Today is Green Day!

Green Day! No, not the band. And no, not the new environmental use of the word. We're talking green---the color!

Five of my 6 children returned to school this week, leaving 2-year old Luke feeling completely lost and alone.

So, in an effort to fulfill my promise (to myself, the hardest ones to keep) to spend more time playing with my children, and less time working, I designated this week "Green Week."

After my morning workout, Luke and I returned to our (finally) quiet home, and did those necessary morning chores....wipe the table and counters, load the dishwasher, start a load of laundry, vaccum the living room.

Then, the fun began!

I found a large shopping bag (the kind with handles) and announced to Lukey that we were going on a "Green Hunt!" Then I began singing a slightly altered version of "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" that my older children learned at pre-school, except I sang, "We're going on a green hunt, a green hunt, a green hunt. We're going on a green hunt, to find lots of things that are green!"

He looked at me quizzically, having no idea who this woman was, and and wondering what I had done with his mother.

I grabbed his hand, and we began marching around the house singing this silly song, and finding as many green items as we could place in the bag (I'll admit....I planted a few green toys so that he could easily spot them).

We started in the kitchen, where Lukey found green beans and green peas and green pickle relish and a couple of green drinking glasses. Then we picked a leaf off a plant in the living room. Into the bag went these items. We found a green hair brush and a couple of green tooth brushes in the bathroom.

When we strolled past the laundry room, Lukey spotted a spray bottle of Spray N Wash, and a refill bottle, too!

Then, while walking past his sisters' bedroom, he saw Analisa's big, soft, green blanket! This wouldn't fit in the bag, so I threw it over my shoulder.

Luke's bedroom was a treasure trove of green toys! Green trucks and green toys and a big green bucket!

Our bag was now full, so we marched back to the living room to admire our catch.

I spread out the green blanket, and then Luke one by one (while saying "green!" "green!" "green!") laid out each of the green items we had found.

I took his picture, printed it, and posted it prominently on the refrigerator in the kitchen (where all the important stuff goes).

What fun we had! This afternoon, before nap time, we're planning to read a couple of books. I wonder what I can do with this to make it green.....