Snow
I'm a bit late with this update, but thought it was useful to write. Snow came last weekend - a lot of it. Once Brian cleared a path down our front steps, across the sidewalk and out to the street, it came up higher than his hips. We took turns moving it while the other was in the house with Mina. Since our yard is next to our house and not behind it, we have a long length of sidewalk to clear in a storm (because we are nice neighbors, and want to make it easier for ourselves and others to walk in our hood). Our driveway is big enough for our two cars in tandem, and clearing the bottom is always a mess due to the frequent plowing by the city (we live on a main street, one block from an elementary school where most kids walk). I'm glad we bought a snowblower 2 years ago! It's not the sexiest thing, but was able to manage the pile at the end of the drive a little at a time. Brian did that first leg of the work, and I went out and cleared cars and then shoveled half the sidewalk, driveway to door. We went out later with the snowblower and did the other half of the sidewalk.
I knew that our kid was social, but this experience really drove it home for us. She had been sick over the weekend, and is home with me on Mondays. Tuesday she and Brian were home sick, and I stayed home to take care of them. She was in school Wednesday and was fine all morning, but Brian got a call at 3:00 to come and get her with a fever. He stayed home with her on Thursday (since I was out of work Monday and Tuesday, he took one for the team and stayed home with her). We took her to the pedi on Thursday night to rule out something needing antibiotics (they said it was just a virus and had to run its course) before the storm came. Friday, I worked from home as did he, and we were all inside. The bulk of NEMO hit us late Friday, and Saturday was shoveling and snowblowing day. Oh my goodness, the kid was crazy! Needed to get out! We played all over the house, took out toys she's not used to seeing, watched Sesame Street (we never have the TV on for her). She was nutso. We went out for a bit with her all bundled up, but she didn't want to play *in* the snow.
Being in a downtown area, there are a lot of folks in our hood. And stuff to walk to. Seeing people in the middle of the street on that Saturday (almost a week ago now), cross country skiiing, driving ATVs, dragging their kids on plastic toboggans just made me want to get out. The Governer declared that no driving was allowed until after 4 PM, but around 2:30 or so Brian went out with his truck to scout out potential places that were open for us to get out to that evening. 2 restaurants and a couple of bars on Moody Street were open. No sidewalks were. People were walking in the streets, trying to maneuver around cars that had less room to drive given the city's bad plowing (not to the curb).
Whatever. This was imperative! We were getting out! We were seeing people.
I *heart* my baby carrier. Mina is big enough now that I really should figure out how to put her on my back, but with the snow and whipping wind, the facing me, front carry was really the best. We bundled ourselves up. I put on the carrier, we got Mina into it (she was all snug as a bug in a fleece 1-piece hooded jumpsuit jacket, I put my down coat on over that, and then wrapped a blanket around her in front of that to shelter her from wind/whipping snow. We started walking. About 2 minutes from the house and she was sleeping on me, soundly. It took us a while to make it given some false starts (oh that sidewalk is clear - oh wait it isn't, turn around), but we made it to http://watchcitybrew.com/ in one piece. She slept on me for a bit and then we woke her around 5:00 so as not to mess with bedtime later on. She just LIT UP! People! To flirt with! TVs (a big novelty for her)! Sharing interesting food! It was medicine for us all. The storm itself would not have been so bad, but following a week of sick kid at home, it was poorly timed.
(btw parents, Watch City has now installed changing tables in their bathrooms, boo-yah)
I knew our kid was a social one. This unplanned experiment just showed indeed, how much she is. Seeing her poor, deflated, bored little face is something I'd like to avoid. I know there is that balance between creative, free and unstructured play and needing to "entertain" your kid. We aim to get somewhere in the middle. More than ever, I have been taught how important this is for her.
(I do hope as she gets older she's more interested in playing in snow or in sand . . . in both extremes she has been MISERABLE thus far)
I knew that our kid was social, but this experience really drove it home for us. She had been sick over the weekend, and is home with me on Mondays. Tuesday she and Brian were home sick, and I stayed home to take care of them. She was in school Wednesday and was fine all morning, but Brian got a call at 3:00 to come and get her with a fever. He stayed home with her on Thursday (since I was out of work Monday and Tuesday, he took one for the team and stayed home with her). We took her to the pedi on Thursday night to rule out something needing antibiotics (they said it was just a virus and had to run its course) before the storm came. Friday, I worked from home as did he, and we were all inside. The bulk of NEMO hit us late Friday, and Saturday was shoveling and snowblowing day. Oh my goodness, the kid was crazy! Needed to get out! We played all over the house, took out toys she's not used to seeing, watched Sesame Street (we never have the TV on for her). She was nutso. We went out for a bit with her all bundled up, but she didn't want to play *in* the snow.
Being in a downtown area, there are a lot of folks in our hood. And stuff to walk to. Seeing people in the middle of the street on that Saturday (almost a week ago now), cross country skiiing, driving ATVs, dragging their kids on plastic toboggans just made me want to get out. The Governer declared that no driving was allowed until after 4 PM, but around 2:30 or so Brian went out with his truck to scout out potential places that were open for us to get out to that evening. 2 restaurants and a couple of bars on Moody Street were open. No sidewalks were. People were walking in the streets, trying to maneuver around cars that had less room to drive given the city's bad plowing (not to the curb).
Whatever. This was imperative! We were getting out! We were seeing people.
I *heart* my baby carrier. Mina is big enough now that I really should figure out how to put her on my back, but with the snow and whipping wind, the facing me, front carry was really the best. We bundled ourselves up. I put on the carrier, we got Mina into it (she was all snug as a bug in a fleece 1-piece hooded jumpsuit jacket, I put my down coat on over that, and then wrapped a blanket around her in front of that to shelter her from wind/whipping snow. We started walking. About 2 minutes from the house and she was sleeping on me, soundly. It took us a while to make it given some false starts (oh that sidewalk is clear - oh wait it isn't, turn around), but we made it to http://watchcitybrew.com/ in one piece. She slept on me for a bit and then we woke her around 5:00 so as not to mess with bedtime later on. She just LIT UP! People! To flirt with! TVs (a big novelty for her)! Sharing interesting food! It was medicine for us all. The storm itself would not have been so bad, but following a week of sick kid at home, it was poorly timed.
(btw parents, Watch City has now installed changing tables in their bathrooms, boo-yah)
I knew our kid was a social one. This unplanned experiment just showed indeed, how much she is. Seeing her poor, deflated, bored little face is something I'd like to avoid. I know there is that balance between creative, free and unstructured play and needing to "entertain" your kid. We aim to get somewhere in the middle. More than ever, I have been taught how important this is for her.
(I do hope as she gets older she's more interested in playing in snow or in sand . . . in both extremes she has been MISERABLE thus far)