Mowing

It is a definate sign that spring has arrived when it is time to start mowing the lawn. Though I absolutely hate mowing, it does give me an odd sense of satisfaction when it is complete. I also love the smell of a freshly cut lawn. It drums up memories of cookouts and evening walks. This is the best time of year!! The boys absolutely love it when I mow. I am not really sure what they get out of it. C literally follows my every step the entire time. He was a little thrown off today when I put on a different pair of "mowing shoes." My other ones had gotten way to gross and were falling apart so I switched to another older pair of shoes. That just about threw C over the edge. After some brief therapy and reassurance that the lawn could be cut properly in any pair of shoes, we were off. That boy likes his routines! A likes running around in the area that has already been cut. He does not like to be around loud noises, so getting too close to the mower can sometimes freak him out, but tonight he did okay. Here are the after cut pictures.


We started using this five step lawn fertilizer system last year and though I was a non-believer, it really paid off. I have never had a lawn this green before. Susie is the green thumb around these parts, so all the credit goes to her, especially since she is the one applying the fertilizer.



Adoption update: Yesterday Fintan and I made our way down to the Missour Secretary of State's office to have some of our adoption documents certified. (If you aren't aware, you have to have just about every document proving you exist in this world notarized, certified by the Secretary of State and then authenticated by the Chinese Consulate) I should have know that nothing at a government office happens quickly, but when the lady said this will take 20 minutes I thought, "not too bad." Well, an hour and a half later we had the papers and all they all got certified correctly, so I couldn't complain too much. Fintan did great and made friends with many of the passers-by as we waited. What is it about a toddler that makes people want to ask them questions? But he was a good sport and was handing out smiles and "hi you's" to everyone that crossed his path. So anyway, our next adoption step is to get our I-600A (petition to adopt an overseas orphan) sent off and send the rest of our certified documents off to the Chicago Chinese Consulate. We are getting very close to being done with this paper chase. Only a few more steps!!



I will leave you tonight with a very tired Aidan and Cian. Good night!