Snow Daze

While the snow is not-so-fun when it comes to driving, and it makes our heating bill go up, it is still super fun to play in! More so when Gus is home and can join us. It rained quite a bit yesterday, so we stayed inside to avoid the slush, but today was perfect! The sledding was spectacular... On Friday, when we went out, it was pretty deep and very powdery. It was hard to establish a track for the sleds, and impossible to form the snow into anything. But today, because of yesterday's rain, there was a nice icy crust on top of the snow. The sleds FLEW down the hill! It was more dangerous than usual, but super fun. And the crusty snow made for an excellent snow battle later on.

At one point in our snowball fight, I made it down to the far corner of our yard. There, I discovered that the snow was actually moldable! I had already tried the snow in other places, but it just didn't stick together. For whatever reason, it was different in this corner. So, by request, we made a snow t-rex. It was small because the snow still wasn't that easy to work with, but it turned out decently nonetheless! RAWR!

Tomorrow, Nikos' buddy, Evan, is coming over for the morning, to give his dad a little break (his mom is on bed rest after her surgery, and his dad is trying to work from home). It should be fun to have another little four-year-old around for a while! And he's bringing his snow gear, so we may venture outside again if I'm feeling brave. We shall see!

Post #1001

I logged in to post about our snowy day, and realized that my total number of blog posts was right at 1,000! And that seems like something worth mentioning. 1,000 posts ago, I found out I was pregnant with Nikos. And it is absolutely unreal to think just how much our lives have changed since then! Two kids and 3,000 miles later, here we are at post number 1,001. Apparently, I like to post, haha!

Anyway, in keeping with the theme of this blog... how about some pictures from our day? It was, in fact, a snow day, so preschool was closed. It snowed, hard, all day long. Nikos kept begging to go outside and play in it, but didn't really seem to understand when I told him it was blowing sideways and wouldn't be too fun. Tomorrow, though! It's supposed to stop snowing overnight, and then tomorrow should be awesome for sledding and snowman building and whatnot. I'm excited! I even laid out all our snow gear already!

In the meantime... I was nearly finished working on the design for Maya's birthday party invitations, and really wanted a nice, current portrait of my baby girl to put on there. She wanted a "pink and purple princess party," so I told her she could dress up like a princess, and we'd take some pictures. Suprisingly, she chose her Easter dress from last year over her actual princess dress. Fine by me! She also said she needed the flower headband. I just went with whatever she wanted. And, I have to say it... she is just the most radiant, happy little girl EVER! Don't you just want to pick her up, swing her around, and hear her giggle?

While we were taking photos, Nikos was upstairs working on a puzzle. But somewhere in there, he finished, and wanted me to get another one down from the shelf. Instead of asking nicely, he proceeded to climb all over me and try to drag me to the play room. Not cool. I was pretty irritated, until he went over to my backdrop and started "posing." It may not be his sweetest expression, but this picture is quintessentially Nikos. Love that little butthead!

After that, our day was pretty mellow. I was nursing a headache that didn't go away until almost dinner time, and it was so bad that I was feeling sick to my stomach. Ugh! Right as I was starting to feel better, I switched on the TV and realized that we had no signal. Because the satellite dish was covered with snow and ice, obviously! So I threw on my snow boots, bundled up, and trekked out front to clear it off. But before I did that, I took a quick photo of the house. It really is so pretty, all covered with snow! I didn't go far enough down the driveway to get the entire house in the picture, but oh well. It's all very snowy. You get the idea!

And that was our day! Tomorrow should be a blast, so I hope everyone sleeps well tonight!

Hello, Snow

Yup, it snowed! It started right as we were sitting down for lunch, and hasn't stopped since. Our back yard has disappeared again, haha! After what has arguably been the mildest winter in many years (according to the people here), I've grown rather accustomed to looking out on our expanse of brown grass and bare trees. I won't lie, I am kind of excited for sledding again! Though I am also very ready for spring. Let's hope that this is the last real snow of the season! Fingers crossed!

Oh, and our lunchtime entertainment was provided by this little guy, who was scrambling around on the hillside just outside our dining room windows. He was getting snowed on, but it really looked like he was trying to find where he had hidden food. At any rate, the kids were highly entertained by his squirrelly antics.

And that was our day! We stayed in, since it was coming down pretty hard all afternoon. Nikos is on a puzzle kick right now, and actually did a pretty challenging one today on his first try! His ability to look at the piece and "see" where it fits into the picture is pretty impressive. But then again, he has always been SUPER observant. The kid doesn't miss a single detail, I tell ya! And Maya had fun cheering him on while hosting an indoor "picnic" for us (one of her favorite things to pretend).

It's supposed to continue snowing tonight and through the day tomorrow-- the updated forecast says we can expect a total of 8 to 12 inches by tomorrow night! Guess we will see if Nikos has preschool tomorrow or now... I am betting this will be his first-ever snow day!

Day in Photos

Today was a productive day! Nikos went to preschool, I cleaned the house, Maya and I made cake pops, we played outside... Well, it was really a pretty normal day, but a good one nonetheless! And I grabbed my camera(s) more often than I have lately, so... here's our day!

First, I cleaned the play room. This is an amazing accomplishment, haha! I also hung those canvases of the kiddos in there. I'm tired of bare walls, even if I still need to paint the room!

And here's just another picture of Nikos' big boy bed. It is so comfy! We all love snuggling and reading bedtime stories in it!

While Nikos was at preschool, Maya and I got started on making some chocolate cake pops, just for fun. Both kids love to help me cook... such good little helpers!

