Hank Returns to the Scene of the Crime (Snowmageddon Part 1)

And so it begins.


I took this, the before picture, at noon right after the snow started. You can see there are already a few inches on the ground from Tuesday's snow.

I will go into the craziness that Metro DC has been in the last few days in a subsequent post. (We will be here all weekend, as they are begging, begging people to stay of the road on all news stations). So hopefully that means lots of blogging!

Anyhow, now to the point of this post. Joe got home early for work, as things are going to be so bad, his job let everyone off 4 hours early. (!) That NEVER happens. We decided to take a winter wonderland walk while we could.

The view out our sliding glass door-

These were taken 3 hours into the snowfall...it is supposed to snow for 18 hours...


This snow is different from our December blizzard in that it is very wet, which means heavy. The worry is that there will be lots of down trees, which leads to downed power lines, and you can see where this is going...If that happens, we have friends a mile down the road with a big house, fireplace, and open invitation.

But back to the walk, we took Hank back to the crime scene, um, I mean Christmas Miracle. Because of the nature of said miracle we did not take any pictures last time. This is the pond-




You can see a few cracks in the ice here and there. Hopefully not from other puppies.

And definitely NOT Hank. He was safe on his leash.

I tell you what, though, that dog was sniffing all around that place like crazy. Maybe his brain somehow remembers that danger is near!

Ok, this is an aside, but they just predicted a possible Thunder-snow. WHAT! I didn't know that was a meteorological option!

For now we are having a great time playing games and watching movies. We'll check back in later...

The Plan

In the last month our plan has been to finish remodeling projects inside the house during the winter, so that when it warms up in the Spring we can head outside to play! It has snowed so much this season that the kids are no longer really playing in it. It has become commonplace. I asked Joe earlier this evening how many days this winter have we NOT had snow on the ground. Not many. It snowed Saturday. It's snowing right now. It is going to snow this weekend. I'm not complaining. It's gorgeous. BUT, we are getting a little stir crazy. Especially me. In previous winters I at least went to work everyday and stood outside for 30 minutes during recess. Not so much this year.

Anyhow, back to the remodeling. This weekend we painted the upstairs hallway.


It had been pretty ugly- when painting the whole house this summer I gave up before I got to the hallway. Probably wasn't bothering anyone else, but I feel much better now. I forgot how miserable it is to paint door frames and trim. There are just so many parts. And there are like 17 doors in the hallway. Ok, maybe just 5, but a lot.

We have been working on the downstairs half bath for a few weeks now. It's one of those things that you think will take no time at all and ends up taking the longest. So far we have taken down wallpaper (really wish I took a before pic of that. Just imagine a pastel stripe pattern circa 1989), repaired the atrocious walls, removed the countertop, sink, and faucet, painted, and changed out light switches and plates (as we do in every room we redo).



I cannot tell you how many times we have discussed what to do with the vanity itself. The vanity doors were laminate, and so we assumed that the entire vanity was. SO after realizing we could not get the vanity out (Joe swears it must be an integral part of the structure of the house!), we decided to re-face the cabinets. Ordered custom doors (that only take 25 working days to arrive) and got veneer to add to the front of the vanity. But oh wait, the vanity itself isn't actually laminate. It is wood. All those weeks wasted deciding what to do with the vanity. Awesome. So tonight Joe sanded it down and I stained it walnut. Beautiful.

While we wait for the doors to come in, we will install a granite countertop with new sink, new faucet, lighting fixtures, towel ring, mirror, etc. So stay tuned!

And a picture of Grayson so Mom doesn't complain:

Busy

Somebody has gotten awful busy lately...

Busy looking out the window with Hank...

Busy sitting on the couch like a big boy...


Busy trying to keep up with Hank (who has since been banned from the couch)...


Busy getting into Mom's purse...


Busy crawling out the open door on a warm-ish day...(SO proud of himself for this by the way!)


And busy spreading my toys all over the house!

Our 11 month old is a VERY sweet, VERY cuddly, VERY busy boy!

The Neb

Nebulizer that is.


My parents bought this old friend way back in the day (middle school?), when I had asthma flare-ups. I used it through high school and college then moved it to South Carolina and Virginia; just in case I needed it.

Not this little boy.



He has had a cold for a few days and I noticed him struggling to breathe this morning. Our awesome peds got us in straightaway and diagnosed him with bronchiolitis (inflammation of the lungs caused by a virus).

He was prescribed these treatments


And then Daddy does this afterward to break up the mucus, an old trick his mama used on him back in his asthmatic days.



We just like to keep things in the family.

Surprise!

Oh my heavenly stars, my husband is the best! At the culmination of my birthday week Joe threw me a surprise dinner at one of our favorite DC Restaurants, Cactus Cantina. Many of our close friends were there (while others were sick, boo!) and we had an amazing night! It is so fun to bring all of your friends together that don't know each other and watch them enjoy each others' company. We talked, laughed, told stories, ate incredible tex-mex, and drank margaritas. On top of that, Joe made a really sweet toast to me that made me blush a little!

If I am honest, I will tell you that I had an inkling that something was going on, but I definitely wasn't 100% sure. Joe had been telling me all week that he was taking me on a date Saturday for my birthday. When I found out who was babysitting Grayson I started getting a little suspicious. I was thrilled my friend Carolyn would be keeping him, but I thought it was odd that all 3 of our friends who would normally watch him were busy the same night. (You can tell we all have wild and crazy weekends up here!) It was still a wonderful surprise- I was unsure until I saw everyone.

Bryan and Melissa

Josh and Sarah (I worked with Sarah)

Ami, James, and Bridie (James and Ami are South Carolina friends. Whoop!)

Billy and Hope

Victoria was being a little stubborn about having her picture taken

I am so thankful to all of you who came; it made my birthday so special!!

ANOTHER great surprise was last weekend. We had game night with Bryan, Melissa, Chris and Noel to play Settlers of Catan. They surprised me with a birthday cake that was so yummy! Chris made a chocolate raspberry cake with ganache frosting. It was amazing and I was especially impressed with the ganache. Thanks guys!



What a wonderful, wonderful birthday week! Thanks everyone!!! (especially Joey!)

Announcement

Today, January 10, 2010, I put on my pre-pregnancy jeans AND buttoned them.

Not Me! Monday

A new year, a new round of Not Me's! Not Me! Monday is a great way to start the week; a confessional of sorts that Mckmama created.

Our town is not too snotty to allow a Walmart to be built in it (ridiculous, I know), so my trips there are few and far between. The closest one is a 20-25 minute drive (or more depending on traffic) and I drive there once every 3 months to pick up a prescription. (Did you know that Walmart has a long list of meds that they will dispense a 3 months supply for $10??? That's cheaper than our prescription coverage!) Anyhow, I planned ahead of time and wrote out a long list of everything grocery and otherwise that we needed over the next few weeks so I could save some serious money. I left the boys at home on Saturday, braved the 15 degree+ windchill weather, and spent 2 hours at Walmart. Once I got home I did not realize I had forgotten to pick up the prescription, the real reason for my visit. Grayson and I will not have to make the drive back to Walmart today to get the prescription.

I did not get very excited yesterday just because I remembered that the new season of The Bachelor starts tonight! I would never spend time thinking about a silly television show, especially one that usually ends up pointless because the relationships rarely work out. Nope! Not me!

Tomorrow is my 29th birthday. Joe cracked me up this weekend when he remarked that my first annual 29th birthday was almost here. Ha! Clever boy, that one. I do not love my birthday so much that I expect it to be celebrated all week.

Happy Birthday Week to ME!