Back to "Normal"

Again, it's been a week since I last wrote. I do truly intend to write more often than that, so I will have to make it a goal and try to stick with it!

I have now completed two days of work at my new job, plus I worked 8 hours throughout last week. I was mostly just doing paperwork and getting acclimated to my new office, but this full time has certainly been an adjustment. It's funny that being out of it for just under two months could change your habits so much but it seems to have done it to me. I am tired and cranky at the end of the long days. The kids are tired too, and this morning was worse than yesterday. It was also compounded by free dress for Spring Picture Day, so I had to curl Keely's hair and then Quinn decided he didn't want to wear the outfit he'd picked out. A fit ensued, and I was already short on time so I lost my cool. Luckily, James was still here to make peace and we got through it. Then I forgot my laptop! I am so not used to having to bring a laptop to work, but I cannot forget it again. I am lucky that they are an office with lots of people coming and going, so they have spare computers. Anyways, the days themselves are long and somewhat tedious as I read and get up to speed on new acronyms and tasks, mostly just trying to figure out what I am supposed to be doing. It will get better though, and I tack this up to the typical "new job" experience. I found out today that I will be getting my own office (rather than sharing with a co-worker) so I am happy for that!

After work today, I took Quinn to his first soccer practice. It was held indoors of course since Spring just doesn't want to arrive here in Utah. I am helping coach and it was really fun. It also really made me want to play soccer again! (Note to Self: try and find a team for me) They did some passing drills first and then scrimmaged the 1st grade girls team (the Pink Pandas lol). And FYI, their team name is the Yellow Pikachus (after a Pokemon character, and it was not Quinn's choice - he wanted the Stingers). Quinn did really well, even scoring a few goals when he played offense. I think I definitely see some improvement since he last played...they play in school at recess so I think that's helping quite a bit. He is also excited about it, and that makes a HUGE difference!

Lastly, Quinn was chosen to participate in an Art Show at the local mall! It will be displayed for a week and winners will be selected tomorrow night. We will probably go check it out this weekend, and I will be sure to take pictures by his art work. He has no idea what was selected so it will be a surprise for all of us :) I am proud of him, and happy that he takes after the Donovan family with his artistic ability...I absolutely cannot draw anything that isn't straight lines or geometric shapes!

This and That

I know it has been a while and I have left my faithful readers un-updated on the life and times of the Donovan household. So instead of breaking it into separate posts, I intend to get you up to date all at once here.

First, the job search is now over. I have accepted a position, and I am excited for the new opportunity. I will get the chance to work with some of my old co-workers and get to learn a lot of new skills that will be beneficial to my career. I know this seems vague, but it's hard to explain to non-engineers :) Suffice it to say, I am happy with my choice and hope that I have made the right one. It's always hard not to second guess yourself but I am trying to remain as optimistic as possible to make the best of this new venture. And I am happy to get back in the swing of things, back to the working world once again. I can't say I won't miss the easy going life of a stay at home mom though. There are definitely benefits and I have enjoyed them. I only wish I could have known how long the break was going to be, so that I could have been stress free and truly have enjoyed the time. It has been almost 2 months, but it flew by as life does and I think I really didn't stop and enjoy as much as I should have. Still though, it has been a nice break from the daily grind and I am happy to get back to my more balanced life. I start the new job full time on Monday, March 30th and the kids will return to EDP, as they did when I was working at the old job. My hours will remain about the same, but I have to do a full day Friday. We'll see how this goes, I may increase my hours on Monday to Thursday to get out early on Friday.

