Photo Bomb

'Nuff Said

8:42 PM

No Surprise There

Without trying (or even intending it, really)

I have become the figure head

of a clandestine guerilla Valentine's Day operation

at Baby's anti-holiday school.

Quick Note

Mr F just flew home to say a final goodbye to his dad.  Things took a sudden turn for the worse yesterday.  This is of course not unexpected but unexpected timing as these things often are.  He had travelled out a few weeks ago and things had seemed momentarily improved only to deescalate quickly after he left.

I'm out of steam.  It's been a long and stressful two days just trying to figure out how to best get him there and for how long.

Kid is taking the news very hard.  She's staying home tomorrow.

Glad It's Over

This was an off-kilter day.  Some intense emotional stuff going on for Mr F and just regular life stress, appointments, the town blocking my driveway with snow boulders, and a very badly timed surprise science test prep for Kid tonight. There were tears... thankfully cut with some crazy amusing delirious hysteria.  It was a LONG day.  I'm glad my part is all over for the night.  Now to price out flights for Mr F and watch last night's Downton.

I will leave you with pics from the day:

 This is why we need that snowsuit! 

Baby's climbing one of the parking lot mountains at school this morning.

 Sunrise coming up over Baby's school.  I can never capture it with my phone but it was spectacular.

 While I was gone at drop off the plow came by and left some surprise ice boulders in its path, making my driveway completely inaccessible. That big lump right in the middle of the driveway was literally 4 feet wide and 2.5 feet tall and so heavy I could not move it and could not drive over it.  

I had to chip away at it with an ice breaker.  

As The Cougar would say "Don't worry about me".  

It's not like I had a car full of groceries and a dentist appointment I had to get to.  

 Love that crinkled nose.

 Kid's stress response

 in action

I'm always happy when her overwhelming stress crosses the line from sad/mad to wound up silliness.  She had me on the ground laughing at her weird impersonation of a Prepper thinking they could make hydroelectric power from their yard hose (hey, it was even on topic!... Big Boy was apparently less impressed).  She definitely inherited this awesome (Mr F might argue annoying) stress management trait from me.  Also the tendency to get overwhelmingly stressed... but who's counting?

The EU Hates My Children

I spent 6 straight hours damning the US straight to hell while desperately trying to find a one piece snowsuit in Baby's size this weekend.

Who knew?  But the US has a strong style preference for two piece snowsuits.  STRONG.  As in, one piece do not exist after toddlerhood.

I've tried to find them, but they just DO NOT exist in the US.  

Every other country that experiences harsh winters?.... YES.  

But the US?  No.   

Why?  For the love!  FOR THE LOVE!

Why is it that every other country that has cold winters sees the benefit (the superiority even) of a one piece snowsuit for school aged children... but the US is just not having it??!

WHY???!  (this has been eating me up all weekend long, folks)

Baby goes to school with a Finnish family and their kids have these amazing one piece snow suits in actual big kid sizes with foot straps to keep the legs tucked in the boots and attachable mittens (so they don't lose them!!).  Everyday I think..."Those are awesome!"...the time it takes to get in and out is a fraction of the usual rigamarole involved in two separate pieces.  And when it is -20 in the morning and you have to wear snow gear just to walk from the parking lot to school... which means we have to get fully geared up...Baby & I both want her to have one.  Desperately.

After living through the last month and a half of intensely cold weather and gazillion feet of snow coupled with the pretty liberal outdoor play policy at Baby's school... (they go out unless it is colder than -11 F)... I have been really regretting that I cheaped out this Fall when I bought her snow stuff this year (but how could I have known?!).

Baby shares a locker with the Finnish girl in her class and every single day that awesome snowsuit taunts me.

It taunts me with its badass superior functionality!

I can find the manufacturers in Finland and Sweden but do they ship to the US?  No!

There is some kind of EU trade limitation.  And it is driving me absolutely bananas.

I debated buying what may or may not have been legit castoff snowsuits directly from Chinese factories.

I debated that for about 4 straight hours.  But then I chickened out because it was still going to cost me $100 and I wasn't sure of anything.  The size.  The condition. The likelihood of receiving it.

In the end, today, I found a site out of the UK that does ship the Finnish snowsuits to the US (for approximately 5 million dollars) .  With the attached mittens.  Which it turns out are extra.

I was trying to avoid all those extra costs, but people, I need that suit.

I figure this ensures that the weather will warm up and I'll be out the 5 hundred thousand dollars for the suit and the 5 million in shipping.