2 days: Christmas favorites

Before Calvin the 23rd was traditionally a date night for us, usually including a dinner out and a night at the spa.  Oh how things change.  Tonight we started what we hope will be a new tradition for our little family;  we ate a light picnic style dinner on the floor by the Christmas tree and fire, listened to all our favorite Christmas music, and read a few of our favorite Christmas stories.  What are some of our favorites?  We are very fond of the Time Life Singers and Songwriters Christmas set, Stevie Wonder's Christmas album, and James Taylor's Christmas album.  As for books, Calvin's picks are "Room for a Little One" and the story out of his Children's Bible.  And, now that Calvin is in bed, Jon and I have broken out our collection of secular TV specials of years past, like Rudolph, Frosty, and, of course, "A Claymation Christmas".  It may not be a night at the spa, but it is relaxing, very cozy, and very full of spirit.

3 days: a comfy seat and a good book

That's all you need on a cold winter's morn.  While I bustled about the house this morning trying to get five days of weekly chores finished in just one, Calvin settled himself into our window seat with a stack of books to read (and occupied himself that way long enough for me to clean all three bathrooms).

4 days: cookies and carols

With the outside temperatures reaching all the way to a whopping 5 degrees above zero, and wind chills dragging that number down by about twenty degrees, we found some great, festive ways to keep ourselves occupied inside today.  This morning we made two different kinds of cookie cutter cookies (see our To Your Health blog for recipes), frosted them, sprinkled them, and made plates to give to the milkman, the organic man, and the librarians we love so much (plus a plate to keep home, of course).  And after all that baking this afternoon found us settling in for short winter naps. Then, much refreshed, this evening we belted our entire library of carols so loudly the neighbors must have heard us, even through our closed doors and the sound of the howling Siberian wind.  Here we come a wassailing...

5 days: our yule log is here early

Snow and cold, that's what winter is all about.  The flip-side of that coin, of course, is the hot chocolate, cozy blankets, and brilliant fires that keep us warm inside.  Yesterday we shovelled, today we played in the snow (for over an hour), and tonight we sit in front of a warming fire made ever more charming by the scent of pine and the glow of Christmas lights that garnish the room.  Five days are left until Christmas; all of our shopping is done; all of our wrapping is done; we've read the T'was the Night Before Christmas to Calvin more times than we can count; tonight (and perhaps all the others, too) we are sitting back and enjoying the warmth of the season.  We hope you are doing the same!

6 days: hindsight is 20/20

We never should have used the words "snowed in" those few days ago.  Sure, the snow was pretty, and yes, it required shoveling, and not just the usual wait-for-the-sun-to-melt-it-technique but real true shoveling, but by using those particular words "snowed in" we jinxed ourselves and this morning we woke up to a winter onslaught of snow and ice that left us with over 1 foot of new snow to shovel after lunch.  Really, this isn't a problem for us–we love snow, and hope this means we will be blessed with the coveted white Christmas–but today we really were snowed in; the plow visited our neighborhood several times before the snow stopped around one o'clock, but he didn't plow out our little cul-de-sac, and the foot plus of snow combined with the throw from the plow made our off-shoot impassable in the true meaning of the word. But no worries; we had dinner supplies and plenty to do, especially with the fun that the snow itself supplies.  Shoveling took nearly two hours, the majority of which, I'm sure, was devoted to throwing snow balls, sledding the driveway, and climbing snow mountains.  Oh, and shoveling the lawn so our seven pound dachshund can make it out to potty.