My Apologies

I'm afraid yesterday's post may have come off a bit whiny, complainy, etc.  And now that snow has stopped here in Virginia Beach and we have survived our first snow day (though probably not our last as there is about 8-10 inches out there and this city just isn't used to that!), I have to admit today went way, way better than expected.  In fact, I may even be able to say that I enjoyed it!!!!
Amazingly enough, the boys were so well-behaved, relatively calm, and super sweet...both to each other and with us.  Sure, we watched a bit more tv than we do on a regular day around here, but who cares?!?  In fact, I had a whole mental list going of things we could do inside once they started getting crazy...and I never had to use it!!!  Josh, who even stayed home today, commented that I must be making up the chaos that I generally report to him (luckily he is here on weekends to witness it first hand, but of course, he had to claim short term memory loss on that one!).
But really, I just wanted to check in quickly to issue an apology first to my children (for doubting them) and secondly to you all (for listening to me beak and moan about something that wasn't really a big deal in the first place!).  Oh, and one more apology.  I really hadn't intended to bombard you with more pictures of my kids playing in the snow, but since they go along with this post so well...

Snow Day: Past and Present

As I think anyone who has young kids can attest to, my life sure has changed in just about every aspect possible over the last five years or so!  Obviously, it's only natural, right?  But one place that this change is particularly striking, at least currently, is how I feel about and approach a snow day.
As we speak, it has begun to snow in Virginia Beach.  That is remarkable enough, but forecasters keep bumping up our projected totals to numbers like 10 inches or more.  That is unheard of around here.  This city shuts down for an inch, so I can only imagine how long we will be snowed in for 10 inches!
Pre-children I would have looked forward to this snow-vacation eagerly.  As many of you know, I was a teacher, and snow days were the ultimate in excitement!  I would probably have stocked up with a few good magazines, some craft supplies for a long-neglected project, some baking supplies in case I got around to whipping something up, and wine....definitely lots of wine!  I would have absolutely relished the fact that I could lounge around the house all day (a treat I didn't usually allow myself, even then).  I would have laid in bed to watch the Today show, and then gradually attacked whatever project...or DVR show...I wanted.  I remember those days.  They were glorious.

Fast forward to my anticipation of our next few days worth of snow days.  I am absolutely dreading them!  I have stocked up, but I was not so naive to even consider the fact that I may get something done.  Instead, I have craft supplies aplenty for the boys, along with games, fort building ideas, and a promise that they can play iPad as much as they want!  I did still get some wine, but I'm thinking it will be needed more for stress relief than the savoring of a perfect day as before.  I am painfully aware that there will absolutely be no lounging around the house.  We will be here, but it won't be leisurely.  These boys are GO from the moment they wake up and without being able to get out of the house and relieve some of that energy, I know I will be putting out fires all day long.  I'm sure we will go outside some, but honestly, this snow happens to be accompanied by that bitter cold Polar Vortex air, making it very difficult for us Southerners to handle it for long!
I'm sure we will make some wonderful memories to cherish for years to come, but I am also pretty certain that I will want to pull my hair out by the time this experience is all over!  So wish us luck, keep your fingers crossed, and feel free to send wine...lots of wine!

A Week in VB's Wacky Weather

I've lived here basically my entire life (minus the four years I was away for college), so you would think by now I would be used to the roller coaster that is Virginia Beach's weather.  But last week may have just about taken the cake.
On Monday, it was about 65 out.  The boys were out of school for MLK Jr. day, so my sister (who was also off) and I decided to take them down to the MacArthur ice skating rink.  It was actually the last day the outdoor rink was going to be open, and the weather could not have been more perfect for it...at least according to my standards!  Plus, the boys had a blast!  True, they stuck to the itty bitty toddler rink and didn't let go of us and/or the rails the whole time, BUT they loved it!

Colton even asked to go back the next day.  Luckily it was closed because the temperatures had already begun their plummet.  By Tuesday evening (just 24 hours after it was 65 if you're keeping track), it was in the 30's here!  And the temps continued to fall  And then it started to snow!  Snow in Virginia Beach is a once-a-year at best kind of thing, so it was actually pretty exciting...enough for me to even kind of ignore the fact that it was in the teens when we woke up Wednesday morning (50 degrees colder than just 48 hours prior...again, in case you're keeping track).  

