The Sleep Diaries: Week 2

So here we are in week 2 of the sleep diaries.

One of K's new habits (which I neglected to mention in any of the daily summaries), is to start shouting 'party party party' and wave his hands around.  While in bed.  At 5am.  When he's supposed to be going back to sleep.

The teenaged years will be great fun.


Day 8 (Thursday 23rd)

Initial wake-up at 5:20, though clock was set for 5:45.  Tried 3 times to get him to stay back in bed, but he kept getting up and crying.  The last time I went in I discovered he had a poopy nappy, so after I'd changed him I gave in to the inevitable - time to get up. *yawn*

Day 9 (Friday 24th)

Initial wake-up at 5am.  For some reason I was in K's bed with him - I can't even remember getting in, so I'm not really sure what happened there.  Anyway, once he was awake that was it.  I tried the old 'what does the clock say' routine, but he wasn't playing that game.  Oh no, he wanted to play a different game - initially one that involved all his stuffed animals, and then after 30 minutes or so (he may have gone back to sleep for 15 minutes in the middle of this - it's all a bit of a blur to me) he wanted to play a game that involved getting out of bed and up for the day.

So, we seem to be going backwards.  In a few days I'll be reporting that he's getting up at 4:30 again.  *sigh*

I've gone back to despising all those people with children who sleep late in the morning (and by late, I mean after 6:30!).  You guys suck and just to get you back I'm going to drop Kalani off to your house this evening and let you deal with the early wake-ups for a week or so, just to see how you cope!  Bah humbug :(

Day 10 (Saturday 25th)

Well hallelujah, we've done it (kind of).  This morning K didn't wake up until 6.30.  SIX. THIRTY.

Admittedly, he did wake up about 5 times during the night and needed me to go in and settle him back down again, but still.. 6:30!

Oddly, his clock was still showing the moon/night-time setting - for some reason it hadn't switched over the day-time sun, so unfortunately I'm not sure how much of his sleep-in was related to the clock, and how much was just because he'd been up so many times in the night that he needed the extra sleep.

Whatever the reason it was still 6:30! Woo hoo.

It looks like I may have to start despising myself :)

Day 11 (Sunday 26th)

Not a good morning.   At 5am he woke up, and even though I tried to get him back to sleep, even resorting to getting into bed with him, he insisted on staying awake, and at 5:30 I gave up and we were up for the day :(

Day 12 (Monday 27th)

This really is a yo-yo process.  This morning he woke at 4:30 and when I went in to try and settle him he said he wanted a cuddle, and, well, he's so cute and warm and soft and cuddly - particularly in the morning - so I climbed into bed with him and we cuddled and he went back to sleep.  At 6am the cat pushed her way into the room and started clawing all the furniture in an attempt to get us to wake up.  It worked.  So a 6am start this morning which is EXCELLENT.  It'll be interesting to see if we go back to an early start tomorrow morning!

Day 13 (Tuesday 28th)

Well, true to form, this morning was another 5am'er.  As far as I can tell the clock makes no difference at all.    I will not give up though.  I will continue to point at the clock, ask Kalani what time it is, and then say "YES, IT'S FLIPPING NIGHT-TIME, SO GET BACK INTO YOUR BED AND GO THE F**K TO SLEEP".

*breathe*

(As an aside, I really should get that book)


Day 14 (Wednesday 29th)

Yup, this morning was a 'late' start.  6am.  At least there's a pattern.

So to sum up for this week:

• The clock may as well be relocated to the bin for all the good it's doing;
• I'm tired;
• Really, really, tired;
• I've no idea what to try next.

Actually I do.  As I said earlier, I'm going to persevere, mainly because I don't like giving in, and partly because I'm a stubborn idiot.

*yawn*

Stop!

Rightio, here's my first positive observation about Newfoundland.

In every other place I've lived in or visited (and there's been a few), when you stand at the side of the street with the intention of crossing the road, you wait until there are no cars around.  Or you go to a pedestrian crossing so that the cars will stop for you (though this doesn't work in Rome - your best bet when crossing the road there is to just run like a mad thing and hope you make it to the other side of the road alive).

Not in Newfoundland.

Nuh-uh.  Here, you can stand at the side of a busy 4 lane highway, and the cars will stop, that's right, totally stop, and then wait for you to cross the road.  In town, you probably only need to wait for about 3 or 4 cars to go past before they stop and let you walk across in front of them.  I still run, it's just part of my scaredy, I-can't-quite-believe-these-cars-are-stopping-for-me nature.

