The dangerous part of driving after lots of snow is not slippery roads. It's the zero visibility when turning because of view-obstructing snow banks. Seriously, you just have to inch out on faith sometimes (and there is no reason to have faith it will turn out OK).
The hard part of shoveling after lots of snow is not scraping up shovelfuls. It is the height of old snow over which you have to heave a shovelful in order to actually have it stay on top of the pile, and not just come sliding back down onto the driveway, landing exactly where it began.
The paradigm-shifting part about living with lots of snowy weather is that on a day when the sun comes out and it is 39 degrees, you and your kids feel giddy and comfortable outside without jackets and your son asks, 'Mommy, is it finally time we can go swimming outside, now?' You are forced to reply no, but in truth you are thinking about putting on your sandals.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Asher, snoweater
Did some playing in the snow today...sort of. In a way, snow play is pretty limited when there's 3+ feet of it and you're less than 3 feet tall. On the other hand, some freezing rain had put a nice ice crust in the front yard, and Reuel and Owen got up on top of the snow, made a fort, and had fun sliding down the banks. Owen was pretty excited that he could finally reach the low limbs of the cherry tree and attempt to climb it...something he's been attempting for a while. And here I was constantly telling him that you can't climb trees in the winter. Lost some of my preschooler cred on that one.
Asher...he's a puppy dog! All he wants to do outside is eat snow. Any color, anywhere, unless it's a really salty chunk, he'll try to eat it. Reuel got out the spoons so that Asher didn't have to get frostbite trying to grab handfuls with his mittens off (he doesn't like the furry texture he encounters when eating off his mittens).
I am on church cookie duty this weekend, and just finished my 6 batches. Owen is VERY insistent on licking the beater, a privilege formerly claimed by his father. There may be fisticuffs between the two of them at some point, but Owen won today because Reuel was up shoveling the roof when Mommo's triple chocolate cookie batter was complete (I learned my lesson today...those cookies are way too expensive for refreshment hour baking!!). I have heard enough stories and warnings of roof collapses that when I heard some strange creaking in the kitchen, I quickly grabbed the kids and we headed to the living room. But then I saw snow flying and realized Reuel was shoveling up there. A warning would be nice next time :}
Asher...he's a puppy dog! All he wants to do outside is eat snow. Any color, anywhere, unless it's a really salty chunk, he'll try to eat it. Reuel got out the spoons so that Asher didn't have to get frostbite trying to grab handfuls with his mittens off (he doesn't like the furry texture he encounters when eating off his mittens).
I am on church cookie duty this weekend, and just finished my 6 batches. Owen is VERY insistent on licking the beater, a privilege formerly claimed by his father. There may be fisticuffs between the two of them at some point, but Owen won today because Reuel was up shoveling the roof when Mommo's triple chocolate cookie batter was complete (I learned my lesson today...those cookies are way too expensive for refreshment hour baking!!). I have heard enough stories and warnings of roof collapses that when I heard some strange creaking in the kitchen, I quickly grabbed the kids and we headed to the living room. But then I saw snow flying and realized Reuel was shoveling up there. A warning would be nice next time :}
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
daddy's home!
Daddy's lab closed today! So we are all holed up. The snowblower broke...again...so we're really snowed in. We are buying a new snowblower when we can, enough with the bucket of bolts already.
Today's agenda included blowing up the air mattress as an impromptu bounce-house when combined with the couch, lunch picnic while skyping with Melissa, Galen, Hannah and Graham, snow shoveling, sledding, and various other fun.
If you give your kids a piece of chocolate cake and then walk away for a while, bad things happen. I guess I assumed he'd want to *eat* it.
Granted, it's a snowblower pile and not the *true* level of the snow, but it's not *that* much higher...Owen next to the pile for scale reference.
Looking out the living room windows! I wonder how the shrubs will survive all of this...
I thought we had a lot of snow til I saw some Chicago Tribune pictures. Here's Lakeshore drive as of this morning (cars just abandoned):
What a sight!
Today's agenda included blowing up the air mattress as an impromptu bounce-house when combined with the couch, lunch picnic while skyping with Melissa, Galen, Hannah and Graham, snow shoveling, sledding, and various other fun.
I thought we had a lot of snow til I saw some Chicago Tribune pictures. Here's Lakeshore drive as of this morning (cars just abandoned):
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
pictures
Eh. I can't capture it well with a camera. Oh well, I shot a few quick ones.
