Cold Enough

We have been having a rough winter this year! My in-laws say it is the hardest one they've seen in the 20 years they've lived in this area. It is funny how much our attitude to snow has changed from the beginning to the end. I think part of of it is a before and after Christmas thing, and part of it is post tons of back breaking shoveling, and being sick, and just missing the sun!

Sledding track out front in our massive piles of snow

Before Christmas we couldn't wait for snow and for a while weren't sure we were going to have any for Christmas, but once it got snowing this year it didn't stop! And our city hasn't been very good about the snow removal this year either - it has been a lot to keep up with, but I really think they'd scaled back their efforts this year because the neighborhoods I drive through on the way to take Lily to school were so dense with snow built up from the whole winter with no chance of melting in between (though plenty of chance for plowing) they became impassable for our little car with no four wheel drive. I didn't see nearly as many plows going by this year as in years past and there was a lot more need for it! Apparently a law was passed that the snow plows couldn't plow piles into the middle of cul de sacs anymore because it might make it difficult for emergency vehicles to turn around -- and when the plow did come they pushed huge amounts of snow right in front of everyone's driveway. I was a little bit shocked when the guy left it that way the first time because it was a huge amount of snow for us to try to manage with our one little plastic shovel, and my back is not the greatest --I could only imagine how some our elderly neighbors felt seeing that.

See how high it hits our tall trash cans, and it was wide and long!

But it is our responsibility to move the snow from the front of our property. With only so many places to move it to and only our own manpower - a lot of it ended up out in the street by our house. Our cul de sac grew a lot smaller this winter because of it, so I'm not sure how well emergency vehicles could navigate it anyway - our trash cans had to be placed out 20 feet from the curb at the end of the snow bank. We did not look forward to the snow plows coming because before they came we had it pretty well cleared from our part of the street and after we were simply overloaded. Then we started to get even more snow. When the plows came again one of our neighbors came over with her snowblower to help us and Mike went out with his shovel and the whole neighborhood banded together to clear everyone's driveways so that was really nice to see! 

All the neighbors turning out to help the neighborhood

We have had a few nice exchanges this winter between neighbors on our street helping each other out. One afternoon our next door neighbor's dad showed up in a little truck with a plow on the front and started zooming around and clearing the cul de sac good before the snow plows could come dump it all on us. He pushed it all the way down the road and across the street to another lot where it wasn't blocking anyone in - because we really had no more room to pile it in the cul de sac. It was fun to watch and cheered us up immensely. It was a life saver too because the city snow plows had pushed so much by the end of our street which is the base of a hill - we couldn't have made it up the street if it hadn't been cleared.

I had my first real car accident. I misjudged my speed on a turn and slid on black ice up onto a curb and got stuck in a snowbank on the way to pick up Lily from school one afternoon. With only one vehicle it put us in a real spot. I couldn't reach anyone I knew to go pick up Lily and her friend who was planning on coming to our house that afternoon. Mike found a good neighbor to drive him and Sierra over to pick up the girls, and by the time they got over to me some nice people had stopped to help me dig out and push my car out of the snow. We finally got it out with Mike's help and some traction from our car mats. I feel so lucky our car was only slightly banged up and I didn't run into any other cars!

The sad part of snow melting :)

We had a couple of days of sunshine and I totally got spring fever. I was determined to get some pots and indoor plants to put in front room which is pretty bare and definitely needs some decorating. I'd been thinking about it for weeks and scouting out where I could find some good deals. There aren't even that many available out there yet. The day I went out shopping for them it started to snow....hard. But I was determined, I had to scrape off my windshield in between each store I visited and brush inches of snow off my car. I felt a little bit like a crazy lady buying pots and plants in that weather! :) (30 degrees starts to feel warm after weeks of single digit temperatures)

This last couple of weeks has been the worst. Our whole family came down with a terrible cold, fevers and chills and terrible sore throats. The girls actually had strep and got on antibiotics, but Mike and I just had terrible colds that left us completely drained of energy and which we are still fighting to be over, I can't even tell you how excited we are to see it snowing still!!! (not) We haven't even celebrated Mike's birthday because we just haven't felt good enough to. I have felt like the worst mother this week because I have barely been able to do anything and we have been watching way too much television just to cope with how terrible we all feel. Sierra has been so sweet and comforting to me, doing a lot of things on her own and not complaining when we just don't have the energy to play. And luckily I had checked out a TV series I loves as a kid called Avonlea from the library and Lily fell in love with it and has been watching it a lot so it's not all cartoons! Yesterday Mike's dad slid his truck on black ice and rolled it and Mike got an early morning phone call and raced out to help him. We are so thankful he and his dog were not badly hurt, but unfortunately his truck was totalled! We are so grateful for every little ray of sunshine we get breaking though these overcast skies and praying that spring will finally come! I have been waiting all winter to see the tulips and irises and daffodils we planted come up along our back fence. This cold has made me feel so weak and down and I feel like I'm struggling to come back to life after being dead kind of like those flowers under the ground still buried in snow. We've had enough of this winter!

Drawing by Sierra with lots of letters and her name!

 

Sierra dressed up to play school with Lily on a sick day - I just registered her for kindergarten the other day so it won't be long before she's really dressing up to go to school!

 Lily's crazy hair (braids & twists around pipe cleaners) for Dr. Seuss's birthday at school.

Thank goodness we are on the bus route because I did this and then sent her off and crashed on the couch for a few hours! Can't wait to not feel sick anymore!