Blizzard 2010

Didn't someone once say, "Parenting is two percent inspiration and 98 percent exasperation"? Okay, well, if no one ever said it before, I'm saying it now. Maybe not exasperation, but on a good day, it's at least 98 percent exhaustion.

This weekend, we in the DC metro area and many other places, are enduring the Blizzard of 2010. It's the second blizzard to have hit this area in 6 weeks, and it's a doozy. We keep hearing such statistics as "We are now hitting our all-time record for most snow in a season," and "This is the fourth biggest snow in DC history." And it's barely February!

Our experience with this snow storm officially started on Thursday evening when I had to go to Whole Foods with all the other last-minute shoppers and make sure that we had enough supplies to last the few days of what they're calling "Snowpocalypse." I knew it would be pretty busy, but as soon as I finally got the minivan inside the parking garage, I was overwhelmed with this energy that I can only describe as desperate fluster. Not me, of course. I was happy to just be out of the house, mind you. But everywhere I looked there were harried expressions and racing grocery carts and food flying off of shelves. It was as if all these people had won a shopping spree and were simultaneously racing the clock. Insane.

I'd finally made it through to the checkout line with a shopping cart full of slow-cook items (chicken soup anyone?) and junk-food items (who ever heard of sitting through a blizzard without cheese puffs?), when I heard over the loud speaker, "Attention, Whole Foods shoppers, we wanted you to know that we now have bananas." In case you're wondering, yes, the song "We Have no Bananas Today" also entered my mind. If you weren't wondering, please disregard my latest admission of dorkiness. Anyway, so, we heard the announcement, and you would have thought that the shopping spree winners were now on the bonus round, searching for the golden ticket. Half the store RAN to the produce section and nearly mobbed the poor guy unloading the banana cart. Bananas for bananas (sorry, it was begging to be said).

I, too, ran for this most precious commodity, and when I made it back to my shopping cart, the guy who checked me out was just so pleasant. That's one thing that I absolutely love about Whole Foods. Say what you will about their prices (and that's a talk we can definitely have another time--I'll be more than happy to defend them), but the service is amazing. This nice young college guy asked what I'm planning to do during the storm. I sort of blanked. Charlie's ballet class will be canceled, and we'll have to stay in, but otherwise, it's not really going to be any different for me than any other Saturday. I imagine we'll play and I'll change a few diapers, breastfeed a little, cook and wash some dishes, and hang out with Paul all the while. But mostly I'll be keeping my small kids busy and happy.

The snow started around 10 Friday morning and started accumulating later on in the day and has since dumped somewhere between 20 and 24 inches here. The trees out front have lost several branches, and I'm sure that when we finally get out for a walk tomorrow, we'll see a lot more damage in the neighborhood. I'm so thankful, though, that we still have power. Many people in this area don't. And I'm so thankful that we are all together. It's so wonderful to have Paul and our little ones all under one roof while the snow piles up outside and the wind is howling. But, and I say this in the most grateful way possible, it is absolutely exhausting. In a good way. :)

We have been very, very busy today. I ventured out only once for about 4 minutes to take a few photos. Because it's 13 degrees with the wind chill factor, I was surprised at how many people I saw out there--the other crazies taking pictures, a few kids with sleds, and the poor souls responsible for dogs' potty breaks. But inside, we baked blueberry muffins from scratch, we made this fabric wreath, we made watercolor lanterns, we baked white chocolate chip cookies (also from scratch), and we played and played. And played.

No sir, parents of small children don't get to sleep in on the weekends, and we certainly don't get to watch movies all day or sip hot chocolate while we lazily watch the snowflakes drift down from a gray sky. But we DO get to bake and work on fun crafts! :) And tomorrow we'll head out to play and build another snowman. This one will be bigger, since daddy's home this time.

Our wreath:

The walkway and snow banks right outside the kitchen door:

One of the trees in the courtyard. I take a picture of this tree almost every time it snows:

Our watercolor lanterns: