2014 Brrr...

It's been such a cold, snowy, unpredictable start to the new year, I'm a little bit concerned for what this year might hold for us! Adventure and unknowns, to say the least!

We rang in the New Year by hosting a last minute party at our house. Our friends Nathan & Jenni, who always host, came up sick the day before, so we decided to pinch hit. It was a great, low key evening. Everyone Jason invited was informed that they could come over, but had to leave by 12:02. He's not what you'd call a night owl. Even on special occasions. Thankfully, our friends are kind of like us, and have small kids...so by 12:30, we'd ALL had enough fun. It was a great night!

We wrapped up the rest of my 2 weeks home with the kids with some fun activities, including some roller skating with the Wieses & fun & games at home. On Sunday, January 5th, we prepared to get back into routine. Ha. Routine? What's a routine? Just as we packed our backpacks and re-found our school shoes, Mother Nature showed up and dumped several inches of big/wet snow on the ground.

LOVES the snow.

Kinda loves the snow! :)

All truth be told, we went to church Saturday night in anticipation of the snow, and Sunday morning, it was beautiful. Big fat snowflakes. A WARM 30+ degrees. We took advantage. Mom got to go play with the kids in the snow while Jason managed Keaton and fixed breakfast. It was a wonderful change in roles. We made snow angels. We went sledding. We rode the snowmobile. Yes,we. I drove us around the yard. Talk about a kick back to the high school days!

Then, sweet mother nature reared her nasty little head, and before you  know it -- it's blowing and the temps are dropping faster than you can sneeze! We anticipated -45 with wind chills for Monday, and are BEYOND thankful that we did not lose our power, despite reports of both of our parents losing theirs. It was a fun little snowday. All 5 of us home from work/school. With electricity. We peacefully tucked into bed, knowing Colton & Em were on a 2hr delay Tuesday. That quickly changed to Colton & Em's school all being cancelled and Mom's work (Purdue) shutting down. We awoke on Tuesday to about 5 minutes of power, and then no power for about 3 1/2 hours. And we're lucky, it wasn't horribly cold in the house -- Jason has our attic insulated really well - because it was warmer upstairs than downstairs. Other than the cold, the wind had laid and Jason got the drive cleared enough for him to get out/get to work. If we had our power, he would have left at normal time, but thankfully I convinced him to stay home until it came back on. He worked a half day, and we managed to find things to do, stuck inside together for another day. I believe I may or may not have indulged in some much needed wine during naptime. 2pm is an acceptable time for a LARGE glass of wine, right?

I can't recall much past that other than to say I've not worked a full week, 5 straight days since before Keaton was born (I had Friday's off once I came back to work, through the New Year), and that I now roll my eyes when my phone lights up with a call from 5009. It's never good news. It's simply a call to further complicate our once routine lives. And, guess what -- today, Friday, January 24th -- after a missed day Tuesday and two 2hr delay days -- we're staring another "polar vortex" right in the face. Monday & Tuesday predict those -45 numbers again, and it's supposed to snow & blow all weekend.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I could send the kids outside (where Colton would truthfully rather be). Maybe I could get used to already am used to working 4 days a week. Maybe I'll win the lottery and leave town for Jamaica. Maybe not! :) At least we're having fun while it lasts....and hey, gray hairs are the new "it" thing......................or so I'm telling myself!