End of 2011 Wrap-up

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost 3 months since my last post!  Crazy!

Well, since I last posted S has turned 12.  He's maturing so fast but will flip-flop back and forth.  One minute he'll be talking to me like an adult and the next he's desperate to sit on my lap.  It's sweet and wonderful and funny and completely tragic all at the same time!

Lately his two favorite things to do are rapping to the lyrics of his favorite songs and giving me shoulder massages.  Which can make for some pretty uncomfortable moments since I'm the only one of the both of us who realizes just how lewd those lyrics are!

Injury-wise we've ended 2011 with multiple bangs and more than a whimper.  B had to see an ophthalmologist after getting poked in the eye during PE and seeing everything colored wrong.  S had a nasty crash at a go-kart track and was pretty shaken up.  I was worried enough about a concussion that I spent an extra half-hour at the track with him afterwards just in case he passed out or threw-up.  Just before Christmas S got slammed into a cabinet during a somewhat rowdy game of tag at school, which led to a dramatically swollen ankle.  And then in the waning hours of the year he wiped out playing soccer and split open his elbow.  Oma came to the rescue (AGAIN) with her home-cut butterfly bandages, managed to close the wound and saved us another trip to the emergency room for stitches.

D the Wonderdog has injured her elbow again.  We've got her on a 10 week stint of anti-inflammatories, and our ancient cat had her own emergency run to the vet when she became very ill with Kitty strep.

In the end all's well that ends well, thank God and knock on wood!, but I'm kind of hoping that 2012 will be less "eventful" in the emergency department...

M is settling into his job.  The past 6 months have been one big learning curve, but he's finding his way and his German is improving by leaps and bounds.  Yesterday evening he had a meeting to hammer out some details because if all goes according to plan he'll soon be the division leader for Taekwando!

B is doing great in school-- it's amazing how quickly he's adapted to the new environment!  He's made a really nice group of friends and is blossoming. 

I'm busy with English lessons, volunteer work, sports and just being a mama extraordinaire.  ;-)  One of my resolutions for the coming year is to stop by here more often.  There are, thankfully, too many funny things going on around here to let them go unremarked...

Wishing you all a healthy and happy start to 2012!