Tag - winter

How to Survive a Snow Day Without Melting Down

February 22, 2019

While we had a fairly mild December, winter hit hard in January. Any sense of routine we’d manage to get back to after the holidays was extremely difficult to hold onto, thanks to two-hour delays, no-school-at-all-days (including 3 in one week!), and a round of colds that caused a few (minor) sick days.

However, if I’ve learned nothing else over my nearly nine years of motherhood, I know that you have to be flexible and adaptable to change.

Especially on a snow day (or sick days).

So, while I do my best to keep on top of the regular to-do’s of everyday life…for the most part…I also make sure to adjust my expectations of what will get done when the boys are home for a snow day. Unrealistic expectations and trying to do too much only leads to frustration, stress, and a grumpy mommy and kids.

I’ve discovered that a snow day can be miserable or memorable, and it’s all up to my attitude. (Of course, this applies to basically every day and any situation, really.)

Instead of wallowing in the inconveniences (And trust me, I KNOW they aren’t generally convenient. They require rearranging schedules, canceling plans, and letting go of the to-do list), do your best to grab onto the blessing of a special day with your child.

When I make the extra days with my kids less about my routine and more about appreciating the time with them, our days have far fewer meltdowns (from them and me).

So, since we still have quite a bit of winter left (at least here in Ohio), here are some ideas for you of how we’ve been enjoying our unexpected days together:

This post contains affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I may receive a small commission when you use the links. For more details, see my full disclosure.

GO OLD SCHOOL

Winter weather is a perfect time to turn off the screens and break out the board games, card games, and more. Our boys get so excited about these because it requires a whole lot more interaction and togetherness than just picking a movie to watch.

Some of our favorites: Carrom (an old game that my family has played for 5 generations), Monopoly, Screaming Eagles (older board game from my husband’s childhood), Spoons, Kings on the Corner, 4-Hand Solitaire (similar to Dutch Blitz, but using 4 different decks of regular playing cards), and puzzles of all kinds.

BUILD SOMETHING

Challenge your kids’ creativity and teamwork skills (and practice letting go of control a bit…Haha) by building something together.

Our boys love traditional blocks and Legos, of course, but there are so many more options! They really enjoy their marble run (The Dad Lab has a great idea for making a simple one with clothes pins and a ruler) and creating a blanket fort. And there’s no end to the ideas they can come up with for a simple cardboard box, some paper towel tubes, and recycled oat boxes or cereal boxes.

If you have little ones, Play-Dough is also a great way to build and play together (you can even make it at home!)

GET ARTSY

Most children enjoy coloring, crafting, and painting – if only for the mess they get to create! Break out the crayons, pencils, paints, construction paper, stickers, leftover fabric scraps, and more.

My kids like not only drawing but also writing and illustrating their own books. Just staple or hole punch some blank pages, then tie them together with some ribbon or string (or stock up on some blank-paged journals), and let them develop their inner author!

CLEAN UP

Believe it or not, my kids really jumped on this one. I think most of the thanks goes to the Netflix show “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” (which I purposely had them watch with me, in hopes of inspiring some change), but they also enjoy that sense of accomplishment and a job well done when they pitch in around the house.

Josiah recently helped me in the kitchen and was very thorough, even saying how much he liked cleaning. When his older brother came in later with a dirty dish, Josiah was frustrated and ran across the room in a panic, saying, “You’re messing up my cleaning!” (Welcome to my life, kiddo!)

If you take the time to (patiently, calmly, kindly) teach your children the correct way to do a chore or task, they’re much more likely to help out around the house.

GET MOVING

With all that energy not getting spent outside much during a snow day, my boys have to do SOMETHING physically active or things get crazy really quickly.

I start out by turning on some soul-feeding music while we work and play (favorites right now: Seeds Family Worship, Yancy, Hillsong Kids, The Rizers). This pretty much ALWAYS leads to a dance party, and we all get lots of wiggles (& giggles) out!

We’ve also been known to move as much furniture as we can out of the living room and have a little gymnastics practice (mostly cartwheels and summersaults), and my boys also like following their exercise routines from gym class at school.

Of course, if it’s the best kind of snow day and you can get outside – GO! Build a snowman, take a winter hike, go sledding, or just walk around the neighborhood.

MAKE A TREAT

Concocting in the kitchen is a great way to teach life skills, warm the house (if you use the oven), make a bit of a mess, and create a few memories.

