Snow... Not so bleughhhh?

Well, I have succumbed to the whining! My little darlings have had me playing outside in the snow!! 

Yesterday it was decided that the snow on the drive was better than the snow on the back garden (mainly due to the fact that there was no way of telling if the dog had taken a poo on the garden before the snow had fallen!) So I was forced to take them out yesterday afternoon to build a snowman. (see previous blog entry for my general consensus on snow!) My little sister now lives too far away to just pop round to play in the snow, she'd have to get a bus and they weren't running!

After much deliberation (and failure to get any snow to actually stick together!) we came to the conclusion that the snow was just too fluffy to build anything with. So we set about making footprints with our wellies and I hate to admit that I was actually having fun! That is until my eldest hit me full on in the face with a handful of snow. I screamed a little bit, and pretty much acted like a mardy girl, but I got over it and we carried on our snow play. 

My eldest decided he wanted to go for a walk, so off we went for a plod round the block. He came across a patch of untouched snow and decided it would be the perfect place for a snow angel. Down he got and started flapping his arms to make the wings and my other 2 thought it looked great fun. Now my daughter is about as brave as me at being cold and wet so I was a bit dubious when she got down on the floor to do one. Then in true drama queen style, the second her bum touched the snow she flounced up and screamed 'it's coooooooooooold' and burst out crying! I'm still not entirely sure what she was expecting of it?! Luckily it's a very small block, so before long we were home again. My daughter decided she'd had enough for one day and, much to my boys' disgust, we headed back inside. 

This morning all I heard was 'mum, what time can we play in the snow?' and 'mummy, I need to build a snowman', so I relented again. Yes, I've been out in the snow, 2 days in a row! The little ones had a mini snowball fight, then we build the eagerly awaited snowman! Now, he's no masterpiece, but considering I can barely bring myself to touch snow, I think he's quite lovely. And I can't wait for my husband to get home later and see it sat there on the front lawn. He'll never believe that I actually took the children out there myself! 

Having said all that, I'm fed up now. It's cold and wet, and I'm sick of looking at it. So if it could kindly melt away by the morning, that'd be much appreciated! I won't hold my breath though! 

Snow... Bleughhhh!

It's snowing! Yuk! I really can't get as excited as the rest of the nation over something so cold and wet. Snow makes me grumpy, fact. 

Walking to school this morning, there were countless children shrieking and throwing snowballs (well, not even snowballs, there's no where near enough snow for that!) at each other. The other parents must have thought I was a right miserable cow. Every time either of my older 2 so much as looked like they were about to pick any up I'd shout 'DON'T TOUCH IT!' in true neurotic fashion! 

It's not that I don't want them to enjoy the snow, but when they come crying to me that their hands are hurting because they're so cold, there's not a great deal I can do about it on our mile walk to and from school. I know it's difficult for them to resist it, but really, if they could just wait until they are at home this afternoon, they can play all they like with the snow in the garden. I can handle that, because when they start crying with cold/turning blue I can just bring them in and wrap them up warm. 

Last year when the snow hit, the kids drove me insane asking to go out and play in it. We still lived in our old house back then and the garden wasn't visible from the house, so I couldn't just let them out to play. There was no way I was going out there to play in it with them! Daddy was at work. So when my little sister informed me that her school was closed I had a brainwave. Teenagers will do anything for a bit of cash, so as much as she too hates the snow, she couldn't resist the offer of a tenner to come round and build a snowman with the little people! Yes, I paid my sister to build a snowman! Now we've moved, the garden is far more family friendly. The children can play safely outside whilst I observe from the warmth of the house, armed with towels heating nicely on the radiators ready to swaddle them when they've frozen solid! 

I hate the way everything slows down in the snow. The route to school is a steep hill and it's hard enough getting my pushchair up it on a good day. Throw snow into the equation and you've added a good 15 minutes onto the already half hour school run! My 3 year old had to stop and show me every single footprint she made!  There's only so many times I can say 'that's great sweetheart' without starting to sound sarcastic! My youngest, in the comfort of his pushchair, was still freezing. He cried all the way there and back. He kept knocking his hat off (something else that forced me to keep stopping!) and he hates being trussed up in blankets. Then there's the 50 children and their parents all crammed into the tiny nursery cloakroom, fighting for a space to change their wellies to school shoes! 

I hate it! Snow should only exist on Christmas cards! I vote hibernation! What's the point in winter anyway? Once Christmas has been and gone, we should just skip straight past all the miserable, cold weather. Summer is the way forward! 

So there you have it. My take on snow. Not my favourite weather, in case I hadn't quite made that clear!