Snow, school & sickness. What a combo!

It's been a ride, that's for sure.

My youngest, Skyler has been home since last Thursday, due to a severe Chest Cold. Then, on Friday, in came a nasty snow storm. That dumped about fourteen inches around our city. Some areas, mainly south of us got even more.

My oldest, Hayley was with her father for her visitation weekend. She called and let me know she was outside although she had been SICK! So I got on her for that and for not listening. Who knew? My ex-husband actually was being a parent for a change and putting his foot down. Only for her to do as he said NOT to anyways. That was going outside. So, we both jumped her for it.

Man, then along comes the Stomach Flu in to my home. And who did it strike? You guessed it. Kinda. It got a hold of me, as well as Scott. My poor husband came in at 5:30 in the morning, after working his last 3rd shift after two weeks of doing so. He was visibly shaking and had the severe chills. Plus the all-out fun diarrhea. Mine was mainly problems with vomiting.

Oh, and one of my kitties, Stinky is in the Animal Hospital. He has a Blocked Urinary Tract. I thought he got hit by a car or drank Antifreeze. He was so sick, I was ready to put him down. But then the doctor realized what was wrong and saved his life. Today, Stinky is still in the hospital with a catheter to drain his bladder. But he is moving around, eating and drinking well. He may even come home in the next couple of days.

Like I said, fun times!

Today, the kids are once again home, due to icy road conditions. My husband is at work this morning, back on day shift. And we are looking at another big system of snow and sleet to come back to our area on Friday. So, I'm hoping and praying that the kids get to go to school for at least ONE day this week. That would be tomorrow.

Don't get me wrong. I love my kids. I love spending time with them. And I love that we can all be together as a family. But they REALLY need to be in school. For their sake. And for mine. The City School System could have made it a two-hour delay, instead of no school at all. People are on the road this morning in full force. And no one seems to be having problems at this time...And it will be even better on the roads in an hour or two.

Sometimes, I wonder if the head-hanchos at Home Office do this as to just get more time off. I feel bad for the homes of children that have a 2-parent home where BOTH parents work to make ends meet. And those of single-parent homes. Both types of family dynamics cannot afford to stay home due to the kids being out of school for so long. Or to add extra days of having to pay the babysitter.

I'm one of the lucky ones in this respect. We are a one-income-provider family. I'm a Stay-At-Home Mom/Homemaker. My husband is the sole "bread winner" of the family. But, believe me when I say that all this "kids are staying home AGAIN due to weather conditions" is taking a mental-toll on me. They need to be with their friends in a classroom. The arguing, fighting, constant messiness and the dreaded all-day long "I'm hungry/thirsty" has GOT TO stop.

Soon I will be kicking them out the house and back on to the school bus before I know it. It just seems like it's so far away. *sigh*

It's not a snow blizzard if you don't sink in it once while having a blast.

A picture post of all the fun this week leading up to, and in the aftermath of the 2009 Virginia Blizzard. We have around 18 inches here....

My poor daughter Hayley was lost...Both on the step and on the lyrics. (Sing-Along at school)

Bryce fared a bit better. (First kid on the left of your screen in the 1st row.)

 Needless to say, it was a BEYOND packed house that evening.

At the big assembly on 12/18 (my birthday!) Sing-Along where we all had a blast singing, dancing and carrying on.

My street one way...

My street the other way....

My kitten, Weebles is experiencing his first snow EVER this year!! He doesn't know what to make of it either.

Shadow is mesmerized by all the snow on the ground as he looks out my front door.

 My niece and Skyler are having a great time today (12/19/09) in the snow.

It was so deep, poor Skyler had a time walking, always falling over. They made snow angels as well.

This is one of the reasons I hate Retail Life!

As a former Retail Sales Clerk myself, I understand. Businesses are set to making money. And grocery stores will never become a "thing of the past", being that we as humans, must eat. But to eat, we must spend our hard earned money to buy the food.

There is currently a massive snowstorm hitting us, the Carolinas and most of the Mid-Atlantic. So far, there is a minimum of about fourteen inches on the ground, that started to fall last night. It won't end until sometime this afternoon.

What is just deplorable and shocking to me, is that ANY AND ALL grocery stores in my area are still opening, forcing their employees, such as my husband to drive in this stuff. Yes, the shelves need restocking. But can the managers not close the doors for one freaking damn day so that their employees don't have to risk life and limb to get to their job, where most likely, business will be at a stand still?

Nope, they certainly cannot! How dare the store managers actually think about their employees instead of lining their pockets with salary wages!! After all, the making of a potentially fast buck is always better than making sure that your employees are safe and sound.

This is one of the reasons I decided to be a Homemaker. I knew that they would want to jeopardize my safety, and the safety of my children to have me come to work in these kinds of weather conditions.