Happy Snowy Friday!

Happy Friday!  It's been a cold and very snowy week in Southern Indiana.  We LOVE snow so it was a wonderful, snowy week here.  Did you get snow in your area??

The weatherman predicted we would get 15-21 inches of snow and I'm thankful we didn't get quite that much.  Our roads are still a mess with the smaller totals.  We have been home since Saturday and ended up getting 12.5 inches of snow.  School was moved to virtual learning and we loved having the time off together at home.  Kevin's university even closed for a couple of the days.

We played in the powdery snow every day.  Played a million games of BINGO.  Baked too much.  Caught up on chores around the house.  And were very thrilled to not lose power through the whole winter storm.  Remember last year when we survived 3.5 days without power in an ice storm??  I'm thankful to not be repeating that. Snow > ice.  Thinking of all of our friends in The South with all of your ice!

The best parts of our very snowy week were:

We knew a big storm was coming so we headed out to get some Chuy's for one last dinner out.  Their dips are my favorite and it's queso happy hour from 4-6 for $5 queso!

My usual grocery delivery got cancelled days before the snow storm hit so Kevin saved the day at did a big grocery store run for us while I was at work.

We snuck in one last run to the store for fun drinks and last minute groceries.  The storm kept getting pushed back so we were eager to get out one last time.

We helped a neighbor friend with an emergency grocery item that she couldn't find.

Mr Mittens is back to his mischevious self.

These are my favorite candies so I stocked up!

The snow was starting and we were so excited to see things getting covered.

Snowy Pumpkin!

We made soups and chilis.  Leo has been really into helping me in the kitchen lately.

We woke up to a ton of snow!  It was powdery, drifty snow.

We measured 9 inches or so when we woke up Saturday morning.

All of our Christmas snow gear came in handy.  Both Olive and Fletcher borrowed some adult sized snow gear this year.  They are growing so fast.

I kept the dryer running.  The kids would come in with their snowy gear and straight to the dryer it would go.  That stuff does not air dry so Mr. Mittens was thrilled with a warm pile of snow gear.

Leo is very into BINGO these days.  And celebration dances when he wins.

We ended up getting 12.5 inches of snow at our house!  Not the 15-21 they predicted, but SO much snow.  It was crazy to see it in drifts up to our doors and windows.

Pom pom hats in the snow always and forever.  

Kevin and I took turns sleeping in in the mornings with all the cancelled school.  He got off Monday and Tuesday and we ended up having snow days/virtual learning days for five days straight.  I woke up to my favorite iced coffee and fresh bran muffins.  What a guy!

Leo is very into scavenger hunts lately.  He asks for a little help spelling, but he loves to create them for us.  I've done infinite amounts of scavenger hunts and games with him this week.

The cats all love Fletcher.  He brought out the laser for some kitty fun.

Pumpkin didn't know what to think about all the snow.

Olive found a recipe for chocolate snow ice cream and made it with Fletcher one afternoon.  They loved it!

So much time sledding in our creek.  They would climb, make sled ramps and loved playing outside.

They tunneled their way through the creek.

Best purchase ever - snow gear for mom, too.  It makes playing in the snow with the kids so much fun.

Leo's virtual work invovled writing his words in the snow.

We came up with all kinds of snow games - who can lay in the snow the longest, who can bury their legs fastest, who can find the biggest icicle.  The boys loved it!

Kevin's car was the only one who could get out this week so he took the big kids to the biggest hill they could find with their friends.  And got a picture for me!  Our Costco sleds were a big hit.  Our street finally got plowed so we may venture out and about now.

Virtual learning, checking in on our classes and fielding school messages for everyone.

Snow ducks.

We played so many games!

Pumpkin wasn't sure why his naps were so noisy this week.  I'm sure we'll be back to business as usual next week!  Look at Pumpkins fuzzy winter coat :)  He seems to get fluffier every day.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Stay warm!

Linking up with Momfessionals

Viral Quilted Jacket

My sister and her girls have the cutest shop - Happy to See Ya Co - filled with the cutest quilted items.  They repurpose beautiful quilts and give them a new life as something new.  They make everything from zippered pouches, vests, jackets, purses and bags.

You can follow them on Facebook to see when they'll be at local markets or reach out to them to make you a treasured item out of a special quilt.

Look at my darling quilt jacket!  I'm wearing a large and it's so pretty.  I wore it out to run errands last weekend and got SO many compliments on it.  I think I got 9 compliments after our morning out.  I joked with my kids that my coat went viral :)  Everyone loved it.

