May In Colorado

Gotta love spring in Colorado... or maybe not. Spring is the absolute worst season here. It's unpredictable; it's windy. It's warm; it's cold. Yesterday it reached 80 degrees, but today at 10:30am it's 34 degrees and this is what's happening off my front porch.



Hours later, after several alternating sunshine and snow shower moments, looking off the porch in the same direction, I captured this (temperature still hovering around 34 degrees):

Funny Things They Said This Month

Well, my title may not be accurate... some of them may have happened last month, but I've been holding on to some quotes from the kids that I want to document because they made me laugh. So, I thought I would capture them here in this post...

When the kids play, they invent games and then discuss and decide what they are in the mood for at that moment. They have a list from which to choose like "Pets and Friends", "Cars" and "Snowboarders" (essentially sliding around on the kitchen floor in socks). This particular day they were having trouble agreeing, so Priya came up with this... "Sanjay, let's play Snowboarding Teenager Doctors".

"Can you help me with this shirt? It's inside outside." - Sanjay Priya, when she was little, used to say the same thing about pants, socks and shirts that were inside out.

One fine day we decided to bike over to the park, but the timing was poor. It was right around dinnertime, but no one had been fed. When we got home, I quickly started throwing something together for dinner. The very ravenous Priya said, "I really wish you would have something prepared like an appetizer".

Sanjay makes an observation while we are driving, "When the sun goes behind the mountain, it's really dark".

Sanjay has always been very confident in his knowledge. When he was much younger, he'd sit in front of Dora or Diego or some other interactive kids TV show and boldly shout out the answers when asked by the characters. Oftentimes, in fact about 90% of the time, he was wrong... way off the mark, but you wouldn't know it. He was so proud... literally hollering what he thought was the correct answer. He now answers correctly almost all the time, but he's still trying to work some things out. Based on this comment in the car recently, I don't think he's quite figured out rhyming words. He told me, "This is a rhyme for me. Sit... Seat". Yeah, there are some things we still need to work on.

He's a storyteller, that Sanjay. At least that's what I like to call it... it's essentially lying, but I'm not sure if he's aware of that. He likes to make things up and sometimes the details are fascinating. Here are a few of his latest lies/stories...

• "Last night, I fell off this chair and cracked my head open. I was really fast down on this chair."
• "I find (found) 2 birds. I get (got) a medal."
• "Last morning at Nana's house, Oakley sleeped with me. 'Get under the covers', I said and he went under the covers." Meanwhile, the dog is a female and we haven't been to Nana's house since last July. :)

Sanjay was working on a puzzle and it was time for his nap. Clearly he wouldn't have time to finish the puzzle so I told him to leave it on the floor unfinished and it'll be there when you wake up. He says, "Ok Mom. Don't clean up it".

Imagine my surprise when I hear from the playroom Sanjay saying, "Where's the hooker?". Yikes... where did he learn this word? Well, it's a word that he invented for the hitch on the back of his trucks or the hook on a tow truck. Whew... thank goodness!

One night Sanjay was having an incredibly hard time falling asleep. He kept calling me back in to his room (which he practically has stopped doing nowadays) to crack the door or tuck him in or you name it. So, after about the third time I said sternly, "I don't want you calling me again, do you understand?" to which he replied in a resolved tone "Okaaaay, I will call Daddy next time". This, of course, wasn't the point of my lecture, but made me laugh anyway.

A New Fashion Statement?

No, I'm not starting one... don't get any ideas. Today at preschool one of Sanjay's 3-year old friends had his Thomas t-shirt on backwards. Any seasoned Mom is able to decipher this little puzzle, Edward got dressed all by himself this morning. Yep, his Mom declared that within the past week her little boy learned how to put on his own clothes. She decided that him doing it on his own was more important than how they actually looked when he was finished so she brought him to school like this. Then I come back for pickup a couple of hours later, and I notice that Sanjay has his sweatshirt on backwards. Edward's Mom looks at me and says... "see Edward's starting a new fashion". The teachers explained to me that Sanjay took it off when they played outside and then he insisted on putting it back on himself... wouldn't let either one of them help him. Little Mr. Independent.

So, I blew it off... I mean, 2 toddlers wearing their shirts backwards... is it really going to catch on? Then tonight I'm brushing my teeth and I catch a glimpse of Bartee coming out the bathroom after having just changed into his PJ's and low and behold, his shirt is on backwards. I kid you not... I nearly spit out the toothpaste I was laughing so hard. So, I'm thinking maybe tomorrow I'll try it... you need a shirt with a nice, big logo though... those look most silly when turned around.

Our Family Titles

Priya has given everyone in the family a special name, with a little help from Daddy. During dinner tonight he gave them their names. Sanjay's was based on the fact that he'll try any food you put in front of him without making a big scene. Priya usually throws a huge fit, sheds some tears, complains a little then will usually try it and often ends up liking it. At the end, when she likes the food, I remind her that she probably ought not come to any conclusions about the food until she tastes it first. I always say, "Maybe next time you'll think about this and remember how much you liked it", but when "next time" comes around, it's a repeat performance.

Anyway, started by Daddy and finished by Priya... here are our family roles as seen by our 6 year old daughter. "Sanjay is the risk-taker, Priya is the smart cookie, Mommy is the computer girl and Daddy is the software boy... I mean engineer boy".