Sirens, Thunder and Hail

We’ve lived here in Midwestville (aka Tornado Alley) for almost a year and last night we experienced our first tornado-worthy storm.

I’d just gotten home from grocery shopping for the week, we were sitting town to watch a Tivo’d version of “The ‘Burbs’ “ with a cup of tea and a treat from the store, when the National Weather Service cut into Tivo. Initially, Hubster said “Oh, this must have been taped the other night when we had some really bad wind” and then we saw that it was “today” (as in yesterday because that’s when we were watching tv). And then we realized that we could hear the tornado sirens. (They test these every Friday at 11 am, so we know what they sound like).

We both stared at each other in a bit of shock and felt a flash of panic. We changed the channel to the news to see what was going on. All we could see was a band of RED headed right for us. We were warned of severe rain, thunder/lightning and hail with the possibility of a tornado.

We zipped outside to the deck tp take down the pergola cover and brought in any of the light furniture. As an afterthought, I grabbed a big pot of deep purple million bell petunias that I had out there. We both commented said how good it was that Tivo (ah, Tivo, can you do anything wrong?) could be interrupted for things like National Weather Service Announcements, and then we both noticed that we’d never actually experienced more than a test of those announcements before.

Then we came in to wait out the storm.

It only took about 5 minutes before the storm really hit us. We agreed that the safest room for us was our main floor bathroom. Hubster watched the storm advance from our bathroom window upstairs, until we could see the hail.

The wind picked up pretty strongly, and the hail sounded like a million hammers on all the walls and windows. To be extra careful, we brought the girls, who were sleeping, down into the bathroom.

They were a bit confused and then Mouse was upset and scared, but we just described what was happening and why (and then kicked our butts a bit for not talking about this SOONER!) . We listened to the hail and the update on the storm from the tv in the family room and watched the lightning light up the hallway through the front door. We noted that we should leave a flashlight in that bathroom.

And then it was done. It passed through, in about 10 minutes. The hail really only lasted a about 5 minutes.

When the hail was done, we went and looked out the windows to check it out. My stomach sank as I saw the carnage the hail had reaped on my front garden. The back seemed to be ok, I think because most of it is close to the house and the wind seemed to be hitting the front of the house. There were piles of hail, like marbles, at the ends of the drain pipes.

However, out front, the hostas are shredded, the impatiens pummeled, the begonias are battered and I don’t know if the cascading petunias by the door will make it. I walked out on the lawn to just look around, and my feet were numb after about 30 seconds because of the hail. Sigh. However, they’re plants, and I’m grateful that so far it seems like those are the only things that got damaged for us. And I’m very grateful that in the end, we did not get hit with a tornado.

The Garden Before - Perking along nicely:

The Hail:

The Aftermath:

The girls were a bit worked up, so we just let them sit with us for a while and I rocked Baboo back to sleep while we watched the news a bit more to see if we were in for more storms and Hubster surfed for weather radios. We were both a bit concerned because we could barely hear the tornado siren last night. We live near a fire station and train tracks, so we’re used to a lot LOUDER noise at night and would probably not even notice if the siren went off at night, and although we do know that’s rare, it does happen.

Apparently, there wasn’t TOO much damage in our area and most people came out ok. I think there was a small twister a north of us, but other than that, it was most just heavy rain and hail. Some areas got golf ball sized hail and while ours SOUNDED like basketballs when it was hitting the house, it was really mostly pea/dime sized.

When I was finishing up the groceries/errands last night, before the storm, I noticed that each time I came out of a store the sky was looking more ominous. When I was walking into Kohls, the last store, as I looked at the clouds, I wondered if this could be a tornado storm. A woman walking in front of me said “Wow! Looks like we’re in for a whopper of a storm.”

So, today we’ll survey the damage and likely take some time to vamp up our disaster preparedness and discuss plans a bit more. I do have some extra water/food put away in the garage, but we both would like to be better prepared and to have the girls be better prepared as well.

I know I’m sounding a bit dramatic (who? Me?) and really, I do know that we’re ok and knew we’d be ok last night. Neither of us have ever lived in a place where such damaging weather related disasters could happen on a regular basis. We’re used to 6ft of snow for 6 months, and ice and arctic temperatures, but tornados? Hmm, not so much. And when we lived in Eastcoastville, we were far enough inland that hurricanes weren’t really a problem, either.

