In my mind I'm curled up with a blanket and a good book

We got a foot of snow yesterday.  That's above the boots if you're an adult, above the knees if you're three, and waist-high if you're one and a half.


You'd think I'd have dramatically picturesque photos to post.  I don't.  There are at least two reasons for this.


#1, when it snows, our driveway magically grows to three times its normal length and I was very busy shoveling.


#2, Caleb falls down a lot.  He can't possibly walk in that much snow, but the already-shoveled areas are exposed concrete--meaning, when he falls, he comes up with a fresh forehead bruise and an urgent need for hugs and kisses.  Plus, the combination of boots and mittens means he can't get himself back up, so he just sits or lies there pathetically until someone rescues him (again, like Randy in A Christmas Story).


So, the combination of #1 and #2 meant that I didn't have a free hand/moment for a camera.


I blame all this on the groundhog.  Apparently I'm not the only one, either.


And also, is Punxsutawney Phil not on speaking terms with the robins who returned on February 4th?  I bet they're kicking themselves in the tail now.  And probably plotting revenge on the groundhog.


Thinking of the robins' premature return reminds me of the question at the end of Robert McCloskey's Time of Wonder:  "Where do hummingbirds go in a hurricane?"


That's a beautiful book and the ending chokes me up every time.  Some might say that's kind of ridiculous, but those people just don't understand the poignancy of superb children's literature.  There are several other children's books that make me cry:  The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton, for example, and the end of the original Winnie-the-Pooh series (The House at Pooh Corner).  I won't even count Charlotte's Web, because if you can read through that without tearing up, you have a heart of stone.


Now to share photo evidence of why it's best I keep my hands free at all times.

I love the crossed feet!

This was an attempt to keep him happy during math.  Predictably, he put one in his mouth as soon as I took the picture.  

He's figured out how to get the caps off the whiteboard markers.  'Nuff said.

Note the proximity to upholstered furniture

So let's all close our eyes for a moment and imagine white beaches, turquoise waters, our feet in a hammock, a book in our hands, and soft ocean breezes.


Now let's open our eyes and go stop the toddler from drinking out of the toilet.


Happy snow days!