Another snow day???

A collective scream of "WHHHYYYY?" went up all over Dexter this morning when the news came that we were having a snow day. Mothers everywhere fell to their knees praying that it just wasn't so. After a 4 day week-end due to President's day it was just too much to bear.

I really have nothing left to give. There are no more craft projects, no more cookies to bake, no more patience left in me at all. Not one bit. At this point I'm actually begging my children to let me lay down with a cool cloth on my forehead. Like that's going to happen.

The kids are bored to tears too. We've pretty much done all there is to do and we're just kind of staring warily at each other. I was doing really well right up to today's announcement. We had gone to a movie, we went sledding, we had play dates and sleepovers. But today? Nothing. I dragged them out to get haircuts just to get us out of the house for a bit.

Never really thought I'd say this but I'm SOOO reading for spring!

What will he think of next?

Last night I was feeling pretty tired. This week I've just been really exhausted which the MD said is to be expected. Still, it's horrible to be tired when you've got kids climbing all over you wanting to show you school papers and needing snacks.

It is safe to say that I was not at my parenting best last night. I was in the recliner in the living room resting (with my eyes open - sort of) when I noticed Max going in and out the front door. I wasn't sure what he was doing but I thought he might be playing with the cats. Until I saw him go out the front door with a bucket full of water. THAT woke me up.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Icing the driveway" he said, as if I had just asked how his day was.

 "Why?" I asked.

"I don't know. It's fun, I guess."

By the time I was able to get up and survey the driveway I was shocked. An area about 5 feet wide and 10 feet long was a complete sheet of ice. It was actually kind of impressive though I didn't let on about that.

I kept trying to get to the bottom of why he did it. He mentioned that he could "skate" on it but that it would also be funny to watch our cars slip on it. OMG. Is he trying to kill me? Decidedly not. He's not that kind of kid, but wow, icing the driveway. Huh. 

He never ceases to amaze me. The things he comes up with - riding my garden cart while holding onto a makeshift sail.  Or the things he says - What do all of these things have in common? Banana, apple, peach and pear. The rest of us might answer that they're all fruit. Max's answer was that they all have skin. Which is true, but, wait what?

Sometimes I feel a kinship to Mrs. Edison - "Thomas, you're going to do WHAT with a kite and a key? In this weather?"  I suppose though that the worst thing I can do is stifle his creativity and his slightly skewed view of the world.

He constantly keeps me guessing and I'm never quite sure what he'll come up with next. When he was really little I used to say things like, "Don't ride your bike without a helmet". Now I have to be a little more thorough.

"Don't jump off the roof, don't make the dog pull you in a wagon (she's only a mini schnauzer after all), don't bring that chicken in the house, don't eat chili with your fingers (Joe's favorite), don't try to ride the llama." I really should just record something and just roll the playback. It would save me a lot of time.

Jail Break

Had a little "situation" in the barn yesterday. Manny (the llama) and Phineas (the not-so-much-a-potbelly pig) broke into the barn. They have a stall inside the barn that leads to the outside so they can all get shelter and warmth. From there, there's a gate that keeps them from getting into the rest of the barn. Except in this case, it didn't.

We had just gotten a big load of hay (54 bales) so the barn was nice and full of fresh, green food for them. We aren't sure exactly how long the rampage had lasted but the toppled and destroyed bales left no doubt that it was long enough. As per usual, when I tried to get to the bottom of it I was met with stony silence. I think the pig may have grunted but you can bet he was just trying to implicate the llama. Either way, we're going to have some serious discussions about this in the days to come.

There will be consequences. Like maybe I won't love on them quite as much when I go out to feed. So that's 20 llama kisses instead of the usual 25. That should teach him a little something about who he's messing with. I expect this kind of thing from Phineas because, you know, he's a pig. But the llama? I am so disappointed.