January 12: Snow!

We finally got our first snowfall of the season. Not much snow, just a couple of inches. I'm not a big fan of snow. When I was teaching, I loved it if it was enough to get school cancelled. Now, without the hope of a cancelled school day, I just don't see any reason go get excited about snow. It's cold and messy. And did I mention cold??

However, I'm trying not to let my bah-humbug attitude about snow rub off on Audrey. Just because I want to hibernate all winter doesn't mean that she should want to do the same. She was pretty excited when I told her to open the door this morning and look outside. "Snow!" she said. "Mom, where is my sleigh? I need my sleigh!"

Daniel had a lunch meeting and practice at church tonight. So the girls and I were on our own from about the time they woke up to the time they went to bed. I didn't feel like going anywhere in the cold, windy weather either, and I knew it was going to be a long day at home. To help the time pass more quickly, I tried to come up with a bunch of activities to keep us busy today. We also stayed in our pajamas all day, because that is what you are supposed to do on cold snowy days at home!
It seemed like a good day for baking. So while Isla was napping this morning, Audrey and I made muffins. It is always a slower and messier process when Audrey helps bake, but she loves it so I usually let her help. Today we made these Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal muffins. I wish I would have made a double batch, because we have been eating them up all day long!
There was no way that I was going outside to play in the snow...way too cold and windy for that. So instead, I brought some big bowls of snow inside to make snowmen. We tried this two years ago, and Audrey was not a fan of touching the cold snow. She has grown up and toughened up a little. Today she helped me get big handfuls of snow and pat it into balls, and she even thought it was fun too!

The only problem was we took too long making our snowman. By the time we were ready to decorate him, the snow was melting and he quickly started to look deformed. This alien looking snowman was the best we could make today.
We also made snow ice cream. I think we tried this last year, and it just wasn't very good. Audrey wouldn't eat it. I think my ice cream this year was a better ratio of snow/milk/sugar. And with the addition of fresh strawberries, it was actually quite delicious!