Snowed In

We were snowed in for three days--well as snowed in as you can get in the south. We got a whopping 8 inches! That's a big deal down here. And I laughed. A lot. Until I tried to drive and saw what a complete mess the roads were without a snow plow truck on every street like you get in the midwest. After I laughed a lot, I cried because I dislike the snow very, very much. I didn't mind it too much growing up but for some reason in recent years I've begun to despise it. It's cold, wet, and anything you drop into it becomes cold and wet and most likely ruined. Plus, living in the south the mention of flurries shuts the whole city down, which for this busy body who always has a plan (grocery day on Monday, bible study on Tuesday, YMCA on Wednesday...you get the idea, we have a schedule to keep!) it throws the whole day into a kink. And most likely the subsequent days because this city can't just have one "snow day".

With all that said, we had to keep busy for three days last week lest we go insane! I collected a few ideas from friends who have had toddlers during the winter months, and away we went at keeping ourselves busy!

The first snow day we barely got an inch of snow. Grass was poking out of the top, and yet the kids still were out of school. So what do you do when there is less than an inch of snow and no school? You sled, of course! And what do you sled on? A piece of cardboard, of course!

Our friend Stephanie taking advantage of her snow day.

Anna and I stayed warm inside dancing to music and reading books while Travis spent 3 hours throwing snowballs at kids. After insistent grunts towards the back door Anna and I finally ventured out into the bitter cold. It lasted only a few minutes because I'm a wussy Anna has a cold.

The next day I put my friends' suggestions to good use. I looked up an easy peasy recipe for making homemade play-do. However, I had to improvise because I ran out of salt. Apparently you have to follow the recipe to a "T" because ours came out a little sticky. I added a lot more flour and it helped some. But Anna's first play-do experience only lasted about 2 minutes before she wanted to eat it.

This was right after she put some in her mouth. See the little piece hanging from her lips. Yum.

Although it is edible I really didn't want her overdosing on salt and flour. So we moved on...

I laid out a towel, put a few cups of rice into a tupperware container, threw down a few measuring cups and Anna was satisfied for an hour! This child won't sit still for 3 minutes, but for rice it's a different story.

 

After lunch and a nap (from all of us!) we decided to brave the 8 inches and walk to the nearest Redbox. It's about a quarter of a mile (which seems a lot farther when you're trudging through the snow!) so we put Anna in her hiking carrier, strapped her onto Travis' back, and away we went.

Although I hate the snow, it wasn't too cold outside and it was nice to just get out of the house. When we returned kids were still sledding (do they ever stop?!) so Travis decided to try taking Anna down our little hill.

Here in the south you either sled on cardboard (see first picture) or on a boogie board. Travis and Anna chose the latter.

I could only take the cold and snow for so long before I used the excuse again that Anna has a cold so we went inside, snuggled up on the couch, invited a few kids over, and watched our Redbox movie Turbo--cute movie, by the way!

Now that the snow and cold are behind us (well, at least for this week) I'm already thinking about all the fun things we'll get to do outdoors. I'm so ready to have our front door wide open with the spring breeze and scent of flowers drifting through our house. I'm ready to feel the sun's warmth and take Anna to the park to run around. I'm ready for shorts and flip flops. I can't wait for Spring and another new adventure with a toddler!