Happy 4th!

We had a wonderful weekend! We stayed in Columbus and hung out around the house. On Saturday, Jackson walked in the Whitehall Parade with his t-ball team. Scott hung ceiling fans. Jackson and Aida played in the sprinkler while we watered our sod (yes, sod!). Ivie hung out with her family and stood by herself. I thoroughly enjoyed my family and worked on my outline for my criminal law class. Overall, it was a fabulous weekend. Here are some pictures (enjoy!):

Day in the life of the Weidners

There is always chaotic, frustrating, and interesting tidbits of life happening every hour in the Weidner household: Jackson is a blossoming little boy, so smart, so curious, athletic, and SO much like me. Scary. Aida on the other hand is artsy, adventurous, outgoing, and sassy. Ivie is SO freaking sweet and trying to emerge from the shadows of her brother and sister to become her own person. We don't quite know who that person will be yet; it's fun to watch and exciting to find out. I would like to write more on this blog, but by the time I get a chance to sit down and type, I'm either exhausted or have forgotten about all of the hilarious things my three kids (and husband) have done or said. It's a shame, because I really do spend a better part of my day laughing at one of the four (the other half is spent yelling at one of the four :-)

My life as a law student continues to throw curve balls, spit balls, and fast balls. My summer semester is almost over and I will then officially be done with my first year of law school . Thank goodness!

Scott has adjusted to his new position and is doing an AWESOME job! He is really good at what he does and his company is lucky to have him. I'm not just saying that because I'm legally and emotionally tied to him. He really is good at his job and his company really is lucky to have him. Really.

Here are a few random pictures; a glimpse into the Weidner household.

So maybe I am smart.

I received my grades today. I improved tremendously this semester! I earned an A and a couple of Bs. I cannot tell you how freaking excited I am! I jumped up and down through the house when I read them. I cannot believe I didn't fail. I had convinced myself I failed my Contracts exam. I even held onto my book because I figured I would need it again next year.

I am SO thankful for the support of Scott and the rest of my family. Scott has spent a lot of time manning the kids by himself while I am at school evenings and while I was studying for finals.

After yesterday's debacle with my Motion to Compel, I needed this good news!

3 p.m.

So, I mentioned that I was working on my Motion to Compel Discovery (again...whatever that means). As of 3 p.m. today I had put about seven days and fifteen hours into an eight-page paper that is only worth 5% of my grade. Many of my classmates claim that they were not putting a lot of effort into it because it was only worth 5%. I don't believe them. These are the same people who "just don't want to be lumped into the middle of the class" with the rest of us commoners. So today I was feeling pretty good: I had the motion written. The only thing left to do was to revise. So at 3 p.m. today, I thought: This might be the boost in my grade I needed since all of the other 10 percenters were slacking on this particular paper. Uh...WRONG.

At approximately 3 p.m. today I just happened to re-read the instructions: Eight page limit. Check. One-inch margins. Got it. Double-spaced. Duh. Times New Roman. I hate Arial. Check. Check. And ...Check. Write in favor of the Defendant. Defendant? Defendant???? DEFENDANT??? Holy....freaking...crap! I had just spent seven days and fifteen hours researching cases and writing in support of the Plaintiff.

My heart dropped. I cried. I think I yelled at Jackson. I panicked. Ten minutes later I finally took a deep breath. The paper was due at 6 p.m. sharp; no exceptions. I furiously began writing and revising. My whole argument was wrong! The only thing that kept me from completely flipping out was the 5% price tag attached to the paper, but I still flipped out because I needed that 5%. This was my chance to get over on Sally (FLASHBACK: Sally was my fictional character in my pre-Atmospheric Science classes ...definitely an engineering student...that always set the curve), but once again Sally still had the edge.

I won't write about my two hours of furiously writing and changing "can" to "cannot" and "does" to "does not" to satisfy my argument in favor of the Defendant. In the end, I covered my mistake with a band-aid: It won't cover the whole injury. It will eventually come off. When you pull it off it hurts. And when the injury still exists, which inevitably it will because a band-aid is not a cast, you still have a cut.

Law school is an EXPERIENCE. Just when you think, "I'm smart." "I GOT this." Law school is there to tell you: "No" and "No...you don't."

Another Packed Weekend

There really isn't any reason why I should still be up. Well, except maybe the fact that I took a two hour nap at 5 p.m. this evening. I had to; I couldn't take it any more. I was exhausted from our weekend. Here it goes:

This weekend we were graced with wonderful company: Adrienne, JW and their four kids. Yes, four kids! Yes...that means if you did your math correctly we had a total of seven kids in our house. Wow! As JW put it: If you are ever contemplating another child, let the Weidner kids and Banks kids grace your presence and you WILL change your mind. Seriously though, we had a blast. The kids had so much fun playing with each other. And the adults had fun playing Wii, eating, and have a few drinks. We even had the company of some high school friends who have a four-year old daughter who added to wonderful weekend.

