Snow Cream

It was going to bug me until I got the rest of the pictures, so here they are!
This was a recipe from a friend who felt sorry for us all cooped up. Thanks Dana! It was a HUGE hit.
Very easy- gather up some *clean* snow ;) Then in a bowl mix about a cup of milk, 1/2 cup of sugar, and a tablespoon of vanilla. Then add snow until it's the correct consistency. We used about a full bucket of snow (although I knew better and scooped equally from the buckets of BOTH kids). It was still pretty soft, but I don't think it was getting better than that. We added chocolate and yum! It was very tasty, but I couldn't finish mine. I couldn't get past knowing that it was snow and it just wasn't that appetizing to an adult. The kids were in hog heaven!
Gathering up their buckets of snow- I gave strict instructions on where the snow should come from and watched very carefully. With a dog in the family now, there is no such thing as too careful. ;)

All set!

Yum! We had to add chocolate syrup, it just didn't seem right without it.

As usual, Jack approves!
And just a quick view from the backyard- the sky was blue and beautiful and I thought all the snow covered trees looked really pretty. But every day I'm stuck looking at them, they're slightly less beautiful. By Sunday, I might consider chopping them all down!

Day three of being snowed in....

Well, the title pretty much says it all. We are on Day Three of being snowed in! On Tuesday, we got about 6 inches of snow. Then Tuesday night, we got about two inches of ice. THEN we woke up to 6 more inches Wednesday morning. It's not the snow that's keeping us in, it's the ice in the middle- when the trucks finally came around to plow, they could only scrape off the top layer and then left the ice and more snow underneath, which only made things worse. Haven't heard on school tomorrow, but I have a feeling they won't be going tomorrow. I don't see how a bus could safely make it up the street.
We are trying to make the best of it, and Daddy did a great job with that! He even braved it while it was STILL snowing. Mommy's excuse? Sorry, I don't have warm enough clothes! Bummer.

See? Sully and I are just fine in the sunroom.

Sully didn't last long, though, he was too tempted and came out for a romp. He wasn't too sure what he thought- he loved it, then hated it, then loved it again.
Jack used it like a trampoline. ;)

Today we made some more crafts, did some heavy duty organizing and made snow ice cream! That was really fun but I haven't uploaded the pictures yet. Soon! ;)

Snow Day!

Today was a snow day! For once the weathermen were relatively spot on- although they couldn't be bothered to be totally correct as we have gotten actually DOUBLE the amount they said we would... but I suppose beggars can't be choosers, eh?
The kids were happy but Eddie was happier, he hopped out of bed to check at 5 am. Sadly, he had to go into work anyway, but got to come home early and won't be going in tomorrow, since they are just calling for more.
We had a really great day around here- we knew we were stuck in so I decided to be creative and make the best of it, which is not always easy for me!
We baked zucchini bread, mostly because I knew if I didn't, they would rot!

We made paper snowflakes, which was my kind of craft- super easy and kept them busy for nearly an hour.



I loved this shot- she was concentrating so hard and had that tongue just stuck out there. Totally looked like Daddy to me!
I'm not telling which ones I did.


Finally let them go outside! Lucky me, we forgot to put the screens back in the front windows after we took our wreaths down at Christmas, so instead of freezing my arse off outside, I sat in a cushy chair with the window propped open just a bit and gave my telephoto lens a workout.

Poor Sully wanted to go outside SO bad but I didn't trust the little bugger.





We also had a picnic lunch inside, which was totally the highlight of their day, who knew?
Looks like we'll be staying home tomorrow, which I can't guarantee will be as much fun for anyone. One day of being snowed in? Creative and fun! Two days in a row? Everyone gets cranky. Keep ya posted! ;)

A little more for ya

This is what I'm doing this afternoon.
Our dvr messed up last night and didn't record The Office. I knew I could watch it online, so I am doing that right now.
While the kids do THIS:

That's not even the best part. First, I turned their volume down really low so that I could hear the computer speakers. That's probably why they're sitting so close. Second, I took these photos with my phone and emailed them to myself so that I wouldn't have to move at all. ;)

All kinds of material this week

Last night, we had a family movie night. We watched Horton Hears A Who (save yourself, don't!) and baked brownies. Yum! Half with powdered sugar, half without for some picky family members. ;)
Why does my living room look this way, you ask?

Well, Sully decided he wanted brownies too. He needed a late night snack on my WHITE couch. And any time I take the slipcover off, that equals party time for the kids and they've been busy making tents, jumping on things and just generally destroying the house.
I don't know WHY it didn't occur to me to snap a photo of the brownie destruction until it the evidence was gone. So sorry about that. The one bright spot is that I get to make an Ikea trip, because after a couple washes, I can see that all the bleach and detergent in the world is no match for brownies mixed with dog slobber.
Oh, and do you see a new piece of furniture in the living room? The dog crate? Yeah. Keep ya posted on that, but I'm not sure cleaning poo out of a crate is actually worse than coming home wondering what he's destroyed today. I don't need to hear any "I told you so's", my head is telling me already. Despite all of the demon's troubles, I still love him when I find this:

Gosh, must be a sugar crash after all of those brownies.

Keeping It Real Without Pictures

Just a quick note to prove that I'm serious about this week.
It's 8:30 and both kids just left for school. I had planned to go to the gym this morning, that's logical.
Instead, I decided the second I woke up that I would be climbing RIGHT back into my unmade bed and enjoying my kid free morning properly with a warm cup of tea and a movie.
Maybe I'll go to the gym when they get home. Or not.
(and so answers the question of why I will never be 15 pounds lighter like I want to be)

Had to update just to say that I did in fact make it to the gym later in the afternoon and was quite proud of myself. It was the last thing I wanted to do yesterday! I only went because I knew Eddie would ask me if I had and if I said no, I'd run the risk of having my membership cancelled!

A Week of "Keeping It Real"

So, my girlfriend and I were having a conversation about how blogging and how perfect everyone's life seems. Of course most people are going to post the positives, but it definitely seems like some go above and beyond to make their lives look pretty darn awesome... which just makes the rest of us feel like losers.
Well, I doubt my blog makes me look like the best mom on the planet, but JUST IN CASE, I'm 'keepin' it real' for a week around here. Should be interesting. Or not.
Last night, Eddie's company hosted their winter/holiday party. It was actually a fun night, he works for a small company and everyone is friendly and knows each other. He works with some really fun people that remind us of the days of Old Anthem. ;) It was nice to be without the kids (Keeping It Real). Oh, and in the interest of K.I.R, as we were leaving them at my parents, Jack hit Neily and she was crying for Daddy (screaming actually) and it annoyed me so much that I yelled at both of them, told them to knock it off and then left. Yup. Then I felt guilty so I called back and told her I was sorry... but that she really did need to knock it off a little. LOL!
Eddie and I on our way to the par-tay! Can't show you a picture of my fabulous red shoes because... the dog ate the fabulous red shoes. K.I.R.

The dog, surrounded by bits and pieces of the fabulous red shoes. All those little pieces on the floor? Hard to see but that's the shoes.

And the K.I.R finale for the day, this is what I woke up to find in my kitchen. The trash on the counter so the dog won't have a heyday in it. Dirty dishes. Cups of dinosaurs and mermaids growing for the kids. A game that we haven't played in years? And instead of cleaning it up... I'm going to go and watch American Idol and hope that my parents don't try to bring the kids back home until at least 4 o'clock.
How's THAT for Keeping' It Real?