A girl in the snow

Snow day

We got about 18 inches of snow this weekend. That meant three separate rounds of snow blowing and shoveling and two rounds of roof raking. Around 9:00 pm last night, we got the call. No school. Roads are still too hazardous.

I'd like to say I have a wealth of screen-free activities planned. But... it's 11:00 a.m. and I'm fairly sure we're going to be turning on PBS kids.

However, they've colored and attempted to play outside (it's hard to actually plan in this much snow they discovered) and I've cleaned my floors and toilets. I'm feeling surprisingly productive today.

So we'll go with the flow today and see what happens.

The Polar Vortex in my Brain

Remember when I was all chipper and cozy about the winter? When I was all hot chocolate and snuggles and snowflakes?

Well, the bloom is off the rose. I think there is a polar vortex in my brain.

Seriously?

School was cancelled twice this week already for extreme temperatures. On top of the cancellations two weeks ago. At this rate, the children might be out of school by mid-August (fingers crossed!).

As I type this I am wrapped up in a fleece blanket Mike inherited from work last year. My kids haven't even bothered to take their pajamas off.

I can hear the cold brutal wind beat against the side of the house.

We've used several sophisticated techniques to cope with the cold. Kiwi Crates,
WorldGirl, blueberry pancakes, and lots of hot tea. My electric kettle is on it's way to winning the 2014 appliance of the year award.

Act surprised when you win!!

Winter 2014, You're a little too bossy for my liking.

My Plan (As of now)

Okay, I'm trying to get out of this funk. We all know there is no perfect antidote to the January funk, but here's my three word plan as of today:

Organize. Travel. Read.

Organize. I'm not the world's most natural organizer, I prefer to just throw stuff away rather than organize it. However... I am finding lots of organizing inspiration on this blog and January in Chicago means you've got to make the best of being indoors. Might as well organize something.

I created a HOME binder this week. Not sure if this was driven by the desire to organize something or the fact that I love purchasing cute office supplies from Target. It's a toss up.

The binder is divided into the following categories:

• Daily Docket (I use this one from Simple Mom)
• Meals (Meal planning worksheets galore found here!)
• Lists (Just sheets of paper with categories (grocery, target, ikea) because I lose track)
• Receipts (A clear plastic paper protector to stuff important receipts inside)

You're so pretty, I don't mind even mind the 3-hole punching

There are several areas I'd like to tackle organizing in our house: kids toys (soooo maddening), our office (perhaps my biggest dread), and under the stairs.  Of course, when I say organize, I also think declutter. I started using the 2014 declutter calendar (here) and I think it's a good way to keep me accountable. Very bite size. As in, declutter one drawer in your living room today.

Travel. I've hinted at this already and I promise to share more soon. But little six-year-old eyes see this blog and I don't want to give away the surprise. 

Read. This is one of my great pleasures and I have to control myself from starting too many books at a time. Game of Thrones is already underway and that's pure fun. But I've also recently purchased a two "soul" books by Brene Brown (her TED talks are all over YouTube). Brown is a proponent of wholehearted living (her term) and bases recommendations from years of research and study on the topic of shame and the effect shame has our ability to live authentically. Our fear and shame affect how we live because we feel as though we have to be [perfect, guarded, outgoing, you insert the adjective] rather than simply being ourselves. 

So this is what I'm doing now. I'm organizing. I'm reading. I'm making lists until I get my mojo back. I'm wasting money in the office supply aisle of Target. And I'm hoping that my attitude gets better and the fog lifts a little. 

What are you doing these days? 

Surviving snow days

We received two extra snow days this week due to extreme temperatures. Some folks feel stir crazy the moment school cancellation is announced and I completely get that. However, we divided up our Christmas break with some traveling and I think I needed a day or two more at home with just the kids.

Traveling is nice, but I love my house and having the kids with me. Time here helps me get my head back on track.

During breaks, I like to try a little "homeschooling" and, no, that doesn't mean we are slated to become full-time homeschoolers. However, I've found some really awesome books to help me work with Anna on language and writing, and Abe's letter recognition work is an ongoing thing. Honestly, the kids think it's fun. If it was merely whining and complaining, I wouldn't force it, but if we all enjoy this, then why not?

