First Piggies

Guess who finally has enough hair for piggie tales?

Ok, so they're a little small, but they work . . . I'm just eating up every phase with Sierra since I know it passes so quickly (sadly learned from Bella).

"Hmmm . . . this bag of rice looks interesting . . . You can see the cupboard I am in the midst of destroying." This happens several times a day in multiple locations. I now know why my friend, Annie, always called her daughter the Destroyer. Because that's pretty much S's favorite past time.

One more shot of the little piggies for posterity's sake:

Piano Player

There's a new pianist in the house. And this one doesn't know her ABCs, but lets us know (by shrieking and pointing) that she most definitely wants up on the piano bench.

I guess after watching her fair share of lessons and big sister "play" the piano she feels like it's her turn.

I love how she even tries to turn the pages after she's played for a bit and move on to the next piece.

Now I Get It!

Well, I'm not sure if this is what is referred to as Cabin Fever. But I think I now know why there are so many crafty ladies here in the North (see New In Town). With all this cold and snow and being stuck inside, you have to do SOMETHING from becoming crazy.

So here you have it--a blanket for S.




I've decided to start putting together her room. I even tried machine quilting?! Not sure if I did it right, but oh well. Here's a flower for your scrutinizing pleasure.

Maybe the craft fair holds hope for me yet . . .

Then again, hopefully this winter doesn't last long enough for me to find out. :)

Winter Weirdness

See what I wake up to on every window every morning?!

And this is on the INSIDE of our windows.



Luckily, 3M window film does help so I don't have to deal with too much mold or water when it inevitably melts at noon.

Weird frozen condensation.

How Santa's Lap 2009 Went:

(I believe B is sucking on a candy cane--or maybe just her finger--and giving the deer-in-the-headlights-I-will-not-talk-to-you look)

Love how Santa looks unphased--almost bored--while having to keep a death grip on S to restrain her from jumping off his lap.

Rethinking snow

Well, it's funny how in Columbus, there was pretty much one BIG snow that they would call The Blizzard. Like, Blizzard 2007 or Blizzard 2009. Well, here there's blizzard conditions possible with every storm.

Here's how our deck looked the first big storm. You can see that B is sitting on the mound of snow E shovels away. The good thing is that it's sunny after it snows. NO. Not warm. Not above freezing. But it's sunny.

I even let S get in on the action after half the deck was shoveled. I know---I should really have her in a coat. But she was only out there for a few minutes and the trouble of getting a coat on with mittens was too much that day. She's wearing 100 gram boots and mittens though. Pretty warm as far as baby sizes go. Thank you Target.

B dug in and was especially excited to have her own purple shovel.

As for me, I supervised and made myself a hot cup of this:

Just kidding. I got out there and worked too. Eventually.

The truth of it is that I'm usually the one shoveling the driveway after the storm hits cause E just leaves for work and digs his car out. And he doesn't get home til it's dark. And since we don't want it to completely solidify and get icy I go out during the kids naps and shovel during the day.

Plus, then my poor piano students can make it inside.






And of course I share my hot chocolate. ;)

Someone's been helping with the dishes . . .

I opened the dishwasher up this morning and saw where the missing doll had been stashed.

I won't name names. but the suspect is less than 3 feet tall, and has blonde hair and blue eyes and goes by "Si Si."

1st Preschool Program

So, it happened. B had her 1st preschool program before Christmas.

I remember watching all my little sisters in their programs and always thinking they were so cute. And laughing at the random funny stuff kids this age do in public.

And B was just as cute.

First, they had all the kids walk in holding on to a rope. The little boy behind B looks a bit pained by it all but maybe that's cause it was rubbing against his neck.

B goes to a preschool at a church. So this was held in the chape. The theme was "Don't Be Afraid."

They told the nativity story and sang songs about not being afraid (i.e. Mary, Joseph, etc.). In the above picture you can see some of the random 3 year old stuff going on during the program. There was always at least one child crying.

Sorry this one is blurry but here's B doing the actions to one of the songs. I was sitting pretty far back and had to shoot pictures over some random guy's head while zooming in and wrestling S with the other hand.

Gotta love it!

C O L D

So, I've learned some things about what the weather means while we've been here only a few short months.

1) I asked my neighbor when you have to wear a coat here, she said from about October to May. That assessment has been correct so far.

2) It has not been above Freezing (32 degrees F) since Thanksgiving.

3) B's preschool does not go outside for recess if it is below 30 degrees F (with windchill) or raining. Good thing they have a big gym.

4) The carwash does not open if it is below 5 degrees Fahrenheit (going on a month of having goose poop all over our car--apparently it is still warm enough for geese).

5) The INDOOR pool at the Y closes if it is lightning OUTSIDE--that was more applicable in the fall.

6) De-icing our plane only added about 30 minutes.

7) Snow Drifts really do exist and do just what they sound like.

8) Frostbite can occur in 10-30 minutes if it is below -20 degrees F. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr.

9) Snot freezes, even inside your nose.

10) The special window film really does help keep your house warmer and decreases the condensation freezing/melting/molding on your windows.


And NOW, I'm especially excited to go on a cruise in April after a few more months of this!!!!!
Thanks MOM!!

(p.s. the picture used is from an ice storm in Switzerland in February 2009 I believe--although sometimes it feels like that)