The Kidlet Chronicles

Six more sleeps!!

I'm getting more and more excited as the days pass.  I think I'm more excited than the kidlet.  No, I KNOW I'm more excited.  Wheee!

Yesterday afternoon, while I was relaxing for a bit on the couch and watching annoying Dr. Phil, the kidlet climbed up by my feet and before I knew it, she was out.  Napping.  I KNOW.  It's been what, over a year already?  I let her sleep, thinking she must have needed it.  I knew I was going to pay for it later, and I did. 

I bumped everything ahead and had her in bed probably around 8:45.  I put on some classical music (which I have done every night since Dad gave her the stereo), laid down beside her, and closed my eyes.  The kidlet was quiet but every time I opened my eyes, she was staring wide-eyed, straight-ahead.  An hour later, she finally gave a big sigh, rolled over and fell asleep.  I didn't mind that it took so long, as I was pretty tired and getting some zzzzz's myself, though I will be happy tonight to have an evening again.

I'm about ready for the holidays - mentally, I'm done.  Yesterday, I got all confused about a spreadsheet at work for several minutes before finally emailing the woman who sent it to me to ask where the rest of it was - I could only see about 9 lines.  She checked it again and said no, there are over 100 lines.  I checked mine again and.... duh duh duh... the document just happened to be displaying the bottom portion of the spreadsheet and all I had to do was scroll up.  I apologized profusely for being an idiot and tried to convince her that I wasn't always so dumb. 

Then today, something happened where I was near freaking out (can't specifically say what about because it has something to do with a Christmas gift for someone who reads this) and was in the midst of calling the store when I realized I was looking at the thing upside down.  I mean, really.  What has happened to my brain?  Year-end burnout?  The crazies at work mixed with the crazies of the holidays?

Too bad Rachel wasn't still running Moron Mondays.  That's two.

So tomorrow I'm in the office, Friday is our company Christmas dinner/dance, then I'm off until the 3rd, whereupon I will be bombarded by an important proposal that is due on the 7th while my colleague is gallivanting in Spain.  I'm going to try and forget about that over the next couple weeks.  Because CHRISTMAS!  PRESENTS!

Speaking of which, can I say how much I LOVE Olivia Helps with Christmas?  I read it to the kidlet every night.  Priceless.

And can I also say that I didn't like the ending of the latest Pirates of the Caribbean?  Argh.  Still, good movie.  Orlando Bloom is yummy.

Six more sleeps!

Winding down

Or at least, trying to.  Things have been a little crazy, as they usually are this time of year.  Let's see, what I have done since the last post, er, five days ago?

Friday, I went to the parent-teacher interview at the kidlet's school and was told that she is advanced for her age.  She's reading the four-letter words, she picks things up really quickly, her printing is getting better (although she still gets frustrated and starts scribbling on her paper, which is a no-no), and she gets along well with the other kids.  They said she makes them laugh with some of her witticisms and they have to hide it sometimes so as not to encourage her.  They have power struggles at times due to her stubbornness (I have no idea where she gets THAT from, ahem) but things eventually work out.  All in all, she's learning rapidly and they seem to really like her, power struggles and all.

Then I went shopping and got the majority of the things I still needed to get.  I'm still a couple presents short, so I'll have to head out one night this week and then I'll be done.  My credit card is only a wee bit melty.

Saturday night I went with a friend to the Bon Jovi concert.  We were both giddy as schoolgirls, especially considering we both became fans back in our early teens.  We screamed.  We shouted.  We sang as loud as we could.  The entire arena was FULL of people standing, raising hands, dancing, singing.  Pretty cool to hear 20,000 people shouting out the words when he let us sing for him.  He played for almost two hours and other than a trio of ballads somewhere in the middle, he was rocking the house and didn't let up.  I didn't realize that he was such a great entertainer.  I haven't seen that much energy in a concert before, by the band OR the audience.  Obviously, I'm stilling in awe over it all - and still a little hoarse!

