Why I love 3 year olds!

For those who are close to me, you know from my endless complaining how HARD it is to take Eli to any type of store. He has man-roots in him, especially his dad's. He HATES to go shopping and his actions at stores are a form of punishment towards me. He and Mikail have had terrible coughs this week so I decided to keep him home from preschool today. Tuesdays are my ERRAND day while he is a school, so having him home put a slight damper on my schedule. I decided to attempt Target anyway. Ellie has apparently needed some sort of SPECIAL marker for school...she left me a very threatening note in BIG letters on the kitchen counter today. Besides, isn't Target large enough for him to cough every 5 seconds and possibly NOT infect everyone there? While we were browsing the aisles, we encountered a giant mechanical ladder (of some sort) right in front of us. The male employee was apparently riding around the store checking all the lights in the ceiling. Eli was fascinated by this! He asked with a confused face, "mommy, what is that guy doing up there?" I replied, "he is going around the store screwing the light bulbs in because they have burned out". He would not let me move forward with my shopping until he watched the man for about 15 minutes. It did not help that there was this loud BEEPING sound every time the man moved forward or backward...we had to follow! After the man was almost out of sight (and my refusal to follow him anymore), Eli turned to me with a very "thought-provoking face" and said, "mommy, when I grow big like daddy, I want to be a SCREWER!" Oh My! I laughed until I almost passed out!

Snow Depression

I have to be honest here...I HATE winter. There was a great BLIZZARD last night. I hesitantly opened my shutters this morning to find a blanket of SNOW. It's the end of March...how I hate the tricks of spring. I feel sad for those Daffodils peeking out of the snow, bright yellow and green with their heads bowed down as if to say, "I am so sorry I came". Michael LOVES snow. He tries to be sympathetic with comments like, "in a couple of weeks it will be nice", or "April has some really warm days". The truth be known here is, he loves snowstorms because it means he gets to SKI a couple more weekends. I think he is avoiding household duties. Maybe that is why I hate winter...because being stuck inside means I have to TACKLE those household duties! Oh well, at least Eli will embrace the snow...his first comment to me today was, "I'm ready for my snow clothes!"

Walking

Due to the nature of Eli's personality, I often find myself taking his hand. He is one of those free-spirits...darting out of the car to see what adventure awaits him. He is never concerned by cars, strangers, or the Boogie Man lurking. I find myself jealous of this innocense...because I worry about everything...all the time. My husband reminds me of that often. I love to hold his hand and be that protector, the mother hen. Someday, he won't want to hold my hand, he will cringe at the actual thought of it. So...for now, I will relish in the tiny moments. Besides, holding his hand is like being attatched to a GIANT, SUPER BOUNCY BALL! Just trying to keep a hold of him, I might look like a display of public intoxication!