Making The Most Of It

On our 13th snow-day of the year, we tried our best to make the most of it! The kiddos and I didn't set any alarm clocks. A little extra sleep was good for all of us. We enjoyed a lazy morning, just hanging out in our pjs. The kiddos were crazy enough to head outside for a little bit. 

Super cold weather can't stop these three from having a great time! I might have enjoyed it more but I don't even have snow-boots. Every year I make sure the kiddos are all set with winter gear, just in case. But I never seem to order anything for myself. I do have a nice pair of Wellies but they just don't keep my feet warm. My irrational fear is that if I invest in winter gear for myself, we will never have another snow-day. Weird, I know! 

Lastly, the kiddos would like to you all know that Peeps float in hot cocoa. And are super yummy! 

Snowday #12

This Winter has just been unreal! I am starting to fear that Spring is not coming this year.

And if you can believe, the county just called to inform us that there is no school tomorrow. Snow-day #13!!!

Extra Long Weekend

This past weekend was going to be a three day weekend due to yesterday's holiday but it turned into a five day weekend due to the snow. We really did get a ton of snow on Wednesday night and then even more on Thursday night. Over 20 inches! This really has been a crazy winter!!!

We tried to make the best of our snow-vacation. Plenty of sledding the neighborhood. The kiddos even made Olympic inspired snowmen. Not really sure what they were going for here but I just smiled and nodded.

I even found some time to put together three Ikea bookcases for our family office. Don't be too impressed, it took me forever to build them and by the time I was done so was my back!

We also made some time for a family game night or two. I have fond memories of playing Sorry! as a child and I feel like my kiddos will too. I really wish we had pics from when L won the first game, just too cute.

To round out our weekend, Hubby and I have been watching an episode or two of "House of Cards" as soon as the kiddos are in bed. If it was not for the kids and all we might have pulled an all-nighter just to watch the whole season. Is anyone else as obsessed as we are?

More Snowdays

We have yet another winter storm heading our way. I have decided just to laugh about the whole thing. Because really what else is there to do!?!

Stay warm my friends!!!

Tubing!

We finally had a free weekend and we decided to make the most of it. We went tubing at Whitetail! I grew up in a neighborhood that had a deep gulley that we went sledding down every winter. One might have called us crazy for sledding down the hills we did but we loved every minute of it! Sledding with my brothers is one of my favorite childhood memories. 

After paying and signing our lives away we were given tubes and sent up the hill. All of the kids love the snow-escalator! I may or may not have lost my balnce the first time I got on it. My mishap might have caused a bit of laughter from kiddos...and myself. If you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at!?!

There were ten tracks to choose from and we tried to make the most of them during our two hours. For whatever reason a ton of people just got in line at the first three tracks so we stayed clear of them. No need to wait if you don't have to! 

After trying tracks 5 to 10, we realized that 8, 9 and 10 were the fastest. So of course those were our favs!

We are already planning our next trip back. Really for a family of three kids, with a child under the age of 8, this was a great intro to skiing. While our older two are so ready to try skiing, L is not. This was the perfect way to be together as a family at a ski resort without skiing.

This was just such a wonderful family day. We had a great time together and I was reminded of all the great times I had sledding with my brothers. Not going to lie, sledding makes you feel young!

Back To Reality

After an unexpected week off of school the older two were finally back to school this morning. God willing we will have a normal week of school for everyone. While it was lovely to have a surprise winter vacation, it will be nice to get back to a routine. I really struggled to keep up with my blog with three kiddos stuck in the house. Hopefully things will get back to normal this week.

                                  

L was not as happy as I was that the schools were open today. Poor boy didn't know what to do without his adoring fans. Hopefully he will have a better day tomorrow! (Hubby's note- This picture kills me! Makes me laugh every time I see it. L looks a bit like Popeye in it.)

No School This Week

I can not believe I am typing this but I just got the phone call from our schools and was informed that my kiddos are off for the rest of the week. That means that they will not go to school at all this week! They were off on Monday for MLK Day and the rest of the days are snow days. Four snow days!

Don't get me wrong, I love having my kiddos home for a snow day or two but four does seem like a bit much. This must be a NoVa thing because my mother still will have to go to school tomorrow and they had way more snow that we did. 

                                

So help a gal out, what are your favorite snow day activities? #cabinfever

Dare To Dream; Part 2

All I can say is thank goodness the weatherman was wrong yesterday! What was suppose to be a little dusting of snow turned into a snow day for the kiddos today. And the best part was that the school board made the phone call last night. All snow days are wonderful but knowing the night before is awesome!

The only bummer about the day was how bitterly cold it was today. I know that my family up North teases me all the time about my Southern children not be able to handle the cold but I don't care where you are from 16 degree is cold. And that was before the wind chill!!!

Despite the cold my tough Southern kiddos suited up and made the most of the snow. All I can say is that we are raising kiddos who make the most of the day...no matter where they live!

Better Than Swiss Miss

Don't you just love it when you find a great recipe on Pinterest!?! I am so please with the recipe that I found last week for semi-homemade hot chocolate mix from Jill's blog One Good Thing. Since we have been buying Swiss Miss in bulk I knew that my kiddos would love this recipe and boy with I right. L has declared that this is best!

Semi-Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

4 cups powdered milk

21.8 oz box Nestle Nesquik

16 oz instant coffee creamer

1 cup powdered sugar (Jill suggested that you could adjust this to taste. The kiddos and I thought this amount was perfect).

1/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa*

Mix all of this together in a big bowl. Pour into a storage jar or canister.** To make a mug of cocoa, add 3-5 heaping tablespoons of mix per mug. Top with hot water or milk, then stir.

*Jill's recipe did not call for cocoa, but the kiddos and I like dark chocolate so I decided to add some cocoa. Next time I make this recipe I plan to add a full cup of cocoa. I will let you know how that goes!

**I had no desire to clean an extra bowl so I mixed all of the ingredients in the jar that I planned to use. Which, by the way, was a gallon storage container.

This yummy recipe makes a ton which is perfect for us since we are enjoying our second snow day in a row! Man it is going to be so hard to wake up to reality tomorrow....

Snow Day!

I think that I have mentioned this before so forgive me for repeating myself, but I love snow days! In fact I think that I love them more as a mom than I did as a kid. And today's snow day was even better since it started last night. It was so much fun to tell the kids that I had gotten a call from the school and that they did not have to set their alarm clocks. Plus I really enjoyed their cute little happy dance!

We have enjoyed a great day. There was no rush to get out of our pjs. We got our shopping list ready and got things done, which is major in the crazy month of December. Plus there was still plenty of time left with tons of time to play outside. Snow days truly make me grateful to be raising our children in a neighborhood full of wee ones! 

The best part is that it looks like we might get another snow day tomorrow. Dare to dream, right!?!