The Ice Photo 25

(January 25th)

We did get our Ice...

As the storm was coming the county was getting worried, ice, lots  of ice.  They decided that it was probably going to hit us bad and they did not want any buses on the roads when it did so they changed the 3 hour early release to a 4 hour one and it was a rush to get kids through cafeteria line and on to home.  How did we hear our kids were getting out an extra hour before what they announced the day before?  In my case my 14 year old son, Jesse, texted me and said they are already being released!!!  

WHAT!!!!  

I was across town going to the one store I need to go before the storm hit to complete a project due that night (which got cancelled and rescuduled to the next day).  As luck had it my other son had a doctor's appointment that morning and it started when the the older one was going to get out with the 3 hour early release and so I asked my husband to please, please see about working from home so he could pick up Jesse.  So a quick call to him and Jesse got pick up easy right!  Lol!  If only!  My hubby calls and asked if I was sure because there were no cars in the school parking lot picking up kids!  I told him I did not care to play this game just go into the office and have our son pulled and take him home.  So he went to the front office and he text me.  "It is a zoo in here.  A ton of kids are in here calling their parents to pick them up."  Yep!  Thats right no one new that their kids need to be picked up an hour earlier!!!  Thank God My Boy Has A Cell Phone!!!!

So after I was done at the store I decided that this early release crap was a mess and I was going to go ahead and pick up my other 2 kids now do the doctor's appointment and go home.  And boy that poor elementary school was trying to keep it together but I was not the only one with this idea and my 10 year, Cole, the one with the appointment, was testing.  Hahaha!!!  Could the day get any better!  As luck had it he had finished his test right before I pulled him and his sister (plus one friend's kid who was unable to pick him up, I dropped him off at his home before the doc. apt.).  

On our way to the doc. apt. we saw snow flakes but by the time we got there it had turned mostly into icy rain.  The doc. office was busy, they wanted to close early and was trying to fit in as many apt. as they could before they did.  Add new insurance card so forms to fill, long wait in the waiting, in the hall outside the patient's room, than in the tiny patient's room.  We were not happy campers, good thing I really like this doctor!  And we had a window to watch the little pieces ice bouncing off the road, plants, and of corse the window.  

Over all not a fun day for me!  I was so happy when I finally got home with my kids safe and sound.  The whole family was home and we were ready for what this ice storm was going to throw at us.  (Well maybe not a power outage but thankfully that did not happen!)  

Even with them closing schools early there still was a bus accident  one town over with 22 elementary school kids on it!  Thank goodness there were no major injuries!  Another bus was in an accident but luckily it did not have any children on it.

I hope everyone is safe and sound this winter!

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~

The Calm Before the Storm Photo 24

(Taken January 24th)

I am behind on my pictures of the day but this one was taken on the 24th and was meant to be Photo 24.  

The 24th and 25th were very odd day for us since it was predicted our area would have rain and ice and in the south that means people get worried.  Worried NOT flipping out panicking like some joke around, worried!  Have you ever driven on icy roads?  Would you want your kids school bus to drive on a sheet of ice?

So all day Thursday the 24th our little city, or big town, was preparing for the ice by treating the roads. People went to the store to get what they were lacking, which is usually bread and milk!  Lol!  The county even decide to let school out 3 hours early in hope that all the kids would get home safe in sound before the roads got bad.  That night on our busy little road was quite, very quite!  I was able to walk into the middle of it and take a few picture going both ways without any trouble.  It was a strange quite.  No rain or snow or ice falling from the sky.  It was not do to start till the afternoon of the next day, Friday the 25th.  Yet at almost midnight it was so quite, peaceful even...  

The calm before the storm.

Yummy Lunch, Photo 23

Lila's Lunch

Do you make lunches for your kid to take to school?  Are you having as much trouble as I am keeping it interesting?  

My boys are SOOOO TIRED of SANDWICHES!!!!

