Just call us Tornado Alley...

2011 has been the year of crazy weather for Rome. It started with a week long adventure with snow and ice in January. More snow in February. (Both of which I didn't mind one bit. I love snow!) In April, we were ravaged by storm after storm. Multiple run ins with straight line winds and tornadoes. My beloved Alma Mater was in the middle of the destruction. This summer brought weeks of rain and weeks of no rain. We had seven+ inches fall over a short period 2/3 day period at one point this year. As we headed in to December I was some what relieved and ready for 'winter' weather.

Well, I should have known better. The first day of winter was unseasonably warm...low 70s and rainshowers. That evening I was suppose to go by myself to Cartersville to coupon/shop at Publix and go to Target. Andy was going to stay home and I was going to get a night to myself. That changed around 4:30 when the weather picked up. A few minutes before five I checked the weather and it said that the conditions were favorable for a tornado. About that time the wind picked up and I thought that the roof was going to be pulled off the house. I couldn't see outside the windows. The lights flickered three times and then went out. I tried getting a hold of Andy and he said that he was trying to make his way home but that the weather was crazy on their side of town too.

By the time he got home the power was still off so we packed the kids up and headed to Cartersville. Thinking surely by the time we returned that the power would be back on. After dinner at Chick-fil-A, Target, and Publix we loaded the kids up and headed home. We had been checking our phones to find info on the Rome News-Tribune but found nothing. Well, we got home and no dice. Power was still out and AG was running around thinking it was the best thing ever. Ha. We finally got everyone in bed and then we crawled in to bed. Andy turned on an app he had on his phone...which happens to be the police/fire dispatch. Yep, we laid in bed trying to hear if we could catch any info on to what was going on. I was sure that we'd wake up in the middle of the night and the power would have been restored. I slept horribly. In the morning Andy called the office and told them he was going to be at home due to our lack of power. He picked up breakfast and then we took the kids out to do some errands. While out I decided to drive down our old street to see how it looked. I was near tears as I drove down our old street. Every house that surrounds the house we rented was hit...including the house Andy lived in when were dating. Late in the afternoon we got word that it was indeed a category F2 tornado that ripped across West Rome. Right at the 24 hour mark our power was restored and I was forever grateful. Thankfully, the night before the temps were moderate and it wasn't a big deal to not have power. However, the next day the temps began to plummet and we were seriously contemplating packing up and heading to my parents because we couldn't stay a second night without power.

My plan to finish making Christmas presents was foiled. Everything was kind of thrown off including my baking and cooking for the weekend. In the end what we could finish was finished and I didn't worry about the rest. I was just immensely grateful that we were once again spared. This year has been incredibly challenging for our little area. I'm praying that this next year is not as eventful...although I wouldn't mind a good snow storm. :)

Christmas Snapshots with the Edwards...

Here are some snapshots of Christmas night at the farm...

We had a great night with lots of food and fun. We were so grateful to be able to spend some quality time all together. Andy had been thinking about getting a Kinnect for AG for weeks but we decided to not spend the money. Well, I found a great deal for one on Amazon and Andy's mom bought it for him. I bought the new Disneyland Adventures game as a surprise for AG and Andy. To say they were surprised is an understatement. We hooked the game up upon are return home and it's pretty amazing. AG loves it and it's nice to be able to have a little Disney magic right in our living room whenever we want. 

Speaking of Disney...we are leaving in a little over two months for a week long trip with the Edwards family. We are super excited and looking forward to making lots of memories. We spent a huge portion of the day after Christmas finalizing our plans, dinner reservations, park plans, etc. There will be lots of firsts on this trip and I'm really excited. In the coming weeks I'll share what all we've got planned. 

We came home late Monday and the kids slept the whole way home. It was a wonderful Christmas. I'm already looking forward to next year. I felt like this year I wasn't as organized as I normally am due to having a second baby. Trying to juggle and adjust to that...that's just how life is. This year we tried to do a different activity each day of Advent with AG. Next year one of my projects is to create an Advent Calendar. This year we used the chalkboards in the kitchen and I just wrote each days activities on them. That'll be a project to blog I'm sure. :) Here's to a new year and new projects...

