Free at last

haha... i've kept that 'title' in my mental notes for the post on my dad, but it could serve as two-fold today.

Our appt. re: Jonah's delinquent ways was postponed because Craig's aunt Nonie passed away and the funeral was scheduled at the same time. Fortunately, we only had to wait a day.

So yesterday we met with the T-bolt probation officer and long story short, the case is closed with no further action. However, (due to our highly efficient/effective legal systems in place, i'm sure) she couldn't guarantee that the charge would not reflect on his permanent record. so her only advice was to check Jonah's record in about 3-4 yrs. and if the charge is still on there we can proceed to either have it removed or have his record sealed so that it does not affect his future, the latter being the more realistic option. not really the greatest peice of info. but an end (of sorts) nonetheless. Another factor that i found interesting though, is that the other parents are in law enforcement with another county!!! The probation officer herself also couldn't figure out what these parents were hoping for as an outcome and was surprised that they chose not to handle the matter [through common sense methods] by speaking with us. either way, i suppose this is an acceptable conclusion. thanks to those who expressed your concern! =)

Criminal Intent VS Brilliant Mind

another story.

so my first day at the new job, Jonah starts back as ASA (after school program). the week ends unceremoniously (except for how stoked i am with my new job! =D). so the following monday Craig and I both get calls from ASA, requesting a meeting THAT day regarding an incident that took place between Jonah and a 1st grade boy at school. UGH, our minds began to wander aimlessly at what this could possibly be about! Fine. we will meet with them after school/work at 5:15. well, an hour or so later i then get a call from an officer so and so, who's on her way to the school to meet with Jonah about such and such incident that took place the previous week. okay. time to panic. because i work where i do, i was told to go! well, long story short (or as much as we can make of it)- Jonah felt he was being teased by a few boys (we'll call them the '1st graders'!). well, for reasons we're still exploring, Jonah and a boy happened to be dismissed to the bathroom together and Jonah grabbed a ball pump on his way. he peeks over the bathroom stall and (from his story) tells the boy 'you better stop or Chucky's gonna get you'. (well 'chucky' is a fictional character from some dumbarse 'scary' movie that Jonah's never seen! but he knows of it). well, according to this boy, Jonah 'pointed something at him, that looked like a gun, and said are you ready to die?' Not cool. Now we understand that Jonah continues to deal with the Cooper in our house (life really has changed significantly since Cooper's arrival, God love him!) but this is obviously not the behavior we have taught Jonah, nor will we accept from him. Well, the parents are now so distraught (or, their son rather- apparently experiencing nightmares and continued physical illness because he's so 'scared'!), that at this point (1 week later) they are pressing charges against Jonah! the crime? criminal/terrorist threat! OMG!

Jonah was read his miranda rights (in a way an 8yo might be able to understand them, though Jonah appeared to be clueless) and was 'released' to me, his parent.

we have since received a letter from Probation, requesting our presence for a 'T-bolt' referral. T-bolt= Thunderbolt= an apparent possible life-long 'strike' against his 'permanent record' (like the real one, not just for school!). Fortunately for us, we have a lawyer friend who's got our back because he's experienced a similar situation with his own son. Our instruction that we've agreed on, is to attend the meeting, present Jonah's report card and refuse any offer they present to us, regarding 'rehabilitating Jonah's behavior'. Once we request the matter be forwarded to the DA, our lawyer friend believes no one will waste their time on a bathroom exchange of words between a 6 and 8yo. Phew! but still.

so of course, i have shared my piece of mind with both ASA and Jonah's school by way of letter, how truly disappointed we are at how they chose to communicate this matter to us..... a FULL week after the fact!!! I can't help but think the only reason this situation escalated to the level it did, was because after ASA and the school principal were informed, they chose to ignore it and not inform us. we were not even given the opportunity to show our due diligence as Jonah's parents to rectify the situation- at the time i was meeting with the officer, the parents were over the idea of this!

so now we wait and see. 12/3 is our meeting date. keep us in your prayers!

in the mean time, Jonah spent his first week of grounding, finishing Harry Potter and starting the 2nd book of the series (though i suppose to some, reading would be a treat). no tv. no internet. no friends.

dare i say at this point, that Jonah scored in the 90th percentile of GATE testing!??

camping

*sigh*... i'm on a roll with this catching up stuff. so to break away, here are a few pics of our summer camping trip that i mentioned way earlier. we went to camp wishon, just above porterville. the 'sqeeters were a b!tch, but we managed to survive- what with the numerous layers of bug spray and all! we had a great time with our good friends the Kohmeschers!

