Take them Bowling

My mom's plan to go bowling to celebrate all the January birthdays was a big hit.

I forgot how much fun bowling can be.

HOT fries...

How can you go wrong with a bunch of kids trying to knock stuff down with a heavy resin ball? (Never mind a mashed finger here and there.) Good times.

We should do it again.

A Couple of Things before Cancun

~ Hurray for warm places!

Last year in Mexico

Mitch-darling and I (and baby 'X') are leaving on a jet plane in a week and a half. I'm looking forward to it - but honestly, I haven't given it a lot of thought because life doesn't slow down here.

First:
* All the kids' STUFF this and next week (scouts, school projects, activity days, YW, tumbling, piano, basketball - plus the lead-up to this weekend's big all state Lego Robotics tourney...)
* Mike has finally agreed to go to a Dr. for a check-up (this is big news since he hates going to doctors like he hates watching Anne of Green Gables). I got him into a Dr. (not taking new patients) whom we used to live near and Mike likes.
* I need to have blood drawn - prenatal stuff.
* Extended family this week: bowling tonight, a baptism this Friday, new baby Finn to visit some more
* Church work

And of course, at some point in the next week or so I'll need to make all arrangements for our kids and animals while we're gone.

Mexico will be a welcome break... and our last chance to do something like this before baby comes (and for like a year or so after). It won't be as cool as last year's trip to Mexico - we'll be in the middle of tourista-ville (or, I mean, Margaritaville). But we're fine with hanging out on the beach and taking it easy. (I'm going to look awesome in my bathing suit - I'm telling you now. 4+ months of prenatal girth AND winter pasty too. Oh yeah.)

A Weekend of Nephews

Woohoo!!! We had a great weekend.

My sister Bendy delivered this sweet little thing, her first, Saturday afternoon - our new friend, Finn. The girls and I were on the scene as soon as we heard the news. There is nothing better in this whole world...

We also got to have the Brothers Henderson at our house for a sleepover, their parents  on an anniversary trip to warmer climes. Pizza night. Then movie night in the basement. Wild. Wild.   

Nephews are the best.

The Rebirth of Slick

We have a 7 year old in the house today. He had an elderly beta named Swimmy that cashed it in just before Christmas. For his birthday he picked out this beauty and named him Slick......

Which put us in mind of this classic.

Stuff you do with a 7 year old on his birthday: make what he wants for breakfast, cheer really loud at his basketball game this morning (they won), go out to lunch with grandparents, take him to see Tron (even though he has no idea what it's supposed to be about), make what he wants for dinner + a basketball cake and presents.
He also gets plenty of lounge time today (snuggling in his new birthday quilt from G-ma M. - that thing is SO soft).

He's cool like dat.

Happy 7th T.

Back in the Saddle

Grace and Tillman last night out on the ice at the SoJo rink.

It's January. Life here is returning to a routine. Slowly. I have been pretty busy - but surprisingly not-so-productive. You know how in December you kind of put everything on hold - because it's the holidays ("I'll take care of that when we're done with Christmas." - that kind of thing)? And then as soon as January hits you find yourself running crazy trying to do all that stuff that you've put off? That's me.
Christmas decor finally came down this week. Last night Mike hauled our tree out to the curb (except we missed the pick up this week - so it will have to sit out there till the 10th - classy).

Today I totally planned to make some progress in taking back our lives. I threw in the last load of laundry, and started a sweater soaking in the laundry room sink; turned on the faucet and walked away for a minute while it filled. That minute turned into like 30. As I sat reading in my room, the Space Donkey started barking outside at some loose dog - annoying (and we try to keep a tight lid on all that since the incident). So I made my way towards the garage to put him away...encountering a large puddle outside the laundry room as I went. Bad. I turned off the water, rounded up some towels and started to sop. 20 minutes later I was disgusted with myself but not overly inconvenienced. Lesson learned, crisis averted. I thought. Until....about an hour later as I hauled some Christmas stuff to the basement storage room on my way to the elliptical for a quick work-out. Opening the door, I caught the scent of water. Apparently there was some seepage from the laundry room above. Understatement. I don't know how many gallons had come through the ceiling. My sweet mother came to my rescue with her emergency management skills. Now the vampire room is filled with stuff airing out and fans are going. The end result: I didn't make much headway in getting my life back in order today - but on the upside, I don't think anything was permanently damaged in the flood. (Crossing my fingers. I'll be laying out the Springbar tomorrow to make sure it gets REALLY dry). Just one of those days.

The new year isn't all chaos and destruction. I also have a lot of positive vibes about the year ahead. I / We have plans for the year - plans to make life better, sweeter. Plus... what, are you kidding me? We got us a baby coming! (I had to throw in that vague allusion to "Raising Arizona". I love that movie.)

I'm feeling pretty good about 2011.