Goodbye, 2011!

365 days and 3,000 miles later... we're a world away (practically!) from where we were last New Year's Eve! It's crazy to think just how much our lives have changed this year. In the past few months, especially.

Anyway, we spent the last day of 2011 being very productive in our new house! Once I woke up and had everyone fed, I went about making my very-first-ever vasilopita. Vasilopita is a cake or bread (in this case, an orange sponge-type cake) that you eat on New Year's Day. There's a really specific way that you cut it, by first making the sign of the cross. And then you use a knife to score the top, designating each slice for a family member or important item (house, job, etc.) that you'd like to have good luck in the new year. Then you eat the slices. One will have a gold coin hidden inside, which is supposed to be extra lucky. Anyhow, Gus' mom has always made vasilopita for us, but she sent me the recipe the other day. I hope I did it right!

After that, it was work-work-work all day. Gus spent the majority of his day in the garage, finally sorting through the mountain of stuff. All the kids' outdoor toys went into the basement, and a ton of stuff went up to the attic for long-term storage. Our exercise equipment came inside, too, so our bedroom now boasts a little gym, haha! Our bedroom is really long, and it definitely has the space. So the elliptical and treadmill are now in there. And I got my exercise for the day by helping Gus wrestle them both up the stairs. Not fun!!

At any rate, the main things remaining in the garage now are Gus' tools (which will eventually move to the workshop we plan to build on the back corner of the property), my car, and the basics: trash/recycling bins, snow blower, backup generator, and lawn mower. It looks a thousand times better! Hallelujah!

While Gus was busy in the garage, the kids and I got to work on taking down all the Christmas decorations and getting them up into the attic. Our house is officially de-Christmased, which is both sad and somewhat freeing. Now we have to figure out what to do in the front room! The tree was the main attraction in there, but now there is literally not a single piece of furniture, other than the piano. I'm continuing to check CraigsList daily in hopes that I will find something "just right." But time will tell!

While we were cleaning, I also came across the solar system mobile kit that my parents got for Nikos. I thought it would be a fun project to do with the kids! Then I realized that the planets were completely unpainted. And, knowing that the mobile would be up in Nikos' room for a long time, combined with my Type A need for the colors to at least be somewhat scientifically accurate... I painted them all myself. And then completed the delicate task of hanging them all with the provided fishing line. All while two interested kiddos watched and commented on my every move, ha! The end result was pretty awesome, though, and they both spent a lot of time sitting in Nikos' room this afternoon, admiring his solar system. And the colors look good with his dark brown walls, which sort of gave me some ideas on how I want to decorate his "big boy room." I'm excited!

The rest of the afternoon, I cleaned, did laundry, and got Nikos' things ready for his first day of preschool on Tuesday. It should be a big week for us, since he's starting preschool and I'm also planning to start potty-training Maya. We have big, exciting things ahead of us in 2012. Now, let's just see if I can stay awake until midnight, haha (Gus is already asleep on the couch!).

Oh... and here are two more funny pictures I pulled on my camera today. Gus' parents gave the kids roller skates for Christmas. They are hilarious!!

Happy New Year, everyone!!!

Proof I Love My Kids

Not that I need to prove it, but here you go: I let Nikos choose the paint color for his bedroom. And as much as I wanted to say "No! That's too dark!" or "That doesn't go with the color scheme," I refrained. Sure, I tried to suggest other colors (even lighter versions of the same color), but he had his little heart set on a DARK BROWN room. And when he makes up his mind, he really makes up his mind. He's actually been saying this for months, but I was crossing my fingers that he'd forget about it. No dice! The kid wants what he wants. And in the spirit of "it's just paint," I abandoned my Type-A tendencies and bought the exact shade he picked out. And today was painting day!

It started out like this... pale blue. Not bad, but pretty boring. Maya's room is currently the same color (but will be "politely purple" soon-- but that's another post for another time!).

And after a million coats and countless touch-ups (because painting with such dark paint is horrible!), here's what we have:

It actually looks better in real life, since my cheapie camera makes the floors look really orange and yucky. It looks pretty modern! I was surprised! I still need to do more touching-up, but it will have to wait until I have some natural light in there again.

But yeah... I painted his room DARK BROWN. If that isn't love, I don't know what is!

Mall Morning

We had a fun morning at the mall with our new friends! We had talked about getting together, and I thought it might be fun to venture out someplace different. And when it's this cold (today's high? 29 degrees!), indoors is really the best option. So the mall it was!

We met at the new play area this morning, which kept the kids occupied for maybe 20 minutes. They liked it, but there just wasn't a ton to do there. They were more interested in jumping around on the floor-screen-thing just outside the play area. This picture was actually taken when there was an ad showing, but most of the time there were cute little games on there that they enjoyed. Whatever! Free entertainment is entertainment nonetheless!

After that, we made a brief pit stop at Starbucks, where the kiddos enjoyed pastries and apple juice.

