2010 Snapshot

So I saw a friend do this on her blog, and I thought it was a very clever way to capture the memory of what life is like right now (since this is the ONLY form of scrapbooking I do!!). Here is a brief snapshot of what life is like right now:

• We are finally a diaper free family. I would say that I don't have to clean up messes anymore, but we still have a dog.
• We are finally all skiing now. Tessa can go down by herself, but the fact that she doesn't left versus right makes it hard to tell her which way to turn. She does know "pizza" and "french fries" though!
• Emma is amazingly diligent about getting all of her schoolwork done on her own. I never even ask about her homework because she just takes care of it herself. She is a great student with the grades to show it. (hopefully this will continue!!)
• Lincoln is a great student but hates homework. His philosophy is to do it as quickly as is humanly possible. Lucky for us he loves to read, so when he is reluctant to do homework we can threaten to take away reading time and this motivates him to get it done.
• Sam wakes up happy every day. He is dressed, room cleaned, and ready to leave for school before he even comes downstairs.
• Lincoln will contemplate getting out of bed by the time Sam is eating breakfast.
• Tessa loves to play with Jack and pretends he is Bolt and that she is Penny.
• Tessa hates nursery at church.
• Tessa loves the 11-year-old boys class at church (the one Ted teaches).
• Emma loves cooking - especially Sunday mornings.
• Lincoln decided his new motto was going to be "A day without reading is a day wasted," and now his entire class says it too.
• Sam loves anything and everything Star Wars. You can never have too many light sabers or clone helmets.
• Ted gets up between 5:30 and 5:45 every day to work out.
• Although I do get up early, I wait until the last possible second to finally exit the warmth of my bed. I love sleep.
• I love that we do "Best and Worst" at dinnertime each night. It's the only time I hear about some aspects of my kids' lives!
• Every Sunday we take turns picking which family activity we will do together. The hands down favorite is playing Peas in a Pod in the dark.
• I love a dance aerobics class at the gym - and although I love it, I realize I was never meant to be a dancer. :)
• Emma throws all clothes in the wash to avoid having to put them away. The boys never think to wash anything.
• Tessa has to eat off of pink dishes only.
• Our kids will only eat Caesar salad.
• I threaten to get rid of the dog at least once a day.
• I have decided that the kids will now fold their own laundry. For years I have believed that if I folded their clothes they would keep them neatly in their drawers. This has NEVER been the case. From here on out they fold their own clothes. If they won't keep them folded in their drawers then why am I wasting my time?
• I love vacuuming.
• Tessa loves vacuuming with me.
• I love photographing my kids. I could wallpaper my house with their photos. I love seeing their personalities shining through candid photos.
• Emma has been swimming twice a week through the winter, and now all the kids are swimming until soccer starts.
• Tessa just started swim lessons this week. Each session I find myself calculating how much it cost to pay for her to sit on the side of the pool with her feet dangling in the water. That is all she will do.

I find myself wondering how much will change by next year's snapshot. I hope that by next year at this time Jack will be a trained and happy part of our family. I also hope Tessa will have actually gotten in the pool for swim lessons. Hey, it never hurts to dream, right?