WELL, Here we are with our 11 year old and 7 year old boy's much anticipated, highly revered...SNOW DAY!!! There is a crystal white carpet of freshly fallen snow, the smell of espresso brewing to jump start mom and dad...I am ever so lovingly making fresh hot chocolate on the stove. Yes...homemade, Milk, vanilla, cinnamon, cacao, sugar; the young men have "begged" me to make it, with marshmallows and whipped cream. Ahhhhh, a heavenly scene right? Something out of Martha Stewart Living! Well...lets be honest, not so much.
In the background you can hear...wait for it...yes, FIGHTING. Already..."Your leg is touching mine" "I don't want to play that game" "This game is stupid" "You took the blanket off me". This is followed quickly with random WWF Wrestling moves being tried out on one another. Jumping from the ring, (I mean couch) to try out the new head lock move or maybe the "clothes line" technique. My heart is in my throat as I stir the hot chocolate and wonder if urgent care is open for the potential wrestling move, that takes one of them down to the coffee table corner. No, this has never happened, yet everyday, when the wresting begins, I think to myself...Oh well, no work tonight, I will be busy in the emergency room!
This begs the question...What do we do on a day, that we are potentially trapped in the house? Yes, they play outside, they sleigh ride, they snow ball fight, However it is about 10 degrees out. So, time is not on my side.
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Here are five activities we will do today, in between the wrestling moves, we may try to fit in a few "quality" activities. I will let you know how they go!
1. We will be trying out some of the games that they got for Christmas; My older son got "flash scrabble" which totally rocks...as a mom, it has all the qualities I LOVE. It is easy, you have to think, but not too much... it only has five pieces and you can play for 15 minutes or an hour. My eleven year old loves it and it helps the first grader learn to spell. Again, five pieces people and it adds up your score for you, so the bonus for me is NO MATH!
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2. ARTS AND CRAFTS...something that I love, but my boys, get a weird, vomit like look on their face at the mention of it. So I will disguise it in the form of having to make a "present" for someone. At this stage my little guy will concede and join in the "crafting fun" to make a book, a card or gift for grandma, or his baby cousin. My sixth grader...may participate for two minutes and say "o.k, I'm done with this" but hey...two minutes, I'll take it.
3. Dancing, while cleaning. O.k...I will clean, they will change the "Pandora" station from glee (yes, I listen to glee Pandora) to Eminem...the dude can spit some sick rhymes, judge if you must, but we love Eminem. However, it lasts a hot second; the curses start to drop and the station get changed back to "glee" or if I am feeling particularly evil "Sound of Music" radio. The room clears...I get peace.
4. Light the fireplace, find a movie, snuggle with the dogs, the kids, the husband. Watch movie and break up arguing during movie. Pause movie 700 times to get snack, drink, bathroom, blankets, take dogs out, stoke the fire...However, we do this a lot, and it is our go to thing. "movie night" Give it a name and it sounds better. Remind Children at least 40 times during movie that "kindness matters" and they might want to practice that when they are snatching the blankets off each other.
5. Realize that despite the sibling rivalry, the insane energy of my boys, the deafening volume of their voices, the barking of the two dogs, the wet feet, boots, freezing hands and fear of the wrestling moves creating a serious brain injury; All is really sweet in our little world. The boys are healthy, the house is warm and there will be a time, when nobody wants to "wrestle" or play in the snow, or change my Pandora station. So, today, on this freezing, snow bound day, I will try to embrace the "boyness" of my house. Find the joy and laughter in their crazy puppy like energy and maybe for a tiny moment, sip my coffee and count my blessings.
HAPPY SNOW DAY, to be continued...
