TRAPPED!!!!! Day Three: The Escape

Yeay! Civilization! A world exists outside my house and today I found it! Chris got home late last night, about 15 min after they plowed our street…so there are advantages to working late. And today, just to get out of the house, we went out for bagels. Some people in the shop had to modify their orders because the bagel delivery truck was waylaid by the storm (sad, but true…we are fast approaching a bagel emergency here in the Denver area).

Stewart and I went for a short walk but we both had a hard time walking in snow up to my waist and over Stewart’s head, so we made it brief. And this afternoon, I went to the grocery store — a major feat. While Chris and I have had a 4wd vehicle for almost 6 years, almost all of the 4-wheel driving until now has been done by Chris. I drove my car to the store in 4 wheel drive today. I am woman, hear me roar. But at the store, too, there were lots of bare shelves and about half the produce section was gone. The grocery trucks haven’t made it in because of the storm as well. We certainly won’t starve to death but it’s odd seeing all those bare shelves. It brings out some weird survival instincts and I wanted to start shoving anything left on the shelf into my cart in case I needed it. If the trucks don’t make it for another 2 weeks, at least I’d have 30 rolls of toilet paper and a Cornish game hen to see me through.

Tomorrow we’re going sledding so it’s a good thing our roads are plowed for the emergency vehicles to get to our house when Chris needs them. I should just go ahead and call them now…

TRAPPED!!!!!! Day Two

We actually ventured outside today. It took three quarters of an hour to get the kids all bundled up and of course we were done in about 10 minutes. The snow is higher than Stewart. He kept jumping over drifts and then he’d disappear for a second and then launch into the air again. I had to shovel him a path out to the tree in the yard so we wouldn’t lose him.

The neighbors are terribly friendly. I think all the men, home from work today, are channeling Tim Allen — there are gangs of them wandering the street, snowblowing anything that looks remotely like a path. I looked out my window and 3 men I didn’t know were shoveling my walk and snowblowing my driveway.

Chris spent last night at a hotel near work because he couldn’t get home. And if he could, we weren’t sure he could get back to work today. Pretty much everyone is off today except newspeople, transportation people, emergency crews and, believe it or not, mall employees. They’re opening the malls around 2p today — apparently they can’t afford to close 4 days before Christmas. The post office was even closed yesterday and maybe today. They say they’re going to try and get Christmas packages delivered and might even work this Sunday to make up time. Apparently a lot of people went to work yesterday and then places closed early to get them home but the storm was already here. They were abandoning cars on the freeway and walking to shelters because no one was moving.

As long as you don’t have to go anywhere, the storm isn’t so bad. The house has never been so clean — I’ve discovered that the key to getting me to clean my house is to trap me in it. The kids were great yesterday though I think today they’re getting a little cranky. Or maybe that’s me.

My snowed in diet:

Thurs morning: eggs, toast, coffee

lunch: tuna sandwich, water

afternoon snack: 1/2 can Pringles chips, 1/2 bag of M&Ms, untold number of Christmas cookies, cup of hot chocolate (not yet consumed but as soon as I’m done here…) more coffee, assorted fishy crackers

dinner: perhaps the rest of the bottle of Bernard’s Irish Creme Liqueur…mmmm….

The Columbine Courier-week 3

Just when I needed a little pick-me-up, along comes The Columbine Courier for this week. The Lord works in mysterious ways. Yipeee!

The first item is not from the police log, but rather an advertisement for a local dentist:

Give Your Family Something to Smile About! Cosmetic & Aesthetic Dentistry, ZOOM 1-Hour Whitening, White Fillings & Smile Makeovers — Dr. Phillip Wimpee (snicker, snicker)

Ok, from the police log:

-SOUTHWEST JEFFCO: A man residing in the 6700 block of South Field Street reported that he keeps receiving bills for magazine subscriptions he said he’s never had. Popular Science, Street Chopper and U.S. News are among the unwanted titles billed to the man’s address.

-SOUTHWEST JEFFCO: Someone apparently went to the trouble of breaking up the asphalt at the base of a couple’s home in the 8800 block of South Brentwood Street on Dec. 8 The couple returned home that day to find the asphalt had been made into pieces and pushed onto their cement driveway.

