Episode 44- Winter blues

So I am aware that I have not been updating the blog much lately, and for that I apologize. My only excuse is that it is winter, which always makes me feel like crap, and frankly, there just isn't a whole hell of a lot going on to inspire me.

I hate winter. I have always hated winter. It is cold, wet and annoying, and now that I am home with the baby all day it has become even harder to deal with because of the crappy weather. I literally dread every time that it snows. Snow means moving my car three blocks away because of the parking ban, and then coming back to shovel out the parking space the snow plow filled in during said parking ban. To make matters worse, I live in a neighborhood full of lazy assholes so the sidewalks are never shoveled and if the particular parking spot that I shovel out isn't available I am left to drive the Impala over 15 feet of snow because everyone else employs the "blast my car through the snow" method of getting out.

Aside from the cold and the snow and the shoveling and the parking, all of which is enough to make me miserable 100 percent of the season, the worst part of winter is that I am pretty much stuck inside the house for 4-5 months straight, and with a baby that is bad news.

Winter activities like skiing and snowboarding, ice skating and fishing do nothing for me, no appeal at all, and my usual summer time activities like going to the park or the beach or for a walk, are almost always ruined by snow and cold. You would think that with the baby I could find something- maybe go out and play in the snow, make a snow man etc... but that isn't how it works. At 11 months she is way too young to actually participate in any activity besides picking up and falling in to the snow, and that is not worth the 15-20 minutes of effort to get her bundled up amidst blood curdling screams, and the 15-20 minutes that follow play time when I have to take everything off.

As a result of everything, the past few weeks have been exclusively spent in the house playing with toys and eating. We go to the store when we need things and that is it. I even keep talk radio on during the day to remind myself that there is something else in the world besides the things contained within these walls. I am officially losing my mind.

The baby has even been getting bored lately, and she seems to be a lot like me. When we do go outside in the cold she makes a pained face and tries to crawl in to her coat like a turtle shell. She despises any type of moisture that isn't a result of a bath or a swimming pool and she hates, and I mean HATES putting on a coat and hat. She does watch the snow outside the window, and sometimes we will go on the porch so she can try and catch it in her hand or mouth, but even that has minimal appeal to her. I think she likes the way it looks, but could do without all the rest of it.

So, in a desperate attempt to save my sanity this season I have been brainstorming ideas for activities. We have talked about taking her to swim lessons at the YMCA or some other baby activity, and I am hoping it warms up slightly from "bitter cold" to "slightly miserable" soon and maybe I will take her sledding or something. Until then, we are just going to have to keep chasing the cats and sneezing from all of the dust being blown out of our heating vents. That is another thing I hate about winter. Heat. Ugh, don't even get me started.

Maybe I can convince Mom to move to San Diego. Or New Mexico. Or anywhere that it doesn't snow.