Better Late than Never

Here are a few more pictures from the cousins visit. We went to the Natural History Museum and saw the dinosaurs and the big elephant and then rolled to Georgetown, we went to the Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport (on a side note, this is Leo's ultimate favorite museum and he wanted to take everyone on a tour of the museum. He was so excited to present the space shuttle to Auntie Heather, Ethan and Riley), on Saturday we Thanksgiving and on Sunday we went to the Baltimore Aquarium and saw the cool sting rays, sea turtle with one fin, sharks, and a super Dolphin show.

Here are a few more pictures from our visit.

Here is a picture of the boys getting ready to head out for the day. We rented a small car during the visit so I usually drove the big boys and Jason usually drove the little guys. We rocked it in the rental car.

 The boys at the aquarium. The Baltimore Aquarium is pretty fun. The Dolphin Show is the best part of the Aquarium. I also really love the sting rays pool. Ethan and Riley were excited to see the Sharks.

 The boys played out on the tennis courts and the playground that are in the back of our house.
 They played soccer, rolled cars down the slide and played on the swings.

 We went to this restaurant in Baltimore before we went to the Aquarium and apparently they thought it was a good business plan to open a restaurant where the waiters are rude and treat customers badly. It was pretty funny and we had a great time but I thought this was kind of risky. What if people don't want to be back talked by their waiter, get their own food, and where a hat that says "I'm a world champion booger-eater".

 This is a side ways picture of Ethan, Riley and Leo at the Aquarium. Just lean your head to the left.

 Here is another picture at the Aquarium. We are waiting for the Dolphin Show to start.

At the end of the trip we were all sad that they were leaving. We had tears a few times but we had a really great time and look forward to their next visit.

We were happy that Riley's black eye and Leo's goose egg had faded and they made it home safely. Their trip sounds like a bit of nightmare since they came home to snow, snow, snow. It took them hours to get home from the airport when it should have only taken 20 minutes. I told Heather please don't let your travel home affect your decision to travel to DC again!

Cousins reunited at last!

Thanks to Dad and Joan the cousins have been reunited again! Heather, Ethan and Riley are here! And thanks to Pa, Ma is here too!!!

The kids have not stopped playing. Last night Aidan and Ethan didn't go to bed until midnight and in the morning they got up before 6am (DC time!!). They were on fire non-stop. Leo and Riley loved playing together too and all the kids played really well together too. They have been running, jumping, laughing, giggling, and occasionally screaming. We've had no fighting and only one crying incident.

Tomorrow we are going to go downtown to the Natural History Museum.

Thanks Dad, Joan and Pa! We are having a great time!

Happy Halloween

We had a fun Halloween! We did so much today. Before lunch Leo and I went to Tuesday Morning looking for a new bath mat. On the way home Leo put some fun sunglasses on that Sarah bought me for Halloween and he looked like a Diva. Okay, maybe not a Diva but he is Cute with a capital "C".

After a little shopping we came home and carved pumpkins. We have some pretty great pumpkins. The boys got totally into it. For the first year Aidan actually got his hands dirty and cleaned out the guts of the pumpkin. Go Aidan. Leo designed his own pumpkin with fangs and everything.

After carving pumpkins, we made caramel apples. And after that we had some friends over for pizza, salad, snacks, apple cider, and a Halloween cookie! Doris came over, Aidan's friend William, his sister Queenie and mom Elsie. Also our friends Mauricio, Misty, Magda (the pretty fairy), and baby Santiago. 

Aidan was a clone trooper and Leo was Iron Man. William was Darth Vader and Queenie was a cheetah. Magda was a pretty fairy and is two years old. She was cracking me up because she left one house and said "that was trick-or-treating" and she said it like "Now THAT is how you trick-or-treat!"

Aidan Won an Award!

Aidan won the Principal's Good Citizenship Award for community spirit and outstanding leadership in the 2nd grade at school the other day.  They announced the award at the school's town hall meeting last week.  We couldn't be more proud.

Announcing Two New Members of the Holma-Ritualo Family

 Aidan and Leo have wanted a cat for a very long time. A couple of years ago Aidan and I made a bet with Jason that if I didn't watch QVC for 100 days and Aidan didn't watch Cartoon Network for 100 days we could get a cat. Well we moved to a new house and we can't have a cat in the new house so we didn't get a cat. I really don't like not paying up on bets.

We didn't get an animal and we didn't we didn't get an animal. It hit me hardest when this year at school Aidan had his picture posted outside his classroom with a paper that had information about him (i.e. his favorite food (pizza)) and one statement said "Name of Pet" and Aidan wrote "I don't have a pet." How sad right???

So for Aidan's 8th birthday we decided to get him a guinea pig. Since we went away for the weekend we gave him a book about guinea pigs and promised on Sunday when we got home we would get him a guinea pig. He was so happy! If we weren't having so much fun at the hotel he would have wanted to leave early. We read the book about how to care for guinea pigs and it said that they are social and like to live in families.  Aidan is quick! He asked if we could get two. Aye!

So on Sunday, October 3rd we brought home Edward and Biscuit. We went to the pet shop and bought their home and then we went to another pet shop and fell in love with 10 week old Edward (I got to name him!) and Biscuit. Aidan has a very kind heart. When he saw the two of them sitting in the cage he was more concerned about leaving one behind than he was about taking two home. I'm a sucker for animals and for Aidan so he asked me quietly two or three times while we were in the store and I said "yes".

They are a little hard to tell apart but Biscuit has the darker hair at the top and Edward is lighter. We took them to the vet and found out we have two boys (thank God). They seem a little scared and nervous all the time but we love them and we think they like us too.

Auntie Rushell in Pakistan

Auntie Rushell left for Pakistan last Tuesday (August 31) on a Humanitarian mission to help with the flood relief efforts. She is going because the army is sending 18 helicopters and she repairs helicopters. The Department of Defense (DoD) has posted a briefing on Rushell's deployment and I have copied and pasted it at the bottom of this post. Also, here is a map of the flood areas in case you are interested.

I couldn't be more proud of Rushell. She will help people that have lost their homes, don't have food, clothing, or medical care. So far, the US military has transported over 3 million pounds of humanitarian relief supplies and rescued over 11,000 people.

Rushell left in a C-17 and we heard from her when they landed in Germany. In true form Rushell posted a picture of an Audi on her facebook page (it was on the base in Germany). She also included a photograph of her and her colleague (what's the right word?) on the C17. I thought it was really informative because I wondered what it looked like on the inside. How do you sleep on a plane like that for what must be a 15 hour flight?

