Breaking the Writer's Block

Yes, I know I have been a sucky Mommy Blogger these last few months... There has been so, so much going on through the holidays and when I actually have time to write I don't seem to feel like it. I have had writer's block. I think the problem is that I have had an overabundance of stuff to write about and I can't figure out where I want to start so I just do something else (usually 'something else' = reading). I don't really do New Year's Resolutions. I generally think that if something is worth doing I will start right away rather than wait until the first of the year. That said, I have a pseudo-New Year's Resolution to blog more. The whole point of the blog is not only to keep our family and friends up-to-date on our lives but most importantly, to chronicle our lives for Milo to read later in his life and to document how much our sweet boy is changing for US to read later in our life. It goes so fast and as I have said before, I want to capture some of these moments before they fly away. So... I won't make any promises but I am going to try to write more often this year starting now.

My goodness. Where to begin? Milo is always a good starting point, right?!

• We had a wonderful Christmas and Milo had a great time on Christmas morning but, despite our best efforts, he just did not get into Santa at all. When I asked him what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas, he looked down at the kitchen floor and asked for a rug.
• He is still grouchy on occasion but we have discovered the magic words "lose your privileges." If he is acting up all we have to tell him is that he is about to lose his privileges (which includes his computer time, TV and iPhone game time) and he generally straightens right up. Amazing!
• Speaking of computer time, that consists of two things for him... PBS Kids and Starfall - both of which have tons of educational reading, math, puzzle games, etc. He has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to letters and numbers and this was just the last push he needed to really begin reading. At the recommendation of his teacher, we worked with him for a few weeks on transition words like the, and, at, but, etc. and after that he was good to go. It is kind of amazing. I think the value of the computer games is they really focus on sounding letters out so he is even pretty good at working through big words on his own. He also likes to write which he practices at school. Today I told him to write me a note and then I went in the other room. A few minutes later he came in with a piece of paper on which he had written "Mommy" and "____ is bad" (the blank is to protect the 'innocent' - aka a kid at his school who is ALWAYS in trouble, poor thing). It morphed to "Scout is bad" before he was done. The things that randomly pop into his head never cease to crack me up!
• Milo calls me and Mark "guys" all the time as in "Hey guys, turn down the music. It is hurting my ears."
• As frequently as he can make us crazy, he can also melt our hearts in an instant. He has been sick this week and I stayed home with him for about a day and a half. I had work to do so he and I sat at the kitchen table with back to back laptops - me working and him playing on PBS Kids and Starfall. Every few minutes he would take a break, come over and say "Mommy, I like you. Can I have a hug?" He would climb in my lap for a few seconds and then go back to his games. Sweet, sweet boy. He also has started asking me to lay down with him for a few minutes before bed on my nights (Mark and I take turns reading to him every other night). I love those few minutes of cuddle time with him. It is a perfectly lovely way to end the day.

Let's see... on to the rest of the family?

• Scout is huge. No really. Huge. I will post pictures soon.
• He is 7 months old now and is a wonderful puppy. Our biggest challenge with him is that he still thinks Milo is a chew toy - something that Milo does not do a ton to dissuade other than scream at the top of his lungs.
• I have been reading a lot. I have had a few series to read and I have enjoyed them but this last one has kind of beat me down. I know. I know. You would think I could just stop but I am too far in now. The problem is that there are two more whole books to read - which I have purchased (making me feel especially responsible for reading them). There is a lot of gruesome Medieval war description in the books which is just not something that I need in my head. Remember how I stopped watching Grey's Anatomy because it stressed me out? Well this is the Medieval version of Grey's Anatomy. I am still trying to decide what I want to do. I am tempted to just skip to the end. It is kind of ridiculous how much this is weighing on my mind. In case you are wondering the series is "The Game of Thrones."
• Mark has been doing really well too. Just busy and working a lot but he did get some time off over the holidays that he needed badly. He has been on a music roll so we have had some fun new mixes to listen to recently. He also got some new video games for Christmas, one of which is the PS3 Move. It is like a Wii. I don't normally join in the gaming but I have to admit that Mark, Brad and I played Gladiator all night on New Years. I was ridiculously sore the next two days. I kicked butt though!
• Speaking of music (and I will end on this one), Milo really enjoys music so Mark and I are always trying to find good new / old artists for him to listen to. He is a big fan of the Beatles. One of his favorite songs is Mellow Yellow. His favorite Christmas songs this year were from Frank Sinatra and Annie Lennox and I just had Mark download Queen's Greatest Hits for me. We are loving it! They have so many fun songs that Milo is enjoying. It is nice when mommy and daddy can enjoy the tunes too!

I would say the Writer's Block is officially broken. On to the rest of the year!