Hellobee

The holidays are over and a long winter looms ahead of many of us. These are the toughest months for me as a stay-at-home mom because due to the weather we are stuck in the house more often, driving places can be scary or difficult, and bundling up children always takes FOREVER. Not to mention, it’s cold and flu season, yuck! If you live in a warmer part of the world where the heat is stifling in the summer, then maybe that is the time of year you stay indoors more often, but I’m pretty sure we all have some months that are rougher than others.

I’ve shared about how anxious I was during my pregnancy with Chip last year at this time and while I feel much better overall, I do have flashback emotions to how icky I felt and it makes me anxious all over again. The biggest struggle for me is my mental state in this weather because it gets dark so early and me much more worried about illness during the winter. I’m trying to keep my anxiousness at bay and I do that by talking to Mr. Cookie when I get overwhelmed, keeping up with my anti-anxiety meds, and doing my best to keep everyone healthy. But most of all I’m working on letting it go. Oh, I try so hard to let it go. There is no way to fully escape sickness even with a flu shot and other preventative measures, so there is no point worrying about it. Plus, I know my worrying changes nothing.

Mostly, I don’t want to dread the post-holiday season and be miserable when it’s cold out because winter is a LONG season where I live! So I’m working on living in the moment and stressing less. I have two modes for dealing with the frigid Minnesota weather and I find there are pros and cons to both. I either ignore it or embrace it depending on my mood for the day.

Ignore it. This is when we leave the house anyway and complain our way through the cold to get to music class or that play date at the mall.  Kids are resilient and can handle bitter, cold weather in tiny doses. I know if I start staying inside when it’s 30 degrees F out, then we’ll never leave the house when it’s below zero, so we pace ourselves and bundle up anyway. We drive to places with covered parking lots, and use lots and lots of blankets because I refuse to hibernate for half the year. Packing and hauling all the extra winter gear needed to leave the house with two small children is definitely exhausting, but the boys benefit so much from the socialization and exploration that it’s usually always worth it to leave.

Embrace it. This is when we hunker down and stay home. I make a goal to play in each room of the house that has toys, which includes the boys’ bedrooms, the living room, and the basement. If it’s not too frigid outside we’ll bundle up and play in the snow in the backyard. We also might watch a bit more TV than usual and stay in our PJ’s all morning, but sometimes it’s nice to have nowhere we have to be. Recently, Crumb has been helping me bake cookies and that is a fun indoor activity that keeps us occupied. Unfortunately, by the end of the day Crumb is running in circles and chasing the dog, Chip is whining to be held constantly, and I’m ready to throw them both at Mr. Cookie the minute he walks in the door, so staying in all day doesn’t happen very often but when it does the boys do pretty well with enough variety.

Another way I survive the cold weather is by keeping busy and planning something. This year Chip turns one in early March so I have his birthday party to plan and then my Dad turns 60 in April. A fellow SAHM friend of mine and I have discussed how having a big project to plan is a great way to keep the brain active and the hands busy during the long dark days of winter.

Other ideas include art projects, learning about a new letter each week, making gifts for family, researching a new animal each week, making the kids help with an organizing project around the house, and of course party planning and DIYing.

How do you survive the winter blues?