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Okay this last week was one of big decisions for the Caldwells. Well really more for Rob. He received his formal job offer from the museum and decided to take it. he starts the first full week of June. I know that he is very sad to leave the school. He's got some awesome coworkers. They are great. And he is going to miss seeing them.

The museum schedule is a Tuesday through Saturday job, and so things are going to shift a bit schedule wise for us. Fortunately summer is nearly here, and that should give us some time to adjust and get back to normal. I think the kids will like having him at the museum, and we plan to pop in on him from time to time, once he is more settled in. The new wing of the museum is awesome, and if you live in the area you should definitely check it out.

I also decided to quit one of my jobs this week. I won't be tutoring anymomre. There were lots of things that went into this decision, but the biggest one  is that I haven't gotten any real writing on my novels done since I took the job. You get to the point where you need to decide where your priorities are, and what to do about it. Also with the kids schedule over the summer and Rob's schedule change, I don't think it was going to work out long-term. Plus rob kept telling me it didn't pay well enough for the inconvenience it caused. My other jobs are a lot more flexible about when I put in the hours.

The kids are doing well. This is Jacob's last week of preschool. Beth has her drumming concert, and Caleb is excited about field day at school. Beth doesn't like field day as much because it is so hot. Which is ironically my biggest memory of field day as a kid, how blasted hot it always was. Why can't they have field day in march or April?

Anyway that's it for this week. Hope you have a great day!

I was raised in a strong matriarchal family. My grandmother's father died when she was around five years old, and her mother was left to care for her and her two older sisters during the Great Depression and World War II. The sisters were quite a few years older than my grandmother and they made sure that she was taken care of. When I was born into the family, the three sisters were very close. My grandmother lived next door to her older sister, my Aunt Bonnie and my Aunt Mary lived just a few blocks away in the same city.

My grandmother was close to her sisters and I was babysat by my Aunt Bonnie over the years, and I especially remember that she would watch us when my mom was caring for terminally ill grandfather. She was a gifted pianist and organist, and she read me stories and took us for long walks during the day. My Aunt Mary threw pool parties every year, and told the most fascinating stories about her travels around the world. She has been nearly everywhere, and she was a gifted story teller bringing the things she saw to life with her attention to detail and her funny experiences.

These are the women I grew up learning from. Family was stressed as being the most important thing, and you could see the bond these three sisters had shared through the most difficult of times and through the joyous ones as well. Just as my aunts cared for my Nana when she was young, she has been there to care and visit them as they each passed on in the last few years. Nana is growing older and she still shines as an example to me, reaching out to help those around her, and understanding the importance of family.

I've been blessed to have a mother who truly loves her family and who wants to help everyone around her. She sees the good in people and with all her hearts wants others to be happy. My dad's mom was a great example of how a true lady is and taught me how to make pumpkin pie. She always made me feel loved and welcome no matter what. Now I'm blessed with a a mother-in-law a s well that loves her children and her grandchildern and who works tirelessly to help others.

Today as we celebrate the mother's I also want to celebrate all the women in my life who have taught me through example and love. I also want to thank my friends and sisters who have helped me through the difficult times and laughed with me through the great. It is a grand blessing to be a woman. I love you all.

This week has been good overall. I don't have any grand or exciting adventures to report. In some ways it is important to step back appreciate those kind of weeks. The ones where you focus on the day to day tasks and make it through without any extremely high highs or low lows.

Beth had her parent teacher conference and she is a very solid student. I still wish that she would have caught the reading spark by now. Any grand suggestions for middle grade books would be wonderful. She doesn't like historical, fantasy or science fiction. She does like realistic fiction that is funny. Her favorite books so far have been Diary of Wimpy Kid and The Dork Diaries. In the past she has enjoyed Tangerine, Franky Stein books, Ramona (a bit, You have to get her into the story.) She liked Red Slippers. Okay any suggestions?

Caleb is making it through and counting down to freedom from school. I'm hoping next year is better than this one. Otherwise we will be homeschooling him. He's such a bright curious person and I hate to see that pushed out of him. And it is being pushed out him. It definitely is.

Jacob is Jacob and is currently soo excited about the end of the school year pizza party. I think Jacob has two more weeks of school and he is done. Yikes!  Summer is almost here, and I'm not ready for it. I'm not. I know I need to be, but I'm not. Still I will love having the kids home with me, and the ability to not worry about getting up early most days.

Rob is hanging in there. And so am I.

Have a great week!