Last night I put at load of jeans into the washing machine. Just as I closed the lid, Miriam said, "Wait! My chapstick is still in my pocket!" I dug through the soaking wet jeans and found the pair she described. Sure enough, her chapstick was in the pocket. Fortunately, no water had leaked into it.
I then proceeded to lecture her on responsibility and always checking her pockets when she gets undressed. I explained how things can be ruined in the laundry and how the laundry can be ruined by things left in.
This morning, Miriam went to find her favorite jeans in the dryer and guess what she found? My chapstick.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
It's Not a Stomach Virus
It's pure, unadulterated evil, that's what it is. Unfortunately, no one makes pills to cure that yet.
We went to the doctor last week because Solomon's puking still wouldn't stop. They did a strep test and urinalysis that were both negative. We sent off stool samples and tested for several things. All negative. He has a lot of symptoms of a lot of things, but they don't all add up to one thing or another. This is so frustrating.
We cut out dairy for the last week and he went to the school nurse with a stomachache today. He proceeded to vomit, a lot. I picked him and we spent the afternoon watching cartoons. He's fine now.
We're using Zofran to control the nausea and vomiting but that's not a feasible long-term solution. I don't know what we'll do now.
We went to the doctor last week because Solomon's puking still wouldn't stop. They did a strep test and urinalysis that were both negative. We sent off stool samples and tested for several things. All negative. He has a lot of symptoms of a lot of things, but they don't all add up to one thing or another. This is so frustrating.
We cut out dairy for the last week and he went to the school nurse with a stomachache today. He proceeded to vomit, a lot. I picked him and we spent the afternoon watching cartoons. He's fine now.
We're using Zofran to control the nausea and vomiting but that's not a feasible long-term solution. I don't know what we'll do now.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
McDonald's vs. Whataburger
So the 1 Adult, 5 Children started to go a little nuts today. It's chilly and cloudy and threatening rain. The backyard is muddy from last night's rain. I thought the next best thing would be a trip to McDonald's for lunch and playing. Notice, I said thought. Past tense.
We got off to a good start. The cashier took our order just fine, repeated it back to me and everything was right. That's no small feat considering that there are 6 of us and a couple of the small people changed their minds and no one wanted the same toppings on their cheeseburgers. We moved on to fill our cups while our food was prepared. No one spilled anything. Yeah for small victories.
Then we chose a table. That's when things went a little haywire. We opened the cheeseburgers and Solomon said, "Hey, mine is supposed to be ketchup only." It was clearly covered in onions. And not the big, round slices that are easily picked off; no, these were teeny tiny, minced onion pieces.
So I took it back and apologetically asked for another one. When I got back to the table, it not only had onions on it, but also pickles and mustard. :sigh: Back to the counter again. I smiled, unapologetically this time, and said, "This still isn't ketchup only." That time, I checked the burger before going back to the table and it was just ketchup. Baby steps, right? Solomon took one bite and said, "This tastes like it's only grease. Did they throw it in the french fry cooker?" We blotted the grease off of it with napkins. Three napkins. Gross.
A few minutes later, Solomon said, "When I get older and I start thinking about where I want to work, I'm going to remember this and not work at McDonald's. I'm going to work at Whataburger instead."
P.S. This McDonald's also has the worst public wifi ever. Seriously, ever. Also, half of these children with me are too old for this. They are bored.
We got off to a good start. The cashier took our order just fine, repeated it back to me and everything was right. That's no small feat considering that there are 6 of us and a couple of the small people changed their minds and no one wanted the same toppings on their cheeseburgers. We moved on to fill our cups while our food was prepared. No one spilled anything. Yeah for small victories.
Then we chose a table. That's when things went a little haywire. We opened the cheeseburgers and Solomon said, "Hey, mine is supposed to be ketchup only." It was clearly covered in onions. And not the big, round slices that are easily picked off; no, these were teeny tiny, minced onion pieces.
