What is a Snow Day?

They are different for everyone. I used to kind of like them when I was a teacher, as long as it was only a couple. Then when I only had one kid in school they were okay. Even when two were in school I didn’t mind as much. Now that three kids are in school, I have mixed emotions about them.

I like the fact that I can leave a package of donuts on the counter the night before and they can get their own breakfast and not wake me up. (Whenever there’s going to be snow I buy a box of donuts.) That about sums up the good part; not getting up and hustling three kids to school. The rest can (not always) be torture (on me).

The kids want to play video games, which is fine until one of them (I won’t name names) spends all the time changing her hat and won’t go on the quests, or whatever it is they do.

The calm before the storm

One of them will take the Skylander off the portal at an integral part of the game causing some sort of catastrophic event in the life of the other.

One won’t play Barbies with another.

When they do finally go play Barbies and/or Monster High the room is left like an F5 tornado hit it.

I usually forget I need to feed them lunch (they eat at school) until they complain at 2pm.

There are arts and craft supplies on every surface of the house (not much different from a weekend).

The dog gets to eat extra crayons.

My routine will get thrown off; chances are I will forget about supper.

These are just the highlights of what a Kraus House snow day is like. What is a snow day like in your house?

How Stella is Like a Hollywood Has-Been

Every little girl has a little diva inside them, but Stella is a Big Diva (in so many ways). There are times she reminds me of a starlet that has lost her Hollywood glow.

She gets in the tub with all her jewelry on and doesn’t realize it. Seriously, necklace, bracelet, headbands, you name it then she looks at you with an Oops face and starts to giggle.

She makes unreasonable demands.

 

She wanted to sit on top of the two stools.

She wakes up in the morning looking like she’s been on a week-long bender. Come to think of it, once you brush her hair she looks like that after 10 minutes.

 

No pants and one cowboy boot...enough said!

This is how she wakes up looking 85% of the time.

She still gets this excited over marshmallows.

She wants fame. She’s always wants me to take her picture and post it. Now she (and Teddy want to be You Tube stars). I can just imagine the stuff they would post because I know the stuff Ted won’t let me post.

I find her passed out on her floor.

 

I frequently find her on the floor, a few times she's been under the bed.

She can go days eating like a bird, then binge like she’s going to the chair.

Some of her outfits could get her on the “What were they thinking” list.

 

A Stella-Blue original

Sunglasses have become her signature look.

She causes public scenes.

She needs her beauty rest.

 

Do not disturb

She calls everyone by the same name, Bubby. She’s too cool to use Dahling.

What do you think, is she a diva?

Another Snow "Event"

We had another snow “event” last night. I didn’t even know until I let the dog out this morning. It was only about three quarters of an inch, no big deal. Seriously, I really had no clue there was a chance of snow. We have had a decent amount of snow so far this winter. (I gauge it by how many times my husband has to take the snow blower out…it’s like a small tractor). He’s done it twice.

 

This is from last week's snow day

I live in New England and I am used to the snow. Driving in snow is a lot different than driving in ice. I’ve spun out on black ice, scariest thing EVER! The people down south are having a very difficult time with their snow/ice “event” and this has nothing to do with what’s going on down there. This is something I noticed today getting ready to and bringing my kids to school today.

This is not complaining; it is observation.

What does (let’s just say) 1 inch of snow do to your morning?

• The kids keep asking why they don’t have a snow day if there’s snow on the ground.
• There’s enough snow to stay stuck on a kid’s boots so he can track some through the house while he’s taking out the garbage.
• Because of the above problem, you end up with cold, wet socks.
• There’s just enough snow that the car has to be cleaned off.
• The snow that is getting cleared off the car ends up all over you.
• There’s not a change in Hell your streets are going to get plowed.
• The main streets have been sanded (salted?) so the car in front of you makes a mess of your windshield.

That’s all I have for now because I only drove my kids to school and don’t really plan on going anywhere else today (until pick up).

What observations have you made about snow “events”?

The Trouble with 40

I turned 40 and I know there’s nothing I can do about it. Not to sound bitchy but, I have noticed that I do look better than some people I know that are younger than me. But there are just some things that happen to you once you hit 40 that really suck. I must say I noticed them starting around 35 but by my 40^th birthday, I really hit the skids.

Eyesight-Going, going, gone! I can’t see shit. I can’t read books anymore. I NEED to use my Nook and set the font on elderly, so there are only about 15 lines on the page. If a restaurant is dark, I have no idea what the menu says; and if I have my contacts in, forget it all bets are off. I even bought a pair of reading glasses from the Dollar Store. That’s it, time to train Alabama.

