I tried.

Since it snowed a couple of inches last night, I planned this morning to take Layla outside to play in the snow for the first time.

Fantasy:
I am a great mom!  I am going to drop everything I need to get done today and spend time playing in the snow making memories with my daughter!  We will chase each other all over the yard throwing snow at one another and collapse on the ground in a fit of giggles and then make snow angels.  Afterwards, we will come inside to warm up with a tea party and toast smores on the stove and snuggle up together reading books about snow and winter.  IT. WILL. BE. THE. BEST. DAY. EVER!!!

Reality:
It takes nearlly 20 minutes to coax my screaming toddler into her Torture Snowsuit and Boots.  Then she poops her diaper and I have to start all over again.  I get bundled up myself and carry her outside and down the stairs because she can barely walk in her puffy marshmallow suit.  I get out her sand bucket and shovels and we have fun for a few minutes digging and filling the bucket up with snow.  Then she wants me to get her car out of the garage but has a meltdown when she can't climb inside because she can barely move in her puffy clothes.  I wedge her in the car and attempt to push her across the yard but she is already through with this game and is screaming to get out of it. 

We throw snow in the air and have a few laughs before she is yanking her mittens off and shouting "No Gloves!"  I try reason, but she is clearly not interested in my explanation of "Mittens are important, the snow is too cold for bare hands, your fingers will turn black and fall off..blah, blah...."  Layla falls to the ground in hysteria, upset by her freezing hands but unwilling to wear the gloves.  Toddlers are tough nuts to crack.  I throw Marshmallow Girl over my hip and trudge inside where we strip off the Torture Snowsuit and Boots and fall into a sobbing puddle on the kitchen floor.  Then all of a sudden she stops crying, looks up at me and says, "Layla eat a treat?".  While Layla is sucking down gummy bears, I clean up the huge mess of snow and mud that we tracked inside and get the winter coats put away.  Unfortunately no tea party and no smores were made today.  Instead, I pulled out some zoo animal window clings and (once I got her to understand they were not gummy treats to eat) she had a fabulous time playing for the rest of the morning!  Day saved.

During lunch, I asked her if she had fun this morning and she replied, "I like it!  I like the snow!"  Maybe I'll be crazy enough then to try it again if the snow is still there tomorrow.