Our Monday in the Yard

Today was a good Monday. Don't you love it when a Monday is good? Poor Monday tends to get such a bad rap most of the time.

I think today was good because it was slow and peaceful. Even though it was super productive, it was not rushed. We were relaxed. The weather was gray but it was still lovely. We spent most of the day outside. Angus never changed out of his jammie's, and wore a shirt of his cousins nearly five sizes too big all day.

The boys searched for bugs together in the front yard. While they were filling up their bug hotels with rolie-polies, centipedes and earthworms, I mowed the lawn.

I love mowing the lawn. It is, and has been, one of my most favorite household "chores." There's just something nice about the mixture of getting exercise, cleaning up the lawn, and inhaling the smell of freshly cut grass (one of my top 3 fave smells). It really does me good. And the first lawn mow of the season? Pure joy! Plus we use a reel mower, so while I am mowing the lawn I can hear the sound of my children giggling/bargaining/playing together, the birds chirping, etc, as opposed to the usual ear-numbing noise lawn mowers can make.

After eating the lunch that Oscar excitedly prepared for us (turkey lunch meat, almonds, pistachios and apples anyone?) Angus went down for a much needed (4 hour!) nap. Oscar and I went back outside to tackle the back yard.

I picked up left over leaves from Fall, moved some dirt around, cleaned the garden area, and mowed the back lawn. Oscar climbed the "big" maple all by himself, let the chickens out and chased them around, found the bottom half of a bird skeleton (feet intact), and drew a dilophosaurus with chalk. It was really nice for the both of us.

After dinner we headed back out as a family. We put up the tire swing on the front pine tree, as our hopeful welcome to spring. I transplanted some daylillies in the front flower beds. Bryan trimmed the tree, whose limbs had begun to rest on our rooftop. The boys swung on the swing and had "sword" (branch) fights with some of the cut tree limbs. Oscar helped trim branches from the crab-apple tree and the rose bush. Angus eagerly held each worm I unearthed. He pinched them between his fingers, held his arm out front, scrunched his face so cutely, and said "I don't wike urf-worms," repeatedly.

Dusk began to settle, we went inside. Boys were pajama'd and teeth were brushed. Books were read, prayers were said, songs were sung, kisses were exchanged.

Life was lived today.

Life was good today.