Whether you are a farm mom, a city mom or a mom in the 'burbs, you know when the winter is cold and the days seem way too long, that sometimes "littles" can drive you crazy. Last week, Kelli shared how she copes. This week, we share a ranch mom's strategy. This post first appeared on My NDFB Life.
by Haley Robison
Winters in North Dakota can be brutal, especially for ranchers who have to be in the cold tending to livestock day in and day out. But I think what is even more brutal than the cold is trying to survive in the house with stir crazy ranch kids. Some days I think I’d like to trade places with my husband, and he can watch the kids in the house while I do chores. There are days where my kids (mostly the almost 3-year-old) drives me insane. Every toy bin is dumped out. Snacks are required every 20 minutes. If it is silent in the house, there is for sure a wall or book or toy being colored on with markers or covered with stickers.
Even on some of the colder days, I’ve learned its best to still try and get busy toddlers outside even if it’s just for 20 minutes. It takes roughly 15 minutes to get all the snow clothes on, all the fingers in the correct spot in the gloves, and snow pants perfectly fitting over top of the snow boots. Even with all the obstacles, that 20 minutes of fresh air to reset everyone’s mind does so much good. I’m not always able to take the baby out with the cold, but Little Max definitely needs it and so do I!
Being cooped up also brings a love/hate relationship with screens. I appreciate that some television can keep my busy toddler distracted so I can get a little work done, but there’s a fine line between using it as a tool and turning into something negative. I do my best to limit screen time and let Max use his creative imagination to keep him busy in the house. He has his own desk that he pulls up close to mine and many times when I’m working, he gets to color, play with play-doh, or we work on learning our numbers and letters! I try my best to balance that time with him!
I love to be able to be home with my boys so much and NDFB does allow me to do that. I don’t take it for granted one bit, but I think we can all relate and appreciate the fact that no matter how much you love your kids, they can still drive you crazy! I would never want to live anywhere else, so we accept the cold days and learn to appreciate the days we can spend outside all day long!
Haley is NDFB's Southwest Field Representative. She and her husband, Max ranch and each work full-time and run side businesses. Learn more about each of those businesses here.