They do not want pb&j, peanut butter sandwiches, ham and cheese, peanut butter banana, turkey, grill cheese....

If it has slices of bread they don't wanted!

And who could blame them they have been eating day after day, year after year!

So my challenge is finding new stuff and keep rotating it so that they don't get burnt out of anther food.  A favorite right now is pizza like foods like Crescent Pepperoni Roll-Ups and little pizzas made from the flat circler sandwich bread, pizza sauce, and pepperonis!  I have also added ravioli which I make in the morning  of (the pizzas I make the night before and it comes out to 2 days for 2 boys) and put it in their thermoses.  On morning that I have not planed ahead and are tired are trickier!  We do graham cracker and peanut butter or crackers, cheese slices (folded into forths), and pepperonis.  

But last weekend we were at the sams club and one of the samples they had out was a mini babybel gouda cheese cut in half wrapped in half a slice of turkey.  Lila LOVED it (she is still eating mostly pb&js for lunch)!  Cole LOVED it!  Jesse was at a bday party so I assumed if the other two loved it he would too.  And I was super happy that we have something else easy cheese to add to our lunched and I would not have to make 2 separate kinds of lunches, Lila's and the boys'! 

I do have to thank my father-in-law for taking us to the sams since we have not renewed our card since they moved it further away form us and my mother-in-law for buying them the cheese and turkey/ham combo pack so we can make them for lunches this week!!!!  

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~

Haven't A Clue! Photo 22

I am not really sure on what to say about this one...  

She need a closer look, maybe?  

We put the map on her magnetic white board easel, which needed LOTS of magnets because it wanted to roll back up and started to make a story for the ponies that came with the map.  We found lots of cool places on the map like 'The Whispering Woods', 'Pool of the Weeping Pony', 'Leaning Tower of Knowledge', and 'Secret Tunnel Windmill' (which we debated where the other end of the tunnel would be)!  

Over all a nice fun moment with my Little Girl!  Even when she is being a Goof Ball!!!  Lol

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

(This has been difficult with 2 pinewood derby cars due at the end of the week!  Why do we wait to the last minute to make them???)  

(Keep telling myself "stress free, need to be stress free" and "don't stress over the small things"!  It's not working right now.)

~Ra~

A Walk In The Snow Photo 21

This was also taken the other day durning our ONE Snow Day, I took so many that I wanted to share!

This is the first time I tried to take pictures Lily, our dog, with the new camera and for future reference I need another hand!!!  Someone to hold the lease so I can get on her "Good Side".  It is hard to take a good pix and be behind her as she wanders ahead sniffing everything!!!!!!

I got a few I liked and can share with everyone but none I LOVE.  I think I might be a little to picky.  Lol!  But for a 8 year old puppy she sure has a lot of energy left in her!  And boy is she a CUTIE in that pink jacket!!!!

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~

Snowing Photo 20

A picture from our snow day a couple of days ago.  The snow of corse started to collect on our cars first and was beautiful to watch as it was falling.  The kids wanted to stay up and watch too so we let them for a little while, I think I mention that we don't get snow very often any more!  I just wish it wasn't icy snow when they got up, it is very hard to play in snow that is now ice!  Lol

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

(Still working on this!)

~Ra~

Star Gazing Photo 19

Cole got a telescope for christmas and tonight we got to test it out!

Cole

We saw the moon!!!  How exciting is that!!!

Lila 

And at another telescope, a much much nicer telescope, we saw Jupiter!

A member of the cub scout group we go to is also a member of the local astronomy club and invited us to join them tonight as they did their star gazing!  It was fascinating and if I did not have a full plate I would love to join and do this more often!  Maybe when I am older and have less kids!!!  The only down side was it was COLD!!!!!!!  Thought my toes were going to fall off!  Lol

My camera on one of the telescopes pointing towards Jupiter!

~Love~Smile~Enjoy~Happiness~

~Ra~