So I took it back and apologetically asked for another one. When I got back to the table, it not only had onions on it, but also pickles and mustard. :sigh: Back to the counter again. I smiled, unapologetically this time, and said, "This still isn't ketchup only." That time, I checked the burger before going back to the table and it was just ketchup. Baby steps, right? Solomon took one bite and said, "This tastes like it's only grease. Did they throw it in the french fry cooker?" We blotted the grease off of it with napkins. Three napkins. Gross.
A few minutes later, Solomon said, "When I get older and I start thinking about where I want to work, I'm going to remember this and not work at McDonald's. I'm going to work at Whataburger instead."
P.S. This McDonald's also has the worst public wifi ever. Seriously, ever. Also, half of these children with me are too old for this. They are bored.
1 Adult, 5 Children
A summary of our weekend:
Meals prepared: 7
Snacks served: 5
Time outs enforced: 8
15 minute increments of audio/visual entertainment removed: 3
Crying fits: 7
Reminders to use the restroom: 43? (I really don't know.)
Walks taken: 1
Walks missed due to rain/headache/cold: 2
Playgrounds visited: 2
Children caught playing on the forbidden treadmill: 3
Birds' nests built: 1
Sword fightsrefereed banished: 5
Loads of laundry done: 4
Teeth brushed: it's a never-ending job
Hands washed: no one knows
Dandelions picked lovingly: 7
Full-on belly laughs: innumerable
Hugs: too many to count
And you know what? All the crying fits, time outs, sword fighting and treadmill discovery were worth the last three.
Meals prepared: 7
Snacks served: 5
Time outs enforced: 8
15 minute increments of audio/visual entertainment removed: 3
Crying fits: 7
Reminders to use the restroom: 43? (I really don't know.)
Walks taken: 1
Walks missed due to rain/headache/cold: 2
Playgrounds visited: 2
Children caught playing on the forbidden treadmill: 3
Birds' nests built: 1
Sword fights
Loads of laundry done: 4
Teeth brushed: it's a never-ending job
Hands washed: no one knows
Dandelions picked lovingly: 7
Full-on belly laughs: innumerable
Hugs: too many to count
And you know what? All the crying fits, time outs, sword fighting and treadmill discovery were worth the last three.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Righteous Indignation
Samuel is Samuel at home but he's occasionally Sam at school. I'm okay with it, as long as he is, so it's no big deal. At least, I didn't think it was. Until Samuel came home and said, "My friend Samantha stole my nickname! And she's a girl!"
Oh, the humanity!
Oh, the humanity!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Happy Star Wars Day
It was brought to my attention that today is Star Wars Day. May the fourth be with you.
The boy children loved this, Star Wars junkies that they are. Miriam didn't care. She was more excited that today's date can make a true mathematical equation: 5+4=9.
The boy children loved this, Star Wars junkies that they are. Miriam didn't care. She was more excited that today's date can make a true mathematical equation: 5+4=9.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The Pukes, Pt. 2
One thing I forgot to discuss in the previous post -- stomach viruses this bad and this exhausting will also cause a person to re-evaluate the worst time periods of her life. Up to now, the worst weeks of my life consisted of the week I filed for The Divorce and the week we all had the flu. And I can say, without a doubt that the last month, especially the last 10 days, have trumped both of those.
Here's why: The Divorce sucked. For obvious reasons. But I could see how it would accomplish things in the long run. I knew I was becoming a stronger person and I knew I would be alright in the end. But this -- this serves no purpose. No one is benefiting from this. And maybe I just can't see it because I'm in the thick of it, but my peace of mind is shattered for a very long time. I will dread another stomach virus for as long as I can imagine right now.
This is worse than the flu, too. And here's why: with the flu, I could see signs of steady improvement after a point. Our fevers eventually went down, we stopped coughing every time we talked, our energy levels slowly increased and we stopped requiring Advil and Tylenol around the clock. But with this -- everything will seem fine for 12 hours, even 48 hours and then BAM! More puking. Also, with the flu, as long as we lay still with pillows and cool compresses and cough drops, we could enjoy talking, playing imagination games and watching tv. But with this, everything is a great big ball of awful horrendousness with no breaks and no end in sight.
