Snow Daze...

Get it? Because we've been snowed in for days.... and all the snow has us in a daze ... a little play on words. I'm FUNNY! Shut up, you totally laughed.

So it started snowing this past Friday afternoon and didn't stop until Saturday night around 10:00. By the time it was over we had close to 30 inches on the ground! And according to the news we have 10-16 more inches headed our way today and tomorrow. At this rate I'm pretty sure we'll be snowed in until Spring! Hopefully they'll have the roads cleared come babytime. I know women do it a lot these days - but homebirth *really* is just not my thing. I need a hospital bed. And nurses to take care of me. And drugs. Good ones.

So when I asked Jack on Saturday if he wanted to go out and play he took one look out the window at the blizzardish (is that a word?) conditions and asked "Is it going to snow tomorrow?". "Nope!" I answered. "Well Mommy I think we should wait until tomorrow then because it looks very cold out there. I will freeze my heiney off.". Music to my ears. No way was I going to let him freeze his adorable little heiney off. How smart is my boy? SO smart. And how happy was I not to have to venture outside in that mess? SO happy. Our day was eventful none the less.

First Jack ate some breakfast and we played some Zingo whilst MGif cleared the driveway of 20some inches of snow. I did make breakfast for Mike before sending him out to deal with Snowapolooza. I did not take pictures - but believe me it was delicious.


After breakfast - we bake!

Chocolate chip cookies - Jack's favorite!

MGif finished plowing SNOtorious B.I.G and the boys settled in for a movie - Monsters vs. Aliens!


The movie got a little scary and Jack was all "Daddy HOLD MY EARS!". He always holds his ears at scary parts. Way less scary when you can't hear what is going on.


We woke up Sunday morning to sun. Snowpocalypse here we come! How cute is he in his snow clothes??


Jack "helped" his daddy do some more plowing ..


And by "helped" I mean he went behind Mike pushing snow back onto the sidewalk..


Mike then "helped" Jack off the sidewalk ...


Jack retreated to his snow fort. He likes to duck behind the wall of snow and peg me with snowballs. Isn't that sweet?


On Monday Michael Michael gave Mima an idea which Mima then gave to me. I could tell you about it, but why not simply show you about it?

Snowpainting! That's just food coloring in water mixed in a spray bottle.

Jack's masterpiece ...


He also painted some icicles ..


My masterpiece ...


and ...


and ...

I did the face. Jack took one look at it, grabbed the red, added that business underneath the mouth and said "LOOK it's Michael Michael!". I totally see the resemblance. In case you're wondering, the red Jack added is supposed to be Michael Michael's beard.

Off to batten down the hatches in preparation for Snowmageddon part deux. Boo hiss. In the immortal words of Jimmy Buffet, I gotta go where it's warm!

Jack says see ya, suckers!

The three B's

2010 is all about the 3 B's. New Baby - new Basement - new Bar! Yahooooo!

In this post I'll be giving you updates on all three.

Baby
Growing like a weed! I am now 31 weeks along. 31 weeks!! 8 more weeks until she's here! In preparation of BGif's arrival we have purchased some clothes (I'd have used air quotes there if I was speaking out loud when saying the word "some". I can't help it. The pink stuff is adictive!), purchased one pack of diapers, and purchased a new bar (see third "B"). So I'd say we're about ready, right? There has been no name of the week updates lately because the name of the week no longer changes. EVERY time you ask Jack what he wants to name the baby he says Olivia. I told him that is most likely not going to be her name and Jack said "Well it doesn't matter what you name her - I'm calling her Olivia". Alrighty then! He has also come up with a middle name for her. Spankenheimer. Olivia Spankenheimer - it does have a ring to it, no? Jack loves his baby sister so much already that I cry just thinking about it. Everyday he kisses my belly and says "I love you baby sister Olivia". SO SO cute. Then sometimes he does that and adds the "Spankenheimer" to her name. Not quite as cute.

Basement and Bar
Our basment was completly unfinished when we purchased our house 5 years ago. And in a few short weeks it will be completly finished! There will a work-out room, a playroom for the kiddos, an entertainment area complete with a kick-you-know-what surround sound set up that my brilliant husband designed himself, and a bar area!It's amazing how fast the process seems to be moving along. Capitol Builders - you rock! Let's look at some progression pics, shall we? The pics will show the main open area which contains the playroom, the entertainment area, and the bar.