And then it was on to the pet store, which was... not in business anymore. Doh! That was a small disappointment. But it faded VERY quickly when they learned that there was a MERRY-GO-ROUND at this mall! Hooray! So all four kiddos piled on, and enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

We did a little shopping, ate some lunch, and that was pretty much our outing! It was a lot of fun, and it was entertaining to see Nikos and his new friend really getting past their initial shyness and starting to play together. They raced each other and, at one point, suddenly started wrestling on the floor of a department store, giggling hysterically. They are totally cut from the same mold, personality-wise, and it is so weird to think that they will eventually be in the same high school class together. They disagree on the awesomeness of Star Wars (Nikos isn't a fan), but are otherwise two peas in a pod. So cute!

Anyway, I realized once we got to this particular mall that we were only about 10 minutes from Gus' office. I hadn't yet met any of his coworkers, and neither had the kids, so we called him up and popped over for a quick visit. We met a lot of people, all of whom were incredibly friendly, and the kids loved exploring Daddy's new office. But the highlight, by FAR, was when we went down to the company's warehouse, where all the shipping/receiving takes place. The guy who works there is really friendly, and he let the kids take turn playing with the styrofoam peanut dispenser (AKA "the snow machine!!!!!!!"). They couldn't get enough, and we had to practically drag them out of there. Nikos is already talking about going to visit Daddy again so he can "make more snow." Maya also declared it her favorite part of the day. Silly kids!

Speaking of snow... We should be getting the real thing tonight and tomorrow morning, but with no real accumulation (still!). The weather website says it is currently 16 degrees outside, but that it "feels like 2 degrees." It's COLD! Brrrrr!!!

Our Day

Well, it was a relatively quiet holiday for us this year, seeing as how our family and friends are all 3,000 miles away. But sad thoughts aside, we actually had a lovely day at home in our pajamas. And Santa was VERY nice to the kids this year (as usual), so they were over the moon. And that is really the best part of Christmas, to me-- seeing their happy faces!

Anyhow... it started off on a great note, with Nikos coming in to wake us shortly after 7am. That is LATE for him, so we got to sleep in! He quickly checked the monitor and went to get Maya, and the four of us snuggled in bed for a while until Maya started petitioning for breakfast. NOT presents, mind you! I think she actually forgot. The girl just wanted some food!

Once Gus and I were up and ready, we all went downstairs. Maya's desire for breakfast evaporated the second she realized that Santa had visited! And left PlasmaCars! They both loved zipping around the house on their new "motorcycles," as Nikos called them. Power Ranger motorcycles, to be exact. haha!

But they soon settled down and dug into their stockings. Maya played dress-up with her new fairy wings and Nikos worked on his Spider-Man puzzle while I assembled breakfast and tossed it in the oven.

The rest of the morning, we opened presents slowly, pausing to open/assemble/play with everything. And there were a LOT of things! We took a break to eat breakfast, then kept right on going until it was nearly lunch time. The whole time, it was snowing outside, which was so pretty to look at. I even stopped the festivities at one point to grab my camera and macro filter to get a snowflake picture before it all melted. And, it's not perfect, but it's pretty cool nonetheless!

And then we resumed the unwrapping, of course! Both kids received so many presents that they could name as their favorites, but this cookie set was one of Maya's, and Nikos loved the police helmet we got him (which is actually really fun... we all took turns playing with it. It even has a microphone function where you can amplify whatever you'd like, such as "Please pull over! Remain in your vehicle!" haha!).


Anyway, it was a nice morning. The kids had a wonderful time. After lunch, we watched "Cars 2," which was one of Nikos' gifts. We talked with family. We hung out in our pajamas. We played with toys. It was that sort of day! We capped it off with a dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, broccoli, rolls, and pumpkin pie. All in all, a lovely, quiet holiday.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

We had a nice day today, spent mostly relaxing together as a family! We had lunch at a restaurant, complete with ice cream sundaes. We ran a few quick errands. We almost locked ourselves out of the house. You know, the usual!

Actually, the almost-locking-ourselves-out-of-the-house nearly ruined our day. We realized halfway through lunch that neither one of us had brought our house key. We had left through the garage. But the thing is that the garage remote needs to be reprogrammed, so we closed it by hitting the button and running out quickly. So we were really out of luck! Or so we thought. We were already contemplating the pros and cons of breaking into the house vs. calling a locksmith when we got home. And-- hallelujah!-- the back door was unlocked. That's not normally a GOOD thing, but in this case, it was wonderful! I promptly grabbed my keys and we headed to the hardware store to make a few more copies of it. And we need to get that remote figured out this weekend! This afternoon could have been VERY un-fun!

But, as I said, it all worked out. The kids got to open their Christmas Eve gifts (new pajamas), they watched some Christmas movies, and just generally had a nice time. I decorated the table, and Gus helped me iron the lace runner I like to put on top. We had our typical Christmas Eve dinner of chili and cornbread, a meal that everyone in the house likes. The kids bathed and got into their new jammies, and then they got together the plate of goodies for Santa. Maya was seriously eyeing that carrot. Silly girl!

After that, we all snuggled together and read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." Nikos was concerned that Santa was actually going to come into his room, but I assured him that Santa goes straight to the tree/stocking area and that's it. I also told him to listen for the reindeer landing on our roof, and then Santa would be here. His eyes were HUGE! Not in a scared way, but in an "Oh-my-gosh-it's-really-happening-TONIGHT!" kind of way. It was adorable. Honestly, they are both at such GREAT ages to enjoy Christmas. I'm just as excited as they are for tomorrow morning!!!

