Bring On 2009!

2008 flew by faster than I can really comprehend. For the most part I feel like it was a really good year for our family and for me personally. Here is a list of a few highlights:

Obama won! I really could not be more optimistic about the direction he wants to take our country in. For so long I have been a little embarrassed by our false bravado, our selfishness, our disregard for the rest of the world, our "bigger is better" mentality, and "Mine! Mine! Mine!" attitude. We finally have earned some respect from the rest of the world and we finally have a rational, intelligent leader who understands the reality we are in and has a plan to begin to rememdy the disasters we have created. I am behind this new administration 100%

R and I came to some agreements on what we needed to do for the health of our family. We have realized where we need some outside help and acquired it, we are making sleep a priority for all of us, we are focusing on wholesome foods, and are being very selective about the quality and quantity of media in our home. I will readily admit that we slip up often, but for the first time I really feel like we are pretty much on the same page with our parenting.

Z started Kindergarten! We are officially past the "pre-schooler" stage. I have really enjoyed moving on to big kid type activities. We went to Lagoon in October and Z pretty much was able to ride everything he wanted to. He is a whiz at math. A dynamo builder and making progress with his reading. He's an absolute sweetheart and loves to help out. He is willing to work hard and is determined to master the skills he associates with being a man. And we finally made significant progress with his encopresis. What a relief that has been for all of us! Z played soccer this year and really is amazing! He just has a natural talent for sports.

M started 3rd grade. So far we really like both his teachers, Mrs. Mitchell for homeroom and Mrs. Olsen for reading. Speaking of reading, M has read 4 Harry Potter books this year as well as 2 Fablehaven books along with a ton of books in between. He has made significant strides with his anxiety and OCD which makes me very proud. He has become very considerate and understands the consequences of his actions. He and his brother have improved their relationship significantly. They still fight like crazy, but there are periods of fun and calm in between. M also received his orange belt in karate and began to take a weapons class. He is really dedicated to his karate lessons and it has been fun to watch him progress.

We got our new kitty Freddy! What an awesome cat! R was so against getting another pet but is just as in love with him as the rest of us. This cat has certainly added some spunk to our house! I am constantly laughing at the stuff this creature does! This brings the total of pets in the family to 4; Pepe our lab, Freddy the kitty, and 2 beta fish.

R had a successful year with his real estate business. It has been a crazy year for the market but R has been solid and committed to following the systems Keller Williams has created for its Realtors and it has paid off. We've seen many agents quit and have somehow managed to soldier on and keep me home with the kids. All in all, his total sales wasn't much lower than last year. Pretty amazing considering the economic meltdown this country has experienced!

I have lost 31 lbs. this year. While much of this I attribute to coming to terms with the fact that I do have ADD and getting the appropriate medication which happens to have the not so horrible side effect of reducing my appetite, I have also improved my diet and done a lot of walking! I feel so much better physically, mentally and emotionally. I am really proud of myself!

We finally cut a "window" in the wall between the kitchen and the living room and cut a door to have easier access to the storage under the stairs. What a difference these two minor projects have made! Our home feels so much brighter and open with the window. And having access to under the stairs has enabled me to finally declutter my kitchen and organize our food storage. I am so glad we finally did it!

In November M had his tonsils removed. What a champ this kid is. I couldn't believe how brutal it looked in the back of his throat, but he never complained and had a stellar attitude about the whole thing. And now he is sleeping better and hopefully he won't be getting sick as often.

We have 3 new nephews in our family. In April my sister and her husband had their 3rd child and 1st boy, R. This kid is so cute! Lucky for her he is such a good baby and our entire family has really enjoyed having a baby around. In July R's brother and his wife had their first children. Yes, plural, they had twin boys K and S. They are darling! I can't even imagine having twins, but they are handling it all with such an amazing calm. I have been having so much fun with all these babies!

Speaking of babies, R and I decided that we were really, truly done having them. In December we took the plunge and R had the ole snippy snippy. So glad to have that taken care of. He was super grumpy and whiny for a few days, but we survived.

Our boys have become proficient snowboarders this year. It really makes me proud to watch them shreddin' up the slopes!

And to end the year we had a fabulous holiday season. Usually the holidays are stressful and difficult for our family. This year was really pleasant and fun. We spent time with all our favorite people, including my sister L and her husband S who are currently living in Philly. I hope all our future holidays are as great as this one has been.

So that was our year in a nutshell. I'm sure I've missed something important, but this is what has come to mind right now. Tomorrow I will post about my hopes and resolutions for 2009. I've got quite a year planned!

This and That

It's been awhile. I've been BUSY! So in no particular order here is a bit of this and that from my life.

Philadelphia-I took M to Philly with Nana and Pops to see Aunt L and Uncle Fancypants (aka S). The weather was great. We did the historical stuff the first day and then had the most fantastic banana split at the cutest old fashioned ice cream parlor. The second day we decided to take a double decker bus tour which I have found is a great way to see a lot of a city in a short amount of time. The two most interesting things we saw that day were the Eastern State Penitentiary and the National Geographic exhibit Real Pirates! at the Franklin Institute. Both very cool.

