Springy Things

It's so springy around here these past few days! It was so warm that the kids had to do a little sprinkler playing! I had to do a second look at the date on this photo file because I think we have identical photos from last summer - same kids, same swim suits, same sprinkler in the same part of the front yard.
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An exciting sign of spring is a lilac plant in bloom! I put this in the new front planter last fall, and am so excited to see it blooming this year! I didn't actually remember what color it was supposed to be. I bought this plant because of its shape - a tree-form, instead of a bushy shrub - and didn't actually pay any attention to the color the label said it would be when it bloomed. It's ... what ... pinky-purply? Mauve? Anyway, it's pretty and smells sweet.










And this is that aforementioned front planter. This is pretty much "it" for the foundation plants in here. I am sure that I'll fill in gaps as time goes by and I see what plants do well, and which don't grow to their stated potential sizes. At the right is a better look at the border plants.


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Here we have the little herb garden that I put in behind the house last year. Its primary purpose is to hold the soil in place up on top of that retaining wall, so I've planted as many spreading, invasive plants as possible: oregano, several kinds of mint, creeping thyme and other spreading things. I'm thrilled with how well things wintered over, considering the absolutely horrible soil (almost pure sand) and our really harsh winter. And, to your right, see another sign of spring: A potted tomato plant on the back deck. Yay!
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Henry and Lily enjoyed the completely perfect weather this afternoon with some bubble-blowing on the deck. Lily figured out that you can get your hands soapy with the bubble solution, catch bubbles, and let small brothers pop them. Fun for everyone!





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And what have we here? Henry staged a raid on the green beans that were still sitting out after lunch.

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He dumped out all the remaining green beans onto the table and went after them with a fork.
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Who ME? I would never dump out all the green beans and eat them straight off the table!



And for the less springy of our photos ... Look at what that lovely baby did to his poor mouth! Oh, my. That was several days ago, and it already looks WORLDS better than this photo. It was sure sad, though. For a couple days after it happened, he would start in on a meal, and then start to fuss and tell me "mouf hurt", and stop eating. Poor little guy :-( But he's better now!







And last is the pathetic way in which these two boys spent the morning. In a bid for the "Bad Parent of the Year Award" I barricaded them into the family room (see that overturned table in the doorway?) and let them watch two full-length children's movies and two 30-minute children's television programs while I laid on the couch behind them wondering if it's possible to die of a headache. I did not die, and I REALLY HOPE that their little brains didn't rot out with that much TV time all at once.