She sure has had a very different experience traveling to Germany than I ever had. I get to fly commercial and get felt up at the Frankfurt airport traveling through security. It's the kind of inspection that you feel like you should have gotten a promise ring before that type of interaction-at least a nice dinner and glass of wine.

We haven't heard from her since she left Germany (Dad and Joan: if you have please let me know) but I have been watching the US Embassy Pakistan website.  On September 1st two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters arrived in Pakistan on a C17. They arrived at the Pakistan Air Force Base Chaklala, Rawalpindi. On September 2nd, the Embassy posted the arrival of 4 additional helicopters (it sounds like these are Marine helicopters). They note that the 18 additional helicopters from Alaska will arrive over the week and will arrive at the Chaklala Air Base and will eventually be moved to Ghazi Air Base. Chaklala Air Base is in Rawalpindi which is in the northern part of Pakistan. The map shows it in the Northeastern part of Pakistan, below Islamabad.

So, I know very little about Pakistan except that coincidentally when Rushell called last Saturday to tell us that she is leaving I happened to be reading a book called Three Cups of Tea which is the story of an American mountain climber who has devoted his life to building schools for Afghanistan and Pakistani children. After attempting to climb K2, unsuccessfully, he spends time in many small remote villages in Pakistan. Because he was a climber, the book talks a lot about the geography and natural environment in Pakistan-he even talks about the River Indus which is where there is significant flooding. I was happy I happened to be reading the book when she called to tell me she was leaving. I really recommend the book. I am more than two-thirds into the book and really enjoyed it. Joan is reading it too.

I'm not thrilled that Rushell's first trip out of the country is to Pakistan. I wish it had been to Italy. But I am in awe at what she is doing and I imagine that the next few weeks and months will be tiring, exhausting, and truly challenging and a really good reason for us to go to Italy when she gets back!

Additional U.S. Helicopters to Deploy to Support Pakistan Flood-Relief Efforts

The Department of Defense announced today the deployment of 18 additional helicopters to Pakistan as part of the expanding U.S. contribution to flood-relief efforts.

The aircraft, which include 10 CH-47 Chinook and eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, and associated personnel are assigned to the 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. The unit will operate in partnership with the Pakistani military throughout flood-impacted areas.

These helicopters are expected to begin flood-relief efforts in Pakistan in mid-September.

This is the latest in a series of deployments in response to Pakistan's urgent request for flood-relief assistance. Approximately 15 U.S. military helicopters and three C-130 aircraft already supporting flood-relief efforts in Pakistan have transported more than 2 million pounds of humanitarian assistance supplies and rescued more than 7,000 people, delivering much-needed aid and providing transport to people who urgently need emergency assistance.

Since the floods began July 29, the U.S. has provided $150 million to support immediate relief efforts and has allocated an additional $50 million to assist with re-establishment of communities impacted by the floods.
For information on the supporting unit for this deployment, please contact Army Alaska public affairs at 907-384-1542.

The latest information on U.S. government support to Pakistan's flood relief is available on the U.S. Embassy Islamabad Web site at: http://islamabad.usembassy.gov/flood_relief_assistance_2010.html .

First Day of Second Grade

Our big second grader did awesome at school today. He rules the school! (Like the "T-Birds"). We were a little concerned because when we went last friday to school to find out who his teacher was he didn't want to go and when we went to introduced ourselves to his teacher he got teary eyed and didn't want to go. He was ready to leave the minute we walked into the door. On the positive side, his friend William is in his class so when he saw him as we were walking out his face totally lit up and then both of them acted so cool like it was no big deal but inside they were ready to totally burst. It was SO sweet.

So this morning we all got ready to go, when we left the house he was a little quite but totally cool. I asked him if he wanted all of us to walk to the door with him or just him and dad and he said "just me and dad but you can pick me up." So we got to school, Jason and he got out, walked to the door, Jason said "so, do you want to go in here?", he said "yes" and they said good bye outside at the door and he walked inside to the gym. He was fantastic!

After school, I made it to the metro just in the nick of time. I seriously thought I was going to miss picking him up but I got there just before 3pm. I waited for him at the usual tree, anxious as could be and he came out smiling. I asked him "thumbs up, side ways, or thumbs down?" He said "thumbs up". I guess you can't ask for too much more than that. In his usual style he didn't talk about a whole heck of a lot. He said his teacher talked for a while, they went to gym, his teacher talked some more, they went to lunch and recess, his teacher talked some more and then they packed up. It's really what he said. I tried to ask about what she talked about. Math? Reading?  I got nothing.

After school we went to get ice cream to celebrate. It was a great day! He is growing right before our eyes.

I could end the post without sharing this picture of Leo with you. He fell asleep at about 6pm this evening before dinner. After dinner I came up stairs and this was how he was sleeping.

Pants Down Races

Last Thursday, Jason told me a really funny story about the boys so I told him to write it down so I could put it on the blog. So here it is, as told by Jason:

I was in the kitchen making dinner and I could hear the boys running around upstairs and having a good time. After I was done, I went up stairs to see what all the noise was about. Here what I was told:

Jason: "What are you guys doing up here?"
Aidan: "We're having pants down races."

Without wanting to know too much, here's the explaination of a "pants down race." You pull your pants down to your ankles and then race to a stuffed animal.  I didn't ask but I'm hoping at that point the race is over and you pull your pants back up until the next race. Leo was cracking up hysterically playing pants down races.

Now pants down races has become a family game. Just kidding!!

So for those of you checking in, Leo is doing fantastic after his surgery. He is eating, sleeping and behaving as usual. He is in such great spirits. We have to remind him that he can't run, jump, or play too hard. We are still resting a lot and yesterday he took a really long nap and then at night at about 8pm he asked if he could go to bed. I said, "you want to go to bed?" and he said, "yes. it's so dark outside." I can't believe how well and how quickly he has recovered but I couldn't be happier. He is such a big, big boy. Thanks so much for all of the checking in.

Using my beads

I have a lot of beads. I have gotten in and out of jewelry making for the past six or seven years or so. It seems to go in fits and spurts about two to three times a year or less. I have taken a few classes here and there (even got to use a mini torch to make silver pins) and quite enjoy it but time is always an issue. I got into it again about two months ago and so far I have made two necklaces. It usually takes me a weekend to make a necklace, it's just that I don't do it every weekend.

