I applied for FAFSA today. If approved, I am going to start taking classes at the community center towards an Associates degree in Art with hopefully a Letter of Recognition in Art History. I figure this can hopefully allow me to either pursue a job in a museum, or as a teacher (either elementary art or art history) First step is getting my core classes out of the way and then going from there.

I also signed up for a free watercolor class and if I can budget it in, ($83 + supplies) I am going to take the month long class. 2 hours every Saturday morning painting. I so need a break like this, and I am really looking forward to it.


and in other news. I think Ava is potty training herself. I randomly stuck the potty chair in the living room and she uses it regularly to not just pee but also poop (sorry non parents who don't care about this, I wanted to document it somewhere and this seems better than facebook. ha) So that is cool. I still put her in a diaper when we are out and I don't plan to push it, but it is nice not having to change her diaper as often!

I picked up the registration packet for Jack to start kindergarten in the fall! It is crazy all the stuff you have to have but I guess it is what it is. I am interested in how he will do though. Kind of nervous, but hoping that maybe in that environment he will be more open to doing things their way and not just his way.
and he has NOT.STOPPED.TALKING. all day. ALL DAY. He is just rambling at me right now.

So I was contacted by a company called Conscious Box asking me if I wanted to host a giveaway on my blog. This is kind of exciting because it is the first time a company contacted me versus me contacting them (or a friend passing on things)
Also, I actually had just entered in a giveaway (which I feel like is probably how they found my blog anyway) and I didn't win, but now I get a box anyway! and it is something that I would honestly try out anyway, so that makes it even better.


anyway, go enter: http://heartshapedleaves.blogspot.com/2013/04/conscious-box-giveaway.html

Oh, so I guess I never came back to let you know we are here in Maryland. We are! We got in around 4:30am on Tuesday. It was such a long drive, mostly because it rained the entire time. The kids did excellent, and rarely complained. They are car riding champs. We were worried about Ava because she has been in the "HATE CAR RIDES" phase for a while, but she slept the majority of the time. When she wasn't sleeping, Jack was cracking her up.

Things are already looking up in the short time we are here. There is plenty of food to eat and the kids are getting a lot of attention from their grandparents. Ava warmed up incredibly fast to my dad and likes hanging out in his little man cave. She has also exploded in her language. Jack seems happier, he has even slept in his grandma's room every night, including the first night we were here and we stayed at a hotel because the room wasn't ready for us to sleep in. Jack, who used to freak out if I simply took a shower, had his first sleep over away from both parents and it was his idea and he did so well. I half expected him to call and want us to come get him, but nope. Amazing.

Ava is so funny, she peed in her potty last night and then ran down the hallway, I PEED, I PEED!


Anyway, so things are going well. The application period for the job Jason applied for ending a few days ago and so we are just waiting to here something on that.

Just a quick update to say that we have the rental truck and will be loading it today and tomorrow. Jason is getting the oil changed in the car right now. I think we will leave Sunday night to give us a chance to visit with his grandmother before we leave.

I am not looking forward to the 26 hour drive, but I am looking forward to being back in Maryland.

I am kind of nervous about driving in Virginia though because I think I have an outstanding ticket. :(

I called the dentist today to make an appointment to have the tooth on the other side of my mouth crowned. (I had two teeth root canal-ed while Jason was deployed, and they have just been hanging out with temporary fillings and then one broke) Right after I got off the phone, my temporary crown (that was put on after the tooth broke last month) popped off. That's the kind of life I live. ha


I am concerned about my cousin Taylor. She is about to turn 4 and the smallest pair of jeans she can fit over her legs is a size 10 in the girls section. The poor girl already has a double chin, and her mother just says it is because she is part black. o.O
Being that overweight at such a young age does not bode well for her future self, neither does the fact that her mom just makes excuses instead of changing her diet. Taylor is (soon to be) 4! She can't go to the grocery store and buy her own fresh fruit and vegetables! My mom says when she babysits her, all she wants to do is sleep. They can't even get her to go outside to play with the little girl next door.


