Let it snow, let it snow...

We had so many people tell us when we first moved here that the winters were mild that I wondered if it would feel like winter at all without snow. No worries on that point. We awoke this morning to the sight of big puffy flakes falling down. They didn't stick, so we don't have nearly the hassle that I'm hearing our Chicago friends are dealing with during this morning's commute, but since my work commute just takes me to the guest bedroom/office, mine would have been stress-free even with a blizzard.

Such a wonderful Thanksgiving we had here. Since I had barely gotten the laundry done and beds made from my parents' visit, it was nice that we had such easy and fun guests - Joe's sister Jeri and her son Josh, or as Calla calls him "Johhh" (emphasis on the breathy "h" at the end). We love having Jeri visit, because she's great, but mostly because her hospitality expectations of us are already so low, I can't disappoint. She first visited us in Oak Park the weekend after Calla was born. She tackled a mountain of laundry and cleaned my house top to bottom, all while I stared adoringly at my new baby. Then she visited us right after we moved here, and lived for a week amid boxes on an air mattress and only one towel since the towel box hadn't surfaced. Last visit this fall she didn't have to clean or unpack boxes, but she did get the most uncomfortable bed in the house, and she had to make it up herself at that. So now, if she just gets a made-up bed and clean towels and doesn't have to iron and starch Joe's shirts, she thinks we rolled out the red carpet. Everyone should have such a house guest!

The big dinner was fun and stress-free also. The stuffing came out of a package, the pumpkin pie from a box and the rolls from the freezer section. But we brined a big turkey breast, and I made a chocolate cake, enough wild rice for a small country, and the ubiquitous green bean casserole that didn't disappoint.


Calla and Josh - who is such a fun cousin for Calla. He gets on the floor with her and chases, reads books, rides her on his back and generally runs her around so she collapses at night. Such a trooper.

I'm always a little sad when house guests leave, and yesterday morning was no exception. I love having a busy and full house (as long as they don't get my kitchen too messy) and everything seems so quiet and empty when guests leave. As I wave good-bye, I'm always hoping that they reach the end of the driveway and then put it in reverse to stay just one more day. I know there are those house guests who you love to have visit and then love to have leave, but we don't get those folks around these parts. Just those whom we want to come back again.

But then there's laundry to do again and work to finish... and parenting strategies to implement. Currently, we're on the "get Calla back on track" strategy. After traveling to DC, then returning home to a solid stream of visitors, my sleep-through-the-night tot has become a wake-up-Mom-and-Dad-through-the-night tot. With just us to disturb last night, we started the painful process of reminding Calla she really can put herself back to sleep when she wakes up. Joe and I are groggy and grumpy this morning... Calla woke up in a fabulous mood, proving that babies really have no memory of those night time scream fests.

If you're living in a snow-covered place now, I hope you commute safely and face minimal shoveling. As for me, I'm putting on water for tea and snuggling into a blanket at my desk for a good day's work. Warm and cozy wishes for a good week for you all...