Busy, Busy...

It's been crazy busy and we are still wrestling with the greenhouse plastic, but it's slowly taking shape....

Everything takes twice as long with the twins around.

It seems like this week they have both been fussy, whiny, fighting, and disrespectful and everything we do is punctuated with correction, discipline and extra attention. It seems like no matter what we've done it's been a downward spiral to the point that everytime we asked James to hold his corner of the plastic on the greenhouse so the wind wouldn't blow it around he would wet his pants 'cause he didn't feel like holding and waiting like the rest of us. (Not that it made much difference to his holding the plastic or let him off the hook...)

Both twins did work hard at pulling up all the fence stakes that needed to be pulled before we till, though. At first there was a lot of complaining and a lot of teaching.... but finally they got it figured out and they even learned to use the shovel as leverage and could pop those things right out of the ground after loosening them a bit.

Missy has been oppositional entirely. This morning she decided things would be different and I'm literally holding my breath that she'll stick with her plan. She's warm and friendly so far.

I've been teaching James how to mow. Don't worry. I'm right beside him with my hands on the mower... it's almost more work than doing it myself, but it makes him feel important. His eye -hand -feet coordination have been called into severe discipline.  Keeping the mower going on track and keeping in control of everything else is more brain taxing than I ever knew :-).

Missy came to me and announced she was singing Jesus Loves Me for me. She sang it almost completely on tune with the words in the correct order. I'm wondering if I am suppose to take that to mean she thinks she's ready for children's choir? She knows the starting age is 7... in my mind that's developmentally age 7 :-).

I'm having to have eyes on all sides of my head.... If James is not drinking "apple cider" from the bins of apple cores for the compost from the edge of the trailer that we used to haul horse manure , then he's picking apricot blossoms off the tree, or wandering around with sharp sticks too close to the greenhouse, and he's throwing his coat behind the furniture so he won't have to hang it up. Missy has to be watched just as closely, not so much for physical danger or mischief... just attitude.

It's spring and the work has begun in earnest. My challenge is to keep the twins occupied with healthy activity and still keep up with everything that needs to be done.  They need to feel a part of the program - not just a prince and a princess to be waited on hand and foot. Where they get this idea I have no clue, but they certainly feel entitled to service and freedom to do as they please.

God help us.