A snow day when you're a kid means something much different when you become a parent. When you are little, a snow day means staying in your pajamas later than normal, playing board games, building a snowman, relaxing and drinking hot chocolate. Back when I was growing up in Maryland, an inch or two of snow would either shut the schools down or delay the opening of school by an hour or two. I can distinctly remember when I missed an entire week of school because of a big snowstorm :) When I first moved to the Midwest over 11 years ago, it took me a little time to adjust to the fact that things don't come to a grinding halt with the first flake of snow. Yesterday, both Dominic's elementary school and Lauren's high school were both closed because of the snow and ice. Lauren and I both had morning appointments scheduled (orthodontist for her, cardiologist for me) and the hubby was taking our minivan in to the shop to get the oil changed and then was going to work. Lauren wasn't too pleased she couldn't sleep in, but her 9 a.m. appointment was scheduled before I ever knew she would have a snow day. I helped Dominic get dressed, got Lauren up and moving and we ventured out to her orthodontist appointment, which luckily is only about 5 minutes away. When it came time for my appointment, which was on the other side of town, Lauren stayed home with Dominic and watched him so I could see my cardiologist by myself. After I got done with my appointment, I swung by my husband's office, picked him up and dropped him off at the car shop so he could have the minivan to drive back home after work. On my way back home from dropping him off, I stopped at Burger King (which I rarely do) and got the kids some lunch. I think they appreciated the special "treat." After resting a bit, it was out again to go to Payless. Lauren has been wanting a pair of boots and I had a great 25% off coupon, good for one day only (which of course was Wednesday). Besides the boots being on sale, my coupon took off almost another $10.00! When we got home, I was telling Lauren I had been thinking of making snickerdoodles, but since I'm in charge of the Box Tops for Education Program at Dominic's school and the deadline is March 1, I needed to count some last minute box tops. Between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday afternoon I counted close to 1,100 box tops :) As I got done counting the last 50 or so box tops, I heard Lauren calling from her room, "mom, are you still planning on making the snickerdoodles? if you are, I want to help!" It's been a long time since Lauren and I have made cookies together, just the two of us, so I told her to give me a few minutes and I would be ready. We whipped up a couple dozen and then she went back up to her room to do some homework. Next, I spent a little time with Dominic on the couch just hanging out, tickling him and reading books with him. Then, it was time to make dinner. It was a toss up between meatloaf or lasagna. I let Dominic decide, his vote was for lasagna. I quickly boiled the water for the noodles and browned up some meat, put it together and popped it into the oven. In between everything that was going on this unexpected snow day, I also did three loads of laundry. When the hubby arrived home from work (which was about an hour earlier than normal), he remarked that the laundry "staff" had been busy. He's a real laugh riot sometimes :) After dinner, I folded up and sorted all the laundry. After putting Dominic to bed, I spent some time with the hubby and was wondering why I felt a little tired. I guess it's because not too much "relaxing" had gone on during the day. That's okay, I wouldn't have my life any other way. Enjoy those unexpected "snow days" when you can with your kids, they grow up in a blink of an eye.
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