What to do in an ice storm

We go outside daily. We walk around in the backyard or at a park even if it is cold. The only time we stay inside is if something wet is falling from the sky.

Well we have ice. Falling from the sky. It is beautiful as all ice is, but it keeps you in the house because it will cut your face if you are outside in it!



You can see the sweet little bush (I can't wait to see what it looks like in the spring!) all covered with ice.

But what to do with a two and a half year old and an almost nine month old when it is this cold? Why crafts and candy making of course!

Our craft selection was a bit scarce. I needed to plan a bit better, and I didn't. I try hard to plan crafts a week in advance, so that I know what I need and can get prepped the night before. Preparation is key with a two year old because you never know when they will turn on you! So you want to make sure things are fast paced.

But today we were low key, so we broke out the watercolors and I printed the story of Noah off the internet! And we made books about Noah and talked about it, though as we were talking about it I was a bit disturbed about the actual story and hesitated to really go into it. We stuck with the animals and the rainbow part of the story, and rested in the knowledge that God is faithful!



We attached the whole story together and had the cover made of pages that we had glued rainbow stripes to. She loves her new Noah book, and I'm thinking of having it laminated so that it isn't destroyed over time.

It does snow where we live, but it is fairly rare. Ice is more common, and we have had sleet, ice, and snow in the past 36 hours. But I grew up in snow country and I know what to do inside with snow, make snow candy!

First you gather up a big huge bunch of snow, in a large bowl or on a cookie sheet. I left a pie pan and a cookie sheet outside as soon as it started to snow (please discard ALL snow that is discolored! And if you live in an area where you are known to have very polluted rain or snow do NOT do this!)



I always use a copper pot if possible for candy making. It is much more sensitive to temperature changes than stainless, and my gas stove is a joy when candy making as I can make very slight, but instant modifications to the heat.


you need for this

1 c. real maple syrup
1/4 c. butter (no margarine!)
snow

Boil your maple syrup and butter until it is 255 on your candy thermometer.



Then remove from heat, let cool for three minutes and pour in funky designs over your snow!



This will harden pretty quickly and you should be able to eat it within five minutes. It never gets super hard like a lollipop and if you would prefer than then boil it until it reaches at least 265 on your candy thermometer. I much prefer it where it is hard, but still has a little bit of give in it.