When the Cold Wind Blows

You might have thought I was kidding during those snow days a few weeks back when I said we were going to go on an imaginary vacation. We most certainly did. And it amazed me, as it usually does, how D & M both latched on to this concept and my few simple ideas chained into 3 days of amazing fun and memories. They came up with most of it....I lent a hand, found supplies, and turned some impossible ideas into possible ones. But I give the credit for this post to the under 6 crowd. This was their vacation.

They packed their suitcases....I mean STUFFED them with everything from their dressers. When they brought them down we reviewed the contents, which allowed some good Q&A like Momma: "Where are we going?"
D: "On a cruise, like Grammy!"

Momma: "Then why did you pack sweatshirts and long pants?"

M: "Because it's cold!"

Momma: "Do you know where Grammy's cruise is going? Grammy is in the Caribbean, it's warm there." We looked at a map, the proximity of the islands to the equator and D explained to M quite knowledgably about the temperature variance between here and there. "In fact," I added, "I bet Grammy is wearing her swimsuit today."

And up the stairs tore 4 little feet, second later returning waving swimsuits over their heads like pirates proudly displaying the Jolly Roger. I asked what else you would need on a sunny vaca, and they thought sunglasses. We found some leis in the Halloween box, and they were ready to start the festivities.

For the rest of the week they asked me about cruises..."What do they eat for lunch on a cruise?" so we had pineapple for dessert. "Who drives the ship?" so we appointed D captain and made him a badge. "Does it hurt the fish when the ship sails over them?" so we watched Finding Nemo to find out. "Can you jump off the ship to go swimming?" I don't recommend it, but the ships have several pools...so we decided to check out our ship's pool (also known as the big jacuzzi tub). They donned their swimming suits and splashed for almost 2 hours.

Later, D wanted to go snorkeling. We don't actually own snorkel equipment, or I'd have let them try in the tub. D suggested bendy straws....awesome imagination! To make it more interesting, I thought we needed some fish to look at so I outlined some generic sea life shapes on a loooong piece of butcher paper and let them paint it. That was a 2 hour activity in itself, and I can't even tell you how long, or how many times they snorkeled....
We had popsicles. We sat in lawn chairs and read books. We observed the ship's "mandatory afternoon rest period" and retired in our "cabins" for an after lunch snooze. D & M put on an evening stage show for me. (It was titled "The Beanie Baby Show" and starred lots of tiny stuffed friends.) We even had a buffet lunch one day and a waiter served fancy lunch another day, for which we all dressed up in our nice clothes.

They are already planning our next snow day. They want to go to Disney World. That might be a bit more challenging to create at home....With any luck I'll have untill next winter to plan that one.

What Love Is

She hasn't slept in, oh, I don't know....7 weeks now. But I can't help but love her. She's a snuggler. She has started reaching out to me to pick her up and putting her arm around my neck. She doesn't want anyone but Momma, which is frustrating and endearing. Isn't that what love is?

Snow Day

D has his first ever snow day today and he is devastated! I know---this attitude won't last forever. But it is his week to bring the class snack. We made a big shopping trip yesterday to purchase his carefully thought out class treats (such as raspberries, because it's "R" week), and he was looking forward to it with great anticipation. It's not looking good for tomorrow either.

Whether he knows it or not, the snow day is harder on me than on him. This blizzard week seems spread in front of us like the Atlantic at the beginning of a trans-oceanic voyage. A smart mommy would have included a stop at the library and video store along with the grocery outing yesterday.

But here we are, quite possibly looking at an entire week without school, too cold and windy to play outdoors, too treacherous to venture to our favorite venues.....I believe this week H will get caught up on sleep and D & M will learn the meaning of the phrase "cabin fever."

I decided by 10 AM today I had better embrace this for the gift it is. In a few more years, a snow day will mean I'll be trying to drag the kids out of bed at 10AM and then they will just play X-Box until dinner. As it is, a snow day for the current "us" holds great potential.