WORK!

Aaacck! yes, i am working again!!!!!!!!!!!
Because i was required by EDD to search for work, i did- although only half-heartedly since i chose to focus on school. but an opportunity presented itself that i couldn't pass up. not to mention that spending 4 mos. home with the kids kinda did a number on my sanity!

a friend of mine started a job at World Wide Sires in the spring and told me about an opening that wouldn't be advertised in the paper. the more she told me about the job, the more i got excited.
a little history: well, i'll let you read for yourself if your interested. here's our website! http://www.wwsires.com/

but the bottom line: i am an order/shipper processor that exports bull semen to 70+countries! *no i don't see it, touch it or know yet how they 'harvest' it! and i absolutely love it! i think what i'm diggin' the most is the work atmosphere and i just can't stop being giddy over it. my office is 30 people strong and seem like some of the most amazing people. it's a family. my ceo wants to know about my hobbies! and we prayed before our staff/lunch meeting! all normal things, i realize. but i think i'm still experiencing culture shock, coming from a 3000+ corporation. i get to wear jeans to work. i have internet access. i can make/take personal calls at my desk. the autonomy is rewarding. but underneath that, i'm staying very busy. our business is unique in different ways. the first being that we have, what i like to view as, a world hunger kind of effort going on. we are sharing our good ol' american bull 'pedigree' with developing countries and the like, giving them the opportunity to produce their own milk and beef. we also cater our services to each country, depending on their federal requirements, etc. so you can imagine the diversity with each customer. my first week there, we had a group of Algerians come for a visit (often these international groups visit the farms from which their product is produced)! There's a girl in my office who came to the US from China, by way of Australia and speaks and writes Chinese! We've got a guy who's fluent in Russian, and another in Arabic. it truly is a blessing to have found a job that, 3 weeks into, has been so enriching and rewarding!

this obviously presented an interference with school and that is where i'm at now. i see myself at this job for a while (they pride themselves in long-term employees!). so i'm hanging on to make it through the semester with school. my 2 social work teachers are an encouragment and i don't like to let people down if i don't have to. so i'm trying to pull through and catch up on the remaining assignments of the semester. but i won't give up next semester either. maybe i'll attempt that personal finance class again! i don't know yet, but i will take something. i'm just extremely happy to have found a happy medium for now.

School

So school has been going good. i regret to mention however, that i just couldn't swing my personal finance class- the one i could have benefitted from the most. but much has been going on so i'm not beating myself up over it too much.

I love love love my social work classes. that's the good thing. the not so good thing is that i think from these classes, i'm discovering that 'social worker' may not be the best title for me. as it turns out, i'm learning that there's a lot of hand-holding involved in showing people how to help themselves. and frankly, i am just not a patient enough person i don't think. i am confident though, that the field itself is right up my alley. I'm enjoying reading about the history of social work and essentially, a little history of our country. about people helping people, making a better world, community, etc. And of course, there's always room for my keyboard savvy skills! haha... really though, i've enjoyed how expressive this field of study/work is and i've eaten up every moment i get to write a little for class. So i believe i do have something to offer this field, i just still haven't been able to put my finger on it.

Baby steps

Well here i am once again! i've been meaning to update for several weeks now, but do i even need to say this?... we are the Edwards and something exciting seems to always be going on, throwing us off ever so slightly. ah, the spice of life i suppose it's called!

So July was my last post. let me start off light with some summer pics that my sister Gayle and the boys took swimming one day.

