I think I've figured it out. . .

I am finally feeling like I'm "caught up" and, amazingly enough, I've almost finished my task list for the week. (It flowed onto a third page, so that's a real accomplishment!) Of course, I haven't had posting to my blog on my list, so you can tell it isn't even a complete list.

My Stats prof gave us a guideline yesterday that our homework shouldn't take more than 6 hours/week. I'm not sure if that includes the reading time or not, but using that guideline, I'm looking at 28 hours of class-related time (9 hours of academic courses + 18 hours of homework + 1 hour of seminar) each week, + 20 hours per week for my TA responsibilities, + essentially 10 hours per week of driving, and somewhere in there I ought to fit in a few hours of reading and working on long-term projects (say 5 hours/week?). I'm on campus from 8-3:30 most days. I stay late (until almost 9:30-long day!) on Wednesdays and leave early (2:15 or so) on Fridays. It looks like that means I'll need to set aside another 10-15 hours per week to work at home. That would be challenging (impossible?) to do without James's support. I'm so fortunate to have him standing beside me (except when he's out running kids around, working to support our family because we sure couldn't make it on what I make as a grad student!, picking beans and tending the garden, cooking dinner, or any of the other gazillion things he's doing to keep us all fed, clothed, housed & happily involved in life!). With James's support, and the realization of what needs to be scheduled, I think I may actually be able to make it without going into "survival mode".

Of course, James may just be throwing those boxes of papers away come November. I made a promise that I'd go through all my old classroom & memorabilia files by November or he could just take them out to the recycling/trash. I'm not sure how I let all my free time get away from me earlier this year, but it's going to be a trick to squeeze that project in on top of the schedule I described above. Oh well. This is part of that "simplifying life" game we play. (Is that possible when I just added grad school, or even more essential???)

James and Samuel picked and snapped and put in the freezer two more gallon-sized bags of beans from our harvest last night. I didn't get a picture of the sink before they started, but when I got home one sink was full to the top with beans, and James wasn't finished picking at that point! We also enjoyed beans in our steamed vegetables for dinner. James picked up several types of squash and fresh corn at the produce stand on his way home, then picked beans and tomatoes fresh from our garden. Simple food, but so very good!!!

Well, it's almost 7, and I've got to get out the door to school. Have a great day!

Busy week-school's back in session

From a week that started a bit sleep-deprived after spending last weekend with house guests-two five-year-olds and a toddler!- through four days of class and into this weekend when I need to read at least two books and part of two more, I guess I'd have to say we're into the school year. Not to mention Back-to-school night on Thursday. . .

It's quite a change having to read at a pace with others. Sure, I read at least 17 books in August (those are the ones I remembered to add to my reading list/bibliography), but they were on a variety of subjects, and most were written with a popular audience in mind. Books written for an academic audience tend to be more densely packed with detail, and I've been feeling like I'm learning another language. Sure, I recognize almost all of the words in any given sentence, but deriving meaning from the combination can be a challenge. And when I do, information overload takes over very quickly.

What am I supposed to do when just the introduction to the book gives me more ideas and questions than I have room to discuss or raise in the entire "journal post" I am supposed to send to the class? Check in at my sociology blog if you want details.

Other than a brief issue with the professor I'm working with, which was resolved the same day it came up, the week has gone very well. I'm really enjoying the mental challenge, the new ideas, and generally just plain being in the academic community. The driving is not as stressful as I thought it might be. Part of that is choosing to go in before rush hour, and making it home before rush hour builds up too much most days. Of course, there was Wednesday. If I had the sun rising in my mirror on my way in, and setting in my mirror on the way home-after having my late class canceled for the week, and it's only the first week of September. . .what is November going to be like??? (Dark to dark and then some! Silly question, Mary.)

Going in early also means I have my office to myself most of the time, because after all, college students aren't morning people. (And neither are most graduate professors judging by the quiet hallways!) I'm still working on the time management components, and figuring out how to prioritize and process all the new ideas and responsibilities.

I appreciate James's support so much! The kids have been great, and help out where they think of it, but James is the one catching the brunt of the adjustments. He's doing virtually all of the shuttling of kids and household management. And to top it off, he's there to answer questions when I run into a challenge with making a chart in Excel or such. I am so blessed to have him supporting me in this!

Samuel's working on preparations for his Eagle project. The girls and I are planning on doing the GlamourShots thing next Friday-one last fling before Liza heads out to Washington the following week. James is keeping the gardens going, and the beans are really prolific this year. This morning he picked and prepped two gallon-sized bags plus a big pot for dinner! We may actually be able to grow most of a year's supply of green beans for our family.

Matching curtains!

I did it! I finally made two panels that actually match! They are the same width, and have the motifs going in the same direction, and the trim lines are the same, and. . .

Unfortunately, now that I've got the pattern figured out, I have to modify it slightly to make the last panel. The one that will share that window is only 5, not 9, motifs wide (oops! miscounted while waiting in the airport) and needs an extra-wide panel to give it enough fullness. I'll probably start that one this weekend, after I catch up with my readings and when I have time to concentrate.

This panel took less than two weeks. I started it Tuesday of orientation (8/21), did nothing more until worked on it while visiting in Christiansburg the following weekend, and finished it while sitting on the sofa making sure my niece and nephews were safe this past weekend. (I tried to read for class, but that was more stressful than productive. . . "Aunty Mary! Aunty Mary!" while trying to translated words into meaning in a new field just wasn't going to work!) Crocheting was something I could do while they talked to me, and the twins took turns "helping" me by pulling off loops of thread as they chattered.

New blog. . .

I'm starting another blog focused on musings around my studies in Sociology. You're all welcome to stop in and read there, but I figured it made sense to separate the family stories from my "professional" stuff. I'll get the FeedBlitz link there set up tomorrow (if I get quiet time) or maybe Wednesday evening (since I really do need to get my readings done for class in time to post my thoughts to the class link by Wednesday noon). For now, I think I'll take advantage of the quiet, and go to sleep myself!

Kid pics

Here are the twins-barely tolerating Mom's insistence on pictures before their first day of high school.




















And here's Tori in her newest outfit for working at the Renn Fest.








This time it's Liza's turn to dodge the pictures, but I'll get her again before she leaves.

How do I get myself into these situations???

Having once lived through five-year-old twins, one would think I'd have the sense not to repeat the experience, but no!

James and I are exhausted but enjoying having my "sister's" kids while she and her husband are enjoying a music festival in Vegas. (Sister is in quotes because we're family by choice, dating back to high school at least. I did live with them for several months in my early college years, and was acknowledged as one of the girls by both parents-with varying degrees of enthusiasm.) The twins, Noe & Gil, are five and a half, and enjoying kindergarten. Daniel is four years younger, and quite a handful! And they all like to talk! (Really makes us appreciate having teenagers!)

I suppose the shirts Mom packed for them should have given me a clue as to what we were in for: Gil's is a Hawaiian-themed "Here Comes Trouble". Daniel's reads "Monkey See-Monkey Do-Monkey get in trouble too". Noe left her matching shirt at home, but Gil really wanted her to put it on for the picture! Noe's line of the week seems to be, "He always does (pronounced dues) that sometimes." Daniel's favorite word is "Uh-oh!"

We're definitely ready for bedtime when 8 o'clock rolls around! Fortunately, they have inherited the family interest in books, and we can usually carve out a bit of calm with a stack of new books.