Winter wonderland

This weekend we had quite the winter storm blow in. All day on Saturday we had rain, sleet and freezing rain -- and ice was dripping from everything. Then the snow set in on Saturday night. When we woke up on Sunday morning, everything was covered and it was just gorgeous. Pretty much everything was cancelled on Saturday night and Sunday. The roads were horrible and tons of people lost power. I was supposed to teach Katherine's Sunday school class on Sunday, but it was cancelled too.

Sunday morning Matt got out the snow blower and started on the driveway, but because of the thick layer of frozen slush under the snow, the snow blower kept quitting, and Matt had to bust out the shovel. Poor guy -- his back had to be killing him. It was super windy and we ended up with over a foot of heavy wet snow in the driveway.....

When Matt was finished, he took off his coat and was taking it downstairs to hang in the utility room. Katherine couldn't understand why in the world he'd do such a thing -- as coats do not belong in the basement. When Matt told her that it smelled like gas from the snow blower and he didn't want it to stink up the main level, she said, "Daddy, your coat stinks just like the Cyclones???" I nearly died laughing. I always thought she was my daughter, but today, she was all Matt's!! LOL! I can't believe that my NOT YET 4 YEAR OLD is already trash talking! UUUUUGH! Between Max and Isaac (the boys in the backyard who are huge Cyclone fans) and Matt, she's turning into a trash talking, Hawkeye lovin' fool!! LOL!!

After lunch we all piled in the car to check everything out. It was soooo crazy -- some people only had about 3 inches of snow, and then 2 blocks down the road there'd be over a foot of snow in the lawn. The electrical lines were 100% covered with snow and ice and buckling from the weight. Some of them were just laying on top of trees and stoplights, while others looked like they'd snap at any second from being blown so hard by the wind. I've never seen the wires blow like that in the wind before. On the way home, Matt even took a different way home so we didn't have to drive by them again. It was nuts.

Jodi and I were such mom's on Friday night. After dinner we decided that with the storm coming we should make a Target run and get groceries. (Holy cow -- this is something my mom would have done! LOL) We drove together, and she helped me unload my loot. We put the sacks by the door and made another trip. Caleb came over and watched me pick up the bags and take them to the kitchen island. All of a sudden, he started grabbing bags and bringing them out to the kitchen. It was hilarious!! When he was down to the last bag, he refused to let it go and started running laps around the kitchen and yelling at the top of his lungs! He's such a big helper! LOL.

Tell me if you find this odd -- every week we get weekly letters from preschool, telling us what's going on that week, any announcements, etc... A while back, there was a note in the newsletter basically saying that several parents have asked how else they could help out and get involved. The suggestion was that the teachers and staff meet on Monday mornings after preschool and we could take turns bringing them snacks -- and went on to describe what kind of snacks they'd like. Now, before I start ranting, this letter comes from the director, not Katherine's teachers. I LOVE LOVE LOVE her teachers, but the director is enough to get on my last nerve... So here it goes -- First of all, I have a feeling that parents wanted to help out in a way that would benefit their child, not provide "brain food" while all of the teachers meet, and second, being told what to bring is ridiculous and insulting. If they wanted to place an order they should call a restaurant, not rely on the generosity of parents who are already busy... Just my two cents. Needless to say, only one other mom signed up to bring them food. So, of course, I signed up for the next available date, which was today. Back up to last Thursday..... I was picking up Katherine from class, and Caleb was acting like a wild man running around in his squeaky shoes and I was chasing him all around. Katherine's class is the farthest from the front door (and the director's office is by the front door) and we were last in line to get her because Caleb would not stand still. The director has the nerve to come all the way down the hallway, through the crowd, and remind me to bring them snacks on Monday! YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!! Yes, I'm going to bring you snacks, no I didn't forget... I'm on every board that the preschool has, did tons of work to help them get ready for this school year, and she thinks I'm going to forget to bring them treats!! UUUUUUUGH! GIVE ME A BREAK. I know I over-react, but I really thought this was distasteful and rude. Thoughts???

Michelle, Ben and Tessa came over to play today and the kids had a great time. They were laughing and screaming so much that Michelle and I could hardly hear each other at times! Caleb has big kid envy in the worst way. He's all about playing with Ben and Katherine -- Tessa's just too little at this point!

Tomorrow night we are having our neighborhood play date since I'm now going to Weight Watchers on Wednesday night. Katherine can't wait to play with Abby, Walker and Ryan -- and I'm sure she'll be wearing her PJ's over there. She's had a love affair with them lately. Every time she gets together with Walker, she thinks she's having a PJ party... Girls! LOL

The rest of the week is going to be super busy! I've got a ton to get done, and then we're heading to LeMars on Friday to spend the weekend with Matt's parents and get our taxes done. We've been going to an accountant there for years -- actually he's my parent's accountant and they started going to him when they first got married. And -- he's cheap compared to Des Moines standards. Gotta love that!