Chillin' with a Cupcake

Eating his cupcake.  I'm pretty sure my first instinct should have been to tell him to take his feet off the table.  Instead, I grabbed the camera.

Animals!

As Aunt Barbara's getting (slightly) more settled, I'm hoping to be able to bring the kids to visit her more often, which frees up our schedule IMMENSELY.   Like today we brought her "Valentines Day Chocolate Chip Cookies."  The kids ate an insane amount of sugar and Barbara was thrilled to be able to "sneak" them more cookies when I supposedly wasn't looking.  So since that left our morning free we visited the Greenburgh Nature Center where they hold a story time with live animals.  It's kind of like opera with a live horse on stage, but with slightly lower production values. 

 Turtle!

Iguana!

In all seriousness, it was a great place that, along with Muscoot Farms, definitely needs to stay in the rotation, especially for visitors. 

Ed Koch the Snowman

No, we didn't make this snowman but he was so darned cool we had to take a photo with him.  His sign says he's dedicated to Ed Koch.  I love New York.

This is in Brooklyn's Prospect Park.  Brian and I spent all day Sunday at Aunt Barbara's place, trying to salvage what we can and figure out what can just be left behind.  The kids were lucky enough to play with their cousins all day, and Mike and Sari were brave enough to take all four kids sledding.  They LOVED it.

And here's some awesome video of me sending Gabe down the sledding hill and directly into an unsuspecting bystander.  Best Mom Ever.

Finding "Nemo"

This whole weather channel attempt to name winter storms is just ridiculous.  I mean, I get what they're going after.  Why should winter storms be treated differently than summer storms?  And having a nifty name makes for easy future reference and all that.  But Nemo?  Really?  And I find it so endearing of the government that they refuse to use the weather channel names.  It's like weather.gov is an old curmudgeon sitting at the bar lamenting the crazy antics his grandkids are getting into.

Anyhow, the point:  it snowed.  Like 16 inches here, which just crosses the line between "Yay, Snow Day!" and "Holy Hell, We've Been Shoveling for Five Hours."   Brian plopped Gabe in the middle of the back patio and the poor kid just stood there wondering why we were torturing him.  So, this is a blizzard post without any pictures of snow.  Because you know what snow looks like.  Also, it's cold outside.

We actually started the blizzard party on Friday night by installing a new toilet in the upstairs bath.  Yes, it was time for our squat, brown, ultra-70s commode to go.  Any by "go," I mean sit in the guest room like some incredibly exclusive modern art installation.  Anyone want to take bets how long it takes before we carry that beast down to the street for garbage pickup?

 The old beast...

 Our shiny, happy, new toilet!  Children sold separately.

 Then we had some serious fun with the box.  We made boats!

 And we used another piece of cardboard to make a sled.  Yep, dad was at Home Depot during a blizzard and neglected to buy his kids a sled.  Oops.  But this worked surprisingly well, both outside and in.

Boots

Photo Dump

Sweet God, I've been lazy.  Not actually at all, in real life, but blog life?  Unconscionably so.  In real life I've been busy getting my aunt settled into a local nursing home, and do you have 15 hours and a case of beer?  Because I'll gladly tell you about it.  No?  Then let's gloss over the details and look at some cute pictures.

In all seriousness, a fall in her apartment led to the much-belated realization that Aunt Barbara can no longer live on her own.  So now she's up here, and it really has been exhausting helping her settle in while simultaneously figuring out how to dismantle the apartment she lived in for 46 years.  46 years, people.  The most I've ever lived in one place is 10 years and that's the house I grew up in.  It boggles the mind.

So onward with cute pictures!  

My oldest friend and his wife welcomed beautiful baby Sophie to the world.

Their older boy is pretty darn cute, too.

Gabe is becoming OBSESSED with trains.

And sometimes Ellie's smile is awesomely crooked.  The girl really commits to posing.

We had a dinner party to celebrate Brian's birthday, which led to the world's best bloody marys.  All credit goes to Todd and Bess.

 

 Plus, Gabe got tattoos and Ellie got her face painted at the local Purim Carnival.  Now Ellie thinks there will always be a bouncy castle at synagogue.  We've set her up for a lifetime of disappointment.

And last but not least, there's a new chandelier in the dining room!  Thanks so much to my in-laws for such a generous housewarming present.  We are so close to "finishing" the dining room, I can feel it.