May 2006
Monday the 15th. After two straight weekends of fun, it was time for some work, like trips to get mulch, cutting down dead trees in the backyard, cutting the grass, trimming trees, laundry, etc... Jackson started helping me, then decided that he made a better supervisor than worker. He sat on the truck watching me unload the mulch and said "You should keep your shovel straighter." When finished, I stepped back, all sweaty, tired and dirty, to admire my work. "Now, that looks pretty good" I proclaimed. Jackson popped up from where he was playing and said "Thanks, I told you keeping your shovel straight would help." He'll make a perfect supervisor one day.
Last
year we gave Amy a tree for Mother's Day. This year we gave her a bird
bath that she decided to put next to her tree. We love traditions, so I'm thinking next year's gift might be
something else for this little Mother's Day spot in the yard.
It's
the six year old boy in me that comes up with some of these ideas. After
trimming the low sweeping branches off one of our trees in the backyard, it
occurred to me that I could make a really cool fort by simply leaning them
against our back patio fence. With just a few
minutes of construction, Jackson had a hide-out that he LOVED. From inside
his fort he said "Daddy, I love you", then emerged just long enough to give me a
kiss. Had it not been for
afternoon thunderstorms, he probably would have been in it all day.
Ben is obsessed with the Count from Sesame Street. If they actually had Count merchandise, we'd probably have a houseful. There are two voices from Sesame Street that pretty much everyone can do; The Count and Cookie Monster. So when Ben said that he wanted to call the Count one afternoon, I put my cell phone's ringer on silent, then called it from our house phone. I handed the house phone to Ben, then slipped out the back door with my cell phone in my pocket. He totally freaked out when the Count answered the phone. He kept yelling to Jackson "IT'S THE COUNT, THE COUNT IS ON THE PHONE! BRUDDER, IT'S THE COUNT!!!" I had him count with me and we talked for a long time. If any of the neighbors were in their backyards listening to my end of the conversation, I'm sure they thought I was crazy. Ben and Amy called the Count again later in the week to tell him about Ben pooping in the potty. Of course I now have to remember to use a really bad Count impersonation in front of Ben and save the good one for the phone so that he won't get suspicious.
We made breakfast and dinner for Amy on Sunday, but on Saturday morning, Jackson wanted to make something all on his own for her. He called his creation A Fish In The Sea. He put a single Goldfish cracker between two big thick chunks of butter on one of those shortcakes you use for individual desserts, then put it in the microwave for 9 seconds. Amy sat down at the table, bravely picked it up and carefully bit into the side of the shortcake. I swept in with the first distraction I could think of and took Jackson to the bathroom to brush his teeth. When we came back into the dining room Amy was sitting in front of an empty plate wiping her mouth. Amy told Jackson it was "Delicious!" We make a good team.