Brown Christmas

So, the ground looks exactly like it did yesterday, haha! It snowed for nearly two hours, but it was too warm for anything to stick. It melted shortly after hitting the ground, and gone completely within a half-hour or so after the snow stopped. It amazed me, though, just how "big" the snow was this time! Last time, we had these individual tiny flakes that swirled around all over the place! This time, they were more like clusters of snow that sort of plopped down all around us. It was a lot slushier, too. Kind of disappointing, since I finally got my macro filters and there weren't any "pretty" snowflakes!


But we didn't let the pathetic snow stop us from enjoying it! Of course not! We are "snow newbies" around here! As soon as the kids finished eating their breakfast, I began the process of trying to get them into all their snow stuff (with their PJs underneath). In retrospect, it probably wasn't necessary to have them bundle up so much. But to my California brain, snow means you wear snow clothing. At any rate, one of the two small people (*cough* Nikos *cough*) was less than cooperative, and everything took three times as long as it should have. And as this was happening, I could see the snow starting to slow down. By the time we actually got out there, there were just random flakes falling every few minutes. Nothing like when I filmed that video earlier! I had wanted them to try catching snowflakes on their tongues, and was disappointed that we didn't get out there in time. I know we will have plenty more chances, but still! I was a little sad. And irritated. Oh well, next time.

Even though there was hardly any snow on the ground, the kids still seemed to enjoy the experience of getting their gear on and running around the yard. I was the one who had to drag them in, because I slipped and my rear end was soggy (and cold!!). This is what happens when you wear your pajamas in the snow. Sadly, I am not joking. :)

Anyway, it was very fun (and festive!) while it lasted, and we should get another "dusting" on Monday, according to the forecast. No white Christmas this year! But at least we have something to look forward to!

And, on a TOTALLY unrelated note, I added drawer pulls to the bedroom dresser we got off of CraigsList. I think they make the dresser look so much nicer! Our room is starting to look more "put together."

Look!

It's been snowing since about 7am, and hasn't stopped yet!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Check it out!

It shouldn't be a big storm, but 1-2 inches will be fun for the kids... and the fact that it is supposed to snow during the early part of the day means that we might even be able to go outside while it's still falling (something Nikos really wants to do)! So after dinner tonight, the kids and I gathered up all their snow gear in preparation for a morning snow adventure. I'm kind of giddy about it! It should be fun! Especially since I bought an inexpensive set of macro filters for my camera that I am eager to play with. Snowflakes, here I come!

Strangely enough, we were hit by a huge thunderstorm last night, and I thought for sure we would get at least a little snow out of it, but nope! It was too warm. In Massachusetts. In December. Go figure!

But back to our day... It was actually on the warmer side (high-40s) and clear, so Gus took his motorcycle to work and left the truck with us. We ended up going to a lab so that Nikos could get a lead test done (it's a state requirement for preschool). He was NOT a fan of the finger-stick, but it was over with pretty quickly, and I was able to placate him with a blue Power Ranger action figure. After the test, we went to the store to get a few things, and stopped by the bank to make a deposit. By the time we got home, it was lunchtime... and both kids were sound asleep! ha! They perked up pretty quickly after having some food, though, and were back to their normal crazy selves within a half-hour or so. They helped me do laundry, dishes, and basically clean up around here.

Then, this afternoon, we baked cookies! Nikos and I have had sort of an ongoing discussion about which cookies Santa likes best. I insist that he likes peanut butter cookies, and he is certain that Santa prefers chocolate chip. Nevermind the frosted sugar cookies, which are long gone, haha! Anyway, we decided that we will make both. So we made a (very small) batch of chocolate chip cookies today, and will make the peanut butter ones tomorrow. I have to say, chocolate chip cookie dough is the BEST!!! I didn't let the kids eat any (because of the raw eggs), but I managed to sneak quite a few spoonfuls for myself. And wash it down with eggnog, since I was on a raw-egg spree! It was quite delightful. Meanwhile, the kids were dancing to holiday music and doing puzzles on the new rug in the front room. It really felt like Christmas!

After dinner, we all went to pick up my car from the shop, because it is finally fixed!!! Nearly two weeks to the day after it died on me, it now has an entirely new engine. It's practically a new car! And it was all covered by the extended warranty, thank goodness. I am officially glad we decided to purchase that warranty, now that it has more than paid for itself. And I am SUPER happy to have my car back. I like being a homebody, and don't have a need to go out all the time. But knowing that I COULDN'T was making me crazy! I'm glad to have my freedom back. Hallelujah!

Take THAT, To Do List!

Booya! In case you couldn't tell, I felt sort of productive today. :)

I started my morning with an early wake-up call from our darling son, who had to use the potty. Luckily, Gus was already up and showering, so he got to handle that one. Then Nikos came out and wanted to talk to me. I convinced him to sleep. It actually worked! Score one for Mom!

