Snow Day!

And since we've no place to go. . .

. . . let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Baby Zhivago

o.k. - I'll come clean and admit that I've never actually watched Dr. Zhivago in its entirety or finished the book.  I've attempted to sit down and watch the film.  I've had the best intentions.  But there's something about the orchestral score, the sweeping scenes of the Russian steppes and the images of Julie Christie in a fox fur hat riding in a horse-drawn sleigh that just lulls me right to sleep.  And, hey, since the movie is, like, an entire afternoon long that's one awesome nap. . .  But I just read the Wikipedia entry about Dr. Zhivago and feel totally caught up on the story.

I think that Ivy looks so contemplative in these photos from the past weekend.  the weather finally warmed up into the mid-30s and I granted Kevin his wish and allowed him to take Ivy outside to sit in the snow.  Ivy loves watching our big girl neighbors come home from kindergarten each day, so when she saw them outside making snow-people on Saturday she got very excited and wanted to watch them.  We bundled her up and took her outside, where she immediately got very shy - but she was a good sport and allowed us to prop her up in the snow for a few photos.  Here she is with one of the girls who she's loved to watch since the 2nd day that she came home to Madison (twin sister was playing behind us):

Burrrrr-aka

It's the 3rd day of sub-zero temperatures and Ivy and I haven't left the house in ages.  But I have fond memories of last weekend when we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Buraka, before the cold weather hit.  Buraka is an Ethiopian restaurant that grew from a food cart on Library Mall to a full-fledged restaurant with tables and very friendly waitstaff.  We toasted our dear friends, Asa, Amy and Gary, with whom we've shared many Ethiopian meals, and Kimi and Mimi who take us to Buraka every time they're in Madison.  Ivy loves to go out to eat and she munched on injera while Kevin and I enjoyed our luscious lunch.  We were still feeling social after our meal, so we crossed the street and had coffee at the Fair Trade Coffeehouse.  We sat down in cozy chairs, Ivy looked at books for a few minutes and then, right after our coffees arrived, she immediately fell asleep.  Kevin and I wrapped her back up into her snowsuit, quietly buckled her into her car seat and drove around for 30 minutes until she woke up from her nap.  

We're all looking forward to tomorrow, when the forecast calls for a heat wave and temperatures in the mid-20s.  We might even try leaving the house!

Phooey, this cold weather

(Ivy is once again taking over the blog to deliver this short message about this week's weather report.)

27 degrees below zero?  Are you kidding me?  I'm never going to see the outdoors again.  It looks like I'm stuck inside with the cats, who don't seem to mind sleeping and occasionally waking up to bathe and eat.  But I'm a baby on the move.  I've got to experience life!  There's a whole frozen world out there that I'm itching to explore.  Oh, and if the news about the weather isn't bad enough, I just learned that the sub-zero temperatures have forced my Grandma and Grandpa B. to cancel their trip to see me.  Well that's just GREAT.  Wah!!

Brrr... o.k. - I get it.  I just stood next to the window and have decided that I'd rather put on my white velour cupcake track suit, snuggle under an afghan and read Kit Allen's books all day.  Mother, will you please bring my warm bottle and avocado chunks to me here in the living room?  I just can't bear to leave the warmth of my blankets today.