Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Baby it's Cold Outside



I really hate the weather this time of year. I have never been a big fan of the cold and we live in the deep South so most of the year is hot, a seemingly perpetual summer. Except for January and February. The weather gets a little psycho. It might be in the 20s-30s at night and get up to 60 during the day. The weather really throws off the kids. They think that they can just go along, business as usual. For example, yesterday by second grader was picking out clothes and she picked out a tank top. It wasn't even a real tank top. It's a tank that goes under another shirt. I looked at her like she had 4 heads. "You cannot wear a tank top. It's 24 degrees outside. She shrugged her shoulders. "IT IS FREAKING FREEZING OUTSIDE. YOU HAVE TO WEAR LONG SLEEVES!!!!!" You would have thought I told her that she had to eat a sh*t sandwich. I mean she freaked out. Threw a boot. Yelled. Accused me of never letting her wear what she wants to wear. I said, "You can wear whatever you want.....as long as it is long sleeved." I left the room. She came back in tights, a short sleeved shirt with a sweater on top. "You have to wear that sweater ALL DAY. You cannot take it off." She nodded, "Okay, mama." Later that morning she received an award for student of the month. I sat in the auditorium and watched my baby get her certificate..... in her short sleeved shirt. She took off that sweater as soon as she got to school. She stood up there with her bare arms, smiling at her father and I. Yes, she won.

My oldest daughter is not much better. She left her winter coat at her friends house this weekend. She is supposed to get it back today. It's a shame that she didn't have her coat today but I am not buying her a new one. I just got her a new pea coat in the end of November. I asked her if she was going to wear her old coat. "No, I'll just wear your North Face jacket." Here we go again. "You need to wear your wool sweater and the North Face fleece, and a scarf, gloves and hat." Of course she gave me a hard time. "I hate that sweater. It's too big." WTH? "I just brought that sweater, you've worn it once." She shrugged, "Maybe I'll wear it next year.  Why do I even try? I did get her to agree to wear a scarf. If she is cold, she made her own decision to be so. I gave her guidance, I handed her the items she would need to bundle up. She chose not to accept my suggestions. I'm not having screaming matches about it. I just wish my kids weren't so strong willed and did everything I said.

The crazy weather has caused us to have a war with the thermostat. My 9 year old has learned how to control the thermostat and takes it upon herself to adjust it. But she doesn't just go up one or two degrees, she will set it at equator temps. One time I came home and it was 86 degrees in the house. What in the world? So my husband's solution is not turning it down to an acceptable temperature. It's turning it off. So my daughter will set it really high and at 7 pm my husband will turn it off. The temp will plunge to the 20's overnight and when I wake up in the morning I can see my breath because it's so cold in the house. It's making me crazy. We had a talk the other day about it because it is under control. "Look, if you're cold- put on a sweater instead of turning the thermostat to 90. PLEASE. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD."

I cannot wait until spring.

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