Thursday, December 16, 2010

Things You Should Know

1.  Lucy pulled down our Christmas tree.  To the floor.  Not a single thing broke.  Except Lucy's feelings.  She hasn't touched the huge, prickly, green monster residing in our living room since.  Who says toddlers can't remember cause and effect?

2.  William had his Christmas Program at school today.  I was very proud.  Especially the part during "Rudolph" when he picked his nose.  And then decided he was hungry.  Seriously, whose kid is that?!  That's what I asked the person sitting next to me.  And then pretended he was a crazy person when he came running up to me afterward calling me mommy.

I'm kidding, of course.  About the "pretending he's not mine" part.  Not the booger-eating part.  That was for real.  Here's the video.  (I apologize for the jumpiness.  It's hard to take a video when your 19-month-old simultaneously thinks she's a professional chair climber.)

3. YOU GUYS! Guess what?!?!  I totally got an early Christmas present.  Two, actually.

First, I got a new camera from my mom for Christmas.  I knew which one I wanted and it was on sale through the 25th so we jumped on it.  I couldn't fully plunge into the whole DSLR movement because I can't imagine myself hauling around a camera that big and breakable and, well, kinda scary.  So I found a happy medium between a point & shoot and a DSLR and I'm pleased as punch.  This is the one I got.
Here's a cool-looking shot Brian took.  No editing here.
OK, and now for the best part. So I was playing around with the camera, reading the manual, uploading some photos and such when for some reason or another I found it necessary to open the Recycling Bin on my computer's hard drive. When what to my wandering eyes should appear but -- ALL MY 2009 PHOTOS! The ones I thought I lost on my scratched DVD! Apparently super awesome Me never emptied out the Recycling Bin after I burned and then deleted the photos. All I had to do was highlight and click Restore and there they were, all pretty and neatly organized back in their folders. It was awesome, I'm telling you. Now we have proof that I did indeed give birth to Lucy.  And also proof that St. Anthony totally rocks.

That's it from me.  Tell me about you.  What's going on in your life that I should know about?

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Things We Like Best About Daddy

William: "He's big and he's funny."

I couldn't agree more, William.

Happy birthday to my much better, much funnier and much bigger half.

Monday, December 13, 2010

The Blizzard of 2010

Are you sick of me talking about Minnesota and our winter weather?  Here she goes again.

I know, I know.

But here's the thing.  This was the fifth biggest snowstorm in the history of the Twin Cities.  Ever.  So if I don't write about it, someday my kids will be all, "Mom, what's with not even mentioning the biggest snowstorm of our lives?"  And I'll be all, "Well, I always wrote/complained about the winter weather so I didn't want to lose readers because I bored them to death."  And the kids would be all, "Yeah, but mom, seriously.  It was the biggest snowstorm of our lives!"

So here's what you should know/what I should mention:
  • Six inches of snow is a pretty big storm.  It will slow traffic quite a bit.  The city will call a snow emergency to clear the roads.  A few events and/or schools might be delayed or canceled.  Overall six inches is a pretty big mess when it comes to city living.  Now triple that.  ON TOP of the snow we already had, which was a lot.  And add in blowing and drifting snow.  And some below-zero temperatures to boot.  That's what we got.
  • It is no exaggeration to say that it crippled the Twin Cities for two full days.  We didn't even get mail on Saturday.  Through rain, snow and sleet but not blizzard, I guess.
  • We have shoveled/snowblowed about six times.  Once in the middle of the storm so Brian could start a path to follow once the storm was over.  Again when the snow finally stopped.  And then four additional occasions for each time the plow came by and left a mountain in front of our driveway and sidewalks in its wake.
  • The "side of the road" is now about three feet from where the curb used to be because when the snowbanks can't go up anymore, they go out.
  • An average drift in our backyard comes up to William's chest.  He can sit on our tree swing and comfortably rest his legs and feet out in front of him like a snow ottoman.
  • We walked to church on Sunday morning dressed like Eskimos.  The attendance resembled that of a weekday mass.  There was no choir and those who did make it filled in for missing lectors, ushers and Eucharistic ministers.  The priest, however, lives next door so he had no excuse.
  • Brian is officially a champion car-pusher having saved countless people on our block who have found some need great enough to get in their cars and venture out only to find themselves stuck in front of our house.
  • I was one of those people who stupidly ventured out to the Post Office today to mail our Christmas Cards.  The Post Office is a few miles from our house.  Round trip took me one hour.  Twenty minutes each way plus another twenty minutes circling the parking lot trying to snatch one of the five spots.  The other fifteen spots were occupied by snow.
  • When I returned I wasn't shocked to see that the plow had come back again blocking my entrance to our garage and to my sidewalk.  Don't worry.  I had my mountain-climbing gear in the backseat.  I threw a rope over and propelled that baby, no problem.


