Since my last post Eric took a Grant Writing Job at UCSB and I became the CEM customer experience manager at Michaels. Customer Experience Manager you ask with a tone of confusion in your voice? I run the classroom program. I make sure we have all the teachers we need for Knitting, Crocheting, Fine Arts, Paper Crafting, Beading, Wilton, Kids Crafts, Rainbow Loom, Passport to imagination, and birthday parties. I am also in charge of specific areas within the store as well as running the store when it is my shift and a long list of other boring to anyone who is not doing them duties. "Wait didn't you just get hired?" Yes, yes I did. I was hired in November and promoted in April. Yes is was a fast move. If I do say so myself it was the best thing the store could have done ;-) I really do love the job. It is super fast passed, crazy, busy and hectic. My crafting knowledge gets tested daily. I now know that I did not know which glue was best to glue artificial feathers into a horses main. I also didn't know how to cast resin to mold wood paneling on. The best of all. Modge Podge has a glitter version!
Anyway other than that life has been life. Adjusting to having 2 full time working parents and summer break with a young child still at home will take some time. The plus and the negative is that my 2 days off each week are usually weekdays and Eric's are usually weekends. This means that there are only 3 days a week where the big boys have to take turns being in charge of the youngest boy. The negative is that Eric and I rarely have time off together and the whole family is almost never in the same place at the same time. My shifts are usually mid shift that end in the late evening so on days that I work I am rarely home for dinner.
The boys are taking their turns with cooking dinner and while this house is no where close to being spotless everyone always has clean clothes to wear. This is a feat if you ask me. Oh and most of the time there is even food in the house. Thank goodness for all those who have stepped in to help out and the fact that Eric's job is close and flexible and that he can work from home when you have a sick or injured kid. Yes we have had to use that. With this new schedule of mine I am not online as much, or at social events as often as I would like, or planning them like normal. This is just the way it is. I still want to be involved it will just be less frequent.
In the last couple of months
Elliot turned 9, Sprained his ankle 3 times. Finished 3rd grade, got the flu, and has anxiety about having a working mom. Started Reading, really reading like finishing big chapter books reading. This is HUGE!
Dylan made National Honors Society, Promoted 8th grade, turned 14, went to his first church dance, danced with girls and admitted to being interested in girls. He is also willing to ride his bike anywhere to hang out with his friends.
Chandler turned 16, dyes his hair a new color almost every Friday, talks very little to us controlling adults, starts city college next week for summer classes and rides the bus almost anywhere. He also had some cool artwork displayed at an end of the year VADA art show.
Jo, I just came back from a fabulous sisters weekend. Then had my big open house event at work. Came home from work that day and curled up into a ball and shivered for 2 hours. At that point I realized why I had been so sweaty at work all day. I ran fevers all night and into the next day. Had to call in sick to work for the first time 2 days in a row. Luckily the 3rd day (today) was my scheduled day off so I was able to have 3 days to rest. I still feel pretty crummy but will be at work tomorrow.
Eric plays the guitar every chance he gets and is getting pretty impressive.
This is just a brief overview of our life. I have a lengthy post I have been mulling over but it will take some time to complete. We shall see. I hope you are all well and enjoy your summer. I am seriously looking forward to the day our pool reopens.
