I have decided to delegate tasks to each family member this weekend so that we actually get stuff done. Every weekend we go through the same routine, everyone argues over not wanting to do chores and then no one ends up doing anything. I have created a schedule this week, Ryan and I will clear the leaves and do all the gardening tasks and the kids have to do the laundry and clean their dishes. We are going to the gardening centre on Friday evening to choose some new sonatini hippeastrums. Last time I put the kids on gardening duty they absolutely annihilated the yard. There was soil everywhere, no plants had been planted and they had taken pruning to a real extreme.

So this time I am assigning them indoor tasks only and I will be closely supervising. I do not want to have to redo the garden after they have had their fun messing it up for four hours. We just ordered some beautiful scarlet runners online and I do not want them chopping it all up as a practical joke. I hope the scarlet runner will spread all over the ground surrounding the patio covering up what is currently a brown mush. This garden has a lot of potential if it’s shown a bit of love and care.  I figure by the time I get the gardening done the kids should have really done all our laundry to the point that I expect it to be folded up on the appropriate beds. I am going to ban them from the garden if they even attempt any of their old tricks, they have ruined too many of my new flowers in the past to be trusted. I love them dearly but they are little terrors. I’m confident that the gladioli will thrive, even if I have to water them everyday to keep them alive in the yard.