Happy New Year from my family to yours!
O.K. I realize that I'm using the same cheesy line from 3 posts ago but don't I get any points for trying?

Long and short of it: kids good, husband good, we're both still employed, Chicago winter cold, another year older and wiser, blah, blah, blah. Same details, different decade.

Damn. I was on such a roll with 2 posts in a row. Let's see what's new. D had a job and then was laid off again after a week. (Official score: Mint - 1, Sucky Economy - 2). Luckily he got another job a dew weeks later although it was for a lot less money and much further from home. He has since been offered yet another job which he'll start on Monday. It's more in the field that he wants so he's happy. I'm a little seasick from all the ups and downs. I'm not complaining, I'm just stating a fact.



My sister, Dr J, had twins about 6 weeks ago. They were a month early but she was so uncomfortable and tired and her bladder was only holding the equivalent of a shot glass before she has to pee. The boys are so precious , they make my ovaries hurt.



I had a great whirlwind visit from Nutty in April. She was in town for business and I was able to meet up with her and her colleague for the day. She's as wonderful as I imagined she would be in "real life". It's funny when you meet someone who you know only through their blog. Although I'm fairly anonymous on here but I still find that I censor many of my thoughts. If you feel you know me through this blog, I fear you'd be sadly disappointed when you met me in person. With Nutty, she's sugar and spice and all things nice. : )

Here's a pic of the lovely outfit Aunty Nutty gave The Girl.

I leave you with a few pictures of the last few months.

Hiya. So I can hear you ask "Minty, where the heck have you been?" I've been here and there and everywhere. Wanted to post for a while but I'm so rusty at this point. Until I get back in the swing of things I shall utilize the beloved bullet-style post:

• I'm totally in denial that summer is over. It's gonna be a long, hard winter. (For all you Office fans out there "That's what she said!")



• D and I completely gutted the basement and redid it. I asked for a remodeled family room for Christmas (2007). By the time St Patrick's Day rolled around I was no closer to having a lick of work done. I, of course, took that opportunity to remind D that I purchased him a limited edition Gibson electric robot guitar for X-mas and unless he wanted to lose it in the divorce he better get off his ass and start knocking down walls. It turned out beautiful. However I only invite over people who pretend not to notice the unevenness of the ceiling.

The Boy is a 3rd grader. Where has the time gone?? I took him for his annual physical over the summer and he's at the 90th percentile for height. I noticed that he had a lot of female admirers at his summer camp which he was completely oblivious to. Unless you can throw a baseball 20 feet he doesn't have time for you.

• The Girl turned 4 and is now in preschool. Her will is so strong and I struggle with raising her without breaking it. D is so tightly wound around her tiny pinkie it's not even funny.

The kids on the first day of school (September, 08)

• My sister Dr J and her hubby bought a house way put in the boonies. Her husband is convinced that I've given Dr J some magic elixir that causes her to want to become a suburban soccer mom.


• I received wedding invitations from 2 fellow bloggers. Congrats to The Box and Me. Both of their wedding albums make me want to marry D again just so we can get a better photographer.
  
• I met my first blogging friend! Had lunch with Beks and her friend Betty (and Betty's adorable son). Everyone was great and hopefully Beks wasn't too disappointed when she met me. ; )

I'm in Southern California all next week for work which I'm kinda excited about. The weather is supposed to be wonderful AND I'll have my own quiet hotel room to watch all the season premieres.

*Sweetest Taboo- Sade

Loved the book. Was able to finish it Sunday afternoon and lift my self-imposed embargo on TV and internet. My dad is on book 1, mom is almost done with book 3, the Boy is half-way through #6 and my sisters and I are done with the series. D isn't into HP most likely due to the lack of sports references and fart jokes. In all fairness he's going through the classics that he's always wanted to read and is almost done with The Red Badge of Courage.

Did I mention the Girl ran into a wall 2 months ago and we had to take her to the E.R? She's fine but she's left with a scar on her forehead.


When the Boy saw it I could literally see the wheels churning in his head as his jealousy overtook him.

*Naked As We Came by Iron and Wine

Summers here and the weather is gorgeous. The warm days and cools nights are picture perfect. The kids practically live outside evidenced by their tans.

So this past weekend the kids slept over my parent's place. I remember when the Boy first slept over there we were so worried he would forget us in the 15 hours we were away from him (10 of which he was asleep). I used to call my parents and ask "Is he OK?' "Is he asking for us?" "Shall we come pick him up?" to which my father would promptly threaten a restraining order and hang up. These days I'm not sure if it's the foreign feeling of solitude or the fact we're too busy trying to pack 3-days worth of activity in 1 night to even call over to check on them. When we have called the kids sound happy to say a quick "Hi...love ya...see you in the morning" and run back to their mountain of sweets and unlimited TV. The truth is the kids enjoy their mini-holiday as much as we do. I barely have my shoes off at my parent's house when the Girl says "Bye Mom...see ya tomorrow". OH-Kay. To make myself feel better I'm pleased that the kids are so secure with our families that there's no need for theatrics. That being said a little sob would have been nice for my ego.


Anyway D took me for sushi and the movie of my choice. D's only requirement was no subtitles. We saw Once about the week long relationship between an Irish street musician and a Czech immigrant. It takes place in Dublin which fulfilled the no subtitles rule but D still complained he couldn't understand the actors sometimes. WTF? It's YOUR people. If I can understand them you sure the heck should be able to.


When we got home I did something I haven't done in ages. I slept naked. This isn't a sexual comment. All the parents out there know that once kids enter your life the naked moments are few and far between. I slept naked AND with the door wide open which is unheard of. I felt like an adult. Of course I couldn't wait to see the kids in the morning and have them kiss me and cling to me. They're SO worth giving up nudity for.


We've been teaching the Girl about personal space. During the initial potty training phase a few months ago it was common for us to put her on the toilet and clap wildly when she did her business. She in return would clap and say "good job mom" when I went potty. Now that she's a pro we're teaching her that people need privacy. Yesterday she announced that she had to go potty and promptly went upstairs to the bathroom. When the Boy followed her to brush his teeth she loudly announced "No Boy! I need priva-seat". Like Pavlov's dog I now find it difficult to pee without clapping.


The kids birthdays are coming up over the next 2 weeks. The Boy and Girl are 4 years apart almost to the day. One day they'll be all grown up and trying to find time for their blogs. Until then....