Our first blizzard

It's been a very interesting and fun weekend here at the Callahans'. First of all, we have a heater that is not working in the master bedroom. It was supposed to be replaced on Friday, but due to some miscommunication, the repairman didn't actually get here until yesterday (and it's still not done!). It's been so cold in that room, so Paul and I have been camping out in the living room on an air mattress. It's actually been kind of cozy and fun with the snow outside and the Christmas decorations inside. We also get to watch TV in bed, which we never do!

The snow didn't start here until Friday evening about 8:30. We had some friends over and of course ran outside as soon as we noticed the blizzard (yes, it's officially a blizzard!). I'm sure many of you have your own experiences with this very same storm, but this is more snow than I've seen in at least 15 years and probably EVER! We received somewhere between 16 and 19 inches! It's the first time I've seen it snow that hard for over 24 hours! It's just gorgeous. Because it was soooo cold yesterday and the snow was coming down so hard, we stayed in and didn't venture out until the sun appeared this morning.

Sipping from a mug of homemade chicken soup, I made a movie of our fun family time playing in this prefectly fluffy white blanket that the storm left for us:

I hope you all are happy and warm and enjoying the closeness that follows a storm like this.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

I've been going through a real comfort food kick lately. I think it's the cold weather, but anyway, it's been so great to snuggle up with a warm cup of lentil-vegetable soup or butternut squash risotto this week. Today Charlie helped me bake this loaf of homemade French bread. I can't wait to tear into it with tonight's dinner: meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans.

We were also brave enough to bundle up and get outside! Here are some pics of my beautiful (pardon my pride, but they really are) children having a ball:

Christmas Season 2009

We like to celebrate things as long as we can around here. Well, some of us do. SOME of us don't think it's okay to listen to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. I know a lot of people feel that way, but personally I think it's ridiculous. I always just consider Thanksgiving part of the holiday season thereby lumping all the holidays together into one great big time of year.

Anyway, I digress. So, because we (and by "we," I mean the non-Grinches of us) like to celebrate a long time, we get a tree pretty early--usually as soon as our little church where we buy the tree has them out.

Here are a few photos of picking out the tree, decorating it, and sneaky Judah indulging in his cute little temptations:

When we finally got home with the tree that evening, it was too late to decorate it completely, so we just put the lights on it and put the kids to bed. The next morning we all woke up early, made some hot cocoa, turned on some Christmas carols, and finished trimming our beauty. Which explains the grumpy face here:

Last Saturday was my birthday. :) Believe me when I tell you that at least 5 of the 7 birthdays that we've lived in this area it has snowed. Crazy, but true. And this year was no exception. Here is a photo of the very excited kids and me posing in our little dusting of snow:

Charlie's Dance Recital

So, I'm a little behind on my blog updates, but I just couldn't put this one off. Charlie's ballet recital was this morning, and she just blew us away! Here's a little movie that we put together of the highlights:

New digs

We recently came across a deal for new couches that was too good to pass up! A friend of ours needed to unload a couch and a chair, and our sofa-loveseat-ottoman combo was pretty old and also just way too big for our space, now that we have two little ones and all the gear that accompanies a growing family. So one weekend we picked up our friend's set and a few days later we sold our set on Craig'sList for pretty much an even swap! With the furniture, I put my sewing machine to great use again and made some new curtains and pillows to pull together a spacious, bright, and peaceful look (at least we think so!) I promised some friends that I would post pics of the "new" furniture and set up. Here you go:

More sewing projects

Today I'm shamelessly featuring some of my own creations. :) My wine cozies are here just in time for Christmas! I'm selling these at Joyful Gifts and at A Show of Hands in Del Ray, Alexandria, VA. I've got some really fun, whimsical prints and some more traditional styles, depending on your gift recipient. Everyone loves wine, right?

This morning during baby naptime, Charlie asked me to make her a sling for Henry (you do remember Henry, don't you? he's her little puppy sidekick) and also a matching apron, since she doesn't know what happened to her old apron. She doesn't remember that she outgrew it almost a year ago. :) Anyway, I made this pair for her. I put a ruffled pocket on the apron so that it can go from play kitchen to arts and crafts time, holding either a spatula or a paintbrush, depending on whatever task she's performing.

I love her expression (or lack thereof) in this photo:

Halloweeeeeen!

I know it's been a while. I know, I know, okay? No, really, I'll be better. I promise. And before we get on to the Trick or Treat photos, some of you have asked when I'm going to post about the family trip to Pigeon Forge, TN. The thing is, there are other family members (you know who you are) that have yet to share pictures. As soon as I get those, I will be more than happy to post about the wonderful, peaceful trip to the Smokies.
Now on to tonight's (well, last night's) business. We had a very fun, warm-but-drizzly Halloween night. We started out at Parker and Micki's house for some pizza and homemade chili and then into the costumes! Here is Judah looking more precious than ever, if that were possible:

He even growled a few times for us, which made him cuter and actually less ferocious. :)
And here are Charlie and Parker. Oh my gosh, have you ever seen anything cuter? These two were practically tied at the hip the entire evening.

And a close up of those gorgeous green eyes. She still has glitter all over her blonde head, by the way.

We had a blast running around the neighborhood with friends. As soon as we got home, these two heads hit their beds and were fast asleep. This morning Charlie and I went through her candy and sorted out all the Red #40 for Paul to take to work. It kills me that Charlie is probably more cognizant of that than I am. That's my girl! :)

As I'm writing this, my two babies are sound asleep in the next room, and I am filled with peace and utter joy. My fairy princess and my little tiger. Thank you, Lord, for this family.