King of the "Nation of Woosies"

"Dis mor yike it Mommy"

"Yay Cocoa!"
"I STUUUU-UUUCK!"

"Snowy"

Sarah's Snowball

The day after Christmas we got a snowstorm that rivals any in my memory. It began while we were in NJ visiting Ryan's parents, and while I was hoping we could ride it out there (they were expecting 10-20 inches there... would've been great to go sledding), Ryan insisted we drive home ASAP so he could run point for shutdown of his plant during the snowstorm, and he was very afraid we'd be stuck there in NJ for several more days. So we high-tailed it outta there, with me clinging to the car frame all the while like a nervous cat on the way to the vet, worried that we'd be stuck in the blizzard on rt. 13 with kids in tow. My worried mind kept thinking of scenarios where we'd be trekking thru the cold snow on foot, having surrendered our car to traffic jams of epic proportions, searching for "room at the inn", and having to sleep in the lobby of some over-packed motel in Po-dunk VA, all the while procuring umteen new species of bedbug to bring home. All I can say is thank goodness for in-car DVD's, because the kids had a marvelous ride and barely made a peep the whole way, all 7 1/2 hours it took us to get home. When we arrived home, we found we had returned to 13 inches of snow on the ground, with three kids squeeling to "PLAY IN THE SNOW" despite the fact that it was dark, bitterly cold, and time for dinner.

Now Hannah is my one child who MUST take a nap. I don't care where we are or what's going on around us, if that child doesn't take a break for a mid-day siesta, all hell breaks loose, and that's what we came home to last night. For some reason, she doesn't sleep in the car. Maybe it's the fascination with whatever movies are playing, or maybe it's just that she enjoys the scenery, but even when she was a baby she just would not fall asleep while we were driving... hardly ever, anyway. So yesterday her lack of a nap led to meltdowns of epic proportions once we got home. At one point while unpacking I found her despondant and weeping on the floor of the living room with her doll clutched to her chest: "Mommy, I can't find my Dolly's shoe!!! Wail!" Literally, I lifted the Dolly half an inch and found the shoe sitting under Dolly's butt. That signaled bedtime.

Then, this morning bright and early we had the kids suited up in their 14 million layers of snowclothes and off we headed to make snow angels and snowmen... well, ok, maybe Ryan spent the majority of the time shovelling walks, but he did it with a smile, so that counts as fun, right? They even made the snowman they so desperately wanted, though we all found out I'm a bit of a snowman nazi, insisting that everyone leave "Snowy" untouched after he was completed and hollering at little ones when arms repositioned led to breakage or their attempts to add snow caused him to teeter. Thank goodness Daddy talked me down and made me sit it out while the kids got to enjoy their creation a bit more.

Caleb was the only dissenter from the fun. He spent the entire time wailing "I stuuuuuu-uuck!" in a piteous voice, as if we had plopped him down into the Labrea tarpits, rather than the 6 inches of snow at the transition from the garage to the driveway. You know, after the snowfall ended, the Governor of Pennsylvania made the remark that we're becoming a "nation of woosies" because the game between the Eagles and Vikings was cancelled due to the oncoming snowstorm... well, if we're becoming a nation of woosies, I think my boy must be the king. Must be from my end of the gene pool... I'm with him, pass me a cup of hot cocoa and turn on a good movie... that's my perfect snow day :) It is so nice to see the girls having a blast, though.