365 Days of my Life: Cabin Fever is Fierce!

Hello! When all is said and done, we had about 33 1/4 inches of snow drop on us. We had two plows get stuck in front of our house at about 10:30 at night Friday, and there are STILL parts of neighboring towns that are not plowed. Dan was at work from 8 am Friday until 10 am Sunday, and we could not even attempt to get my car shoveled out until about 10 am on Sunday. When Pierce and I went outside on Saturday, it was WILD. The snow was half way up our garage door, and the drift near my car was so high, we actually stepped on my car trying to get out. It did not stop us from playing though; we had a BLAST romping through the snow and watching Papa work the plow.

Carter did NOT like the snow. I am REALLY having a hard time accepting the fact that I have a child that does not like to be outside during cold weather. I love all weather; there is always something to do whether it is swimming, playgrounds, planting, or snowboarding. Pierce loves all weather. Carter only likes warm weather. Thankfully, we were also snowed in with Mimi and Papa, so they could watch Carter while Pierce and I were outside playing around.

I have never been so sick of being in a house in my whole life. Well, I take it back. It felt like I was on bed rest again, and that was not pleasurable. There are only how many crafts that can be created, and only so many stories to read before you really do start to question your sanity. Once Dan came home on Sunday, I took off to the store and purchased what I needed to make the entire Piscopo/Knowlton family dinner. We had all had enough, and what better way to celebrate than to eat? We had the turkey downstairs, a few veggies, and I went and got the rest. Just going to the grocery store made me start to feel human, and then once I was cooking for 18 people, I felt complete.

Monday was more bad weather. We had ice and rain fall, but the boys and I had escaped that morning to CVS to replenish our supplies. My intentions were to go to the Dollar Store, but the snow banks were so high, people were traveling so slow, I stopped at CVS. I purchased a bar of Ivory soap, after I had seen many times on pinterest that you can make them puff up in the microwave - like on this link: http://carrotsareorange.com/preschool-science/

I did a little lesson with Pierce first. I grabbed a regular bar of soap and then the bar of Ivory and had him tell me which was heavier. Then with a bucket of water, I had him guess if the bars would sink or float. And surprisingly he guessed it correctly, and also told me the heavier one would sink since it was heavier. Not bad for an almost 3 year old. Pierce and Carter played in the bucket of water for a bit, before Pierce asked if we could blow the bar of soap up yet (I told him we were going to make it blow up). Carter stayed with the bucket of water and the other bar of soap, while Pierce and I got to work. It only took one minute in the microwave to make it puff way high. He really enjoyed the texture, and then had fun cutting the bigger pieces that were still form-able He eventually turned it all into powder and made it snow in the kitchen.

Later on in the day Monday I had the genius idea of breaking out the Wii Fit, since I had not been able to get to the gym since Thursday. This made Pierce want to play, so we created him his own character that he has now played with every day since. His favorite game? Heading soccer balls. It is amazing watching him build that hand/eye coordination. Carter is catching on too! And it is great!

Tuesday we FINALLY made it out of the house all at once, and went swimming with Mimi at the YMCA. I was so happy to see they had a few extra open swim hours, and that helped with the excess energy and the snippiness we all had. From there, we went and saw Daddy at work, and Pierce had to say hello to each resident. And of course Carter had to ham it up and give high fives to everyone. Then Tuesday night we built forts out of boxes, and made a mailbox. Pierce was hilarious; he knows mailboxes are to mail letters and bills. So he went and started writing a bunch of A's on paper, and putting them in the box. When I asked why he was just doing A's, he said "I'm mailing my letters momma." Ah! Smart boy!

Come bed time, Pierce wanted to read me another book. So Carter sat in his bed reading a book, while Pierce opened up his huge book of Nursery Rhymes and read me all of them cover to cover. I know it is just memorization at this point, but he was so proud of himself. And he should be. It is a 30 page book, and he has it down pat.

Today we made puffy paint, and then used heart cookie cutters to dip in the paint and then stamp on paper. They came out really well! Yet another use of cookie cutters I did not think of. Following our art time, we went to story time at Oliver Wolcott Library. This was for the bigger kids (ages 2-3), but Carter really got into it today. And of course Pierce was beyond happy that the craft today was making valentines. He carried his valentine all the way to the post office (which is about a 1 mile walk), and then carried it all the way back. Carter made a HUGE improvement today, and actually walked all the way to the post office and back. Normally he expects to be carried, but he and Pierce were chasing each other. I enjoyed the sun and 50 degree temperatures, and ran along side of them.

Now Pierce is napping, but I think all of the fresh air has recharged Carter - he has yet to nap. And since it is now 2:30, I do not think I am letting him nap today. I'm off to work tonight, but I hope that everyone has a great day tomorrow, and a great rest of the day today! Good bye! And boys, I know we have not had an easy week, but before we know it we will be able to go to playgrounds again. I love you both so much, and I could NEVER ask for better sons. EVER.