The Snowy Day

Well, last Thursday was quite exciting here in North Texas! We had more snowfall ever recorded at DFW! The official measurement was 12.5 inches but I think we had around 13 or more here. As exciting as the snow was, it only added to the excitement of our day!

Jack had his school Valentine's Day party on Thursday morning. Caroline and I dropped him off at school, ran a couple of errands and headed home for a bit before heading to the party. On the way we picked up 20 Happy Meals from McDonald's. My car still smells a little like a french fry! The kids had a blast at the party. Caroline just loved being with all the big kids. She followed her brother around and did everything he did. They had lunch together, decorated cookies together, did art together, and played bingo together. So fun! I decided just to bring Jack home after the party rather then wait till school was out. I didn't want to venture out into the snow again if I didn't have to. After the party we made the trek to the car.

While we were still in the building we were walking behind a mom, Rachel, and three young girls. She was remarking about what a mess this weather was and how much of a pain it was going to be to trudge to the car in the snow and slush with three little ones in tow. I suggested I wait inside with her kids while she got her car if she'd do the same for me. She thought it was a great idea. After she'd retrieved her car it was my turn. I walked through the blizzard - this may be a bit of an exaggeration but it was a blizzard for us here in Texas - to my car. Hop in, key in ignition, turn the key... nothing. Just click, click... nothing. Lovely. Dead battery. Cold, wet, and embarrassed and a little PO'ed I slosh back inside to tell Rachel "Thanks for watching my kids. My car's dead and we'll just live at the church till we can dig our way out and walk home tomorrow" A little defeatist attitude? Yes.

Well, THANK GOD FOR RACHEL!!! She piled my munchkins in her car, popped in a movie and drove over to my cold, dead mom-bus. Another kind lady in the parking lot lent us her cables and we hooked up and got to charging my battery in the hopes that a jump start would do the trick.

As an aside... I do keep jumper cables in my car. Unfortunately, I hadn't thought the location of my cables completely through. They were under my third row seat, which was folded down, and cannot be unfolded unless you have power! Not. Smart.

Anyway...

The jump didn't work. We sat in the parking lot for about 30 minutes and tried it... nothing. Bummer. Time for plan C, or D, or Z. We took the kids seats out of my car and put them in Rachel's so she could drive us home. Did I mention Rachel is awesome?! Thankfully, our house is just a few blocks from hers. Amazing how God puts the right people in the right places, huh?

So, as we're moving the seats over, Rachel says, nonchalantly, "Jack just threw up in my car. It's no big deal". I get to her car with the seat and she's cleaning it up like he's her own child. Wow. Apparently, Jack was sharing Valentine candy with the girls in the back of the car and decided, against his better judgment, to eat a peanut M&M. Not smart when you're allergic. So, he threw it up. Fantastic.

Well, we made it home safely. Jason had to leave work early to change my battery in the blizzard. What a man I have! I am soooo thankful for him and that he knows his way around a car. I'm so glad it wasn't me freezing my tush off under the hood! He did make a point to take some time and play in the snow with us, though. We built a snowman and threw a few snowballs. SO. MUCH. FUN.

On Friday morning we woke up to a winter wonderland outside. Unfortunately, we also woke up to a broken power line in our backyard. So, we called 911 and the police and fire department came, all before 7:30am. The kids were uber excited! We've got electricity but have been operating on diminished power since then. Oncor hasn't made it out to fix the hot wire dangling over our driveway. They said they'd have it done by Tuesday... well, it's Wednesday. So, we're surviving. The only real inconvenience, other than the danger, is our inability to use our microwave and garbage disposal. It's just annoying, really. How am I surviving not being able to use the microwave, you ask...

I'm cooking my chicken nuggets in (GASP!) the oven. Old school.