A few weeks ago I remembered what I used to do in previous winters. I would bundle my children up and we'd head outside and we'd all come in feeling better.
Our habit, when the weather is nice, is to go outside after lunch. We had given this up when the weather turned cold; however, the days are long and boring and far too much TV watching has been occurring. So it was time to do something.
And I think that my negative mood during winter comes in large part from the "I'm trapped inside" feeling. In terms of cognitive therapy, this is an irrational thought that leads to me feeling like CRAP, so I decided to challenge that thought...
So everyday, we finish our lunch and we spend a good 10 minutes bundling up, and then we head outside. Andi likes to wander. She isn't much of a sledder. The big girls like to sled. And I shovel, chip away at ice, follow Andi around, and respond to "Watch us Mommy!" by watching the twins bounce down the hill on their sled.
I don't think it was more than a few degrees today when we went out, so we only stayed out 10 minutes or so...but it still counts as another notch in our belt in the battle against the cold days of winter in MN. Plus, we need a good excuse to warrant making Penzey's Hot Chocolate and Caribou coffee everyday.
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| There goes the "wanderer," headed out to do who knows what she does. |
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| All bundled up and ready to head out. |
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| Ella puts the amount of snow we have in perspective. |
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| Sophia against our snowbank alongside the driveway. |
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| What a thrill! Finally tall enough to touch the stop sign, thanks to the snow. And this picture is so much different than the time she wore a pair of heals and a suit. |
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| Hanging out |
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