snow days

"Mommy, it's a beautiful snowy day outside!  Should we make a snowman?" Elliot announces.

M. and E. are desperate to make a snowman with a carrot nose and extremely disappointed that the first snowfall was too light and fluffy for snowman making.  We're lucky to live near a park in a valley with some fantastic tobogganing hills so we headed over there for our first real sledding adventure.

Are you thinking it was all fun and laughing and snowball fights? First you've got to navigate the minefield of getting two toddlers ready to go OUTSIDE.  This means convincing them they want to do a multitude of things including but not limited to:  going potty, washing hand, putting snowpants on, mittens, jackets, hats, boots, scarves, getting into the stroller etc.  Any or all of these requests may be met with a temper tantrum or whining or running away.  And once you succeed with one, there's nothing to say that the other boy may have removed his mittens or jacket etc.  All while the dog is howling to go out because why is this taking SO LONG?

Are you still with me?  Do you have your sanity?  Are you able to paste a smile on your face?  OK, get over it because now the fun begins!  M. and E. LOVED sliding down the hill on our wooden toboggan.  And did pretty good at climbing back up on their own too.  And they really got a kick out of throwing snowballs at Mommy and Daddy.  And then they realized they didn't even need a toboggan but could just roll down the hill and that was even better.

And all the tantrums we're forgotten in hearing the pure joy of little kids having fun in the snow.