It has been freezing the last two days! Let me rephrase that - *I* have been freezing. Even with the heat on and layers. Thank goodness Ian and Mikayla are both their own portable heaters! Mikayla got sick of me wanting to cuddle with her all day yesterday to keep warm LoL

I decided to bring Mikayla outside with me yesterday to shovel snow. I bundled her up in her new snowsuit, boots, her puffy coat, and her puppy backpack/leash thingy. I felt a little funny getting yet another rope thing and tying it around the tree. I didn't want her to run in the street and I'm sure the neighbors that were out thought I was insane. The sleeves on Mika's coat are long, so I opted not to put gloves on her already covered hands. She giggled and loved running in the snow. I started shoveling, and before I finished one scoop, she tripped in the snow and cried because some got on her hands. I ran inside for the gloves which made her feel like I abandoned her. Instead, I brought her in and opted to abandon the snow idea. She continued to cry because her cold hands were thawing in the warmth and she didn't like the sensation. So much for my first attempt at actual snow play!

I wanted ben & jerry's last night. It was Mikayla's fault, somehow she's gotten it into her head to say 'icecream' every time the freezer door opens. Which is really funny because there hasn't been icecream in there for at least a month. Finally by 11pm, the desire for ben & jerry's subsided, and it felt like passing one of the temptations on the biggest loser. LoL Except there was no $5000 prize or a week with a trainer for doing so.

I'm so happy that Mikayla and I (or I rather) discontinued the nanny job we were doing. It has made SUCH a difference in the both of us. I'm a lot more cheery, and Mikayla seems immensely happier. To the point I didn't realize how grouch or unhappy she seemed over there. The difference was night and day. I'd still like her to get more child interaction than she currently does, but we're working on that. It doesn't help when it's as cold as it is since leaving the house feels like suicide!

Oh! That reminds me. At our church class sunday nights there is a 16 mon old boy for Mikayla to play with. The kids available all belong to the woman teaching the class. On sunday Mikayla ventured into the basement for the first time, where the older kids were playing. Upper elementary age. One of them decided he didn't like Mikayla (she was likely bugging him) and he knocked her down. She was crying but didn't seem hurt. I wasn't in the room to see any of it, but she was very clingy to me afterwards. It's funny that mommy-instinct that comes into play though. I was ready to thoroughly demolish ANYTHING that would harm my little one. LoL The only other time I experienced that was at Once Upon a Child last fall. There was a 2-2.5 yr old playing in the play area aggressively. She knocked Mikayla over, and despite her mom watching her mom did nothing about it. Didn't even say a word. I was ready to pick up that little girl with two magically strong fingers and discipline her myself! LoL It's still a funny feeling to have, and I'm scared for when Mikayla is older and while I'll want to be her bodyguard I'll have to let her experience things on her own.

So yeah, anyway..... I need to go be productive now. Convince myself to get to costco or something. Yeah, that sounds good....