Dirt under my nails

A trip to the nursery was inevitable. We’re finally out of frost advisory season and I have empty planters. So, today was the day. Costco had perfectly lovely planters already filled, for $30, which I assured Brandon was a screamin’ deal. Since I dawdled, there were no two planters alike. That would upset my hyper-suburban entry way. We wound up with two ENORMOUS planters. I’m not kidding. I could plant two tomato plants, several heads of cabbage, and three rows of corn in each one. Unfortunately, they were empty.

We went to our favorite landscaping place to fill our cavernous pots. I opened the back of the van to show the flower lady how much space I had. When she gasped, I knew we were in for a big bill. Two wagon loads of flowers later, and a beech tree bought on impulse we drove home with Meredith’s feet propped on top of the planters. She only complained a little. “This van is too smooshy.”

The boys dropped off Meredith and me and headed for Lowes to buy dirt. That always strikes me funny.

We tend to loose track of time when it starts to get dark later. Before I knew it, it was 8:30 p.m., and no one had been bathed or fed. Brandon wanted to grill burgers at 9:00 at night. Since we’re no longer in college, I didn’t think this was the best plan. I bathed the kids and gave them sandwiches before sending them to bed an hour and a half past their bedtimes. I told them I didn’t want to see them until 7:00 a.m., and sure enough they were both staring at me at 7:01.

Today, we’re on a mission to get the house back in order and I’ve assigned duties all around. Have you ever seen the Duggar family on TLC? They are currently expecting number 18. Their children practically run the household and work pro bono for the family’s business. No one ever complains. They just happily help the mom unload 23 cans of pork and beans and 300 rolls of toilet paper when she pulls in from the grocery. Meredith cried for a hour solid when I asked her to put all the Little People into one bin. 18? I can’t handle two.