Neil Diamond

So last night was Neil Diamond night on American Idol (yes, I watch American Idol). I am not writing this post to comment on the show, however, I am writing this post because of all the memories that came flooding back to me as I heard the Neil Diamond songs last night.

My Grandma Olson, Mother, Aunt Julie, Aunt Sharon, and my best friend's mother, Karma Barlow, were all Neil Diamond FANATICS when I was younger (and they really still are). Every time we were in the car the big N.D. was blaring through the speakers. Every Saturday morning (cleaning time) Neil Diamond was blasting throughout the house (and it didn't matter if I was at the Barlow's, at Grandma's, at my own home, or at my aunts). In fact, as the American Idol contestants sang last night I swear I could smell lemon pledge and windex.

When I was in first grade I told my class during show and tell that my Grandma Olson used to play in the sandbox with Neil Diamond when she was little (of course, she did not, but she lied to me and told me she did. I believed her, and I was embarressed in front of my class when my teacher busted up laughing at me. Lesson: Do not lie to five year olds about your made-up childhood celebrity friendships).

I always thought their Neil Diamond obsession was funny (and I guess I really stil do). However, when I was a freshman in college a guy asked me on a date to a Neil Diamond concert. I have to admit, the sequine-jump-suit-wearing-man can sure put on a good show.

So...here's to you Neil, and all the memories of my childhood that your music soundtracks. I just wish someone would have sang "I Am the Lion" last night. If you don't know the song (and I congratulate you if you don't) look it up and take a listen...HILARIOUS!

Summer (sort of)

I am so happy that it is Summer break (even though it is technically not summer yet). It is nice to think that Marcus only goes to work now...no school schedule to deal with as well. I also have no classes to go to or complete online.

Our little neighbor Abigail has been coming up in the mornings to play with Connor while both of her parents are at work. If all goes well, her mom will be quitting her job at the end of this month, but we love having Abby here in the meantime. It is nice for Connor to be able to play with her for a few hours every day.

I am suddenly realizing that James is going to be born sometime this summer and then we are going to have to pack up and move. I am very excited for both of these events, but they have seemed far enough away to not really feel real, until now. I feel like I have a lot to get done to prepare for both, and I really need to dig in and get to work. In all reality, James could come any time during my last trimester (depending on my health). Of course, I am desperately hoping he will not come until July, but I guess I need to be prepared for all possible outcomes.

So...today I am cleaning my kitchen and making banana bread. I have no idea why that really makes me feel like I am getting anything important done, but for some odd reason it does. Maybe just because I'm craving banana bread.

Graduation and All That Jazz

Marcus and I were both able to graduate from UVU this last Friday. We were happy to have been able to have both of his parents here with us to celebrate the occasion. His mother came last Monday night and his dad arrived late Thursday. We sure enjoyed having them here and are thankful for all they did for us. We were definitely spoiled while they were in town. Connor is going to think Marcus and I are really boring now that it's just the three of us again. Here's a few pictures from our last week:

Marcus and I after graduation


Connor loving his stuffed Willie the Wolverine


Four generations of Poole's. Robert Sr., Robert Jr., Marcus, and Connor


Connor "driving" the boat at the Living Planet Aquarium. Oh so much fun.


Well, like I said, we had a good week. We are now looking forward to a schedule that is a bit more relaxed this summer, and of course, the arrival of our little James! We have a lot of work to do to get things ready for our move this fall, but I'm sure we'll be able to get it all taken care of.

Kid Tag

Connor's aunt Joy and adorable cousin Paityn tagged us, so I get to tell you 5 interesting things about Connor that you may not know! Here goes:

1. Connor holds the record at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center for being the smallest full-term baby that was not a multiple. He was 4 lbs. 10 oz. when he was born and only 16 inches long.

2. Ever since his birth Connor has consistently been lower than the 2 percentile (which is as low as it goes) on his weight. He just hit 21 lbs. at his last Dr.'s visit and our Pediatrician, Dr. Bailey, said that was the longest he has seen one of his patient's take to hit the 20 lb. mark.

3. Connor talks in his sleep almost every night. Often he talks about his friend Abby from downstairs. Sometimes he sings.

4. Connor has been on a plane 22 times (11 round trip flights).

5. Connor has only had a fever once since his birth. Hope he always stays so healthy!

Now...Connor is going to Tag his cousins Erin, Erik, Mike, and Dan! He know's there's probably lots of really cool stuff to learn about them!

Done!

As of about 30 seconds ago I am DONE with school (at least for now)! I am pretty sure I am getting the A's I wanted this semester and I am now ready to GRADUATE this Friday! Wahoo!

Final Day of Class

Marcus wrote a post on his blog about going to his final day of class today for his bachelor's degree and all the time, work, and money that has gone in to making this time of our life possible. We have been talking a lot about the whole experience lately and I just wanted to write down some of the things we have talked about. Maybe one day if our kids get as frustrated with how hard schooling can be as we found ourselves feeling at one point they can read this and know that we've been there, but made it through.

It was 12 years ago that Marcus first started working towards his bachelors degree and nearly 7 since I started working on mine. Of course, neither one of us has actually been in school that long, we both had "time off" periods. When we first got married we were both in that state (with exception of a few random online classes that Marcus was attempting). It didn't take long after being married for the two of us to decide that graduating from college was something we absolutely had to choose to do, no matter what sacrifices it meant we would need to make.

