Work Day

Usually when we go to the farm, we adhere to a very complicated schedule of fishing, doing nothing, and eating. But since dad recently had a teensy bit of open heart surgery, we figured we could deviate a bit from this high-pressure routine and attempt to be helpful. This weekend, we rebuilt a road that was washed out in the recent flood, mowed about 8 acres, and tilled the garden. And when I say 'we,' I mostly mean Chris, although Meredith, Mom and I did attempt to be assets to the team.

You know what? It was kind of fun not to be completely lazy.

Meridy and Chris get their marching orders.

Meridy and Chris are having way too much fun.

Meridy and Chris made crop circles. We may not be invited back.

Spring Comes to the Backyard

It's warm, and if you're looking for us, we're outside.


Mer and Walt have officially had their first al fresco lunch of the season (well, the 2nd, really, but the first truly pleasant one). They spent most of it looking at each other under the table. Whatever. Weirdos.


The plants are no longer hanging out inside growing weird fungi and dying. They're in the ground now, and preparing to bring forth their salsa-ready bounty.


Chris' dad did a fabulous job pruning the dogwood and the giant azalea last year, so he deserves to see the fruits/flowers of his labor.


And this is the view if you're lying on the grass.


It's nice to have a glass of wine while gardening. Note dirt on table. Yup. And I tracked it in too.

The Peaches are Okay

I was worried about the peaches. The ones at Jones Orchard outside Memphis, and the ones in Georgia. So sad to lose a whole crop of peaches. Not to mention strawberries. But they're fine, so put your minds at rest. Whew.

Proof.

Special Edition: The Beautiful Weekend

The Lareaus had an exceptionally lovely weekend, and this mondo post will tell the story. It's not so beautiful right now; there's a threat of frost on the horizon, so I've got time to kill while I'm not planting the garden.

FRIDAY EVENING: Kite flying at Overton Park.


Mommy and Mer attempt to keep the kite up.


Chris learns from the Overton Park master of kites.


Now THAT'S a kite (not OUR kite, but still...)

SATURDAY MORNING: Yardwork followed by the fair at Foote Homes. (more pics here).


T goofs, Mer wears her scarf style, and Chris thinks they're both wonderful.


The Stax Music Academy drumline.


Our boys make us so proud. T showed up early to the fair and helped set up the stage. Then he helped pass out food. All of this completely of his own accord. Precious. To the left of T is Crystal, who works with the elementary school kids at Streets, and lets Mer join her class on Tuesday evenings. Meredith has some theories about Crystal hanging the moon.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON: The first Rock 'n Romp of the season. Yea Harmony Brothers!


But Mommy, there could be a run on whistles. I've got to be prepared.


After all, I'm the Pied Piper of the Romp.


And it's GOOD to be the Piper.


The Lord of the Swings.


There's one in every crowd.


Sweet girls.

That idyllic day was followed by dinner with Mamoo and Ninny, church on Sunday, barbecue for lunch, and (just moments from now), long naps. Life is good, and we're grateful for each of these blessings.

Temperamental Spring

Spring comes and goes. We take what we can get. This week we grabbed a walk to the zoo, where Gigi sprung for rides on the carousel. Then we walked home at the speed of snails and enjoyed the dogwoods. It could be worse.

Deflated

We're deflated. There are scenes like this all over town. Memphis is good at singin' the blues, but does it have to continually be a self-fulfilling prophecy? Regardless, it's a sweet and mild spring evening, and the air (literally) smells like barbecue. So we'll be okay.

A Mistake He Won't Soon Make Again

It was a bit of a bummer of a Saturday morning. After about 47 days of rain in a row, Memphis had been promised a beautiful day. Or at least, that's what we wishfully interpreted the weather report to predict. The day dawned sunny and cold and quickly progressed to cloudy and cold. Sure, it cleared up and warmed up a bit later in the day, but by then, our dreams for a day of freckles and gardening had been dashed like so many pebbles at the bottom of Niagara Falls. Ya, I get dramatic when denied warmth. ANYway, it was Saturday morning. The Lareau Three were collectively getting on one another's nerves since we all wanted to be outside. Meredith woke up on the wrong side of the crib. Things were looking bleak. Until Uncle Mamoo showed up.