Sunday, the kidlet and I went with my parents to go see my grandparents out in the boonies.  It was nice to see them but man, they live far away, and they're rather... boring.  Grandpa can't hear, so he just sits there and smiles and pretends as though he knows what we're all talking about.  Grandma is a little weaker than I've seen her - she had some health problems a little while back and ended up with a pacemaker.  They're still managing in their two-storey house but I'm not sure how much longer that will be.  The kidlet loves her great-grandma's place, as there are stuffed animals EVERYWHERE.  It's like a big stuffed toy store to the kidlet, one where she can play with all of them as much as she likes.  So she had a blast. 

Dancing with Grandpa (see all the stuffies?  That is about 1% of them.  They are all over the house.)

Grandpa, Kidlet, Grandma.  Had to crop the bottom because the kidlet was being unladylike.  In all 3 pics I took of them, she would bring her knees up JUST as I hit the shutter button.  Also, see stuffies on back of couch.

I, on the other hand, ended up falling asleep on their couch.  Oops.  I totally didn't mean to but I could not stay awake another second.

Yesterday I worked for, oh, five or six hours (argh), then wrapped up some presents and stuck them under the tree.  Not the kidlet's, of course.  And today, more work.  Yeah, not much interesting there other than it's chaotic as usual and I'm not looking forward to the insanity that's going to hit as soon as we're back at work after the holidays.  At least I've got those 12 days to try and prepare for it!

All I want for Christmas is you

The Christmas spirit is going strong in this household - I've had this in my head all day:

I watched all the clips they had on YouTube and felt the same familiar pangs I get when watching the movie (guess I should actually get the movie as it's one of my faves), plus I burned a couple Christmas CDs for the kidlet to use in her new-to-her stereo that Dad brought over for her yesterday morning (it's got a 5-CD changer and she knows exactly which CD is where), plus I belted out a variety of Christmas songs today (including the above) much to the kidlet's chagrin, plus we watched The Polar Express before her bedtime tonight.  The plan for tomorrow is to head out shopping after the parent-teacher interview at the kidlet's school, as I already have a babysitter lined up for it and it seems silly to only have her here for twenty minutes or so.  Yes, I will be finished shopping except for one big thing for Dean!  I hope!

I'm curious to see what the teachers say at the interview tomorrow.  When I picked her up from school yesterday, the head teacher said they had a 'battle of wills' but it ended okay.  The kidlet told me that the teacher had tried to separate her from another kid because she hadn't been paying attention.  The teacher had moved the kidlet's desk and chair away from the other kid and the kidlet fought her to put it back.  I can just visualize the chair tug-of-war that must have ensued, as I've experienced it here.  At any rate, the kidlet did NOT get to make cookies yesterday afternoon and would only get to make them today if she behaved herself at school.  Which she did.  So we baked some cookies, which I burnt (Mom clued me into the fact that if you put two cookie trays side by side in the oven, there's no heat circulation and the cookies will burn - duh, why didn't I think of that?), so I threw those ones out and made another batch that turned out perfect.  I've already eaten about five.  Ahem.

Other than that, I started with a slightly higher dose of thyroid meds yesterday and wowza, can I tell a difference.  I'm a little wired in the morning (just ask anyone who talks to me on the phone before noon) but it levels off in the afternoon.  I'll have to keep an eye on it but it is SO nice not to be so stinkin' tired all the time.  If I start getting the shakes or the speedy heartrate or have trouble sleeping, then I'll have to bump down again but for now?  Hello wakefulness!  I've missed you!

@#$@#!

After work today, I helped the kidlet finish up her dinner, then packed her up to head out to Costco to pick up my Christmas photocards, get my prescription filled, and pick up some much-needed groceries (like, uh, toilet paper, of which we have none and are currently resorting to using kleenex).  So off we went and of course, there was still a little leftover rush hour traffic and of course, I picked the wrong lane and it took about ten minutes longer to get there than it should have, but we made it. 

