Speechless...

It's rare, but the past 48 hours have literally rendered me speechless.  I've been sitting here trying to think of something clever to write, but nothing's coming.  I listened to the weather reports.  I saw the snowfall predictions.  But I guess I never truly accepted the fact that I would be buried under 3 feet of snow when I woke up on Saturday morning.  But alas... here we are.

Like everyone else in the Northeast, we have spent the past two days trying to find our house under all of this snow.  Todd has been working non stop on the yard, once he was able to get home that is.  He worked during the storm, but when he finally got the chance to come home, our road had not been plowed.  So, he got a ride to the nearest plowed road and walked the rest of the way.  Thank goodness people on our street had cleared their sidewalks or I'm not sure his plan would've worked out.  Walking in this snow is nearly impossible.  I tried to get from the back yard to the front yard on Saturday and gave up after 3 steps, completely exhausted.  Thank goodness for the sliding door, because just getting out of the house would've been interesting!  There's still only been one pass made on our street.  I don't think I'd even call it one lane.  Let's put it this way - if you broke down in the middle of our street right now, you'd better have a moon roof because you probably couldn't get your doors open to get out.

No school again tomorrow.  I figure we'll be shooting off 4th of July fireworks from the soccer field in the back of my school.  I think we have one day left in June.  Considering the fact that kids basically start acting like they're on summer vacation on June 1st... it could be a VERY long month.

Nicholas and Toby have been troopers in the snow.  Truthfully, I think the both of them are frustrated by the whole thing right now.  It looks so fun, but it's just an insane amount of work to play in it.  Nicholas said to me, "But Mommy, the snow is too deep for me to play in!"  And he is right.  Toby is not satisfied to stay in the shoveled areas either.  He insists on climbing onto the deep piles and trying to run.  He can usually get a few steps before his skinny little legs shoot down into the snow.  Poor thing...

 Todd just read something that said we could get another big storm this weekend.  It's got to be someone's idea of a sick joke.  Here's hoping...
 

Winter Fun

I have to admit, every year around this time I question my decision to live here... I am not always the biggest fan of winter.  Cold hands, dirty cars, and brown snow on the side of the road - yuck.  But then I remember how fun it is to be a kid here.  Growing up in New England is amazing.  We get to experience every season - tulips and daffodils in the spring, hot summers at the beach, jumping in leaf piles in fall, and yes - even snowmen and hot cocoa in the winter.  And we are trying to show Nicholas everything that winter has to offer.  I won't raise a couch potato!

So, we have been keeping busy with lots of winter fun lately.  Auntie Mary, Auntie Jenny, and Susanna got us a really cool snowman kit for Christmas, and we were able to make an awesome snowman in the backyard a couple of weeks ago.  Nicholas loves to build things in the snow.  The other day, when the temperature finally rose above freezing and we got a glimpse of the grass/mudpit underneath, he was devastated to find that his masterpieces had melted.  And by masterpieces I mean mounds of snow with a bunch of sticks coming out.  It's modern art.

We also tried our hands at ice skating!  Todd and I used to go ice skating all the time in high school, but although Todd used to skate in college, I probably haven't been on skates in 15 years.  I really wasn't sure how helpful we would be to Nicholas.  To be honest, I was more concerned about one of us landing on him and crushing him!  But I think we actually can be very proud of our performances if I do say so myself.  When we first got there, Nicholas was what Todd called a hot mess.  He just could not keep his feet underneath his body.  But once he figured out how to keep his legs still and just glide, he was much more successful.  Todd has big dreams of a future for him in the NHL, or at the very least a college hockey scholarship, so I think we're off to a great start.

Nicholas also went skiing!  Ahhhh... good 'ol Mt. Southington.  I have fond memories of ski club in elementary school - my friends and I going up the ski lift with a pocket full of Sugar Babies and flying down hill 5 (or "bombing it" as we used to call it).  I can't believe he'll be doing that someday soon. 

Nicholas's daycare provider used to teach skiing for a living out west, so when he was with her last week, she got him out there and up on skis!  I wish we could've been there to watch him, but she was great about sending us lots of videos.  I attached one below. (I think I finally figured out how to do that!)  I think after watching it, you'll agree that he's the coolest 4-year-old ever!

