Reflections from our Snow Week 2011

It was soooo good to see the sun come out today!

I honestly don't know how people live with all this white stuff for more than a few days at a time.



Now that it is thankfully melting away, I have a few reflections on our snow week:

1. I don't like it when "the weather IS the news".

2. As much as we desperately needed some quality family time, 4 days of staring at each other is plenty.




3. In that time we actually did more than staring. We completed many puzzles, played lots of games, watched too many movies, painted, and left no hiding place unused during hide-n-seek.

4. Which is why is it is good that it actually SNOWED Friday. Ice is so overrated.

5. We are simply not equipped. The city of Dallas doesn't own a single snow plow. 5-6 inches on top of ice can really wreak havoc.



6. It is possible for momma to do the splitz. Right there on the sidewalk. Without even stretching! Who knew? Well, now Jerry and the girls do after witnessing my slip into the splitz. Ouch!

7. But back to the snow itself. Boy was I thankful for it. Lily lost her third tooth Thursday and was awaiting a tooth fairy visit that night. When she stumbled into our room early Friday morning, she was so disappointed to see her tooth remained and no prize was left. I am not sure how I got my thoughts about me so quickly, but I found myself muttering something about how her wings would have gotten damaged by all the snow. Snow? Lily was off to the back window and the tooth fairy was off the hook. Whew!

8. Though Lily had one less tooth, she sure did plenty of eating. We all did actually. I think I may have broken my own record for number of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners cooked in a row for my family.

9. These cheeks are even cuter when they're pink.



10. The hill by the library makes for good sledding. We were thrilled to run into some good friends who had a real, authentic, actual sled. You know, the kind made of wood with metal rails. Why did they have such a thing? Their Dad grew up in PA. And they were kind enough to share it!



11. Sometimes Daddy makes a better sled mate! Crash!





12. It is possible to sweat in below freezing temperatures.



13. We weren't alone in our "sled-maid" idea. Other sled substitutes seen on the hill were: ice chest lids, sheets of insulation, cardboard boxes, and pool intertubes.

14. Lily had great fun on a little pink one.






15. While my other one, dressed in pink, was more comfortable at the library's park rather than the library's hill.


That's okay, Jade. Momma's not too sure about all this white stuff either.

What's your take on it?

9 Seconds of "Sledding" Fun and other possible captions

Our "snow" day here in Texas is actually more of an "ice" day. With no snowmen to build, we decided to make use of an empty rubbermaid.



Alternative captions that come to mind:

What Texans do when it freezes!
Oh yeah!
Daddy, please don't break anything!
Faux Sledding
The sled-maid
Next Craig's List Search: Authentic Sleds
Sitting by the fire with cocoa only lasts so long.

What do you think? I think, well actually Jerry verbalized it first, that our relatives' Green Bay Packers should have left their stinkin' weather at home!

First Day of Spring and it SNOWS!

I'm not sure what this says about me, but although I've been a Texan for almost 31 years...I am STILL amazed by the abrupt changes in weather in our state.

Friday was spent taking a train ride to the zoo and enjoying gorgeous warm weather. The high hit 71 as we perused the animals and even met a giraffe named Jade!

Then Saturday the temp dropped over 30 degrees from morning to evening and it began to snow!

We woke up to SIX inches of snow on Sunday morning. No time to play in it though. It was off to teach 3 year olds and then worship.

And just last week I had started planting flowers! Remember this?


Well Sunday after church it looked like this...


My friend Rachelle said they call this an "onion snow". I had to have her explain. I am thinking y'all may know? Anyway, I'm calling mine a snapdragon/marigold/poppy snow.

I should have gotten a shot of it as we left for church. It was seriously covered. But it melted nearly as fast as it came.

And plus we were delayed a bit by visiting the original 1918 location of El Fenix and then even a little more by a visit to The Cupcakery.



(Almond Joy, Strawberry Shortcake, Grasshopper, Mocha Mocha, Bailey's & Cream--minus a taste, and Peanut Butter Cup)

What can I say? Trudging through the snow really works up an appetite. Or maybe it was the 3 year olds? Whew! After all that I could barely breathe and was lucky to waddle out there to get the remnant snow pic.

Either way, thankfully today it hit 70 again and there wasn't a 3 year old in sight!

Snow...the novelty never wears off!

There are some things that just make you feel like a kid again. Snow is one of those things for me. Not because it reminds me of my childhood, but because it is still such novelty...even to me, the now mommy of two girls who are in snow heaven right now.

Shh...don't tell them that their mommy is having just as much fun as they are with it.

And when I saw my 60+ neighbor out front making a huge snowman for herself, I knew I wasn't alone. Such a rarity...as Lily points out.



