Busy busy summer 2013

I probably say this (and will continue to say this) every summer, but I feel like this was the busiest summer of my life this year. The 10 weeks of summer are always such a welcomed adventure, especially after the chaos that May always brings with the end of the year curriculum, high-demand grading, after school events and obligations, etc.

At the beginning of summer, I made a rather hasty decision to begin a master's program through Walden University. The program was the perfect fit for me and our family, and the thought of having it all done in 16 months was too tempting to resist. It was, however, much more challenging at first than I was prepared for. The degree is a masters of science, which calls for a very different writing and research style than my bachelor of arts degree did. It was frustrating and difficult to learn on my own without the guidance of a professor, as the class was online. But with the generous help of my mother and husband keeping the kids entertained as I wrote and wrote papers each week, I got through the summer semester 2 points shy of a perfect score in the class.

We also decided to put our house on the market at the beginning of summer. This meant finally getting around to a few repairs we have been meaning to do and a careful diligence in keeping the house ready for prospective buyers all summer long. This is no easy task with two wild and crazy kids running around in said house all day. But again, we got through it as a team. The house still hasn't sold yet, but with the return of our "regular" school schedule, it has been much easier to keep up with the house until we sell.

To really complicate matters, Miss Isabel Grace took a keen interest in potty training in June as well. I skeptically decided to run with it, and she did so wonderfully for weeks. She would have an accident here and there throughout the day, but she made a serious effort to make it to the potty every time she had to go. I was so excited at the thought of not having dirty diapers in my life for a year or two. Unfortunately, she abruptly stopped going on the potty a couple of weeks before summer's end. This has been incredibly frustrating, but hopefully she'll be back on the bandwagon soon.

Despite all the stressful challenges of the summer, we still managed to make some pretty fantastic memories. It's crazy to think that next summer will be the weeks leading up to my baby heading off to school!