Though, now that I think of it, I do remember experiencing a tornado before! I was about 8. We were at my grandparent’s house in the spring. (I think they had just come back from Florida before we moved North, is that right, Mum?) A bit storm came up and I remember watching a small tornado whip down the street, while standing by the front door. It ripped out the neighbors’ tree, across the street and made a huge mess. Weird. I hadn’t thought about that in a long time.

Anyway, we’re fine. And thankfully, most of the people around us are as well.

Summer Daze...

We’ve officially had ONE, yes, ONE day of summer break and it was enough to make me realize that my dream of a relaxing, laid back summer was probably going to be out of the question.

These girls want STRUCTURE and PLAYDATES and THINGS TO DO. And they can’t entertain themselves for more than 4.3 minutes without requiring me for something, so um, yeah. I’m back to the drawing board and scrambling a to fill the month of June in a bit more. So this week, will be our chaos week while I get my ducks in a row, and, it looks like next week will be a bit hectic also because we have a bunch of things going on. I hope it's a week with a bit more structure. I hope.

And it will mean I need to get my head out of my butt and off of the computer and get to work. Is it wrong to schedule spontaneous things? Probably, but well... a Mom's gotta do what a Mom's gotta do.

But first… more COFFEE! Oy.

Mouse Turns 5 - The Summary

I’m a bit behind. Again. I’ve been trying to get the BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA roundup posted, but I have just not had the time to sit down and get it organized. Or pee. Or well, anything other than just run around like a chicken with my head cut off.

However, here I am with a potentially rainy day ahead of me. Not much of a voice to talk with (I got the girls’ cold, yay me) and a tv FULL of shows to entertain the girls for a little while so I can catch up on my “computer” life.

So, Mouse, my first baby …is 5. She’s officially crossed over from little kid to big kid and overnight, it feels exactly like that. All of a sudden, she just seems so, well, BIG. This has been a year of important milestones. This year she:
Started school for the first time (and thrived there!)
Got her first 2 wheeler bike (with training wheels)
Learned how to skip and did so with joyful abandon at every possible opportunity
Learned how to get on by herself and pump on the swings
Got her first Barbie doll, though she seems to prefer the dolphins that came with it more
Learned how to read all the kids names in her class as well as a bunch of other words
Learned how to zip and button
Grew 2 inches and finally moved up a size in clothing
Moved to a new state
Swam in the ocean
Opened the fridge by herself

On Thursday, Hubster’s parents and his 2nd cousin, M, arrived to surprise Mouse and she was certainly surprised!

On Friday, Mouse woke up early, excited to get her birth-DAY started. We let her open up her gifts from family and close friends and she enjoyed each and every gift. Then we headed off to school for her last day. The kids were a bit out of sorts that day, knowing it was the last day. Mouse was VERY popular and everyone wanted to sit beside and play with the “Birthday Girl”. We brought mini ice cream cones to share for a special snack, which we had outside

Mouse was a bit sad leaving and saying goodbye to her teacher and classroom. Even I cried a bit because I was just so grateful to have had such a wonderful year. Before we left the school, we went and looked around what will be her kindergarten classroom in the fall. I decided it was best to let her process that information over the summer to help us be better prepared come September.

Saturday dawned bright and early. A little TOO bright and early for me, after a bit of a late night doing party prep, as Mouse got me up at 6:30. She was just so excited for her party! However, it was good as I got a head start on finishing things up. Mouse wanted to have a tea party theme for her birthday, so we pulled out the china tea cups and pots – yup, the real ones, and we made cookie cutter cut out sandwiches, fruit kabobs and mixed up the “pink lemonade tea” to be served in the cups.

We decorated our new pergola on the deck, filled the water table with bubble solution, set up some fruit loop necklace and a flower tea party hat crafts and put out the enormous pepto-bismal pink piñata that Mouse and I made. We were set.

The girls arrived in their tea party best. Mouse was decked out head to toe in polyester Snow White dress up clothes, including gloves, cape, shoes and tiara. They played, they crafted and they sweated and slathered on sunscreen. The temperature started to climb near 90 F.

We moved lunch up a bit and we all gulped down lemonade in real tea cups with not a single cup being sacrificed, whacked the piñata and headed inside for pinkalicious strawberry cupcakes, gifts and block creations with sugar cubes.

And I barely had to clean up at all as my slaves, I mean my mother in law and Hubster’s cousin had everything washed, dried, swept and put away before I could blink. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

After everyone left, and Mouse had played with some of her new things, us “girls” went for a walk, and on said walk, we noticed that our neighbourhood pool was open for the first time. So after much begging from Mouse (and cousin M – hehe) we went. The water was warm but refreshing at the same time. She was nervous getting in, but once she learned that she was TALL enough to touch the bottom, she was giddy with independence! Mouse splashed, giggled, played and swam without any floaties; by herself, underwater and on her back! She surprised even herself, I think.

