Snow, Valentine's Day, and More Snow...

This Valentine's Day was interesting.  With the blizzard, school cancellations, and the lethargy that set in this week, it was tough to get motivated.  Still, Little Lewie and I managed to spend Wednesday night making heart sugar cookies for his class's Valentine's Day party. (It's become an annual tradition.)

Hubs and I managed to go to a Valentine's Day Comedy Night last Sunday, and tonight, we just went out for our special Valentine's Day dinner. Although we weren't able to celebrate right on Valentine's Day, we've been able to make the most of this special holiday.  Here are a few highlights of this interesting week:

Sledding after the storm.  This is the all natural way...no sled.

A sampling of our delicious homemade heart cookies.

A special Valentine's Day song from my little boy.

Hubby and little boy serenading me.

My husband learned how to play "Ho Hey" by the Lumineers just for me.  I feel so lucky!

All in all, the week just flew by.  While it was tiring, it was still full of so much love.  Not surprisingly, we are expected to get a few more inches of snow tonight, and so the week has come full-circle.  I got a little bit of a late start for Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Week, but I plan to make up for it next week...Please stay tuned!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day Everyone!!! 

Blizzard 2013

I can't lie.  I was looking forward to Groundhog Day--you know the day when the groundhog emerges from his burrow on a cloudy day and predicts that we'll have an early spring...  Only our groundhog here in Connecticut, Chuckles, saw his shadow and darted back to his burrow--six more weeks of winter--YUCK!

He couldn't have been more correct.  Six days later, President Obama is declaring a national state of emergency for the state of Connecticut (again).  Only this time we weren't pounded by the ferocious winds of  Hurricane Sandy, we were buried with 40" of snow.  From Friday until Saturday, everyone barricaded themselves in their homes to protect themselves from the blizzard, and now two days later, we're still trying to clear our roadways and return to normal life as we know it.  Although it's Monday, most people have not returned to work yet, and if they're like us, then they've been eating nonstop and going stir crazy...  So much for my diet or exercise...  I suppose I'm right on schedule.  Isn't this the month when everyone's resolutions are broken?

Here are some pictures of our rather crazy weekend...  When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  When life gives you snow, make snow cones...  At least that's what we plan on doing--staying positive.  Climate change is definitely not a joke around here; it's become a reality.  (This is our fifth national, weather-related state of emergency in two years!)

Lewie enjoying our first day of snow (Friday).

So happy after hours of begging to go outside.

Another cute picture...when the snow was pretty and manageable...

Helping us shovel the snow...

Helping us shovel some more...especially when the pace picked up.
At one point, we were getting 3 to 4 inches per hour!

The morning after... (We had already shoveled and cleared off the table several times yesterday!)

Our little path up to our driveway...a two hour project!

Our five-foot retaining wall...

Leading up to our driveway.

Our driveway...easily covered with 35 to 40" of snow.

A regular plow truck couldn't even tackle this mess!

Our plowman had to bring a front loader to the rescue.
Here's a picture from my window when he arrived at 4 a.m.

Dinosaurs??

Since the last few weeks have been cold with minimal snow, it's been somewhat of a struggle to try to find activities to keep my little guy busy.  Since we went to the Danbury Railway Museum for two weekends in a row, this weekend we decided to check out Dinosaur Days at Yale's Peabody Museum, in New Haven, CT.

At first, I thought we had a winner.  Lewie eagerly followed the "dinosaur tracks" on the sidewalk that led to the front entrance of the museum.   However, once inside, he wasn't impressed.  I thought for sure he would be in awe of the huge dinosaur bone displays of Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, and T-Rex, but no-can-do.  (Even though I'd never been a huge dinosaur fan as a kid, I did like Stegosaurus.)

The global warming exhibit, gem and mineral display, and exploration room (with real poisonous frogs, cockroaches, snakes, and other lovely treats) did not captivate him either.  I suppose four is a little young for these types of museums, but I thought, at the very least, I could get some interest in watching the blue frogs, picking out a favorite gem, or viewing the giant squid hanging from the ceiling of the welcome center...  (My husband and I, on the other hand, could have stayed here for hours...)

I refuse to think that any of our trips are in vain.  They are educational, and in time, they will open Lewie's eyes to other interests.  However, for now, there's no doubt that it's the train museums that he loves the most.  Sorry Stegosaurus.  Until we meet again next time.

The three of us in prehistoric times...

A forced smile from my little guy...  (Notice he's pale...we've been sick with a cold all week!)

My two cavemen.

I can't imagine bumping into a sea turtle that size!

My silly boy...

Waiting to eat at our favorite pizza restaurant in New Haven. 

Train-O-Rama

When my little boy likes something, well, he likes it.  A LOT.  We went though an elevator phase that lasted about three years.  Then we went through a Scooby Doo phase that started last year and is still in the forefront.  Now we are in a train phase.

The train phase started when Little Lewie was three; we had a choo choo birthday party and bought him a train table.  Just when it seemed that Scooby Doo was about to surpass his train obsession, he was introduced to The Polar Express.  After one simple 90 minute movie, his life was changed...forever.

Since that fateful November day of watching The Polar Express, my son has been obsessed with the movie, the book, and the soundtrack.  Our house has also become train-o-rama.  In addition, to his train table, which takes up a good portion of our living room, we have train tracks and trains set up in his room and our bedroom.  Thomas the Train has also become a popular TV viewing alternative.

