and then.

I am currently on a 2 week break from school hoping to be able to get moved during part of that time and going to girls camp for church with the young women to refill my spiritual gas tank.

There has been so much going on to get ready for camp and our big move that will take us to a new house that is a whopping 100-200 ft away from where we currently are.  But it will be a great move as there is more space and I have a lot of fun ideas that are going to be taking place.

A slow steady consistent, get things set up as I go move is totally out of the question at this point.  Especially since they want a start date for the new guy as of August 1st putting a stress and pressure on me that I feel is un-necessary and un-fair.

Anyway even with all of that stress looming.  I have still managed to get President's list again as well as keep my grades up to where I expect them to be.

so here is to a fun filled two weeks of getting moved and camp and a family reunion.

Teacher Comments

Being as commited to school and good grades as I am it at times is extremely hard to focus on what you are working for at the end of an extremely long the road. 
There are times you may want to jump through the computer and strangle someone, or scream and yell at them.  You're stress and anxiaty levels go through the roof because you are being forced to rely on others to get a project done.
There are times that you want to call your teacher and say, "Hey, look.  I am doing my best here to get an amazing grade, turn in quality work, and learn the materials the best I can but I'm just drained or other do not want to do their part." but you still have to keep moving forward.

At the end of the day you may get the grade you wanted  and just a quick little note from your teacher saying, "I really enjoyed blah blah blah!"  and then other times you will get comments like this from your teacher:

I fully understand the rocky start you faced with the team project, but it really came together in the end. This entire presentation examining the history of multicultural education is complete, original, insightful, focused and compelling. In fact, your team presentation is one of the most comprehensive I have seen in a long time! Each section was carefully thought out, well designed and examined in appropriate depth. You personally were a valuable team leader and a strong contributor to the project. Thanks for your extra efforts.

You are truly to be commended for your excellence on this project. Really fabulous work!

These comments are what keep you going at the end of the day and make you want to continue to strive to work hard!

When we keep working hard and chipping away at the raw material eventually we are going to hold something beautiful and precious when we chip that final peice away to reveal what we have been working so hard for all this time. 

Essay's

Online college is based hugely on writing so if you are not a strong writer then maybe you should think of an alternative route for your education or continue on because it can only help your writing skills get better and 99% of American Jobs require that you have strong written and verbal communication skills.

I have found that if you struggle to create your essays in a way that you think the teacher is looking for to have someone review what you have written along with what the assignment is and go from there.

Another good way to know that you are on track is to view the rubric (if there is one) make sure that you have everything in your essay that the teacher is going to be looking for.  After all they grade your essay off of the rubric.  If you are not sure that the essay you have completed is going in the direction that it needs to be.  Give yourself some time, come back, re-read the assignment and start again.  If you find yourself going in the same direction again no matter how hard you try to go a different direction you are more than likely right on with what you are supposed to be doing.  Although if you are confused it never hurts to talk to your instructor and find out exactly what they will be looking for.

College in general can be difficult and confusing, it is up to you to get the information that you need to be successful.  The harder you work the better your grades will be, the better your grades are the better you rank in your class, the better/higher you rank in your class the better your chances of getting the job that you want.

My personal belief is that if your grades are good and you graduate with honors just shows any employer that you apply with that you are dedicated and you are going to do what it takes to get the job done and you are going to do it correctly the 1st time around.

Keep pushing for your dreams and goals you never know how hard or easy it will be but I can guarantee that it will all totally be worth it in the end.

Group Projects

There is nothing more irritating and frustrating challenging, than trying to get a group of people you have never met and probably will never meet to work together on one assignment.

Some people do not care what the outcome is they just want and grade and are a warm body behind a computer hoping that everyone else will to the work for them so that they do not have to.  Then there are those that will do a little bit of work so that they get their name on the project and hope that they get the same grade as everyone else.  And finally there are the one like myself that like to toot their own horns now and then and tell people how awesome they are because they focus that work their little tails off so that they can get the A that they know they can get and deserve out of the class.  I will not sit back and let someone else take the credit for something that I do. 
I am willing to put out the time and the effort that it takes to email your lazy butt and push you to get off the couch and doing something in this class, especially on the group assignment you until you are tired of me so that you have a chance to help.  I feel that the more informed you are about the project and the more times I give you a chance to help with the project you can't later tell the teacher that we didn't communicate with you what was going on.  I am that pushy helpful person in your class that wants to not only get the grade but help you succeed at the same time.  If that annoys you then maybe you shouldn't be a teacher.

Well, now that I feel a little better.  Yes I am struggling to get my group to work out this assignment that is due next week so that we can get it done early and handed in before I go on vacation the end of next week.  There is nothing more irritating than someone not doing their part to help but still wanting the grade that everyone else gets.
Sorry but this mom/classmate is not going to let you just ride the coat tails.  I guess that's part of why I like to take charge that way I know what's going on, I know that everyone is well informed, and I know that the assignment is being done to my standard of quality and not just slapped together at the last minute.  I will do your part and not put your name on the assignment if that is whats needed.  I have at the last minute written up a 500 word essay that was supposed to come from the whole team and only put two names of the five that should have been on it.  I will be honest in my report to the teacher and let them know exactly why there are names left off.

