Resolve.

Friends.  It has been a long absence and I owe you all kinds of updates, but I'm still in Seattle and we're getting down to the wire and I have packages to mail and prescriptions to fill (ugh) and uniform shirts to purchase and so today is not the day for pretty, picture-filled posts describing our lovely holidays.

Instead, let's talk about how we're doing it better next year, shall we?

If you have been reading this blog since its inception (I think most of you have; if anything I have lost readers but I soldier on), you know that I make resolutions with the intention of making some effort but with the expectation that the chance of following through is 50/50.  I feel fine about this.

So.  First.  Last year's resolutions:

Here are my resolutions:
- 10 blog posts per month, each with at least one photo
- Finally, finally make the kids' yearly photo books (yes, that would be 9 by the end of the year)
- Stop swearing and I really mean it this year; it's tacky (but so satisfying?)
- Figure out our family "screen time" goals and stick to them (Eli has pointed out that I check my phone far too much in front of our kids and he's right)

How did I do??

I am re-resolving ALL OF THESE.  I almost accomplished the first one -- but not this month.  The temptation to slap up five blog posts today is large, but we would call that complying with the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law.  So I shall not do it.  I did not publish a photo with every post but I am happy with the current photo situation on my blog (thank you sweet husband).

I made four photo books and I am VERY pleased with my progress on this project and hope to be caught up by June.  I declare this one a success.

I have not stopped swearing entirely but am doing a tiny bit better.  Still, I want to stop all together.  I often catch myself right before I'm about to say sh*t and think to myself, oh f*** it and say it anyway.  This is ridiculous and I know it.  And swearing is really tacky and not at all nice and I want to be classy, you know? I really do.

Screen time goals are not what they should be.  We are comfortable with TV; less great about the iPads.

AND THE NEW ONE:
You read it here first.  I am going to vastly improve my happiness and quality of life, as well as save some money, and it's not going to be nearly as awful as I am anticipating thanks to some tips from SEW.  I am going to create and follow two-week menu plans.  The first one will be printed out and taped to the inside of my cupboard door no later than January 15, 2014.

Happy New Year to all of you!  xoxo

All Grown Up

Lizzie's birthday party was on Friday, her actual birthday was Saturday, and today she had treats in her classroom to celebrate.  She wore a crown all day yesterday at preschool, and all day today.  Tomorrow might be rough.

Our cleaning lady walked in yesterday and said, "How are you Lizzie?"  She said, "I'm four."  She doesn't always put up four fingers, but usually.

She hasn't really had a big birthday party before, because she has an incredibly lazy and last-minute mother (and her father seems to have something against the concept of BIG kids' birthday parties) so this one was really surprising and fun for her.  She was at first a bit fixated on the gifts which one waits to open until after the party these days.  We had it at a club that has a huge play structure for kids and a bar for parents.  (It's the American club and it could be that all of us taxpayers are subsidizing said bar.  But also said play structure.  I don't know.)  Rather than invite all of her classmates, we invited only the kids with parents that we know and like.  I realize that this will eventually be impossible but she didn't seem to miss anyone.

After her party, we came home and opened her gifts.  In the morning, she got her gifts from us.  The quantity of stuff that we have to incorporate into our limited space leaves me wondering where it will all go (because we already did a big clean of the toys in preparation for the holidays).

The Angel is UP (finally)

We were in the car on the way to school this morning, listening to Christmas music, and Tommy looked up and said, "but pouting isn't necessarily naughty, right? I mean, what if someone snatched your favorite toy out of your hands? Pouting is okay then."  I said yes, and vaguely implied that Santa wasn't going to skip him this year.  It's a fine line, isn't it, because I get a month out of the year with guaranteed decent behavior from my children, but I'm not mean enough that I want them to think that they'll be crossed off Santa's list of good kids.

You guys.  'Tis the season and all but I am so freaking stressed out.  I realized yesterday that most of the stress is from the trip home and preparations that are not done.  But we've got Christmas Wonderland at school this afternoon, a four-hour choir rehearsal followed by Lizzie's birthday party tomorrow, a choir concert on Saturday (as well as the real birthday -- so some birthday things to organize before then), the women's group holiday lunch on Sunday, and cupcakes to Lizzie's class for her birthday on Monday (I stopped at the bakery today to order them as I realized there was absolutely no way I was baking them).  On Wednesday we have Tommy's holiday concert, and Lizzie's is on Thursday at the same time as Tommy's holiday party.  

And.  Guess how much Christmas shopping I have left to do? Oh, 80% or so.

I've been up at three am worrying about the weirdest stuff and last night I slept through the night but I dreamed I had lice.  

