Snow Days

So, it's winter in New England, and that means SNOW! In fact, January was the snowiest month ever in the history of Connecticut. We have more snow than we know what to do with, and it's so deep that the boys really can't even play in it!

Here's what that means for a family of four:

• 5 days off from school, so lots of extra time to play and read and cuddle together
• Daddy working from home, and sneaking in play time with the boys
• Numerous cancelled church and sports activities (leaving the boys with a little *too* much energy and nowhere to use it up!)
• Countless calories consumed after baking treats, like banana bread, pumpkin muffins, brownies, etc.
• Several big pots of chili and slow cooker suppers; plus 2 chicken pot pies, made from scratch
• Looking for foot prints in the snow, and finding some that indicate we have a deer living nearby
• Hours playing dress-up and posing for lots of photos
• Trips to the grocery store, which involve navigating a parking lot that has piles of snow at least 10 feet tall, then getting in to the store only to find that the bread and milk aisles are nearly bare. On the plus side, the store is the one place you can get to, so a great opportunity to see all of your friends, who also are suffering from cabin fever and are more than happy to stand and chat in the cereal aisle
• At least 4 trips to the ski shop, and the discovery that the boys *love* skiing, and are quite good at it! With their prompting, I'm now the proud owner of ski pants and a decent jacket so I can learn to ski too!
• Cups of hot cocoa, with marshmallows, to warm up on these super-cold days
• Brothers having a "sleep-over", sharing a bed and snoozing together

As much as the snow is a bother, it really has been nice to slow down and reconnect as a family on these snowy days. When snowed in together, we've found new things to do, games to play, and recipes to try out. The snow has given us the freedom to do things at a more leisurely pace, and that has been a real treat for all of us.

But, I'm still ready for spring!