We got up at around 6:30, and quickly ate and got dressed. I also threw dinner in the crock pot so that it could work its magic all day while we were out and about. By 8:15, we were out the door and on our way to preschool. I turned in all the paperwork to enroll our big boy, and the director walked him around to see the various rooms. The school doesn't start until 9am, but they also provide before/after care-- so there were a few kiddos already there. Nikos clung to me for dear life! Maya did, too, to a certain extent. I don't think they said more than two words combined to the teachers, but I'm sure that will change soon!

As expected, Nikos talked about this visit almost non-stop for the rest of the day. Of course! Because even though he was SO shy, he was noticing every minute detail of that school. And I think he is pretty excited about it. They even had his little cubby labeled and ready to go. :) He'll start on January 3rd. I think he is going to have a blast there!

After that, we made the drive to our new pediatrician's office-- the one my mommy friend had hooked us up with. And I am so glad she did, because we had a fantastic experience there. For one, the drive there was really easy. It's actually in "the city" (Worcester), and I despise driving there. Lots of one-way streets and confusing intersections that meet at weird angles. But there is an easy little back-roads way of getting there, that is super direct and skirts the congested part of the city entirely. And it's beautiful! Lots of rolling hills, farmland, and trees... and then BOOM! you hit the city, and the pediatrician's office is right there. In an amazing old Victorian home, complete with turrets and everything. So the drive and the ambiance are great to begin with! Not that that really matters when choosing a pediatrician (ha!), but it sure put me in a great mood!

Then, everyone was just incredibly nice. I chatted with the receptionist for a while, and left feeling like I had made a new friend, hehe! The entire office staff was really friendly and down-to-earth. And the doctor! She was wonderful! She was so great with the kids, and even had Nikos giggling by the end of the appointment (unheard of!). It was such a great match. She is one of the owners of the practice, too, and really knows her stuff. By the time we left, we had everything we needed for the preschool AND both kids got their flu shots. Nikos never even realized he got a shot. And both kids were loaded up with lollipops and stickers as we left. We will definitely be going back! Nikos even announced in the car that he liked getting his check-up. His words: "Check-ups don't hurt in Massachusetts! They only hurt in California!" Whatever, kid. But I'm glad he was happy. And the verdict? We have a healthy four-year-old! 50th percentile for height, 75th for weight. I knew he'd been eating bricks!

Anyway... Since we were in the city, I decided to find the mall. I'd never been there, but I wanted to buy an area rug and knew the mall had a few good stores for that. We actually need a lot of them (the entire house is hardwood), but I was determined to get ONE today... so we could sit on it to open presents on Christmas. I dragged the kids a few places, found one that I liked, and then a very kind store employee actually carried the whole thing through the store and out to the parking lot for me. He really didn't need to do that, but I sure appreciated it. And the kids love the new rug! It's actually going to go in the living room once Christmas is over, but it will be perfect in the front room for now. Hooray!

At that point, it was lunch time, so we stopped by McDonald's (my bribe to Nikos for going to the doctor) and got some food to take home. And just as we got home, the clouds decided to dump buckets on us! It rained pretty much all afternoon. Which was fine, because I got to actually hang some things on the walls and make this place look more homey. All while smelling dinner in the crock pot, and watching the kids dance to silly songs on the new rug. It really was a great afternoon! I actually snapped this really quickly when they were out of the room. Behold, my new rug! And the insanity that is the gift pile under our tree, as things continue to arrive from various relatives. These kids are going to go bananas on Sunday!

Also, I was too tired to post last night, but the kids made ornaments yesterday! We wrapped them up and they gave them to Gus when he got home. I haven't taken photos of the final products yet, but they were salt-dough ornaments. Each kid made one of their handprint, and I wrote their name and the year on there. Once they were done baking, the kids painted them with acrylics, and I sprayed a clear gloss on top to seal it all in. They turned out really cute, and the kids had so much fun! Here are a few photos from the painting stage. Hard at work!


I also spent the day yesterday unpacking as many of the remaining boxes as possible. I've reached a point where we really need some office furniture, and an organization system for the dining room closet. But we're almost there! Time to really get moving on the painting (ugh!).

Hair!

(by the way, you know I am actually singing the song after typing out that title. And now it will be stuck in my head for days!!)

Maya has a full head of beautiful hair. It's amazing to think that this little girl, who was born with a head covered in short, dark hair, now has this shaggy mane just 2.5 years later. I was looking at it in the sunshine this morning, and admiring all the colors in it. It's definitely brown, but she also has a lot of red/gold highlights. It is SO gorgeous. And wavy, with these lovely curls at the end. Of course, I might be biased, being her mother and all, but she is just so pretty it takes my breath away. And smart, and sweet, and HILARIOUS... but today, the focus is on the hair.

I mean, just look! A "before-and-after"-- 2.5 years of growing it out!

And last night, she even let me attempt to French braid it. She's letting me play with it more and more, which is giving me the chance to practice actually doing little hairstyles. I do nothing to my own hair, other than straighten it or put it in a ponytail, so this French braid was a HUGE challenge. Especially given the fact that my only previous practice at French-braiding was on my Rainbow Brite doll as a kid, ha! And it's far from perfect... but the fact that it's there at ALL is somewhat amazing!

Oh, the joys of having a little girl!!

White Christmas?

It snowed again today!!!!!!!

