blizzard night 2011

Blizzard 2011 has hit southern Wisconsin! It started snowing this afternoon and was no big deal at first, but the storm has been gathering steam all evening. Now when we look out the window we can't see across the street through the screen of snow! The snow is very light and powdery and with the crazy wind it's swirling and churning in all directions - sideways, around in circles, straight up, it's crazy!

Public schools and state and local government offices had decided to close for tomorrow by 5 today. Then, UW-Madison announced classes are cancelled tomorrow! So to celebrate, Dave made a cocktail and I cracked open a grapefruit Izze soda and we cooked up some yummy and tropical tilapia tacos. (Recipe courtesy of my brother - thank you!)

We wanted to go outside to see what it felt like out there, so we bundled up and went downstairs and walked over to the Chocolate Shoppe. Because when it's cold and snowing and blowing snow, what else do you want to do but go get ice cream!?!? After some genuine super-premium Wisconsin goodness, we came back upstairs and watched our Tar Heels beat BC 106 to 74!

So, it's been a fun blizzard night and even though we'll both be working from home tomorrow, it's still been fun knowing tomorrow is a "snow day". Can't wait to see what it will look like out there tomorrow morning!

yoga! yoga! yoga! and raquetball!

I've dibble and dabbled in yoga in the past - took a class one quarter at CCM, took a class or two at UNC, did a video from time to time - but it's really been a long time. I remember hearing that yoga is very good for pregnant women and so in January I started taking a prenatal yoga class at Blackbird Family Yoga in Middleton. I can tell you right now that my body has never felt so good in my entire life. Our instructor is very, very good and the other women in the class are so friendly. So it's really a mind+body thing going on, but the physical beneifts are so obvious, even from the first class. I highly recommend yoga to everyone! Good gyms and yoga studios have a variety classes - flow, gentle, etc. - so you can find one that suits you.

Dave and I also joined a gym in Madison. Supreme Fitness happens to be the oldest gym in town. We picked this gym for many reasons - one of the reasons being they have raquetball! 6 courts and 400 players (says their website)! Dave joined two leagues so he plays twice a week. Quite a different speed than my yoga class, but to each his own! Even though we stick to different activities, (although I've almost talked Dave into joining me at Body Pump) the gym membership has been a life-saver in this cold and snowy weather!

winter in Westmorland

This is from a couple of weekends ago, but I forgot to post. Our neighborhood has a very nice park (as all neighborhoods in Madison do). And the park doesn't slow in the winter! A few Sundays ago was the winter playdate.

Hockey (not pictured), hot chocolate, sledding and ice skating. Fun!

so...how many kids are you having?

Dave and I are now the proud owners of three strollers!

Yes, three. I know. Ridiculous. All for one baby! But here's the situation. We really only needed the ones on the ends. And if we had bought these for full price, we would not have gotten the one in the middle. But we didn't pay full price, or even close. We got these used from one of Dave's colleagues who is selling off all her gently used baby stuff at rock bottom prices. And we had a blast going through her stuff - kind of like our own version of American Pickers, but the baby version - Baby Pickers! Think the History Channel would be interested?

Well anyway, back to the three strollers. The one on the left (for those of you who haven't been reading up on strollers for the past two weeks) is a Snap and Go for when the baby is very small and can't hold her head up. So, you just snap in the car seat and away you go! The one on the right is for when the baby is older. It's a lightweight, umbrella stroller that every mom I've polled says is the stroller they use all the time. So those are the two I was planning on buying.

The one in the middle is more of a Cadillac model of stroller. It does what the umbrella one does but has more bells and whistles and reclines all the way back (so maybe you can put a tiny baby in there, too...not sure). And the handles are adjustable, which for a short person, is a big deal! This is the one I would have made do without, but like I said, for these prices, we couldn't say no!

So after our "baby picking" expedition, we came home with:

-three strollers
-crib mattress
-crib mattress cover
-baby monitor
-cozy car seat cover (important in Wisconsin)
-Boppy
-Baby Bjorn carrier
-vibrating infant seat

All that for less than half the cost of that Cadillac stroller! What is it about finding great used stuff that's so exhilarating? I really think I've been watching too much of that American Pickers show.

I can't believe I just wrote three full paragraphs about strollers. But I do want to add that this was Dave's idea that I blog about this.

Oh and look at how cute Sam is!

Ben Folds

We went to the Overture Center last night to hear Ben Folds.

It was a great show and a nice venue. The Overture Center has 7 stages, I think. I saw Ingrid Michaelson with the girls in October in the Capitol Theater, which is the renovated historic opera house that they built the rest of the Center around. Last night's show was in the largest - Overture Hall.

Here's Overture Center from the outside.

And here's the lobby.

And here's Ben!

Here's what the inside of the hall looks like.

And you can drink in the hall, but only in these coffee mugs. It's really weird to drink beer out of a coffee mug! No worries - I did that in October, not last night.

I love the lobby - beautiful views of the Capitol!

craft project!

I made a bulletin board a la Carrie McDonald!

The fabric is Amy Butler's Midwest Modern in optic blossom. All of Amy Butler's fabrics are gorgeous, so it was hard to pick. I love it so much!

The board is just a foam board from a craft store. A yard of fabric staple-gunned around the board coverd it perfectly. I just hung it on the wall in the blank space above our desk.

While I was waiting for the command hooks to adhere to the wall, I set the board on the couch. The cats had to inspect it immediately!

And then protect it lovingly.

I love the fabric so much I'm not sure I'll be able to cover it up with paper and push pins!

sideways snow

It snows often here, but (so far) not in massive amounts like the feet of snow that keeps being dumped on the northeast. We get a few inches and it keeps piling up on top of the inches and inches already on the ground. So, this picture is from sometime last week. Snow on our covered patio is a new thing - this was our first sideways-blowing snow.