I can feel winter’s icy hand on the back of my neck and it’s time to prepare.  We need to get the house in order and come up with some fun ideas for when it’s too cold to go out or we have zero desire to bundle up because we are not cold weather people. I know… it’s a mystery why we live in Minnesota when none of us really enjoy snow or frigid temperatures.

I think I need to do some Pinterest scouring to find good winter crafts, although apparently even a paper plate can be fun.  Who knew that switching one simple artistic medium could do so much?  I left out paper plates for about a week and both kids would climb up on the barstools whenever they were hit with artistic genius and color away.

I already know we’ll do plenty of baking, but I want to spend more time this winter crafting and making things and being creative with the kids.  We should also actually take them sledding since they’d both enjoy it this year, but there’s that whole cold and wet factor.  We’ll see. Maybe we can just watch a movie where there is sledding?  I kid. Sort of.

One of my goals is to do some sewing – specifically a quilt.  I’m going to start small and go from there, but first we need to do some major winter cleaning.  I see many trips to Goodwill in our future.  I need to go through old baby clothes as well.  I wanted to try and sell them, but it’s getting to a point where the payout doesn’t seem worth the effort and I’m tempted to just donate the lot.  Sure, some extra spending money is nice, but I could save myself some time and headache by just packing it all up in garbage bags and giving it away.  I can already see the empty bins we’d be left with. I feel lighter already!

We also need to do some deep cleaning and prep our basement windows for their glorious annual plastic wrapping.  While the wood floor looks nice downstairs, it’s not the best choice for Minnesota winters. Plus hot air rises and we have 9 foot ceilings which also does not help.  Basically our basement is no-man’s land in the winter unless we wear warmer layers and remember to turn on the electric fireplace and space heaters an hour in advance.

First, though, I need to get my body used to the lack of daylight. This year especially it seems to have caught me off guard and the late sunrise and early sunset is taking its toll. By the time we get the kids to bed its already dark and the couch beckons me to curl up in its warm embrace. Sigh. Soon, motivation, soon.