A fundraiser and some SNOW!

Before I get to the snow fun I have to point you in the direction of Kelle Hampton's blog.  Her little Nella is turning one this month and Kelle decided to raise a little money for NDSS in honor of the main event. 
 
She set the goal at $15,000 with the hopes that we might raise that amount.  It is now around $35,000 and counting.  She has upped the goal to $47,000 (get it, 47....for 47 chromosomes... LOVE)  It started out in honor of Nella and has become this HUGE life of it's own and the Down syndrome community embraced it and is working towards hitting this goal for ALL people with Down syndrome.  It started as a fun thing and has turned into something that can actually make a difference.  Your $1, $5, $10 will literally make a HUGE impact.  Amazing.  Check her out, donate if you can, then come back and read about our snow babies.  Thank you!!!!!
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It is no secret that I LOVE snow.  I don't get to see it very often and have found that I have missed it since I moved here.  I have missed it so much that most winters I go into a weird funk over it not feeling like Christmas or winter since there isn't any snow.  This year it was really overcast and cold all around the holidays and for the first time in 13 years I didn't notice or care that there wasn't snow.  It was so odd.  Like my brain finally clicked and has built enough other cues to tell me it is the holidays and I no longer needed the snow.  As if to remind me of why I love it so, it snowed

on Christmas.....

For the first time in YEARS.

**Smack** (from the snow gods in case you aren't following) "Remember why you love it and think it is all awesome and stuff!"

So I sat all mesmerized and in a happy fog watching it come down.  Just as I got so I could live without it....those dang snow gods reminded my why I just can't. (see snow pic in last post) ....jerks

Back to work and school and life we all went.  Normal came back in a rush of craziness for a week.  1 week.  Then they started talking snow again....SERIOUSLY?!?!  I get it twice?   Part of me has been so cheated on by our weather guys when it comes to snow that I have this horribly negative "I'll believe it when I see it" attitude when I hear that.  "Sunday night, freezing temperatures and snow!"...yeah, I'll believe it when I see it.

....and all of GA goes into a panic.  It makes me laugh and yet I understand that once it DOES snow, we are trapped due to lack of salt trucks and other such necessities. It has just never happened.  It snows, the ground is warm and the sun comes out so within a day or two MAX it looks like nothing ever happened.

So when we heard HUGE SNOW STORM for days and days and days I got a little hopeful that maybe the snow gods were going to bless us with their presence....and

OH

MY

SNOWGOD

did they ever.....

2 hours after it started

Handing off a snow ball....be afraid...be very afraid....

Gearing up for the throw...

Shorties trying to walk in ice covered snow is just plain cute to watch...

We don't own any snow clothes because, well, we live in GA. haha  So we dressed them in ghetto snow gear and didn't look back.  3 layers of clothes, a few strategically placed plastic baggies, a hat and out the door we went.  Poor N doesn't even own boots so she was in galoshes. HA!  Look closely at her feet...they are ladybugs......

for rain......

rain galoshes.  Hey, it worked. HAHAHAHAHA!

Then we had to do the infamous "take pictures with your kids in the snow like we are at some main attraction of a museum" thing.

Snow kisses for daddy

Here daddy, eat this nasty driveway snow that totally grosses you out.  See?  Now, wasn't that fun?!  

-Natalie doesn't look too convinced-

Natalie ran to the bushes at the end of the driveway and did us the favor of brushing all the snow off of it.....then figured out she could brush it ONTO Alyssa.

Watch the progression here.....say it with me "Ahhhhh sister love"...er

HAHAHAHAHAHA!.... I mean, "No Natalie, that's **snicker** not nice." 

Irony...

Natalie wanted nothing to do with the camera but Alyssa let me get a few more right before we went in.  I LOVE her sense of humor.  She is not catching flakes here as it appears... she is laughing and making a goofy face.  HAHAHAHA!

One quick snap of my big girl got me this gem

The thing about having a child with sensory issues is that ANYTHING can set her off.  One minute we are in the state of the above photo and the next...literally seconds later, we are here and there is NO going back.  We think she realized she was cold.

It is our reality to see this change coming or catch it as soon as possible and change the situation for her.  We grabbed her and ran inside where we stripped off everything wet and cold.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with sensory stuff and are nodding your head that you kid does that too, it is different.  Alyssa throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way.  Natalie, well....she cried and screamed and threw herself on the floor for the next 20 minutes, inconsolable and seemed to not see what was happening in real time. We eventually calmed her (or she calmed herself) and all was good again.  I don't put this in here for sympathy or recognition.  I just want to make others aware of what it looks like.  If you ever see us literally grab her and run away from the fun at a gathering you will now know why.  She is strong and smart and amazing but my big girl just can't deal with some things very well.  We are working on it ;) 

So on the coat tails of Natalie being over the whole snow thing we all went inside where we of course had to make some of this

Ahhhhhhh....the reward for humoring mommy and getting all ghettofied to stand in wet, cold stuff.

I hope that if you have snow you are enjoying it also.  We are on day two of being snowed into our house and looking at possibly being "stuck" for the week.  Oh darn........