Snowtober

Locals are dubbing this October snowstorm "Snowtober." Millions in the Northeast are without power,  including us. The snow itself wasnt anything crazy, it's just that it was heavy, and heavy snow falling on Oak trees that still have ALL of their leaves makes those trees fall over and snap off branches. And that's why no one has power. Luckily Dan got the last generator at any store within 200 miles by calling around really early on Sunday morning. With our generator, we have heat and a working fridge. We also managed to get some lights and outlets working, but thus far are without hot water and a way to cook. Power will be out at least a week but I'm hoping not much more than that. Why does this happen EVERY SINGLE YEAR?? Trick or treating has been postponed until next week, but at least we're still going to have it. But instead of focusing on the negative, let's focus on the positive:

- playing in the snow with summertime toys is pretty darn fun.

- Gwynnie gets to wear her doggie Snuggie

- the kids LOVE their new slippers and wear them all waking hours

- since it's Halloween, we made a pirate snowman

- toys that light up are extra fun when we play in the dark basement

- candlelight nights after the kids go to bed are extra cozy

- first fire in our fireplace since Sebastien was a newborn

- lots of take-out meals and restaurants

- more time at Grandma and Grandpa's house

-the possibility of kiddie bathtime playdates this week with their friends who have power

- thanks to the generator and having fiber optic cables, I still have the internet!

The night before the real storm, we got a snow dusting and the kids loved having front seats to the show.

 The night of the real storm, we built a fire. Sebastien looked at the fireplace in his Goodnight Moon book as a reference to tell Daddy where to put the fireplace tools.

 Dan and Sebastien snuggling as the storm rages outside.

 The kids begged and begged to go out in it...so we did.

 Summer toys still work in the snow!

 The next morning (after the craziness of buying and hooking up a generator was over) Dan and Sebastien built a pirate snowman who Sebastien named "Mister Pirate Daddy Dan."

 Later that day we went to Grandma and Grandpa's for a warm home-cooked meal (they  didn't lose power) and some relaxation.



Cuteness

I snapped these on my phone this week and just had to share. Below is the kids on the

 carousel after grocery shopping. It is now a tradition after every trip. (Yes, I am a sucker - but look how happy it makes them!!)

And then I walked into the room the other day and Genevieve was "reading" like this. How cute.

Cornmaze and Such

Autumn is truly upon us. Pumpkins are everywhere and Genevieve keeps exclaiming things like "Pumpkins! Right there!" or "Orange pumpkins!" or "One, two pumpkins!" The orange pumpkin lights are hung and have been glowing every night for weeks now. Sebastien asks me often if we're "going to Halloween today." I guess we kind of went to Halloween (whatever that means) yesterday because we had an awesome time doing Fall stuff at a farm and then walked in the kiddie costume parade. Here are some pictures:

Grandpa Masse grew a pumpkin in his garden and scratched the kid's names into it when it was small. It grew big and now looks like this!

 Here we are at Kimball Farm in Haverhill, MA yesterday. A bunch of our friends got together to do the corn maze there. Here the kids jump on some hay before we get started.

 Our family with the corn maze in the background.

 Sebastien in the corn. We actually did not make it out of the maze's actual exit. :(

We walked and walked and our huge group separated into smaller groups. Our small group thought we were going along just dandily and thought we were almost to the end when we found ourselves back at the entrance of the maze. Whoops! We decided that was good enough.

 Here are all of the kiddos after the maze. Genevieve better get used to being the only girl.

 All of our friends who went to the corn maze. We're so lucky to have such a great group. (PS - in case you're wondering, Genevieve's godfather Rick is holding her in the row above me and Dan.)

 She loved poking her fingers at the sheep.

That night, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell walked in the Pelham kiddie parade. Peter Pan pushed Tinkerbell the whole way.

Do one thing a day...

...that scares you.

Hence, me singing karaoke last night while out with friends.

"I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany has never been sung so horribly. But it was a lot of fun.



Parrots and Pirates

Friday morning I took the kids to Zippity Zoo - a program offered through our town that shows a few animals at the town's senior center. We got to see a snake, which the kids both touched, a parrot (of sorts), which the kids refused to touch, and a fox, which the kids were not allowed to touch. Here's a picture of the zoo lady holding the parrot while Sebastien sits below her in the orange and grey shirt.

 Here's Genevieve turning her head to the side to show that she did not want to touch the bird.

 A friend who lives down the street from us had a pirate-themed costume party Friday night for her son's birthday party. Luckily for us, both kid's Halloween costumes for this year fit the bill. Sebastien is Peter Pan and Genevieve is Tinkerbell. Mommy is a pirate wench.

 We randomly had a plastic dagger that fit perfectly into Sebastien's knife pouch. I'm guessing it is left over from when Dan used to dress as a pirate for every college dance -no matter what the actual theme. Below Sebastien demonstrates with his knife how to be a pirate. He kept yelling "Captain Mateys!" around the house. When it was his turn to strike the pinata at the party, Sebastien suddenly and uncharacteristically whipped out his dagger and was about to thrust it into the pinata when I stopped him and explained he needed to use the bat like everyone else.

 All the pirates at the table.

Yarrr! It was a fun day.

Unthemed

There's not a theme to today's post because I couldn't think of one to tie it all together. We have, as usual, been busy and that usually leads to at least a few amusing pictures. To kick it off, the picture below is from Landon O'Donnell's 2nd birthday party at his house on Saturday. An O'Donnell relative was rolling Genevieve the ball but she was doing a little flirty shy act where she cocked her head to the side, pouted, and batted her eyes while refusing to roll it back. If you click on this picture to make it bigger, you can better see the actress working on her charm. (Oh, and yes, I cut my hair. Ignore the weird face I'm making as I eat pizza and laugh at Genevieve at the same time.)

 Genevieve's "boo" (her blanket) stinks sooo bad. She sucks on it so it smells like a combination of spit, mold, and rotting food. Yes, it's that gross. My attempts to launder it with oxyclean and bleach weren't cutting it, so I decided to boil it. In the process, the whole house smelled of stinky boo. It did seem to help...at least until the next time she started to suck on it, and then it just smelled like spit. And that's ok.

 The kids giving Gwynnie a hug.

 I went to Boston Hill Farm with the kids and the O'Donnells. It was lots of fun, despite the looks on all of the kid's faces here. I'm so glad we got to be outside that day because it was 85 degrees out - in October! My guess is that's the last of the warm weather this year.

 A friend of a friend had an unused swingset at their house that has made it's way to our house. It will probably be a few weeks before we can put it all together, but I'm very excited. Sebastien, of course, is ecstatic. I'll post more pics later once it's put together.

 Luke and Sebastien watching the arrival of the swingset.



Deerfield Fair

Despite it being a bit drizzly outside, we took the kids to the Deerfield Fair on Sunday. It was definitely a good decision. Sebastien had been Friday already with Grandpa so he knew what to expect and loved it as much the 2nd time. Genevieve was also a big fan, pointing and trying to touch all of the animals.

Here the kids are watching a horse show.

Dan and Sebastien in a dairy barn

Petting a baby cow. Genevieve had no reservations but Sebastien needed a little convincing before he touched the calf.

Watching the crazy pigs running around.

Playing on a Charlotte's Web-themed statue near the pig barns.

Genevieve LOVED the petting area. She petted every animal in there while Sebastien supervised. Here she is petting a goat (or something).

Genevieve chased after these piglets, but then they started nibbling on her sweater and Sebastien yelled at them, "Hey piggies! Leave my sister alone!" He was nervous and not kidding. (So cute!)

Dancing Face

This could be my new favorite picture.

Sebastien debuts his dancing face.