Wordless Wednesday: 2013 Blizzard

A few pictures from last weekend's blizzard. Have I mentioned how much I hate snow?

Not sure what our final total was, but it is somewhere between 18 - 24 inches.

Our back deck was one large snow drift, over 2 feet high.

Just a little bit of snow blocking the front door.

How much snow did you get?

October 2011 Snowstorm Hits Connecticut

As I am sure every one has seen, the Northeast was crippled by a huge snowstorm over the weekend. Over in our part of Connecticut, it started around 12:30 pm on Saturday, October 29 and we quickly realized that the snow was piling up fast. My husband had taken my son to a birthday party just 15 minutes away. When they left the party to return home, it took them an hour to get back. The roads were a mess and since we live on top of a mountain, that made it even more difficult.

We lost power Saturday night just after 8:00 pm. When we woke up Sunday morning, the beautiful blue sky gave no indication of what happened the day before. There was about 18 inches of snow covering the ground. Our road was still not plowed which we later learned was because there were trees down at the entrance blocking it. A man that lived on the main road was nice enough to come out and cut the tree up himself, so people on our street could try to get out and plows could get in. One of our neighbors had a tree land on their house and come crashing in through their kitchen window.

We were fortunate that our house wasn't damaged. But with no alternative heat source, I packed up the kids and headed out to my mother-in-law's while hubby stayed behind to keep an eye on the house. We turned off our street and were greeted with downed trees and power lines one after another.

Here are some pictures from about maybe 3 or 4 hours into the storm. I should have taken pictures of the aftermath, but I was freaking out trying to get clothes and food packed to leave.

My two favorite trees in our yard. A Dogwood on the left and a Japanese Maple on the right. The next morning all the branches were touching the ground from the weight of the snow. A big section snapped off of the Japanese Maple. Hubby shook the snow off to relieve the weight but I don't know if they will recover.

Snow covered trees in our backyard. One did lose a huge branch in the storm, but luckily it fell in the grass and not on the house.

Just a few hours in, about 3 inches of snow covers our back deck.

Our front yard during the storm. At this point the snowflakes were huge. The tree that is slightly leaning to the left had 3 huge branches snap, but they didn't fall off. They are just dangling from the tree, so we'll need to find a way to get them down. I worry about them falling on someone.

As soon as the first snowflake felt, the boys were asking to go out and play in the snow. This was at about 4:00pm on Saturday. This was the little man's first time playing in the snow and he went crazy for it.

It looks so pretty, but to me snow is is pure evil. What started out pretty ended in disaster for so many people. As I sit here and write this on Tuesday morning, the power is still out and Connecticut Light & Power is not giving anyone an estimate of when their power will be back. I would just like to know when thy think it will be back so I know how long I will be away from home. Schools were closed in our town for Monday and Tuesday. I am willing to bet that with 48% of town still without power, that they will be closed on Wednesday as well. Between this storm and Irene, the kids are going to already have extra days added onto the school year. And it isn't even Winter yet.

I am thankful for wonderful family who took us in on short notice. It is not like I come with just one or two kids. There are four of them and we quickly take over any house we are at. And despite it all, they had a wonderful time trick-or-treating with all of their cousins last night. Which is at least one bright spot in this pretty crummy week.

Were you in this storm's path? How did you make out? Did you lose power?

How Do You Keep Your Kids Active In The Winter?

Here in New England we have had an insane amount of snow this winter. INSANE. You may have seen some of my Wordless Wednesday posts showcasing over 3 feet of snow. I lost track of how many snowstorms we had between Christmas and the end of January, but it was out of control and a state record. I don't like the cold and I don't like the snow. But what I like least of all is being trapped inside the house with 4 rambunctious boys all winter long.

Yes we went out and played in the snow a lot, when my little guy was napping. But he is still too young for me to bring him out there, so we only went out in short increments. They will run around for a bit inside and play with their toys, but this gets boring quickly or eventually leads to fighting and someone hurting someone else. I even started letting the twins play Wii with their big brother, figuring it was some activity and better than just sitting on their bums all day. Bu these are not enough, we need more options.

Some of the snow has started to melt, thankfully. But we still have a good foot on the ground and unfortunately, it has turned into a solid sheet of ice. So no more playing on that. I am out of ideas. I've thought about bringing them to an indoor play space, there are plenty around here, but those cost money and I have 4 kids.

So I need your help. If you live in an area with cold, snow filled winters, what do you to keep the kids busy and active till it thaws outside? Do you have fun indoor activities that they like to do? Are there days when your throw them in the car and take them to the mall just to get them out of the house? How do you survive the winter?

Wordless Wednesday: Where's My Deck?

I swear it is under there somewhere! Oh and the huge lump is our table and chairs.

Have I mentioned that I HATE winter and snow?