The Chaotic World of Maggie: Home and Garden Show, Then Super Woman in the Yard

There was a home and garden show happening this weekend down at the fairgrounds. I usually love going because they have a big garage like area and Rubbermaid fills it with all their plastic goodness and discounts the heck out of it! I hadn't been for probably two years because a lot of times, the weather is pure crap. Saturday, it was raining/ hailing/ snowing/ sleeting all day. It was SUPER cold and just nasty. Sunday was 70s and sunny. Perfect day for the home and garden show! We had a lot of fun and I was pleasantly surprised how big it had gotten since the last time we went. L got to plant a sunflower seed and to take a marigold home with us. He also got a balloon which he, oops, let go of and screamed for 15 minutes straight about, even after my mom got him a new one. I know it sounds like I am meanie mom, but it really was all quite funny. Aside from the balloon meltdown, we had a really nice morning!

Yesterday was SO beautiful. I really couldn't let this wonderful day go by without getting some yard work done. And A had plenty to do outside as well. While L and A were in the house sleeping, I went out and started the area in front of our deck. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have never weeded this area the whole six years I've lived here. Well, at least not completely weeded it. Climbing the wall and through the lilac bushes up there does not make the task easy. While I was working on that, A and L did eventually come outside. A started trimming our bushes and small trees at the front of the house. When I finished the bed in front of the deck, I had this idea I was going to go inside and start dinner (I really only should be weeding and such for an hour/ hour and a half with my dang shoulder). I went out front and saw how much there was to do, so I started picking up sticks (A thinks it's not big thing to mow over these HUGE sticks in our yard and it drives me nuts!) The front flower bed hadn't been raked in years and the leaves were so thick, when I finally got to the dirt it was a nice, rich dark brown. I got about 3/4 of the raking part done and I started to edge the flower bed a little as well. Then came my least favorite part of yard work....cleaning up all the piles of stuff I just pulled out! Ew! We worked till at least 8pm. I felt really bad for L because he kept begging us to go on a walk with him, so finally I caved and he drove his little 4wheeler while I walked a ways down the road. Here are some pic (I wish I wouldn't have been too embarrassed to take before pictures, just assume it was REALLY bad...because it was!):

Here is all of my plants I've started indoors, I have added some since the last time I took pictures!

All the stuff we collected in trash bags, there was another pile that was just as big if not bigger, but I figured no one was super interested in seeing bags and bags of trash.

Here are the bushes A whacked off....yikes! I hate to say that they are better than they were, but sadly, they are!

This is what L considers "walking". I finally succumbed to his insistent begging to go for a walk and found out quickly, a walk to him was completely different what a walk to me is! Hahahaha!