Guess what? I think we did it. I think we survived winter.

DorkyDad is much better at winter than I am. All those years he spent living in the woods of Idaho have paid off, and cold weather seems to put him in touch with his inner cave man. He’ll head outside to shovel snow off the road even though we don’t have a car, and tell stories about the times when he had to cut down trees and chop logs for firewood.

DorkySon and I are not so keen. We hate the hassle of all those layers of clothes; hate getting up in the morning when there is ice on the windows. We prefer to snuggle up together under soft blankets, sipping hot chocolate and dreaming of summer.

But, here we are. It is March. The crocuses are finally up, the sun is shining and the supermarket shelves are groaning under the weight of all those Easter Eggs.

To bid a proper goodbye to the dark nights and chilly days, I thought I’d share with you my five winter essentials – the things that have kept me going since last November.

1. Carbs. Hot toast, oozing with melted butter, for breakfast. A good chunky sandwich and a cuppa for lunch. A slice of cake, maybe two, mid afternoon. And hunks of crusty baguette dunked into chicken soup for dinner. What better way to acquire those extra pounds that provide the insulation you need to keep warm in winter?

2. Ugly boots. When I paired these with a pair of thermal leggings and my fleecy dress for the nursery run last week, DorkySon looked at me in horror and said, “You can’t go out looking like that, Mummy.” I’m afraid I did, and very cosy I stayed too!

3. Something warming to drink of an evening. Lemon, honey and hot water optional.

4. A large stack of books. When there’s nothing good on TV (which seems to be every night at the moment) the only option is to head to bed with a good novel. This is what my bedside table looks like at the moment, and I’m panicking slightly that I’ve not got enough to read.

5. Chillies. I didn’t used to like spicy foods at all – I could just about cope with a Korma, but that was it. Since meeting DorkyDad all that has changed. Tabasco sauce on my omelettes, jalapenos in my cheese sandwiches, chopped red chillies in every pasta sauce… The best ways of warming up from the inside out.

I’m linking this post up to Older Mum’s #OneWeek linky. If you want to read other bloggers’ posts on winter, head on over to say hello!