7 Quick Takes Friday: Preparing for a blizzard, friendly procrastinators, cooking with kids, a monkey piñata, when your children want a dog, and more

A blizzard is coming.This will be our first real snow this winter, and our children are so excited. And, of course, schools are closed even though the snow hasn’t started. About 39 flakes fell from the sky on Wednesday night and the schools were delayed two hours the next morning.