Happy New Year!

I am trying not to put too much pressure on myself to come up with the perfect inaugural blog post for my first ever blog.

My mom already put a lot of pressure on herself trying to come up with the perfect name for the blog she wanted to give me as a gift. She did all the research for me on how to start a blog and register the name and was going to do it all for me so I could just start. It seems she asked a lot of people what the name should be. There is nothing like finding out about the extremes of your personality through suggested names for your blog.

The trouble with all of them is committing to putting one part of your personality front and center. But, I have been a lifelong list maker, enduring the ridicule of my family and close friends and even husband for the abundance and length of my lists so “Life Off the List” seemed appropo. “Living La Vida Local” a nod to my passion for eating and buying locally was taken by someone in 2006 who still hasn’t written anything on their blog that was supposed to be about a trip to Spain. “Crazy with Twins” is appropriate, but a given at this point, and any reference to my dog, a whippet, would overemphasize my affection for whippets other than Jax. So here it is, Life off the List. Welcome!

Let’s start with a list:

To Do:

1. Watch the Rose Bowl (has it really been 9 years since Stanford was in it?)
2. Unload the car from our road-trip home from Christmas in San Diego
3. Unpack and put everything away- find places for all the new stuff in our already crammed apartment
4. Take down the holiday decorations, including the Christmas Tree
5. Finish sending Holiday cards. Find remaining addresses/Address/Stamp/Send
6. Restock the fridge
7. Figure out what we are going to have for dinner based on what I have in the freezer from the summer farmer’s market veggies
8. Finish thank-you notes from the girls’ birthday (gulp- December 14) and Christmas, including one to David’s Ancient Art professor from college who sent us gifts for the girls and copies of ancient examples of poses that our Christmas picture reminded her of. She is a rock star! Love her!
9. Locate my calendar and figure out what we have to do for the next week
10. Confirm the meeting room availability for the San Francisco Parents Of Multiples New and Expectant Parent Group Meetings that I facilitate.
11. Coordinate drop-off of a New Parent Meal for a new mom of twins in our area
12. SFPOM Board Summary
13. Post photos and videos from Christmas
14. Back up my computer

Okay, okay, you get the idea! And I feel a little more organized. I think I like this blog!

It is a brand new year and we have a lot to be thankful for. I just had a great visit with my family in San Diego. While there never seems to be enough time to know everything about everyone again and get to do all the things that each of us dreamed we would do while together, I think we got enough restful time together so that our visit didn’t leave us feeling drained or depleted. And we found time to:

• Make a ton of cookies and drop them off at the Scripps Ranch fire station (Great idea mom)
• To go to the family service at church- something I have loved doing since I was a kid (so fun to take my own kids and niece and see it through their eyes)
• To see my angels' faces as they noticed the Santa gifts left for them (they really believe they ARE princesses when they wear the dress-up dresses and shoes)
• Open up all our presents (we always say it is going to be a modest Christmas. It never is)
• Complete the traditional treasure hunt written by my dad (tradition started by his dad)
  
• Host a party the day after Christmas (we made multiple soups including White Chili which I need to get the recipe for)
• See old friends and their children!
• Recover from a day of vomit (third Christmas in a row that included a day of vomit)
• Take our family Christmas picture (always a monumental task)
  
• Play 3 different board games
• Have a dance party in the garage playground my parents set up (If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it...)
  
• Go to the park and have a picnic, and
• Put together a 1000 piece puzzle!

All this while feeding three three-year-olds three meals a day and getting them down for naps and bedtime. We are finally able to do lots of fun things with 3 kids and still have fun ourselves!

The drive back to San Francisco took 13 hours. I was dizzy and disoriented when we emerged from the car, but the girls got to bed okay and I got the best news when I checked my email. I woke up feeling refreshed on this first day of 2009.
Here’s to a new year, a new blog and every day new reasons to feel grateful.