Whew! It is so great having a winter play land right our our back door, but it has kept our dryer running all day. What a mess! I now see why you northerners need "mud rooms". Our houses all come with central heat and air, but a mud room? Nah, we don't need those...until days like these.

It really is amazing though...



Heading out again...enjoy your day!

Let it Snow, Y'all!

Huge snowflakes are falling here in Texas!

Someone is a *LITTLE* excited about all this white stuff.

I don't have the heart to tell her that it won't be sticking around.

Hoping to never forget the look on her face or her first comment, "Thank you GOD, Thank you GOD"!

Maybe if I just looked cute in a toboggan

Maybe then? Maybe then I would like cold weather?

I've been to your blogs and have seen all your pretty snow pictures, but I honestly don't know how y'all live with it...for months.

It needs to hurry up and get warm here again already. I cannot stand being cold. I don't want to even go downstairs in my house when it is cold. I'm sure there is a scientific reason it is always 10 degrees colder down there. It makes me not even want to shower...and it is upstairs where it is "warm".

On Tuesday morning, our first "ice" day of this week, I jumped up to get everyone changed, milked, fed, and dressed so we could rush off to Lily's preschool. The 8:30 start time is killing me. Before we left, I glanced in the mirror to see that my hair was in need of a serious washing. It was cold enough to wear a hat, so I thought I'd throw on my little GAP toboggan. Doesn't 80% of your body heat escape through your head? Something like that.

Oh my. I am so not cute in hats.

So, I threw it off not caring what I looked like. Greasy hair vs. not being able to pull off the toboggan look...well, it was a toss up.

It didn't matter anyway. The streets were empty and all the schools were closed. Even though it was just cold and dry. Note to self: if there is a threat of any form of cold precipitation even in the not so near future...watch the news, Kerry.

We had a true ice day yesterday, and although we opted not to slide down our driveway in laundry baskets, we did make a quick run to Kohls where Lily totally busted it in the parking lot. I know her hiney is sore.

Then I did my own little diddy this morning in the Kroger parking lot. It was one of those times that I am positive it would have looked much more graceful to completely fall over. But I held my own and slid around like an idiot without biting it. I think I even made some sound effects too. How embarrassing.

That's when I got mad at the cold. I mean, it has been cold for days on end. How do y'all do it for weeks and months at a time? I would be a very bitter person.

I think I had my fill last weekend when we spent 4 hours outdoors as the temperature hovered around freezing. As a Christmas gift to my father-in-law we got tickets to go to the Texas Rangers Fanfest last Saturday. I am not even a Rangers Fan. Definitely not a fan of the cold. But I do love my father-in-law...and spending hours in the cold was not going to detour him from celebrating his favorite team.

Sure, there were indoor activities...like a quick jaunt through the locker room and the hall of fame museum, but everything else was outside. We ran the bases, caught pop-ups, pitched in the bullpen, got autographs, sat in the dugout and Lily enjoyed all sorts of interactive inflatables (one of them was manned by Mr. Hart...anyone remember him...our old JHigh principal?).

It was so cold. Toboggan worthy cold.

See how cute my girls look in their toboggans?


Even my hubby and father-in-law can pull the look off.


Jerry handed me mine in the car and I put it on without a mirror in sight.

It even looks goofy from the back...I promise I don't have any front shots.

Actually there was one taken in front of this scoreboard. Thank goodness it is safe with my mother-in-law.

Maybe I just don't know how to wear it. Probably need to pull it down more. Is it possible that my head is just oddly shaped? I give up.

Jade's toboggan even compliments her as she sleeps.

We're headed to the stock show and rodeo this Saturday...maybe a cowgirl hat is the look I need. Of course by then it is supposed to be 70 degrees. Praise His holy name.

A snow day would be fun...you know...if we actually had SNOW!

I knew something was up when I awoke this morning. The sunlight peeking around my room darkening shades seemed a little brighter and reflective. Our street was super quiet. The same way it was on the quiet summer afternoon when we decided on this house. When the three schools and two baseball fields on it weren't in session.

I popped open the shades hoping to see some white fluffy stuff...the stuff of dreams around here. Instead I was greeted by the familiar sight of ice pellets. Crunchy, slippery, shiny ice pellets. We have been robbed of a true snow day yet again. Don't get me wrong...schools are closed, actually they were closed yesterday too...because a threat of sleet was looming for the afternoon. Only in Texas do they close down because of a threat of ice. It didn't start coming down until after rush hour.

As I sit here longing for some fluffy, powdery, playful snow...I am trying to think of a way to avoid watching the play by play action on TV when as they say, "the weather is the news". No snowmen to make and ice balls are just too painful. Our driveway has a slight hill...maybe we could slide down it a few times? Hmm...we don't exactly have saucers or sleds in these parts. I'm thinking laundry baskets or recycling bin lids.

Which one of those screams "white trash" less loudly?