So school was called off pretty quickly yesterday evening as the snow began to accumulate and cause lots of problems on the roads.  After several snow days last week, it seems the girls are hardly back to school.  However, it did give all the ladies of the house to catch up on “Cupcake Wars” and “Top Chef”.  Staying up much later than usual, Emily and Sally used part of their snow day to catch up on sleep.

As predicted, I shoveled the driveway and sidewalk a total of six times before I went to bed at 2:30.  Don’t think I was up all night shoveling – no, I was over at a friends house playing darts and enjoying a toasty warm garage.  However, when I got home a little after 1:00, the snow had stopped.  Cranking up the ipod, I shoveled several driveways (ours and some neighbors).  I may not have been on the bike, but I definitely got my exercise in for the day.

Linda’s piano studio has been hit with cancellations due to snow and sickness, so the lessons have been fewer over the past few days.  Make-up lessons loom on the horizon.

Wherever you are – stay warm and safe.  Spring is just a few months away!

Here’s a view from our garage early on in the evening; only half of the snow had fallen by this time.

Wow, has it really been 2 weeks since I last posted?  The holidays came and went so quickly.  Fortunately, it was filled with lots of family.  Elaine, Ed, Connor, and Helen arrived on the 22nd and was here until the 28th.  My parents, Lynette, Lee, Ashleigh, and Hollee arrived on the 28th (literally passing the others in the driveway) and stayed until the 30th.

We had an absolutely great time with all of them, celebrating Christmas and enjoying the fellowship of family.

Each time I considered sitting down and updating the blog, I found myself much more interested in something else – usually something with the kids, Linda, or other family members.  Oh – and there were all the days I had to work shifts in the ER.

A quick recap on some of the events during these past two weeks (in addition to all of the activities we did with the numerous family members):

Christmas Day found the four of us serving in Mass at our church with the Archbishop presiding over the service.  Linda played, I sang, and both girls served as alter servers.  It was quite an honor to do so.

Our beloved Wildcats played in the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl in New York City on the 30th.  It was a great game to watch – but don’t get me started on the “excessive celebration” penalty at the end of the game.  Here’s hoping we are able to continue on this winning season and maybe win the bowl game next year.

New Years Eve was a quiet one for us.  I worked all day and had to get up and work again the next morning – so no big plans were even considered.  I arrived home the evening of the 31st to find the three ladies watching TV and looking for a good movie to watch.  We settled on the 1984 classic, “The Karate Kid”.  The girls loved it.  The movie ended shortly before 11:00pm (make that 12:00am Eastern Time).  So we watched the ball drop in NYC and headed off to bed.

Happy New Year, friends and family!