The Great Southeastern Arctic Adventure of 2011, Part II -- or -- Being stuck in your house for a week is bad for kids

Last week.... snow.... ice...  still the ice.... still cold.... day care CLOSED all week.  (Not that it would have been safe to go.)

Our super-fun and pretty six inches of snow with a crusty layer of ice apparently didn't want to leave.  Caroline was basically trapped indoors in our home for almost 5 days.

Monday was okay.  the white stuff was novel.  We made hot chocolate.

Tuesday, I drove one of our cars out the driveway to park it on the street.  That was exciting.  Caroline did okay. 

Wednesday, after taking a shovel to chip away the ice that formed in the tire tracks I had made, we drove the 1.5 blocks to our nearby grocery store and then to another when it was closed.  Why?  We had plenty of food, we just needed entertainment.  On the major four-lane road, there was at least one set of ruts in the ice by 4:00.  On the way home at 5:00, it was already geting slick again.  Caroline was again, as best as could be expected, but 'speaking out' more.

Thursday, The mommy went to work, but it took her 1.5 hours to get there and THREE HOURS to get home.  The temperature went above freezing for 4 hours.  I gave in.  We watched a considerable amount of TV, at least by Caroline's standards.  Our nearby grocery store was open.  We spent an hour in there going down every aisle. 

Friday, The Mommy and Caroline bailed south to see some grandparents.  I stayed and worked.... from home... to avoid getting stuck in that ice-related traffic.  Ran some errands Saturday.  Was very, very glad to go to work on Monday.

 (Photo above of Caroline on the way to day care after the week of arctic isolation)

Lessons learned:

1) When there is a snow or ice event of any substance headed for Atlanta, enjoy getting out of the house in advance.  For a lot of reasons, we were a tired family and didn't go far the weekend before being stuck inside for many days. So it felt worse.

2) The people who are at the grocery store the first day it opens are by and large, an unprepared, sad-looking and unkempt lot of people.  Not good entertainent, even when you were stuck in your house all day.

3) If you get a lot of ice, take your kid out to play in it early.  As the days go on, it becomes more of a dangerous environment than a fun one.  After the third day, my feet would not break through and hit the ground beow, just crack it a bit.  And the dogs could walk on it like a pond.
4) Go South.  Stay there until it is gone.