We have been house- and neighborhood-bound for two days now, for a total of three this week because of snowstorm on Sunday. I've heard surprisingly few grumbles from both my crew and the parents in our area; people seem to be generally enjoying their unplanned days off. We've had it pretty good, to be fair -- we have power (sorry to Mary who lost it this morning), we have plenty of snow to keep us busy, and sledding opportunities abound on our street and nearby. I had planned an outing today just to give ourselves a change of scenery but the ice storm (now snow again) kept the Aquarium people at home and their doors closed. So, we hung out in jammies for a long time this morning, only changing to get our snow gear on, and rinsed and repeated our day from yesterday. And I'm fine with it... I really am. It's cozy, the small people are getting their wiggles out running up and down the hills, Molly joined up with the older girls on the street who graciously let her tag along with them this morning, and we finally adjourned to our respective rest times with snowflakes falling outside and our beds, baby dolls, and computers calling our names. It's nice being forced to slow down, as Kate reminded me this morning, even though I'm busy pulling mittens and snow boots on and off over and over. I didn't think it was possible for getting ourselves out the door to take even longer than it already does, but with no real deadline or place we have to be, it's not harried and stressful (although I feel like a sheep dog herding my littlest lamb to the door area and keeping him from wandering off... that kid would be prime predator material were we of the four legged, farm variety). Thus, while we have the creature comforts of a cozy house still available to us and the opportunity for playing outside only a drafty doorway away, I'm enjoying this unusual Puget Sound winter event. I like this little vacation precisely because I know that we'll be returning to our regularly scheduled programming soon enough -- and I like that too. I enjoy our busy lives and our hustle and bustle and meeting with friends and always squeezing something or other in. But for now, I like the quiet of sleeping babies (one real and at least five pretend) and soft singing upstairs while no cars break up the scene outside. This unexpected break is recharging -- and it's nice because no one really needed it. But to have this little bit of bonus time heaped upon us without asking, well, that's just a straight-up gift.
The littlest helper is very intent on his snow shoveling. Molly begged for a shovel in the store (and me, sensing an opportunity to impart some ever-popular life lessons, talked about getting her one because she could be my helper and contribute to our chores around the house). Jack didn't care but I knew that if I only got her one, there would be war. Molly used hers on the driveway on Tuesday, the only day there was no snow on the ground. Jack has used his for the past two days when there is actual shoveling that needs to be done. The life lesson got a big fat zero on the success scale...
Don't bug me, there is work to be done.
Sliding with no sled?? This proved popular for one small fry. I'm telling you, while we did go to the park and the high school to sled, our driveway was one of the best hills out there. Since there is little to no plowing of secondary streets in Seattle, nearly no cars have ventured down our street for two days and it has turned into a kids free-for-all zone. That also tells you how nice and steep our driveway is.
The hot chocolate never tasted better after a warm-up bath and, for some, jammies at 1:30 in the afternoon was the cherry on top.
1 comment:
That last shot of Molly is so precious! I love unexpected vacations too, especially when the weather forces you to get all cozy and have an excuse to drink hot chocolate.
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