Am I going to survive the next 8 weeks?

So 2009 has gotten off to a rough start for our family. I have been looking forward to my last two classes and then when they started this week I have had nothing but frustration, stress and worry over how I am going to get this done! It all started with my Pell grant issues. I registered for classes and was told my pell grant should pay for them again. After paying my own tuition for the last 2 years I was so happy to get a pell grant to pay for my last few classes! Then I got an email saying I owed tuition the day class started. I was very upset because I had not planned on spending $1200 on tuition this month. After an hour in the CTC office they figured out that yes I do have a pell grant to cover the cost, but I was going to have to pay upfront and get reimbursed. I had to do that in September and I am still waiting on a refund so I didn't want to pay the college more money! Unfortunately it was the only way so I paid.

Class that evening was beyond stressful! This class is essentially student teaching. I need 225 hours in the next 8 weeks to complete the course. And on top of that I need to put together a portfolio of all my employment experience, education, resume and such. I have not worked in ten years so I was very frustrated trying to figure out what I am supposed to put in this portfolio! Luckily the teacher is helping me. I am the only one in the class that is not employed so they get to count the hours they work and until it adds up to 225. I, on the other hand, had to meet with principals and CDC directors to get permission to do my hours. Cody will have to go into hourly care or a friend's house since I need roughly 6 hours a day for the next 8 weeks! So I am very stressed out, worried how this is going to work, worried Cody will be unpleasant since he only has two mornings with me and now he will be in daycare or at a friends house, and worried my portfolio won't be very good!

So I didn't sleep after the first class! The next evening I go to my second class, the one that was supposed to be laid back and somewhat easy. Nope it isn't. The teacher was told to teach Admin II, not Admin I last minute so now I get to write an entire employee handbook! At least the other assignments are too bad, but an entire employee handbook! Oh my goodness! So that night I didn't sleep I was so stressed out. Now it is Friday and I am feeling better. I have met with the school principal and she said she really admires military spouses who go the extra mile to continue their education so she was going to do everything possible to make sure I get my 225 hours! Boy was I relieved! The CDC director is helping me as well. I will be in developmental preschool classroom at the school in the mornings so she is having me work in the preschool classroom that many of the same children are in at the CDC. My focus is special needs so I was very happy she suggested I see the children in two different environments! I am very excited to be in the classrooms starting Monday!

I still question whether I will survive the next 8 weeks! I told Zach that I have never really asked for help when I am in school. I usually handle it all on my own rather well, but this time I am not even going to try. I am relying on him to step in and take over! Eight weeks is not that long so nothing can be put off, I have to start right away and not stop until the classes are done. On the bright side after all this headache and stress I will be graduating in May!!!!! And because I have had to work so much harder to take classes, complete the requirments and all to finally graduate means so much more to me! I can't wait for May!!!!