For about a month now, my alarm clock has been a cute, wild-haired little girl who jars me to consciousness with the words, "Is there a school delay today?"

I think maybe there have been a lot of school delays and cancellations as of late. There have definitely been enough for Alexis to start to consider them the norm.

So when Sunday's storm rolled around, I decided it was time to declare war on the snow and cold the only way I could figure out to do so. It was time to make the most the snowy weather, but then move on to declare that spring was on the way. The first order of business was for Alexis to spend several hours outside giggling and laughing as she went sledding with friends. Then she came inside and I busted out the ammunition for mission #2.

Seeds. Lots and lots of seeds.

Alexis planted watermelon, pumpkins, zucchini, and zinnias. They are all now sitting in a little greenhouse in the kitchen. As the days go by, little plants will peak up from the dirt and remind us that spring is coming.

Because it is. All I need to do to remind myself is to look at the plants.

When we were done putting little seeds in the dirt, I bet Alexis $5 that it was the last winter storm of the year. She took the bet, so we'll see who ends up richer in the end.

My odds of winning are up there with the odds that the weather man will be right about the next forecast. Not that I'm mad that the weather man was wrong when he said 12" of snow this weekend -- I'm not AT ALL. The 2" we got was enough for sledding fun, but meant the answer to "Is there a school delay today?" was NOOOOO.