That blizzard was a total letdown!!!

So yesterday I posted about our 4th snow day in a row and how a second blizzard was on our way with an estimated 6-12 inches. Well, guess how much we ended up getting? 

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Nothing!!! We received absolutely nothing. 

What. A. Bummer!!! 

I won't lie to you. I've been praying for a blizzard since December. Shoot, I'd be happy with a 3 month blizzard!

We Need MOISTURE!! 

Yep, we received 12" of snow but I'm greedy...I wanted more!! 

Well we are sure enjoying the snow while it lasts. I even kicked the boys outside Saturday (while Yahoo was stuck in bed with a fever) and made them play in the snow because, around here, you never know how long nice weather (winter, spring, summer or fall) will last. 

I'm kicking the boys outside to play in the snow when they get home from school today too! It's absolutely gorgeous outside today; sunny with no wind. 

Can somebody please tell me why piling all the snow in the middle of the road and only clearing the intersections makes sense? So if my friend lives on the left side of the road I have to drive past her house, do a u-turn at the intersection and then turn around to drive into her driveway. I've never seen snow cleared this way, ever. (Okay, stepping down from my Indiana road clearing rant.) 

I'm glad I kicked the boys out to play when I did because all this snow will probably have melted away by Saturday when the temps are to be up in the 40's. Well, that's what the weatherman says...shoot they missed a whole blizzard maybe they'll be wrong about the melting temps too!! 

Snow day number 4!

I'm not sure how many of you have been following the national weather news but Kansas is getting hit with a second blizzard today. The first blizzard we had was great!! We had gently falling snow, around a foot, that the kids were able to play in. Over the weekend the weather was actually gorgeous with lots of sunshine! 

This second blizzard however is not going to be good because of wind. Our weather forecast is calling for a possible foot of snow accumulation but I don't think that's going to happen. I woke up to look out the window and the snow was blowing horizontal down the street. The winds are blowing about 30 mph with gusts into the 40's! I thought it was great when I heard we were going to get so much snow but who knew that two blizzards could be so very different. 

So....this is snow day number 4. Though the boys have been out to play over the last five days Yahoo and I have not. Thursday afternoon she was running a temperature that spiked up to 104 a couple times. I thought it was coming down Saturday but no go, it spiked up to 104 again Sunday morning. Considering the blizzard that was coming we opted not to wait and DR took her to the ER yesterday morning. And guess what? She had an ear infection!! She never messed with her ears and even when I asked if they hurt she told me no. I think I'm going to have to invest in one of these because that's the second of my kids that have gotten ear infections without complaining about hurting ears.



By the way, that's called an Otoscope. Does anyone have one or ever used one? Are they hard to use? 

So Yahoo and I have been stuck in the house since Thursday. My boys don't know yet that there's no school, they are sleeping away and I'm not going to wake them! They've been able to play outside but not today. Over the weekend Yip even got to spend the night with his best friend so Yap had 24 hours of brotherless time! But that still didn't keep them from arguing and picking at one another when Yip returned. 

I'm just hoping we can stay busy enough today that there won't be too much fighting. We might have to get creative today with our indoor time...or I might just have to threaten them within an inch of their lives!! 

Snow day number 4. This must be some sort of record for Kansas! I don't think they've had a blizzard like this since 1971, much less TWO blizzards! Yep, it's windy. Yep, I'm stuck in the house with three kids and have a bad case of cabin fever. Yep, we are sick. But I wouldn't trade it for anything because all that means MOISTURE!! I'm already dreaming of what all that wonderful snow is doing for my garden plot. 

Yep, I'm in the middle of a blizzard but I'm still thinking of spring!! 

Snow day food....super fast and kid friendly.

I love cooking. We've enjoyed seasoned popcorn, homemade hot chocolate and blueberry pancakes for dinner during our snow days. I really like to get my kids in the kitchen too but I don't always find recipes that are quick, easy and fun for them. I did find a couple that we used this weekend that were a big hit. 

Yip and Yahoo devoured these breakfast cookies; only two ingredients and healthy! 

Banana Oatmeal Cookies. 

2 ripe bananas

1 cup oatmeal

Mash together. Spray a cookie sheet. Drop by rounded spoonfuls and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. 

Then we made a HUGE batch of snow ice cream. Yip ate so much of this he started shivering! I refused to let him have any more until he went and put a sweatshirt on. I figured we had an entire foot of snow so we should make up a large bowl full, store it in the freezer and enjoy it once the snow is all gone.

Snow Ice Cream

About 8 cups of snow

Roughly 1 cup of milk

Somewhere around 1/2 cup of sugar

Splash or so of vanilla. 

Mix together and serve. 

What's your favorite snack to indulge in on a cold snowy day? 

Surviving the snow days.

Two snow days down and one to go. The boys haven't had school Wednesday, Thursday or today. It snowed all day yesterday and we received about a foot of snow. It's been quite the storm. Kansas hasn't seen a snow storm like this since the 1970's. 

