It's that time of year again.....

No, I'm not talking about the 'holiday season'. I'm talking about the time of year that makes me want to fly south! It's cold, & so gray here. I feel totally out of place as (most) people around me are super excited for the snowy season to begin. I do NOT feel so inclined to take on any snowy type sports involving flying down a snow covered mountain dotted with trees, with giant skis on my feet. Nor do I want to take my children up the mountain to experience it. I will just stick with sledding down the small hills..thank you. But, let me tell you of our last 'sledding' experience. There is a hill on the property beside our house that we get permission to sled down in the winter. It's not too far out, so we suited up the kiddos..let me describe that for my Southern friends & family....You start with one kiddo..send them to the bathroom..then layer on snowsuit, mittens (which takes several tries to get the thumb in the right hole!) jacket, hat, socks & snow boots..then you move on the second child & start the process over again..while the first child is whining that he/she is hot (because after all it IS 80 degrees inside & they are dressed for freezing weather!) So, you continue to work on the second child & send the first one outside..(lots of whining that they don't want to go out by themselves..blah blah) finally they relent & go..& you once again continue to work on the second child ..who happens to be SUPER picky about how the snowsuit & jacket fits over the long sleeved shirt he/she has on..& who is now whining about being sweaty as well. Then you hear the first child screaming from outside that they need to go potty...You finish suiting up the first child & send them out...then you bring in the first child who is now covered in snow from head to toe...undress them as little as possible & track melting snow all the way to the bathroom & take care of business. Walk back to the back door mopping up puddles of melted snow along the way & suit the kiddo back up..(see above process). By now the other child (the second one) is whining because their mittens are now filled with snow & their arms are freezing. You take off mittens beat them out, dry off hands & poke them back into mittens...then prepare to dress yourself in snow pants, jacket, hats & mittens...while trying not to step in any puddles of melted snow in the floor...& sweating.
OK, so now..back to our sledding experience..after all of the above, we finally make it outside & realize that the kids aren't able to walk in the snow, because it is hip high on us, the grown ups. So, we decide that we will pull them out there on the sleds. Each parent takes a sled & a whinny, frozen child. You must hold the sled still while they climb on..which takes several tries. (just imagine water boarding for you southern readers) finally you get the child loaded & make a few steps...with great effort to walk in the hip deep snow while pulling a 50 lb. child on the sled behind you...before they fall off & you restart the loading process, with the whining frozen child. After several minutes of this you turn to look & see how far you've gone..only to realize that you could still spit on the back porch..so you tread on..repeating the loading process several more times...until you hear those dreaded words..."MOOOOOMMMY, I need to go POOOP!" You yell at the poor whining frozen child that they will just have to wait & continue on our trek to the hill. After what seems like an eternity...& whining (not only the kids', but yours now too!) ..The parents discuss what it will be like to get up the hill...hmmm, look back now & it's about the same distance to the porch as it is to the hill. We are both exhausted from trodding along in the hip deep snow & loading the kids (who are whinny, frozen & now both have to go potty) a gazillion times onto the sleds. We know that IF we ever make it to the hill it will be oh so hard to climb the hill....So, yup...we gave up & headed back to the porch. ....and then there is the unsuiting & drying up puddles of melted snow & finding spots to hang all the melting, snow covered suits & jackets, hats, mittens, scarves..etc., etc.....
I must admit that the snow is beautiful when it first starts to fall, usually in late November. It covers the beautiful blue spruce trees in our yard & sparkles on the ground. And even on the darkest nights, it's all lit up outside with gleaming white snow. It's quite breath taking at times! It's beautiful to have snow on the ground at Christmas and New Years...Valentines Day...by March it's getting kinda old..then there is Easter...yup, still snow on the ground...and many many times its STILL on the ground in our yard in May! Then, let me remind you that it does have to go somewhere when it melts...Our yard is flooded & muddy for May & June (although we do get some nice days in there & begin to see hints of the sunshine again...which means that the kids want to play outside...a whole different story...Let me enlighten you. Go ahead..grab some coffee & a cookie. The kiddos want to go out & play & you think "why not..it's fairly warm in comparison to the blizzard like winds of a few weeks ago & the sun is shinning..may as well let them enjoy it. So, you send them out. You must suit them up in snow gear, because it's still covering the ground & freezing out there. This time they are able to walk by themselves as its only ankle deep on them now as opposed to neck deep...but now it's a wet, melting snow. So in about 10 minutes, give or take a few, they are at the door whining because they are soaked through their snow suits & freezing! And did I mention the mud...it's even funner to clean up than the dripping, melting snow. You must wash all the jackets, mittens, hats & snowsuits that are covered in mud. Completely redress the kiddos...even underwear are soaked(weather it's from melted, slushy snow or pee because they were afraid I'd yell at them if they told me they had to go pee after I had just spent 20 minutes per child to dress them, I'm not sure...& don't ask. Then you have to find somewhere ...in our very small space by the back door, which is also (thankfully!) our laundry area...to store the mud covered, dripping, boots till later today when they are bound to want to try it all over again!! And let me remind you while I'm washing muddy, soggy clothes my Floridian friends & family are now swimming..& posting pictures of beautiful barefooted babies playing under the sprinkler outside, all over facebook for me to enjoy..while *trying* to be content with my own circumstances!)...then gradually the ground starts to dry out & things start to bloom & turn green again...The days get warmer & warmer & by late July we can finally wear our summer clothes (in the daytime at least) then..by the end of August, it's cooling off again. As a matter of fact, for the last 2 years on Kaylee's birthday (Aug. 29th) I've worn a jacket! And this past year, it wasn't just me, a southern girl at heart, who was suited up...some of the native Idahoans (or at least had been born & raised in the northern parts of the world) had chattering teeth as well!
There are many memories of this winter wonderland (aka frozen tundra) that I will cherish forever though....should I ever escape it.....
*sliding through the railroad tracks down the road from our house once each winter before I realize "oh yeah, the roads are frozen for the next 8 months!" Nothing like those near death experiences to remind you to start stopping 1/4 mile before you get to where you need to stop at.
*shoveling the roof twice in one week. The second time all by myself in the rain...an accomplishment I'm quite proud of! Let me mention to my southern friends who have never shoveled snow...it's not all light & fluffy once it's been on the roof & partially melted & refrozen who knows how many times. It is quite the chore to chisel it off the roof
*not having to use the ladder to get down after I was done, because the snow was so high I could just step down.
*the time our snow blower broke during a snow storm & we couldn't get parts for over a week & we had to shovel the whole driveway (it's not a short one!) by hand...only to have it snow more that night! I must add though, that a friend showed up the next day & plowed for us & we were spared hand shoveling again!
*taking our little Mitsubishi car out to a empty parking lot & pulling the emergency brake to send the car spinning..much to the kids delight!
and so many more...

It's now a week or so later than when I started this post..I'm officially in panic mode now. Today it's super cold (as in 17) out & super windy..the kids are thrilled that there is snow on the ground & are hounding me to go play in it :-/

While I do struggle during the very long winter months here (that never seem to end!) I am so thankful for my nice warm house, wood heat & the wonderful hubby that builds fires in it for me, 2 woodsheds full of firewood, Kaylee & Trevor's great imaginations (as they will be needing those to come up with things to do inside!) good friends to keep me going....and a super cute baby girl to take my mind off whats going on outside!!

So, if you are reading this & happen to be one of those people that just loves this time of year..please remember that I'm from Florida (THE SUNSHINE STATE!!!) & just love me in spite of my complaining about the weather here...or ignore me for the next 6 months!

* The picture above is what the sky looks like on most days here.. gray, for as far as you can see.