Winter Wonderland

Have I mentioned my love of snow? Nope, because I don't love it! I think it is beautiful and nice to look at, but I don't want to play in it. That is not the case for hubby and Little Hauss. Hubby has always liked it and loves to ski, have snowball fights, etc. I prefer to sip cocktails, sit by the fire, and watch from a window!!!

Well, we are in the middle of the mother of all snowstorms ever since I've lived here. We had a big one back in 1996, but I don't think we got this much (this fast). The record was in 1969 at 14 inches (in December) and we are well on our way past that now. Last night on the late news we were already at 10 inches and it is still falling! Our little town has made the national weather (Gigi called to tell us that we were on the Weather Channel). It will definitely be a white Christmas.

This is about an hour and a half after it STARTED....I swear the sky opened up and we endedwith about 3 inches in 2 hours or less!

He is going to have so much fun today!!! The dogs wouldn't come in last night. Our baby girl Zoey has always loved the snow!!! I'll try to get some video of her today!

Now, this is all fun and games, but let me tell you how scared I was coming home. My plan was to work all day yesterday, but after learning of the weather, I was going to leave early (the school was going to close at 4) and it was expected to start at 12. I thought if I could wait until 2 (after nap) I'd be fine! Oh my!!!! I have a subaru and its all wheel drive, but nothing prepared me for the drive home!

The snow started around 2:15. By the time I left work, made it to the daycare and we were on our way, it was nasty outside. Cars were slipping and sliding and wrecking! I was nervous. I went one way and there were cars just stopped (on a gradual incline) but it was around the curve, so I couldn't see what was going on. I turned around and then went the other way. I didn't think that all the way through because there is a steeper hill and a curve that could be dangerous! That was a mess and I finally made a decision to go for it...THANK GOODNESS the car in front of me kept going! I didn't attempt to turn on my street and pull in the driveway. I parked in front of our neighbors house and let hubby go get it! He loves driving in this stuff! LH did a great job and I didn't let on how scared I was. He was more worried about his toys he got at the Christmas party - so he was content! I got home around 4 and will not be leaving anytime soon! Thank goodness I have painting and cooking to keep me busy. AND we have tons of movies to watch! I think this will be a great family weekend! We need it - a chance to slow down after how busy we've been! So, for that I do love the snow!

Oh, and even though I didn't get to my girls night out, I did have my White Christmas Cosmos!

A little sappy

This will be Little Hauss' 5th Christmas. I can't believe it! He has grown and changed so much. He's becoming such a great little boy and teaching us how to love him even more than we did before. He is letting us be giddy and full of excitement and joy as this Christmas comes around as we experience this special time through his eyes.
He had his program at school today and I got teary as I thought of next year - he will be in Kindergarten! Wow how the time has flown! Not only did he shine as he sang all the words to 4 beautiful songs, but he listened to the Pastor tell the wonderful story of Jesus' birth and answered quesiton after question. Later the Pastor told us how bright LH was and how much he has learned in just a few months (they have a weekly Chapel and music) and how much he's retained! I'm sure if you were looking on, you'd realize we were busting at the seams with pride! We are sharing in the joy of Santa and the excitement of gifts this time of year, but it makes is extra special knowing that we also share with him the true meaning of Christmas and he's loving every minute of it! Here are the last four years with him. A total blessing!

Breeding Ground

So all the pregnancies and baby showers I've talked about over the past 6-8 months are coming full circle finally!!!

Had a sweet baby boy born last night and a little girl should be here by tomorrow, then 2 more kiddos in January, followed by a couple more in the Spring! Its so exciting!! I can't wait to meet all of them!

White Christmas Cosmos

This wil be your new favorite festive beverage after you try it!!! It's mine! I enjyoed them with friends last night and I will now be making them for my girls holiday party on Friday! I bet Carrie Bradshaw would love to have this recipe for her Sex and the City girls.

Ingredients:

Vodka

Sanding Sugar

1/2 cup White Cranberry Juice*

3 T Vodka

2 T frozen limeade concentrate, thawed

1 T orange flavored liqueur

Cranberries for garnish

Directions:

In shallow dish, add small amount of vodka, in another, add sanding sugar. Dip rim of chilled cocktail glass in vodka and then in sanding sugar. Set aside. Fill a cocktail shaker half way with ice cubes. Add juice, vodka, liqueur, and limeade concentrate. Shake vigourously for 5-10 seconds. Strain mixture into glass and garnish with cranberries. Makes 1 serving.

*We didn't have just plain white cranberry juice, so we substituted with white cranberry peach juice! Delish!

Enjoy!

Roll Tide Roll

Last weekend, Gigi and Pop were here and we all hung out to watch the Alabama Game, complete with outfits for the whole family! We also got LH to sit and smile at the camera.

This is a cheese....oh well, still a good pic of the cousins!

Blessed and then some

Wow!
Hubby and I volunteered this afternoon at the Christmas Store. It is a local charity that provides clothes, household items, food and toys for families in our area. I have heard about it but never really knew much more. I am so glad we went. My mother in law asked us to help with some people from her office and we had nothing going on, so of course we were willing!
It was such a great experience. We helped individuals and families shop for themselves and others. They get to really "shop" and choose what they want for themselves and their kids.
I used to volunteer in College all the time but have gotten out of the habit in the last few years. I'm so glad that we got to do this and especially right now during the Holiday season. It really puts life in perspective! As much as we gripe about life, it really isn't that bad especially when compared to who we helped today!
So, make sure you kiss your kids and your loved ones and thank God everyday for what you have!

A visual!

This is the result of the car door slamming incident! It looks really bad and for the first day, it felt bad too! BUT, as of right this moment, he is wrestling with Hubby and doesn't notice it much anymore. He is more fascinated with his nail being black and that it will fall off and another nail growing back than anything else! I guess this is a typical boy!