Happy New Year

Alright, so I have to admit, we did NOTHING for New Year's Eve. We were in bed far before midnight welcomed in the new year. The kids had no late-night privileges, and we certainly ignored the event. We're officially old and lame. I remember hating it when my parents did this. But today...

My mom flew into town!
That's how we're celebrating the new year- by spending 2 1/2 weeks with her! Yippee! I love having her help with the kids, housework, projects, and she's some of the best company I'll ever know. We have a lot of fun when Nana's here.


Catch-Phrase
We spent the evening at her sister Greer's house playing Catchphrase (I'm sure you've all heard of this game). Well, Derrick and I have grown VERY competitive with each other over the years, and tonight we were on opposing teams... big mistake. Naturally, we bickered, hung over each other's shoulders, shot dirty looks at each other, and even became temperamental when necessary (mostly me). I just can't stand cheating! That's one of my biggest pet peeves; I don't let my team do it, and you'd better be darn sure I don't let the other team do it. Luckily tonight, no cheating surfaced. In the end, both teams were able to pull off a win, and Derrick and I came home happy and still in love. The teams were amusing, though, because Erica and her friend Claire had their own lingo when they were giving clues to each other, and my mom and Greer did the same thing for clues from their childhood.

Back: Derrick, Michelle, and Daphne
Front: Kirsten, Greer, Mia, Dayton, Claire, and Erica

Mia's wiggly jiggly tooth came out while we were there! She had been showing everyone how much she could wiggle it all night (yuck), and then we all cheered when she successfully pulled it out.

Michelle's New Year's Resolutions

I don't always do these, but I have some things I've been meaning to do for a while, so now I'm making official declarations out of them.

1. Family Finances- I've only kept track of our finances on and off for the last 4.5 years, so starting today, January 1st, I'm not going to miss a beat (or at least for 2009).

2. Exercise- I think I'm the first person to ever think of using this as a new year's resolution! Great idea, huh? Feel free to copy me... Lately I've been feeling blah about my body, so I'm going to exercise twice a week from now on. This isn't really a lose-weight goal, but more like a take-better-care-of-myself goal. Plus I'm going to stop nursing Daphne in a few months, and then all of my extra fat and calories will start storing up in me instead of nourishing my darling baby. I'm trying to get a handle on this excess before it starts!