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...