Catch up

Just some quick catch up things:
Friday night Brian and I went to see comedian Kathleen Madigan, with Muddy, Guppy and Aunt Linda. It was a Christmas present and WAAAY funny. Her opening act was a comedian named Selim (no idea how he actually spells it, but I'm sure if I cared enough I could google him to find out). We all laughed our heads off. It was nice to go somewhere where almost every other sentence contained a curse word and it was ok! Really, really, really funny.
Addie and Ben had a great time with Victoria babysitting them. Ben calls her Bictoria.
In a moment of extreme pride last week Addie successfully checked herself and Benjamin in at their doctor's appointment. I mean the whole thing: name, address, phone number, birth dates, and reason for their visits. It's one of the things I preach in my job, that really no one over the age of 10 should have his/her parent check him/her in. It drives me crazy how unempowered and uninvolved kids are in their futures and medical treatments. Just after Addie checked them in, I watched a mom check in her 17 year old son. I understand I'm at one end of the bell-shaped curve with promoting self-advocacy in my children (but is it wrong to think I'm at the "right" side?)
A funny side note to that is that Benjamin could have done it too. He knows all of that stuff! When Addie told her phone number, Ben broke out in exclamation "Hey, that's MY phone number."
Another reason it's important for children to know all of that information (including parents' names) is what happens if something happens to them? Remember the little boy a few months ago who was found alone at the Ohio rest stop, because his mom had just been murdered and he was kidnapped and left there? Without him being able to recite his identifying information, it would've taken a long time to find where he belonged and what happened. Ok, off my soap box! Needless to say, I was VERY proud of my two for being so independent.