[thejennigirl]

Could it possibly be a snowier or colder winter?

Snow day after snow day (thankfully not today, although I was not impressed with the roads on my 2 block drive to the bus stop), cabin fever is setting in. My knitting needles have flashed away on a dragon scarf for the shortest one, and a lace halter (with dreams of, dare I say it? Summer!) for my daughter. A knit tank in next on my list.

But, when I’m not knitting, I’ve been dreaming of sewing. And today, today, I think I will indulge. Thinking of taking view A of the jump rope dress and making it a little more big girl friendly.

What about the rest of you? Feeling trapped as the snow days pile on? Are you going crazy with housebound children in your hair? Are we going to survive? Will the winter ever end?

[Nicole]

Its more likely heat bound here! 46 d again.

Luckily I have an air con in my sewing room so it is quite pleasant there (Absolutely vile hanging out washing though)!

[Tamara]

Jennigirl hang in there! Sing “I will survive” and you will.

I whole heartedly admit I know NOTHING about snow days. I have never experienced one, not even during my 365 days in England as a child! But what I can relate to is the feeling of being trapped inside with kids and the potential inducement of baldness through pulling out of hair (in the figurative manner of course).

Here we have total fire ban days where we are not allowed to drive machinery, shift sheep from paddock to paddock or do anything that might cause a spark. In other words they are days where we just stay put inside and do nothing but potentially drive each other crazy (and play the Wii).

We have had a few of them already this summer but then this summer has been extremely hot. The children do not get the day off from school but when we are working (which is generally the harvest season prior to Christmas) it is tools down for the guys and they have to basically take the day off.

My kids would LOVE to experience a snow day. They would think it the best thing since sliced bread to take a day off of school just because of the weather. The only time they are sent home from school is if the water is off at school and that is rare. Because of air conditioning the school has their own back up power supply and that entails school to continue as usual.

Do the children have homework to do on snow days? I mean they are pre forecast aren’t they? Or is it like a day off where there is no assigned work?

Unfortunately, I think we will have long extremes in the weather. There are predictions that our summer weather will last well into April with the first proper rains (for our area) forecast for the Easter Monday. Our “break” to the season won’t happen until May though but that is about the usual time. I hope you get to have some sunshine soon. It can’t be easy.

[Masha Richart]

Not nearly as much snow here, but we have had barely a day in three months where all five members of the family were healthy … so I am going nuts in my own way. Sewing, when I can get to it, is a saving grace.

[scgoble]

Well I’m in Atlanta and you folks in Oz probably even heard about the great Snowjam 2014 over here. It’s been a crazy winter and spring can’t come fast enough. We are forecast for ice again tomorrow and schools are closed. Fortunately we live in a neighborhood where everything is within walking distance, so we can usually get out of the house and go somewhere…anywhere. I already have my sewing schedule for tomorrow worked out though in the event my office is closed.

[thejennigirl]

Unfortunately, when a snow day occurs, we usually find out at 5:30am with a phone call notice that it is a 2 hour delay. (Except the day that the high was -38F (that’s 50 degrees below freezing) and the governor ordered a no school day in extreme cold areas) Around 8am, as I’m insisting that children wear socks, we get the call that we have no school because of the weather. At which point, we know a day of vacation is going away or the school year will be a day or 2 longer than the original calendar.

It’s been too cold to throw them out the door, so, there we are, trapped in the house, together. It’s a big house, and yet, the youngest wants to play with his big brother, sister feels left out, and I end up settling more disagreements than a referee at a hockey game. My poor husband was home sick with influenza and the broccitus that followed, during the 6 days straight they were out of school last month, and he was shocked at how much the cold affected their moods.

I have learned, from all this, that my suspicions are correct, I am not cut out for homeschooling. I look forward to my remodeling projects and quiet time that I have when they are off being educated.

I did manage to trace 2 patterns yesterday (the girl’s body is starting to change a bit in shape, and her chest is starting to thicken, while she remains very much on the shorter side), and finish knitting the dragon scarf and put it together, despite having to the furnace repair man in and out and in and out, so he could make the 2nd floor furnace work again, and taking kids to the bus stop and the youngest to school at noon, and then picking them all up at the end of the school day. Heck, I even finished our taxes! But it was still chaos the moment they came home and found out that it is too cold to play outside.

And I know, the moms further south, are closer to the brink of an asylum vacation than I, because this isn’t their idea of winter weather at all.

[thejennigirl]

I will share a funny, though. I went into my oldest’s room to remove the younger 2 so he could finish his homework and they could set the table, and I walk in to find, the 11 year old holding the 10 year old upside down while the 5 year old held her mouth shut (I know, charming children I have, yes?). I stood there in the doorway, sighed, and opened my mouth to correct everything wrong with the situation, when my oldest looked me in the eyes and stated,

“Mom? Are you okay? Your eye is moving around [twitching, obviously] and you look really tired. Maybe you should go lay down?”

So I turned around, walked to my room and collapsed on the bed and started counting to 100. And by the time I got to 70, my daughter’s voice filled my doorway, wanting know if she should go set the table for dinner while her brother finishes his homework, and her little brother finishes his Valentines.

I said yes.

