Cabin Fever

There really hasn't been a whole lot going on at our house lately. We seem to be stuck in the winter rut: only go outside when it is necessary. Kelsie and Brandon go to school, Wally goes to work, and occasionally (sometimes urgently) Caleb and I make it to the grocery store. The result of all this? Cabin Fever. I have decided that you really can only watch so much TV, play so many video/computer games, play Sorry so many times, and drink packet after packet of hot chocolate before we need to come up with some new activities. It's a good thing that our kids have some good imaginations!

Kelsie created our last name with masking tape one afternoon, Charlotte's Web style. Then, to our amazement, they had so much fun running through tape like it was a finish line. This entertained them for the good part of an hour. All three of them! Who would have thought?

We also dusted off Dad's skateboard one cold, gray afternoon. We pushed the kitchen table aside and the kids had a great time gliding across the floor. (Caleb preferred watching and laughing instead of participating.) Another great time-passer and a bonus of burning off some extra energy!

I also need projects to keep myself busy during the long cold winter months. I finally made my winter quilt top to hang in my entry way. I am really happy with the way it turned out and Kelsie was a great help figuring out what design to do!


So, is there a reason for this post? Not really. It's just nice to mix things up a little bit and do something out of the ordinary. We'd love any new ideas too. What do you do to get out of the winter rut?

Frozen Tundra

The air temperature at 8:15 this morning when we left for school was -16 degrees. After factoring in the wind chill, it was a balmy -35 degrees. My nose hairs froze before we got to the alley next to our house. The last time that happened to me was over ten years ago when I lived in Rexburg. I told myself then that I would never live in that kind of weather ever again. Hmmm.

I really wanted to keep the kids home from school today. I had absolutely no desire to brave the elements. Not even to come home and tell anyone who happens to call me how tough I am because even though we are experiencing sub-zero temperatures outside, we still walked to school. Nope. I didn't want to go there. But, because school was not cancelled (or even delayed for that matter) we had no choice. Kelsie had a class breakfast to go to, so we trudged through the snow and biting wind, cut up orange slices and all.

And, for all of you who are wondering if Wally is crazy enough to bike in these harsh conditions, the answer is yes. While I'm at home worrying that he's going to walk in looking like a blue popsicle, he's out jumping off the snowplow created hills onto the streets. You can call him crazy (lots of people did while he was on his way to work), but that just adds fuel to the fire.

It wasn't until the pipes froze last night before we went to bed that we felt we had a direct hit. It's cold. Very cold. Relief is in sight this weekend when we are supposed to get up to 20 degrees above zero by tomorrow afternoon. It's going to feel like a nice warm day after what we've just been through.

I guess we will be able to wear a badge now. The one that says I made it through the coldest Chicago winter in a decade!

Arctic Blast

This is the forecast for the next 20 hours.


Brace yourself.



For me.



Sigh.

Sledding

There aren't very many hills out here in the Midwest, let alone sledding hills. Fortunately for us, there is a small hill just down the street at one of our favorite parks, the perfect size for kids. Since we got a foot of snow this weekend, we decided to make the most of it and take the family out sledding. We have a nice big sled (Caleb's primary transportation these days to and from school) for us to enjoy. Kelsie and Brandon tested the hill and packed down the snow for a good run which set the stage for the next hour and a half of fun. The snow was deep and soft, the perfect kind for sledding and having a nice big snow fight--which is what Brandon decided was a lot more fun to do than waiting his turn to slide down the hill. This was also Caleb's first real sledding experience, and we were really impressed with his innate abilites to the sport. He liked going down the regular old sled until our friends showed up and brought their pizza pan. After that, it was all about the metal pan, or not at all. He's a pretty tough 1 year old, if I do say so myself. Don't believe me? Watch the video:

Snow Day

We have had a ton of snow over the last couple of days. We've been hearing snow blowers all day cleaning up the sidewalks, only to have them covered again in an hour. After we got jobs done this morning, the kids and I went out to play. Kelsie and Brandon built a snow fort, while Caleb (waist-deep in snow) did his best to move around and through all the white stuff. We also tried to build our own hill, but it didn't work out as well as we had thought it would. We're planning on going sledding later this afternoon and just having fun. I really like the snow when it's light and powdery like it is today. It's when it get hard and frozen when it's just a pain. We're supposed to get an "arctic blast" this next week, so we will be staying inside as much as possible. But, for now, we're enjoying our snow day.

By the way, Caleb liked the snow fort, I think by the time I ran in to get the camera, he decided that he was done with it.

2009!

Happy New Year! We had fun ringing in the new year with some friends and lots of games! We watched the ball drop in Times Square, toasting with yummy cherry 7up. We were a little disappointed that Penn State lost their bowl game, but since it was the only game we watched all season, it was still exciting. I am from California, though, so I didn't mind too much that they lost!

So far, 2009 has brought me a sinus and double ear infection. I hope your new year has started off on a much happier note. I've got to go take some medicine....


Happy 2009!