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!

Farms and Other Fun

I meant to post yesterday, but we've been too busy having fun!

Actually, the main reason I didn't post was because Gus and I got to go out on a date last night. Hooray for having a "babysitter" in town! We ended up going to a Mexican restaurant in Worcester, which was pretty good-- especially considering just how far we are from Mexico now, haha! Later, we went to see "War Horse" at the second-run (AKA cheap-but-awesome) movie theater nearby. I really enjoyed it, but was not aware that I would require tissues. Even though it was predictable, I still cried like a baby. ugh!

Anyway, the rest of our day yesterday was fun! We went to the farms I mentioned before, and came home with lots of yummy beef and lamb cuts. Oh, and multicolored eggs from some Easter Egg chickens, which the kids enjoyed. I especially liked the beef farm, where you could see the big Black Angus steers up close and personal (although I guess that's kind of weird, since I am going to enjoy eating one of their buddies). The kids liked it, too. Steak, anyone?


The owner of that farm was a younger woman who was about my age. She was really nice! She even said I should email her if I ever need recs on local plumbers, electricians, etc. AND she threw in some ground beef for free, just because she said we needed to try it. I haven't tasted any of it yet, but it looks SO good! I can hardly wait!

After that, we drove to the second farm. While this one was a lot bigger and much more commercial, they didn't have as much in the way of food for sale. It's more of an educational place. And most of the animal fencing was electrified, which made me SUPER paranoid! The bunnies were safe, though, and Maya liked waving hello to them:

They had a yak, too, which was fun... but again, electrified fencing. Ack!

After we were done there, we drove back to the same farmstand we visited on Friday so that Gus' mom could buy some more honey. We had bought some on Friday, and it was SO good! And then we decided to check out a local diner down the road for some lunch. Maya enjoyed her chocolate milk:

Today, we had sort of a lazy morning, and then went out to lunch. And then we went to a local children's museum! Actually, it's so much more than that. It's like an awesome playground, train ride, science museum, nature preserve, and zoo all rolled into one. It was VERY crowded, which was not a surprise considering the holiday weekend, but it was fun nonetheless. We decided to become members! So now we can go back anytime we want, and we can bring up to two adults and two more kids with us at the same time. They have a storytime there every week, as well as daily educational presentations on different animals. So cool! The kids are already begging to go back!





All in all, it's been a very fun weekend. Tomorrow, we are expecting the delivery of our new chest freezer for the basement-- woohoo!-- as well as the rest of Nikos' big boy bed. The bedroom set that was supposed to arrive last Wednesday, but then got pushed to Friday. One piece came on Friday, then one on Saturday, and the other two are allegedly coming tomorrow. Annoying much??? Needless to say, we are not exactly pleased with this company, but I will wait for the pieces to get here before giving them a piece of my mind. Fingers crossed that they really DO come tomorrow, specially since it's President's Day and all... sigh!

Down on the Farm

Ok, we officially live in the most awesome place ever. I can't even tell you how excited I am to be surrounded by all these amazing family farms. I knew all along that our town was primarily a farm town but, until today, had not actually been to any of the farms. To be honest, most of them (especially the ones that focus on fruits/vegetables) are closed for the winter. And I just felt kind of nervous about the whole thing, since that's just how I am about trying new things.

Still... We had a playdate with my friend Caryn and her kiddos this morning, and she was telling me about the place in town where they pick blueberries in the summer. I decided to drive us by the place on our way home, just to see where it was. And then, as we were coming back into town on the road by Nikos' preschool, we decided to stop at the farm right there. I knew from looking online that they had a store, and that it was open year-round, so I wasn't quite as nervous about it.

