Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Frosty the Snow Head

We got some snow! Whee! In Georgia! One inch of snow, which, of course, means that basically the whole city shut down for a couple of days, because we have NO idea what to do with snow.

Small One had some ideas about what to do with it, though.

She wanted, more than anything, to build a snowman. "I'm going to make Frosty!" she said, "And he's gonna have a CARROT for a nose!!!" (As those of you who know her are aware, the word spelled "carrot" is actually pronounced "cwawwot".)

Much energy was expended on searching for the perfect carrot, and even more energy was expended finding the perfect place outdoors to keep the carrot safe while we constructed the snowman.

Guess what activity she didn't deem worthy of energy expenditure? Collecting snow!

Yeah, the snow is powdery and dry, doesn't stick together, and there's only an inch of it. I was basically scraping snow off the ground and piling in into a pile on the sidewalk. Small One helped with this process for about twenty seconds before deciding that the initial place she'd put the cwawwot wasn't going to work out, and she needed to move it.

Here's the other fact: It was fricking FREEZING out there, Mr. Bigglesworth! It was fourteen degrees. Are you kidding me with this? Did I mention I'm a Southern girl? We do not hang out outside in any temperature that involves "teen" in the name of it. So after about 15 minutes of scraping and piling snow while cajoling a preschooler to help, I gave up.

Here was my clever move. I told her it'd be really funny if we made Frosty climbing out of the sidewalk. I stuck branches in the sides of the snow mound, sticking up, put a hat and a face on him, and voila!She was happy, and I was happy, because I got to go inside! A win-win, if you ask me. Before we went in, though, she retrieved the carrot from his face, because she wanted to eat it.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

The Trouble with Babies

Our good friends have just welcomed a new baby boy into their family, on Christmas Eve. The big sister of that family is, in fact, Small One's BEST friend, and I knew my Small had been waiting to hear the news.

I said "Your friend has a new baby brother!"

Small said "Oh, wow! Can her baby brother run around?"

I said "No, he's very small right now, so he doesn't walk yet."

Small thought about this for a minute or two, then asked, a little scornfully, I'm afraid, "What's wrong with him? Doesn't he have legs?"

Silly babies, refusing to use their legs.

(Congratulations anyway, dear Family, and I can't wait to meet the new boy!)