Hot chocolate is a winter staple here, and it’s super simple to make. I follow the recipe on the back of the Hershey’s Cocoa box (only I use half dark cocoa and half regular!). And cookies are a never-fail crowd pleaser. (These BACON CHOCOLATE CHIP cookies are a unique twist on a classic!)

No matter what you do – whether it’s building, reading, playing, dancing, or simply sitting on the couch, watching movies – the best way to survive that unexpected snow day is to treat it like the completely out-of-the-usual day that it is. Adjust your plans and expectations, and let go of what you can from that to-do list.

When you see it as a gift rather than a reason to grumble, your children will look forward to snow days not just as a chance to miss school or play in the snow, but also as an opportunity to spend time together and make memories with you.

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Roasted Cinnamon-Spiced Butternut Squash with Sweet Potatoes & Apples

November 1, 2016

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Roasted Cinnamon-Spiced Butternut Squash with Sweet Potatoes & Apples. This delicious roasted butternut squash side dish spiced with cinnamon and sweetened with sweet potatoes and apples is a great healthy addition to any meal or holiday table throughout the fall and winter.

As much as I love summer, there is something to be said about all the crisp weather, cozy clothes, fall fun, and tasty treats that come with autumn. While I love all the apple and pumpkin goodies to be made (Apple pie? YUM! Pumpkin cookies? Yes, please!), I also get really excited when I start seeing butternut squash in the stores.

I’m not sure when I first tried cooking butternut squash for my family, but it quickly became a staple of our autumn pantry. I love making this Winter Squash soup (Pumpkin-Butternut Squash Soup) by the Food Network’s Ina Garten. However, I think my absolute favorite way to enjoy this seasonal veggie is to simply dice it up and roast it, usually along with some sweet potatoes and apples.

The other night I was ready to make this sweet combination as a side for our dinner, but I couldn’t remember at what temperature I usually roasted it. So, I searched online for “roasted butternut squash.”

The first recipe I checked out was one for cinnamon roasted butternut squash from Chew Out Loud. Suddenly, I was ready to spice up my usual recipe a little bit. 🙂

: Butternut squash, sweet potatoes, & apples

: Mix salt, pepper, and cinnamon

: Toss veggies & apples in olive oil

While their recipe calls for adding brown sugar to their squash, I didn’t since I already add sweet potatoes and apples to the mix. I didn’t want to make my dish into too much of a dessert. I also had to adjust the oil and seasoning a bit since I had more to roast overall.

The resulting Roasted Cinnamon-Spiced Butternut Squash with Sweet Potatoes and Apples was delicious! (Even my little picky eater Josiah ate it well.) Not only is it a tasty side, but it is simple and healthy! This is a perfect dish for any meal throughout the fall and winter and would be a great new addition to your Thanksgiving table.

: Stir in the seasoning, toss to coat evenly.

: Spread out on prepped baking sheets

: Bake at 425 for 35-40 mins.

Note: Don’t let the prepping of the butternut squash intimidate you. It seems tricky, but it’s not that bad. I’ve learned that if you microwave it for a few minutes, that will make peeling it much easier. It will even help make it easier to cut up (butternut squash is a hard squash). Of course, be careful, as it will be hot! For more info on prepping your squash, you can check out this How-to from Simply Recipes.

Here’s how I make this yummy fall dish.

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The Hope of Spring

March 17, 2016

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Life in Lape Haven: The Hope of Spring. From azaleas in Georgia to forsythia in Ohio, the arrival of spring is always a time of hope, joy, and new life.

When I was in high school, my family lived in southeast Georgia, about an hour from Savannah, and while winters down south are generally pretty mild, especially compared to what we were used to in Ohio, we always looked forward to spring and the blooming of the azaleas in early March.

If you’ve never been in southeast Georgia when the azaleas are in bloom, I’m sorry – because it is absolutely gorgeous. At our house we had several azalea bushes that contributed to the overall beautification of the area, and it always brought me so much joy just to see the brightly-colored blossoms all around.

Photo courtesy of pixabay.com

Now that we’ve been back up north for 16 years, spring isn’t marked by azaleas anymore, but rather by the forsythia.

In Ohio, we pray for the forsythia to bloom, especially when it has been a cold, harsh winter.

I don’t really think the forsythia is a very pretty plant. There’s no greenery on it when the yellow blooms appear (since the flowers are actually the starts of the leaves), so it’s more like sticks with some random yellow petals on them until the plant fills out a bit more. It’s not nearly as breath-taking as an azalea, even if the bright color is nice after a long season of brown.

