So, we got dumped on again last night, putting our snow total somewhere around 10-16" for the last week or so. It's a beautiful white Xmas -- albeit inconvenient and treacherous as well.

I managed to get out last night in my little hyundai elantra and make a grocery run and get some badly needed cat food and other 'emergency' supplies.

Some roads (major thoroughfares) were reasonably clear, but parking lots and side streets ranged from bad to impassible. Even jeeps and 4X4 vehicles were sliding sideways -- and then of course, there were still the 4x4 driving douchebags that seem to think merely driving a 4x4 gives them some sort of snow-invincibility.

Regardless, I got out of the house, got some groceries, and got home safely. Not sure we'll make it out of the house again tonight or tomorrow. Supposedly we'll see some rain AND snow in the next 2 days... but so far, it's only snow.

So our neighborhood is still largely buried in snow about a foot deep. My wife worked yesterday and today, so I'm pretty much stuck at home with the little ones all day by myself.

I used the time yesterday to thoroughly get the house cleaned and caught up, and I'm trying to get the last of the gifts wrapped while keeping order and peace in the household. No small task sometimes.

Otherwise, it looks like we're reasonably prepared for the holidays! The job search, such as it is, continues. The kids have an assload of presents lined up (including two things for which Kazu has been asking for months...), so it should be fun watching them open presents.

The snow has otherwise kept us largely housebound. I'm a bit stir crazy, but it's nice to have our gym in the house so I can workout in the evenings when the wife is home. Also, sometimes it's nice to just have an excuse to laze around the house instead of running errands...

But still, sometimes I get a little stir crazy and just want to go for a walk. My younger brother and his wife (and my mom) should be stopping by a little later today, so I may be able to sneak off for a short while and take a walk or something.

So today is my 40th birthday. And I'm unemployed now too. And I'm not having a good day -- at least not yet. Hopefully it will get better. No real plans today anyway other than going to BJJ class and getting a good workout in.

I went to Kazu's class today and observed him...and he was perfect. It was a short day because we went and saw a lot of Christmas lights last night and got back late, so I let him sleep in. Anyway, I'll go watch him once or twice more to see if I can help identify any potential 'issues'.

The reason for my visit is because he's been a bit of a problem for his teacher.

On the upside, we SEEM to be through the worst of his medical problems for now -- he has a follow up appointment with his Ophthalmologist today -- but we're still going to see a pediatric neurologist to find out if he might potentially have Tourette's Syndrome or just be a bit of a hyper kid with a tic or two that he'll outgrow. Fingers crossed for everything...

Truthfully, my lack of blogging is largely Facebook's fault.

Also, I've just been very busy. I'm wrapping up my contract for the Evil Empire -- after which I'll be unemployed (sigh) -- I'm writing two video games, and still writing my video game column for Examiner.com.

Also, all of Kazu's medical problems as of late have kept us busy, but appear to be winding down now. Mostly, it's all good news. His MRI was clear -- no signs of Multiple Sclerosis. What they found was a nasty sinus infection, and they think his Iritis/Optic Neuritis is/was a secondary symptom of that.

He just finished 14 days of a very harsh antibiotics. He'll be completely off prednisone in a week, which will also be great. He's already sleeping and behaving better now that his doses are much lower.

The only thing they found from one of his blood tests is that he is has a gene or marker of some sort that basically means he has a higher chance of developing an autoimmune disorder. But it in no way means he has or will ever get one -- he just has a higher probability -- and it likely wouldn't surface until he was 19+ years old.

So we're breathing a little easier now, and settling into holiday mode. I've got the lights on the house, the tree up, and I'm looking forward to happy holiday season. (I'm not looking forward so much to my 40th birthday, which is in 8 days...)