My dad's workman's comp case finally, after 17 years or so, settled and he got a pretty big lump of money in his account. He said he logged in to see if he would have enough to pay the mortgage that month and had to call my mom over to tell him if he was reading the numbers right. (this is how I can pay the $350 out of pocket for my crown) I called and asked to borrow the money, it was awkward, because I felt like "oh you have money now, gimme gimme!" but then I was like, if I wait it will cost way more than $350 and then the tooth might break and I will HAVE to get it done. He said he understood, and he didn't mind because he doesn't want my teeth to end up like his. Then he started complaining about my sister because she asked him for $2000 so her and Bobby can move out (because they moved back in again after living in their own apartment for a few months until the couldn't pay their rent). He isn't too happy about loaning her the money though because he knows he will never see it again. My sister isn't even working! My younger brother, who is in rehab, even has a job. Not my sister though, and despite the fact that they are living rent free at my parents house and Bobby IS working a full time job, they have absolutely no money. It is just frustrating to see her wasting all this time she could be working and saving her money. I wish everyday I could go back before I had kids and save all that stupid money I wasted on nonsense.


Jason's possibly has a lead on a job, and could have two if he would be okay with working at the prison. I wish he would just take the corrections job so that we had something coming in while he sorted out all this other crap that has to be done before he can be hired onto civil service.


and, I still need to change my license and register my car, but that is another nearly $200 and so I am going to wait until tax time. Then once that is taken care of, I am going to talk to the community college. I want to try and start taking some classes in the spring.

Oh and Jason got a letter at my parents house from the MD Child Support office, because every once in a while they seem to think they are handling the case. Anyway, the best part about it was that it said he only owes $3000 in arrears. Considering a few years ago he owed over $45,000 this is amazing. We are SO CLOSE to be caught up, and then his monthly payment will lower again and we can get ALL of our tax return back.

I don't think I had anything else to update about.

I like to change my mind a lot on what I want to do when I grow up. Today's idea is to become an elementary school art teacher. There is a reoccurring theme in all my 'future job' ideas, and that is art. So I think maybe I really ought to just get a degree in Art.

It is kind of crazy to think though that if I get a 4 year degree, I will be like 32. It is even weirder that I am old enough to start thinking about being 32.

So I think once I get everything else taken care of, like my license and stuff (because it is SO INVOLVED, BUT NOT REALLY, BUT IT IS.) I am going to look into that and what kind of financial aid I can get. Hopefully I can take all the boring core classes online, I think that might be best for me.

So yeah. I wonder how far I will actually get with this idea this time?

It is getting cold, that means my desire to crochet and knit is coming back. Maybe I can actually finish a project this year?

Like usual, we are going small this year. (this does not include grandparents gifts to children)

Jack is getting the original Skylanders game pack and a book about bugs.

Ava is getting a tricycle and a Melissa and Doug shape sorter toy.

Jason wants the new Wii, but he keeps spending money like he has a job, sooo, yeah.

Me, all I want is a gift card to Michael's/Hobby Lobby so I can buy more paint/painting supplies. (buuut, if history repeats itself, I will get nothing, womp womp womp)

I also signed up for a Secret Santa (while we were still in TN not thinking about the fact that I wont have any money near Christmas.) She lists tea and books on her list, so I am just buying her a tea tin and some fancy tea from Teavana and I am going to buy her one of notodette's books. Livejournal, would you be happy with that as a gift?

I really hope Jason has one last paycheck coming this month.

I have a Melissa and Doug giveaway on my blog right now. It ends Friday at midnight! It is for a really cute animal rescue shape sorter. Check it out, enter, tell your friends and family! or you know, whatever. :P


Melissa and Doug Animal Rescue Shape-Sorting toy

I broke my tooth this morning. I had a root canal done while Jason was deployed, so 2 years ago? After that and another root canal my insurance was maxed out and I couldn't afford the crown. Then life went on and I was pregnant and then I moved and then I forgot and now the tooth is broken. I do have to say the temporary filling has not broken, just the tooth holding it in.
I wish you could just get your teeth taken care of all at one go instead of having to space it out according to what your insurance allows in a 12 month period. and now our insurance has changed and I have to pay 50% of the cost of a crown. How in the world I will do that, I have no idea because we have no income at the moment. ugh

I have an appointment at 12:30 and the office is like 12 minutes away, so there is that.


Speaking of income, I think Jason is looking into something to do with the Coast Guard? Marty (his step dad) told him he was going to "call the guy about the coast guard", maybe the reserves? Who knows. Right now he is working on taking care of a ticket from 2001 that up until now everyone thought was taken care of but wasn't. He is also trying to make an appointment with the VA to get all of his benefits for service and his purple heart taken care of, but he just gets the lady's voice mail (I totally was going to type machine, but does anyone even use an answering machine anymore?) and he also needs to get his GI bill "activated" so he can pay for college classes. He enrolled last week, and I guess will start in January? (GI bill also pays a living stipend! that will be nice to have in the mean time)

anyway, broken tooth, no money. woe is me.