Snow Day!

We finally got a snow day on March 5th! How crazy! On Friday we were released 2 hours early from school due to severe weather/tornadoes. Several touched down in our state but thankfully not in our area. We were in our basement waiting out the storms but praise the Lord we are safe!  Today we have 5 inches of snow on the ground. So exciting!! The boys and I went out and played in the snow. We went sledding, painted the snow with colored water in squirt bottles, and had fun!

Wilson isn't feeling good and Ty wasn't so sure he liked the snow so we didn't stay out too long. I had fun sledding too!

 Ty all bundled up.

Luke ready to sled.

 Wilson, Caroline, & Madelyn...none looking at camera!

I updated the chicken tortilla soup recipe here...apparently I didn't know what an anaheim pepper looked like!

I updated the 20 in 2012 post here.

Snow Day #7

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Snow Day #6

Friday we had another snow day. We got a lot of snow Thursday afternoon/evening and even had a 2 hour early dismissal. The boys and I hung out at home most of the day. I did some cleaning & laundry, rented them a movie, we did homework/reading, and then met my parents for dinner. Later that evening I went to a friend's house for game night. It was so fun! Andy heard on the news that over this wintry season we have had 21 inches of snow. How crazy is that?!

Snow Days 4 & 5

Yep. You read that right. We are up to 5 snow days already. Craziness. That makes us going to school until June 1st. It's only January 12th so I guess we could end up with even more snow days. Yesterday and today have been pretty laid back. Snow days make me kind of lazy. Here's what we've been up to:
* copied and stuffed my report cards
* lunch at chick-fil*a and playland time
* made a new recipe for dinner that we didn't care for but ate anyway
* read a lot of Mockingjay (book #3 in the Hunger Games trilogy)
* finished Luke's b-day shopping
* 1/2 price lunch at Saul*Good with some teacher friends
* made my subplans for tomorrow because I have a PD day
* little bit of laundry and cleaning up
* the boys played the wii, went to my mom's today for a few hours, Wilson shoveled, they played outside, and built a fort and at times acted crazy!

All I want to do is go take a nap. But trying to fight it so I can get to bed on time for school tomorrow. I'm hoping we're on schedule - but we have enjoyed our time at home!

Snow Day #2 & #3

More like Ice Day...we slept in which was a great start! I got a text at 4am saying school was out via Twitter. This morning we took it easy and watched The Santa Clause movie. The boys really enjoyed the movie and snuggling with mommy and daddy. We went to Chick*fil*a for lunch and let the boys play to get some energy out. Then I spent most of the afternoon making caramel corn in case we had school. Three big batches...and now there is no school tomorrow where we were going to deliver 9 bags among Wilson and Luke's teachers. Hmmm...
Andy went and finished some Christmas shopping for us. Then tonight we went to my mom and dad's house for dinner. It was nice to hang out with them and have a change of scenery for the boys! I kind of wish we had school tomorrow - I can't believe we've had so many snow days and it is only December. Tomorrow makes day #3. Crazy! But we're going to enjoy it! I need to do some cleaning and go work at school for a little while so I am ready for January 3rd. Boy does that sound crazy!

Snow Day #1

Monday we had our first snow day. I was actually pretty excited! It gave me a chance to catch up on things. I did laundry, wrapped gifts, and spent a lot of time in the kitchen. We ran a couple of errands to get teacher gifts and groceries. Wilson played in the snow for a little while but it was so cold. We have borrowed my mom's Wii so they had fun playing that too. I made cake balls and cake pops. Andy and I had fun decorating the cake pops. If you aren't familiar with cake pops, check out Bakerella's website. I took a small tin to school for our Helping Hands auction we have every year. Then I made pepperoni rolls and broccoli/potato/cheddar soup. We had a great day!

Tyler thinks cake pops are the best thing ever! But he only wants the ones covered in sprinkles...

NO MORE snow days!!

This is CRAZY people! I feel like I haven't taught in forever. I love a snow day here or there but this is too many! Once we hit June for makeup days I was OVER the snow. I've enjoyed my time off and spent quality time with my family but I'm ready to go back to work. Over this 5-day weekend we've tried to stay somewhat busy. Thankfully Tyler is down for a nap and W & L went outside to play in the snow. I'm starting to lose my sanity!! Here are some of the things we have done:
* Friday night we went out for pizza at Puccini's. One of my favorites! Then watched some Olympics.
* visited with Andy's mom who was in town for the weekend
* did some cleaning and laundry...until my dryer stopped last night. With wet clothes in it.
* date night with Andy- dinner and movie - it was so nice to be out on a date with my hubby!!
* church
* hung out at my mom's
* Gattitown with Andy's family
* grocery, errands etc
* coffee with some friends
* couple hours at school
* a foam mosaic craft with the boys - I had as much fun as they did!
* watched Couple's Retreat and the olympics
* stayed up too late, slept in a couple of days
* tried a new recipe
* lots of time on facebook & google reader
* worked on stuff for taxes b/c Andy is doing them right now
*exercised for my 30 day shred 3 times
* tried to figure out twitter - I have an account, not sure if I'll actually do it very often! @alyssamcspadden if you want to follow...you know my life is SO exciting!!!

