max has a lot on his mind

He drinks* to forget.

He pours out his sorrows to the bartender.

He kisses age-inappropriate women.

*Not an alcoholic beverage

first snow

The saddest little snowman ever

We got our first biggish snow the other night, and yesterday we enjoyed the wonder and excitement of the first snowfall, which will now be followed (on my part, at least, and Mike's) by months of resentment at the bitterly cold temperatures and having to shovel our way out of the house every morning. But for now, we'll just focus on the positive. We woke up to a few inches of snow, and the boys got to help me shovel the walkway before school, which thrilled them to no end. On the way home from school, Liam fretted the whole way about whether all the snow had melted. He really wanted to play in it. Lucky for him, there was still plenty of snow left, so I gave them their shovels and set them free on the deck.

Snow? I'm not so sure...

So...delicious!

I must always remember to stand and walk in the
deepest snow possible, thus ensuring not only that
I'll have soaking wet feet all day, but that Mom
will be as irritated with me as possible.

If I knew this was work, I probably
wouldn't be so happy about doing it.


Post-snowball fight

pirates for obama

vote!

Today was our second attempt to vote, and I'm happy to report that we were successful. On Friday, we headed down to the courthouse for early voting, but the line was two hours long, and Mike only had an hour and a half before he had to work, so we ended up leaving the line and going out to lunch instead. But this morning, the line was only 15 minutes long (though very steady) when we got there, so we were able to cast our votes with no problem. When we left, the line was longer than when we arrived, and stretched outside of the building, which is a big deal in a small town like this.

We're both excited and nervous about the election. There's so much riding on it, and for the first time in our lives, we aren't voting in a state that's essentially already been decided. In Illinois, we could cast all of the votes we wanted (either way), but the state would always go blue. Here, we might make a real difference. Our state could go blue for the first time since 1964, and could help decide the presidential race in favor of Barack Obama. It's a thrilling day, and it's a good feeling that we did our part to speak for the change this country so desperately needs.

Please, get out and vote.