That's a snow pile way above the handrail which goes up two large steps to the front door, and you can see how high the snow is compared to the van on the far side.
Moose's hutch is almost getting buried! Snow's about halfway up the garage.
There's a kid's swing in there somewhere.
Weird to see snow piled above the height of the sliding doors!
The North Pole
We had adventures this morning! After enough snowstorms and cancellations, I think all of us decided to give the weather a piece of our minds and ignore it. There were lots of folks out as the snow was coming down (and still is) this morning. We went ahead to our music class and swimming lesson, and it took about 3 times as long for each leg of the trip, the anti-lock brakes were getting a fair workout, and 30 on the highway felt like 80. The kids accumulated about 2 inches while riding in the stroller at one point, which they did not much enjoy. I was soaked to the knees after all of this, even with boots on. I wanted to win and say it was all worth it, but next time we're staying in. :P I am going to try to grab some outside photos while the kids are resting/napping today. It's surreal! How's this for a forecast, on top of snow that already reaches to the bottom of the windows on the front of the house? (My favorite line is, "Snow in the morning...Then snow..." Very accurate depiction of the reality: snow, snow and more snow.)
| Today | ||
 | Snow Hi: 21° POP: 100% | Snow. Snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches. Cold with highs in the lower 20s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow near 100 percent. |
| Tonight | ||
| Snow Lo: 20° POP: 90% | Snow with a chance of freezing drizzle. Additional snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches. Ice accumulation around a trace. Not as cool. Near steady temperature in the lower 20s. North winds 5 to 10 mph. Gusts up to 20 mph in the evening. Chance of precipitation 90 percent. |
| Wednesday | ||
 | Rain And Snow Hi: 29° POP: 100% | Snow in the morning...Then snow...Sleet and freezing rain in the afternoon. Snow May be heavy at Times in the morning. Additional snow and sleet accumulation of 4 to 8 inches. Ice accumulation around a trace. Cold with highs in the upper 20s. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent. |
| Wednesday Night | ||
 | Snow Showers Lo: 13° POP: 90% | Snow showers. Lows around 13. North winds 5 to 10 mph. Gusts up to 30 mph in the evening. Chance of snow 90 percent. |
Monday, January 31, 2011
Just in case I wondered...he listens to me :}
Owen and I had a 2.5 day 'date'--as he likes to call time spent just the two of us--flying to Baltimore and back this weekend to visit my sister, her roomies and her friend Kristi. It was awesome! Even at 3.5, this boy did not mind the full-time attention of multiple, older, beautiful women, let me tell you :) We spent Saturday at the National Aquarium, with it's several-story high glass-walled atrium filled with a tropical sort of scene, waterfalls, birds, and of course, water life.
That was just the beginning...also jelly exhibit, full-fledged dolphin show, and 5 stories of tanks with a sting ray-filled pool at the bottom. It was impressive! Owen was rather obsessed with getting to the jelly exhibit. A close 2nd for Owen was paint-your-own pottery, which we did after lunch...one of his fave things to do :) Aunt Deb will have to mail us the mug he made after it's glazed and fired.
Reuel and Asher apparently had a great time at home! What a lucky lady to have a wonderful husband who lets me take a much-needed vacation for the weekend. SMACK!
Owen was really on great behavior the entire trip...he is an awesome traveler and LOVES airplanes, trips, new things, all of it. He insists on wheeling the black carry-on and gets nothing but attention from fellow travelers :P What makes him so funny in the airport is that when he's excited he speaks LOUDLY; he has a high, clear voice and pretty good pronunciation, so everybody can hear what's on his mind. There were a bunch of funny moments, but here's the best. Let me set the scene on the way home last night.
We were in row 29. The engine was *right* outside our window. So, it was a loud trip. During takeoff you almost wanted to plug your ears it was so loud. Every noise in the cabin is drowned by the engine hum as usual. After landing and parking at the gate, then, the absolute silence was all the more conspicuous. Since we were at the back of the plane, and the door was taking a while to open, there was a long spell of silent waiting, all stuck in our seats. Every sniff, cough and cell phone beep is a loud interruption, and everyone is observing the undeclared social rule of being quiet and keeping to themselves until we've all got our personal space back in our possession outside the airplane. Suddenly penetrating the silence...a voice. Bell-like, soprano, and LOUD.
