Sunday, August 9, 2009

300 pounds...


Today was a day of everything and nothing.

By some miracle the children allowed me to sleep until 9:00am. Even more miraculously, the dogs did not poop on the floor in spite of their walk being over an hour late.



In the morning I mulched and then employed my favorite little capitalist to paint the shutters.



I did one coat of each shutter, Rebecca did the second coat.



I paid her 6 Padrusch Bucks. That's right, $3.00. She was ecstatic with her pay. She made a lot of extra money this week doing all sorts of jobs that I didn't want to do. A very sweet arrangement.

With all of that cash burning a hole in her pocket Rebecca wanted to go shopping and I hate to disappoint my baby.

While out we stopped at Toys R Us to make a very important purchase for Lily.

We bought 300 pounds of sandbox sand which I put into my cart and then into my car all by myself.

The most remarkable part of the day came after dinner when the girls went outside to inspect the new sand.

They immediately started to play. They made up elaborate games involving queens and servants, archaeologists and dinosaurs, bakeries and dog treat factories.



I watched them and took pictures.

Time stopped. I held my breath and watched and listened to them chatter.

Periodically the dogs would become part of the play and then the game would shift again.

I watched and watched and watched.



It was a perfect jewel of a moment. One of the most exquisite joys of parenting is witnessing my girls play with each other. My heart almost burst, but then I remembered that I could come here and tell you all about it. I could show you the pictures and I could record the perfection that happened in my backyard this very evening. Thanks for letting me make it real.

6 comments:

Ginger said...

300 pounds of sand? My back would be killing me lifting all that. What great fun for the girls though. You wouldn't think sand would be so entertaining, but it sure is.
I wish I had someone like Rebecca around here to help me with projects. That is pretty neat that she wants to help, and worth every penny of what you pay her.
I'm glad everyone let you sleep in this morning. It feels great, doesn't it?

Jessica said...

I absolutely LOVE your blog!! I found the link on the town list serve, and I just love watching your house projeccts!! I find you so inspiring. I am a stay at home mom, too, and we bought an old house a year ago we are fixing up. I love checking out your posts!

Jean said...

Sara, show us the muscles, girlfriend. I am impressed. There is nothing any heavier than bags of sand. We used it years ago between the bricks on our patio and paths. I think it is good for our kiddies to have jobs, it makes them feel like they are doing something special and it never hurts to be earning money at the same time. Have a great day.
jean in Virginia

Pom Pom said...

Grubby play is fun! Water and sand, sticky bubbles and big bubble wands, paints and glitter that stays in the carpet and on the table for one hundred years - good stuff to do with a sister!

Ms. Twinkle Toes said...

This is so sweet. Thank you for these lovely windows into your life! :)

btw those bricks look awesome. You rock. :) No pun intended...

mgster said...

Just look at the two of them! So lost in their imaginative play. The first thought that always pops into my head when I see something like this is "they are making a memory". And it's all good! Sweet Summer!