After lunch, we all went outside to enjoy the "warm" day. It was in the mid-40s, with snow expected for the next few days. So I definitely wanted to run them around for a bit and wear them out. Bubbles did the trick, as always!



After that, Nikos amused himself by building this "amusement park" with Tinker Toys. He actually had an elaborate explanation for every part. There's a log ride! And a cage for bad guys! You know, important things.

And then, when I finally sat down to rest for a minute, Maya climbed into my lap. Next thing I knew, she was sound asleep! I had my laptop open, so I snagged this with the webcam. Nikos couldn't help but poke his little head in, haha!

Later, we went to check on the broccoli seeds we had planted the other day, and found these happy little sprouts! Guess it's time to build our planter for the yard, eek!

And this last one requires a little explanation. Gus calls cake pops "cake poops," much to the delight of both kids. While we were making the cake pops today, Nikos insisted that we make a POOP one for Daddy. So we did. And Nikos made him this card, which says "Daddy's Cake Poop." He cracks me up!!

So... we're expecting 4-6 inches of snow over the next day or so! Stay tuned for entirely different pics from today, haha!

Yiayia's iPhone & Other Pics

Gus' mom went back to California on Thursday, but I still haven't shared these photos from her trip! There are a lot more, too, but I only sent a handful to myself before she left. Nikos was obsessed with her phone! He very quickly picked up on how to use the camera feature, and promptly took hundreds of photos. Maybe he takes after his mom? haha! He took a ton of self-portraits, pictures of his toys, and pictures of us. And he was constantly scrolling through his precious images and showing them to whoever would look. Like this gem. He thought this was the FUNNIEST picture EVER! Gotta love potty humor. :)

But there were plenty of other pictures, too, including plenty taken by grown-ups. Like this one of Gus and Maya on a "picnic" in the living room... Gus fell asleep, and Maya was trying (unsuccessfully) to follow suit.

Or this one, at the local children's museum. This was a hockey table game. The older kids on the other side of the table were beating us badly, ha!

And we went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse one night, and Nikos took this funny one from across the table:

Later in the meal, Maya insisted on peeling her own peanuts. She was doing great! Next thing we knew, she was spitting out a big hunk of shell. Ew!!

This one was from the great local farm stand we discovered, where I now buy my milk. In glass bottles. And it's cheaper and more convenient than the grocery store! Plus, they have chickens, goats, and a llama. :)

One day while Gus was at work, the four of us went to the library to get some new books, then to Dunkin' Donuts across the street. I had my little camera on me, so I snapped this cute one of my favorite girl!

And that brings us to this weekend! Yesterday, it was incredibly windy and super cold. We had snow flurries off and on all day, but nothing stuck. I spent the morning visiting my friend in the hospital, since she had surgery last Wednesday (this is the friend we've been having weekly playdates with). Once I got back and everyone had eaten lunch, the four of us piled into the car and headed out in search of two things: a futon for the play room and a rug for Nikos' room. The play room REALLY needs some kind of seating for adults, and it would be nice if it could also double as extra sleeping space for when we have visitors. Alas, we didn't find anything we liked. We did, however, find rugs. I wanted red, but Nikos (being Nikos) insisted on dark brown. Of course. Because he LOVES dark brown. Gus said it was his room, and the rug was cheap, so we should let him pick. I still tried to convince him to go with the red, but, grudgingly, admitted defeat. Luckily, it looks fine in his room. Better than I thought.

Today, we went to the home improvement store to get some more paint. Yay. Have I mentioned just how sick I am of painting? But someone's got to do it, and now I am stocked up. After that, we went next door to Target to get a bunch of things. One was a desk lamp for Nikos' bookcase headboard, to make reading bedtime stories that much brighter. And while we were there, I saw that they had the same bedding set we had bought for him online. And (AND!!!!) they had a set of vinyl wall decals that coordinated with the bedding! So exciting! So now Nikos has a Wall of Dinosaurs, which he loves. In fact, when I went to kiss him goodnight, he insisted that I go get my camera and take pictures of the wall. So I did! The lighting was not ideal for pictures, but here they are nonetheless. I had to snap one of my big boy in his bed, too, even though he didn't want me to.


And that was our weekend! Gus has a busy work week ahead, and I have lots of painting to do. Exciting times indeed!

More Big Boy Bed!

It's time to hit the hay, but I just wanted to share one more photo of the big boy's new furniture! I still want to get a nice rug for the floor to break it up a bit, but the furniture itself is assembled! It really is even cuter in person. I finished the dresser today and bolted it to the wall-- so no worries about it toppling over! Hooray!

(this is actually a composite of 5 different photos... not bad!!)

Big Boy Bedroom (in progress!)

So... Nikos got his real-deal big boy furniture this week! I have had to assemble everything, so it's taken a while, but here's what we've got so far! I will finish the five-drawer dresser tomorrow morning. I already finished the drawers themselves, which was the hardest part, but I need to build the base unit. And then I am DONE with putting together furniture! For now, at least. :)

Without further ado... a photo of the boy and his little sis enjoying his twin bed for the first time. He LOVES it, and looks so cute all tucked in there like a big boy! And his old toddler bed has a great new home at my friend Caryn's house, where her little girl is loving her new sleeping arrangement.

I will have to take pictures with my "good" camera tomorrow, once the dresser is done. And hopefully the kids will be feeling better then, too... we are currently in sick bay here. Maya, in particular, was miserable today. Poor baby!! But she is sleeping soundly so far, so I hope she wakes up feeling better!