One of the necklaces that I made is out of string and includes glass beads (that sparkle like a crystal), swarovski crystal pearls and coin shape pearls. I really love the coin shape pearls; they are one of my favorites. So...this one is made out of three strands of beads that I knotted on string. I put them all together and fastened them with a clasp. After I finished it, I took it upstairs to show Aidan, who at the time was laying on our bed watching a movie. After he looked at it, I layed the necklace delicately on top of my jewelry box. When I came upstairs about an hour later, I found my necklace in a knotted mess on top of the dresser. Oh my goodness I could have died. It took all my strength to keep it together. Aidan was playing with it and made it into one gigantic knotted mess. After about 45 days of cooling off, I finally, one night, had the patience to try to fix it. It was after the kids were in bed and I was watching Jersey housewives (New York is my favorite but I'm totally addicted to Jersey and DC housewives too). I had to take all the strands off the hook and use tweezers to work with the knot. About two hours later (seriously!) I fixed it and was able to wear it for the first time.

With this second necklace, I am trying a little bit more technique mixing materials. This one is made with silver chain, swarovski crystal pearls (lt grey), rectangle faceted black onyx and Norwegian blue moonstone. I wrapped each of the beads and then hooked them together. It is a longer necklace, I didn't measure it but it is probably 36" or so. I made the entire thing this weekend and Aidan helped me pick out the beads. Leo and I made it while Jason and Aidan went to the DC United game (DC United lost 1-3 and the 1 was from on own goal-pathetic really). Leo watched looney toons while I made the necklace and watched it get longer and longer, he even put one of the beads on when I wasn't looking. :) He is so helpful.

Aidan's Birthday and Christmas List

Aidan was constantly telling us all the things he wants. I want to get this...I want to get that. Not really demanding it or crying about it but he would see something on TV or at the store and say "I want to get that." At the same time he hasn't wanted to practice his writing much this summer. So to take advantage of the situation and put a little pause on the list of "I wants" I told him to make a list for his birthday or for Christmas in his notebook and every time he sees something he wants write it down and keep a list so he wouldn't forget. He seemed to go along with it and he made the following list. He asked me to put the list on the blog so I scanned it (truth be told Jason scanned it).

His penmanship is quite good and he has some interesting things on the list. I can't believe he put a "mattress pad" on his list. We got it for him this weekend because he actually did need it.

Questions and Answers

Aidan and Leo came up with some really great questions they wanted answers to tonight. Aidan suggested that we find the answers on the internet. So here you go...these are mostly Aidan's questions:

1. Why do mosquito bites itch?
A: Normally when you get a cut, the blood clots up. Otherwise, you would bleed to death from a little tiny cut. This is a problem for the mosquito, because the mosquito wants to suck your blood, not get stuck in a clot! So the mosquito injects some chemicals that prevent clotting. A side effect of those chemicals is that they cause itching. It is interesting that humans have more of a problem with this than, say, rabbits. Many animals don't have any sort of an allergic reaction to mosquito bites. -see Scholastic for answers to other cools questions about insects.

2. How long do ladybugs live?
A: A ladybug can live from one to two years, but the life cycle, from egg to adult, is about a month. - WikiAnswers

3. Why do horses wear horseshoes?
In the wild, horses walk on meadows, dirt and other softer surfaces. But horses in captivity walk on gravel, roads, rocks plus they are carrying an extra weight. The horseshoes provide protection to the hooves and maintain a relatively flat surface.  - WikiAnswers

4. Does marking an "X" in a mosquito bite stop the itching?
There doesn't seem to be much concensus on this one. At least that we could find in the 10 minutes we spent searching the internet. eHow suggests that you should "get yourself a butter knife and place it directly on the mosquito bite. Press down and make an X with the knife. This spreads out the protein in the bite and stop it from itching for about an hour or so. Works just like your fingernail, just cleaner. Unless of course you have completely sanitized your fingernails."  - Read more: How to Stop Itching Mosquito Bites. Other people have given other explanations like it distracts you from the itch and pain, spreads out the pain into q"quadrants" and all kinds of other silly things. For some (40!) great tips and remedies for mosquito itch see tipnut

5. How does liquid soap turn into foam?
A: The process is incredibly simple - the foaming pump works because it injects a bunch of air into a small amount of soap as it pumps. --And to discover how to make your own soap solution to refill the a foam pump click on the link.

Leo had some great questions too but much more difficult to answer:

1. Why is this (binder) clip so hard to push?

2. What is stuff made out of?

3. Why do airplanes have wheels?--Aidan answered this questions: so the bottom of the airplane does get scratched.




 

Favorite article of clothing

I am getting ready for bed. I undertook my usual ritual of walking in the door after getting home from work, heading upstairs to change out of my work clothes and putting on my comfy clothes, usually my pajamas. So I look into my closet and my go to shirt is an OLD, OLD shirt. It is a nursing shirt from when I had Leo! I know! It is totally OLD. I love it. It is black, loose but not long, light weight, three quarters sleeve and it is the softest cotton I have ever felt. I don't know why I love it more than any other shirt that I own but I wish I could keep it forever. I CAN NOT keep it forever. It is so much better than an old t-shirt. I have never really had a favorite old t-shirt.

What is your favorite article of clothing? The article of clothing that you wish would last forever. That you could wear every day if could?

I'm upstairs sitting on our bed. Leo is sleeping, snoring actually. He feel asleep at about 6:50pm. Jason is downstairs playing Wii FIFA Soccer with Aidan and he is losing. Aidan just ran upstairs saying he beat Daddy.

Weekend Entertainment

Over the past couple of weekends we really have tried hard to do nothing and we have succeeded! Work is so incredibly draining that I have absolutely zero energy by the end of it. Thank goodness the rest of the family is on board.

On Friday, I got my haircut. I had rescheduled the appointment twice. Jason had a horrible migraine. I took the metro to Grosvnor and then a cab to the White Flint mall. Doris picked up Aidan and Leo and they met me at the mall and we had dinner at Bertucci's. Apparently when Doris picked up the boys Jason barely even acknowledged that they were leaving. While Doris and Aidan are fumbling around trying to figure out the car seat thing Jason was throwing up he was so nauseous. Poor Jason. Meanwhile Doris is cracking up outside putting the boys in the car. We tried to stay out as long as possible so Jason would have some peace. Aidan, Leo and I slept downstairs so we didn't bother Jason.