When I tucked a very tired Mouse into bed on Saturday, she told me that she had just had the very bestest, most wonderful day of her whole life and that being 5 was going to be GREAT.

Happy 5th Birthday, Mouse. I hope 5 is your best year yet!

Transition Phase

It’s been a long 2 weeks here. Last week, both girls were sick with the stomach bug. ALLLL week. We had a very brief respite over the weekend before we had 103 fevers and coughs arrive this week. Throw in 3 visits to the clinic and a “well visit” with the doctor (ha!) that includes a referral to a growth specialist for our teeny girl and we’ve seen more than our fair share of medical staff lately.

We’re dosed in antibiotics, fluids, and prednisone. The house has been disinfected from top to bottom. And my mother would be proud, I even did the most hated of all jobs – I cleaned the blinds. It’s done and I still hate it.

It’s been an off two weeks for us and Mouse has missed almost all of the last 2 weeks of school. She is a girl who needs time to process and a girl who needs closure. Unfortunately, all of that has been cut short. Tomorrow is her last day of school and fortunately, she will be well enough to go. She will get the chance to say good bye to her teacher and class mates, though I suspect that though she might be ok, next week will bring fall out.

Tomorrow, is also Mouse’s birthday. My first baby will be 5. Officially a big kid. We’re all having mixed feelings about it.

We’ve had a few nights of tears with our little Mouse. On top of being sick and tired and tired of being sick, she’s transitioning in so many ways right now and it’s overwhelming her. She’s finishing her first year of school and is already grieving what “was”. She’s already missing her friends, her teacher and her routine. She’s about to have a big birthday.

Tonight she sobbed when I said “I need to kiss you for the last time that you are 4!”. She said she was going to miss being 4. She wants to be 5, and have the party and the fun but will miss all that being 4 brought. She sobbed “I don’t want to change – I don’t know what’s going to happen”. And I held her and tried not to cry too.

I sooo understand this. I know this exact feeling. I felt it every year as a kid. I would feel like I just started to “get” being whatever age I was and then I’d change. I remember crying on my first day of grade 6, just overwhelmed at the thought of “growing up”. I didn’t feel ready for that, but it came anyway. And for the most part things turned out ok. And I told her this.

She worried tonight about missing me if I went away or died. And we talked about that too. It’s like she’s suddenly 5 and can see her whole life in front of her and it’s always changing, always a bit unstable. And that scares her a bit.


I feel like my role as a mother is changing for her. No longer does she need all of the intensive hands on intervention that Baboo at 2 needs. I give her more space, encourage her independence , push her a little farther out of the nest while shouting “Fly! Fly!”. But it’s hard. A part of me wants to keep her my little baby and never let her go and a part of her wants to stay there too.


So tomorrow, Mouse will be 5. She will celebrate her big day pretty quietly with just us and Hubster’s folks came in to surprise her today. We’ll finish up our school year and get ready for her party on Saturday – a tea party gala with princess-y overtones. It should be fun . She’s excited and I hope it’s a fun way to break into being 5.

And then, next week, we’ll probably have some fall out as we all come crashing back to earth and recover from the crazy last few weeks. I foresee a lot of quiet time, cuddles and one on one. And I’ve cleared my schedule and my mind to do exactly that. I think we’re all going to need it.

BRATS

I’ve got 2 BRATS. Ha. I’m kidding (most of the time).

Yes, this is another post about poop and puke because we’ve still got it going on. Sporadically, but continuing. It’s been a week now. I’m exhausted. Hubster is exhausted. The girls are exhausted. In fact, Mouse, who I dragged to bed for a “rest” kicking and SCREAMING “I’m NOT tired!” is CRASHED. Down for the count. It took all of 4 minutes for her to fall asleep.

After another particularly bad run last night with Mouse that involved 4 showers in the space of 2 hours, I took her to the doctor today. Of course, she seemed fine when we were there. Perky, silly, snacking hungrily on crackers (her first food since LUNCH yesterday) – typical 5 year old. And her sidekick, a very LOUD obnoxious little sister who kept screaming “I HAS A SMELLY BUTT CWACK” when I tried to talk to the doctor, and bouncing off the walls after being cooped up for 2.5 hours in a small waiting room. Not that I blame her, and she did smell (remnants of the last few days, I think) –but geez! I couldn’t THINK in there. I think I sounded like a moron.

