shiver, shiver

It's been blizzarding here since this morning, and the wind is still howling down the chimney and sending the frozen snowflakes into the side of the house with such force that it sounds like sand hitting the house. The last time I checked the weather it said to expect the storm to hang around through tomorrow morning at least, so I'll be interested to see what the morning looks like. 

Dh and dd went to work today (they work at the same place) and were sent home around noon because of the storm. The 1 hour drive home took them 7 hours. Four of those hours were spent sitting, barely moving, on a major road about 20 minutes from home. It turned out that four semi's and a half dozen cars had totally blocked the road trying (unsuccessfully!) to make it up a small hill. It took 4 hours to clear the road enough to get traffic moving again. 

The snow was a foot or so deep in town, but as Dh got closer to home the snow got much deeper. It was drifted as high as the hood of his SUV in places and he had to plow his way through. As he got closer to home the snow got much deeper, he had a hard time seeing (and staying on) the road, and almost drove into a drift alongside the road that was almost 6' tall. 

Thankfully he made it home ok, and his car didn't really get stuck until he was in our own driveway... 

Here on the home front I was sitting around making cookies, drinking hot chocolate, playing educational games, reading meaningful books, and making warm memories with my perfectly behaved children. 

Ok... maybe not. Maybe I was really trying to think of things to do to keep M and R busy and happy, while trudging out to the barn every few hours to check the animals, and trying not to worry about my oldest daughter (who is 8 months pregnant) who was stuck in traffic with dh and having contractions... which she assured me were just braxton-hicks contractions. ("Don't worry Mom, I'm not in labor...") She didn't tell me until later that she was also freezing because the heater in her van only heats well when she's driving... not idling. Everyone made it home ok though... and won't be going anywhere tomorrow! 

We did have some fun today... We played one game of Sequence, and worked on our unit study...we also finished wrapping the last of the Christmas presents! 

Unfortunately M was so unsettled by the storm that he spend hours just restlessly wandering around the house... while I followed behind him keeping him out of trouble. 

I love blizzards, but this has been a difficult one... the wind has howled all day, driving the stinging snow sidewise... none of the nice, soft, gently-falling-to the-ground kind of snow. I went out to the barn every few hours, and each time I went out the footsteps from my previous trip were already completely filled in. The snow ranges from about a foot deep (where the wind has swept it away) to a little over 3 feet, and the last couple of times I went out I had to use the fence to pull myself through the deepest drifts. (I think Granny was right when she suggested I run a rope from the house to the barn... we needed it today!) The animals are all snug and dry though... we have plenty of hay, so they'll be fine. 

Here's a couple of pictures... R, this morning, after helping me outside at the barn. 

That's snow frozen into the hair that wasn't covered by her hat!  

Here's my back door... The wind has been coming from the north (the other side of the house) but also from the east at times... right into this door (which is under a porch roof). It's blowing so hard it's stuck to the door, and we have a little mini-drift (about 12-18" tall) piled up against it.