I guess you could say that I have turned into the student that annoyed me in high school.  The one that was always doing homework and working really really hard to get straight A's and was always talking about how they needed to do this or that for school and seemed to never have any fun.  So yup that's me the annoying nerd in the front of the class that always knows the answer even though they didn't read the book, and always has their homework done at least 3 days before it's due.  I am the one that everyone will be mad at if they ever start grading on a curve because I will throw it so out of whack that you will want to kill me for getting 100% on every assignment.

Being a mom and already having my own personal blog that I struggle to keep up with (mostly because I forget about it) who was I kidding thinking that I would be able to keep up with one about being a mom and student as well.

Well, maybe it was mostly because I have a friend that her blog is always amazing, whittey, funny and just so stinking darn cute and even though people tell me I'm great at all that I'll still think that I am far from cute and cleaver when it comes to my writing.

Writing........now there is a subject!  Ha!  Over the last few months I have had quite a few classes are are very writing intense, with 2 sometimes 3 essays due a week.  It totally can be a huge struggle to get all that and family things done at the same time.

However great the struggles, the set backs and the frustrations, schooling continues to be great, learning a million new things that are going to be very useful in the classroom is wonderful.  Even with the frustrations of people not wanting to do their work or thinking that they can ride on your coat tails and get the same grade it is totally worth all the hard work to get those A's that are not easy to find even in the easy classes.

Good news is always great to find even when you are not expecting it and especially when you are not looking for it.  As of the start of a new class on May 21st I learned, while conversing with one counselors that I am indeed a junior and that my time at GCU is slowly starting to dwindle and die out, that before I know it all this hard work and dedication will have paid off and I will indeed have a Bachelor's degree in Elementary and Special Education and starting on my Masters degree, which I am super excited about.

Deciding on a master is a totally different monster all itself and a big inner struggle that I am going to have to fight.

Well, I am going to try and do better about my blog postings however it may be a big struggle with all of the up coming craziness that is going to be my summer.  At least all of it is super fun stuff like camping and family reunions.

Until then!

sickies

Being a mom and getting sick is pretty bad but when you are student on top of that, OH MY GOSH!!!!

This past week I have been so grateful that I am an overachieving student and got all of my course work done and turned in last week so that I did not have to worry about it this week.  I knew that it was going to be a long hard week without school work as we were out of town over the weekend and i would need to catch up from being gone and we are leaving again today for a wedding.  All of the get it done and get it packed can be stressful enough in four days that I did not want to have to worry about school work on top of it.
It was a blessing in disguise that I did get it all done though.  On the way home from my in-laws I developed a pretty nasty cold with a horrible cough that doesn't seem to want to go away.  I seriously thought for a few days there that I was going to die or cough up a lung.  Either way it was not a fun place to be in.  It was enough to keep myself awake to take care of the two kids that are still at home let alone do school work.

Side note:  I can't wait until the new classroom system is online for undergrad students so that I do not have the problems I'm been having with posting my assignments.  I'll post them and I will see that they are there on my end but on the teachers end it shows that I turned in the assignment but that I did not submit any work.  This wouldn't be so bad if my teacher wasn't 2 weeks behind on her grading and feedback but since she is I do not know that it did not submit right until she tells me almost 2 weeks after the assignment was due.  This may cost me my A in that class and I may get my 1st B which will really not only make me made but ruin my perfect A's

Frustration and Hunger

There are times during classes that I find it really difficult to not get upset or offended by other students and what they say in the comments to what I have posted to the teachers question.  Some days I would totally E-Stab some of these people if that were a real thing, legal, and in my nature.  However, there is no such thing, it would be legal if it were a real thing and it is totally outside of my nature.

Flip side, I am learning things about myself and how to be a great teacher.  I'm also learning that I am really going to learn being a teacher.  I already knew that I want to be a teacher but this is just making it harder to wait until I get my BA and get hired as a teacher.  I am sure that next year when I do my observation and the farther and farther I get into my core classes, the harder it is going to be to wait until I have my own classroom.  Not to mention how hungry, student teaching is going to make me.

Math

Well, now that, that class is out of the way we can start on some of the fun core classes.  I am so grateful to have all of my general classes out of the way and now I can focus on the ones that matter, the ones that I will need to be a successful teacher.

I would have to say thought that taking a math class on line is one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life.  It was so stressful and I thought that it was never going to end and that I was totally going to bomb the entire thing.  As it turns out I did great and I ended up with an A in the class.  I think I just barely hit a % that will give me a 4.0 for the class but I am not 100% on that as I have not looked at the GPA for that class yet.