First comes framing ...
View A - (Standing in the playroom looking towards the bar)

And the next day after bar framing

Cutest construction worker EVER...


View B - (Standing in the bar area looking towards the playroom)


Wired and drywall delivered...
View A -


View B -


Drywall!!!

View A -


View B -



All that was done in the past two weeks. Not pictured: the work out room and the bathroom (did I mention that there will be a bathroom? It truly is the year of the "B's"!) I'll post pictures of those as construction progresses and it's easier to tell what they are.

I wanted to do a little photo shoot to take advantage of the lovely natural light we have coming in through the basement doors. As you can see by the expression, JGif was having none of that.

He was way too excited about exploring and buliding. The kid is obsessed with basements and I can't even begin to explain how excited he is for his to be done!

And now I need to take my tired, oversized derriere to bed. Big and tired - that about sums me up in a nutshell these days. Back soon (air quotes) with a Christmas post!

Happy 2010!!

And what better way to ring in the new year then some pictures from turkey day? Im behind, people. Way WAY behind.

So TGiving Dinner was hosted by the always marvelous Aunt Sue and Uncle Paul. Michael Michael, Aunt Steph and Evan did not join us this year since we had all just returned from Key West the weekend before Thanksgiving (pics coming soon! Why do I have the feeling you don't believe me?).

My contribution to Thanksgiving dinner this year was dessert! So I did cookies ...


And cupcakes ..

Bask in the cuteness!

Is it just me or do even my hands look fat these days? This pregnancy has NOT been kind to me. Neither has the approximately 500 pounds of ice cream I have eaten during this pregnancy.

Jack sweet talked some folks into playing "Go Fish" whilst dinner was cooking. (How much do we love the word "whilst"? SO much.)



Then some of the men folk watched TV ..


While the other men folk - um - slept ...


And Mima made this face ...

She is going to KILL me for posting that one. K-I-L-L me. Dead.

All hail the guest of honor!


And then it was time for the feast! Jack takes his bread eating very seriously ...



Mmmmmm dessert

Check out those super CA-ute cupcakes in the back!

When we got home Belle the cat had a little Thanksgiving feast of her own ..


Gotta go. All that dessert talk made the baby want some ice cream! And what the baby wants, the baby gets. The sacrifices I make ... they are endless I tell you!

How I spent my day off ...

Beware of the wild animals!!!


My hair is totally giraffe color, isn't it? This is not a good thing.

Big Ultrasound!

We had our "big" ultrasound the week before last. It's a ....


!!!

Yes that is a dress behind the sweet little pink coming home outfit. Okay, two dresses. Okay OKAY - two dresses, six girly onesies, two pink shirts, a skirt, two flowery sleepers and a skort. Finding it hard to believe that I've already bought so much in the two short weeks since finding out she's a she? Goes to show what you know. I bought most of that stuff before I was even sure it was a girl. So there!

Our little Giffette is healthy and happy and growing like a weed! According to BabyCenter.com as of today she is about the length of a carrot and weights about three quarters of a pound. According to my scale she weighs about 20 lbs.

Here is a picture of the actual ultrasound pic ... I took it on my cell so it's not the best quality. Her beauty shines through the fuzziness.


One of her little tiny arm and hand.

Um, is she giving me the finger in-utero? Pretty sure she is. Thats my girl!

JGif was at Mima and PopPop's house while Mike and I were at the ultrasound. After the appointment I called him to tell him the news. Mima took a picture of him on the phone during the big reveal.

Here is how our conversation went:

Me: Hi Jack! It's me, mommy.
Jack: SO???
Me: SO ... what?
Jack: Did the doctor tell you what it is OR NOT!?!?!
(he gets his patience from his father)
Me: Yep. It's a girl!
Jack: YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. MIMA! POPO! I'm gonna have a baby SISTER!!!!!!!!!!!

SO excited. SO adorable. I hope he's still that excited about her when she's older and trying to play with his toys.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all! I am thankful for my amazing (and growing!) family and friends. Also I am thankful for Taco Bell. Yo quiero Taco Bell.

Thanksgiving pics coming tomorrow(ish).