"Speaking of weather, the other day when it was so cold, a friend of mine
went to buy some long underwear. The shopkeeper said to him,'How long
do you want it?' And my friend said, 'Well, from about September to
March.'" ~ Uncle Albert
This time of the year is a hard time, weather-wise, with two
little active children. We have a few really nice days of over 40 degree
weather and the snow is all most ALL gone; then WHAM, another snow storm and
too many consecutive days of less than 30 degree temperatures. I don’t take the
kids out if the weather is below 34. It’s just too cold for their little
bodies, no matter how much we bundle them up! I also find that the days we don’t
get outside they are much more insubordinate. It’s like they have completely
forgotten how to listen… to ANYTHING! This, of course, makes me just as nutty
as them!
Outside playtime is a very important part of our household. So
long as Mother Nature cooperates, we spend as much time as possible outside!
Since it is still technically winter… we try to go out at least once a day, even if it is only for 15 min on really cold days. Usually, just after lunch and before nap/rest time (oh boy… that’s a story for another time too!!) when it’s close to being the warmest without interrupting “quiet-time” too much. When the temperature is warm enough to have high 30’s in the late morning, we try to get out twice a day, around 10 am and again sometime close to 2:30 pm. But my favorite is when we get to come outside at 7 am! We have breakfast and lunch outside, only taking indoor breaks for potty time! We are normally finishing lunch around 11:45 am, which is the perfect time to come in and watch a movie for rest time! Plus, it keeps the kids occupied for about two hours… just long enough to avoid the sun at the highest point. Around two or three we head back outside and stay there until dinner, or even longer if we cook on the grill and eat on the deck!
Since it is still technically winter… we try to go out at least once a day, even if it is only for 15 min on really cold days. Usually, just after lunch and before nap/rest time (oh boy… that’s a story for another time too!!) when it’s close to being the warmest without interrupting “quiet-time” too much. When the temperature is warm enough to have high 30’s in the late morning, we try to get out twice a day, around 10 am and again sometime close to 2:30 pm. But my favorite is when we get to come outside at 7 am! We have breakfast and lunch outside, only taking indoor breaks for potty time! We are normally finishing lunch around 11:45 am, which is the perfect time to come in and watch a movie for rest time! Plus, it keeps the kids occupied for about two hours… just long enough to avoid the sun at the highest point. Around two or three we head back outside and stay there until dinner, or even longer if we cook on the grill and eat on the deck!
Playing outside is a great way to not only tire the kids
out, but to also make sure we have some great family time! Living in a house
with five adults (six when my brother comes home to visit from school in LA [he’s
going to be famous one day… again another story for another day!]) and two kids
from four generations, family time is important in our home. We try very hard
to get everyone to have dinner together. No matter how stressful the work day
was, or any possible disagreements we have had with each other, dinner time is
a time for us to put it all aside, just for
a moment and enjoy each other!
Thanks for reading!
Until next time, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
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