Just tellin' it like it is...

Sour little apple. Literally and figuratively.

Beck has been a fussy mess lately. And I don't know why. Nor do I know how to combat it besides some good old fashioned patience.

My once two-a-day napper has suddenly decided to dramatically decrease his morning nap (expected), and give up on the afternoon nap too. Today he "rested" - a combo of kicking his feet against his crib, babbling to himself, and sleeping I presume - for two hours. His morning nap was only an hour, so I know he needed to rest/sleep/whatever.

He's into this grunt/whine-until-I-get-what-I-want thing right now too, which is hard for both of us since I am trying to instill manners in the young lad and insist that he say please before I will give him what he wants. And that's really hard when I know that just giving him whatever he wants would be a quicker solution. Then, I think about the long run, the run in which I don't want to raise a spoiled child who is demanding and whiny.

Believe me, it's really trying. And, often, by bedtime, my tolerance level is shot. I'm looking for the towel to throw in, but it was shredded to bits around 4pm. My nerves are in a similar state. I keep chalking it up to a phase. A really long, sigh-inducing phase.

Additionally, I applied for grad school yesterday, and that, too, has added to the head-spinning feeling that I have. (Carrie, are you ready to go back with me???? Puh-leeeeeease????)

{Backstory: Back in 2005, when I graduated from UK with a BS in psychology, I took the dreaded GRE and applied to UT and UofM in hopes of pursuing a Masters in Social Work. Then, after being accepted, and then after graduating, I freaked out and decided to not go. I spent the months of May and June in a state of limbo before deciding to go back to get my degree in education - another bachelors since my state does not have a Masters program for elementary education. Point being, that my GRE scores expire in February of 2010. Like, 4 months away. And, because I don't want to have to retake that pointless exam nor waste any more money on it, it was imperative that I go ahead and apply and at least take a course or two. }

So, that's where I'm at. Now I just need to find someone or something to fund it because the last thing I want to do is to take out more student loans. So, it's either save save save or apply for scholarships/grants which seem to be few and far between. If you know of any, let me know.

We're also amidst a slew of car trouble. B's car has been in the shop since Friday, so we're driving a loaner - a sporty little station wagon called an M3. We lovingly refer to it as the Mousemobile. The repairs are extensive, of course, and I'm dreading the bill. Add to that the fact that once we returned from the dealership my car died in the driveway behind the loaner, and you've got yourself a slew of car trouble. New battery. Installed by my husband in the rain on the day he took off to take us to the pumpkin patch. Sigh...

Did I mention that the furnace was also repaired a couple of weeks ago for $500? Yeah, it's been a fun month. A month in which I thought the extra paychecks would pay off the Jetta. The car that we're paying through the nose for right now as it takes a spa vacation at the VW dealership.

Yup, I'm complaining a little bit. That's life. Not always easy. But, I'm just tellin' it like it is...

ETA: My state requires that all teachers attain a Masters degree. You must start it within five years of graduating from undergrad, and finish it in 10, so my reason for applying now is serving dual purposes.