 So for now, I guess we'll stay here and make the most of the winter weather.  Once this kid graduates college though - we're going to the beach!  How does everyone feel about visiting us in Hawaii??

Christmas Fun

Whoa... I haven't blogged since Halloween??!!  Yikes.  I've been blogging in my mind at least once a week I swear!  I guess my thoughts never made it to my computer.   Whoops.

What a month!  As I'm sure is the case with everyone this time of year, the past four weeks have been a complete whirlwind.  I hate that.  The best part about Christmas is the build up - the getting ready, but usually we spend it rushing around like maniacs and enjoying very little of it.  I still say that we should have school vacation the week before Christmas, not after.  Oh well, just dreaming here...

Despite the chaos, we managed to have a great December.  We cut down our Christmas tree and decorated the house with lots of lights, which Nicholas loved.  We read the Polar Express about 100 times, ate a ton of cookies, and shopped 'till we dropped.  I think Nicholas's favorite thing about December was rushing to the advent calendar each morning to see which ornament was waiting for him.  This was cool for me too, because it was a big deal for me as a kid as well.  I remember my sister and I taking turns each morning, and fighting over who would get to put on Santa on the 24th!  It's so fun to watch him making all of these memories.  I hope he has memories of Christmastime that are as special as mine.

This year, Christmas Day was just the best.  We woke up and flew into the living room to check out what Santa left for us.  Nicholas made out like a bandit.  He got a really cool chair that's shaped like an egg.  He thinks it's a rocket ship - he closes the curtain, has us spin him around as fast as we can without tipping him over, and proceeds to count down, "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, ignition!"  It's hilarious.  He also got a really cool Spiderman watch.  He's the coolest. 

Thanks to a quick snowfall overnight, we were even able to go outside for some sledding on Christmas morning!  I know, eat your heart out Norman Rockwell, right?  Anyway, the conditions were awesome, and there was just enough snow for my little dude to go flying across the yard at warp speed.  So much fun. 

The revolving door of family members throughout the day made everything just perfect.  Nicholas spent Christmas Day in his stocking feet surrounded by his family, who all think that he walks on water.  He had presents piled up to his ears, a beautiful puppy to play with, and lots of love all around.  Not bad.  I mean, making Christmas perfect for Nicholas - isn't that all that really matters?  We get so caught up in who's going where, and what we're eating, and the presents and everything - and in the end, none of it really matters.  It took Todd and I 6 long years to get Nicholas- 6 long, hard, emotionally draining years, and I think it has made us cherish our son even more than we would have, had he been handed to us on a silver platter.  But this year, with all that has happened right in our backyard, I think we look at him with an even deeper sense of love, and an appreciation for how incredibly lucky we are.  He has changed EVERYTHING for us,and we couldn't be happier.  He is the most beautiful little person in the world, and we love him so very much.

 Thank you so much for all of the wonderful cards, gifts,and well-wishes we have received over the holidays.  Family and friends are so special to us.  We love you so much!  Best wishes for a peaceful 2013.

Love,

The Cutlers

Halloween 2012

I wasn't sure that this was going to be the case, but Halloween was much less chaotic than last year.  Last year, we had 26 people here recovering from winter storm Alfred.  This year, we were certainly still "post storm" but in a less dramatic way. 

I just love Halloween.  I'm not really even sure why exactly, I just know that I like it.  And making costumes for Nicholas is so much fun.  I know that the chances to have him wear a homemade costume are dwindling now.  Next year, he'll probably want a store bought costume with a plastic mask,and I'll have to give in, but for now I'm enjoying the opportunity to have some say in his costume.

Nicholas is on this chicken kick lately.  I have absolutely no idea where this is coming from.  So, naturally when I asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween, he said, "a chicken!"  He looked so funny - especially with his skinny little legs sticking out.  We've been finding yellow feathers all over the house today too.  He had a great time trick-or-treating with Jenna and Gregory, if only he would've slowed down to enjoy it!  He absolutely sprinted from house to house.  He was so excited - and of course, high as a kite on sugar.


Happy Halloween my little chicken!  You are the most amazing "treat" life could've sent our way!  We love you so much!