SNOW DAY!

Ok, today was not "technically" a "snow day" but since "tornado, rain, and thunderstorm day" hasn't taken hold, we will just opt for the most well known term.  SO, a day off in the middle of the week....fabulous, right?  I know all my teacher friends live for the snow day, and honestly, after spending the ENTIRE day with my children.....I don't blame them.

4:55 am....My iPhone starts shrieking at me.  WEATHER ALERT.  A tornado watch for your area has been issued.  I stop and listen for a moment and don't hear the train coming, so I roll over for a few more minutes.

5:00 am....My husband's alarm goes off.  THIS IS A MAJOR PET PEEVE because I have to get out of bed and walk over to turn it off.  However, today it sounded as if the windows were going to pop out of the walls so I was kind of glad it went off.

5:01am....Turn on the tv and find that my phone was right and our house is smack dab in the middle of the tornado watch area.

5:02 am....TV goes off.  Now, this is a treat for us country folks with no cable.  When the wind is going 90 mph the satellite dish apparently can't get a signal from space.  Really?  So, I contemplate for a minute getting up and putting everyone in the closet but then decide that everyone will be wide awake if I do that SO, I decide against it.  Not my finest moment as a mother, but I am tired.  It is 5 am and the last thing I heard on the TV before it went off was that no tornado had been spotted.  I decide to chance it.

5:10 am....Beginning to wonder if my windows and walls are rated for these winds.  Is rain really supposed to sound like like an army of power washers on crack? 

5:15 am....I think I should go back to sleep.  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz......

5:30 am....THE CALL!!  Although I am slightly annoyed to get a call at 5:30 am, I put that aside knowing that I do not have to get my children up....no lunches, no backpacks, no pouty "my ponytail is to tight" faces.  YIIPPPPPEEE!

I proceed to go back to sleep only to wake a few hours later to rumblings in the kitchen.  My oldest two decide they are going to "help" me and clean up.  Love them....secretly hate when they help because it usually spells disaster.  Luckily, I walked in just as one was about to spray the bleach that I put in an old Windex bottle all over my granite counter tops and refrigerator (while inadvertently hitting every wall, dishcloth, and food stuff in between.)

Next is the fun part.  I remember snow days as a kid, my mom always made a big breakfast.  So, I do my version of the big breakfast....bowl of cereal, pop tart, and an apple.  Cause I'm all about the nutrition, I throw in the apple for fiber.  I am not completely oblivious to the food pyramid,  duh!

After breakfast and a couple of episodes of SpongeBob, the girls escape to their rooms to play doctor or what I like to call, "Ella, the Oldest is Going to Boss You Little One's Around for a While." While it seems like if I were the little ones I would be ready to punch her in the throat, they are laughing and enjoying themselves and I get to watch some tv and return a few emails.

At lunch time, my mother comes over to rescue me for a few hours.  A little tidying up and a few games of Crazy 8's that end in tears, and she hits the door running....who can blame her???

AFTERNOON.....this is the point in the day that the fun and happiness that were experienced at the moment of the"call" have diminished a bit.....Both the children and I are getting a bit annoyed.  We have eaten everything remotely edible in the house, we have watched the maximum level of mindless tv, and we are deciding that, although we are connected by the unbreakable bonds of family....we really don't like each other very much.  Mia has punched Sophie in the face.  Ella is screaming like a banshee and  Sophie is running around the house with her underwear on her head.  I am wondering if locking myself in the bathroom until bedtime is crossing all bounds of decent motherhood rules. 

The only thing you can do at this point is enforce the "Nap Clause".... the unwritten rule of motherhood that says that we MUST take a nap or at least lay down for 5, eerrrr...2 hours on a snow day (or really everyday that I have to stay at home with you little boogers). 

5 p.m.....Dinner time.  Now, we NEVER eat this early. I kind of think eating at this time of day reminds me of my Grandparents because they went to bed at 7:30 pm.  Plus, if I eat this early, I will be hungry again at 8:30 pm, so I usually don't do it.  Today, however, I am hoping that we will go to bed at 7:30 so I go with it. 

This day is almost over and while I do enjoy a day with my kiddos, I also realize I love my job, where I am surrounded by (mostly) adults. :)  I also gain respect for all those teachers out there who spend 7+ hours with my children a day....you are amazing.  The fact that you manage to do it AND remain sane, makes you tops in my book.

DISCLAIMER:   Just so you know, I dearly love and appreciate my 3 girls.  They are the lights of my life and I would do anything for them.  They make me happy in every imaginable way and I am so blessed to be their mom. However, if I am being honest here, they also occasionally bug the crap out of me....yep, I am "that" mom.  Nighty night!  :)