New happenings!

Hi Everyone,
I am so glad my papers are done and turned in! I have some spring cleaning to do before the knew term starts. I also need to catch up on my books for the businesses and the personal accounts. I have fallen alittle behind. I may also be getting a job. I have an interview on Friday and I hope I get it. This job is in the evenings about 16 hours a week and the pay is pretty good. It is a job at a residential center for individuals affected by developmental disabilities. I have worked in this area before and I would be happy to do it again. I really hope I get it. It would help so much. Everything is so slow right now anything would help. I am alittle sad about this writing class ending but I am excited to move on with my education. I enjoyed this class and everyone in it. I am not real sure if I will keep this blog updated or not because I am not sure what time will allow but I will try. Good night and God bless!

The end!

I have had an interesting week. Monday I had to rush to Cheyenne, Wyoming which is about 8 hours away with the kids and the husband for a family thing and a business meeting. It was short notice so I barely had time to pack or do anything else and forgot just about everything including the laptop and my homework. We had to stay there till thursday morning and attempted to leave and made it about 50 miles to Laramie when it started to blizzard. The roads were then closed all around us so we became stranded in Laramie and had to get a hotel room. It was not fun. All we wanted to do was get home. The roads finally reopened around 10:30 friday morning and everyone who had been stranded including truck drivers bolted. Traffic was awful. I live in a small town where traffic really is never an issue and the closest interstate is about 3 hours away. I have traveled before but this was a rat race. I have never seen anything like it and I was scared. We made it home late last night and I have been scrambling to get things done for Easter all day long. It is a good thing that I had started revising my projects before I left so I dont have too much left to do. My other class is the one I am worried about. I really enjoy this class so its not a struggle. Any way I hope every one has a great Easter and I am going to bed.

Sick again???

Hello everyone. I can't wait until all the sickness is gone in this family and spring is totally here. I mean snow melted, mud dried up, and flowers blooming spring. Just because March 21st is the OFFICIAL DAY of Spring doesn't mean spring is here. I had to take Jazmine to the ER Sunday because her ear was draining tons of gunk and she was clearly in pain. Her earache began late Friday night and made it difficult to sleep for her and myself. I am assuming that the pain from her ear made her sick to her stomach and made her throw up around 3am. She finally made it to sleep around 5am. On Saturday she seemed better, but later in the day her ear started draining a bit. By Sunday lots of blood and pus was pouring out so I decided not to wait to take her to her doctor on Monday so I took her to the ER Sunday. She is on medicine now but her ear is still draining alot. The other two are fine so far (knock on wood). Spring break is next week so maybe the germs will stay away for a little while. The good news is business is starting to pick up for both my husband and I. This time of year is aggravating! So slow. So if anyone needs a new roof or some relationship advice, let me know. Good bye for now I need to get these stinking taxes done! Wish me luck!

Hello again!

Hi everyone! Today I am exhausted! I haven't been feeling well and that of course is due to all the illness running wild through the house these past few weeks so I suppose it is finally my turn. This time of year is so difficult. Time change creeps up and isn't ironic that one hour can have such a negative effect on the entire day. It will take a least two weeks to get used to waking up earlier and getting a grip on the day. Anyway the kids are doing well and I am so happy for that. It is definitely time for a recovery period. Oh, hopefully spring will be here soon I am craving the sunshine and the lovely flowers and colors that come with it. Another issue with this time of year is TAX TIME!! Taxes are great after you file but getting everything ready is a huge hassle! We will hopefully get to file and get it all over with this week! Well I am still working on my project for this unit so I am going to have a long night to hopefully finish it! Talk to ya'll later!!

I am back!!!

Hello Everyone.