On Saturday, Jason felt much, much better. Even still we did absolutely nothing during the day except I went to the grocery store with the boys quickly to pick up the needed ingredients to make dip. For Bec's birthday she was throwing a dip party. It was so fun. Bec's and Jake always throw the best parties. The party started at 5pm but at 2 o'clock Leo said, "I'm ready to go to Becs and Jake's house now." Becs made a delicious Moroccan carrot dip and a spinach dip, Doris made her 6 layer dip, Sarah made delicious spring rolls with a peanut dip sauce, there was edamame hummus, warm bean dip, shrimp dip and to top it all off there was a beautiful and super yummy big bowl of peach, strawberry, vanilla, coconut ice cream. Leo especially loves their house because of "Reggie" the cat. Leo loves Reggie. He wants to constantly watch him and follow him around. And I love Liam and wanted to constantly watch him and follow him around. Liam is Sarah and Kevin's adorable 1 year old son and he is always so super happy, curious and loves everyone. I taught him about light switches and "on" and "off". He's fantastic.

Today Sunday we all woke up after 9am. I got up at 6am with Aidan and Leo sleeping in our bed. Leo was close to me with his head near my feet and his feet near my head. I was worried about kneeing him in the face so I went downstairs to sleep some more and woke up at 9:30! I couldn't believe it. I have not slept in until 9:30 since I had kids. It felt glorious. Right now, we are all watching iCarly, I'm making dinner and we are relaxing.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

How we beat the heat

It has been so hot this July. I have been sleeping in the basement for most of the summer. Aidan and Leo take turns sleeping with me downstairs. I'm not sure why they like it so much but they do. I suppose it's like camping for them. I don't know how Jason does it but the heat doesn't really bother him at night. I can't stand it but he makes fun of me because I like to sleep downstairs where it is so cool that I have to use three blankets. I just think the blankets covering me make me feel cozy and comfortable.

This past weekend the boys stayed cool while spraying each other with the hose. The wanted to do it on both Saturday and Sunday. We don't have a front yard really but we know how to make the best of it. All the while making sure our plants are watered too.

Right after the boys got done playing outside with the hose we got this crazy, tornado storm that flashed through the city in about 15 minutes but left over 200,000 households without power including ours. We lost power at about 3pm on Sunday and didn't get it back until about 1:30am the next morning. That was totally lucky because Becs and Jake and Dorisita just got their power back today (WEDNESDAY!!). When we lost power we decided to all sleep downstairs because it was way hot upstairs. When the power came on, the washing machine started, the TV upstairs was blairing with static, practically all the lights were on upstairs--it was crazy and really bright! The storm cooled things down for a couple of days which was great but its hot again today.

The boys have been trying to stay busy but also find things to do that are outside the house. Jason is super good at thinking of things to do that allow them to stay cool while entertained. They went to the Baltimore Aquarium yesterday after swimming and today they took advantage of the free movies and saw Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian.

The boys need to get to bed so I'm going to stop here. Sorry I didn't have a chance to reread the post.

Nighty-night.

DC United versus Seattle Sounders FC

DC 0 - Sounders 1

Sad.

Jason and I went to the game last night. We weren't sure who we would root for but as it turned out we wanted DC to win. In the 89th minute Seattle scored their one and only goal.

Doris babysat the boys. She is nice to help us so much. We are so lucky to have Doris in our lives. When we got home at 10:45pm she was sleeping on my side of the bed, Leo was sleeping close to the bottom and Aidan was sleeping on Jason's side. They made a triangle of sorts. The TV was playing Princess and the Frog. The were so cute!

It was so hot at the game even though it was at 8pm. We were sweating just sitting. At 10:45 at night it was still 77 degrees. Feeling hot, hot, hot!

Earthquake! Yes, I said "Earthquake"

We had an Earthquake in Maryland this morning at 5:04am. The epicenter was located in Gaithersburg (by the target we go to...you know the man-made lake, Hamburger Hamlet, shopping area, etc). It was a 3.6 and Jason and I both woke up to experience it. I only woke up because there was a loud boom and Jason woke up from the boom and he felt the house shake.

Everything is fine. Many people didn't even feel it including Doris (to be fair, she had a really stressful week and needed some serious, knock-me out, sleep). The metro was fine-miracle of miracles-because Metro is affected when it rains, its too hot, or a feather falls on a track.

I was late getting in today because I was watching the news for too long because I just couldn't believe we actually had an earthquake.

Living the Good Life

 

It's summer vacation and life doesn't get better than this. Eating popcorn, laying in sleeping bags, and watching Scooby-Doo Marathons on a Monday night no less. 

When did we stop enjoying life like this? Was it when we got a job? Gained a car payment? Took out student loans? Got a credit card? Started to get headaches? Back aches? Had children? Started planning for retirement? How did it happen?

This looks way more fun. Maybe we should all get out our sleeping bags this weekend and eat popcorn and watch old reruns of Family Ties, Facts of Life, Three's Company, Flintstones, Silver Spoons, smurfs? Or perhaps more realistically we should just put the kids to bed early, lay in bed, eat popcorn and watch a movie so we don't wake up with a backache.

Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina

No excuses. It's been a very long time. I'm trying to catch up!

After I returned from Geneva on that Saturday we decided to get away and spend the night at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina. I had earned a free night at any Hyatt and we were planning to just stay in downtown DC but my great, brilliant friend Bec's told me about this fantastic place on the Chesapeake Bay. It is a little less than 2 hours away and about 30 minutes after driving over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

We had such a fantastic time. The hotel has two outdoor swimming pools, one indoor swimming pool, a game room (shuffleboard, foosball, ping pong, air hockey), three restaurants, outdoor volleyball, miniature golf, pool, golf, and they played movies (G-Force). There was a small little sandy beach and swimming in the bay. The rooms were fantastic, big and so comfortable. We all had such a marvelous time.

We arrived at about 1pm on Sunday. We walked around the hotel to check everything out. We changed our clothes and went to the outdoor pool and even though it was really cold, it was sunny and we swam. The indoor pool was pretty crowded and you know how Aidan (and his Ma) feels about crowds so we totally avoided that. Leo and I got a little cold so we went up to the room and changed while Jason  and Aidan kept swimming. They enjoyed the hot tub that was connected to both the outdoor hot tub and the indoor hot tub (you could swim under the building wall!). After swimming, we played air hockey, ping pong and foosball. I'm pretty sure I beat Jason at ping pong.

