I guess you can't believe everything you see in the movies

I thought I'd schooled my kids pretty well on this subject. I mean, we watch A Christmas Story year-round, folks.

We've had so much snow here, as I type, I'm making plans for day three of no school.
Still, we've been having so much fun in so much snow! Ricardo has been working from home, which has been nice to have him here with us, all together and safe. We've been building giant sledding ramps, shoveling the driveway, making sledding slopes, more shoveling, sledding, more shoveling. Ofcourse hot cocoa, apple cider, and soup floweth here as well.

It's been a wonderful system we've created. We go out, we play, we shovel, we come in, throw all of our stuff in the dryer, sip hot beverages, warm up, and then go out again. But today was really really super cold, so I tried to get the kids to stay in. When that didn't work, I explained Mommy would not be going out to play - hoping that they wouldn't stay out as long. But they did. Lucy came in and Max stayed out to play some more. They were really having fun playing in all of the snow. And they knew their system really well. The do's and the don'ts and all.

So, you can imagine my surprise when Max walked in today almost hyperventilating with his bloody tongue sticking out. Mumbling, because his tongue was out, something about how he accidentally stuck his tongue to the fence.

OH NO!

I got him a wet wash cloth and got him under a heavy blanket. He then admitted that perhaps it wasn't an accident, he just wanted to try it. But what about the flagpole in the movie, son? "I didn't think it would be the same on a fence." And then we had a nice long talk about freezing cold metal and that really, you shouldn't stick your tongue out while playing in 7 degree temps ever.

I kept checking his tongue to see if it was still bleeding. Ricardo went out to see how the fence faired. "His tongue skin is STILL ON THE FENCE." Gross. He's probably missing about ten tastebuds.

Lucy was very worried for him. "Are you okay, Max?" And then she yelled down to Ricardo, "DAD - COME SHOW ME WHERE HIS SKIN IS STILL ON THE FENCE, I WANNA SEE IT!"

Apparently, he'd gotten stuck on the fence, and tried to yell, and hoped Lucy would come out and see him and then come back in to get us. He said he kept pulling and pulling and finally it came off. By the time he got into the house, it started to hurt. And cue the tears.

The kid doesn't let me kiss him goodnight much these days. But today, he couldn't get close enough to me. We snuggled up by the fire, and a kid that can't sit still for 30 seconds, just laid there with me for well over an hour.

"I feel better now, Mom."

Me too.

That's how we roll.