The first couple of times this happened it totally freaked me out.  I even experienced stage fright at having to cross the road in front of people.  This has long since passed, and I now get annoyed when the cars don't stop straight away.

That's nice, and it definitely doesn't happen anywhere else that I've been to.

So that's my first 'Thing I love about Newfoundland'.  Hopefully it won't be too long until I share my next 'thing' with you.

Learning to love it here

It's no secret that I don't particularly like it here.  I don't like the cold, the location, the opening times of the pubs, the fact that my family is just so far away, and that's just the beginning of a long long list.

Before you start sending me rude messages, don't bother.  I'm about to try and remedy this myself so keep reading.

Someone once told me, or perhaps I read somewhere, that your beliefs are self-prophesising.  For example: If you believe that you are a confident person then you will be a confident person.  It might take some time of saying to yourself "I am confident, I am confident", but apparently if you do this enough, and you pretend to the world that you are confident, then one day you will be confident, even if you didn't start that way.

Anyway, the other day I was out walking the dog and I was thinking lots of negative thoughts about Newfoundland - along the lines of "Stupid place - why is it so cold and snowy?  Look, I keep falling over because it's so icy.  Argh, I just got wet snow down my sleeve" etc. etc.  And as I was walking I was becoming angrier and angrier, and more and more down in the dumps until I stopped and realised that I'm making it worse.

Sure, there are some things that I can't change, like the weather and the location, but there are a lot of good things going on in Newfoundland, and if I focus on all the positive aspects of this place then perhaps I'll start to enjoy living here.

So this is my plan.  I'm going to start documenting all the good things about Newfoundland. As I do this I'll share these observations/experiences with you.  I'm not sure how often I'll post about this, I guess it depends on how often I find something good to share with you.  But I promise you this - I will try to find the positives and I'm going to stop dwelling on the negatives, and perhaps this will work, and in a few weeks/months I'll love it here as much as everyone else here loves it.

Weirdo's!

Just kidding ;)

Yup - that's me.  You may just have to trust me on this one! :)

I had a dream ...

No, not that kind of dream, a 'dream you have when you're sleeping' kind of dream.

It was pretty sad, and probably caused by my writing about everything that happened early last year, and then getting lots of comments and messages back about it (which has been amazing btw - I'm really feeling the support and the love!).

Anyway, in my dream, Sam Neil (or someone who looked a lot like him) had lost his wife and was raising his 2 children with another woman in place as the step-mum.  The step-mum wasn't really mean to his children, but she most definitely was not loving to them either.  And even in my dream I remembered being so sad and upset for his children, and just wanting to give them a big unconditional filled-with-love hug..  

Then this morning, Dan and I went to a financial planner guy and sorted out life insurance for both of us.  As part of this we're going to have to do a will and name a guardian for Kalani in case we both die.

Oh my god.  We need to find someone else who will raise our child for us.

We have people who could do this, of course we do, but no-one (with the possible exception of my mum) would love Kalani like we do.  No-one would be as tolerant of his tantrums and stubborness as we (mostly) are.  No-one would watch him dance, and play guitar, and sing, and think he is the most amazing thing to ever happen to their life.

This makes me so sad.  Then I think of all the children that don't have either one of, or both their parents, and I become even sadder.  Then I think of all the children who have parents who are abusive, intolerant, uninterested and I become even sadder and quite angry.

Depressing stuff, isn't it?

BUT, I am alive, and so is Dan, and we do love K, and everyday we show him this as much as we can (even when he's being a little ratbag).  So if something does happen then hopefully Kalani will always remember that he was once the most important person in the world to 2 people.  And actually, he will always be the most important person in the world to someone.  A third person.  Himself.

Coping Mechanisms

This morning Kalani was being a toddler - whiny, clingy, disobedient.

As I was trying to get him out of his pyjama's and into his daytime clothes, he started being a total brat - whining, hitting, flailing his arms all over the place.

What I wanted to do was scream "Would you just stop being such a little sh1t and stay still.  AAARRRRRGGGHHHH". 

What I did was sing the Australian national anthem in a loud voice.  

Unfortunately I only know one verse, so it got quite repetitive.  It also got quite loud as I tried to drown out the whines.

But it worked.  I didn't lose my temper, though I was very very very close to it.  I didn't yell at him, though I was very very very close to it.  I just sang.  And after a while he stopped wriggling and whining and listened (probably wondering what this awful noise coming out of my mouth was .... he's more used to Dan singing to him than me).  

