No Ice Ice Baby

So I knew that there was a slight possibility of a few flurries, but seriously not this. I picked up John Michael, and walking into the school there were a few flurries. When I walked out of the school it was crazy snowing, by the time I got him in the van and we got on the road I could barely see because of the snow and now ice falling. In the few minutes I was in the school I had six missed calls, one from Danny's school, they were closing early and the rest from Brandon letting me know he was going to get Danny. He ended up taking Danny to work with him which meant Danny finished his homework, and well, John Michael and I came home and played.

The picture is the ice on the deck and I wrote Not Again, but the dog walked through it so it is hard to tell. Oh well, maybe I shuld have waited to let him out until I took the picture. You get the idea though!

I did get some laundry done but there was too much going on today for much more. Plus my sinuses have me slightly under the weather. It couldn't have anything to do with the rapidly changing weather could it? Oh well, tomorrow is a new day with a lot going on, but it will be wonderful.





I am glad that it is warming up (well not really but going over freezing anyway). Danny's school is delayed 2 hours, but Jump Rope for Heart is on! Please help him out and give a donation, no matter how big or small it makes a huge difference for someone! Check out my FaceBook Page for a link... Monica Brandon Thach in Birmingham, AL....that is me! Thank you in advance it means a lot to Danny!





Well, it is not before 9, but I am still not giving up! Before I go to bed I am praying for all of my friends and family. I am saying a special prayer for a military family who is in my heart. They are together this weekend before he leaves and I hope that they have an amazing weekend. Military families are all amazing and I always pray for them. They are the heroes of this country!

The boxes are adding up

As we continue to pack Christmas stuff up I am realizing I might have to make a trip to WalMart for a few more rubbermaid boxes. Now, the thing is Christmas is my favorite holiday and I tend to get more decorations for Christmas as I collect snowmen, and then after Christmas I tend to get a few more things when they are on sale. I have yet to venture to Walmart and I am not looking forward to going this week, but they do have the best prices on the boxes.

I would rather stick a fork in the top of my hand repeatedly then go to Walmart. I am not a fan on many level and would seriously rather go anywhere, but I also have to watch my wallet. I do not know why as it is always empty. I have learned how to save more at other stores for just about everything, so if there is anyone out there with a way to save on the rubbermaid storage boxes let me know.

Well, back to the chore of taking down the Christmas decorations. The living room is completely back to normal, well except there are still Christmas gifts everywhere but the boys and I will tackle that tomorrow while Brandon is at work. The kitchen and dining room are almost there. The hallway is there. Our room and the bathrooms are there, and the boys rooms are almost there. Basically what is left is the downstairs and the outside.

The outside could not be done, because Chevy Chase...aka Brandon, wants to take a picture from the roof so that later this year when he goes to lay it all out he knows where it goes. Well, there was still a layer of ice on the roof and since a real Chevy Chase moment is not a positive thing, especially since we don't have stuntmen!

So the second picture is Brandon with a Pepsi he had gotten out of the refrigerator downstairs, well he did not know it was almost frozen solid and it went everywhere when he opened it. Before I could help I had to grab my camera!

I was so glad to have the sun and the warmer temperatures, even though they are not quite as warm as I would prefer. Of course the tropics would be ideal for me. Now to get the three men on board. John Michael would be easy he asks to go to the beach daily! I love it now if I could get to a place to tell him yes.

So I am off to bed. Brandon has a full work week, his first since 2010, and the boys yet again have a shortened school week, but we have plenty to do. It will be a great week and I will continue taking the pictures! As always I continue to pray for my family and friends. If any of you find yourselves bored this week give me a call and you can help me out!

40 Degrees

In my almost thirty years I do not think I have ever been so excited to have the temperature reach the 40 degree mark! I was thrilled to have the sun shining and to watch the temperatures climb above freezing. There is still a lot of ice out there so my pictures from today come from ponds that are frozen in the area. It is such a rare site that I thought it was definitely worth a picture or two! Granted I took more.

I am glad to have this area of Alabama out of this deep freeze. It has been a long week and a rough one but I am for one glad that the weekend it here.

