SNOW DAY!!!!!!!

Well, we did get about nine inches of snow mixed with freezing rain....

I did get stuck briefly getting out of my driveway. And I would have gotten stuck in my neighborhood if a plow had not come through and at least cleared one car width of space....But that was Sunday night, although we did get a little bit more last night.

This morning I did put the news on briefly thinking maybe there would be some school closings.

But boy were we surprised when we showed up at school to see a deserted parking lot and no one in the drop off lane!!!! The janitor told us it was a snow day.

We should have turned on the TV...or checked edline.

But I'm happy anyway. A lot of our students drive 30 minutes or more to school. A lot of roads remained slick and many back roads unplowed. I don't like to see teen drivers put to the test. I have said all along we should have more snow days to keep those teen drivers safe. And I am VERY HAPPY to see that a decision along those lines was made this morning about 4:30AM. I think it was a good call. And next time I will turn on the TV or check EDLINE if there is any question at all. teehee

Here comes the snow! We've had several days of warmish weather during which time a lot of the snow on the roads and on the sides of driveways melted. We were just at the point where we could easily park cars and not be in danger of getting stuck as we started out.

But now, more snow. It's beautiful. I do like it. But driving can be kind of scary. My new 16 yo driver is out right now picking up some scrap booking supplies. I hope she gets home soon. She's a very good driver. But anything can happen on slippery roads.

We're supposed to get 1-3 inches of snow before it turns to freezing rain. One report actually predicts freezing fog. Interesting. I don't know if I've ever heard that phrase before. And we actually have a prediction for HOW MUCH freezing rain. 1/4 inch. Sheesh. Does that mean that's how much will fall or that's how much will be frozen onto the roads when it's all finished? I suspect the latter.

There's no school tomorrow anyway so that's a relief. We can just stay cozy.

Hope Mary gets home soon. Stay safe, everyone!

Valentine's Day

I realize Valentine's Day was two days ago. These days I always seem to be a few day behind-- especially in my blogging.

I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day.

Below are the beautiful white roses my husband came home with. I LOVE them. The white is so pretty. I found myself thinking I understand why they must be Our Lady's favorite flower.

I have several small heart shaped cake pans. Decided to make rice krispie treats for each of my children who still live in town....(of which there are only THREE:-( Two were left here on the table where my girls would be sure to find them. The third? I left that one on the piano because that's the best place to be sure John finds something. teehee

And then for hubby....his favorite Dutch Apple pie. Actually, it's a family favorite of all of ours.

I spent most of the day writing valentines for our family and making these treats. I wrote a note in each one for my children telling them why their dad and I are proud of them. Then the out-of-town ones needed to be mailed (to arrive late anyway :-) I also needed a few things to make the above creations so I made a trip to the store.

The whole project took nearly the entire day. I found myself wondering if this was over the top. It's not like everything else I had to do was neatly completed. No. Not at all. But it brought a smile to the faces of my husband and children. And isn't this flexibility one of the many great benefits to being a stay-at-home mom? I hope it wasn't just rationalization on my part because...truth to be told....it was a lot of fun.

It was 1 degree F. this morning when I left to drive the girls to school. COLD!! Very Cold!!!

For Christmas, my dear husband bought me a remote starter for my car. (Have I talked about this already?) I LOVE it!!! Started the car from inside the house 10 minutes or so before we were going to leave and we went out to a warm car. Totally cool. (No, warm :-)

Today is the Feast of St. Scholastica, Mary's Confirmation saint. (as mentioned in the previous post.) Well, in Saint Scholastica's honor, I brought Mary a milk shake at lunch time and fries for her and all her friends at the table. There's nothing like meeting your teens at the front door of their high school and seeing those ear-to-ear smiles when you're bringing a treat from McDonalds! Fun.

Took John with me to Mickey-D's. The kid really needs to eat more. He has his own apartment and is successfully living on a very strict budget. I told him I've gone back to Weight Watchers and he said, with great sincerity, that he didn't consider me overweight. What a doll. He used as his evidence that fact that his own BMI indicates that he is underweight. He, of course, thought that was ridiculous. I did not. I think he's too skinny. He agreed to go grocery shopping with me. I told him I might buy him a few things. Well, he had his own cart and was very frugally adding a few items. Then he had to take some back because he had gone over his budget. I told him to put two of the frozen pizzas in my cart. Also bought him blueberries, juices, crackers, cheese, eggs, bananas, kiwis, and who knows what else. If it was healthy, I told him I'd buy it for him. For heaven's sakes, he needs some food. He does eat dinner here at our house three nights a week when he's giving piano lessons on our piano. So he gets three good dinners a week anyway.

In spite of the cold, it was very sunny today, a truly beautiful day. Gorgeous sunrise with even a little rainbow streak, very sparkly fabulous snow everywhere. A beautiful, beautiful day in Michigan.

The Road Test from Hell....

