Recent goings-on

Dress as your hero day at school. Charlotte is me, Asher is Barack Obama, and Benjamin is Eric

Here are some things that have been happening in January:

Charlotte started ice skating, and loves it. She now does dance on Monday, ice skating on Tuesday, gymnastics on Wednesday, and Daisies every other Thursday. She has started selling Girl Scout Cookies (which seems to be a joint venture between the two of us, since I seem to be asking everyone I know if they want to buy some). She is making lots of new friends at school, and had her first sleepover with a classmate on Saturday night. The two girls slept in Charlotte's big bed, and they were as cute as could be. We had chocolate chip pancakes in the morning, and I think it was a good experience for both girls.

Charlotte costumed as a Caramel DeLite

Asher is enjoying playing basketball. I have been avoiding attending games because they are on Friday nights when all I want is a delicious dinner and a glass of wine, but Eric told me I had to go this past Friday. I was completely resentful (irrational, yes. I know, I am a grownup, but I was childish in this instance) and so I went with a book to read while he played. The book wasn't completely enthralling, but I managed to be reading it when Asher went ahead and scored his only basket of the entire season! I instantly felt guilty. The next morning, I gave Asher an apology, and offered to attend this coming week, which he requested I do. Shame on me for not getting it right the first time, and now I get to spend another Friday night in a gym watching 9 year-olds play basketball.

We joined the Franklin Institute at the holidays, and we have made one visit in January, with their cousins Eli and Sonia. Benjamin was resistant after his negative experience with the planetarium years ago, but this time he managed to find many things to interest him. He saw that there is a flight simulator, so he now wants to save up money to pay for a chance to ride in it. He is having a little more trouble at school this year, and is in conflict with two boys in his class. He seems to be having a hard time expressing himself constructively, although he does have some new friends and has had some play dates. He is so bright, and has an excellent sense of humor, and I just wish for him to be seen by others the way I see him. We started back at therapy this week, and he seems to really enjoy it and benefit from it.

I made the mistake of suggesting that Eric and I watch "Tidying Up" with Marie Kondo on Netflix, and it lit a fire under him to throw out 33% of our belongings, and fold the remaining 67% of belongings in small, even rectangles. The kids' drawers have never been neater, but mine remain a jumbled mess. Benjamin and I don't do well with throwing things out, and Benjamin has had a few breakdowns as Eric sorted through old stuffed animals and t-shirts. We are both fine once the things are gone, but the process of choosing what to let go is emotionally draining. Eric's goal is that we would have a neat and tidy house all of the time, which I am good with in theory, but have difficulty executing in practice. I will keep you posted.

A tearful selfie Benjamin took with my phone while Daddy threw stuffed animals into a large trash bag

Now we are near the end of what is almost always the least eventful month of the year. I was supposed to go to Paris with my mom, but canceled a few weeks before our departure because I calculated that I had taken about 2 months of vacation in 2018- and my income showed it. I am now back at work without a scheduled break for the foreseeable future.