...still breathing..

turns out i really relied on that work pc (rolling eyes innocently)! still no pc at home, so still no pics and now no camera either! boohoo. i left my camera out in what i thought was warm enough weather at camp Wishon, just above Porterville. however, i awoke to discover the digital screen is now just a black screen with a 'crack' in it. the camera itself still works so i suppose i could use it as a good ol' fashioned point n shoot, but c'mon now! needless to say though, just another kink in our chain to remind us what life in our early 20's was like! HA.

not to worry though- life is curiously enough working itself out for us. i've been enjoying, for the most part, life as a stay at home mom. some days we stay in jammies all day, some days we run errands (events which are often severely disabling with a cooper in tow (yes, i said a cooper=)), actually grocery shopping for meals vs. drive thru stops and some days we head to the big soccer/park complex for the boys to play in the interactive water fountain... while i sit and watch and soak up the domestication from the other moms!

in other positive news, craig acceped a new job as an assistant warehouse manager and will start in just over a week. not only does the new job bring new responsibilities (asst. mgr baby!! haha), but a nice pay raise as well. well timed i say!

and i'm still waiting for a clear picture of my plan. i'm waiting to hear if i'm approved for some Workforce Investment Act money to complete the Social Services certificate program at COS as well as applied for financial aid. dealing with the government takes time ya know! =) i've mapped out an academic plan though and can finish this certificate program in 12 mos. minus the intern hours required. so if all goes well, i'll take 15 units this semester and 12 in the spring. of course being home with cooper full time will be a challenge, but with craig's full support, i'm really feeling confident that i can make this time worth while!

a weird post

so i'm very contemplative effective today. i was part of a 51 person layoff at the hospital! so i suppose those gripe sessions i've had recently seemed to have taken care of themselves. so aside from shock that i'm actually dealing with quite well, i'm left with several decisions to make. one of them being that i still really want to finish school. what if this is a crossroads for me to make something like that happen. so for now i'm going to try and enjoy the 'free' time and really investigate my options, maybe even enjoy a little bit of summer with my boys.

i AM the world to him and he LOVES it!

i... no, not I and not eye.. but i.

blogging is good for venting!

so i send out an internal email.. (i did say internal) to the communication and secretary groups at work about making sure plastic vendor badges are returned to me. if you've been reading my blog and/or if you've read other correspondance from me, i generally type in lower case, except for curtiously capitalizing proper names. so the next day i come in with an email from my boss to consider proofing that in the future and that while it's ok to use email 'shorthand' within my own dept., those going out to a wider group should look more professional. someone complained that i didn't capitalize i when referencing myself! oh em gee! seriously. now i put way too much time and thought into what i write, especially when sending out a representation of myself. and while i know that using lowercase letter's has not been considered etiquette, i am obviously not 5 and i'm capable of effectively communicating with a group of professionals despite the fact that i fail to hit 'SHIFT' when referencing myself. BIG DEAL!!!! speaking of... since this mini-ordeal, our own Marketing dept. has sent out, count em... 3 emails in ALL CAPS about various happenings. *sigh- another fine example of the beauracratic BS that just really boils my blood! needless to say, because i am the amazingly defiant Angela (OooOo.. catch that A!?) i've since updated my email signature to include a qoute from the precedently deviant E.E. Cummings.. or rather, e.e. cummings!
i am angela, hear i roar!!!!!!!!!!!! hehe

thank you Grandma Donna!

thanks to Grandma Donna for making the boys room more cozy with somewhat matching quilts! Jonah got Transformers and Cooper got Dump Trucks!

Monterey!

boy, almost 2 mos. since my last post! i'll start out with pics of our recent Monterey trip. it was actually Mother's day weekend and we decided to take a last minute trip with our friends Tabby, Travis and their son Tyler and stayed that Sat. night in Monterey and then hit the aquarium and shops on Sunday. Cooper got in bed too late, got up too early and didn't get much of a nap during the day. so needless to say he was awesome to deal with in a crowded aquarium! no, not really. he did seem to enjoy the purpose of being there at least.. the sea life. here's a shot of Craig and the kids as we just got started out. i find it funny that he's the only one NOT smiling.. ya know considering the moods of kids during this kind of an excursion!

and then a family photo op:

some sardines:

some jelly fish:

some more sea life:and a few of my favs with the monster! he loved this simulated wave that 'washed over us'

