First one to rise, last one to sleep...

This is an adequate description of most of my life with kids in the house, actually, but especially tonight. Tomorrow I have an 8:00 AM appointment at the gym, so I made sure we were getting boys to bed on time this evening. There's a hitch in the proceedings, however, as Alisdair, who has trouble getting to sleep at the best of times, has a headache and can't settle. I've dosed him and turned lights out and TVs off, but to no avail. Finally I've moved him to my bed to sleep while I sit here quietly and type. I can't go get a bath because that is too much light in a direct path to him, not to mention noise, and I can't go to bed because he's already in my spot (and I'm not climbing up into his bunk, thanks). If I'm very lucky, he'll actually have some success this time and be able to go back to his bed by midnight. Of course, on a day when I was hoping to be in bed... oh, now, this is less of a comfort than I like.

I love my kids, but sometimes being the designated mom is not all it's cracked up to be.


Edit: Aaaaand he's up again. Argh.

College, college everywhere....

So I went on Thursday and did the whole advising thing for the evening degree program. It was actually kind of fun, as I've gotten to know my adviser (aka Emily, the best academic rah-rah person ever) and she's been with me since I first thought "so, how does one go back to school anyway?" I have classes picked now, though I won't be registering until I've proven I had measles and I get my financial aid award (oh please, let them grant me something).

Something we talked about, though, that I had not looked at closely before (or had, but only indirectly, because it did not bear too much thought at this stage): grad school. At one point I was giving thought to law school, but I think I'm not really going to be driving to needing to take on frightening amounts of debt to get a career that will support me. If the way things are going at my current job is any indication, I won't have a ton of issues getting a nice career path lined up either with my current employer or elsewhere in a couple of years. *knock on wood* There's still a certain appeal to the study of IP law, that much is undeniable, but I don't know if I'm sufficiently in love with it to make the sacrifices it would demand. It would be grand and glorious and awful and terrifying, and I'm just not sold on it.

A second option I'd thought about was Library and Information Science. I think I'd actually be a pretty good librarian, but it's a hard gig to get. I'm really more interested in web and community and whatnot, but from what I can tell, the offered Masters degrees there don't cover those things. The IS is more like database admin, network architecture, etc. Which is way too much IT in my IS.

The last option, and one I had not really discussed or thought much about, is an MFA in English/writing. There is apparently such a concept as a low residency masters program, where you have to be on site for a couple of weeks at a time twice a year and everything else is done remotely. It.... could actually work. I wouldn't be doing it for money... I'd be doing it for love (and to refine my craft, but mostly for love). Is love enough of a reason to go to grad school? Is it the only reason to go to grad school. Damned if I know. Sigh.

Oh, and also, if things play out right, I could be out with my degree in as few as 5 quarters. If they don't, it'll be nearly two years. If I take the time to go the extra two years, I will likely be improving my odds of grad school considerably. I don't know yet which I'm wanting. So... yeah. Thoughts. Not sure about direction. Not even sure I'll go that far in my schooling. Not to mention it seems like an MBA of some variety dealing with brand analysis or marketing or whatever would go a lot further, if be a lot less palatable to me. I'm not sure I could live with the process. if an MFA is for love, an MBA would be... well, a lot less love, that's for sure.

Ah well. Such are the ramblings of a woman about to go back to school again. :)