Some days everything just seems to fall into place and you believe there is someone watching out for you. My big Classical Conversations childcare dilemma seems to have come to what looks like not just resolution, but something even better. If it works out, it could be a win-win for everyone. I would be able to relax and do the directing and tutoring I'd need to do, all of my kids would not just be supervised, but would have someone who could help them work their schoolwork and memory work. I get to do something professional that I'd like to do, they get another person's input in their life. I can scarcely believe it might be possible.

Then, and I feel funny talking about it, I hit a major find at Goodwill. There was a Trek 820, a much, much newer model than my old 820, with shocks, very, very little rust, and other than two flat tires, seemingly working parts. It's just the size for Ollie or for me. And I found the elusive desk. Kerry says that it is amazingly ugly, but I think it's just right for the job. It's big enough, but not too big. It has space for the CPU to keep it off the floor, a shelf for the printer (though I will admit, the placement of it may not be optimal for how often I have to photocopy), and it's really not that ugly--it's kind of a natural color, and yes, it's fake wood, but that's okay. It doesn't require a ton of real estate in my tight library/office/sitting area.

Then I bit the bullet and did something that I have been wanting to do since I changed the room in the first place--I moved all of the hate-to-be-moved bookshelves back along one wall. No, it doesn't optimize the furniture placement options for that room, but it just looks better than it did before, and my previous incarnation of that room blocked the french doors that go into the family room. As soon as even one bookcase was moved, I felt my heart all aflutter simply from seeing the blue glow of the TV in the family room peeking through. Not that's it's about the TV--it's really about having sunlight coming from the front windows and heading back into a room with no windows straight to the outside. But I feel a breath of fresh air. Okay, so the room is a total disaster now, and I don't know where I'm putting one small Ikea bookcase and a giant Ikea cube thingy with 16 cubicals, and there's the ugly hutch thing with no doors on the top where we keep our art supplies. But I can send at least one of those things up to Rutledge's room, which also needs an overhaul. That's a job for another blast of energy and another day.

This morning we put together our 4x8 planter box which will house my square foot garden. I had one of my raised beds collapse and kind of disappear (I think two sides are nailed to a tree as a ladder up the trunk...), but my other square foot garden is already planted and I'm excited about the season. I plan to finish putting in my "Mel's Mix" tomorrow morning, and then I can put in a few seeds I have and prepare for my spring/summer vegetables. I'm putting it in a new spot and hoping that I will perhaps get a little sunlight. Our back yard is so very full of trees and shade that it is hard to find more than two hours of sunlight anywhere. This is my last big attempt. My box is cedar, and it looks awesome, and I'm proud of us for having it done in 15 minutes.

Then we went to a friend's house to make mason bee houses, which are basically pieces of wood with 3-4" holes drilled into them to make a hospitable housing zone for these stingerless bees. I plan to put one near each of our raised beds, and hopefully the happy pollinators will show up and keep things reproducing. It was a very fun afternoon, and I hope to spend more time with these new friends because they seem very relaxed and fun. The kids enjoyed jumping on the trampoline, painting people's nails, and catching up with some friends we haven't seen much lately much more than they did making bee homes, but Ollie did a pretty nice job of handling the drill on his own and making his own home.

Unfortunately, I still managed to run myself silly today. Floor estimate made me late for preschool. Back for pickup, figure out a quick lunch, go to bee home making, then to Goodwill, then to ballet, then home for about an hour, then back to pick up Frances and take Rutledge to his dance class, then rush to swim lesson, then rush home for a Go-To-Meeting. At 9:15, the day finally felt like it was mine, and of course I was starving (missed 2 meals in this runaround!), needed to tidy up, needed to check regular email, and the kids wanted to be read to. I'm reading "Carry on, Mr. Bowditch" with the older ones. And I wonder if we'll ever finish "Misty of Chincoteague" with all three. I can't wait for spring break to slow things down!

My painting projects are still very unfinished, which is also making me crazy. The turquoise family room is pretty much a done deal, but I need to get up the outlet covers. And sand one area and repair the drywall, which I'd prefer to have someone professional do because I suck at drywall and this is a very, very prominent location that everyone sees and where imperfections are going to be obvious (of course anything is better than giant holes in the wall and silver corner bead sticking out with globs of plaster in other places. I still maintain that it looks a combination of awesome and weird. With maybe the weird winning out. The "divine white" zone is just plain not done. And it's undone in an ADD kind of way, too--streaks here and there, random rolled zones, some area with paint on every wall, but not a single one completed. So that is a weekend goal. I can't even afford the paint at this point, since I've spent so much on other projects. But again, anything is better than walls with huge greasy stains everywhere, and anything is better than drawings and scribbles.

The good news is, it's spring, it's Easter, and hopefully less will be asked of us in the coming week and we can concentrate on having fun and on getting things in order. That's what spring is all about, right?