It is that time of year. During the holiday season, I look forward to the months of January and February when I know there will not be a lot going on so I can spend some time at home. I always plan to use the time to get a few things done around the house that I had been putting off. Now, we are halfway through that span, and we are starting to get cabin fever. Don’t get me wrong; it is lovely to be home with my family. I just think we are all to the point where we would like to be able to go on a walk, to the zoo, or just to sit out on the patio of our building. Here are a few telltale signs from our home that cabin fever is setting in:
-Audrey’s bedtime has been 8 pm for the last year or more. The past month, she has started staying up later; many nights, she is still full of energy and running around chasing the dogs at 8 pm. On Saturday, she had swimming lessons during the morning, and she could barely keep herself moving after 7 pm. Thus, my conclusion is that it is no in fact a change in the amount of sleep she needs; it is merely a consequence of the fact that she is not as active since she can’t go outside to run around and play.
-Yesterday, after watching (at points with his eyes closed) the Packers/Bears game and about 1 quarter of the Jets/Steelers game, Billy announced that he was tired of watching football. Now, he isn’t a diehard NFL fan, but, when given the chance to lay on the couch and do nothing all day, he seizes the opportunity. When Billy is tired of not doing anything and starts looking for things to do, there is only one explanation.
-Stella and Jackson are actually tolerating Audrey chasing them around the house. Typically, they might follow her into another room, but as soon as she starts squealing and running after them, they retreat. At this point, I think they are so ready to do something other than lay on the couch that they are willing to play with a hyper almost 2-year-old, even if it means their ears will get pulled and she will probably jump or lay on them at some point too.
-I am tired of getting stuff done around the house. I know there are those of you that thought this was impossible, but it’s true. Is everything crossed of my list? No, but I don’t care. I want to see some scenery other than my 1000 square foot condo and the snow covered roof of the building across the street. I am to the point where I will sacrifice having all of the tasks on my to-do list with a neat line through them just so I can do something that requires me to wear something other than sweatpants and a sweatshirt.
Despite cabin fever, we are managing to have fun. Audrey keeps us entertained with all of the new words and phrases she is learning. Much of the time, we have no idea what she is saying, but she is always very serious about it. We have started to ask her questions to identify what she is saying, which we thought was working well, but at this point are convinced she nods yes to anything that she doesn’t know what it is in addition to the things that she is trying to say. She continues to entertain herself playing with her baby dolls and Legos. She is currently fascinated by taking clothes on and off of both her and her dolls. Unfortunately, she is practicing that at school too, so we are trying to discourage her from practicing too much with her own clothes. Having Audrey around does keep things interesting, which makes the cabin fever a little easier to bear.
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