You know I love smiley faces so their logo makes me smile.  I have a zipper pouch to match - they don't let any quilt pieces go to waste.  And a cute clutch to use in my purse or take out on date nights.

Even the insides of the bags are cute.

It's fun to see all the pretty things they are making!

Party Pizzas

Kevin's Nana makes the yummiest Party Pizzas for holiday gatherings and I finally asked her for the recipe.  We enjoyed them for NYE and plan to make them again for the Super Bowl.

Recipe:

1 loaf of mini/ party rye bread

1 lb pork sausage

1T Kinder The Blend seasoning

1 lb of original Velveeta cheese

Directions:

Brown the sausage with a generous sprinkle of The Blend seasoning.  I like to do the sausage extra crispy.  Drain and pat off any excess grease with a paper towel.  Cube up the Velveeta.  This feels like a very Midwest thing to say :)  Return to the skillet and add in Velveeta cubes.  Melt and stir until well combined.  Lay the mini slices of bread out on a cookie sheet.  Scoop a spoonful of sausage + cheese mixture onto each piece of bread.  Spread out evenly.  Pop them in a preheated 400 oven for 8-10 minutes until the mixture is bubbly and a little toasty.  Serve warm!  These reheat well, too.

These Party Pizzas would be a delicious addition to any appetizer spread.

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, friends!  I'm thrilled to report this week was a really nice week.  We had a long weekend, Mr. Mittens is recovering nicely and we are heading into the weekend with a huge snow storm headed our way.  We are all dreaming of some virtual learning days in our future.

1. A parent in my room this year is an artist and she has painted me the cutest things.  Her latest gift - a Valentine's Day rug!  It's so cute!

2. Leo would like to recommend his favorite book series - Bad Kitty!  He says he can read them with just a little bit of help.  

3. I am loving seeing all of the National Championship merch that is coming out.  The boys love the bison.  We haven't gotten over the IU excitement yet!

4. Bonus points!  Fletcher had the opportunity to earn some bonus points by going to Coldstone and ordering a certain flavor.  Sign me up for that kind of homework.  He loved the Peanut Butter Perfection.

5. Mr. Mittens is on the mend.  We have eased up on his restrictions and he couldn't be happier.  He's got a follow up vet visit soon, but all signs indicate he's getting better every day.

6. Deep Blue!  We are making the most of our month long Deep Blue play pass.  We have been 3 times and plan to go again soon.  The boys would recommend wearing grippy socks if you want to climb to the tippy top.

7. Report card rewards.  We are going around collecting report card rewards and really enjoying it.  We haven't really done much of this before, but Fletcher is determined to get all the rewards for his good grades.

8. Warning!  This pasta salad from Costco is delicious, but it's expensive.  I thought we were paying $5.95 for a container, but it turns out somewhere, somehow we paid $5.95/lb and I actually paid $20 for this container of pasta salad.  Yuck!!  We all agreed that we sampled it, saw the $5.95 label on the display and none of us saw it say per pound.  We felt tricked so don't make our same mistake.

9. Blueberry muffin donuts.  We used my new donut pans that I got for Christmas to make the yummiest donuts.  Use the Krusteaz blueberry muffin box mix and it'll work perfectly for donuts.

10. Yay for screen free, creative play!  These two have been making wooden monsters to surprise us at the top of the stairs all week.  

11. Burger bowls!  I love to make a burger with all the toppings and eat it on a bed of lettuce.  It's the yummiest salad.  My family prefers their burger on a bun, but this option works great for me. I also take the leftovers in my lunch.

12. Book club!  I met my friends at a favorite local sushi spot - Wasabi and ordered Hibachi chicken.  It was amazing.  We loved our latest book - On a Quiet Street and it was great to catch up with everyone.

13. Kevin got back from a fun trip with his Dad & brothers to Vegas.  The weather was so nice and he got to see Bumblebee!

14. My favorite weekend splurge - a Parlor donut & iced coffee delivery!  I have everyone's orders saved so I can wake up, hit order and an hour later this arrives on our porch.

15. The big kids have been making blankets and Penny approves.  They have been gifting them and finding people in need of a little extra love to share them with.

16. If you shop at Sams, we highly recommend these two for an easy dinner.  The chicken potstickers are so yummy cooked on the stove top and Teppanyaki vegetable friend rice.  Yummy!  It'll be so much cheaper than eating out and it's delicious.

I hope you have the best weekend!  Stay safe and warm if the snow is headed your way.

See you back here next week.

Linking up with Momfessionals