Quilting, Christmas in D.C., and the Wii

I'm starting this blog to chronicle every day life for myself and for my family. Someday my sons, now 3 and 5, may want to read it (or run screaming -- it could go either way). My husband and I work full time and spend the rest of the time trying to keep our home in basic order and raise our children well enough to keep them out of jail. Our days are so hectic that they seem to pass us by, and let's face it, I'm not friends with pen and paper anymore. This is evidenced by empty baby books that I sincerely meant to fill out, unwritten thank you notes that I swore I'd write, and letters to the few people in my life who aren't on the internet that I've inadvertently pushed to the side.

So, welcome to chaos, imperfection, and occasional moments of beauty.

A jumbled collection of thoughts from the last week:

I signed up for a beginning quilting class this week. I'm both excited and wary of the sewing machine I got for Christmas. It promises in 60-point letters to be "Simply the Easiest," but the quick start guide has about 20 steps just to thread the needle and do something to the bobbin that I have already forgotten.

Working for the government during the week after Christmas is like working in a Christmas shop during July. About 2 percent of my coworkers came to work, so it was impossible to get anything done that required the participation of another human being (in the government, that's pretty much everything), and it was so quiet I could hear the Xerox machine on the other side of the building. Boo.

My husband bought a Wii this morning while I was sleeping (it was my turn to sleep in). When I woke up, my five-year-old Jack was shaking me and yelling "MommyDaddyBoughtAWiiAndHe'sSettingItUpLet'sPlayBowling." I rolled out of bed unenthusiastically, poured luke-warm coffee and stumbled downstairs. Surprisingly, though, we had a great time. All four us liked bowling and boxing. I was stunned to hear myself yelling, "Smack him, Jack, Smack him!"

More later. Mercifully, the whiskey is working its magic.