Life as we know it is over.

Kei and I have been moving things to higher ground all week and are amazed at how Samuel manages to make his way to the ONE thing we don’t want him to touch in any room.

Day seven and the snow is starting to get old. Now there’s ice on top of the snow. Sure, it looks pretty but it’s really not very practical for driving. Walking is not too bad. Thomas and I walked a couple of blocks to a friend’s house to decorate some cookies and we discovered that if you stamp hard enough you can break through the thin layer of ice on top with a fun cracking sound.

We hitched a ride on a friend’s sled on the way home. Well Thomas did anyway.

And when we got home we discovered that not only is it fun to stomp through the ice, it’s also fun to pick it up in big chunks and the throw it on the ground and watch it shatter.

I’m thankful for the fact that I took advantage of a brief break in the weather to do some grocery shopping on Friday. I felt guilty about leaving my computer (and work) for a couple of hours but now I’m just relieved. I bought the prime rib roast for Christmas Day as well as some wine and chocolate so I think we have all that we need in case we have trouble leaving the house over the next week or so.

What a difference a week makes. Last week we were laughing in the face of this excuse for a snowstorm. Now the city’s paralysed by it. ha ha bloody ha.

Day six and the winter storm continues – and is getting worse. We decided to head outside and walk to McMenamins pub for lunch. It’s just the right distance – far enough for it to be a real walk and not too far that I need to carry Thomas the whole way home.

It started snowing again on the way home and Samuel was so excited about the snow that he fell asleep in the backpack.

Doesn’t this look Christmassy?

And when we got home I caught this guy checking out the presents under the tree. “Just looking” he says. Hmmmm.

How happy is this guy? All you have to do is look at him and smile and this is what you get in return. I hope he stays this happy throughout his life. He is just going to be so much fun to be around.

Winter storm day five. The kids were at daycare again but they opened late and closed early. I drove the car around to pick them up and the streets were slick.

Day four and the snow is starting to stick. Daycare was open today so I was able to get a little work done. Kei even managed to make his way into the office by bus but I wasn’t willing to risk the chance of getting stuck at the office if we had more snow and ice.

Thomas had a chance to enjoy a little bit of snow at daycare and they were able to scrape together enough snow to build a snowman.

I do miss going into the office. I don’t have to go in EVERY day, just once a week or so. I miss the human contact and my twin monitors.

Today marked day three of the ARCTIC BLAST 2008…8…8…8… (imagine an echo and a big booming dramatic voice). Daycare was open but it was Wednesday so I stayed home with the boys anyway. Kei and I had a parent-teacher meeting at Thomas’ daycare (he’s doing well) and then I was planning to drive Kei to work but the roads were starting to ice over so we played it safe and he worked from home instead. The boys and I stayed inside for the rest of the day to avoid the cold. Let me just say the I am just so grateful that the playroom is back in working order.

Later that night Kei referenced the Dangerous Book for Boys to find instructions for making great paper aeroplanes. Thomas got better leverage from Kei’s shoulders and the flight distance was actually pretty impressive.

And here’s another photo I captured earlier in the day. How cute are they together? Are you sick of seeing the Santa hat yet?

Thomas enjoying the Japanese delicacy “Natto” – fermented soy beans. Every few months we make the trek out to the west side of town so we can shop at the Japanese grocery store. It’s a chance to pick up the food we loved while we were living over there, like good Ramen, Japanese pickle and Saba (Mackeral that we salt and grill). They have food from other countries as well so we make sure we also stock up on Indian curry pastes, shrimp crackers (or prawn crackers) and even Milo from Australia.

The downside to the trip? Natto. I tried to avoid being the foreign cliche because the Japanese are very proud of their natto – and the fact that foreigners generally can’t stand it. I really wanted to like it but the smell and the texture and the trails of gooeyness that come with it are just too much to bear.

Lucky for me, Thomas is a fan. Now that’s one food I won’t be serving up. That one’s all daddy.

And before I go – the snowy photo from today. Stay tuned folks. You’ll see a dramatic decline in the weather over the next few posts.

Thomas and Samuel enjoying a moment together in the “Sleigh” – a cardboard box that Thomas fills with toys and insists Kei carry him around the house in so he can deliver presents. We also hear “Ho! Ho! Ho!” coming from the playroom at random times during the day.

Getting ready to head out into the cold. This week has been the Artic Blast of 2008. It’s all we hear about on the news and the city has pretty much come to a standstill. The hardest part for me has been rugging the kids up everytime we step out the frint door. It takes me long enough to get them ready for daycare as it is without having to find gloves and hats and get a fleece body suit onto a wriggly seven month old.

I was all ready to go to work one day this week – got showered dressed, lunches made, computer packed up and all ready to drive down the freeway. I got the kids int he car, drove about 100 meters and the car slide a little. Took a corner and the car slid a little mroe. I made it the three blocks to daycare before deciding that I would just head straight home. I have worked from home the entire week and next week looks like more of the same. I did make it to the grocery store on Friday which is a good thing because we’ve had a lot more snow today. More photos from that little adventure later in the week.

Oh, and this is how Kei decided to take advantage of the situation. I ducked just in time. More to save my camera than myself.