Introducing member number one of this dirty duo: Let's call him Mr. Puddle. Here he sits on my driveway calm and unobtusive minding his own business. Alone he can be a rather beautiful thing - i mean see the reflection of the trees glistening off of him. Okay beautiful may be a stretch, but really Mr. Puddle is no bother as I look out my window on this rainy day. But unfortunately this mother fully comprehends the great attraction Mr. Puddle holds for member number two of Springs dirty duo. 
So without further ado, I introduce to you member (or shall I say members) #2 of this duo: My three wonderful and fairly clean children.
So the beginning of this week was a bit wet, but things were warming up beautifully by midweek which means my children spend most of their days outside. I find this really wonderful. I love it when kids can play outside. They ride their bikes. They play in the sandbox (or my garden . . . ahem). They play on the trampoline. They play sports. Wonderful!! Did I mention that they ride bikes? Oh and where might they drive those bikes? Well on the driveway of course. It is at this point that Dirty Duos first member meets its second. I mean what could be funner for a boy than to race back and forth on the driveway through a big puddle. Think of all the water spraying up behind your bike. In fact the "skill" of the ride seems to be measured by the number of speckles of mud flicked up onto ones shirt. Wonderful fun. . . until these boys walk into their house with um . . . very dirty clothes. Not so wonderful anymore, but instead of telling the boys not to bike anymore, this mother tells her boys to avoid the puddles!! This mother apparently does not fully understand the magnetic pull between a bike with a boy, and a muddy Mr. Puddle. She does now. 
Now you may look at that puddle above and say - well Denise, that is hardly a puddle. Yes, I'd agree. It was coming along wonderfully. That was yesterday, and Mr. Puddle was almost gone when I put the kids to bed. Wonderful. But then we woke up and Kevin asked, "Why did God flood our driveway?" I don't know Kev, but I will remain thankful that it is our driveway, and not our house, our town or the world.
Ah yes. I have spoken of the boys, but lest you think Kylie is innocent of Mr. Puddles allure, I will tell you otherwise. Wednesday, Kylie enjoyed tromping through the puddles back and forth (in her rubber boots - very good) in her skirt and tights. When she tired of that, she tromped, or shall I say sloshed, over to me. Glug, Glug, Glug went her boots as water oozed gently over the top with each step. Wonderful. Then it was Thursday and I popped outside to check on her and found her sitting - yes sitting right in the middle of the puddle. I had to get the camera for that one, but as Kylie is prone to do, she was up and out before I got back outside. I couldn't very well tell her to sit back down in the puddle - imagine the message that would send! So the picture below is the best I have of the "damage".
So the result of this duo is laundry. Now anyone who knows me well, will know that laundry is my favorite of all household jobs. So I can't really complain too much. But I do limit the kids to one wet and one dry outfit. If they are both wet, well that just too bad isn't it:) It is at this point when let's say Kevin wants to change into outfit number three and I vehemently forbid it, that Jonathan will say, "But I thought you like doing laundry?" Ah yes. I do. But there is a limit! These picture below pretty much define spring for me:
But I remain thrilled that spring is on the way, and I will continue to encourage my children to avoid Mr. Puddle, knowing full well that it will last for about 30 seconds. But I will also long for sunnier days than this one, because today the kids are inside - and forbidden to even think about going out the door - and that is okay. I stopped at the second hand store and Kade picked 10 things for $1.00 from the bin. They are happy and so am I.
So the beginning of this week was a bit wet, but things were warming up beautifully by midweek which means my children spend most of their days outside. I find this really wonderful. I love it when kids can play outside. They ride their bikes. They play in the sandbox (or my garden . . . ahem). They play on the trampoline. They play sports. Wonderful!! Did I mention that they ride bikes? Oh and where might they drive those bikes? Well on the driveway of course. It is at this point that Dirty Duos first member meets its second. I mean what could be funner for a boy than to race back and forth on the driveway through a big puddle. Think of all the water spraying up behind your bike. In fact the "skill" of the ride seems to be measured by the number of speckles of mud flicked up onto ones shirt. Wonderful fun. . . until these boys walk into their house with um . . . very dirty clothes. Not so wonderful anymore, but instead of telling the boys not to bike anymore, this mother tells her boys to avoid the puddles!! This mother apparently does not fully understand the magnetic pull between a bike with a boy, and a muddy Mr. Puddle. She does now. Now you may look at that puddle above and say - well Denise, that is hardly a puddle. Yes, I'd agree. It was coming along wonderfully. That was yesterday, and Mr. Puddle was almost gone when I put the kids to bed. Wonderful. But then we woke up and Kevin asked, "Why did God flood our driveway?" I don't know Kev, but I will remain thankful that it is our driveway, and not our house, our town or the world.Ah yes. I have spoken of the boys, but lest you think Kylie is innocent of Mr. Puddles allure, I will tell you otherwise. Wednesday, Kylie enjoyed tromping through the puddles back and forth (in her rubber boots - very good) in her skirt and tights. When she tired of that, she tromped, or shall I say sloshed, over to me. Glug, Glug, Glug went her boots as water oozed gently over the top with each step. Wonderful. Then it was Thursday and I popped outside to check on her and found her sitting - yes sitting right in the middle of the puddle. I had to get the camera for that one, but as Kylie is prone to do, she was up and out before I got back outside. I couldn't very well tell her to sit back down in the puddle - imagine the message that would send! So the picture below is the best I have of the "damage".
So the result of this duo is laundry. Now anyone who knows me well, will know that laundry is my favorite of all household jobs. So I can't really complain too much. But I do limit the kids to one wet and one dry outfit. If they are both wet, well that just too bad isn't it:) It is at this point when let's say Kevin wants to change into outfit number three and I vehemently forbid it, that Jonathan will say, "But I thought you like doing laundry?" Ah yes. I do. But there is a limit! These picture below pretty much define spring for me: But I remain thrilled that spring is on the way, and I will continue to encourage my children to avoid Mr. Puddle, knowing full well that it will last for about 30 seconds. But I will also long for sunnier days than this one, because today the kids are inside - and forbidden to even think about going out the door - and that is okay. I stopped at the second hand store and Kade picked 10 things for $1.00 from the bin. They are happy and so am I.The picture below is Kevin on duty "babysitting". Kade and I were inside doing dishes after supper and Kevin had the job of keeping Kylie out of our way so we could get things accomplished . I'm not sure about this, but Kylie didn't seem afraid, and Kevin seemed in control so I didn't say anything. . . until Kevin and Kade traded jobs and Kade thought he'd try it!
Enjoy your rainy day!
Enjoy your rainy day!
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