But here's some bright spots of the storm I want to mention:
  • Our snowed-in weekend was a lot of fun.  We played Christmas music nonstop, drank lots of hot chocolate, made three different kinds of cookies, decorated our Christmas tree, snuggled, kept warm by the fire and slept peacefully.
  • The kindness of other Minnesotans is really incomparable to anywhere else I've been in the U.S.  Complete strangers help one another without being asked and they do it with a smile and a laugh.  I'll have more on this later this week when Pay It Forward Friday returns.
  • If you don't have to be anywhere fast and if everything in your house is in working order and giving you a warm spot to rest your head a night, the whole outdoor scene really is majestic.  There's a stillness, a crispness and a wholeness to it all that isn't felt any other time of the year.
  • And finally, it's fun!  William and I got outside for an hour or so today and the kid could not have been more happy if you told him Santa was coming today.
So that's it!  There's my obligatory post on the 2010 Blizzard.  I mean, I think that's it.  January and March are still our snowiest months so there may be a second-parter to all this madness!

Minnesotans: What of your own experiences do you have to add?

Sunday, December 12, 2010

How Much Snow Did We Get? This Much!

It's true.  We're in the midst of Blizzard clean-up around these parts.  More on that later.  But for those not around here wondering how much snow we got?  I leave you with this video.  Yes, it really is as crazy as it looks.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

One Of Those Cheater Posts

1.  I am extremely tense these days which has little to do with preparation for Christmas and everything to do with pains in my back.  My mom used to have a lot of problems with her back and I'm hoping I haven't inherited this from her.  I remember a few times when she couldn't get out of bed for a few days.  The most memorable part of those days were my dad's cooking skills (none) and how he used to style my and my sister's hair.  He knew side ponytails were cool before anyone else.

But seriously does anyone have any recommendations for me?  There seems to be two issues causing me pain.  One is a knot like feeling right under my right shoulder blade.  The other, I think, is my sciatic nerve which started on and off when I was pregnant with Lucy.  It's a shooting pain that goes from my left lower back into my butt and down to the back of my leg.  This pain has gotten so bad that there are some nights I literally have to crawl on my hands and knees up the stairs.

I would get my sorry self to a chiropractor ASAP if it weren't for our sucky insurance.  One of the downfalls when your husband works for a company with less than 30 people.  What should I do?  Should I bite the bullet and pay for the chiropractor and hope she/he doesn't tell me I need to come back 10 more times before it's better?

2.  We finally painted our dining and living room this past weekend.  Yay!  You'll be happy not to see any more paint swatch swipes in the background of my pictures.  We also hung a giant clock above our mantel and put up our Christmas tree.

3.  While said painting was getting done, Brian and I locked trapped secluded the kids on the porch to play with their toys.  When the weekend was over it looked like hurricane-strength winds had whipped through there.

As I was weeding through toys and putting things away I gasped when I saw a DVD lying face-down on the floor.  Written with a Sharpie the label read: 2009 Photos.  As in ALL THE PHOTOS I TOOK IN 2009!  2009 -- The year Lucy was born!

I flipped the DVD over and saw a pretty substantial scratch.  I said some quick pleading and begging prayers and popped the DVD in my computer.  Nothing.  Then I tried the DVD player.  Cannot Read Disk.  $#*%!!!!!

Hubby and I have looked up a few solutions via a Google search but haven't tried anything yet.  I wanted to ask you, the great Internets, if you've encountered this problem or how you think I might solve it.  I'm not desperate to get all the pictures back but I am desperate to get a few back.  Please!

4.  Last night William went to bed with Pink Eye, an ailment he experiences a few times a year.  This morning he woke up with Croup, another ailment he experiences a couple times a year.  I'm not complaining.  Both are easily treatable and go away relatively quickly.  But when we were eating breakfast this morning he told me:

"Mommy, my sick eye made my voice change."

Gotta love four-year-old logic.

5.  When I'm thinking about the season of Christmas and how much is spent I think I spend more on food than gifts.  Is this true for anyone else?  I make about six different batches of cookies, make fun holiday cocktails, try to bring appetizers to all parties I'm invited to and want to treat my own family to a lavish meal before we venture over the river and through the woods.

