++Twenty on the twentieth++

I'm so far behind with blogging. Some of you may have notice that I have been back-dating the old posts. I just can't skip over stuff. I'm going to have to or I'll never catch up. Here's a quick summary of what's been happening in our house as we kick off 2010.

1. We rang in the new year with New York and then promptly went to bed. We were all still a little jet lagged from our trip. Crazy, I know. Honestly, I can't remember the last New Year's Eve where I had more than one drink.

2. I started a photography course. It is kicking my butt. I waited on a waiting list for a year to get into it. It's online. You get assignments, they get critiqued. You have to shoot everything in manual. I'm finally learning what all those buttons on my camera do. I'll post some of my assignments sometime soon.

3. The only toy that has been played with in our house for weeks are the couch cushions. No joke. They come off every day, both kids climb all over them and laugh. The rest of the toys stay put away in their homes. Maybe we'll get Claire a new couch for her birthday?

4. I think it has been sunny twice in January.

5. We are up to our eyeballs in planning for our remodel. They will kick it off the first week in February. Coming soon: a brand spankin' new laundry room/treadmill room/craft room (if they would only make basements none of this would be necessary!) and a super-duper mudroom crafted out of our former laundry room. Stay tuned for details.

6. I wonder if anyone will keep reading all the way to 20.

7. Cora came to our house for the day last weekend while Larson took his first ski lesson (which you can probably read about on Susan's blog). It was really fun. I find you really get to know kids when their parents aren't around. Wyatt enjoyed being her caretaker.

8. Wyatt is obsessed with our collection of adult games (like trivial pursuit--get your mind out of the gutter!). He insists we take them down off the shelf to "play" them.

9. Wyatt went to the dentist for the first time today. He did ok. He wouldn't get in the chair but he cooperated on my lap. We practiced a few times in the days leading up to it. On the way there he asked me "How is Dr. Woo going to count my teeth in the back? My tongue is in the way." I love that kid. He's an over-analyzer just like his mom.

10. We're starting to book stays in the Pacyna hotel for spring. If you are interested in making one, let us know.

11. I can't watch stuff about Haiti without thinking about the kids and tearing up. Kinda just wants to make you fly there and bring a bunch home with you, doesn't it?

12. I volunteered to be the Class Rep for Wyatt's preschool class. I thought it might help me meet people. It was a bad idea. Don't ever do it...I guess someone has to do it...it's just not for me. All I do is ask people for money.

13. As of today, we have been gone from Memphis for six months. Crazy. More on that later.

14. My list of resolutions, as always, is too long to post here. Maybe if I did I would be held to some of them. I asked Mark the other day if we'll ever reach a point where we're not trying to "be better" about something...doubt it. Perhaps it's the perfectionist in me.

15. One of the resolutions is to eat less-processed stuff and cook more. I realized I gave up on cooking and because I was determined to only prepare one meal for the family, we were all eating 3-year-old food. So far it's not going so great (for Wyatt). My goal for him in 2010: add one food to your list of acceptable foods. One.

16. Claire is trying to decide if she needs one nap or two. I'm not sure where I stand on this one. I guess I vote for one, as long as it's a LONG one!

17. Today is my half birthday. I think I'll buy myself a new laundry room sink or something.

18. The outdoor pests have left us alone for the most part recently. I type this with hesitation. I know some of you have been looking for an update, though.

19. I'm almost there. Really running out of things to say.

20. This was typed from our new computer that we had to get because I crashed my old one with too many photos. I can't say I love it, but it is much better that it doesn't keep shutting down on me all the time.

There you have it! Kind of caught up. Photos soon. We're living somewhere between the old and new computer and so are the photos so it makes things a little more difficult.