Well I am back from Vegas and I am so tired! The convention was great! There was a lot of great information and I learned so much about running my business, taxes, advertising, and how to gain more customers. I also had a blast! I could not believe all the things you can do in Las Vegas! It was crazy. Every night we went out as a group and did something new and the result was not getting to bed until about 3am every morning then getting up at 6am to attend classes! So no wonder I am so tired, but I had a great time. The kids were great for grandma and everything went smooth. My husband went with me and he did get alittle bored when I was in class, but when I was released we were able to do something really fun. I even had the opportunity to meet a pirate who is actually in the pirate show at treasure island and he hung out with our group for awhile. I can't wait till next years convention! The trip home was not so great. We flew to Salt Lake City without incident, but when we arrived we had a three and a half hour drive to get home. We started our trek thinking we were ahead of the storm and we were so ready to get home and see our babies. It started snowing about an hour into our journey and became really bad to where we couldn't see ten feet ahead of the truck. We were an hour from home and had to stop and stay the night where we were. Luckily we were stranded in my husbands home town and we were able to stay at his Mom's house. When we woke up there was so much snow that we had to wait nearly all day for the roads to be cleared before we could leave. It was torture! We arrived home and we were so happy to see the kids and they were so excited to see us. I will never forget those little giggles and the feel of soft little squeezes of love that we received when we walked through the door. When we were gone my kids came down with small little colds which was not big deal, we did not think so anyway. My three year old has asthma, so we were a little concerned, but she seemed fine until Saturday. She started coughing more and more and finally I took her in. They had thought she had bronchitis and sent us home with instructions for breathing treatments and all that. She did not improve. We toughed things out on Sunday and I took her in again yesterday. They tested her for RSV which she tested positive for. They did chest x-rays and found a small amount of fluid in her lungs which may indicate developing pneumonia. I have to take her in everyday to make sure it doesn't progress. I feel so bad for her. She hasn't been sleeping very well because she is coughing so much so she looks so pale and tired during the day with dark circles under her eyes. I pray she gets better and doesn't get pneumonia. My poor baby! My six year old son has an ear infection, but he is doing better than he was. The baby seems to be fine but I need to keep a close eye on her and I have to take her in everyday too so they can check her. RSV can be bad for children under two and cause lasting effects like asthma which is the exact reason my three year old Dakoda has asthma now. I was hoping Dakoda's tonsillectomy would help her stay healthy, but it doesn't protect her from RSV. I hope everyone is doing well and thanks for all of your comments on all my posts. I thought this blog was going to be a pain, but it helps to relieve my stress and gives me an out so to speak to talk about my life and puts things in perspective. Goodnight! Hopefully everyone gets a good full nights sleep!!

APA Format and Citation!

Hi Everyone. I am currently learning about APA format and citations. I know a little about this from College composition I, but I still seem to get confused. I understand the concept of citing source because this means giving credit to that person whose ideas are being used. The part of APA format I have trouble with is listing my references on the reference page. I always forget to put my sources in alphabetical order and if I may have sources that I used from a website or a article, rather than a book, I have a lot of trouble citing the source in the correct format. Although I read about proper citing techniques for these alternative sources I still seem to get them wrong. I plan on really working on this before the final project is due so I won't get points taken for incorrectly citing my sources. If anyone has any tips, I could use all the help I can get!

This week has been wild! I am attending a business convention in Las Vegas, Nevada and I will be leaving on the 27th and I will be back on the 4th of March. This will be the longest I have spent away from my kids and I am so nervous! I will be attending classes of course and meeting a lot of new people. My kids are in awesome hands! My Mother in law is going to stay with them and she is a life saver. She is a great person and the kids love her. I will probably be the one who gets home sick for the kids. My husband will be coming with me because this will be my first time in Vegas and he doesn't want me to get lost! We should have a good time together along with my business stuff. So wish me luck and good night, I have an early morning.

Kaplan University!