It really only lasted for about an hour, and nothing "stuck," but it was SO pretty to watch. And a complete surprise, since today's weather forecast was completely wrong. Even AS it was snowing, the weather website said it was just "partly cloudy." Not exactly! At any rate, the kids went bananas. This was the first time they had ever seen it actually falling from the sky, and they were thrilled at how it swirled around in the air. And, I won't lie... so was I! I loved it! I tried so, SO hard to get a decent picture of it, but was unsuccessful. And cold, since I was in my pajamas. :) But here's a picture of a few flakes on the rail of the deck. I love how they are ACTUALLY "snowflake-shaped." I mean, sure... they're snowflakes. But I've never SEEN one that really looked like that before! It made me realize that I need a macro lens for my camera. Soon!

Anyway, that was a high point of our day. We didn't go anywhere or do anything terribly exciting. We ate French toast in our pajamas. I made a giant pot of beef vegetable stew in the afternoon. And I cleaned, and baked cookies, and made a shopping list. Totally domestic.

At one point, though, Nikos discovered a dreidel in the front room. My new mommy friend is Jewish, and her kids celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. Her son brought a dreidel to show Nikos when they came yesterday, and forgot it here. Anyway, Nikos wanted to know what it was, so I did my very best at explaining Judaism. It fell on deaf ears until I mentioned that the game of dreidel is usually played with chocolate coins. Chocolate, you say??? Nikos was suddenly VERY interested. So much so that later on, he walked into the room, heaved a huge sigh, and said, "I wish I could be Jewish!" hahahahaha!!! I just about died. And soon, Maya started asking me if SHE was Jewish. Sorry, kids, no chocolate coins for you. Since that's the entire meaning of "being Jewish" and all. Sheesh!

Later on in the day, Maya cracked me up again. She walked into the kitchen wearing Nikos' shoes, and insisted that she as Nikos. So I said, "Okay, then say something Nikos would say!" She looked surprised, then deep in thought... and a minute later, she said in a lower voice, "I WANT SKETTI AND MEATBALLS!" Oh my gosh! I died. Several times over. It was so, SO perfect. She doesn't even like meatballs, so she really did put some thought into it. Hilarious!

Oh, and this was them at around lunchtime. I was sitting in one barstool, so there was only one other one. Maya was in it, but Nikos wanted to get up. Maya said, "It's okay, Niko, you can just sit in my lap!" So... he did! No complaints! It was so... unusual, haha!

(and yes, Maya is wearing water shoes. One of about 10 pairs of shoes she wore throughout the day)

Finally, I just wanted to share that Maya's favorite Christmas song, by FAR, is "Santa Baby." The Eartha Kitt version. She called it "Baby Santa" for a few days, but has now figured it out. She sings a lot of the words and does this little shimmying dance move. I've been trying to catch it on video, with no success so far. But rest assured, it is the CUTEST THING EVER! ack!

Official!

So I got my Massachusetts driver's license in the mail today, complete with a horrific photo (which is to be expected, of course!). So I guess this means I am officially a Massachusetts resident! I also received my ATM/debit card for the account we recently opened with a local bank. We're assimilating... ack! :)

In other news... my mommy friend came over this morning for a playdate, and I had a lot of fun showing her around the house while the kids ran wild together. AND she brought me a vanilla chai from a local coffee place. This might not sound like a big deal, but I have sort of a Starbucks problem. I have been spoiled for too long, constantly receiving gift cards from students, and having not one, but TWO Starbucks right along my drive to work. I literally salivate when I think about having one of their chai lattes (my usual order). Pavlovian response? Perhaps. But the truth is that I have never had a chai latte that even compared to Starbucks. Until this one, which was (gasp!) even BETTER! It was so, SO delicious! And made even tastier by the fact that it comes from a small, locally-owned, non-chain place. That is less than ten minutes away. AND they apparently sell amazing pastries that are to die for. Best. Discovery. Ever. haha! And yes, I just devoted like half of this post to chai lattes. Nummy nummy!

Anyhow... the kids had a fabulous time together, and I am hopeful we can do it again soon. Yippee!

On a totally different note, I was domestic yesterday. Actually, I was in full-on "Pinterest Mode." I find so many amazing ideas on Pinterest, and I made my shopping list this week with those things in mind. I found a great new pork chop recipe, which was SO easy and SO tasty (Nikos at two whole pork chops!). I tried baking potatoes in the crock pot for the first time, too, with amazing results. How did I not know about this before?? I also made my own strawberry fruit leather and chocolate chip granola bars for the kids-- both were hits! Then I made some pizza dough to store in the freezer. And, I am pleased to report that tonight's pizza (made with said dough) was INCREDIBLE. Best pizza I have ever made. Finally, I made up a batch of this Cream of Something Soup powder to have on hand as a healthier substitute when a recipe calls for a can of Cream of (Whatever) Soup. At the end of the day, I was feeling pretty darn accomplished! And tomorrow, I am going to make a few more batches of pizza dough, because it was just awesome and super easy to work with-- and it froze/defrosted really well.

Hooray!

Science! And Christmas magic!