-SOUTHWEST JEFFCO: On Dec. 9, a man in the 6400 block of South Pierson Street found his truck had been pegged with numerous eggs.

NOTE: We live in Southwest Jeffco. Who knew it was so crime-ridden? Alas!

TRAPPED!!!!! Day One

So I think we’re officially snowed in. Chris took a change of clothes to work today and judging from his drive in (despite the 4wd), I don’t think he’s coming home tonight. We’re supposed to get 3 feet of snow here today. I have a feeling this is going to be the first day in a long, looooong while (if ever) that I may not actually set foot outside my house. The kids are sick so I figured dragging them out in a snowstorm so I could get out of the house was a little bit selfish. Besides, Alexis the SnowBunny seems to appreciate snow when it’s on the ground, but freaks out when it’s actually landing on her. So here we sit. Sit. Sit. Sit. Actually, it hasn’t been too bad yet. Since it’s right before Christmas, we’re baking and decorating Christmas cookies. Alexis even had a little dough on her highchair tray to roll out and play with but she ate it all in about 30 seconds. And we have lots of packing boxes to play with. I know, I know — you’re all so jealous.

I’d show you pictures but Chris took the digital camera to work, presumably so he could take pictures if he came across anything newsworthy. If he’d gotten about 6 in. closer to the car next to him on the way to work, he’d have needed the camera for his accident report. He says there were people just stopped on the freeway, pushing their cars. It took him 2 hours to make the usual 30-min drive (I know, to those of you in LA that’s normal…)

Hmmm, what else? I can only see 2 houses down the street right now, the snow is blowing so bad. But since we’re warm in the house, it’s kind of nice. And the neighbors called to see how we were doing and make sure we didn’t need anything. So nice. Nice. Nice. Nice. I’m getting punchy. Is it from being inside with 2 small kids all day? Or is it from reading stories involving lots of rhyming words? Ice is nice. Mice like ice. Mice with ice are nice nice nice.

I’ll let you know tomorrow if I’m still alive and sane. That assumes, of course, that I’m sane today.

Brrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!

We’ve been freezing our keisters off. Here are pictures:

http://family.webshots.com/album/556192146AajNuv

We went crazy playing in the snow the first day but since then, Timothy’s been remarkably blase about the whole thing. I asked him if he wanted to go sledding tomorrow morning and he will have none of it. And Alexis only likes the snow if it’s not actually snowing while she’s outside. The only one who really loves it is Stewart, oddly enough. I was worried he wouldn’t be warm enough, with his California-dog fur but he jumps through snowdrifts like a deer. He’s started burying himself in it and making little snow dens. I tried to convince Chris that he needs a doggie-sweater (Stewart, not Chris) but I was overruled.

Chris’s dad and Annette have been here visiting this week, thus proving that they love us more than the rest of you. It’s been fun showing them around…not that we really know what to show people yet. We hung out in Golden, a few miles north of us (home to the Coors brewery, for those of you saying, “Golden…why do I know that name?”) and went to downtown Littleton for dinner one night. We seem to be surrounded by lots of small communities like Littleton, Golden, Morrison, etc — and each one seems determined to outdo the rest in Christmas cuteness. If you were so inclined, you could probably go to a tree-lighting ceremony every weekend (sometimes 2 or 3 in a night) between Thanksgiving and Christmas. They all have a Historic Main Street, lined with trees and completely drenched in Christmas lights. And I’m totally eating it up. I love it. I feel like one of the Gilmore Girls.

The Ballad of Timmy Jimmy Boy

So Timothy came home from AWANA the other night and had a craft he’d made. His teacher wrote “Tim” along the top. Timothy discovered it and started on a 5-minute tirade…”My name is NOT Tim, my name is Timothy. T-I-M-O-T-H-Y. Timothy! Not T-I-M! I don’t like Tim. I like Timothy” and on and on and on and on…when I was finally allowed a word in, I told him that he just had to tell his teacher politely what he would like her to call him. So he said, “Oh, I just tell her what to call me?” and I said, “Yes,” so proud of myself for teaching him proper social graces. Until he said, “Ok, I want her to call me Timmy Jimmy Boy.”

I guess that’s what we get for moving our family to the mountains.