Snow

Although we've had a BUTT LOAD of snow this winter, Ethan and I have hardly taken the kids out to play in it.  Partly because we were all so sick when the first several snow storms hit, and partly because by the time we were well, the snow was so deep that it was unmanageable, and partly because it has simply been too cold to enjoy being outdoors. 

This weekend, I started feeling guilty about the fact that I only took the kids sledding once.  True, they have gone sledding in our back yard, and even down our driveway before I shovelled the first blizzard's snow.  But I have only taken them to our usual sledding hill once, the time that Madeleine took one run down the hill, face-planted, and was DONE.  WITH.  SLEDDING.

So, since it had warmed up to a balmy 28 degrees or so this past weekend, I wondered aloud to Ethan about taking the kids to the sledding hill.  He had zero desire.  I should point out that I *always* have zero desire when it comes to doing ANYTHING in the snow, but I feel like I don't want the kids to miss out just because I have no use for winter.  But since Ethan wasn't interested, I wondered if we're just all sick of the snow.  So I put the question to the kids.

ME: Girls?  Would you like Daddy and I to take you sledding at the high school today, or do you not really care about playing in the snow?
JULIA: Well, today at church I prayed for ALL the snow to melt and I prayed for the weather to get warm and the flowers to bloom.  So...I don't want to go sledding.
MADELEINE: And Mama?  I *definitely* don't want to go sledding because remember how I fell out of the sled on my FACE?

Okay.  Well, that solved that.  No one wants to play in the snow, and we're all equally desperate for it to melt.

Although the idea of the snow melting made Madeleine curious about another issue.

MADELEINE: Mama?  You know how sometimes there's yellow snow that has DOG PEE in it?  When the snow MELTS, what happens to the dog pee snow?  Does the dog pee melt too??
ME: Yes.
MADELEINE: The dog pee MELTS?
ME: Uh, no, uh...well, the pee goes...where the snow goes...it kind of just seeps into the earth...

I realized I was talking out of my butt.  Which would probably have been more appropriate for answering the question about where the dog POOP goes.  But I think the answer was probably close-ish enough. 

These kids sure keep me on my toes.  I never quite know WHAT sort of question they're going to lob my way next.