Isn't it beautiful? I love all this moisture going straight down into my garden. I'm hoping this storm will bring us a very green spring!  

I was a bit worried though how we'd get along being snowed in but the kids have been able to find plenty of things to keep them occupied. 

We had just received hammocks in the mail that I was planning on saving for when the weather warmed up. The hammocks kept them occupied for quite a while once we figured out how to rig them up in closets and under the bunk bed. 

The boys spent plenty of time on art projects too. 

A while ago I had laminated portraits of the kids which they enjoy making funny faces with. 

Then we melted crayons to "draw" with. What little boys is going to turn down the chance to play with fire? 

Can you guess who this Lego man is? 

Ghostrider. Yip loves scary and gory movies and has been fascinated with skull head lately. 

And of course the kids spent lots of time playing with Legos Wednesday and Thursday. I didn't get many photos of Yap the last couple of days because he was holed up in the basement with his Legos and barely came upstairs. 

Not to be left behind Yahoo came up to me and insisted that I take a photo of her creation as well. 

This is an interesting cardboard creation Yip is working on. It's his Halloween costume. Can you believe he's started working on it already? Can you guess what it is? 

Of course our last couple snow days have also been filled with lots of movie watching. Two days down and one to go. Wednesday was nice having the kids around all day. By Thursday afternoon I was getting a bit stir crazy being cooped up for so long. Yahoo was also running a 101 degree fever last night, so I'm not quite sure how today will go. 

Needless to say we've had a pretty relaxing couple of days, oh if every day could be this unscheduled! 

Snowed in...or getting ready to be.

"Snow! Woo Hoo!! No school for two days!", my children were cheering as they galloped off to bed this evening. I was cheering too, it was a lot of fun to have them home all day today! 

That's right, no school today and they've already cancelled school for tomorrow. 

Wanna know why? Because, as I have heard, we are in for one of the biggest storms Kansas has had for quite a while. The entire state of Kansas is already in a state of emergency due to the snow, rain, and ice we've gotten today and are preparing to get tonight. Today wasn't so bad....as long as you weren't driving. I guess we maybe received an inch of snow but we had a snow/rain/ice mix for most of the day. But I guess the big stuff will be hitting us overnight and all day tomorrow. 

This is a weather shot I just took. The purple dot is family. Hi family!! So happy to see that you are safely tucked away in Indiana trees!! I wish I had trees to block the wind. And hills, yes, those tiny Indiana hills would sure come in handy today too! 

The red dot is me in the flat land; without trees and hills. We are tucked in warm in our house though with plenty of food, movies, games, art projects and library books to keep us busy and comfortable for quite a while. Right now I'm snuggling on the couch with.....nobody. That's right, except for the kids, I'm all alone. 

See the green dot? That's Hays, KS. It might not look too far away but it's a few hours from here and that's where DR is right now, hopefully, warm and snug in a hotel. He had a business trip he left for Monday night and was supposed to get back this evening. No can do. The roads are treacherous (salt people!!) and he opted to hole up in a hotel for another night or two. 

 The big yellow sort of oval shape is the storm that is supposed to hit us over night. And when I say hit, I mean HIT! I've heard that in the next 24 hours we could possibly receive over a foot of snow....and I just read on one weather site that the worst of it is supposed to pass right between the red dot and the green dot. Right between my husband and I. 

...great...

I should have known something bad was going to happen while he was away. Last year when he took this trip I only had three kids throwing up all over my carpet in the middle of the night. If it weren't for all the welcome moisture this storm is bringing I'd almost wish to have sick kids than be separated from DR for who knows how long. No telling when I'll see my husband again! As long as he's safe though he can stay at hotels and eat at restaurants every night and I promise I won't hold a grudge!! 

Would you mind saying a quick prayer for us though? I don't mind being home alone. I don't even mind being snowed in the house. I am a little worried about losing power though. We have a generator and plenty of space heaters and a gas stove so I'm sure we'll be just fine in case it does go out but I'd rather not have to battle a power failure. So far so good though. The only battle I've fought today was with the stubborn dog who refused to go in the garage to spend the night warm and dry. I couldn't even drag her in!! 

I'm expecting to have plenty of down time for the next day or two so hopefully I can share our Kansas storm with you all. (And to give grandmothers peace of mind that we are all fine!!) Hopefully I'll be posting tomorrow!  

Kansas readers! (or anyone in the path of this storm) if you wouldn't mind comment and let me know what the storm is bringing you! 

Spring is in the air. I just received some in the mail!!!

Today the weather in southwest Kansas is sunny and upper 40's, lower 50's. Tomorrow the temps might hit 60 and Sunday close to 70!! Don't ask about next week though, it goes downhill on Monday. Typical. 

No doubt about it though spring is on it's way. Spring in SW Kansas definitely come much sooner than what I was used to in northern Indiana. The first summer DR and I planted a garden here we did it much too late in May. May is good for Indiana but late March or April seems to be the planting season out here. In Indiana where we planted everything in May and had one garden harvest in the fall, Kansas is different. It stays so warm here for so long that last summer our garden was able to produce a double crop of vegetables like cucumbers  and beans. A double crop was something I'd never heard of in northern Indiana!! 

