The week of the 2014 NC Blizzard!

Yep - we got all the snow they were predicting... over 12 inches of snow and ice in Charlotte. Um, What??!?? Good news is that the city was as proactive and prepared as they could be. Every school, public place and government office shut down the day before and the city told the private businesses to do the same. Even our Walmarts were closed. We have officially been in a state of emergency for the past four days. Thank goodness John has been in town and we have fantastic neighbors to help keep the kids (and us) from getting cabin fever. A few days before the blizzard hit we all stocked up on food and flashlights. We walked to our neighbors house and had brinner (breakfast for dinner!) in our pjs. Everyone had been so crazed about the blizzard coming we just wanted a nice easy night.

This was picking James up on Tuesday from school, at least he got to go two days before we were stranded at home! Madeleine thought something was hilarious and just kept laughing. There are many times when I want to know what goes on in my kids heads - but never more than when they are laughing at seemingly nothing. 

 

Basically since James could walk, he has been trying to befriend the cats. He finally got the hang of how to approach them to be able to pet them this week - very exciting in the world of an almost 4 yr old!



 

Just all snuggled in :)



 

Nana sent Madeleine a little bracelet for Valentines day - she was so happy! She kept walking around and waving her hand in front of us.



 

Then we Skyped with Nana to thank her :)



 

We were all hanging out at home... watching the snow start to fall! (Look at how thrilled Madeleine is!)



 

This was the first day - only about 6 inches, but it was great sledding weather! James and his friend Griffin got a huge kick out of sledding, but they were going way to fast to get a picture. They wouldn't slow down for anything! After about two hours we had to call it quits and drag them inside to get warmed up. The snow was turning to sleet and it was hurting as it was coming down.



 

The next day, Thursday, was 12+ inches of snow with a good layer of ice in the middle. It sleeted almost all night and then snowed in the early morning. It had snowed/sleeted for over 24 hours straight. For a city who never gets more than an inch total all year, this was insane. But since it will be back to 70 degrees next week, it is a fun novelty for us - especially for the kids.



 

The snow play wears my kids out like nothing else, so that was a huge plus! They both fell asleep for naps and bedtimes right when their heads hit their pillows and didn't move as they slept!



 

And then of course getting snowed in always equals baking cookies! We also made snow cream which was a perfect way to end the blizzard :)



 

Anyone else ready for summer??

Transportation Museum

Last Saturday, we all bundled up in the car and drove to Salsbury, NC to go to the Transportation Museum. When we arrived, we were the 4th car in the parking lot and 2 hours later when we left there were no more than 10 cars there. I don't know if it was just the time of the year or if no one really wants to see trains - but James and John had a great time wandering around having basically the whole place to themselves. Madeleine and I pretty much stuck to the areas where there was heat and hung out in the gift shop. She was as impressed with all the things with engines as I was... needless to say I'm sure the boys will go back, but once was enough for us girls!



 

There was an 1920s restored mail train, and that was actually very cool. Just to see how much work went into sorting the mail and getting it to where it had to go - it's impressive.



 

Can you see the look of boredom on her face?



 

 

There was a 25 minute train ride we could take around the town - which was the hit of James' day. When the "conductor" came around and stamped his ticket, I thought James was going to lose his mind. If I knew he was going to get this excited about a museum we would have come a lot sooner!







Snow days!

We have had very cold weather this winter, but on Tuesday we got our first snow of the year! It was a doozy too, almost a whole inch! Everything in the city shut down, and while I laughed about it because we lived in Cleveland for 4 years and they wouldn't shut anything down when it snowed over 12 inches in a single hour, the South really isn't equipped to deal with any winter weather. We also don't have any pot holes in our roads from salt and snow plows - so it's a good tradeoff in my eyes. Since we go back to Ohio at least once a winter, the kids are used to snow... but this snow was extra fun because it was at our house! It wasn't packing snow though so we couldn't do much with it. After several attempts to build a snowman, James gave up and got his scooter out and went snow scooting!