Tonight I know my post is short, but I am exhausted. As always my friends and family are in my prayers. There are many great things happening to so many and so many things that are heart breaking but no matter what your desires they are part of what I pray for every night. I want you to all know that. I also pray that the temperature stays above freezing for a while. I am definitely over it, and I do not quite have a bank account large enough to support a move to the tropics!

Free At Last!

Well, we got out today to take Danny to school. We were all glad to see something other than the walls of the house, but it was pretty scary. There were several vehicles that had spun off the road, and a few wrecks. It will be nice when it warms up some and the streets are improved. I was white knuckled driving to Danny's school, and it took me a little over an hour, usually 20 minutes! Crazy but at least the sun was out so hopefully if it is out again tomorrow and the temperature rises above freezing like they are promising then all will be well.

Danny has started working on cursive! I am so proud of how well he is doing. He has been asking me a lot so I show him the letters that I remember how to write correctly. Over the years I have established my own style and I do not know that I can do it the correct way, but I plan to look at the cursive alphabet and refresh my memory!

We are finally taking down the Christmas decorations, at least on the inside. The ice needs to go away so we can do the outside this weekend. We are not really crazy we leave them up every year until the epiphany, which is January 6th. We usually take them down the following weekend. Well that was last weekend and we spent the weekend preparing for the snow that was supposed to be here, instead we were iced in! Oh well, hopefully we will get it all done. John Michael and I got 5 boxes full today and Brandon should be off tomorrow and then we have the whole weekend. It is a task when there is so much, but it is a blast. I also need to start wrapping for 2011 Christmas, but I cannot do that until I get the last of the gifts that I have delivered. I will work on that this weekend and next week too!

Well, we had basketball today so we are still working on homework. Gotta run so that I can make him hurry. We are already past bedtime.

Before I go to bed as always I will be praying for all of my family and friends. I also continue to pray that this ice goes away and that everyone is safe while traveling! I also hope that nobody ever takes for granted the amazing things that happen everyday. Yesterday it was a little sun hitting the ice in the trees that was such a gorgeous little gift. Today it was getting out for a little while!

House Arrest in Alabama

Well Sunday morning was the last time my vehicle was cranked and backed out of the garage. I am going a little stir crazy. We have done all that we can with the hopes that I can get out and get Danny to school. He had school today starting at 10 but I was unable to get out. I am going to try again in the morning, and we will see how it goes.

So many people that I have talked to are in agreeance. The first day it was fun, but seriously this is old news. It is cold,not above freezing for days, it is ice not snow so the fun factor is seriously decreased and the dangerous factor seriously increased. All in all we are ready for this to be a memory and for Spring!!!

I feel like I have been on house arrest. It is wild being stuck inside with 2 boys who are just as stir crazy as the rest of us.

Today I stepped out back and was looking around and I noticed that the tops of the trees where I thought everything was gone was sparkling. It was ice, and it was really pretty. I hope that it shows up as pretty in the pictures.

The boys have officially started eating everything in the house. We had cupcakes for the Auburn game and they finished them off today, along with about everything else. They are bored and while I am making them venture outside it is just too cold to stay out for long.

Before I go to bed tonight as always I am praying for all of my friends and family. I am also praying for all of those who have to get out tomorrow, and for as long as this ice is present. I am also praying that I can get out and get Danny to school.

Lazy Tuesday

We have been in the house since Sunday afternoon. Wow! I love my family but the mess is bigger now than it was post Santa Claus I think. It is all good though I will be able to get it back in order. Plus we still have to get the Christmas stuff up. We always wait until the weekend after the epiphany but this weekend we were getting ready for snow/ice. Oh well, Christmas decorations are pretty joyful.

Danny has to be at school tomorrow at 10:00 am. The good thing is if he cannot make it the absence will be excused. I do not know if I will be able to get the van out of my side of the garage. John Michael is out again. He is pretty restless. He is like his momma loves summer not so much winter. Danny does not mind the cold. The ice was not thick enough for all of the sledding today so we were pretty much inside most of the day. I am looking forward to the sun coming out tomorrow and even though it is going to be freezing again I am hoping it dries it up.

