For those of you who may not know, we live in Syracuse, NY, which gets the dubious title of "Snowiest City in the US" (not coldest, but snowiest, thanks to "lake effect" snow), we get on average around 120 inches of snow a year-- that's about 3 meters-high for my friends in the
normal metric world.
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| Doesn't this look fun? |
Well, if that wasn't bad enough, this year, it's even worse than usual. By the end of January, we had reached and surpassed the average yearly snowfall, and the snow keeps falling....
In pre-kids days, this would annoy me, but I'd find ways to make it ok (go outside, snowshoe, go snow tubing), but this year, it's gotten really unbearable.
A does not find the snow fun at all. Most days, it's too cold to go outside. The one day, two weeks ago, when it was sunny out, I offered to put on our snowsuits and go sledding. He joyfully slipped on his snow pants, asked for his mittens and proudly displayed his gloved hands... everything was going great, until we actually stepped outside... He sat in his sled, looked a me with a bewildered look (like "why are you doing this to me, Maman? I thought you said this would be fun"), and proceeded to start crying and cried until I took him back inside. I guess A's idea of fun does not include being cold.
So we play in the house, but after four months, even if the house is big, it gets a little boring... A has recently gotten in the habit of going to the door, asking for his boots and saying "partir" which means "leave", so it's not just me.
We go places, but Syracuse is a medium size city and there's only so much you can do with toddlers in the winter. There's the library, MyGym, the Y's pool, Barnes & Noble,the bouncy places, the mall's indoor playground and A's favorite.. Wegmans (for those unfortunate enough to have never experienced Wegmans, it's the most awesome grocery store on the side of the Atlantic). But every trip involves putting on our winter gear and getting in the car. I just long for those summer days when we can just step outside and run for hours after a ball in the backyard, or go for a walk, get ice cream and visit with the neighbors...
To make matters worse, I started reading this great blog (
http://www.momjovi.com/), where the family lives in Orlando and does all kinds of fun outdoors stuff all winter-long (not to mention they go to Disney as easily as we go to the library), and I am totally jealous!
I'm running out of ideas to keep A and me happy this winter, other than moving to Florida.
I know that when A's a bit older it will get better, we'll be able to actually go skiing and take advantage of all that snow, but in the meantime we have serious cabin fever!
What about you? What do you do to keep your kids entertained in the winter?
You're so funny! I'm sorry for the taunting. If it makes you feel better, I also used to live in Syracuse too (Go 'Cuse!) so I think that's why I take advantage of the weather even more than an average person might. I know what it's like to feel like you'll never see the sun again.
ReplyDeleteWe visit our family in Pennsylvania every winter and E. HATES the cold. Has zero interest in playing in the snow. I say she turns into one of our Florida lizards -- she shuts down and wants no part of sub-45 degree weather. I'm glad to hear, though, that she's not just a wimpy Florida kid if A doesn't like it either.
Hang in there. Come July, you'll be enjoying perfect evenings and lazy afternoons in the yard while we exhaust all our indoor activities. In our summers, it's almost dangerous to be outside because it's SO HOT!
Hi MomJovi! You are right, all places have their drawbacks, and April or May will be here eventually. I wonder at what age kids start seeing the fun in the snow (unless ours just don't and won't?)
ReplyDeleteHaving grown up in Paris, France, I can't really look back at my own memories; snow belonged in the mountains in my world...
Please, continue to take advantage of all the fun outdoors stuff you have and keep sharing so I can live vicariously through you until Spring comes!