An enjoyable snow day!

So my phone woke me up around 3-something-am telling me school was out! We had a very relaxing day. We did meet up with Danny, Steph, Daniel and the cousins for Den*ny's free breakfast. It was busy but we didn't get there until a little before 10 I think. Our family all ate for $2.50 + tip! Crazy. It was a huge plate of food. I ate about 1/2 of mine. Tyler's eyes got big when they set the plate in front of him. He should have just share with me like he usually does! It was pretty good. Reminded me of my bandie days when we would go to Den*ny's after football games. Fun times! I did notice that they had remodeled in the 11 years that have passed since my bandie days...time flies!

The big boys went to play with their cousins and Tyler needed a nap so I went to school and got quite a bit done. I brought home more stuff to work on for tomorrow just in case we have another snow day...and we do! I'll be ok as long as we don't have too many more - don't want to go into June.

Tonight I worked on some more school work and did my exercise video. I am really trying to Shred 5 days a week. I met my goal last week. Yea! Maybe tomorrow I'll be motivated to get some stuff done around the house. We're going to make Valentine cookies with my mom and the other cousins tomorrow morning. That will be fun!

The best part of knowing we have a snow day the night before means that I don't have to make my lunch, pick out my clothes, set the coffee maker, check Wilson's backpack, and fill my water bottle! The little things :)

It IS still winter, right??!!

It is January. It is cold. We have 6 inches of snow on the ground according to the local news. Then why is it nearly impossible to find snow boots and ski pants anywhere? We went to 5+ stores looking for something for Wilson and Luke today. We found plenty of spring clothes and shoes. But yeah, that's not what we need in the middle of a winter weekend!! I looked after the last snow storm we had at Wal*mart and couldn't find anything then. But I hated that the boys came in from playing in the snow wet and cold. They wanted to play outside today so we tried to find something. The only luck I had was at Dick's*Sporting*Goods - a pair of ski bibs for Wilson. I just got done ordering on Lands*End for Luke. I found on clearance snow boots and ski pants. I bought all of these a little big so they will fit next year. I thought I should go ahead and order from LE while they were on clearance. Not going to be unprepared anymore, especially now that the boys are bigger and will always play in the snow when we get it! Plus with 3 boys, we'll be covered for Tyler too!

Happy Birthday Wilson!

Today was Wilson's 6th Birthday! He had a great day! We woke up to a snow day - he was thrilled! He had prayed for a snow day last night. I went and got pumpkin muffies from Pan*era for breakfast. He loves those! Then in the afternoon Andy took the boys outside to shovel and sled. He got a birthday card in the mail and lots of birthday phone calls today. He chose pancakes, eggs, and sausage for dinner. Then my parents came over for birthday dessert (Mountain Mama Mudslide). My mom took his cupcakes home to freeze so he can take them to school next week. We have another snow day tomorrow. He opened his present before 7am today. He just HAD to open it! We got him the new LEGO fireboat. He was thrilled and built it right away. He said this was the best birthday ever! His birthday party with his friends is on Saturday afternoon. He is looking forward to a GI JOE party!

Snow Day #8

I think I'm in the minority when I say I've been enjoying all these snow days. I'll dread school in June, that's for sure. But with 3 young boys at home, any day I can be home with them is worth it to me! Especially now while Ty is still so young. So I'm going out on a limb, and saying I've loved the 8 snow days we've had. I've gotten to spend a lot of time with Wilson, Luke and Ty. It's almost seemed like I'm a stay at home mom! It's been great. Another perk is I've gotten more rest. I'm still feeding Ty 1-2 times a night and that really hurts my sleep. So getting to go back to bed on snow days is keeping me going. I even took a little nap today. I'll admit, Monday and Tuesday I missed my boys like crazy after having been home with them all last week. Today was a nice catch up day for me- I caught up on some sleep and some housework. And spent some quality time with my boys. I'll not think about June right now!

