When the kids get cranky...

...I throw them outside.

Luckily today I decided to go out, too, because it was absolutely beautiful (but cold). And I got out there, and saw what a mess the yard was, and decided I should probably do something about it. Mother Nature starts cutting me some slack this time of year: my first chore, anytime I do yardwork, is poop duty (why didn't anyone tell me what I was getting into in regards to poop, with having two kids, a 75-lb dog in suburbia, and two cats? Why couldn't I figure it out myself?!), and cleaning up frozen dog poop is much better than...you can imagine. The rest of you curse frost, I love it. It also means that there are almost no fruit flies attacking me when I open the compost bin.

I'm glad to see winter coming!

Then the kids needed to swing. I don't think I liked swinging nearly as much as my kids do. They will swing any chance they get. They beg for it. They fight over swings when the number of kids outnumber the swings. They will do it all day long, if I let them. They squeal and scream and smile--so I try to indulge them regularly.

Raking was up next. A nice big pile, so that the kids could jump in it. They waited very patiently, smashing up the ice that had formed on their sandbox-turned-pond-because-nobody-covered-it-up-when-rain-started. I was hoping we'd find some frog eggs in it, but nothing so far.

I wish you could better see the look of anticipation on Danny's face! Just waiting for me to give him the go ahead (I made them wait while I got the camera).

Zeus is constantly bringing his tennis balls to the leaf piles, so that the kids will bury them. He loves it as much as they do, I think.

 

 

 

Danny burying Isaac

Run, Isaac, run!

 

 

And then, a miracle happened...

 

  

 

Isaac helped Danny up, with no prompting from me, and then Danny hugged Isaac, with no prompting from me! I think they may actually love each other!

And then another miracle lay awaiting us in the garden:

tons of broccoli still in the garden (not the phenomenon), which Danny and Isaac stood and ate for a good five minutes (there it is!). They have not been willing broccoli eaters all summer, but today, Danny proclaimed, "Mama, today is a day that Isaac and I could stay outside all day and eat broccoli and play." Alright, you do that! The broccoli had actually gotten much sweeter and more mild, I'm guessing due to the cold? It was a nice snack though, we cleaned off that plant that they're standing by. As a bonus, the cold has killed off the aphids and cabbage worms that were haunting our cruciform veggies.

After Danny's little nap today, while Isaac was still asleep, Danny helped me make our December calendar (even though we won't host preschool this month, Danny has been learning his numbers very rapidly, and loves posting the date each day), and then drew me a picture of Rudolph:

That Rudolph was even written by him (dictated by me, of course). I was so proud. He wouldn't let me hang it up without a lot of cajoling, because he wanted to surprise Daddy. After I took the picture, he went back and added a blue sky, a rainbow, and green grass "to feed Rudolph when he gets hungry." Ah, my smart, wonderful little preschooler, how quickly you learn and amaze me!