Snow Day - Part 3

After reading this note that Frederick City put out, I can't imagine there being school tomorrow.
Walkersville is a snowplowed paradise compared to what we saw of Frederick today.
We made up for the time in front of the TV, reading and baking by going outside.  We didn't even need to bundle up.
Our neighbors made a sled run for the kids that works well.

I had to shovel again.
A bulldozer came through this morning to widen the roads and covered the sidewalk.  My hands are blistered and bleeding from the shoveling.
I don't think there will be too much more.
Say what you will about us living in a Cow Town.
Walkersville does snow removal right.
The milk truck needs to get to the farms and then the plant.
This was a most welcome sight this morning.
We made the driver hot chocolate and delivered it gleefully.

We made cookies and delivered them to Town Hall and the Fire Station.
They made for a good lunch, too.
After three consecutive snow days, that's how we roll.

The neighbor's sled run was a success.
Ben enjoyed it the most.  The other kids spent their time building a snowman and a colony of snow penguins.

I'm thinking hoping bedtime will be about 6 tonight.
They don't look at all tired, do they?

I have almost finished a skirt for myself.  I had to put in a lining, so it was more difficult than I thought it would be.  Mistakes are evident when looking closely, but it's nice to be able to wear something I made.
There is enough fabric left to make some shorts to go under it.
Just needs to be hemmed and it will be good to go.
Caroline instructed me on the post and best shirt for this picture.

Blizzard of 2016

We survived the blizzard.
Technically, I think we're still in the aftermath since the kids have a snow day today and all non essential travel is banned.  There are still people in Walkersville and Frederick City that haven't been plowed, but out street is down to pavement.
With the 9 degree temperature, it's extremely slippery pavement, but visible pavement.
Considering how much snow there was, even seeing the road is a major victory.

I did not buy into the blizzard hype until Thursday.
After seeing my most trusted weather source, Justin Berk,'s lowest prediction for snow was 20", my butt got kicked into gear.
We're good about having supplies around - so really the only things we had to get were a handle of Fireball, some triple sec and some fabric that was on sale at Joann's so I could start my new dress and skirt.
It's all about priorities.

The Weather Channel said that snow would start in Frederick about 2:15.
We saw our first flakes at 2:18.
By 3 pm, there was a dusting.

Herkimer was mesmerized by all the stuff falling from the sky.

By 7pm, it was clear we weren't going anywhere and sat down as a family to watch "Captain America" and were snug in our beds by 9.
Turns out we would need the extra rest.

Here is what things looked at by 10am with 2 feet on the ground and stiff winds:

It took us 3 hours to shovel half of our driveway and to get our neighbors driveway and fire hydrants freed up.  Even hard work is fun when surrounded by good people.
Our People are the salt of the earth.

After earning my hot apple cider with cinnamon whiskey, we settled in to watch the next "Captain America" movie and went to be early.  We were all really tired from all the shoveling.
Haven't had a workout like this since leaving Worcester.
It felt like old times when we had to throw the snow up and over the retaining wall in our driveway. Only it was the drifts we were chucking snow over...

The kids did a pretty good job staying out of each other's and keeping sane.
I can't lie - I wish they had worked harder when outdoors shoveling.  The call of playing in the snow was too much for them to withstand much of the time.
We are getting our money out of the new basement.  They spread out and spent hours playing legos.

 We are also very grateful for our good snow wear to keep us warm and dry.
I did send this picture to LL Bean.  Considering my go-to winter coat is the Bean anorak I saved up $35 for and bought out of the overstock catalog in 1993, I think it has been well worth it.  You can't pick out the 10 year old pair of boots in that row, either.
Love LL Bean.

 All in all, we officially got 36" of snow.
I think we got a bit more, maybe closer to 40".
I am not able to walk through our back yard and had to crawl to the back of our neighbors house with a roof rake yesterday because the snow was up to my waist.
Other neighbors took the kids and made a toboggan run yesterday so we could get the roofs around us set.  After all the water infiltration we had in Worcester and with rain called for later this week, consider us paranoid.
The pictures are impressive.
As usual, events like this make us even more grateful for our family and our Tribe.
We are in a good place.

Here's to a good snow day.
Happy Blizzard.

