Snow Days

The kids were home on Tuesday and Wednesday because of the snow. My first reaction when I heard there was a snow day was "NOOOOOOO!!!!" Selfish, I know, but I really enjoy my days home with just Elijah. It's quiet and I can take a nap when he does.

On Tuesday I decided to make some "job cards" and "surprise cards". If either kid got a time out, they could not get out of time out until they picked a job card and finished the chore on it. If I saw them being nice or helpful, then they could pick a surprise card and we could do what it said.

Ella got a time out right away and then had to clean all the glass. That was the only time out of the day! I was a little disappointed because I had a lot of cleaning to get done! Later they got to pick a suprise card. It said "Beach Party". I read it and then said "Go get your swimsuits on!!" The look on Noah's face was priceless... he was so excited! They got to "swim" in the bathtub for awhile and then we had a picnic on their beach towels for lunch. They LOVED it! I kept hearing them say to each other "isn't this the best day ever?", "this is the most fun day", etc. Compared to what they usually say to each other, this truly was the best day ever!!

Later in the day they got to pick another card and have a "pajama party". They put on their p.j.s and then we snuggled in Ella's bed and read books and told ghost stories. They were so well behaved the whole day!

We found out that evening that the next day was also a snow day. Instead of hyperventilating again, I got excited thinking of more fun things we could do the next day. I let them bring in some snow to play with in the kitchen, we made a fort, and they played with Playdoh. Probably the most fun for them was lunch. I made little menus and set the table with a tablecloth. I wrapped their silverware in a napkin and got some coloring pages for them to color while they waited. Noah was dowstairs so I called him up and then said "welcome to Momma's Restaurant, can I show you to your table?" He had that same look on his face that he had when I announced the beach party. So sweet! It really reminded me that he is still just a little boy.

They loved choosing their meals from the menu and coloring while they waited for their food. They actually used good manners, and again were talking so nice to each other.

It was a lot of work to think of creative, fun things to do, and they did make a lot of messes that had to be cleaned up, but it was so worth it! It makes me sad to think that they are growing so fast. The past two days reminded me that they are just little kids who love surprises, having fun, and playing. Sometimes I feel like I expect them to be more grown up then they are because it's easier for me. My goal for now on is to just let them be little.