Sledding

Recent sledding near my parents' house.  Vivian is reckless and doesn't even attempt to control the sled.  Sam loved the jumps someone built. It was dangerous though, since the snow was rapidly melting.

Not Going to School

It's really cold in Boston today.  It was about -9 degrees overnight with windchill and today when we woke up it was a toasty 1 degree Farenheit.  Our house is old and was built as a carriage house and has no insulation and very old windows.  Not to mention the heat doesn't consistently work at a tolerable temperature.  So waking up today was not fun.  The kids all took a long time to get out of bed, and when I walked by Sam's room, he asked, "do we have school today?"
"Yes," I said, "school today for everyone."
"Why?! It's so cold out!" he replied.  We went back and forth for a few minutes before he told me, "I'm not going to school."  I ignored it, not having time to argue in the morning.
Usually the weather is not a huge factor in Sam's life, he'll go outside in anything, so I was a little bit surprised, but then again it's super cold.  All I wanted to do was crawl back in bed.
Chris came upstairs to get Lanie dressed and I told him Sam was refusing to go to school. 
"I heard," he said. "Something about having to a dancing unit in gym?"

Ahhh....

Rough housing

Lanie and I watched the chaos of the bigger kids rough housing last night, while we relaxed after dinner.

Warming Up

Hope this trend will continue!  It's hit above freezing for the last few days and there is some melting.  In some areas you can't tell at all, but the snow mounds are slowly shrinking. 

The kids are loving being outside in the "warmer" temperatures. 

I'll find the highest point possible and balance precariously.

Playdate with one of Sam's friends.  The snow in the backyard is still feet deep as it also is the accumulation of snow from the deck and driveway.

More Snow Photos

Firefighters digging out the hydrant across the street (proactively).  Had I known it was there I would have done it a long time ago!

Mountain of snow in Cambridge at MIT.  It's the size of a small building, scale is not apparent in the photo.

Sometimes it's impossible to tell whether there is a car under the snow.  Apparently there is one in this snowbank.

My neighbor's pickup truck that hasn't been dug out in over a month.

A woman attempting to melt her ice dam with a clothes steamer.  Worth a try?

The kids in front of a snow fort outside an Arlington cafe. 

The Next Snowstorm 2015

I've lost track of the names of these storms.  They are a weekly occurrence at this point.  

It's a very bizarre cycle and seemingly never ending.  At least we hope spring is at the other end! 

This was the sidewalk walking home from dinner on
Saturday night, Valentine's Day.

This was the same sidewalk the next morning, 

looking in the opposite direction.  

That dip between the drifts was where I had previously shoveled a walkway.

The sunset driving home,  just before a commuter skied
by the passenger 

side window of my SUV 

and his skis were at the height of the window.  

The kids were aghast in the backseat.

The police blocking Broadway in Somerville, while trucks
remove the snow  banks.  It's a pretty common sight and takes
a long time to get anywhere.

A local bagel store.

My parents' house, the lamppost out front.

Christmas Preparation

Chilly (or freezing) and trying to decide
what to make of the trees and noise.

Riding the cart with the Christmas tree.

And then this happened (nothing to do with the kids.  Chris has no patience with tree stands).

Needs a little off the top, the angel is mashed, but at least the tree is vertical.

Blizzard February 2013

Thankful for making it through with power and no damage, no arrival of the baby, Chris being able to sleep last night between plowing and shoveling, and a little one who loves the snow.  Sam would still be out there now if I let him.  These were from about 10 am this morning when the snow was still falling and taken after Chris's guys had snow blowed and shoveled.  The snow was/is in drifts up to my knees where it is untouched.  We haven't made it off our property get, driving ban is still in effect and no where to go anyway.  

Chilly Day

Ahh, Boston.  Commuting today was not very fun.  The car did warm up about 5 minutes from work (20 minutes after I would have liked it to) and I had Sam with me, "Mama, it's cold," repeatedly.  Sure was.

Sled & Snow

It finally snowed a decent amount (five inches) and we pulled out the sleds, which is the first time in Sam's lifetime. (Last year we had a very mild winter & the year before he was too young).  Sam much prefers to pull the sleds, on snow or pavement, then riding in them.  I think it's about loss of control and not being able to manipulate the direction.  So we hike around the neighborhood pulling sleds.  It does make it convenient if we are stopping at a store though, we just pull the bags home on the sled (or Chris's 6 pack of beer).
                                       

                                     

March Shoveling

Our minimal snowfall this winter continues to be a great delight to Sam.  Snow shoveling is his new favorite activity.  We replaced his stolen (yes, someone stole a 1 year old's toy), shovel, and he will work with the bare inch of snow that we have.  He's actually really good at it too!

Exploring Snow

The brief time the snow was on the ground was a great time for exploring, with all of our senses!

                                       What does it feel like?

                                            What does it taste like?
(I don't usually think Sam looks like my side of the family, but I definitely see my brother in these photos.)

Snowballs

Yesterday the weather warmed up, and after Sam and I got home there was still enough daylight to be outside.  We stayed in the front of the house, where the sidewalk had been cleared, since he didn't have his boots on.  The melting snow was the perfect consistency for making snow balls, so I showed him how to make and toss them.  He was delighted with this new thing to throw.  We threw them on the sidewalk, at the fence, I tossed one at his belly, and we threw them high into the air to watch them "fall down!!"
Then a car drove by. He looked up at me mischievously, "I throw snowball car!" and pulled back his arm.
I cannot understand where that connection even came from!  Another innate "boy" thing... I swear that never would have crossed my mind!

Snowy Day

     
After the snow of last year, this winter has been relatively mild and warm.  At this time last year, we had over 42 inches of snow, most of which was still in heaps on the ground.  It was snowing about once a week.  This is the third snow this year, and the first two didn't leave anything that lasted long.  Sam was delighted with the snow earlier this week, "Sammy walk on snow!"  It took me about 5 to 10 minutes to get him into the car each time we went somewhere (like work/daycare).
Today, we have about 4 inches.  Chris is out shoveling and plowing and Sam "helped" him as we left for music class this morning.  We spent a good hour at Starbucks after class, watching plows and snowy cars, and people running into the attached Whole Foods.
Sam's observations, "oohhh!  Man run!  Man run get coffee!!!" (wonder why he would make that connection?)
"oh!  Snow plow!!!  More snow plow?  Sammy stand up (on chair), Sammy see snow plow!"
"Sammy no stand up on chair.  Sammy no fall down.  Sammy no bang head, doctor."
"Snow dirty.  Mama, snow dirty."
"Man shovel snow.  Man shovel!  I shovel.  I help!"