1. The Polar Vortex, because it is a once-in-20-years kind of event, sounds like a ride at Epcot Center, and because it led to...
2. Snow Day #1
3. Snow Day #2
4. Snow Day #3
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5. Finally was able to bust outta here in the afternoon of Snow Day #3 and took Ruby to her final kitten baby check-up. She weighed in at a big 3.1 lbs., got three shots, and still purred so loudly that the vet couldn't hear her heartbeat. (The vet said she heard one thump-thump, so she couldn't tell whether or not she had a heart murmur. I told her not to worry about it, as my husband has always said there wouldn't be any kitty dialysis, or the equivalent thereof, so we didn't even need to know if she had a heart murmur or not.) As soon as Ruby gains another pound or so, she will go in to get her kitty maker removed, along with her front claws. That'll be fun for all. Curiously, the vet also discovered that Miss Ruby is missing hair from a place about the size of a dime on her back at the base of her tail. Our only explanation is that Fletcher finally had it UP TO HERE and took out a mouthful of fur. Hopefully, it will grow back.
6. School finally re-opened on Thursday. Not only did classes resume, but three brand new schools opened, one middle school and two elementary schools that were built after the May 22, 2011, tornado destroyed the original ones. One more step closer to normal. We are still anxiously awaiting the completion of the new high school, which is scheduled for completion in time for school to start this August. (Fingers crossed!)
7. Thursday was supposed to be our first day back at preschool as well; however, at 8:00 a.m., right as the staff started arriving, poof! - the power went out. We learned a car accident on the other side of town was the cause, leaving some 8,000 customers without power. When it wasn't back on by arrival time at 8:45, our director decided we would have to cancel classes, as the building was already getting pretty chilly without the furnace running. After contacting all of our students to let them know school was canceled, we worked (in the dark) on taking down the last of the Christmasy things in our rooms and hallways. I learned that the emergency flashlight that has been in a cabinet in my room since I started working there in 2001 and that I had never once touched other than to move it out of the way to get to something else had a dead battery. Imagine that.
8. Ruby was helpful, as always, this week, lending a hand with both laundry and with blogging.
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10. Finally had preschool today for the first time since December 20. The kids were really wound up, so we just had a Fun Day Friday and didn't even pretend we were going to do any real work. I did come up with a project for us to do that I found on Pinterest. I wrote the letters in each child's name on paper snowballs, which each child then had to put in order to spell out their name. They then glued them in the proper order on strips of paper. And because there wasn't enough room at our tables to do this, we went out in the hallway to glue, which was a fun diversion. The finished project turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself (and I do).
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I love that activity and seriously my girls would, too. May have to find it now on Pinterest for them. And this Polar vortex thing needs stay away for another 25 years and not come back. Seriously too much cold and snow for my taste! But I just don't like the winter to begin with, so sorry for my complaints. Have a great weekend now!! :)
ReplyDeleteThe snowman craft turned out really well. I'm glad, since I've pinned it probably five times on Pinterest (note to self: tidy up Pinterest boards). I HATE cold weather. I never complain when it's over 100 degrees, because I would rather be sweltering than freezing.
Deletefound money, a cute kitty who likes to do laundry, in the really cool snowball project that was so much cooler than I expected it to look...but I should know better because your projects are always really sweet...and back to school not a bad week overall.
ReplyDeleteEven if it's only a dollar, found money is awesome.
DeleteI remember the Wayback machine and there has been a time or two I would like to use it myself. Thank you for your thankfuls while you wait! That's a lot of snow days. Or is it? Living in Florida, that's not something we get..we get hurricane days.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I found your cabin fever posts pretty amusing I am glad that you finally made it out! Ruby is perhaps the cutest kitty ever with that sweet face.And helpful, too. What a bonus!
The Pinterest project is perfect!
It is good to hear that some things are returning to a semi-normal state after that awful tornado. I pray you get a little closer every day.
I loved Bullwinkle.
DeleteYes, it's a lot of snow days. Some winters, we don't have any. Usually we have one, maybe two. Three years ago, we had two blizzards and had, like, 12 days off. (Then four months later had the tornado and missed the last two weeks of the year.) The best part about snow days is the preschool doesn't make them up. That means, my kiddo will have to continue to go to school to make up her snow days after I'm already done, and I will have (so far) 6 days of blissful quiet.
Ruby says thanks.
OMG that kitty is going to cause a Beth relapse into kittyville. *sigh* love love love
ReplyDeleteI can't believe the weather you're getting! And Hooray to school being back in session. Fingers crossed that the new H.S. open on time.
It's a good thing Ruby is cute, because there are days....
DeleteMy daughter's head will start spinning around a la The Exorcist if that school doesn't open on time.
What a great project! No surprise the kids loved it! Yay for three snow days. I loved those back when we had all the snow in WA :-) Have a great weekend, Dyanne!
ReplyDeleteThe best part of the project was sitting in the hall, gluing the snowballs down on the paper. It's always fun to shake things up a little!
Delete3 snow days where you couldn't spend money really and then found money in your jacket?! Nice!!
ReplyDeleteIt really was a win-win.
Deletehey, your blog probably won't let me do this to your blog (you'd think I'd get used to hearing that after a lifetime but…)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm_1L27JGFg
on the plus side, the days are, in fact, getting longer! and, on the rare clear day, you can see the difference.
I love it! Thank you, Clark! One of my favorite lines from the show ever was, "Peabody here, and I think every dog should own a boy."
DeleteI figured on December 22, the days were getting longer and we were that much closer to spring.