We baked a loaf of pumpkin bread on Monday morning just to get the kitchen warmed up a little...

Must have liked it... it was gone in less than 24 hours

And then I drafted out a brief schedule of what I wanted to cover: reading, writing, math and art.

Story time/reading simply meant I read aloud the Magic Treehouse book, Christmas in Camelot, and afterwards Anna happily read on her own. Abe lately only wants me to read his new superhero compilation story book over and over again so I indulged him. Should you need to know any of the backstories of the Avengers, just private message me.

Our "art" class was really just a Kiwi Crate project leftover from the summer.

Oh the irony... they were building kites.

For writing practice, Anna started writing a page of a book, but grew discouraged and didn't finish anything. Abe tried one of Anna's tracing pages and some mazes. The mini-ipad that Anna uses for school houses her math practice (just 10 minutes) and Abe did some pre-math skills pages in one of his workbooks.

I loved it. It felt very Little House. And I bet it lasted two hours total, spread out over the day and with lunch in the middle.

Granted, I think part of the reason this works is because it's a novelty. They like having something fun and atypical to do. Anna loves learning in general and Abe seems to enjoy the "big kid" activities that Anna gets to do. And lest you think we had an idyllic academic day, the kids watched movies for nearly two hours between 4-6pm. So, um.... yeah.

One of the blogs I read is posting a "day in the life" series of homeschool mothers. I find this fascinating and inspirational. I don't think I could have ever put my mind around the concept until I started reading about other families. Now I find it fascinating.

What are you doing to keep busy during the snow days?

A bitter cold

Folks, we've lived in the Chicago area for nearly ten years. That's ten more than we expected when Mike started law school and we assumed we'd be staying closer to home. Who would have guessed that this Chicago experiment would develop into a city life in a condo, then parenthood in both the city and then the suburbs, and now a home purchase with green grass and carpools.

Our life has taken a decidedly northern twist due to professional decisions, and we truly love it here. It's been an incredible journey.

However...

Today, as I write this post, it is expected to be a HIGH of -13 degrees tomorrow. That's an achingly bitter forecast. And I say that after living through nine Chicago winters. This kind of punishing cold is rough going even for veterans.

Brave husband rakes the snow off our roof (the weight can cause damage)

Life simply has a different rhythm when you live in a cold climate. We have hot summers in Chicago so it's like a giant pendulum, swinging from -13 to 101 degrees in the course of a year. The weather smacks us around a little and, believe it or not, I've actually started appreciating the coolness (or rather started to wimp out during the oppressive heat).

Around late October, we begin to think about locating winter items... our snow shovels are pulled from the shed, snow pants are held up to check sizes and zippers, warm woolen socks get new life, and long underwear takes center stage. I do a massive shift in our shoe bin in the closet. No more crocs, just boots and the like. The space heater for our bedroom gets dusted off and removed from the crawl space. The back patio furniture gets covered. To quote my newest fiction obsession, "Winter is coming."

No errands today, just board game central

We've had massive snowstorms and rough winters and then surprisingly mild ones the past couple of years. This year is spitting out incredibly harsh temperatures. It fools us into thinking that sunshine and snow have created a playground, only to have our cheeks burn and skin cracks with the bitter cold.

Quilts aren't just for decor, they become a necessity. And our old, uninsulated kitchen, receives an increase in oven usage, if for no other reason than to warm things up. We drink more tea, coffee and hot chocolate and find excuses for warm breakfast treats.

Certain children photo bomb my picture of great grandma's quilt

The winters may be long and harsh, but part of me enjoys the sheer coziness of it all. Winters are good for snuggles in soft pajamas and fires and new Ugg slippers. They are beautiful opportunities for seeing brilliant red cardinals against the white snow and remembering that earlier generations didn't have nearly the comforts we have. Can you imagine living in this winter without ready supplies of hot water? Or heat that literally changes a few degrees with a mere twist of a dial?

So wherever you are, stay warm. Enjoy your cocoons and your warm drinks and snuggles. Our schools have been cancelled for Monday already. Winter may have set in, but so have the cuddles and board games and warm blankets. I'm going to try to relish the newness of this season now before stir craziness and exasperation set in by April... by then I'll be singing a different a tune.