We built a tent city (honestly, you cannot see the ceiling from any part of our living room floor). We wrote and illustrated our own story book. We made 3 kinds of sweet bread for the freezer, and a batch of cookies is on the after-nap agenda. The kids helped me mop (it turned out to be great fun for them, and a very shiny kitchen floor for me). I taught D how to fold laundry. M was our sock delivery service. We even had hot chocolate for lunch (because it just looked cold outside).

If it keeps up, I think a Hawaiian luau is in order for tomorrow. I might just have to dig out our summer clothes....maybe even have a swimming party in the big jacuzzi tub....make a pineapple upside down cake and wear sunglasses and leis all day long.

Oh Come Let Us Adore Him

This post is better late than never!


One day just before the Epiphany, I came across a rather unusual gathering at the manger of the Christ Child....no doubt the handy work of a certain 2 year old who also happens to be obsessed with Baby Jesus.

Sweet Success

If icicles were made of sugar, this is what they would taste like. Oooey-Gooey, cold and oh, so sweet....maple candy was a hit.

Nobody under the age of 6 delayed in mentioning the fresh blanket of snow on Thursday morning....a good covering, fresh, white and most important, clean snow, just right for the long awaited maple candy adventure. The morning started with excited calls from upstairs..."Snow! Fresh Snow!"...followed by a little "Maple Candy Day" song and dance.

Around here, everyone has a job to do. No freeloaders. So while I googled for a bit of maple candy know-how, the smaller hands were assigned the chore of finding the freshest, whitest snow and filling the pans. (a job Laura and Mary were responsible for as well)

Momma was in charge of the adult role of boiling the syrup. All the recipes I found were careful to remind to maintain the syrup boiling, being careful not to allow it to boil over. That's a very, very, very fine line. It might have been possible if I wasn't also dealing with 2 impatient confectioners, plus a baby who decided her nap time was over.

All eyes were anxious to see what would take place in our history lesson-turned-science experiment. The snow melted away and a chewy maple toffee formed.

It turned out to be disgustingly sweet. In fact, a webpage I read suggested eating it with sour pickles and coffee to cut the sweet. We opted against that and just produced a massive sugar high.
They want to try it again (no surprise) with the next fresh snow. Next time we will try making hard candy....requiring a mite bit more patience (and attention!) during the boiling process.

Interestingly, we saved little bits for DaddyHealy to try when he got home from work, but when we pulled the pans back inside in the evening, the syrup had all dissolved, making it more of a maple snow cone. All the more reason to try again.

Making a List, Checking it Twice

I don't like to label, but D is our rule follower, and M is definitely the one who tests the limits. She also, being 2 years old, pitches a fit or two. On any given day, she probably gets 4 or 5 check marks on ol' St. Nick's list. This month has been particularly interesting, though, as I hardly have to correct her. As soon as she misbehaves, D starts singing "You better watch out, you better not cry...." and "He knows if you've been bad or good...."

By the way, from the looks of things, tomorrow might be maple candy day, so check back soon to see if we succeeded. (And just for the record, I have NO idea what I am doing other than what Laura described in Little House in the Big Woods. )

A Season of Waiting

You might think we're patiently waiting for Christmas, maybe even a December birthday or two, but the buzz around here is waiting on a fresh blanket of snow.

We've been reading the Little House on the Prairie books, a wonderful memory I have of my own childhood. D & M want to try everything Laura and Mary do. Most recently our attention has been caught by the chapter on maple candy. Laura and Mary filled pans with snow and poured hot maple syrup into the snow in all sorts of shapes, hardening into maple candy. They are so eager to try it, but MommaHealy says we must wait for fresh snow. Every morning they check, and so far, just the same old 6" that has been here for a week now.

So the bottle of maple syrup sits, taunting us, waiting on snow. M asks me, "Can we do that thing Laura and Mary did?" Soon enough, sweet one.

Now, I wonder how excited they would be to have their Christmas stockings filled with only a peppermint stick, a brown sugar cake and a new pair of red mittens?