I vividly remember the day Marcus came home from UVSC after meeting with the Exercise Science department head three years ago. He found out he had more classes left to take then he thought and discovered he would also have to fork out over $5,000 per semester the first year just to cover out-of-state tuition and fees. We definitely did not have that type of money just lying around and felt totally discouraged. After a few minutes of moping we decided feeling defeated would do us no good and we decided to find a way to make it happen. Marcus and I spent a lot of time working over-time that summer and fall and lived on a tight budget.

Once Connor came along the challenges increased but so did the desire to succeed. In fact, it was around that time that Marcus and I both decided that we wanted to go to graduate school. It was the first time either of us saw that potential in ourselves.

Now, here we are, three years after that initial decision was made and we are done with classes (but not finals quite yet). Marcus has spent a combined total of 100 hours a week working two jobs and attending school. And surprisingly enough, we both still feel like we have been able to spend a lot of time together growing and strengthening our little family. We have actually enjoyed classes and some of them have been highlights in our lives. Neither one of us feel that we would trade these years for anything, and as hard as they've been, we strongly feel they would have been even harder if we weren't doing what we knew we needed to do. We know our educations will pay off in many ways for the rest of our lives. And although we're leaving this stage dirt-poor financially, we're richly blessed with the satisfaction of knowing we worked hard to make this happen and actually got it done!

Thank you to all our family members and friends who have been supportive and encouraging to us as we've done this! And thank you to Grandma Olson for the tremendous guilt trip that kept me going...I might have dropped out without it.

How Can a B+ Possibly Be So Depressing?

I just finished taking my second Psychology test and I got a B+ on it. Usually I would be jumping for joy to have earned this grade on a 2-hour long exam, but this time is a total bummer because I desperately want a solid A in the class (and now I have an A-). Two more tests to go and four assignments. It's still more than possible. Here's to hoping tomorrow (the next exam) goes much better.

P.S. Thank you Marcus for taking care of C-dawg all day so I could get it done!

Captain Procrastinator

I am the captain procrastinator! It never fails, EVERY semester of my college career I find myself playing EXTREME catch-up during the final week of school. Welcome to my life right now.

This semester I am only enrolled in online classes, and the classes I am enrolled in are classes I have chosen to retake in order to improve the grades I currently have on my transcript. I have been successful at diligently working to earn A's in each of them all throughout the semester... EXCEPT for general psychology. I took general psych when I was a senior in highschool and earned an A- in it. The reason I signed up to retake the class was not to improve the grade, but to have the rest of the credits I needed to carry this semester to be full-time (so I could get financial aid). I figured it would be an easy three credits to carry...and it is...I just hadn't started the class until today. Luckily I just took my first test and earned an A on it. Here's to hoping I have enough stamina to do the same on the three tests I have yet to complete as well as the four assignments I have to do.

I have began and finished online classes within one week several times before and it always turns out just fine. I don't necessarily like the pressure it puts on me, though, so I do not know why I choose to do it every semester. I guess I am just a deadline driven person, and if the only deadline a teacher gives me is the final day of the semester I just have to wait until that deadline is close enough to motivate me. Ridiculous.

Doctor's and Dentists

This morning I had a Doctor's appointment and then this afternoon Marcus and I both had a Dentist appointment. I absolutely love my Doctor and my Dentist and I am so glad to have both of them. A great Doctor and Dentist really can make all the difference in the necessary things you just have to do in life to take care of your health. I have to admit, when I think about moving to Texas this fall I am most upset about having to find health care providers who will measure up to all the ones we've found here. I'm sure they exist, I just don't look forward to the hassle of finding them.

Anyway, enough of my tribute and soapbox.

My check up with Dr. Gourley went great. James sounded good and my weight gain is right where I wanted it to be. My blood pressure was 100/69 (far less than half of what it was when Connor was born). Of course, when I was 24 weeks pregnant with Connor I had fantastic blood pressure as well. It didin't go up until 32-34 weeks, and even then it was nothing to worry about. It was just a little higher than usual. I am really anxious to see what it will be at 32-34 weeks this time around. I will be having another ultra-sound to measure and track James' growth in a few weeks and I have some standard lab work to get done in two weeks. I love being pregnant but I am SO EXCITED to have my little guy here.

Marcus and I both had a cavaty filled today and I am so thankful for a dentist who does a good job. I've never been afraid of the dentist, but I have had some uncomfortable visits in the past and am always a little nervous that I will feel more pain than I want to. But good old Doc Olson (my cousin) does some darn good numbing and I didn't feel a thing. The numb feeling even wore off within the hour after it was done. Two thumbs up.

Psychic

O.K., so maybe I am not psychic, but I did make a prediction that totally came true. A few weeks ago Marcus and I were driving around town on a Saturday morning complaining about the disgusting weather we were having. It had been nice and sunny but then all of a sudden this yucky cold front came through and we ended up with snow. I told him that I bet two weeks from that day we would see leaves on some trees. Well, two weeks from that day was yesterday, and I saw leaves on 2 different trees. Amazing, huh? Just kidding...more like a lucky guess. Anyway, I could not be more happy to see that Spring is in full gear and summer will be here before we know it. I love nothing more.