Snowed In

We had a major snow storm  that began Thursday night, lasted all through Friday, and continued into Saturday morning.  Cory worked 12 hours Friday, so when I learned preschool was cancelled that morning I declared that we were staying in our pajamas all day and not leaving the house.  

This was the scene in the kitchen when I came upstairs after a 50-minute workout.  Brady is the best oldest child!  He cleaned Brooke up when she was finished with her cereal.  Then he got out crayons and colored pencils for her to use to keep her happy.  They didn't come downstairs once, and I didn't hear any fighting.

Usually Brady is dressed before he leaves his bedroom in the morning.  So it was just too much to ask him to stay in pajamas all day.  He asked, "Even though we're not getting dressed today, can we at least put on dress-ups?"  So they entertained themselves with that while I showered and got back in my pj's.

 

 Becca sent me this fun idea to make ice cream with fresh snow.  Without leaving the house, I scooped some right off the deck near the sliding glass door.  Add 1/2 cup sugar, a teaspoon vanilla, and approx. 1 cup of milk.

 I added a little too much milk and some sprinkles.  It was a great after-lunch treat.

    I had mixed up some sugar cookie dough earlier.  While the kids took naps I rolled it out and cut heart-shaped cookies.  I let Brady do a few before I sent him up to his room.  He's really into helping in the kitchen, but it's hard for me to accept the added mess, dishes and time.  I felt very generous letting him press the cookie cutter into the dough a few times.

By 4:30 I had finished baking all 8 dozen cookies (yes, I do have plans for these babies) and finished the dishes.  After being on my feet that long I was exhausted!  I let Brady play NCAA Football on the Xbox while I took a break.  At 5:30 I finally convinced myself I better get shoveling the snow before Cory tried to pull into the driveway.  I'd been out there about 20 minutes wondering what Brooke was getting into (She took a pen to the microfiber ottoman in the basement.  I know her too well.) when my neighbor Josh came over with his snow shovel.  I had to swallow the emotion in my voice before I thanked him, assured him I was almost finished, and told him I was just doing Cory's side.  He saved me at least 10 minutes, and he reminded me how blessed we are to have such great neighbors.

I heated leftovers for dinner, then the kids and I played a little before Cory came home.  We put the kids to bed and watched the Lakers beat the Nuggets.  What a long day!  I really like to take the kids places while Cory works his 12-hour shifts so it breaks up the day, but it wasn't happening with all the snow.  It's too bad too because I missed out on a good deal on shredded cheese at Safeway.  Lame snow.

The next morning Cory worked again.  I had finished my workout, showered and got ready, and had the kids dressed in their snow clothes by 10:20.  That is quite the accomplishment for me who refuses to set an alarm.  While the kids played in the snow I finished shoveling the rest of the driveway.  Cory had done a little before he left for work that morning, so I will give him a little credit.  

Brooke decided to get her own shovel and help.

The sun was out and I was shedding layers as I went.  45 minutes later we were playing at the playground.  

Then some neighbors came over to the hill by the playground with sleds.  We grabbed our sled and followed suit.  The dad packed down the snow enough to make a decent trail.  Brady had a great time sledding with the two girls.  

I went down once with Brooke, but after I had to carry her and the sled back up, I'd had enough.  We were outside for two hours and it was time for lunch.  After naps the kids got a frosted sugar cookie.  Here's Brooke enjoying hers, practicing the important house rule of eating over her plate. 

Since Cory missed out on shoveling our driveway he got to shovel the sidewalks at the church Saturday afternoon instead.  Karma.  Not surprisingly, he had tons of no-shows and cancellations at work, so it wasn't so productive for him.  It wasn't my favorite weekend either, but I did get a lot of down time with the kids.  They probably loved it, so in my efforts to be more family-oriented, that's what's important.