Well, I spent most of the day finishing up the paint job in our master bedroom, and it looks great! The kids were so cooperative. They either sat and watched me, or played nicely together in the play room. It was hard work, though, and I am glad to be done. One room down, several thousand more square feet to go (ugh!). But I won't think about that right now!

Anyway... Backing up... Last night, I went holiday shopping with my new friend, and it was so nice to just hang out and get shopping done without kids in tow. She showed me a really nice outdoor shopping center that isn't too far away, and I look forward to going there again. And they had a Starbucks!!!! I know that sounds silly, but MA is the Land of Dunkin Donuts. And while DD coffee is okay (and cheaper), it just doesn't taste the same. So that was a nice treat. :)

At any rate, I made dinner for everyone before I left, and that included chopping up some celery. I was thinking that this bunch of celery was particularly leafy, and that it would have been good for the demonstration I did with the fifth graders every year. On a whim, I grabbed a couple of cups, filled them with water and food coloring, and tossed the tops of the celery in there. And, after lunch today, the kids and I "did science!" Yay!

I had them make observations before we cut into the celery, and they both noticed splotches of blue dye on the celery leaves. And they were SO excited to see the colored "stripes" inside the celery. I told them that the stripes were little tubes that sucked up the water from the cup, but I don't think they were really paying attention, ha! They did, however, love using the butter knife to chop up the celery. Whatever! It was still fun! :)


Then, this afternoon, Nikos did something. I don't remember what it was, so it couldn't have been that bad, but it was something "not nice." I should backtrack here and say that we've been doing the whole Elf on the Shelf thing. The link explains it well, but basically... we have a "scout elf" that visits us every day and reports back to Santa at night. Nikos has named him Max, and today he was discovered to be lounging in our Christmas tree.

Anyhow, Nikos did something, and I said, "You know, Max is watching everything you do. Do you really want him to tell Santa you just did that?"

Not two seconds later, Maya was TEARING across the room to get to the tree... so she could tell Max that Nikos was being naughty. Nikos followed suit, rushing over to defend himself. It was like they were pleading their cases before a judge. And... in their Halloween costumes, no less, because they were in the middle of playing dress up.

I love these kids! haha!!

Odds and Ends

Not too much to report from these parts!

We had a lovely weekend with Gus actually home (he's traveled for business a lot lately). Yesterday, we went to the tractor supply store to price out pellet stoves. It was in a neighboring small town, about twenty minutes away through beautiful countryside. Seriously, Massachusetts is SO beautiful. There are lakes everywhere, thick forests, and then areas where it opens up into beautiful rolling farmland. And there are a LOT of farms in the area... many within our town itself, actually. So we really enjoyed the drive. And the kids loved stopping to see the cows and sheep that were grazing by the road. It was very rural and just lovely. And it's winter! Imagine it when the trees are all green! SO PRETTY!

Anyway, we didn't come home with a pellet stove, but we did end up with two kids who thought the tractor store was the coolest place ever. It is pretty neat, if not kind of redneck... But they sell all sorts of things, including the largest selection of tractor toys I have ever seen in one place. Nikos wanted all of them. We told him "maybe for your birthday." So now he's going around telling people that he will go to the tractor store when he's 5, ha!

Oh, and it was pretty cold yesterday... Like today, it hovered in the upper 30s all afternoon. So we went to get dressed to go, and both kids insisted on wearing the hats that my mom made for them. Maya has always loved her hat, but Nikos wouldn't wear his (despite its awesomeness). But he officially loves it now! Even if he resisted my photo-taking. So this one's for you, Mom!

I spent yesterday afternoon making sugar cookie dough with Nikos, then installing our new window blinds. I still have six more to go, and have lost all desire to do them. Maybe tomorrow. But my shoulders are still aching from the first seven sets. Not fun! They look great, though!

This morning, my girl and I made a spontaneous trip to the home improvement store to pick up paint for the master bedroom. It's funny... I had agonized so long over what color to choose, but then just went with my gut. And I'm glad, because it looks great! While Maya was napping (or not... more on that in a sec!), I taped up the longest wall in the room (the one where all the furniture is), spackled, and then painted it. And, since I was on a roll, I painted the wall next to it, too! I could easily finish the room tomorrow, but we'll see if I get to it or not. At any rate, here are some before/after photos of that wall! The "after" pic was taken as it was getting darker, so the color looks a little different. It's "Interesting Aqua," by Sherwin Williams. It still needs to be touched up, but I love it!

Meanwhile, Maya was very quietly removing every single wipe from the package in her room. When I went in to get her (thinking she had napped), I didn't even notice them at first. But when she said, "I take a nap with wipes today," I looked down and realized that, yes, my child's bed was piled high with wipes. And when I asked her WHY she had done this, she (very innocently) said, "I just wanted to blow my nose!" hahaha! It was good for a laugh, at least! Love that kid!

After I cleaned up the wipes, we went downstairs and decorated our sugar cookies. We'd baked them after lunch, so they were cool and ready to go. And then, after dinner, we consumed many of them. I love Christmas! (and yes, Nikos never got out of his pajamas today. It was that sort of day, ha!)

Tomorrow promises to be a productive day. More unpacking, more painting, more cleaning, more blind-installation. Followed up by an evening shopping trip with two new friends. I am excited! It should be a good day!

