And Even More Snow?

No, really, they're predicting 12-18" for New York City, and we usually get a little more.   We'll see, though.  We've been missed by a bunch of storms, so I'm not assuming anything.

Last night, we had the church youth group over to watch the Super Bowl.  In years past, we've all dumped our kids at one martyrs' host's house and gone home (or to an adult only party!), then picked up the kids at halftime.  This year, I am a "widow" (John is off to Vancouver for the rest of the month), so a couple of the parents said they would stay to keep me company.  Turned out almost all the parents stayed, and it was a good party!  The littlest kids got bored, since they weren't interested in the game, and the teens mostly hung out in the kitchen and talked, but that meant that the adults mostly got to watch the game.  We had WAY too much food (no surprise there) and Rachel and William both had stomache aches at bedtime.  Hmmm, could it have been all the kettle corn, chips, and ice cream they ate?  Ya think?

There's been lots of commentary on the commercials, so I won't say much besides that I loved the Google commercial.  If you missed it, go look on the Internet.  It was charming.  Even my 15 yr old son thought so.

And, yes, even though I love Peyton Manning, it was really cool that the Saints won.

And Yet More Snow

Oh, yes, the "stormageddon" has hit us.  Well, not really us, I think the worst is well south of here.  We have about 4-5" and it seems to have stopped, so really pretty normal for here.  It is a bit windy out - the kids are out sledding down the sidewalk with neighbors so we'll see how long they last.

I had to take John to the airport this morning for a 7am flight - and yes, he did check to make sure it was still scheduled.  Air Canada, so I guess snow doesn't scare them.  I must say, driving to the airport at 5:30am in heavy snow was a bit more adrenaline than I usually care for that early in the morning.  The local roads were very slick, there seemed to be ice underneath the snow, and the first few miles of the interstate were only slightly better.  Then, boom!  Suddenly, no snow, just wet roads.  Clearly that town had gotten their salt on the road at the right time.  Clear sailing from then on, and got him to the airport only a few minutes later than hoped.

Driving back was somewhat easier, I took the longer and more interstate-heavy route.  Didn't help much, though, there was again a clear dividing line back to snow-covered road, and the snow was definitely heavier the further west I drove.  But it was easier because I didn't have a deadline in that direction.  I had the internal debate - do I stop and get donuts or bagels as a treat for the kids?  At that point, I decided I just wanted to be home in one piece, so, no.

So I am safely home, and already took a nap because it was a short night.  Rachel and William are out frolicking withe the neighbor kids.  My very kind next-door neighbor is currently snowblowing my driveway - unasked.  I mentioned yesterday at the bus stop that John was flying out, so I'm sure that's why.  People are so nice.  But I was ready - I even got gas for the snowblower yesterday, and I was going to teach JC how to do it.  After all, I have a teenage boy for a few more years, I have to take advantage of that, right?

And More Snow

Yep. It snowed again.  This week, however, it started last night, so the plows and salt trucks were out overnight. And the school district called a 2 hour delayed opening.  The roads were better this morning than last week when they didn't delay, but that's ok.  I got the call at 5:30, got up and told JC, turned off Rachel's alarm, and went back to bed.  I was GOING to post about how I love the new(ish) alert system that robo calls everyone, except for the fact that I get 3 calls (one for each school), but I only got one call!  Perfect!

William said it was the best school day ever - I let him play video games this morning.  And it just so happens to be Rachel's birthday, so she was PUMPED that she got a delay today.  Even though, get this, she was up BEFORE her usual time.  ???  I turned off her alarm, but apparently I wake her up when I call William every morning, so by the time she gets back to sleep, she's really asleep when her alarm goes off and that's why she's so sluggish every morning.

Riiiiiiiiight...

So I have shoveled half the driveway - couldn't get the snowblower to start, and it was only <2" of snow.  I'm saving the other half for JC when he gets home from school.  And I've already cleared off my car, and I got an hour and a half of extra sleep!  Life is good!

But I have to get the snowblower figured out - they're predicting a BIG storm for this weekend, and John will be out of town.

Snow Update

So the other day, when I posted about the unexpected snow and all the accidents?  And was philosophical about not driving Rachel to school (she ended up about an hour and a half late)?  Turns out the minister of our church decided to drive his son to the same school, because their bus was REALLY late.  But the main road to the school was the one with the 7 car accident, so he was shunted down a side road.  And apparently he was going just slightly too fast for conditions, because HE got in a fender bender - just down the street from my house.  Fortunately, no one was hurt.

But I'm SO glad Rachel's bus showed up when it did.

Cat Furniture

I am typing one-handed because I have a cat (Sheba) snuggled in the crook of my left arm, fast asleep.  Deep enough asleep that I can pet her and she doesn't move.  I think I may be stuck for a while.

Unfortunately, John doesn't usually buy the sleeping cat excuse as a way to avoid doing something.

It drives the kids nuts because the cats are "mine".  As in, they're usually in whatever room I'm in, and often on my lap if there's room.  If we're all sitting on the couch, both cats will usually walk over everyone else to get to my lap, no matter how enticingly the kids call and pat their legs.  Especially if I'm knitting, which may explain my low ouptut lately.

So my role in the cats' eyes seems to be 1. giver of food (even if the kids feed the dry food) and 2. cat furniture.

Now if only I could figure out how to keep my arm from falling asleep.

Hindsight

Guess I should have driven Rachel to school.  She just called - her bus hit a curb and is stuck.  The driver has called a tow truck.  School started 30 minutes ago.

On the other hand, she's fine, and safe, and there's no guarantee that WE wouldn't have been in an accident if I had driven her. 

Well, THAT Was Unexpected

When JC left this morning for school, at 6:45am, there was a very light dusting of snow on the road and yard.  A powdered sugar "bam" of snow, no more.  And the TV weatherman was still calling for snow showers with no real accumulation.

By 8am, when William was walking out to the bus, we had just shy of 1/2" and it was still coming down hard.  All the cars (of which there were few) were CRAWLING down our hill, and while we were standing at the bus stop, a driver rolled down the window to let us know there was a 7 car accident on a nearby road and a bus that couldn't make it up the hill.  William's bus finally showed up about 20 minutes late, and it took her a good 10 minutes to creep slowly down our hill.  She was being very cautious, but then again, she was driving a bus full of elementary students.  I was watching her slide sideways as she slowly went around a curve in the road.

As it was still snowing hard, I figured Rachel's bus would be REALLY late, so I hurried her through breakfast, cleaned off the car, and just as we were about to pull out of the driveway, the bus showed up.  She elected to run up the hill and take the bus to school.

So now it is still snowing.  Big, fat, fluffy snowman snow.  Very slick on the roads, I'm observing.  I was going to have coffee with a friend, but she canceled on me last night, and I'm staying put until the salt trucks go by.  I have all-wheel drive and fairly new tires - but I have no faith in my fellow drivers.