Hello Winter

In my last blog post, I wrote about the lovely weather we had in the months of September and October. Well, as soon as November hit, that all changed. We've had quite a few snowfalls over the past six weeks, and colder than average temperatures. This is my first Canadian winter since 2005, and I think I'd forgotten just how cold it can get here. I am rediscovering all of the extra challenges that come along with freezing temperatures, snow and ice. 

First off, getting the kids ready to go outside is a major mission. Andy made a time lapse video of it once, which was pretty funny. Ella has a particular order we have to follow when getting her dressed: snow pants, boots, jacket, scarf, hat, gloves. I think the time we spend getting ready is only marginally less than the time spent playing outside. Ollie looks like a little marshmallow man in his snowsuit, and is reluctant to walk when he's bundled up. He mainly just stands in one place moaning until someone picks him up. 

We bought this winter pram liner for Ollie, but I wish I had done some research before buying it, as I don't think it is actually that warm. The first time we used it we didn't put Ollie in his snow pants, and it was a windy day. Andy took Ollie for a walk around the marsh near our house and Ollie just kept saying "all done, all done", which I think was his way of saying "I'm too freaking cold, get me inside daddy!" This down-filled version from MEC might have been a better option!

Andy usually does Ella's school drop off and pick up, and one fun benefit of the snow is doing this on a sled. Both of the kids really enjoy it and if there is time (and enough snow) they go sledding and play in the snow in the park behind the school.

Driving in the snow (and ice) is another big adjustment. Most people have special winter tires they put on their cars for the winter, which help in the snow, but are still no match for the ice! 

I am super grateful that my parents have given up the coveted garage parking spot to me this winter. Not having to scrap ice off the car at 6:15am is a major win. Sometimes I opt to take public transport to work instead of drive. It takes me 1.5 hours each way, but when the roads are snowy I'd rather just relax on the bus with a book than have a stressful drive, which would end up taking me nearly the same amount of time in wintery conditions anyway. 

Side note: I'll try not to complain about my looooong commute every blog post, but man is it a drainer! Toronto (and the surrounding suburbs) is a commuter city and no one seems particularly shocked at hour-long plus commutes, but I think it is a crazy way to live. I can only survive it because a) we live with my parents, and b) in my head it is a short term situation. 

Ok, so driving and getting the kids ready to go outside are the downsides to winter, but there are some positives to all this snow. The main one for me being that it really feels like Christmas here! The dark nights, the lights and decorations in shops and houses, heavy snow, it all just feels so festive! In Melbourne, it never felt quite right to me that Christmas was in the summer. 

Some fun activities we've been up to since winter hit...

A Christmas festival in the nearby village of Streetsville. The roads were closed and there were lots of different activities for kids, including ice painting, crafts, curling, puck shooting, along with a market, live music and mulled wine for the adults.

This isn't really Christmassy, but we took Ella to Paw Patrol in November. She was excited to see her favourite TV show live. It was an energetic, loud show, as expected. Ella loved it but I'm not sure it's an experience I feel the need to repeat with either child! (I much preferred taking her to the theatre when we were in London last summer!)

We got a nice family shot with Santa Claus at Ella's schools' Christmas fair. We attempted to have the kids sit with Santa on their own, but that is just not happening this year!

Ella was invited to a birthday party where all the kids got to decorate a gingerbread house. What a great idea!

Ollie loves all the Christmas decorations in the house. Surprisingly he's very gentle with them, and hasn't pulled all the ornaments off the tree (yet!)

And I'll leave you with some cool shots of icicles forming...