So this is, officially, the worst week of my life.
Here's why: The Divorce sucked. For obvious reasons. But I could see how it would accomplish things in the long run. I knew I was becoming a stronger person and I knew I would be alright in the end. But this -- this serves no purpose. No one is benefiting from this. And maybe I just can't see it because I'm in the thick of it, but my peace of mind is shattered for a very long time. I will dread another stomach virus for as long as I can imagine right now.
This is worse than the flu, too. And here's why: with the flu, I could see signs of steady improvement after a point. Our fevers eventually went down, we stopped coughing every time we talked, our energy levels slowly increased and we stopped requiring Advil and Tylenol around the clock. But with this -- everything will seem fine for 12 hours, even 48 hours and then BAM! More puking. Also, with the flu, as long as we lay still with pillows and cool compresses and cough drops, we could enjoy talking, playing imagination games and watching tv. But with this, everything is a great big ball of awful horrendousness with no breaks and no end in sight.
So this is, officially, the worst week of my life.
The Pukes
You know what the pukes will do to a mother? One or two episodes will make her nervous, make her fear for the other children in the family and maybe a bit for herself. But she can generally deal with this, assuming it is short-lived and limited to one child.
But do you know what a month of on-and-off puking in three children will do to a mother? It will make her lose all hope of ever having a wholly healthy family again. That's what it will do, without a doubt.
It will cause her never to sleep peacefully. It will cause her to question every sideways look from her children, every too-quiet moment, every wince of discomfort and every slightly suspicious cough. She will be reduced to pestering said children with constant inquiries as to the state of their digestive tracts. She will launch into lengthy diatribes about the nominal differences among nausea, stomach rumbling, stabbing pains, dull aches, the need for a bowel movement and simple hunger pangs.
The mother dealing with a month of on-and-off puking will stock up on baking soda and white vinegar, a pallet at a time, terrified that she may be stuck at home with vomiting children and no means of sanitizing or deodorizing her home. Her pantry will forever be packed with 7-Up, Jell-o, Gatorade, chicken bouillon and saltines. She'll also never be short on the components of the infamous BRAT diet, plus carrots.
This mother will develop a sophisticated means of doing laundry, involving pre-soaking, soaking with the aforementioned baking soda and white vinegar, long, hot washing with detergent and twice rinsing. She will cease folding towels and wash cloths, opting instead to leave them placed strategically around the home. This enables her to grab one at a moment's notice, thereby catching vomit before it hits the carpet.
She will begin hanging trash bags off the doorknobs so that plastic garbage cans can also be placed thoughtfully throughout the home. If there are not sufficient garbage cans to assuage her anxiety, she will pull out massive plastic bowls to fill in the other spots. All vomit receptacles will be sprinkled liberally with her baking soda. This serves two purposes: odor absorption and splatter prevention.
This overwrought mother will even begin to question her sanity. As much as she dearly loves these puking children, she will have fleeting glimpses of a road not taken: a road without children, a road without children who puke for a month. She will begin to dream about the coming summer -- heretofore dreaded because the fruit of her womb is expected to spend the entirety 350 miles away -- with an anticipation she has never known until now.
This poor mother will develop stress headaches that no amount of Advil and caffeine can banish. She will move about as if in a dream, wanting to cry and not crying because her children already feel awful enough. They shouldn't see their mother cry like this. Also, crying is not known to do anything helpful for headaches or vomiting.
That's what The Pukes will do to a mother. In case you were wondering.
But do you know what a month of on-and-off puking in three children will do to a mother? It will make her lose all hope of ever having a wholly healthy family again. That's what it will do, without a doubt.
It will cause her never to sleep peacefully. It will cause her to question every sideways look from her children, every too-quiet moment, every wince of discomfort and every slightly suspicious cough. She will be reduced to pestering said children with constant inquiries as to the state of their digestive tracts. She will launch into lengthy diatribes about the nominal differences among nausea, stomach rumbling, stabbing pains, dull aches, the need for a bowel movement and simple hunger pangs.
