Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Mommy's Green Thumb Helper

Yesterday was the first day in close to two weeks that we had pure, unadulterated sunshine. Seeing how my little boy, full of outdoor wonderment and love, spent the past two weeks banging on the backdoor not understanding that the grass is soaking wet and that we couldn't play outside, this momma came up with a great way for us to both spend time outside and get some things done. I figured B would LOVE to help me plant our summer flowers, since his love for the outdoors generally includes some type of savoring the outdoor flavors of weeds and dirt. The first 5-10 minutes went well, and B soaked it all in, complete with his own plastic shovel and wagon. 
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However the novelty quickly wore off, and if I hadn't had dirty hands, I could have snapped a picture of a snotty nosed kid, sitting smack dab in the middle of our front yard, screaming as if the world was about to end. I have absolutely no idea why he was screaming, but just let him go to town, hopeful that the neighbors didn't think I was abusing the boy. The irony of the whole situation was that upon me picking him up and going inside, he screamed louder. Clearly he was confused on what he truly wanted. So I shoved some dinner in his mouth, and packed him up for round 2.
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Round 2 went a lot better. I don't know if it was because it was an hour later and so the sun had died down a bit, or what. During round 2 he actually really helped with the shoveling, instead of just putting the shovel in his mouth. I let him hold a worm, but I am pretty sure he wasn't a fan of the slimy, squirmy invertebrate, as he quickly tossed him to the curb (quite literally), and went in search of the next best thing... more dirt and shovels!
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And I can't end this post without saying something very important (trying not to chuckle at the "important" part): I used to be one of those people who thought that I would be a germaphobe with my kids, not letting them get in mud, eat dirt or play in puddles. But after a good year of parenting under my belt, I've realized that there's bigger fish to fry. Brayden LOVES exploring the outdoors. And as long as he's not putting poisonous weeds in his mouth or poking his eye out with the sticks he finds, then by all means, let him go to town.
 

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