There is a good chance that many of you are experiencing snow right about now. Depending on where you live, it may not even be your first snow of the season. It snowed here in Mississippi for about an hour one morning this week but that certainly wasn’t enough to cover my yard and trees in a beautiful white blanket or give my boys enough to play with. I’m jealous of all the pictures I see of the winter wonderlands that are forming all over the country, and the world. Every little one, and some of us big ones too, need the chance at least once or twice a year to build a snowman, have a snowball fight, or make a snow angel. When we were little, my parents took my sister and me on lots of ski trips. I learned how to ski before I was tall enough for the poles. That was interesting. The ski instructor told me to just pretend like I was holding a glass of water in each hand. I realize now, that pose, combined with the ‘snowplow’ ski formation they showed us for slowing down, must have made me the most ridiculous sight coming down the mountain. I already had on enough clothes that my arms just stuck out instead of hanging by my side. Yikes. Eventually, I did grow up and get poles like a normal skier. We learned to ski in great resort towns like Breckenridge and Winter Park, Colorado where the snow was as high as the door to our condo. It was absolutely beautiful up on the mountain on a clear day, but man, it was cold. This was before the days of battery-operated socks or gloves and I remember my hands and feet hurting because they were so cold. I tend to be a very cold-natured individual, so I would get out there, get my backside slapped by the chair lift whisking me up the mountain and by the time I skied down again, it was time to thaw out in the lounge. Warm up, and repeat. Good times. I can’t wait to get my boys up on a mountain. They are the opposite of cold natured. Wood will be mad at himself if he hasn’t conquered the mountain by lunch and Graham has no fear so that won’t be nerve-wracking at all for this mama.
No really….baby, it’s cold outside
Anyone else find it particularly humorous when you ask your kids to go get dressed during this season? It’s 30 degrees outside and they come downstairs in shorts and a t-shirt. My boys getting dressed is a lot like me writing a paper in school. There are many drafts before the final, edited approved version. I send them back upstairs and inevitably they only remember half of what I told them and come back down with a long sleeve shirt, but still wearing shorts. Back up they go. Getting dressed take 3. Then we have the ‘to wear a jacket or not’ discussion. The only discussion seems to come from them because I do not recall it being up for discussion at all. My instruction was an imperative statement. It’s moments like that I am so thankful that we parents are here to look out for them, because they certainly couldn’t make good decisions by themselves. They are kids, and it’s a jungle out there.
Speaking of jungles, one of our favorite movies is Madagascar. This movie has a ton of great characters and some of our favorites include the penguins. These cute, feisty little guys have their own spin off movie. Now, I know you are probably wondering why am I talking about penguins? It’s Christmas and all the fun festivities are centered around the North Pole. Penguins are at the South Pole. Hang on. One of my favorite Christmas songs is, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” hence the title of this post. I do not sing, except in the car or shower, but if I did, I always thought this would be a fun duet to sing. As we focus on the fun aspects of the wintry season, I think penguins deserve a little love. If any animal knows how to do cold, they do, and they do it in style. First, they are adorable, right? These flightless birds have a great waddle, a classic look, and they are great parents. The famous Emperor penguins incubate their eggs on their feet until they hatch. The males are the ones huddling to keep these little ones safe and snug, sometimes for months waiting on their arrival, so here’s a shout out to those great daddy penguins. There are lots of different kinds of penguins that have unique characteristics, such as the Rockhopper Penguin with spiked feathers above their crest. Then there is the Gentoo penguin, which is one of the fastest swimmers. I just like the fact that the species name sounds like a planet or people group from Star Wars. I can hear Obi-Wan now, “He is a bounty hunter from Gentoo.” Last, but not least, penguins actually go tobogganing. They lay on their bellies and propel themselves across the ice with their feet. What’s not to love? Great parenting, snazzy hairdos, names worthy of a galaxy far, far away, and belly sledding. It may be cold outside, but they are taking care of business while looking good and having fun.
So, because it’s cold outside, we watched Penguins of Madagascar and laughed as we learned our favorite penguin backstory and then cheered them on against the evil, purple Octopus villain Dave, voiced by John Malkovich by the way so I kinda love Dave.
Check out the Penguins of Madagascar
In honor of our favorite winter bird, we made these Oreo penguins. These are so cute and since you just add some accessories to a chocolate covered Oreo, they are relatively easy to make. I love the Airhead earmuffs.
Personally, I enjoy a good hot beverage all year round. I love my tea in the morning and have become quite addicted to chai lattes (and my favorite local spot makes the best!). I realize most people probably prefer them when the temperature starts dropping. Now that we have frost on the windows, we can get out our favorite recipes for the perfect drink to warm up all those who have been playing out in the snow. Make some good old fashioned hot chocolate and add a little marshmallow snowman for fun. Try the recipe below for a great way to warm up your crew after that epic snowball fight.
One of my favorite things about cold weather is all the great accessories. Great scarves, cute gloves, and the headgear options. Hooded jackets or hats? I like both but I am still on the hunt for a good go-to hat. My favorite coat has a hood which is great, especially because it is waterproof but if I were going to football game, for example, I would want something warmer for my ears. I also love the gear for kids. Little hats with tiger ears or moose antlers are just adorable, not to mention all the themed apparel. Unicorns and Dinosaurs. PJ Mask or Elsa. Anything you could want to keep your little ones warm while sporting their favorite things. I have a favorite scarf and gloves. My gloves are soft like rabbit fur, striped and fingerless.
My dad came back from a hunting trip in Idaho with new pajamas for the boys two years ago. Graham’s pjs were Batman themed except Batman was replaced by a moose, so he is now known as ‘the bat-moose.’ Wood’s were similar except Star Wars themed. “May the forest be with you,” with a moose in a Vader mask. My parents also got the boys some cute winter hats keeping with that theme.
I hope we all get a chance to play in the snow at least once this year. Remember, it’s a jungle out there, so be careful! Stay away from bounty hunters from Gentoo as I hear they are hard to outrun, and if you come across a penguin, I hope it’s a rockhopper.
Gear up! Because baby, it’s cold outside!
Stay tuned for more of the 12 Days of Christmas!