After a short examination and raised eyebrows from the nurses and doctor that smacked of “hypochondriatic mother” as they witnessed my rambunctious, healthy-appearing children and listened to my sweet, lovely 5 year old saying “I feel just fine! My tummy doesn’t hurt”, we were given a stool collection seat, a handful of gloves and papers about the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast). Both girls were laughing and running out of the office with their chosen treasure chest items and charming all the nurses and staff with their cheerful cuteness, until… we got to the car. And then Mouse just melted. She was visibly exhausted almost as soon as she got into her seat.

I wanted to run back in and say “See?! SEEE!!??? She really IS sick!!”. But I didn’t, because 3 hours in there was MORE than enough for me.

So we’re carrying on with our orders for both kids because they seem to be passing it to one another, and Baboo has also had some issues, albeit to a lesser degree. We're to eliminate all dairy, feed the kids any kind of low fiber carbohydrate they want (I think I’m going to need to go to the store for this) and just take it easy for a few days. Of course, the minute they came home they wanted CANDY! And MILK! And JUICE ! And YOGURT! (no yogurt until Sunday)

Oy. It could be a long weekend.

Anyway, I’m off to get disinfecting and sorting and cleaning – once I summon the strength to get my ass out of the chair. Maybe another Premium Mocha M&M will help me. Ha.

Butterflies

Mouse has been talking about butterflies the last few weeks; learning about butterflies at school, making butterfly crafts and pictures (toilet paper tube – glitterized – as a chrysalis, coffee filter butterfly stuffed inside), and chasing them in the back yard with nets (to be released immediately).

At school, Mouse’s class has been watching some butterflies hatch from their chrysalises. Every day when we’re on our way to school, she wonders how many will have hatched, how many are left to hatch etc. Their little butterfly cage is the first place she runs to when she gets to class.

In the backyard, she waits so patiently for them to fly by, hoping they’ll be in our yard, or close enough to justify crossing onto the neighbour’s side. She keeps her net at the ready and has learned to hold still and wait for them to come to her.

She’s marveled at the butterfly exhibit at our local zoo – we all did. What beautiful creatures.

We’re heading into the last few DAYS of school. Mouse’s first YEAR of school is almost over and yet it seems as though it’s just started. It’s been a very busy and wonderful year for us. Truly, this school has been a true blessing in our lives. We’ve found a safe haven, awesome friends, an educational model we believe in and get to be a party of, and here I’ve watched Mouse blossom. Despite being the tiniest in her class by about 4 inches, she walked into that room completely uninhibited, but not pompous. She made friends immediately. She plays with anyone and everyone. She’s kind, fair, smart, independent, competent, strong, a good listener and working at cleaning up.

We recently received our last newsletter for the school year, and it wasn’t until it arrived in my inbox that I realized how close to the end of the year we are; and how much things will change for next year. My heart hurt a little bit thinking of how much I will miss this regular contact over the summer. The end of this year starts a new phase for us; a change, an emergence.

I read the farewell letter from our wonderful president, the various thank you notes to all the people who have worked so hard this year, but when I read what Mouse’s teacher wrote about her, I cried. She captured her so perfectly. Here was a woman who knew my daughter well. And our time with her was ending. I feel grateful for Mouse that she had this teacher as her first exposure to school, and so sad that our time with her is ending.

Like the butterflies in her classroom, Mouse and her classmates seem to be doing the same. Emerging from their chrysalises; changing into fascinating creatures before our eyes. They’ve grown and matured, especially in these last few weeks. They’re all moving beyond being “little kids” and it’s incredible to watch.

I’m witnessing Mouse come out of her beautiful chrysalis, and she’s so stunningly amazing that she takes my breath away. Her face is losing what was left of her little girl cheeks, her legs are stretching; she’s showing more maturity and responsibility.

The reality of this change leaves me feeling winded. I’m so proud of her and at the same time, so sad to see the baby years gone. Really gone. I know that this summer will be the last summer when we have free days to ourselves; our already busy life is going to get busier but in a different way. It’s good, but its change and all those years that seemed like they would last forever are ending.

And again, Mouse’s teacher; a wonderful woman shared this quote with us:
“With young children the days are long and the years are short.”

A truer statement, I cannot find right now.

