Spring Awakening

I've been in a modified hibernation mode a little bit this winter -- we moved here to New Hampshire at the end of November and it's pretty much been winter ever since!  I have been keeping myself busy with indoor activities - laundry (so much laundry!), expanding my horizons with cooking, keeping house for my family, and painting / decorating the house.  We live in a beautiful New England-y neighborhood and I've seen neighbors out walking their dogs all through the winter.  I had every intention of following suit, but frankly -- I'm cold!  It's funny, because I'm from Upstate NY - we KNOW cold.  We do cold winters - and this winter was a particularly bad one in our old city.  Generally speaking, I don't think our winter here in NH was any worse than NY - I actually think it was a little milder.  Our first major purchase in NH - after the house! - was a new snow blower and when we used it a few times but not as much as I had anticipated.  My favorite purchase for winter?  A $20 oscillating, electric heater for my girls to use in our playroom, which is technically an enclosed porch.  We made it a "4-season" porch with the little heater and a mandate to wear a sweater or robe out there!  That has worked out well and now the weather is warming up and that will be an enjoyable room without the heater and robe!  Next year when I see those heaters on sale again, I'll be grabbing another one for the living room -- when the girls weren't using it on the porch I would have it in the living room with me!!

Anyway, in some ways it feels like time is flying by, and in other ways it seems as though it has been winter forever!!  We have been thrilled to see the temperatures start to rise, the snow melt and spring is in the air.  Since we moved here at the end of the fall / beginning of winter, our new yard has been hidden under leaves or snow.  It's exciting to discover what is out there as the snow melts away.  We have a stone wall (which we knew about -- it's much more visible now!) and my youngest loves to climb up on one side of it when she gets off the bus each day.  That's her special spot, she tells me.  My eldest wants to plant some flowers under her bedroom window - I told her I'm excited to see what comes up in the yard!  Mabel (our Boston Terrier) and I took a "sniff" (a LOT of her stopping and sniffing - not so much walking) around the front and backyard the other day after getting my little one on the school bus.  I think I see hydrangeas which are my favorite, so it will be exciting to see what colors they are!  That day was particularly nice with warm temps and blue sky so I found a place to sit on the back patio (needs a LOT of TLC -- can't wait to work on that next week!) and I enjoyed relaxing and listening to the birds chirping as Mabel sniffed around the patio and the backyard.

I think we can all use a bit of fresh, spring air at this point!  Yesterday, my husband had the day off and after spending much of the day finishing up painting projects, he picked the girls up from school and took our little one to both of the playgrounds in town!  She's been able to play on her school playground at recess -- and has enjoyed sledding at recess.  But now she's happy to go on the slides and swings -- some of the fun things of spring and summer!  She was extremely excited to finally get to play at the town playground which has been covered by snow most of the time that we've lived here! 

Looking forward to Easter with the family, including my mom who is coming up from Florida -- can't wait to show her our house and town!  Looking forward to putting my little heater away and opening the windows, and most of all, looking forward to shaking off hibernation mode, getting my energy up, and getting out in the neighborhood to walk my dog and meet the neighbors!

Christmas 2012

Christmas morning w/ Mabel

We have been all a flutter with holiday preparations and holiday celebrations!  We have been blessed with a wonderful holiday season - time spent together as a family, time spent with friends, another Christmas with Great Grandma, a roof over our heads, food on the table, and warm beds to sleep in.  This year was extra special because we welcomed a new addition to our family -- on Christmas morning we surprised the girls with a puppy!  It has been a long time coming (years since we last had a dog, forever since we had a pet that showed any interest in the girls) and my husband and I have been keeping the secret (along with a select few) since before Thanksgiving -- it was tough, believe me!  On Christmas Eve, my husband drove 3 hours round trip to pick up our new puppy from a Mennonite dairy farm!  The woman had lost her husband this past year and this was her last time breeding puppies - she has a lot on her plate handing the farm on her own.  Our new puppy is a black and white Boston Terrier and we named her Mabel Rose!  She is very sweet, particularly when she is sleeping - which is frequently! - and right now she has a wild, puppy "bite-y" side...  We're working on that.  That and potty-training.  It's like having a toddler in the house again!  But we all love her and we're excited to have her join our family!  I was thinking the other day that when my husband and I got married we were a couple, when we had our first daughter we had started a family, when our second daughter came along our family was complete.  And now, adding Mabel to the mix, our family is "enhanced!"

Wishing you and your family Happy Holidays!