Garden Prep....

Garden Preparation...or "How to Make NorthernMommy Happy"

The NorthernClan has been planning the layout of their vegetable garden since, oh, about August of last year, when they realized that the nice fenced-in garden they created didn't get enough sunlight. They chose another location, one that:

- gets a tremendous amount of sunlight

- is within reach of the water hose (no more lugging buckets to water plants!)

- and offers a direct line of fire from the mudroom door (if the woodchucks and rabbits come back, they're goners!).

NorthernToddler, noting the poor soil that the previous garden consisted of, recommended the use of raised beds for this year's garden. NorthernMommy seconded the motion. NorthernDaddy was the only dissenting vote - and he provided a passionate discourse on the negative aspects of his having to construct said raised beds. The non-laborers won the vote, and as NorthernMommy realized that certain seeds had to go into the ground soon, the work commenced on a cold, windy day.The location chosen for the new raised beds is right next to the 'barn'. The ground there has been covered with a tarp for the past year to kill a particularly nasty invasive plant - it appears to have worked.

After the tarp was removed, the soil needed to be tilled to remove any trace of previously mentioned nasty plants and to allow for good drainage under the raised beds. Note the ancient roto-tiller that NorthernDaddy is quite proud of - it was found on the side of the road by one of his co-workers. NorthernDaddy gave $25 for it - and, after a little experimenting, found that it ran and will dig all the way to China if you let it. The project was slowed a little by some tool lessons. NorthernToddler spent a lot of time pointing at tools and asking, "What is that?" Here, NorthernDaddy explains the concept of "level" to a mostly uncomprehending three-year-old.

(Side note: NorthernDaddy thanks his brother for giving him that level so long ago. It is a fine tool and earns its keep. So does the chop saw that is on semi-permanent loan....it'll get back to you some day! ...possibly after NorthernDaddy breaks down and buys a circular saw...)

This is what the Northern's semi-completed raised bed looks like. After an hour of roto-tilling and another hour cutting and assembling the bed in forty-degree temps with a thirty miles-per-hour wind, NorthernDaddy set it square and level, pinned it into place, and called it a day. Final finish work and fill soil will wait for a warmer day (along with the construction of the second bed), but that is how to make NorthernMommy happy....

Seventy-Five Degrees and Springtime!

The Robots Got 'Em.....

Occasionally, NorthernDaddy is left alone with NorthernToddler on a Saturday morning so that NorthernMommy can work. This past Saturday, Toddler decided that it was time to play with the blocks. NorthernDaddy thought that was a good idea, because he has found that it is possible to drink coffee and slowly wake up as Toddler builds stuff with the blocks (it's called "Hands-Off Parenting"!)

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NorthernToddler had Daddy build a few "robots". Then, as NorthernDaddy dozed off, Toddler had these robots proceed to build a trap and capture Toddler's stuffed turtle.

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Poor Turtle....

You Didn't.....

NorthernToddler didn't want to go to sleep last night. He pitched fits for a few hours after his bedtime and invented story after story about why he shouldn't be in bed. NorthernMommy and Daddy finally wore him down by ignoring most of his presentations:

(NorthernToddler) "I'm thirsty..."

(NorthernMommy) "Go to bed."

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(Toddler) "I'm hungry..."

(Daddy) " Dinner was less than an hour ago. Go to sleep."

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(Toddler) "I want the light on..."

(Mommy) "GO TO SLEEP!"

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(Toddler) "The ladybugs are going to get me and eat me up and I'll be in their tummies...."

(Daddy) "Well, maybe then you'll be quiet..."

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Finally, NorthernToddler went to sleep. NorthernParents went to sleep, too. Until two am.

"Mommy! Mooommyyyy! My blankets fell off!"

This phrase was repeated several dozen times until NorthernDaddy could tolerate it no more and descended the stairs to Toddler's room. Now, NorthernMommy has instituted a policy that states that: "You're three years old. You're old enough to pick up your own blankets and put them back on your bed by yourself. Don't wake Mommy and Daddy to do it for you." This policy meant that NorthernDaddy could not toss Toddler into his bed and cover him with blankets. Instead, he gave a step-by-step lesson on how to lay out the blankets on Toddler's bed, with Toddler doing a lot of crying and saying, " I can't do it!" Thirty minutes it took to walk the three-year-old through the process and get him back in bed. (The technique used is similar to how hostage negotiators do their jobs....)

Fifteen minutes after NorthernDaddy got back into bed, a very quiet 'click' signalled that NorthernToddler's bedroom door had shut. Another trip down the stairs, to find Toddler sitting at the kitchen table - kitchen light burning bright - reading a book. Another gentle redirection towards the bed and sleep.

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At three-fifteen in the morning, a voice at the bottom of the stairs announces: "I can't sleep."

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NorthernDaddy charged down the stairs, quickly found a roll of neon green duct tape that Mommy had for some project or another, and placed NorthernToddler back into bed.

(Now, before anyone gets all worked up and calls DCF or Child Protective Services or the federales or anything, please note that NorthernToddler was not really taped into his bed. The tape runs across the top of the blanket and is not secured to any fixed object. NorthernToddler was perfectly free to move - but he thought that he was taped in. It worked like a charm - we all got another two hours of sleep!)

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NorthernDaddy climbed upstairs and got back into bed, and NorthernMommy asked: "You didn't really duct tape our child to his bed, did you?"

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"Yes I did - Goodnight."