Lessons Learned from WAY Too Many Snow Days

Here in Texas, we are snowed in for the third day in a row. Schools have been out and the children home for three days in a row! I only have one child, so I am not having a nervous breakdown, but I feel for those who have more than one child at home. We have been thoroughly entertained with lots of Sesame Street and Elmo. I've seen Elmo Goes Potty so many times in the last three days that I am wondering why my child isn't completely potty trained by now. Unfortunately, we are no closer to the potty than before, but I am one step closer to having the entire 45 minutes completely memorized.

We were only supposed to be home one day this week. Monday was the only day I had to complete a mound of paperwork and a long to-do list that included at least a half dozen phone calls. (The latter is only a big deal when you have a toddler around who the minute you are on the phone starts screaming.)

I spent the day in the house rushing around from task to task and completed 90% of my list by bedtime. I honestly didn't expect the ice to be this bad, or I wouldn't have bothered with at least half the list till the next day.

Tuesday and Wednesday were both below freezing and the annoying ice didn't go anywhere! We had therapy and doctor's appointments both days so both days I called to reschedule. I finished my to-do list, made my phone calls, and faxed mailed necessary paperwork. I was done by noon on Tuesday so then I started to clean and haven't stopped cleaning yet.

So, here we are on the fourth day for us to be home this week. I can't remember the last time we were home four days in a row. I think Snugglebug was just a little bug when we had that much time. From the time of his diagnosis till now we have been on the go from one appointment to another. I once did the math and calculated that 20 hours out of every week is spent either on the road to or from an appointment or actually at an appointment. This doesn't include weekend stuff like birthday parties and church. That's equivalent to a part-time job! And those 20 hours are the reason that I categorize myself as an on-the-go mom and not a stay-at-home mom. Yes, there is a difference in the two terms.

But, alas, the last four days I have been off from that part-time job and have been a stay-at-home mom. It has been rather interesting being at home and having no place to go. I have learned that if I were a stay-at-home mom, I would probably be bored out of my mind, in search of a time-consuming hobby, and have a very, very clean house.

Each of the last three nights we have had a delectable dinner when we would have probably eaten sandwiches or something that I could just quickly toss in the oven. I am a fan of marinading and baking and microwave vegetables. But, this week we have not had microwaved vegetables, and I have returned to some recipes of the past and tried some new recipes. I also made cookies and rice pudding!! While I love cooking, if it were not for my part-time job of being an on-the-go mom, I would have to work-out a lot more to maintain my figure.

I suppose I have learned a great lesson this week and that is that I highly appreciate having to take my son to therapy and doctor's appointments. It's a strange thing where lessons are learned!