Quiet

It's as quiet as it can be on a Saturday morning with the kids watching PBS Kids and all sick with colds.
They don't feel well enough to pound the tar out of one another, which is good and terrible.
All four were home sick yesterday.
Caroline got the brunt of it, with a nasty case of pinkeye.
She loathes the drops we have to put in her eyes and tells us how unfortunate her situation is every chance she gets...but I suppose it would be worse if she didn't have the energy to complain.
So we read and played legos and watched "Night at the Museum" yesterday.  It wasn't totally mindless because we ended up needing to look up some of the characters to see why they interacted the way they did, "Why do the Indians hate General Custer?...Why is Napoleon so grumpy?...Who is Octavius?"
Had to squeeze in some history lessons somehow...

With just a shade over a decade of having at least one child in diapers, the Pampers Era is coming to an end in our house.
Benjamin has embraced using the potty with minimal encouragement.
This backs up my theory that children will potty train when they are ready and not a single second before.
The only caveat is that he refuses to wear any underwear but his green ones.
When these aren't available, he reports to me, "Mama.  My underpants are dirty.  I freeball."
Fan-freaking-tastic, Benjamin.

We just signed up Nate and Sam for soccer in the spring.
I already wrote down their practices and games on the calendar, just to see what things would look like.
It will certainly be busier than we are now, with practices T,W, Th and games on Sat;  but it doesn't look particularly overwhelming.
The kids have been better about making their lunches and doing homework right when we get home - so I think it will be okay.
I'm looking forward to the extra time outside, actually.

The upcoming weekends are busy for us, so we intend of keeping these few days as low key as possible.
Thanks to an amazing sale on fleece, we'll be making some blankets for Project Linus.  I've made 18 sets of pajamas since October, so something different will be nice.  I also have some gorgeous fabric for a new skirt for me that I've been eyeing for months on Title 9.  Why buy it when I can make it?
 I have wanted my whole life to be able to say that!
How cool.

For her birthday, Caroline was able to pick out a new pair of boots that she has been talking about for a long time.
She feels very sophisticated in them.  Can't you tell?
She is a gorgeous young lady.  :)

My Superhero Husband, assisted by a trusty sidekick, was able to fix the dishwasher without someone having to come out for a service visit.
Out of all the superpowers someone could have, dishwasher repair is one of the dreamiest.

We were able to get a new vacuum, too.
It's good.
Made even better by the fact that it's the top rated model from Consumer Reports, it was well within out budget and we got it for more an $100 less than the lowest price reported on Consumer Reports.
SCORE!
The only thing that bugs me is the "dirt sensor" function.  I'm going to have to turn it off.  It's always on...just taunting me.  There should be an "Will you quit flashing?!!? I have 4 kids, so cut me some slack.  I won't vacuum everyday" sensor setting.

So...it's off to a day of coloring and resting and napping and picking up.  The kids are tired from feeling yucky.  Nate slept for three hours yesterday afternoon.  I even got a nap in, too.
It was glorious.
Have a great day.

Saturday Morning.

It's 7:13 AM and no one is awake.
Except for me.
Since 5:30, it has been almost 2 hours of peace.
And making dinner, doing dishes, picking up, sweeping, doing food prep, catching up on emails, making a rough plan for the rest of the day and blogging.  :)

Our dishwasher started showing an error code yesterday and the soonest they can come out to fix it is next Weds.  It's an inconvenience, but not terrible.  I am finding there is something therapeutic about hand washing dishes.  They were dirty, now they are clean.
Wouldn't it be nice if everything in life were that easy?

Not to be outdone, our vacuum cleaner bit the dust on Thursday.  It lived a good life and had been fixed many times, so it's time to start shopping.  Thank goodness for our subscription to Consumer Reports.  :)  While I am appreciating living without a mechanical dishwasher, living in a house with carpet and the mess of four urchins is less welcome.
I'm thinking we're going to Sears today.

Benjamin, Nate and I all have a nasty chest cold this week.  Poor Ben continues to get the brunt of everything that is going around.  Sam also seems to be on the front end of some type of illness.
'Tis the season.
It makes me a little sad that he has to do this, but I find it adorable when Ben comes up to me when he needs a neb, saying in his raspy voice, "Mama?  I need a nebruizer now.  I sit to watch the Mustang Channel?"  Sometimes the P-51 Mustang  on youtube is the only thing that will slow this kid down.
I'll take it.

We slid back in the school/work groove well this week, even with illness.
Nate has taken to "working for baseball cards".  This is where he'll ask to do a chore he would not normally have to do in hopes he can earn a new card for his collection.
He will sit and sort his cards for hours.
He just loves them.
He doesn't realize that most of his cards are at least 10 years old.  For some reason, he has picked Craig Biggio out as his new "favorite player" and insists that he's going to see him play in Baltimore this year.
We'll break it to him gently.
I totally appreciate the extra help with vacuuming and cleaning bathrooms, so I"m going to ride this wave as long as possible.

