What Ana Does

I've been waking up early for work and to get the puppy out before his bladder explodes. And you can't beat the view some mornings of a new sky and frost that won't last too much longer. Please excuse the dog urinating in the middle there. ;)

It's not often in Illinois that we get snow in October. Usually Mother Nature has the good grace to wait for the leaves to turn and fall from the trees before dumping the white stuff all over the place. This year, it seems She was too excited to get to snow ... October 31, on Halloween, and we get a few inches! Not that anyone here was complaining.  They couldn't wait to get home from school and play in the snow.  Still all here the next morning! And look at that sky!  I think Bruce loves the snow more than anyone on the house. He spent the day playing and jumping and slipping in the backyard. So, I guess this week, at least, it's winter! Related posts: More Winter posts

This week we got 20cm (that's less then a foot) of snow dumped on us and more is expected in the next two weeks. For Paris, this is a bit of a novelty. According to my French tutor, they get "two snows" in February and usually it's a dusting and it's gone. She told this to me last week. This is not a dusting and it's here to stay. And more to come. And while everyone is outside photographing buildings and trees draped in white, and yes, it's very lovely and gives February a familiar look, as I'm used to midwestern winters -- I have to admit I was hoping to skip some of the snow and freezing cold weather this year. The temperature here is supposed to be similar to Virginia. And this is not Virginia weather. Add to that the once-in-a-decade event of Seine River flooding. And Parisians are going crazy. There's Usually a Park at the Bottom of These Stairs (gah!) We recently had an English lady over to give haircuts (we have yet to ent...

Current status: Registering for summer camps, buying village pool passes and looking at possible road trip ideas. My view while pondering all this ... Our first significant snowfall since December. It's been a weird winter.

I do love the change of seasons. And the beginning of winter always feels a little magical, as does the start of all the seasons, I guess. There's a part of me that welcomes the white snow and frigid temperatures. I like layering up to walk outside and pulling a throw blanket around me when I sit down for a movie. Sipping tea and eating toast on a Sunday morning as the snow falls outside. Cozy. Warm. All those lovely feelings. Exploring the Bus Stop After the First Big Snow Calling the Kids in at Dark From Sledding For Hours A Shimmery, Frost-Covered Leaf My Backyard on a Snowy Night But the romance with winter doesn't last. Oh no. By January I'm done with it. And by February I'm so over winter I get bitter and angry, the hashtag #ihatewinter used in all my photo captions. But until then, I'll just enjoy the magic of new beginnings and silvery-white scenery.

And then it became way too cold to wait outside for the school bus ... All Bundled Up in the Warm Car Relate posts: More more and more Alice

Our first snowy weekend of the season and, lucky us, it fell on a Saturday when we had very few plans. So while the girls met up with the neighbor and headed to the small sledding hill across the street ...  while I got out my sewing projects and made great progress.  Pile of Sewing While listening to the new Adele album and taking breaks to stare at the white winter land that was once my green backyard. Related posts: More winter stories Want to see more sewing projects?

It's coming. The wind made the bus stop extra frigid this morning. Even Benny had his coat on.

Alert! Alert! We're entering a transition month. Soccer and fall activities are ending. The days are shorter and colder. Winter coats are out, along with winter boots and all the hats/mittens/scarves I can find. And with all this change come a chance for me to gather goals for the winter months. - Wake up earlier. Leah is currently pulling me out of bed in the morning, being dressed and starving. It would help her out if I was actually getting out of bed myself. - Evening working outs. I did this once and now I'm not on the soccer field (being semi-active) three times a week, I need to find a weekly class or something to increase activity levels ... at a time of the year when I really just want to start hibernating. - Train the girls to do more stuff for themselves. Like picking up their after-school-snack wrappers. This should be subtitled, "I continue to nag my children" as that's what it feels like. - Back to weekly menu planning. Only one night a ...

As I sit here, the snow if melting and the sun in shining ... I'm starting to have visions of spring. I hate winter, so I'm not too sad to see it go. However, I am sad to put away my most favorite thing about winter ... these boots. Last fall, I started shopping for boots to get me through the dreary winter months and found two that I loved on Zappos. I sent links and sizes to my husband for easy Hanukkah shopping. (See? I'm a good wife.) I didn't know WHICH I'd get, but I would have been happy with either. I got these lovely Sorels in a wine and grey color. I wore them EVERYWHERE this winter. They looked awesome with my skinny jeans, and great with tights. I could wear them with or without socks. I even brought them to San Diego over Christmas and wore them in the morning and evenings when the temps dipped. And they got compliments everywhere I went. Ugg boots, you see them everywhere. But these Sorels are unique and practical. I won't miss the bi...

