a ME post!

I haven't posted about me in a long time!  So let's see, I graduated in December, then spent the next 3 months writing my grad school essays and looking for a job.  I found a job near the end of February, working for Youth Corrections.  I do shifts at the youth detention center and at the local youth crisis center.  All in all I like the job.  I work with awesome people, and working with the kids is surprisingly low-key. The hours are random and can be cruddy, but at least it's up to me what shifts I take.  It's only part-time, about 30 hours a week, so I'm still looking for a full-time job in the social work field, but this job is a good stepping-stone in the meantime. (also, this job has a TON of downtime . . . I'm writing this post at work.)
So far I think my kids are surviving fairly well with a working mom.  During school it was hard sometimes when I'd say goodbye to them in the morning, then leave for work at 2 when they were still at school, and not get home until 10 when they were already asleep.  It's better now that it's summer and I can spend the half of the day that I am home with them.  
Natalie is continuing to be the little mama of the house, she's so great about babysitting the kids so much.  It stresses me out a lot worrying about parentifying her, but mostly she likes it.  She's a little homemaker at heart; loves to cook and organize and do fun activities with the kids.  And then of course we do still have a dad at home.  There are quite a few evenings when he's able to help out at least a little bit.
I found out a few weeks ago that I got into my master's degree program, which means I'm starting school again in August! The degree I'm getting is called a Master's of Social Work.  The program is through the U of U (I'm a Ute!  Now I need to hate BYU.) and they do distance ed broadcasting all around the state.  They start every 3 years with a cohort of about 30 students (in Cedar), so I'm feeling lucky that the timing was right and lucky that I got in. Especially since doing this program has been my plan ever since I decided to go into this field in 2009!  The program is meant for people who are working full-time, so it's spread out over 3 years instead of 2, and classes are held Friday evenings and all day Saturday.  I'm super curious what it's going to be like.  I registered for my classes this week-- stuff like human development and social work ethics-- and I bought my books too.  I can't wait to get started!