Let it snow, snow, snow!

We started battening down the hatches yesterday morning, with firmly worded forecasts ringing in our ears -- of freezing rain, bitter cold and high wind, followed by snow. When we got up it was about 60F; by midmorning the arctic air was already pushing in and the temps had started dropping. The kids and I did some errands. Next time I'll remember bread and cereal, arrgh. At noon it was 38F (forecast for 5 pm); at 5 pm it was freezing, 32F. Did I mention the rain, all afternoon? By nightfall it was continuing... as freezing rain, at first.

Dear husband came home after work and we all snuggled in. I made enchiladas and cornbread for dinner to the sound of sleet, lots of sleet, throwing itself against all of our north-facing windows. I made lots of cranberry bread after dinner. Dear husband went to his bowling league. The boys and I went outside briefly to pick up and see what sleet really was (raindrops frozen en route to the ground, as they fell through colder air to the ground). The boys went to bed ready to dream of playing in snow.

Dear husband came home from bowling league reporting that the windward doors of the cars had been iced over, and streets were very slick. Our thoughts became how to keep the house buttoned up tight against the wind and cold, and how much snow the forecasters were expecting during the day following. Dear Husband's employer, Big University, actually decided to close due to the weather (wow!). The schools will be closed, meetings and other activities are cancelled. Due to the icy roads if nothing else, Thursday will be a stay at home day.

I woke to the sound of... sleet hitting the windows. Sigh. Neighborhood lightly covered in white stuff, probably sleet rather than snow. Son2 in tears that, with the 0F wind chill and no actual snow to play in, I was not allowing the boys outside. We amused ourselves for the morning; Dear Husband and I drank good coffee and looked at radar and generally relaxed at home while the boys played.

At lunchtime I looked outside and realized... it was snowing! Tiny little flakes, and later moderately big flakes. Steady whirling snow with wind pushing it this way and that. Hurrah! And all I can say, as a mom, is...

Yay snow! In a few moments my kids were drawn outside by the next-door neighbor kids, whose mom (as it turned out) was pulling them in a plastic sled on the slick, icy street! They thought my morning "stay inside" was for all day, oops. So the boys bundled up and there was much sled pulling, snow throwing, and general running around and fun. Then they came in and I got scarves on them (covering nose, mouth, neck), and they all headed to the park behind our house. The kids made snow angels, messed around with the snow and sleet on the playground structures, played football in the snow, etc., etc.

Last winter I shopped successfully at a discount/seconds store and got great gloves and mittens for the boys that still fit!, and a knit hat and really good coat for Son1. That means that we are actually something like prepared, wowza. No snow boots, and certainly no snow pants, but oh well. And the boys have long-john type pajamas, so they wear the long-john bottoms under their jeans.

Son2 came inside to warm up; Son1 came in about half an hour later. The snow has stopped, but I am hoping that the next hunk of snow on the radar stays active and gets to us. About 50 miles north of us there is a blizzard underway, but that's not the piece of the storm that we're getting. Neither is the ice storm to our southeast. Whew. I am thankful, and they are in my prayers. Oh! It's snowing again.

We've been eating cranberry bread and drinking hot cocoa all day, it seems. Time to plan dinner and either a yeast bread or pumpkin bread and coffeecake to help with tomorrow's breakfast. My family is a little off balance because we're out of bread and cold cereal. I'm off balance because I want more eggs. That's okay. When the roads clear -- tomorrow? Saturday? -- we'll get what we need.

Bottom line: after last winter's disappointing lack of frozen anything, I was crossing my fingers for a decently frozen interval or two, and this is great. Er, as long as we have power, haha. Yay snow!

P.S. I found a couple of coffee to-go cup sleeves that I knit last fall, and am trying them out as wrist warmers. Very nice! I think they will help tremendously in the evening when the outside temp starts to drop and the house doesn't quite feel as warm (and we don't keep it toasty in winter anyway). They're simply sock cuffs without the sock part, slipped past my hands onto my wrists.