Cooper was able to get some downtime and do what HE wanted to do... just outside this plexiglass wave simulator is one of the many decks to sit out on and enjoy the ocean view, watch seals on the rocks and of course see the many birds. so Cooper got his fill of chasing sea gulls and jumping off the amphitheater steps.

the toilet

thank you Cooper for the $200 plumbing bill to pull out the plastic sand-art bottle you stuffed down the toilet. we love you!!!!

march madness

no, not as in college basketball ;)

so this month we decided to make a move, literally, on some of the changes we've been kicking around the Edwards homestead. at the end of february, we gave notice to the 3/2 house we've been renting for the last 18mos. and downsized to a 2/2 condo just 2 streets away. staying within the vicinity ensured that Jonah wouldn't have to switch schools. so now we're adjusting to the suprisingly spacious quarters of 'apartment living' again. the boys are sharing a room and while we're still getting used to the giggling at bed time, it's exciting to see their relationship with each other take a new direction.

one might wonder why this new change. well, after many discussions between me and craig and us feeling like we don't really have a whole lot going for us here, that we couldn't do someplace else, we've mentally committed (at this point) to moving far far away. ok, just to Paso Robles =) why Paso? i think subliminally because i have family there. but in all honesty i just happened upon that city as i was browsing California for other comparable places to live. it's exciting to dream like that, even though we know this move won't happen as soon as we'd like it. i've got my dad's lifestyle to contend with first and foremost, as well as it's just not feasable to up and move away, what with all the costs doing something like that requires. so until then we decided to save ourselves about $400/mo. in rent, clean ourselves up financially and make a more solidified plan. one that doesn't require my willingness to live out of a motel, working as a housekeeper!... ah, desperation at it's finest! =)~

i have no pictures to share because also in march, our pc caught a virus and is non-operational at this time. boohoo. but in kid related news, the boys are adjusting well in the new place and i can see how they are growing closer. Cooper however, continues to struggle with the dynamics of everyday life. we found him IN the oven the other morning and he can't seem to stay away from other un-kid friendly things, the burners on the stove, the dishwasher knobs, the toilet, the toilet paper, the toilet paper roll in the toilet, the wet toilet paper ALL over the bathroom (reminiscent of spit balls anyone!?), you get the point. yet he's able to sit with someone for say 30min., reading books! go figure. we've determined the poor kid just needs to be continually engaged in something. and fortunately that 6yr. age gap makes Jonah an extremely understandable and helpful big brother!

school wise, i decided to put off the bigger goal of obtaining my bachelors and instead am starting even smaller with the human services (social work) certificate program. i figure that way, i can put off math for even longer (i did mention i HATE math, right!? ;) and increase my chances of finding a job that i like doing while continuing towards that shiny B and brilliant M in the sky! hehe.

lots to ponder

so the last couple weeks have been a bit whirlwind-ish. in the midst of our little family of 4 wishing and dreaming to make some exciting changes, toying around and finding ourselves consumed with all our ideas... my dad lands in the hospital a very sick guy.

Last week my mom took him to the ER in a very sick state and he was determined to have pneumonia and diabetic ketoacidosis. now considering my dad had not even been diagnosed with diabetes yet, this is not a good way to find out. his blood sugar was at 400 and they began a heavy regimin of insulin. meanwhile he remained dillusional and slept quite a bit for the first 3 days. because of the diabetic state, he will require insulin therapy for several weeks after he's discharged and will hopefully be able to maintain the disease by diet alone. i'm not optimistic on that last part. my dad already cannot understand why he can't have kool-aid and donuts and pie and ice cream and burgers and fries... the list goes on! he got himself into quite a few crappy eating habits this last 30yrs! so because of the brain damage and his inability to remember these new and very important details, it is being recommended that he receive a higher level of care so that his diet and medication can be monitored. So he remains in the hospital until his blood sugar can be regulated and more tests continue to be performed. the way i saw it and which seems to be proving itself, is that with the little information that was handed to me when i took over, we really are starting from scratch. diseases of the blood, immune system, heart... everything is being looked into further. and Case Managers are working their magic to find a place that will accept his modest form of payment: medicare and medi-cal. so his story is still being written and we have yet to know the ultimate outcome of it all. it is very helpful to have a support system (for both me and my dad).. my mom has been an exceptional asset along with 2 of my uncles who live locally who are also doing and offering anything they can.

