A break in the weather

Crazy weather we're having here. Springlike one day, cold and windy the next, rain for the past 15 days (interrupted by sun breaks now and then). Longing for a return to some normalcy, whether it's cold or hot.

Yesterday we took advantage of a sunny, warm-but-not-too-warm day -- 70 degrees -- and raced outside to do some gardening (after I woke up at 9:30). I had wanted to take Rachel to a career expo fair, for pre-K to high school, but it was so nice outside that I decided we really should be outside and not indoors. Nicole had invited Rachel to accompany Sydney to a baby shower for Sydney's dad's girlfriend, who is having their baby girl soon, but I think Rachel needs a break from Syd -- or at least, needs to make friends outside of Sydney all the time -- so I arranged for her to have a playdate at Ivy's (her parents, Billy and Jenny, are, sadly, divorcing. That means Ivy, her brother Liam and Jenny won't be going with Billy to Copenhagen, and will be moving a 10-minute drive away. Hoping that Rachel and Ivy will revive their friendship).

Around noon, we started cleaning up the garden. Rachel eagerly offered to help me, and she did a really good, consistent job of weeding the front with me while, at her suggestion, Drew mowed in the back. Then, when he was done, we switched, and Rachel and I weeded the back while Drew mowed in the front.

At one point, Rachel said she needed to go to the bathroom. She took so long that I was sure that she had left for good because she was bored and tired -- but no, as Drew told me later. She was using that time to clean the bathroom, unasked, because it was part of her chores and she wanted to get it done. I was extremely impressed!

And when we weeded in the back, Rachel was fantastic. Never once did she complain about the heat or about being tired. Her self-appointed task was to strip the flowers from the thyme plans (which are taking over the kitchen herb garden, along with the sage), and she did a great job. Twice she said, "I love gardening with you, Mommy," which was music to my ears, and I told her that I loved working outside with her. As I moved on to a different section of the garden, I suddenly thought: "These are the best days of my life," which I made sure to to tell her when I went upstairs that night to give her a kiss. "Thanks, Mom," she said, smiling. I hope I'm giving her memories she'll keep forever.

Then, just after I walked her over to her playdate with Ivy, the temperatures dropped, the skies opened up and we got RAIN. That meant that Rachel stayed at Ivy's for most of the afternoon and I started cleaning inside for Rachel Jones, who is visiting us this coming Tuesday through the end of the month.

Drew went to Ivy's to pick up Rachel just in time for Taylor, her swim teacher who was babysitting for us, to come and start babysitting while Drew and I went to the annual auction for McKinley. We actually won something on our bid -- $55 for four kids to do an hour of jump time at a trampoline place hear our house. We figure we'll do it as an end-of-the-school-year celebration for Rachel and three of her friends. Plus, we bought a mustache-topped cupcake home for her. She's such a good kid, we like doing nice things for her whenever we can.