As we are preparing to get yet another round of snow -- and this time some sleet and possibly ice, too -- I'm fast-forwarding in my mind to the week of February break, when we are planning to make our escape from the frozen tundra to the Florida Keys.

We've never taken a vacation during that week, but with my husband home on a seasonal layoff, the kids off from school that third week in February, I thought, why not? So after I got the OK from work, I was off and planning -- OBSESSIVELY.

My vacation fund isn't too big, so we weren't sure what we could afford in the realm of a warm weather getaway. But my husband and I got giggly when we discovered flights on Southwest from Albany to Fort Lauderdale for $80 each way. We could actually afford this!

Of course, it was late at night and I didn't book the flights right then. The next day I didn't get a chance to get back to it. So when went back to the website two days later, I got a big slap in the face. The rates had doubled. It was now $167 each way. So I did what anyone would do. I cried. I didn't see any way we could go anymore.

But my husband had all the answers: "We'll just drive. That way we can pack our fishing poles and life jackets and snorkel gear and stuff we wouldn't have been able to take."

So we mapped it to see how log and far — about 25 hours. It's no longer than the Kansas trip we've made more than a dozen times. We're hard-core drivers. The Florida Keys would be no match for the DeMars clan.

Besides, we'd be saving a lot of money. We wouldn't have to rent a car once we got there like we'd originally planned.

So then the search was on for a reasonably priced rental house somewhere in the Keys. I must have looked at a couple hundred places at vacationrentals.com and VRBO (vacation rentals by owner).

Finally, after e-mailing multiple places and getting "sorry, we're booked solid" notices, we scored a house in Key Largo -- cheap, too. (Here's to hoping it's half-way decent!) She only had it avaialble for four of our six nights, though, so my search continued. Somehow I stumbled upon a fishing resort that included a half-day boat rental with each night's stay. (A major score for my husband and son). I was sold on the pool, beach and other resort amenities. Totally affordable, too. They had one suite left.

Having learned our lesson with the flight situation, we booked right away.

So now, I'm reading up on "what not to miss" while in the Keys to make sure we take full advantage of our time. Suggestions welcome!

We managed to get out the door to make the school bus this morning for the last time this school year. We were still wrapping their little teacher gifts 10 minutes before, so thankfully I got away without making lunches, as they have a picnic at their after-school program today. Now, the clock is ticking on the kids' departure to Grandma and Grandpa's this weekend.

I've been doing laundry all week (aka washing, drying and making a huge pile in the living room) so we'll be able to pack Friday night. When I told the kids I would need their help packing their bags for their month-long stay, my son said: "Yeah, I'm probably not going to bring much, cuz I'm just gonna be fishing most of the time anyway."

I raised my eyebrows. "OK, so you're not going to be wearing clothes while you're fishing?"

These kids are such polar opposites on this whole packing thing. He'll probably put his swimshorts and his Yankees cap in a bag and say he's done, but my 8-year-old daughter said this morning, "I think I'm just gonna take all my clothes to Kansas." She has even taken her soap out of the shower to take with her!

School vacation — again. It's another week the kids have no obligations and I have more, like setting up (and paying for) child care and toting them from Milton to Wilton and back each day. Why choose a sitter a good 25 minutes away? As working moms know, finding someone with whom you are completely comfortable leaving your children all day can be stressful. Once you find that caretaker, you don't let them go — even if they live a bit farther away.

When we first moved to the area in 2003 so I could take a job as the news editor at The Saratogian, I sought out a sitter in the classified pages of the paper. We only needed someone for a couple hours a day for the time in between our shifts. My son was 3, and my daughter had just turned 1. Though I took many phone calls from interested folks, Michele was the first and ultimately the best.

After my son started school and I moved into a daytime gig, Michele and my daughter bonded in a big way, with just the two of them spending their days together. I have to admit a bit of jealousy over the fact the two of them seemed to have the most wonderful times, all while I was at work. But having worked throughout the years my children were small, I came to realize the value of our day care providers in my children's lives — especially Michele. She's taken them to doctor's appointments when I couldn't, taught them lessons in being respectful to adults they meet when they are out with her and given me plenty of good advice, as both her children are grown. She's become like a member of our extended family, someone who loves our children dearly. I'm so grateful for having someone like her in our lives.