I am also hoping that Brandon's place of employment, I would put the name, but I know how they work and I do not want them holding my words against Brandon, will see that delaying opening again is a must for tomorrow. Brandon had to go in this afternoon as they opened at noon, and it took him an hour to make what is usually a 15 min trip. His way home he said that it was worse, black ice was definitely in abundance. Hopefully they will show that their employees matter and that Christianity is not all that they preach, but they also practice. We shall see. I will continue to pray for anyone who is traveling or has to while the roads are as nasty as they are.

Well, celebrating the National Championship has really been a lot of fun. I wish that I could be in Auburn, and if the roads were not bad we might have made the road trip, but safety first especially since we have sweet boys. I love my Auburn Tigers and are glad that they made it home safely! When we woke up this morning Santa had come to take the elves and Aubie back to the North Pole, but before they left they rolled our house. I am so glad that they brought a little Auburn to us this morning, it was great and the boys absolutely loved it!

Before I go to bed tonight I think of all the people who are being so dangerous on those roads, remember you are not the only person on them and be safe! As always my friends and family will be in my prayers. I love you all.

2010 National Champions WAR EAGLE!

So I am a little after midnight, but it was due to lack of oxygen due to holding my breath during the 2010 National Championship game! It was an amazing game. In fact it was AUsome! I love the Auburn Tigers, the fans, the coaches, the player, the school. It is great to be an Auburn Tiger tonight as they defeat the Oregon Ducks 22-19. We all sat around and watched the game, and there was not a dull moment! It was unbelievable and came down to the last few seconds! I would have loved to have been in Glendale Arizona tonight to celebrate with everyone, but my home in Birmingham Alabama was full of excitement too. The Magical Elves and Aubie the reindeer even came back to watch the game with us. You know Santa is an Auburn fan too!

Had I been in Arizona though I would have missed the fun in the snow/ice with the boys. It was definitely more ice than anything, but we pulled out the boogy boards for the beach and used them to sled down the driveway. It was a lot of fun even though it was freezing outside! We bundled up, and had a blast. It continued to mist freezing rain throughout the day so again the schools are closed all day tomorrow and Brandon's work is until at least noon, opening a noon will depend on the roads, which are currently closed. There is no getting out of our driveway at least not now, we will see what tomorrow brings.

Well, it is late and after a day in the ice and a night watching an amazing football game I am ready for bed! Before I go as always I say a prayer for all of my friends and family. You all mean the world to me! I also say a prayer for anyone traveling that they make it to their destinations safely. And for the Auburn nation I am Proud to be an Auburn Tiger! WAR EAGLE!!!

Winter Storm 2011

What a crazy day it has been and I do not just mean the weather. We got up and went to Mass, the boys were excellent. Danny always is getting John Michael to sit still and be quiet is a task that I have yet to master. We were on our way home and John Michael got sick. The thing is he has a hernia and because of that reflux, yet the medicine for reflux makes him sick. When he starts it can be a task to get it to stop. Well so far he has held down a couple of Popsicles, but that is about it and that is a feat with him.

This incident made me go from wanting to keep power for heat, hot water, and of course the Auburn game to needing to keep it for all of these reasons and also so that I can clean and do all the extra laundry that accumulated and be able to give warm baths. We are prepared if we lose power but some things will be almost impossible and if this is a virus I do not want it to spread. Praying for power to stay on!

Now to the crazy weather. It was almost 70 after the white Christmas, and again toward the end of the week but as I sit here it is snowing and sleeting outside. It started as heavy sleet, then moved on to some HUGE snow flakes, then back to ice, and now a mix. I much prefer snow over ice plus I think it will be better on my above mentioned power concern. It seems backwards to watch outside and see the streets covered and white and the yards just starting to get that way. Usually it works opposite in Birmingham. We shall see what tomorrow brings!

I am hoping that my husband's work leaves a message soon letting him know that they will not open tomorrow. Getting out in this weather is insane and the fact that they are not discussing closing yet is a concern. They are a Christian organization, so they should care the most for the welfare of their employees. Hoping that the message comes about soon.

Now as we head to bed I pray for the safety of anyone on the roads for any reason. I also pray for a victory tomorrow night. I pray for snow as the boys are really excited, and that they are healthy so that they can play in it. I pray for power. I also pray for all of my friends and family and for their needs whether they are head aloud or deep within. I love you all and am here for you!