I AM ACTUALLY outside planting flowers. I have ALWAYS hated gardening! Ask my parents and they will tell you. I remember whining that when I had a house the whole yard would be paved in concrete. And yet, I love places like Botanic Gardens and Morton Arboretum (bc its somebody else's yard!). Well, this Sunday I took part in a thought I have had for the boys for awhile.
T is really into looking for Spring characteristics whenever we walk or bike ride afterschool ( He still has that seasons song in his brain I used to sing to him at 1 yr old walking round the hood!). It crossed my mind to plant some flowers and let them dig in! T has really been bugging me "Mom, is it hot enough yet to go swimming? OR Now is it warm enough to get the hose to water the flower?" 'The flower' being the one tulip that comes up every yr since Charito and I moved in 6 yrs ago. The one flower T looks forward to every year, along with getting wet. So, when I saw the temps for Sunday I decided it was the day. We loaded up to Menards and a shopping we went. I finally purchased a big ol pot for the front yard (on my list of things to do for more than 2 yrs). Then T had a good idea-he started grabbing these lil multi-colored pots and tossing them into the cart. I asked him what he was doing. He told me, "Getting pots for me and Grayson to put our flowers in. Oh, and daddy and Caden". How sweet I told him. So we let G pick out his own color (he chose "booo" /blue) and then T picked out a color for daddy, Caden and himself. He really put alot of thought into it, who knows what his color process was but there had to have been some kind of meaning to it (that kid hardly ever does anything simple, always a plan abrewin').
The boys were more interested than I ever thought when it came to choosing the flowers. G went with his one yr old gut on everything ( a point with a "dis" or "no" or nod yes) while T wanted to know the name of each one before deciding anything! With that came the questions like "Why are they called snapdragons?" and such. Answers I did not have but fumbled my way thru somehow (us teachers think quick on our feet like that). Well, over $200 later (thanks to daddy and his need-to-have-perfect-lawn -or else supplies) we were finally home getting dirty. They could not wait to turn on that hose. T was so cute with his gardening gloves and shovel. A busy body with so much effort into it all. I kept telling him how proud Grampa will be when he hears about gardening day.
Overall, for something I tyoically avoid at all costs it was a REALLY nice day with my boys. I actually enjoyed myself, even though my body was aching like mad that evening. Everyone got dirty and felt like we accomplished something around the house finally! That sun was great! Do I dare tackle a vegetable garden? GRAMPAAAAAAAA, HEEEELLLLLPPPPP!
