Daily Dose of Sugar Mama

It snowed here in Nebraska this past weekend. It was the wet heavy snow, which makes shoveling difficult but sledding awesome. Tween and Girl wanted to go sledding along with a few neighbor kids. But just one problem: the neighbor kids had to have an adult go with.

So with my camera, stocking cap, heavy duty gloves, wool socks, and snow boots ready I made the walk with the kids to our neighborhood hill. And the thought occurred to me several times as I felt near frost bite on my face — why was I the only parent that agreed to do this?

But how could I say “no” to this sweet face with the fluffy fur trimmed coat? If we all said “no” then the kids couldn’t go. Well, MY kids could go. I trust Tween to keep an eye on Girl. But the other kids couldn’t go. And it did give me a reason to get out of the house, take some photos, get some fresh air (even though freezing cold) and laugh with my kids. The laughing was challenging though as my lips were partially frozen.

We got to the hill. Girl was determined to sled from the very top. And when she is determined to do something she does NOT stop until she succeeds. It’s something I love about her… but it’s also something that can drive me batty! Especially when I am freezing and ready to go, but she’s still climbing to the top. Tween and his friend were flying down the hill on inner tubes… scared me to death! They laughed and screamed down the hill at full speed while I stood bug eyed dreading the worst. I was fully prepared, with my cell phone in my pocket to have to call 9-1-1. Every year a kid breaks a bone on this hill. I was praying that I wouldn’t have to make that call.

But they never fell out. They had a great time and only took out one other sledder (oops).

And Girl, the animal lover that she is, was befriended by a sweet furry little guy. He is not our dog. And of all the kids on the hill, he chose to follow Girl’s sled. She LOVED it and laughed so hard she kept falling out of her sled. This dog was so happy… with his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging joyfully. I wanted to be like that dog (minus the heavy black hair and puppy breath). How great it would be to live life that carefree.

And I think it’s so cool how animals are drawn to Girl. They must sense her love for them. When she grows up she wants to work with animals in some capacity and as soon as she turns 13 she wants to start volunteer work at the humane society. It’s what brings her such joy in her life; hanging out with and playing with animals… preferably soft and furry ones.

It was a fun time, but only lasted 45 minutes as my face hurt so badly from the arctic level wind chill. Two of the kids had me pull them back home as they rode on their sleds. This, my friends, is a GREAT workout! Because of the snow covered sidewalks it was just challenging enough to burn the glutes. They had a great time and all of the kids thanked me for letting them sled.

Sometimes it’s nice to be the “cool mom”. Because I know it will be just a matter of time before I irritate my kids (again) and I’ll be back on the “annoying mom” list.