Snowmageddon 2011

When we moved to Illinois, we thought we'd be giving up the snowy winters of New England.   Much to our neighbors' chagrin, we apparently brought the snow with us!  It's snowed at least a dozen times since Thanksgiving, though usually only 2-4 inches at a time.  But last night, we got the mother of all snowstorms!  A real New England-style blizzard.  And we woke up this morning to a neighborhood that looked like an alien land.  There were areas of the ground that had only a dusting, and others that had 6 foot high snowdrifts.  The sidewalk and street were nowhere to be found - covered by a solid 18" of the white stuff.  It was like a white ocean!

It goes without saying that we were all absolutely GIDDY at the snow day that lay ahead.

After breakfast, we couldn't get our snow gear on fast enough.  No, really.  They whined, and moaned, and whined some more that they wanted to be outside...but any parent who has ever lived in a snowy climate knows how impossible it is to get them all in their snow gear.  I remember one of my favorite parenting authors once blogging about trying to practice a more Zen approach to the ordeal.  To enjoy the moment instead of being frustrated by not being DONE with them moment.  She would chant to herself "There is only the snowsuit.  Putting on the snowsuit.  Only the snowsuit" and try and concentrate on making that act a precious one, instead of one to just get the heck through to get to the other  moment that you wanted to get to.  I'm not sure it worked, because short of traffic and telemarketers, snowsuits are about the most frustrating thing on earth.

Case in point?  I had Molly finally all dressed: fleece pants, knee socks, 2nd pair of socks, elbow gloves, snow pants, boots, double layer jacket, ski mask, hood.  Phew!  Then I turned around to get Ben into his gear and had to listen to "I'm hot.  I'm sooooo hoooooootttttt noooooow.  I'm DIIIIEEEEEEYYYINNNNGGGG.  Can't I go outside?  PLEASE?" 

No, it wasn't Molly, it was Jack!  He'd dressed himself and was bent on getting outside ASAP.  Not knowing what lay outside, I wasn't willing to let him charge ahead alone.  Marc finally sent him out to the garage to a. stay cool and b. get out of our faces!

Molly wasn't quiet though - quite the opposite.  First, her long sleeve tee shirt wasn't tucked properly into her jacket - it was bugging her.  So after I wrestled Ben into his left boot, I turned around to find Molly half-undressed!  Then while I was wrangling her back into her gear (with her sleeves tucked just SO), he went and took his boot off.  And when I got him back into it again, Molly was in a heap on the floor writhing in agony because now her pants felt bunchy.  So I snaked my hand up her snowpants to get the fleece pants to lie flat (which I know how to do well, because she gets her bunchiness aversion from yours truly). 

Ten more minutes of chasing Ben around, a few pointless threats, and enough whining to make your eardrums bleed in protest...and we were finally ready!!  Here are the troops all sweaty and miserable after 30 minutes of "Can we go yet???!"

The picture of winter cheer, no?  But a few minutes later....

That is a garden bench that Molly is walking by.  The snow is higher than the seat and one of the arms!

It was all smiles as we played in the backyard, and then wound our way out to the front yard through a gate that was miraculously untouched by the storm...

That is BARE ground there!  And yet, step back a bit further....

...and there's a six foot tall snow drift up against our neighbor's house!  When we got out to the front yard, the snow was breathtaking.

It's kind of hard to show just how deep the snow is in some parts.  Here are some pictures of the kids and thier friends to give some perspective...

Ahoy there!  Do you need a tow?  This is Drew trying to get across the street to come play.  Later in the day when I tried to take Molly and Ben over to their backyard, I had to put Ben on my back and finally collapsed before doubling back when the snow reached to my chest.

Here's Connor atop the big snow drift to the side of the garage.  Eventually though, the whining to go IN began.  You really can't blame them.  After an hour, they were

EXHAUSTED.

SNOW COVERED.

ICICLED.

It was time to retreat to the back yard.

For hot cocoa!  Then the big boys decided to get outta the snow and go play some Wii at Brandon's house.  But they had a lot of snow to trek through to get there!

Molly, Ben and I finished off the cocoa and made some "Snow Paint" by filling spray bottles with cold water and food coloring.  Then Molly finally had to give in to her bladder and come in to use the bathroom.  It dawned on me today, only because all other doors were blocked with snow, that this kind of day is PRECISELY why I have a door in my laundry room - it singlehandedly saved my house from being a puddle!  How have we not used it before now??  I brought Molly in and started peeling off her layers while Ben was behind me outside, happily spritzing the back yard green.  But then I heard his voice a little closer, and when I turned around I gasped when I saw him spraying MY NEW LAUNDRY ROOM RUG!!!  He'd followed us in and kept on spritzing - I am thanking my lucky stars that the rug was olefin and rinsed off perfectly right in the laundry room sink.  Thank heaven for small favors!

At this point we took a break.  A braet to BAKE!  We started with a dozen and a half strawberry cupcakes and three trays of chocolate lollipops.  Then we used the extra cake batter to whip up a batch of donuts in the pan Molly got for Christmas.

I'm sure they were famished from all the exertion in the snow, because after lunch when we glazed and decorated the donuts, they couldn't keep their hands off of them until the glaze set up.  I managed to snap a few quick pictures...see those sneaky little fingers just itching to snatch a treat??

Wait!  There they are!

Finally I acquiesced.  They were just too tempting to resist!

Approximately seventeen seconds after the shot above was taken, I turned back around and this was the scene...

GONE!!!  Every. Last. Donut.  This next picture represents their feelings a little better though...

After the dryer finished with our gear, and one failed nap attempt, it was back outside until sunset for us!  The Naperville plow finally made an appearance and our landscaper was able to get to us before the kids were asleep.  Well, not Benny.  He was out by 6:59.  And spent the last :59 of that a crying mess - but whatcha gonna do?  Sometimes you just run yourself right out of gas from having too much fun.

Speaking of out of gas...I've been typing with one eye closed.  I'm going to tuck myself into my cozy bed and thank my lucky stars that I live in 2011, when a 21" snowfall and subsequent below zero temperatures don't equal anything but a superfun snow day and a great night's rest.

And the best part is...we get to do it all over again tomorrow!!!  :)