friday five: climate changes, shopping, and chocolate wieners

Friday Five reminder:  Basically, a Friday Five post should be a super easy post. Just set the timer and free write for five minutes, whatever is on your mind, without trying to censor or think too hard. Usually once you start it's easy, and you don't have to think about it at all. 

That's kind of my goal - just five minutes of free writing.  Nothing Fancy, nothing planned, nothing needing to be humorous, or inspiring or anything for others - just for you.  If you feel like sharing, feel free to pop a link in the comments.


Set your timer!

11:01 am
So I can't believe it is already Friday, and I really can't believe Christmas is next week. It's been so hard to feel Christmassy this year! Mostly because as a New Yorker, I'm used to cold weather and/or snow right about now.  We've been in the middle of a weird warmish winter... It actually feels way more like early fall - I have literally been going out in a sweater.  Nobody is complaining about me forcing them to wear a hat and mittens. In fact, the hats and mittens are still somewhat packed away. It feels kind of like Northern California weather. I wonder if this is the beginning of a new thing. I hope not... I kind of enjoy cold and snow. One huge plus is that my gas bill is like, significantly lower - like by half.  That's pretty huge. 

Anyway, it's going to start getting busy around here. My husband asked me if I wanted to go to the mall and I almost laughed in his face because I would not go to the mall the weekend before Christmas if you paid me. People are crazy. Hm. On the other hand, I do enjoy a people watching session, and what could be a better opportunity? Maybe I will go to the mall.  I don't need to buy anything else though, and chances are, I will buy stuff if I am there because, Christmas! 

On another note, I hate candy canes and I wonder if that is weird.  I never buy candy canes.  And while we are on the subject of candy, what's the deal with the peanut butter cup trees?  Apparently they look a little like penises (penii? what's the plural of penis anyway?) or something.  Well that's dumb.  Who really cares?  It's a peanut butter cup tree!  The perfect ratio of peanut butter to chocolate!  Like a God damned Christmas miracle! Who cares if it looks a little wiener-like.  I'm still getting one, and I will eat it with gusto no matter what it looks like.  And also, don't you think there are other, more important things to get all fired up about?

Time's up! 11:06 am

Is it wrong for me to pray for a school day?

My kids are almost sick of snow days.  Can you believe that??  At the beginning of the season, they were putting their frozen spoons under their pillows, sleeping with their PJ's on inside out, and leaving their winter boots by their bedrooms windows.


Apparently all of those things magically bring a snow day. 

 I
When I was a little kid, we had to wake up and listen to the radio to listen for our school's name to be called.  Cod forbid you stepped away from the radio for a second to comb your hair and you missed the C's.  You'd have to sit through the whole alphabet again to figure out if you got the day off from school or not.  Ah, the good old days.  Now kids just get a text from the school, or the phone call at 6:30 am from the automated thing that warns us of a delay or closing.  Where's the fun and anticipation in that?

Our school district has just used up all of their snow days.

Which means they tack on additional days at the end of the school year to make up for the missed days.  Which is kind of sucky because at the end of the school year, my kids are done.  They need a break.

But anyway, Cod DARN it this is a lot of snow!  And I just want the routine back!  We have kids up until all hours, we have kids trying to do sleepovers on a school night, we have kids just plain out of sorts.  Brooke has been cranky, Megan has been tired, Alex has been annoying.

When they are out of sorts, I am out of sorts.

Please, oh please, pretty please with a grape on top, let there be a school day tomorrow... 

first big snow

So we got a blizzard.

Pretty cool.

 

The kids loved it.

Me too.  From afar.  I loved it from inside the house.  Watching them loving it from the warmth of the kitchen.

If it wasn't so windy they would have lasted a lot longer, I'm sure.  But they were back in as soon as Megan took a faceplant and got snow down her neck.

I had the hot cocoa ready and waiting though.