Argh, it's not a resolution list I PROMISE

Here's what I've been doing too much of:

~eating things with peanut butter (pb oreos, pb m&m's, holiday cookies with no peanuts but lots of butter)

~trying to figure out if my lack of any work in January is due to the copious amounts of work I just finished

~attempting to make a move, crippled by making a move (it's figurative, I ain't going nowhere)

~having lackluster workouts, resulting in me possibly signing up for classes entitled 'spinning and yoga' or 'tnt'

~allowing my children to squab so I can be jealous of all the crafty and talented people online

~avoiding a few final editing jobs (self-inflicting deadlines is hard!)

~drinking white wine (damn you, Trader Joe's $2.99 Pinot Grigio)

~stepping on scales (why oh why would you do that this month?)

~neurotically checking all my coupon venues (living social, groupon, ect) for getaway deals and almost booking many very bizarre and different trips

~daydreaming

~living ungraciously (had to throw something zen up in there)

~dreaming of more time without the kids

~laying on the floor and playing exactly what the kids want me to play

~ignoring that pile of crap holiday toys I still need to go through

~eating red meat (I'm now realizing the link to the first thing and how it's almost that time of the month, which, on a rant, I think we need an emoticon for which leads me to...

~using too many emoticons. how and why and when did that happen me?

~grateful for this NYE wedding I'm second shooting because damn, I'm broke

What have you been doing in excess? And do you feel as guilty as me about it?

PS spell check, I believe I KNOW how to spell the wine I drink quite often, thankyouverymuch.

Tradition

We try to make holiday traditions that are not only cheap/free/affordable, but that are magical and strictly December based. This is our second trip to the Nutcracker, and it was awesome. At $5/ticket for the school performance, it's a shortened version with the same cast as the extended one. And let's be real, 1 hour in a dark auditorium with school-aged children is long enough.

But for the past 2 weeks, Sylvia has been over the moon excited for this event. It is, by far, her favorite holiday activity. We were bummed to miss it last year due to school, so I pulled her out for a day (the school didn't want to make a field trip out of it, which is such a disappointment). I love Touhill at UMSL's campus, it's bright and airy and the staff is great. Though Easton got extra wiggly about halfway through, nothing a handful of snacks couldn't fix.

I highly recommend it to those of you with children that can't sit through the normal 2.5 hour performance. It's a great tradition to start and love.

Oh My

I can't believe that I'm almost 34. This is blowing my mind on a daily basis.

To Hear it from the Others

We had our first ever kindergarten parent-teacher conference last week. We love her 2 teachers so much, that most of the time was eaten up by the silly chit-chat amongst friends (parent-teacher friends). Then there came the part where we go over her recent assessment test and the 3 days it took her to finish it (my little slow-poke). She did great, so great, perfect to be exact. No, I don't think scoring 100% on a kindergarten assessment means jack in the long run. And no I don't judge my kid on silly tests like these. But it's so interesting to see how her cognitive abilities have evolved in the past 4 months of her being at school full time. She has developed the ability to understand things that are more complex than I would've thought of, and it amazes me how much she thrives in an environment that is pushed by others.

On top of the math and reading skills she is developing (she still isn't fully reading yet, but she has many sight words and is understanding concepts that lead to solo reading. they do not push reading at this age at this school, so I've let go of concerns and understand she'll get there and get the comprehension too), her teachers made it a great point to tell us some interesting things about our child. Sylvia is incredibly compassionate. She is mindful of other's feelings, and is always looking out for her friends. She is the only girl in her class that plays equally with the girls and boys, and she dislikes the separation of the sexes (my little feminist). She is so kind, that she many times "phones a friend" to help answer a question, usually a friend that she has noticed hasn't raised their hands in a while, and asks them for help answering, even though she clearly will know the answer. The teachers noticed this a while ago, and don't push her to answer even though they know she knows. They believe this is such a kind and sweet notion that they let her do it. And oh how it made me teary when they told us this. She is happy, she is learning to work with others, she has a kind heart, and she is loving the art of learning without even realizing she's learning.

And that is why we are at this amazing school.

My Children and Their Loathe for the Camera

This were seriously the only shots that were decent enough for a holiday card this year (the first one is going to be a 4x6 in the card, I ran out of time to get fancy cards made). It just goes to show that the photographer mom is not always the best for the job. And don't get me wrong, I love these shots. It's just I usually have way more options to choose from, not the select few that my children provided me. Ah well, there's always next year!