Snowpocolypse

Yes, we have a story. Everyone has a story, and everyone has a story to top everyone else's snow story.  I love my mother's day out days because they are also wife day outs. That means I get just a few hours of quiet all to me. The problem is that this is all a fantasy because, as all people with mother's day out know, it is four little hours that feel like about 20 minutes that seems to always be a grocery trip, laundry, cleaning, errands, or the doctor's appointment where at least you get to sit and check your email in the waiting room. I am rarely ever at home.  But on Tuesday, I decided to come home. I debated getting dressed up in a "cute mom outfit" that morning and decided it was the "I am wearing workout clothes but didn't work out mom outfit." I ran two quick errands and was home by 10:00 am and sat down to play a little guitar and maybe actually remember to eat lunch.  I remember at 10:10 or so letting Lucy outside and thinking that the boys would be so excited we got a little dusting that stuck on the grass. At 10:25, the school system called and said to come and get your kids by 10:30. By 10:27, I was running across the street in the snow to get the school pick-up name tag of my neighbors who I was certain could not get the eight week old twins dressed for snow and in a car and to school in five minutes. She was asleep, I dug through her car, and was running back to my car to answer the phone call I could hear blaring from the hands-free link from my carpool pal who is panicked because she is at the doctor and has two other kids to pick up as well. I pull out at 10:29 for my half mile drive only to be stopped by the Suburban sliding down the hill in front of me. Taking another flatter route, I slide down my street through three stop signs and realized that I might get all the neighborhood elementary kids from big kid school, but there was no way I was going to get Spencer and Harrison from preschool four miles away on top of the largest hill in the city. I am now on the phone with Joey trying to get his four wheel drive car that was in the shop that day (thank you irony), the twin's daddy to assure them that his older children were taken care of, Godmother Susan who was going to try to rescue Spencer and Harrison from school, and mom of my carpool baby who we decided was coming with me while she went to get her two little ones.

Remembering that 30 minutes earlier there were not even any flakes, they close the drive down to the school because parents are sliding around and running into people's fences that back up to the school. They decide that these poor P.E. teachers are not only going to direct traffic of panicked parents but are going to run up and down the hill to fetch the children and get them in the car. I get all my kids in a car and in a seat belt and Alden is thinking he is the king of the world because he is illegally in the front seat and with no car seat. I know we can't get up our hill, so I decide to be safe and go around the school to the flat road. After an hour and a half to get around the building, and the kids screaming watching people slide all over the road and our elderly neighbor driving when they were sure he didn't need to be, we are exactly back where we started in front of the school getting the assistant principal and the PE teacher and Librarian to direct my sliding car into a parking spot at the orthodontics office where I tell them to drop their book bags and we will walk home. (It was a run on sentence kind of experience) There are no phones by this point, there is insane traffic, and I have to get one kid across a highway while holding onto the other three. Teachers to the aide again who literally just walked that baby home! The other three of us head up the hill on foot in our girly uggs (not Alden of course) that may be warm but are not snow shoes. Because the precious little hands are cold, I have two girls in my two pair of gloves and the other one took my hat to use as gloves and I am trying to text the two Dads trying to get my boys and Susan trying to get my boys and my hands are numb and not working at all.

We make it home to find that half of the neighborhood has been stopped in their tracks right in front of our house. Poor twin mamma was not getting her nap because we are now all at her house for our snow party watching people try to drive up our road. Not working so well.

                                     

The kids are still freezing with wet gloves, but loving it. I got to feed the babies and have a visit with the neighbors...Joey and twin Dad, Gerald, are all the while driving from two different directions to reach my two little boys. Harrison and Spencer had had to walk a mile in the snow with poor Susan and her daughter, Sara. Although Harrison had a coat, it was bitter, and some woman stopped to give him the coat off her back so he could be warmer. At the very end of the walk, they hitched a ride in a pick-up to get back to the house. Spencer was in tears and screaming because he told Susan that his mother did not let him ride with strangers (can't say that I am not happy that happened! score one for child is listening to the stranger-danger lessons). When she finally convinces him that this one time is okay because she is with him, he is even more upset because Harrison was put in his lap and had a runny nose.  He was just angry that he had to touch anyone with a runny nose. If you ask Spencer about the adventure in the snow he will say one thing: Harry had a runny nose! After five hours, Gerald reached those babies first (the you got mine, I will get yours deal was not exactly evenly matched) and borrowed car seats from Susan and drove them home. Let me tell you something, when a man texts that the biggest hill in our area has been shut down but he is just going to bust on through and drive it anyway with two of the most important people in your life and you don't even blink an eye...that is called trust people, and being able to trust and rely on your neighbors that much is the most priceless gift you could ask for.  He was my hero for the day.