Result!

I've tried this once before, in the car when he was screaming 'BISSSSCCCC' (biscuit) over and over again in ever increasing volume from the back seat.  Admittedly that turned into more of a 'who can shout/sing louder' match, but I won that round too.

I may have turned Kalani off our national anthem for the rest of his life by doing this, but I think it's a small price to pay for a little sanity and aggression release.

Living Life

I've been going over this post in my head a lot lately - in fact I think about the actual event - that day - a lot. Probably every day.

The Sleep Diaries: Week 1

So a week has past since we started this experiment in getting Kalani to stay in bed until a reasonable hour in the morning.  

This morning was another success.  K didn't wake up at all until just after 5:30 which is an hour later than a week ago so we're definitely making progress.  Thank goodness! :)

Here is one of the reasons that K doesn't like to stay asleep in the mornings - he wants to play (in case you can't quite make out what he's doing - that's a harmonica in his hands/mouth).

I know you want me to go to sleep Mama, but I'm playing.  Rock On!

Tomorrow I'm setting the clock for 5:45.  Too optimistic?  Perhaps.

I'm going to post weekly about this for the next little while - at least until he's consistently staying in bed until after 6.

I can't wait :)

Walking Moments

Kalani is sick again (ear infection... again), so was home from daycare today.  It was actually a pretty easy day - we watched a lot of TV and then ate, slept and went to the doctors.  I shouldn't have needed a break by the end of the day, but I did - I really needed a break.  So I took Jazz for a walk - just the 2 of us.

Firstly, it's still light at 5:15.  When did this happen?  I'm so used to it being dark really really early, that I didn't notice that it isn't anymore.  Woo hoo - spring is on it's way (hypothetically at least - spring in St. John's doesn't seem to arrive until June).

It was beautiful outside. The snow isn't too deep right now, but is lovely and crunchy and not slippery which is handy, since I tend to just fall over if I so much as look at ice.  

We walked along the track and didn't see another living thing - not a human, animal, bird... nothing.  Just lovely.  As the light faded, color was leeched out of everything leaving just the white of the snow against the black of everything else.  Like a black and white photograph.  

It was one of those "oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  Life is good.  I'm so glad to be here" moments.  

It's funny how they just come upon you, these moments.  You can't create them, or look for them, they're just there.

So that's all I wanted to say.  I just wanted to share my moment with you.

The Sleep Diaries: Day 6

We missed yesterday since K was up from 1am onwards with a stomach ache, so it would have been pointless to include our disastrous night's sleep in the diaries.

BUT ....

This morning was excellent.

K woke up around 4:50am and I went in and did my usual, "What does the clock say? That's right it says Night-Time which means you need to get back into bed" etc. etc.

And it worked.  Until 5:50.  

Happy days.

Perhaps this clock thing DOES work after all, or perhaps it's just having a plan/concept to stick to instead of giving in as soon he gets up.  Whatever the reason, I'm a happy woman this morning.

February Fun

Kalani had Thursday and Friday off from daycare, so we've spent a lot of lovely (though sometimes frustrating) time together.  

One of K's new past-times, which has been mostly sponsored by us, is to run around the house holding on to one of his toys that has a long string attached to the front.  Shumba (the crazy cat) then runs after him chasing the string.  It's a win-win situation really, Shumba gets played with (which doesn't happen that much anymore), and K gets tired out.

Okay kitten, here's what we're going to do ...

We're going to ruuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnn

K has developed a new found love of cooking.... and then creating a very very big mess.

Hmmm... okay.  So I have to clean this up now.  Jazzy - are you hungry?

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

Mess, what mess?  Now watch me dance.

We've also finally reached the construction, rather than destruction, stage of block building.  It's much more satisfying, for little people ...

and big people too ...

And as always, there is ALWAYS time for playing guitar.  Always always always.

Rock on.

The Sleep Diaries: Day 5

Not too bad this morning.  Initial wake up was around 5.10am, and then Dan went in with Kalani until around 5.30!

The clock is still set for 5.15 and will st that way at least until tomorrow morning.  

I still think that his 'sleeping in' is mostly a coincidence and nothing to do with the clock, but whatever the reason it seems to be working... partially at least.

I'm still living in hope that one morning he'll just stay in bed until 6.30.  I guess it's good to have dreams - life would be pretty boring without them.

Until tomorrow.

