Raising Peas and Kids

I was impressed by the prettiness of the peas in my garden. These are shelling peas, so they aren't quite ready for picking just yet. We have picked and eaten Swiss chard though.

As a child there were two foods I absolutely could not stand. One was corn dogs and the other was Swiss chard. Now that I'm older I don't mind an occasional corn dog, and the chard from our garden was delicious. I guess you could say my tastes in food have become both more and less sophisticated.

The corn is just starting to pop up and the beans are just about ready for their exponential growth spurt. The conditions are perfect.

Raising boys and raising a garden have a few similarities. Both take a lot of effort, but the rewards are great. And like my picture of the pretty little pea, there are plenty of boy-raising moments I'd like to capture and remember forever.

Last night while I was bathing the younger boys, Isaac said to me, "Mom, can we have a baby sister in our family?"

"Why do you want a sister?" I asked.

Isaac replied, "So I can throw water balloons at her."

Right before this sweet little exchange, I entered the bathroom and noticed the cup I normally use to rinse off the boys during their bath. It was sitting on the edge of the tub with about an inch of liquid that was very obviously urine.

"Is that pee in the cup?" I asked.

Jonah quickly took the cup and upended it into the bath water. "Nope." he said.

I pointed out that they were now bathing it what was essentially a toilet, so Isaac started to let the water out and suggested they quickly get washed under fresh-from-the-faucet water.

And that's what I love about boys. They're so gross and goofy and fun.