Paper Nest

Another Pampered Chef delivery means more paper for Rosie to play with. This time, however, Rosie chose to make a nest out of the paper. She just burrowed down into the masses of paper until she found the most comfortable spot, and then she promptly fell asleep.

Back to (Somewhat) Normal

Evelyn didn't have school at all this past week. She also did not have ballet on Monday, Kids' Aerobics on Tuesday or gymnastics on Thursday. The poor girl is a bit out of sorts since her daily routines have been out of whack.

I crossed all my fingers and toes that both she and Julia would have swimming lessons Saturday morning. It seemed like a toss-up, especially since most of the public schools canceled activities at their facilities for the weekend. The whole family was elated to find out that the Germantown Indoor Swim Center was, indeed, open Saturday morning. Even Julia seemed excited to go swimming, which is a first.

Evelyn and I made it out of the house this afternoon to see "The Tooth Fairy" movie. She and I have wanted to see this movie for several weeks, but lately, the weather hasn't been very conducive to our entertainment plans on the weekends. The movie was very cute, we both enjoyed it, and now Evelyn really can't wait to lose her first tooth.

Same Ol' Snow Story

Today was the fourth day it has snowed in 12 days. And we're talking significant snows, here. As I write this, the blizzard is still raging outside, adding to today's 15 inches of snow.

After the plows came through our complex, Troy and Evelyn went out to clear our sidewalk and scoop the snow around our cars. Evelyn really seems to enjoy helping Troy and the neighbors with the snow removal. She usually helps clear snow first, and then she plays in the piles of snow.
I know I've posted this shot before, but here we are again, cars buried in snow. We're running out of places to put all this snow - 45 inches in the past five days! - so let's hope Old Man Winter is done pounding us with his weather.

Finger Paint

Julia got some finger paints for Christmas, and we used them for the first time today. I wouldn't say that Julia is opposed to the idea of getting dirty, but she also isn't one to dig right into a mess. In the picture below, Julia seems to be saying, "Huh. This is a little different."
After some coaxing from Evelyn and me, Julia figured out the finger painting thing - wiggle and smear your hands all over the paper. And keep asking for more paint. Lots of paint.

After completing her masterpiece, Julia couldn't wait to show Troy her messy hands.

Meanwhile, Evelyn made various squiggles, swirls and snowflakes in her paint. She also made a border, alternating blue and purple dots, around the edge of her artwork.

TV Time

I was a bit lax on letting Evelyn watch TV today, and I let her choose a couple of different shows to watch. While watching her favorite episodes of "Max and Ruby," Rosie curled up with Evelyn on the couch and dozed the afternoon away.

Julia in the Snow

Julia went on her first adventure in the snow this morning. Sure, she has seen her fair share of snow this winter like the rest of us, but it's usually while looking out a window or while someone is carrying her.

Julia was very cautious walking on the sidewalks, surrounded by snow. Evelyn tried to lure her into the snow cave, but Julia wanted nothing to do with that. After getting over the initial shock of being completely encompassed by snow, Julia was content to wander around on the sidewalk, hardly paying any attention to the snow.

Snow Play

What do you do when (1) Julia is taking her afternoon nap, and (2) there is a TON of snow on the ground? Go outside and play, of course!

When clearing our townhome complex, the Bobcat plows made mountain after mountain of snow. Each pile of snow is about six or seven feet high. Evelyn loves climbing to the top of this pile (close to our house) and sliding down the side.
The snow is piled about four feet high in our front yard. So, after playing around on the mountain for awhile, Evelyn and I constructed a tunnel and cave. Starting at the side of the mega-pile by the sidewalk, I dug and dug until the space was big enough for Evelyn to fit inside. You can tell that she is just tickled to have such a cozy hiding place.

Blizzard of 2010

The Blizzard of 2010 can be summed up with three numbers: 26, 29 and 52. 26 inches of snow, 29 hours without electricity and 52 degrees inside the house when we woke up Sunday morning.

The pictures of Evelyn in our front yard and in the parking lot give you an idea of the incredible amount of snow we got. At one point, while Evelyn was walking behind the cars, she fell down, and the snow came all the way up to her shoulders!
By the time all was said and done, we were blanketed with 26 inches of snow, although the official snowfall measurement for Germantown was 30 inches. Evelyn took the picture below, being sure to get our snowman - now a snowy mound - in the shot.Since the trees were laden with the heavy snow and the snow was piled high on the deck railings, I could hardly see my bird feeders. Shortly after supper, I had to dig a tunnel through the snow to the deck box so we could have a place to store our frozen foods. While I was out there, I also shoveled a path to the bird feeders. They will need to be refilled long before the snow is gone, I'm sure.

Our power went out at 4:15 Saturday morning. We had a hopeful 45 minutes of electricity late Saturday morning, but then it went out again. We finally got the power back on (for good) this morning around 9:15. We were fairly comfortable last night while we were sleeping since we were tucked under the covers. But, when we came downstairs at 7:15 this morning, and the indoor thermometer read 52 degrees, we knew we couldn't stay another night at home. Our little gas fireplace in the basement wasn't able to keep the whole house comfortable, so Troy and I were cooking up plans to stay warm. Thankfully we didn't need to resort to leaving our house since the power stayed on for good. And - a big bonus - we were still able to host two families for Super Bowl Sunday tonight. Whew!

Snowball Fight

We are in the midst of yet another snowstorm - the fifth snow since December. After Troy got home from work late this afternoon, Evelyn and I couldn't resist going out in the snow. First we made the mandatory run (okay, we walked) to the grocery store for milk, bread and bananas. That trip was less eventful than I had anticipated, and we emerged victorious.

Once we got home, Evelyn and I had some fabulous snowball fun. The wet snow was sticky, and we were able to make some monstrous snowballs. I think we played outside for almost half an hour, pegging each other with snow. We came inside, dripping wet messes, but we had a blast.

We Recycle

It has been snowing since 10:00 this morning. After we shook the snow off of the recycling bin and brought it inside, it was drippy and wet. Rosie, ever on the hunt for fresh water, thoroughly inspected the recycling bin for every last drop of snowmelt. Montgomery County Recycles, but they can't have our sweet Rosie!

Finally . . . Snowman-Approved Snow

Last night we got five inches of heavy, wet snow, which is the perfect snow for building a snowman. All of our previous snows have been too fluffy to pack, so Evelyn was very excited that we could finally build a decent-sized snowman. We used up ALL of the snow on the deck making this guy, and he was almost as tall as Evelyn!
Evelyn thought we should make pockets on the snowman and fill them with birdseed. She also added little sticks to serve as perches for the birds. The birds better hurry up and eat the pockets seed before our next snowstorm comes this weekend - it might be covered up for awhile.

Squirrel Hunting

In the mornings, squirrels frequent our deck, looking for hand-outs. Depending on how busy Evelyn is, they may or may not get bread and/or peanuts. Rosie loves hunting for squirrels in the morning.

This morning, Rosie hunted squirrels for about 45 minutes. She stayed in the same spot, crouching down especially low whenever a rodent came close. I'm not sure what she thinks these furry critters are, but she certainly enjoys watching them.