What on Earth is in those boxes?

A little over a week ago, my mother-in-law greeted me at the door after work with a question: "What on Earth is in those boxes?" Apparently, two humongous boxes had been delivered during the day.

My mother-in-law is used to strange boxes being delivered during the day, because I order lots of stuff from ebay. But she'd never seen boxes this big. I was really, really excited, and Nick was very curious.

So what was in the boxes? Let me show you.

These are just some of the plants I was sent. I had recently been contacted by a lady (also named Melissa) who works for Costa Farms. She had read my blog and heard I was looking for plants for school. She asked me if I'd like to try some plants for my classroom. I said sure, because you can never have too many plants in a classroom. I thought she might send me two or three nice plants. Instead, she sent me 25! Nick really loved touching all the leaves and saying, "Plants!"

This was one of my favorite plants. It is simply beautiful, and I'm desperately hoping I can keep it alive. It's a croton, but I like to call it a crouton.

See the bonsai tree? That was Greg's favorite, and we decided to keep that one at home. There's also a neat bamboo plant and some really healthy looking succlents. I love them all. I'm wondering which ones I'll kill first, and hoping that it isn't too many of them. I'm pretty attached. I was very impressed at how healthy all of the plants were. Not one showed any signs of over or under watering, even after being shipped from Miami!

I totally adore the pink peace lilies (2nd from the left). I also liked how many of these plants are pretty tolerant and enjoy shade. Melissa from Costa Farms really paid attention to what I told her about the lighting in my classroom. The only thing I had trouble with was that most of the plants came with no instructions about how much light or how much water each plant needed. I called my mom on the webcam and she gave me general instructions for each one. (I tried to remember, but forgot some of the details.) We kept some of the plants at home, so I'm hoping the cats don't eat them. Sebastian, especially, likes to munch on green things.

Then, at school, I used the internet to try to figure out the names and conditions. Hopefully I've put plants in their correct locations.

I'll post again next week and show pictures of how the plants in my classroom fared, at least thus far. Now, when new people visit my room, I can say, "Welcome to the jungle!" because the whole room is green with healthy plants. I happen to think the room smells nicer, too. Certainly nicer than the scent of 5th graders.  ;)

Babies are Contagious, but Pretty Darned Cute

Greg's mom came up today to spend some time with Nick. She brought us lunch and diapers. The perfect mother-in-law. :) She took this picture of Nick showing off his very white teeth. He seems to be feeling better today, and we saw him crawl about 3 feet today, forward.


Nick did, however, give me his coxsackie virus. I have been running fevers as high as 102.7 since Saturday afternoon. Greg has been wondeful, cooking dinner for us, making me tea, and letting me rest. I'm hoping to feel better tomorrow, since I can't take off work and I'd rather not be running fevers at school. Hopefully it will end soon. My immunity is usually decent, because I've been working in schools for ten years, and in daycare centers for five years before that.


I spent a lot of time reclining on the couch today, as I dosed with tylenol and drank tea for my painful throat. Sebastian laid down with me, and he enjoyed some fine tummy rubbing. Despite being sick, I kind of liked having the chance to cuddle up with my kitty on the couch. It is my favorite spot. I'll show you why.


#1--This is part of the damage that comes from having 3 kitties who are not declawed.


#2--The book Greg is reading. I love that I'm married to a man who reads. We can sit together on the couch and read, literally for hours.


#3--My magazines. I believe these are "Mental Floss" and "The Week." Mental Floss is a magazine that celebrates the nerdiness in us all. I love the way it is formatted and I get excited whenever it comes in the mail. As for "The Week," it is a news magazine that gives a good overview of news from around the world and from multiple perspectives. Greg and I have been known to fight over who gets to read it first each week.


#4--My Sebastian. I bought him as a tiny kitten on the day I graduated from NIU with my bachelor's degree. He was my present to myself, and he is the most loyal kitty you can imagine. He likes to sit next to me and make biscuits and purr.


#5--My coffee. I love to buy the flavored coffee (like double dutch chocolate), and make it with warm milk, Splenda, and whipped cream on top.


#6--Thermometer. Not what I wanted to have on the table this weekend, but whatever.


#7--A good book. This one is "Full House," by Stephen Jay Gould, and I've barely started it. I did just finish reading "Food Matters," by Mark Bittman. It is a totally reasonable way to eat in a healthful way and still have a positive impact on the environment. While not as well written as Michael Pollan's books, or as in-depth as Marion Nestle's, it gives a good overview of how you can eat in a better way.


Hopefully this week will be better than last. All that would take is for all three of us to stay healthy. I'm hoping we can swing that. Nick is certainly in a better mood.