Jason and I had a beer at one of the bars/restaurants and they boys had apple juice and sprite. We explored the hotel a little more and then we had a nice dinner at one of the restaurants. The boys loved it because they had a kids' buffet which had Mac n' Cheese, chicken nuggets, burgers, hot dogs, jello, salads, fruit, yogurt, chocolate milk, and lots of other stuff and cookies! After dinner, we went to our room played a little, jumped a little on the beds and then watched a movie.

The next day, I got up before everyone else and went down to the little market/cafe ordered a latte and read my trashy little US magazine in a cozy chair in the cafe area with a beautiful view of the Chesapeake Bay. I'm obsessed with the whole Sandy Bullock story but shhh...don't tell anyone. Once everyone was awake we went to the market/cafe and got some juices, bagels, donuts, muffins for breakfast. It was pouring down rain on Monday so we didn't do much else but relax and hang out around the hotel (did a puzzle in a seating area, played pool).

We had such a wonderful trip. I completely recommend it to anyone who wants a little break, wants to visit the Chesapeake Bay or wants to golf. It is especially great for families with kids. And oh yeah I didn't try the Spa but they had everything and it looked wonderful. Next time!

THANKS BECS for recommending such a great hotel!

I arrived in Geneva yesterday (Tuesday) at 7:30am. Our flight was delayed by about an hour. I ended up being on the same airplane as a work colleague and so we taxied to the hotel together. We arrived at the hotel and they told us that they were overbooked and we both had to move to one of their "sister" hotels basically across the street. I was supposed to be staying at the Epsom and now I am staying at the Jade. Besides being a little inconvenient, the hotel is really nice as you can see from the pictures. My favorite part about the Epsom was the wonderful breakfast. The one here is nice but they get their food from the Epsom so the choices are fewer but otherwise it is great. I slept less than an hour on the flight so when I arrived I was exhausted also my room wasn't ready when we got in so I had to entertain myself for an hour or so. 

I didn't have any meetings planned for Tuesday so I did a little shopping for an hour returned to room and slept for an hour or so. After, I showered, I dressed and headed out to get some fresh air and shop around. I had lunch at a creperie near the cathedral. The weather on Tuesday was amazing. It was sunny and mildly warm. I got my souvenirs for my family and friends.

Later, I did a little bit of work and then I met some work colleagues for dinner. We went to one of their houses and she cooked amazing Thai food. We had fresh spring rolls, soup with prawns, curry chicken, and salmon in a very fresh chili sauce. For dessert we had movenpick vanilla ice cream with bananas flambe (including the flame). She is an amazing cook and I only wish I could cook half as good as she can.

Today (Wednesday) I have been in meetings all day. I arrived back at my hotel at about 5:35pm and worked until about 8pm on a statement I have to deliver on Friday. I met my previous boss for dinner at a wonderful restaurant and arrived back to my hotel at about 11:30pm. I am not that tired but I know I will be in the morning. I will take some Nyquil to see if it will help me sleep.

I talked to Jason today and it sounds like the boys are doing great. Leo got new swim goggles and is so excited to use them tomorrow.

 

Hint, hint Aidan and Leo. 

These are for you!

 Love you all day, love you forever. Love you to the farthest star in the sky and back!

New Moon Release

Today is the release of the Twilight New Moon DVD. Yeah!!! Last night they had a midnight release party at borders books so Doris and I decided to go. We thought about it all week. To be perfectly honest, I just didn't think I could stay up until midnight but yesterday at about 4pm we decided to give it a shot. We planned all kinds of activities for ourselves so that we were not sitting around getting tired and wanting so desperately to fall asleep. We left work at about 5:45pm to make the 7pm showing of the movie Remember Me with, of course, Rob Pattinson. Apparently Doris said the movie got a D+ in the reviews so we were feeling a little ambivalent about going but this was not about the movie it was about seeing Edward. We both thought the movie was good. It wasn't great or anything but we thought it deserved more than a D+. It is a really sad story in many ways but it was good.

After the movie, we went to dinner at a trendy Sushi restaurant in Rockville (well it was as trendy as you can get in Rockville). We had this amazing crab and avocado salad and then we both order sushi which came out really pretty and colorful and most importantly delicious! We then had a chocolate molten cake with warm bananas and vanilla ice cream dessert. By this time, it was about 10:35pm and we were feeling pretty good. The restaurant was just getting lively because apparently they bring in a DJ at 11pm and set up the area more like a night club with a little dancing and swanky seating.  We thought we'd better head over the new moon party since it started at 10pm and we didn't want to miss anything exciting and especially the give-aways if there were any.

We got to Borders at about 11pm and we were totally DISAPPOINTED. It was such a buzz kill. There was hardly any one there--maybe 25 people. And of course, as we expected they were all 20 years younger than us except for the moms that brought their tweens. It was Lame with a capital L. We sat around answering trivia and guessing who said what quote. Doris raised her hand to answer one question and the woman running the show said "mom in the back" and Doris looked behind her and of course everyone behind her was 14 or 15 and we started cracking up--Doris was the mom in the back! Finally it was time to get in line to buy the movie and we were standing there and Doris said, "OMG, we are SO lame, Amy!" and the two women (yes women!) in front of us started to crack up and said "we thought we were the only ones." Doris laughed and said she didn't mean to say that out loud. Apparently these two women put their kids to bed and came to the launch party too. In any case, we had a great time last night, we stayed awake until after midnight and I got the New Moon DVD! Yeah!

Amy: Team Edward
Doris: Team Jacob
Heather: Team Edward
Crow: Team Jacob

Which team are you?

Elephants running amok in the streets of DC

On Tuesday, there were Elephants walking up 3rd Street outside my office! We heard they were coming so we tried to plan our lunch around their walk. We missed them when we were outside but we could see them from our 5th floor office! The circus is in town so they were marching them around the city. Fun

Shutter Island

Check out Jason's newest movie review of Shutter Island (see link above)

Weekend Update

FRIDAY: I was planning to stay at work a little late. Doris had left a little early to go to the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit. At about 5:55pm Becs sent me an email to ask if we wanted to have dinner at Mi Rancho in Silver Spring. I called Jason immediately and asked if he wanted to go too. Sometimes Friday's are tough for Jason to go out to dinner because he's had a long week at home but even though he had already cooked the boys a couple of burgers (though they hadn't eaten them yet) he was totally up for it. I sent an email back to Becs telling her "YES!!" She couldn't believe it. She thought it was totally a long shot and wasn't even going to ask us but I told her, "invite us to dinner where we don't have to cook and throw in margaritas and Jason and I will almost never say 'no'". Becs, Jake and I all rode the metro to the restaurant and Jason packed the boys in the car. Even with the rain, we had a great time. The pitcher of strawberry margaritas and Dos Equis helped but best of all it was the great company and Doris surprised us and showed up too (we texted her on her way to the restaurant).