I got my photocards first because I wanted to see them.  They turned out great, except they did them glossy instead of matte - that could have been my fault because I farted around with them so much and the default was glossy, so I probably just forgot to select matte on the final order.  I put them in the cart, headed over to the pharmacist and handed in my prescription, then shopped around for fifteen minutes while waiting for it to be filled.  I picked up quite a few groceries, enough to fill the bottom of the cart (granted, TP takes up a lot of space).  I went to get my prescription, took out my purse to pay, and lo and behold, I forgot my frickin' debit card in my backpack at home because I took my pack to work today.

Grrrrr.  And argh.  And wahh!

I fought back the tears and said I'd have to come back.  Then I ditched the buggy down an aisle, went back to the photo department to get them to hold on to the photos (why oh why didn't I just try to pay for them when I first got there and saved myself some time and heartache??  I could have easily made it home and back before closing.  But noooo) until I could return with some way of paying for them.

Then I walked out and bawled all the way back to the truck.  Tired and over-reactive much?

The kidlet was upset because I couldn't buy the Kitten's Christmas book I had grabbed for her, I was upset because now I have to make a second trip, and do the fates not realize how tight my time is?  I think it upset her to see me like that (I can count on one hand how many times I've cried in front of her) so she waved her pretend magic wand to make me happy again.  How could you not smile at that?

So I came home, vented to Dean, and got the kidlet ready for bed.  I probably could have made it back again but it would have been pushing it, plus the kidlet was getting tired and Dean was in the middle of a work-out so couldn't watch her.  So I'll go back tomorrow while the kidlet is in school (I'll have to drive Dean to Skytrain in the morning - ugh) and get it all again.  Wonder if anyone will realize that I'll have all the same stuff in my cart as the person who left their cart in the pharmacy aisle...

And now I'm irked because my fleece jammies REEK like fabric softener and it's giving me a headache.  I don't remember using that much, but maybe they didn't rinse very well - my machines are OLD.  Hack gag.  But at least they're soft.  Cough.

Silver lining - at least I didn't go through the checkout at Costco, have everything scanned in, THEN realize I didn't have my debit card.

And also - the kidlet is READING.  Sentences.  3, 4 sometimes 5 letter words, by sounding them out.  We've got little short stories (a cat.  a fat cat.  a tan fat cat.  etc.) and she breezes through them for the most part, and if she gets stuck, she sounds it out and gets it right away.  Now I'm on the lookout for some more early early readers!

How many strikes is this now? Three?

You know, all I wanted to do was head out and soak up some Christmas spirit in some fun, new ways, especially now that the kidlet is old enough to enjoy it.  The Christmas tree, which I got on sale and put up, um, a week before December, is awesome right down to the needles on its 1300 tips.  The kidlet's Santa picture, that went well too, except it was spur of the moment and she wasn't dressed particularly well that day.  But since then?  Things are just not going so well.

It started with the parade last weekend, the one we ended up ditching because we were all frozen and really, there wasn't all the much to see.  Then yesterday, we spent a couple hours hanging up our Christmas lights on the house.  The actual hanging up part went okay, with only a few hairy moments for Dean on the rickety ladder that the previous owner left us, but when we went to light them up?  The big C9s we put along the roofline are so pale white that they look barely lit, and the two strands of icicles hanging off the front porch roof?  Are two different shades of white even though both boxes stated 'Bright White'.  So, uh, I guess taking the initial lights back to Canadian Tire to buy the ones for half the price at London Drugs didn't pay off so well.  You get what you pay for, blah blah blah.  Oh well.  They're lights.  They're up.  If I happen across LD, I can see if they have another box of icicle lights so at least those two strands will match and we don't end up looking like the hicks of the neighbourhood.