 

Not bad looking for the Dollar Store

Whiskers-WTF is this all about? At least I am still able to look in a mirror and seek those suckers out. I am constantly rubbing and feeling my chin. Then if I feel one, man I hope it’s not while I’m in public. Then all I can think is, “Can everyone see this monstrosity growing out of my chin?” “Do I look like Rip Van Winkle?” God forbid I look into a lighted magnified mirror. Holy shit, who the hell is that and what happened to her chin?

 

I need to get another pair and keep them in my purse for emergency removals

Memory-What was I supposed to write? I didn’t have a good short term memory to begin with, now FORGET IT!! If it’s not written down, it’s not happening. It took me 2 years to make a doctor’s appointment because I simply kept forgetting to do it. I would remember when I was in bed (not going to do me any good then).  I leave the store with only half the stuff I went for, sometimes I even forget when I go with a list. There’s a lot of “Oh shit, …” said around here.

Gas-I’ve never had the best gastro-intestinal system, but now one handful of popcorn at the movies and by the closing credits I can shoot myself out of there like you let the air out of a balloon. I’m just a diverticulitis time bomb waiting to go off. Seriously, just about everyone in my family has is and I’m just waiting for my turn.

Pulled Muscles (for no reason)-I can be sitting at the table NOT MOVING and pull a muscle. It happened during supper; I pulled the entire right side of my back. I wasn’t reaching, lifting or bending, just sitting. Every day I need to stretch my back to where I can tie my own shoes. Sometimes when I want to cross my legs I need to grab onto my pants to pull my leg over.

Oh 40, what have you done to me?

The 9 Most Lost Items in My House

There are items in my house that no matter how hard I try to keep track of, they ALWAYS get lost. I put them in the same spot, but the 30 (sometimes 40) sticky fingers that live here besides me, do not put them back where they belong.

Now if you know me, cool your jets for a second.  I am by far not an organized person, but there are a few items I keep in specific spots because I KNOW THEY GET LOST; and those are the things that keep disappearing.

Brushes/Combs  These SHOULD be in the drawer in the bathroom. If you open that drawer all you will find are bobby pins. The girls have their own brushes with sparkly initials on them, we can only find one. The other three brushes, not sure. I went and bought myself a new brush that I keep in my room, away from everyone. I buy ten packs of combs and right now the only one I have found is one that a child (not the dog) has chewed.

Tools  Don’t look for a tool you fight need in the Kraus House; you won’t find it anytime soon. We had a tool box at one point in our life; I’m not quite sure what happened to that. Now if there is a project planned that might require a tool, a search party is sent out to find the necessary tools before such project begins.

Tape Measure  This falls in line with the tools. This also goes for my sewing tape measure, one should be in the sewing machine table and one should be in my sewing box, they should not be upstairs under a bed or be used as jump ropes.

 

Tape measure...safe and sound for now

Shoes  The girls are not as bad at this and Young Thaddeus, he is the main offender of this travesty. It has gotten to the point where he needs to pay me to find his shoes, especially when it is 30 seconds before we are walking out the door.  It is not uncommon for one shoe to be downstairs and the other to be upstairs. He's a boy, I'm told they're supposed to do that.

 

We haven't seen the left one in a couple of weeks

Pens/Pencils  I should say pencils that work. The quality of pencils is shit. I have said this for years and any teacher will tell you the same thing. I have a super snazzy pencil sharpener so I know it’s not that. It seems the pencils all disappear or break as soon as it’s time to do homework. My pens all mysteriously vanish when I am trying to take a message or write a list, even though there is a giant cup to hold several of them.

 

Only three of those pencil work

Socks  It is amazing how socks disappear in this house. I keep single socks separate. I started doing it so I could find the match, then I kept doing it to see how many didn’t have a mate. One day Stella and I counted 48 socks that didn’t have a match. What the Hell happened to them? As I walk through the house at night I pick up lonely, rogue socks but I put them in the hamper. They all eventually get washed, why aren’t they getting reunited? It’s driving me insane!!!

Nail Clippers/Nail File  Whenever I need them, I can’t find them. I keep the nail clippers in the giant pencil cup. In order to see the clippers, someone needs to go deep. I have a strong suspicion on who pilfs the clippers, but what happens to my nail file? No one is lounging around filing their nails.

Hair Elastics  I buy these by the gross. When I find them, I hoard them. Stella always wants a ponytail or braids…then stop losing all the elastics! I noticed that several of the Barbies were rocking some ponytails, once and elastic is in there, it’s not coming out.

Broom/Dust Pan  Sounds strange that these things would go missing, but they do quite often. I go to get the broom and poof, it’s gone. Then I wander around looking in all the corners it could be stashed in until I find it. All is well until I’m done and go to get the dust pan and guess what, that’s gone too. Luckily it’s usually in the vicinity of where the broom was found (most of the time).

So these are the things that get lost in my house most often. What disappears in your house?