Nate and Ben were listening to the story of Jose Sanchez del Rio this week.  After hearing it, they were running around the house with lego Cristero weapons shouting, "Viva Cristo Rey!!"
They did this for the good portion of an hour and then Nate yells, "Viva Cristo Rey!  Mom!  I"m talking Polish just like Nina!!"
He was so stinking proud of himself.
Yes, my dear, you are.  Facepalm.

One of the little girls in Sam's class made him a necklace.  Sam said she was grateful because Sam shared his stuffed animal reading buddy with her on a day she forgot hers at home.
He is so cute with it.
He has made some good friends at his new school, which is good to see.

I'm reading the book, "Driven to Distraction",  The more I read, the more it describes Sam perfectly.  He has always lived in "Sam-Land".  We are developing strategies on his own to help him stay on track and these are helping, But with how he is doing in school and his trouble focusing there, even though he is saying "I'm trying so hard, Mom", I have to believe him.   I"m wondering if we need to talk to someone.
He is such a sweet soul and a bright kid with an amazing memory.  He is learning to cope, slowly.  It's not easy for him.

Nate has been on a bowtie kick recently.
This has necessitated me spending copious amounts of time watching youtube videos on tying bowties.
Yesterday his knot was wrong, but it was still cute.
He was so psyched to wear one of SugarBear's ties.  :)

Caroline is super excited for her birthday.
10 years old.
How did that happen?

She is excited to go out to breakfast and paint a mug with her friend from school.
Her request for a special birthday dinner was elbow macaroni with real butter and cupcakes from Wegmans.
I can do that.
Pining for Spring, we had Yankee Stadium pretzels for dinner last night and watched an old ballgame.  Life is always better with a ballgame on.

Urchins are stirring now.
The Saturday adventure begins.  :)

Star Wars

We took the kids to see Star Wars at the Udvar-Hazy Center as a Christmas present.
It was a surprise.
We dressed everyone in Star Wars shirts, but put sweatshirts on, so nobody realized what the others were wearing.
Jim and I then got the kids in the car, telling them we were stopping at Dunkin' Donuts and then heading down to VA to Trader Joe's to get some more wine for Christmas.
We ducked into Udvar-Hazy on the premise of quickly picking up a last minute present for Grandpa and had the kids take off their sweatshirts.
It only took them a couple seconds to figure out the plan.

The kids enjoyed the movie, especially Sam.
We're trying to teach the kids (NATE!) the importance of not disclosing spoilers.
It's a losing cause.

Jim and I  were able to finagle a second viewing while in Rochester.
I think the last movie I saw more than once in the theater was E.T.

Happy New Year

After being reminded ever-so-gently that the blog had not been updated since November 11, I have set a goal to update it at least once a week in the New Year.
Since the Holidays are over, there is only one more set of pajamas to be made, everyone is going back to school and life is setting back into our regular routine, I don't have an excuse not to write.

It has been a lovely winter so far.
We haven't had any snow here, much to chagrin of the children, but it is starting to get colder.
 
Sam got to celebrate his birthday in style by getting sprung from school and hanging out at the Udvar-Hazy Center for the day.  He even had a docent to himself to show him around the WWII airplanes for half an hour.  It simply doesn't get any better than that in Sam's book.  :)

Nate had this Christmas Concert at school, which was a hoot.  His school is in a small church and many of the children have all of their families living locally, so any gathering at school in past years has been uncomfortably crowded.  This year the school split up the programs, which made the crowds much more manageable and the concert more enjoyable for all.
As usual, Nate was rockin' his bow tie and his St Anthony of Padua medal.

Benjamin, unfortunately, has received the brunt of the winter germs to date.  He had 2 ear infections, pneumonia and developed a allergy to penicillin.
He got away with a lot once he was feeling better.  Because who doesn't love eating their graham crackers naked at the kitchen counter?

There was a good week or so where all he wanted was to be held.  I obliged as much as possible because it was clear he felt miserable.  Since he was in no shape to leave the house, we spent much of our time sewing up gift bags using scrap fabric to use at Christmas.

Caroline was able to do a small concert at school with her flute for the second graders, which she enjoyed.  In true vacation style, her flute has only been pulled out a couple of times over break.
She and her friends did give us a 30 minute concert on New Year's Eve.  It is fun to see how much the kids have grown and learned in the past year.

 And here are my Umbrella Friends.  Always there.
I am so very grateful.

Happy New Year.
Life is wonderful.
:)