A New England Winter Tale

Make no mistake,

let there be no misunderstanding,

let me be perfectly clear:

Winter is upon us. The dark days of sub-zero wind chill, invisible ice and frozen sidewalks are here.

So, how do I prepare for these temperatures (21 degrees now but feels like 5 due to the cheek-biting wind)? How do I make sure my two kids protected against the cold and are comfortably dressed for the outdoors?

I dress my nine year old in last year's snow overalls (size 6/7) and pray that she doesn't sit down and realize the wedgie of her life. And I convince her that her lime-green unlined rainboots look exactly like the uber-cool snowboots the kids in Sweden wear (bold-faced lie #1).

and....

I dress my six year old in his older sister's gear and say that even though the purple and light blue pattern on the pants may look like flowers they are actually "fast snowflakes" and are exactly like the US Olympic men's ski team uniforms (bold-faced lie #2).