What I Learned In 2011

1. Going to work in an office is not work. I can take breaks in an office.

2. Everyone needs a nap at about 2 PM. Daddy included.

3. The hardest thing I ever did was teach a 2 year old to go in a potty and not a diaper.

4. The new hardest thing I will ever do is teach a 3 year old to wipe his own bum. If I manage to accomplish this task.

5. Time doesn't take a day off, doesn't get sick, and goes to the gym everyday. It also made my little girl appear, sit up on her own, and learn basic sign language way too fast. Chances are, it'll teach her to crawl tomorrow and put her through High School next week.

6. Time also turned rudimentary 2 yr old language skills into mostly coherent 3 yr old sentences. Mostly coherent.

7. With expanded freedom comes more face plants because we're going faster and not looking where we're going.

8. Television may represent all that is bad in this world and be responsible for all kinds of social/learning disabilities, but it is my best friend about 4 PM. And 9 AM. And 11:30 AM.

9. A request for juice is not to be taken lightly. It should be delivered as soon as possible. Or else.

10. It is VERY easy to drop 15 pounds when you're not going out to lunch 3 times a week.

11. It is NOT easy to go to the gym 3 times a week with 2 kids.

12. Peanut butter and jelly is a kid's best friend.

13. Peanut butter and jelly is pretty dang awesome for Daddy too.

14. When my kids graduate Magna Cum Laude from an Ivy League school, I will gladly take credit for starting them off on the right foot. But we all know it was Super Readers, Word World, and the Leapfrog Tag Reader.

15. The nap thing is REALLY IMPORTANT.

16. Seriously, naps.

17. One of my goals starting out was to clean the house throughout the day. Not even close. Probably much worse off, in fact.

18. Taking a shower is a luxury. Taking a long shower is an impossibility.

19. I probably owe most of my colleagues, family, and friends apologies for showing my unshaven face in their presence. Like 5 or 6 days before I realize I look like a lumberjack.

20. I was able to cut my coffee use in half. But on the days I had coffee, I NEEDED COFFEE.

21. On days I NEEDED COFFEE, it was often finished 6 hours later and room temperature when I found the half empty mug.

22. Mobilizing a 3 yr old to go to the playground has honed my negotiation skills because what he's currently doing is always the most awesome thing ever.

23. Demobilizing a 3 yr old already at the playground is just a massive test of willpower to see who is the stronger species.

24. If the weather is gorgeous, both kids will be sick. If it's pouring rain, they will be bouncing off the walls.

25. N. A. P. S.

It's been quite an interesting 7 months and I'm looking forward to seeing what they're capable of in 2012.

CK