Happy New Year!

All my family is busy playing a new round of the game BLOKUS and I have escaped to the back bedroom/converted office. I am not a fan of games that don't require much interaction. In fact, I prefer games where the whole object of the game is to interact. Games that require a long duration of stratagem leave me bored and frustrated within the first 5 minutes. I want a game where my whit and charm are assets, not distractions. Someone said we were going to play "4 Men on a Couch" and then nothing happened. So I came to the place where my occasional bouts of whit and charm are actually appreciated by you, my cyberspace audience. Lately I haven't felt witty nor charming, so that would be the real reason I haven't written in a while. In fact, I think the term to express my current state of mind is "cranky-tired" a term used most often to describe an overstimulated toddler, but is, in fact, a true description of my current self.

So, on to more pressing matters.... HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Here we are in the midst of about to be 11 cranky-tired kids (which would be another reason I have escaped to the back bedroom) trying to bring this new year in right. And this little bit of quiet time has caused me to reflect on the past year and all our accomplishments:

• We moved 3 times in 4 months -- a feat I wouldn't wish on anyone
• We were homeless the whole month of July -- which made moving into our teeny, minuscule new abode a little less foreboding
• Claire somehow potty trained herself in the midst of all the chaotic moving -- and anyone who knows my history with potty-training our Alex knows that I had no hand in this accomplishment
• Alex started kindergarten -- finding a new passion for letters, numbers, and, of course, Monarch butterflies
• We made the metamorphosis from a normal, job-holding, income making, two car, medically insured family into the new unemployed, full-time student, one car, state funded insured family
• Cory thrived and the rest of the family survived the first semester of graduate school
• Cory found a passion for rugby and mass transit transportation
• Kelli has actually seen the light in the advantage of getting 5 loads of laundry done at one time

I remember coining the phrase "We'll do great in 2008" at this time last year and now I know that was way too high an expectation. I am glad to say I feel less pressure with the new phrase "We'll be fine in 2009!" I think we can accomplish "fine." "Fine" is right up my alley.

So our goals in 2009, you ask? Well, without consulting any member of my family, here are my projected goals for them:

Claire: Learn to be a more independent girl so she can be a BIG help and be more willing to share her "momma"

Alex: Learn to be a little more self-entertained and not so much of a bullying big brother

Cory: Find a great internship this summer that won't take him too far from home and will also allow him to take some time off, especially in the month of June

Kelli: Stop being so cranky-tired -- I am in my second trimester after-all. Yes, baby #3 is on its way!

Surprise!!