Search Results for: blog snowed in with kids

The Worst Cities for Kids With Fall Allergies

Some places are not as healthy to live in as other places are. WebMD has a list of the ten worst places to live for children (and adults) who have fall allergies. This list is for 2012. There is potential that your child is especially allergic right now because he or she lives in a place that is filled with Fall allergens. Has the past few weeks been really difficult for your child? It’s not unheard of for someone who has allergies to be miserable in the weeks that the air is filled with an allergen that he or she … Continue reading →

Snowed in With Kids

Christmas 2010 will be a white one for millions of parents across the upper Midwest. For me, it’ll be red and white. All the white has me seeing red. This weekend, more than a foot of snow fell on the Wisconsin city we call home. In addition to the five-foot tall snow drifts, we are dealing with wind chills in the -25 to -35 range, and subsequent school closings triggered by the inhumane conditions. For kids, a snow day is cause for celebration; for parents, not so much. Personally, I’m not a huge hater of the snow day, if it … Continue reading →

Why You Should Keep Your Kids Out of the Pool

Our neighborhood pool closes for the season on Sunday. Typically, it closes on the day after Labor Day, but thanks to global warming we’ve had a run on sunny 80-degree days, and the powers that be delayed the pool’s closure for a few weeks. Being able to swim in an outdoor pool in Wisconsin at the end of September is nothing short of a miracle. (My first year living here it snowed on October 5th.) Needless to say, this extension has been an answer to collective prayers offered up by the neighborhood kids (and a few random adult tanorexics). I … Continue reading →

Snowed In and Housebound—Five Ways To Pass The Time

If you were spared from this week’s weather woes consider yourself lucky. Much of the nation is recovering from ice storms, blizzards, thunderstorms, and brutally cold temperatures. The wintry mayhem was blamed for at least five traffic deaths as it cut a swath from Texas to Michigan before entering the Northeast this morning. Parts of our state picked up 18 inches of snow in a 12-hour period. It has virtually shut down a number of communities. People here (and in other states) are snowed in and housebound. Not a bad thing when you are single, but it’s another story when … Continue reading →

Prepping for Summer Dangers

The heat is on. Apparently, we don’t have to wait until Memorial Day for summer weather to commence. Much of the nation is expected to experience record-breaking heat this weekend. In my neck of the woods, daytime highs are supposed to hit 90 degrees tomorrow and Sunday. That’s a huge deal, especially since there have been years when it has snowed in late May. While the fabulous weather is reason to celebrate, it should also serve as a reminder to parents to be more vigilant as kids look to cool off around water. According to a new government report, drowning … Continue reading →

Surviving Cabin Fever

That’s the view from my kitchen window. Okay, not really. Minus the whale and it comes pretty darn close. Winter in Wisconsin. Enough said. Still, weather experts keep harping on the fact that we’ve had a mild winter thus far. Of course, our neck of the woods often experiences wind chills in the -20 to -30 degree range (take note of the minus signs), so I suppose single digits, teens and 20s above zero is a virtual heat wave. But, I’m from Hawaii, so everything is relative. Regardless, when you have kids, winter can be a real drag even if … Continue reading →

Dig Into Spring

Old Man Winter refuses to release his ugly grip on the Midwest. Easter is a week away and tonight I learned that we’re expected to get 6 to 9 inches of snow before Good Friday. Seriously, we are currently under a winter storm watch… in April!! “Hope you didn’t put away your shovels just yet,” chuckled the TV weather guy. In my opinion, the only shovels we should be using at the end of April are ones designed for the garden. I have yet to see a single sign of spring in our yard, save for some dirt exposed by … Continue reading →

Parents Prepare for Snowmaggedon

The Southeast is still trying to dig out from the snow that paralyzed major cities and left travelers stranded from Georgia to North Carolina, and now the Northeast is preparing for another major winter storm that is set to clobber the region over the next 48 hours. If you are a parent of a school-age child, you are likely bracing for more than just a few hours of shoveling. Instead, you will have to adjust your work schedule to accommodate one, two, or possibly, three snow days. For many moms and dads, the thought of enduring a round of cabin … Continue reading →

How to Be Frugal When the Power is Out

Yesterday was pretty tough. I had two wet loads of laundry, a sink full of dishes to do, and about five hours of online freelance work when the power went out. My husband was working from home, as well. A tree limb had fallen on the power lines a few houses down from ours, and it blew out the transformers, leaving our neighborhood without power from 11:30 in the morning until about 5:30 in the afternoon. That is six hours without power. We were tempted to turn the generator on, as many of our neighbors did, but with gas expenses, … Continue reading →

Snow Day Fun With Stained Glass JELL-O

There are snowy days, and then there are SNOWY days. The latter is what we’re dealing with today. Many portions of my state are incapacitated due to the Blizzard of 2009. Sixteen inches of snow, hurricane force winds, mass power outages and bitterly cold temperatures, forced the governor of Wisconsin to declare a State of Emergency for all 72 counties. Needless to say, we haven’t left our home all day… and now cabin fever is setting in. My kindergartener was beyond thrilled when she first learned that school had been cancelled, but after making Christmas cookies all morning, she’s getting … Continue reading →