Silly, naive, sweet Uncle Mamoo. He fell prey to her wily ways. One puzzle she says. Ha. Just come upstairs and do one puzzle with me. About 2 hours later, Matthew had been put down for approximately 13 naps (at least 3 pillows and 5 blankets arranged for each nap), had played in Mer's rock band, and had completed more than one puzzle.

Chris and I were very grateful. The bills got paid, the house got cleaned, and Mer got quality time with her Uncle. Redemption of a Saturday.

And now, bonus pics, just for the fun of it. Chris was on duty at some point this week and decided Mer needed a tatoo to match his. Great.


I don't usually mean to take out of focus pictures, but I quite often enjoy them. Happy Questionable Spring.

2.5

Sugarplum is two and a half. I don't have any particularly profound thoughts for this half-anniversary, so I'll just share some observations.

• Meredith has some SERIOUS vocabulary. Her verbosity is the most exhausting element in my life right now. As a mostly-introvert and a person who has always treasured silence, I find myself veering towards madness sometimes, desperate for a respite. Yesterday morning she was going on and on about parallelograms, for the love of Pete. I'm certainly not complaining, because it's a tremendous blessing to be able to share so much with her. But, oh, the sweet silence of naptime.
• I think I've shared this, but the thing that Meredith is not so great at is spacial relations. That would be my genetic fault. She'll get all ready to do a somersault. Only problem is, she's 6 inches from the wall and facing it. We're working on it.
• When there are thunder storms, as there have been in great abundance this spring, Meredith sleeps with us, with her hands clamped over her ears. She won't move them and sleeps that way for hours. She can also sleep with blankets over her face. I think she has her Aunt Beth's ability to shut out the world in order to sleep well, oxygen be darned.
• When Chris and I have the occasional spirited "discussion," Meredith can be counted on to pipe up from the backseat, the living room, or wherever she may be with a "don't have bad behavior!" Her tone is hilarious...as if she is shocked and surprised and really expected better of us. As she should. I assure you, it gets us into line immediately.
• Mer loves to dance, especially if the music is nice and loud. She often sits on the kitchen counter while I'm making lunch and asks if I would like some "myookit." (We're not correcting her insane pronunciation of this word, cause we love it.) She then carefully selects the cd and starts the myookit, and then sometimes asks me to dance with her. Last night at the Young Avenue Deli, some kind soul played several Chuck Berry songs (the selections are often more, um, raucous.) She and Walt danced their hearts out in doorway of the Deli. We're not certain that's the rep the Deli is going for, but it's been a dull, rainy week in Memphis and we figured some joy needed spreading.
  

So that's some news. Here are some pics. Recently, Meredith was indulging herself in a tear through her drawers. She loves to pull everything out and put together fabulous outfits. So I walked in and she said, "I'm looking for tights so I can be a ballerina." How she knew that tights are part of the ballerina kit is beyond me, but her question reminded me of the wonderful ballerina costume her Marme had sent a few months ago. I thought it might fit and went to get it. How much fun is it to watch a child unwrap something that you know they will find magical? And she did find it magical and we put it on immediately. She was radiant.

Now it's all fine and well for Mom to admire the costume, but what Mer really needed was some appreciation from her Dad. As soon as she had twirled a few times, she ran downstairs to find him. He was outside working in the front yard, and it was a cool day, so for a long time, she just stood at the front door, watching him and willing him to see her.

Finally, it was too much, and she begged to go see him. She flew out the door and down the driveway. As I'm sure you can imagine, he reacted with the appropriate glee. Thanks to Marme for the magic!