Well...., after driving the entire distance from Ann Arbor to Washington for the March for Life and most of the way back, Mary finally had all the driving hours she needed. She completed segment two of drivers ed last week and we had scheduled the road test for this past Saturday.

The roads were dry. There were no snowstorms predicted. Things looked good. The appointment was for 2:30. In the morning I heard that we might get an inch, maybe two, of snow but I thought, oh well, a little dusting of snow won't bother her. She's driven in snow. (although it does make her nervous....as it should :-)

When the snow started Mary exclaimed, "Mom! What is this?!" I said, "Oh it's only supposed to be an inch or two. You'll be fine. You've driven in snow." She looked a little apprehensive.

When we left for the test it was snowing pretty hard. Still, I thought, this must just be a brief squall. By the time we got there it was genuine blizzard conditions. I mean it was blowing. The snow was just dumping from the sky. Within an hour we must have gotten several inches. The lane lines were no longer visible on the roads. I thought, "This is going to be a nightmare of a road test.

They made me get out of the car for the parallel parking (between 4 cones). I walked away, quietly saying my rosary for her and not looking at all in her direction. When they called me back to get in the car the snow had only gotten worse. I thought if this were 5:30 AM this would be a snow day. And it takes alot to get a snow day in Michigan. A traveler's advisory had been issued. I had to sit in the back and not say a word. (no coaching :-) not easy for me.) The road test lasted a half hour. The snow was so bad that even on the highway there were no lane lines visible. A couple times Mary went over the rumble strip on the shoulder but how could she have avoided it? You could not see where the road was!! I thought to myself that there could not have been more difficult driving conditions during which to take one's road test. Interestingly, Mary's Confirmation saint is Saint Scholastica, patroness of weather. Perfect saint to intercede for her in this situation, I'd say!! I said an entire rosary and most of a second, asking Saint Scholastica to pray for Mary's peace and that she'd pass the test, according to the Lord's will. (and for our safety...)

When we were finished the tester told her she had done well, that just once she had had to ask her to slow down because of the conditions and a car in front of her that looked like it might be about to spinout. (sheesh-- hadn't seen that from the back) And once when she had turned left she hadn't gotten over far enough and was actually in an entrance lane to the highway. But, the instructor said, "I couldn't really tell what lane it was either because of the snow."

Anyway, in spite of the weather, she passed!!!! And today we went to the Secretary of State's office and she got her license! At this very moment she is at a basketball game at her school which she drove to herself. (I asked her to text me when she arrived and to text me before she left.) Truly, though, I have a lot of confidence in Mary's driving. She is quite cautious, very attentive, and very deliberate about following all the rules.

Still, may the Lord protect her every time she gets behind the wheel of a car. (And every time she's with someone else in a car too)!!

Congrats, Mary. Great job!

Feeling good today! No sore muscles at all. (Maybe I didn't really exert myself as much as I was thinking. :-) Course I did stretch before and after. That does help, I know.

We probably have close to a foot of snow all together. Last night only added about 6 inches, they say, but it seems like more to me. Especially when I tried to shovel it! I lasted about 15 minutes before John relieved me. Thank you, John! That stuff was heavy!

Snow Day today! I love snow days. Everyone gets enough sleep. I'm starting to realize that getting enough sleep is really, really important to everyone's mood.

Mary and Liz shoveled our neighbor's driveway together. In spite of plenty of sleep they found quite a bit to bicker about, although it's kind of hard to tell what's really bickering and what's poking fun. Even their arguments erupt into laughter quite regularly. I love it.

Today's argument was over who was going to get to use the yellow shovel. The yellow shovel is plastic and has an ergonomic handle. The red one is old, heavy, and made of metal. It's great for scraping close to the sidewalk. Needless to say, they both really wanted the yellow one. My suggestion of taking turns seemed to go nowhere. They left still negotiating.

Since I spent some time organizing my garage yesterday Mary happened upon some sand toys as she walked through the garage. She grabbed a little yellow sand shovel, held it high, and shrieked to Liz, "You want the yellow shovel? Here's a yellow shovel!!!" The three of us died laughing. I shut door. I knew they'd work it out.... they did.

Here comes the snow. I can't wait! We have a blizzard warning starting at 7:00 PM tonight and continuing for 24 hours!!!! Wooohooo. If the predictions are anywhere near accurate there will not be school tomorrow.

May everyone who has to go somewhere be protected by St. Christopher! And may they be smart enough to drive REALLY slowly!!!

OK. That being said, I love a really good snowstorm. I love the drama. I love the beauty. And I love snow days!!

Course, I may not be able to get out of bed tomorrow to enjoy it because I just spent the last 5 hours or so working on cleaning out our garage enough to get a car in!! Yup. I did. I am not 100% sure yet that the car will fit, but it looks pretty good. I'm already a little sore. Just took two motrin and a cup of coffee to help keep those old muscles calm.