Oklahoma Blizzard

I have lived in Oklahoma my entire life.  In fact, I have lived on the same street my entire life, minus about 6 years.  Growing up, the only weather issues I remember were tornadoes.  I remember one or two really bad snow storms, but that was about it.  However, it seems in the past 3 years, we have had tornadoes, extreme fires, flooding, blizzards and earthquakes.  Very weird if you ask me. 

Since we Oklahomans are fairly new to blizzard conditions, we lose our minds a little when one occurs.  It's pretty comical.  The grocery stores get raided & everyone hunkers down to watch 24/7 local news coverage.  It's funny watching the news reporters standing in the blizzard telling us how cold & windy it is.  Allen has spent the last three winters making money clearing parking lots because we've had so much snow.  It's good money, but it's not easy work.  He basically works 24/7 without sleep or the comforts of home until everything is cleared.  And so I become 24/7 single mom trying to entertain the kids without leaving the house.  I am a homebody, but enough is enough.  Here's what the kids & I have been doing during Snowpocalypse 2011.  :)

Garrett keeps asking me about the lizard because the whole time we were talking about a blizzard coming, he thought we were saying lizard.  He asked me how long its tail was.  I'm not sure if we'll ever clear this up with him.

{Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure the kid's hair has not been brushed in three days.}

We baked a cake just for the heck of it.  The kids wanted to decorate, light candles & sing happy birthday.  I use the recipe on the Hershey's Cocoa box.  It makes the best chocolate cake & icing.  It's supposed to be a two layer cake, but since I don't like my cake crunchy with sprinkles, I let the kids do whatever they wanted to one layer & kept the other for me & Allen...if he ever gets to come home again! 

I'm pretty sure I've gained back the 7 lbs I lost in January thanks to this.  What the heck was I thinking making this cake when I'm trapped in the house for days?

Nothing goes better with a piece of chocolate cake than a cup of coffee.

On a normal Oklahoma snow day, I'm all for bundling the kids up and playing in it.  Because on a normal Oklahoma snow day, the sun comes out & the temperature rises to a manageable level.  However, this Oklahoma blizzard left us with FREEZING temps, so I'm not taking the kids out.  Then I saw the most genius idea on a friend's facebook page...

Why did I not think of this?  Bring the snow in!  The kids have had so much fun with this the past two days.

 
Sydney did lots of drawing.

This is a bear scaring three girls.  The bear looks pretty friendly, if you ask me. {other than being huge}

We made our annual heart ice cubes for the month of February.

I made this yummy dinner.  I made it up as I went.  It's kinda a lazy persons manicotti or lasagna. 

{I don't measure anything, so I'm just guessing on what to tell you.  I'm a no measure cook.  Don't worry, there's no rules.  Just do what looks right}
Boil 1 pkg Penne.
In a bowl, mix 1 small container ricotta, about 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella, 1 c Parmesan, chopped parsley, salt & pepper.  Pour a little pasta water in with the cheese mixture to melt all cheeses together & create a sort of cheese sauce.  Add cooked penne & mix well.  Pour into casserole dish & top with marinara sauce.  Then sprinkle with some mozzarella & Parmesan.  Cook at 350 for about 25 minutes, or until cheese is brown & bubbly.  This is delish!

I think I've taken about 160 pictures during the last three days.  Here's some pics of the snow.

The forecast shows flurries for tomorrow and another arctic blast coming on Monday.  Hunker down folks! ;)

Spoon ~ "I Turn My Camera On"

I've had this on repeat lately. 

Free At Last!

Between Sydney, Garrett & myself, we have been dealing with illness in our house for 18 days.  I don't know how Allen dodged the bullet, but I'm thankful he did not catch the flu.  Today was Garrett's follow up appointment and his ears are clear!  Yay!  He gave us quite a scare & I'm thankful to see him acting like a typical two year old boy again.  Although, a few less tantrums would be nice.

In the midst of our sick fest, we had some exciting new things happen.  Sydney got her first phone call from a friend.  It was hilarious watching her jump out of her seat & run to her room for some privacy.  And I most certainly saw a glimpse into my future with a teenage girl. This is her shooing me out of her closet while talking on my phone.

Allen made us these yummy oatmeal chocolate chip bars when we were all sick. 

