SNOW DAY...Take 2...

 We’ve had two snow days here. Thursday and Friday. Thursday felt so backwards…there was not a stitch of snow on the ground when we got up…yet school had already been canceled at 8:30pm on Wednesday night. It was so strange for K to not go to school when it appeared that nothing was actually going on out there.  The snow finally started around 11:30 and quickly became thick and heavy enough that it was obvious why the districts had made the decision to cancel. For hours (almost 24 of them, in fact) the snow fell and accumulated and blew all over the place.  By 9:00pm Thursday night, the schools decided that the road conditions and continuing snowfall were going to make getting to school more dangerous than necessary and so they cancelled school for Friday as well.  Friday morning, it was more obvious why we were all still at home…roads were still covered in up to 6 inches of snow (especially in the neighborhoods where the plows hadn’t gotten any clearing done) and flurries were still falling.  As the day went by, the snow stopped and the sun has come out…making it possible for driveways to be cleared and ice to be melted.  And now the sun glints off of pile after pile after pile of snow burning our retinas. LOL.

There have been three major downsides to these two ‘Snow Days’.  First, my hubby and I have both been sick for about the past week and a half. Thankfully, we seem to be alternating days…he’ll feel a bit better on the very day that I feel my worst and I will feel a bit better on the day that he is for sure on his death bed.  But for our children, it has been Hell.  You see, they’ve been perfectly healthy (thank God)…not a sniffle between them. But they are not accustomed to J and I being puny and less than 100% involved parents.  So in the past week, we’ve left the house twice for events not related to K’s school or J’s work. That has left them with a bout of cabin fever that is about to drive me nuts.  Second, K’s school just had a long weekend (5 days, actually) and have another long weekend scheduled over Easter (no ‘Spring Break’ up here…instead of a whole week off of school, they get two extended weekends instead).  Anyway, with so much time off of school K is bored and has really…REALLY…taken to bossing C around. Apparently it annoys me more than C since he just does whatever she says but it is driving me bonkers.  Finally, when the schools start closing, so do businesses, so anything that we might have had the energy to go do is a moot point since the place is probably closed anyway. UGH.

However, by Friday afternoon J and I were at least feeling well enough to fake it.  We bundled everyone up, invited over a friend that was going through the same thing (she’d been sick…kids were fine…hubby on a trip), ordered pizza and had a very casual afternoon of sledding on the hill across the street from our house, eating pizza, watching movies and drinking hot chocolate.  It was so good for the kids…and the adults.  All of us needed some interaction other than our own families and I think everyone really benefited from some activity and company. I love friends like that…where it doesn’t have to be fancy and we can just throw together a simple afternoon/evening and everyone has a great time.

Coffee Group Mornings...

Thursday is one of my favorite days. No, it isn't a day to sleep in or anything that one usually associates with a 'favorite day'...but it is Coffee Group Day. : ) I look forward to it every week.  

First, I greatly enjoy entertaining...and I like to think I'm pretty good at it.  I spend a lot of my time trying to please everyone...which is nearly impossible...but entertaining seems to fall perfectly into that genre. I can come up with a reason to entertain for almost any day. Weeknight casual dinner party? Check...and still get the kids in bed on time!  Football game? Must have an 'At Home Tailgate Party'!  Birthday? Yep, fire up the grill and let's celebrate!  There doesn't have to be a 'good reason', I can always make one up. ; ) Kinect dance off with friend? Sure, and we'll make that an appetizers and desserts game night while we're at it.  See, you can have a party for anything! And I love it. I love the cooking...mixing drinks (alchy and non)...chit-chat...it's all just plain fun. 

But I mainly love coffee...MMMmmm...so good.  It can be decaf or not. It's the warm cup of flavored fantasticness that is so important.  My dad will tell you that it's 'froo froo' coffee that I drink.  He likes his plain black from the pot...preferably unflavored Folgers or Starbucks Espresso.  I like flavored coffee. With a variety of creamers.  But as soon as you take a sip of that warm, inviting concoction, there's no turning back.  On a cold day, it warms you from the inside and what better people to share that treat with than a group of friends?!  So, on Thursdays, we meet at my house...brew our favorite cup (the hubbs got me a Keurig last year so now we can all have a different flavor if we want...and it turns out that I actually DRINK less coffee and WASTE less coffee...double bonus).  It is a casual group. Very come-as-you-are.  Some come straight from the gym...some come from running errands...whatever floats your boat. All I ask is that you don't show up before 9:30am...gives me time to get K to school and even run an errand or two (or straighten up my house or bake yummy treats)...and you'll either need to leave (or hang out at my house alone for a bit) so I can go get K from school.  Usually, though, folks start arriving around 9:45 and are heading out around lunch time.  Works out perfectly since C still naps each afternoon.  

Coffee Group is also a great way to keep my housework in check. LOL. Not that I keep my house in magazine cover condition, but I do like certain things a certain way when we are going to have company.  So, in addition to spending the morning with an amazing group of ladies (and sometimes a husband here or there...depending on work schedules, vacation and whatnot...but the boys are welcome), I get to start my weekend with a freshly straightened house. I love that. Somehow our house is always messiest on the weekends. Of course, there are 4 of us here to create dirty dishes, clothes and contribute to clutter...but that also means there are 4 of us here to clean up such things as well...never works that way, though. The house is always more cluttered on Sunday evening than any other day of the week. Especially Thursday! 

Additionally, it's a great way to indulge my desire to bake. I love baking and cooking.  The older I get, the more I love it and the stronger my desire to learn how to make more and more things.  However I do not have a desire to consume more and more calories! K barely eats enough to keep a baby bird alive...C eats in spells, but it is impossible to know in advance if tomorrow is going to be a 'hungry' day or not. If it is, I might as well just put out a perma-buffet for him and let him eat all day...if it's not then he'll eat even less than K. Annoying. And then there's the hubbs. He likes to think that he's a well-rounded eater. He's not. He has his favorites and sticks to them. And he is not a fan of sweets.  So, assuming I bake a fantastic dessert and it happens to be a day that neither K nor C are hungry...it will just sit there...staring at me. Did I mention that I am definitely a sweets-lover? Ugh! So...I can mitigate all of that by baking on Wednesday night or Thursday morning…and then passing off said baked deliciousness to everyone at Coffee Group. Now, I don't bake every week; just whenever the mood strikes me. I try to let everyone know the night before so that they can plan to snack here the following morning, though. 

Mostly, though, it is a wonderful, casual morning spent with great friends.  The group varies based on appointments, travel and various scheduling conflicts.  But regardless of who shows up, it is a relaxed morning of fellowship in a world where our lives can so quickly turn into a whirlwind of activities.  Stay-at-home moms get a couple of hours of adult chit-chat. Youngsters still at home during the day get some interaction with others…both adults and children.  C looks forward to ‘Friends Day’ as much as I look forward to Coffee Group…good thing they are the same event. ; ) LOL. So, ladies (and gents), thanks for making Thursday one of my most favorite days of the week! 

~Jac