The Magic of Christmas is Alive and Well

As kids, Mitch and I had great Christmases. Each of our families had their own traditions: Mitch's family would set out cookie tins by the fireplace so that Santa could fill them with treats, and they had their own personal Christmas trees in their bedrooms where Santa would leave little presents (books, games, etc.) that they could open and play with as soon as they woke up. My family would wake up at the crack of dawn, look at the tree but NOT step onto the carpeting of the living room, then have a breakfast of cinnamon rolls and open presents, followed by a mad rush to get everyone ready and at Grama and Grapa's by lunchtime.

Last year we spent Christmas at my parents house, and since Gizmo was so small we really didn't buy her anything. In fact, we took the money we would have spent on her and spent it on the Adopt-a-Family at my school.

This year is a different story, as Gizmo is very aware of our Christmas tree, the presents under it, and the fact that Santa is coming tonight. Mitch and I started our wrapping festivities last night and will finish shortly after posting this blog. Mitch has already become his father and declared that we have bought too much stuff. The joy of wrapping gifts has now officially become a job, as I have never wrapped so many things in my entire life. The last two days have been filled with errands, cooking, wrapping, and general preparing for the next week. I am exhausted. And completely filled with the Christmas spirit.

This will be our first Christmas together in our own house, Mitch, Gizmo and I, the first of many together. We are incorporating many traditions from both of our families - the cookie tins are filled, the cinnamon rolls are ready for the oven - and look forward to finding some of our own traditions. The magic of Santa and the entire season is almost overwhelming, as I am emotional just writing this post. (Those damn pregnancy hormones!) I can't wait for Gizmo to wake up (at a decent hour) tomorrow morning and see her face as she marvels at the sight of the tree, the stockings, and the presents.

May you and your family have a very Merry Christmas.

Apparently, They Don't Get Much Love

Mitch: Hey, I need one of Gizmo's Christmas cards so I can take it to work and show it off at tomorrow's potluck.

Tina: Do you have a place that you put all your Christmas cards that you get at work? You could put it up there.

Mitch: (look of disbelief) Yeah..........we don't get too many Christmas cards from our "clients" where I work.

Tina: (Hysterical laughter)

Holiday Portraits

Over Thanksgiving break, we took Gizmo to have her portraits taken. I had been meaning to do this since her first birthday, but honestly, who has the time? (Or the money - man, are pictures expensive!)

We were worried that she wouldn't be her normal, happy self for the pictures considering she was in a new environment and it was close to her nap time. She proved us wrong, as you can see:











What a big girl she is! When did this happen?

A Marshmallow World

Here are the long-overdue pictures from last Saturday's blizzard. It goes on record as one of the biggest storms in history - over 16 inches in 24 hour. The worst part is that we will not be warm enough to melt this snow until, oh, April.

This is the shot of our backyard, and our fire pit. It stands a good two feet up from the ground.


Our mailboxes were almost buried, and when the snow plow came through on the street there was so much snow that it pushed our mailbox over a little. It will need a new post.


This is our garden - at least the top of it.


The morning the storm began, this is what our deck looked like -


You can see the ridge in the middle of the snow where the new snow had fallen - about six inches.

Here is what it looked like by the end of the day -


And the next morning, our door looked like this -


This is our street during the storm -


Mitch had to go out and brave the snow in order to snowblow the driveway. It had to be done twice - once during the storm, once after - so that way the snowblower would still be taller than the snow piles. In the end, there were drifts at the end of the driveway that were taller than 40 inches.


What did Gizmo and I do while Mitch was snowblowing? Stayed inside, of course. We enjoyed the fire -


Played with our stuffed animals -


And looked fashionable while staying warm -


I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen making comfort food.

And yes, I am aware that my cute baby bump is turning into a giant basketball. I am on track to be as big as a barn....again. Still a few months to go!

They are predicting more snow this weekend, and I think even into Monday. It can snow all it wants, as long as we can get out for the holidays!

A Marshmallow World

Mitch and I had planned to do our Christmas shopping today. We had secured Al to come babysit Gizmo and were excited to spend a few hours on the town and go to lunch. But, on Friday the weatherman predicted a whopper of a blizzard to hit the Twin Cities, and so plans changed. I ran to the grocery store last night with the rest of our town (it was by far the busiest I have ever seen it - even busier than the day before Thanksgiving!), and we hunkered down for a long, snowy winter day in the house.

