I've changed 4 light bulbs . . . and had lots of Starbucks coffee.

We're almost one month into January, and I've been busy, busy, busy changing those light bulbs and flossing my teeth . . . and doing some other things that I'll get to later . . .

Mimi has been doing a lot of this . . . 

and this . . .

and of course this . . .

and FINALLY, finally, finally, finally sat still long enough to write her name.  Geez, this girl could care less about things such as that.

Yesterday I was struggling to get her to sit down and finish her what should be a 10 minute assignment from preschool and something hit me . . . I was a lot like her at this age.  I jumped from toy to toy to coloring page to cartoon to puzzle and could give a crap about learning to write letters or numbers or even think about reading.  Why should I learn to read when I like the way my mommy does it so much?  Yep, she and I aren't too different.

But her "family project" for the month was to dress up a paper doll for cold weather.  Oh, my!!  I was so excited about doing this!  Um, I mean I was so excited about doing this for with Mimi!!  And guess what -- she was so excited about it too!!  

We may not have loved our letters, but we love making clothes.  Whatever, she'll eventually learn to love David Sedaris and 1,000 page Ken Follett books like her mommy.  And get an English degree . . . and do absolutely nothing with it.

Anyway, it's close to Valentine's Day, so I made this dress for her that she wears like every other day.  She's starting to be more opinionated about her attire, and I've gotten a lot of, "Mommy, those pants with the floppy things (ruffles) on the bottom are soooo not cute.  Nobody will like those.  Can I just wear my pajamas?"  So I had to learn to sew a knit dress.  And she loooooves it!  

Knit dress at Starbucks.  Mimi also loves overpriced pastries like her mommy.

Comfy pleather chairs are awesome!

This guy likes Starbucks, too.

After playing in the snow Saturday, Mimi told me we deserved a treat, so she rolled into Starbucks on a sled.  Fun stuff.

Seriously, I have a bit of a problem with this coffee joint, but they are EVERYWHERE and it feels like I'm giving myself a break when we go.  I need to find a cheaper obsession.  Like bubblegum or collecting rocks.

Do you see this pic?  I'm not even kidding.  What do I do about this????

She has no idea that she's supposed to think boys are yucky.  She LOVES them.  Like kisses at least one of them every time I drop her off for school.  It's not in a lovey dovey kind of way but in a, "Oh, you're a boy like my cousin Nick and will let me play with your Lego's and electronics and race car tracks and I associate that with giving you a kiss."  I have tried to explain that she should ask before kissing them, and she looks at me like I have four eyes.  I apologize to the moms and nannies, but they tell me that their boys love her and don't mind.  Whatevs.

I took a photo of this a few days ago, and oh my goodness she looks so old.  By the way, here's the link to the pattern for this top -- oooooh, how I LOVE it!  

When there's no snow on the ground we have to find something to do, and the Nature Museum is one of my faves.  There's a fun butterfly/sauna-type area that makes the whole trip worth it.

See this cute little thing on the left?  Guess what she says . . . y'all and ma'am and adds extra syllables to words! That's right!! Mimi has a southern friend in the city whose momma is from Mississippi!

She may polite, but she's a whole lot of fun, isn't she, Mimi?

This guy loves to color now.  Like sit for at least ten minutes and color.  I'm in shock.

Actually he's done a lot of things that have shocked me lately such as walking in his preschool class by himself with a sneaky, sneaky smile on his face.  Of course we still have to work on his not standing on tables or stealing others' snacks or throwing toys absolutely everywhere, BUT we're making baby steps.  And I'm okay with that.

I could stare at these blue eyes allllllllllll day . . .

His sister taught him to eat snow.

 She's even trying to eat it off of him . . . at least it's not the sidewalk, right?

 Mack also loves to dance.  Get low . . . 

 and lower . . . and lower . . .

 And he's smitten with his daddy.

 He's so bad, bad, bad, but I am still head over heels for him.  And I think he kinda likes me, too.

In other news, I had my first spray tan and IT. WAS. AWESOME.

I highly recommend one for all your important events.  A wedding, a formal party, Sunday brunch, a play date . . . I mean, why not?  If you're fat, who cares?  Tanned fat looks better.  If your teeth need to be whitened, the tan makes them look even whiter.  Need to work out?  I think the good places can even draw in some definition.  I'm not even kidding.  Forget the tanning beds and lather on the SPF 40.  You no longer need the sun.  Just see the girls at Buff Beauty.  And you're welcome.

So after being tanned, plucked, blow dried, manicured, pedicured, and Spanxed, Clint and I hopped a plane to Hotlanta and partied the night away with his amazing co-workers.  I LOVE his company.  If he ever quits, they have to hire me.  I can, hmm, I can maybe spell check all their memos or something . . . oh, wait, Microsoft Word does that?  Well, maybe I can pick up Starbucks for everyone.

 Heh, heh, heh . . . look at that white guy . . .

 I also attended my first ever NHL game, and WE WON!!!  By we I mean Blackhawks, and they beat the Redwings.  And I pretend to be a fan now.

In other news, I am having a baby.  Well, I sort of already had it, but it's very small and still keeping me up late at night and waking me up early in the morning.  I haven't quite been ready to share her yet . . . but, okay, you twisted my arm . . . but just a peek because she's still growing . . .

mimi & mack