Staycation at the Grandparent's

We spent a total of three nights, four days, at my parents house.  Monday, we went for a drive.  24 hours after a fresh snowfall usually makes for beautiful driving.  Of course, rain greeted us.  Nonetheless, we drove around, went grocery shopping, and returned to my parents house.  Tuesday, C drove home.  Power had been restored.  Cable and water, however, were still on hiatus.  So, we stayed another night at the grandparents home.  No one minded.  Wednesday, C returned home.  Cable was repaired, water restored.  Meanwhile, back at the g'parents, boys were being bathed, laundry was being done.  For some reason it took the better part of the day to pack for our return home.  After stopping to complete a few quick errands, we finally arrived home around 6pm.  The oldest had missed one day of Kindergarten.  The three year old had missed 5 days of preschool (2 from being sick last week, 3 due to being displaced).  Miraculously, we returned a healthy family.  This Mama avoided the stomach bug; everyone had come through on the other side. 

Upon our return, we hurriedly completed bedtime routine.  Nothing felt routine but we made a valiant effort.  The older boys went to bed around 8pm (about an hour behind schedule).  Josiah followed in his own time.  It felt good to be home.  I was grateful for the accommodations during our time away but was definitely pleased to be home.

Thursday morning came too quickly.  The Kindergartner's project had not been completed.  Therefore, 6am found he and I sitting on the living room floor.  The rug scattered by materials that spilled from the craft box.  A cylindrical oatmeal container would make a perfect mailbox.  By 6:45am, it was complete with red construction paper and spiderman stickers.  By 7:15am, the Valentine's Day cards were made out, and signed, by the six year old himself.  We wrote out the cards for the three year old.  Somehow, during the last 45 minutes, I managed to wake Josiah and feed him (in part).  8:00am came quickly and hurried the two older boys out the door with C. 

As the older boys rushed out, D rushed in to work with Josiah.  It was Thursday...time for PT.  Josiah had an off morning.  He was pleasant, smiling at times.  He did not want to work though.  When D could get him to work without him realizing it, he was fine.  The minute he realized he had been tricked, he fussed.  Silly little boy.  He doesn't appreciate the hip helpers, at this point.  Of course, the more he complains about using them, the more he needs them.  If you don't know, hip helpers are much like spandex shorts but the legs are sewn together at the inseam.  The design prevents Josiah from performing "splits" when he goes into, and out of, the sitting position (a new trick that needs to be tempered). 
Well, the 75 minutes finally passed but not without his (somewhat) constant complaining.  Who can blame him???  I think we were all a bit off....it had been an unusual couple of days.

The were already talking about possible snow for the weekend.  My parents were coming home this weekend also.  We would wait and watch.....

Blizzard 2013

Josiah has survived his first blizzard.  Saturday, we woke to about 18 inches of snow.  Of course, he's too young for it to become a childhood memory, but we'll still have the pictures.  Saturday was also the last day of his tummy bug (he came down with that on Thursday, along with his 3 yr old brother).  Daddy and the 6 yr old brother woke up with it on Saturday.  So far, this Mama has escaped disease :)

It was no surprise that we lost power on Friday night (around 8pm).  The snow had really picked up pace and the winds were howlin'.  We slept by flashlight, four of us on the same floor.  We positioned the big boys in the playroom.  Josiah was given the solitude of his room.  Miraculously, everyone slept fairly well.  We were happy to have light on Saturday morning.  The day went along quietly.  Again, the six yr old and C were both on day 1 of a tummy bug.  I played with Josiah and the 3 yr old.  We watched the plows go by.  As night fell, we broke out the flashlights once again.  By 8pm, we were well on the way to dreamland - boredom induced, I believe.  It had dropped from the usual 70 degrees to about 58.

Sunday morning, we were up at about 7am.  It was 46 degrees.  Daddy was better but the 6 yr old was still sick.  We started packing.  By noon, we said good-bye to home.  The electric company is saying we will likely be without power until Thursday night.  We shut off the water main and drained the pipes.  We took some of the food/milk/etc.  We closed the door.  It was 44 degrees inside our house.

We were packed like sardines in the minivan, and we couldn't be happier.  Three kids, check.  Two adults, check.  Dirty laundry (from 4 sick individuals - ewww!) and everyday laundry, check.  Most important perishables, check.  Suitcases, snowsuits, hats, mittens, boots, 'baby' bath tub, a few toys, pepsi (for the Mama), and beer (for the Daddy), check!  Lol.  We were off!

We headed for my parents house; they live about 15 minutes away.  Given that the Governor had implemented a statewide driving ban for 20 hours "to get the roads cleared," it was amazing to see how NOT cleared the roads were.  Nonetheless, we made it and are THRILLED!  Warmth and cable!!!  We are a happy family.  Everyone slept well last night.  Everyone seems to be feeling well today :)  So, off we go.  We're going to drive around to get some good blizzard pics & stop at the grocery store.

Stay safe and warm, friends!