…or should I say my “little” helpers? Madi and Parker have been in a “helping” mood lately; it’s pretty neat.
I admit, some of it is self serving. Madi loves to help me cook and bake, but she does it mostly so she can “taste” everything. Parker is very good at getting everyone’s shoes so that he can do one of his favorite things…go outside.
But other times, it is something a bit more guileless…if I am cleaning, both kids want to participate, so I break out the squirt bottle and kitchen towels and they “clean” everything in sight. Madi goes around saying “Is this dirty, Mommy?” and if I say yes, she drenches it and swipes most of the water off with the towel.
Also, Parker is all about putting his diapers in the trash all by himself. I actually know where he picked this up…we had forgotten to change the diaper pail liner, which made for quite a pile of diapers jammed into the empty can. Parker and I spent the next several minutes putting them back into the diaper pail after replacing the liner, which I think whetted his appetite for throwing them away every time.
This afternoon, both kids got into the act with our gardening responsibilities. Unbelievably, our peas, beans, and green onions are just peeking out of the ground. (I keep crossing my fingers that it doesn’t frost) So, we went out to water the garden…Parker helped me by holding the sprayer with one hand and sticking the other hand into the spray, and Madi watered for a little while too until the wind blew the water back into her face and she ran away shrieking. We also planted our pepper seeds in cups – I guess you are supposed to start them inside? Madi took the job very seriously, and Parker was very put out that he couldn’t help, so I let him plant a bean seed in a cup too!
I know someday I will ask them to help clean or water the plants and I’ll get a “But, Mom…” but hey, I’ll take what I can get!
