A Yearly Glimpse

I don't often post pictures of myself. It must be becoming a tradition though, as I showed you a glimpse of me around this time last year. I forced everyone in my family to do a "self-portait" with me in the snow yesterday and here are the results.

Shovelling Snow

Last night, Ben & I were outside shovelling snow off our driveway. Every few minutes, Isaac would come outside to talk about Pokemon with Ben. Each time, he'd open the garage door and let the cold air into the house and I'd have to close it straight away. After a few times, Ben came up with a condition to slow down the opening and closing. "Isaac, before you ask me a question you have to shovel some snow." I was surprised that this didn't deter him. He'd come out, shovel about 5 scoops of snow and ask his question.

Isaac is allergic to grass pollen - so as a teenager he won't be given the job of mowing the lawn. However, I can see the future. He'll be shovelling our driveway each year.

Beanies

We had snow yesterday. Lots of it, for us anyway. Ben & I measured 7 inches just before shovelling the drive way.

Of course, the kids wanted to go outside and make a snowman. The only condition was they rugged up, because the temperature was below freezing. I suggested to Lizzy that she should wear a beanie under her snow jacket because she'd feel warmer.

A few minutes later she came back and said "I found a beanie". I could see something under her hat but I wasn't quite sure what it was. It definately was not a beanie. Instead she had found a ziplock plastic bag which I had filled with dried beans the other day. She had carefully put it on the top of her head.

I was not surprised when she asked me "What's a beanie?" after I removed her bag of beans. "A winter hat, love - go find a winter hat. That's what I call a beanie."

A Cold Snap

We're experiencing a bit of a cold snap here. The saying "Arctic wind" is a literal term right now. We've got cold air coming down from the north and we woke up to -10 this morning. I'm not expecting to see the temperature above freezing even during the day for the next week. However, much to the kid's delight, we are expecting snow. You've got to take the good with the bad, I suppose.

Happy Birthday Isaac

Today was Isaac's birthday.

He's had a great day. He wanted a Pokemon/Star Wars birthday - not exactly themes that go well together but we managed. We had pokemon plates & napkins and some Star Wars balloons. For the cake I placed some Pokemon and Star Wars figures opposite each other, and told him it was a battle between the two. He was happy with that, and told me that the Pokemon definately would have been the winners.

For dinner, we went out to Chuck E Cheese. Think pizza parlour with a games arcade. If Isaac or Lizzy are ever invited to a party there again, I'm sending Ben. I've been to two parties there with the kids. Each time you play a game, you can win tickets. The kids and I usually win about 100 tickets (if I'm lucky). Ben, however, was quite the expert and helped us win over 600 tickets. Isaac was thrilled that he was able to choose 3 prizes at the end of the night.

He told me that he had an EXCELLENT day. That's what we wanted for him, so I'm happy.

Happy Birthday to our young man. Photos to follow, hopefully!

Presenting for the first time...

our newest family member - debuting in their first photo.

I love the little button nose.

Everyone has to wait until April though, to find out if baby a boy or girl.

Disembarkation

When we arrived home today, Ben announced "Everyone Disembark". And suddenly from the back, we hear "woof, woof".

Ahhh...somehow I think someone didn't hear right.

Edited to add that I've been told I've created some confusion today! Lizzy must have only heard "Everyone bark" and started to bark like a dog. No new animals in our household!