Though we can get a double crop out of our Kansas garden I really would prefer a single Indiana crop and Indiana rain. Please pray for Kansas. They've been in a severe drought ever since I've lived here and this year doesn't look to be any different. Who knew I'd miss 80% humidity? 

Despite the water woes, I am getting antsy to get into my garden. So much so that I already ordered my garden seeds...and received them just yesterday! How's that for a Valentines gift? I think I was more excited over my seeds than any candy/flowers/cards I could have received! 

Cucumbers and Zucchini...yes, zucchini. Carrots and Chard. Broccoli and Beans and Peas. 

That's not all though. I'm still waiting for a set of white onions and sweet potatoes. I think I've gotten DR into trying to raise the potatoes in a box built from pallets. We'll see how that goes. 

http://tipnut.com/grow-potatoes/

And of course, I couldn't have a garden without planting tomatoes for my Running Soup. We have a great greenhouse that I'll buy plants from. Last year she talked me into buying eggplants! Who knows what I might plant this year. Though I have ruled out okra, never again. That stuff just grows too dang fast to keep up with!

I'm checking out the calendar trying to decide when I might be able to get into my garden this year. I'm excited. I love going out every morning and working in the garden. 

What about you? Are you excited for spring? Do you have garden plans in the works? What kind of vegetables should I try? 

In a funk.

I have been absolutely awful at blogging the last couple of months haven't I? I mean, I've gone for over a week without blogging about anything! 

I blame Yahoo....mostly. 

Yahoo stopped taking regular naps just about the time my blogging started going downhill. I never realized, until it was gone, how very precious those two hours a day were. Naptime was MY time to sit for a long uninterrupted period, to blog, to paint or draw. Naptime was the time of day for me to concentrate, gather my thoughts and immerse my self completely into my chosen project for the day. Naptime was my only time of day where I was completely alone. Ah! It was precious!

But now it's gone!! NO naps. Forevermore!!  Without that daily nap I just can't seem to get my day organized. Oh, occasionally Yahoo will lay down and take a nap I still make her lay down in bed for 45 minutes a day but she rarely sleeps and usually ends up talking to herself in her bedroom. I've tried to blog with her awake but she ends up distracting me to so many other things that before I know it I'm falling into bed and haven't blogged, or even thought of blogging, in days. 

Though I'm kind of complaining about the lack of nap in my life, I'm also very happy about it. Yahoo's growing up and that's wonderful!  We are able to go places during the day without having to rush home in time for a nap. Before I know it she'll be going to preschool every morning; can you believe that starts in August? Her personality is glowing through and she is becoming a very independent individual. I'm so very happy that Yahoo's growing up. 

So I guess I'm not complaining about naptime being gone, I'm just explaining that life here on my prairie is going through an adjustment. I like a routine to my day and, well, a monkey wrench has kind of gotten thrown in there and I'm working on getting back a routine I can live with. So, bear with me. I'm doing my best to get blogging again. 

I did say at the beginning of this post that I MOSTLY blame Yahoo. I also blame my carpenter! It's been super hard to get anything done during the last two months when I have had a guy in my living room that I'm trying to work around. 

But the window is now done (WOO HOO) and it's totally worth it. The boys and I argue about who's going to lay on it. It's a great place to stretch out and draw or read. Yahoo loves to jump off of it repeatedly or hide in the cabinets below. So, now that the home improvement phase is done, for now, maybe life can finally get back to *normal*....whatever that is! 

Mural is almost done.

Almost done!! 

A Farmer's Creed

I found this among DR's papers the other day and thought it was worth sharing. We may not live a farmer's life but I grew up that way and agree with a lot about this creed. 

A Farmer's Creed

(Author Unknown)

I believe a man's greatest possession is his dignity and that no calling bestows this more abundantly than farming. 

I believe hard work and honest sweat are the building blocks of a person's character. 

I believe that farming, despite its hardships and disappointments, is the most honest and honorable way a man can spend his days on this earth. 

I believe farming nurtures the close family ties that make life rich in ways money can't buy. 

I believe my children are learning values that will last a lifetime and can be learned in no other way. 

I believe farming provides education for life and that no other occupation teaches so much about birth, growth and maturity in such a variety of ways. 

I believe many of the best things in life are indeed free; the splendor of a sunrise, the rapture of wide open spaces, the exhilarating sight of your land greening each spring. 

I believe true happiness comes from watching your crops ripen in the field, your children grow tall in the sun, your whole family feel the pride that springs from their shared experience. 

I believe that by my toil I am giving more to the world than I am taking from it, an honor that does not come to all men. 

I believe my life will be measured ultimately by what I have done for my fellowman, and by this standard I fear no judgement. 

I believe when a man grows old and sums up his days, he should be able to stand tall and feel pride in the life he's lived. 

I believe in farming because it makes all this possible.