                                          

So, we finally get our entire family home and then Joey is right back out because his assistant and three other women are stranded at the Whole Foods. His little four-wheel drive bottom ran people back and forth and back and forth for two straight days...all women, humm....but, nonetheless, he was a little winter weather hero.  Late that night, I get a Facebook message from someone that she knew someone who was in California and said his mother was stranded at Target and had health issues so could we figure out how to get her and bring her home. So, even though I was beginning to take it personally that all five people I offered to go and pick up and bring to my warm home and feed turned me down for sleeping at work and the YMCA and school, we finally had someone take us up on our offer and was happy to be here. Same happened to my neighbors. I say this because the people we ended up with an amazing theatre and speech professor and they ended up with a famous lung surgeon. We were all up until 1:00 am talking because we had these amazing people in our homes who were fascinating and having once in a lifetime conversations.  I know it was not this great for everyone, but it was such an amazing day for bonding with my community and meeting amazing new people that would have never crossed my path otherwise.

One of my favorite things that happened was also not so good for someone else. My neighbor walks straight into my front door in my house in long johns with her dog and kids and tells me her pipes have burst and can they stay. I simply love that we all know that we can do that without hesitation. This is day three of Snowmegedon, and even though I would take them any day regardless, I was thrilled that they were there to play with my very board babies.  We were running out of food, but I was able to scramble up grilled cheese and apples and everyone was happy. I loved the fact that I got to have all the little babies of the street in my house and care at some point during the week. I pretty much just simply love kids and the teacher in me loves to have a whole bunch of different kids around all the time. The more noise and chaos the better. 

                                                        

So, did we play in the snow? Only a little bit. My kids were pretty happy being inside in pajamas drinking hot chocolate. Alden spent a whole day watching YouTube videos of people building Lego sets. Spencer was watching people drive trains. Fascinating stuff, unlike the rare powdery three inches of snow in our front yard that you might not see for the next five years.  Harrison says that five years will be all too soon!

Spencer, however, found great joy in snow. By far, he spent the most time outside and the least time on iPads than any other trapped creature on our block.

Happy for a moment.

We spent an afternoon with all our best buds down the street for the ultimate neighborhood snowball fight. After the collection in the Princess wagon it was every kid for him or herself. There were a few moments of snowballs in the face that resulted in great trauma and tears, and the adults were the best targets of all.

We found Spencer swinging in the swing. His entire face chapped and red from the cold and wind. He looks up and says, "Can we go and find the sun?" I decided that maybe it was time to go inside. Fortunately for Spencer, he is way too comfortable at our neighbor's house and went right on in and helped himself to his usual trip to the snack drawer of their refrigerator. I used to think those snack drawers for kids were cool; I am very against snack drawers for kids being in my actual house and am happier they live in someone else's actual house. And water dispensers. And pianos. And cats.

Okay, so maybe not the best idea but I couldn't find the baby mittens anywhere and settled for a pair of socks.  It didn't really work at all.  I have discovered during this winter of mess that I not only need a four wheel drive giant SUV but waterproof gloves for kids and rain boots for adults. Thanks to Zappos and Amazon I have been able to order two of the three, but the giant four wheel drive SUV I have been told is still several years in my future (and not sold on Amazon).

Wow! Look at how deep that snow is! That is about as much as we can hope for in our neck of the woods. Snowman and snowball worthy is the definition of success.

Well, it got too cold and the snowballs in the face and cars sliding all over our hills sort of turned off all the cherubs from going back outside. The next two days were spent literally trapped inside the house which ended up being remarkably productive and peaceful.  Harrison, however, is my little adventurer. He kept asking for his "jacky" and shoes and would go and sit in the borrowed car seat. The boy was desperate to communicate his desires.

When all else fails, you get out the cardboard box.

Or dress your baby up with his grill.

I wasn't the only one that got to help out feeding the neighborhood newborns.

Spencer was able to finally join the rest of the boy club with his facial injury. Thankfully, his face plant on the sidewalk did not result in anything but a scrap, but he wore that boo-boo with some serious pride.

And then, once we thawed out and the streets were clear, the threat of snow it again. The school called at 2:20 to let us know school was out early at 2:30.  By 2:25, this is the line for carpool in one direction; a matching line in the other. No one was taking any chances.

One good thing about being trapped in your house: Valentine's are finished two weeks early, Birthday party favors a month early, closets straightened, and the camera battery was finally found under the sofa so that real photos could once again resume.  Oh, and Grandpa, guess what....apparently, you left your glasses:)