But unlike the azalea, whose gorgeous display is the prize itself, it’s the promise that comes with the forsythia’s first blossoms that make it such a wonderful sight to see.

According to old weather folklore, once the forsythia blooms, there are only three more snows left (and usually only flurries) before you are done with winter, and it is truly spring!

Seeing the little yellow blossoms is like glimpsing the light at the end of a cold, dreary tunnel. For as long as I’ve known about this little weather predictor (my mom told us all about it), I’ve never seen it fail. I’ve watched and counted the snow falls every year. Brad thought that I was crazy until he, too, started keeping an eye out for the forsythia’s first sprouts of yellow and saw that the folklore is true.

Now he’s the one asking if “that plant” has bloomed yet, particularly on very gloomy, chilly days in late February or early March. He’s even suggested that we just bring one inside to “help” it bloom sooner.

By the end of winter, even if it’s mild where you live, we are all longing for the hope, joy, and new life of spring.

Is it any wonder, then, that Easter falls during this season? Just like the forsythia’s first colors promise only three more snows and the hope for freedom from winter, Jesus’s death meant only three more days until He rose again, bringing a beautiful, glorious hope of forgiveness, joy, and new life in Him and a true freedom more amazing than even the azaleas in full bloom.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” ~ 1 Peter 1:3

Choosing the Good Part

February 18, 2016

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Life in Lape Haven: Choosing the Good Part - Embracing the extra time with my children that comes with a snow day, and remembering that I can choose to be distracted like Martha or I can choose the good part like Mary did. I'll take time with my boys over my to-do list.

Here in Ohio, our winter has been incredibly mild this year, and we were all really happy with that, minus not having a white Christmas. However, the last few weeks have brought the cold, snowy weather that we are more familiar with for this time of year.

Only this year, we’ve got a little boy in school. Once the real winter weather arrived, Elijah quickly figured out that snowy weather could not only potentially mean fun outside, but if you’re lucky, it might mean a day off school, too!

He began looking forward to a snowy forecast in hopes of a snow day, and in all honesty, so did I. Not only because I like having Elijah at home, but also because a snow day MIGHT mean we all get to sleep in a little bit. 🙂

Then came last week’s winter storm, a stomach bug, and another winter storm this past weekend. Elijah had three snow days in a row, followed by a sick day, and then two more snow days the beginning of this week. Wednesday was his first day back to school since last Monday!

Normally, Josiah and I have a pretty good routine during the day while Elijah is at school. He helps me do things around the house, we play, he naps, we go get Elijah.

So, what did I do when two little boys were begging for my attention all day?

Either I could let the boys entertain each other while I got some housework done, or I could embrace the extra time with my big boy at home and set aside some time to enjoy my children.

While I did my best to maintain our home, do some laundry, and load the dishwasher, for the most part, I spent time with Elijah and Josiah. Just looking at how quickly they have both grown and changed in the past year, I know it’s important not to miss any opportunities to be with them.

It can be hard for me, though, to step away from my to-do lists. I want an orderly home with clean floors and tidy rooms for my boys to play in. (Of course, once my boys have played in them, they’ll need to be cleaned up again)

There are so many things that I could be doing FOR my family that I sometimes have to remind myself to let it go so that I can be WITH my family.

It’s kind of like Mary and Martha in the Bible, where Martha spends so much time making everything nice for Jesus while Mary spends that same time enjoying Jesus.

Luke 10: 38-42 tells us, “Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.’

And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.’”

It says that Martha was “distracted” – that means she wasn’t focused on the right thing. She was missing out. I know there have been days where I’ve been distracted from interacting with my boys, focusing instead on the housework (there’s never an end to it), working on my blog (writing, planning, sharing on social media), or something else that can wait.

My boys are growing up every day. If I spend my days with them distracted by other things, I’ll miss out, and there’s no getting those days back.

Jesus tells Martha that Mary has chosen the good part, the one thing that is needed. In the New Living Translation, verse 42 says, “There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it…”

Of all the things in my home, what’s the ONE thing worth being concerned about over anything else? My family.

Now, this doesn’t mean that I should neglect our home and never take care of it. Nor does it mean that I need to be at my children’s beck and call every minute of the day as their constant source of entertainment and diversion. They NEED to be able to play on their own.

However, I don’t want to be so distracted with my to-dos that I’m missing the good part. I want to spend time with my boys, making memories that “will not be taken away from” me or them.