Okay, so next to the fun subjects...Quinn and Keely. They finished their 3rd quarter at school and got report cards last week. We also met with the teachers for final conferences. Quinn did really well, getting all the same or better marks in each subject on his report card. His teacher had nothing really negative to say about him, but she just wishes he would stop and slow down on his work. She knows how smart he is, but he rushes through his work and she knows that if he took his time, he could even do better. He has always been a busy child, eager to get to the next activity. This seems to be continuing in his life, and we struggle to encourage him to slow down. It's tough because he is so smart that he can do that, rush through it and do just fine. But like his teacher said, we know that he could be doing amazing work, not just good work. She also made sure to mention that Quinn prays for me every morning, that I find a new job. He is such a sweet child :) Keely is also doing really well, sounding out all of her letters and starting to read 3 letter words. She has gotten better at being nice to others and that was really her only weak area in school. She is learning a lot and getting excited for Kindergarten!

We let them each pick two books at the Book Fair. Quinn chose The Tales of Despereaux, about 200 pages long and read it all in about 3 days! He has such a zest for reading and I am so happy for that, it is a trait that will last for life. Keely also chose chapter books, because if her brother can read them then so can she :)

Lastly, today is Quinn's 1/2 birthday. I cannot believe he is 7 1/2 years old! We made him a funfetti cake in honor and had it for dessert tonight.

And really lastly, Quinn starts soccer this week. His first practice was snowed out but they hope to squeeze in a practice on Thursday (if it doesn't snow again) before the first game on Saturday. He got new cleats and chin guards on the weekend and suited up in the house the past few nights, playing indoors with his flat ball. He seems to be excited for it, and I hope it works better than when we tried it two years ago. The good thing is that all of his school friends are on his team so he should feel comfortable and have fun, the most important thing at his age! Keely also got in on the action, using Quinn's old equipment and now wants to play too. She seems to have good athletic ability so I think we will sign her up in the fall.

And that's life right now here in our house...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Top of the morn' to you! (well, it's not morning but I can't think of another good Irish greeting) We celebrated the day as we do every year, with the traditional Irish dinner. Or maybe the American version of what we think is traditional Irish. It was nice not to have to work today, because the meal really takes all day to cook. I put the corned beef in the Crock Pot this year, and that was a first for me. I used a combination of beer (Beamish to be specific) and apple cider as the liquid. Then added onions and spices, and cabbage at the end. It came out really good, after cooking on high for 6 hours or so. Corned beef is not complete without mashed potatoes and they are always a hit in my house. I also made homemade Irish Soda Bread, so called that because of the baking soda that is a main ingredient. It came out really yummy too, and I love it with a bit of butter because it compliments the raisins and caraway seeds. I think that is the only way I will eat raisins these days! Keely demanded that we eat in the dining room since it was a "holiday" and we even used the good china. Because we might as well, it's such a waste to have it to use only a few times a year. So that was our day, and the kids also got lucky gold chocolate coins at school from the visiting Irish leprechauns (who, according to Keely, are headed back to Ireland on Thursday in case you were curious). I also bought an extra large corned beef purposely for leftovers -- and we will be making reuben sandwiches later this week, yum!

Good Fortune

I don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to write a quick update for all of my loyal readers about the last week and my interviews for potential jobs. I had three interviews, and they all went well. In fact, I think interviewing is pretty fun! Totally not kidding, I just don't get nervous and it's nice to meet new people and hear about different possibilities. I have one job offer, and they want me to start tomorrow! Again, not kidding. I have been honest with the potential new boss at this company about the other things that I have going on, and he is understanding and patient as I process through my options. The other two job interviews resulted in 2nd interviews (pretty common these days) and those are scheduled for tomorrow afternoon and Thursday morning. Also, the original solid lead (from 2+ weeks ago) is coming into play as they called on Friday and I'm going over there tomorrow morning. So that makes 4 options if you are keeping track. I am so grateful to have options in this tough time, and this week will most likely be my last week of interviews. I am happy with the choices, but they are all vastly different and the intangibles really come into play to make a final decision. The one offer I have is very fair, good compensation and benefits but I have some questions I need answered before I can decide if it is the right place for me. In the course of the other interviews this week, I will get those questions answered and then see if the other interviews result in offers. Obviously, I am trying to push the companies as much as I can because I don't have the luxury of a current job paying me while I am exploring these options. But things are most definitely looking good, and I hope that by this time next week I will have a new job!