And... it was so cool!! They don't have a lot right now, but they did have plenty of fresh milk, eggs, cheeses, and honey, as well as frozen local chicken and pork products. The ladies in the store were really nice, and told me all about the story hours they do twice a week for little kids. And there is a nice little cafe where you can sit and drink coffee and have some of their homemade pastries. Meanwhile, there are a bunch of kitties roaming around the property, and a few pens right there with the big chicken coop, a bunch of goats, and a llama. It also looks like they have a few swingsets outside, but the swings themselves have been removed for the winter. All in all, a VERY cool "discovery"! Gus' mom bought a jar of honey, which is absolutely delicious, and a big glass bottle of whole milk for the kids. And the milk was very reasonably priced, too-- comparable to the supermarket!



Tomorrow, we might go and check out a few more farms in town. One is primarily a beef farm-- they raise grass-fed Black Angus cattle. My mouth is watering just thinking about steak right now! And then we might go to another one, which currently has a sign out front advertising their fresh grass-fed lamb. This particular farm also has a pancake breakfast coming up that I would really like to go to... you pay a flat fee and get all the homemade pancakes, pork sausage, and maple syrup you can eat. And then you get to walk around and view the sugaring process (where maple syrup comes from!). SO cool! And this same farm also has farm camp during the summer for kids ages six through twelve. Oh, and lots of programs on sustainable farming for interested adults (it's part of the Heifer International program). And have I mentioned that all of these places are less than a five-minute drive from here?

Anyway, it's a really cool place to live, especially if you want to eat locally. I'm so excited! OH! And Caryn was saying that she and her other friend were talking about going in together on a side of beef (or a whole cow, if we can get enough people). I told her that I want in, too, if they do it. Time to buy a chest freezer for down in the basement!

And one last picture, just because. Maya has been 100% Mommy's Girl lately. She clings to me like a baby koala. And of course I adore her, but it's also exhausting. Especially since she has her yiayia here who needs to stock up on snuggle time before she flies home to California! Still, she gave yiayia some love this morning, and I was able to take a quick pic. Yay!

Catching Snowflakes

This afternoon, it started to snow! It came down pretty consistently for over an hour, and we decided at one point to bundle up and go out in it. The last time the kids attempted to catch snowflakes on their tongues, it was hilariously bad. They mostly just ran around the yard, identifying flakes and then chasing after them, never actually making contact. Today, though, Nikos and I discussed proper flake-catching technique ahead of time. I told him to stand still, look up, stick out his tongue, and wait. And he did, much to our amusement!


Maya was still a little wild child, but she's a cute one, at least! :)

At any rate, Nikos was so proud that he was actually able to taste a snowflake. When asked what it tasted like, he said. "Like a... a... a monster! (insert giggles)" Silly kid. And I'm not sure whether or not Maya actually tasted any snow, but she claims that she did. And, according to her, "It tastes kinda like SNOW!" That's a safe answer, ha! Still, we had fun!

Yiayia is Here!

First of all, Happy (belated) Valentine's Day!

Gus' mom flew in yesterday! She actually got in at around 5:30am and, after a brief stop to get coffee and some Valentine goodies for the kids, she and Gus arrived at the house just before 8:00. At that point, we were all up and eating our breakfast downstairs. The kids had NO idea she was coming, since we wanted it to be a surprise. Actually, we told them that they would get a really BIG Valentine's Day surprise if they were good, but their guesses were way off! Maya was convinced it would be something edible, and kept asking me what the surprise would taste like. Nikos was just mad, demanding I tell him what the surprise was because he NEEDED to know. Mwahahaha! Nice try, kiddo!

Anyhow, Gus walked in first, which was a surprise in itself. The kids had thought he was at work, so I think they thought that he was the surprise. So they ran over to hug him, and then yiayia stepped out from around the wall. Ack! They were SO surprised! And laughing. And I won't lie, I cried a little. The whole thing was so sweet!!!

But yes. She and Gus took Nikos to preschool, and then came back to hang out with Maya while I went to my doctor's appointment (just a physical-- more on that in a bit!). The appointment ran long, so I picked Nikos up from school and then we picked everyone up from the house so we could go out to lunch. Then we just hung out at home, and had my first-ever homemade heart-shaped pizza for dinner. The heart turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself! Greasy? Sure. But tasty! And the section without pepperoni is for Maya, our little cheese pizza lover.

