From Snow Angels to Daffodils to Worms

Today was uncharacteristically warm, and Sam and I worked in the garden for an hour after Sam got home from school. It was the first time that I have made a sincere effort in the garden since the cold season started. It felt so nice to be out in the sun, pulling up weeds, turning dirt, and feeling productive overall. It's amazing how useful and happy I feel if I am able to work outside. I'm so glad that the cold season is beginning to end. I also was happy to be in the garden this afternoon, too, because the first daffodils began to open just today! They are blooming really early this year!

This month of February has been an unusual one, partially because we have experienced a range of weather. Earlier in the month we had a snowy weekend (Sam made snow angels in the yard before the snow melted a few hours later). We have also had some unusually warm and sunny days that pop up between spells of dramatically rainy weather. Additionally, this month has been unusual because we've kept busy with a lot of things that depart from our normal routine: J went on a trip to Amsterdam for work (I wish I could have been there with him!), we experienced multiple bouts of colds and sick days for J and Sam, we all went to the ultrasound appointment to learn the gender of the new baby, I helped oversee a time-consuming art project for Sam's school auction, and I also had some extra evening choir rehearsals. We are settling back into our normal schedule, though, which I can tell makes all of us happy. The three of us are creatures of habit; we thrive under our little routine.

And now we can start up our new routine of working in the garden, which makes me glad. Sam and I made a deal that he could earn two dollars if he worked with me in the garden for a whole hour (sorry we haven't raised the minimum hourly wage at our house, President Obama!). The deal also included that Sam could not whine or complain during the whole hour. If that happened, he could earn enough money so that he could buy the next level in his Lego Star Wars game on the iPad. And, amazingly, it worked! Sam has never been so cheerful doing yard work. He was a good "helpy helper" (as we say in our family) and we had some cute conversations while we worked away. Here are my two favorite things that Sam said today:

• "A worm has ten hearts. You have to shoot a worm ten times before it dies."
• "I know just about everything, except what the dinosaurs really looked like."

Sam did learn in kindergarten that earthworms have ten hearts, which I think is a logical way to explain to young children about five pairs of aortic valves. I also know that Sam's mindset about "shoot[ing] a worm ten times" is influenced by the Lego Star Wars game, where the life capacity of characters is indicated by a string of hearts on the screen. With ten hearts, a worm would be a more difficult character to defeat in that game!

And now, on to warmer weather! Goodbye, February. I'm glad to see you go. I'm glad to cross off one more month for this pregnancy, too. I think that this pregnancy (and time in general) will go by more quickly for me when the sun is around.