Or maybe it's not that I go big on food but rather that I go too cheap on gifts. :)

6.  I'm about 80% through with my Christmas shopping which means wrapping has begun.  The other day I opened a brand new tube of wrapping paper and as I unrolled a bit I noticed the loveliest thing.  There was a grid printed on the back side to help with precise cutting.  Genius!  How has no one thought to do this until now?  No more uneven edges or sloppy ends.  I bet this year even Brian could wrap a mean present.

7.  Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  Don't forget to thank our Blessed Mother for saying, "Yes!"

Monday, December 6, 2010

Winner!

I have to say that I am a total and complete genius.  I had so. much. fun reading all your responses to the question I posed in my first ever giveaway.  They were cute and funny and endearing and it really made me ponder the memories I'm making for my own kids.

And now for the fun part.  Thanks to Random.org the winner is commenter #52!

Congratulations to Autumn B. who said:
I remember the year that I got an electric blue ****portable*** phone for my room! I was in heaven & my parents even got a "teen line" put in - do you remember when they called them that? In the phone book it had my parents number and then under that it listed "Teen Line' with my number...oh they days before cell phones. Anyways, I thought I was so cool and that the phone was awesome, it had MEMORY dial =)
I totally remember teen lines.  Do you?  I never had one but I always dreamed of having one.  We didn't even have a separate line for my Dad's fax machine!  Remember that one episode of Full House when D.J. got her own line?  Ahh...the days before cell phones.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Cold climate moms have more stress than warm climate moms.  It's a fact.  Not really.  I don't think.  But someone should check into that.

This year the snow and cold came out of nowhere.  Well, not really.  It's all pretty normal.  But when you have record highs one day and a foot of snow the next, it feels like it came out of nowhere.

And it's all fun and games until you have to go somewhere.  And not just up the street for a cup of coffee.  I mean really go somewhere.  In a timely manner.

At the beginning of the school year I really thought that William's preschool being just a little over a block from our house was a super plus.  Now I'm not so sure.

The problem is that the distance from our house is such that it's really ridiculous to ever drive there.  But the distance is enough that I can't just slip out the door with my robe on and wave goodbye.  So we walk there.  Twice a day, two times a week.

But in order to do the walking I first must do the bundling.  This, my friends, is where I tell you I miss having an infant.  An infant who needs no shoes, and an infant who can simply be put into a complete outerwear unit with one single zip.  No messing with hats, silly mittens or even boots.  I could lay her on the sofa, zip her up, scoop her in my arms and we were out.  The inventor of the snowsuit bunting is pure genius.

I kid you not when I tell you that from the time we are all ready in the morning it takes us an additional fifteen minutes to get out the door.  Fifteen minutes!

William is self-sufficient for the most part not including getting the zipper on his coat started and getting on his second mitten.  And if it's a tennis shoes day he needs help with the tying.

My most trying days are the ones when I he's all set with a hat, coat and mittens and I send him to the back door to put on his Velcro shoes because I haven't got time to tie his tennies.  It's then that I realize I've made a horrible mistake that will cost me an extra few minutes.  I've already put on his mittens.  He will do one of two things.  He will either try to put the Velcro shoes on while wearing his fleece mittens (try it, I dare you) or he will fling his mittens off in the dining room on the way to the back door and forget to put them back on until we're already out of the house and I've locked the door.

Then there's Lucy who, bless her heart, loves to wear hats.  But that's it.  Hates to put on her coat.  Refuses to push her hand into her mittens.  Won't step her heel all the way down into her boots.  Insert gigantic audible sigh.

Why has NOBODY thought to make a better option for toddler mittens?!  [And if they have, please send me a link where I can buy some.]

We already have the kind without thumbs which seems to help a little bit but they are still impossible to (a) push on and (b) keep on.  Can't someone invent a wrap style mitten with a Velcro close?  Maybe that's the ticket to my million dollars right there.  Don't steal the idea, now!  Actually do.  Just make the mittens, I'll buy them, you can have your millions and I'll take back those extra fifteen minutes each morning.

In an effort to not make this post sound all seasonally depressed I have to say that I really do love having a winter.  I know it's long and it's not without it's hassles but I really would miss it if it never came.  Kind of like being with family over the holidays.  You could never imagine not being with them.  And the first few days are so. much. fun.  But then it gets long.  And you miss your routine.  And your own shower.  And your own bed. And your own cooking.  But all the same, you're glad you came.  And you're glad when it's over.

So I know it's not your fault, Winter.  And I still appreciate thee.  I just think I wouldn't complain as much if I didn't have to leave the house.
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