Snow, finally!

After last winter in New York I was ok that we hadn't gotten ANY snow yet this winter, but last night we finally got some. We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland. Cala could not wait to go outside and play! After shoveling the driveway we went sledding in the front yard and had a great time.

Look carefully and you'll see that Ethan is still wearing Cala's flowered snow pants from when she was his age and he also has her disney princess snow boots on... poor little guy but at least he has a boy coat!

Visitors

Last weekend one of my best friends came to visit with her family while her husband interviewed at a nearby hospital. It was so good to see all of them! The kids played and we talked and talked. Those couple days went by way too fast!

The last time I saw Millie she was about 3 days old and now she's a little girl! This was Ethan's first time meeting her and he was smitten. He just stared and stared.

Cala and Georgia picked up right where they left off. They danced, played barbies, played babies, laughed, and danced some more. Sadly, these are the only pictures I have of them together, probably because I couldn't get them to sit still long enough :)

One of the nights they were here we all went swimming at their hotel. The kids loved it!

I miss you Tiana! I'm hoping that in about four months I'll be helping you move in and we'll be living close to each other again!

Warm bubbles

For the last few winters we have lived in New York in very old, drafty apartments. The winters were cold and heating was expensive. Needless to say we were almost always cold even with layers on. The house we live in now has a wood stove and I am in love with it! Once we get the fire blazing it keeps the house nice and warm, almost too warm, but I'm not complaining about that!

We also have a jetted tub which makes for some amazing bubble baths. That is Ethan's new smile, it looks like he's in pain but he's actually smiling.

Here's Cala showing off her bubble art work.

Catching Up

The past month has been fun but busy! Here are some of the things that happened...

My birthday! It was a fabulous day! I got to sleep in (so I stayed up really late the night before! Hee hee!), we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, I talked on the phone a lot, we went on a walk, I got to shower and get ready with no interruptions from kids (a rare treat!), then Mark and I went out to dinner and to see Breaking Dawn. It was such a fun day! Thanks to my wonderful husband, family, and friends for making it so great!

And here was my birthday cake when we went to my parents' house to celebrate a few days later. It was delicious... chocolate cake, chocolate icecream, and chocolate ganache frosting!

Thanksgiving. It was my first time making a big huge turkey... and I'm not sure that I ever want to again :) Here's the table all set and ready to go.

Mark and Ethan are doing man stuff... tightening the legs on the coffee table. Ethan is such a boy! He loves tools and cars, it's so fun to see his personality and interests developing.

Thanksgiving dinner appetizers. Thank goodness for these! The turkey took hours longer than I expected, so these saved me! Everyone was pretty patient about dinner getting done since their tummies were full of appetizers (deviled eggs, caramel corn, cinnamon walnuts, and a veggie tray).

My sister-in-law and cutie niece.

Mom, Dad, and Cala.

Finally ready to eat... phew!

A few days after Thanksgiving we celebrated my father-in-law's birthday with dinner and cherry pie.

I've become obsessed with Pinterest! I'm sure a lot of you can relate, am I right?! I saw this idea on there and the kids LOVE it... glow sticks in the bathtub with the lights off. You can buy the glow sticks at Target (15 for $1)... can't beat that for a little afternoon fun :)

Another idea from Pinterest. I made this pillow cover and love it!

We've also decorated for Christmas. One of my favorite new decorations was covering these canvases with red fabric and using painted wooden letter to spell Noel.

Here's the before...

And after...

After Christmas I can take off the fabric and save for next year!

We also got our Christmas tree. We found a Christmas tree farm nearby up in the mountains where you get to cut down your own tree. It was so fun! Much more of an experience than going to the corner basketball court and picking out a tree in 2 seconds like we used to do in New York.

And then last week we went to a ceremony where Mark took an oath for admission to the bar. I was a proud wifey as usual :)

And there it is, the last month. Lots going on just like I like it :)

Esquire

Today is Mark's second day of work as a lawyer! I meant to take a picture on his first day but he was running late and then I realized the camera battery was dead... so I got a picture on his second day. I think he was a little embarrassed that I was making him stand on the front porch so I could take a picture of him and I'm sure that he loves it even more that I'm posting this on our blog, but I'm so proud of my lawyer! I sometimes hope that one day I'll be able to say to someone, "Hold on, I need to call my lawyer!" It has been a long road to get here, 7 years of school, months of studying all day long for the bar, months cleaning windows for work while waiting for the bar results, and then the job hunt. Way to go babe! He's working part time for a law firm doing all their employment law stuff and then part time for another firm doing criminal defense. We're hoping that soon the part-time employment law thing will turn into full-time, but for now it's all good experience and he's loving it!

Dresser Redo

I'm so excited about this dresser redo, my only regret is not having better before pictures. Here are the before pictures with the drawers already out. There is a drawer sitting in front of the dresser in this picture but the handles had already been taken off. This dresser is about as old as Mark. His mom used it as dresser and changing area for the kids when they were little.

It had taken a beating over the years as you can see, but no worries that worked fine for the look I was going for.

This $800 buffet from Pottery Barn was my inspiration picture. I love it but definitely couldn't afford it :)

And here it is finished! I took out the top drawer and put a piece of wood in to make an area so we could use it as a TV stand. I sanded, primed, painted, used stain to antique it, distressed it a bit, and then finished with a coat of polycrylic to protect it. The hardest part was being patient and letting it dry overnight in between steps.

Here it is in the house. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!

Tea Party

Ethan and Cala are starting to play together. I love it! It doesn't last for very long, but it's so cute to watch and I'm looking forward to the day when they will be able to play together for hours.

This picture is blurry but you can still tell how excited Ethan is :)

Cala is pouring Ethan some tea.