Danielle Christopher

What does a non-crafty mom do?

I stare outside my kitchen window and all I see is white. The streets are covered in the fresh snow that arrived overnight. Great. I will not be able to get the car out of the garage for errands that I need to do until the snow plow comes to clear our townhouse complex. One glance at the clock reveals its 8 am glare. The day stretches out in front of me too long by not being able to leave the driveway. We do not get many snow days in a year. That is the beauty of living in the Fraser Valley in B.C.

My four-year-old pops beside me and squeals in delight that there is snow. I clear up the dishes and hustle my two daughters to get dressed so they can go outside in the powdery wonderland.

We step outside and my two-year-old waddles around in her thick snow pants and boots. My older daughter and I shovel what we can. We pile a hill of snow for the kids to pounce in. We build a snowman.

I step back and watch my two snow angels run around, noses pink from the cold and smiles wide. I ignore the time and think of what else to do to make our day go great. I am not a crafty mom and am clueless how other moms do it. I plot our day in my head.

1. Play outside for as long as possible. It’s what the kids want to do. I am cold but can take it.
2. When they are ready, we will go inside and build a fort in the playroom. I All it will take is some sheets and chairs. I will make a favorite snack plate of muffins, milks and cereal to have a picnic in the fort.
3. When they tire of that, I remember that I have a Betty Crocker cookie mix we can whip together to eat after lunch. I will get my four-year-old to help me put the cookie balls on the baking sheet.
4. Lunch will be grilled cheese and tomato soup with goldfish crackers. Always a favorite.
5. Chances are the two-year-old will not nap today. She is growing out of them. So after lunch will be DVD time (aka. Mommy down time).
6. The rest of the afternoon, until getting dinner prepped, the time is a blank. I realize I will just have to wing it. I have many boxes of art supplies. It will be fun to get messy together and just create.

I smile as I realize this will be a fun day with just me and my girls. It does not take a Martha Stewart to make a snow day fun-it just takes a bit of mama smarts.

After over an hour of snowy winter wonderland fun, my girls start to slow down. I bellow the question of who wants snacks. Their faces brighten and they bound up the front steps. My panic of what to do today subsides. I know I just need to take it step by step. And that is just what I do.