Zoe's 2nd

We've been horribly disorganized the past few months. Haven't sent out our Christmas/New Year's cards (partly because I can't find my address book), haven't sent thank you cards for Xmas presents, haven't unpacked the remainder of our moving boxes, never got my outdoor Christmas lights up, etc. etc.

But, we did get around to sending a care package, letter and photos to Zoë's orphanage to mark her upcoming 2nd birthday, which coincides with Chinese New Year.

Inauspicious Start to the Holiday

We leave for Cuba tomorrow morning (actually in the middle of the night). Unfortunately, Jacob developed a cough last night and his sisters have decided that the best way to show solidarity is to behave like lunatics. Should be an interesting flight!

I will try to post from Cuba, but if not will deliver the full report upon our return.

We've been out to the movies twice in the past week (pretty good, eh?). True Grit was spectacular and I wanted to go back in and watch it again right away. Fantastic dialogue and the best young female role model to appear in a movie for a long while. Then last night we saw Black Swan, which was riveting and gut wrenching. Natalie Portman was really great. Can't say I'll ever want to watch it again though. I don't need to put myself through that again. Don't think I'll be putting my kids into ballet anytime soon!

Getting Ready For School

Zoë is starting at nursery school on her 2nd birthday, which is the day after we return from Cuba. So she and I went out yesterday to buy a backpack and lunchbag. The former is as tall as she is, but she couldn't be prouder.

- Perhaps we need to invest in longer t-shirts and shorter backpacks

- Building the tower of doom (or the doomed tower, if little sister has anything to say about it)

I completed the first run of the marathon training schedule last night. 1 down, 53 to go!

The twins' penguin obsession continues. We were talking to my mom about the penguins she had seen in South America so she sent us photos, wondering if we knew the type of penguin. Molly takes one look and without missing a beat says, "that's a zebra penguin". I said, "are you serious or are you joking". "I'm serious baba, that's a zebra penguin. We learned it in school". So I looked it up on my now-indispensable iPhone. There's no such thing as a zebra penguin. She was totally playing me. I confronted her with her BS and she just shrugged and smiled at me. "I was just teasing you baba".

Still Running

Marathon training program begins tomorrow. Ran the final 5km race of the series today. Bitter cold. Ready to do some beach running in Cuba!

Our skating rink is absolutely perfect right now. The melt and rain from last week turned into a quick freeze which left us with flawless ice. And the kids are slowly getting the hang of it. Although it's tough on a cold, windy day.

Kate's partner came back to work this week, so our lives have quickly returned to a manageable pace.

Some quotes from the week

1. At the dinner table
Kate: repeated inquisition about what the kids did at school
Jacob: Enough questions your majesty

2. Me, at a coffeeshop with some friends while the twins were in nursery school
Me: We had our first B-I-T-E incident yesterday. Jacob wasn't hurt physically but he was so offended that she would do that to him.
Zoë: (pointing at her arm) Ouch, ouch, no biting
Me: (thinking, damn, I guess I can't use the spelling trick anymore!)

3. The kids learned all about penguins at school this week, so we showed them some Planet Earth
Kate: Here's come the penguins
Jacob: Oh, those are Emperor penguins
Molly: Seals eat them
Me: That's right, look out penguins
Molly: Whales eat them too
Me: No, I don't think so. Whales eat plankton and other little things
Molly: We learned in school that whales eat penguins baba (gives me the critical eyebrow raise)
Me: (scambling with iPhone, quick search reveals that Killer Whales do in fact eat penguins) Looks like you're right Molly
Molly: And you were wrong

Flexible Resolutions

My mother is suggesting that I've already broken my New Year's Resolution by failing to blog on the first Sunday of the year. In my defence, today's a holiday so I'm giving myself a day's grace.

Kate and I began 2011 in style by showing up to and completing the 10km snowflake race in a driving rainstorm. Our time was slow (Kate slowed down to finish it with me) but we felt quite virtuous for the rest of the day. The person who should have felt virtuous though was Kate's mom, who looked after the three kids at home during the race, despite full-on flu. One of these years I'd like to make it through the Christmas season without wiping out the grandparents with that year's plague.

The twins were back in school today. They'll be joined by Zoë in exactly one month. And that's when my marathon training will really begin in earnest.