Whether you are pregnant or a mom to an infant, toddler, or school-aged children, we all can relate to the bowl of emotions that occur when we hear the words, “Snow Day.” The initial excitement of snow flurries typically leads the way to screams and happy dances by all in the family, even if it just means a day at home without the normal weekday tasks. It seems a bit more fun to jump out of bed when there is snow in the forecast. That is, unless you live where snow is pretty darn common, as are the crazy temperatures that come with it. Then, your bowl of emotions might not be as full as a mom from the southeast who doesn’t own anything warmer than a hooded sweatshirt.  If snow days are something new to you at this stage of parenthood, then buckle up for a wild ride. I would love to say that it will get easier, but I’m 8 years into it all, and winter is our least favorite season because of ‘Snow Days.’ Let me backtrack a bit though. Snow is fun. Snow is beautiful and magical. Snow is wonderful in limited amounts and with an end in sight!

Around the age of 7, kids can pretty much handle getting into and out of their snow gear, but aren’t old enough to accompany toddler-aged siblings in the snow. BUMMER.

Snow days generally go something like this when you have kids:

Layer the kids up! Layer yourself up because they can’t go outside by themselves, can they?

Add snow pants, jacket, hat, gloves, and boots. Strip everything off so child can pee. Strip everything off so you can pee (especially if pregnant).

Repeat it all and actually make it outside. Try to distract from all of the complaints about the cold, wet, and other environmental conditions.

Continue to distract from the obsessive requests of hot chocolate. Have a blast for 16 minutes (that may be pushing it) sledding, stomping and exploring.

Soothe child who fell in snow, has snow in gloves, down the front of a jacket, or in boots. Laugh when you realize that you are having more fun than the kids.

Head back inside for warm drinks and new clothes. REPEAT 4 times in one day.

A few things that I have learned about snow days:

1. Snowmen are hard to make and take a ridiculous amount of packed snow.
2. Toddlers will always look like the over-stuffed kid in the movie A Christmas Story.
3. Toddlers under 2.5 years old will basically always hate snow.
4. Snow melts into mud and refreezes into a dangerous hell called ‘ice.’
5. The pile of snow clothes that is stripped off at the door will become your most hated pile of crap in the house.
6. The one time you send the kids outside without you, one child will fall face first into the snow and require you to sprint into the elements completely under-prepared.
7. The absolute best way to spend a snow day is with mom friends. It can be inside, outside, inside and outside, but the truth is that no one else quite understands like another mom.

All joking aside, motherhood is already hard, and adding in layers and layers of clothing onto children who hate clothing can be a tad bit frustrating. Going into the experience with a positive attitude makes the entire situation more fun (for everyone). Keep your expectations low, take a ton of pictures, and laugh when you want to cry. Although, you can cry when the news announces the fourth snow day in a row.