Then today, I was all gung ho on heading out to Grouse Mountain to see what their whole 'Peak of Christmas' thing is.  I wanted to go last year but the kidlet was still pretty young.  So after heading to Guest Services to pay for parking because all the nearby meter boxes were broken, we paid the exorbitant $33 each (kidlet was free) to ride the gondola up (eek - I didn't want to look down but couldn't help myself).  I had read the website and knew that there would be a skating pond, Santa's Workshop, sleigh rides, a couple reindeer, and a Christmas tree display (all free with your gondola pass).  Plus snow, although I knew there wouldn't be a lot of it quite yet so early in the season.  The kidlet loves the snow.

So we get off the gondola (which the kidlet LOVED) and just as we came off the landing, there was the skating pond.  It certainly didn't look that big.  There were a lot of people but not too many, and it looked a little choppy (guess they don't have Zambonis up there), so we walked around it to check out the reindeer.  There were two of them, half-hidden in the shrubs, nibbling at the trees.  We watched them for a whole minute (because really, how long can you look at reindeer?) then headed over to Santa's workshop, which was a small building between the reindeer pen and the frozen pond.

The line up wasn't too long - maybe a dozen people in front of us, so we lined up and as Dean and I stood in line, the kidlet climbed up the little hill (not really a hill but to her it probably was) next to us, slid down on her belly, bum, climbed up again and ate the snow and made snow angels.  After a half hour, there were still a handful of people in front of us - it went THAT slow.  Again, our extremities started to get cold.  Another fifteen minutes and the kidlet was whining about her feet 'bleeding' again (even though I put on TWO pairs of socks this time).  Finally, after an hour of waiting (or close to it), we were let into the little hut, where it was blissfully WARM.  Santa sat in a giant chair, Mrs. Claus at his side.  We were the only ones in there and the kidlet had a somewhat lengthy conversation with him.  When he asked her what she wanted him to bring her for Christmas, she said a rocketship, then clarified by saying a rocketship TOY.  Alrighty then.

So they yapped for about four minutes, I took some pictures, the kidlet got two tiny candy canes and we were shuffled out so the next family could come in.   And that was about all there was to do.  We looked for the Christmas tree display, found three just outside the gift shop, scoffed, then decided because we were chilly, that we would just head home.  It wasn't until we were standing and waiting for the gondola that we saw a bunch of Christmas trees in a glass-walled building next to us.  Perhaps we had to walk THROUGH the gift shop to see the rest of them?  Hmmmm...

There weren't any sleigh rides because there wasn't enough snow yet.  I kinda knew that, but figured if we waited until the weekend before Christmas to go, it would have been insane, so I was willing to sacrifice the sleigh ride to avoid the madding crowds.

We didn't go see any of the movies because, well, you don't go up a mountain to watch Christmas movies.  We see enough of them at home!

So we basically paid $66 to ride a gondola for six minutes each way, see Santa for four minutes and check out two of his reindeer.  Oh, and line up for an hour.  A little steep, wouldn't you say?

Hoping that the next few things on my list end up being much better (Van Dusen Festival of Lights and the Stanley Park Christmas Train).  One can only hope.

(click to embiggen)

Waiting in lines

It was just one of those days.

We woke up early to drive Dean to Skytrain so I could have the truck to take the kidlet to gymnastics, as we do every Friday.  I don't even bother to get myself or the kidlet dressed; I just throw on a coat over my fleece jammies, leave my hair all bed-heady and my glasses on, and throw a fleece robe, hat and slippers on the kidlet and away we go.  Hey, it's still dark, no one can see us.  It's not like when I was a teenager and Mom used to pick me up from school dances in her nightgown and robe.  Oh, I guess it was dark then, but unbeknownst to her, we were usually giving a friend or two a ride home as well - ha!  I'm sure she was mortified.  Or maybe just too tired to care.

