A Decent Snow

February 2018

This winter we had lots of ice events and teaser snow that didn't really amount to any accumulation. And then we got one snow where the snow stuck. It was only a few inches but it was lovely, not too cold and it was a weekend. The little girls wanted to get out in it, so I overrode the "no" I my head, and went with the "yes" in their eyes. We geared up and headed out.

We decided to walk to the local senior center and go sledding. It is a biggest enough hill to satisfy the desire for a bit of a rush without being too intimidating. Down and up, down and up we went. Individually, in pairs, as a train over and over again. Laughing, smiling, landing in piles and finally a little tired.

First Taste of Snow

We got an earlier than normal first snow on Sunday. It was beautiful and thick and coated the trees branches with an icing effect. Snow continued off and on into the evening and we woke up Monday without power. It was pretty chilly in the house already. Schools were closed so the big girls stayed home while Jim worked and I brought the little girls to Aunt Becky's before I headed into the office. They all had a fun relaxing day. Then on Tuesday morning the snow began again and they closed school. We didn't get as much as they foretasted but we did get a few inches.

These were a perfect few inches. Just right for packing and making snow balls. I set out all of the snow gear in the mud room and one by one they suited up. Meg and Bridge were out first and got started making snow piles. It took me a while to get Hanna dressed. Putting boots and mittens on toddlers is an Olympic feat. As I was trying to get her boots on she fell over onto her back. She lay there on her bedroom floor and started moving her arms and legs with the cutest grin. Was she doing snow angels?

I brought Hanna out and stood her on the sidewalk. She made the sweetest little O face and looked around. She struggled to move in a way that achieved her goals but Megan was happy to help her get from one place to another. At one point Megan sat her in the snow and Hanna laid back. She made her own little snow angel. I remarked over this and Megan said "I know, I showed her how" I guess the two had been practicing inside for just this moment.

Frustration set in as the reduced mobility continued to be an issue, but we re-positioned Hanna again. The girls were all outside now discussing what to build and how. They collected and molded snow. Hanna meanwhile laid in the snow and rolled to her tummy. She leaned down and let her lips touch the snow. She opened her mouth for a taste, then she did it again quite pleased with the sensation.

Hanna and I headed in after our fun and the big sisters continued to play and create in the snow. Emma molded the snow into a seated human, with impressive results. I don't know if we will get much more snow this season but it put us in the Christmas mindset and I am happy to say that Johanna enjoyed her first taste of snow.
 

Grass doesn't make a Good Snowman

And so we are halfway through Winter and we are still waiting for some real snow. I don't love the cold but I do love the experience of at least one good snow storm each year. There is a beauty to that white blanket as it falls and silences the world for a short time. There is a purpose in digging out and a thrill in bundling up and playing. And snow is the ever valid excuse for hot chocolate. This year though, it has been an unseasonably warm.

At Christmas we randomly sang "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas" and Bridget felt robbed when I had to explain that it was not going to be white in Baltimore. "Then why do we have a snowman bucket" she said. The bucket of snowman accessories still sits in our living room, waiting to be put to use. We headed into January and the girls, Bridget especially, were hoping for snow. We were driving to ballet class and as Bridget looked out the window at the dull winter landscape, she tells me "It needs to snow! Grass doesn't make a good snowman."

At the end of January we awoke one Saturday morning to a small white layer covering everything. The Saturday events were canceled because of icy roads so we had a free morning to play in the snow. We bundled up and happily headed outside. Bridget walked out into the yard, turned back to me and declared "This isn't snow. It's ice! It's crunchy!" She was right. The snow we did get was followed by freezing rain and it's whiteness was deceptive. I couldn't shovel it. I had to chip it and scrape it off the sidewalk. The girls couldn't pack it into a snowball or do snow angels. But it was slippery, so the big girls got sleds out and slid down the sidewalk. The 3 big girls went one street over to go down the bigger hill. After a few runs though Megs fell and banged her knee. Em and Rae couldn't get her to walk back so Rachael got all of the sleds and came back to get me. Emma stayed with her until I arrived and we carried her home together. I was glad they had each other.

So far that was our only snow that stuck. We got huge flakes yesterday but it didn't amount to anything. They are still waiting and dreaming of making snowmen.

Snowday(s)

 So far this calender year, we have had at least 5 snow days and numerous late openings. Sometimes I look forward to snow days but in 2011 they have felt like a nuisance. Maybe it feels that way because they have been on my work days more often or on dance class day, or maybe because they have been so often and sometimes for questionable weather conditions.

The traditional snow day involves everyone relaxing, playing outside, and drinking hot chocolate. It is fun and light-hearted. One recent snow day was on my normal day home and it wound up being a great day to play outside. It wasn't windy or super chilly. There was plenty of fresh white snow, the perfect blank canvas. We piled on our snow gear and headed out. Poor Emma had a fever and instead spent the whole day feeling awful on the sofa, medicine didn't help much. Megan also had a fever but with Tylenol felt well enough to play for a little while.