 

 

And since we are in the South, the snow was all melted by the next afternoon. I left Madeleine at home with John (his office was closed due to the "blizzard") and took James for a haircut. He won't let the top of his hair be cut - only the sides and the back. His hair is starting to look a little too much like an 1980s bowl cut for my taste, but he thinks its awesome. I dont think he will be able to get away with one more cut without the top being at least trimmed. Or maybe it will be warm enough that we can just do the summer buzz cut. I really cannot wait until summer!



 

And since snow is really really scary, the city really wants to make sure there isn't any traces of snow anywhere left before they open the schools back up. So even though I haven't seen any snow in over 24 hours - school was cancelled for the third day in a row. Which makes it even better is that when school is cancelled, so is the children's museum and the library - ugh. Staying inside so many days in a row makes everyone a tad crazy. This morning I talked with another school mom and we decided to pack up a lunch and head to school so all the kids can play there - even though it was closed! Since James' school is a co-op, us parents technically "work there" and so we can use the school whenever it isn't in session. Which is pretty awesome. We have gone there many times on weekends to use the playground but have never gone inside. They didn't know what to play with first!



 

And yes, Madeleine's hair is in a ponytail - with the air being so dry, her curls are a complete frizzy disaster. There isn't much I can do to it but pull it back into the smallest ponytail ever.



 

January has been a crazy month since James has barely been in school (cancelled for weather - NC really does not know how to handle anything below 32 degrees) and we have been scrambling to keep him from climbing the walls. With this cold weather we have to find indoor activities which are few and far between here, so we have done a lot of playdates and museums!

 

For New Year's Eve, we had a few friends over with their kids. We were all invited to an adults NYE party, which didn't start till 9, and we all talked about how we wanted to be in bed by 9... so we decided to have our own NYE celebration. We started the countdown at 8, gave the kids some sparklers, noise makers and sparling grape juice and then everyone was gone by 9. It was so much fun and so perfect for us. We even played a few rounds of duck duck goose just to keep it interesting ;) 

 

This was one of the days were we just had to get outside, no matter how cold it was. So I bundled up the kids and met some friends. Its amazing how it seems that they don't even register the cold!

 

 

Indoor playdate! Notice Madeleine's face - I don't know what this is, but she's all about the funny faces now.



And they are all pretty funny...

 

Until we are walking around Target and shes making them at everyone we pass.



I caught her here before she could make one!



 

We went with some friends to a place called Monkey Joes. It is basically a big room with lots of bounce houses and blow up slides. Its a perfect place to go on a cold day when school has been cancelled for the third time!

 

 

For Christmas, my Dad got them a big piano - like the one from the movie "Big". They love it! Its hard to get a picture when they wont stay still on it, but its a great time for them. Kind of annoying for John and I (they are just basically banging on a loud piano for half an hour) but they both think its the coolest thing.



 

Whenever I need twenty minutes of peace, the kindle and leappad are amazing. I know its terrible to put your kids in front of electronic devices but after a month of being home... sometimes I just have the need to get dinner on the table without someone yelling and crying!



 

They love the kids museum. I think it is so amazing how well they play together now. I pretty much just follow them around and they ignore me. Makes a boring trip for me, but a great time for them.



 

Finally school started again - so I bundled James up and off he went. He was so excited to get back and see his friends he was bouncing in the car all the way there.

 

 

She loves being on the big kid  swing, but hates to be pushed on it - she's got a strong sense of self preservation!



 

Its a good thing our banister is sturdy!



 

This was after a long morning of shopping at Costco. She loves it there because of all the food samples, but without fail she always falls asleep on the drive home - that store is just overwhelming!

 

 

Since his school is play-based, they don't really sit down and work with him on reading and writing unless the child initiates it. We just started working with James on learning some sight words and practicing his writing. The other night when John went in to check on him, he was cuddled up with his board and this is what he wrote - kinda melted our hearts. I just love how much he can absorb and how much he wants to learn. It is fantastic.