Back to Work Wed, Snow Day Thurs

So my first day back at work was yesterday (Wednesday). This particular time was not chosen at random; first, it's easier to return in the middle of the week instead of trying to make it five days in a row right out of the gate. Second, Wednesday and Thursday are workdays, meaning no students. I met with my science dept. and was able to get planning finished through March. When I left the building yesterday, I was feeling pretty prepared for the students. I noticed that when I was dashing through the ice pellets on the way to my car that it looked like 6 PM at 2:30 PM. The first big snowstorm of the season was on the way, but I had kind of dismissed it (the weathermen get us teachers all excited about snowfall on a regular basis, and then I just wake up to a dusting and no delay). So I wasn't putting much faith into the storm panning out; I figured it would stay rain and just soak us. Well, the snow started pounding us around 4 PM and it piled up pretty fast. I went out to measure it after dinner and we were already at 3 inches. If I had to guess, I would say we're around 4 1/2 inches this morning. So my second day back at work turned into a snow day! And my third day back at work will probably be a snow/ice day too since we're going to drop below freezing tonight.
And the baby is doing very well at daycare. Ms. Tammy loves her and the ladies tell me every day "we're going to spoil that child" (what parent doesn't want to hear that?!) We have gotten a pretty good routine down at night, and it seems that it paid off last night with an-almost EIGHT hour block of sleep!

Routine: Right after dinner, around 6:30 PM, Tim and I give the baby a bath. She gets to relax in the warm water for a while, then it's off to the changing table for a rub down with the lotion (only the pink stuff, she seems to hate the lavendar kind). Then we get in a gown and fresh diaper and head to the living room. At this point, she usually goes in the vibrating chair for a while, then the swing. Around 8 PM she gets fussy and wants to eat. I take her back to the changing table for a new diaper and (this is the most important part) her swaddler (or as Tim calls it "the baby straight jacket"). Once in the swaddler, she calms down enough to get a good feeding and pass out without her flailing arms to distract her. At this point, Tim or I put her in her crib with the vaporizer on and some white noise music (usually the ocean waves CD). And it's light out for (hopefully) 6 to 8 hours! Enjoying some cuddle time on the couch with Daddy. Well....as much as one can cuddle with a straight jacket on.
See the red crease to the sides of her nose and the nonexistent lower lip that has been sucked into her mouth? Both signs of a baby that had a very satisfying nursing session.

Snow pics this AM. Ladder in front of my house was a good gauge of how much snowfall we were getting when I checked the steps every hour.

Drive way this morning. Black rectangle to the left is where Timmy's truck was last night.

Snow is so pretty the first day or so!