SNOW DAY...

They are among our favorite days….which is odd to all of our friends. You see, we are a ‘Southern’ family. In case you weren't aware, ‘Southern’ is less about where you live and more about how you are raised. It is a frame of mind and a lifestyle born in the south and raised all over the world…it is how my husband and I were both raised and it is how we are raising our kids. Sweet Tea, Watermelon and Fried Green Tomatoes, if you will. But all of that has nothing to do with our love of the snow.  The kids and I love the cold, too…we don’t chill easily as Daddy and as much as we love 100+ degree temperatures in the summer (and will quite literally spend the entire day outside enjoying it), we love the arctic chill that brings that beautiful blanket of snow.  You’re right, it doesn't stay pretty for long.  And if I am completely honest, I don’t love all the wet that goes with it. Everything gets wet…pants, shoes, floors, anything on the floors, etc, etc.   The funny thing is that our kids will do just about anything in the snow that they will do in the blistering heat of summer…ride tricycles, swing on the swings, slide down the slides, etc…and then they add in things like making snow angels (at which point Lil’ Man always ends up stuck on his back like a turtle), building snow forts and surprise-ambushing Daddy with snowballs when he gets home from work.  For us, there is no reason to stay inside just because there is a foot of the white stuff in our yard.  That just means it’s time to grab a sled and hike up the hill across from our house (well, we all hike…and Lil’ Man sits in the sled and rides up the hill…next year that crap stops…he can hike himself…LOL).  Or fill spray bottles with water and food coloring…or even squeeze bottles with water, cornstarch and food coloring…and go outside and ‘paint’ on the giant blank canvas that has enveloped our world. 

It also means jammies, movies and baking. What better day to have the oven on than when it is a mere 25 degrees outside? So, we pick some recipes (I try to keep it a bit organized…one baked dessert, one baked breakfast-style food and a one-dish supper casserole or pot pie) and a movie (or even a movie series) and spend our time inside watching movies and cooking.  You see, once K started school, snow days took on a whole new meaning.  Before that, it was really just a day that happened to include snow because without the commitment of school, our days were relatively similar.  Now that she is in school, things are a bit different.  First of all, weekends become quickly filled with family activities and outings which results in less time spent on some of the other things that were just part of a regular day before school joined the mix.  So now a snow day means a random, unplanned, full day off. When the plan for the day included school for K and household stuff for C and I, a snow day means we get a free pass.  The household stuff an wait till tomorrow and for today we’ll fill this free day with things that we don’t always have time for as often as we once did.  So, it’s sledding, snow angels, forts, shoveling (yes, our kids enjoy that, too), baking, movies and lots of blankets and ‘free time’!!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, the kitchen timer is beeping…brownies are done!

~Jac