Snow Day

Max and Molly have been begging me to go outside and play in the snow since they saw the first snowflakes fall some time in November (or, as Max put it, "I want to play in the snow and make footprints and make snow angels and a snow man and ..."). But, we haven't had enough snow to actually play in, so their snow pants, snow mittens, and boots have been languishing in the closet. Well, Molly's boots haven't been languishing, since she loves them and wears them around the house on a regular basis.

When the weather channels started predicting a giant snowstorm, I kind of rolled my eyes and ignored them, since they usually make much ado about nothing. But, when I heard the big kids fervently hoping that they WOULD have school tomorrow (since Big Brother had his Christmas Party and Big Sister had the last of her finals), I figured that the situation demanded that they kids would get a snow day on the one day that they didn't want it.

And, for once, we actually got all the snow they predicted and then some. We woke up to a world of white and more snow was steadily falling. I think we ended up with 10 inches or so of quality snow. Given the state of the weather and the roads, I opted to take PTO and give myself a snow day. Although the little kids had been chomping at the bit all morning to get out and play in the snow, we waited until after lunch and after naps before we ventured out into the cold.

Getting two small children suited up to play in the snow is a time consuming feat. It probably takes almost a half an hour to "put on lots of stuff" (as Molly puts it). There is always the pre-dressing potty break, since the last thing you want to do after you wrestle a two year old into full snow regalia is take it back off again when they realize they have to pee. The boots and hats and mittens always seem to wander off, since Molly likes to play dress up with them. And it's hard to convince small children to help you get them dressed when they are TOO excited about going outside to play.

We eventually all got dressed, including Big Brother, and made it outside. Molly had an easier time getting around in the snow this year, but it was still difficult for her, especially because the snow was so deep. She was also bundled up so well that she was experiencing "The Christmas Story" phenomenon -- when she fell over she couldn't get back up by herself. Max, however, was in his element and was running all over the place.

Max remembered how to make snow angels and we quickly taught Molly. While Max was running around with Big Brother, Molly was content to just plop herself down in the snow and hang out. Max was also introduced to the grand fun of a snowball fight and doggedly tried to make snowballs and fling snow in everyone's general direction. The snow was too light for packing, so it was a pretty unsuccessful snowball battle. ;)

It always strikes me as amusing that it takes 30 minutes to get everyone dressed to play in the snow, we play outside for maybe a half hour, and then come back inside and spend 15 minutes getting undressed. I'm not quite sure we're getting a good return on investment there, but the kids have so much fun. Of course, once we come inside from a good snow session, hot cocoa must be made and consumed. Max remembered that marshmallows in hot chocolate are a must and whipped cream is also a nice touch. Molly was delighted by the whole hot chocolate ritual, since she was too little to really partake last year.

It was nice to have a little snow day of my own and now we have a whole weekend of snow fun ahead of us. Max and Molly are already asking to go outside and play in the snow again!