Thankfully, my littles are completely in love with the fact that they have only one more week of school left and Christmas is almost here.  Lulu wakes up each morning to ask how many days until her birthday (and in the backseat she practices holding up four fingers as we drive to school) and then she asks how many days until Christmas. 

Pretend there is a photo of the Christmas tree here, okay? As the title of this post implies, I intended to include a photo of the tree, but I just can't get a good one.  I offer to you this random assortment of photos instead.  Merry Christmas.

(The angel has a little story to go with her about how she wasn't on the tree for two weeks because the tree top wasn't strong enough to hold her up and so Eli went out and bought wire and that sat in the kitchen basket that collects all of our junk for at least a week and then last night I begged him to do the project and just get the sweet angel up and out of harm's way (that would be Tommy & Lizzie) and so he stood up on one of the end tables and pulled the tree top up and put the angel there and it was a Christmas miracle because she stayed up!  She didn't need wire!)

This is the opera house.  

I decided not to have hurt feelings.

Arranging by color the ornaments on the advent calendar made by Grandma Nancy.  HOURS OF FUN.

This is what I'm thankful for.  She helps clean up (when she feels like it)!

The best $5 I ever spent.  They love to sing "Deck the Halls" and dance around this tree after bath.  It kills me.

Guess who can write the word "LOVE"?  It's LULU!  We are so proud.

Christmas is coming?

I hope you are all well.  We are fine over here in Muscat but all of a sudden things are getting busy.  Mostly this is due to choir.  On a daily basis I change my mind as to whether I will quit after this concert.  Today, I'm sticking with it but only because at last night's rehearsal the Muscat Brass came to practice with us (for the big concert on Lulu's birthday) and they were amazing.  I was especially impressed by the trumpets (two of them!) but I am predisposed to like trumpets.  Trumpets are my favorite and yet I have a hard time thinking about Tommy or Lizzie playing one.  At least, in my house.

My choir conductor is Tommy's music teacher and when he saw me last night he said, "Tommy says you can't make the concert because it's Lizzie's birthday?"  As tempting as it was to tell him that Tommy had it right, that I'm skipping the concert, I just couldn't.  So I'm going.  At least the Muscat Brass will be there.  (There are some amazing musicians in Muscat.  And it actually makes me overly sentimental and borderline weepy to think that they are all here and still able to play and practice together and perform.   It's not what I imagined of expat life, somehow.)

Choir consumes a lot of my life these days and I am just so ambivalent.  I love it some days; hate it others.  Feel free to send me an email if you have an opinion as to whether I ought to keep doing it.  Eli commented that I didn't seem to enjoy it too much but he has to come home early on Sundays so I can go, so I believe it is fair to say that he is biased and his opinion is entitled to very little consideration.

This morning in the car, I asked the kids if it feels like Christmas is coming.  They were emphatic that it does -- and both emphasised that they eat chocolate every morning before breakfast (from their advent calendar).  Of course.  But to me, it is a very strange time.  It is in the eighties here although in the late afternoon at the beach park two days ago, I got goosebumps because it was so chilly.  So I alert you here and now that I have turned into one of those irritating people who is going to have little more to talk about than how freaking cold I am all Christmas long.  I am sorry in advance.  

Anyway, choir helps with the Christmassy feeling and for that I am thankful.   So does my "Christmas playlist" which was jazzed up considerably by one of our London friends.  For example, Tommy's favorite song on the play list is about a guy who only wants to see Santa do the Mambo for Christmas.  It's catchy!  We also put a date on the calendar to make Christmas cookies with Grace, so that should help as well.  Email me any other suggestions for assistance in the Christmas mood department.

The lady with blonde hair next to me is my favorite person in my choir.  She is English and very sarcastic. 

My children - skip this post if you don't want to read about how funny they are

This morning the traffic was especially frustrating and I did a lot of exclaiming and shouting.  As we were nearly to school, Tommy, clearly fed up with me, said,

"okay, so why don't you add some missiles to your car?"

And it was enough to keep me laughing the whole way to school.  In fact, I'm laughing about it as I type.

***

Yesterday, Lizzie was over at the table as I was in the kitchen, and as she looked at the newspaper, she said,

"Oh my gosh!  Mama!"
"What??"
"There is a boy with blonde hair!!  [pointing at a picture of Brad Pitt]  I've never seen that before in my life!"

***

Tommy:  "Did you know I kissed a girl on the bus?"
Me:  "Who?"
Tommy:  "Noor.  She's a kindergartner."
Me:  "On the cheek or the lips?"
Tommy:  "THE HAND!!!"