It Just Might Work

Matthew is determined to help spring arrive. Perhaps if he could simply mow the snow away, we would have green grass, sunny skies, and flowers again!

At last! A patch of green in the frigid landscape. Get out the kites! Get out the sunscreen! Get out the bikes and splash pool! Too bad spring doesn't really get here until mid April...



We had a brief warm-up and I found daffodils sprouting out of the ground. Granted, today they are buried under another 4 inches of snow, but knowing they are there gives me hope for warmer days!

Matthew Trails

I used to read the Family Circus cartoon strip as a kid and was amused at the dotted line trails that the Billy character would leave in his travels. I had no idea that kids actually ran around in that sort of a pattern, but now I have proof!

Thoughts of a Three Year Old

Matt has had quite the imagination this week.

******************************************

We have our first evidence of nightmares, as our sleepy bed-head boy climbs into our bed at 5:00am.

"There a scary monster outside my window."

Upon further questioning, the monster is red. And very, very scary. Fortunately, the "monster" has not made a repeat appearance, but I suspect we will see a few more denizens from Matt's bad dreams soon enough.

*************************************

The power went out, so we went out to eat at a new fast-food style location. Matt got (what else?) a kid's meal consisting of fried chicken pieces and french fries. Instead of a toy, there was a wooden token for a free ice cream cone to complete the extra-nutritious meal. I looked over to see Matt gnawing on the token.

"This taste funny. How you eat this?"

Oh, my. Once he got the concept and had his ice cream cone, he was quite the happy camper. To the owners of the eatery, sorry about the teeth marks!

Don't tell the kids, but the power came on about two hours after it went out. We chose to leave the lights off and play with the flashlights until bedtime. It was nice to have an electronics-free evening!

*******************************************

Matt climbed into our bed yesterday morning and snuggled under the blankets. I gave him a wiggly-nosed eskimo style kiss, and told him that was a "bunny kiss." Matt smiled and gave me a bunny kiss in return. Then he leaned in, gave me a quick peck on the cheek, and told me,

"That a honey bee kiss."

I just hope he doesn't come up with a "T-Rex kiss" or a "wolverine kiss" soon!

Sledding Fun

Our temperatures have spiked to the high 30's (heat wave!) and we still have a LOT of snow on the ground. Feeling like Margot in "All Summer in a Day," we raced outside to see that rare object called the sun. We managed to get in a few sledding runs as well:











The only problem is that Nolan absolutely hates the snow. My boys are polar opposites with regard to fondness for winter. At least we were able to get a little exposure to the sun and fresh air!

My Summer Baby

My Winter Baby

Good Help is Hard to Find

Matthew is a really good helper. If you ever want him immediately by your side, you only need to whisper the word "help." The other day I was vacuuming, and Matthew was enthusiastically running upstairs and down, carrying toys in a fever pitch attempt to help clean up. By the time I reached the living room, I was quite happy to note that all the toys were cleared.

There was no sign of the toys, so I wondered where Matt had decided to put them. I found them all later, in the mudroom. I cleaned up about half the mess before I thought to take a picture! I love that little boy!

Newsflash

Dearest Nolan, that's PRETEND food!

No Soup For You!

Daddy preparing to gobble soup

Matthew has taken a real shine to his play kitchen recently, cooking up all sorts of soup. His recipes leave a little to be desired (grape-garlic-asparagus soup, anyone?), but I gamely suggested that mommy would like to try some of his delicious soup. His response?

"No soup for you!"

Really? No soup for your mother?

"Soup only for daddy! Don't touch the soup!"

Every night, Matt makes soup for Daddy. And only Daddy. Daddy gobbles up the "soup" with a fervor that even Cookie Monster would admire. This is, apparently, a male bonding activity. Mommies aren't allowed!

Preparing more soup

That Cat

The nefarious feline is fluffy and quite happy again. He does seem to have an aversion to any water-containing feature in our house, but other than that he is back to his normal ways. The intestinal illness is gone, his fur is combed and smells clean.

I have a feeling he is plotting his revenge, though...