Happy Hallowsnow Weekend

Our church services this morning were cancelled due to this:

The original forecast predicted 6"-12" of snow, but I'm guessing we only got 4".  However, the snow was super wet and heavy so many people in the Durham area are without power.  Our power flickered a few times, but fortunately, we never lost campus power.  One benefit of living on a college campus!

Norah and I took advantage of the snow this morning, as I'm guessing it will all be gone by this evening.

Norah was adding some hair to our snow person.

Papa Dino and a spoon make the perfect snow toys.  Snowballs are fun.

Eating snow is fun, too.

Good times.

Lord, give me patience for the rest of this day as Norah is abnormally bratty.

Love to you, all.

SLK

The Post Wherein We Destroy Something Entirely Edible and Good Simply to Be Festive

Check it out... Norah's first time carving a pumpkin.

Robots are People, Too

One time, in Grad School, my boss' boss was in a meeting with all of the graduate hall directors and was talking about the departmental administration being accessible and approachable for all members of the department, regardless of their title. In explaining her accessibility, she said "it's not like we're robots or anything!"

But... Isn't that exactly what a robot would say? "Hey guys, don't worry... I'm not going to crush you with my ultra grip-tastic metal pinchers or anything. I'm not a robot or anything. Just be cool and come hang out with me."

And then, next thing you know, you're being enveloped in an icy metallic grasp. Robots are tricky like that.

NYC!

I went to NYC  this weekend to visit a friend I've known since middle school.

This started our weekend:

Jealous? No?  You should be.  If you ever get the chance to see this show - take it!  

You will have no regrets!

And pictures!

Strawberry Fields, Central Park

A cute spot by the water we found...

Central Park is probably my favorite part of New York - so beautiful!

I LOVE willow trees!

NY Public Library - Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

We were able to walk through the "Celebrating 100 Years" exhibition.  

Noteworthy sights: Malcom X diary entries from his Hajj, a real KKK uniform (creepy!), 

and an original letter from George Washington.  

MK is way better with history, but this exhibition was pretty rad.

Flatiron Building!

 K, what square was this?!

Washington Square - AMAZING!

Street Artist - all done by hand with sand.

We also were able to walk through parts of NYU.

The World Trade Center : Freedom Tower.  

MASSIVE.

I won't say much about our walk by Ground Zero...that's not so zero anymore.  We didn't go into the Memorial (you have to reserve a pass ahead of time, etc), but I still got an eerie feeling.  I don't know how else to describe it.  I hope to one day go to the Memorial, too.

Battery Park : The Sphere.

Statue of Liberty.

A huge THANK YOU to my lovely friend, K.

So glad we had the opportunity to reconnect and just have fun!

Who knew a couple of Iowa girls could enjoy a big city so much?!

Much love, SLK.

Best Design, Ever.

Dear Ma & Pops,

Have I told you lately how thankful I am for the crib you bought Norah before she was born?  

Well, THANK YOU!

I realize I picked out the design... but we have been SO pleased with the choice.

Parents-to-be out there, I HIGHLY recommend a 3-in-1 or 4-in-1 crib.  I've never understood the rationale behind buying a bassinet, then buying a crib, then buying a toddler bed, and then buying a kid bed.  

Talk about EXCESS, in my opinion.

Anyways, big news in our household.  Norah has gone from this:

 TO THIS!

To my surprise, the transition has gone smoothly.  What a huge relief and answered prayer.  I don't even know if NRK can be classified as a toddler now.  She's a kid.  AH!  How does time pass so quickly?!  But, I'm thankful for every moment.  I love that NRK's ability to formulate sentences is getting better every day.  This went down a few days ago:

I was crying about something (no, this does not happen frequently).  

Norah looks at me and asks, "What's wrong, Mama?"

I respond, "I'm just sad about so-and-so, honey."

Norah gives a small, "Oh." and looks down at her blanket.

She then quickly lifts her blanket up to me and says, "Here you go, Mama!"

Follow that up with Norah cuddling in to me and resting her head on my arm... and you have one Mama who ended up crying for a whole new reason.  What a sweet child MK and I were given.  Please God, let me remember the sweet moments in the midst of sheer 2 1/2 year old evilness. 

Hugs and love. SLK.

For Aunt M

Norah and I set out for Home Depot on Sunday, post-church, in hopes to accomplish two things: 

(1) find the perfect paint for our hutch (that has sat unfinished in our apartment for over a year now) and 

(2) find a new floor lamp to replace our old lamp that burnt a hole in our carpet.

After at least 45 minutes of standing in the paint aisle and the lamp aisle, we came away with some paint (time will tell how "perfect" it turns out to be), a paintbrush, and one NRK diaper full of poop.

Feeling unaccomplished, I decided to stop at Marshal's (the store) hoping to find a cheap lamp that would tide us over until we move to a place more permanent.  

I came away with this:

Yup, five books for NRK. No lamp.

I justified the purchase by saying I'd make them Christmas presents.

FAIL.

I think I have serious addiction to children's books.  

Aunt M - this is a healthy addiction, right?

But NRK loves her new books, especially the Cat in the Hat book, 

(CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEA ALERT!)

and I love having some fresh, new books to read at bedtime.

All is well.

And (cheap, but nice) floor lamp, I WILL find you!

SLK.

New England Apple Picking

I had never been apple picking until we moved out to New England.  I believe people do apple pick in Iowa, but it just wasn't a big thing for me growing up. But Norah's life is already proving to be different.  MK would probably say I'm making apple picking a big deal for us.  As you may remember, we all went for the first time last year.  Both years have provided unseasonably hot weather, but SO much fun!

Norah was a much better help this time around.

Spending the morning outdoors = happy Norah.

Decent picture.  

Now if only MK and I could figure out a way to get Norah to look at the 

camera for a decent amount of time, we'd be golden.

We brought Norah's friend Z along.  

I asked them to hold hands; this is the result: cuteness.

APPLE CIDER DONUTS. "CHEERS!"

Deliciousness only begins to describe these sweet treats. 

(Another thing I never had until we moved here.)

Oh, MK.  Major Kid. 

Donut Enthusiast. 

Goat Feeding.

DeMeritt Hill Farm 2011

Love to you all. SLK.

YAY! AIRPLANES!

This was the ending to our Saturday - a little treat for our kid who LOVES airplanes.

Hooray!  Free entertainment!

I guess some habits (grass pulling) never die.

To be honest, this adventure was for NRK, but all three of us enjoyed 

watching the pilots practice take-offs and landings.

If I was rich, I think I'd learn how to fly a plane.  Just sayin'.

Love to you all. SLK.

DINOS!

 Video posting failed. (insert profanity here) 

Here are some pictures to satisfy your NRK needs.

A short story:

MMK walks through the door after coming home from the gym.  SK blurts, "I may or may not have put mascara on our kid."  MMK rolls his eyes and chuckles.  

A few moments pass, then another outburst from SK, "There was lip gloss involved, too."

But look at those stinkin' lashes?  Can you blame me?  I was sitting on the floor putting on my makeup and NRK asks me, "Mama, I have some too?"  How do I say no?! :)

We had a short, but great visit with Jay, Jody, and Theany this past weekend.

Cute tub shots!

A picture to capture Norah's beloved dinosaurs.  

Want to entertain a kid (well, this kid) for hours? Give her some dinosaurs!  NK's dinosaurs have made it just about everywhere, but this was the first time we had given them a bath!Just so you know, Norah named each dinosaur all on her own: 

Triceratops = Baby; Stegosaurus = Mama; Brontosaurus = Papa!  

Love you, all.  SLK