I’m excited for next year – Kindergarten for Mouse and preschool for Baboo. But I’m struggling with processing the transition. I’ve got quietly high hopes for this summer – enjoying our days together, exploring, relaxing, playing, and visiting with friends/family. I hope that it can be the chrysalis I want it to be, a safe cocoon for us to grow and change in; to give us time to emerge as butterflies ready for the next phase in the fall.

This is What You Do...

When it’s raining cats and dogs, everyone’s way over tired because you’ve been up all night with sick kids - - AGAIN and going a bit squirrely from too much tv and too much time indoors…

I think MY stubby little toes will need a bit of touch up (Mouse did my nails) before I don any sandals, but it sure perked us all up.

Happy Mother's Day with a Side of Jello

It’s 1:45 am. Yes, A.M. We’re ALL awake. Both girls have caught some kind of stomach bug and well, we’re just waiting for it to hit Hubster and I. I don’t know if I’m just feeling a bit ill from the smell/clean up or actually getting sick. It doesn’t matter, it sucks.

So, um yeah. This is the one time where I can say I’m glad Nick Jr plays all night, though I’ve certainly had my fill of preschool cartoons. I’m not quite fluent in Chinese or Spanish courtesy of Kai-lan or Dora, but I imagine I could be soon.

It’s not too often I can say I made Jell-O at 1 in the morning. In fact, I can say until today, I’ve never made it at this time of the day, but having had a bug similar to this rip though our house a few years ago, I kind of know what to expect.

I’ve done 2 extra loads of wash tonight, on top of the 4 I already did today. The girls are outfitted with appropriately sized bowls for their heads and Hubster has already booked the day tomorrow because even if he doesn’t get sick, going to work on about 2 hours sleep isn’t going to do anyone any favours.

And I’ll tell you now, it’ll be a llloooonnnnggg time before I eat hotdogs. A very long time.

Not really the best end to what has been a very nice Mother’s Day weekend. And we really did have a nice time. Friday, Mouse’s school had a “Mother’s Day Tea” which consisted of milk, water, chocolate chip muffins (which the kids made) and fruit salad. They sang us a little song (which made every single Mom cry) and then brought us our snacks, little potted flower in hand painted pots and handmade cards. All while we sat on preschool sized chairs with our knees by our shoulders. And I wouldn’t trade a minute.

Saturday I got to go and do some shopping – and despite shopping for bras (I actually went to VC, more later), pants and a bathing suit, I still came home with my very fragile self esteem mostly in-tact as well as some clothes for this summer. Yesterday (Sunday), I did get to sleep in until 7:22, though I was actually awake by then. Then I sneezed and that was the catalyst for the onslaught. I’m kidding. The girls came in with hugs and kisses and Happy Mufver’s Day’s. Priceless. And pretty handmade cards, and gardening gloves and an iTunes card.

Then Mouse suggested that if we got dressed RIGHT NOW, IHOP wouldn’t be busy and we could go out for breakfast. One smart cookie, let me tell ya. So, we did. We got dressed and left the house by 8 and had a perfectly lovely breakfast, with a free carnation and we smiled and said “Happy Mother’s Day” to the other Mom’s in the restaurant.

We ran a few errands then spent the rest of the day finishing up the yard and just hanging out outside. The planting is done, things are put away and it looks really nice. It was a very productive day, not exactly the relaxing time that the stereotypical Mother’s Day is supposed to be, but it was still a great day.

I remember when I was still pregnant with Mouse, and hugely so as I was in my last 2 weeks, I was out for a walk on Mother’s day when someone drove by in a car and yelled something at me that, at first, I didn’t fully hear. I thought it was something mean, but after my brain unscrambled it, I realized that someone had called out “Happy Mother’s Day” to me as they drove by. I was so surprised, initially because someone had said something kind, but then I was floored by the reality that I would soon be joining that group called “MOTHERS”. It all seemed so huge and overwhelming.

I also remember my Hubster and I picking up his daughter one Mother’s day, years and years ago, to take her to lunch with Hubster’s Mom. When she got in the car, she gave me a flower. Truly confused, I asked “What is this for?”. And she just laughed and said “Because you’re my step-Mother, silly! Happy Mother’s day!”. Talk about a humbling moment of reality. I think that was the first time I really thought of myself as a “parent” to her.

I know a lot of really wonderful Mothers’, my own and Hubsters’ Mom included. I’ve officially been a Mother for almost 5 years now and I know there is no way I could have done it on my own. I truly appreciate all that I learn through the other Mom’s I meet. I think of us all being an endless resource to each other. Thank you for all you do and all you share.

