Just an overall update

I took a week off from the painting which was good timing as Sean was working eleven nights in a row while his mirror partner was in New Zealand. We are taking those extra shifts to pay for a luxurious spring break trip to St. Louis. That's right, Louis, not Lucia. We figured we can drive there easily and there is a lot of stuff for the kids to do there. We have driven through multiple times and even stopped once for a brief glance at the arch, but it's time to really check it out. The kids are excited and you know why? Because we set the bar low and we consistently stay under it.

Sean will be switching off the 3pm to 1am shift, back to his 7pm to 5am shift. So, we will have family dinners again but the sleeping part will be harder for Sean. It was annoying for the kids when he was working on school days though, they wouldn't get any time with him. Now they are really having fun playing board games with him and I am really having fun not playing with them. I have been teaching Megan to cook, long overdue, but now her favorite hobby (according to me). Anna has been learning how to bake cookies on her own, mostly due to my laziness. I stay in the kitchen doing other stuff while she tries to trick me into helping. I just keep telling her to read the recipe and somehow it works out and they turn out great. Do not be afraid to eat her cookies, she is a fanatic hand washer. I would say she has some OCD tendency there but really, when you are working with raw eggs, I think it is justified.

Patrick is still enjoying Skylanders and looking up things to buy online. I think this has really helped his spelling skills. He can type in all sorts of things and find listings on eBay and then bring us bags of coins so we will order it for him. We almost never do. He did find some rare Skylander thing at Best Buy online recently though and it was legit so Sean did order that. It was like Christmas morning waiting to play that. He can only play when Sean isn't working, so that's another reason the kids didn't like that 3pm to 1am shift.

Emily has made herself a box to play kitty in. She is Miss Emily Kitty. For a few months now she has been acting like a cat, lots of meowing in the car. None of the other kids ever did anything like this, it is so bizarre. When she gets up in the morning, at a leisurely 10am, she will get right into character. She also loves to play made up songs on the piano and it doesn't sound horrible. I mean, sometimes it is rather loud but in general, I've heard worse...

I have been spending time with my retreat group and getting introduced to a lot of good books, even a devotional that I'm also "encouraging" Megan and her friends to read called Jesus Calling. One of my favorite books is Strange Gods, Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life. Very interesting read about the things that are like false idols that come between us and God. Facebook right on the cover! Now I'm trying to see if I can get some small church groups set up for Megan's age, rather than just the huge youth group which is good but kids would share more in a smaller setting. So as I end one time commitment, two more pop up. It's under control though and I am saying no to some things and not continuing with others.

Spring sports are about to begin though so we'll see what that does to us. Patrick and Emily will have soccer practice on the same nights each week and I guess Patrick will also have games but Emily will not. Megan is probably going to do track again, kind of a lot going on with her right now so we will see. Need something for Anna besides paying her to swim laps. Yes, we sunk to a new low, paying them to do laps. Did finally get some friends to come over to swim at least, that gets most our kids in the water. The novelty has worn off. I am swimming again, out of guilt after all I spent on the new pump, which is at least saving us money now. And I am going to try and get Patrick and Emily's rooms painted this week. Hoping tomorrow is full of motivation!