Snow Days 6 & 7

Yesterday we went over to Cara's house to hang out. We got there around 11:30 and stayed until 5pm! The kids went sledding on her driveway. We ate lunch and played the Wii. The kids also watched a movie and played. It was fun and nice to get out of our house. Today we went to the mall for a couple hours and walked around. The boys played and we ate lunch. It was nice to get out again. Everything is starting to melt because the sun is shining. I've been pretty lazy during these 5 snow days. Havne't done much. Not necessarily proud of the list but here's what I've done:
-caught up on Grey's (1 episode)
-almost caught up on Desparate Housewives (2 down, 1 to go)
- spent a lot of time on the internet- Google Reader, Facebook, email
- watched several episodes of Friends
- Slept in 2 days
- taken 1 nap
- made dinner every night except Wednesday
- cleaned the highchair
- played/hung out with the boys
- made waffles 2 mornings and egg sandwiches 1 morning
- took a walk on Monday before all the ice. Sorry team, that's the only day I hit 10,000 steps :(
- played Wii bowling, tennis, and guitar hero
- walked around the mall
-talked to my mom on the phone
- a little Mary kay work
-finished a book

Snow Day #5

Not much to say! The boys went sledding and had a great time. Last night we were eager to get out of the house so at the last minute we called my mom and dad and met up at Chili's. It was fun! I hadn't been out of the house since Monday so last night was nice. We're heading over to Cara's to sled on their driveway and eat lunch together in a couple hours. Think there will be school tomorrow?!?!

Snow Day #4 = Ice

Another day at home with my boys makes me a happy camper - though I'm trying not to think about May or June right now. There's nothing I can do about that! Today we were homebound due to the ice covering everything. We all took a nap except Wilson- I fell asleep with Ty on the couch and Wilson was in there playing. We did some cleaning, lots of playing, and I did some Mary Kay bookkeeping. I gave all the boys a bath and Andy's been doing some laundry. I've been on Facebook a lot reading everybody's 25 things. If you're not on FB check it out! It's a great way to reconnect with friends and to stay abreast of what's happening in their lives.

My nose is doing well! Not as sore today. I'm taking good care of it with my H2Ocean spray. It's a piercing aftercare spray. I'm to use it 3-5 times a day. I just spray the piercing and the swab around it with a q-tip. It's sterile purified ocean salt water.

Today I tried a crockpot recipe from a friend at school, Laura. It was SO good! The best part was how easy it was! I'm going to post it below. We had Jiffy corn muffins with it and I made some of Cara's famous guacamole for me. Too bad no one else in my family will touch the stuff! This recipe will be made again!!

Crockpot Mexican Chili

2 frozen chicken breasts - I buy Market Day ChicNSteakes - they can change your life!!!
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 jar salsa - My fave: Garden Fresh Gourment from Meijer - Jack's Special Mild Salsa
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder

Put frozen chicken breasts in crockpot. Dump other ingredients in and stir. Cook on high 5 hours. Mine was on high for about 2 hours then I turned it to low. At the end of the 5 hours the chicken was falling apart. Take two forks and shred the chicken on a cutting board. Place shredded chicken back in crockpot and stir. I served this in a bowl with shredded mexican cheese on top. You could add sour cream or green onions too. Serve with cornbread or tortilla chips.

Stay tuned for Snow Day #5 tomorrow!! When will we ever return to school?!

Snow Day #3

Why we didn't have a delay...I'll never know! But I am enjoying my snow day. Crawled right back into bed and slept until 7:30. Got up with Luke and fed Ty. He loves his cereal! Then Luke and I made waffles. Hung out in my jammies until 11! Then, my mom and Terry came and got me and we went to get my nose pierced. See the pics and be glad I didn't put the scary one up! Now we're getting ready to go on a walk so I can get some steps in for school. Not sure what I'm talking about? Read here, here, or here.

"Snow" Day #2

Yippee! Yesterday before I even left school for the afternoon I found out we were out of school today due to freezing cold temperatures! Boy, were they right. This morning the air temperature was -2. So glad I wasn't up and leaving the house before 7am. Today I'm not sure what we'll get into. Last night I went to bed early and got to sleep until 7:15. It was nice. Though I wish I could have slept longer! The boys wanted to paint so after breakfast they sat at the dining room table and Wilson did paint by number (still working on number recognition, he did VERY well with 1-10!!) and Luke just painted with his water colors. While they painted I did school work for a little over an hour and got several things accomplished! I also made myself a yummy breakfast. Ready? It was a plain Mini bagel with egg, american cheese, pickle, and miracle whip. That was the classic breakfast sandwich my sister and her friend used to make when they were in highschool (but then it also had bacon). It is surprisingly delicious with the pickle! We always had it on toast but today I used a mini bagel because I no longer use a toaster. I cleared it off the counter for my new KitchenAid Stand Mixer!! We're all looking forward to the rest of the day!

