Snow Day!
We woke up to about two inches of snow this morning. I didn’t believe it was actually coming because our weathermen often lean toward the Hype instead of the Reality… but this one was obviously correct! I was too lazy to step out into the cold this afternoon, so I took the picture from the door. Here’s what it looked like out there a couple of hours ago–and it’s still coming down like crazy!
David took Piper outside to marvel at the snow before he went to work. She wasn’t happy about not being allowed to get in the actual snow. Mommy said “no” to that plan because she only has the one pair of shoes that fits well with socks and she needed to wear them today, so I didn’t want them getting wet. She needs the socks for warmth because our house is a little chilly, and she needs the shoes for tread because our floors are hardwoods.
Don’t get me started on the floors. If I can type about it without having a mental breakdown, I will share our Coker Floor Company story with you all. It won’t be this week, though. It’s all still too recent. Anyway, here’s a picture from this morning of my two favorite people in the whole wide world. They are like peas in a pod and LOVE spending time together. There’s just nothing in the world quite like watching your husband become a father. Sigh.
We were supposed to go to Play Group today at Kristen’s house in Murphy. She made delicious hot soup and Jennifer brought chocolate cupcakes. David wasn’t a huge fan of us driving out there because the forecast predicted more snow and temperatures below freezing all day long. I felt like I needed a nap anyway, so we allowed ourselves to be snowed in. I took a nap while Pip napped this morning and then we played together for a long time on the floor after she woke up. We had a lazy, fun, drawn-out lunch together… that required a bath afterward.
Here’s a funny face to go with the funny face:
Piper is eating Chicken Continental, courtesy of Lulie and Herb Thomas who brought dinner last night (see recipe at the end of this post). They are walking us through a Marital Communication class one-on-one on Wednesday nights to help us get better at this vitally important skill. David and I just kept having the same arguments over and over again without making any headway on them, and we discovered that we are somehow missing one another in all the madness. Sound familiar? Everyone I know has been there before, in one relationship or another. I think we can all stand to get better at communicating. And what better relationship to practice on? Only the most important earthly relationship that a person can have! So Herb and Lulie are pros at this kind of thing and offered to help. In all their spare time (see previous post re: Taipei). Yes, I know. They drive all the way to our house, let us take up one night of their week (in addition to Tuesday nights for Community Group), teach us something of greater value than a winning lotto ticket AND bring dinner. Angels, these two.
So we are re-learning some great things we learned in our Newly Married Class–like HALT! Don’t discuss hot topics when you are:
H-Hungry
A-Angry
L-Late (for an appointment/trying to get somewhere, etc.) or
T-Tired (some people add in a “D” for Drunk and make it HALTeD)
and don’t be a WENI during discussions:
W-Withdraw from the convo/other person
E-Escalate the Argument (raise voice, etc)
N-Negatively Interpret what the other person is saying (expect the worst–get clarification)
I-Invalidate the feelings/statements of the other.
Next week, we are going to discuss a couple of our hot topics in front of them, using “The Floor”. The Floor is a great technique for really listening to the other person’s heart in the interest of seeking understanding. It involves repeating back to them what you heard when they spoke. Problem solving comes AFTER this step–we tend to try to do them both at the same time and it doesn’t work. So we will get some guided practice with The Floor next week. We’ve done it a couple of times and it feels cheesy and corndog, so I shy away from it. But I know it really works, so it is worth our time to practice and get good at it. My husband is an amazing man. To desire to understand his wife–the one that thinks in the same way that she types (how about all those rabbit trails I’ve taken you on in this post)–well, that’s just a good man right there. Even more so, in light of his logical, straight-forward way of thinking.
Soooooooo Piper and I had left overs today. And she is experimenting with gravity a lot during mealtime, so some of her chow ends up on the floor. I don’t have one of those handy mats under her high chair, so I do a lot of cleaning up. Today, Spike the Cat proved himself worth a lick (I couldn’t resist the pun) and did a little clean up FOR me. It’s a rare thing for him to actually be worth the amount that we pay for his gourmet cat food. But today he was great. See, EVERYONE loves this recipe! What’s NOT to love???
Piper is waking up from her afternoon nap right now and we are going to play some more. Inside. There is a pot roast in the oven that is filling the house with a wonderful aroma. We are having fake homemade bread (from the frozen section) and a salad with it for dinner. In light of the snow, David is going to try to get home early, so Pip and I will be enjoying some Daddy Time this afternoon, too. I love my life. Snow days are fun!
Chicken Continental
Wrap 4-6 pieces of trimmed, washed and dried boneless, skinless chicken breasts with a single slice of bacon and put in the crockpot. Add one can of cream of mushroom soup and an equal amount of sour cream. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours until cooked through. Boil 1/2 container of angel hair pasta in water with a cube of chicken bouillon. Drain the pasta and put in a serving dish or platter. Pour chicken and sauce over the pasta. If the sauce is too thick, use some of the pasta water to thin it out. Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional) and serve. DELISH!
Love y’all and hope to...