Desperate Days Call for Desperate Measures

On a day when I had my children shovel 6 inches of snow off of our entire driveway...

(1 hour of energy burned)

and took them sledding on an enormous hill

the closest thing to a ski slope we have here in town....

(2 additional hours of energy burned)

And on a day when my boy is still bouncing around like silly putty at bedtime,

The couch becomes a landing pad for his crazy football-catching stunts.

No, I don't let him (or anyone) jump on the couch, not usually, (uh-uh!)

but since today,

we are on Snow Day #10...

daddy is out of town...

and momma desperately needs her boy to get a good night's sleep....

The couch will be ok.

(another hour of energy is burned.)

Good night!!!

Perfect Pairings Job 37: 6-7

For more Perfect Pairings, visit Baloney.

Homebound

Being homebound with the kids because of record snowfall on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday brings a blizzard of feelings and thoughts.

I find myself caught between 2 extremes: 1) wanting to play family games in front of the fire and 2) knock out a few walls and remodel the top floor of my house. What to do?

So I have done a little of everything the last few days and who knows how many more.

(I'm a little worried we won't go back to school until March. There is more snow in the forecast and Lord knows we Southerners do not deal well with even an inch or two of snow, much less 14!)

My current list of accomplishments:
*Taught the girls to play backgammon.
*Had my hair cut and colored (my neighbor does my hair! - I skiied over to her house)
*Cleaned out a junk drawer and filled it with organized files (why is this type of organization so hard for me? I think I am ADD when it comes to this!)
*Blogged a little
*Had the kids do a little homework/piano practice (not easy, I tell ya)
*Straightened up my closet
*Watched Toddlers and Tiaras with Kami (great mommy/daughter time, right?)
*Fixed some homemade chicken and noodle soup that reminds me of granny.
*Entertained the kids' friends.
*worked on nominating a new Exec board for next year's PTA

If I got all those things done, why do I feel so worthless and slothful?

My kids had a singular purpose today, and that was to build igloos in the snow. And work they did, all day long. They are feeling particularly accomplished with their igloos. One of them has four tunnels that meet together in the middle. I think they could sleep in there. And another has a tunnel long enough to fit three kids in it... they called it their fox hole!

I am wondering how much longer we will be homebound and what I will get accomplished tomorrow?

A Real Live Oklahoma Blizzard

Today, we received a record setting 14 inches of snow! 20-40 mile per hour winds! Arctic temperatures!! Never seen anything like it in all my days!!!

The White Stuff

“The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event” ~Anonymous

“When it snows, you have two choices: shovel or make snow angels” ~Anonymous


Even in winter an isolated patch of snow has a special quality. ~Andy Goldsworthy

Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow, Filling the sky and earth below, Over the housetops, over the street, Over the heads of the people you meet. Dancing, Flirting, Skimming along. ~ J.W. Watson

“Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow." ~Jeff Valdez

“Kindness is like snow - it beautifies everything it covers” ~Anonymous

A Christmas Carol - 2009

Does anyone sing "Come on Ring Those Bells" anymore?

I learned the Christmas carol in school as a kid and sang it at the top of my lungs.

I hope it will make a comeback if you haven't heard it;

it's such a fun song with a message!

Come sing along with us now... and enjoy the images of our Christmas 2009.

This is What a White Christmas Looks Like

The Blizzard of 2009. A mere dusting for those who live even 100 miles north of us, but a gargantuan "weather event" for meterologists around here and us snow rookies. It was indeed a white Christmas... and here is what we saw: Snow starting to accumlate on Granny's porch on Christmas Eve.
Excitement on the faces of all the kids! It's SnOwInG!
Big winter coats and snow boots!

Terrible visibility during the harrowing ride home. Would love to say I wasn't a backseat driver, but oh no, that didn't happen. I'm sure it didn't help Tom's sense of calm for me to squeal out: "slow down!" "watch out!" "I'm too young to die!!" (j/k on the last one). Cars and trucks in the ditch (look carefully and you will see this pick up truck nose down).

More cars in the ditch on Christmas morning.

And more cars abandoned on the side of the road while driving out to Nana and Papas.

Snow plows.

It was like a car graveyard.

More snowplows.

Papa on his 4-wheeler out on the farm.

Snowball fights.

Rides in the snow (Tom and Maggie)

A dusting of snow on a beauty.

A warm and toasty friendship.

Fun in the white stuff!

The making of snowangels.

A perfect Snowangel!

Big SmilesHappy FacesSledding in the park with Uncle Jon. Tom and Ellie!

May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be white.