Rachael helped shovel the walk and then poured her energy into making a snow tunnel. Megan tromped around for a little while and then headed back in to collapse into the sofa with Emma. Bridget and I worked together on a snowman. Bridge was really into smoothing the body with her little mittens. Rachael joined us to put the facial features on.  Jim had the hot water ready for hot chocolate when we came in. It was a great snow day.

Most of the other snow days were not great, Jim and I tried to work from home amid the noise, we had more ice than snow and more sick kids, but I'll try to just remember that good one.

A week later the snowman is still out there. It is much shorter and Rachael has fixed him up a few times but with this weather he doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Blizzards

As I type I am drinking coffee out of the mug that the girls created for me Christmas 2006. Megan contributed colorful scribbles, Rachael made a large heart that said "I Love You Mom!" and Emma drew a picture of me, with a huge pregnant belly, and herself holding my hand. I can't help but smile when I look at this mug. We have gone through a lot of mugs lately because I generally make hot chocolate for the girls when they have been out in the snow and we have had a lot of snow. Three blizzards in one season has taken it's toll on our hot chocolate supply. At the beginning of February we had 2 blizzards, 27 inches and then 19 inches, within just a few days of each other.

Everyone knew the storms were coming, so the grocery stores were packed with people when Jim went on the Feb. 4th, and most of the shelves were empty. We did get what we needed as we prepared to be snowed in. There was an excited anticipation in the air. The snow started on Friday 2/5 and school got out 2 hours early. I left work early but when I picked Bridget up from Becky's house she looked terrible. She had started a fever on Thursday but now had and awful cough and gross discharge. I called our new doctor and even though they were closing early they agreed to stay to see her. I usually don't bring the kids to the doctor until fevers have lasted a few days, because there have been too many occasions when I make lots of arrangements to get to the doctor and then get the "it's just a cold" diagnosis. With a Blizzard coming I didn't want to risk it, so we went. The doctor's office was wonderful with Bridget but we got the"it's just a cold" diagnosis.

The snow kept coming, big, fat flakes fell all night and kept falling on Saturday. Jim noticed that the power lines in our back yard were sagging under the snow-ladened branches. So he trudged out with long poles and knocked the snow off. We didn't want to risk losing power. By Sunday morning the roads still weren't plowed but the whole neighborhood was out with shovels. Jim needs hernia surgery so he stayed in with Bridget who was still feverish on the sofa. The big girls and I went out and shoveled. It took a few hours to clear the sidewalks and driveway. The girls switched to sledding on the 6 foot tall piles that we created as we cleared the driveways.

And then the plows came. We were excited to see them but a wave of dread hit me when I saw that the plow was tilted to our side of the road and sure enough he deposited most of the 27 inches on our side of the street. Our neighbors got a laugh but then came over to help me dig out the driveway. Jim came out to shovel too and I was grateful because I was losing my motivation.

They closed school for the whole week when they forecasted a 2nd blizzard for Tuesday night. Jim's manager announced that everyone was working from home all week. I tried to work from home on Monday but it is very hard to get much done at the dining room table with 4 snowed in kids getting stir crazy. My parents watched the girls on Tuesday so I could go into the office for a little while. Jim made it to his consult for hernia surgery and then brought Bridget in to the doctor for her "well" visit. She was still not better although the fever was gone. She had an ear infection so they picked up antibiotics. Bridget also had her blood drawn for lead testing. Jim said she didn't even cry. I think this is because she didn't know what was coming and Jim kept her distracted like a pro. Bridge proudly showed off her bandage that evening.

I was glad that we had one good day to get things done, before it started to snow again. This second storm was a bad one. It was colder and the winds were really strong. Jim had to go out again and clear the snow off branches on the power lines. The novelty and fun of our first Feb. blizzard was gone and none of us wanted to shovel. The big girls had lost Wii privileges during the first storm, but with a week off of school we came up with a way for them to earn it back. Jim told them they could get it back by shoveling. They were eager to play so they went out on Wednesday during the storm to shovel. I called them back in after 30 minutes or so because it just looked miserable outside. I told them we would do more later. When we all did go back out on Thursday the sun was out but I was met with lots of whining and it was not a fun experience. A plow came through that evening again depositing the majority of the snow on our side. by the time we finished shoveling, our road had  6 foot mountains of snow lining it and only one car could pass at a time.

The girls played outside in the snow quite a bit, but I never did get to take them to a good sledding hill. We either couldn't get out, or Bridget was too sick, or it was too cold and icy. When Bridget was feeling better she was eager to go out and had a blast in the tunnel that Emma built. As a joke Jim put the bike flag in to Bridget's coat one day so we wouldn't lose her in the yard.

It is now the end of February and the huge snow piles are still out front. My parking space has 3 feet of snow in it still but I got fed up with playing musical cars in the driveway and today shoveled the smaller 2 foot high snow pile that was in the space on the other side of our driveway. It is finally melting and I was hopeful to see my daffodils are peaking out of the snow and dirt.