Well, it does sound like a lovely week, but I am a sightly disappointed you did not make ice cream bowls with your kiddos...maybe in 20 years when the polar vortex comes around again? You know you'll still be teaching preschool in 20 years because those kiddos are so stinkin' cute.
ReplyDeleteI should really put my project on Pinterest...
I could not begin to be as cool as you and make ice cream bowls during a polar vortex.
DeleteGoodness, tornadoes and snow days, oh my! You must live on the plains.
ReplyDeleteSurprise money in packets, yahoo!
In the Ozarks, Sarah. A week ago, it was -9 degrees and we had snow; a week later, it was 68 degrees and we had a thunderstorm.
DeleteThose snowmen are pretty darn cute! Our three Rotten Cats often end up with bald patches (always in the same spots) and the cause is invariably another cat who decided enough was ENOUGH and took a bite out of his brother. It does grow back but it is oh so gross until it does. Kitty skin is ugly.
ReplyDeleteReally hoping that patch grows back in, but in the meantime, she has a pretty good comb-over going on, which is why we didn't notice it in the first place.
DeleteOh, yeah, and I definitely remember Sherman and Peabody. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I can't believe you're old enough to remember them!
DeleteHmmmmmm......note to self...rain days qualify as individual items in TToT. :D
ReplyDeleteEven though I'm not a cat person...I do adore kittens and especially kittens named Ruby!
It's in the Secret Rules, Diane.
DeleteAw, Ruby is winning you over!
Ruby is so cute; I just love her splotchy nose.
ReplyDeleteThe snowman project turned out really well. Were the shorter-named children upset that their snowmen weren't as tall as some of the others? I used to feel sorry for a girl in my first grade class named "Esmeralda" because it took her so long to print her name. This snowmen project would have made her a real standout!
My daughter says her nose makes her look like a koala bear.
DeleteNo one seemed upset about the shorter names, which is good. I wondered if there would be any fallout over that, and there wasn't. One year, I had a Mari Katheryn - that would have been one tall snowman!
Ruby is both helpful and really a cutie, Dyanne! Thanks for sharing with us!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michelle! She's better at unfolding than she is at folding the clothes....
DeleteAhh... snow days. I miss those. Ruby is adorable! Love the snowman project and I remember throwing out the lesson plan to embrace Fun Day Friday. Good call!
ReplyDeleteSometimes, you just have to be a willow and bend.
DeleteWow, Ruby is such a helpful kitty! One of ours was helping with the laundry in a similar way today, but the way our cats are best at helping is sitting on me so I can't move and hubby has to make the cups of tea!
ReplyDeleteYour snowmen looked great, and, though I'd imagine all that snow could be getting to be a drag, snow days are fun. (There's been none here for a few years.)
Funny that about your flashlight's battery being dead, when it's only been around since 2001!
Why do cats always get cute and comfortable on your lap just when you need to do something?
DeleteThe snow days would be nicer if they were scattered throughout the next two months, instead of all at one time. But I'll take them whenever I can get them!
I think it will be cheaper to buy a new flashlight than get a battery for this one; it uses some special kind of industrial battery.
Last week's school schedule just plain sucked. You're awesome for making fun Friday and well, I mean you're awesome anyway, but Fun Friday is super awesome. Yikes. A heart murmur?? I wouldn't worry about it either, and I'm sure it was just Ruby's awesome purring.
ReplyDeleteWe're just going to assume her heart beats just like it's supposed to and not worry about it. There's definitely no murmur in her purr machine!
DeleteWhew! What a week for you--and lots of snow days. We had one and that was wonderful, but I would have taken a couple more.... Ruby is beautiful. And how cute is that snowball activity! I might try that with our boys.
ReplyDeleteSnow days would be more fun if we hadn't just had two full weeks of Christmas vacation. I'm hoping for a few more before the winter is open, though. Because, well, snow days!
DeleteOh my goodness! I can't believe it was -9 degrees outside. I hate cold and snow! I haven't heard anyone talk about tornados on their blog yet. It's crazy that you mentioned that note about those schools needing to be rebuilt because of a tornado. I'm glad your kitty is ok. So cute!
ReplyDeleteWe receive quite a variety of weather here. -9 is VERY unusual, though. The tornado was almost 3 years ago. If you go to my link in #6, you can read a little bit about the tornado. We lost two elementary schools, a middle school, the high school, and the vo-tech school, plus one of the hospitals and 1/3 of the town's homes and businesses.
DeleteSnow gone. Power on. Kids wild, but that's to be expected.
ReplyDeleteRuby is a stinker. She is not an itty bitty baby anymore. I think she's a pre-teen. Getting leggy. Both kitty boys wish they'd never set eyes on her.
The snowman craft was fun! Only 3 of them have no clue how to put the letters in their names in order, and they at least knew the first letter.
That is such a cute project idea! And your cat is so cuddly. Aww...
ReplyDeleteLOVE that snowman project! And I loved working the term "Polar Vortex" into as many conversations as possible, including Golden Globes discussion because apparently Amy Poehler was a co-host. I didn't watch, but I got to use Poehler Vortex a few times. Bonus.
ReplyDeleteI was also super grateful we never lost power, like a LOT of people around us did. We are usually the first to have sewer and/or power problems, which is why we have a metric crapton of candles and flashlights, some of which even have working batteries since our power goes out so often :)
We also keep glow sticks and glow bracelets on hand, they were a nice diversion for the kids the last time the power went out after dark. And it gets dark here at 4:30 right now :)
GREAT post!