Spring is certainly taking its sweet time. We have decided to make the best of it by getting our little herb garden/greenhouse in order. We have a couple of terrariums that the kids have been waiting to put together, and that motivated us to make the whole greenhouse terrarium-like. We went to Michael's and bought two bags of moss and then raided the plastic animal bin...
Here are the terrariums...
So these succulents. It was actually pretty funny. When we were at the flower show in Philadelphia I got cornered by these two chipper college students: "Hey, do you want to see some hens and chicks?" they asked. "Do I ever!" I replied and literally ran (bobbing and weaving around people with my arms pinned to my side to make my running less obtrusive, but definitely more awkward) to go and grab The Boy. With him in tow I presented us to the young women while saying to The Boy something like: woo hoo hoo... just wait and see... rubbing my hands together and grinning like Barney Fife. Now. I'm not sure why I thought real hens and chicks would be at a flower show. Obviously looking back at it I should have known that it was a term for a plant... The large ones are the "hens" and the little ones that grow up around the larger ones are the "chicks." I will say that The Boy was a good sport and got properly excited about the succulents. We bought a couple of tubs, and it's a good thing they only need to be watered periodically because they've been sitting under our piano almost forgotten for the past couple of weeks. They now have a proper home with little plastic animals residents.
The Girl's terrarium has little bunnies.
The Boy got rather irritated with the process of getting things in place only to have something get shifted and have to start over. Eventually he decided to chuck in some rocks and tiny plastic mushrooms on top of his pile of moss, and he declared that it was the ruins of an estate.
But why stop there? Once they got the planting portion of the project done, the spawn were kind of on a high and declared the entire small area in front of the window a Natural History Museum. The hermit crab got relocated, a left-over plastic planet that had been orbiting their room for the past couple of years got strung up, some antlers got pulled out, and posters that were purchased at New York Central Art Supply (for like $3, I think) were taped to the wall. I know that some people thrive in minimalist, clean, open spaces. I think that my kids are more rodent-like. The idea of an empty surface or a bare wall is scandalous.
Today was sleety and windy and gross. Our friend -- the Cookie Queen -- came out in the weather for the kids' second cookie baking session. Again, I am so glad to have friends. She was so cute with them -- finding their antics silly and okay (rather than obnoxious and inefficient). I need examples like her in order to recalibrate myself. Some bunnies were made, as well as ghosts (with green ectoplasm, and the Ghost Busters anti sign made out of red crystal sugar).
While Judd the Red Chicken was at a Math class late this afternoon, The Girl and I made a Spring garland with doilies that we punched out ourselves with our beautiful doily-maker.
Woodland habitats, germinating seeds, Easter cookies, Spring decorations... We have done all that we can. Spring must come...
My ego certainly can't take staying inside and playing boardgames for too much longer. The Girl beat me so squarely in Monopoly today that it was shameful. After two hours the writing on the wall was clear enough that my seven-year old was like: here, just take these hundred-dollar bills. I explained that I might have had to sell all my properties back to the bank, but I still had my pride... "Then stop saying, 'I used to own this...' when you go past your old properties, it's making me feel bad." Apparently my attempts at humor were coming off as pathetic. That's what this winter has done to me.