The boys saw a few flakes falling before they went to bed, but the bulk of the white stuff fell while they were asleep.  Needless to say, they were super pumped when they woke up and saw the 3.5 inches or so that were on the ground.  To preface this video, Colton had already looked out his window to see the snow, so that explains a little as to his questionable enthusiasm!

As I mentioned, it was freaking freezing, so I wasn't in a real hurry to get out there and play.  To keep them at bay for a bit, I made them some snowman pancakes.

Honestly, I would have been perfectly happy staying in all day, but the boys were so excited to get out and play in it.  So I put on my good mom pants and headed out with them.  My mom and sister braved the roads to come over and join us.

Being the true Virginia Beach boys that they are, they lasted about five minutes out there.  In fairness, it was bitterly cold...and we really do not have the proper attire for it if you can't tell from the above pics.  We went inside to warm up with some hot chocolate (Colton's favorite part of the day!).

But when their good buddy, Grayson, came out across the street, they decided to bundle up and give it one more go...yes, with sand buckets because that's how beach kids do snow!

But that only lasted about 5 minutes as well (thankfully!)!  Have no fear, though...we found other ways to take advantage of the snow without actually having to brave elements!  

We painted the snow by spraying food coloring on it.

And we made snow ice cream.

 

It was so bitter cold that we really didn't make it out to play in the snow much more.  Josh did take the boys out for a bit on Saturday once the temps had warmed up a tiny bit, but that was about it!  

And now that we've checked snow off our winter bucket list, I am quite happy to see it finally melting away.  Seriously, being stuck inside with these guys for just one day was enough to make me crazy...so much so that we braved the roads the next day (and yes, they were pretty bad...our city just isn't equipped for this stuff like our Northern neighbors!) to meet some friends.  And now, there are some reports that we could get 12 inches or more later this week!?!?  I may honestly lose it if that happens, so keep your fingers crossed for us...

Ringing In 2014 Right

Ever since we have been parents, our New Years Eves have been pretty lame.  We've gone to dinner...but nowhere too fancy for fear of ruining other diners' meals...and we're usually home by about 10...and asleep before the ball drops!  
Well, this year I decided to do something to change that!  Obviously hiring a babysitter is always an option, but really I like the idea of ringing in the new year with my kiddos (or at least until they go to bed!). We talked about having a party, but then other people would have to drive...and would likely leave before the ball drop for the same reasons we do!
 Luckily, though, we live in a beach town where houses for rent are pretty available!  A few months ago, I contacted a group of our friends and family to see who would be in and then set out to find a house.  At first, I ran up against a brick wall as most places required three nights stay...and we didn't really want to pay for three nights of a "vacation" in our own town!  But I finally hit the jackpot when I found a house for rent by owner that was willing to let us do just two nights...and she discounted the price for each of the two nights so we were really only paying a little bit more for both nights!
And because of that good fortune, we were able to spend New Year's Eve in a pretty nice beach house with 14 our good friends...and 3 other friends for the boys!  It was the most perfect way to ring in the new year.  We all chipped in a contributed a couple dishes to a celebratory cocktail party dinner.  Basically, we just sat around eating, drinking, chatting, and playing with the kiddos.

At 8 PM, we did a little countdown for the kiddos, complete with party glasses (which Levi totally rocked!) and sparkling grape juice in flutes.  They loved it!  They went around cheersing and kissing everyone.

After the kids went to bed, we whipped out the Cards Against Humanity.  Anyone else played that?  I'm not a games person, but this one was actually a blast!  And then we just chatted and hung out some more until the big ball drop and beyond!  Eventually I stopped taking pictures, but you get the idea!

Like I said, it was the perfect way to ring in 2014!  And as an added bonus, we actually got to have a pretty awesome little "staycation."  The house had a game room with foosball, pool, a Wii, and a couple arcade games.  It also had a hot tub (and pool in the summer) and a big jetted tub in our bathroom.  We took full advantage of all of them!

Plus, we got to spend lots of quality time with good friends.  The boys were in absolute heaven having other playmates, young and old, in their very own house and couldn't wait to get downstairs to play with them each day!  

It's probably not surprising that the boys didn't want to leave!  Colton asked us multiple times if we could live in the house forever, so clearly it was a big success...and hopefully something we repeat for many years!