A Wonderful Winter Day

That's what we've had around here. :-) First of all...

I had an epiphany last week after getting the whole house cleaned up and ready for company. After they were gone and the house was still all nice and clean and perfect, I felt so much more FUN. I felt relaxed and like I had all the time in the world to spend with my kids or do the things I usually don't find time for. It made me realize that I miss out on doing a lot of the things I always WISH I did because there's always some household chore around here that isn't done yet. Even if I don't get to the chore, I don't "feel" like I can do the other stuff because the chores aren't done. Does that make sense? Even if it does, it's DUMB! Still, it seems to be the way I function. So I developed this new plan: do ALL of the housework on Mondays, then I'll be able to do all of the OTHER things (that are really so much more important) for the rest of the week. So...

I started in early Monday and, of course, didn't finish. I didn't finish on Tuesday either. But by mid-Wednesday I had all the floors vacuumed, both bathrooms scrubbed, the tile and wood floors swept and mopped, and all of the ironing done. It was a day and a half later than scheduled (but really, how realistic is it to expect ME to do all of that in one day?!), but it felt GREAT! It meant I had the next four and a half days chore free except for upkeep. Wa-Hoo! I've had more time for reading and praying and playing games with the kids and puzzles... ~sigh~ It's a great plan. So much better than having certain chores for each day of the week. Why not knock 'em all out as soon as possible, then LIVE the rest of the week?! I love it! Let's see if I can do it again next week... :-)

SO. With all of the housework all caught up I feel more lighthearted and energetic and all manner of wonderful things. It's GREAT! And I'm sure had a great affect on our snow day today.

That's right--we woke up to SNOW today!!! And it snowed ALL... DAY... LONG. :-) Oh, happy day! Of course, as is common to this area, no matter how long or heavy it snows, it never actually piles up very much. Maybe 3 or 4 inches today... or less?! Oh, well--it was beautiful anyway!

I had a second epiphany today. As I was humming away in the kitchen while making cinnamon rolls and a tasty taco soup and smelling the hot hearthside cider I'd already mixed up, it occurred to me that SNOW makes me want to cook and bake. I've known that for years, but for the first time I wondered why. I mean, my day is the same whether it's 12 degrees outside and a total blizzard or if it's 75 degrees and sunny: I STAY IN MY HOUSE AND RARELY STEP OUT THE DOOR. So why would the weather affect my desire to cook??? It's kind of crazy, really. But something about SEEING the snow out the window puts me in the mood. James says he may buy a snow making machine so we can eat as well in the summer as we do in the winter. Ha!

Boy, I'm taking a long time getting to our day, hu?! Here we go... I started off with a shower and by the time I got out all of the kids were bundled up and out playing in the snow. I learned later that they had rushed to get out there so I wouldn't start calling them for devotions and school right away. Ha! They've learned that I usually just wait until they come walking through the room before rounded them up. :-) The weather was GREAT and they were having such fun I just let 'em make the best of it throughout the morning.

I started some cinnamon rolls, then looked up a recipe for taco soup. We are still trying to finish off the taco meat from Family Camp last year (one more meal should do it!) and we had a little bit of the pinto beans from last week that we needed to use, so it was perfect. I kind of went by the recipe, then added a few other spices and such and it turned out FANTASTIC! It was soooooooooo good. That never happens around here. Whenever I try something new it's a total flop and we all hate it. Must've been the snow that affected my cooking skills. (Okay, that's the 3rd time I've used the word "affect" and I NEVER know if it should be Affect or Effect... help?!) Anyway...

The kids came in for lunch: chicken noodle soup and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. Then we had devotions afterward (weird!) and started into school. I was able to finish up on the puzzle I'd started the other day in between helping them. :-) I spent all day stoking the fire and sipping on the cider that was especially delicious this time.

After school I went out to play in the snow with the kids. Katie and Sam, really. Joe came out for a minute, but I hit him in the back of the head with a snowball and it then plopped right down the back of his shirt. Ha! He didn't last long. :-) The snow was PERFECT for snowballs, but not so great for snowmen. It packed GREAT, but you couldn't roll it--which is the only way to get a well rounded snowmen. Oh, well. We did our best!

The kids had to show me how they "sled." Here's Sam doing the impressive backwards trick.
And this is what they call "belly whopping." So sad. These poor kids need a sled! They've never had one, so they don't know how pitiful this really is. Don't tell 'em. ;-
This is what Joe was doing when we came in. He reads for hours each day, usually in some strange, contorted position. This one looks more comfortable than most of 'em do. A lot of times he's hanging upside down off the couch. Weird.
We enjoyed our oh-so-tasty taco soup with chips underneath and cheese on top (yum!), then enjoyed some warm cinnamon rolls straight from the oven for dessert. :-) And more cider afterwards, of course.

We had a nice, relaxing evening and James even let the kids watch another Gunsmoke 'cuz it seemed to be that sort of a night. ~Aaaaahhh~ So relaxing. :-)

I'm getting real close to being done with the Regional paper, so I'm going to work on it a bit more and see if I can't finish it up tonight.

WHAT A GREAT DAY. :-)