the cold/hot factor

The weather has been so weird all winter. Whatever it is la nina or pollution or greenhouse gasses… I’m not liking it one bit. Sure, it was nice for Kaspar to enjoy the couple of weeks of full blown winter wonderland in December. I’ll even agree that I’d take this above the total lack of snow last winter, but being teased with +14 degree temperatures for a whole week, watching the crocuses come out and tulips begin to peak through the earth and the wake up to more snow and cold weather. I know it’s normal for January. I know. I know. I just don’t like it. I don’t like winter anymore, I’ve decided.

Winter with kids is so relentlessly tiresome. Just imagine for a minute the task of getting two kids ready to go outside. It takes a god ten minutes to track down all the garments and boots and blankets around the house. And that’s not even the beginning of the chore. Then it’s the decision of who to get dressed first. Of course, if I decide to get the two year old dressed, then the baby will start to cry just I begin. On the other hand, if I do manage to get the baby dressed and placed in the stroller before Kaspar decides to take off, then she’ll more then likely freak out, because she’s left there to lie all on her own. Then there is the traditional fight between Kaspar and myself of “You have to go and pee before we get into the snow suit!” “NO! I don’t have to pee!” and so on, and so on, until I cave and give up only to be faced by the unavoidable – “I need to pee pee, mom!” It always comes right at the moment, when I’m opening the front door and getting ready to shuffle the fully snow suited child out onto the porch. It’s Murphy’s law or just my luck. So, these days I intentionally avoid going outside with the two of them, if I’m home alone. When there are a second pair of hands to get the task done, then I can almost feel normal by the time we make it onto the street. So, that’s why I enjoyed the temperatures last week and am very much looking forward to spring. I know there are at least two more months of winter to go. But who knows… maybe it’ll end early. Maybe I can pray for El Nina to work some magic or move to Cuba?