This winter has been full of two things for our team: sick days and snow days. 

How many? 

Just count the handmade stuffed animals our boys receive every time they become patients at the local hospital. 

That’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 14.  

Since AUGUST. 

(I shouldn’t exaggerate now. We did receive four stuffed animals on one visit. Because Superman needed x-rays and Super-Spouse was out of the country and the combination caused four children, all who received lovies, to attend the hospital with one sleep-deprived mama — who the hospital receptionist now calls and pities by last name.)

Throw in two weird and wild winter storms that created winter breaks Renditions 2 and 3 (because no one in the South knows what to do with snow, how to deal with snow, how to drive in snow or how to wait until predicted snow actually falls to call off school on account of snow), and our team has been going a bit stir crazy.