Birthday Week!

I survived birthday week. Yes, with three kids (granted one is a set of twins) we ended up with everyone's birthdays within a single week...and that week is at the end of the school year here so there are often end of the school year activities going on too.

With graduation and getting ready for selling the house (and moving!) we forced the kids into doing low-key stuff. Each got to pick a place to eat. They had a small stack of family gifts to open. They each had a cake.

Andy's pokemon cake

Doug's Lego clone trooper

 Josie's Strawberry Shortcake

Josie also took watermelon in to her class for a special birthday snack, and Doug and Andy had popsicles with their classes.

Shifting focus

Now that the semester is done and I know where I am headed (I have a job!) I have to shift my focus. All of those little house things need to get to a finalized stage so that we can sell the house. I need to paint baseboard and trim, I need to paint the walls in the kids' rooms so that they look fresh, and I need clean/pack so that the house looks nice for showing. The after-graduate party got us started on being cleaned up, my mom worked on painting some trim, and my in-laws came and got my bathrooms wallpapered (yes...after two years I finally have a mirror back up and Jim hung towel racks and the toilet paper holder).

Oh, and I have to clear out my desk area on campus. And yes, the children will be out of school soon. 

God only gives us what we can handle...right?

Almost there....almost there....

Graduation--- check!
Diploma in hand and on transcript--- check!
Grading done--- check!

Well, I still have a few lingering GA responsibilities. I cannot complain because I mostly did what I needed to do to finish my dissertation this semester.
I have also enjoyed having relatives here around graduation. We had a party the day after graduation. I am fortunate because both my mother and my mother-in-law helped me clean house for the party.

Counting the days

Just a few days until graduation when I am "officially" done...

However, the stack of grading for the class I was teaching says otherwise.
Then it is on to figuring out moving. I have accepted a job at another university. It will be different teaching more classes. I will have to keep everything under control with teaching and family and trying to research/publish and just plain settle in. However, I will be gainfully employed and not just employed.