Paradin'

Today was the St. Patty's Day parade downtown. Every year, the kids' school puts a float in it. Last year we helped make the float decorations, it was very time consuming but we didn't get to see our hard work come to fruition because we didn't attend the actual parade. The weather was one of those bad March days, cold and gloomy. This year, I helped quite a bit with the decorations (since I have a lot more time on my hands lol) and I was bound and determined that we wouldn't miss the parade. And the weather was glorious, sunny and warming up into the 40s by parade time. We arrived early about 9 AM to set up. Our float was #75 of about 180 entries (!) so we didn't start moving until after 11 AM! Once the parade float was all set up, I finally took out the camera and snapped some pre-parade shots. Here is Keely with her two good friends from school, Lexi and Olivia.
And Quinn sporting some sprayed green hair for the occasion.
Finally, we were on the move. Because of the good weather, we had a great turnout with probably about 50 people walking behind the float in support of the school.
Here we are entering the Gateway, and making our way through the parade route.
Keely and Olivia walked together the whole time, arm in arm...so cute :)
So it was a nice kickoff to the upcoming holiday, and I am glad we took the time to travel downtown this morning for it. We're all tuckered out tonight but it was a lot of fun. Next year though, I want to actually watch the parade instead!

She Can See Clearly...For Now

When Keely went for her well check and immunizations, they tested her vision. This was really the first time in her life, because the previous times they tried she flatly refused to identify letters, shapes, animals, or anything else they put on that wall (you know she is nothing if not stubborn!). She can also now recognize and name all of her letters and that's the best way to do an eye test. So they tried the right first and she did pretty well, but then she seemed to get bored on the left. The results of this imperfect test were that her vision was not perfect in either eye, and slightly worse in one eye. So the doctor recommended that we see a pediatric eye specialist to make sure everything was developing normally. Now, James and I both wear glasses so I feel like we are treading on thin ice here and it's inevitable that one or both of them wear glasses at some point. Quinn so far though is fine, and now he gets tested every year at school.

So today I took Keely to the specialist, who dilated her eyes and tested her vision again. Keely was a model patient, and was super excited to be there (as I told the nurse, who wished that all her patients could be this easy). The good news (to me) is that she doesn't need glasses, but is slightly far sighted. This is common in children her age, and the doctor recommended a recheck in 3 months. The bad news (to Keely) is that she doesn't need glasses. Apparently, glasses are a fashion statement to her and she totally thought it would be fun to have them :) So now I have to try to explain that it's actually a good thing to not need glasses...

10-4

When Quinn first learned to ride his bike, he was content to ride in front of our house and down to the corner, where I could see him the whole time. Now that he's a pro, he wants to go farther and faster. He's now started going around the block, and obviously I cannot see him the whole time. First we let him go with Dylan, a neighbor who is about 14 and knows a lot of people in the neighborhood. Then he started wanting to see if his friend Emma could play, and now they ride together sometimes alone and sometimes with her older brother (he's in 3rd grade). The latest is that they play in the neighborhood "park", and I put that in quotes because I would hardly call it a park. It's about 50'x100' and has a small basketball court and a couple of little bouncy animals to ride on. But they like to hang out there, and it's way in the far corner of our neighborhood at probably the farthest distance from our house. Let me also explain that our street is a loop, and once Quinn heads further into the neighborhood, he can't get out without passing back by our house. Nevertheless, I worry and I've had to ride over to the park a couple of times already (and it's not even really warm every day yet) and get him to come back home. So I've been telling James that we need a set of walkie talkies, which will also come in handy when we camp.

