Surviving Winter

Winter in the People's Republic of St. Paul is brutal. No question. Today happens to be the first day temps will be above freezing since December 29th. I will see people in shorts today. No lie. I'll post pictures.

It's been the 11th longest cold snap like that in history. Needless to day, Minnesotans need some unique coping mechanisms to survive the consistent drubbing of sub-zero temperatures. (I heard that... and yes, besides drinking!)

Yesterday, we went to some St. Paul Winter Carnival events. You really should read the linked history. It's quite entertaining. It involves King Boreas, who reigns over the winter, and his loyal partners in this freezing fest. But the kicker is this Vulcan Krewe... yes like the Mardis Gras Krewe. They are a motley bunch of guys dressed in red leisure suits, red capes, red hats and yes, red goggles. They maraud from event to event and disrupt things, drawing "V's" on the cheeks of anyone interested. I shun the "V", I think these guys are a bit too much.

Super Nanny II has a gig with Radio Disney so Pants and I dropped in for a little fun. The Vulcan Krewe crashed the Radio Disney event! These guys have no shame. Not a great picture, but Pants, Mr. Vulcan, and SNII.

Today, Pants and her friend and I are going to the City of Lakes Loppet to watch the cross country skiers. Tante is skiing in it so it should be fun. As of right now, however, I'm reluctant to get off the couch and out from under a very cozy blanket with my girl as we watch a little Saturday morning t.v. Can't we just stay HERE today?

One of the things I cherish most about my "big girl" is our conversations in the car. Especially those right after school. The processing that goes on in that pretty head of hers is amazing and I love to hear what comes out next. I find myself praying quite a bit that I don't do anything to squelch the conversation and that we enjoy the moment. Most of the time it works.

I thought I'd share the nuggets of today's time in the car.

"Mom, we did brainstorming today. I was in a group with [her friend] Muhammed Ali... but sometimes we just call him by his nickname. 'Muhammed.' His name is really Muhammed Dah-LEE (I thought to myself: You know like Salvador Dali), but you can just call him Muhammed." Love how the "d" sound just slides into the last name. It was very cute how intentional she was about his "nickname". Okay it was funnier in the moment.

The next one was much more entertaining and really showed me how cerebral she is becoming.

I have to tee this one up by saying that one of the more popular movies in our home is Who Framed Roger Rabbit. If you haven't seen it in a while, it's worth a trip to Blockbuster. The particular conversation centers around this scene: The Dip, made of Turpentine, Acetone & Benzene.

"Mom, does water melt 'Toons?"

"No honey, otherwise when Roger was hiding in the kitchen sink from the Weasels, he would have melted."

"What melts 'Toons?"

"Rember honey? 'The Dip' ... it's made up of some of the ingredients in nail polish remover." Yeah, thinking I'm all kinds of smart for remembering that there is acetone in nail polish remover. Smarty pants mom I tell ya.

There is a long pause.

A longer pause.

"Mom, that can't be right. Jessica Rabbit wears red nail polish and her fingers would melt when she took her nail polish off."

"How do you know she has red nail polish? She wears those long gloves."

"It's just the way I brainstormed."

And so the two seemingly unrelated conversations come full circle. I just had to smirk a little as I was pleasantly speechless. It's not the first time (oh that was a doozy for later) and I'm sure it won't be the last time.

Annie Oakley?

Okay, I'm laughing hysterically. Pants has got herself a gun. Cue the Bonanza theme song. Mister found it on the endcap at Target and it was as he put it, "the most innocuous of the toy guns displayed".

It's a little funny how serious her face is. The kicker here however, is the poor armadillo (prounounced "ara-dilla") that was shot for dinner.


The other thing here worth noting? The orange shells to the right of the dead ara'dilla... Yes, when you fire the gun, the shells actually pop out the side. Hi-lar-i-ous! I've been informed that "target practice is over - tomorrow we're hunting the cat." Oh my poor kitty. As if his nerves weren't already shot.