The mother dealing with a month of on-and-off puking will stock up on baking soda and white vinegar, a pallet at a time, terrified that she may be stuck at home with vomiting children and no means of sanitizing or deodorizing her home. Her pantry will forever be packed with 7-Up, Jell-o, Gatorade, chicken bouillon and saltines. She'll also never be short on the components of the infamous BRAT diet, plus carrots.
This mother will develop a sophisticated means of doing laundry, involving pre-soaking, soaking with the aforementioned baking soda and white vinegar, long, hot washing with detergent and twice rinsing. She will cease folding towels and wash cloths, opting instead to leave them placed strategically around the home. This enables her to grab one at a moment's notice, thereby catching vomit before it hits the carpet.
She will begin hanging trash bags off the doorknobs so that plastic garbage cans can also be placed thoughtfully throughout the home. If there are not sufficient garbage cans to assuage her anxiety, she will pull out massive plastic bowls to fill in the other spots. All vomit receptacles will be sprinkled liberally with her baking soda. This serves two purposes: odor absorption and splatter prevention.
This overwrought mother will even begin to question her sanity. As much as she dearly loves these puking children, she will have fleeting glimpses of a road not taken: a road without children, a road without children who puke for a month. She will begin to dream about the coming summer -- heretofore dreaded because the fruit of her womb is expected to spend the entirety 350 miles away -- with an anticipation she has never known until now.
This poor mother will develop stress headaches that no amount of Advil and caffeine can banish. She will move about as if in a dream, wanting to cry and not crying because her children already feel awful enough. They shouldn't see their mother cry like this. Also, crying is not known to do anything helpful for headaches or vomiting.
That's what The Pukes will do to a mother. In case you were wondering.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Dentist Update
Miriam did very well! I am so relieved. She took the valium, had nitrous oxide and didn't even notice when they injected her gums with anesthetic. Wahoo! It took quite a while to do the work that she needed but she didn't complain. I was worried that she would be in pain tonight after the anesthesia wore off, but she hasn't said anything about it. I am so proud of her! We still have to go back in a couple of weeks for one more, much smaller cavity. But we're done with the majority of her work.
Samuel had x-rays and cleaning done. He has no cavities! We got to see his x-rays and they show his adult teeth ready to come in during the next several months. He's anxious to have his first loose tooth but it could still be a while; he didn't get his first teeth until about 9 months old so he's a little late in that area.
Solomon also had x-rays and cleaning. He has one small cavity and needs his molars sealed so we'll do that next week. The dentist said we need to see an orthodontist for an evaluation. Solomon's upper bicuspids are coming in a bit high and are not aligned with his other teeth. He also has some flaring out of his molars on the top. I really hope we don't have to do braces but that remains to be seen.
All in all, it was a good trip. Any dentist visit that doesn't include crying and hyperventilating is a good one, in my book!
Samuel had x-rays and cleaning done. He has no cavities! We got to see his x-rays and they show his adult teeth ready to come in during the next several months. He's anxious to have his first loose tooth but it could still be a while; he didn't get his first teeth until about 9 months old so he's a little late in that area.
Solomon also had x-rays and cleaning. He has one small cavity and needs his molars sealed so we'll do that next week. The dentist said we need to see an orthodontist for an evaluation. Solomon's upper bicuspids are coming in a bit high and are not aligned with his other teeth. He also has some flaring out of his molars on the top. I really hope we don't have to do braces but that remains to be seen.
All in all, it was a good trip. Any dentist visit that doesn't include crying and hyperventilating is a good one, in my book!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Tough Times
We've had a run of tough days lately. I can see the proverbial light at the end of the proverbial tunnel but what I really want is for this last week to be proverbial instead of actual.
It started last weekend with a stomach virus that hit us for the second time in 3 weeks. And it just would not go away. I haven't slept well in over a week because I've expected to be woken by ominous coughing and gagging. It's hard to relax.
