Snow!

Perhaps it's global warming, or perhaps snow has always been elusive in the month of December, when the Christmas season has us collectively wishing for a blanket of white. We got rain instead of snow on Christmas Eve and then, a few days later, a tease. A thin layer of crunchy icy stuff that is no good for snowballs, snowmen, snow angels, or sledding.  We went outside anyway.

Yesterday we had a real snowfall, I threw snowballs for Worf on our evening walk.  The temperature threatened to climb above zero before the morning.  I awoke today relieved that the snow was still here, packing snow, snowman snow.  I got the kids dressed in their snowpants, mitts and hats.  I told them that if the tobogganing hill was too sticky and slushy, plan B was to build a snowman in the schoolyard.

Fortunately, the hill was covered in slippery snow, if a little muddy at the bottom.  The stark white maple leaf on the palm of my mittens is now beige.  Looks like it was meant to be that colour.

I immediately wished I'd brought a camera.  Jadzia helped to straighten the sled before they got in, making sure they would go down at just the right angle. William held his sister, protecting her as they slid down together.

I went down a few times with the kids, but then my eldest made it clear that it was better without a grown-up. He was right, I slowed them down and caused the unbalanced sled to spin out of control.

I was just getting bored of watching others have fun, when William exclaimed the he had to go pee.  He wanted to pee in the bushes, but since he was wearing snowpants and a jacket I wasn't sure how that would be accomplished.  Nor did I want to try.  It was time to go home anyway.  When he started to fuss, I lured them both away from the hill with a playful snowball fight.  I pretended to be attempting to evade their attack, using the toboggan as a shield.

Despite William's repeated insistence that he "couldn't hold it", neither he nor his sister walked any faster than they normally would.  To be fair, they were both dressed like astronauts.  However, since he didn't seem to be in a big hurry, I made him wait a minute longer so I could run inside and grab my camera (they looked too cute in their snowsuits).

And he didn't pee his pants!

Snow?

Yesterday was borderline no-jacket weather, so this morning when I opened the blinds an saw everything covered with the fluffy white stuff, I had the same wtf response as I'm sure everyone else did.  I just bought a bike, for Spock's sake.  I've always secretly believed that I could control the weather by preparing myself for the opposite.  Like, when I get around to purchasing hats and mitts, I'm pretty much guaranteed an unseasonably warm winter.  I buy a bike and of course it snows.  I think I'm going to go out and get a raincoat and galoshes.

Not to say I didn't see this as an opportunity.  I immediately wrote "tobogganning" on my to-do list and went with the kids right after breakfast.

I only went down the hill three times.  Once, all by myself because neither of my offspring wanted to go.  Instead, they attempted to navigate the slippery playground equipment wearing snowpants and boots. Eventually William fell and got snow all inside his jacket.  After that he was too cold and we had to go home. But not before Jadzia had herself a wee snack.

Snow!!!!!!

This is an all points bulletin!  Get out and enjoy the snow while you still can!  For that past few weeks, the marshmellow blanket of happiness disappeared to be replaced by a mucky icy mess.  But today winter has returned for a limited time only.  Seize the day, everyone!

Imagine my glee, when I woke this morning to find a thick layer of snow all over everything.  We wasted no time (well, we wasted a little time, we still have two kids) in getting all bundled and off to the tobogganing hill.  We over filled our sled, two adults and two children riding together.  Even Morty the Jackapoo got a chance to slide, though he mostly just chased us to the bottom. 

Jadzia gets the prize for eating the most snow.  And why not?  Freshly fallen and purely white, even I had to admit it looked appetizing (though I managed to resist the urge).

At home we enjoyed some hot chocolate made with real cocoa and milk (hot chocolate made with water is a crime against chocolate).

If you are looking for something to do today, do NOT go to an indoor playground, do NOT go shopping, do NOT go to church, and do NOT go to the library.  GO OUTSIDE.  The mucky muck will be back before you know it.

Winter wonderland

This morning I awoke to a fresh heap of powder all over everything.  Now I try to get up at seven every morning and do a little outdoor exercise, usually walking since my bike was stolen and winter arrived.  But today I decided to be extra productive and shovel the driveway.

Most of the time we just leave the driveway as is and drive our SUVs over whatever hardened mountains of ice result.  A couple of years ago the mail man refused to deliver our mail because our driveway was too treacherous.  Through rain, snow, sleet or hail my butt!  Anyway, me shoveling is such an event that my husband snapped some paparazzi-style photos of me to commemorate the occassion.

Check out my giant he-man shovel!

Anyway, being outside in the snow reminded me that playing in the snow is a part of childhood that we've been doing far too little of this season.  So I put "play in the snow with kids" on my to-do list and after breakfast I got them ready.

William, Jadzia and I had a great time frollicking in the mounds of powder my shoveling created.  Well, William and I had fun anyway.  Jadzia, who can barely stand in her boots and snowpants let alone walk, mostly just sat in the snow and glared and me.

The white stuff was too powdery for a snowman, or even a snow ball fight (though we did try).  Instead I dragged the children in a toboggan to the nearby school (which has a wicked hill, tame enough for my kids but not so slow the adult gets bored).  Jadzia giggled the first time down the hill but shortly after began to get weepy.  I convinced William to go home by promising hot chocolate and declared our winter outting a success.

Except I ran out of milk and had to make the hot chocolates partially with water, blech.  Luckily they had just enough milk in them to be tolerable.

Wouldbe Tobogganning Pics

This afternoon we went tobogganing as a family. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera so I'll have to describe pictures I would have taken, if I had been more prepared:

Pic #1 is a shot of me and the kids on our big black plastic toboggan. William is sitting in the front wearing his new black snowpants, red jacket, and fuzzy brown puppy hat. I'm in the back wearing my red coat, with zebra hat and matching zebra mitts. Jadzia is sandwiched in between us, wearing her psychedelic coat, yellow snow pants, and pink teddy bear hat. Adam would have taken this picture from the top of the hill, as we spun around to face him on our decent.

Pic #2 shows William dragging the toboggan behind him, on his way back up the hill after riding down himself. He took his red mittens off at the bottom of the hill, declaring "I don't need my mitts!" so they are in the toboggan.

Pic #3 is of Adam riding down with Jadzia. It's a really cute shot, with Jadzia all snuggled up against her Daddy. The size difference between them is laughably adorable. Jadzia is but a swatch of pink and yellow against Adam's big red coat.

I should apologize also that these images are a bit over-exposed, because it was such a bright sunny day and I was getting a lot of glare from the snow. There are some pictures I wouldn't have included, of me going myself, Adam going down himself, me sledding down with just Jadzia, and with just William (I'd have posted these on facebook). William insisted on all these arrangements. As soon as the toboggan was at the top of the hill he would proclaim, is his bossy preschooler way, whose turn it was next and who they would be riding with. Not that I'm complaining, his arrangements were very equitable.

When we surmised that Jadzia was too cold, we took the short walk home and had some not-too-hot hot chocolate.