2008 in review (Or, what has inspired me this year)

These little guys (in 2005)...

...Who are now this big.

And him, my life partner, who is my source of balance and strength every day.

Quality time together as a family...whether on vacation or around the holiday table or simple, everyday things, like hanging out in our pajamas at home (or in this case, at a campground).

This awe-inspiring victory, and what it has meant for me, our children and the potential we can reach together...reminding me just how far we have come. 

The wonderful company of female friends who are trying-to-balance-it-all-dammit. And who can also relate to this stressful, crazy, but blissful time in our lives parenting little ones.

Believing in magic, and viewing the world with the hope and wonderment that my children see with every little thing that most adults take for granted.

The beauty of children in general, and what I learn from them each day...especially the lesson about being carefree and unapologetic about anything.

The Skills You Can Learn @ 3 years old!

This past weekend, my husband hooked up the kids' new computer in the playroom...complete with parental controls and favorite bookmarks of our carefully chosen online learning games, of course.

With my husband and I both working the in the tech industry and tapping on our computers in the evenings sometimes when we need to finish work at home, it's no surprise that they have been showing interest in computers for a while now.  And we decided it was time.

So as I watched them play their "fine motor skills" and "literacy-building and storytelling" games on the Sprout/PBS kids website, I sat there behind them proudly and was constantly bemused by the fact that our 3 year olds were clicking around on icons and learning how to work the mouse.   They can't read yet, but they knew exactly where to click once we gave them the short tutorial.   I knew this would come soon enough, but wow, at 3?!!

Part of the reason I think I was so amused was this: I don't think I knew how to work a computer and type until I was in high school (and in the late 80's/early 90's I  think they were still called "word processors"...how funny!)

And now, here is this new generation of our children for whom computers, the internet, etc. is a part of their everyday existence...

Unfortunately, this morning before preschool they woke me up to see if they could play on the computer again.

Uh-oh.

Thank goodness they haven't yet discovered games that you actually play for regular fun instead of learning fun.  Or worse yet, the Wii.