Mommy, can we turn off the TV and work in the garden?

Did you read the title of this entry? That's why we worked in the garden today. How do you respond when your 4-year-old actually says "Mommy, can we turn OFF the TV and work in the garden?" Today was not supposed to be a gardening day. We've had a setback in the household. Farmer B has come down with something that resembles the bubonic plague, but is probably a head cold. So the boys and I were trying to lay low and watch TV to let him recuperate. It got to be about 11 a.m. and the heat of the day was already a bit much for me…but you know what the boy said and you know what my response was because you don't say no to that.

I decided I'd prove I can pull my own weight so I grabbed the shovel and Aidan grabbed his little shovel and between us we loaded up three big wheelbarrows of dirt from the trailer and spread it on the garden. It was painfully hot though - the kind of hot that makes tourists pass out at theme parks. I even went out in my old lady hat that I bought for yardwork several months ago. That's when you know it's hot - when the old lady hat comes out. I put on some horrible pink shorts that used to be my mom's sweatpants because they already have a stain on them so I wouldn't feel guilty if they got dirty. (Way back in high school I decided I wanted pink sweat pant shorts. My mom showed me how to cut off the legs and hand-sew them into shorts. I have no idea why I still have these atrocious shorts with a paint stain on the leg, but they do come in handy from time to time.) I also put on a white shirt - to prove a point - and my dead-sexy knee-high tube socks (to prevent upper-calf wellie chafing) and my blue wellies. You thought that Farmer B had wardrobe issues. It was not a pretty sight.

So we went to work in the hot midday sun. The little one decided that it was too hot to get dirty and spent most of the time in the shade doing his own thing. The always-energetic-never-calms-down dog even hid under the trailer the entire time with just his furry butt sticking out panting like he was dying. We spent the entire time trying not to step on his tail - notice I said 'trying.' So it was a good day. One long hour later we came in when my 4-year-old said "Mommy can we stop gardening and watch TV?"