Friday, May 29, 2009

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.

6 comments:

Erika said...

You sure have a way with words Afton! Loved it! Beautiful peas. Yum.

Emily said...

ahhh urine. My baby steps foot in the bath and immediately pees. He's ready to be potty trained. At least it's not the shower anymore...he thought it was great fun to try and pee on my foot. Last time I checked, I was not stung by a jellyfish!

Senia said...

Love the boy stories and am envious of your garden! Sounds great! :-) I can't wait for the first ear of corn of the season!

I-Shüan said...

Ahhhh, boys! I love yours! :-)

Catherine said...

A pea/pee post. I like!

I don't think I ever ate swiss chard when I was a kid. I'm sure I would have hated it then but I love it now too. Delicious!

Allyson said...

I have fond memories of you swallowing your swiss chard whole, with a mouth full of milk. At least you were obedient in eating your chard. The "gag" faces that followed were pretty funny too.