Snow Day #1

It's me! No fancy shmancy writing today like all those big vocabulary words by sweet, intelligent husband uses. I teach second grade ya'll, our writing is more elementary! Just kidding, I loved his post and he was correct in why I wanted him to guest post. I told him I've never seen the word poop so many times in one paragraph. Anyway! Had to tell you about our fabulous snow day!

I got my text that we were out of school around 4:15am. So I rolled over and went back to sleep. Was up at 5 to feed Ty and then turned off both alarms. After I fed Ty I went back to sleep and Andy let me sleep in until 8:30! It was wonderful. Today was spent in the kitchen. Pretty much all day- cleaning the kitchen, baking, cleaning, baking, etc. I made two batches of caramel corn today which takes for.ev.er. Then I made Peanut Butter Crispy Bars because it was a recipe I was wanting to try- yum! That one also took a long time because it has three layers and needs 2hours of cooling total. I had to use a candy thermometer for those and that was fun! Andy bought me one at Walmart today because I'd never needed one before. The teacher gifts are ready and the caramel corn for snack day at school is ready. After so much time in the kitchen today I didn't feel like making dinner. So I called Puccini's and order to Chicken Bada Bing Calzones. Yum. You should try one. They are delicious. We had salad with them and Andy picked up a frozen pizza for the boys. I never left the house today. That was kind of nice! I've really enjoyed being home with Ty - he has another cold. Lots of boogers, a runny eye, and he has sneezed several times. Poor thing. So I was glad to be home to take care of him. The big boys helped in the kitchen and drove us crazy today! So when Andy went grocery shopping I reserved Horton Hears a Who from Redbox and he picked that up. They were quiet and content during the movie with popcorn and hot chocolate. That gave us the break we needed! Luke talks SO much. It's nonstop. And he repeats himself over and over and over until you respond! Sweet but some days it's too much! Andy picked up our Christmas cards at Wal-mart and those are almost ready to go out. I've been able to cross several things off my list. I really this snowday to stay caught up. Though the house is a mess and I still have to make Cowboy Caviar for my small group Christmas Party and I still need to make homemade Peanut Butter patties. I'll post the recipes if anyone wants them!

Update

We told the boys about the baby last night and both are very excited! Wilson had LOTS of questions and went back and forth between hoping for a sister or another brother. He said the baby can sleep in his room. He really wanted to know how the baby would come out! He asked Daddy if it would hatch from an egg! This morning he asked me if my belly had grown more overnight. Thankfully, I could say no! I showed them pictures of what the baby looks like now and how small it is etc. Then we looked at ultra sound pictures from each of them. They were very interested and this morning Luke wanted to look at more baby stuff.

Today is my SIL's birthday, Happy Birthday Stephanie! We went to a surprise party for her last night which was lots of fun.

Yesterday, Andy and the boys went sledding with Uncle Mac, Aunt Stephanie, and their cousins. We'll get some pics posted soon. They had a great time! I stayed home and worked diligently on my National Board entry (#3) which is completely drafted! I emailed it to my mentor and to Jenn so they can help me revise. One more to go!

Snow Day #6

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Snow Day #5/Weekend Update

Well we got out of school early on Thursday due to ice and had a snow day on Friday. Not sure why, it seemed all the ice had already melted to me. Anyway, I enjoyed my day at home with the boys because I was leaving Friday night for a small group retreat. So, on Friday we just hung out around the house and went to eat lunch at CFA. After eating we let the boys play. Wilson was being very brave, climbing all the way up the playland and sliding down, so Luke wanted to go up too. He couldn't climb the tower to get up so Wilson would put his hands on Luke's bottom and push him up. Sometimes one-handed! It was so sweet to see Wilson taking care of Luke. They probably climbed up together 5 times or so. It was cute.
Friday night I left with my small group for a 1 night retreat. It was hard to leave, Wilson was screaming, but easier since I had been home all day. The retreat was wonderful. We sang praise songs, had quiet time, roasted marshmallows in the fireplace, talked, and played games. It was great! A much needed re-centering. Then I was home Saturday by mid afternoon to hang with the fam.
About to start another week, hopefully a 5-day week. It will be easy for me, it is my student teacher's solo week. I will be stationed in the hallway, writing my next National Board entry. I have a little revising on the 2nd one to finish up as well. I want to have the 3rd one written, revised, and packed for shipping by the end of next weekend. Then I'll only have one more entry. I have 37 days until it must be postmarked...PRAY!