Miriam has a large cavity that has to be filled tomorrow. She's nervous. I'm nervous. I'm trying really hard not to show how nervous I am because I know that will only make it worse. I have to wake her tomorrow morning at 4:00 if she's going to eat any breakfast because she can't eat for 4 hours before the procedure. And then I'll be giving her some Valium before we head out the door. I really hate this.
Solomon has been extremely stressed. He's exhibiting some symptoms that worry me. I'm not sure of everything that's going on because he refuses to tell me. We went to the doctor to get some guidance and for now we're just watching him. I just want it to go away.
Summer can't come soon enough. We need a break from school and our whole routine really. Sigh.
It started last weekend with a stomach virus that hit us for the second time in 3 weeks. And it just would not go away. I haven't slept well in over a week because I've expected to be woken by ominous coughing and gagging. It's hard to relax.
Miriam has a large cavity that has to be filled tomorrow. She's nervous. I'm nervous. I'm trying really hard not to show how nervous I am because I know that will only make it worse. I have to wake her tomorrow morning at 4:00 if she's going to eat any breakfast because she can't eat for 4 hours before the procedure. And then I'll be giving her some Valium before we head out the door. I really hate this.
Solomon has been extremely stressed. He's exhibiting some symptoms that worry me. I'm not sure of everything that's going on because he refuses to tell me. We went to the doctor to get some guidance and for now we're just watching him. I just want it to go away.
Summer can't come soon enough. We need a break from school and our whole routine really. Sigh.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
What a Thinker!
Samuel has had a recent problem with using potty words too often, in an attempt to make people laugh. He gets pretty gross with it so the other night I told him that from then on, any time he used inappropriate potty words (i.e., other than referring to actually using the bathroom) he would have a time out.
Today, while signing the kids out of the after school program, I heard him all the way across the cafeteria, sing-songing, "Pee-pee, poo-poo, diarrhea!" Gross. After he came back to me with his backpack, I told him he'd have a time out as soon as we got home. His reply? "Mom, instead of that, can I have my time out tonight after I'm in my bed and asleep?"
Today, while signing the kids out of the after school program, I heard him all the way across the cafeteria, sing-songing, "Pee-pee, poo-poo, diarrhea!" Gross. After he came back to me with his backpack, I told him he'd have a time out as soon as we got home. His reply? "Mom, instead of that, can I have my time out tonight after I'm in my bed and asleep?"
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Remember This?
We had a massive thunderstorm at the end of last summer. It rained for a day and a half straight and we did some serious wading afterward. Here's the link to that post and a picture.
Well, that area looked exactly like that again today, only it was melted snow. I'm not kidding. It snowed from Friday morning until last night. When it does that and the temperature is just above freezing and the following day is 60F, you get a ton of snow run off.
We attempted to play outside for a bit -- no wading, though. It was a bit surreal. We had on snow boots and gloves, but skipped out on the coats, hats and scarves.
Well, that area looked exactly like that again today, only it was melted snow. I'm not kidding. It snowed from Friday morning until last night. When it does that and the temperature is just above freezing and the following day is 60F, you get a ton of snow run off.
We attempted to play outside for a bit -- no wading, though. It was a bit surreal. We had on snow boots and gloves, but skipped out on the coats, hats and scarves.
Why I Don't Like Today
- Miriam and Samuel started puking last night.
- Miriam and Samuel started having diarrhea this morning.
- I'm not feeling so hot.
- Solomon denies feeling sick but I'm just waiting for that shoe to drop.
- I'm somewhat hungry but limiting our diet today in light of our earlier gastrointestinal distress.
- I'm worried about whether the boys can go to school tomorrow and Miriam can keep her dental appointment.
- The weather was beautiful today -- 60F and sunny -- but we were too sick to go any where.
- We did go outside to play in the snow for a bit and Samuel puked.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Why I Like Today
- I didn't have to go any where in the 7" of snow.
- My house is really, really clean.
- I love my new bedroom.