This weekend we got our REI dividend, and we went over there on Saturday because it was burning a hole in our pockets :) What we found was a set of (mostly free) two way radios that work up to 10 miles away, and they will be the perfect solution to Quinn's new found independence. We tested them out yesterday...he rode around and James buzzed him every couple of minutes and then we tested it from the park and it worked great! So now I can rest a little easier knowing that I can give him a ring whenever I need to talk to him or tell him it's time to come home for dinner :)

Not So Fast, My Friend

What I failed to mention when I last wrote was that the kids' school schedule this month is almost non-existent. They have 5 half days, and two full days off. It's almost like they aren't in school, considering that they have half days every Friday already. And when Keely has a 1/2 day, she's only in school from 8-10 AM...hardly enough time to get anything accomplished before you have to turn around and pick her up. So when I was writing out the monthly calendar on Sunday, James looked at it and said, "Oh, that's a sure sign you will get a job!" Murphy's Law, you know...

Fast forward to the last two days. I should never complain about nothing happening because in the course of two days time, I have 3 interviews scheduled for next week! And one will likely result in an immediate offer letter, and can I start on the 16th?!?! Wow, how things change. Now things are moving too fast for me, and I want to slow it down so I can be sure I will be making the right decision. So as my favorite college football analyst Lee Corso likes to say, "Not so fast, my friend." I can sleep easier tonight knowing that I will most likely have some options in this tough job market, and I am grateful that things are moving in a positive direction.

Impatient

This really is an up and down time for me. It's hard not to let my emotions and insecurities get the best of me, and James is the one who suffers the most. Some days are just worse than others, and he gets the brunt of it when he gets home. The job search continues to be slooow...and it is a test of my patience. It is still hard to tell what companies are really hiring and which are just dangling carrots out to see what they can get. I would say I still only have 1 solid lead, but it looks like it will be another couple of weeks before it even gets to an interview stage. Each new day seems to bring both a mix of good news and bad, but I am trying to stay positive and only concentrate on the good leads and conversations I am having each day. My impatience lies with not only the slowness of this process, but also with my lack of decision making on Plan B. Putting the wheels in motion fof the teaching license is something that I just don't know when to do. I feel that the longer I wait, the more I compromise my ability to find a job in that area. At the same time, I feel that I haven't given this search enough time yet. Of course Murphy's Law is that when I decide to put Plan B into motion, something will happen on the engineering front. But the opposite could be true, and the longer I wait to start the Plan B process, the less time I have to find a teaching job by August when most new positions start. So many questions in my mind, and it's really hard not to second guess my decisions. The one thing I need to do is stay positive, and stay in control of those things I can control. And practice my patience because it's clear that I am going to need it :)

Tales from the Weekend

The rhyming festival was a success, at least by my definition. Keely is a good host, and she had the whole thing planned out. Of course as long as we will listen to her wishes, everything goes smoothly. As her Pre-K teacher says to me, "I know she will be a CEO one day, but will she be one with a heart?". She started by dressing me up, and having me curl my hair. She even applied my lipstick for me :) We took turns reading from rhyming books (mostly Dr. Seuss) and then the kids danced to some music. We ended with ice cream sundaes, and then I was allowed to take off my "fancy" clothes. Here I am with the kids, Keely is in her mermaid costume and the boys were not required to change. Notice the butterfly clip in my hair...
Here is me and Nana, who had limited dress up clothes so she used a belt to accessorize.
And here I am with Keely, ready for the festival!
The rest of the weekend was fairly normal, the weather was nice and the kids got to get outside. We also went out to dinner at Famous Dave's (thanks Nana!) and the kids went to see Tales of Despereaux with Nana yesterday while James and I went grocery shopping and I made Asparagus Lasagna, yum! Here are a few more pictures of the kids outside enjoying the springlike temperatures. We took the training wheels off Keely's bike so she can learn to ride it. She did good on her first time out!
Keely also did really well with her shots, and didn't cry at all. Two in one arm and one in the other! She is now officially ready for Kindergarten :)