SATURDAY: Saturday had it ups and downs. On the up side, we had a nice morning. Aidan and I played Wii tennis before breakfast. He said if he wins, I had to make him breakfast in bed. I took on that wager and ended up making him breakfast in bed. He loved it, took full advantage of me and acted like a king!

After getting ready we went into my office. Leo was so cute and asked "am I going to work with you?" I told him "yes" and his face lit up and he said, "thank you so much mommy. I get to go too? and Aidan?" He was so excited. The boys helped me clean up my desk. My cubicle was a disaster. It looked like a paper hurricane had landed in my cubicle. There were papers on the floor, on my desk, still sitting in my printer, in the overflowing recycle bin, everywhere! The boys had the run of the office and they loved it. They ran back and forth between my cubicle and the recycle, we filed stuff in the filing room (Aidan thinks the filing room is 'spooky'), we cleaned up my bookshelves, they washed my coffee cups, cleaned out my drawers, shredded papers, put books on other shelves and wiped down my countertops. Aidan and Leo loved it, Jason was a good sport and a super helper. Jason went to the potbelly's and got us sandwiches and we ate in our conference room. They asked if I had meetings in here and where I usually sit. The boys had so much fun that Aidan asked if we could go to my work on Sunday.

Aidan also had a birthday party to go to later in the afternoon. On our way home from work he asked if he could take a nap. I told him "yes" but that we were almost home and he had to go to his party. He started to cry and said he didn't want to go. Jason was frustrated because he hates it when Aidan rsvp's for a party and then the day of the party doesn't want to go. I hate it too but sometimes when you get there he warms up to it and ends up having a good time. I offered to take him but Aidan wanted Daddy to take him. So, nervously I watched them head out the door. Leo wanted to go to the party too but since he couldn't I promised him we would do something. We ended up making a St.Patrick's Day cake. Halfway through mixing the batter, I heard two car doors slam shut. I looked out the window and saw Aidan and Jason, unhappy as can be, walk up the stairs. Jason said Aidan cried when they got to the party and didn't want to go in so Jason took the present inside and said Aidan wasn't feeling well (which obviously is true). The birthday was at some sportsplex-a place Aidan had never been.

When Aidan came home, I told him he had to go to his room for a while. Surprisingly, he went without a fuss. I sent Jason to the book store and movies (this is clearly the only fun thing he got to do), Leo and I finished the cake, and I went up to talk to Aidan. I told him that the reason that we were upset was because he had told us earlier that he wanted to go the party so his friend's family paid money for Aidan to be at the party, they had planned for him to eat pizza and cake, so we had wasted their money and that most of all his friend was looking forward to him being at his birthday party and he was disappointed on his special day. If he RSVPs to a party it is important for him to go because people are planning on him being there. Jason said that even if they would have gone inside he would have hated it because it was loud and crowded and unfamiliar--all the things Aidan hates. I don't know if it was the right talk but it was the talk we had. The rest of the night went really well. They were all in a good mood, ate a super dinner (even Leo) and we frosted the chocolate cake with green frosting and put on green sprinkles.

SUNDAY: Aidan started swimming lessons again and again, it was another activity he didn't want to do. I didn't put up with that one. My whole shpeel about swimming is that once they can swim easily in the deep end of a pool without any help they can cut the swim lessons but until then they will go. It simply a matter of safety. No ifs and or buts. How parental is that? Sounds like something my parents would say.

After swimming the boys dropped me off at Doris' house for the monthly Creative Memories scrapbooking event. I had a great time but I realized where Aidan gets the anxiety of crowds and noise because there were lots of people at Doris' and lots of loud talking which towards the end gave me a little anxiety. I worked on Leo's first year album (no comments please) and made some great progress. I am on the very last month (February) and working on his 1st birthday party. I love the pictures. The boys are adorable and I can never get enough of looking at their baby pictures. They are too sweet for words. After I got home, as is tradition, we looked at the new pages I did and we looked at both their albums. They love looking at them too, maybe not as much as me but they like it.

While I was scrapbooking, Jason took the boys with rain boots and all to the airplane park. They walked around in the mud and the puddles for a little while. Jason sent me a cute picture of Aidan and Leo standing in the middle of a gigantic mud puddle.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Sorry there are no pictures.

Oscars

And the winner is...the Hurt Locker. Only one person guessed it correctly and to be honest I think it was Jason. Surprise, surprise! Go Jason! Why do we live in DC? We should in live in LA and we should be living off Jason's skills.

Weekend Fun

It's Tuesday and it is shaping up like a crazy week. Last night I left the office at 7pm again. By the time the boys picked me up it was close to 8pm. Leo didn't have a nap (Jason doesn't consider sleeping in the car for 5 minutes a nap-go figure) so when they picked me up he was already asleep. Aidan was awake but it was already time for bed by the time I scarfed down a piece of meatloaf, some mashed potatoes, and a salad. Of course everyone had already eaten.

This week I have decided to bring my little netbook to work and take some time at lunch to eat a place that has free wi-fi (love Starbucks!) and spend some personal time blogging and searching the job announcements. Right now as I type I am at the Potbelly's close to work and using the Starbucks' free wi-fi (Starbucks is right next door to the Potbelly's).

This past Friday I left work early and after we picked up Aidan from school we headed down to Richmond for the night. Once we got down there we met Thotlady and Bogey at a local pizza place for beer and pizza which was really fun. After dinner, Jason and his brother, Bogey, went to the Alice in Chains concert. Jason's Dad is cousins with the father of the drummer so that makes Jason the second cousin to the drummer (I think). In any case, Dennis called his cousin and they got free tickets to the concert. They really wanted to meet their second cousin (the drummer) but it just didn't work it. I can't believe the drummer didn't want to meet Jason and Bogey! The boys and Cindy and I went back to their place and got the boys ready for bed and we all watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It was a lot of fun.

