Sophalophagus

Earlier this week

Before...


After...

We use a booster seat now.

Busted, again

The Sweet Tooth Bandit strikes again. This time we found her alone in the kitchen, where she pulled to the floor a plate of Christmas cookies that the neighbors had just delivered. Here she is, helping herself to the spoils:



It's not like she can see up to the shelf to know there's a plate of cookies there. She is clearly smarter than she looks.

Oh how we love that little girl.

Black Swans

I just got done reading a wonderful book called "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable" by Nassim Taleb. The author, an investor by trade, defines "black swans" as events that are unpredictable, that carry a massive impact, and for which we concoct an explanation after the fact that makes the events appear less random than they actually were.

The author believes that history is driven by these types of events--that we see the output of history but have little understanding of the mechanisms behind it (although we try to convince ourselves otherwise).

In a nutshell, his conclusion is that the future is impossible to predict. Knowing this helps us spend our time more wisely, and helps us position ourselves to benefit from "black swans". (He actually suggests turning off the TV, putting down the newspaper, and ignoring blogs, because they are not as relevant to events around us as we think.)

This is my favorite quote in the book:

Seize any opportunity, or anything that looks like opportunity. They are rare, much rarer than you think. Remember that positive Black Swans have a necessary first step: you need to be exposed to them. Many people do not realize that they are getting a lucky break in life when they get it. If a big publisher (or a big art dealer or a movie executive or a hotshot banker or a big thinker) suggests an appointment, cancel anything you have planned: you may never see such a window open up again. I am sometimes shocked at how little people realize that these opportunities do not grow on trees. Collect as many free nonlottery tickets (those with open-ended payoffs) as you can, and, once they start paying off, do not discard them. Work hard, not in grunt work, but in chasing such opportunities and maximizing exposure to them.

Hot chocolate mustache

I understand the mustache above the lips. That makes sense. But how do they always get a mustache under the lips too?

Ethan's Theory on Music

This was prompted by the Christmas music that is playing in our house all the time lately ("church music" according to Ethan):

"I hate church music. It's too gentle. I like music that is loud and has drums and action. Church music just has pianos and violins, and no action."

He is indeed a man of action, if not refined tastes.

Google Maps Street View

Google Maps added our town to Street View today. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but it is fun to cruise around. If you type in our address, you'll notice that our neighbors were photographed inadvertently in their driveways. The kids next door look like they were hoping the camera car was an ice cream truck.

I laughed when I saw our neighbors' German Shepherd in their driveway, standing at attention and staring at our house, patiently waiting to tear us to pieces at the first available moment.

A day in the life.

Performance Day

On Saturday, two of Ginger's choirs performed in public for the first time. Her group of elementary school girls sang at a nursing home, and the group of singers from church that she directs sang at the Arts Garden Downtown. We didn't see the girls perform at the nursing home, but we went downtown to watch Ginger conduct the church group. They sounded AMAZING.

Here's a photo of Ginger conducting:

Hershey's Kisses for eyes

The other day, Ginger and the kids made a snowman that had Hershey's Kisses for eyes. Today Emma wondered what she would look like if her eyes were made out of Kisses. Here's the result:

Overheard

Emma: Dad, I think those three girls are twins.

It's been a snowy week

For all you cousins in warmer climes, check out how Andrew and Ethan go to school, in the dark and in the snow:



While they're gone, Emma bides her time making snow angels in the backyard:

Jingle Bell ROCK

Coming soon to an arena near you.





Have you ever seen anything like this before? We're not sure whether to encourage this latent talent, or push him in alternative directions.

Emma's birthday party

It was a lot of Princess FUN. Ethan and Andrew spent most of the party in hiding.

Have you ever seen so much pink and plastic all in one place?



Check out the cake Ginger made. Seriously, she is a pro. Emma loved it.