Snowed in!

It has been a snowmageddon in Portland this year. We have had almost 10 inches of snow. Multiple snow days. An adventure in the snow with being stuck on the road for 3-4 hours. 

Chains on wheels, forced for almost a week indoors with mommy going crazy 24/7 food and snack support, sliding on sledges on the side walk and spray painting the snow and ofcourse making a cool snow dude - we have really had it all!

And ofcourse, the one who has derived the most joy out of all this is Manya. She hasn't once complained about the extreme weather. Actually, and I might have to bite my tongue sooner than I know it, but M is quite the sport when it comes to disrupted routines and plans gone haywire. Her maturity at this age in handling disappointments actually surprises me many a times. 

Also, it is such a joy to watch her growing up enjoying all the seasons equally. I hope she remembers these days with great fondness...

Finding Nemo!

Continuous rains have put all of us under house arrest and inspite of all genuine efforts to not become a couch potato, I sadly have to concede that screen time privileges for Manya have exponentially increased.

Having never seen a full length movie before, we were not sure how M's attention would pan out but wow, did she amaze us. She followed the storyline attentively and was very emotionally engaged till the end. It has become a sort of obsession for her  fishes, the story, it doesn't help that her aunt has already gifted her a FInsing Nemo playset that is her favorite toy these days.

We also introduced her to Kungfu Panda and inspite of an unsure start, she has grown to like it as well. I really hope Summers are here soon and we can resist these temptations. Am hoping, she waits a bit longer for the big screen cinema debut :P.

Letting it go in the snow storm!

So, being a FTM (first time mom :P), I do tend to exhibit typical paranoid behaviors every once in a while (actually more often than I would like to admit) but then what the hell, all that comes with the title!

M was born in November and I have been very particular about keeping her in controlled temperatures - even inside the house - so much so that I earned the nickname "Temperature Nazi" from Vish. 

For example, in the first year, we would maintain a temperature between 68F and 72F in winters. During bath times, I'd religiously spike it up to 74F. During summers, between 76F-80F. However, this winter we are doing between 65F-68F and 70F-72F for bathing. Any variance of even a degree used to cause (I swear it no longer does) hyper blood pressure in me :D. 

Now, outside temperatures are hard to control, right? So, guess what my rules for taking M out for a walk were until November of last year. Temperature range should be 68F-80F. No winds. No bright or harsh sun. UV index of 4 or lower (yes, I was crazy enough to check it every single time for our zip code). And obviously, not at meal times/milk times/ snack times/nap times. Go figure out the narrow time range then available for the outdoors :). 

However, the polar vortex has put me in my place. With continuous cold weather and more snow storms than ever before, I have realized keeping a toddler at home 24 hours is detrimental to your own sanity. Now, M has gone for walks at even 30F, with winds at 19MPH. I even allow her to play in all that piled up snow outside and around our apartment. She even eats it! Yuck! (But maybe not so much - it's cleaner than the window sills she licks every once in a while :P.)

So, have I let this aspect go? Pretty much, except that for every range of degrees, I have a mental chart on what M should be wearing - And on that I am not compromising (errr, for now)!