And Then There Were...: March 2016

It's almost April. This weekend is Easter. And this is my first post of the year. Whoops!

Where to start.... Christmas was right-sized. The girls got new iPad Minis. Best investment. We don't do a lot of screen time, but those suckers are a life saver when I'm making dinner. Also, Ellie is having trouble with sight-reading for piano. We didn't do enough reinforcement over Christmas and it's really starting to show, so we've been working on worksheets this week (Spring Break) and I just found an app that has pretty great reviews for reinforcing note recognition. So, we'll see if it helps.

I've been running around saying "yes" to all sorts of things. I joined the local Parks Foundation Board (and Marketing Committee). I'm probably getting involved in a garden project at a new local women's shelter because I didn't stop to consider the implications of volunteering someone else. I just set up an LLC to do freelance design. And, I'm still doing all the other stuff (Tri Kappa – and publicity Co-Chair; HO Due Diligence Committee; Arts Advisory Committee; and regular workout regimen). I'm trying to cut my Starbucks habit to a reasonable level (once a week). I'm on the fast track to a nervous breakdown, but I can't say I'm going to be bored anytime soon.

P is also on a streak. He just emceed a local Gala; agreed to Co-Chair a fairly major fundraiser – Chefs Around the Table – at which he'll also be cooking pies; is competing in a scaled Crossfit competition in a couple weeks with a team – his goal is not to be in last place; and he just spent the last 8 months or so engineering the sale of the family business to an ESOP. So, perhaps there's something in the water.

The girls are taking it easy relatively speaking. Ellie is still taking piano. She played at her first recital in December. She took a couple months of skating lessons at the new ice rink. It took 7 lessons before she would attempt to skate without someone holding her hand. After that, she rapidly learned to maneuver so she could stay close to the instructor. She's been doing speech therapy most of the year and had her adenoids removed in February. Her clarity has improved quite a bit. As has her maturity. It's incredible the nuances of human nature that she is able to understand. She's been working a lot with math and telling time. She's starting to tackle money concepts and loves the science experiments Mrs. Blum does with the class. Her reading is coming along slowly, but she's working at it on her own too. She seems to delight in surprising us by reading things unexpectedly.

Cali is getting more talkative and they play ponies quite well together. Ellie is very dictatorial though and rebellion is brewing. Just today she asked Cali why she was making that "mean face" at her while she was telling her what was what. Once Cali finds the words, Ellie is going to have to get very good at negotiation. Cali just turned 3 and is out of diapers. She spontaneously decided not to sleep in them anymore and has only had one accident when she was sick. After 5 years of diapers, I am a very happy mom. She's also getting pretty good at dressing and undressing herself. And, since Ellie wants to fix her own breakfast, Cali does too, although the definition shifts a bit between the two.

There has been so much these last few months, but those are the highlights.

Recent great reads include: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates; A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman; Ravens Shadow by Patricia Briggs; and the First Law series by Joe Abercrombie.