And then we had goodies. The kids and I had made chocolate cupcakes, and then peanut butter cookies with heart-shaped Dove chocolates on top. SO YUMMY!! I could eat the entire plate of cookies all by myself, seriously.

Today was a much more quiet day. I spent most of the morning cooking and getting various things done, while Yiayia ironed all of Gus' work shirts (since I am horrible at ironing and super impatient). Really, we were sticking around the house in hopes that Nikos' new bedroom furniture would arrive, but it never did. sigh!!! I am guessing it will be here tomorrow. And then I will have the pleasure of assembling it all. Prepare for many pictures!

After lunch, we left a note on the door for the delivery guy, and then went out back for a bit. I snapped this photo for my mom... it's Nikos wearing the new hat she made and sent him for Valentine's Day. The Massachusetts Brown Bear, hehe!

And eventually, I got frustrated with waiting for the furniture, and it looked like it wasn't going to happen. Not wanting to waste the entire day, I left another note on the door and we all headed into Worcester to show Yiayia the closest Greek Orthodox church. And then we checked out a nearby Mediterranean grocery store, where we stocked up on feta, phyllo, and all sorts of yummy things that she will turn into goodies for us while she's here. On the way to the car, Yiayia's arms were overloaded with bags... so Nikos grabbed her purse, unprompted, and marched to the car with it! I grabbed my camera out of my purse as fast as I could, haha!

And that was basically our day! Tomorrow, I have a dentist appointment, and I will pick up our long-overdue Massachusetts license plates from our insurance agent. It's so nice having family here and being able to leave the kids for a bit to get things done. As it was, my bloodwork turned up some interesting results at my physical yesterday: my cholesterol is AWESOME (go me, haha!), but my vitamin D and iron levels are almost nonexistant. No joke. The doctor showed me the normal ranges for an adult, and then the normal ranges for a child... and mine were waaaaaaaay below that, even. To the point where a regular over-the-counter supplement won't even do the trick-- I need prescription meds. And hello! No WONDER I am tired all the time! So I am happy to be getting treatment. And I am super optimistic that tomorrow's dental visit will be uneventful. I don't really want any cavities, thank-you-very-much!

How 'Bout Some Pictures?

I finally hooked my camera up to the computer, so here you go! These were all taken since the last time I posted pictures...

On the frigid mornings, when it's really way too cold to go outside, Nikos has started getting really creative with building things out of blocks (Jenga blocks, in this case), haha! His puzzle skills are also amazing, but no picture of that!


I've also let Nikos do something I never thought I would do: let him ride his bike in the house! Ack! But honestly, our house is huge, and we have entire rooms that still don't have furniture. So we really have the space. Plus, the floors are old (some are ~200 years old!), and they are FAR from perfect. And hey, he gives his sister rides, so everyone's happy, haha!


And when it's not AS freezing, we go outside! It's really not as much fun without the snow, since we don't have a swingset (yet) or a deck (yet). But hey, pine cones are really interesting, right?


I've also been feeling crafty lately. I made these Valentines for Nikos' classmates at preschool (the bags are filled with Teddy Grahams and a few gummy bears):


I also bought a package of Valentine's Day scrapbook paper from the dollar section at Target, and hand enough to make this paper heart chain and a few others (they're in the dining room)


This is just a picture of our girl yesterday afternoon... She NEVER naps anymore, but crashed on the couch. I just love her sweet, sleeping face!


And then last night, I met up with a bunch of moms from my online group, and we had SO MUCH FUN! Seriously, I don't think I have laughed that hard in a long time! Most of them live in Massachusetts, but one drove up from Rhode Island and the other came down from Maine. Such a great time! Plus, we met up at "THE" mall-- it's the biggest, fanciest one in the state, just outside of Boston. It was such a blast! I hope to hang out with them soon, but will definitely be seeing the two on the far left because they live closest to us. My friend Caryn is the redhead, and we have a standing playdate with her and her kiddos every week! :)


And that's that! Now I feel adequately caught up! :)