"Beat it, Winter": But until then there's Snowsuits

Dang it Winter, let go already. Like lint on my pantyhose. Like a leech on the inside of my thigh. Like a cold without echinacea. Like Madi on my neck in a sea of strange men.

What? Are you frightened? Hungry? Bull-headed? Why can you not let go?

You've got some serious self-assessment to do. There are 20 ever lengthening days left until Spring bullies you out of here (You know how you get when the sun comes out. Like my husband when I host book club, just melts away). Is that all this is? Grand standing? I swear, if you get all global warming on me I'm going to pull out my hair dryer and blow what I can of you away.

 - 31 tonight, - 26 tomorrow, - 31 Saturday. Winter, this is seriously unacceptable. It's the beginning of March. Have you never visited Vancouver at this time of year? Dancing about in Cherry blossoms, they are. And then you'd get an early- longer- northern holiday... 

What was that, Winter? Oh... Right. This is your holiday spot?

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I guess I've chosen this. For all sorts of weird and wonderful reasons, I chose this place. Cold days such as these call for positive thoughts: Like of snow forts. Ice slides. Skating rinks. Hibernating. The euphoric feelings one gets on entering the warm house every single day.

The key to making the best of winter while carting kids around, for me, has been their MEC snowsuits. An uber investment- at $100 a pop- I never worry about the girls being too cold. And they fit so well, they have to do some pretty crazy stuff to end up with snow down their backs. 

To help cover the cost, my girlfriend and I have cooperated. Our kids are in between each other in size so each season we've taken turns buying suits. This year, she bought my oldest daughter's size while her son took on the middle size. Lily remains in an 18 month suit... for the second year in a row.

Soon, I pray really soon, I will retire the suits for another season. But until then, we will bundle and alternately curse then praise Winter.


Maybe I need to just let it go. This- -31- is my reality.

Snowed in Buccaneers

While the temperatures may be inching up in this Northern city- I'll happily use the snow as an excuse to stay housebound all Saturday long.

On this cold Saturday, the females of the house found ourselves consumed by the tale of three well meaning, sea-faring thieves (call us Robin Hoods of the Oceanlands). Inspired by a map of Narnia (Madi has began the journey into Narnia! And her parents are saved from Dr. Suess re-runs), we constructed costumes, a ship, and scenarios involving desperate animals in need of heros.

Madi fixes her eye patch as I take time away from my telescope to check our coordinates.

Madi returns from a journey saving the animals of... err... the Serengeti of Narnia. The wheel is a master's carving, decorated with gems and fabric from lands that lay far East of the Silk Road (found at a dollar store nearest you).

Madi's idea- she wanted "a flag that flapped". I kept trying scarves, but they didn't flow to her liking. So we tried toilet paper. It fluttered in the north winds (aided by our summer fan dug from deep storage).

What is it about pirates and children? What do you think: Are they villains sanitized purely for our children's amusement?  Or is it our twisted way of empathizing with the marginalized who's basic survival is too often criminalized- and punished without impunity? 

Lily had a tendency to rip the ship apart, but she managed to play a critical part in Madi and my script: the baby lost at sea who we saved at the expense of ourselves (and our sanity).