We’re having a proper Canadian winter up here in Toronto, and mostly it’s cold.  There’s been snow, and more snow, but also spells of warm weather, which melt the snow, revealing the patches of ground underneath.  When more melted snow mixes with these patches of earth, we get a mud patch.

There is one of these near my kindergartener’s school.  Some of the kids go near it and explore it with a toe or a stick.  My boy walks, slides, and eventually wades in it.  He’ll lie around and roll and never was there a happier little pig than the one he is pretending to be.  He’s so caked in the mud I wonder how the fellow can move with all that extra weight – it can’t be easy, and I notice how his arms hang low by his sides after a good roll.

People react differently and according to their life stage when they see my muddy boy.  The kids his age come as near as they dare, and then run away, screeching.  The adolescent girls giggle and tell me that he is adorable.  The grandmother nods cautiously, saying that I’m wonderful, and that she’d be rattled if her child came home like that.  The other mothers with young children look on attentively, their silent prayer of thanks that their children’s clothes do not look like this so clear I can basically hear it anyway.

The sasquatch that my kid becomes is not allowed in the car.  I strip him down until I can recognize him and he’s clean enough to sit down, which usually means he’s down to his underwear and socks, even if it is February.

Washing the clothes, however, is another matter.

One mom gave me a great idea for cleaning, and I’m sharing it in case your kid loves the earth the way mine does.  Don’t bring the wet muddy clothes inside.  Instead, hang outside until everything freezes/dries.  Then whack away as much mud as you can – it should flake off.  Bring the gear in:  it will still be filthy, but it won’t be heavy with the mud, and you can put it directly in the washing machine.  This is way better than trying to rinse pounds of mud away in the laundry sink, which will become clogged.

Then remember that spring is coming, and get set to do it again (and again).

Our final spin at completing the proverbs as first seen at Crooked House.  So much fun…

From the 6 year old:

A rose by any other name would blow. 

A chain is only as strong as metal.

A fool and his money are speed tickets.

A good man is nice.

A leopard can’t change its camouflage.

A penny saved is money.

A picture is worth love.

A problem shared is nice.

A rolling stone gathers rockings.

A thing of beauty is hearts.

A watched pot never blows over.

All good things come to clinics.  (Ed:  My son attends squash clinics, which are like group lessons.)

All that glitters is snow.

All you need is warmth.

An ounce of prevention is worth a streamful of love.

Ask a silly question and you’ll get ticklish.

You’ve made your bed, tickle every person in your bed.

Behind every great man is orange.

Better the devil you know than five more minutes.

Boys will be boys. 

Don’t count your chickens before they are ten.

Don’t put all your eggs in you.

Don’t put the cart in your garage.  Leave it where it is.

Don’t teach your Grandma to spell.

Don’t throw the baby splat.

Every cloud has a shape.

Everything comes to him who flies.

From the 4 year old:

A chain is only as strong as metal.   (Ed.:  Same answer as his brother, as with one of two other proverbs, although interviewed at separate times.)

A good man is good.

A leopard can’t change into any other animal.  But he could if he had magic.

A penny saved is money.

A picture is worth a video.

A poor workman always blames on snow.

A rolling stone gathers a hard thing.

A thing of beauty is kindness.

A watched pot never gets broken.

A woman’s place is great.

All good things come to you.

All that glitters is good.

All you need is kindness.

You’ve made your bed, now you can sleep.

Behind every great man is good and bad.

Boys will be good.

Don’t bite the hand that you get.

Don’t count your chickens before they are twelve.

Don’t cut off your nose or you’ll have blood on your nose.

Don’t put all your eggs in a bowl.  Or don’t spill it.

Don’t put the cart in the corridor.

Don’t teach your Grandma to hit.

Don’t throw the baby…  No.  Don’t throw the baby.

Every cloud has rain.  

Everything comes to him who… Good things come to you.

He who laughs last...  Jack Frost.

image credit: http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=21968&picture=shadow-man

A selection of my boys’ completion of some proverbs.  Thanks again to Stephany for the idea.

Little G, 3:

A woman’s work is never to go out the door without a kid.

People who live in glass houses go out of glass doors.

If you don’t have anything nice to say, say OK.

You can’t have your cake and candy.

A chain is only as strong as a shark.

A fool and his money are, well, his Mum takes his money.

A good man likes kids.

A leopard can’t change its head.

A penny saved is from someone who picked it up.

A poor workman always blames a kid.

A thing of beauty is a girl.

A woman’s place is in a chair.

All good things come with lights.

All that glitters is paint.

All you need is you.

Ask a silly question and you’ll get grounded.

Beauty is only lonely.  (Hey!  That rhymes, Mum!)

Behind every great man is a man.

Boys will be ready to go outside, of course.

Don’t count your chickens before they are ready.

Don’t cut off your nose…  But, you wouldn’t.

Don’t put all your eggs in your mouth.

Don’t teach your Grandma to pick your nose.

Don’t throw the baby because she’ll cry.

He who laughs last did not know the line was moving.

R, 7:

A woman’s work is cleaning.  (Ed: WTF?!   Where did I go wrong?!)

Good things come to those who listen.

People who live in glass houses are glass people.

If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it.

You can’t have your cake and pizza.

A rose by any other name would  be a flower.

A good man is a gentleman.

A penny saved is a cent.

A picture is worth money.

A poor workman always blames his wife.

A problem shared is trouble.

A thing of beauty is a diamond.

A watched pot never bubbles.

A woman’s place is high.

All good things come to good people.

All you need is food.

Ask a silly question and you’ll get a silly question back.

You’ve made your bed neatly.

Beauty is only girls.

Behind every great man is his shadow.

Boys will be men.

Don’t count your chickens before they are roasted.

Don’t cut off your nose because you can’t breathe.

Don’t put all your eggs in the freezer.

Don’t put the cart in the recycling.

Don’t teach your Grandma to go crazy.

Don’t throw the baby in the air.

Every cloud has a nose.

He who laughs last, laughs long.

Big G, 11, left for a hockey tournament with his proverb homework only half-finished:

A fool and his money are worthless.

A good man is caring.

A poor workman always blames bad luck.

A leopard can’t change its stripes.

Don’t teach your Grandma to play football.

Don’t throw the baby, for the baby might throw you.

Everything comes to him who is grateful.

All you need is love.