Cold Weather fun.

We had really abnormal temp's for the month of December. Normally we are mildly cold with a little bit of snow and pretty nice weather all around. This year it has been -30F several times already but mostly -0F to -20F which keeps us on our toes. This weather is normal for us but in January/Febuary not December. The cold weather gives us challeneges we otherwise would not have. Like frozen pipes which means no water until Papa can get under there and fix it. (about 16 hours the 1st time and 10 the 2nd time). Two of our heat tapes that we plug in every fall have failed us this year which is why the pipes and cow water froze. Hopefully now we will not have to do anything but plug them in for a few years. The cow water float freezes shut every couple of days which can sometimes be cured with a swift kick to the bottom but if not we have a heat gun nearby just in case. The pigs have been borrowing deep in their bedding and fighting for the bottom spots. As they are beside the house we often hear these pig fights like they are happening in the living room. When ever this happens E stops stock still and says PIGS!!!! PIGS!!! PIGS!! with a very worried look on her face. I think she thinks they are loose and is worried. As soon as they stop though she goes back to playing without another word. I've tried to tell her every things fine and show her the pigs but she doesn't care to look which makes me wonder if she's really worried about it or just likes saying PIGS!! PIGS!! PIGS!!

Another fun cold weather thing is that the line to my washer in the entrance froze solid and I had to haul water from the kitchen sink. (6 three gallon pots for each cycle= 12 pots a load. One day I did 5 loads :) The line has a heat tape on it but that Rat and the cats took some of the insulation off it and it froze anyway. Papa did fix the insulation but it's not been warm enough since then to thaw the line and to take the insulation off the line and thaw it will take longer then he's had time for. One day it was the warmest we got in almost 2 weeks at -10F and the washer made some noises but the water never did come on. As it is I'm not doing much for laundry and the kids are living in PJ's. One unexpected downfall of not doing laundry is that I normally raise my buns and bread on the dryer when it's on. As J put it. "Why are the buns hard little round things??" I tried to raise them in the oven but it doesn't have a low enough setting or a pilot light. I can put them by the wood stove but can't get them close enough to raise properly. Papa did get the washer, line fixed and re-insulated with new insulation tape which the cats cannot get into, on one of his days off after Christmas which is a huge blessing!! My shoulders are still not the same after hauling 60++, one load was a really big load, 3 gallon pots of water on the 23.

One thing that is a challenge with the cold weather is the boys. Sounds funny really but it's true. It is much too cold for them to go out and play so they are inside with the rest of us all day. In such a small space as we have this feels really full. I've of set this with letting them play and be loud and goof off in their bedroom and watching more movies. We have also been doing more crafts and games and getting 'new' toys out. So far we are surviving and hopefully it will warm up for a bit soon and I can kick them outside again. The kids are also all in the same room now and so if Baby R is napping then their room is out of bounds. How, you wonder, did we fit 4 kids in 1 room?? Easy. Each bed has it's own wall. Soon Papa is going to build a 4 bed bunk bed and then we will have an extra bed as Baby R will go into E's crib. :) They all sleep 12 hours at night and rarely wake each other up in the middle of the night. Naps are a bit harder as Baby R sleeps from 1 to 4 and the other 3 sleep from 2 to 4 but we manage it right fine.