The Washington Post

We missed this one on social media, but the other day, Madison's Christmas picture was put on the Rush Revere site, and just look at the amount of "likes" and "shares" this got!  Yes, that would be a record for any picture we've posted so far.  It was something we sent in a few weeks ago, really just as a way of saying we appreciate the book - honestly, we weren't expecting it to be posted.  What we got in return were a few full-sized posters in a tube, which were pretty cool.  And then we saw this posted as well, so it's been kind of neat to see.  Madison saw herself and grinned - she thought it was all pretty funny.

Yes, we're still reading the book.  It's a longer one to read each night, but it's been good for Madison in a few ways.  Tonight's bits were funny, so she's been laughing at that.  But there's that education that slips in, as by this point we're learning about the Star Spangled Banner, and Francis Scott Key.  Tomorrow night, we'll meet the guy as we keep on with our reading.  But as the book is drawing to a close, the big question is this:  what to read next???

Today we had ballet, which was fun as always.  Everyone is back in the swing of things.  After ballet, there is always a unique 'mail system,' where the instructor puts notices down the back of the ballerina's tops.  Today we got a few bits of mail, including a "Beauty and the Beast" tea party upcoming.  We'll see if that works out with the schedule.

Meanwhile, Daddy has been reading and writing messages for Star Wars, and skits for the "Hooked on a Feeling" series.  Yes, we still have two emotions to go:  Sadness and Fear.  The Sadness skit should be pretty fun, while the Fear one might turn out rather surreal.  We'll see how that pans out.

Madison had some math homework to do tonight, involving tenths and trick questions.  Or, at least it could be a trick question we were reading.  I'm not sure.  It is Common Core, so you just never know.  Meaning, it could have been written in a not-so-bright kind of way!

She's bright though, really.  She reads and reads, and loves books.  Each trip to ballet or music or speech therapy, she reads the entire way there.  Today she was at the school library, and got another "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" book.  That's her current book series that she's into, the one she was reading on the way to ballet today.  Salt crystals lined the steps - it is still cold outside, and there's snow still lingering.  Our BB-8 snowman is considerably smaller outside, pretty much the last bit of snow in the entire neighborhood.  Not many people could make snowmen this time around, although the temperature stayed cold enough to preserve a lot of it in the shade.  You just couldn't do anything with it.  Hopefully we'll get a friendlier snow before too long.  I know the folks up north are not wanting that though - they've had, according to the news, the fourth-biggest snowstorm in history in the Mid-Atlantic states, and Pennsylvania too.  Washington DC in particular is shut down.  Which, and this ties things up rather neatly here, might be a great thing after all.

Moving on, tonight Mommy and Daddy watched "Legally Blonde" again, as a part of our ongoing "Romantic Comedy" movie series.  Although this one isn't technically 100% in that category, it's still a fun movie that we've completely forgotten about.  I guess we're in this Washington DC mood, because the other night we saw "Dave" again (love that movie), and the sequel to "Legally Blonde" takes place in our nation's capital as well.

The reason for the mood I guess might have something to do with the voting that takes place in one week.  It's the Iowa Caucus, which is the bizarre way we do things in America.  For some reason, we let people in Iowa decide who is good enough to be our next President for each political party.  And while that may be a slight exaggeration, by the next week, the folks in New Hampshire vote as well.  And so we have two states that determine quite a bit.  Seriously, by the time Georgia gets to vote on March 1st, there may be quite a few candidates that have dropped out.  Or, the contest may be pretty much over by that point.

Yes, common sense would say, "Why not have every state vote at the same time?"  I am seriously not sure about why we do it this way.  And the truth is that in Georgia, we may actually have some candidates left to vote for this time around.  So that's the answer to the question, really:  Mommy and Daddy will see who's left to vote for when our chance comes around.  But this year is shaping up to be rather interesting politically.  One way or another, there'll be a new animatronic President in the Hall of Presidents next year.  Hopefully one without an animatronic teleprompter.