Making Lists

I love making lists - I make them for everything that I have to do.  Well, almost everything.  I don't include basics such as getting dressed, going to the bathroom, etc, but pretty much everything else that I need to do in life is added to a list.

Pre-Kalani I used to make lists too, but more because I'm fairly anal and like to be organised.  Now I make them because my brain has turned to mush, and if I don't write something that I need to do down on a list then it will never get done.

Iin the months after K was born we moved house which needed some organisation.  When I was asked for our phone number I simply couldn't remember.  I ended up having to write it down on pieces of paper all over the house, so that if I was put on the spot then I wouldn't look/sound like a total eejit.

Anyway, my brain hasn't improved much since then (possibly because I still get very little sleep), and while I now remember my phone number most of the time, I don't remember much else.

I like lists as well as needing them, they make me feel like I'm achieving something in my life - even if it is just sewing a button back on a top, or picking up the dry-cleaning.  The feeling of closure that I get when crossing a task off my to-do list is very satisfying.

Rightio, where's today's list?  I have something to cross off.

The Sleep Diaries: Day 4

Woo hoo.

This morning K didn't call out for me until 5.19am (the clock was set for 5.15am).  I was asleep before this obviously, so I'm not sure if he woke up before that and then didn't cry out for me until after the clock changed, or if it's just a fluke that he didn't wake up until then.  He was up a lot in the night (he has a head cold) as well, which can sometimes make him sleep in a little later than normal.  

Therefore, I'm not assuming that he's now a trained sleeper (in fact I'm not sure there is such a thing unless you have a robot for a child), but I am pretty happy and hopeful.  If he can consistently stay in bed until after 6am I'll be over the moon.

*yawn* Now, where's my cup of coffee gone?

The Sleep Diaries: Day 3

Hmmmm... I'm becoming slightly disillusioned with this process now.  Partly because it's 6:10am and I've been up for over an hour already, and partly because the clock's honeymoon period is definitely over.  I think I was expecting instant success (even if I pretended otherwise), and so far there hasn't really been much improvement.

To be fair, Kalani did wake up a little later this morning (4:50am), and I did my usual thing of going into his bedroom twice to point at the clock, tell him it was night-time still and then put him back into bed.  However, he then cried at the door until it was wake-up time.  Luckily it was only for a few minutes.

I think that he may be a little young for the concept of the clock.  On one of my 'go back to sleep' visits, I pointed at the clock and asked what time it was.  He replied "Night Time" with great enthusiasm!  Really?  You're happy that it's night-time?  Then, when I went into his room once the clock had changed to the day-time sun image, I pointed at the clock again and asked what time it was, to which he replied "Night Time".

So, I think that Kalani believes that a clock is called 'Night Time'.

This wouldn't be the first time that we've accidentally misnamed something.  Kalani will probably go through his entire life believing that a toilet is actually called "Don't touch that it's dirty".

Anyway, we'll stick with it, because I prefer to have a plan, even if it's not totally working out, and it is early days still. (bwahahaha) 

The Sleep Diaries: Day 2

Before I get into today's post, I'd like to start with a kind of disclaimer.

If you have children who do sleep well (and it seems that most people we know have these freaky specimens - Dan and I don't think they're really children at all - more robot types), then I don't hate you.  I'm just insanely jealous of the huge amounts of sleep that you get.  I'm a little curious as to why you're reading this at all since you obviously don't need to, but I'm very glad that you are since it means that I'm not just writing to myself (which is hopefully not quite as bad as talking to oneself, but it's still not good).

Also, to everyone who's let me know of their success with this clock malarky - thank you, I 'm really glad that you've let me know that it worked for you. It's great to have your support and to know that I'm not wasting my time with us.

Okay, so that's covered all 4 of you who read this, so back to business.  It's only Day 2, but things are still going relatively well.

The clock was set for 5am, and K stayed asleep until 4.45 (which is a slight improvement on the last couple of days).  I had to go into his room twice to get him back into bed, and when I pointed to the clock and asked him what it meant when the moon was showing on the clock he said "Night Time".  I'm not sure if he understands what "Night Time" means, but you have to start somewhere!

Then, he stayed quiet until just after 5 when I'm hoping that he saw the sun come out on his clock (because it sure as buggery wasn't out in the sky) and knew that it was time to get out of bed.

So far, so good, though it has only been 2 days so far, and any improvements might just be a fluke.  Tomorrow I've changed his 'sun arrival' time to 5:15 so we'll see how that goes.