In the morning Cindy went and got bagels from Einsteins (which we love!) and around lunch time we went Careytown Teas which has some super amazing tea choices. We bought a couple of different kinds (my favorite is vanilla rooibos (an herbal red tea grown in South Africa)). After that we had lunch at a sub shop and then we went for a nice walk downtown along the river. It was a beautiful day. I think we all enjoyed being outside and the boys loved throwing rocks in the river. After that, at about 4:30, we left and headed back up to DC. We had a great time and enjoyed the time away and the wonderful hospitality.

On Sunday, we had an appointment at Target to have Leo's four year pictures taken. If you recall from last year, Leo hates getting his picture taken and we barely managed to get a 3 year photo of him where he is not crying. This year, after a bit of preparation, he was all ready. The photographer managed to get 5 shots of him and that was it. Three shots were great and the other he had his eyes closed or he was on the verge of tears. She took a couple of pictures of him standing up, with his hand in his pocket, he smiled his ever charming smile with dimple, and after that he was done. She asked him to sit on a stool and he started crying. Thus ended the photo shoot.

After the photo shoot picked up a few things for Aidan's room. After a terrible night Saturday night of getting Aidan to sleep we offered to help Aidan redecorate his room to something that he loved. He was complaining and crying Saturday night that he didn't like his room so I calmly offered to help him on Sunday redecorate it. Don't get me wrong, I was not calm during the whole escapade. He wanted to change his desk and dresser around and we got him a small cube of shelves with baskets to store some of his things. He did a great job cleaning and organizing. By 8:30 we had to order him to stop cleaning and when he woke up on Monday morning he jumped out of bed and went straight to organizing his desk. He is so cute!

All in all we had a fun weekend. We hope yours was great too.

We also hope you all have a great week. It is sunny and 60 on our side of the continent.

Long time no blog

You can always tell when things are up in the Holma-Ritualo household without even talking to any of us. What are the clues? No blog posts for one. This past week has been a really long and tough week. Full of ups and downs. No just downs. Work has been tough. I have been staying until at least 7:30 every night and I leave not because I have finished what I needed to do but because I can not physically do any more. Or because if I stay longer I can not get a ride home because the boys will be a sleep. When these kinds of things happen I kind of disassociate myself from everything. I shut down. Riding the metro 15 stops or so is exhausting and lonely at night. Having someone turn the lights out on you in the office because they don't think any one is still in the office is just plain sad. Trying to manage to pull it together in front of your family after having an exhausting week takes so much will. Crying while talking to your sister and walking to Doris' house from the metro at 8:30 pm is kind of pathetic.

I am grateful for:
Having a job in this economy.
Having health insurance for my family.
Having two wonderful boys who still love their mom after she has been late at work every night this week.
Having a husband who only tries to make it easy for me and make me feel better.
Having a husband who keeps it all together.
Having a sister who doesn't care if she gets a call from a blubbering idiot.
Having family who love us.
Having bosses who appreciate and respect my work.
Having friends who I can lean on.
Glee
Shaun White
Nyquil
Sleep

Good night!
PS I will try to put pictures up of Leo's Birthday. Better late than never right?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!!

This morning we gave small valentines to the boys. In keeping up Papa's tradition we get the boys the Russell Stover's red heart-shaped boxes of chocolate with the red cellophane wrap. All the special girls in Papa's life used to get them and so we have carried on the tradition in our family by giving them to the boys every year. They especially love the chocolate because they get to have a piece of chocolate in the morning. The only two days that justify chocolate in the morning is Valentines and Easter! We also gave them a small little toy that we found in New York at the Disney Store. Aidan got the Goofy Darth Vader action figure and Leo got the Stitch (from Leo and Stitch) Yoda action figure. They are really cute. They also had Minnie Mouse Princess Leia and a few others.

Last night Furio came over for dinner and we played Wii Resort Sports. Aidan taught him how to play speed slicer, he kicked my butt in canoeing (though, truth be told he is a canoer and if I would have gotten one or two more tries at it, I think I could beat him), I beat him badly in frisbee (I know not the most glamorous sport but still!), and we came out about even in table tennis and he is really fast at the speed slicer. For Leo's birthday we have devised a tournament of champions for the Wii Speed Slicing game. I can't wait. It should be great fun. I will take pictures and post them tomorrow or Tuesday of the tournament and Leo's Birthday Party.

This afternoon, we just finished some last minute birthday party grocery shopping and tonight Doris and I get to go the ballet. We are going to the Mariinsky Ballet's performance of Sleeping Beauty at the Kennedy Center. This was our Christmas present to Doris. This is her first ballet. I hope she loves it. We actually had tickets for Wednesday but the show was canceled due to the snow and they added this show so those ticket holders like us were able to see the show. I am very excited.

Finally, I wanted to note a few things about the blog. Jason finally got to doing his movie reviews: Yeah Jason!! He has his own page dedicated to his movie reviews. You can get to it by clicking "Jason's Movie Reviews" at the top of the page. As he goes to the movies he will keep trying to write reviews. If you are planning to go to a movie check here first to see if he has written a review! I also added a section called "Amy's Beauty Bag" that lists all of my favorite beauty products. I am going to try to update it more and more but I have so many favorites. Also take some time to vote for your favorite Oscar worthy movie. We will keep the voting open until 3pm the day of the Oscars. Last but not least...we love it when you post comments on the blog so keep it up. It gives us encouragement to keep blogging. It takes time to post them so we like to know that people actually read it so keep commenting and BECOME A FOLLOWER. On the left hand bar there is a place to become a follower of our blog: thank you so much to our fab five who have become followers and all of the rest of you...join in and become a follower! We love to know that you are checking in once in a while and reading the blog!!!

Happy Valentine's Day! We love you!
Amy, Jason, Aidan and Leo

THANK YOU Auntie Rushell!!

Auntie Rushell sent Leo a package with his birthday present. It came in a gigantic Disney box and Leo was so excited to get it. We couldn't torture him by not letting him open it. So even though it was a little early (his Birthday is on Tuesday) we let him open it. Inside the box was a Disney Cars tool set (did you know Leo loves Cars?) with an electric paint sprayer and electric drill with different drill bits. He was so excited he said, "This day just keeps getting better and better" and "I love it so much." He has also been walking around the house saying, "Now I can fix our car." I don't think we will let him at the Saturn any time soon as it is our only car but maybe, just maybe, he will grow up knowing how to fix cars and other mechanical things. We should be so lucky as no one else in his immediate family is that talented. Let's just say the car repair shops love it when the Holma family drives up!

