In the Beginning of Corn

All Hands on Deck

Marc was being awesome again. This time he was being awesome by building a deck in our backyard.

And these little girls were following in the awesome footsteps of their father and turning up the helping out dial. They carried out all of the rest of the wood one or two pieces at a time. It was fun to listen to them as they worked. Once after they had carried three boards Harper said it was time to bring out another three boards but Margo protested that she wasn't doing that again. Harper conceded and said they would carry the wood out in a pattern: one board, then two boards, repeat. And that is exactly what they did. In another corner of the yard I was taking care of the corn we picked the day before, and being the micro-manager that I am, I really didn't want their help. But I have a theory that if I let my kids help me now they will want to keep helping as they get older. (I am really hoping this theory will also work to cure my bad habit.) It helped that I was working outside where I could make a big mess and my sphincter could remain loose. Before I knew it the corn was all bagged and the wood was piled next to the deck and I was still smiling and thinking life is pretty great.

My dad also happened to be in town. He rolled up his sleeves and helped Marc all day. It was great to have his help.

At Home with Flowers

I was skeptical about these flowers. They all seemed dead at the farm but we managed to find some that were still alive and, boy, did they do a job of brightening my spirits. As I write this it has almost been two weeks that they have been living on the kitchen counter. I need more fresh flowers in my life.

While Margo Was Sleeping in the Car

Margo put herself to bed in the car and Harper and I headed into the tomato patch and picked 10 gallons of tomatoes. We also picked a bouquet of flowers. And forgot to pick some beets, dill, and basil. Oh my.

As We Walked in Fields of Corn

We drove out to our CSA farm in Fergus Falls so we could pick 120 ears of corn. On the way there we got the message that the corn was all gone. We kept going. The farmer told us we could head out to the field and pick whatever we could find. Harper's corn-hunting instincts were on and she headed out into the stalks and only came out when her arms were full. Margo, it turns, out was getting sick and she just wanted to be carried.

We ended up with a lot of little cobs. Some hadn't even started growing kernels. (We didn't find that out until the next day when we husked all that corn at home.) In any case, it was a lovely way to spend a couple hours with these girls.

Pretty

A whisk dipped in cinnamon then plunged into soapy water. My children were begging me to take a picture of it so we wouldn't forget this beauty.

When I Mowed the Lawn

We have a lawn now. A real live growing lawn. That needs to be mowed. What I'm about to say might surprise you, dear reader. And I am not proud of this fact. In fact, I told Marc he should never tell anyone that I have never mowed the lawn before. There. I said it. There is no use living in the past and regretting one more thing I should have done differently.  I plan to move on. And mow the lawn again this afternoon.

The Contents of a First Grader's Backpack on the First Day of School 2014

When I opened Harper's backpack to put her lunch inside this is what I found: a binder for school; a cardboard table with instructions for how to draw a panda. (She covered half of the table with fabric so that all the little flower cut-outs in the ziploc bags would stick to the table and not fall on the bus floor.); a book to read in case she got bored on the bus; a math book to work on in case she got bored on the bus; a gift for her teacher; a plastic box with a miniature plastic box inside that holds a miniature school kit; a wooden toy to play with in case she got bored on the bus. When I asked her if she thought she would need all of these things she insisted that she would. The only thing I took out was the little wooden toy.

 

75 mph on I-94

On a recent trip home from Fergus Falls I sat in the passenger seat and snapped way too many pictures. All of the pictures that follow were taken on the same day within an hour.

All About Me

Everyone was hard at work on their All About Me page or book for their classrooms this year. 

We didn't have any pictures of Harper (gasp) so we had to take one and develop it immediately.

Harper was busy crafting a tiara on a different day.

The end result: the most original tiara ever.

Around the House