He did a great job holding down the fort & was reminded of how much I do around here. He was very relieved when I got back on my feet. He did really impress me though. He cooked from scratch, baked, did laundry & cleaned house! Most men would've just ordered a pizza and called it a day. He is a very progressive man. :) However, it did make me feel very useless watching him do my "to do" list while I laid there staring at the wall, fluctuating between sweating & freezing.  Did I mention the flu sucks?

Garrett had two big changes in one day.  We moved him to a big boy car seat because he is already 42 lbs at 2 1/2 years old.  Yes, you read that right.  He will be bigger than Sydney within a year.  He loves the new seat, but I quickly discovered a glitch in our new system...he can un-buckle the seat belt himself and has chosen to do so three times now.  If I have to pull over one more time because he un-buckled, he's going back to the toddler car seat.

His other exciting change is a big boy bed!  I was in no hurry to move him to a big bed because I knew not to mess with a good thing.  But he decided to start jumping out of the crib the night I got the flu, so we made the switch.  Luckily, the boy loves sleep so much that he stays in his bed.  I am having a hard time getting him to nap in it though, so I'm afraid napping may soon come to an end.  Poor Mommy.

He did a great job helping Allen take down the crib.  I was a little emotional.  We've had that crib for 6 years and now we don't need it. 

This is about the time we noticed the left side of his face starting to swell & he started running a fever. I rushed him to an after hours clinic {which ended up being useless} & Allen & Sydney finished the bed switch out.

And this is what we came home to.  Tada! By the way, we already had this bed.  I may end up painting it navy blue because I'm worried it looks too girly.  But then again, who am I kidding.  I'll be way too lazy to paint all the furniture.

Here's our big boy his first night in his bed.  Unfortunately, he spent the next two nights in the hospital for the ear infection that spread to his lymph nodes.  Hence, the facial swelling.  {Note to self, never trust the after hours clinic.}

His nursery theme was cowboys.  But now I'm re-decorating with a trucks & cars theme.  The boy LOVES all things cars, trucks & tractors.  I'm eventually going to get this bedding from Pottery Barn Kids.



He loves hiding in his bed & I think it's adorable that he really thinks we can't see him. 

This has been a horrible sick season in our area.  Nearly everyone I know has been affected in some way.  I am thankful my kids are back to normal & I will never take their good health for granted.  

Iron and Wine ~ "Tree By the River"

Mosters of Folk

Austin City Limits

Allen & I record Austin City Limits every week.  They always seem to have the bands we love & I love the live performance setting.  It's also fun to hear the little tidbits about the bands.  The other day my Sister told me my Dad loved watching Austin City Limits.  I never knew that!  It's cool when, at 32 years old, you find out yet another thing you had in common with your Dad {who just happens to be your hero}.  I definitely got my love for music from my Dad.  I use to email him YouTube clips of my favorite performances.  Back then, it was mostly Kings of Leon.  Songs like "Trani" & "California Waiting".  I wonder what he thought of my music.  He never really said.  I'm guessing he thought it was weird, like everyone else did.  I wish I could still share my favorite songs with him.  Instead, I'll share them here, in my little corner of the universe.  Here's Band of Horses from this week's Austin City Limits. 

She & Him ~ "Don't Look Back"

Chili

Chili

1  lb organic ground beef (cooked)

2  15 oz cans pinto beans

2  14.5 oz cans organic diced tomatoes

1  2 oz package chili seasoning

This is my favorite way to make chili.  It makes enough to have a lot of leftovers.  You know I love cooking once & eating 2 or 3 meals out of it.  I just use 1 lb ground beef because we have learned to eat much less meat than we used to.  Then I add in 2 cans of pinto beans & 2 cans of diced tomatoes to make it really hearty & healthy.  I usually mix it mid-morning & let it simmer in the crock pot on low until dinner time.  It makes the house smell great!  Another bonus, chili is very filling & a pretty healthy, low calorie meal.  I like to eat it the next day on a baked potato.  That makes for another hearty & filling, low calorie meal.

I buy the Williams brand chili seasoning because of the ingredient list & it tastes great. 

I'm pretty sure my Rival crock pot is one of the crock pots with lead in it.  It's on the long list of things I need to replace with safer alternatives.