Before and After

After work today...and please, can we not talk about how distracted and unproductive I felt today? thanks!...I headed out into the yards. It was a beautiful spring day, and I really needed it! I watered, and picked peas and beans from the veggie garden. They didn't get far...I sort of ate half of them before I got back into the house. Those peas? Right off the vine? Oh my.

I watered the flower beds in the front yard. I will never ever get over the first sprouts that poke through after you set bulbs or seeds. Every time, it just slays me. I've been watering and checking those beds daily, and the one that's supposed to turn into a field of ranunculus has steadfastly remained dirt (when it's dry) and mud (when it's wet).

Until yesterday! When I checked it, there were the first signs of life. *heavy sigh* My heart just skips a beat every time. Today, there were nearly two dozen sprouts. I know it's just physics, matter and energy, but it's so magical. Every single time.

When I headed around back, well, I was less enraptured with the miracle of plant life. Here are some weeds. They are roughly the height of Tommy, and they have the approximate density of a Vietnamese rainforest. I've been handpulling back there all this week. I can now see the sandbox and the play house in the kids' area, and yesterday I revealed the stairs going up to the raised patio. I have hope that I will completely clear the rest of the play area and the weeds that surround the pond.


And here is the "after" picture. Haha! I kid. I did clean out the hall/entry closet this evening, and these are the results. I did not have an 'after' of the yard, nor a 'before' of the closet, so here you go, the lazy homemaker's mash-up.

Games and cards are on the top shelf. (I do look forward to the day when my kids can have their own games at their fingertips, but today is not that day. If we don't monitor things, we'll have play money and lost pieces all over the house.) Coats, mittens and scarves are hanging. Wrapping paper on the left, my childhood nightstand on the right, filled with ribbons/bows, tissue paper, gift bags, and tags. A box of handmade cards (thanks dear Cynthia!) underneath, plus a box with scotch tape and scissors. Dare I say it? It's like a gift-wrap station. What will I do with all the time I used to spend, hunting for tape, and yelling at my family for using my sewing scissors to cut paper? The mind just boggles!


Did I not mention my little friend? This little caterpillar was curled up, sleeping. He woke up and played with me for sometime. He was pretty dang cute. Tommy petted him but was resolute in declining my offer to put him in his hand. Scotty would have done it, but he wasn't home. Scotty was one of the few kids at his pre-school who wanted to hold the ladybugs in the field. He also loves to go to the zoo and actually look at the animals, unlike Tommy who complains the whole time until we get to the rides.

Eventually it was time to bid him farewell. I think I'll leave some weeds, just for him. :)