This morning the weatherman was correct - we had about seven inches on the ground by 7am. It blew and drifted, creating a drift of about 40 inches at the end of our driveway when Mitch went out to snowblow at 3pm. In total, we've received about 15 inches. Everything was canceled here - EVERYTHING. Interstates were closed. The mail didn't come. They had 220 snow plows working in the metro area alone. At one point they pulled the plows off the road because it was too dangerous for them to be out. The Mall of America closed early. The airport was shut down for hours.

It was truly wonderful. I took some great pictures that I will post tomorrow (as it is a real pain to download them to my broken Mac, then save and import them into this dreadful PC). Mitch, Gizmo and I had a great day indoors playing, cooking, listening to Christmas music, and watching the fire in our fireplace all day. I worked on holiday gifts (any day that I get to use my glue gun is a good one!), and am now sitting down to watch "A Christmas Story" with my cup of hot chocolate and banana bread.

My only complaint about the day and the blizzard? The fact that it wasn't a weekday. I could have really used a snow day. Maybe next time....

It's a Very Special Day

Do you know whose birthday it is today? Britney Spears. Happy 29th, Britney!

More importantly, the Mrs. is celebrating a (slightly older) birthday, too. Happy birthday, Mrs.!! I hope you have had a wonderful, stress-free day. I miss you.

Did you know you share your birthday with Brit-Brit? You're so lucky....

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas....

Tree up and trimmed? Check.

Watching Gizmo admire the tree and try to feed the ornaments milk? Check.

Rest of holiday decorations up? Check.

Some of the Christmas shopping done? Check.

Baking all sorts of yummy and savory goodies? Check.

Eating copious amounts of food, spending the days grazing over yummy and savory goodies? Check.

Two radio stations playing holiday music? Check. (Side note - one has been playing it since Veteran's Day. I am ashamed to admit I've been listening to it since then.)

Enjoying a wonderful four-day weekend with your husband and daughter? Check.

I love the holidays!

So Many Things to Be Thankful For

A few weeks ago, one of my coworkers lost her stepson and three grandsons in a tragic single-engine plane crash as they were returning home from a weekend in Colorado. It was a highly publicized accident here on our news, as the stepson was a successful businessman in the Twin Cities, and the plane was missing for over a week before they found the wreckage.

I can't even begin to imagine how devastating this is for my coworker and her family, and it makes me realize how fortunate I am to have so many wonderful people and things in my life.

I am blessed to have Mitch, Gizmo, and little Helmette. I am lucky that we have such a wonderful, supportive family. We have great friends. I am thankful for our jobs and our health. I can only hope that our lives continue to be blessed with good fortune and good people surrounding us.

May you have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Her Sense of Fashion Leaves a Lot to Be Desired

Grama Poke sent Gizmo a cute knit hat and headband with matching flower for Halloween. She's taken quite a liking to this headband, as the following pictures show. She loves to put it on right after her bath, ensuring a terrible hair day for the next two days. In fact, she loves to put on clothes, shoes, and random accessories.

Here's exhibit #1:

Gizmo is ready to mop up any sweat she breaks while reading her first words book. Take a sip of water, Gi!

Exhibit #2:This fashionable ensemble, complete with coordinating fake Kate Spade purse, says "fierce"!

And finally, Exhibit #3:
Just the other day her new snow boots came in the mail, and she immediately wanted to put them out. Strike a pose, girlfriend! (Actually, she was holding herself up, because she had a really hard time learning to walk in those monster boots!)

Two Thoughts on a Cold Monday Night

1. This will be my third Minnesota winter. Two weekends ago, we had over seven inches of snow. This past weekend, we had an ice storm that caused Mitch to take a pretty nasty fall in the driveway. Tonight on my way home from piano lessons, it was bitterly cold and windy. I am NOT ready for the cold weather, even though I love the look of the snow. Yuck. I don't think I'll ever get used to the cold.

2. Tonight at my piano lessons I had a last-minute cancellation, which annoyed the hell out of me. When I have open slots from cancellations, I try to move my later lessons into them so I can get home earlier. So there I am, stuck for a half hour with nothing to do. I grabbed a Christmas book from the shelves and started to play, and I was disappointed when my next lesson showed up. It has been a long time since I just sat down to play for the fun of it. Yes, I play every day, and yes, my days are filled with music and piano lessons, but I never get to just play what I want, when I want, for the sheer enjoyment of it. It felt really nice. So nice, in fact, I started to wonder how I could do more of it, especially at this time of year when holiday music is so prevalent. It took me back to my piano lesson days as a kid, when we would prepare for months for the big holiday program with Mrs. Rigby, and how we would go to perform at the nursing home before the actual program. Maybe I need to find a local nursing home that I can go play at. In my spare time, of course.