I think my earlier reaction scared them. :/

[meleliza]

My parents moved to the Atlanta area in January of 1996. I went to help them unpack and there was some snow predicted, so my moms new job called to tell her not to come in. We were very confused because it was like an 1″ and everyone was driving around in these massive enourmous trucks but hadn’t the first clue how to drive in a tiny bit of snow, it was very funny.

We’ve had lots of snow this winter and I think we might be in school until July. We’re expecting another 10″ Thursday, so I’m sure they’ll close schools yet again. Pulls, we have off on Friday and Monday. And with my middle one home for 5 weeks with that broken jaw, and now my oldest is home with pink eye it feels like they never go to school.

Out in the suburbs, they have had lots of ice, lots of people are without power. It sucks! In the city, our power lines are underground, so we don’t have to deal with that.

[Tamara]

Oh my GOODNESS! I have to tell the kids about this. They would absolutely DIE to find out their holidays are docked because of snow days! How awful. For the kids. We all value our breaks – says the woman who has brought her husband’s family into the 21st century by insisting on a day off per week and annual holidays of a minimum fortnight at a time (shocking I know but we all need breaks).

So I am guessing that because work calls to say don’t come in, then you don’t get paid? In that case then everyone tends to suffer further don’t they?

My kids are currently exhausted due to heat (past 100degrees F consistently) and they have swimming lessons which really takes the stuffing out of them. My son’s teacher yesterday told me she couldn’t do a lot with him yesterday after swimming because he was a bit tired. She thinks he is tired!! I am feeling it too! Falling into bed only to jump out again remembering I have a load of swimming gear to hang out or lunches to prepare (I do it all the night before to make the mornings smoother).

To make matters more interesting, I was volunteering at school yesterday in the wood work room with sweat pouring off me despite it actually being a shed with air conditioning.

I have decided that summer holidays are far too short. I would prefer to return to school in mid Feb (so next week) instead of early Feb or even late January. The summer is just so hot and heat just drains you of energy.

Jennigirl I always found that wind was a biggie also for changing children’s moods and behaviour. Especially if they were little three year olds.

We have been seeing the most amazing reports on the telly. Stories of airport closures, road closures power outages and metres of snow! But I also find that there seems to be a pattern. Every three or so years the winter seems to be more extreme than the others and this year is a once in a lifetime thing. I don’t know what would be worse intense extreme heat or freezing cold.

[meleliza]

The thing is, there are legal requirements about how many days in the year schools must be open in order to stay accredited. Schools tend to build in a few snow days into their calendar and usually for us it’s enough. Last year I think we only had one and the year before none at all. This year, there’s been a lot of snow, ice and unusually cold temperatures, so we’re already up to I think 5 or 6. Our school made up one on a random day off, but hasn’t said yet when we’ll make up the others. I remember a year in high school when we really were stuck in school until the very end of June. Some schools will take a day or two from Srping Break, which sucks because it’s only a week to begin with.

As for losing pay, the teachers are paid based on an annual number of days. I suppose hourly paid employees loose wages, but my mother was an executive. They can’t dock her because the company closed down for the day. I don’t really know what they do in the South, but up here companies don’t really shut down very often. They expect you to show up even if schools are closed, so that’s difficult for parents with corporate jobs.

Somewhere in the ether, there’s a funny blog post about the winter that nearly killed moms about the horrors of being snow bound with stir crazy kids and no power for their gadgets.

[Ock Du Spock]

Oh so cold. Is everything gas heated through mains or something so it’s not affected by the power outages? Because in those temps you’d literally be freezing to death right if you were dependant on power for heating? I hope spring comes soon for you guys!

[Tamara]

And I suppose the number of days does not include the public holidays that fall within the term too? If only we could share the temps around a bit but give us time, in another few months it might be US wondering why it is so cold and you guys will be sweltering in the heat.

Everyone in town is complaining and asking out loud when are we going to have a reprieve from the heat! It has been very fiery this summer (but thankfully no serious number of serious fires in this particular area at least). It is when we have wet and cool summers that we worry like crazy as it affects our growing season (what we rely on for our living).

Spring is coming! It won’t be long now but in the meantime I do hope that you can find some solace in your sewing and keep as warm as you can somehow.

Just think you are definitely getting your winter’s worth this year!

[meleliza]

No, it’s a number of actual days in school. The calendar allows for bank holidays, teacher in service days and in fact, there are always a few snow days built in. Most years we only use one or two, occasionally none. I’m surprised it would be different in Oz. How else would you determine when the school year starts and ends? And who would decide? Anyway, our news came down yesterday. We loose a teacher in service day in March, one day off the beginning of Easter break and one off the end of Easter break. Bummer. Let’s hope there’s no more snow.

[with love Heidi]

Pity the snow days can’t be averaged over a couple of years! And I’m not convinced of the benefit of making the kids be in schools even an extra week, if they lost 5 days. This makes a snow day look much less appealing from this side of the world!

[meleliza]

Snow days are wonderful – to a point. And we passed that point ages ago. We have a warm spell and some rain right now that’s starting to melt some of the snow away. To reveal massive numbers of potholes and piles and piles of dog poop. Ah, spring in the city.

But seriously, they lost a week of school. I mean, they need to do the work, otherwise, what’s the point of going to school? It’s not just for fun.