Random Miscellany and Whatnot

Alright, alright, I know its been a while since I've posted, but really there is nothing very blogworthy to write about. Instead what I have are some random happenings over the last few weeks.

First things first. I know I'm a little late for listing New Year's Resolutions, but here are a few nonetheless.

1. Like 95% of American women, I want to lose weight. Specifically, I want to reach my ultimate goal weight so that I can become a "Lifetime Member" of Weight Watchers. Can I just say that I love this program? Since I've joined in September, I've lost almost 15 pounds and more importantly I feel much healthier and that this is an actual lifestyle change and not just a "diet." I highly recommend Weight Watchers to anyone! To help me with my goal, I decided I finally needed to enter reality and get a new scale that has an accurate number on it. Since my old one was always about 3-4 pounds kinder to me than any other scale, when I saw this one at Costco, I knew I had to get it.



2. Tied in with the above goal, I want to run a 10 K this year. Now, please understand that I am NOT a "runner." To be honest I don't like to run. But I do like the sense of accomplishment that comes with doing something hard and obtaining a goal. To prep myself for this goal, I'm going to do the Rex Lee Run 5 K in March. Scott even found me a "training program" online entitled "From Couch Potato to Running a 5K." Its fabulous.

3. With this being an election year, I will finally become a grown-up and vote. Please don't send me lots of hate mail for neglecting my basic rights as an American citizen -- I'm sorry, but I'm kind of apolitical. I don't really watch the news. And my basic source of whats going on in the world comes from my Yahoo! home page. Oh and Scott tries to keep me semi-informed. HOWEVER, I am making it my goal this year not only to vote, but to actually do some research on "issues" and the candidates' "platforms" and other stuff like that to try and make a fairly educated decision here.

Alright, now that THAT'S out of the way, on to the rest of the miscellany. Here is what we've been up to:

Over the Christmas break we went on a bowling trip to Fat Cats with some friends of ours from the MBA program. The kids had a blast and the only downfall was that we actually had to PAY to go bowling since Muffy was at home for Christmas and therefore not working that night.



We also decided to let Ethan's boots from last year finally Rest in Peace. We ended up finding an exact replica at Target in the next size up, so needless to say Ethan was ecstatic.





Also at Target, I attempted to stock up on hair grooming implements in an effort to tame Grace's crazy hair. I'll keep you posted on how well THAT is working.


Next up are a couple examples of Ethan's newfound writing capabilities. After hanging up my new calendar that Emily sent me for Christmas, Ethan was studying it one day and pulled up a chair to get a closer look. Then he asked me how to spell "date." I spelled it for him, but wasn't really paying attention. Then he announced that on "1-6" we were going on a date. Apparently Ethan feels like he's really missing out on something when Scott and I go out, so he took matters into his own hands and scheduled something in for himself. He decided he wanted to go to Applebee's on his date with mom, dad, Grace, and Sophie. Let's just say that we will not ALL be going out on a date again any time soon.


This next sample is a "menu" he made one day while I was busy making up mine for the month. It was actually really funny because he drew all these boxes and numbered them and then started filling them out with what he wanted to eat all while asking how to spell everything. Notice how he's still in the write-the-letters-wherever-you-can-fit-them-in-the-space phase.


Ta da! And here's Grace! Our new little Sunbeam on her first day of primary. She was VERY excited to be able to go with the big kids and Ethan. Of course, it doesn't hurt that her Sunbeam teachers bring bags of snacks and treats for the class each week.




One of Grace's Christmas presents was the cheerleader version of "Bella Dancerella." And yes it is as ridiculous as it sounds. Here are the kids getting into it. Notice how Ethan is just as into it, if not more so than Grace. And also notice that although it is regularly in the 20's (or lower) here this winter, my children insist on wearing summer fare, regardless of how many times I tell them its freezing outside. As a side-note, Sophie is actually HILARIOUS when they watch this video and gets so excited when the "Bella squad" starts cheering.


Here's a shot of the supermuppet with her winter hat and sweater. And in exciting developmental milestone news, she said her first word(s) this week! She can now inconsistently say "mama," and slightly more consistently say "hi." Although the "hi" is mostly inflection and not completely pronounced. She's getting the hang of things, though! And although she is nowhere near walking, she IS showing interest in trying to pull up on things, and she has got the fastest bear-crawl-while-keeping-her-head-on-the-ground moves you will ever see. I really should get some video footage of THAT before she outgrows it.


And for the real excitement of our week, I took the kids to the dentist on Thursday because I was a little afraid that Grace had some major cavities that needed taking care of. To my total shock and disbelief, neither one of them did! What I did learn is that Ethan is a teeth grinder and has worn down a good 3/4 of his top teeth according to the dentist. Oh, and based on the x-Rays it looks as though he will have a case of "shark teeth" before too long -- which basically means that his permanent teeth will start growing in behind the baby teeth before those ever fall out.


And Grace, while not having any cavities this go round, DEFINITELY needs to stop sucking her thumb as it is causing a major cross-bite problem with her jaw. Oh well, at least the kids LOVED going to this dentist and thought it was so much fun. I can't say that I've ever felt that way about a dental excursion...



And finally...
we're postponing our Disneyland trip until next year so that we can free up some funds for a trip to the British Isles. We finally decided to heck with it all and we're just gonna do it! Scott's sister lives in England right now, and generously offered frequent flier miles to get all of us over there. And with Scott's parents in Ireland we figured there was no way we could pass up an opportunity like this. So, as a graduation/anniversary/every-birthday-this-year gift, come April 29th we'll be on our way to Heathrow!

Well, that's about all folks. To make up for the lameness of the last past month of my life, story-wise, I'm creating a contest here. I'm in a reading rut. It seems like all the books I've been reading lately are non-fiction ones for various book clubs, and I've already read and re-read everything in my library and I need some new suggestions! So, please -- recommend your favorites. Whoever recommends the book that I decide to read first, gets a prize! Sounds fun, right?? Please humor me, people.

Alright, I'm out. I've got some American Idol auditions to re-watch on the TiVo...