Snow, decorating, cooking and more

5:30 a.m. I guess our front of snow has finally arrived. Let the pups out and noticed tini, tiny flakes drifting down. Just took a few days longer than anticipated. We've been thankful for the pretty days we've had. Unusually warm temps for this time of year. And believe me.... everybody has enjoyed themselves in whatever fashion of outside activity they usually partake in. From yardwork, to working on the car, to hiking, and exploring the open road we've heard it all. But we're all still prepared for the awful wet winter that's been forecasted for our area.

Parker had his annual ear appt. yesterday afternoon. We are having to do another surgery. He has a rather large hole in his left eardrum which has given him a 55% hear loss. So in about 2 weeks he'll be going in to repair the hole and put in another tube... in the same ear. With luck this will permanantly repair the damage. We have no idea how the "rip/tear" in his ear drum occured. We're (inc. doctor) are all scratching our heads on that one.

Today we start really decorating the house. I can't think of a better day to do this. Its snowing out, its cold and really reminds us of the holidays. I think the kiddo's are going to be surprised when they see just how much work all of this is and how much Mom is doing this year. The tree is already upstairs (still in its box) and ready to be moved into position. Our routine is to decorate the house and then set up the tree right before Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving evening we entertain ourselves by decorating the tree and munching on leftovers. That's always a highlight of the day and one we all look forward to. The hard part is finding the energy to do it all.

I'm going to also be throwing together a chowder to munch on through the day today. A wonderful recipe I found in Southern Living some years ago called, "Fiesta Chowder". It is quite simply delicious. It does have a bit of a zing to it, but nothing terrible. My kids eat it and love it. But if your unable to tolerate spice I'd recommend cutting some of the ingredients in half or out all together.