Advice on Winter please...

So I'm looking for recomendations on snow pants (preferably bibs) and boots. For Julia I'm looking for a little more rugged pants and boots since she will wear them practically everyday for 6 months.

For the little un's I just need warm and dry pants... and warm, dry and easy on/off for boots.

Also - I'd love info on how you store your coats/jackets/pants/boots/shoes. Our entry way is just packed with 5 people's coats and winter accessories. Right now we have a peg board down low so the girls can hang their jackets up, and one up high for other stuff. I have a hanging basket with 4 pockets for gloves, hats, scarves, etc.

I did just see an awesome idea in Family Fun magazine for storing/drying gloves, etc. It's a heavy cord or string you hang from the ceiling and then knot clothespins to it going down the string so you can attach your gloves, hats, etc and they they have room to dry. Not sure if it would work in our current set up - but it looked like a good idea.

So... what do you do?

Trunk or Treat

Halloween starts early around the Dough house...

Here are some pictures of the girls in their "practice" costumes. Not one of them wants to wear these costumes on Halloween - but for the party they went to today they worked out fine.

Krogers

When I was growing up, my mom was the lady at the grocery store everyone knew. The other shoppers, the people at the deli, the check out people. In fact when my mom had her last hemoragghic stroke (aneurysm rupture) one of her daily visitors was the woman who checked her out at the grocery store everyday. That says a lot about both my mom - and June, the check out lady.

Dan is now that person. Whenever he goes to the store he runs into people he knows - and the grocery store people know him. The best part of this is that the sushi guy loves him. So much that we got a big platter of sushi and rolls tonight.

Awesome huh?

Even more awesome is that I barely had any because my 2 year old was devouring it. Why can't my kids be repulsed by sushi like normal kids - and leave more for us???

Darn kids....

Have I mentioned that my children don't like me much?

Emma was just sitting next to me on the couch, sort of cuddling in her winding down for bed kind of mood. I'm half paying attention to her and half watching Life on the DVR.

She starts rubbing my leg - and says "Mom it's lotion, I rub it for you"

That got my attention since there is nothing even resembling lotion around us - and I realize perhaps I should be paying closer attention to the 2 year old.

Is it bad that I was relieved to find out she was only spitting in her hand and wiping it on me?

yeah - my kids don't like me much...

Noggin says it all...