Indians

Dan has been teaching Nora new tricks.

Cupid

This little cupid got my heart!

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!

Special Delivery

It's no secret. I've got a sweet tooth. As a matter of fact, I think I might have two. I enjoy baking but the husband doesn't enjoy eating my sweet creations as much as I think he should. In the long run, it's a good thing or I think we'd both be 40 pounds heavier than we are now. So instead, I bake and give it away (yes... of course I keep a few for myself :)

This week, my little helper and I made homemade peppermint patties (which I was just told today tasted better than the real thing!! Thanks, Lindz.) Cassi, the maid-of-honor in our wedding, had a couple of favorite treats in college - popcorn and York Peppermint Patties. So when I came across the recipe for homemade peppermint patties it was a no-brainer... I had to make them for her (a great new mommy) and send her a special Valentine's Day sweet treat.

Nora and I had fun making these together. I think they'd be great to make around Christmas time so perhaps some of you may be seeing them some day.

Mommy's little helper

She got her own little bowl and a fork to help "stir" in her bowl.

but when she started putting her utensils in the bowl, we had to separate for the sake of sanitation

She quickly realized that mom had a measuring devise she was no longer using that had some left over peppermint patty on it.

The patties all measured out and ready to go in the freezer to set.

And after they were dipped in chocolate!

The insides were dyed pink for Valentine's Day.

And these are just a couple extra pictures of the giant smile we've been getting lately.

Look at those choppers!

CAKE!

Or should I say frosting. Nora tackled her birthday cake in a very Nora fashion. She didn't dig in like most kids do rather did it calmly and (fairly) cleanly. She's her Daddy's girl liking the frosting best. I tore off a chunk of cake which she ate and enjoyed but ultimately asked for her graham cracker back. I guess that's not such a bad thing!

It's the Simple Things

After dinner, Nora was playing with her water bottle. Whenever she'd flick the top, we'd react. It started with just gasping and throwing our hands in the air which was funny to her. But slowly it got more and more dramatic -- producing this belly laugh!

Snowed In

The big blizzard of 2011 lived up to its hype. I truly thought the "possible storm of the century" would end up dipping south leaving us with only 6 inches. However, the weathermen were right! While they've been having a hard time getting official numbers due to the drifting, I've heard Des Plaines got anywhere from 17.5 to 23 inches of snow!

When I woke up this morning and saw ALL THAT SNOW, I felt like a kid again. I got my camera out, put on some layers and headed out. After the wind died down, I took Nora out (see how she liked it below!) This storm virtually shut everything down. Many stores were closed including grocery stores and hardware stores. All schools in the area had snow days. Even Chicago Public Schools had off - the first time in 12 years!! As a matter of fact, the snow plows have been having such a hard time clearing everything that schools are canceled for tomorrow too (yes, even CPS). I'm sure the -40 degree wind chills for tomorrow also have something to do with it.

This very well might be the storm of my life. I don't ever recall seeing SO much snow. All I have to say is thank you Grandma and Grandpa Sowinski for buying such an amazing snow blower in 1982 that it still is running strong. It helped us clear our driveway and our neighbor's driveway today! I have to admit, for the past 3 years I have been intimidated by the size of the thing but this year I learned how to use it and conquered it!

We were able to open our back door just enough for Dan to sneak through and this is what we saw to the left.

After a confused Rusty ran out to go potty in the morning he was covered in snow.

The back yard while it was still snowing. After we woke up, we still got another 4-6 inches.

Looking down the street - kind of peaceful.

The neighbor attempting to start the snow removal process.

The snow finally stopped and the sun came out. Time for us to get out too.

The first run through with the snow blower and you can see just how deep it is!


Rusty had a great time leaping over the piles burrowing his head into the snow banks to get his ball.


He was wiped out after a tiring day of chase.


There's the beast of a snow blower. It was the first time the neighbors actually noticed how big it was and they were impressed.

In a spot with no drifts the snow came up to mid-thigh!

The neighbors kiddy-corner from us literally had to shovel out their cars.

Front of the house.

She was a little leery of the snow.

But then Rusty came and quickly calmed her nerves.

However, I wanted to show that some of the areas were taller than her...

and she did NOT like it.

The driveway and sidewalks are completely cleared!

The King of Snow Blowing is happy to be done!

The massive pile at the end of the driveway.

The sidewalk tunnel.

Back of the house.

Snow days call for doing something special. We spent the day in pajamas, playing with toys, and baking PB&J muffins (unfortunately, not a keeper recipe)

The Walker was on the move all day! :)

She's pretending to eat the cookie from her picnic basket.

Party Time

It's not every day a little girl turns one. There's no better reason for a party if you ask me! Nora had a great time at her polka dot party. She (and her mom & dad) were exhausted that night.

Nora's personal polka dot cake.

Special birthday girl outfit.

even more presents

mmm.... can I eat these now? (thanks Gramma Gramma Sowinski)

She was much better at opening gifts than she was at Christmas.

In a very Nora fashion, she calmly ate the frosting off the top of the cake. She is her daddy's daughter.

Finally, I broke a piece off for her, which she loved.

But still, she'd rather eat her graham cracker.

After all was said and done, I said to Dan, "Can you believe we just threw our own child's birthday party!?" AMAZING!

The guests' cake.