Christmas Morning...

Santa came and here is what he left...

A, much requested, basketball goal. A shopping cart with Melissa and Doug food sets and a set of soft food appropriate for Avi-Kate. (Man, Santa thinks of everything!) A jumbo beanbag to go with the red one he left last year. And a Weebles playhouse.

We always use brown paper to wrap our gifts and the same red and white ribbon every year. Well, thanks to Pinterest this year it was impossible to buy my normal two rolls of brown paper from my local craft store. (Don't get me wrong I LOVE Pinterest...but this was slightly frustrating since my options in Rome are limited and life with two small kids doesn't give me the freedom to track all over the world in search of paper.) Once again, Amazon Prime came to my rescue and I found a massive roll of paper that will now last us for YEARS. We also use different ribbon for each child. AG had the green ribbon and Avi-Cakes had a red polka dot ribbon this year. I love the simplicity and how understated it looks with the white lights.

Checking out what Santa brought. 

Samson was helping oversee the stockings.

Avi-Kate knew exactly what to do with Sophie.

She was completely content to sit and chomp away on her new Santa gifts. We let AG open her gifts for her and he was happy to help. Next year will be different I'm sure. :)

Since I hold a degree in Early Childhood Education I'm pretty particular about the books that we buy and add to our library. AG loves Peter Pan but the reality is that it will be years before he'll even be ready to read the classic novel. While browsing Amazon I stumbled upon a set of books illustrated by Mary Blair. Mary Blair was a top artist for Disney for years and her mark can be seen all over classic Disney films. Well, I found a set of classic books that are in a picture book format and Mary Blair's art work is the illustrations. They are BEAUTIFUL. We bought Peter Pan for AG and Alice In Wonderland for Avi-Kate. I want to add the others to our collection. Both stories are easily read and have incredible illustrations. They are perfect. If you want a classic scaled down for a young audience these fit the bill. 

Excited about Steve Jobs?! Yep. Can you tell that we are  MAC family? :)

We had a wonderful morning together. After breakfast we got ready and loaded up to head south to the farm. I'm hoping next year we'll get to stay home and Andy's family will come to us for a change...it's been a few years since we've hosted. So, we shall see. Up next Christmas night with the Edwards... 

Christmas Eve at the Edwards...

This year it was just the four of us for Christmas Eve. The last few years my parents have come and spent the night with us but this year they stayed home. We had a fun night and I'm extremely grateful that we had decided to make it easy on ourselves and order the bulk of our dinner from Honey Baked Ham...due to the tornados/24 hours without power we ended up not even being able to finish all the baking I normally do and even Christmas presents for Andy's family. Anyways, so we had a nice meal and we juggled feeding both kids. It was a little wild but we laughed. We chalked it up to this is our normal right now and it won't be like this every year. (Very true.)

Afterwards, we got the kids ready for bed and I wanted to do Christmas Eve pictures. Well, Avi-Cakes was on board with this but AG was not. The first photo is the only one I snapped of him smiling. (Have I mentioned that he's almost three?! And that we are experiencing the joys of being three daily?! Ha. Never a dull moment.) After pictures and treats we got the kids settled. Andy and I watched Home Alone 2 since we watched Home Alone the night before while we wrapped presents. Then it was off to bed so that Santa could come...

Merry, Merry Christmas! It's been a roller coaster of a year and we are grateful for all that we have learned. Looking forward to 2012 with much hope.

Two peas in a pod...

We've been very fortunate that AG has adapted to 'big brotherhood' so smoothly. He loves being with his sister and when she is a sleep he usually asks when she is getting up. When she does get up he races to her room to climb her crib so he can talk to her. Now that she sits so well she enjoys having a big basket of toys to play with on the floor. AG enjoys bringing stuff to show her and or just being near her while she plays. (In the first two they have a blanket on their laps...he told me that they need to share a blanket!) 

This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship...