Planting Tomatoes Gets a Little Crazy

There are some things that just are too hard to try to do at home by yourself with 2 kids and a dog underfoot.  Those are the things I try to get done on the weekend or in the evening when my husband is home.  This weekend I had a cake to make, and I also wanted to get a few things planted.

It was just as I brought the tomato planter upstairs to put on the back porch that my brother-in-law called to see if my husband could help him with something.  There was a good 45 minutes before my little boy’s nap time, and the rain had stopped, so I thought maybe the kids could play on the back porch while I planted the tomato plants.  It sounds totally doable.  And it should have been.  But it became ugly really fast.

I had planned to go through the garage and use the wagon to bring the 50 pound bag of sand around back to fill the planter’s base.  I told my daughter to wait by the back door and I’d let them all out once I got around back.  She was adamant that she and her brother were coming out the garage door with me, and after a few minutes of trying to explain that I was just going to get the things I needed and meet them in the back, I gave up and brought them with me.  As I loaded the bag of sand in the wagon, along with the tomato plants, shovel, and garden gloves, Peanut and Monkey found the sidewalk chalk and started drawing on the driveway.  “Okay guys, I’m ready to head out back,” I said.  I put some chalk in the wagon and told them they could take the pieces they had in their hands.

“No! I want to stay here!” was Peanut’s reply.

“Mommy can’t plant the tomatoes in the back if you guys are in the driveway,” I said.  “Mommy told you guys you could draw on the back porch while I worked; come on.”

After a few minutes of debate, she relented and started walking behind the wagon towards the back.  That’s when the drama really picked up.

“I want to go inside!”

“Okay, you can go back inside once we’re in the back.  I’ll let you in the back door,” I replied.

“No!  I want to stay outside!”

This went on, back and forth the rest of the short walk (which seemed a lot longer) to the back porch.  By the time we got there she was completely out of control.  And, of course, by then Monkey was also crying, after all, once one is crying the other likes to chime in, too.

At this point I was pretty sure planting anything was out of the question.  Both were tired and we just needed to go inside.  I opened the back door, lifted Peanut up the steps and sat her in the door way.  She decided that was the time to start kicking her feet while still screaming.  I picked up Monkey and stepped over her into the house.

“–Side!” screamed Monkey.  I assumed he was trying to say “outside” and told him we had to come back inside for a bit.

“—Side!!” he screamed again.  He yelled for a good 5 minutes, banging on the door and almost making himself sick in the process.

I looked at the clock, now it was just a few minutes until nap time.  Way too late to even think of trying again IF I could get them calmed down.

I decided to start reading some books, which thankfully worked on calming them both down, although Monkey continued to say “—side” periodically.  Thankfully the dog remained quiet outside, not barking to come in and starting the whole fit process over.

Eventually I got them calmed down to the point that I was able to give Peanut her Video Now player to watch while I rocked Monkey to sleep.

My husband came home shortly after, and I took the opportunity to plant those tomatoes, in peace and quiet.