So we dropped Dean off, came home and raced into the house before any neighbours could see us, then I worked and the kidlet chilled until it was time for gymnastics.  The kidlet did awesome at gymnastics today, what I saw of her anyways.  She did a proper bum drop on the trampoline - she usually crosses her legs but she did it straight-legged today!  And walked on the beam all by herself - backwards!  I was busy chatting to one of the other Moms who just gave birth last Friday and brought her week old baby with her (and the Mom? looked awesome. Glowing even).  I must admit, there was some stirring in the old uterus.  He was so little (6 lbs or so) and squishy and sleeping and quiet.  He almost cried, she picked him up and he fell right back asleep.  Oh, the heartstrings.  It got me thinking, pining a little bit.  Then she told me how he was pretty much up all night and that reminded me about the sleep deprivation.  Funny how we just 'happen' to forget all that difficult stuff.  I was such a mess the first six months or so - I'm sure my dead thyroid probably didn't help any.  I keep thinking I could have done better.  I wish I had done better.  I mean, I think I did okay, but I just wish I hadn't been such a stress-case.  I know I was patient and loving towards the kidlet and everything, but inside I was anxious and tired and confused and worried all the time.  It didn't have to be that way.

Um, anyways, yes, so I get the little twinge, then I look at my current energy levels and remind myself that there's no way, unless I happen to strike it rich and can quit my job AND get a nanny and a housekeeper or three, that I could start all over again and retain the last shred of sanity I have. 

But still.  Squishy babies.  The twinge.  What is with that??  I never had it before!!  I never even used to LIKE babies.

So after gymnastics, we had a couple hours to kill before our doctor appointment - I needed my thyroid meds refilled, the kidlet was scheduled for a flu shot - so I headed to a strip mall on the way home to maybe check out some of the big box stores, maybe grab a couple more Christmas presents.  We got there and headed to that crappy cheapie big box store that starts with a big "W" and ate at McD's (yes, again, but I didn't feel like walking to the other fast food places), then headed to the toy section so the kidlet could fart around there for a bit before maybe heading to Mexx or Guess or something way more interesting.  I did find a couple pairs of extra long tights for cheap, so I'm hoping they don't fall apart when I try them on so I can wear them to our Christmas party in two weeks. 

Anyways, about half an hour before our appointment that was 15 minutes away, I lined up to pay for the tights and it was the longest line ever.  I was there for twenty minutes easy.  I didn't see that the people at the front of the line had grocery carts full of actual groceries.  People grocery shop there?  Who knew?  But I couldn't tell whether there was the same in the other lines, so I stayed put and steamed and sighed and glanced at my watch and tried to coax the kidlet from her hiding place behind the clothing racks.

With ten minutes to get to the doc's, we were finally on the road again only for me to go a stupid route that was lined with semi-trucks that weren't moving very fast and there was nowhere to turn off.  Then one of them broke down and we had to time it going around so as not to be smashed into head-on by oncoming semis.  I called the doc's office and said we were running late.  Finally got there fifteen minutes late and still had to wait fifteen or twenty minutes before getting into a room, then another ten or fifteen minutes before she actually came in, so it didn't really make any difference.  She did take extra time to talk to me about stuff, so that was good.  I still like her even though she makes me wait.

We were at the doc's office for an hour.  It didn't seem that long, but that's what my parking stub said.  I got my scrip refilled and the doc said that the flu shot wasn't really necessary so I decided to forgo it again (I think I've only stabbed her once with it, and that's when she was a baby - maybe twice).  The kidlet was happy to not get shot (thrilled, even).  I was panicking that I was over my parking time and was going to get ticketed, so I hurried to the pharmacy, asked how quickly they could fill it, then waited the 'few minutes' it would take.  Apparently not.  Ten minutes later and lots of back and forth, they didn't have the drug in that dosage.  So I snatched my scrip back and hurried out to the truck.

Man, I hate waiting.  Hate line-ups at crappy stores.  Hate traffic.  Hate the long waits at the doctor's office.  Hate panicking over whether my truck was going to be ticketed or towed.  And after all that time being out (left the house at 10:45, returned at 4), I didn't get a helluva lot accomplished other than lots of WAITING.  Gah.  Life is too short to wait!

