Monthly Archives: January 2016

Snowzilla 2016

Posted in Baby Stuff, Mommy Life by

snowzilla

I was worried the day before Snowzilla arrived.  Mostly because I was afraid the power was going to go out in the middle of the blizzard, which means the heat will stop.  That’s the last thing I wanted to happen with two young kids in the home.  But we survived and we are all dug out of our 2 feet of snow thanks to our trusty snow blower.

The previous weekend we brought the kids to the zoo when there was a little snow falling.  We took the opportunity to catch up with friends who lived close by and have the kids see the animals.  One friend is Finnish, and we talked about what the weather is like in Finland (we’re attending her wedding later on this summer).  I admitted to her that we almost canceled on them today due to the weather, and I wondered what the Finnish do in the winter to cure their cabin fever.  She said, “There’s never bad weather, just bad gear.”  And she was right.  My kids had a blast outside in the blustery wind and very light snow, walking and looking at the animals.  I think we adults were more miserable.

When the snow began to fall for Snowzilla, I put them in snow gear and shuffled my kids outside the house.  The next day, after 14 inches had fallen so far I put the snow gear back on and kicked them out of the house.  Thankfully the whiteout conditions occurred later in the afternoon, but I’m glad I made them go outside.  We spent the entire morning making snow angels, “hiking”, and clearing our the driveway.  They had fun and napped so well.  Thank goodness for snow gear!

Here are things I love for my kids to brave the cold outside:

  • JJ Cole Bundle Me – I kind of wish they make an adult version of this.  We put this in the stroller when we go on a long walk outside and need the kids to stay toasty.  It also eliminates having to put on heavy thick layers only to take them off when they go inside.
  • Baby Snow Suit – I really like this one, especially since you can fold over the sleeves and legs so that their hands and feet are protected from the snow.  Since my daughter is walking now, we just have her in boots, but the sleeves are perfect.  Having her wear gloves is useless and always come off, but these are great.  She’s nice and toasty, and we go back inside she’s very dry from romping in the snow.
  • A good fury hat and mittens.  And any waterproof shoe!

I hate winter time and this cold weather, but I’m glad my kids are enjoying it.  I think outfitting them to brave the cold elements helps them.

2016 New Year’s Resolutions

Posted in Mommy Life, Parenting by

OMG, I haven’t updated in a month!!!  It has been quite a hectic last few weeks with the holiday season.  Hope everyone enjoyed it with family.  And now it’s 2016!!!  How the heck did that happen?!  Anyhoo, here are my resolutions for this year.

  1. Try to be off the grid more!
    Is that possible in 2016?  Yes and no.  For me it means to check Facebook less.  I am really aiming to not be the parent that has their head buried in their phone while their child is happily playing independently.  While I still want my children to learn to play independently, I still want to observe the little quirks that make them unique.  If that at all makes sense to any of you.  The goal is just to stay present in the moments and take it all in.  However, you’ll still find me taking a few videos or photos for Instagram.
  2. Mom’s Night Out!!!
    The one thing I miss about SF are the mom’s I met while there. While I have mom friends here, we rarely were ever away from the kids.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s also difficult to have a very meaningful conversation especially now that our children are walking.  It’s usually a quick chat about a topic for 2 minutes before our children wander away from each other.  So I am trying to organize a monthly mom’s night out; away from the kids, away from the husbands so that we can reconnect as women over cocktails and food.  The first one went really well.  I just need to plan that second one.
  3. Be more active!
    Since moving back to the DC suburbs, it is really really easy to fall into that sedentary lifestyle–just sit on the couch or park bench and watch the kids play.  There’s just something culturally different between the East and West Coasts and our views on activity.  While I still play soccer, that’s not nearly enough to what I was doing in SF.  Granted the weather is a lot warmer and nicer there, that’s still not an excuse to not be outdoors and enjoying life.  So I’ve been taking advantage of the wetland preserve a mile away, which my son loves.  I have a zoo membership this year, which both kids absolutely love doing.  And we’ve gone to museums, which thankfully are mostly free here in DC.  We still walk to our local playgrounds.  But it’s nice to go out on a hike or walk, especially now Sammy just wants to walk all over the place (forget about baby wearing or stroller walking).
  4. Take pictures!
    I still primarily  use my iPhone to take pictures, but this year I really want to start using my DSLR more.  I used it a lot during my son’s first years of life, but I just haven’t done so with my daughter.  I always end up forgetting to bring it, but more often than not I’m just lazy about taking pictures.  This year it will change, even though I haven’t used it yet this year!!!  But we have some amazing trips (both with and without  kids!) planned this year, so it will definitely encourage me to pull it out and use it more.

So those are my resolutions that I hope to keep up this year.  I feel like it won’t be difficult, and I don’t want to say kids are the excuse.  What are your resolutions this year?