Shameless

Just a few things:

• Since I'm a shameless braggart when it comes to my children, I want to let all 26 of you know that Josiah took his Accelerated Reader test today. He is reading at a 5th grade level. He is in the top 2% of second graders nationwide in terms of reading and comprehension. He thought it was top 2% in Virginia, but when I explained that it was the whole United States...well, now he thinks he's pretty cool. And I would have to agree.



• Finished up all three of the "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" books. I had tried to read them once before and failed. I actually sent all three of them back to Amazon, something I've never done. I hated them, utterly and completely, but because Daniel Craig is in my Top Five, I had to go and see the movie. With Marg. What torture. I'm kidding--it was excellent. I have a very hard time sitting still through anything lasting more than about an hour, but I sat through that movie without a problem. Awesome. Rooney Mara was incredible as Lisbeth Salander and of course, Daniel Craig didn't disappoint. It's definitely not a family film and Dad, if you go, we will never speak of certain scenes. But--I got the books on my Kindle and re-tried them, and loved them immensely. I am very sorry that Stieg Larrson has died and won't be able to write more books about Lisbeth and Mikael and their supporting casts of hundreds.



• Hans is alive and well. Still getting up before 5:00. He walks through the door right as I'm about to serve up supper. It never fails. It's like he has some internal sensor...



• Josiah I mentioned already. He's behind me, busy at the table with a self-made project in which he is ordering the countries by population. He's finding the population of Bosnia-Herzegovina as I type. A couple of weeks ago, he sat down with a notebook and started with 1+1 and then 2+2...he wrote every single one up until 513+513. I'm so thankful that he's such a curious kid.



• Annika is Annika. Getting more and more fussy about what she will and will NOT wear, thank you very much. I fear that our head-to-toe coordinated Gymboree days are behind us. Well, I guess I got to dress her like my doll for almost six years. She chooses her own clothes every day and has for a couple of years, but I had control over what went into the closet to begin with. Sigh. It's getting hard to shop as she now wants to be a part of it and stands over my shoulder pooh-poohing every single item I suggest. Other than that, she is good. Staying out of trouble in school. Right now, she's at the table conducting a vet clinic on her stuffed dogs.



• William is such a lover...I gave him one of Annika's discarded baby dolls the other day. He gives her kisses and hugs and she sleeps, swaddled, in the crib. William also steals my Oatmeal, my teddy, off the bed and smuggles her into the crib and hugs and kisses on her as well. He's very like Annika in the amount of junk that he finds necessary to sleep with. He has started going into an empty room (just figured out doorknobs, drat) to poop. I find that hilarious for some reason. If I hear a door close and he's been gone for a bit, I inevitably will find him up in the office with a full diaper.



• Elsa is also good. Growing very, very quickly. She can now walk for about 1/2 mile without stopping.



• My 2012 word is "challenge", so in that vein, I decided to challenge myself a little and signed up for an 8K run in Williamsburg on 5/20. Two nights ago I ran one whole mile. Whoo! I will go again tonight and just run that mile again, for at least a couple more weeks and then slowly up it until I get where I need to be. I also ordered a skirt pattern and am going to sew it, come hell or high water. The "No New Clothes Challenge" does not include clothing that is handmade, so the only way to get that new clothes high is to buck up and make it myself. That being said, January is DONE and Gen and I made it without buying anything. However, the spring catalogs are out and are making me break out in a cold sweat. I have to throw them out without even peeking.

That's it for now. Hope all is well in your world!