Last Wednesday, January 26, we got about a foot of snow, which came down on top of the snow that was already laying on the ground from previous dustings. School was canceled that day and the following due to the weather.
Daddy went back to work on Thursday, but he wore his Hawaiian shirt - it was bright yellow with big blue flowers. I cracked up! He said "too much?" I just laughed. He is SO funny! He wasn't sure how his conservative co-workers took it, but I think he enjoyed wearing it on such a cold ugly day.
Since it was coming down most of the day on Wednesday, I waited until Thursday to take the boys outside to play in it. Looking back, I'm not sure that it was a wise choice. By the following day, it was pretty well packed into the ground and harder to deal with. The kids had a very difficult time moving in it. I had to lift them onto the little bank of snow off our driveway, and I told Joshua to follow in the footprints while I held onto Caleb and basically hoisted him through the snow. At times they could walk right on top, and at others they would begin to sink and fall.
I asked Joshua what he thought of all that snow, and he said it felt "weird!" I giggled at the expression. It is a little strange when you're not used to it. Our originally plan was to build a snowman, but it wasn't the right type of snow for packing it together on the day we went. I think Wednesday we could have made a pretty nice snowman, as I saw plenty across the street. Such is life! I also bought a sled at a yard sale this past summer, but the snow was too deep for the kids to be able to comfortably walk in it. Hopefully we'll get to use it sometime soon! I also worry about the boys getting too cold or catching colds after they just got better.
We played outside until Daddy got home. When he pulled in the driveway and saw us, he went and got on his gear and joined us in making snowballs.
The kids were just about ready to go in when Daddy arrived, but they were happy to see him and stayed out a little while longer even though Joshua said he was cold (and I had them all layered up!).
I have to pause and say once again that we have the best neighborhood! When Shawn took his lunch break on Wednesday, he used our snow blower to not only clean off our sidewalks and driveway but also got our neighbors since they are always so good to do ours. That night after 10 pm, I heard a noise and looked out, and our neighbor was clearing ours once again. That was so nice because it gave Shawn less to do in the morning before going to work to clear out his car. Other neighbors helped one another, too, and I saw the following day two different sets of neighbors discussing who was left in the neighborhood to help clear their sidewalks. It's particularly important that our sidewalks are clear since kiddos walk to school from our neighborhood. From what I could see, most houses looked well dug-out around us, and it was definitely a community effort.
Oddly enough while preschool was canceled, most school districts in this area missed the boat on Wednesday and all the high school students were bused (or worse, drove) to school. Then they realized how bad it was and called an extremely early dismissal and closed the elementary schools. Manheim Township already had early dismissal so they didn't change their plans. Then this week the weather forecast called for a big ice storm. We got nothing on Tuesday but all the schools were closed, including Joshua's preschool and my Bible study (bummer!). Late Tuesday night (after we went to bed) we did get a bit of an ice storm, but the roads were already prepped for it, and it warmed up enough that driving conditions were fine by late Wednesday morning (say 9ish) but schools were all canceled that day as well. I was experiencing cabin fever by then, so I called Mom and told her that I was going to take the kids to the mall to play at the playground and asked if she'd like to come along. She said sure, and the kids had a great time! Thankfully Joshua's back at school today for an extended day, which includes lunch. I'll pick him up at 1:30 pm, which is his teacher's way of trying to make up some of the time that they've missed.
Below is a picture of the evidence of our snowball fun. We told the boys to throw their snowballs against the house rather than at each other. Joshua LOVED it! I think Caleb had fun, too.
Soon enough they were ready to head in, so I took off the wet layers outside and the double clothing layers inside. Then I popped the casserole I had made into the oven to bake. Joshua ate quite a bit that night! He enjoys the pesto tortellini alfredo topped with bacon and parmesan cheese.
Friday wasn't as good of a day. I was stir crazy by that point, but my car was still buried in snow. My Dad stopped in to visit, which was nice. I made us all lunch of fish sticks, macaroni & cheese, and stewed tomatoes. The boys were well behaved, but I was just feeling 'off' that day. Everything I did seemed to go wrong. For example, I washed a pull-up in our laundry. Most likely it was clean (we still put one on Joshua to sleep just in case, but for the most part they're dry in the mornings), and it probably was put down the laundry shoot with jammies. But, I didn't see it until the wash cycle had gone and there was polypropylene in our laundry. UGH! The whole day was like that. To cheer me up, Shawn took us to Kmart to see if they had swim trunks for Joshua and we bought his Valentine's. Then we went to dinner. It was starting to feel better... only for Joshua to get sick on the way home and me to get sick later. But, it's important to remember that we're supposed to give thanks in all circumstances. God is always faithful, and it was nice that it happened when Shawn was home to help. It was nice to get out that night. It was even nice that I got sick over the weekend when my hubby was home to take care of the kids. God is good, and I really can't complain. While I'm ready for warmer weather, the snow is beautiful and I have a warm house to stay in. I just need to remember to give thanks as I pray for better days ahead!
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