Spring's A-Coming to Texas!

Last night we had some SEVERE weather in the metroplex! LC and I went back and forth on whether or not to get P up. Mommas of small children know - you NEVER wake a sleeping baby unless something is seriously wrong! After seeing some rotation on the radar, we thought it would be best to at least be downstairs so we could get under the stairs if need be. P was so sweet when I got her up. I was praying she'd stay asleep and just let me hold her... not so much, but, she was in a great mood.

Of course as soon as we made it downstairs, the severe threat was over, so we woke P up for no reason. Better to be safe than sorry I guess!

Snow Day = Fun Day!

Last night and into this morning, the weather was nasty. We woke up to a solid sheet of ice and temperatures in the teens with windchills in the single digits. Nothing that would qualify for a snow day up north, but by Texas standards, it definitely was. Lane decided not to risk the 45 minute drive to work and stayed home with us!! It's been such a great day!

LC made us pancakes for breakfast.

We all snuggled in the living room with the fireplace roaring.

We played and played and played... thank goodness the swing set is still in the living room.

LC and I had chili for lunch... the perfect cold weather food... yum!

The 3 of us took amazing naps! P for 3 hours and LC and I about 2 hours.

P and I haven't gotten out of our pjs all day!

The temps have risen above freezing and everything is melting away. It should be a low key evening and tomorrow will be back to normal.

Snow Day!

Over the weekend we kept hearing threats of inclement weather coming sometime this week. Yesterday was just bloody cold, but it started sleeting/icing last night. This momma was praying for no precipitation (lots to do since Thursday is P's last MDO until January) while I'm sure all the area kiddos were praying for ICE!

Last night I checked P's Mom's Day Out handbook to see what school district they close with and found that it was 2 different districts. This morning I turned on the news and saw that one was delayed 2 hours and one was closed. Jenni texted me to say that MDO was delaying until 10:30... ok, I could handle that. I'd skip the Mom's lunch we'd planned, but I could still get done what I need to do. I was texting Jenni back when P's teacher called and said school was canceled.

This is what I saw out my front door... Looks like a cold, dreary day. The sidewalks were clear, the street looked fine.

A teeny bit of ice on L's truck.

Now, I'm not sure about y'all, but once I see the school I'm looking for, that's it... I'm done. Why would I keep watching to see if the school changed it's mind and closed? If the school is unsure, wait to make the announcement.

Can you imagine the cluster at the schools this morning? If you didn't keep watching the news or have a friend call you to tell you school was indeed canceled. And what a bummer if you got ready for school.... no school = SLEEP IN!!!

Girls Weekend Recap

Last Thursday, Jenni, Melissa and I left town about 1:00 and headed to Canton. We chatted the entire way down and didn't stop until we dropped Melissa off on Saturday evening.

We stayed at Rock High Ranch... a gorgeous bed and breakfast I found by some stroke of luck. The couple that owns it is so nice and it was such a peaceful, relaxing time. It was just what I needed!

Once we unloaded the car, we poured ourselves some wine and rocked and talked. It was heaven sitting there looking out at the trees, feeling the breeze, and connecting with two of the best girls I know!

After dinner, we came back and played checkers and drank more wine.

The ranch is over 200 acres. This is what we saw looking out our front door.

Jen and me in front of the Manor House.

The only TV on the property (in the Manor House). We had no idea a tornado was coming or had hit First Monday until we started getting texts from people in Dallas.

After we shopped in Canton for several hours, we headed to Pine Cove in Tyler for the Women's Retreat that our church put on.

The view from our door.

During our 1 hour of free time, we zip lined.

Now, L and I zip lined in St Lucia on our honeymoon and we were hundreds of feet in the air, but it's amazing what having a child will do to your nerves. I think we were *maybe* 35 feet up and it was super windy, but I was scared sitting there waiting to let go.

Once I let go, it was totally fine. In fact, it was almost lame ;)

Zip lining only took 20 minutes so Jen and Melissa took the paddle boat out and I sat on the dock in the rocking chair and just prayed and let my mind wonder.

Toto, We're not in Kansas Anymore...

Nope, we're in Texas... in the spring... and you know what that means... weather advisories, storms, and tornadoes.

Thursday morning about 4 am, LC woke up because of the terrible thunderstorm. I woke up for a split second when he turned on the tv and saw lots of red on the map. I fell right back to sleep and the next thing I know, LC is telling me that we need to get downstairs, NOW. I jumped out of bed, ran to P's room and paused for a second to look at her angelic face. Poor baby didn't know what to think when I got her out of bed so early! I grabbed some diapers and we huddled in the downstairs bathroom for about 10 or 15 minutes. True to her easy going personality, she spent the time smiling and talking to me and Scout.

While we were cooking dinner at church on Wednesday night, Jen, Jenni and I were talking about the weather and how we could download something to our phones that would alert us to watches and warnings in our area. A good thing to have if the power went out. When I saw the "rotation" heading toward town I texted Jenni. She replied that she couldn't find the weather anywhere. Not even thinking their power could be out (and in my defense it was super early) I thought, "well just turn on the tv to any local station"! The tornado passed us and was headed right for Momma and Daddy's house. Knowing that they probably weren't up, I decided to call them. I'm sure Mom thought something terrible happened when she saw my number on the caller id. Thankfully the storms passed and no one had any damage to their homes.

This was the second time in 2 weeks that we'd been in the bathroom (the first time I was home with P and Scout by myself... scary!). Yesterday, I made an emergency kit and picked up the closet that's under the stairs. I feel a tad more prepared for middle of the night tornadoes.