It has also, come to my attention that I post way more things on facebook that should be in this blog rather than posting them to the blog.  I really need to be better about that.  After all this is out there for those that are taking on line classes to be encouraged and see that they are not the only one out there that is struggling with returning to school.  It is not an easy task to return to school after many years of not attending any kind of school and it is even harder to do so when you have children at home or are working or both.

There is an advantage to taking an online math class though.  You can use your notes.  A traditional class you would not be able to use your notes for the exam/test or as my teacher would rather quiz.  In my book Test and Exam are bad 4 letter words that should never be used.  They cause people to freak out and worry about things they need not worry about as well as cause you to freeze up and forget the things that you do know.  So praise the Lord in Heaven that notes are allowed in online schooling.

However, it is extremely possible that if you want it bad enough you too can achieve greatness in your schooling whether it be on line or in a classroom no matter what the subject matter is.

Quizes

Been quite the day here.  About 6" of snow in 12 hrs, had a great time taking a break from my studies to play in the new snow and build a snowman with my children.  We ran out of carrots so rather than a carrot nose, cole/rock eyes and mouth we used snowballs to shape up the eyes, nose and mouth.  Then used food coloring to make his eyes and mouth shine through.
After my relaxing morning the the beautiful snow with my adorable children it was back to hitting the books while the kids drank hot cocoa and watched movies. 
Math is a difficut course to take period but it is much more difficult on line.  You do not have the one on one with your teacher in a classroom and if you can not reach your teacher via telephone you have to wait for a reply either via email or instructor post forum in the classroom.  Even though it is rough going and not that easy I so far have been successful enought to keep up my A in the class.  I may only be betting and A- but hey it's still and A right and it only take a point percentage off of my grade.  Thank goodness this week is almost over and I got a 90% on my quiz.  Only 2 more weeks and we are on to two more classes as I will be starting to double up my classes so that I can get done faster.  The goal as of right now is to get my Masters before my youngest child turn 6.  So I have about 4 1/2 years to get that MA.  It usually takes about 5 1/2 to 6 years to get your MA through the GCU.
Luckly I had a few classes that transfered from the community college I attended about 9 years ago so I am getting to my core classes a lot faster.  No to get the TED test over with so I can start practicum classes.

Achievments

As I has just ended my first year as a college student.  Well, I've been attending for 1 year as far as credits go but as far as dates go I still have a few more weeks before we get to that 1 year mark.

Anyway, I am nearing the end of my 7th course I went down to check the mail the other day and had a letter from my school.  I was a bit confused as it was not their normal envelope, I could tell that it was not from the financial aid office and I knew that it was not a stipend check.  So with wonder on my mind I quickly ripped open the envelope as soon as I got home to find what was awaiting me in that nice little white folded paper that we all use to mail off our bills and letters.

Upon unfolding the neatly folded paper I began to read.  "We would like to ............."  and then I zoned out until I hit "Congratulations on making President's List."  I was so super excited I called my dad, my in-laws, texted a bunch of people and plastered it all over my facebook page. 

I view it as a great way to show those around me that it is possible to chase after your educational dreams and achieve a degree no matter how old you are or how many kids you have running around or how many things you think are standing in your way to get to where you want to be.  For me I wanted to wait until my youngest child was in Kindergarten so that I could have more time to take more than one class at a time and get done a lot faster.  However, I'm super glad that I made the choice a year ago to further my education now rather than waiting so that we can make greater strides in our lives and concentrate more on the things that our children will need us for in the future.
Oh, my, gosh, that totally did not come out how it should have.  I just made myself sound like one of those mom's that don't care.  I love my children and they come before anything else, including school work.  Going back to school now and on line gives me the time that I need to spend with the two children that I do have at home still while gaining the knowledge that I will need to continue to teach my children the things they are working on at school and being able to spend the same amount of time with them while teaching.

So, here is to making President's list again and the continues success of not only myself but other mom's that are working hard to gain a higher education and better their future and their families.

too long

It has been entirely too long since I have updated this blog and a lot has happened since the last time.  Since my last update quite a few things have happened that I have had to hurdle.  Life has been in the fast lane most of the winter.  I guess you could say that if life were a circus and I am a juggling clown then I have had a lot of balls up in the air.
After a few challenging classes (not because they were difficult classes, more so because they were tedious generals) I am currently in what I think is going to be the most difficult class to focus on during my whole education process.  Since I'm not really a math person and I have always struggled with math this class is testing me in a million different ways.  Even though I struggle with math and it is difficult to keep up with the demands of being a wife and stay at home mom with 60 intense math question a week I have somehow manage to keep up with all of the demands.
We are fastly approaching the end of the 5th week of this 7 week class and I am dreading week 6 as my instructor continues to remind the class that week 6 is the most intense and crazy week of the whole course.  I can only image what week 6 has to offer since the last 5 weeks have been pretty intense.

Oh how I can not wait for this class to end.  Thank goodness the light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger and brighter.