- I made a fantastic chocolate cake with fabulous icing, all from scratch.
- The fantastic chocolate cake with fabulous icing is delicious.
- We had pizza rolls and baby carrots for dinner -- tasty and easy.
- We watched The Goonies last night and the kids liked it so much, they watched it twice more today.
- I shaved my head again.
- I also cut the boys' hair and Samuel asked for a mohawk. He's very cool and very cute.
- I watched 2 cute movies on TBS -- ones I haven't seen before.
- I'm now watching Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason. I have only seen the first one and I assume this one is as good as the first. Actually, the books are really good, the movies are only decent and only because of Colin Firth; Renee Zellweger is just so-so. In any other movie Renee Zellweger is really annoying with her sourpuss-squinty face. But now I'm rambling, rather than listing reasons why I like today. Moving along ...
- I had really good coffee with half and half this morning. I don't remember the last time I did that. It's been a very long time.
- I have lit lots of wonderful little candles, for no other reason than because I just like them.
- I can feel that wisdom tooth trying to expand a bit more but it's not as painful as it was the last time it tried to expand.
- I am not going to work on Monday; of course, that's because I'm taking Miriam to the dentist but I have a much better gut feeling about this dentist than I did about the last one. I'm big on gut feelings lately.
- I'm about to begin re-watching Arrested Development. I finished the whole series earlier this week and I've been told it's even better the second time, so here I go.
)
Breakfast in Bed
I'm not a fan. I like my bed a lot and it makes me nervous to have food in it because food is messy. But I woke this morning to Solomon shaking me. He pointed to the dresser and said, "I made your breakfast!"
So I sat up and ate it, very carefully. He had toasted two waffles for me and washed some strawberries. He even brought in syrup and butter and a glass of milk. And to top it all off, he even made breakfast for himself and the other two children. Such a sweet kid.
So I sat up and ate it, very carefully. He had toasted two waffles for me and washed some strawberries. He even brought in syrup and butter and a glass of milk. And to top it all off, he even made breakfast for himself and the other two children. Such a sweet kid.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
My Thoughts on Being Bald
I like it more than I thought I would. I stopped wearing scarves, bandanas and hats because they itch and I don't care what people think of my bald head. I didn't do it for them anyway.
My hair grows pretty fast. It's already long enough to get messed up. I'm not kidding. I woke up this morning and there was a spot on the side of my head that was all smooshy looking from lying on it. I fixed it with aloe vera gel.
I've used a lot of aloe vera gel in the last few days. I sunburned my scalp on Saturday. When I did this, it occurred to me that I'd probably get a sunburned head at some point but I kind of forgot about it. Then Jennifer and I went to the Mile High Marketplace and walked around for several hours. I wore a hat initially but then my head started itching and it got hot so I took it off. I should have applied some of the $2 sunblock I bought.
People look at me differently since I shaved my head. People who know me look at me like they suddenly don't know me, and not in an I-don't-recognize-you way. It's more like an I-didn't-know-you-had-the-guts-for-this way. Total strangers look at me like I'm a much more interesting person than I really am.
I truly think that hair is just hair now. I'm thinking about dying it some outrageous color because if I don't like it, I can just shave it all off again. This is fun. Also, I'm fully aware that I would probably feel entirely differently about my baldness if I could not grow my hair back again.
My hair grows pretty fast. It's already long enough to get messed up. I'm not kidding. I woke up this morning and there was a spot on the side of my head that was all smooshy looking from lying on it. I fixed it with aloe vera gel.
I've used a lot of aloe vera gel in the last few days. I sunburned my scalp on Saturday. When I did this, it occurred to me that I'd probably get a sunburned head at some point but I kind of forgot about it. Then Jennifer and I went to the Mile High Marketplace and walked around for several hours. I wore a hat initially but then my head started itching and it got hot so I took it off. I should have applied some of the $2 sunblock I bought.
People look at me differently since I shaved my head. People who know me look at me like they suddenly don't know me, and not in an I-don't-recognize-you way. It's more like an I-didn't-know-you-had-the-guts-for-this way. Total strangers look at me like I'm a much more interesting person than I really am.