and as of saturday, my dad is pretty 'deceivingly' healthy. he's back to his old self, hollering at neighboring patients to turn their tv's down, calling me with his lists of things he thinks he needs (all things that have nothing to do with his stay in the hospital) and even returning to his sleepwalking ways... lastnight he got up to use the bathroom, walked out of his new room (that he now shares- UH-OH), proceeded into the adjoining patient room and peed on the floor! so thankfully the staff saw the need and have provided a 1 on 1 aid that has been spending the majority of her time, by his side.

... until next time. i'm sure i'll plenty more exciting things to share! =

What if...

... you talked about it since the beginning but thought it was too far fetched to grasp?
what if fear and complacency has been replaced with drive and ambition?
what if the challenge was actually the reward itself?

... i'm just sayin'.

thickle thursday

k, i don't know yet what 'thickle' means or if it's a word, but i've determined that's the kind of day i'm having... it ryhms with 'fickle', which i still don't think is the right word, but i'm forcing it into appropriateness for today anyway... it sounds like pickle and sick and ick!

the day sorta trickled over from yesterday when as i was headed out the door for the day with kids, i hear cooper cry-whining (NOTHING unusual) and discover he's puked his milk all over himself. so i send jonah across the street to catch a ride to school with his cousins and i clean cooper up and call the appropriate people. craig was able to come home and stay with coop and i left for work. but still only an hour into my day, craig was a bit concerned because cooper hadn't stopped throwing up, he had nothing more to throw up and was now dry-heaving. so i head home with all the necessary 'juices' to baby my baby. he carried on until 2pm, throwing up every 30min- hour until he was finally able to rest for a nap. now i remember jonah being pukey sick, but never this bad. and with cooper's sensibility that he can command things of this world to simply be or not be- (gravity or really any other laws of nature that he's continually frustrated at not being able to control as he wishes), chasing my wild 2yo around with a large kitchen pot, trying to hold him up to it like a limp doll, all the while he's screaming 'NO, not yet'.. really made for an exhausting day!

and plug in 'dad' who calls me about a mysterious check that's showed up at his house. since he couldn't figure out how to tell me what he was looking at, i went over there only to discover it's a check that i wrote for his newpaper subscription that's been tacked to the bulletin board for over a month. it's for the paper boy. aauugh.

so moving on to today, cooper seems to be back to his full throttle self and i come to work ready to plug away- only for my boss to share a 'funny' that happened after he notified the other staff of my absence from work yesterday. one of my in-direct co-workers replied to my boss, suggesting that he never hire my kids since they're always so sick!! @*&^#**$ how dare he!?? needless to say, i was a taken aback but was able to reply with a chuckle. however, it completely ruined my mood for the day and the progress i felt i was making in keeping a good, positive attitude about my working situation... even though i'm going absolutely nuts! so because i am angela hear me roar- i decided to politely and respectfully communicate to this co-worker to please consider other people's lives and situations before making such observations. i found that i was genuinly offended, given all the other issues i currently have with work.

i'm hitting up monster.com tonight!

here we are!

i don't think we have a family picture! so this is what we come up with instead

... and the boys. gosh, seeing them side by side really shows off their different features. i think the eyes say it, Jonah's are sweet and demure and Cooper's are wide and ready! yup.. that sums it up

and Mikey, the cat. he's not as mean as he looks- he's a lover not a fighter! his girl Lucy didn't make the blogger cut this time but you'll meet her later.

i don't have much update on the kiddos, except that cooper will be switching daycare soon. his current sitter, Roxanne is due for a c-section at the end of Feb. and along with that, i need someone closer to our side of town, etc. i took his moment of mild rage, as we left the interview and walk-through of Julie's daycare, as a sign that he's going to like it!

