Getting To School

After 19+ inches of snow on Sunday and a day of clearing away yesterday, the kids returned to school today.  Our journey to school began with a 30 minute wait for the bus.  We spent half of it waiting inside, but when I called the bus company for an ETA we went out when the bus should have arrived. She had gotten stuck on a side street (some are still being cleared) and was running late.  However, the ETA was inaccurate, too.  The rest of the week, we'll fully wait inside and Hummingbird's bus driver will stop and wait for her and the other kids to come out of the house.

Since she was so late getting off, Bumble Bee was left inside to get herself ready.  She is no where near as busy as a real bee.  So, I returned about 5 minutes before we should have left to find her still undressed and needing to brush her teeth.  Luckily, I had packed both lunches last night.  I hurried her along and we headed out about 5 minutes later than I intended.

As we set out, I told her we would look for the clearest paths to take for speediness-sake.  With that we headed straight north because the hospital in that direction is always perfectly plowed.  A block later, we should have turned, but Bumble Bee wanted to walk past our favorite statue of Saint Aloysius.   Despite running late, I had to take a quick snap shot.  The girls like to visit the Saint in the summer when he's surrounded by flowers and the fountain at his foot is flowing.  I usually sit on a bench, while they dip their fingers in the fountain (a few kids even fell in when they were toddlers -- super funny!).  Today, snow covered everything.  Only the tops of the bench backs showed a wee bit.

After that brief stop, we hurried along our way sticking to the sidewalks that were best cleared, heading past the library, then... what's that?  Is that the TARDIS on someone's balcony?  Really, I've never seen this boxy blue structure before, and we pass this way on a regular basis.  Late or not, I had to stop for one more photo.

We continued down mostly clear sidewalks until Bumble Bee asked if we could take the street that's "not quite an alley." This street is still a brick street that sits aside what used to be raised train tracks but is currently being transformed into an urban trail for pedestrians and cyclists. "Oh, okay," I agreed.  We were practically to school so one mess block would be fine.  As we approached I spied a garbage truck that was blocking the street and making no signs of moving.  Stuck... in the way?  Nope, there's enough space for us to squeeze by.  So, we did.  The single sidewalk was pristine, white snow.  The street itself showed sings of foot traffic and automobiles.  A second garbage truck idling, stuck against the trail wall illustrated the utter futility of trying to pass this street by car! (After 2 hours the second truck had been freed, but not the first.)

Only about 5 minutes late, we walked into the warm school and parted ways.  I headed off to reward myself with coffee and a donut while I killed some time (I had to return to help with lunch, but it takes too long to walk to school, back, out, and back again).  Everything seemed pretty ordinary as I made my way to the donut shop, until I caught sight of a pirate snowman.  If he didn't look so threatening, I might have been tempted to steal his peanut butter cup hat!  It would have been so yummy frozen...

We try to vary our walk to school to make it more exciting.  Today was certainly the most entertaining walk this year.

Glad School Will Be Open Tomorrow

Two kids, 18 inches of snow, and a mother who is wishing there were a way to send them to school.  We cleaned their room this morning.  It's been needing it for weeks, and I started it Friday before we got distracted with other activities.  After cleaning, they were ready to romp in the snow.   Our back stairs were a hill of snow.  What's the best way to get down snow covered stairs?  Shovel and walk?  Stay up and don't bother?  No.  The best way is to SLIDE!  And that's just what they did.  Once they were dow, I grabbed the shovel and began to clear.  You can now step out our back door and get down the steps, but don't thing about using the rest of the deck.

After 30 short minutes, the kids had had enough of the snow.  They were ready to come in for hot chocolate and change into cozy pjs (at the late, late hour of 11:30 AM!).

"You two stop bickering!"

I did not yell it this time.  I'm usually the one, but this time it was Hummingbird chastising Bumble Bee and our neighbor.  The two of them were arguing over a snowball fight gone awry.  I held my tongue this time, but I thought, Like mother, like daughter.  She should remember how she felt just now when she next wants to argue with her sister.

As the sidewalks and streets are slowly being cleared, I think we are all ready for school to reopen tomorrow.  One snow day is plenty enough for us!

But if the snow sticks around, I'm already planning for some snowshoeing at Northerly Island this weekend!

Deja Vu

Four years ago today we were having fun watching snow fall and build until the kids were chest deep.   They are taller now, but we are again watching the snow fall and the wind blow.  As the afternoon wears on we'll be seeing more and more blizzard conditions.

The kids have more mixed feelings, and the weather has made for a somewhat crazy day.  I agreed to let Hummingbird sleepover at a friend's house last night before we knew this was coming.  At a quarter to ten, I considered going to pick her up.  I was lazy, though, and thought I would let her skip church and pick her up in the afternoon "after streets and san had a chance to clear the roads."  That didn't happen.  At 4AM our weather radio woke me up to tell me we were under blizzard warning through tonight, and that the weather would get worse as the day wore on.

By 7:10 buses were running 25 minutes apart, and it was clear I would need to drive DH to the train for work.  I decided to pick up Hummingbird then because I was already part of the way to her.  So, when I got to her 20 minutes after dropping DH off, I realized I left my house keys in another coat pocket!  So, I had to drive downtown to get DH's.  I discovered that the weather was bad enough that streets and san was already falling behind.  Our usually pristine major thorough fares were not pristine.  The interstate was also not great.  We made it home safely, though, with only a wee bit of sliding around.  A friend texted to ask me to cover the candle desk at church, and our Sunday school director texted to say she was afraid she wouldn't make it out of her alley.  So, when we got home at 8:45, I still had to get ready, but I had no time.  That meant no shower!  I brushed my hair and pulled it back with a headband, brushed my teeth, got dressed, and we headed out.  I felt I should warn everyone and stand back a bit, but apparently I don't smell too bad after one day.  That's a relief.

The kids moaned as we walked to church in the driving snow, but I was not going to pull my car out again.  We did cut through the tunnel in a hospital parking lot and then cut through the hospital. That helped some, but when we arrived our snow boots had not worked fully and we all had to shake snow out.  Probably the saddest part of the day was having to postpone a pre-release party for Catherine's Pascha, a new book by Charlotte Riggle.  Very few kids showed up to church and many people left quickly at the end.  We'll get to do the party as part of our Lenten Retreat, though, and it will fit in well.  Bumble Bee can't wait; she has been reading the book since it arrived.

Despite the difficulties presented by the weather, Bumble Bee is completely enjoying herself.  She has been jumping on the snow, throwing snow balls, planning a snowman, and hoping for the day off tomorrow.  They just had to make up a day for the missed school days early last month.  I guess if they get out tomorrow, we'll lose President's day in a couple of weeks, or add yet another day at the end of the year.  I want year-round school.  Sleeping in through more of the winter would be a welcome trade for a few weeks less in the summer!  Plus, not only would it prevent a scramble for "emergency" childcare, but it would prevent some of the "summer learning slide" we hear so much about these days.  For a place like Chicago, it's really the way to go!

Oh well, that's my rambling rant.  Time to make hot chocolate and put on a good, winter movie.

Creativity Jar

I just put together a Creativity Jar.  It's a mason jar filled with small craft items: pipe cleaner, clothes pin, fabric squares, ribbon, puff balls, stickers, beads, craft sticks, rubber bands, etc.  It is meant to spark kids' imagination and encourage them to be inentive and create art or other things.  This one will be part of a Christmas present for an 8 year old girl.  Hummingbird designed the label; it might change.

I'm wondering if it's something people would buy something like this and if so how much one would be willing to pay.  I would love your input.