More Snow, Olivia, and meatless Lasagna

Happy 21st B-Day Ashley!!!!

We were both up early for a Saturday, and Mindy even before me. She was up just after 7am & I just before 7:30am. A glance out the bedroom window revealed, just as predicted, another bout of snow. And by the looks of it, we had about an inch so far. Downstairs, Mindy had the coffee started and was already prepping cinnamon rolls for the kids. I casually went about my morning calisthenics. When I finished I leashed up Ykraps and headed out for a winter walk.

The snow was totally cool and very pretty. The forecasters were calling for around three inches through the day - more just to the south. After the walk I enjoyed some much deserved coffee before heading out for my run. I had to get going since Ashley would be over at 10am for her hair appointment. This is her 21st B-day! I left at 9:00am. There was about two inches of fresh snow on the ground during my run and more coming down. It did little more than slow my run, due in part to the slushy snow laying on top of the hard packed snow/ice underneath. Despite being fairly winded when done, I got right on shoveling the drive. Again, I can not afford to be lazy about snow removal. I shoveled the fresh snow then attacked the ice build-up on the sidewalk to the front door. It had about two inches of hard pack and ice. It came up rather easily with the square landscape shovel. Before going in, I removed the larger part of the big hump at the foot of the drive - left over plowings. My Trooper clears it nicely but Mindy's mini-van struggles. I didn't want to risk her ripping the muffler or something even more critical off the beast. While shoveling Ashley and Olivia arrived. Mindy warned that time was ticking away and that they needed to leave. I was quick to reorder their priorities. As far as I was concerned, she could be a little late.

I finished up the shoveling then headed in to ready for my child care duties and to check in with work. Work was good so Mindy and Ashley left me alone with Jacob, Bella, and Olivia. I was just a tad nervous, but no big deal. The kids were very well behaved. Olivia was a little cranky for the first 45 minutes but I soon discovered almost by accident that she was tired. I placed her on a pillow covered in a blanket on the floor and she fell asleep for the next 2+ hours. That made the rest of the time fairly easy.

Mindy and Ashley arrived home somewhere close to 3pm. Just before Ashley was leaving, her grandmother phoned to cancel her plans to watch Olivia so that Ashley could go out with friends for her b-day. Without being asked, we volunteered to have Olivia stay the night with us. Ashley left for home around 3:30pm. Soon after another bottle, Olivia fell asleep again. I took a shower then announced that I was going to Barnes & Noble to fetch a new book. Jacob asked to come along. I was warm to his company. We drove to the Lennox plaza. There, we hit Barnes & Noble, Old Navy, and Target. I got a new book by Lynne McTaggart, The Intention Experiment. At Target we bought some fabric softener. After being gone just over an hour we headed home.

At home, Mindy had dinner cooking. She made spinach lasagna, salad, and rolls. As she put the finishing touches on our dinner Jacob and I took Ykraps on his evening walk. It was still snowing and fairly hard, too. After we got back form our loop with Ykraps we let him in the house and returned to play in the snow. I grabbed one of our sleds and took it out to Jacob who remained on the hill leading down to the pond. I introduced him to sledding down the hill and onto the frozen pond. He loved it! We did that for about fifteen minutes or until Mindy beckoned. Dinner was ready.

The lasagna was very good. I ate until I could eat no more. Mindy kindly cleaned up the dinner dishes while I played with the kids and tended to some work related issues. While Mindy readied the kids for bed, I played on the PC. I enjoyed a couple cold beers, too. I had a Mad Hatter and then a Honey Raspberry Ale. Mindy crashed early. She headed to be even before 10pm. I stayed up. I intended to read and watch Mad TV. After Mindy headed to bed I did just that. I also popped some corn made especially for popping - Orville Redenbacher. I read about twenty pages before Mad TV came on. I saw the first 30 or 40 minutes of Mad TV when I could no longer keep my eyes open. I went to bed.