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s day.

*Update: Mouse had a really bad night with us almost going to the ER in case of dehydration first thing this morning, but she’s come around and is holding down some liquid, Jell-O and crackers. Baboo has fared pretty well, and despite throwing up in the car on the way back from Walmart this morning for an emergency run for Pedialyte, is back to her normal perky self. Hubster and I have only had about 3 hours sleep so we’re dragging around today and hoping for naps all around later today. Fortunately we have managed to avoid any sickness. So far. (crossing all bendy parts)

No, Really. I'm NOT Dead!

Hey, guess what!? I’m not really dead… I’m only MOSTLY dead.
Just kidding.

I know I’ve been MIA for over a week - ok, ok, 2 weeks. But well, since so few people read here and most know that I was busy, I’m not worrying too much. You know where I was. You know I was slogging around in the mud and RAIN when my folks were here last week. We were working on our gardens, which around here, is also known as mud slinging because it rained pretty much all week. Nasty.

And we’ve been working on the first stages of our “backyard oasis” which involves a pergola and a clothesline. It seems like a bizarre combination, but it makes me happy. We got to do our pergola in gusty wind. Now THAT was fuu-unn.

And you also know that I’ve been up to my eyeballs in just STUFF - kids, school, clutter, playdates, committees, meetings. And if you didn’t know that, well, now you do.

However, the focus these past 2 weeks has been the garden. I had a garden in Eastcoatsville. My whole front yard, which was about the size of a postage stamp, was a garden (and that's allll the yard we had), and my folks also helped me with that garden as well. It was fabulous before we moved. It was all I could do not to dig up some of my favourites and bring them with me across 3 states. I still mourn my hydrangea. I loved that plant.

However, despite having, what by comparison seems like a football field of yard, we got a great start on the new garden and I’m excited to see how things fill in this year. I bought a NEW hydrangea, and am attempting clematis again. I hope I don’t kill it. We built some garden boxes in the back and have a fun kids garden and my herb garden. Finally!

And I definitely need to say a HUGE thank you to my parents who went above and beyond AGAIN for me. They built the boxes, painted, helped me to decide on plants, shared their "planty" wisdom, carried soil, slogged endlessly in the clay/mud/rain, dug through rampant hostas, clay and 9 thousand layers of landscape cloth, hauled all manner of crap to our back yard. And held up pergola posts in gale force winds. And watched the kids and did the dishes. And did not freak out when I had one of my over tired, guilt ridden break downs when I kind of freaked out about asking/needing so much help.

Thank you a thousand times for everything you do for me/us.

What I’ve Learned This Year:

* I love hostas. Love them. Despite the fact that they grow like weeds, I love them. My front garden was totally hostas. I loved them, but well, I needed more variety. I couldn’t BEAR to part with any of them, so after we dug them up, we planted them all over the yard.

* I also am aware that I’ve just spread my slug problem all over the yard, as slugs seem to love hostas almost as much as I do. Except, um, I don't really want to eat them.

* The nasty, twiggy shrubs by my front windows were azaleas. Never would have guessed. They were being choked out by the periwinkle. So, we dug those up too, twigs sprouting a few sad, pink flowers and leaves and move them too. I’m willing to give them a second chance.

* The other twiggy type shrub by the garage is a beautiful lilac! I was so going to dig that sucker up and toss it because last year it was just nasty, but well, every time I walk out my front door I get wafts of lilac scent and I just can’t bear to get rid of it. It’s just too pretty. It's redeemed itself, so, it gets to stay.

* As a result of digging things up, I got a whole side garden from the leftover lilies, hostas and azaleas. Whohoo.

* Most of our yard, under the grass is clay.

* In general, sod is heavy, but even heavier when covered in clay.

* Wet clay stuck to your shoes (and pants/hands/hair) makes you feel like Frankenstein.

* Wet clay is really, really hard to get off.

* Kids covered in wet clay who then roll in sand are almost impossible to get clean without scraping off a layer of skin.

Anyway, I’m attempting to get back into the groove here, or maybe I’m attempting to FIND a groove as I can’t ever seem to get into one. I feel like I keep popping my head outside to check in on all my little plants in between all that other every day life stuff.

But stay tuned for: the Mother's Day recap, shopping for shirts when you're short waisted during a long shirt trend, Mouse - the birthday prep, and the end of the school year wind down.

I know, you can hardly wait, right? Oh yeah. (bwahahaha!)