A few days ago, Southern California was hit with one of the biggest rain storms I can remember. I know everyone likes to make fun of how everyone in LA “freaks out” over a little rain, but this was most definitely NOT a little rain. Our city is just not built to accommodate the massive amount of water we’ve received over the last few weeks (especially after our epic drought). Luckily, we did some prep work around our house with sandbags and we escaped this last storm without any damage (we’ve had water get in before). We’ve mostly stayed in, wrapping ourselves in cozy blankets as we listen to the pounding rain on the roof. It’s been relaxing, even if the kids are starting to go a little stir-crazy. Schuyler is totally cool with it, though.

The kids had a contest to see who could, “Make Schuyler the coziest.” I’m trying to convince them to have a contest today to see who makes ME the coziest. Schuyler shouldn’t get all the fun.

Around The ‘Net

~‘I thought I was smarter than almost everybody’: my double life as a KGB agent

~We Talked To Mark Zuckerberg About Globalism, Protecting Users, And Fixing News

~Chance the Rapper knew something about music that Prince did not

~How one man repopulated a rare butterfly species in his backyard

~Over 70 Years Ago, Nazis Victimized This Community. They Still Struggle For Acceptance.

~The Age of Rudeness

~Queens of the Stoned Age

~How dogs at Westminster get pumped up to compete just like pro athletes

~As Advanced Placement Tests Gain Popularity, Some Colleges Push Back

~Why Your Dog’s Personality Is a Lot Like Yours

~Winning Nature Photos Capture Triumph and Turmoil in the Animal Kingdom

~A girl and her glitter-shooting prosthetic: ‘You can do anything’

~Inside the world of luxury proposals

Last Minute Getaway

I think I’ve talked about the Hotel Tonight app before – you can get amazing last-minute deals on hotels up to a week in advance. I’ve been looking at it all weekend (we thought it might be fun to surprise the kids if we found a cheap place with a pool). If you haven’t tried it, you can get $25 off your first room with code HSPOHR.

Cool Stuff

St. Patrick’s Day is a month away (which means my little Liam is almost one!), so I’ve started looking into my kids’ gifts. In case you forgot, our Leprechaun always brings shoes, but I’ve found some fun stuff in my search.

~Mike or Ted need to wear this awesome Leprechaun shirt to Liam’s birthday party.
~An Irish Squid was not exactly something I expected to come across…and yet.
~I ordered this for Mike (for his Diet Coke, obviously).
~I think I might actually go with green shoes for James this year. Annie wrote the leprechaun a letter asking for “sparkly purple shoes,” but I heard a rumor that he already got her some purple non-sparkly converse sneakers so she’s just gonna have to deal.

Happy Sunday, everyone!