My personal safety officer...

When we lived in DC, we parked our one and only car behind our brownstone in the tightest driveway imaginable. You had to pull in at the right angle EVERY time or you potentially could scrap the right side of the vehicle along the concrete retaining wall. Because we lived in "da hood" we also had a gate that had to be opened each time you pulled into the alley before we could park (and then that had to be manually closed as well each time). It was such a pain in the arse especially in bad weather but we were lucky to have purchased a home 11 blocks from the Capital WITH off street parking, so we got used to it. It became a habit to take off my seatbelt as I pulled behind our house so I could run out to open the fence.

We moved to Minnesota almost three years ago but my "driveway" mentality remained. We live within a mile of the city limits and thus our neighborhood layout is similar to those downtown. Houses face the street but access to mostly detached garages is around back in the alleyway. Everytime I pull off the street, I unconsciously release my seatbelt despite having a two car garage with an opener and no fence/gate to rush out to move.

Out of the blue earlier this month as I turned into our alley (and took off my seatbelt) a stern and reproachful voice from the backseat says "Mommy, you not take that off until you are in the garage and safe". I turned to look at him as the garage door lifted and stifled a laugh because he was right. I said "You are right Cole, I will keep my seatbelt on next time until the car has stopped in the garage". He nodded looking at me pleased. Of course, the next week and a half I kept forgetting and he kept reminding me with an increasing annoyance in his tone.

He has broken me of my "bad" habit for the most part, I have slipped a few times and I cringe as I realize that I have acted before thinking. Sure enough he notices and I swear I have heard him sigh as he points out my poor action. I only hope as he grows up that his concern for my seatbelt safety continues as well as for his own.

It is all about the snacks...

We have a standing Monday afternoon playdate with many of Cole's friends at our house each week. He gets very excited each Monday morning as typically when I get him dressed, we talk about what we will be doing that day. He rarely forgets what I say so if we haven't done something or gone somewhere or something hasn't occurred yet that I mentioned then by 4pm he is peppering me with queries. It amazes me that he goes all day with that information processing in his little head like a check-off list of sorts.

On Mondays he knows that his buddies are coming AFTER naptime and I bolded AFTER because for awhile ALL day (and by all day, every 15 minutes), he would be inquiring about when his friends were coming. After what seemed like forever emphasizing the preposition AFTER, Cole finally made the realization that playdate was truly a post-nap event!

He and I normally make bread, muffins or some sort of treat each week along with providing fruit to share with our friends during playtime. I involve him with the setup each week, he helps put out napkins and plates and helps me carry the food down to the playroom.

Recently, he has begun literally popping up from his nap on Monday and immediately says still groggy with warm damp hair pressing against his forehead..."Mom, Mom, we have to get out our snacks for our friends...hurry...hurry, they are coming". He is so insistent and so with an agenda that despite the fact that we are at least 40 minutes out from our first arrival, he wants to be READY. I don't know if it is a blessing or a curse that he has acquired his mother's inclination to be prepared way ahead of schedule!

So we set up our playroom area, put on some music, secure Tucker in a bedroom (with 6-7 pre-schoolers around, Tucker is better off in a safe place) and bring out our snacks. With a happy grin on his face, he'll say "Okay friends, you can come now"!. It makes me laugh out loud at his absolute adorableness!

We then open the curtains on the big picture window and sit on the couch watching for our friend's cars to pull up. He knows the "mommy cars" (meaning who drives what) which is just mind-bending to me. He then goes into a frenzy running back and forth as whoever arrives first takes the 20 minutes to unwrap themselves from the 50 layers of clothing it takes to venture out here in Minnesota in the wintertime.

Funny thing is that the kids come in and immediately begin asking for snacks and Cole happily obliges in showing them where they can be found. He is like a proud peacock leading his 3 year old peers downstairs for snacks. I am not sure why he has fixated on the snack thing but it sure is cute to watch unfold each week. Who knows maybe he'll grow up to be a restaurateur!?