The Big Snow

Last Friday was one of those fabled Snow Days.

The kind that really delivers in the Snow-age department

but that isn't wind-whipping cold.

The snow was the perfect weight to play all day...no ice at all.

There was so much of it that not only was school closed but even

big companies like the one I work for closed their doors by late morning;

diverting calls to our Boca Raton office.

It sure wasn't a Boca day here but heck, on a day like this...
we opted to let'em keep Boca!

It was truly Glorious.

I knew the day was extra special because my Mom spent
hours outside with us watching the children while I shoveled
and stole some shots of them playing in the snow.
I don't ever remember my mother hanging out that long in the snow...ever!

Even the the sky was perfection.



And the street...a true Winter Wonderland.

Our little neighborhood snow militia began forming en mass,

as is their custom when the snow begins to accumulate.

There were pretty little girls.

There were adorable, mischievous boys.

The Snowmelier was at it again!

They were all busy little Snow Bees.

The stage was set.
The snowballs were made with care.



An arsenal was prepared.

They patiently and not so patiently waited for their target to show his face.

As their intended came into view I could hear the squeals of delight.

It was clear they were ready for the arrival of
the BIGGEST KID on THE BLOCK.



As he stepped from his car, they gave him only a second to compose himself from a full day of work and to let it sink in that the troops were mobilized against him.

They did show a moment of weakness and let me throw him a pair of gloves.

As he told them to give him their best shot...

Let the GAMES BEGIN!
This gang showed no mercy!

They BOMBARDED him......



every one of them...down to the littlest one...beware of Pinky Tuscadero!

Our fabulous neighborhood gang!



Finally we went in to warm up and warm up!

We had such a fantastic day together we decided to crack open
a bottle of bubby to celebrate.
(check out the reflection of the snow in the glass from the window)



We ate some yummy homemade beef stew that Nana made.



We noshed on some pumpernickel, ham and gruyere panini.



And we kissed, or rather, woofed down a frog for dessert!

...but not before singing Happy Birthday!

(complete with consecutive lighting of birthday candles at least 6 times for Sweetie...

even though her birthday isn't until September!)



A Beautiful Day filled with Memories,

Happy (tired) Kids, Happy (tired)Adults....

Who could ask for more!

Snow Day Eats

As the snow came down here this week,
we decided to enjoy the time we had at home and cook some of our favorites.
WonderBoy requested my homemade bread and confessed he had a hankerin' for fajitas.

With my marching orders in hand, we hit the pantry and fired up the oven.
First we made the bread that WonderBoy learned to braid and let it rise

while we played in the snow.



Our masterpiece doubled in size as we chilled out in our Winter Wonderland.





We popped it in the oven when we came back in and then hit the showers.

By the time we were spic and span and jammied up, the smell of fresh baked bread wafted through the house like the call of the ancient mariner.



We couldn't get enough of it and in minutes it looked like a pack of hungry wolves had run through the butter and ravaged the loaf.

Next up, the beef fajitas.

We used a new recipe which called for marinating the beef in tequila, lime juice and lots of spices for several hours.

WonderBoy was so into it.

He got a kick out of being my sous chef for the day.

Right now he has a big interest in eating but as he assists in the kitchen I can see that little sparkle in his eye...the one that I and all my siblings had when we were young that led each of us to the joys of cooking.

Hopefully, WonderBoy will see the correlation between eating well and learning to cook.

We cooked the veggies for the fajitas and grilled the beef on our
new stovetop double burner grill pan which worked fabulously.


And voila...


The fajitas were a big hit.

JR and I kept staring at that bottle of tequila and decided to partake in a shot or two.

The kids were so intrigued as they watched us perform the salt, shot, lime ritual and insisted on then licking salt off their hands and chugging their milk in shot glasses at dinner.

Oh Boy, bet that'll go over real well in the school cafeteria!



No evening would be complete for JR and WonderBoy without a sweet treat.

My sous chef and I decided to make homemade Snickerdoodle cookies to end the meal.





We were right...they were the bomb.

3 dozen cookies didn't make it the night; furiously devoured by the natives...

including the littliest one who probably put away half a dozen herself!


What a perfect way to spend a blustery, snow day.

Winter Wonderland

Big snow hit our neck of the woods today.

BIG SNOW.

The kids had the day off from school and well,

that means the mom had the day off from work too.

I had big plans but somehow, the day had other plans for me.

I got nothing that I had planned to do, done.

What's that saying about the best laid plans?

Well, I can sum it up like this:
I defy anyone with a heart or a conscience to walk past these two rascals all decked in their snow impermeable finery, flappin' the eyelashes on those big brown eyes and not drop what they're doing to go play outside in the snow.



I put aside my to do lists and the to do lists for my to do lists and the sticky notes

attached to both lists and put on my boots.

Once I opened the garage door, I realized that I really needed to shovel before JR got home or we'd be shoveling from now until Spring.

So I let the kids play a bit while I got to work.

Good exercise I kept telling myself, either that or a great way to determine if the emergency rescue vehicles in my neighborhood were up to snuff in the snow.

Sweetie Pie really enjoyed herself for the first time.

She was out in the snow last year but she basically did her best statue impression.

This year she is so much more active and

with WonderBoy, the Energ*izer Bunny, by her side they just went to town.





This is WonderBoy after helping me (ahem, right!) shovel for one minute

only to tell me he's too tired and that shoveling is adult's work anyway (ouch, wince!)



So he got to teaching his sister how to be a Snowmelier,

otherwise known as an expert in the fine art of snow tasting.





She thought it was the best thing since, well,

since she can remember in her whole life...all 28 months of it.



I continued to shovel and groan like the old adult I am apparently becoming,

however, I couldn't help but smile when I heard these two laughing and giggling

as they sunk into the snow.

Shoveling can be a tough job but somebody's gotta do it.

Good thing my little Son Servant kept me hydrated

as he so resourcefully kept my beverage cool.



I was moments from a clean getaway when I heard them begin to chant...

snowman, snowman, snowman, SNOWMAN.

I looked around and realized that they were looking at me.

I began making lame excuses why we couldn't make one.

None of my excuses even remotely made sense so I did the only thing I could do;

I turned myself in and succombed.



He's cute, isn't he?

I think he looks more baby seal than he does snowman.

The kids were just tickled pink over him.

After all, (I said as I got to whipping up our snowman, singlehandedly, in seconds flat as they stood by and watched)

its not quantity that matters in life...its quality.



They bought it...all of it... hook, line and sinker.
I still got it.

I was thinking as we headed inside; wet, cold, pink cheeked and exhausted...

I sure do miss being a little girl playing for hours in the snow with my own dear brother.

And then I looked at my children in front of me and was reminded that I wouldn't change being Mommy to these two for anything...even if it means I have to be the adult (sometimes!)