Desperate Times

Up here in Vermont, we're entering a "special" time that we locals like to call Mud Season. With capital letters. No other season has quite the impact that Mud Season has, even winter. At least winter is pretty and we know what to expect--cold, snow, ice. But Mud Season has its own unique attributes--slush, followed by mud, lots of puddles, still some snow, and don't forget all the sand and muck that we trek into the house each and every time we come inside (and for Baxter, it's times four). But the best part of Mud Season is that in order for it to exist, it must be warm, and so it has been. Warm enough. Warm enough to get out of the house, that is. Any degree of sunshine is a blessing after being cooped in the house all winter.

So when the temperatures soared near fifty degrees, Jax and I had to get out of the house. JDubbs and Jax had gone to Lake Pinneo in Quechee a few days before, and I was warned that there was a little water under the swingset, but that it was otherwise completely fine.

A little water, you say?

Now poor Jax doesn't have that many words, but he does understand almost everything we say, and I had been saying, "We're going to the swings!" for a half hour as I put on his boots, hat, sweatshirt, mittens. There was no way I was going to get away with not taking this kid on the swings, no matter how deep or wide the small pond was underneath them. Did I mention I was wearing Uggs?

Regardless of how wet my feet got, Jax had a fabulous time. Sadly, I realized that the wind off the lake was a bit chillier than I anticipated, and that Jax really needed a scarf. No scarf handy, not that he would have worn one, so being a crafty Mom, I decided a cape would do and that my little superhero would be warm enough to continue stomping around the playground.

Hey, it totally worked and he didn't even try to pull it off.

We had a great time exploring the playground, although my feet were getting colder and colder and eventually we had to call it quits. It did get pretty chilly so I think Jax was ready to go home for a snack, too.


Oh, Mud Season. You make us do some crazy things in the name of fresh air, but with less than 8 weeks until Em gets here, I'll do what I have to do to get this little guy some quality time in the sun (and a little Vitamin D).