Snowbound survival guide

I started writing this post a week ago, so it's a little dated for me now but maybe it will be of use to someone in the midwest (didn't I read that you guys are getting hit pretty hard right now?). 

The snow started falling here on Dec. 17 and hardly took a break until last week. We ended up with almost 80 inches falling in a short amount of time, leaving a lot of Spokanites--us included--snowbound for days. We'd get a break when the plows would finally make it to our neighborhood, but then it would snow again, trapping us once more.

It was beautiful and charming and fun ... for a few days. I have to admit that I did start to go a little bonkers toward the end there. J and I are long overdue for a night out.

So here are my top 12 tips for surviving a winter blast with small children. Surviving it gracefully? Somebody else can write that list.

12. Carve a seating area out of the snow and host a tea party, complete with "snow biscuits" for snacking. I wish I had a photo. This one turned out pretty cool.

11. Bake cookies. Lots of cookies.

10. Make notepads for to-do lists by trimming a small stack of scratch paper so all the sheets are the same size, stapling them together at the top, then gluing a pieces of ribbon around the top to hide the staples (and, let's face it, make it cuter than just a stack of stapled-together paper). 

9. Embroider your child's doodles on fabric (idea via Amanda Soule).

8. Make stick puppets and clothespin dolls. Make a stick horse out of an old sock, felt scraps, googly eyes and a leftover wrapping paper tube. Make. Make. Make.

7. Hold a parade down your hallway, complete with homemade cardboard-box floats, a toy fire truck, a bandana-wearing dog, and drums made from oatmeal canisters.

6. Eat your way through the canned food collection that's been wasting space in back of your pantry because you can't get to the store. Wash the cans, then cover them with fabric using Mod Podge. Fill cans with pencils, pens, licorice sticks, whatever.

5. Sew belated Christmas gifts, like these pencil rolls for two little friends in Oregon.

4. Order craft books online and check the mailbox anxiously until they arrive (on days when mailman actually makes it to your neighborhood). Clear away snow in front of mailbox when you realize mailman is refusing to deliver your mail because he can't reach the box. 

(My choices were Stitched in Time by Alicia Paulson and Complete Embellishing by Kayte Terry. Both are fantastic.)

Read these wintery books to your kids while you wait: The Biggest, Best Snowman Ever by Margery Cuyler and One Snowy Night by M. Christina Butler.

 

3. Two words: salt dough. Mix two parts flour to 1 part salt. Add water until you achieve a doughy consistency. Give to child to form into animals, people, trees, etc. Bake at 250 for an hour. Cool. Paint. (Laugh to yourself when your 3 year old tries tasting the dough every five minutes, hoping in vain that maybe this time it will be yummy.)

That's a bird, by the way.

2. Make handmade thank-you cards and send them in a timely manner this year. I recommend the ideas in the book Handmade Hellos by Eunice and Sabrina Moyle. I'm still working on this one.

1. Send your husband out to buy a truck (did you know car salespeople are willing to come and get you, no matter what the weather?). Count to 10 when your patience wears thin. Scan the real estate and job ads for other (warmer) cities. Turn on Caillou and The Wonder Pets--again--and forgive yourself for doing so.  

Did I miss anything?

Comments

[Lisa]

Love this blog entry - with have 4 kids and boy.... do I know where you are coming from - we are having the opposite in Australia - 42degrees celcius days (very hot), too hot to play outside, everyone hot and sticky and grumpy, I'm running out of things to freeze!

[Megan]

Thanks, Lisa! We have days like that during our summers here, too. As much as I would love some sunshine right now, I feel your pain.
Thanks for stopping by. Hang in there.

[Mary]

Megan, your great... We made a pirate ship out of a fruit box from Costco, we used a wooden dowel and an over sized piece of paper that we painted as the sails... Aarg matey, the difference between girls and boys :)

[Megan]

Ha, ha, Mary. That sounds like fun, too.