Running from the Law: April Showers Bring...Worms

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

April Showers Bring...Worms

Every night when I get home from work, I usually have about an hour of uninterrupted mama and Mac together-time before Ryan gets home.  Well, "uninterrupted" is probably not the best word for it, as it's always interrupted by stupid adult things like changing out of my work clothes, starting dinner, answering the phone, letting the dogs out and going to the bathroom -- any one of which will send my little toddler into a flying fit of fury and tears because he wants mama to go "OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW!"  Patience is not his strong suit...like I said, he's so my child. 
The other night when I got home it was cold and had just finished raining.  I definitely would have preferred to put on some sweats and play trains in the warm basement (or take a nap), but Mac insisted on going outside to play.  He's just like his dad in that sense...happiest when he's out and about and free to explore. 
Most days I leave my phone in the house and camera in the bag and just spend one-on-one time with my dude.  He's talking up a storm these days and I love to just give him my undivided attention and listen to what he has to say.  He makes the most amazing connections and is so observant.  We say hi to every birdie we see, pick up any trash, rearrange rocks, make piles of sticks, chase squirrels, pick flowers, wave to airplanes and talk to our shadows.
But this day, I decided to bring my camera along to catch Mac in action, doing...well, whatever it is that he does.  He's not really into the camera these days and basically refuses to look at me or smile at all when I'm holding it up, so I have a lot of photos of the back of his head and his profile.  Out of nearly 200 photos I took, I have exactly 2 where he's looking at me.  TWO.  And he's such a busy child that he doesn't stand still for very long, so I have to be quick. He moves from one activity to the next in a blink of an eye.  Although, his love for the lawnmower is still pretty strong.  He's now mowed through all four seasons, in sun, rain and snow. 

I was hoping to get a couple really cute puddle jumping photos so I'd have them for the April page of the calendar I make every year.  Unfortunately, the puddles by our house were pretty lackluster (I guess that means we have good drainage?), so there wasn't a lot of splashing.

But he still had a lot of fun stomping around and getting his boots wet.  I love these little yellow rain boots.  He loves them too, because he can put them on by himself, so he insists on wearing them often (around the house, to the store, for walks).  The only problem is that I bought them a size too big, so they tend to come off at random times while we're playing, only for me to discover him halfway down the street in wet socks and boots two blocks behind us.  But he's growing so fast I doubt we'll have this problem for very long.

Lately his absolute favorite thing to do is go outside and dig for worms.  Yep, worms.  Slimy, dirty, disgusting worms.  I wish I could blame his love of worms on my husband or my father, but it was actually me that taught him how to dig for worms and find them.
I bought him this little red shovel from Home Depot (which he calls the "heaby shobel"), despite the nasty comment and judgmental looks from the checkout lady, who had the nerve to tell me she'd never buy a 2 year old a shovel.  To which I replied that I bet he's really glad that I'm his mom and not her.  Ugh, people. 
Of course, worm digging is at it's absolute best when right after a rain when it's slightly muddy.  I know this from years of experience digging up worms with my dad to use to go fishing.  I guess it's the country girl in me, but I have no fear of the creepy and slimy and can bait my own hook like a pro.  Since he's two going on twenty, I figured it was high time Mac learned the ins and outs of worm handling.
Occasionally we'd get distracted by a car driving by or a plane flying overhead and he'd have to stop and wave.
And then we'd have to talk about what color the car was, who was diving it, where we thought the plane was going and incredibly important things like that.
Then we could get back to worm hunting.
Luckily it's pretty easy to find worms.  Even an almost-two year old can do it.  You don't have to dig very deep and they're not real fast about escaping.  After showing Mac how it was done and letting him touch one or two, the student became the master.  He's now a worm hunting machine.  (I will refrain from posting a bunch of photos of our worms...you're welcome.)
I think we've worm hunted every single day for the last two weeks and have found no less than 6,000 worms.  We're considering starting our very own neighborhood worm farm for some extra income.  Because college ain't paying for itself.  

 photo sig_zps61e7e874.png

18 comments:

  1. Oh I love this! Cash & Mac would have too much fun together! I'm sure the Home Depot lady would have a real issue with me. Cash has two shovels. One here & one at my parent's house. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. How fun!! Jackson likes playing with worms too. These are great pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This sounds exactly like our life right now. It evolves around Noah demanding to go down to our unfinished basement to run wild, and standing at the front door with his boots in hand demanding to go outside right this instant. Coming back inside always always involves kicking and screaming. Boys!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is so cute - he is such a precious boy! My daughters LOVE puddle jumping. We have one BIG one that develops in our driveway whenever it rains and there have been times when they start out full suited with rainboots and coats and then end up rolling around in the puddle naked, lol! It's as ridiculous (and dirty) as it sounds :)
    Also, this is unrelated, but is "Mac" short for something or is his name just Mac? When I was pregnant with my son, my husband and I loved the nickname Mack but we couldn't agree on what it should be short for. So I'm always curious when I come across the name elsewhere.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the simplicity about going outside and playing in the rain/puddles. SO much fun and such a perfectly simple activity.

    ReplyDelete
  6. These pictures are TOO cute!! Love the little rain jacket and rain boots

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mac is a heartbreaker! That blonde head and those sweet eyes. He's too cute for words. Happy worm hunting buddy!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm in love with these pictures!! And I am the same...wish I could come home from work and lay on the couch when it is cold/rainy outside but my Carter won't let that happen. I don't mind near as much when it is nice out...but I'm wondering what I am going to do about cooking supper when it is nice out EVERY day?! I guess we will be eating lots of frozen pizza lol.

    ReplyDelete
  9. How adorable! I may need to teach Liam how to dig for worms, although I fear he would then want to dig up my flowers as well! Liam has also lawned mowed for a full year and his snow shovel is still in use while I'm gardening. I am always amazed at how similar our boys are! Liam has a meltdown almost every time I have to go potty. Every time!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your day sounds just like mine in evening! Getting home, changing clothes, taking the dogs out....crying 2 year old who just wants to play and not wait for me to get those things done! I have not taught Elin the wonders of worm hunting although I always feel bad for them on the drive way and on the sidewalk because I know they will dry out so I plan on teaching her to pick them and throw them back in the dirt. My husband things that is so gross!

    ReplyDelete
  11. That worm hunting cutie. We found a worm in our yard the other day that was literally at least a foot long. I was as grossed out as grossed out can be. Apparently we have very happy soil?

    But in cuter news, I love how kids at this age are just so curious and happy (when they're happy that is...) and fascinated by every little thing. It's so nice to see the world through fresh eyes again!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love these shots!! And I love his raincoat- rainboot combo. Seriously amazing'

    ReplyDelete
  13. The nerve of some people. What is wrong with a shovel? My word.

    Gross, worms though. I bet Aria would love it though. I use to.

    Hey, Aria won't look at me with a camera hardly at all anymore either. It is like they don't want precious memories, dang it!

    ReplyDelete
  14. HIS JACKET. I CAN'T GET PAST IT! ADORABLE!!!! It's the best ever!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. So so cute!! Love the rain coat and boots combo! What is it with toddlers and their love of rain boots?!

    ReplyDelete
  16. How crazy adorable is he!! That first shot is a definite framer! My boys love worm digging as well - last year we had a "worm hotel" the boys put all the worms they found in one of my planters. Is Mac a Curious George fan? The worm racing one is really cute!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh he's so adorable. What a fun outing! But why in the world did lady at the store insult you for buying a shovel?! What is her deal?

    ReplyDelete