Time for me to have a little chat with Punxatawney Phil...

Remember that one time (February 2nd, in fact) when the groundhog in Punxatawney, PA, told us that for the first time in my living memory, Spring would be early. None of this "six more weeks" business. I was elated.

Well now we know that that sniveling little groundhog is hiding out in his hole chuckling fiendishly to himself for the clever joke he just played. In my opinion, it was downright MEAN. Not only have I not seen any signs of the promised early spring, but after our two major snowstorms last week (that cost us an additional four snow days that the kids have to make up at the end of the year), we are still enjoying a good foot or two of snow on the ground IN MARCH. Spring soccer is supposed to start on Saturday, for crying out loud! Needless to say, I am more than a little perturbed.

Maybe not the least because after I was deathly sick two weeks ago, I enjoyed a week of good health before again getting even more deathly sick than before. I was stuck in bed again for an entire week, while everyone else was building snow forts and sledding. Ugh. Serves me right for failing to get my flu shot.

At least the kids had fun! (Travis counts as one of the kids.) He dug an awesome snow cave and designed and engineered a sledding run down the hill in our front yard, complete with banked turns and an extra long coasting stop at the end. It was awesome.

 

Apparently this is how we dress for a snow day.

(On the first day of the storm, Brooklyn excitedly came downstairs wearing this.)

 And the self-manicurist strikes again!

 "Mommy, my fingers are sparkly!"

 
Then, yesterday morning, I woke up and fumbled my way downstairs (not a morning person when I'm sick. Okay fine, or ever) to find Travis and the kids NOT eating cereal or cooking up a delicious brunch, but painting birdhouses. I had stashed away a couple wooden birdhouses for Kate and Brooklyn to complete at one point. That left Troy out, so Travis quickly built him his own birdhouse out of scrap wood. That's the kind of dad he is. Oh what's that? You need a birdhouse? I'll be right back, let me just run to the garage... And seven minutes later, he emerges with a complete birdhouse.

Not to be outdone, I decided to begin to address the problem of no one having cooked an elaborate breakfast that morning (always a travesty on a Saturday) and whipped up some homemade blueberry muffins.

Muffins and bird houses. 

That's when you know the weekend has arrived.

After they were painted, and since it was quite clear that these birdhouses were intended to be strictly decorative, Travis made a few modifications and then mounted them on a length of wood so we could fill them with birdseed and the birds could actually use them as bird feeders. He hung them on the tree outside our window, and those poor hungry little winter birds sure were happy! We even attracted some of those beautiful fiery red cardinals we've been spotting around!

And these are bunny tracks

(and for once in my life I am not referencing the ice cream)