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I know I need to update, but I'm too tired to be witty.

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7 out of 8

I was so sure that I had gotten an 8 out of 8 on this quiz. Sadly it wasn't to be. I can take some small comfort in the fact that only 3 of us (out of 23) got 7s and only one person got an 8, but I wanted that one person to be me! Missing that question was purely a function of missing class on Wednesday, because I didn't have a full understanding of what residency by a US citizen in a foreign country meant for diversity jurisdiction, but I suppose it could have been worse. All in all folks seem to have done better on this quiz, but there were still people getting 3s, 4s, and 5s. Is it mean to wonder how they are managing to score so low? I probably am jinxing myself but I'm glad I have a solid "B" right now. I would imagine there are some that are failing the course based on those 2 quizzes. There were a few people who seemed really upset after class. On the one hand I feel bad for them, on the other hand I'm in competition with them for class rank so I hope they continue this trend. See? I'm a cuttthroat lawyer already. According to my calculations, I am either at the top of my class, tied for the top, or very very near the top -- like person 2 or 3. I figure this because I got a 6 on the first quiz, along with several others, and that was the top grade on that quiz. I got a 7 on the second quiz and only one person scored higher. So if that person also got a 6 on the first quiz they would be in the top. But if that person scored a 4 or lower I've got the top spot (or am tied for the top spot). If they scored a 5 we are tied. It's all very complicated and it makes my brain hurt. I wish I knew what everyone else got on both quizzes!!!!! I really, really, really want to be in the top 10% going into the Fall Semester, and in a class of 23 that means being in the top 2. I'm definitely working hard enough.

On a fun note, last night when Sule and Judah came to pick me up from school I brought Judah in to meet some of my classmates. Of course he won them over immediately because that's just how he is. I'm sure they'll be seeing a lot of each other for the next 4 years. I also noticed yesterday that he's getting another tooth! Right on the bottom next to the first one. Cuteness overload, and he isn't even too fussy. I'm so lucky to be this kiddos mom.

What a week!

I have been beyond frazzled and exhausted this week. Between changing my plans for school and deciding to get a job, Judah's teething, and a bunch of weird happenings, I'm just happy it is pretty much over. I still have to go to my old temp agency today to update my file, but after that I'm off until Monday. I have to say, Wednesday was the most interesting day of all. Wednesday afternoon, Sule called to tell me that he'd rescued a kitten outside his job and asked if I'd come and get it. I had no idea, and still have no idea, what we're going to do with this kitty. But I brought her home and she is extremely cute, and Judah thinks she's so fascinating! She was afraid of him at first but now they're best buds. So after rescuing a kitten, I had to prepare to go to school. The only problem was that both of the sitters I'd lined up weren't available. So I called my professor to tell him I'd be 15 minutes late, and decided to pick Sule up from work at 6 and that he would drop me off at class. We needed gas, but I asked him to wait until he dropped me off because I was already late. Yeah, that worked out great. We promptly ran out of gas on the highway 5 minutes from school. Because I thought we were just running out to get daddy and then going home, Judah was wearing his pajamas, no socks, and had no diaper bag. I win worst mommy of the day. What's ironic is that I had *just* told Sule that we should keep an extra bottle, formula, diapers and wipes in the car for emergencies. Of course I hadn't gotten around to doing that yet. So I missed class on Wednesday and was freaking out about Thursday's quiz. I did well on last week's quiz (6 out of 8, which was the highest grade anybody in the class got), but this week's was supposed to be short answer and the questions were much more difficult. I spoke to one of my classmates about what he'd reviewed, and I just did all my reading and hoped for the best. Lo and behold: a multiple choice quiz! And I rocked it out if I may say so myself. I'll be very surprised if I didn't get all 8 questions right. YAY!

Here are some pictures of Judah and kitty being cute.

Happy 8 Monthday Bug!

And he got a tooth as a Monthday present! After we dropped Sule off at work this morning Judah was a little fussy in the backseat, so I reached back and he was holding my hand. He put my finger in his mouth and bit it, and there was something really sharp in there. So as soon as we got home I checked, and sure enough there is something sprouting! I can't believe my baby is growing up so fast. He's well on his way to walking, drank water out of a straw yesterday (!), and now has a tooth. I remember being excited because he finally opened his eyes. It's so bittersweet!