Since our house has been converted to a railroad station for dozens of two-inch miniature trains, we took a guess that he might actually enjoy going to a real train station. So, last week and this week, we went to the Danbury Railroad Museum, a former train station that houses many historical trains, train cars, train memorabilia, and working model train layouts.  Of course, we've been there twice now within the past two weekends because he begged us to go back on a daily if not hourly basis.

Inside the train museum...of course.

Looking at miniature working trains.

Posing in front of trains...Can you tell my son is saying, "Choo, Choo?"

Playing trains...

A steam engine similar to the one in The Polar Express.

Lewie insisted this was The Polar Express train.

Inside The Polar Express train...

All the gears to run the train...definitely not an easy job.

A 1970's caboose...probably around my age...

Sitting up high in the caboose.

A US Railway Post Office Mail Car...

Inside the car, where all the employees had to sort the mail...

I've been told that children are known for becoming fixated on something--a movie, a cartoon character, a superhero, etc.  So, we are preparing ourselves for many more trains in the next few weeks, months, and years to come...

Silly!

Last weekend, we went to the Discovery Museum and Planetarium for a day to explore science.  Lewie had been there once last year and immediately remembered the planetarium, which he aptly calls, the space room.  Surprisingly, he also recalled the museum had an elevator and a pretend school bus he could drive.  It's funny what kids remember!

This year, for whatever reason, it felt like all three of us got the case of the sillies.  From the minute we arrived, we laughed at everything and acted goofy.  We were able to contain ourselves for the planetarium show, but other than that, we ran around the museum giggling.  It was no surprise that the same things that entertained little Lewie last year continued to entertain him this year.  He enjoyed the elevator, the school bus, the train exhibit, and the Lego area (because that too had a train).  I enjoyed the musical instruments you could play by waving your hand over a sensor.  My husband enjoyed the basketball hoop area, which didn't seem to have a science component at all, but hey, it's a kids museum, so I guess anything goes...

At the end of our visit, we went into the toddler play area that has large, human-sized blocks for the kids to enjoy.  Since we were the only ones in the play area, Mommy and Daddy quickly joined the fun and, probably to an outsider, looked like complete jackasses.  We moved around blocks to construct forts, make obstacle courses, and to play battle each other.  Of course, Lewie didn't seem to mind that his parents were breaking the rules by playing in there...

All in all, the museum gave us a chance to explore, have fun, and make the most of a cold, drizzly Friday afternoon.  We'll have to do it again soon.

Lewie slipping into his play fort.

Taking a break from defending my fort for a picture.

Naughty Daddy.  He's conquered Lewie's fort!

Sledding!

This Saturday we got out our snow gear and headed for the slopes.  Okay, it's more like we got out the most water resistant coats, hats, and gloves we could find and drove to our local park at the bottom of our street.

The sun was out and with 40+ degree temperatures, we knew the snow wouldn't last long if we didn't try to enjoy it right away.  I must say, the temp was perfect for making snowballs...

Here are a couple of pictures of our adventure:

Daddy and Lewie on the sled.

Lewie attempting to go down the steep hill.

It's funner going down on your butt!

Can you tell that he really, really, really loves the snow?

Caught in the action...making a snowball to throw at one of us.

I love this picture.

We're such posers.  This is not our snowman.  In fact, when we went to give him a
nose, his head came off.  I quickly tried to repair it for this picture.

My attempt at a snow angel.  

Hey, where are you going?

And back again...with another snowball.

Just a day of simple fun--the best kind, if you ask me.

New Year's Resolutions for 2013

We welcomed 2013 this year by having some close friends come over the house.  The two boys, Lewie and Landon, made time capsules, played with toys, and watched some Scooby Doo mysteries while "the adults" wrote down New Year's resolutions for themselves and for each other in the group.  The fun part was trying to guess who wrote each New Year's Resolution and then trying to guess whether the resolution was for that person or someone else in the group...  (While all of this was going on, we had a precious one year old that kept us entertained as she explored everything...thankfully we still had Lewie's old baby gate to keep her away from the stairs...)

This year I came upon the following quote:

Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours. -Swedish Proverb.  

Interestingly enough, I saw this quote at someone's house; each part was neatly stenciled on each tier of a wooden staircase where the top stair started with "Fear less, hope more."

I was instantly drawn to this saying and within the last few weeks, I decided to make this my New Year's Resolution.  Lately my days have been fearful...I find that I worry obsessively over both big and small things--things I can't control.  I also spend too much time rushing around frantically to get things done.  Instead of savoring moments, I find that I forget everything (even things that were done a minute ago) because I live in this perpetual "to-do list" fog.

This year, I'm doing what this proverb suggests--I'm changing my worry to hope; I'm savoring moments by looking at quality instead of quantity, and I'm loving more.  It won't be easy, but when I'm worrying or rushing around, my goal is to stop myself and change course.  After all, how can I be happy if I'm too busy worrying?  How can I enjoy life, if I'm too busy rushing through each day?

I wish all of my beloved family and friends a very Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year.  To all, may you "live every moment, laugh every day, and love beyond words" (another favorite quote of mine).  What's your New Year's Resolution?