The Secret Garden

My tulips are done blooming but I thought I'd share some pictures anyway because tulips are my FAVORITE flower. They always have been...

I grew up across the street from a heavily wooded lot. We called it "the woods." Next door was a big empty field and down the road was the boat lot, where all the houses in the neighborhood (that didn't have lakeshore of their own) had a small plot of property on a lagoon to build a dock for lake access. We went fishing at the boat lot, played baseball in the field, and spent endless hours in the woods, building forts and exploring.

It was on one of those exploring adventures that I discovered the tulips. Big, bright red ones, almost as tall as I was, growing right at the edge of the woods. The dappled sun shining through the trees lit up the scarlet petals in a magical way. My sisters and I often brought home wildflowers we found in the woods (violets, dutchman's breeches, bloodroot), so when I discovered the tulips, I picked one for my mom.

I was proudly tromping out of the woods clutching my perfect flower when I heard a voice from above. It was my friend's mom looking out her second story kitchen window, who happened to see me and called down "You shouldn't be picking Mrs. H's flowers!" I stopped in my tracks. The tulips were growing at the edge of the woods...right behind Mr. & Mrs. H's house. Was that actually her garden? I took off running! I considered dropping the flower (and proof of any wrong-doing) along the way but it was too perfect. Too beautiful. Its scent was intoxicating. It was my apple.

As planned, I brought the tulip home and gave it to my mom, although now knowing it was stolen goods, instead of proudly presenting it to her as I'd imagined, I timidly handed it over mumbling "This is for you." She made the big fuss that moms usually do, saying "thank you" and commenting on how pretty it was. Then she asked me where I found it.

I couldn't tell her I found it in the woods because then she'd figure out it came from Mrs. H's garden. I fumbled for an answer. Where could I pick flowers that didn't belong to anyone if not the woods? "The field," I told her and left the room.

I'd never in my life seen a tulip in the field, and neither had my mom, but she believed me nonetheless. Apparently, she just figured it came from an old abandoned garden out there. No one would miss it. She stuck it in a vase and put it on the windowsill.

Later that day (or maybe it was the next day), my friend's mom called. I doubt she was trying to get me in trouble, but my mom was always on the phone with her so the truth was bound to come out sooner or later. After she got off the phone, my mom asked me to tell her where I really found the tulip and I confessed that it came from Mrs. H's garden. I honestly thought that I had found a patch of tulips growing wild in the woods (I was only 5 years old - how was I to know tulips weren't wildflowers?), but I didn't tell my mom that. Luckily I only picked one. (Lord knows these days I would have come home with an armload!) At any rate, my mom told me we'd have to apologize to Mrs. H for picking one of her flowers. We walked across the street, the pilfered flower drooping from my hand, and rang her doorbell.

Now Mrs. H and her husband were one of the few elderly couples in our neighborhood. All of the older couples were very nice to us kids and this time was no exception. As I stared at my feet, she patiently listened to my apology, then sweetly told me she was happy to know someone else appreciated her garden, and sent me home smiling, with the treasured tulip nestled against my chest.

As the years went by, I often wondered about that secret garden at the edge of the woods. It turned out I never saw her lovely patch of red tulips again. They only bloom for a few days, so I had to be in just the right place at the right time to find them that first time. It made me wonder why anyone would plant a garden in the very back corner of their yard where no one could see it.

When we bought our house, I made sure to plant some tulips that first fall. Unfortunately, I planted them in the sun on the south side where they bloomed occasionally but never thrived. It took me a few years to realize that the flower bed under our front window gets plenty of sun in the spring before the trees start to leaf out. So last fall I bought a few bags of tulip bulbs, along with some daffodils and alliums, to plant under our front window. I was pretty exhausted after all that digging (I planted 100 bulbs!) but it was totally worth it this spring.

It made me so happy, just sitting in my living room with a cup of tea, admiring the colorful blooms bobbing in the breeze outside my window. And now I finally understand. Mrs. H's house had the garage in front, and the few small windows that faced the front yard looked out on the driveway, not the lawn. The back of her house had a walkout basement, which meant anything she could see from her living room window upstairs had to be way back in the yard...at the edge of the woods. She had other garden beds in her yard. One in the front that she probably only saw when leaving her house, a few scattered around the back and side yards, but only that one bed farthest from the house had tulips. She really must have loved tulips.

Insta-Spring

I think spring is my favorite season. When I was a kid it was fall, but now I love watching the world come alive again after a long winter. It's amazing...and beautiful...and oh so colorful! If you can't tell, I love color. Oh, and I also love my kids! (Noah took the picture of Abe in his Buzz Lightyear pajamas. I think it's one of my favorite pictures ever.)

You can follow me on Instagram @michelledupuis, or check out my Instagram profile on the web at instagram.com/michelledupuis. You can also see all of my semi-monthly collages of favorites right here.

Color Matching Game

The snow may be gone but that doesn't mean we're not occasionally stuck inside on cold, rainy days. We had such a day last week. Abe is at the age where he is starting to understand and enjoy playing games, so I threw together this color matching game to help us pass the time.