Preschool observation and playdate

The snow lasted two whole days then the blasted rain washed it all away.  Our snowman put up a good fight, first losing his head, then his body, and now his spindly little arms are all that's left of him.  But maybe he'll be like Frosty and come back on Christmas Day.

It was preschool observation day today, so I visited the kidlet's class for twenty minutes while the teacher showed me how she's now reading four-letter words (the kidlet, that is, not the teacher). She also said that the kidlet refuses to print without having the dotted letters to trace.  She apparently starts then gets frustrated and starts scribbling all over her notepaper.  So that's something we have to start working on at home because she has written her name and the word 'cat' all by herself here.

The teacher also said that they butt heads every once in a while when the kidlet won't cooperate or listen, but they eventually work it out (I love this teacher).  When made to sit in a chair until she's ready to cooperate, the kidlet's been known to say 'I'm not TALKING to YOU" or "I don't WANT to sit in the CHAIR" or "That bites!" (I have no idea on that last one because I don't think I say that.  I could be wrong).  Pretty much the same thing she does to me at home.  Glad the teacher is patient.  Not glad to hear that the kidlet is being difficult at school.  Headstrong, stubborn - wonder where she gets these traits from?

The teacher did say that the kidlet was very smart and picked things up super quickly, so it's not all bad.  The teacher seems to really like her - she said she makes her laugh.  For instance, yesterday they were doing some exercises and the teacher was sore from the day before, and the kidlet said 'Miss Kay, you're falling apart!'.

When I came to pick her up, she was still putting her shoes on because she had refused to do so when the teacher had initially asked her. When we were walking home, the kidlet told me that she had cried when I left - she said she missed me (which she says quite often).  Sigh... she's a player, that one.

Today after preschool, Isaac came over to play with his Mom and adorable little sister in tow.  The kidlet was so excited, she kept checking the front window every few minutes to see if they had arrived, plus she 'called' him on her fake phone earlier this morning to make sure he was still coming over.

In the past when the kids have played, they've always played quietly in the bedroom.  This time?  They were crazy, all three of them running all over the house, shrieking and laughing and throwing things and having a great old time for the first couple hours.  Then the kidlet started getting tired and became ornery with the little one (who'll be 2 in March) and she got a time out for snarking at me and it all went downhill from there.  She no longer wanted to share her toys, she cried over every single little thing, and after almost three hours of visiting, she asked them to leave.  Nice and subtle.  I think it was the other kids nap time anyways (ha! It's been over a year since the kidlet napped!  I wish!) and Isaac cried his little eyes out, not wanting to go.

So the kidlet was crying because the little one kept playing with her toys (that she didn't mind sharing with Isaac) and Isaac was crying because he didn't want to leave and then they were gone and it was sweet silence.  The kidlet sat on the couch with her barnyard animals and sang to herself while I sat comatose in front of the computer.

It was still a good visit and the kids had fun playing until they started getting tired.  Isaac and the kidlet are so much alike - in the way they speak and everything.  So cute to watch them grow up together.   

Brrrrrrrr.... c-c-c-cold

Woke up this morning to a light layer of snow dusted over the world, so pretty and peaceful and quiet.  Still, I managed to postpone heading out there with the kidlet until I had fully woken up, then we went out to play for a half hour or so.  It wasn't too cold, just a little windy, and the snow was light and fluffy, swirling about in the air.  Much too light to make a snowball, but the kidlet had fun picking up handfuls of it and eating it.  Luckily, her snow suit still fits her (barely), so she was toasty warm.