After thinking really hard about going part time and having a long discussion with Sule weighing all the pros and cons, we've decided that is definitely the best course of action. The good thing is that my school is very lax about letting you go back and forth between the fulltime and parttime programs, so if things ever change in the future I can always go fulltime. We've also decided its in everybody's best interest that I get a job. So not only will I be working fulltime, I'll also be going to law school in the evenings. I'm having panic attacks about it (mostly about never seeing my Bean), but Su assures me that it's no different from him working his odd hours and Judah is still totally in love with Daddy. I talked over working fulltime with some classmates yesterday and they are all confident that we can do it. So at least I've got that. I'm trying to find out if they have some sort of organization or group for parttimers who work. Again, though, I'm very blessed to have a great support system. My dad wasn't keen on me working and going parttime, but once I explained that daycare costs are just not feasible on one income he understood, although I think he's contemplating keeping Judah himself during the day so that I can go fulltime! lol. They are already gaga for each other as it is. So I'm on a job hunt. Which sucks. And I can't help thinking that if we'd decided this before I could have been working this whole time!

Ugh. Just ugh.

So, I haven't posted in awhile because this has been a very hard week. Between Thursday's quiz (ugh), lack of sleep (ugh), and my never-ending hunt for daycare (ugh) I am pretty much ready to crawl under the covers and not come out. I'm now considering going part-time (UGH!) because it is looking impossible to find a daycare that we can afford and someone that I trust to care for my kiddo. I have a problem with in-home daycares, only because I think most lack the structure that I'm looking for in a daycare, and the centers are crazy expensive. It's actually quite depressing. I contacted the Assistant Director of Admissions today b/c she and I have a friendly relationship, and asked if it is still possible to go part-time in the fall. She thinks it is, but I have to make my decision quickly. She even offered to help me look for daycare! She's very sweet, hence why I called her first. Going part-time was NOT something that I wanted to do for many reasons. 1.) 4 years instead of 3; 2.) Less availability of summer associateships; 3.) I JUST DON'T WANNA! But I guess if that's the only option then that is what I'll have to do. It won't be that bad I suppose, and the upside would be that I'd get to stay home with my Judah-bug and not be worried sick that something is happening to him when I'm not around. I'll mull it over this week and have a decision made by Friday. I could always change to full-time in a later semester when the childcare situation is better, and there are plenty of my LCOP classmates who'll be part-time. I think I'm making up my mind as I type this. It's hard to let go of the fulltime student goal that I had, but I suppose this is best for now. It won't kill me to be a part-timer.

That said, I'm still going to hold out hope that I find a center that has sliding-scale rates or scholarships. Here's hoping.

They sure don't ease you in!

I'm exactly one week into class and I'm already swamped. It isn't so much work that I can't get it done, but it requires literally ALL of my baby-free time. Today I have 3 cases to brief before class, and I need to prepare for the two quizzes I have this week. That said, it has been the most rewarding and exciting week EVER! I'm already starting to see legal issues in a totally different light. A good example would be the California Supreme Court decision that upheld Proposition 8. Now, as a law student, I'm really interested in reading the courts published decision to find out what their rationale was. If I ever get a moment to read anything other than caselaw, I'll have to get on that. lol

So far we are working on issues of Property, which to date includes finders' keepers laws and adverse possession. Who ever knew that whole cases could be decided based on whether a wallet was found on a table or on the floor, and that you could have a whole class discussion centered on the difference between a "lost" or "mislaid" item. Also, as I mentioned, we have started learning to brief cases. Apparently it is to be expected that as a 1L you will pretty much suck at briefing, but I have to admit it helps you organize the facts and holdings of each case in your mind. They keep telling us that part of the 1L experience is to be hopelessly confused, so I'm just happy we haven't come to that point yet.

On a Judah-bug note, he has been doing pretty well for the last few days, being his usual infectious self during the day and sleeping pretty well at night. We've adjusted his schedule because we get home at about 8:15 right now, but the slightly later bedtime actually seems to be helping him. We also had to move back to 3 naps. He had been doing 2 for a couple weeks but I don't think he was ready yet. We've found that the only way anyone gets any sleep around here is if Judah takes a nap in the evening. So far so good!