So with these snow days, that’s what I did.

With the first storm, the wind chills were in the single digits at points, so our outdoor time was limited to a very short adventure in some very fine, powdery snow. Stuck inside, Elijah and I taught Josiah how to play “Go Fish,” we did paint with water projects, and Elijah practiced his reading by doing story time for us each morning. One day we spent several hours making rocket ships out of cardboard boxes, wrapping paper, foil, bubble wrap, lots of tape, and tons of imagination.

: Mommy & Elijah out in the cold!

: The boys’ cardboard box rocket ships complete with bubble wrap windows.

: Elijah’s water color painting. He said it’s a “Christmas praying robot.”

With this last snow, it was a bit warmer, so we braved the slushy roads and spent an entire day at a snow day playdate with my nephews, where the boys all worked together to make a snowman.

Since Elijah was so good at rolling snowballs and since the boys hadn’t had time with Daddy out in the snow, on Wednesday when he got home from school, Brad and I took the boys outside, and we created the biggest (and heaviest!) Lape family snowman to date.

: Working on a small snowman with his cousin.

: Admiring their snowman

: Trying to push Elijah’s snowball a bit farther.

: The Lape family snowman

Sure, I could have stayed inside to work on dinner while my hubby supervised the boys, but these last few snow days have been a sweet reminder to me: Just like the snow, my boys’ childhoods will pass quickly.

I want to focus on what’s worth being concerned with, so I chose the good part, put down my to-dos, and put on my boots and gloves.

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How to Make Salted Caramel Cream

December 3, 2015

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Life in Lape Haven: How to Make Salted Caramel Cream - An easy recipe for making a salted caramel cream for hot chocolate, tea, coffee, or for drizzling over ice cream and other treats.

This post contains an affiliate link, which means that at no extra cost to you, I may receive a small commission if you use the link to make a purchase.

When the weather gets cold and blustery, there is something truly special about a cup of delicious hot chocolate to warm you up, and when I want to make it an extra special treat, I stir in a generous splash of homemade salted caramel cream.

Luscious, sweet, and just a touch salty, this tasty cream is rather easy to make, but it instantly transforms the simple into the decadent.

I adapted this recipe from one for Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate that I found last year on Pinterest (where else?). However, I already make a decent cup of cocoa (using the recipe on the back of the Hershey’s Cocoa box, but doing half regular cocoa and half cocoa). I just needed the Salted Caramel Cream part.

I like having the cream available to add to other things in addition to hot chocolate. It’s perfect in some sweet cinnamon tea (this tea is one of my new favorites, and it’s such a yummy combination with the cream), over warm apple crisp or apple pie, or even on ice cream. Honestly, it’s so good, you might be tempted to just drink it all by itself, and I wouldn’t blame you (probably not the healthiest option, though).

Okay, so how does one make their own container of Salted Caramel Cream? It’s not hard. It might get a little boring even because it does take a little bit of time.

Basically you are mixing water and sugar, and reducing it down to caramelized sugar – that’s the part that takes the longest. Then you mix in some warm cream, salt, and vanilla. This step takes some patience, too, because you have to get it all thoroughly combined. The cooling sugar hardens quickly and needs dissolved back into the cream.

: 5 Ingredients are all you need: Cream, sugar, water, salt, vanilla.

: Allow the sugar and water to reduce.

: Caramelize sugar to an amber color.

: Salted Caramel Cream goodness, cooling and ready to enjoy.

However, once it’s all mixed, you’re done, and it’s delightful.

Having this on-hand for the holidays is a must around here now. The little extra oomph of flavor that the cream brings to hot cocoa, teas, and treats makes it feel even more festive and celebratory. I wouldn’t be surprised if it tasted good in coffee, too.

This Salted Caramel Cream would also make a nice addition to a homemade goodies gift basket…if you can bear to part with it.

(By the way, it works great in a squeeze bottle. You can get them at most stores or through Amazon.)

Okay, here are the real, far-more-detailed instructions so you can make your own batch. Whether you choose to share it or not is up to you.

Tag - winter

How to Survive a Snow Day Without Melting Down

GO OLD SCHOOL

BUILD SOMETHING

GET ARTSY

CLEAN UP

GET MOVING

MAKE A TREAT

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How to Make Salted Caramel Cream

When the weather gets cold and blustery, there is something truly special about a cup of delicious hot chocolate to warm you up, and when I want to make it an extra special treat, I stir in a generous splash of homemade salted caramel cream.