Is it spring yet?

After last week’s sweet taste of warm weather, my family has a serious case of spring fever. We’re ready for throwing on our sneaks, a fleece, a helmet and heading out for a bike ride. Soccer fields and playgrounds are calling our names. Our red wagon is ready to hit the paths in search of yard sales and lemonade stands.

But the reality is that February and March can be brutal—cold, gray and snowy. Sad and lonely. I’ve found that it’s sometimes hard to keep your mom mojo when a case of the winter blues settles in—I know that first-hand. So I’m trying this year to do everything in my power to keep my sanity—and to put a spring in my step--until the snow’s gone, the sun’s out and mittens are put away for good.

Here’s what we’ve got on tap:

1. Spring Fever Happy Hour: We do this at our house, mom and kid-style. You got it. Why wait for the warm weather to come, when all you really need for a happy hour is friends, some munchies and a weekend around the corner? My plan is to coordinate with a few pals to rotate happy hour after school on Fridays until the warm weather’s here and we can meet at a park instead. I’m getting the playroom ready, the Wii can be rockin and my mom buddies can do a hearty cheers to a (hopefully) early spring.
2. Day Trips: The aquarium, museums—heck, even the mall counts as a day trip for my family. I’m going to sit down with my husband and plan at least one weekend in February and one in March where we bundle up the kids and venture out of our ‘hood for an exciting day trip to Baltimore, Annapolis, or DC. We’ll print out guides, put our cameras around our necks, pack snacks and play tourist for an afternoon.
3. Indoor Swimming: We’re lucky to have so many indoor swim centers here in our area. We’ll hit one for open swim. We’ll get our swim on, practice our moves and get excited for swim season.
4. Brunch Sunday: Speaking of the pool, our community pool is really popular on Sundays. Families hang for an entire afternoon and connect with friends, grill some hot dogs and splash around with the kids. I don’t see why we can’t create Brunch Sundays at our house until the weather warms up. Inviting one or two other families to chat over bagels, coffee and O.J. would give us something to look forward to and give our family a reason to celebrate Sundays until our pool opens its gate.
5. Springtime Prep: In the weeks leading up to warm weather, we’ll do what we can to prepare for spring, and in doing so, we’ll get our minds and bodies springtime-ready. We’ll put items aside for the yearly garage sale and we’ll rock-out to "Just Dance 2." My husband and I will finish up the red wine and winter ale and move on to pino grigio, ESB’s, and pale ales.  We’ll be first in line at Rita’s when it opens in March and we’ll treat ourselves to a new grill as soon as they hit the stores. We’ll have soccer cleats and shin guards ready and waiting for the first spring practice and by St. Patty’s Day this family will be in high spirits and rarin’ for some sun!