Ice Storm

February went fast.  I don't recall doing anything at the beginning of the month.  We went to a neighbor's house for the Super Bowl.  She had invited several of the neighbors.  It was nice to meet some new people.  The game though was horrible.  Nyla has been playing a bit with the other kids on the street.  The girl who lives next to us, G-, is 11 and the kids next to her are about Bohdin's age I guess. I've never asked.  Nyla has been out a few times on the golf cart with G-.  She's come over to play in the yard a few times and Nyla has played in her yard a few times. 

Now I know why I don't update more often.  Nyla is dying to make break right this second and won't wait and won't let Bohdin help her.  I just went to check on them and now they are trying to make playdough with a  recipe.  I just gave them a  recipe but Bohdin just wants to get back to his Harry Potter book.

Nyla has been asking to have a picnic for a long time so one day we went to the local creek with a snack.  It was our second time to the creek and this time it was a weekday so it was almost deserted.   It's a really pretty area and I hope we get out there often. 

 

After the debacle of the last snowstorm the city was taking no chances.  With a forecast of just rain turning to ice eventually, Buddy had Tuesday off of work.  We had rain that switched over to ice pellets in the late afternoon.  The roads were fine.  Some areas on the north side of Atlanta had some snow but not us.  The forecasts for the coming storm usually used the word catastrophic.  We were pretty skeptical since that's a pretty severe word.  Wednesday the ice really came.  We lost power at 8 in the morning, got it back while I was making lunch around noon and then lost it again two hours later.  The power came back on about five.  It wasn't a big deal or I didn't think so.  We have a gas stove so I could still cook.  I had turned up the thermostat Tuesday night so the house didn't get cold while the power was out.  Buddy and the kids felt the effects.  Buddy didn't like not having a computer or tv.  The kids were just worried about when it would come back on again.  

Thursday morning it was snowing but it ended after breakfast.  We went for a walk so we could explore the icy world and see if there was any damage.  Nyla was the only one who had spent much time outside so far.  She said she heard a lot of popping and cracking from the branches that were breaking.  

Cora wasn't in a walking mood so Buddy, Cora and Bohdin turned around early while Nyla and I continued further.  We must have been gone quite some time because Buddy called to see if we were okay.  By the time we were walking back the sky was beginning to clear.  As it quickly warmed up the ice was falling off the trees in clumps.  It looked like it was raining icicles.   I showed Buddy the phenomenon and tried to show Bohdin but he was stuck in a book.  He read the fourth Harry Potter book during the storm.  It was a really neat experience. 

Nyla is the only one in the family who cares much about holidays.  Buddy and I thought Valentine's Day would be a good day to go tile shopping.  We need to find tile for the backsplash.  To appease Nyla I told her we would also stop at Costco and pick up a treat of her choice.  She wanted it to be a surprise so neither Buddy nor Cora knew about the donuts in the basket.  When we got home she and Buddy went to Kroger to return the Redbox movie and get a surprise.  We ended up with two treats.  She came home with a big cookie and paper flowers that popped out of a box.  

The weather warmed up and Buddy finally had to go back to work after being off for a week.  Once the storm passed  it was the beginning of President's Day weekend.  He had three days off for weather and two days off for the holiday.  Yesterday Bohdin, Cora, and I went for a walk to the other side of the neighborhood to the wetland area.  We heard loud shrill noises that we couldn't identify.  When I came home I looked it up and based on the noise we think it was spring peeper frogs.  I don't know how many were there but they were really loud.

Today the kids did their schoolwork on the front porch where Nyla said it felt like she was burning.  In the afternoon they had a water fight.  

Bohdin spilled the cornstarch and there is way too much water in their dough.  I think I need to go help now.