6:15 a.m. -- "Mom! Dad! It's snow! It's snow! Can we go out in the snow today?"
8-11 a.m. -- "Do you think we can go out? Is Dad ready to go out? I can't wait to go out!! Do you have the hot chocolate ready, mom? Can we go out yet? Now? How about now?"
11:02 a.m. -- Extricate snow boots and snowsuits from upstairs closet.
11:03 - 11:15 -- Determine if there are appropriate sizes and matching boots for all children.
11:15 - 11:35 -- Wrestle five children into extra shirts, snowsuits, boots, gloves (grrrrr), mittens, hats.
11:36 a.m. -- Wrestle two children out of snowsuits because they forgot to go to the bathroom. Other children: "I'm hot."
11:40 -- Dad, sweating profusely, heads outside with those who are ready while mom finishes up the stragglers who want a hat/mittens/scarf like their siblings instead of the one they are wearing. Tough luck.
11:45 a.m. -- Stomping, footprints, snow angels, shoveling, tunnels....fun in the snow! Mom heads out as far as the garage to take obligatory first snow pictures. Heads in to make lunch.
11: 50 a.m. -- First steps heard on garage stairs. Delaney. "I'm not coming in because I have to go to the bathroom mom. I'm just checking to see if you started the hot chocolate."
12:30 p.m. -- First two head in for lunch and aforementioned hot cocoa. That has to be a record!
12:40 p.m. -- Rest of crew follow, stripping snow and related clothing throughout the kitchen.
1 p.m. -- Lunch done, kids scatter, parents collapse.
* I know that as the parent, snow days are not going to be quite the fun they were as when I was a kid, but homeschooling really throws an extra wrench in the whole thing. Let's see, wake up, it's snowing hard, all the local schools close....and there's our living room, still full of books to be read and math to be done. I know, we can certainly call it a "snow day", but you know it's not the same. I find myself living vicariously on those days through the school closing ticker at the bottom of the TV news. In fact, our children have only seen the morning news when it is snowing outside and I turn on the TV to see if any family members' school has a delay or closing that day. It's strange, the things that are harder to let go of. Cafeterias and mounds of fill-in-the-blanks homework? See 'ya. Snow days? May the school closing list live on forever.
3 comments:
I love school closings too!!...the kids have been off since wed. Yesterday (thurs) the rest of the schools were open but the bus couldn't come down our road... another free day to sleigh ride!!! Enjoy the winter wonderland!!!
I hear you about the school closing ticker. Down here it probably only happens once or twice total during the winter, but it's not just the schools that close. EVERYTHING closes because, well, these people don't use SALT!! But I still get a thrill watching the school closing ticker. There was always something that made it worth it to wake up extra early to see if you could in fact go back to sleep for hours and hours and wake up to fresh snow...and possibly even pancakes. Ah, the memories. The best part was mom was like an extra-early warning system. If you heard the phone ring at 5:30/6:00am you KNEW you at least had a delay. Bliss.
Thanks for making us laugh out loud!! So true--my favorite part was about "the dad sweating profusely" while getting the children snow clothed. I am glad that your kids and ours now are at an age when they can play at least as long in the snow as it took to get them dressed.
Keep blogging Miss journalist!
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