Queen For A Day

Today was a really tough day. I don't feel like posting about my troubles -- they will make a great blog story when I am able to look back and laugh about them -- so I decided to pull a happy day out of my magic hat of unfinished blog drafts.

Way back on May 21, over a month ago the boys and I had a magical day. I got to take a million pictures (okay, a couple hundred), play my favorite sport with my favorite boys, go shopping, and plant flowers.

The three of us played tennis for the first time this season, and Max and Mitchie thought I was the most awesome tennis player they had ever seen. (I probably was, since they haven't seen many tennis players.) The praise flowed endlessly from their sweet little lips, and it was yummier to me than a chocolate fountain. I soaked it all up, and when I was worried they were done giving out free compliments, I showed them my serve. Back in my tennis glory days, the first official serve of the first day of practice was very important to me; as silly as it sounds now, I was convinced then it was the best predictor of the outcome of my season. (Back then, I also wasted a little energy thinking about horoscopes and black cats crossing my path.) On this hot, sunny afternoon, I smoked an ace across the court as they watched with wide, amazed eyes. That hour on the court made up for a dozen bedtime struggles and at least a week's worth of, "I am not going to eat that for dinner!"

After our tennis time and visit to the adjacent playground, we stopped at Lowe's so the boys could choose flowers from the garden center for their pots. They chose their favorites and we had so much fun planting them early that evening.


It was good to be queen that day (and my mom says I'm always A Princess).

Mitchell picked me the hugest dandelion I have ever seen.

I saved it in a vase until it smelled so awful that I couldn't keep it any longer.

I saved the memory forever with this closeup.

Isn't Minnie the cutest dog ever?

Max enjoys his own bit of magic as he scatters dandelion seeds and makes a wish.

Mitchell loves to play The Foolish Game. He invented it with Max.

Mitchie climbs onto playground equipment, puts his little body in a precarious pose,

and says to me,

"Look, Mama, how foolish I am!"

Max finds treasures wherever we go, including this half walnut shell

he wanted to bring home to feed our "pet squirrel."

Mitch never falls asleep in the car. As my family likes to say, he was pooped out!

The wrestling is always just a moment away.

We are Made of Dreams and Bones

I can't get the gardening song by Peter, Paul, and Mary out of my head!

Inch by inch

row by row

gonna make this garden grow

all it takes is a rake and a hoe

and a piece of fertile ground ...

We planted many seeds, flowers, vegetables and herbs last week. In our seed trays in the kitchen (which is also our science lab, school room, and art studio), we planted Love Lies Bleeding seeds, Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate seeds, Bluestem prairire grass seeds, and heirloom pansy plants. Max and Mitchell caught the gardening bug in their little garden glove hands as they picked out their own flowers and planted them in their special green pots. The colorful plants look so beautiful on the deck! This year Max did almost all of the work on his pot himself. The boys have been watering their pots of flowers daily, and Mitchell's favorite pot gets many drinks throughout the day.

Wrestling matches are impropmtu events at our house at least twenty times a day, even when we are planting flowers. The oversized bag of potting soil was too tempting for wiggly bodies to resist! If you have spent any time with us, you have probably heard me say, "Max and Mitchell, keep your hands on your own bodies!" or "No wrestling without Daddy!"