On Friday morning we woke up to about 8 inches of snow here in SE Wisconsin. And by noon had around 14 inches total! The big boys were supposed to go to pre-school, but all schools were canceled...in Wisconsin, that is a big deal. So, it was a snow day for us!
Luckily the night before we had made sure the snow gear I bought last year on clearance, including bibs and boots were going to fit. And they all did! Wyatt of course is set. Having two older brothers, this kid is going to live in hand-me-downs for life...poor guy. So, even before breakfast and before it was done snowing, they were dressing out and ready to go out. Zane even said "bring it on baby" as he headed down the back steps. Wonder where he gets that?
Wyatt obviously got hungry and decided to have a little snow for breakfast.
Then back inside for hot chocolate (warm chocolate milk to the boys) and breakfast for the rest of us. Man, getting 3 kids ready for the snow really takes it out of you. After pumpkin pancakes, a little craftiness was in order.
We started our own version of the sweet winter villages that have been showing up all over. The boys have been playing with the criss-cross cardboard dividers from a case of wine we ordered for the past week or so. We used the pieces that were left to cut up into walls and roofs. I can't guarantee our villages will look anything like the others, but luckily 4 year olds have incredible imaginations and so does their mama. They really loved this and spent almost an hour painting every inch of this building that they decided was the fire station. Oh yes, we are still into fire fighters.
S came home early. He went in at usual time (read that o'dark thirty) even though the base was closed. The little car-that-could made it all the way to work and back (well almost back). The snow plows had come through our street, so he got stuck getting into our driveway. The whole family went back outside for more snow eating and to dig a path back into the driveway.
And Jalaine, our baby sitter who conveniently lives across the street, joined us for some snow angels.
She stayed most of the afternoon and helped with another little project. I have been meaning to make these little snow globes out of mason jars and little holiday items picked up from the thrift store. But our track record of breaking things on the tile floor lately made me want to think of an alternative. This is what I came up with.
Does anyone else have gazillions of these little tiny bowls overtaking your tupperware cabinet? They are the bowls from the individual servings of oranges or pineapples. I keep them around because they are great for mixing paint or as a snack bowl for Wyatt. But lately we have way too many of them around.
We cut a circle of cardboard and felt using the bowl as a template. Then we glued these tiny wooden ornaments, yes another thrift store find, onto the felt and let it dry. (insert more warm chocolate milk and a cookie here) While the glue is drying, I put some packing popcorn into a plastic zip-lock bag and let the boys smash it up into tiny little pieces. After the glue was dry, we put the popcorn, er...snow, into the bowl and glued the cardboard/felt piece on top and let it dry again.
Add a little paper clip hanger on the top (not shown here) and you have a snow globe ornament that is much safer than the glass ones I had originally planned. Whew! It was a busy, busy day. Everyone was completely worn out. Everyone including S were in bed by 7:30 p.m. I made a cup of coffee, bundled up and took a walk around the block..all by myself.