Leo is so excited for his birthday it has been hard for him to contain the excitement. He is also very anxious for it to arrive. The other day he started crying a little bit saying "It take so long, it take so long." It's tough being almost four. Aidan is having a little bit of a tough time with all of the Leo Birthday talk but he is managing very well also. Originally we planned on staying a night or two at a hotel for his birthday. He wanted the hotel instead of a party. I told you...the boys love staying in hotels as does their Mama! But given all the snow and the weather issues past and possibly in our future we just didn't think it was a good idea so instead we have put together a little impromptu birthday party of very kind and wonderful friends. We will have a little brunch and cake and ice cream. Leo picked out an ice cream cake from Baskin and Robbins that has Iron Man on it. He loves Iron Man. We also picked up a few Spiderman plates and we got a few balloons. I hope he likes it.

Auntie Rushell also sent the boys two totally awesome t-shirts from Hawaii. She got them at an ice cream shop and they are super cool. The boys tried them on immediately after opening and wore them for the rest of the day. THANK YOU Auntie Rushell!

Snow Update: Part III

Snowmaggedon 2010. Aidan's school has been cancelled through the remainder of the week and they had a scheduled day off to celebrate President's Day on the upcoming Monday. As you can imagine he was thrilled when they closed school for the rest of the week. He is starting to realize, however that the more school he gets off now the longer he has to stay at the end of the school year so he is excited but I think it is with mixed feelings. We are also off work today though I have been doing some work at home. I have to say that it has allowed me to actually get work done that I wouldn't normally have time to do in the office so in some ways this snow is just what I needed. I think others are thinking the same thing. I have 5 long evaluation reports that I had to read over the last two weeks and I just couldn't find time in the office to do it. I have finished 2.5 and will finish another 1.5 today. It is a huge relief to be honest.

Back to the snow report, Tuesday night we were expecting blizzard like conditions and another 8-12 feet of snow. It started to snow in the early evening around 6pm last night. It was very light and barely covered the car and the street. If it weren't for the 8-10 ft snow banks leftover from the weekend the snow would be nothing too spectacular.

Start of the snow Tuesday, February 9th at 8:55pm

At about 9am on Wednesday, February 10th it is snowing much harder, the wind gust are between 20 and 46 miles per hour depending on where you are and the visibility is down to 1/10 of a mile. Occasionally we can hear these huge gusts of wind and see the snow falling out of the trees and I am talking about huge amounts of snow because it is leftover from the last storm. I'm feeling a little nervous about losing our power but (knock on wood) we still have it.

Snowmaggedon: Wednesday, February 10th at 8:50am

As of this morning our car is covered with about 4-5 inches of snow and the roads are completely covered with snow. Just to give you some idea about road coverage, our parking area was plowed about an hour earlier and you still can not see the road way. They are telling everyone to stay inside. There are McDonald's and Starbucks which are staying closed for the entire day. Right now (at 9:51am) we are getting hit hard with snow.

Entertainment during the Blizzard of 2010. We have computers and Iron Man.

We are trying to figure out ways to entertain ourselves. I am updating the blog, Aidan is playing Wizard101 on the computer, Leo is playing with Iron Man and now Leo and Jason are playing Wii Lego Star Wars. I think I will make some white chicken chili today which sounds nice and warm and hearty (see recipe on the side bar-it's one of my favorites) and maybe we will make some cookies.

Snow Update: Part II

Terracotta Warriors Exhibit, National Geographic Museum

A couple of weeks ago we bought tickets to an exhibit at the National Geographic Museum called Terracotta Warriors. We also bought Jesse a ticket because he was supposed to be here too.

Here is a brief description:
Soldiers. Charioteers. Archers. Musicians. Generals. Acrobats. Nearly 2,000 years ago, thousands of life-size clay figures were buried in massive underground pits to accompany China's first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, into the afterlife. Their discovery outside the city of Xi'an in 1974 is one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20 century.

Since we have been couped up inside for a couple of days we thought we should venture out and see the exhibit. If the exhibit staff could get to the museum (OMG did I mention my office was closed today?!?!) certainly we could make it to the museum right? We did have a few obstacles in our way. Obstacle #1: Metro was only running underground. That means the metro closest to us was closed so we had to drive three metro stops toward the city before we could get on. I had heard on the news that Wisconsin Ave was pretty clear but that was SO untrue. The roads were a bit of a mess. They still had at least an inch of snow in many places, there was slush and standing water every where and 15 foot mounds of snow every where too. After jumping puddles and stomping in the slush we made it to the metro. No problem. Down in the metro was Obstacle #2: the metro was only running every 30 minutes. Okay no problem: we are prepared parents with electronics (1 Nintendo DS and 1 Ipod please).

Leo, Terracotta Warrior, and Amy at the National Geographic Museum

We made it to the Museum 30 minutes before our schedule time but they told us no problem because they were letting anyone in that could make it downtown. The exhibit was very interesting and the boys seemed to like it as well. We got 1 audio tour and took turns listening to different areas. Leo was listening to something where they made mention of the "milky way" and was stuck on that and telling everyone who would listen about the "milky way". As many of you know Leo loves space! We also looked at a photograph of the actual site of the Terracotta Warriors where they were excavating and he asked if there was a "rover" on that planet. We told him that it looked like Mars with the waves of land but that it was here, on our planet Earth, in China. Very cute!

Aidan and Leo playing one of the Terracotta Warrior interactive computer games

After the museum we went to Bertucci's in Dupont Circle for lunch. We were the only people in the restaurant for most of the time. On our way home we were interviewed by abc news but unfortunately we didn't make it on. I guess we just were not exciting enough to make it. Cute most definitely, exciting I guess not!

We finally made it home. We stopped at the REI because I could really use some snow boots and they had NOTHING. The boots I have are getting my feet totally wet so I am looking for something warm and waterproof. I may go out in the morning to find something else because, brace yourself here, we are supposed to get 10-15 more inches of snow!!! I know! It is unbelievable. I just don't know where we are going to put it. Our island outside our house has 15 feet of snow piled on it. We have the same amount on the bench to the right of our house. I can not imagine where we are going to put this snow.

Aidan doesn't have school tomorrow and they have just announced that my office is closed tomorrow as well. The snow is supposed to begin around noon tomorrow. We will keep you all up to date on what is going on.

On the down side, I have had WAY too much time to watch QVC. I want to buy everything. Don't worry. I have not bought anything but I can't tell you how tempted I am. I wanted to buy the TSV (Today's Special Value) but I am resisting. Jason thinks I'm insane because I am torturing myself but I just can't help it!