There used to be a board game called Sip and Strip. Great game, REALLY cuts into any boredom, but you only want to play it after the kids are tucked in for the night. Cold weather might be a bummer too...

Have any cardboard boxes lying around? They will keep the kids occupied for hours building forts, houses, stores, tunnels, cars, trains, spaceships, etc.

Take an umbrella, stick the handle between the sofa cushions and cover it with a sheet, instant tent/fort, best place to read a book especially by flashlight.

Have fun-
Pete

Grace and Lillian are "almost (groundhog day) three*" and nine, and they're pretty easily entertained--luckily, they are still excited about the things they got for Christmas (metal detector, microscope for the elder lass, and artist supplies for the youngest), so it hasn't been _real_ hard.

On the other had, Darling Wife has been going stir-crazy, since her work won't let her come to work <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

DW is easily plied with backrubs and cheasy sci-fi movies, so no crisis yet, although I am worried about the coming 5 to 10 inches of snow this weekend; haven't recovered from the ice just yet.

One observation from someone who learned to drive in icy conditions in the mountains of Germany: if you have a four-wheel drive vehicle and assume you can stop as fast as you can accelerate, YOU ARE WRONG. Slow down, and live--especially since I'm in the opposite lane <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> and would rather not be impacted.

At least we're alive and warm, with no immediate prospects of either parameter changing.



*weirded me out, since I posted her birthday pics on ETS shortly after her arrival--hadn't realized I have been on this site almost DAILY for three years--go figure.

billy,

Hang in there! We've had ice, rain and sleet since last Friday here in big D. At least it's cleared up now and then so that we can run a few errands and stock up on supplies.

I get up near Cleveland, Ohio and remember that we used jigsaw puzzles to keep us busy during blizzards. Dad would hide the box cover and we'd have to start with the borders and work inward. This was in the days before we had cable TV, computer games, Ipods, playstations and their ilk.

Art supplies also would be used alot. Crayons, blank paper, cheap watercolor paint sets. We'd finish the day with an art show.

I agree with your driving instructions. I remember Dad's advice about driving out ice - 4wd just means that you have 4 wheels spinning uselessly instead of 2. Stay home, stay warm.

When I was home for Xmas break, we got dumped on pretty good and spent most of the time at home. I found that puzzles and dominoes were the mainstay when the TV wasn't tolerable anymore. My girls are 17 and 21, so they've learned to keep themselves occupied or Dad can find plenty for them to do (like clean and oil firearms, shovel the sidewalk, dust the furniture etc). The wife was willing to just kick back in the recliner with me and relax, something about being gone for 4 months I guess might have to do with that.

When all else fails, a good cooking lesson from Dad's repertoire of recipes will keep everyone occupied for a couple hours at least. Of course, now that the girls are old enough, conversation is a whole lot easier to start and maintain. Fortunately we share enough common interests, such as hunting, politics, career development, and when I get tired of talking, the wife can take over and they can all discuss the latest hollywood junk if they so desire. Each of us do have our own set of hobbies/crafts that we can catch up with as well.

Still, it was nice to get out and do a little shopping (okay, with three girls at Christmas, it was a lot of shopping) or go to a restaraunt or visit with friends or neighbors. We ain't totally Burt Gummer style anti-social just yet.