More snow, schools out

Snow started around noon yesterday, and when it hadn't let up much by bedtime, I knew that school would be cancelled. Actually, that excites me. The thought of not having to get everyone up and bark at them to get moving is very appealing. So I told them to sleep in late and I would make a yummy breakfast. Big mistake. 6:10 am while having my quiet time, I was visited by Zachary who was ready to eat. I went upstairs to shut Jacob's bedroom door and saw that he was awake in bed reading! These little munchkins are never up that early on school mornings, but it never fails that they are ALWAYS up that early when they don't need to be.

The boys love snow days because that is when we usually make lots of treats. We made french toast bites for breakfast, homemade dough and pizzas for lunch, then with the leftover dough from pizza we made cinnamon sugar chocolate doughnuts. We've eaten well today!

I don't particularly enjoy running errands with all 3 boys. And it is not because they don't behave well at all. It is that it saps my energy just corralling them in the store. We first had to go to Costco today. I was praying I could back out of the driveway that was pretty deep in snow. Since I don't like physical labor :) I was not about to shovel the driveway first. So I just plowed on through it. Once we arrived at Costco, we flew through the store like Lightning McQueen as Zachary said. It all started to fall apart at the end when the cashier moved the buggy on the opposite side from where I was. Andrew let out the most horrific screams I have ever heard come from a baby that small. It was ear piercing. In fact, my head is still pounding from it. Meanwhile, Jacob is dying laughing at the situation and Zachary is copying Andrew's cries trying to make him laugh. This made for one very loud scene. I don't embarrass too easily, but this one was pretty embarrassing. But what really topped it off is when I was trying to unload my kids from the buggy, this sweet older man stopped and said, "Wow, you sure do have your hands full. I guess you won't be having anymore anytime soon." Ha! I guess I did look as frazzled as I felt. I always wonder if I look the way I feel. Now I know!

Unfortunately, I still have grocery shopping and Target to knock off the list. I decide to let Jacob be my helper this time. He is great at grabbing exactly what I need and following my directions. He ends ups saving me a ton of time. Well, Zachary got mad that Jacob was putting lemons in the bag because he wanted to. So guess what he did...he tackled Jacob in the produce section. Kid you not! What did Jacob do? Punched Zachary back. This scene is forever etched in my memory bank. As I pick my fighting boys up off the floor and tell them they can't attack each other over produce, they just shrug it off and are best friends again, laughing and carrying on like nothing in the world had just happened. I did notice a man staring at us. I guess he never had boys. And you have to have at least 2 boys to understand because brothers only do this with brothers I have learned. All my friends that have boys and girls have never dealt with such! I am reading for the second time Bringing Up Boys. I need that reminder that God has wired boys this way!

When we loaded into the car, I made the comment to J & Z that I was really hesitant to go into Target after their behavior in the grocery store. And really, other than the "attack" they were great, they were just very loud and playful with each other. Jacob's response was, "But, Mom, we just love each other. We love to play and have fun together. We aren't doing anything bad." And he is right. Except for the tackle/punch episode.

Thankfully, we got through Target just fine, with the exception of Andrew's mouth chewing on the disgusting buggies. And finally, home again. Ahhhh, now I can relax. They can run like crazy here and be as loud as they want.

However, right now it is so nice and peaceful. The boys are quietly working on building things and puzzles. I discovered a new trick. I once heard a speaker say that he paid his children for every book they read growing up. Well, my boys love to read, but they don't normally love to build things or do puzzles. So I have started giving them challenges each day. They can earn a quarter for each completed challenge. It is awesome to see them so focused on completing the challenges. Jacob has finished puzzles that used to frustrate him so badly. He has also started building his Legos sets without my help by following the directions. And Zachary has been completing his Design and Drill patterns and Trio building instructions very well. Money is a big motivator for them. Jacob is a big-time saver. He goes straight to his save envelope every time.

Here they come...quiet is officially over. But what a beautiful sound they make.