THE SEATBELT SIGN IS OFF, BUT NOT THAT OTHER SIGN MOMMY! WHY IS THAT OTHER SIGN ON?
I squirmed for a second, but not much, because hey, nobody minds a cute kid asking a question, even if it's a little loud...good for a laugh. I asked Owen to lower his volume just a little bit and then as quietly as I could, answered, "Because even though we can unbuckle our seatbelts now, we're still not allowed to smoke on the airplane."
WHAT IS THAT A PICTURE OF THOUGH? I DON'T SEE THE SMOKE.
That's a picture that says 'no smoking cigarettes'
WHY AREN'T WE ALLOWED TO SMOKE ON THE AIRPLANE?
It isn't safe to have cigarettes on the airplane and it's not healthy for our bodies.
DID YOUR GRANDMA SMOKE CIGARETTES SOMETIMES?
Yes Owen, she did smoke cigarettes. Owen, I think we can talk about this more after we get off the plane. Let's keep our voices quiet and not bother the other people on the plane.
DID SHE DIE?!!
Yes Owen she did die, but we don't need to talk about that.
WAS SHE ON A CROSS?
[mixture of chuckling and horrified expressions among surrounding travelers] Owen, no, no honey. This is enough talking, let's talk more later.
DID SHE DISOBEY THE RULES???
At this point, the back third of the plane has practically dissolved into giggles. I am beet red. Owen is clueless. I lean over to the pregnant lady and her husband across the aisle and whisper, "Are you ready for THIS??"
:)
Reuel and Asher apparently had a great time at home! What a lucky lady to have a wonderful husband who lets me take a much-needed vacation for the weekend. SMACK!
Owen was really on great behavior the entire trip...he is an awesome traveler and LOVES airplanes, trips, new things, all of it. He insists on wheeling the black carry-on and gets nothing but attention from fellow travelers :P What makes him so funny in the airport is that when he's excited he speaks LOUDLY; he has a high, clear voice and pretty good pronunciation, so everybody can hear what's on his mind. There were a bunch of funny moments, but here's the best. Let me set the scene on the way home last night.
We were in row 29. The engine was *right* outside our window. So, it was a loud trip. During takeoff you almost wanted to plug your ears it was so loud. Every noise in the cabin is drowned by the engine hum as usual. After landing and parking at the gate, then, the absolute silence was all the more conspicuous. Since we were at the back of the plane, and the door was taking a while to open, there was a long spell of silent waiting, all stuck in our seats. Every sniff, cough and cell phone beep is a loud interruption, and everyone is observing the undeclared social rule of being quiet and keeping to themselves until we've all got our personal space back in our possession outside the airplane. Suddenly penetrating the silence...a voice. Bell-like, soprano, and LOUD.
THE SEATBELT SIGN IS OFF, BUT NOT THAT OTHER SIGN MOMMY! WHY IS THAT OTHER SIGN ON?
I squirmed for a second, but not much, because hey, nobody minds a cute kid asking a question, even if it's a little loud...good for a laugh. I asked Owen to lower his volume just a little bit and then as quietly as I could, answered, "Because even though we can unbuckle our seatbelts now, we're still not allowed to smoke on the airplane."
WHAT IS THAT A PICTURE OF THOUGH? I DON'T SEE THE SMOKE.
That's a picture that says 'no smoking cigarettes'
WHY AREN'T WE ALLOWED TO SMOKE ON THE AIRPLANE?
It isn't safe to have cigarettes on the airplane and it's not healthy for our bodies.
DID YOUR GRANDMA SMOKE CIGARETTES SOMETIMES?
Yes Owen, she did smoke cigarettes. Owen, I think we can talk about this more after we get off the plane. Let's keep our voices quiet and not bother the other people on the plane.
DID SHE DIE?!!
Yes Owen she did die, but we don't need to talk about that.
WAS SHE ON A CROSS?
[mixture of chuckling and horrified expressions among surrounding travelers] Owen, no, no honey. This is enough talking, let's talk more later.
DID SHE DISOBEY THE RULES???
At this point, the back third of the plane has practically dissolved into giggles. I am beet red. Owen is clueless. I lean over to the pregnant lady and her husband across the aisle and whisper, "Are you ready for THIS??"
:)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Pix
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