First Snow

I want to sing 'Dashing Through the Snow' when I see this picture, except it is such an embarrassingly small amount of snow. However, combine a dusting of snow with freezing cold temperatures all week and it amounts to a BIG deal here in South Jersey. We were supposed to go carolling on Thursday night but half way to our destination called it off because of the crazy traffic. Unfortunately the girls had been cooped inside all week (combination of the flu and weather) so it was a huge disappointment and lead to lots of tears. They were slightly appeased by the promise of a neighborhood walk and hot chocolate when we got home. The snow is mostly gone-so little that it just kind of blew away. Nonetheless, the girls had a great time this morning running up and down our sidewalk. I'm such a grinch-if this is all we see for snow this year, I will be very happy!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Christmas Lunch with Santa (and Pop-pop and Grandma Terry).


Alette initially did not want to sit on Santa's lap, but changed her mind once she saw all the other children getting candy canes (her favorite treat). Once she was up there, she kept talking and talking and talking....


My favorite part of the tree is the angel Alette made last year.



The tree has sat unadorned for about a week...we finally got around to putting up the decorations last Saturday. True to form, all the decorations are concentrated in a 3 foot square at the front of the tree. I thought about redistributing them after the girls were in bed but truthfully, I just don't care enough about how it looks.

One positive note to an otherwise crummy day.

Mondays are always hard. Mondays after a holiday are even more difficult. Alette had a difficult time getting back into the swing of homeschool and I am afraid I wasn't too patient either. We had temper tantrums, time-outs, and generally sour moods all around. However, since it was nice out, I was determined to go for a walk with the girls. The letter this week is 'D', so we walked to Dunkin' Donuts and got a donut. I think it was a first for both of them. By the time we got home both girls were covered in icing from ear to ear. Maybe it was the fresh air, more likely it was the sugar, but we were all feeling better once we got home.

How soon til she joins me on my Saturday ride?

Alette's 'new' bike is finally repaired and ready for the open road. We had beautiful weather this Saturday, perfect for heading out and practising. Alette rode around a bit before deciding that she would rather practise her running. She is certainly not a dare devil and was a little intimidated by the effort required to learn this new skill. Nonetheless, she is excited about her new bike (especially since it is pink) and keeps asking to go out and practise again.

Party Time!

The girls loved having a campfire at the Bass's house! Alette actually roasted and ate marshmallows (as opposed to her typical style of eating them straight from the bag). Despite many small children, combined with sticks, marshmallows and fire, the night was incident free. As Alette put it 'there were so many good things, I can't think which was my favorite...can we do it again?'


Dinner is served!


Once the pumpkins were carved, the girls wanted them lit during breakfast every morning. I'm wondering if that is why they rotted so quickly.



I love the innocence and delight of childhood. Alette was so eager for Halloween-she continually talked about her costume and even practised trick or treating. I was so worried she would be let down by the actual experience of the day. Trick or treating is not big in our neighbourhood and few people opened their doors to us. However, all she could talk about was the lady down the street who gave her THREE candies and the man across the street who gave her TWO HANDFULS! Seriously, she couldn't care less about the unanswered doors but was astonished at anyone who gave her more than one piece. To top it off, we got together at a friend's house to decorate pumpkins, eat, and hunt for candy. Combined with a harvest party at playgroup earlier in the week, Alette accumulated a serious stash of sweets.

Halloween Costumes

I got off so easy this year! Alette decided early on to be a rabbit, and actually stuck with her decision. I pulled out the pink sweatshirt, pants, gloves and ears from Easter, made a fluffy tail and drew on whiskers. perfect. Abria was all set to be a lobster (she has the cutest lobster hat from grandma) but one look at her older sister as a rabbit and she too was determined to dress as a bunny. So, I pulled out another pink sweatshirt, pants, gloves, ears, drew whiskers....
The girls will never get prizes for originality this year but the whole deal cost a $1 (for the gloves at Target) and I didn't spend more than five minutes pulling it all together.

Boo!