Feeding seven kids didn't leave much time for school work, so today I was scrambling to read for tomorrow's class and begin my Motion to Compel Discovery and Memorandum in Support(doesn't mean much to you...me neither). All I know is that this last part of my Legal Research and Writing class has just solidified my feelings that I don't want to be a lawyer. Why am I in law school you ask? Good question. I like what I am learning and I like the challenge. I've also decided I want to be an environmental lobbyist. Apparently a J.D. is needed for this profession. Good for me since I don't want to be a lawyer.

So anyway, my Motion to Compel is one reason why I am still up. The other reasons: I get easily sucked into the Internet: Facebook, blogs, pictures, music, news...doesn't matter. If I didn't check these various pages every thirty minutes, my Motion to Compel Discovery would be done. Damn you Internet.

Anyway...another wonderful weekend with family and friends. I'm not sure if I say this enough, but I LOVE being back in Ohio. I LOVE being around family and friends that I grew up with. Next weekend we have another house full. I am hosting a party for Jackson and Ivie and Aida has her first dance recital. Below are some pictures from her rehearsal. this weekend. Too cute! I actually got teary-eyed seeing her on stage. I don't really know why, just one of those motherly moments.

Aida with her cousin Arrione.

Aida's "Festival of the Arts"

Yep, Aida had an "art show". Her art show consisted of ten different pieces of work ranging from mixed media to sand. I was SO impressed. Aida is such an artsy girl (some might say free-spirited.) She attends a REALLY GOOD preschool. One of six schools in Franklin County to receive an excellent rating (of some sort...if I wasn't two glasses of wine deep I might be able to recall the exact title...)

Aida's "Mama" :-)

House:

I'll be happy when we get sod! When I am gone in the evenings at class, apparently it becomes a good idea to not only let our kids play in the sod-less, nail-infested muddy yard, but the neighborhood kids too. We are slowly reaching the status as the "funnest" house in the neighborhood: Thank you daddy Scott Weidner and THANK YOU Mama for being away three nights every week!
Congrats to Scott:

Tomorrow Scott begins his role as GM of his own account! He definitely deserves it!

Back from Chicago

After a wonderful visit with my aunt, cousins, and uncle, we are back from Chicago. My aunt and uncle spoiled everyone: Aunt Lisa catered to Aida's every wish and Ivie's butt never touched the ground. My mom and I were spoiled with fresh meats and fishes, 14-year old wines, and Starbucks coffee every morning. I got home and decided that my $10.00 bottles of wine and frozen fish are no good. My wine suddenly tastes like vinegar. Scott says thanks, Uncle Julian.

Aida with my cousin Shelby and her niece Olivia.

Saturday night, I hung with the big dogs: My younger cousins. Soooo.... I used to pride myself on my ability to party, hang out to wee hours of the morning and do a bit of drinking, then get up the next morning like nothing happened. NOT ANYMORE. The main purpose of the Chicago trip was to celebrate my younger cousin's 21st birthday. I wasn't just on the planning committee; I was the planning committee. I organized dates, sleeping arrangements, and participants. So when 11 p.m. rolled around and I still a) hadn't had a drink and b) were still waiting to go out, and I was ready to call it a night and go to sleep, I was kindly told "No Way!" and handed a Red Bull and vodka. I'll admit, I had a blast. I was totally out of my 30-year-old-mother-of-three league, but I had a blast. I went to the club. I danced. I laughed.

Shelby (her gangsta face), Rachel (the birthday girl), and me (the mom).


Then I went home while the youngins went to the after bars (what???). I thought "Great. I can get back to my cousin's apartment and get to sleep before the riff raff gets home and keeps me up until 5 a.m.". So just as I was about to curl up in my cousin's awesome bed in his awesome downtown Chicago apartment...not just one, but four youngins come pounding on the door. To make a long story short...I went to bed at 5 a.m. and got up at 6:45 a.m. and I'm STILL trying to catch up. But, like I said, I. Had. A. Blast!

The awesome view from Adam's bedroom window.

I sadly started summer classes yesterday. A big gigantic BOO! I am not feeling it. One week in between the semester from hell and summer is simply not enough. I hope I get my law school mojo back soon.

The house is looking good and becoming more and more comfortable. I LOVE IT!

Aida came home to her room painted pink and purple.

Tomorrow is kindergarten graduation: Tear.