Erica Kartak

Hello, February, hello. We’re off to Arizona this weekend to visit Jim’s family and some friends. The weather is supposed to be less than ideal with lots of rain. It will still be warmer than our last couple of months though!

I made it through January with very few purchases. I’m proud of myself. It’s been freeing in many ways. I don’t spend as much time on my phone checking out my usual sites. My time with Sybil when Lawson is at school used to be filled with trips to the mall to return items or the post office to mail returns. Now we can actually spend that time playing together.

I’ve often heard how your kids are always sick once they start daycare or preschool. And this is definitely true. What I don’t remember hearing is how often parents get sick! It seems as if we’ve been sick every two weeks.

While I wasn’t feeling well mid-week, I finished my third book of the year. From the Corner of the Oval had me hooked. It gives an inside look at the White House staff…their travels, friendships, careers. I did get a little impatient with some of her decisions in the back half of the book, but overall it was an interesting and fun read.

I mentioned I’ve been focusing on decreasing my screen time. I’ve gotten my average down to two hours per day. It’s still a lot, but a huge improvement. I wish you could exclude certain apps from your screen time. I’m using the sweat app for workouts and that’s 30 minutes towards my screen time that I don’t want to include!

HIGH POINT

This week Lawson and Sybil have been chatting in their bedroom for an hour before they  fall asleep. It’s fun to listen to their conversations. They help each other, sing together and tell stories.

LOW POINT

I was getting in my car the other day and slipped on the ice. I caught myself by grabbing onto my car, but I still smacked my leg hard. It’s been sore for days.

FIND OF THE WEEK

I loved this essay by one of my favorite bloggers about birthdays and aging and the differences between cultures. I had forgotten that our Korean friends taught me that when a child is born, they are 1. They don’t start with months. Fascinating.