Day 3 was a daytrip to DC. So many cool things. The Smithsonian was amazing and would easily take a week to see everything. My favorite memorial was the Korean War Memorial. I thought it was all really cool though. By the time we returned my ears were actually tired from listening to M talk non-stop for 5 days straight. But we had a lot of fun and I'm glad we had a chance to do this together. And I always love to see L and S. I will be glad when they move back.

Halloween-Thank goodness it was on a Friday this year so it wasn't dragged out all week. What a marathon day though-parade, parties, trick or treat and another party. But they were surprisingly pleasant. Z was Indiana Jones and M was The Unknown Phantom. I am in shock at the amount of candy they brought home. I don't think I ever got that much.

Obama-Oh my hell I am so glad that Obama won. For the first time in a LONG time I don't feel like I'm looking around and wondering what the hell are you people thinking!!! When I watch him speak I am comforted by his calm demeanor, his obvious love for his wife and daughters, his quiet confidence, and his intellect. This is a man who GETS IT! Will life be rosy and wonderful just because he was elected? Obviously not. But having someone in office that is bright, articulate, understands our role in the world, diplomatic and positive is certainly a breath of fresh air. Now WE the American people will have to pay for the mistake of electing Bush and Cheney. It won't be easy, but we have a huge hole to dig ourselves out of. Obama understands that if we don't, our children have no future.

McCain-I didn't hate McCain. Really. A couple of years ago I even said that if another Republican were to be the next president, I hoped it would be him because I respected his integrity and agreed with many of his opinions. Then he decided he wanted to win the election at all costs and his integrity flew right out the window. Not only did he reverse many of his opinions to win the GOPs support, but he chose a VP that in essence is the opposite of everything he stood for, just to get the conservative vote. And the kind of negative campaign he ran against Obama was downright disgusting. Since he threw the inexperience card out the window with Palin, he had to resort to the old GOP favorite tactic, fear. Fortunately most level headed Americans saw it for what it was, desperation. But there are those that it struck a chord with and believe that Obama is a friend of terrorists, a socialist, and too foreign. And those people happen to be the whack jobs that scare me. Using fear as a weapon is the definition of terrorism. Scare people to get what you want. Truly disappointing.

Palin-Yuck. Snarky, bitchy, self-righteous, ignorant, ambitious, power hungy and pretty. A frightening combination. I really hope her 15 minutes are up.

Prop 8-Or as I like to say Prop H8te. It's discrimination pure and simple. You cannot deny a certain segment of the population the same rights that everyone else has. If I can marry whom I choose, then everyone should have the right to marry whomever they choose. You can't take away a gay person's right to procreate. So they already have families. Why not make it a stable, committed family with all the rights other families have? I don't understand why people don't get that. Somebody else's marraige doesn't change my marraige at all. Honestly I don't think it will be long before it is legal. Hopefully sooner than later.

Winter-Already hate it. I hate the decrease in light almost as much as I hate the cold. Sure, I like to snowboard. It's making a bad situation tolerable. But I could give that up with all the rest of winter. I don't need a white Christmas. I would easily give up sweater, sledding, hot cocoa, quilts and a fireplace. I'd rather surf, wear sandals, drink lemonade and soak up the warm, light giving, happy happy sun.

Weight-I'm down to what I thought was my goal. And so of course I've revised that goal and want to lose 5 more. But if I don't, that is OK too. I just don't want to gain it back during the holidays. Now I really need to tone up. I should go to Pilates. But I'm so weak!!! It hurts!! Which means I really need to go. I need new clothes but have no cash. Better than needing bigger clothes right?

Cat-Getting big. Totally psycho and cute at the same time.

Dog-Mellowing out finally. Still cute too.

Homework-Hate, hate, hate. I know they need to do it to learn. It's just such a pain in the butt to have to do it EVERY night. It's too much. It isn't good for household harmony.

Our house-We finally cut a "window" between the living room and kitchen. I love it. It feels very airy and bright now. We also added a door to the storage beneath the stairs making it far more accessable. Now I'm anxious to get the pantry done. And I'd like to paint my bedroom and a couple of the walls in M's room, and get new flooring in the kitchen, and many more projects that we have neither the time or funds for. Someday! I have been decluttering like crazy and organizing and I feel much better about our house now.

Finances-It's not great, but it could be worse. No Costa Rica this year. Such is life.

Twilight-I think Robert Pattinson is hot. I know a lot of women were a little disappointed. He doesn't look like the Edward I had in my mind, but he is pretty perfect. And he can sing too! Pretty dreamy I think. The hair is a little crazy, but we all go through our phases. Not sure I'll see the movie though. I don't want to change the way I think about the books.

So that is what I think about all of that! Agree, disagree, whatever. It's MY blog!