Winter Sunshine

Snowbirds - a term used to describe people who live up north who travel to Florida in the winter.

We just returned from a trip to Orlando, so I think we would qualify as short-term snowbirds. We had a great time seeing Grandma and Grandpa, and Disneyworld! And, while we were gone, my dad worked on our bathroom. Hooray!

It's late, so I won't write much, but wanted to get a few pics out here before the week begins and it's back to life as usual.

And So It Begins...

HOORAY!!! We are finally beginning to remodel the old house!! Yesterday Patrick began demolishing the downstairs bath. This was the one with duct tape on the drain, and the wood paneling in the shower that was rotting away, as seen in the old post from last year.

It has been fascinating watching the layers of history being peeled away. Our house is nearing a century old (1913), and has probably had several remodels. We found pink tile under the paneling, and under that, some metal tiles that had been painted a few times. The last colors were navy blue and cream. You can see them in one of the pictures below. We also found an old high school class schedule with the name Chester Brenneman and our address as 11 Denwood Ave, which is the old name of our street - very cool.

Here are some action shots of the demo. First, a pic of Patrick crushing the cast iron tub. Fun, fun.












Then, some before and during shots.

I'll post more as it starts getting rebuilt as well.

Happy New Year 2008!

Happy New Year to you! Today I am sitting here drinking a pint of Martinelli's Sparkling Cider, something I like to toast with, but lately have been drinking like a coke. Last night we spent the early evening celebrating New Years' Eve at our neighbors' home a la Greenwich Mean Time (7pm here). It was fantastic! A little beer and wine for the grownups, a little juice for the kiddos, some fantastic Indian food, homemade mac-n-cheese, and noisemakers and glow necklaces for the big hurrah! Just a great family night for all. The best part was that we got Mia down to bed at 8:30, and she didn't feel the least bit slighted. Laney, on the other hand, is sick and didn't go to bed until 1am, so Patrick and I definitely made it to midnight and then some. Ah well, such is life as a parent.

Christmas week was spent in Raleigh with my parents, Aunt Amanda and Uncle Travis, Uncle Neil and Jessica, and cousin Jacque. Jacque and Mia played and fought like sisters, and Laney spent the time trying to woo her favorite Uncle Travis, as well as getting baptised at my parents' church. Gracious thanks to GrandMary and Santa George for hosting brunch afterwords - what a wonderful day.

The 23rd, Jacque turned 5 so we had a birthday party and Santa came to visit that night before his big day on Christmas Eve. Mia again reported that she'd like none other than a horse for Christmas, but Santa is a practical man and knows we aren't allowed to have a horse on our property, so she got a My Little Pony instead. :) Laney was a bit frighted by the prospect of sitting in any man's lap except Daddy, Grandaddy or one of her uncles, and let us know exactly how she felt. Very loudly.

Uncle Neil made a fried turkey this year, and whoa what a difference from our first experience - this one was fantabulous, as Amanda would say. The girls decorated gingerbread houses made of gingerbread graham crackers (thank you for the idea, Ms. Janise!) and enjoyed many many sweets and candies, much to my chagrin and to their sleep deprivation.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and are having a great New Year's Day celebrating the passing of the last year, and optimistically planning for the new one.



PS: Thanks to Julie for showing me how to post an album link!! You can view our Christmas slide show via the link to the right under Volpe Photo Albums - enjoy!

I'm Sneaky!

Mia will tell you she's been sneaky lately. And she means it, and she loves it. (Help!?!) Today she got the cocoa mix down from the pantry shelf and proceeded to hide with it, a big spoon, and her sister under the dining table. I was so furious she did this, but also happy she finally willingly shared something with Laney. Good thing I grabbed my camera - I was ready to throw both of them out in the yard and pray for rain. Of course, it's been in the 30s here, so you would think that would be out of the question. Mia didn't think so two days ago. She and Laney were splashing around out in the puddles in 40 degree weather. Patrick got a video clip of it, but I need to shrink it down a few minutes before I can put it out here.

Happy last minute shopping!

Horses Horses Everywhere

Can you spot the two horses and the unicorn in this catalog spread? No? Well, Mia can. In fact, Mia can find a pony on just about any surface, tag, magazine page, or tiny illustration. Anywhere. On Anything. This child is Obsessed with a capital 'O'. We almost didn't leave Tuesday Morning yesterday due to the fact that there was a rocking horse there that she "loved" and couldn't possibly bear to leave. Now, if she were my only child, or if Laney were just a bit bigger, I'd have just picked her up and carried her out, but that's not how it is, so we had to say goodbye to said rocking horse about 14 times before I could get her to leave. Phew!

I never thought I'd be so happy to have restrictions placed on our home - we are simply not allowed to have a pony or horse on our property. Thanks, Historic Takoma. This time, I mean it.

Here's the Snow...

Ok so it snowed about 5 inches. Here's a pic I took with my camera yesterday during the day. It snowed all day long, and all night too. The girls had a great time in it today, but the camera wasn't cooperating, so this is all we've got. Happy Holidays!

Snow is Coming!

It's supposed to snow tomorrow! And as an avid Weather Channel watcher (evidently it is an inherited trait from my father's side) I am SO excited!! We don't usually get snow until late January at the earliest, so it's kind of a surprise!

I'll post pics tomorrow if I can get my camera to work for me, but in the meantime, enjoy these little shots of the girls from this week.