Ice storm.

We have started something new in our family. I now let the kids go outside to play in front of the house all by themselves. As I can see and hear them from the front windows and Ivana is in charge of her littlest sister Milana I feel that it is a big step forward! I know they will not run anywhere and since we live on a very short cul-de-sac street, the chances of cars passing by are slim to none. So, we are good, with kids getting some fresh air and playing with the snow and me staying warm in the house with the baby.

We did take the baby for a walk in the stroller over a weekend, but when I am alone with the kids it is a bit too much for me to handle by myself, so, I am cutting some corners here.
Yesterday, the girls made a snowman, actually it is a snowwoman, and her name is Melanie. The snow was just perfect, heavy, wet and sticky. Ivana and Leona wanted to make a friend for Melanie the next day, but... we woke up to a surprise!...
As I stayed up very late waiting for Mirek to come home from work, the rain had been falling steadily and freezing almost instantly on the road, driveway, trees and bushes. They were talking about the ice storm, and there it was!

In the morning everything was under a pretty thick layer of ice! Melanie's organic nose ( a carrot!) had been eaten off, and the suspect is a deer. And the rest of her body was all in ice, she seemed to be cold! Sorry, Melanie, no friend for you!

Another highlight of the day was the power black out in the afternoon. I knew it was coming, but was hoping it wouldn't happen. It was not so bad after all. I managed to get the fire going in the fireplace to keep us warm, got the candles, made cheese sandwiches with green salad for dinner, we read "Ann from Green Gables" by the fireplace and told each other stories. Leona was so cute asking me if I had watched Tata make the fire before and if I knew what I was doing.

Ivana is a great storyteller! She had just read a book and was able to retell it to us with amazing accuracy and fine details! And when it was my turn to tell, they asked me about my childhood. It simply fascinates them when I tell how it was when I was growing up, and sometimes it is really hard for me to explain, since they have no clue and only with using the smallest details in describing things seem to help the girls understand and visualize what I am talking about. I am glad they like to hear those stories and it helps me to remember better, and brings me closer to my idea of writing a book (or series of books) for them about my girlhood.

It was fun to be without electricity for a while, and we had a nice time together. And it was good I didn't have to put the girls all into our bed and then move them to their beds later at night as I was planning to in case there were no lights by 9 pm. But a really good thing about having the electricity back is the fact that Mirek won't have to go to bed without being able to take a shower after working the whole day with fiberglass! It's almost midnight... he is not home yet.