Snow Day!

We don't get typical snow days around here with canceled school and all that fun. But we do have snow right now and we had a long day at home so what else is there to do than create our own version of a snow day?

Gotta keep these boys occupied! So none of us lose our minds, of course:)

First they made a snowman craft. They love to do crafts and I don't always have the creative energy or time to come up with one. But I did a little research this morning when I woke up with the endless hours of solo parenting looming before me and this is what I came up with...

 Aren't they cute?! I told the boys whatever m&ms they didn't use, they could eat:) I got a bag of buttons at a thrift store for $0.50 so we put those to good use, too!

 Then I sent the boys out back to gather up some "clean" snow for us for a secret project later in the day. They were under strict instructions to skim gently off the top of a clean area, no where near footprints, no snow off of the bird bath, etc.

 I ended up using Samuel's bowl of snow because Zakkai's was a little suspicious....Plus, he lost my nice spoon in the snow.

I'm hoping we'll find it when the snow melts...

 Later, after lunch and a cartoon, we used that bowl of clean snow to make "Snow Cream!" I've never made it before but it was super easy and a smash hit. Beware of an ice cream headache!

Mmmm!

Then Mikey showed up and lured the boys out to play. They spent a happy hour out in the bitter cold, shoveling and creating bases and forts.

Then I called them in for a nice, warm bath followed by a delicious dinner of Southwest Chili and Skillet Cornbread!

Mmmm again:) I'll even share the recipe if you'd like to warm up with a nice bowl (or two) yourself sometime soon. Happy Snow Day!

Southwest Chili

1 lb ground beef

sm onion, minced

1 tsp garlic powder

1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
(it's the powder, NOT the bottle of dressing!)

2 cans Ro-tel diced tomatoes with chilies, undrained. (if you don't like too much spice, use Mild. If you like spicy, use Hot!)

1 can EACH Pinto, Navy, Black, Gr. Northern, Kidney Beans; drained and rinsed.

1 small can summer crisp corn

1 small can tomato sauce.

Preparation
1. Saute ground beef and onion in a little oil until beef is no longer pink. Add in other ingredients and simmer until cooked through!

Chili will look "dry" at first but as the tomatoes cook, it will get more liquid and be perfect:) Yuuummmy!

*Can serve over rice, with cornbread, with crackers or any way you like it!