Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

It's snowing outside. Our little slice of the world is covered in a beautiful shimmery blanket of white. When we woke up this morning, I looked outside and sure enough we had a good layer of snow. Yippee! No school! I run downstairs to check the school's website. Now, I grew up in Southern California and we didn't have snow days. I think I remember once there was no school because our school didn't have air conditioning and it was too hot, or we didn't have school because of some brush fire. But, this morning I felt like a little kid hoping for a day where I didn't have to get all the kids bundled up to bring Annika to preschool by 8:30 this morning.

I anxiously wait for the school's website to upload. Nothing, no alerts, nothing. So I go to the public school's website because we follow what they do...nothing. There must be some mistake! There is snow on the ground and more snow coming down, surely they would cancel school! Right? I run to the basement to turn on the news...nope, nothing at all about our school district being canceled. I ask Dan, "If there is snow on the ground and it's still coming down, don't they cancel school?!" (The true SoCal girl coming out in me). Ahh, then I remember, we aren't in Virginia where even the slightest whisper of snow sends everyone first to the grocery store to stock up on t.p. and milk, then to their homes where they lock themselves inside until the barely quarter inch of snow that actually fell melts an hour later.

I remember reading an article while I was still in Virginia about Weather Warriors vs. Weather Wimps. I can safely say I am a weather wimp. I would never make it with my cousins up in New England. However, my husband is a Weather Warrior. Afterall, he's from Iowa where he "drove to school in his little blue Honda Civic through 10 foot tall snow drifts uphill both ways." That's why when you see pictures of our kids in the snow it's my dear husband who is with them. I just quick run out to take a picture and then hustle back inside. Afterall, someone needs to keep the hot chocolate hot and make sure we are stocked up on toilet paper.

It's called SoCal Casual!

Somedays I expect those two wacko hosts from "What not to Wear" to jump out from behind a bush and say "We've been following you for the last few months and we are here to help!" They'll show the video of me in jeans, t-shirts and flipflops when the weather was warmer and then jeans, long sleeve t-shirts and UGGs for when the weather turned colder. They may even have caught me in my sweats and slippers. I may even be wearing my old Superior Ready mix sweatshirt or a Quicksilver hoody (yes, both are from college). There may be a random "this is better" moment when I got dressed up for MOPs a few weeks ago and for church. And there was the Christmas party last weekend where I wore my "dressy" jeans.

Now, I have never considered myself a fashionista... unlike my dear friend Michelle or my sister Anna who look good going grocery shopping. But, I think I may be hitting a new low in my mommyhood. It's not that I don't want to dress up it's just that it takes too much time and money. Plus, whenever I think about getting new clothes I seem to get pregnant again. So, I have named my style, Southern California Casual, let's just hope these Midwest types get it. It's a style that's economical (UGGs can serve two purposes...slippers AND trendy footwear, plus it cuts down on my need to buy new socks), comfortable (bras can be so restricting!) and casual (I want to look approachable).

Many of my NOVA friends may recall my stoplight incident. The lady in the car next to me flagged me to roll down my window and yelled "Hey, I am a hairdresser, I can really help you with your hair!" Oh dear.

Recently, I went to Target after I dropped off Annika at preschool. It was a quick run in for a few things so let's just say I probably wouldn't have won any beauty contests. Who do I see there, but one of my new neighbors. She was all cute with make up on, and her hair done...she even had on real shoes that weren't made out of sheepskin! We chatted for a bit, and as I continued to walk around the store, I noticed she wasn't the only one. Hmmm...maybe I should do some more of my shopping at Walmart.

I was at a preschool playdate the other day, and one of the ladies next to me said, "I need to dress more like you, you look so comfortable! Those boots [my UGGs] look so warm!" Not sure what to think about that one.

So when Stacey and Clinton come hunting me down, I'll say "Sure! I'm up for a makeover!" Then I'll take the $5000 credit card and run. I'll spend it on some new oversized chairs for the sitting area in my kitchen, maybe some new barstools for the counter, or maybe even some new bedding for our Master bedroom... plus, I could use a new pair of UGGs.

Sitting pretty?

Or whatever little boys do...Landon decided today was a good day to try sitting up. He does really well until he gets startled or really excited then he just falls backwards.

Just a bit of snow

We got some snow this weekend. God wanted to wait until after Thanksgiving...one holiday at a time, right? ;)

Anyway, there was enough for Annika and Dan to make a snowman, I mean, snowgirl. May I introduce you to Elizabeth...

Here is Elizabeth today. She's not fairing to well in the heat wave of 40 degree weather.

Happy Thanksgiving a few days late!!

We are in recovery mode from a full and fun weekend. Dan's two sisters with their families, mom and dad, and two cousins came down to spend Thanksgiving with us...there were 20 men, women and children packed into the house from Thursday to Saturday. We really had a lot of fun and the house is still standing! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well!