Cabin Fever

I think everyone in the house has a case of cabin fever .Not the fun kind, like in Muppet Treasure Island. A legitimate case, like the kind a doctor would diagnose. This winter hasn't been really the kind to get out and play in. It's either bitterly cold and windy, or soupy and wet. There have only been a few actual snowy, winter days.

The only time Lilah has been out to play in the snow was when we were visiting Dano's parents in the UP. It took an unexaggerated 15 minutes to dress her. Snow pants, hat, mittens, boots, coat. By the time we were done, she was complaining at us. "All done!" My mother's heart beamed at me. "Remember this. This is a moment." I proudly sent her out into my in-law's backyard with her daddy. I was ready, camera in hand, for what promised to be a series of Kodak moments. Dano set to work making her a perfect snowman. She stood in the snow, looking decidedly bewildered. It started raining. The snow was gloopy and it was far too warm out for her 8 pounds of winter attire. I stood on the porch with my FlipShare with what I'm sure was a very confused look on my face. Dano was trudging through the soggy white mess, pushing what was trying hard to be a snowball. He set it aside when it was about as tall as Lilah and set to work on another smaller one. Then he attempted to place the smaller snowball on top of the bigger one. It was so wet and heavy, it fell straight through the middle of the bottom snowball. He stared at it. Lilah (whose nose was getting more red by the minute) looked back and forth between the "snowman" (i.e. mound of slush), Dano, and me. Dano picked her up and sat her on the failed snowman.
"It's more of a throne." Lilah flailed her stiff little arms about.
"All done!" She made it approximately 7 minutes. She came in and had cocoa.

I took her yesterday to Barnes and Noble to play in the children's area. Lilah always has fun there. She met a little blonde boy named Max. They played with trains and she ran around looking at books. She didn't find any she couldn't live without this time. I attempted to read Endless Nights but never got beyond the first few pages. Lilah always has many questions and comments. She loves looking out the high windows of the second flood and watching the busy Royal Oak streets below. "Hi cars!" We had a good time.

Other than little trips like that, I'm not sure what else to do with the child. She's losing it indoors. And I'm losing it trying to keep her busy.