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I had been wanting to build a snowman for awhile. Snowpocalypse, round 1 didn’t involve much packing snow by day two and we missed the window in which to build our snowman. So on Saturday, day two of Snowpocalypse, round 2, we bundled up, traipsed outside and began to build a snowman. By we I mean that FireDad began to build a snowman. I just took pictures.
BigBrother helped a bit.
LittleBrother mostly fell down in the snow, cried, got picked up, took two steps and fell down again.
And again.
This was the first time we’ve been able to use the Snowman Kit that we got from one of my Grandpa’s friends during the week of his funeral. In the plastic bag came two black circles for the eyes, an orange carrot-type nose, a yellow pipe for the mouth, three brown circles for the buttons and a black scarf to tie around his neck. All pieces but the scarf were handmade. It’s totally awesome. So, once the pieces were in place, I thought FireDad was done and I took a picture of him with his creation.
We went about slipping and sliding and tripping our way through the snow. Then FireDad told me to go look at our snowman. I did. I laughed out loud. Really, I lol-ed in the snow. My awesome husband made me an ANGRY SNOWMAN.
We’ve been talking lots about Calvin & Hobbes for the past few weeks. Even before Grandpa’s sudden death (for which this particular strip is totally appropriate), we had been talking about rebuilding our Calvin & Hobbes library so that the boys have access to what we both feel is the epitome of comic strip awesomeness. And so with the angry snowman in mind, my husband made my day. Or weekend. But we didn’t bring him to life. Promise.
We did some sledding.
We had a snowball fight. Or two. Or three.
And, really, despite the fact that we haven’t left the house since Friday and they cancelled not only soccer but church, we really had a wonderful weekend. I mean, with smiles like this, how could it be anything but good?
I’d be singing a different tune if we had been without power (like my parents and grandmas and some other bloggers I know). I hope everyone was able to be safe and warm this weekend. Let’s hunker down for Round 3, set to begin on Tuesday. (By the way? Despite the cheer of this post, I’m over winter.)
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[Reminder: My $100 Visa Gift Card giveaway, sponsored by BlogHer and V8 V-Fusion, ends tomorrow. Go enter!]
I loved snow days when I was a child. Even though I loved school (yes, I was a nerd), I loved snow even more. On The Farm, we had the perfect sled riding hill, somewhat viewable in some recent pictures I shared with you. On Snow Days that didn’t make for horribly treacherous driving, my parents would occasionally let me host sled riding parties. The memories of those fun days stick with me even now. The wonder of a Snow Day. The laughter of teenagers whipping down a hill, forgetting to be too cool if only for a few minutes. The red cheeks as we all gathered in the living room for hot chocolate and 90’s music.
Ah, Snow Days.
But today I almost changed my tune to, “Bah!, Snow Days!”
BigBrother was supposed to return to school today after his two weeks of Christmas vacation. As much as I love the child, I needed him to go back to school today. Having him home for two weeks with the added interruption of holidays has left me with a huge pile of work to do. I had plans to not only do that work but do it well, hit the gym and maybe even have a special one-on-one moment with LittleBrother.
Then they canceled schools in our area.
My plans for the day went out the window and got lost in the swirling snow. Thankfully FireDad is home today (another bonus of fire life) and he was able to wrangle lunch and put the kids down for a nap. I’m trying to work and be generally productive but children keep asking me what button to press on their Leapster or ask, ever so cutely, to put a puzzle together and, dang it, that’s hard to say no to when they bat those super long eyelashes that they have both been blessed with thanks to their father’s genes. And so, it’s 12:44pm and I’m behind on my day’s goals.
And I’m kind of okay with that… mostly.
You see, once we found out school was canceled and we fed BigBrother his breakfast? Well, FireDad and I snuggled under the covers for a good hour until LittleBrother woke up. Then we fed him breakfast and snuggled a bit more, this time with two kids crawling all over us. Why didn’t I just jump straight into the workload I have?
It’s that Magic of a Snow Day.
It really is magical. Sure, I’m waiting desperately for return emails now and maybe even kicking myself a little bit but I’m figuring it is okay in the end. I’ll forever have that memory of the glorious light reflecting off the snow and shining into our (clean!) bedroom as two little boys climbed all over us while we pretended to be asleep. I love their laughter. And if the temperatures don’t drop too badly by the time (glorious) nap time is over, I hope we make a few more memories out in the snow. The gym can wait. That’s what Wii Fit is for. The work will get done. That’s what the hours after bedtime are for.
It’s a Snow Day.
These days of their childhood will pass by too quickly. My parents, who both worked outside the home, tried to make Snow Days a little magical for us. I hope to do the same for our kids. I hope to remember to keep things in perspective and not allow the worry of work and life to interfere with the Magic of a Snow Day. I hope that someday, maybe on their child’s first Snow Day, they can look back and say, “Remember when Mom and Dad did that one thing on that one Snow Day? Let’s do that with the kids today.”
Sled riding. Hot chocolate. Bird stalking. Magic, indeed.
Happy Magical Snow Day!
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I’m grumpy today. Spring is supposed to be arriving. But it is currently 25 degrees (Farenheit!) outside. I know that March has temperamental weather but this seems ridiculous. I should shut my mouth before ten inches of snow fall on my lily sprouts.
We did get outside two days this week. You know, when it was seventy-five instead of twenty-five. I’m a better parent when we are able to get outside with regularity. The fresh air helps recharge my patience. The fresh air helps them use their energy appropriately. The sunshine not only gives us some necessary Vitamin D but makes us smile. There’s no smiling right now. Gray clouds are reminding us that we’re stuck inside today. Grumpypants on instead of Happyshorts.
The boys, of course, don’t understand. Two days ago, they were outside for two hours at a time. So why not today? LittleBrother stood at the back door and cried, “Siiiiiiiiiiiiiide,” for quite some time. BigBrother has asked no less than fifteen times if we can go outside after lunch. Apparently the answer of “no” is not acceptable. “It’s not raining,” he says. “It can’t be that cold, Mommy.” Sadly, it can be.
Soon, of course, I’ll be ranting about the over-bearing heat of mid-summer. (I actually hate heat. Also, hate and heat have the same letters. This is no coincidence.) I prefer spring and fall. I guess I can’t have it all. But, soon enough, we’ll be able to spend more time outside. Perhaps when the wind is blowing the general stink off of us, BigBrother will be able to avoid some germs. He’s gotten every bug from preschool this winter and if he gets one more ear infection, well, I don’t want to talk about it.
How’s Spring coming along your way? Please share pictures of sunshine with us today. We’re in need a of a pick-me-up.