The Sleep Diaries: Day 1

I know that I'm going to be woken up really early, so why don't I go to bed earlier?  *yawn*

Anyway, last night I set K's clock for 5am which I thought was quite optimistic but I'm only prepared to set a clock for pre-5am if we're going on holiday somewhere.

As expected at 4.30 K woke up.  He climbed out of bed and stood at the door crying.

No problem.  I fell jumped out of bed, went into his room, showed him the clock, told him it was still night time, put him back into bed, tucked him in and left the room.  As I walked out of the room he called out "Night".  

Seriously?  Is it as easy as just buying a clock?

5 minutes later, just as I was going back to sleep (it's always the way), I heard a thump (as he climbed out of bed) and then more crying at the door.

*sigh* I guess it isn't going to be that easy after all.

I went in again and repeated the same process - pointed out the clock and told him it was still night time, tucked him in and left the room.

Then he slept/stayed in bed until 5.15.  Woo hoo.  To those of you with children who sleep well this probably doesn't seem like a big deal, but it really is for us.  Normally, once K's up for the day there's no getting him back to sleep, so the fact that he stayed in bed for at least another 30 minutes is a major victory.

I really hope this clock thing works.  I'm so tired all the time, I have no patience at all (not that I ever had that much to begin with) and I'm always cranky.

Fingers crossed.

The 'Go Back To Bleeping Sleep' Diaries

Well you might have realised that we're having big problems with K and his crazy early morning wake-ups.  So I've done some research and found out some good and some bad news.

The good news is that you can get these cool toddler wake-up clocks that change colour/image when it's time for the little tormentor one to get out of bed.  The idea is that you set the wake-up time to just after they normally wake up - even if that is 4.30 in the morning, then you go in and rave about how wonderful they are for waiting until the clock told them it was time to get up.  After a few days you change the wake-up time to 15 minutes later with the idea that they will slowly adjust to a later wake-up time and you will finally get some sleep.

The bad news is that most people with extreme early morning risers seem to just have to wait it out.  Apparently nothing works for the majority of people.  Keep in mind that I'm only basing this on what I've read online, and I'm guessing that all those people with children who do sleep well probably don't feel the need to let the rest of us know about it.  I'm kind of glad about this since we know a few people who have "good sleepers", and when they tell us how their wonderful child sleeps in until 7:30, sometimes 8:30 every morning, I feel like ripping off their well-rested, 8-hours-of-sleep-a-night heads and stuffing them down their necks.  Do I sound bitter?

Anyway, I'm not deterred by the disappointing news that I'm probably just going to have to wait this 'phase' out (though this 'phase' has lasted K's entire life so far) - instead I did what any desperate woman would do... I went shopping.

I did a bit of research into available clocks in St. John's, and found only 1 (not surprisingly).  I brought this today and then spent some time with K pretending to go to sleep and then waking up when the sun came out on the clock face.  We then read the book that came with the clock before he went to sleep (which thankfully he has no problems with... touch wood), and now the wait begins.

Soooooo, my idea now is that I'm going to attempt to document how this clock thing goes.  If it works then I'll let you know, so that if some other poor sleepless bugger stumbles upon this blog, then perhaps there'll be some advice that will actually help you to sort out your little darling's sleeping habits.  If it doesn't work, then it's a great opportunity for me to vent.  Win-win.

So here goes nothing.

The clock is set for 5am.

tick... tick... tick...

Just stay the *beep* asleep

I feel inspired to write this post because this morning K had me up at 4.30.  Yup, that's right - 4.30am - aka, the middle of the night.

Now, K and early mornings are no strangers.  He normally wakes up around 5, 5.30ish each day, but this morning was a new record and has pushed me way over the line.

I am tired - so very very tired, and I'm cranky and have no patience and sometimes find myself wishing that it was just D and I again - no children, just us.

*sigh*  Anyway, obviously I don't really mean that because I love K with a ridiculous amount of love, and would never take back my old life... 

BUT ...

Tomorrow brings the start of a new early morning regime in this house.  There will be NO leaving the bedroom until at least 6am - I don't care if there's screaming and yelling and banging and sobbing, he's going to stay in his bedroom, by himself, until 6am.

D and I are going to take it in turns to sleep in the guest bedroom which is not quite out of earshot of K's room, but at least a little further away than our bedroom, and the 'on-duty' parent will yell 'Go back to sleep' at K's closed door.

I foresee a few hard weeks ahead of us.  I wonder who'll give in first, us or him?

