I guess this means I have to update my blog

Well, I did this podcast thingie over at Women Writing, and I mentioned this blog, so on the off chance that someone both listens to me there and also wants to read my blog here, I thought it would be nice to update this. I don't know why I am so sporadic with this. I'm constantly composing updates in my head that never make it to the page, as it were. If you could see in my brain, you'd get the whole picture (and then some) (and you might not make it back out with your mental faculties intact) (but you'd have a whole picture and I wouldn't have to update this blog).

I especially had big plans for a holiday post. We did so many fun things, like baking and cute crafts and lots of Book Club, which is essentially where the whole family, including the furry members (PETS, ya weirdo), get on the king bed and read together. This is one of my favorite parts about winter time weather - the snuggling potential.

But, it was a hard December, too. My aunt died on December 7, after battling cancer for about a year. She was 62. This has been especially difficult for my grandparents and her husband, of course. The kids weren't really close to her, but the experience has prompted lots of questions about death and mortality from Anderson.  At the funeral, Aunt Sue requested they play this song, and it's really pretty wonderful (though heartbreaking).

Once again, can I reiterate how much cancer just plain sucks? I guess that's an obvious statement that doesn't even begin to cover it, but damn. It's frustrating watch it take people far too soon and not feeling like we're making enough progress fast enough. For all the advances of the modern world, and I do know there are more than I can count, we just don't have a handle on this.

And yet, life with small boys under 6 goes on.

Anderson lost his first tooth, while eating a chocolate covered donut (I swear it was a healthy tooth, it was just past time!):

David got slightly taller and somehow even cuter:

And Maggie continued to put her snoot in at every opportunity:

So basically, life is normal at home. And for that, I'm exceedingly grateful. We're excited to start a new year, and several new lesson plans are on the horizon. Anderson wants to start doing his own videos where he explains a new thing he's learned, and I think that's an awesome idea. 

For now, I need to get back to figuring out how to organize all these stupid plastic containers that seem to breed in their kitchen drawer. They are like tribbles with a death wish. I'm thisclose to chucking them all out in the snow so Maggie can just have her way with them.