They got to enjoy hours and hours of outdoor playtime.
Brian was not as thrilled for this surprise spring storm smack in the middle of months of 60 and 70-degree weather. He had scheduled an outdoor summer fashion shoot for a magazine story we've been working on together. He is figuring out a new plan.
Saturday, I took Katie and Isaac to the rock, gem and mineral show to look around and buy some treasures. Sophie and Ian use to love rocks so much. They were delighted by this annual show. Everywhere we went, they would collect precious rocks. This year, they said they didn't care to go and they think rocks are silly now. Isn't it strange how quickly time passes and things are forever changed?
At least these two are still excited by simple pleasures like colorful rocks.
Yesterday, a thoughtful neighbor of mine brought over a cool light up globe and a box full of books for us to use in our home school.
Isaac has informed me that he doesn't like to read stories, only lists and facts. This box of wonderful books is perfect for him. He gasped with delight as we discovered each new title together and he wanted to stack them all on his lap for a minute.
Three of the books are about rocks, gems and minerals. I had this idea to tape a huge piece of paper to the floor so we could go through their rock collections and scan the books to identify their rocks. This was a sneaky way for me to get them to read and practice writing and spelling.
After they were really into doing it, I took a break to wash the breakfast dishes. Katie wandered into the kitchen and I said, "Are you finished already?" She said, "No. I'm waiting for you to come back and finish playing this game with me."
This is why she thinks I never "teach" her anything and it makes me happy.
Speaking of teaching, our math books came in the mail this week. I decided to go with the Singapore curriculum since that is the method they teach in school. The books are expensive for how small they are. I asked the teachers about this and they said they have to supplement the material in the books because there are so few problems for the students to work through.
I am really enjoying home school. I am even enjoying working on math with them. I love seeing their smart little minds figuring things out. They are amazing children. I love this moment.
In other news, I turned thirty-nine this month.
This is a photo of me today.
These are the flowers Brian sent on my birthday.
I can't believe it is the last year of my thirties. I am at a really good place in life though.
Ogden's restaurant week started last Friday. I decided that, in order to be a good dining features writer, I'd better eat at as many restaurants as I could and give them a shout-out on facebook. I dreamed of going to a restaurant every day and I am surprised by how well it has worked out so far.
Friday, I had a rare opportunity to eat lunch with my mom without bringing any kids along. We had a delicious meal at Warren's Craft Burger.
Their burgers are so, so yummy. I'm not normally a fan of hamburgers, but theirs are so good. Mine looks strange in this picture because I ordered it bun-less. And, it has an egg on top. Not only did it come with these fries, they also brought us giant orders of onion rings and deep fried mushrooms to share.
My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
On Saturday, my mom humored me again by going to Harley and Buck's for lunch. I ordered the brisket. It was tender and the BBQ sauce had just the right flavor.
Saturday night, I took my kids to one of our favorite pizzerias, Lucky Slice. The special was 6 breadsticks, a 14-inch pizza, and a giant basket of zeppoles (Italian mini scones) for $15. It was so much food, we took home leftovers. I had to order two extra sides of the zeppole caramel dipping sauce to keep the peace amongst my children. It was soooo yummy!
Monday night, I was busy running the kids here and there. I fed the other three kids dinner while Ian was at his piano lesson. When I picked him up, we were both starving. I stopped in at Thai Curry Kitchen, a nifty little curry counter that opened near my home a few months ago.
I am so proud of Ian for being such an adventurous eater! His curry was almost too spicy for me and he loved it. Finally, one of my picky eaters grows up and realizes there is a lot of good food to be experienced.
Tuesday, Brian came home. Hooray!
He was gone for eleven days this time. But, it felt like forever. He was only home for three days between the twelve day leg and the eleven day leg. We were both so busy, we barely saw each other. It was nice that he came home. But, it kind of felt like he was gone for the whole twenty-six days anyways.
He leaves Friday night for Boston to run the marathon. Then, straight back to Spokane until May 5. It will be nice when this project is done.
To celebrate his arrival home, we went to lunch at Bangkok Thai.
Brian ordered Pad Thai and I had Pho noodle soup. Everything was delicious and the fried rice with Thai donuts special was perfect for the kids we brought with us.
It is definitely nice to have Brian back in town. And, nice that we have actually spent some quality time together yesterday and today. He is shooting Ballet West photos in Salt Lake every night this week. So, last night, I talked my parents into going out to Harley and Buck's with me. I really wanted to try their dinner specials too.
Dessert
So blessed to spend an evening with these parents who I adore
I cannot believe I have been able to go to so many restaurants in this short amount of time. It has been so fun! This is what a lot of people think my normal life is like (so far from the truth). It is fun to live the restaurant writer dream once in awhile.
Speaking of work, after I finished the fashion story, I let the newspaper know I won't be able to take any additional stories. It is nice to focus on the restaurant features. Everything in my life seems to be in balance right now. I love home schooling my little kids and it is helping me become more focused on what the older kids are doing in school too.
Things are cruising right along feeling just right -- then I got another job offer last week out of the blue.
A few years ago, I spent about nine-months working for a friend who is a meeting planner. I got to travel to Seattle, Whidby Island, the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, Phoenix and Denver. It was a fun job, but, at the end of nine-months she no longer had enough work to keep me as her assistant.
That work ended 3 1/2 years ago. She called me to say she has a very regular client now and his administrative assistant quit. The assistant worked remotely from her home. He asked her to find a replacement for him who lives in Utah so the person can help her in person and schedule his meetings working from home.
The person is me.
I am excited for this opportunity. My friend, Patti, is such a sweet, positive, inspirational person and my new boss, Roger, seems like a nice person too. He is the executive director of CCHC and I will be coordinating meetings between CEOs of hospitals who live all over the U.S.
I am excited and also nervous. This is what I do. Every time my life becomes balanced and manageable, I add something new to the mix. Sure, 5-10 hours a week of working (mostly) from home sounds like a piece of cake. But, it is one more ball to keep in the air, one more person to keep happy, one more deadline to manage. Ten hours doesn't sound like a lot, but when I break it down to 2 hours/day Monday-Friday, I realize that I just don't have that available in my schedule.
I'm not sure what to do. Today, the thought occurred to me that, if this job goes well, I should stop writing restaurant features.
Despite the drastic pay cuts to freelancers in the past year, I kept that one niche because it is dear to my heart. I have written restaurant features for 8 1/2 years and in the past five years or so, it has become a big part of my identity. Everyone knows I am the lady who writes the weekly restaurant stories.
I don't know if the title "Remote Administrative Assistant" has the same ring to it.
It is better pay and money speaks to me when it comes to giving up my precious time with my family to work.
I guess we'll see how it goes.
In other news . . .
We filed our taxes and learned that nearly 15% of all the money we earned last year is owed to the IRS. It is the first time we have both been solely freelance earners, which meant we had to pay self-employment tax. It is the first time we have paid instead of getting a return (and, usually a hefty return at that). So. Sad. Self employment is the worst for so many reasons.
However, despite that disappointing discovery that came on the heels of our expensive drive-way -- we also decided on the spur of the moment to go to Disneyland in June.
Hip Hip Hooray! Sometimes life really works out.
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