My Key to Snow Day Survival

With snow being reported in 49 out of the 50 states in the last month... Moms everywhere are waking up morning after morning to ANOTHER Snow Day! In fact districts from coast to coast are reporting record number of snow days and are looking at calendar extensions inching closer and closer to June to make up for missed hours in the classroom due to record snowfalls this year.

As a kid, I remember the excitement of a snow day. Playing outside with neighborhood friends, hot chocolate, and a day away from math and reading! However, as a mom I find that I do not feel that same rush of excitement when our school's name appears on the bottom of the screen during the ten o'clock news... AGAIN. Sure the first couple of snow days each year I get excited with them and we have traditional snow day fun... but this year the snow's allure has even started to disappear for my kids.

My middle son even asked, "Can we please go back to school today so I can see my friends?"

Despite the obvious case of cabin fever that my family is suffering from (along with most other American families)... We have a special struggle. I am a Work at Home mom and while I appreciate the extra time to spend with my kids each day it is providing an added challenge into my workload!

I know I am not alone... with more than 10 million female business owners in the United States, I know many of us are bringing work home and trying to juggle it all with the kids out of school.

I want to share with you a great solution that I am using in my home to help me do the best I can do make the most of snow day after snow day. I use a timer in the kitchen and set it for an hour... I explain to my kids that "Mom has to work in her office for one hour. When this timer goes off I will reset it for another hour and that hour will be all yours, deal?" This pattern is repeated over and over all day and it works!

My kids do not feel that I am neglecting them and I am able to still enjoy snow day fun with them when they are out of school. My work is not getting neglected and I am able to stay pretty caught up on everything throughout the day. The other important note to make here is I am also very aware that this is a real life example of modeling good time management for my kids! They know they have to entertain themselves for an hour and do so without asking me every ten minuets, "How much longer?" Instead, I have caught them looking at the clock and returning to their chosen activity without a complaint.

Plus, I love the reward that I get when I finish my hour of dedicated work time and am greeted at my office door with three adorable smiling faces and outstretched arms! Talk about job satisfaction!

So yes, the long string of snow days has played with many families routines and schedules... but keep in mind that there are creative solutions that can help even unexpected snow days still be organized and productive.