Helmette Update

I'm starting my 22nd week today, and I'm really starting to feel (and look!) pregnant. For the most part, I've been feeling really good, but of course am tired by the end of the night. It's starting to get a little hard to pick Gizmo up because she's just so heavy, and unfortunately she's going through a clingy mom stage. But, Helmette is thriving and has started to kick and move around.

Here is my 20-week picture, which is NOT what I look like now- it's amazing how fast this little kid is growing.


Will she really be here in only 18 short weeks?

Halloween Lasts All Year 'Round

Gizmo was Nemo for Halloween, was was quite possibly the cutest fish there ever was. She could even make a fishy face when we walked up to the houses on our block. She has played with it ever since - we can't put it away!

The Girl Loves Her Macys

Gizmo and I went to the mall today to pick up her Christmas dress (with a 40% off coupon at the Gap - awesome!). We walked through the second floor of Macys, went into the mall, and walked back through Macys to go home.

As we walked back into Macys, Gizmo slowly became more animated and excited, saying, "Yum, yum, yummy, yum, yum!!" and sitting up in her stroller. The farther we got into the store, the louder she got. She was shouting with excitement by the time we got to the center of the store.

This isn't the first time she''s done this. In fact, she's done this every time we go to Macys. What makes her do this? When she and Grama Jersey Girl go to the mall, they stop in and get frozen yogurt at the Macys marketplace.

The girl gets excited about ice cream? Yep, she's my kid.

Gizmo's Growing Vocabulary

Gizmo is the smartest fourteen-month I know. (I'm not prejudiced at all, of course.) She learns new words every day, and has been practicing her counting skills - "one, too, free, ten!" - as she happily exclaims.

One of her latest words? Boobs. When I pick her up, she loves to point to my lady lumps and say "boobs". Sometimes she just points, other times she tries to stick her hand down my shirt, and still other times she pulls my shirt out so she can look down my blouse.

Here is tonight''s exchange after changing into her jammies and standing her up on her changing table:

Gizmo: "Boobs!"

Me: "Yep, those are mommy's boobs."

Gizmo: "Ooh!" (Pulls shirt away from my body and checks them out.)

Mitch: "Do you see anything good down there?"

Gizmo: (shaking her head) "No...."

Mitch: "How long do you think it will be before she does that out in public?"

Me: "Not long...."

End scene.

Update: Helmut

Helmut is now Helmette - she's a girl!

Our twenty-week ultrasound was today, and Mitch and I opted to find out the gender this time around in order to better prepare. I again was convinced that Helmut would be a boy, but it turns out that Mitch knows how to pick them when it comes to babies. His comment as we came out of the ultrasound room? "We need to start saving for their weddings today...."

My due date is now March 26. Only twenty more weeks until little Helmutte makes her debut!

October, Continued

October was filled with visitors! In fact, we had visitors for 14 out of the 31 days this month. Here are some pictures of the other visitors:

Aunt Katie and Uncle Boston came to visit early in the month, when the weather was a beautiful 80+ degrees. We were even able to set up the Illinois tailgating tent, bags, and play outside. It was great!

It was so nice, we even made a campfire in our fire pit, complete with yummy smores!

There may have been a challenge put out to Katie to see if she could eat 34 marshmallows. She only got to 23.

Weak.

The weather in October was really pretty awesome. We took Gizmo outside as often as we could, and she loved playing in the leaves, chasing her ball, picking up rocks, opening and closing the fence gate, and swinging.

Gizmo also had a legendary bad hair day - this is what happens when mommy forgets to take out her pigtail! (Sorry for the crooked picture - I really miss working on my Mac!)

Finally, Aunt Winnie and Aunt Sarah came to visit at the end of the month. We had a great time with them, shopping and exploring the Twin Cities, as Sarah had never been here before.

Do you recognize these women?

It's Tina and Snooki at the Minnesota Wild vs. Chicago Blackhawks game tonight!

October, In No Particular Order

I'll start by saying that this blog post took me FOREVER. Lately we have had some computer problems at Fifty Below Zero. Mitch's PC turned into a paperweight earlier in the month, and my beloved Mac is on life support. On top of that, I can't find the cord that connects my camera to my computer, so all of my great pictures from the month are stuck on my camera until further notice. So, this post was done on Mitch's second, super-small, fingers-don't-fit-on-the-keys computer with a flash drive of Mom's pictures from when she and Dad came to visit.



With that said, here is cute little Gizmo enjoying her first pumpkin carving, trip to the zoo, and outdoor fun with Grama and Pop -