Well, Mother Nature did not disappoint in her latest winter storm. Over a foot of snow fell on Sunday keeping us indoors for the whole day (19 inches, I'm told). I like being stuck in the house , so this was not a horrible way to spend a Sunday. Especially since I had a well-stocked kitchen and no where to be. Not to mention the hours and hours of Super Bowl programming. Ahhhh winter. I hate you but I kinda enjoy your perks, at the same time. This morning, they cancelled school so we could dig out our driveways. This year -- actually, only a few weeks ago -- we purchased a little snow blower (Dave got tennis elbow from shoveling almost every weekend last year). And this morning that little baby paid for itself. Hurray! The sun was shining but it was only in the single digits -- so this snow isn't melting anytime soon. The New Snow Blower!

Because I got her this new hat with little sheep all over it. Her "Coy" Look I'm a little jealous of the hat, actually. Wish it came in my size, but I have a gigantic head.

This is what winter does to me. I sit in my warm house, looking at the white, freezing landscape out my window, and wonder why I'd ever leave. Why? Sure, I still have to drive to work and back. And there's groceries that will be needed, if I want to continue eating. Which I do. But, really, Saturday and Sunday rolls in and I'm ready to hibernate. I can see this tendency forming in my 6-year-old, too. It's probably not good. Here in the midwest, there are folks who LOVE the winter and all the snow-related activities. This is not me. This is why I have to force myself to find activities for the girls over the winter. So I don't turn into a recluse for the season. Is it Spring yet?

When I decided I wanted navy chevron curtains in my dining room, a few folks told me I was crazy; I'd get tired of the crazy design. But I sewed them together , anyway, and hung them up. And I still love them. So there. Chevron Curtains! I closed them today, something I hardly ever do, because the sub-zero wind is just blowing through the crappy windows. It's a heat-conservation thing. I just had to share. 

It was 1 degree when we woke up this morning and 8 degrees when we got to the bus stop. So yeah, they waited in the car for their (late) busses to arrive on their first day back from Winter Break. Waiting for the Bus  On a high note, the blisters on Alice's nose are healing. Yay!

It's been Alice's luck to always get the cold room. In New Jersey, her room was an addition over the garage that didn't get insulated very well by the pervious owners. It got so cold that I'd set up a space heater on freezing nights. When we moved to our newer house, I didn't think there would be a "cold room." But, I was wrong. The windows in our house are crappy and some don't actually close all the way -- letting in gusts of freezing air in the winter and warm air all summer. I spend some time each year adding weather stripping and calking around the edges, but it's a losing game. However, in Alice's room, the window is actually separating from the house. Cracks are visible around the perimeter of the window and opening/closing the windows makes the whole thing wobble in its place. Not so good. And obviously, this just allows outside air to pour into the room. Alice's room is routinely 10 degrees colder than the rest of the house. Es...

I've come to understand that it doesn't matter what we do around the end of December -- if we're hosting, traveling, staying home, whatever -- this time of year is stressful . It's just filled with A LOT of everything -- shopping, food, family, social events, school events, work deadlines, tasks, to-dos, cookies, candies, toys, everything. Everything happens in December. And because of this -- and despite all the lists and reminders I create -- I always feel behind and unable to ever catchup. I prioritize and re-shuffle and still something important doesn't get done. I just accept this. It's not all going to workout. But it's a speeding train, the month of December. And once we're rolling, there's no stopping it until January 2 rolls in and all we'll have to remember that crazy month is crumbled to-do lists, too many dirty dishes and lots of phenomenal memories. Hold on tight! Related posts: All the Holiday posts

Apparently our Russian-novel-themed winter isn't over yet. It's April 14 and there's snow on the ground and it might stick around for a few days -- as our temps are not getting out of the 40s. So, This Happened. Great.  This weekend I had been contemplating storing the hats, scarves and mittens for the summer. Mother nature must have taken that as a challenge. 

We're going on the seventh month of winter and it's pretty hard to see an end in sight -- thanks to a continually gloomy forecast. It's the beginning of April and we've hardly climbed out of the 40s. The Spring soccer has even been postponed by a week because the fields are not close to ready. So it's extremely exciting to see some signs of spring in my back yard. Daffodils, tulips, the few crocuses and my strawberry plant all seem more optimistic than I am that the sunny summer is on its way.  Strawberries Anyone? Tulips, and a Few Teeny Crocuses,  Pushing There Way Up! Well, I guess I'm a little optimistic about warmer weather... Socks Be Gone!

This is the friggin BEST! On Fridays I work from home, thus allowing Leah to take the bus home just that one day a week. And I absolutely love love love it. I'm giddy watching the clock starting at noon. I count down the minutes during the afternoon meetings until it's not "too early" to start standing at the bus stop. My heart soars watching her jump off the bus with her trademark happy-go-lucky stride. My Leah! Although, Leah has started to ban me from coming to the bus stop. "No other parents are waiting." It's starting already!!!??! So last week I took "Benny for a walk" at the same time as the bus -- coincidence! She didn't mind. Benny Says Hi After the School Day Wouldn't it be just PERFECTION if she could take the bus everyday?! Sigh.