Snow Day Version 2016

 

Apparently, Mother Nature didn't think we'd seen enough snow during our winter holiday and gave us a decent storm here in NC a couple weeks later. It was actually a mix of sleet, ice, and snow, so not the greatest snow, but it was enough for the kids.

 

They did some sledding Friday morning, lasting way longer than I thought they would, considering it was doing some light sleeting most of the day. Peanut and I only stayed out for an hour or so, but the other kids were having too much fun to come in.

 

And they were back out again that afternoon, running wild through the woods, finding animal tracks and new spots to sled.

 

One of the pluses of a snow day--time on  weekday for french toast, with berry sauce and bananas and whipped cream. So good!

 

Saturday brought another snow day, with a little more snow/ice. Our neighbor made a movie with the kids again, just like he did last year. 

I love that he shares his talents with us, and that it inspires our kids to then try to make their own videos. I guess we need to start teaching them how to edit (which means I may have to learn.)

 

And thanks to to weather, the kids met one of our newish neighbors and made a new friend. I love how being trapped at home for a couple days brings people out to play and gives us all a chance to be outside together. 

 

 Although Peanut and I spent the day inside. He'd had enough after one day of snow and couldn't be convinced to go back out, so we pulled out one of his Koala Crates that he hadn't done yet. (Have you heard of these? Tinker Crates and Koala Crates have been a huge hit at our house.)

  

Peanut got to turn himself into a polar bear, as well as make snowflake wrapping paper and a couple snowball games, which was fitting with the snow, and much warmer than actually playing outside

.

  

This girl did not have such a great snow weekend. Poor Molly thinks she's a puppy sometimes, especially when the world is transformed into this cold, white playground, and I let her off-leash for a few minutes of racing around. We paid for it later that night when she must have thrown out her back, because she was up until 3:30 a.m., whimpering from the pain until the second dose of aspirin finally kicked in. And then, she spent the next day throwing up because I don't think aspirin agrees with her stomach, which has gotten more sensitive in her old age. It was a pretty rough weekend and has us a little nervous about her overall health and what the next year or two might entail. It's hard watching them get old.

 

By Sunday morning, there had been just enough melting and refreezing to make everything solid and crunchy.

 

It was ice, ice everywhere.

 

It's easier to appreciate the beauty when you know it will be sunny and in the 40's and 50's for the next couple days so it will soon be gone.

 

They actually had another snow day on Monday because the parking lots weren't able to be plowed, and a lot of neighborhood streets still had ice that morning.

 

No one minded one more day of playtime.

 

These kids never want it to end.

Resolving To Be Late

A couple weeks ago, Daddy-o and I were talking about what change(s) we could make that would help our family. The atmosphere in our house has been leaning towards frantic hysteria all around and we've all been a lot more frustrated/angry/sad/annoyed/crazy than any of us would like.

What we came up with: a New Year's resolution to be late. Thinking through our day, our most difficult times are when we are trying to go somewhere--to school, to church, to visit friend, to bed--it doesn't really matter where. Having a deadline of when some transition needs to be complete leads to crying and yelling more often than not and while there may be many parts to this equation, the one that seems to be easiest to change is how we, as the adults, are looking at it.

I like to be on time. So does Daddy-o. Before we had kids, we were pretty much never late to anything. And even with kids, we are not habitually late--I have in my mind a time we need to leave about 10 minutes before our actual time, and so even most of our "late" days, we still make it where we need to go just before the start. But the cost of being on time might be too much. I know that for me, the obligation that I feel to meet the time deadline, even if it's just for bedtime, overwhelms everything else and is the most important thing at that moment. And that might seem like a responsible thing, but when it involves other people, who I am only able to semi-control, it makes me act a little crazy.

The other day, as I was trying to rush everyone out the door for school, and getting really annoyed that the kids didn't seem to understand my urgency and were getting ready in their typical lackadaisical manner, it hit me that I send them off with a bad taste in their mouths pretty much every day. When they leave our house, usually they know that I'm frustrated with them. Even if it's one of our better days, I've interrupted conversations and laughter at the breakfast table to tell them to hurry up and I've rushed and pushed to get them out the door on time. Is this really the feeling I want them to have after family time?

So, it might be a little weird to make a goal to be late, and I'm not actually planning on trying to be late, but I am going to try to let go of the need to make being on time the most important thing. I'm pretty sure that my kids knowing that I love them and that I enjoy my time with them right before I drop them off for a day at school is the most important thing I can do during those last few minutes of transition. Giving them one last hug and kiss, and actually meaning it, before I turn of their lights at night will probably shape their health more than those extra 5 minutes of sleep. Having a general sense of calm and happiness in our home is going to do more for our experience as a family than what is happening wherever we are going.

If getting everyone up with plenty of time to get ready and offering a gentle countdown of how much time is left isn't enough, then we just might be late.

Home Again

All packed up and on the way to the airport--with a couple extra suitcases/bags than we came with. 

Tuesday afternoon, we finally had to say goodbye to Utah, and all our family there. This was seriously one of the best trips we've ever taken--so much fun stuff packed into two weeks time, so many people, and our kids were pretty cooperative and agreeable for the most part. In fact, I bet we had a couple days in a row without any serious arguing or tears, even from Peanut. 

And the travel home was almost wrinkle free, just like the trip out. Our flight was on time, kids all managed to stay entertained, even though we had a lot of devices on low battery, and even though it was past bedtime, no one was too cranky. Only issue was when we got to Charlotte and Daddy-o found out the car battery was dead. Luckily, the kids and I had stayed at the airport to get our luggage, so at least we got to wait inside, where it was warm and there was chairs and bathrooms. We made it home just after 12:30 a.m., which did not bode well for waking up early enough to get to school the next day, but what's another day, right?

It's always sad to say goodbye, and for vacations to end, but it's also a new year, and I've got that new year energy that is dying to get home and get to work.

Museum of Curiosity

 

We spent the last couple days back with my family. Daddy-o's vacation ended earlier than the rest of us, so he had to miss out on our trip to the new museum at Thanksgiving Point.

 

This place was pretty awesome. There were 4 sections, and in 4 hours, we only had time to do 3, but the kids were having so much fun. First, they explored the Kidopolis, a little city with a magic shop, a recording studio, theaters, a bank, and all types of fun.

 

The art studio had some really fun stuff.

 

Then, we went down into the rainforest which was my favorite part. There were so many interactive how-do-you-compare-to-the-animals exhibits,

 

like this sloth hang.

 

The kids did a lot better than I did, but I do think that the fact that I was lying on the ground if I didn't really pull myself up may have had something to do with it.

 

Then, there was this really amazing climbing structure that they explored for probably about an hour.

 

Our last section was the Waterworks, which also included some weather stuff, like this wind chamber with 85 mph winds and an earthquake exhibit.

 

And of course, there was all the water play.

 

They had a lot of fun there, until we finally had to drag them out for a very late lunch.

More Family Fun

 

We had such a fun few days with this group! Lots of games, food, movies, playing, & laughing. Wish we lived closer so we could do it more often.

 The cousin line-up. Everyone's a lot taller than last time!

 

I can't get over how big they are all getting. These kids had so much fun together, I hope we don't have to wait another 2.5 years.

 They did another circus for us, which was hilarious, as always. Our kids are like a traveling entertainment troupe--everywhere we go. . .

 

And they got in some more snow fun. Hope it was enough to pacify our kids for the winter, in case we don't get a storm of our own.