And Then There Was Snow

So our mild winter has suddenly turned...less mild. We got freezing rain on Wednesday night that sent everything into a tailspin Thursday. Buses weren't running, and everything was slick. We ended up having to give Lucy and Tyler a ride to school and work that morning...and then make the same trip again on the way home. We decided to skip the drive to Taekwondo that night, and voted for a night in. The boys and I spent the day inside, avoiding the rain. But when everyone came home, we decided it was about time to clean up the driveway. The rain had turned into snow in the afternoon so there was a light dusting on everything.

Tyler quickly shovelled away the snow, to reveal a 1-inch layer of ice covering the sidewalk and driveway...with no way to penetrate. Max ran into the garage and came out with what turned out to be a great idea. A hammer. So Max, Lucy and I grabbed hammers and chipped away at our driveway, while Tyler and Logan shovelled it away. It was a fun time outside. We came inside for a picnic of French Fries and Chili while we watched Captain America. It was a great day.



Lucy always struggles when things are out of the ordinary, and didn't really want to go to stay at school when I dropped her off, but fortunately, she came home exclaiming it was a GREAT day. There were only 7 kids in her class that day and then spent a lot of time cleaning house and having fun. As I cleaned out her backpack that night, I discovered these little flowers that she had made...one for each of us. I think I find little treasures like this almost every day. I wonder what her teacher thinks of her daily family projects...

On Friday, the rain and ice turned to major snow. It was slick again, but buses were running this time. Eventually, the boys and I ventured out to the church so I could practice on the organ. It's still taking a lot of practice, and I don't feel like it sounds very good...but it works. I keep hoping that one day I can add the pedals, but I'm still struggling just to play the songs on the organ without making mistakes...and at the right tempo. Fortunately, our chorister conducts a little slow, so I can get by.

When it was time for Lucy to come home, I left Logan and Max playing in the house while I ran to the bus stop to meet her. It was crazy windy and snowing still and the sidewalks were covered in snow...not something I wanted to deal with with the two boys. Unfortunately, her bus was about 20 minutes late...so I had to stand out there for a while. Fortunately, the boys were fine and entertained themselves with colouring and tractors and making a big mess of the basement. But it was a harmless mess.

I went back out again to pick Tyler up from his bus stop too. The kids had spent some time outside in the backyard playing in the snow, but it quickly became too cold. We've hit a cold spell this weekend and it's taking my bones some time to get used to -10 or lower...

We ate dinner and played Hide & Seek all evening. Tyler introduced the kids to Sardines, and it's become their new favourite version of Hide & Seek. It's fun to try and squish the whole family under a bed, or in a closet. Logan is still getting the hang of hide and seek. He loves the counting, but isn't very quiet when he's hiding. Which is especially annoying in sardines, since he gives everyone else away.

And Max's spots are often too difficult to add more people to.

Now, today is Saturday, and I love saturdays. They are so beautiful. No alarm clock, no plans, plus freezing cold temperatures and snow that discourage us from leaving the house for any reason. So we have spent the whole day at home as a family.

We slept in to a glorious 8:20am, and then had waffles and ice-cream for breakfast. Yum-o.

Logan cuddled with Tyler in bed for a few minutes, and Tyler called him "a beast". Logan responded by saying, "Beast, tasty chechup." I'm assuming he means he tastes good with ketchup...so we've been pretending to eat him all day!

Finally took down the Christmas tree. The decorations have been gone for a while, but I needed Tyler's help to put the tree down, so our living room has just been decorated with a pine tree for a week. The room looks far too empty now, and makes me realize how desperately we need curtains and something on the walls.

We did a few odd chores and then Tyler and I worked out. This is the first time he did it with me, and I kicked his butt! Toot my own horn a bit!

Then it was leftovers for lunch and a discussion on how to save money to hopefully go to Mexico in March. The kids keep volunteering their piggy banks and tooth-fairy money, because they don't realize that that money comes from us to begin with...not really adding to the bottom line.

We played games all afternoon while Logan slept. Our new game, Snap, and Headbandz. It ended up becoming a speed game to see who could guess what card was on their head before Logan revealed what it was. The kids version has too many pictures that are recognizable by him! Hangaburgers, Fresh Fries, Chechup (ketchup), Apple, etc. It was fun.


Now, it's a picnic dinner again and Star Wars Episode 1.


It's been a great weekend. I love times like this. Tomorrow is church and although I love it, I'm not looking forward to venturing out in the cold. Guess I better get used to the fact that winter is here. Winter is not my favourite season. I don't like the extra effort it takes to go anywhere...snowpants, mittens, hats, coats, boots, times 3 children is time consuming. Plus shovelling, brushing off vehicles. But, when there is nothing else to do, it is a good excuse to do nothing.