I truly think that hair is just hair now. I'm thinking about dying it some outrageous color because if I don't like it, I can just shave it all off again. This is fun. Also, I'm fully aware that I would probably feel entirely differently about my baldness if I could not grow my hair back again.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Sick of Hearing ...
About ways to 'beat the recession.' I hate that phrase because it's being over-used and because it's inaccurate. You don't beat a recession. You ride it out. You save your money and you budget and you live sensibly; basically what everyone and their dog should have been doing for the last 20 years anyway. If they had, there mightn't have been a recession to beat.
Spring Snow
It's sort of oxymoronic, but we've had 3 'winter' storms since spring began 2½ weeks ago. The National Weather Service has issued formal warnings with time limits and everything.
The first was the worst. The school district canceled school preemptively because of it. This is the same school district that hasn't canceled school all winter and only called one delayed start. The kids and I were on our way to school when a neighbor and the father of one of Samuel's classmates stopped me and told me school was closed. I hadn't even bothered to check because it was 35 F, with no current precipitation and no wind. I figured that if the storm really got bad, they'd close school early. Oh, well. So the kids spent the day with Jennifer and her boys, which they loved.
The snow started at about 8:30 and picked up considerably all morning. At work, people were calling in and rescheduling their appointments faster than anyone could answer the phones. Finally, the afternoon schedule was completely cleared and closed off. I left at lunch time and went to Jennifer's house.
I had planned to pick up the kids and go home to ride out the storm but I quickly changed my mind. The snow and wind were so bad, I could only see about a ½ mile ahead of me. I skidded a few feet several times and twice thought I was going to go off the road. It was not fun. It took me an hour to get to Jenn's house; that drive is usually 15 to 20 minutes. So we camped out there until the next morning.
Blizzards are lots of fun the next day, though. We went sledding and had a blast. It was the kids' third or fourth time to go sledding but they've never gone on a hill as big as we used this time. It was really high and really fast and really fun.
There is something simple about sledding and playing in the snow. Being bundled up a la Christmas Story-I-can't-put-arms-down! is a novel experience as an adult. Tramping through snow half way to my knees is hard but it's a fantastic work out. And when I fell, I didn't care. What's to care about? And there's nothing quite like getting a big shove down a 20 foot hill and not having any control over where I stop or if I go flying face first into the snow.
The first was the worst. The school district canceled school preemptively because of it. This is the same school district that hasn't canceled school all winter and only called one delayed start. The kids and I were on our way to school when a neighbor and the father of one of Samuel's classmates stopped me and told me school was closed. I hadn't even bothered to check because it was 35 F, with no current precipitation and no wind. I figured that if the storm really got bad, they'd close school early. Oh, well. So the kids spent the day with Jennifer and her boys, which they loved.
The snow started at about 8:30 and picked up considerably all morning. At work, people were calling in and rescheduling their appointments faster than anyone could answer the phones. Finally, the afternoon schedule was completely cleared and closed off. I left at lunch time and went to Jennifer's house.
I had planned to pick up the kids and go home to ride out the storm but I quickly changed my mind. The snow and wind were so bad, I could only see about a ½ mile ahead of me. I skidded a few feet several times and twice thought I was going to go off the road. It was not fun. It took me an hour to get to Jenn's house; that drive is usually 15 to 20 minutes. So we camped out there until the next morning.
Blizzards are lots of fun the next day, though. We went sledding and had a blast. It was the kids' third or fourth time to go sledding but they've never gone on a hill as big as we used this time. It was really high and really fast and really fun.
There is something simple about sledding and playing in the snow. Being bundled up a la Christmas Story-I-can't-put-arms-down! is a novel experience as an adult. Tramping through snow half way to my knees is hard but it's a fantastic work out. And when I fell, I didn't care. What's to care about? And there's nothing quite like getting a big shove down a 20 foot hill and not having any control over where I stop or if I go flying face first into the snow.
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