Thursday, February 5, 2009

Cabin Fever

Right around this time of year is when I notice that everyone starts to feel a little cramped. The blustery winter days are starting to take their toll on these two children who are craving green grass and sunshine. We recently had a day where the temp actually rose above negative 27, so we took advantage and headed out for some sledding. As you can see, it was a huge hit...


We had a blast, or at least the kids did...Dev and I had as much fun as you can have while hauling a 30-pound child plus their sled to the top of an icy hill, just to push them back down again!
For the most part we've been spending our days indoors, trying to come up with creative ways to occupy our time. Recently while Devon was suffering from his nearly-terminal flu infection, the kids and I were going stir-crazy from a long weekend inside. Trying to come up with a fun activity that did NOT include Play-Doh (more on my aversion to Play-Doh later), I ended up grabbing a big clear plastic bin and filling it with warm water and some bubble bath.
I dropped in some bath toys and kitchen gadgets, told the kids to strip off their shirts, and announced we were having a "kitchen bath."
What a great time they had! They went fishing for pirates, scooped and swished with a measuring cup and wisk, and blew mountains of bubbles with silly straws. They were having so much fun, I was tempted to toss in the dirty dishes from dinner and let them scrub away. Of course, any excuse to go shirtless is pretty exciting as well. :-)


So I was wondering...what do all of you do to beat the winter blues? Any fun indoor activities to spice up the long cold days?

I, for one, am perfectly happy in the winter. I love the snow and warm winter clothes. The other morning I was reflecting on just how much I love this season while reading about Groundhog Day and snacking on a deliciously soft sugar cookie while at my desk (yes, I was eating a cookie for breakfast...I never said I was perfect.)

Oh, how cute, Punxsatawney Phil saw his shadow and ran back into his hole! Six more weeks of winter...isn't that nice...


Then a realization that made me bolt upright and nearly choke on my cookie...

Six weeks! Only six weeks left for me to hide my extra winter padding under these nice big sweaters?? Six weeks until short sleeves, capris, and...tank tops???

Oh, no. No way. I'm just not ready. I'll need a good 3 months to get back in shape for spring clothes.


Oh god. The pressure! I'm not cut out for warm weather. Where did I put those rice cakes?

So I put the cookie down and pull out a (chocolate, natch) rice cake. I munch away, feeling so good about my snackfood choice.

But wait...I can't throw away that perfectly good cookie. That would be wasteful.

Well, the cookie is a not-so-healthy choice...while the rice cake is a super-healthy choice! So if I eat them both, the rice cake will cancel out the calories of the cookie. Then, really, it will actually mean that I've eaten nothing at all. Wow, I am good at this dieting stuff! I'll even take the stairs to to my meeting on 3rd floor.

But first, I better grab something to eat...because after all, I haven't had a thing all day.

8 comments:

Danielle said...

great post emily! I love the kitchen bath...that's great! I love the sledding pictures...it looks like so much fun!

The Johnson Family 5 said...

I'm totally cracking up! I am soo not ready for summer clothing either...but wait...I've been working out for a few weeks now and I've gained 2 lbs...yes you read that right! WTH?? Ughh! Where are the cookies?

Kim said...

Your posts are so amusing. First off I love the pics/video of sledding and I know I said this like a million times, but I still love Seamus' hat. Kitchen bath sounds so cool! I also am stealing Catie's idea she did with Zander and make snow out of flour in a pan and let Preston play with his snow plows.
See my spring starts quicker. It's going into the sixties and high fifties this next week. I have been watching what I eat but man my mom buys those soft cake cookies with the frosting.....yum!!!!
And btw every time you poke fun at devon's "illness" I laugh. You guys are so cute!

Unknown said...

Yeh, men can be big babies when they are sick. Love you post. Your temps there get way to cold for this native Cali gal. I can stand about a month or 2 of cold wintery type weather which is nothing compared to what you get and then I am ready for some sun and flip flops. What a cute idea...kitchen bath...gotta try that sometime and I'll let you know how it goes. The video was great...so much fun sledding.

Melissa Swartley said...

Great post! I agree, the rice cake cancels out the cookie! That groundhog needs to add a few more weeks! I really enjoy the warm weather vs the bitter cold, but I've got a spare tire to get rid of and it's going to take longer than 6 weeks! Haha! I love the indoor water play idea! I'm totally going to do that this week, and I think I will toss in the dishes! Haha! Glad you guys are having fun despite the chill!

Caden and Mommy said...

Emily!
I love your logic with the cookies and rice cakes ~ makes perfect sense to me :0) The kitchen bath, what a perfect idea! I can't believe spring is just around the corner ~ amazing!
Trisha

Tonya said...

That was great!!

I for one will have to respectfully disagree with you about winter, I hate it, but I'll send Hannah your way and you both can go play in the snow till spring! :)

In Knoah's playgroup, they do all sorts of stuff with the tub. Snow, water, food cloring, tons of fun!! Knoah's fun...he eats. That's all we have time for right now.

Destini said...

I love Seamus' sled - Trace would go nuts - but I can't let him watch it, because I've never seen a sled like that here, and I am not going to put myself through that fit! Your commentary with the imaginary cookie is too funny! I am not looking forward to the MUD that the winter thaw and rainy spring weather bring to my house. Horses + mud + dogs + children = a huge mess!