Well, not exactly...

Spring has magically arrived much earlier this year than the previous two springs that we have been residents of Minnesota. We have gone the entire month of March WITHOUT a lick of snow. It is the first time in the history of record keeping that NO white stuff has fallen during the third month of the year. It was chilly (ie. required hat/heavy jacket) and windy most of its 31 days however we got blasts of 2 day stints where the temperature ventured way above normal and we are expecting almost summer like days next week to end the month.

All of that said, we find ourselves cleaning up the yard six weeks ahead of schedule (almost 8 weeks compared to last year) and watching green shoots pop up in the warm sun as the ground has completely thawed! We hesitate to plant a darn thing as we fear mother nature saying "HA, watch this" and sending some arctic air and heavy wet snow our way as she hasn't been very happy with us as a population in general showing her wrath with earthquakes and freak storms.

Anyway, Cole has been a huge helper as we have spent the past two weekends working outdoors. He has his set of gardening tools and a pair of gloves and loves to get dirty of course! My planters and pots don't fare well even when they are stored in the shed as the temperature gets soooo darn cold here during the winter that it causes the paint and terra cotta to crack. I lost quite a few this year since we had extended bouts of subzero weather in January and February.

Outdoor decor and spring inventory has been on display in the stores since after Valentine's Day which always perplexes me but this year it seems to have been a wise move! Cole and I were in SuperTarget and I wandered down the aisle in the Smith & Hawken section since the sign at the end said "SALE"...I love Smith & Hawkin but they typically are out of my price range. I was hoping to find some planters to replace my cracked ones but instead saw a cool outdoor thermometer that would look great in our firepit/patio area.

To Cole, the thermometer looked like a clock. He is learning about telling time at Montessori and we have gotten a few books at the library about clocks/telling time that we read before bedtime (along with whatever books about trucks/cars/vehicles/anything with wheels we can find). I explained to him that clocks have numbers 1-12 and show us what time it is. A thermometer has bigger numbers and tells us how hot/cold it is. He looked slightly confused, so I repeated myself and said that we would hang the thermometer outside near the deck.

Cole looks at me, then points at the thermometer in the cart and says matter of factly "that isn't like the one for my butt". I realized his puzzled face was because a thermometer to him was the one I pulled out of the drawer when I told him "you feel hot buddy, I'm going to take your temperature with the thermometer" I smiled but didn't laugh because to him he was making the connection that a thermometer had multiple meanings (and uses). At three years old , he continues to amaze me with his ability to connect the proverbial dots and impress me with his understanding of the way the world works.

The working mind of my three year old...

So Cole and I are wandering through TJ Maxx Home Goods Store and as usual I am in a race to find the items I need as well as do a quick look-see for "stuff" for the house. I know I have a limited amount of minutes before my son begins to whine. He is a trooper with all the errands he goes on with me on but he is three years old. Enough said.

I am flying through aisles attempting to find two gifts but having no idea exactly what it is that I want to find. We cruise down to the area of home decor where several older woman are leisurely combing through the odd array of bric-a-brac. Cole blurts out excitedly, "MOMMY, MOMMY, LOOK...the Eiffel Tower"...at first, I didn't realize that was what he was saying because it was so out of context and YET, there he was pointing at a decorative replica of the Eiffel Tower. The two ladies within earshot both looked up as I said "You are so right, it is the Eiffel Tower, you are so smart to recognize that". The one woman commented "WOW, have you been there?" Cole sheepishly replies "No, we have one in the book at school". The woman goes "what aren't they teaching preschoolers these days?" and we both laughed.

It was a proud moment. Whereas earlier in this post I said, he is three years old, enough said, how do I now explain that my three year old who acts like a three year old 89% of the time was able to make the connection between a world renowned structure he saw in a book at school and its miniature imitation on the shelf in a store? If that is my son's mind at work, he'll be a rocket scientist anyday!

Foul Four Letter Word Free Zone

Before becoming a mom, I had quite a sailor's vocabulary (aka potty mouth). Once Cole began talking, I knew I had to learn to filter what I said and/or come up with some creative exclamations to replace the naughty four letter expletives. It took some time trying out various phrases to find something relatively innocuous as well as a statement that allowed me to actually still vent. I used "SHAZAM" for awhile but that didn't pack the punch necessary when some "silly" person cut me off in traffic. I mumbled under my breath for a time but again, that didn't alleviate my need for spouting something out loud plus my grumbling could still be heard occasionally from the backseat.

Somewhere along the line I switched to using "OY VEY" when I was annoyed and "ARE YOU SERIOUS" when I was quite irked. Those seem to carry the necessary outlet I was looking for. Thankfully, those substitutes have been in use for over a year. Unfortunately, Cole began using both in context recently, stating "ARE YOU SERIOUS" when I asked him to put his toys away,having to repeat myself with the threat of a time out. I almost burst out laughing but have learned to table any expression on my face when he is in hot water as he closely observes for even the slightest weakness in my armor. "OY VEY" escaped from his lips the other morning as I was hustling him to get dressed, vexed as he wiggled his frame making it impossible to put his socks and shoes on. I let out a sigh and he immediately fired back "OY VEY". He disarmed me but I remained stoic parroting back to him "OY VEY is right...do you know that you are making things difficult for mommy"? He smiled back at me, stopped moving around like a fish out of water, and said he was sorry. I thanked him, kissed his nose, finished getting him dressed and picked him up and twirled him around. That is how conflict should be fleeting and forgotten but OY VEY that those moments have to happen at all.

It's a Beautiful Day...

Today dawned and it was very apparent that the sun would not shine. We were experiencing our first raw drizzle since November, the dirty snow melting into pant soaking puddles. My mood matched the inclement weather as we hustled to get out of the house this morning. Leaving even five minutes "late" causes us to become a part of the backup on the crazy ramps with the stop/go lights onto the highway.

I rushed Cole out the backdoor warning him to avoid the pools of water. The mountains of snow alongside our garage have been seeping into it as it melts, so more hazards as I get him into the Volvo.

Sensing my hurried pace, Cole turns to me and says "Mommy, it is a beautiful day". Instantly tears well in my eyes as I realize my sensitive son is teaching me another lesson about taking life as it comes.

He remained looking at me with his big Coca-Cola colored eyes and beaming smile. I took a breathe and replied "Your right, it is a beautiful day buddy". In that brief encounter, he turned my cranky self right around. We sang songs all the way to school. As I watched his contented face from the rear view mirror bopping along to my off key melodies, I was reminded once again how much my son continues to share with me his perspective about living in the moment.