The air is out of the tires tonight. Shannon is in bed sicker than a dog and as any parent will tell you, that's one of the most exhausting things in the world - worrying/caring for a sick child. No Super Bowl commercial can compete with that for attention.

Quick news update: We had a bazaar week with weather. We were off school on Tuesday because of "ice." I put that in quotations because there wasn't any visible ice at our house. We assume it was in the northern part of the district, but nevertheless because there truly wasn't any ice around here we took full advantage of the day off and headed to the movies. Fast forward to Friday . . . and this time a snow day. (Notice the lack of quotations.) This time we earned our day off with 6+ inches of snow overnight. Needless to say, a five day work week will feel like an eternity this week. :) Yeah - THIS is why I got out of payroll!!!

Other than that - the kids' report cards arrived this week and both Emma and Joel did very well. Everyone had great marks and Joel and I are very proud of them.

Sorry the news is thin, but I truly do feel depleted tonight. Tomorrow brings back-to-back hefty meetings too that will have me out late and I really need my energy to stay up on Tuesday to watch all the Super Tuesday analysis (my other hobby).

No menu update - I'll get to that later this week. Maybe. Also, again, there are no new photos . . . but . . . we've decided to add an element to this blog that will be a recurring photo essay from Emma each week based on a theme of her choice. This last week was "fruit." So look for that later this week too. She has really taken to photography and is exploring what it means to tell a story through photos rather than words. She's really having fun with it!

Lastly, I wish you all a provoking Ash Wednesday. Lent doesn't come with shiny packages and pretty bows, or radio stations with non-stop Easter songs for 40 days, or an onslaught of cards and correspondence from loved ones - but what a powerful season it is! I can't think of a better way to reconnect and recharge.

Until then, my pillow will have to do. :)