Oh the fun we can have in the snow

I picked up a night shift Saturday night and Matt was thinking of what he could do with the kids so I could sleep. One thing he told Brielle they would go for a drive and see (she thought play) in the snow. Ended up I didn't sleep after they came home from church so we went for a drive and checked out the burned area. Inevitably the kids fell asleep for the whole thing and when we made it to my parents house for dinner Brielle was devastated because she didn't get to see the snow. Luckily it was forecasted to snow over night.

Sure enough we woke up to a white blanket of snow and fog. Brielle was ecstatic that it snowed. Being one of the first real snow storms of the season I haven't really gotten all the snow stuff out. As a result the morning was a little chaotic as I was trying to find things. I dressed Miles first and couldn't find his normal coat and so I put on a 24 month coat which made it so he couldn't move. Plus I put on new mittens that took forever to get on and he ended up taking them off before we went outside. Then I couldn't find his boats so I put on some that were 2 sizes too big. The poor kid seriously couldn't move. He stood in his room until I grabbed him. Then he had to wait till I dressed Brielle. I tried to have him sit but he couldn't and fell on his back and stayed there.

Trying to dress Brielle was a little interesting too. I couldn't find her snow boots so she ended up wearing dress boots. Then I thought I bought snow pants for her this year....apparently not. I couldn't find them. So I had to put her in 2T pants (2 sizes too small). At first she didn't want to wear them put I turned around and she was putting them on herself. Then she cried because she didn't like her mittens because she couldn't grab anything. Then it took awhile because I called Matt and he directed me to where Miles boots and coat were so I had to change him. Before we were done dressing, Brielle was throwing a fit because she was too hot and Miles was crying (probably for the same reason). I still wasn't ready myself but put the kids out in the back and quickly grabbed some snow gear.

While putting on my gear I could hear Brielle crying and Miles whimpering. I thought, "Oh my gosh this is not worth it. I guess we are done playing in the snow." However Miles just wanted me out there and Brielle was upset because her mitten. She wasn't able to grab rocks to throw in the fountain (which I was not sad about).

I took the kids up front and pulled out the sleds. We don't have any rope so I took the hammock and roped it thought the handles so I could have something to pull the kids. Then I blew up the other sled and the kids were happy. We played for about an hour in very wet and slushy snow.

The kids were cold so in the house we went for some hot chocolate which got them all excited. They stuck to my side like glue while I warmed up the milk and poured in the hot chocolate.

 I wasn't too sure if we were going to attempt going outside again. However I saw this idea to color the snow with food coloring and thought that would be such a fun activity. I showed Brielle the picture and she became excited. I was going to wait till after naps but by the time we were done with lunch the snow stopped and it looked like it was turning into a light drizzle. Plans changed. I knew Brielle would be so upset if she woke up from her nap and the snow was gone and we didn't get to color the snow. I decided to attempt the dressing of the kids again. This time I left the gloves off so we didn't get food coloring on them.
Brielle was the first one done eating so she started helping me get ready.

Filling the bottle with water

Add the food coloring

By this time Miles was done eating he wanted to help too. I made sure I left one bottle so he could fill it with water and put food coloring in it too. He had other plans. He wanted to dump the water out and keep filling it up.

Brielle stepped in to help and Miles actually let her. I was shocked. I think this is one of the first moments where they were doing something together and NOT frightening.

Getting the kids dressed went a lot smoother which meant it didn't take as long either. Brielle knew what we were going to do so she couldn't wait to get outside.

 I had four different types of bottles (the only empty bottles I could find laying around the house). The ones that made me laugh were the peri-care bottles I had kept after having Miles. We also had a body wash bottle and a soap dispenser bottle. At first Brielle tried to wash her hands with the soap dispenser one. I had to explain how to use it. I thought having the variety allowed them to explore a little more. It was fun watching them.

They had so much fun with it that once the four bottles were done Brielle informed me she needed more. Once I refilled them Miles knew what to do with the bottle he began squirting right away with. I wasn't ready for that and neither was BrielleBrielle and me a little. I just had to laugh, he was getting such a kick out of it.

I kept trying to have Miles look up, finally he did. His expression is classic...."What mom?!" Can't you see I am busy?"

 I thought I would try to capture all the colored snow. I asked Brielle to stand next to Miles and she hugged him instead. Miles was too tired and didn't appreciated Brielle touching him.

 Once the color water bottles were gone, Brielle wanted to play for a little. She discovered it's not so fun to play in snow when you don't have gloves on. Few minutes in she said, " My hands are so cold, lets go in."

The second all the snow clothes were off Brielle said, "MOM! That was SO fun!" Needless to say, hearing that made it all worth it. As a side note. I made the best decision about doing it before nap time. By the time she got up the sun was out and the snow was melting fast.