It's beginning to look a lot like. . .

I'm not actually sure.

The obvious answer is Christmas.
We've officially had the car stuck in the driveway, twice! Special thanks to the kids at church (college and down) who came and got us out the other day.
The ground is white with snow as far as the eye can see (which lets face it is pretty fair on the prairies) and the temperature has plummeted (I believe the windchill was at -21 when I stopped looking)

There's really no denying that winter has come to our sleepy little hamlet.

I even convinced hubby to let my decorate for the upcoming season and start playing Christmas music, although both were more Peanut related decisions this year. I couldn't wait to show Peanut the tree with the lights all aglow (a personal favourite from childhood) so up it went.
Also, Peanut won't nap without his favourite music on, this has meant 5 months of veggie tales, at some points going in the background all day (there's a solid test of your sanity and love of child, although seriously the snarky remarks in the background were awesome - the first 300 times). In a small act of grace, it turns out Christmas music is an acceptable alternative for singing vegetables, who knew?
Either way I'm taking advantage of our slight reprieve from singing produce.

The thing is this, Christmas has always been a favourite time of year. This year, even though I'm excited to share it with Peanut for the first time and hubby for the third, I'm still struggling with the transition into motherhood.

Winter means pretty snow (yep I said pretty but a fall of brown mud and dead plants makes me anxious for fluffy white flakes) but it also means drastically reduced mobility for this mama, especially now that I've got a little one dependent on my sometimes nonexistent balance. We rent on the edge of town and the roads can get interesting, meaning lots of time at home just me and the babe.

Hard for someone used to knocking out 4-6 classes a semester.

It also looks like my sanity saving neighbour (who, incidentally, became a mama the day before me) may be moving away this Christmas as her hubby's got job applications in all over the country.

It makes me sad, which is natural. Even introverts need some social contact but when you're still fighting the post baby blues the potential of a season of weather induced isolation is disheartening, even at your favourite time of year.

So, now my challenge is to find ways to make the most of this first winter with Peanut and our last sane season for a time (that's right folks, hubby starts his thesis proposal soon, the end of the MA is near (ing) )
I'm just not sure what activites are appropriate for an almost 6 month old, aside from our usual reading, tummy time, baths, diaper laundry (not an activity but really could be my job title for how often I'm washing, why do kids always dirty their diaper the minute you put the last load in the dryer?

Well, at least this weekend I can introduce Peanut to a little bit of history, anybody else gearing up for the 50th anniversary of Who?