I have finally got my blog posts transferred over and I feel like I can take a few minutes to get caught up.

This winter has just been crazy...really.

Every mom that I run into is in hiding now.

I'm not quite sure what has made this winter particularly toxic for all of us, but I will argue that this is the worst winter I've lived through here. We have had snow pretty much since the first week of November or so, a good month of -20F weather and almost a week of -50F days.

The group of moms that I know has gone from being friendly and getting together to barely being able to wave when we pass each other on the streets in our vans. One of my friends just went with her kids to Disney for a much-needed break. It looks like her husband may lose his job and so they decided that it was now or never with a trip to Orlando. She was desperate for some sun. She got back on Friday and emailed me. "I hear my husband and kids had fun. I wouldn't know...I got strep, ended up in the ER the second day and was in bed for the rest of the trip..." Man, it's bad for everyone!

Last week, the temps got up into the 50's and it looked like Spring just *might* be around the corner. Then the rains began to fall....and fall....and fall.

The pond behind our house overflowed. Here is a look at the neighbor's yard from our deck.


My retaining wall (that is at least 3 feet higher than the pond usually)



Notice that it is completely submerged!

This is what it looks like usually:


Local Children's park


Branch of a creek in our neighborhood. All of that water? Every last drop of it should not be visible! Usually, you have to walk by and look down to even notice that there is a small creek...



I bet you are noticing something else...The sky is a miserable gray.

Yes. It. Is.

It feels as depressing as it looks!

The rains have stopped and we are back to freezing temperatures. This has allowed the elevated water to freeze in most areas. It's a pretty horrendous sight.

I started out the winter feeling pretty positive...I tried to point out how beautiful the snow was and enjoy what winter had to offer. I'm ending the winter in a funk to beat all funks! I have not uploaded pictures from Christmas, birthdays...nothing...I have felt overwhelmed and exhausted since January.

Ultimately, I decided that I just have to get back to the basics...routine and structure. I joined the YMCA and have been going 5 days a week with Zoe and Aidan. The good news is that I have been exercising regularly for about 3 weeks now. The bad news? I have GAINED 6 pounds.

How the heck do you add exercise to your routine and GAIN weight? I just don't get it. It doesn't seem fair. I'm trying really hard to stay motivated and talk myself into believing that ultimately my metabolic rate will have to increase as I gain muscle mass.

For my own mental health, I hired a babysitter who I am taking Zoe to starting tomorrow morning. I am woefully behind on studying for an exam on Friday and I just need time and space away from Zoe. This way, I can get my own stuff done and have a break.

Thomas and I sat down and came up with a list of new and old rules and consequences to discuss with the kids today. It's mostly a rehashing of what we all should be doing but have let go of through the course of the winter.

We've let a lot of things go as the days have dragged on. It's time to get control again...before we all go nuts!