Weather again and a party

The weekend is now over and what an exciting weekend we had. We had a birthday party here for my girls 8th birthday. The weather had us on our toes with freezing rain this morning we were not sure if many would be able to make it but it all worked out. We had a "retro" party. I say retro because we did activities that were popular when I was a kid rather than host a three ring circus like most people do these days. We spent the afternoon playing whisper down the lane, freeze tag, bingo and having a scavenger hunt. The girls decorated their own cupcakes and had lunch together while little guy enjoyed jumping in on the fun where he could. It was a good old-fashioned fun kind of day and the girls had a good time. Afterwards my husband and I felt great about bucking the trend and doing a home party rather than a huge event at some center with way overpriced activities. The birthday girl could not have been happier with her day.

Oh I forgot to mention that for the actual day of her 8th birthday I set a goal to not be a weepy mess. Yeah, I failed. After making about half way through the day I found myself sitting at a red light thinking back and a tear or two did fall (okay a couple minutes worth of tears fell). This will remain a secret between us because after today's party she thinks I am a pretty awesome mom no need to cloud that image right now.

The cold weather has my pitiful mutt whining until I put a sweater on her. This is normal right?

The freezing rain we had this morning was another addition to the series of weather that makes it seem like mother nature is bent on letting everyone know she's mad about something. All over the country the weather has been colder and more disruptive than it has been in years. Last week we were faced with another bout of snow and got about 5 inches. Over the next 24 hours we will experience the lowest temps in 20 years. The difference between the high and low temperature for tomorrow is expected to be 40 degrees. BRRR! Tomorrow sounds like a good day to spend the day in the kitchen then curl up under a blanket in the evening and try to finish the baby blanket I am crocheting. Unfortunately, between school and the kids once a week after school activity we will be spending the better part of the day getting from here to there and home again. Mondays are the worst, here's to looking forward to Tuesday morning. Stay warm where ever you happen to live. Let me know how you are dealing with these frigid temperatures and frequent snowfalls.