1. Collect a bunch of items in a variety of colors. Some good places to look for colorful items include: your child's car and train collections, tub toys, baby food utensils, small scraps of fabric or ribbon, craft supplies, sewing supplies, small stuffed animals and finger puppets, plastic jewelry, puzzle pieces, hair accessories, Easter eggs, crayons, plastic ring links, Legos/Duplos, and wooden blocks or figures. (Obviously some of these are choking hazards for young children. Be sure to only choose items that are age appropriate!)

2. Print off color cards or make your own, and lay them out with enough room for kids to pile toys on them. We used bowls to keep the little pieces contained.

3. Give your child the basket of toys (or a handful at a time) and let them sort the items by color. 

For younger toddlers, start with 2-3 items per color and only a few colors. Add more items and/or colors whenever your child needs more of a challenge.

When we were done, I just threw the items into a big bowl along with some color cards I made (you can download them here), and put it on the shelf so we can play it again. Not as much fun as a Barrel of Monkeys, but at least it's one more game in our Monkey & Memory line up. What games do your kids enjoy? 

Apples & Lilacs

I was hoping to have the deck done in time to photograph it when our apple tree was in bloom. Obviously, that didn't happen. I did however run out to take a few pictures before all the blossoms were gone.

We've owned our house for 5 years now, and in that time our crab apple tree has bloomed 3 times. It only blooms once every two years, so lucky for us, the year we bought our house (and would have missed it blooming since we moved in in June) was one of the off years.

But that also meant we had no idea what to expect when the tree bloomed the next spring. 

Awesome, right? I think I love this tree more than any other tree I've encountered in my life...except maybe the giant oak in our backyard when I was a kid...and the gorgeous magnolia I used to walk under on my way to school when I lived in New Orleans. Ok, so I have a thing for trees. Maybe that's why The Giving Tree always makes me cry and The Lorax is one of my favorite books of all time. Apparently, I'm passing on my love of trees too. One of Abe's favorite books is called I Love Trees.

Abe was too little to appreciate our apple tree the last time it bloomed, but this time he enjoyed playing in the petals as they fell to the ground. He kept asking us if it was snowing. At least someone enjoyed our never-ending winter...and is eagerly awaiting the next one!

Our lilacs are blooming too! Normally they bloom at least a month before the apple trees, but they got a late start with the cold and snowy weather this year. 

With all the beautiful and fragrant flowers around here, we've been enjoying a very pleasant spring. Now if it would stop raining long enough for us to mow the lawn and do some gardening we'd be set!

Dental Hygiene

He hates having his hair washed and won't go to bed at a decent hour, but Abe LOVES brushing his teeth.  

When I came across this project, while digging through a box of old art projects from my teaching days, Abe wanted to get started right away. 

To make the toothbrush, cut a handle from colored paper (I just did a long strip with rounded corners) and paste (or tape) a small, white rectangle to one end. Let your child cut the rectangle to make bristles on the toothbrush. Abe's been really focused on cutting lately, so this project was right up his alley.

For the mouth, cut "lips" from red construction paper and "teeth" from yellow paper. Draw teeth on the yellow paper and paste on top of the red mouth cut-out. Put some white paint on an old toothbrush and let your child brush them clean! 

Abe loved painting with a toothbrush, although he only used that first little dab of paint we put on his brush. I guess my constant replies of "no, you don't need more toothpaste," while brushing his own teeth have finally sunk in. 

Gotta love that smile!

Hanging Planter Makeover

So I'm not done with the deck yet, but maybe I'll get on that this weekend. Maybe not. Anyways, here's a little project I had on my "to do" list...

I always buy a hanging plant to put in our apple tree over the deck. A good gardener could probably replant a hanging plant in a pretty container of their choosing, but I'm always afraid I'll kill the plant, so I just leave it in its ugly pot and live with it, water spots and all. This year though I had an idea. Why live with a boring planter when I could paint it a fun color instead!?

I found a large plastic bag and carefully stuffed the plant inside. Then I used some sticks to hold the bag in place and keep it from touching the planter. (Just stick them through the bag and into the soil around the rim of the planter.) I sprayed the whole planter (including the bottom and under the rim) with primer, and then went over it with a couple coats of spray paint. 

I used Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Gloss in Citrus Green because I had some at home. Technically this would work better with a spray paint made specifically for plastic (the stuff I used does scratch off), but since it's hanging from a tree and doesn't get touched much, it should be just fine.

I wasn't sure I liked it at first but, after living with it for awhile, the color has really grown on me. (I did grow up in the 80's after all. Neon is in my blood.) It's definitely more fun than the dark green I started with!

Insta-April

April was a wee bit long this year. We got back from Arizona to find that the snow had all melted while we were away (Yay!), but then it snowed again...and it snowed A LOT! After about three more snowstorms, the snow finally melted the last week in April and it warmed up quick. So that's why there's an odd mix of summer and winter attire in these shots...

Now that spring has officially arrived we're spending a lot of time outside, so if you want to see pictures of all the pretty flowers in my garden, follow me on Instagram @michelledupuis, or check out my Instagram profile on the web at instagram.com/michelledupuis. You can also see all of my semi-monthly collages of favorites right here.