We Made It - Snow Day Survival

Well, we all made it through the snow day without going insane.  To be fair, it wasn't a proper snow day since we made it out of the house to the hairdresser for K's first haircut (bye-bye mullet, hello prep-school boy), but we still spent the majority of the day in the house, so it almost counts.

Here's some moments from our day.

K rocked out on his little car ...

I made chocolate chip cookies and K had milk and cookies for the first time ever (obviously he's had milk before, and cookies before, just never together - I feel so North American now!).  That strange expression on his face is a smile!

We went to get K's first hair cut.  Before, when he has no idea what's about to happen, and is still relatively excited about being in a Ferrari...

During, when he's starting to get a bit suspicious ...

After.

Yup - not terribly impressed.  I was pretty excited though, and while I'm sad that his baby curls have gone, I'm also pretty happy that I won't continue to pull great chunks of his hair out when I take off his bib (velcro and hair like each other quite a lot).

Soooo.... then we were on the home stretch until dinner time, so K and D rocked out in the kitchen for a bit (K's current favourite song was made up by D and goes ... 'Booger Booger Booger, Booger Booger Booger' <repeat>) ...

... and then there was even time for a bit of playdough play (this is K trying to get the playdough out of his shirt) ....

... and then it was bedtime.

So all in all it was a pretty good day.

Now I've had a few glasses of wine (bliss), and tomorrow is my morning to sleep in (until at least 7.30 - double bliss), so I'm a very happy girl.

Now bring on summer, I've had enough of this winter bollox.

Snow Days

Okay, okay, okay.  I know I only just wrote about how I'm going to make a conscientious effort to enjoy winter and all the snowy, icy delights that come with it, but I lied.

Today in St. John's there is a blizzard which is apparently going to last for 30 hours. Eeek.  Before K came along I enjoyed snow days, as long as I didn't have to go outside and do anything.  I'd sleep in, potter around in the kitchen, play my game (WoW, and no I don't play much anymore, no, I haven't 'finished' it yet, and no, I'm not really any good at it but I enjoy bashing the shmidt out of things), have a nap, read my book and start drinking at a very early hour - basically have a selfish, just doing things for me, type day.

Now things are quite different.  

There is no sleeping in, in fact we seem to wake up earlier than normal.  There is no playing WoW or pottering  around in the kitchen.  

There is however reading books - even if it is reading The Gruffalo 197 times during the day.  There is also napping (with Kalani, in an attempt to recover from the pre-6am wake up) and early drinking (in an attempt to recover from the day).

That's not to say that I don't enjoy spending time with K - I do, and we normally have fun, it's just that I'm not a 'stay at home with the kids all day' type of Mum.  I normally only manage to keep us sane by getting out of the house as much as possible during the day - even if it's just to go to the shops, at least it's an outing.  So on snow days when we're stuck inside all day, I tend to feel trapped.

Anyway, we'll see how today pans out.  It's 7am and we've already had breakfast, read books, done some drawing (of the coffee table and guitar), played with play-dough, and we're now onto the 'play guitar and sing, whilst sitting on the toy car going round and round the house' game.

Now when can I have that glass of wine?

Enjoying Winter

If you don't live here in Newfoundland then you may not realize what's pretty obvious to the rest of us.  It's been snowing.  A lot.

Now I've never been one to be enthusiastic about snow, or the cold, or winter in general, but starting this year I feel that I need to make an effort to embrace winter *cringe* for K's sake.  I've even purchased a proper winter coat with this in mind.

Up until now though there hasn't really been the opportunity to get outside, owing to much illness in our household, but now we're all better and there are no more excuses.  So on Tuesday afternoon we all bundled up and went out to enjoy the snow.

Fun times.

K refused to put on his mittens even though it was about -100 outside, and as a result his hands turned bright red.

We went sliding on our newly purchased blue slidey thing.  Mind you we only went about 2 metres down a gentle slope in the front garden, but I think it still counts as sliding.  It was fun.

K used his itty-bitty shovel to move snow around.  He enjoyed it so much that Dan took him out onto the road to shovel snow there too (yes I know, we're very safety conscious parents).

So it wasn't too bad, and being outside when you're wrapped up in a cocoon like coat makes the cold almost bearable.

Bringing K inside against his will was a challenge, but we're getting used to the 'throw yourself on the ground screaming like a demented possum' tantrums now, so it too was bearable.

More snow is forecast for the weekend.  

Bring it on.