Saturday Feb. 20

 This morning I went to High Fitness. I like the variety of sings that Jana does. I think it's because of her dance background; she can refer a lot of different choreography. That said, there's a couple songs that I've done so many times though the years I would be fine never hearing it for another couple years!

In the afternoon, I had my first session tutoring ACT prep math. I felt like such an imposter! We were able to get through the material, but I'm going to have to do a lot more studying and prep next time to get confident helping the student, especially since I've never even taken the ACT ever! 😬 

I'm so proud of the kids though. While I was fine they worked on cleaning the house. I wished they would do more, but what they DID do made enough impact to have it feel so much better and more orderly in the house. The ticket was to motivate the kids with TONS of points. (We have a point system that they can cash out for money). I made each chore WAY too many points, but it got them to do hard chores on a Saturday while I was gone. Including their rooms, which are always a struggle for everyone except Lydia.

In the afternoon we went for a walk as a family. It was so warm and beautiful. I'm so excited for spring and hiking season to start! Lydia Riley skated (I got her a pair early for her birthday) and the other kids biked. Going outside together made Pat realize that Anderson can't ride a bike. He just couldn't believe it and thought he was way past due. (I kind of chuckled because Pat's not athletic so our boys don't really know how to throw a ball, hit a ball, etc. But we both think that riding a bike is really important!). So after the walk, Pat and I took some time to teach Anderson. It was a struggle to get him to understand. The idea of balancing, pedaling, and moving forward was a lot to think about. But by the end, he went a few seconds all on his own! We couldn't believe the progress he made! But I'm so glad the office session ended on a positive note, since Ander can get heavily discouraged quite easily.

After the walk we played a few rounds of spoons and did a quick "massage circle." (We'll have to practice that more before it's what I'd call a real "success"😆).

Before bedtime, Pat read Grimm fairy tales to the kids. It's a nice time for the kids to quietly color or play with Legos while Pat gets to do something he enjoys with the kids.