Valerie in Chicago Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Ok, it's cold AGAIN. WAAY COLD. 1-degree with a -20 windchill. Again. I am so ready to lose it. How do you keep the winter doldrums at bay? Or from getting to severe? I can barely even stand the idea of leaving the house with the kids -- it's such a production to make it happen. But I'm getting a case of cabin fever too. How do you hang on for the last stretch of winter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janna Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Ugh. I know exactly of which you speak! We just had a friend over yesterday for the whole day to "play" with dd. That helped a ton. Not just with me, but with everybody. Maybe you can find someone willing to come out to your house, so you don't have to leave but you still have something different going on. Even though it's the same 4 walls you'll be staring at, at least for a time, there will be a fresh face too? And it's cold here too. Last night, ds and I were outside on our deck all bundled up, but still in our jammies. It was about 3:30am (he has croup) and we were trying to determine whether it was colder outside or in the freezer. We decided outside was colder. He enjoyed the thought of actually standing in a "freezer". It's almost over. March will be here soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maria/ME Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 You guys out there in the mid west are just getting completely hammered with winter!! I find beating my head against the wall, counting days until daylight savings, eating chocolate and long hot baths get me through. Often the extra Valium here and there does the trick, too. No, seriously, I really DO count the days til daylight savings, I try desperately to pick the good out of each day. I try to keep things in perspective in a "this too shall pass" way. It's hard because only last night I said to my husband "I am SO stinking depressed and sick of winter..." I mean, I have been seriously depressed the last week. I also try to plan for something fun when the weather clears. For example end of Februrary we are doing an overnight stay with the family out of town. Or in April I am planning a girls weekend out. Something to keep us going. And knowing that everyone is going thru the same thing. A friend of mine has been planning a trip to Mexico all winter. Before she left on Friday I said 'bon voyage' and she replied "This trip is the only thing that's gotten me thru the last three months." See, all in the same boat! Misery loves company, and you have a lot of it! If you are in Chicago land would a trip to the museum help? Or getting out w/out the kids? A change of pace for all of you? And I'll tell you what I miss about Chicago land....IKEA!!!! Go eat lunch there for me! (Okay, it's sorta Chicagoland...Schaumburg counts, right??) Light at end of tunnel. Light at end of tunnel. Let that be your mantra. And when I say 'light' I mean sun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristyB in TN Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 I have been trying to talk my dh into moving to Chicago for a couple of years. We love it there. This morning we were watching the news and they were talking about the weather there and my dh said, "That's why we can't move to Chicago. You would die if you had to live where you couldn't wear flip flops." True. I feel for you because of this weather but you certainly do live in a great place! I'm still a little envious.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancypants Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 I'm right there with ya. I'm sick of winter. Stinkin' sick of it. Fortunately, it's warmed up a bit today so that we can actually go play in the snow. It's been too cold to play in it for the last three weeks or so. I'm so ready for winter to be over and it's here for another two months at least. :mad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elisabeth in IL Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 I second the person who said to try a museum. Both the Field and the Art museums are free for the month of February. We went up to Milwaukee to the Discovery Museum for Homeschool day last Thursday just after the big snow. It was such a great change of pace for us. This has been a long, crazy winter so far. I'm hoping that Spring makes an early appearance this year! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canada_Mom Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 I try to schedule stuff for the weekends when dh is home. We'll do stuff as a family like swimming or bowling or indoor skating. I can't do that sort of thing on my own with all the little ones so I have to cram all this stuff into our weekends during the winter months. DH finds it a bit tiring but he's been really understanding about our need to get out of the house and for the kids to be active. I find if we can do a couple of activities on Sat/Sun and maybe one on a weekday evening it keeps all of us from going completely crazy from cabin fever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valerie in Chicago Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 I just wanted to thank those of you who responded so positively! Also, just a quick follow-up. Today, while 4yo C was in Spanish class, I took a big bag of baby clothes to the neighborhood food pantry. That seriously brightened me because 1.) it cheering to do something for someone else, 2.) reminds me of how fortunate I am in so many ways and 3.) it ALWAYS feels good to move out things that are not being used! Then I had an hour to kill. Ugh. I drove by the Lincoln Park Zoo and happened onto a PERFECT parking spot out in front, a rare and wonderful find. So I grabbed 13mo J and hurried inside. We hung out in the Children's Zoo, where a river otter was gleefully doing backflips off the glass and splashing into the water. That, and the sun is actually SHINING. SHINING, I tell you!! Oh, and C & I are going to the Art Institute this weekend while DH stays home with J. There are several pieces there that she's familiar with, so we'll make a beeline for them, then decide how long to linger based on the crowds. Anyway, since I easily come here with woes, I figured I'd at least balance the scales a bit by coming with good things too. Thanks for always being such a great sounding board, WTM'ers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Have fun at the Art Institute this weekend :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I have the Februarys too! I cannot stand all this snow and wish for spring, although I simultaneously *dread* the advent of my worst allergy season!!! I find it works best to enjoy the museums and zoos. Yes, zoos! They are practically empty on the coldest days--we make it a game to run between animal houses. We also try to get more exercise--it's easy to lay around the house feeling dull. Today I took my kids ice-skating and it was a blessed relief to all of us to get that exercise. (It's an indoor rink.) If I cannot *stand* to go outside, we make a point of making pots of tea and eating popcorn. A little culinary comfort goes a long way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elisabeth in IL Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Yes, the Chicago winter is killing me. I have the Februarys too! I cannot stand all this snow and wish for spring, although I simultaneously *dread* the advent of my worst allergy season!!! Did you see that we have more snow on the way and perhaps a big one depending on how the front comes through? I was surprised when I heard on the news that we, Northern Illinois - near the WI boarder, have had over 5 feet of snow this season. It has been crazy this year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose in BC Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 outside my living room window and it's not shrinking -- and I'm not exaggerating. We have had so much snow this year that I've heard people downtown arguing with their neighbours about snowblowing snow onto their already "too high snowbanks". There's no place to put it all. I do not struggle with depression at all but the last few weeks have been tough and I too am counting the days until day light savings time and then spring. (Although last year we had our last snow fall in April!!) I am trying hard to stay sane and can now understand why my parents retired elsewhere. I must say, today however the temperatures reached 1 C and the sun shone for a couple of hours. It couldn't have come soon enough. Rose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 "You would die if you had to live where you couldn't wear flip flops." My dd wore flip-flops to church tonight, and it was freezing. I have a '50 degrees or lower, no flip-flops' rule, but no one ever abides by it. They're just too used to be able to wear them. We'd never survive in Chicago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freethinkermom Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 We had relief from the dark skies and rain today. It was so nice. It is in the low 30's now and super foggy. I can hear the warning buoy in the bay dinging like mad. I could never deal with the extreme cold temps that some of you ladies live with. I do not know how you do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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