I started attending Kaplan University in June of 2009. I have never went to college before and considering the state of the economy I thought it was time. I wanted a education in a field that is less likely to encounter job loss because of the economy. I did research and the field that was less likely to be affected by the economy is medical assisting and this was good for me because I had been looking for something in the medical field. I then began looking for possible online schools that would be right for me and my schedule or lack there of. I found a few online schools and believe it or not, Kaplan was not one of them. I was contacted by another online school but the gentleman who contacted me didn't really seem to really know anything about the school and he didn't give me any valuable information about the type of school it was. His main concern was just signing me up and getting on his way. I didn't like that, so I did more research. I signed up on a website that would get my information out to several different online colleges that may be right for me. After many calls from multiple colleges, a representative from Kaplan called me. I enjoyed talking to her, she really cared about my life and why I wanted to go back to school. She did not just try to get me to sign up so she could fill her quota for the day. She was genuine and we connected. She also gave me everything I needed to know about the school and walked me through everything, which helped me tremendously. I finally felt like I was where I was supposed to be. Since I started kaplan, I have not regretted a single minute. I have a little trouble sometimes with juggling everything from kids to work and everything in between but I just remember that my family is one of the biggest reasons I am doing this and I know it is worth it. I am extremely happy with my life as a student attending Kaplan and I am positive that this is exactly where I am supposed to be.

The Day After!

Hi everyone,
Dakoda's surgery was yesterday and everything went well. Yesterday when I brought her home she was in a little bit of pain, which is to be expected and she handled it well. She didn't want to eat or talk because it hurt to swallow, so she was pretty quiet. Yesterday was the quietest she has ever been in her little life. Today she became really hungry, but all she could have is full liquids till tomorrow. Dakoda is my good eater and she normally eats all day long, so this diet is fairly hard for her. She has had several bowls of ice cream which doesn't last her very long. Tomorrow its mashed potatoes and thing like that. I am pretty tired because she woke up alot last night and I had to give her pain meds every 4 hours so it is definitely time for me to "hit the hay". Night

Well today I took Dakoda to her pre-op appointment and everything is on schedule. Tomorrow is the big day, bright and early at 7am! I will take her in first thing in the morning. She is actually excited about it. The doctor explained the procedure to her and she is okay for the moment. I am sure everything will go fine.
I did all my school work for the unit so I don't have to worry about it tomorrow and I can focus on taking care of my Dakoda and her sister. Jazmine has tonsilitis but she is on antibiotics and Dakoda has been on antibiotics since last week, so its all good. I hope everyone had a great Valentines day!

Dakoda's surgery:(

Hello everyone! Well my husband and I found out friday that our daughter, Dakoda, who is three and a half years old, will need to have her tonsils and adenoids taken out because they are so big they are blocking her airway. She currently has asthma and this may help her breathing which is good. She can't breath very well at night so she is up alot not sleeping which makes her tired and whiney during the day. David, my oldest, had his tonsils out last year and it is not a painful procedure, but when there is even alittle pain involved, as a mother it just breaks your heart. When the little ones come out of the anesthetic they are confused an hurting alittle and there is nothing I can do to help them. Its a worse experience for me than it is for them. I hope and pray that everything goes well and that she benefits from it. Well it is late and I have alot to do tomorrow, so goodnight.

Lazy Day!!

Well today I really didn't accomplish much. I did get a hair cut though so that is nice! David and Dakoda came home from school today with a bunch of Valentines from thier classmates and they were so excited! My Dakoda gave her brother some of her candy and he gave her a heart necklace he made at school, it was so sweet! He knows that hearts are Dakoda's favorite. They usually fight like cats and dogs, but not today. They were nice to eachother and played really well together today. I am so proud of them. I love it when they are sweet. Jazmine spent some time with me this morning while the other kids were in school. She was kind of clingy again today. She is 18 months old and I am just wondering when her "mommy" stage will go away. Don't get me wrong, she is my baby and I wish she would stay small forever, but it seems like I can't do anything without her. She is always sitting on me or wanting me to hold her, and I can't get anything done. Dakoda was clingy too, but I am sure she grew out of it by 18 months. Well I am tired and I still have alot to do, consequences of a "Lazy Day"!!

Hi everyone, this is my first time blogging making it a learning experience. Well valentines day is coming up so its a time to reflect on my life with the one I love. I have been with a wonderful husband and father for 7 awesome years and I would not change a moment of my life with my man, Josh. We have 3 beautiful children, David 6, Dakoda 3, and Jazmine 18 months. I am at a happy place in my life and I am hoping that this year will be much better than last year. My family and I went through some terrible losses last year in which we don't want to repeat. Well that is a little about my life so I will definitely write more later!

Stacy Hutchinson