Terrible Day... And a Video!

So, today was kind of terrible! I don't really feel like reliving all of it, but the lowest point was when my car died as the kids and I were on our way back from the RMV. Gus left work right away so he could get us, since the kids could not legally ride in the tow truck. And the tow truck operator was incredibly nice, waiting for Gus to get there before hooking the car up to the truck so that the kids could stay inside, where it was warm. And luckily, this all happened fairly close to our nearest Mazda dealership-- and my car is still under warranty. So it could have been worse. But when the AAA lady asked me where I was, and I wasn't even sure what TOWN I was in? Yeah. I cried. And I just felt emotionally drained after the whole thing.

On the plus side... we had a lovely breakfast at a cute local breakfast place with my new mommy friend and her kids. And Gus picked up a dresser on CraigsList for $50, which is EXACTLY the right color/size for our bedroom. And it's in great condition! Furthermore, my wonderful husband picked up a bottle of wine for me on his way back from getting the dresser. Which is no easy feat here in Massachusetts, since most grocery stores do not carry any sort of alcohol. You have to visit what the locals call a "packey," or "package store" (liquor store). But he went to a packey and got me some wine. Good man!

Also on the plus side, I made a video tour of our house this morning! I thought you might like to see it. Remember that we have a lot of projects planned, and the house is nowhere NEAR unpacked. Or painted/decorated, for that matter! This is sort of a "before" video. And feel free to tune out my dorky narration. Still... there you go! Enjoy!

(and if that doesn't load, try this link)

SNOW!

Well, it snowed! Just a little bit, and it's almost completely gone now, but the kids were SO excited this morning. Nikos woke me up extra early, wanting me to look outside with him. And this is what greeted us:

It was really only an inch or two deep at most, but it was very pretty. And as soon as we were done with breakfast, we threw on our jackets, boots, and mittens and ran outside to play in it. It was actually nice that it was such a light dusting, because the kids didn't sink down into it or anything. They just ran around on it like banshees, enjoying the satisfying crunch of the snow underfoot.


Nikos even tried to make a snow angel. More like a grass/dirt angel, but I appreciated the effort, haha!

And really, it was just a cold, but beautiful day. No more rain or snow, after a storm that blasted us for nearly 24 hours straight. This was the view of the sky from the kitchen window after we came inside and warmed up. I'll take it! (by the way, the tree on the right is a HUGE weeping willow that is SO pretty when it leafs out. I can't wait!)

Anyway, the rest of the day ended up being filled with mundane activities. No cookie baking, after all. Gus got home from his business trip at around 11am, and we promptly walked across the street to the bank, where we set up a new account. Our existing bank account is basically inaccessible, seeing as how the closest bank branch is in Hartford, Connecticut (an hour and a half away). So we will be closing that one!

After that, I made some phone calls and got Nikos an appointment with a local pediatric practice, who came highly recommended by my new mommy friend (her mother-in-law is a nurse there). They weren't actually accepting new patients, but my friend had greased the wheels for me and they let us in. Hooray! Our boy is as healthy as ever, but he needs a check-up before he can begin preschool in January. And that is now on the calendar-- hooray!

THEN, I made my way to the Registry of Motor Vehicles (they call it the RMV, not the DMV) and attempted to get my new license, since Gus was able to be home with the kids. I was unsuccessful, because I didn't have enough forms of identification. Grr! So dumb. But I will be able to bypass the line when I go back, since everything is already in the system except for that one piece of ID. They even took my picture, and it was HORRIBLE! But I guess that's pretty typical for a driver's license. sigh!

Oh, and I forgot! Gus went to turn on our new dryer before he left, and it wouldn't heat up at all. It was under warranty, so the repair guy came out today. After completely disassembling the dryer, he figured out that the power outlet was the problem-- it wasn't producing enough voltage. I guess there was a loose wire inside, and it took Gus about 5 minutes to fix it when he got home. But we can do laundry now! HALLELUJAH!

Anyway, that was our day! Tomorrow, we have a breakfast date with my new mommy friend and her kiddos, and then we may or may not attempt the RMV again. Or perhaps we will bake cookies. Only time will tell! :)

It's raining, it's pouring...

And soon it will be SNOWING! ACK!!

Up until now, we have been enjoying what the natives describe as "unseasonably warm" weather. As a native Californian, and one who has lived in Southern California for my entire adult life... it's still pretty cold, for the most part! But definitely bearable. And the skies have been beautiful and blue, up until yesterday afternoon when it rained for a bit.

And then I woke up to this view of the back yard. I actually took this picture later in the morning (around 8:30am).

When Nikos got me up at 7, I thought it was much, much earlier-- because it was so dark! And for a while, it wasn't raining at all. There was just really dense fog all around us. It was kind of cool and eerie, actually. Despite the fact that we live on Main Street, it felt like our house was the only one in the entire world. It reminded me of the movie "The Others," where the house is surrounded by fog (and the ghosts never pass that line). Spooky!

Anyway, it was neat. And then the rain began, and hasn't stopped since. It was in the low 50s when we were out and about this morning, but it's supposed to drop below freezing tonight. They're predicting we will get one to three inches of snow! That's a nice, manageable size for me. I'm mostly excited and not scared. More than that, though, and I am pretty sure I will be terrified. For a little while, at least!