Then we came back in and chilled out until 3pm, when we headed out to the Christmas parade downtown (downtown our city not downtown Vancouver).  The kidlet hasn't been to a parade yet and I haven't been to one since I was a kid (and a young one at that - can't even remember it really).  The snow was coming down a little heavier but was still light and fluffy and still swirling about in the (biting) wind.  I didn't have boots and ended up wearing wool socks with running shoes, but the rest of me was bundled up pretty good.

We arrived early to secure a spot but it was apparently unnecessary.  There were a few others milling about but it certainly wasn't five-people deep like the parade we attempted to see in downtown Vancouver a couple years back.  So we hung around in the now heavy snow (and occasionally biting wind), Dean grabbed a coffee for him and a cinnamon roll for the kidlet from a very packed Starbucks, then the kidlet let me feed her the cinnamon roll in between eating mouthfuls of snow.  We waited.  About ten minutes before the parade was to start, none of us could feel our toes, even Dean in his Sorel's which are apparently rated to -40 weather.  The kidlet kept saying her feet hurt and that her toes were 'bleeding' (she doesn't get what bleeding is really, so any time she gets a certain type of pain anywhere, she says it's 'bleeding' and demands a band-aid).  I tried to get her moving a bit more but she kept whining and fussing.  Finally, the parade started, so I thought (hoped) it would distract her.  Pretty floats!  Marching bands!  People in costumes!

Um, not quite.  First there was the fire truck, which the kidlet did like, although it was moving at like one mile an hour.  It was followed by a number of cars with politicans and the local Miss whatever, which none of us cared much about.  There was a marching band and a bagpipe band, then more vehicles, some decked out with Christmas lights but nothing fancy.  No floats.  It continued to get darker and colder, my toes were numb, I was starting to get cold all over from standing so long, Dean was shivering and could no longer feel his fingers OR toes, and the kidlet was whining non-stop.  Yet still no floats or exciting displays of anything.  What?  A parade without floats?

Twenty minutes into the parade, we bailed, stuttering and shivering the whole way back to the truck (thank God I listened to Dean and let him drive us instead of taking the bus - I truly thought it was going to be crazy busy but I guess the snow kept a lot of the people away).  We sat shivering in the truck waiting for it to warm up.  My feet were cramping up they were so cold.  I took off the kidlet's snow boots and put my warm gloves on her feet, but she was still pretty whiny and miserable.  Which I don't get because between the three of us, she was dressed in the warmest clothes - a Columbia tectonite snowsuit!  And Goretext mittens!  And a fleece hat!  And actual wool-lined snowboots!

We went for dinner to the Pantry and tried to thaw out - I kept my coat on the whole time and only started to warm up after we had eaten.  We came home and I immediately ran a hot bath for the kidlet and stuck my still-frozen feet into it until they finally thawed out.  And now, in my fleece jammies and fleece robe, and sheepskin slippers over wool socks, and the heat cranked to 22, I'm finally warm again.

Man, do I hate being cold.  I love being outside but I hate being cold!  Initially I had been warm in my three-in-one ski jacket and my shearling gloves, but after an hour of just standing there, I just started to get cold (what's with that?  Cold in a layered ski jacket?  Hmmm... may have been because the zipper is broken and I couldn't zip it up properly.  Ahem).  The running shoes didn't help.  Having one hand out of a glove for fifteen minutes while I fed the kidlet her cinnamon roll probably didn't help either - it got so numb I was worried about frostbite.  But man, I need a parka!  And it doesn't even get that cold here - I think I'd freeze to death back east.  I know.  I'm a wimp.  But I dressed appropriately (other than the sneakers) and so did Dean in his North Face jacket, yet we were still ccccold.

So, uh, the parade was a bust.  Maybe there were floats later on but it sure wasn't looking like it.  Good thing I have a bunch of other Christmasy things to do over the next three weeks, ones that I know will be better because I've done them before!  Now I just have to invest in warmer clothes, a parka, snow boots for me and some wool socks for the kidlet and maybe a new snowsuit and some better boots and we'll be set!  Then, won't you know it, it won't snow again for the rest of the season.