and my school update is that i'm bailing on my math class. not completely, but kinda. since my last passing grade in math was 13yrs ago and my attempts between then and now have been fruitless, i've decided to re-take the class i barely passed so that i can refresh myself and be better prepared to move forward. fortunately, the class is with the same teacher, same book, same time- but different day. so the last minute switcharoo was fairly easy. i swear i'm reliving the recurring bad dream i've had since high school math though! i'm haunted by the fact that i blew it off towards the end of my senior year and never 'finished' the class. so it's time to suck it up and get it done! argh.

i know what i want to be when i grow up!

so i mentioned my A in english. (did i also mention how stoked i was and still kinda am over this!?) before i carry on, i wanted to give a little background.

i've been a secretary pretty much my whole professional 'career'. and while i've been a darn good one, i've increasingly found myself bored with my various positions (fortunate for me, i work in a hospital where clerical support is needed all over, so i've been able to transfer within departments as positions have opened up). Well about a year ago as i was trying to determine why i was so unhappy and bored, i happened to walk pass a co-worker in an adjoining department as he was tinkering away on a pc that looked completely gutted. i thought to myself, wow- that's something you might find any given person doing at home- i bet he really enjoys this. and it occurred to me that i should also be doing something i really like. so in a semi-desperate effort for quick guidance (i'm all about immediate gratification!), i did one of those online job personality quizzes. while the results amused me a little (police officer!?), i was also determined to be possibly a good fit in the social worker arena. hmmmm. if you know me, you know that i usually love handing out my 2cents of advice in any given situation, even unfortunately in times when it wasn't asked for. i like to think of myself as a bit of a fixer or problem solver. at any rate, i finally (and kinda) have decided what i want to be when i grow up! i say this because i know what i don't want to do, and that is to be some mindless clerk working for the county, or working with terribly troubled children (mildly troubled- i might be able to handle! lol). i know that i have a lot more to offer than clerical support, but at the same time i have a lot of training to do in order to perfect what i feel i can offer.

phew! soooooo all that said, my goal is to achieve my associates degree at COS (again with the sooner than later gratification- i need something to hold in my hands!). from there i plan to obtain my bachelors and maybe even my masters in human/social services/work. i've already interviewed for a social worker asst. at the hospital, but so goes my luck; we're in the middle of a flippin hiring freeze, which naturally includes the position i applied for. i just hope that my interview went well enough for the powers that be to remember me when we've 'thawed' out. it was perfect, i'd be following around the real social workers, acting as a patient advocate, making sure their various social needs are met while they're patients in the hospital, etc.

So this semester i'm taking intermed. algebra (omg, the first day scared me!) and art appreciation (which i feel i have a lot of already, so that will be a fun class). my time will come though. and until then i'm re-discovering the joys of learning. which feels a little odd for me. who'da thunk me of all people would take an interest in reading and actually finishing a novel!? turns out to be quite an adventure, that reading is! lol..

craig and angela having a little dancing fun

yeah, we can shake it!

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Gotta start somewhere!

so here we are. The Edwards. i figured everyone else was 'doing it'- blogging that is! ;) so must we! and i think this place is a little more reputable than Myspace! so grown up I've become!hehe.

If you're visiting me, you probably know me and mine. but here's a run-down in case you forgot! Craig and I just celebrated 12 years of marital bliss in December! =)~ Our oldest son, Jonah turned 8 in December and our youngest, Cooper, turned 2 this month. (now throw in christmas, new years and a couple other random family birthdays, and you can see why the holidays aren't necessarily a 'relaxing' time for us! =)

this years holidays actually sat really well with me. For those who know, i sometimes experience 'winter blues'- with last year being exceptionally tough, considering the death of my grandma and me taking over legal conservatorship of my dad (who of course ALSO has a December birthday! =) needless to say, I was a little sad to see the Christmas decos come down this year, Here are pics of both kids celebrating birthdays and christmas.

first there was Jonah's birthday.

Then there was Christmas. Jonah scored a wii and Cooper scored a Tonka truck!

Then it was Cooper's birthday but he was so sad at the thought of turning 2, grandma Liz had to comfort him (ok, well first we all laughed at him ;)

So the year ended well and so far i can't complain about 2008. That could also be due to the A i got in English this last semester- yay me!!!- so here we go in 2008! until next time...