Now, living in California, I would have avoided going out at all costs on a day as rainy as today. But I figured that this is a fact of life here in Massachusetts, and people don't put their lives on hold when it rains. Plus, I really needed to run errands. So we all put on our raincoats and had a very successful outing! We went to the post office to mail Christmas cards, went to Target to get some more necessities, AND went to the grocery store to buy a lot of things. As a side note... it's amazing how many things you need to properly stock a kitchen! I thought I'd gotten "everything" last week, but continue to realize I am missing essential things, like flour and sugar. Or baking powder. The list goes on and on! But rest assured, we WILL be baking Christmas cookies tomorrow!

At any rate, our trip out in the pouring rain went great, and made me feel confident about doing it again. And the kids actually seemed to enjoy the adventure! Hopefully that novelty doesn't wear off too quickly!

So that's that. I hope to have a nice snowy picture to share tomorrow, but we'll see! In the meantime, I will share this picture of yesterday's art project: a gingerbread train! My mom bought the kids this kit when she went to the grocery store with me last week. It turned out pretty well, despite some initial structural issues (and a few precarious moments, ha!). My dining room table is slowly being taken over my gingerbread creations. I love it!

Up tomorrow: Cookie-baking! YUM!!

New Friends!

I mentioned this a few days ago, but we had our very first Massachusetts playdate this morning! On day five of living here! Not bad, if I do say so myself. :)

Anyway, I just love my online mommy group. That's an understatement. I've been a member of the group (in all of its various incarnations) since I was first pregnant with Nikos, and it has proved to be an invaluable resource. Not only are the people on there all very friendly and respectful and a wealth of information, but we just have so much in common-- even though we're spread out all over the place. I have formed so many legitimate, real-life friendships on there. And when we bought the new house, I was excited to realize that one of the girls lived less than ten minutes away! Over the past few weeks and months, she has been SO helpful, giving me all her best advice and whatnot on the area. She's been my native guide, so to speak!

At any rate, she was hosting a playdate this morning for a few kids from her son's preschool, and invited the kids and I along. She was just as nice in person as I knew she would be, and her kids were so sweet! All the kids had a blast decorating gingerbread houses, then eating lunch and wreaking havoc on the basement playroom. I had a great time talking with her and the other three moms, who were all super friendly. And after lunch, it was warm enough to go and play outside for a bit without jackets, so they all ran around like banshees. By the time we left, Nikos was going on and on about how he really liked his new friend, and how he wanted to come back and play some more. I'm thinking we will need to have them over to our house, next time! Either way, they literally live ten minutes away, and it felt great to make a new connection. I'm not alone! I have a friend!!! :) :)

I didn't take many pictures, but I did get this one of the kiddos working on their gingerbread houses. They LOVED that, and kept admiring them on our dining room table all afternoon. The little boy sitting next to Nikos is his new buddy.

And this one I stole from Facebook, but it was taken by my mommy friend when the kids were running around outside. They seriously had SO much fun today, and it was such a great break from unpacking. Hooray for new friends!

On a side note, one of the other moms there was originally from the Bay Area. Small world!!!

More Photos

So... there are still a billion boxes waiting to be unpacked, but we are functional, at least! And I got the Christmas decorations up this morning, which made the whole house seem more cheerful. To be totally honest, the holidays came especially fast this year. Yes, I am fully prepared (I bought the kids' gifts in October!)-- but it doesn't seem like December already! We have just had too much going on. But I am going to force myself to slow down and try to get into the holiday spirit. Snow would probably help, but it scares me at the same time. I just want this Christmas to be super special for the kids, as their first one in the new house.

Anyway... I actually got out the "good" camera and snapped some pics today. First, my little helpers decorating the tree! My boy did NOT want to get dressed today, and I didn't push it until lunchtime (when we were expecting someone from the insurance company to come look at the house). Hence the jammies!

And then, a picture of the back yard. Well, really this is off to the side... I just think it's pretty. During the spring and summer, this whole area is lush green forest-- it is GORGEOUS!

And a few shots of the Christmas decorations. Notice that I had to put the tree in the section of the sitting room with the exposed beams because the tree was too tall. 200-year-old house = lower ceilings! I don't notice the lower ceilings, since I still fit just fine. :) But the rooms in the front end of the house (the original house) have very low ceilings. It's kind of cool, when you think about it. It adds to the historical intrigue!


Finally... this evening, I unpacked the dining room things (china, etc.) while we were listening to Christmas music. Nikos thought it was LOADS of fun to throw around the wadded up pieces of newsprint. Whatever! I was just thrilled that he was keeping himself entertained!

Up next... it's the weekend! Woohoo! Gus is going to finish up the laundry room, we're going to attempt to take a family portrait for our Christmas cards, and then we're going to shop for a pellet stove. And on Monday, we already have a playdate with one of my online mommy group friends! I am so excited! She only lives about ten minutes away, and her son is the same age as Nikos (her daughter is almost 2). The kids are going to make gingerbread houses, then play outside. I repeat: I am so excited! Hooray for new friends! :)