I think it's fair to say that Saturday was probably my most productive day I've ever had since having had three children. Cross out probably. It was definitely, without a doubt, the most productive day EVER.
It is amazing what I am able to do with help.
And I need help.
And that is hard for me to admit.
But truthfully, with three children so young, there are days where I really feel "handicapped" - as my friend Katherine puts it, trying to get stuff done with young children in tow is like "walking in cement boots."
Ben's sister Josie was planning to come out for a visit, so I called her up and asked her if she'd be up for helping me with some landscaping projects. She and Boppy arrived at 9:00 a.m. ready to help!
And our gracious neighbors donated some lovely perennials to our project! Ben went over to their house at 9:30 a.m. to dig them up!
Our lovely neighbors gave us some hostas, some irises, and some day lilies to landscape our front beds. I bought some purple pansies, thinking that their color would complement our purple shutters and door quite well.
Jules tried to "help" Auntie Josie, but he kept getting distracted by the many earth worms found in our "soil" (I say "soil" because our "soil" in that spot is really pure sand and required Auntie Josie to literally spend hours prepping it before anything could be planted! - Thank you Auntie Josie!)
I'm really pleased with the end result. I'm going to buy some more black mulch to cover the back of the bed to give it a more uniform look...I bought the scalloped bricks at our local home improvement store for $1.60 a piece. I think it adds a nice finished look to the garden.
As Auntie Josie was gardening, Jules was looking at worms, and I was finishing the cabinets and painting the oil tank, Boppy, Ben & Leo were tending to the burn pile...a yearly Spring ritual which I've learned to steer clear of! (Hence my super-productive day spent in the FRONT yard).
Boppy also brought over his power washer. He is determined to fix my nasty, moldy, couches which sit in my basement causing me much anxiety...I hate those stinkin' couches, and I'm ready to give them away to anyone who will take them...charity won't take them since they're moldy...but I suppose I could love them again if they were clean? So Boppy has taken it upon himself to salvage these once-nice couches...it's an experiment, really...if it doesn't work, well, we'll just burn them or something! Stay tuned!
And really, is there anything Boppy can't do? We are so fortunate to have him close by. And not just because he does things for us - because he's wonderful company. The best, actually. He's the type of guest who you don't mind just dropping by unannounced because he's just so pleasant. It cheers me up when he drops by unexpectedly, and it's comforting to know he's only 5 minutes away. We are really so fortunate. I'm grateful my boys have such a wonderful grandfather whom they get to see so often.
After the fire was done burning and the garden was complete, we showered and got ready for Uncle Charlie's 80th birthday party...I made a quiche...actually, I made TWO quiches to bring!
The party was really fun, and I promise we really went to it...I just forgot to bring my camera!
Since I was feeling so productive, I decided to host an after-party at our house and feed people...
I somehow found the energy to whip up a tortellini antipasto salad, a garden salad, and some garlic encrusted chicken...
2 comments:
Yes, seriously have no idea how you do it, even with that much help. No. Idea.
Katherine, I don't mean to give the impression that this is in anyway easy, or that my children are so well behaved as I do this...quite the contrary...these activities are done in part, to keep my sanity, as the baby screams on my back in the Ergo and as the boys run around the yard...if the baby is going to be whining on my back, I feel as though I might as well do something productive rather than sit around and feel sorry for myself...it has taken me 3 babies to "get this."
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