snow snow and more snow. so much snow. more snow than I've ever seen (okay-well that isn't true, but still a LOT of snow).

The storm came in around 1:00 pm on Friday and it stopped snowing at about 7:00 pm on Sunday. That's three days of snow and what I'm guessing is just under two feet of the white stuff. You know what would really stink to have happen on a weekend like this...for the snow blower to stop working, and yet that is exactly what happened! It was pretty light snow, but so much for shoveling. It is tough to shovel with Grant because we can't leave him inside alone. His room is totally Grant proof and he would be fine to play there for 20 minutes alone, however he wouldn't put up with being left totally alone for that long and the crying isn't worth it. So, Taylor was on his own for much of the shoveling and I was able to help out during nap time.

We used the snowy weekend for much Christmas prep. I wrapped and packaged up all of the items to be shipped for the holiday. yes, they will probably be late, but my girls love me and won't mind and my niece and nephew don't really know me and really don't care when the loot comes, just that it comes. So, since Taylor isn't working again this year, tomorrow he is off to the post office.

I also got all of our Christmas cards ready for mailing. I ordered the with plenty of time, but apparently they got lost at the UPS location in Texas (it is always Texas with me!) and so just got here on Thursday night. They came out really crummy, so I'm disappointed in them (very orange for some reason) but given the amount of money I spent and the proximity to the holiday I decided to send them anyway. Please note when you get your cards that Grant is so very much cuter that in that photo. I even sent out extra prints of other cute photos to some people who don't get to see him often so they could recognize his cute factor. Yeah-I've got a problem.

Cookie baking was also on the menu for the weekend. Tomorrow is Grant's treat swap at daycare. I didn't make my award winning macaroons (I can say that now that I won best taste in the first annual bake-off challenge at work) because I'm not really sure kids are down with coconut, so I went with a chocolate chunk cookie and my grandmother's favorite cream cheese and jam cookies. It will be 10 years ago this week that she died, so it somehow seemed fitting to make her cookies, even though I've never really liked them myself. I'm thinking those cookies will be hit in the under 5 crowd at daycare.

We spent some quality time having a snow party at the neighbors on Friday night. No one could get out, so we all grabbed a bottle of our favorite holiday cheer and came together to sit around and catch up one last time before we split for the holidays. What a random group of people, but we do really have a lot of fun together. I really do think we live on the best street in America!

So, it was a productive weekend despite the fact that the laundry isn't folded and I didn't watch Pulp Fiction, an assignment from a coworker. Hopefully your weekends were productive too and if you live in the Northeast you are dug out of the storm and have your power back from the dreaded ice storm! Oh, and Go Patriots, Go Jets (boy-that feels so wrong to say) and Go whoever is playing the Ravens!

Happy Birthday to my boys--Taylor, Alexander, and Golic!

May you each enjoy every moment in the year to come! Hugs all around.

Sad day for the Moon Pies. I finished the season in a very disappointing 6th place this year due to the early season loss of Carson Palmer, the knicked up Reggie Bush, and the old age of Torry Holt and Marvin Harrison (both of whom were benched after two weeks). I'm embarrassed to have done so poorly this year and embarrassed by/for the other ladies in the league as well, as the Gold Stars and Altitude are also out of the playoff hunt. Tough season. Julie-I told you that loss was going to come back to get me! Oh well, only eight months until we draft again!

Thanksgiving was super fun this year. We went to PA to be with Alex and Emilie. Emilie made an incredible dinner, taking traditional dishes and putting a spin on them. It was a lot of time in the car, but it was well worth it for the yummy dinner and family time. Grant did well in the car going both ways, mostly because we drove at night and let him sleep. He loved playing with Barley and Tiller and even took to letting Tiller eat right out of his hand. We took a fun trip to Valley Forge on Friday and I was able to get a few cute photos of my favorite Mac boys. I love these:

And one with my favorite Mac Girls too!

My friend Erin did a great blog listing all of the things she was thankful for on Thanksgiving and I thought it was great. I should have done the same thing, but we are well into the Christmas season now, so instead I thought I would put out another plug. Jen and Brian have "adopted a family" for Christmas. This is pretty much as it sounds, through an agency they have found a family in need and bought this family gifts that they both need and want. I think this is a super great thing to do an encourage everyone to do something similar. I remember being about 11 when our family was "adopted" for Christmas. A bag appeared on our porch on Christmas Eve and their was a gift for each of us, simply labeled mom, dad, girl, boy. I don't remember what my mother or brother got, but my dad got a really nice heavy shirt and I got a board game. It wasn't much but that was a really tough year and we didn't have much of anything (except Turkey-we got LOTS of turkeys that year in food baskets). Of course, my parents had found ways to get my brother and I a few things, but I'm sure those gifts were some of the only they received that holiday. You may not think that giving the toys for tot gift or the giving tree gift at the mall makes much of a difference, but I'm here to tell you that it definitely does. So instead of telling you what I'm thankful for today, I'll tell you what I know my mom was thankful for when she had an 11 year old who wasn't getting Christmas, and that is the kindness of those more fortunate and the strangers that "adopted" my family. I know the economy is in the crapper and we're all holding onto our pennies a bit tighter these days, but try to give what you can and help when you can. I'm thankful for Jen and Brian for reminding me of that Christmas so I can be extra thankful for all the blessings I have today and so I can help pass these lessons again to Grant! And as always, when I think of those super tough years, I'm extra thankful for my mom and the amazing was she managed to keep us all together and all safe. Now that I'm a mom, I can make boo-boos better, but try as I will, I'll never understand how she got us through-that is real mommy power!