Spring Break

It's Spring Break week for Des Moines Public Schools and what a wonderful week it is. Temperatures have been in the 50's so far this week and are predicted to be in the 60's today with possibly 70 degrees tomorrow. Who needs Florida with such lovely weather?

It has been an interesting Spring Break so far. I spent Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday fighting respiratory flu. Man, did it wipe me out. Not only did I sleep the nights away, but slept a good portion of the days away as well. Monday was the first day that I did not need to crawl back into bed; although, I did just sit in the recliner all day.

Yesterday I was finally feeling better. I used my time yesterday to do a little bit of spring cleaning. I bagged up all of my old clothes, to later be taken to Goodwill, pulled my broken dresser out of my closet and put a different dresser in and vacuumed the carpet in the closet.

In the afternoon, I took the kids to the park. They really enjoyed this and didn't want to come home.

Today will be a fun filled day. We are headed over to my brother and sister-in-laws house so that all of the kids can play together and then I will be meeting a friend for lunch.

I am trying to enjoy the few days that I have left knowing all too well that come Monday I am back at work with a count down to summer vacation.

Snow Days

Living in Iowa, it is expected to have snow days during the winter season. Typically, the Des Moines School district will have 1 to 2 snow days during any given school year. Some years have less and some years have more, just depending on the severity of the winter.

This winter the Des Moines area has been hard hit with winter weather which has caused the Des Moines School district to cancel school 2 days in December and a whopping 4 days so far in January for a total of 6 snow days so far this school year. In the 15 years that I have worked for the school district, we have never had this many snow days. We will now to go school until June 16th (baring any more snow days).

However, given the extended forecast, nature is not working in our favor. We are aimed to be hit by another storm this weekend and then again possibly in the middle of next week.

Winter Coats in May!

The sun it out today (finally!) and from inside the house it looks really nice outside. Looks, however, can be very deceiving. The temperature is only about 48 degrees and the wind is blowing very strongly from the NW (so the wind is a cold one).

David happened to have a baseball game this morning. Now, the sports complex where the baseball fields has no protection to offer. There is no wind break to shield us from the wind. So, today, while watching David play his game I wore my spring coat under my winter coat. I had both of the hoods from my coats up and cinched tight. I had two pairs of gloves on my hands and two blankets on. I still wasn't warm enough. The sun felt good, but the wind cut through everything. Yes, you can call me a wimp if you want. I get cold really easily and it takes me forever to warm up again.

I am hoping that the next game will have warmer weather.

Baseball in April

My son had a baseball game this past Saturday. I have come to the conclusion that baseball and April don't always mix. On this day the temperature was a cool 48 degrees and it was windy and raining. Despite the fact that the game only lasted an hour and fifteen minutes, the weather conditions made it feel much longer. We did come prepared for the weather; we had our winter coats, hats, and mittens on. We also had blankets and umbrellas with us as well.

It was a good game and our team played well despite being cold and wet. David wasn't too sure at first about playing in the rain, but also did well. He even caught a ball hit by a batter causing the third out in the last inning!

Snow

We have been blessed with a string of nice, warm days last week. Temperatures ranged between 40 and 65 degrees. With the nice weather, the majority of the snow that we had on the ground melted away and it was starting to feel like spring. But, I'm in Iowa and spring does not start in February. Winter returned with a rude awaking this past Friday. We received between 5-7 inches of snow. The once bare ground is now white again and the temperatures are once again below freezing.

Once upon a time I loved winter. I use to enjoy playing out in the snow and doing various activities that snow offers. Now, I could honestly live without it. I still enjoy going sledding and playing outside with my children; but I honestly don't do that very often in the winter due to the fact that I get cold easily. I have said many times that I would move to a warmer location if it were not for the fact that the majority of my family lives in Iowa and that I really enjoy my job.

So, for now, I will continue to accept the fact that I live in a place that has winter for approximately 6-7 months out of the year, despite what the calendars may say.

Cold Weather Day?

With the extremely cold temperatures and even colder wind chills, all area schools, including Des Moines Public have decided to cancel school for tomorrow. Technically, this can't be called a snow day since it isn't the snow that is causing school to be cancelled, so I guess that it needs to be called a "cold weather day." While this means that we will have one more day to make up at the end of the school year, I am looking forward to staying home tomorrow with my children. This has seemed like a long week, and it is only Wednesday; so a day off is a nice reprieve from my busy schedule. It also means that I won't have to be out and about in the too cold for man or beast weather tomorrow, traveling between school buildings.

It is also nice that the school districts gave notice this evening that classes were cancelled for tomorrow. This means that my children don't have to set their alarms and will hopefully sleep in in the morning.

Snow Day

Well, the storm that was predicted came true. We started out with freezing rain last night followed by sleet, snow, more sleet, and then more snow. Needless to say, it is a slippery mess outside. All metro area schools, including the Des Moines Public Schools, have cancelled for the day. My kids and I will spend the day at home. We plan on cleaning house, baking cookies to take on our Christmas travels, and watching the movie "The Goonies;" not necessarily in that order.

Early Dismissal

I work for the Des Moines Public Schools and have for the past 13 years. Today, due to a forecasted ice/snow storm, the school district decided to be proactive and dismiss school 90 minutes early. This meant that I was able to leave work at 1:30 and pick up my children from their school (which is in Ankeny) at 2:15.

It is rare for the Des Moines Public Schools to dismiss early because of forecasted weather. They usually take the wait and see approach; and a lot of times we have had to slip and slide home. While the storm has yet to start, I think that district did the right thing.